Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-08-22
AFTER SEVEN DAYS.
A Little Dog Rescued from the Depths
Of the AQueduct Tunnel.

A Little Dog Rescued from the Depths
Of the AQueduct Tunnel.
HUMAN Guns CRUEL DEED-sTRANox SOUNDS
IRON THE sUBTERRANEAN REaIoSs-A BOY
VOLUNTEERS TO MAKE THE pEscENT-aBExrKp
sY WAC OF TIE TAIL AND A FAINT WHINE
From the black mouth Of a hole in the ground
once known as a shaft of the aqueduct tunnel
there came repeated cries-agonized, pitiful,
beseeching They rose from the noxious
depths of impenetrable darkness, and for seven
long days they continued, growing weaker with
every cry. and on the eighth day were still,
silenced, it would seem, forever by the vile
vapors and the suffocating gases that filed the
pit and made its mouth thing Of horror.
The hole in the ground from whence these
cries arose is situated on the heights north of
the city and east Of Howard university. A
year ago il was the scene Of busting activity.
Over it was a derrick frame. from which there
rolled up and down an elevator car laden with
human freight. A current of humanity was in
constant circulation in and out of the hole,
while from the mouth came occasional mutter-
lngs and rumblings of distant thunder.
Then, few months later, all was changed; the
hole was desolate spot-abandoned-and
from the depths there came nothing but silence
in huge invoices that settled all over the neigh
boring country-even over the War depart
ment The hole was deserted. $3.50
CRUEL DEED.
It was to the mouth Of this hole that some
days ago cur in human form carried another
cur Of q yellow coat The little beast chung
affrighted to the big beasts arms and showed
signs Of fear. With heart of stone the brute
stepped to the side of the pit, drew aside a
plank or two from the opening and dashed the
poor creature into the depths, its voice sound
ing fainter and fainter as he descended until,
with a resounding splash, he struck the water
fathoms below and all sound ceased.
THE STRANGE CRIES.
Then the mysterious pitiful cries began,
sending shivers to the backs Of superstitious
neighbors and strong words to the lips OF those
who wanted to sleep. Various theories were
advenced rs to its cause. Some said that il was
water nymph; others thought it q gnome;
still another suggested that it was the spirit of
tunnel inspector moaning over his lost oppor-
tunlties, and one fool-hardy creature announced
his belief that it was dog, whereat the popu-
lace )eered him to scorn few hardy spirits
crept to the edge and peered over in cautious
curiosity, but saw nothing, while the sounds
still came up from the subterranean regions
day after day, weaker and weaker.
SEVEN DAYS PASSED,
the sound dying out as the hands Of the Water
bury watches whirled around and around. On
the eighth day the noises ceased and all was
still. The neighbors went off little way from
the hole and breathed long sigh of relief
they enjoyed the silence immensely. With
the cessation Of the noise came courage, and
then advanced the mighty official Of the region,
the Waterman who had been posted at the
mouth OF the pit to see that no miscreant
should pull the valuable hole out Of the ground
and steal away with it under cover Of the night
to use 1t as shooting gallery. He laid before
the assembled dozens the fact that something
had evidently crawled into the hole and died.
Therefore" said the guardian Of the hole,
1T Is necessary to remove the corpse. How
shall it be done?'
A BOY TO THE RESCUE.
At this there was q clamor Of voices as sug-
gestions were offered from every side. Fish
ing lines were proposed, dip nets on long
handles, explosives, filling the hole with water
and thus floating the body to the top. This
last measure, being contrary to the purpose for
which the hole was dug. was rejected with
seorn. At last the problem was solved by the
offer OF boy to descend into the pit and bring
up the carcass. His sacrifice was hailed with
shouts of Joy. Quickly divesting himself OF
the few clothes he wore he began his perious
descent by means of the iron spikes that had
been driven into the side wall of the pit. Slow
ly he descended, hand unde- hand, until his
feet touched the water and he was lost to sight.
ABOVE him bllnked square star OF light,
friDged and scalloped by overleaning heads.
The water was Shiny and loathsome, but be
went down into 1t until it encircled his waist.
The object of his search lay on projecting
rock an arms length from the ladder Of spikes.
AwAa OF ITS TAIL
and telephone whisper Of a whine showed
the startled boy that it was still alive. With q
noble effort he reached it with his hand and,
encircling its wasp-like waist with his fingers,
he daintily lifted it from its perch and Rugged
1t to his bosom. The poor creature, grateful
for this little courtesy chung tightly to the arm
OF his rescuer awhile the boy slowly retraced
his way, climbing with difficulty toward the
scalloped square above his head As be
emerged from the blackness he was greeted
with round of cheers, and the. silhouette
which he dropped to the ground was immedi-
ately surrounded by pititul circle. patting
the edge Of its head and offering sympathy,
while its slender tail waved weakly in grate-
full acknowledgement of the kind reception.
The people were surprised that the animal
should have lived 80 long without food, and
the little dog did not want for friends to nurse
him back to strength by a good supply of food.
Statistics for Anti-Prohibitionists.