The Irish standard., 1896-03-07


ing yesterday was id the McNabb tuis5
mel, and that crack is the place whore IS
lest. the pick; Ill take another look
and see If I can t find it, s. sf.=,
Looking" for the implement IN qaes-.==
ton was mere figure of speech, since
the critical search was prosecuted
wholly through the sense: Of toucA. pro
iected into the end Of q divlnihe rod
made of bits Of twigs spliced together.
by threads taken from the rope. It
was trial of patience, but patience
was rewarded in the end, as 1t usually
is; and when he had succeeded in locatr3
ing the coveted object he set about de-
vising. some means of securing it. heS
rope solved. this problem, but no wild
horse of the prairies was ever harder
to lasso than was the inanimate COM
.bination Of wood and steel lying quietly
at the bottom of the assure. As in the
former case, however, patient effort
finally conquered, though the after
noon shadows were filling the cavern
with warnings of the approach of night
before Ringbrand had added the pick
to his available resources. He had
thought of no definite plan for using it
in the struggle for freedom. but the
first suggestion was that he might now
be able to cut series of steps up the
wall like those in the adjoining cham
Der. A short half hour of arduous toll
convinced him of the futility of this
hope, and he stopped to rest his weary
arms:
THAT'S no 60" he said, examining
the rude notch hewn out with such in
finite labor; I'm not stonecutter,
whatever else may be; and dull pick
isn't mallet and chisel, by long odds.
If that's the best can do with good
.foothold and both hands to work with,
it saws itself that couldn't dig out of
here in week. wonder If couldn't
tie the rope to the pick and fling it up
through that hole?"
There was still daylight enough for
the experiment, and he tried it without
loss of time. A single attempt to throw
the cumbersome anchor up through the
hole in the roof answered the question.
The short-headed pick used by the
miners is much lighter than the common
implement of that name, but even with
this advantage he could not throw it to
the required height, and, in addition. he
saw at once that, even if he had the
strength. it would take hours of prac-
tice to bring the skill necessary to en-
able him to hurl the thing through the
narrow gap in the rocks. Not to weary
himself needlessfy, he desisted after the
first trial, and sat down to eat his scanty
supper by the last rays of fading light.
After it had been washed down by an
other drink from the pool, he made his
simple arrangements to pass another
night in the cavern, and tried to go to
sleep; but his brain was too actively at
work trying to devise new expedients,
and after tossing and rolling upon his
sandy couch for awhile he sat up to try
to think it out. Since the night was
clear and calm, the silence in the cave
was profound, and, knowing that the
ordinary noises of the upper world
could not reach him, he was startled
from his revery by sound like the
shutting of cautious footsteps, followed
Immediately by the appearance of dull
glow of light in the chamber beyond the
crevice. His first thought was that his
captors had come to make another at
tempt to kill him. and it brought with
it fit of terror similar to that which
had attacked him on the previous night,
but he set his teeth and overcame it,
f1attening himself against the wall and
waiting breathlessly for what should
follow. 1t was trying moment, and
he was surprised to find himself grow
ing calmer and more collected with the.
passing of the tagging seconds; then
the tingling of his nerves told him that
lie had once more passed the mysterious
boundary between helpless fear and
courageous resolution, and, drawing his
revolver, he waited in grim silence for
the appearance ola face at the opening,
While he watched, the Light began to
fade, and the explanation came to him
at once. '"They've gone into the mine;
that's better; perhaps can catch them
as they come out" In a few minutes
the dull glow began to return, and he
saw the two men as they emerged from
the gallery leading to the mine. They
were talking in low tones, and Ring
brand listened. i..s..
II toll We hitwas too soon. " the one who
carried the lamp was saying; Hwe-a}l'H
Jest have to wait yere a; spell till then,
sellers get sleepy" r
They passed out of Ringbrand's range
Of vision, but he could still hear every
word that was said. and thereby made
him almost sorry that he had held his
hand while he had them in sight: -
''They1l get sleepy binae-by. Wonder
if that thar neighbor of our'n in yon-
dcr's still a-snoozin' like he was when
We plugged him?''
''Ye can Jest bet on hit. Buddy; low
] was some shaky, but / reckon amt
,nissin' anything as big as man at that
thar distance" !.
There was little silence, and then
one of them spoke again: = whilst
we're a-waitin' yere, jeff. We mought 60
over what you-alls a-fgurin' on fer to-
norrer night. I hain't got hit right
clear in my haid yet l.,s..:
''Jest hol' on a minute. Gimme that
thar light, till I see if the city feller's
whar he ort to be-" :ss eF,s-
Curiosity to know what was to be: eK-
planned overcame Ringbrand's desire
for vengeance. and he cronched in the
shadow while the morntaineer made
his investigation. 3.
us he thar '' asked the other voice.