The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-12-24

for oncet Oh begin uu Dim worse than a
line mule sawin wood in the nighttime"
While Ikey struck the matches one after
another Teddy felt his way toward the
bank of flour, keeping up a running fire of
comment on the situation, his voice be-
tween the box and the wind sounding like
a strangled echo.
"Ut's a foine velvet lined coffin OHM in"
said the subterranean voice, "big enough
to bury a company in, wild the white plush
as thick uz yer hand an as soft as the brist
of a duck, and the boord underneath is
polished loike the deck Nv a piany, fit to
skate On"
"1s thur much of the shtuf on me
clothes?" said Teddy as he made his way
back into the light of the last match, with
the full haversack in one hand and the
wooden scoop in the other.
"Much2" said Ike; you're a ghost; the
old miller himself would be a charcoal
sketch side O. you. You can take my
word for it, too, for there's nary a match
left"
mo matther," whispered Teddy. solve
got the shtuff for the plum duff, and the
divil fly away wild the miller"
In the middle loft Likely sat down on the
lower stair in charge of the treasure, while
Teddy felt his way through the labyrinth
of timbers and wheels in the direction of
the windows lighted by the moon, which
were like windows of ground glass for the
dust, which shut out everything but the
ghost of the light, and revealed nothing
but ragged cobwebs burdened with meal
and chaff. In one, however, there was a
windy hole, through which he poked his
eye until it rested on the four figures
grooming over the guard fire.
"Ut's all right outside" said Teddy
when he had recovered his way through
the timbers and run against keys nose in
the darkness. "Oi'm a thafe if Snoopy
amt in%shtructin thin doughbyes in the
manuel at arms. Now let's fale our way
out O. this, aisy."
The moldy smell of the pit, like bi1ge in
which grain has fermented, the gurgline
of the invisible water and the cold wind
from the opening through which they had
entered enveloped them like the ghost OF
a blanket. The small windows in the dis
tance were scarcely visible through the
tangle of gearing, and the unusual dark
ness indicated that the Christmas moor
had plunged into another bank of clouds.
"Be LOVELY, Oike, me bye" whispered
Teddy; "ut's a foine time outside to bt
getthin away"
The opening in the wall was before them
and the cold stars beyond, and about then
a tangle of hoppers and shafts, against
which they bumped in the darkness ant
then felt their way around. Every diff
Guilty past brought them nearer to thu
plank alongside the wheel, and their spirits
rose with the certainty of success. IkeJ
was already chuckling over their clever
ness in manipulating the guard.
"Phwy didn't the provost marshall
said Teddy, "sind a dathale to dig up tire,
Shifts out O the blooming graveyard al
lane thin agin the front dure, wild tres
blunderbusses, in the place av thin infan
try shticks? Phwat's infantry agin arthil
lery at short range? Begorra, they amt il
ut, Oike. Ut's merry Christmas to thu
bla'gards, wild double canister, an to tn,
divil wild I'm, IN limbers to the rear in til,
shmoke an away"
With the last exultant word Teddy troC
perilously near to an opening in the floor
and c~leverly saved himself by THROWN,
his weight on a convenient stick whicl
hung between him and the window towar,
which they we're advancing.
There was 3 moments silence, in which
Teddy caught his breath and blessed Iii
stars, and then a queer, creaking nois
outside the window. An internal sour
Of rushing water roared and splashed il