The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1892-05-11

of the mine, as we all knew, and we
kept our Davy lamps pretty light, l
can tell you.
"There's flrc-damp about here" said
one of the men.
"And a spark would settle the lot of
us, wouldn't it?" said the dwarf.
They were almost the first words lie
had spoken, and the expression of his
face as he said it made my heart give
turn.
"Ah! that It would,' Jim an-
swercd.
a kind of sick fear came over me
that our lives were in the dwarf's
power, and hanging, as 1t might be,
OF thread. Such a longing came
over me for mouthful of fresh air
and the sight of the open sky as had
never known in the mines before.
People warming their toes at their
handsome fires on the winter nights
don't know what 1t means to US chaps
who have tho digging of the coal in
the depths of the earth, aud who put
flesh and blood in jeopardy every hour
to do it.
Nothing more was said about fire.
damp, however, and that day, the
longest day I had ever known, came
round to 6 o'clock without an explo-
sion.
The cages were ready for us to get
up TO the top of the shaft, and most of
the men had gone.
"Iou go now" says to the dwarf.
"NoW he answers, "Tm going to
stay little overtime tonight. You
all go on, and send the cage down
again for me. And look here, give
this to your sister Het,y, will youp
and tell her TO open it,"
He put bundle in my hand, tied
up In handkerchief. l took IL GIN
gerly enough, for, with such sus-
picions in my mind, half expected II
might go of in my face somehow.
Then We touched the signal rope,
and up went jim and me, aud the
dwarf stood underneath and turned
his face up, watching us out Of sight.
Well! felt more comfortable when
we put our feet on firm ground on top
of the shaft, and then sent the cage
down again for him.
"Wonder what's in that bundlep"
says Jim.
"Maybe Hetty will tell you some
time" l replied, little thinking how it
concerned him.
1 took it home and called Hetty to
open it. Our cottage wasn't far from
the pits, aud it couldn't have been
above ten minutes since the dwarf had
put 1t into my hand.
She undid the knot, and there-if
you would believe it-were the title
deeds of his cottage and dozen SOW
ereigns tied up in piece of canvas,
and the scrap Of paper had seen him
scribble on under the truck. There
were these words OH it:
"What is here is for you. ugly
and miserable am, but wicked l
am not, said you shouldn't marry
him while was alive and shall keep
my word. Think kindly of a dwarf
if you can. God made me as well as
him."
We hadn't got to the end of tho
poor, dirty little letter when we heard
a sound that made our hearts stand
still-a long. dull roaring, shaking the
floor we stood on as if it was thunder
under our feet.
can explosion in tho minel" says
Hctty, with face as white as chalk.
We rushed out. All Nine Pitts was
out; men, women and children,
screaming and running to the shaft
head
Hundreds Of tons of solid earth and
rock and rubble had fallen in, and
under 1t all was the dead, crushed
body of that poor creature we had
helped to send from the world.
1t was no use trying to dig him out.
He knew when he opened his Davy
lamp-and he must have opened it
that human lclp could never reach
there. He knew, when he watched
me and Jim go up in the cage, that lie
was staying behind for his death, and
he went to it of his own free will for
the love of my sister Hetty.
She cried about it for week and
said she should never be happy again.