Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1893-11-12

the wharf. This passage vas called
the tub run, because, 70 prevent the
sides falling in, 1t was lined with casks
With their heads removed and set end
TO end. As soon as the house was
closed at night Fly Jigger and his
mates would set 70 work, going
through the tub u into Bsxter's
wharf and returning with goods from
the storerooms. I have see them
bring out rs many rs so hams q night.
The secret was never found out, but
when the trade went from Bakers and
the wharf was cleared out and closed
the run was no longer Of any service.
The wharf Watchman, who had been a
party to these robberies, took care to
close aud conceal the cellar opening,
and Fly Jigger masked the opening on
his side with a hagstone and a barrow
load OF rubbish, which, trodden down,
presented no difference from the
rest Of the unpaved floor. Pre-
viOus to that, to keep the brew
ers out Of the cellar, he had re-
moved the beer barrels, which thence
forth he kept set up behind the bar,
saying that IL was more fair and square
like for the customers TO see their beer
drawn from the wood than through the
engine from the deuce kaOwS where.
The closing Of Bakers wharf was 3
sad blow TO him, but 3 worse came
soon after, for, being Of q too
active disposition, he took to snug
Cling tobacco and rum from incom-
ing ships, and being discovered by the
excise was sent TO prison, and the Joy
lost its license. The brewers obtained
a fresh license to sell beer and put Put
" in to manage the house. When he
came the spring tides had flooded the
cellar, and seeing that il was OF no use,
he had the trap screwed down to save
the expense Of putting new hinges on
il. Since then, as l have said, no one
had ever gone down into the cellar.
With these -recolections crowding my
mind and the means they suggested OF
delivering Taras filing my heart with q
wild delight, I hurried down F~erryboat
alley, and after looking about carefully
20 make sure that no one vas observing
me, 1 wedged myself through the ven
tllating hole and dropped into the wharf
cellar. I knew exactly where the open
ing existed, having taken part myself To
some Of the old marauding expeditions,
and dropping down upon my hands and
knees l brushed the dirt away from the
stone that covered the hole. There
was not enough light to see It, but l
could trace the outline plainly enough
with my fingers.
But how WIS I to raise the heavy
Gag? There was no ring or anything to
catch hold OF, and l knew that il l
worked the rubbish sufficiently 10 get
my hands underneath 1 should still be
unable to lift It, ] must have some
thing to pry IL up with. A bar OF iron
would do. IL struck me that 1 might
ind what I needed among the old iron
IN Johnson's yard. II 1 had thought
Of that beforehand, I might have
brought It 10 with me, but was too
impatient Of delay, too eager TO begin,
70 waste time In regrets.
Clambering up to the ventilatol, 1
looked out. Some BOYS were playing
on the shore. l dared not show myself
while they we're there. 1t seemed to
me they would never weary OF throwing
stones into the water, but at length
they gave 1t up and went away. Then
I slipped Out, and pretending to be
looking for odds and ends on the shore
made my way up 70 JOhnSon's yard and
got 10 through a gap in the paitng. 1t
didn't take long to find what l wanted
"a broken stocking iron looked to me
Just the thing, Asking myself if there
was anything else l should need, it oc-
CURED 20 me that q candle would be
necessary, the cellar OF the Joy being
even darker than the wharf cellar.
The gates OF tho yard opened into
Sweet Apple lane, and as they closed
imperfectly l was Just able 70 squeeze
through-thanks to being a kipper.
When i bad bought a ~halfpenny can
die and a box of matches out OF the
money given me by Putty, the trem-
bling Of my knees and a feeling OF faint
ness reminded me that / had eaten
nothing all day, so l bought a small loaf
and some cold fish aud treated myself
TO a cup Of coffee with my last half
penny. The hot coffee set me up woc-
derfully, and with revived energy / re-
turned to the yard and hiding the bar
under my dress sneaked back to the
stairs. Then after another cautious
look around, finding the coast clear, l
slipped the stocking iron through the
venttlator and followed it almost as
swiftly.
1t was a harder Job than l expected
TO move the flagstone and get it out Of
the way. But l stuck to il, with the
Precipitation running down my face,
until, the sensation Of sickness seized
me again, 1 had 20 give over for q time
till / had eaten my loaf and regsined
strength. At length, having worked
the stone aside, about q foot out OF its
place, I knelt down TO feel If the open
ing was large enough for me TO pass
through (for l had not lit the candle to
do this work., aud then 70 my diSmay l
discovered that the too careful watch
man had filled the hole with rubbish.
Sinking down on the ground, l could
have cried with the mingled feeling of
rage and disappointment, but thinking
OF Taras' desperation oveFCame these
sentiments, and spriDging up On my
knees / tore at the rubbish with my
hands vehemently, like a dog in a war
rem, determined 70 reach Taras, though
I had TO dig my way to him through
the solid earth.
Happily the rubbish was loose and
yielded readily to my hands, and still
more happily there were not above four
or i've feet Of IL, or ! might never have
got down TO the tub run with all my de-
termination. An empty box thrown
down had got jammed in the hole about 3
third Of the way down, and below that
the space was empty. Nevertheless it
took me many hours to get the rubbish
out, having nothing to dig with but my
hands and nothing but my apron to carry
IL up IL when l got down TO aceFtain dis
~ -, - -kf-L - c.