Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1896-02-06
CHAPTER vIn-coxr1suEo.

perception, aided by her knowledge O.
local habits, she pieced the fragment:
OF the conversation and read the story
like book. These villains, by well
concocted tale, had induced Jack Wild
ers to descend the disused mine an6
Snero prepared his death.
Never for a moment did the brave
girl hesitate. Her one burning hope
was to reach the third gallery before
Wlders had descended to the lowest
floor.
To appreciate the daring of her I'M
dertaking one must be familiar with
the character of her surroundings. The
| mine descendS in several stories, each
called by the hardy workmen a gallery
and each descent is from fifty to seven
ty-five feet in depth, reached by long
ladders, placed nearly perpendicularly
and in some instances with the top bare
| ly reaching to the surface.
With flying steps she ran to the dark
| yawning chasm, which was the shaft
| of the old mine. Brave as she was hel
heart beat as she gazed down the
| gulf of blackness.
But she was resolved. Flinging her.
self for one moment on her knees she
| poured forth her soul in prayer; then
binding her shawl around her waist,
she set about her perilous task.
Feeling her way, step by step, for be-
ing without lantern added tenfold to
her peril, she reached in safety the first
floor, where a greater danger awaited
her. The second ladder must be ap-
preached in a light SO dim, just the
few faint flashes that reached her from
the mouth OF the shaft, that she could
only grope her way in despair to the
black abyss before her.
But she found the ladder at last, with
its top fortunately projecting above the
floor of the gallery.
Very slowly and painfully, and in ut
ter darkness, she made her way down,
her delicate hands torn with splinters
from the half-dccayed rungs of the old
ladders, and her feet, protected only by
her frail shoes, aching with a burning
pain.
Once more she reached the ground.
'.ITildcrs! NiIders,' she screamed.
The echoes OF her voice rolled through
those subtcrranean cavernS with awful
distioctoess - repeated in the hollow
chambers, till it seemed to her heated
brain as though Gends We're hooking
her.
Then q terrible, soul-sickening 81
/ iencc.
She could hear her heart, beat as she
strained her cars to catch some faint
reply. but ell in vain. The terrible
step must be taken, the last ladder must
be descended.
Fl;ogirg herself on hands and knees
she rrCDcd her way to the edge of the
prccicicc. Al. what is this? A wall.
She knew that she had taken 4 wrong
direction AID was wandering INTO one
OF the intc-ai2ablc passages OF the de-
serted mine where sure and lingering
death awaited her. Many were the
stories that flashed across her burning
brain OF miners, who, once having lost
themselves in these subtcrraneous lab
yriath5, could never win their way back
to SAFETY. What could she then, a
weak Girl, hope for? All sense Of To-
cality seemed to have deserted her.
Gathering herself for one supreme eff
tort, she sl.Tic,,cd:
'.IITilde-s. Wlders. Wildcrs!''
The echoes once more died away in
the distance. Then-could she believe
mex - NV
Tie direction of the spot where some
thing human was in agony was now
known 10 her. Once more on hands
and knees she CROPPED till she felt with
trembling hand the Shiny wall of the
last gallery.
With eager eyes she pierced the dark
chasm.
Serenity feet below, like a star,
Clistcred storm-lantern, and close by
i. she thought she recognized q human
boay lying prone on the ground.
"Wildcrs. Wildcrs.' she cried again.
All. This time an answer.
From the depths below came a faint
err for help. then all again was silent.
Then Elsie knew that the last peril
Gus step must be taken. Better had she
retraccd her way up those feeble lad
dcrs and sought for help, but her gen
crous ialpatic1cc broo!>ed no delay.
She did no. hesitate, though she knew
that some of the runGs had been tam
percd with a2d that one false step
would hurl her to destruction. Calmly
but quickly she reasoned that each
stave must be tried before she trusted
her weight upon it, and TO effect this
EeCSI rESGliE SIG ti~t tAS IpAiS oIo"1
she lad been wearing over every rung
above her head as she descended, not
looscn:ac, her hold OF It until security
OF foothold was positive.
Suddenly as she rested for q moment
tie rua;y which had just borne her with
apparent safety Snapped ike a broken
reed, and bat for the shawl TO which
she desperately clung she would have
shared the fate of the prospcctor.
With one desperate effort she let go |
the shawl and cluag to the sides OF the |
ladder, which Tor four yards was moth |.
Ing but two bare poles, and, letting her
body swing, hand over hand, inch b1
inch. she lowered herself to earth. ~ b,
was the ,Eeat Of eynlnast, done R is
fran girl, thoughtless OF the FER til
which was nercifully hidden fra Sc
eyes by the friendly darkness. /pros- in
The light guided her tohe had IL
t-ate figure of him for VI. The as
dared SO much. How wire-pro- u
storm lantern. with its leYa hean Ct u,
tcctcd sides. had falle1Gurcd. 90
ore dist, where it layfhc side OF the
Selling il, she ra he
injured man. rs- though almost at
He still was corr Ar
'p ..poeLes ST Ae w SSl
taintly gaspe3sed girl knew what he ed,
The qnie1 of his business always
meant Aern-cased bottle of spirits of
carry o ll3Eust such an emergency as the
20 neGe reached it, and to her sur coz