Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1893-07-27


1t was only about half as hot ~ it was
outside.
sic told mo afterward that he had
seen it getting dark as the storm came
up, and looking up toward the noun
tains saw the upper edges getting an
indigo blue and melting up into the
black part of the sky. He knew
cloudburst was likely and was just
thinking of crawling out and looking
after corralling the water when it came
down, and all of sudden he heard tho
windlass rafting upon the dam and the
valves came down with a bang, caging
him up inside the dam.
1T flashed upon him in minute
what the Mexicans had done-trapped
him in the dam and were going to let
the water back up and then flush him
out down stream.
'Ile thought pinutc, and then got
mp and stepped into the lateral passage,
closing the sluice door after him. He
went along the passage till he came to
the we'll at the end, climbed up the lad
der to the manholc, and heard the Mex
leans in the Office talking. He eased up
the cover little crack and saw them,
much to his disgust, drinking out of his
private whisky bottle, rolling cigarettes
out Of his Turkish tobacco apd congrat-
ulating themselves on the good job they
had done. He had no gun on him, so
he waited, and pretty soon the storm
broke. 1t struck the hills first, shut
ting them in with veil of mist. Then
the torrent came roaring down the can
yon four or five feet high, tearing up
sticks and logs in front of it
at backed up at the foot of the dam
and commenced tapping up the wall,
creeping higher and higher. After
awhile, when it had covered in the top
of the sluice doors, the Mexicans rolled
themselves some fresh cigarettes and
went over for the grand finale. They
got combined pull on the wind
lasses and threw the gates all wide
open. The water went bowling out
down the valley below, with sticks and
rubbish tossing about. The fellows
caught the sight of Nicks blanket in
tho water and took a few shots at it for
luck, supposing he was under it.
by that time night had come down,
and they went into the Office out of the
rain and sat down for an all-night
orgic. Nick heard them coaching each
other as to the story they were to tell,
how the senior was crossing the river
at the time the water came down,
and how they shouted to warn him,
but he was caught by the flood and car
ried below beyond their help, the gates
being open and none of them knowing
how to close them. They would grieve,
because he was good young man,
though he was a hereto, but it was the
will of God, and perhaps they might re-
cover the body for his friends when the
water went down. OF course there
would be n reward in that.
Then they returned to the whisky
and the cigarettes. just about this
time it had got as dark as pitch except
for the lamp the Mexicans had inside
the office, and Nick crawled very quiet
ly out of the hole and let the lid down
again. All of his guns were inside the
house, but he slipped around to the tool
house and got half stick of dynamite,
rammed cap into the end of it and
coupled it up to the lever box with a
couple of long wires. He laid it out be-
hind the office, where it wouldn't dc
any damage. Then he touched his face
up with a little chalk and vermilior
out of the paint supplies till he made q
first-rate blood-stained corpse of him
self and slipped around to the front
door of the Office. The Mexicans were
playing monte.
HE gave a long-drawn blood-curd
ling groan to attract their attention
and then pulled the lever and let thu
dynamite go behind the house. There
is no telling just what the Mexican'
thought, but probably 1t was that Mel
had come back, with the help of hi
elder namesake, to fly away with then
, all. The way they went out of the win
, dows, taking the glass with them, wa'
q caution.
Mick never attempted to take any
legal action over the affair, but he con
tinued to hold down the job at the dan
= for couple of years after that, and thu
Mexicans never did get it settled Il
their own satisfaction as to whethe
, Nick was really Nick Hennessy or al
|. advance agent Of the devil come t.
keep an, eye on them for fear the.
would repent and get away from hin
: eventually ."-Washington Post.