, 1889-04-28

found ourselves ut the top of another
shaft, where another descent of a hun
dred and fifty feet was made in n bucket;
after which followed some rough climb
ing over rocks and assures, with here
and there n descent by ladders, which
proved both precarious and tiresome,
till at last we stood upon n ledge from
which, n hundred feet still below us, we
beheld a hundred moving lights, and
heard the peculiar sound Of the miners
at their daily toll of digging out and
breaking the black Jumps of coal that
werc intended to find their way to the
bright world above.
There they are" exclaimed our fair
companion, vivaciously, Cooking, with
their red, bobbing lights and shadowy
forms, like so many fiends of Pandemon-
iuml Would you like to go down among
them, Mr.. MaplesY"
"If you are satisfied where you are,
Miss Stuart, l will venture to say ! nave
had enough" was my reply, with n kin
of shudder.
80 for hat matter l am willing to let
you have your own WI now" she re-
Joined, with a light, careless laugh.
you nave bravcd the danger so far like
= gallant soldier, and are now entitled to
your discharge"
IL SEQ that in your th~oughtless way
your are still disposed to make sport of
my natural caution" / replied, n little
severely; "but l would very much like
you TO comprehend that reasonable eau
ton Is not cowardice, nor in any degree
allied to it; and to prove 1t in my own
person, / now throw down the gage to
dare anything that either you or any
ambitious friend of yours may have the
courage to try"
Even in the dim light l could see that
my sharp words had sent n deep color
into her pretty face; and, after n mo-
mentary hesitation, she faltered:
81 crave your pardon, Mr.. Naples, If
my light, fippant remarks have wounded
your feelings"
"All Is already forgotten" l cordially
replied, extending my hand, which was
accepted in token of amity.
An exclamation from ono of our two
companions at this moment drew our at
tention to him. He was looking down
at the miners through n field glass, and
his words were;
"Hal What culpable imprudencel One
of the miners has struck a match TO light
his pipel"
(Which one?" demanded his compan-
ion, in n quick, excited tone. "Show
me tho man and ! will have him dis
charged forthwith
Just as he spoke, and while he was in
the act of reaching out his hand for the
glass, n binding sheet of flame was seen
to envelop all below; n rush of foul,
heated mir threw us down Upon the rocks,
and n crashing explosion, like n thousand
thunders, completely stunned us and
shook down the rocks around us like n
terrible earthquake.
When / came to my senses all in the
blackncss of that rayless abyss l heard a
low, wailing moan of terror and despair,
accompanied with the words:
"Oh, my God! my Godi what has hap
pcned and where am II"
1t was the plaintivo voice of Sibyl
Stuart, and / was grateful to God that
she was still alive.
/ knew where we were and what aw-
full thing had happened, for my recollec-
ton came with my consciousness. Reach
ing out my hand / touched her and in n
soothing tone said:
4LNlS AAho DNNi " NNBAc1ACAN
Miss Sibyl, and | fear that many lives
havc been lost; but, thank God, we still
survive, and l hope you have escaped in
jury"
90 mcrciful heaven, I comprehend all
nowr' she moancd. Forgive me, dear
fricndl Forgive mel"
FOR whaty'
making light of your f~orebodings,
and bringing YOU here to your DOOM"
Gan is forgiven and forgotten, dear
girl; l shall think of nothing now but
how to get you out of this horror alive.
The foul air hero is almost suffocating.
Where are our c~ompanionsY'
She hurriedly called them by name,
but received no reply.
l thought they might still be uncon-
scious on the ground, and began TO feel
out for them.
They were only n few feet from us
when the explosion occurred; but as /
reached out for them now in the dark
ness my hands came in contact with n
huge rock on the very spot where they
had been standing. In a moment l COM
pretended the horrId truth; they had
both been crushed to death under it.
l hurricdly made known to my fair
companion the startling fact, and added:
at may be that we two, of all within
the mine, are the only ones that Provi-
dence has spared"
40 heavenl' she groaned, spared,
perhaps, for a more terrible deathl For
how can we ever find our way up
through this awful darkness to the world
aboveY'
1--WE will try, at all events, and while
there is life there is hope" 1 rejoined, in
n cheerful tone, though with no cheerful
feelings, for | thought the chances were
all against our ever seeing the light Of
heaven again.
Taking the hand of my fair companion
that we might not become separated in
the awful darkness, l began to carefully
grope in the direction which l supposed
would retrace our steps. Tho air was
very foul with poisonous gases, and at
times it seemed as if it would paralyze
our lungs to inhale it.
We soon came to q broad chasm, and
had l not been feeling my way inch by