The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-01-31

hanging about fifteen feet down the Wine
stepped toward the mouth, intending to
throw the light of my candle down the
Wine to see if the bucket was NIL right,
when noticed the rope give stiff little
nervous tremble. l stopped. The motion
was just us if some one were standing on
the bucket and holding on to the rope, hid
ing there and waiting until we should pass.
hurried ON after my men. held tho drill
that night. had to tell the men with me
that was sick and could not strike, for
knew the way was shaking | would be
sure to hit some one on the hands if tried
to swing hummer. Ono of the men no
ticed the way l was i'll and asked me if l
had seen the ghost. did not know whether
/ had or not and did not answer
That made the men pretty scary, and l
could see they were mighty pleased when
we had four holes finished, and rs it was
dinner time said they could 20 back to the
cooling room and eat, and would fire the
shots and then join them. You see was
not such an ignorant man rs the others
were, and had some pride, / suppose you
would call it, that made me ashamed to
own up that was afraid Of the ghost But
the Lord knows was afraid that night.
When the men had loaded up the tools on
the car and ran it out of the crosscut, and
could not hear them any longer going back
in the drift, l could not help thinking
about that Wine and asking myself who
or what was hiding there.
We'll, somehow got those four holes
loaded with sticks of powder, and the long
fuses from the top sticks laid carefully over
bits of rock SO that l could put the snuffs
under them. You understand that a fuse
is connected with the top stick in each hole,
and that these fuses are not lighted at the
ends, but each is laid across the flame of n
short piece of candle. That is to give you
time to do your work and get away to
safety. 1t takes some time for the flame to
burn through the covering of the fuse, and
when it does it 'spits' to give you warn
ing.
II was awkward with my work that
night could not keep my mind off that
Wine and thinking what thing could be in
1T. had just got one fuse rested across II
flame and was about to fix another, when
held my hand and my heart stopped beat
ing heard something creeping up behind
me. It was hard for me to do it. but l
forced my head around to look What /
saw made my flesh creep. 1t was the form
of man crawling toward me, and it was
Tom Askew or Jack Collins If it was the
first it was ghost, for Askew was drowned:
If it was Collins it was fiend, for Jack
dtiu uccu u DTutitt llurQercr.
II had no time to find out who it was,
for when turned he sprang at me- That
motion gave me nerve to move too. am II
pretty big man, rs you see, and before that
night was one of the best wrestlers OIL the
Comstock. | grappled with him, and
knew that If it was not Il ghost l had
tackled it was mailman. No sane man
could struggle in the grip l got ON him as
he did. l struggled to keep him from
throwing me, and Mt the same time tried
to get near the candle under the fuse to
kick it out before the fuse should spit.
saw little flash from the fuse The fire
had reached the powder. In our fight the
other candles were soon put out We were
i'll the dark, and knew the fire was creep
ing along the powder of that fuse to the
dynamite. In the dark was not even sure
which way to try and keep the thing was
lighting with so that should have its body
between me and the blast In less than two
minutes-it seemed years to me-the blast
went Off"
That was the story told me by the sur
face Waterman. The facts which 90 to
complete the story were these: Jack Col.
Inns was miner who had been OH the Com.
stock only II few months before the date OF
the mystery of the two Tom Askews Col
Inns was surly man, and lived alone in n
cabin near the brewery in Seven Mile Gun
yon. He was n noticeable man because of
Il bushy black beard he wore, beard being
n rare adornment on II Comstock miners
face. He associated very little with his fell
low miners but one night joined II crowd
OF them who entered u saloon east of the
track. He had not been there long before
he quarreled with Il companion who asked
him, lokingly, if he had ever killed any one
sp nj
such mask of Il beard.
a blow was struck, and then Collins sud
denly plunged his dirk like miners candle
stick into the heart of the other and fled
1t was two or three hours before ANYTHING
like an organized search was made for the
murderer. Then it was discovered that he
had visited his cabin down the canyon,
which was in disorder from the hasty prep.
arations for flight. 1t was taken for grant
ed that he had gone ON down the canyon,
for the road up would have taken him iii.
rectly back into town. What he did do, rs
was afterward developed, was to rush from
the saloon to his cabin. make bundle of
some clothes, bit of mirror and razor.
go up the side of the canyon, double Oh his
trail and return to town the next day, clean
shaven and dressed in clothes no one had
ever seen him wear
The accident of his knowing that man
named Tom Askew was to 20 to work that
night determined his plan 1t was he who
told Askew to report on in the afternoon
instead of OH the night shift. 1t was evil
IDENTIFY his plan to hide in the abandoned
portions of the mines-for even then num-
Der of the middle group of mines were con-
nectcd Undergraduate make his way to
the surface and escape when the search for
him in the neighborhood should have re-
Taxed. There were hiding places in plenty
for one who knew the underground works
and the miners dinner pals to feed from.
Why he did not carry out any sane plan
why he crept like an animal on the fright
ened miner in the lonely face of the cross