Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1891-02-17

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and his face Was half gone aud his
shoulder torn away, from blast. Blood
was s.rgaoirg from tho wounds He
then walked down the incline. and
melted INTO the vapoTs that rise from
the waiers Of the sump The next day
John Ovens slipped at that very spot,
unable to hold on to the Shiny ii nbers.
and fell into the water He was cooked
like lolasser.
At times one hears strange voices.
Ghostly voices call to each o.her from
drift to drift; there are whisperings Ia
the rocks. and terrible groans i'm the
sides Of tile eros cuts In the Belcher
once heard a fearful Shrek come from
The winze. Itechoed from Drift to drift,
and startled everybody. / rushed to
where the sound was, but there was
nothing. Bill Sharon don't dare to go
down the Yellow J.elxet The last time
he did troop OF mn RS sheeted in flame
followed him along the drifts to the foot
Of the shaft He rushed to the cage like
= hadman, and rang for the quick hoist
Wien the cage reached the top he
lay ON the floor insensible. He never
Thus the poor fellow would spend
hours telling of the mysteriou, sights
and sounds he had encountered in the
depths of the great lode. Sometimes
he worked under ground, but he always
seemed discontented, even morose, be-
cause it was no lon er permitted to him
to grasp the lever Of an engine. He felt
stain upon his reputation, and looked
hopefully forward TO the time when he
could wipe it out
The opportunity came Oae night he
came into the South Consolidated works
and sat watching the machinery. Sud-
denly he turned to the engineer and
said: II hear the death moan on the
wheels, Tom"
Had the engineer looked at Marks
face, masked in n horrible paIlor, he
would have indeed thought the man had
heard a sob from the grave. Mark
bent his head little lower and waited
Out Of the roar and rumble he heard
only the death moan, as he called il
Suddenly the bell rang out so quick and
sharp that both men were startled. 1t
was the signal of danger and the quick
hOAot. Atto NliccA btRdn W WHIT uitil
the spokes mingled in a maze. A
moment later, a puff of smoke drifted
from the shafts mouth, and then q
shower of sparks The mine was on
fire.
The cage came whizzing to the SUR
face, and a crowd of half naked men
reeled off, blistered and half suffo-
Gated into the dressing rooms The
whistle of the mine sent forth a cry for
help, and, in few seconds more, other
whistles took up the cry and beloved
forth their hoarse notes from the North
Consolidated to the Belcher Scarcely
was the cage emptied when those
below signalled sh. rply for it to come
down. 1t shot back into the depths al
most as fast as if it had been dropped.
The cable touched piece of iron near
the sheaves, and from the point of con.
tact streamed a line of SPARKS Another
burst of smoke came up the shaft, and
a sheet of fame followed for an instant
The timbers became mass OF fire. The
hoisting-works went like tnder box.
The engineer must not only bring the
cage to the surface, but must stop it
there. The machinery was growing hot
to the touch The cage reached the
bottom; then came the signal to hoist
just as he reversed the lever a falling
timber knocked him senseless.
A d, zen men sprang to tue unnamed
engine; but Mark was there first, and.
picking up the body at his feet, he
handed it to the nearest two men as if it
had been a child, and merely said, Take
him away.
A man close at his side leaned forward
to grasp the lever. but he flung him back
into the crowd. A flare of flames sent
them all staggering away. Mark laid
his hand upon the lever-the first time
in five years--and gtasped it with his
old energy. The breath of hell was in
his face. It~vould be long minute and
half before the cage reached the sur
face, where he must prevent its dread
full ascent into the "sheaves His hand
held the lives of dozen men. He faced
the fire like a salamander. A cheer
went up, and then the folds of red smoke
covered him from sight.
The cage reached the shafts mouth
full of men, most of them insensible as
tuoy were uAdBBcu Oub As MARX
threw the lever back to its place, aud
stopped the engine tile flames closed
about him The superintendent called
out:
"One thousand dollars to the man
who saves him.
A dozen brave men had already
started It was too late; the flames
had overwhelmed him. Three davs
later the men whose lives lie had saved
dug among the ruins. Lying by the
engine they found his c!larred remains.
and stood by them awhile with un-
covered heads. They bore away the
remains of Mark HaverIy in a box. and
the next day 8 900 mourners walked be-
hind the coffin. As they pressed down
the earth over his grave, and threw the
last sprig of green down upon it. one of
the pail bearers remarked: here was
good leather il that man. = [Sam
Davis