The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1889-08-02

70 plannln now 10 mako IL happen.
81 amt goin' to tell much about any
plot. ] took care not to know much
about il for fear I'd run across some
thin I'd feel bound to try to hender,
and ! didn't want to bender nothin',
that's the fact Only there was no
murder nor nothin' like that in il; tho
men wasn't that kind-leastways, most
Of EN- wasn't.
NC, we amt a-goin TO hurt mann
my's darlin'-bless lis pretty little
heart mo! 'lesa he gifts in the way,
when he'd better be out of it, says
Tom, with q grin. But if the play
thing he's so tickled over jest flies to
flinders some day, and the noise scares
him so that he gives il up and runs
home, it'll be the best thing for him
and all the rest OF us.
Seemed like nobody doubted he'd
be easy scared, and so the whisperin
and black looks and secret meetin's
went on.
Zone DAY III summer @ box was
brought into the room where we
worked. J shall always remember
that day, just how everything looked.
II had been bright, warm mornin',
but about noon il clouded up slowly,
and every breath or wind died away.
Not leaf moved on the trees, and
everything was still, like as if the
world was hcldin it's breath and wait
in Ter somethin'.
''lnside the 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 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
a common look, and it's mostly them
kind Of times that git burned into
your mem'ry, somehow.
"Nothin' seemed 10 go that day the
way folks had calculated. That mis-
erble little 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 be-
fore. He had rose stuck in his but
ton hole, and looked like g dancin'
master goin' to 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 for 'em but to hide it.
1.-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 ourroom because, the weather
havin' turned gloomy like, there was
better light by a 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 a sudden dash of rain, so
that Jim Bryce's little girl, who had
come down with his lunch basket,
couldn't &C home. Jim was piece
worker, and always said he could do
twice as much work in an afternoon
if he had snack bout o'clock.
Jim looked sort of uneasy now and
then, when little Jinny'd get off to
the back part of the room anyways
nigh where that box was. But he
couldn't say nothin' and maybe there
wasn't any danger; only 1 was sure
he didn't like her round there, and
was glad when she wandered off into
the room beyond-a storeroom where
she was let stay sometimes while she
waited for her fathers basket.
1.-The storm grew heavier instead of
lighter, till we could hardly see to
work. All at once there was blind
in flash of light and crash, as if the
whole earth was a-tearin' to pieces,
and we all started and tumbled in
every direction. The minute we could
get our senses and look round we
found that the whole end of the room
was blowed off and a gully plowed
way down to the foundations like az
if bomb shell had tore through
Beyond that ragged openin' the
great brick wall was stih standin', but
we could see that it was swayin' and
.weavin' just ready tc fall. I've never
seen anything look so awful as that
tremblin' wall did, for over on the
| other side of it run another buildin',
| where the tinishin' rooms was, and
| all hands at work.
II s'pose the same thought struck
us all at once-that the only hope for
em was peal of the bell that would
send 'em all flynn to the entrance at
the far end of the buildin'. Twas in
the old days, you see, before the new
part of the mill was built or we had
any alarm connection with all the
rooms. There was only the big bell,
and the rope to it was danglin' beside
that totterin' wall.
you can't tell about such things as
quick Us they are in happenin'.
The bellp says somebody; but
there wasn't chance to say any more,
for the boss sprang past us with just O
word or two, short and quick, as he
pushed us right and left.
Back, men, back! That.is my place.
| You have families
'ln a minute he was leapin' down
over the piles of rubbish, and almost
before we was sure what he was amin
for he had reached the place, and the
| white hands, strong and steady, had
hold of the rope and was maxim
the old bell shout danger If ever bell