Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1892-06-28
ll..pId ye kllI him, Jerryar asked the

| other
| IF / didn't he'll not wake soon.
Give me the lantern and we'll go fiz
the pump man.
He seized the lantern and started out
Of tile door. But his companion did
mot follow him.
Come onP he continued, turning
back; are We goin's"
Nor. replied the other, I'm not.
He knows me. I'd be n fool to show
myself to him. -
Stay where We are then. I'll settle
him alone, and the man and the Ian.
tern vanished into the darkness and
storm. M ~
Jep saw and heard it ALL He knew
from their words that the riffian had
assaulted his father and left him I'M
conscious. perhaps dead, and that the
puInpman was about to be similarly
treated. II they should discover him
there was no doubt but that he would
share the fate of the other two.
Suddenly it occurred to him that il
he was to escape now was the oppor-
tunity, while the room was in darkness,
before the man should return with the
lantern before the breaker should be
set on fire, an act which these men
doubtless had in contemplation.
Slipping from the bench he felt his
way carefully to the machinery of the
engine. climbed cautiously over the big
shaft and keeping his hand on the bed
plate crawled along beside it till he
reached the starting bar. He knew
that straight ahead of this and up two
steps was the door that led to the screen
room.
So far the sound of his progress had
been huslied by the noise of the beat
ing storm outside. If now he could
reach the screen room nnheard lie
would be safe. The man in the door
way was not twenty feet away. The
outline Of his figure was diinly discerni-
BILE in the darkness.
Jep rose to his feet held his hands
out before him and moved cautiously
forward. The next moment he came
in contact with the stool on which the
lantern had stood, tipped it over, stun
bled over it and fell heavily to the
floor.
The man in the doorway started,
turned and looked back into the room,
but in the darkness he could see moth.
ing aA
"Hellol" he shouted, who's theref
For answer Jep scrambled to his feet
and CROPPED his way. regardless of noise,
to the steps.
But the man did not attempt to fol
low him. He turned instead to the
open door and called to his companion
Jerry hello. Jerry. Come back here
wi the lantern, quick /"
But Jep having reached the steps,
climbed up to them opened the door
and the next moment was ascending
the longer fight of steps that led to the
screen room.
Down in the engine room he heard
the two men moving about. apparently
in the search for him He knew that
they would follow him, and he felt that
in some way he must make his escape
from them. Without considering where
the course would lead to. he dropped
to his knees, and with one hand on the
iron sheathed sliute he began climbing
| alongside of it up the long slope of the
screen room.
The two men having finished THEN
liasty tour of the engine room were al
ready on the first steps of the flight
which the boy had just assembled. .IeI
heard them and knew that he mus
make haste. Coming to the lower
screen he felt his way along under il
till he reached the outside wall of the
breaker; then, rising again to his feet
and placing his hand against the wall
he walked up the narrow cheated pas
sage that led to the dump room at the
| head just as the lantern, in the hands
| of his pursuers, flashed its light across
the dust laden timbers of the screeI
| room.
| Whoever it was he must IA come
| this way" said the leader.
'Ye're sure We didn't imagine it
Jacka" questioned the other
"There" he exclaimed. suddenl,
| stopping, did ye hear thatg''
1t was a noise like the sound of
| slamming door, coming from some
where above them in the breaker
| Both men hurried across the shutes Il
| the passage through which Jep hat
| just disappeared and began to ascend it
| The noise they had heard was indeed
| that of a slamming door, the handle o
which had inadvertently slipped from
.Iep's grasp as he closed it behind hin
on his way to the head of the breaker
| A new scheme of escape had come int,
his mind, 1t was simply to cross tn,
mouth of the shaft and pass out by tn,
| car tracks to the trestling and theme,
| to the hills, whence came the mine car
with their loads
With this end in view he crawled M
by the dump shute bars to the weigh
| platform, and thence to the carriage
way of the shaft, 1t was. easy enough
now TO follow the rails of the mine ca
track, But it was well for him to b,
sure that the horizontal gates were GOV
ering the mouth of the shaft; other
wise he might go stumbling into the pi
and plunge down 100 feet TO the bot
tom of the mine.
So he felt his way very cautiously