Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-01-11

doubtful as to whether they should found
their claims to admission on his wealth or
her beauty, ard Whelan found those pleas
ant lmprOmptu or matter.of-eours visits quite
out of the question.
Formerly when Chris had left the fashion,
able world and gone down for those pleasant
quiet hours at footing, no one had known
or cared anything about it. Now, in the full
/ glare of capital S'sd society, all that was
| changed. If be had tried to mOnopolizs the
beautiful Mrs. Davis the thing would i'm
mediately have become conspicuous and COM
monplaee-a mere vulgar Irritation, a de-
| graduation of his sacrifice
| Whelan and she DaVises still saw a great
deal of each other. met the same people, went
to the same houses, but the Arcadian days
were past.
For the first time since his friends mar
riage Whelan found himself alone He had
to lace the problem of lite apart from Maiqe
Davis. and could make nothing of it at all.
At the end of the season Mr.. and Mrs.
Davis went to Wales, but their departure
made very little difference to Chris; the sep
aration OF the past months had been so COM
plete.
Presently, however, he received a letter
from the Davises asking him to spend few
days with them, to inspect the new house
and the farms and the coal mines and the
scenery, and TO ruralize generally. He
went gladly enough, and had a very pleas
ant time, almost as pleasant as the old days
at footing. Davis was full of triumph in
his new possessions. but he did not bore his
guest with them; he let him off easily as
far as mountaineering and farm-inspecting
were concerned. But on one point he was
resolute. Whelan must go down q coal
mine.
hall R,.k l.,
thusiastic about the expedition; so it was
postponed time after time until the day be-
fore he intended leaving. At breakfast Mrs.
Davis, remembering that Chris had not yet
seen the mine, proposed that they should
walk down aud visit it that morning Davis
agreeing, they lost no time in setting out,
but hallway there they met the manager.
who reminded Davis that it was holiday
aud the men were not working.
'Dear me, so it is said Davis. 1T had
quite forgotten. What is to be done. We
can't let you 60 back without seeing our
mine, Whelan."
1--WE can go all the same, can't we?''
asked Madge. "It is the mine we want to
see, not the men. 1 have not been down
myself yet, and want to go 30 much. You
could find us guide, suppose, Mr..
Wyatt?" (this to the manager)-'and, IL
you have not any engagement yourself to-
day, perhaps You would come with us?''
Mr.. Wyatt said he should be most happy,
and set of to find guide, and in due time
the party found themselves wandering about
in the dark and dirt and bad air, and trying
to pretend that they liked it because it was
q new sensation.
Mr.. Wyatt and the guide had wandered to
a little distance. Madge was Just asserting
vigorously that she would never allow any
of the children to come into this dreadful
place, and that she wished they were all
well out of it themselves, when a sudden
ominous sound was heard. InstinetIvely
they ali stood still and waited; there was q
loud, dull roar-a shaking, as it seemed, Of
the very foundations OF the earth-a crash,
and then the whole roof of that part of the
mine near which they stood fell in, and
there was dead silence and black darkness.
Davis was the first to speak.
Nobody need be alarmed il we are all
here" he said. "Madge, are YOU all right7
Whelan? That's we'll And Wyatt and
Derrick?''
Neither Wyatt nor the guide answered;
they had been some distance away when the
roof fell in, and it was too evident that theY
were buried beneath the ruins.
Jewell, we are all right" said Davis.
Let us be thankful for that, at least; I
don't know much Of my own mine yet, but
know we can't be very low down; we must
be quite near the Surface, in fact and thew
know at the house where we are, so we have
q good chance OF being rescued"
But even while they spoke they heard
other explosions, one after another, in differ
snt parts Of the mine, and presently one in
their immediate neighborhood was followed
BY rush Of hot air and then by q stream