Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-03-21
CHAPTER XXI.
THE TEN FOOT DRIVE.

! CHAPTER XXI.
THE TEN FOOT DRIVE.
Painting, Wild eyed, with face be-
fore which the boldest of his associates
shrank back dismayed, Matthew North
| tore passage through the crowd col
| lected about the main shaft.
What has happened?" he demanded
huskily.
The water has burst into the Ten
Foot Drive
Twenty two men caught there. Jack
Morton was the only ono who escaped.
Drowned like rats in tub"
Az dead by now, poor fellows! If
the bulkhead had been put up, this
couldn t have happened
What does Matthew North say to
that? 1t was him as edged us on.
THE master wanted to build the
bulkhead. Matthew North wouldn't
have it."
1.-THE lives of % good men are at his
| door,
Curse Matthew North!"
Down with Matthew North! Him
and his fine speeches has lost me a
brother this day
| him down the shaft"
There was rush of Infatuated men,
among whom the quondam leader rec
ognized some who but a week before had
been his most ardent supporters. A
dozen brawny hands seized him; he was
pushed and dragged to and fro, with in
finite insult and derisiOn. His clothing
was torn; blood streamed from a dozen
cuts and bruises. Yet he uttered no
word of protest; he made no attempt to
defend himself. With dull eye and hag-
gard cheek he submitted passively to
their will. Though his nonresistance
was the effect of his own remorse and
deSpair-for at that moment he would
gladly have welcomed death as an ex-
patton and an escape from the tOrtures
of Consciencc-it was the means of saw
ing his life. No man, except one ut
terly given over to the tiend, can do
murder on victim who voluntarily
stretches out his neck to receive the
blow. Therefore the mob hesitated, and
it is more than probable that the greater
number of the would be eXecutioners
felt sense of relief as Ralph Monck-
ton. followed by Miss Duke, rode up,
and throwing himself from his horse
made his way hastily to the spot.
What are you doing here:' he said
in abrupt, commanding tones. Re
lease that man and fall back-fall back,
[ say
He was promptly obeyed. There was
something in his voice and manner,
evoked by the terrible exigency of the
hour. that quelled the most turbulent.
Matthew North remained where he
had been dragged, with dropping head,
hands hanging at his side, apparently
taking no heed of what was passing
around him.
"Call hither the engineer and the SUI
perintendents, said Monckton. Let
no more time be lost. ~
The subordinates gathered around
their principal, and a hurried council
was held. The miner Morton, the only
one of those in the inundated section
who had escaped, told the story of the
disaster in few agitated words. The
men, he said. We're fully aware of the
danger which threatened them, but with
the recklessness which becomes sec
ond nature with miners they ignored
it. The positive order to abandon the
cutting sent them through John Turner
was never delivered. owing to that per-
son delay in returning to the village.
A moment before the rupture of the
wall Morton noticed new seam in the
breast from which the water was flow
ing. He gave the alarm and started for
the shaft. but he had not taken 10 steps
before there was a dull report, and the
water was boiling about his feet. He
had been at work near the entrance,
while the remainder of the men were at
the farther end, and it was only after
desperate struggle that be himself had
escaped.
The scene of the catastrophe, called
by the miners the Ten Foot Drive, was
in one of the lowermost levels of the
works. 1t was one of a number of tun-
nels ramifylng from the main cham Der
at the bottom of the shaft. Out of this
tunnel other smaller cuttings, galleries
and pits opened, following the various
seams and deposits of coal At the far
thermost end of the Ten Foot Drive was
the wall or breast which had given way
to the fiood-a mass of slate and shale
where the supply of coal had ended, and
where, in consequence, the excavation
had ceased. AS we have seen, months
before some of the more experienced
men had detected the existence of a sub
terranean stream behind this barrier,
which from it's friable nature could not
be supposed to withstand the action of
water for any considerable period. With
its fall must occur one of the most
dreaded of mine disasters and the al
- ON
work in that section. The recent heavy
rains and the overflow of the creek into
the old shaft, farther up the hill, had
increased tie volume of the underground
stream and brought about the fulfill
ment of at least a part of John Tur-
ner's prediction, sooner even than he
had looked for it. Had the rest come
to pass as we'll? Were there widows
and orphans in the village-the widows
and orphans of the % men at the bot
tom of the Ten Foot Drive?
There was hope-a poor, pale shad-
ow, but still hope! And it was Mat
thew North who suggested it.
"They are not dead!' he cried, wax
ing out Of his despairing trance and
breaking his way into the group about
the proprietor. II am sure they are not
dead" he repeated.
What reason have you for thinking
so?" asked Monckton.
Just opposite where Morton tells US
they were when he saw them last, " re-
piled the miner, speaking with feverish
rapidity, "a gallery runs up to the next
level at steep incline. At the end of
it is a small chamber. If they reached
that chamber, sir, 1 believe they escaped
the water and are alive at this moment"
II think Matthew may be right, sir, "
INTERCEPTED one of the superintendent.
II remember the gallery and the cham
Der he speaks Of, and If the poor fellows
are there do not believe the water has
yet reached or will reach Them"
pray God you are right" ejaculat-