Mohave County miner., 1890-11-08
THE BEAUTIFUL CLAUDINE.

uiug mail man passed in a jolting rum.
ole OF wheels from his ancient carriole,
and ringing Of hoofs from his meagrs
mare Then It was chat Claudiae, tho
'besutifnl Claudine,f as the villager,
caltsd her, showed herself at the sill OF
sae little white cottage, her hand above
her eyes. her elbow elevated. She
stood there silent and niOtionless. like
q picture in lighter tints against the
darker back ground Of the chamber,
but with joyous expectancy dswains
10 her eyes
Far away over the peaks, the sun
was sinking to rest its last rays climb
ing slowly from horn to horn Of the
wooded hills. lighting up the sombrs
vertiure OF the oaks with polHts Of
briliiancy, quiyering like Game against
the blue horizon aud sHyelopiug. as
with parting caress. the rounded
summit Of a naked bill, whose long
slopes ended at the turning Of the road
that stretched into the shadow, a strip
OF dull greyness. soft as Il ribbon.
From among this chain OF bills. ea-
tending as far as the eye could reach
in the gathering evening light. rose the
deep and sonorous cry Of the cafterL
urging on their beasts. engaged In haul-
ing che stone from the puarries which
gnswed out the hears OF these same
peaks. still touched at the crest by the
dying sun. Il was here that Claudine1s
thoughts were rowing in search Of her
man.
10 her mind she saw him plainly.
fhls toiling g'iarryman, young aud
handsome as herself pe;ched aloft on
fi'aii scafplding and working at the
aosrry's roof in the trenialous light Of
Lanterns like swinklihg stars, the
nonotoilous oiink, elink Of the hani-
mers repeated by the drip. drip Of the
suhterranean waters. But now, since
the evening postman had gone BIZ.
Ciandine knew that the days work
was coded. her man descending with
others and arranging his tooIs-quick-
ly. too. thinking Of fer and impatient
for her kisses.
In fact. some Of the men, In gaudy
bets and with coats thrown over their
shoulders. had begun to appear,
climbing briskly the steep white road,
their voices mounting higher and
higher, like the waves Of sunlight. and
ROACH aud rude as the country. All at
once, even whilst she searched with her
gaze the fast crowding pathway .
cloud Of dirt and debrts Ieaped high In
the air, followed instantly through the
valley by crash like thunder. The
quarry had blown up. And Claudine
lay senseless on the ground.
Under the gutted earth. covered
with crumbled houses. cracked asd
crushed As by a mondrous hammer,
deep In the black aad inaccessible
depths of the buried galleries, fifty OF
more Of the quarrymen were buried
also. despairing, hopeless Of rescue.
dying perhaps, If not already dead.
At the point where the engineers
worked with heart and soul to pierce
an entombed eAllery, Claudine knelt
beside them, eager. heart-siek. refusing
70 stir step and still awaiting her
man.
For eight days she had remained
there. unable to believe in the disaster.
anable to be eonsoled, her burning
ayes stubbornly riveted upon the open
ng. little by little growing larger
But these efforts provoked new crumb-
'ings-ths waters flooded the passages,
the work had to be stopped. Then and
not Till then did she climb the hill 10
the place where the men who had es-
saped the disaster strained at The
pumps.
But coon the pumps, too. gave out
ehoked. doubtless. with the rubbish
that refused to Aow. The rescuers,
white, haggard. helpless. sorrowfully
tisbandcd and turned away. CIaud-
Inc remained alone by the rayaged
earth. the abortiye. abandoned work.
crushed, inert, feeling Ia her anguislied
soul but single desirs,-to be herself
st rest.
''Clsudine!" murmured voice RI
her ear.
She raised her eyes. II was aquarry-
man BY the name Of Pierre. whom she
bad noticed toiling with the others.
She saw his blistered hands. the soil on
his clothes, and suddenly, without q
word. before the plying sorrow Of his
gaze burst into storm Of tears
As for Pierre, he. TOP, found no word
10 SAY. but sitting beside her allowed
her 10 cry on. stroking ber hand ten
DERBY at every sob. an answering grief
dimming bis own eyes. Gradually as
she grew calmer Claudine knew that
Pierre was talked to her OF things
whose sense still escaped her. but
whose soft. soothing monotone quieted
her 10 the docility of child.
She listlessly permitted him to draw
her with MIN. scarcely conscious Of
what he did. whilst be with gentle,
solicitous care that one shows to a
sick mind and fancy eoaxed and per-
sladed her homeward, as from time 10
time she stopped with long signs and
renewed tears.
The long days passed; the imprisoned
men were lost. uniindable. dead. they
declared, crushed by the falling rocks
or thrown out by the enormous force
Of the air from the crrmbled caverns.
To hear this was relief TO Claud-
Ines strained nerves and senses; they
we're not tortured. and in the long un-
occupied hours when they talked and
speculated thus she listened sadly and
Ia silence. but fndiDg certain
pleasure 10 this development Of neigh
borly pity.
She seemed 20 herself to be awaken
ing from long sleep. 70 be returning
from distant journey; at the slime
time. though unconscious Of il al first.
the exigeucies Of tbe present and Of the
coming life began tt' presen. them
selves 10 her mind. She had her life
TO take up again and perhaps-wifh
progressive growing az slow fear-to