The Russellville Democrat. [volume] (Russellville, Ark.) 1875-1898, 1889-10-24

eESs 4lle-rOs@isas tiAS 4aE eLsl1Neers VINO
vas waiting for her father to cone.
greeted her with 81 exclamation.
What Be you a-doin hereg' he
ssked-
.Tre come 70 ran the engine. " she
answered.
What You. who iver heard the
loik o that' Does yer father know
eetg~
Yes. sir; be has been SICK ior a
week
Il know
"- And tonight he's TOO sick TOO
come out. 50 I came / hare been here
often enough with him TO know how to
attend to his duties.
To be sure; If he's willin'. am. IS
he said, taxing up his pail There's
nothia' special only TO keep her well
led"
an do that"
III you don't they can't blame me.
I've always attended 70 ny part, and
oh. well. goodnight" and be banged
the door behind him ard Alice was
alone
Alone. With twelve weary hours
ahead OF Der. and the p1ls-lpwg- -7g9
Of the steam at regular intervals ont
side, and the poHad--poassl--Pouad Of
the c0g-wheels. meshiag into each
other, inside a. her only company
She took up the oil-eaa and vert
around the engine. with the lamp in
her hand. oiling every part until she
came 10 the walking-beam which car
ried the rods 70 the water-cylindsrs at
the bottom Of the shaft II came quite
close to her, and then. with q savage
grind. disappeared il the darkness,
only 10 come back again. bringing
with it he cold. damp air from the
shaft and a volume Of water which
she could hear rushing and roaring
outside Back and forth il moved,
approaching till it almost touched her
dress, and then disappearing; but re-
norselcssly the engine drove il on,
with its steady pt.f-PWLf -pELT. and
pos.a2i--rost,ld-Es0aaa. until Alice
grew weary Of watching and listening
Setting doEn her lamp. she walked 70
the greasy. high-bacsed chair and
watched the ceaseless revolutions OF
the sy-wheel-
The steam whispered 10 her in the
cylinder and through the pipes at each
successive stroke, and the water
reared outside. making the night dis
nal and dreary. but Alice was brave
and determined, though once she
climbed 10 The high window and looked
out across the waste land 10 see If
there WAS a light burning at home
She did mol see any7 il must be late
What. eleven o'clock she had been
there nearly hye hours. Is was time
10 oil the engine agaiu. and with it the
bearings and pins on the walking
beam
She had loft her lamp standing on
the stone foundation out by the shaft,
and by It's dim light she oiled the
guides aud link-pi1- With the can In
her hand she approached the walking
beam, going and coming on IFS long
sweep To oil the pins she would
have 10 jump on it. A misstep would
De fatal: u worked closely between
the two walls Of stone, pausing al the
end Of each stroke before beginning
another. As il passed her. going one
way, she saw the round hole ia its
frame frightened by use. and fastened
her eTes on II Quickly. a. she had
often seen her father -, she sprsng
forward; her foot landed lightly
In il and her hand elutched the
angle in the iron above. Then
the walking beam started the other
way. carryinging her on is resistiess
course Out-Ouf-out it went till
she hung over the yawning pit and
heard the water dripping on the rocks
below; row back on its long, circular
sweep Out once mora, deftly pour
ing oil on the massive journals. hang
ing there as it stopped before going
back
One. two. three seconds, 1t seemed,
as she hung there. till il moved again.
She looked down into the darkness be-
low, eliuging tightly 70 the greasy
iron. q quick, startled glance into the
depths. blaclrer than night. but a
small. yellow fame far down. caught
her eyes
The walking-beam gave its accus-
toned jerk; back she came, her heart
beating quickly, and jumped TO the
stone where her lamp was placed.
Who was down the shalt?
The shaft had long been abandoned,
and was only used TO pump the water
from new workings on higher ground
Whoever was down there had come in
that way, Alice knew. as there was no
other way to go down but on the lad
ders from the engine-room where she
stood Did their presence bode good
or evil? She must seel
Had she hesitated she would not
have been true 10 her fathers blood
To had out what they were doing she
would have 70 descend the ladders
She could not take er light with her
as that would attract attention For .
moment she felt a little doubtful about
being able 10 take so perilous q journey
ia ths dark. but only for minute
Opening the small door al the top Of
the shaft she saw the first ladder lead
ing down into the pit and grasplng
the topm0st round with both hands
she began the descent After the sec
ond step she was In darkness blaeker
than night Round after round she
descended til she reached the first
platform Ii was a small affair; only
a heavy plank nailed between the