Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1889-09-11


wastin' what would be life TO you and
yoursp
That's how ID looked TO us. For
times had been hard with us. and, as
told you. Old Keswick had always cal
culated that the losses must DO evened
up on wages somehow.
=" And this Teller, I'll be bound he's
never invented nothin' more useful
than new tie to his cravatr says Jim
Bryce, hell fool away no end Of
money, and then either the mill will
have to go down, or wages will. and
mine has got about to the foot OF the
ladder now
There's no doubt we'll go down,
unless some OF his experiments blows
him up. Wish they would, answers
Tom. only no put it rather uglier than
that
"Of course twas only talk, but the
feelin' was under 1t. and, after awhile,
from hopin' somethin' would happen,
the boys went n little farther, and got
10 plannin' how to make it happen.
IL amt goin' to tell much about any
plot l took care not to know much
thin I'd feel bound to try to hender,
and ] didn't want to hender nothin',
that's the fact. Only there was no muir
der nor nothin', like that in it; the men
wasn't that kind-leastways, most Of
'em wasn't
No. we amt goin TO hurt mammy's
darlin' bless his pretty little heart
not less he gets in the way, when he'd
better be out OF it, says Tom, with a
grin. But il theplaything he's so tick
led over jest flies to flinders some day,
and the noise scares him so that he
gives 1t up and runs home, it'll be the
best thing for him and all the rest of
u.s..
Seemed like nobody doubted he'd
be easily scared, and so the whisperin'
and blacks looks and secret meetin's
went on.
Zone day in summer box was
brought into the room where we work
cd. / shall always remember that day,
just how every thing looked. 1t had
been bright, warm mornin', but about
noon it clouded up slowly, and every
breath OF wind died away. Not leaf
moved on the trees, and every thing
was still, like as II the world was
holdin its breath and waitin for some
thin
'Inside the mill every thing looked
darker aud gloomicr than usual in that
queer gray light. Great piles of
caStin's throwed back shadows over the
slippery floor; tho long iron shafts
was like hungry arms forever reachin'
down and DRAWN back empty, and from
under the brick archway the round
door OF the furnace seemed glarin' out
like big red eye. There's times when
common things don't have common
look, and it's mostly them kind of
times that is burned into your mem'ry
somehow.
"Nothin' seemed to go that day the
way folks had calculated. That miser-
BILE lit le box had no sooner been set
down in the room than somebody
called. Hist! Look outr and there
was Boss Darlin', comm back from his
dinner at an onarthly hour when he'd
never been known to come before. He
Ind rose stuck in his button-hole, and
Cooked like dancin' master goin' to a
party as / heard Bob mutter as he
slipped the box out of sight under
pile Of stuff at the end OF the room
They couldn't carry out their plan then,
so there was nothin' left '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 wonderful
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 it, just as if he
was on guard.
Then it began to thunder and there
was sudden dash OF rain, so that Jim
Bryce's little girl, who had come down
with his lunch basket, couldn't go
home. Jim was piece worker, and
always said he could do twice as much
work In an afternoon II he had snack
bout three pollock.
Jim looked sort of uneasy, now and
then, when little jimmy d get off to the
back part OF the room any ways nigh
where that box was. But he couldn't
say nothin', and may be there wasn't
any danger; only l was sure he didn't
like her round there, and was glad
when she wandered off into the room
beyond-a store-room where she was
let stay some times, while she waited
for her fathers basket.
THE storm grew heavier instead of
lighter. till we could hardly see to
work. All at once there was blindin'
flash of light and a crash as If the whole
earth was a-tearin' to pieces, and we
all started and tumbled in every direc-
ton. The minute we could get our
senses and look round we found that
the whole end OF the room was bowed
of, and gully plowed way down to
the foundations like as II a bomb-shell
had tore through.
Beyond that ragged openin' the
great brick wall was still standin', but
we could see that 1t was swayin' and
weavin' just ready to fall. Inever seen
any thing look so awful as that trem-
blin' wall did; for over on the othes
side OF it run another buildin', where
the finishin' rooms was, and all hands
at work.
al s'pose the same thought struck us
all at once-that the only hope for 'cm
was a peal OF the bell that would send
EN- all flynn to the entrance at the far
end OF the buildin'. Twas in the old
days, you see. bofore tho new part OF
the mill was built, or we had any alarm
connection with all the rooms There
1~lI