Evening star., 1894-03-31

1t was not difficult to find the portal -or
to their astonishment the whole of the iron
lift was discovered lying on the ruins os the
sanitarium adjacent to the uncovered shaft
from which issued a wavering, thin, blue
smoke
Suspecting some kind of treachery. Stock
ing proposed to go down alone. and after
some delay in getting ropes, he was lowered
into the hole. Finding everything enveloped
! In darkness and silence at the bottom of the
shaft. he had to come back for assistance
ard lanterns, and thus provided, and ac-
companied by an officer. he redescended
with the growing conviction that Hendricks
had withdrawn all his forces from the cave
and abandoned it
The moment he arrived at the mouth OF
the arena passage and held up the lantern
he perceived that something extraordinary
had taken place. On either side of the en-
trance TO the shaft were the bodies of men
two of them had apparently been hurled
against the wall of the arena with terrific
force, for their bodies were dislocated and
their skulls fractured. and they were COW
cred with blue mold that made their faces
iadistinguishable. A few seconds later the
condition of the arena disclosed the de-
struction that had taken place The resi-
dences on the western wall were shattered
and in ruins The machinery of the great
dynamo stood out gaunt and awry, like the
bones of corpse, from which the flesh had
been suddenly torn away. Not sound was
heard. Here and there bodies lay exposed
upon the floor of the arena with the clothes
torn from them.
Word was Immediately sent above for
men and lights. and a strong accommodating
force was with difficulty lowered into tho
cave.
Then the full extent Of the appalling dis
aster was investigated. Stocking forced his
way with some difficulty into the rooms
where he had spent so many hours, and
there, with the lanterns Of the men held
high and throwing a dismal effulgence on
the scene, he saw inextricably mingled with
the debris of the place the members of the
70 Nnlt l,,1
the last words. All wore the same horrible
mask of blue mold. Hendricks himself was
sitting in a chair, but his neck was dislo-
Gated and his head hung down upon the side
of his body. Caicot's body was in the cor
rdor. 1t alone had escaped the blast of
disfguring color; his face wore grim smile
ani in his hand was pad covered with
writing
Stocking wrenched it from the dead
fingers and held it to the lantern. In
distorted hand was written: "All part!cu-
lars on my person. / have saved you and
the country. 1t was my duty. 1 am hap
py.'
Shocked beyond all power of speech
Stocking silently secured the papers, and
went with the party through the coal
passage to the mouth of the rotunda, and
rhere the most stupendous feature of this
unprecedented tragedy was revealed.
The whole of that great space was COW
cred with blue corpses. in every conceivable
attitude of sudden death, blue stratum of
smoke lying above them and still depositing
its sulphur and carbon upon their forms.
Death reigned. 1t had come like
lightning stroke. 1t had spared nothing.
The end of the dismantled electric engine.
hurled from the trestle. rested upon the
floor of the rotunda with it's tender hanging
to the iron benches. Against the eastern
wall hundreds of men had been hurled in
mass and there cOmmingled in a sickening
pulp. from which stared the blue and
hideous faces and poked the unwrought
limbs.
AS Stocking slowly realized what his
friend had done, a sense of his heroisrn
overcame everything else. He opened the
papers and read the hastily written MEM
crandum, from which this account has been
compiled.
Il got" it said, 1.-The dynamite cartridge
from Laport's workroOm, and also the fuse.
I let it down the ventilating tube to the
floor of the magazine. 1t burned twenty
minutes. / have made notes Of all the dis
closed plans. Let the government act quick.
The brains and the organization are de-
stroyed.
The great Laran rebellion is at an end"
(The End)