The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1889-07-11

flinders somc Day, and the nolsc scarcs
him so That hc gives |, up and runs
home, it'll la the best thing for him /
and ell the rest Of us
Seemed like nobody icubted he'd /
be easy scared, and 50 the whispcrin /
and EIaes locks and secret Inceiins |
went on.
''One Gay III summer q box vas |
brought into the room where VIC /
worked. ! shalt always remember !
tina; day, just how everything looked. |
II had been Q bright, warm mornin,
bat about noon it clouded up slcwly.
and every breath or wind died away.
Ncx . leaf moved on the trees, and
everything was still. like as If the
world was holdin' lis breath aud wait
in fo, somcthin
INSIDE tho mill everything locked
darker and gloomier than usual in
that queer gray light Great piles OF
castin's thrcwed black shadows over
The slippery floor; the long iron shafts
was hike hungry arms forever reachtn
down ard drawin' back empty, and
from under the brick archway the
round dool OF the furnace seemed
glarin' out like big red eye. There's
times when common things don't have
a common look, and it's mostly them
kind Of times that plt burned into
your mem'ry, somehow.
"'Nothin' seemed 10 go that day the
| way folks had calculated. That mis-
er'ble little box had no sooner been
set down in the room than somebody
| called: Hist! Look out! and there
was Boss Darlin', comm back from
his dinner at an onarihly hour when
| he'd never been known 10 como be-
fore. He had rose stuck in his but
ton hole, and looked like dancin
master goin' TO a party rs | heard
Bob mutter, us he Slipped the box out
of sight under ple OF stuff at the
end Of the room They couldn't carry
out their plan then, SO there was
nothin' left for 'em but to hide it.
THE boss looked round kind of
smilin' and pleasant like. He'd got
that model he was busy with about
into workin' order, and he was won,
derful pleased over it. And what did
he do, that day, but have it brought
out into our room because, the weather
havin' turned gloomy like, there was
better light by big window there.
So there he stayed fussin' over 1t, just
as If he was on guard.
''Then il began TO thunder, and
there was q sudden dash Of rain, sc
that Jim Bryces little girl, who had
come down with his lunch basket
couldn't 90 homo. Jim was a piece
worker, and always said he could dc
twice as much work in an afternoon
if he had snack bout o'clock.
"Jim looked sort of uneasy now ane
then, when little Jinny'd get off t.
the back part of the room anyway
| nigh where that box was. But h'
couldn't say nothin' and maybe ther'
wasn't any danger; only l was SUR
be didn't like her round there, ant
was glad when she wandered off int
the room beyond-a storeroom wher
she was let stay sometimes while sh
waited for her fathers basket
1.-The storm grew heavier instead o
, lighter, till we could hardly see 3
, work. All st once there was blind
in flash Of light and crash, as If tn
whole earth was a-tearin' to pieces
, and we all started and tumbfed i
: | every direction. The minute we coui
get our senses and look round W
, | llldl tDS "IOiC SliNi Va bA1O iccA
: was blowed off and gully plowe
way down to the foundations like
= if q bomb she'll had tore through.
Beyond that ragged openin' th
great brick wall was stih standln', bu
8 we could see that it was swayin' an
= weavin' Just ready tc fall. I've neve
4 seen anything look SO awful az tn:
tremblin' wall did, for over cn IL
9 other side of it run another buildln
o where the finishin' rooms was, an
e all hands at work.
. II s'pose the same thought struC
o us all at once-that the only hope fl
o 'em was peal of the bell that woul
n send 'em all fyin' to the entrance
O. the far end of the buildin'. Twas
. the old days, you sec, before the ne
part of the mill was built or we hi
- any alarm connection with all Il
q q rooms. There was only the big be-
Il and the rope To it was danglin' besit
" that totterin' wall.
% sYou can't tell about such things
"a quick as they are in happenin'.
Va 1.-The bell" says somebody; b
there wasn't chance to say any MOI
In for the boss sprang past Us with just
70 pushed us right and left.
ii " Back, men, back That.is my plac
N You have families.
In a minute he was leapin' dop
nc over the piles of rubbish, and almc
10 before we was sure what he was aiml
10 for lie had reached the place, and t
u white hands, strong and steady, h
rd hold of the rope and was maxi
ht tie old bell shout danger if ever b
ey did 1895
" .Wc hardly stirred or breath
"a while we watched him, till he start
to toward us again Then long, sh
rs c1ing breath ran round the crowd.
To II b'lieve he'd have made it TO {
out then If it hadn't been for lit
,el jimmy Bryce. That youngster v
- naturally scared nigh to death at
=, uproar, and instead of stayin' wh'
~ ~ she was safe, what does she do
ito come creepin' out of the store roon
III it was off to the right, you understai
- and considerably tore up, like our
'or and try to make her way over
or ruins to her father.
,.s 1.-The boss heard her cry, tCtI
Spe back like flash, aud caschln' her
his arms begun to climb over the n
e,s Dish piles again.
al 'Catcn herr hc called the min
in, inn lie was Lear enough, end tossed
"a over into her fathers arms.
II II the movement made him lose !.
iao .ha footin', and, though dozen Of US l
'io cur hands stretched out TO catch hi
80 he slipped and rolled back do
~ among the dirt and stones.
uas II spose il hadn't needed but
-;a -. least little jar-or maybe it wasn't
-eA jar at all-but anyway the next m
.ho ute there was crash, and the stout
w IL of us shut our eyes TO keep out
Ae' sight. The wall was down. and
was under IT,
81, ''Hc was the only man about
so' mill that was burt-badly, that is;
course few was struck with fly
R stones. and hurt in the crowd.
,,a nc, they'd got out alive, and the one I
aO ! had saraj iau1- wac hurried under.