Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1891-02-17
OLD MARK HAyEGI.Y.


lie was IN engineer w.rSn. i, The
Belcher He was noted his grit. at
tention to business. aud supersli la
One day colnra,le was passing. and
Mark called him up NTH: jack, ,o you
hear that noi-e--a sort of i grtnliag
sound that comes and goesg Hark!
can't you hear it now
It's jsrt like a Y ~: c'.iaery makes. =
M. NO, jack: it dun't edo & ls the
maciiaery; it's = voice. tel you, from
the otler world I've heart that sou, d
for two days nov. aud it cans death.
death close at hand
~Oil the engine. old boy. a it'il be
all right
TIE other passed on and went down
the shaft Mark, meanwhile, bent his
ear to tie machinery. and out If the ia
distinguisliable din Of dozen sounds
caught this strange noise which had
such an Influence upon him, heard
constantly above the clank of levers.
tie roar of wleels, and the hiss of
steam. Presently bell sounded at his
side. Ii was the signal from tie GOO
level to lla s. the cage. He pressed tin
lever. and tile great reel began 10 wlir
the cable from the lower depths. His
eye followed the long finger OF the indi
cllor as it slowly ponte out the sta
tions passed The cage had almos
reached the top when the horrsbe grind
ing noise, like moan from the grave,
came from the machinery ut lis side
The sound made his veins melt. He
turned his head toward the spot sllad-
derimg, viii his hard as il asl ed the
lever was like child'S Tie cage sho.
up from the shafts mouth; lie grasped
the lever AMI threw his weight upon the
brake. Too late; the cage rushed into
the "sheaves
The floor of the cags Ic" m, vertical
as it ruck the Wheel The cable
stretched under the fearful rain. aud
then snapped like thread. and the cagA
fel back 10 the shafts Il outh Three
of its occupan nd lsal e upon the
timbers and hung suspended; the other
two had made the same lear but their
fingers slipped from the Shiny timbers.
made so by the long contact with the
vapors from the mine, and they fell one
after the other heallong down the shaft.
Meanwhile Mark had stopped his en-
gine, resumed his ceat and staggered
out of the works. On such OCCASION
an engineer is considered discharged
without notice. He actually ceases to
be in the employ of the company when
the cage strikes the "sheaves, and
such an accident makes his discharge
perpetual with every mine on the Com.
stock.
For the next week or two he wandered
about the town like man barely in his
senses He finally got work under
ground, but was oftener found some
where about the hoisting works, near
the machinery. He would at times sir
for hours watching the work of thos,,
metallic giants. occasionally turning
toward the mouth of the shaft with
! shudder. and again bending lis head to
catch what he called the death moan.
His comrades said he was "a little off.
One day the writer entered into a
conversation with him. His supersti-
tion had not left linn. Il tell yol,, said
he, "Pve studied everything about a
mine, above ground and below You
brutes who write FIR tie press take a
sneering view of everything. You
laugh when ] say an engine gives warn
ing of death. You call this pece of
machinery a thing inanimate. / tell
you that it has Construction in all re-
spects like man. It has lungs and
sinews. and big heart that tI,robs and
pulsates 1t has it's fatignes from over
work. At times it whirls merriIy, and
work seems nothing; then it groans and
labors as if exhausted We treat it as
we do the sick When its lungs get
clogged with scale we feed it COM
position that manes it well again. Ii
has voice. and roars. sings, groans,
laughs, and sobs. in turn. When
touch a lever feel a magnetism such
as flows from flesh and blood.
The dark levels below us are full OF
mysteries. learn more and more OF
its secrets every year. You remember
how Jack Henly died He tainted on
the Ophir cage, and went down the
shaft A few days before it I noticed
as worked beside him how the fame
of his candle pointed directly toward
him like a mariners needle. Wherever
he moved the fame followed. He didn't
notice it, but did, and it had wavy,
uncertain motion for day or so. One
day it became steady, as steady as II
carved in stone. knew tile crisis was
not far of. We came up on
the cage; as we passed the first
station the flame burne low. and
at the 25th station it was almost gone
Suddenly it went out; Jack reeled back
against the timbers, and was twisted
under the cage at once. 1t was hut a
moment. / heard his dreadful CRY ring
out as his bones were crushed be ween
the stage floor and the timbers, and his
body shot down the shaft.
Hawkins. who used to work for Joe
Cowan. had the same kind of warning.
Wherever he worked a shadow kept
close to him on the rock. His lantern
made one shadow, but this was a deeper
and darker one, and had separate mo-
tions, and 1t seemed to get back er every
shift he worked till blast tore away
his chest have seen q mans light
blow out. and, in sort OF win o. the
wisp. keep right over his head Such
man had better leave tile mines at once.
When / worked in the Savage used
to see a shift of specters working nost
generally at tie foot Of the incline. but
sometimes in the east drift OF the sev-