Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1896-02-13
WHAT'S BRED o
o IN THE bone.
M GRANT ALLEN.
Continued From Last Weex,.

-oIop mere she cried. authoritativelv.
"If you go, you'll be killed. There's no
time to run past. It'll be down before you
are there. See, see, it's a%iiing!'
Even before the words were we'll out Of
her mouth, another great crasl, shook
the ground behind them. With a deaf
ening roar, the tunnel gave way in
q second place beyond. Dust and
sand filled the air contusedly. For a
minute or two all was noise and smoke and
darkness. What exactly had happened
neither Of them could zee. But now the
mouth OF the tunnel was blocked at either
end alike, and no daylight was visible. So
far as Cyril could judge, they two stood
alone in the dark and gloom, as in a mar
row cell, shut in with their carriage be-
tween two solid walls of fallen earth and
crumbling sandstone.
At this fresh misfortune, Elma sat
down on the foot-board with her face in
her hands and began to sob bitterly. Tho
artist leaned over her and let her cry for
awhile In quiet despair. The poor girl's
nerves, it was clear, were now wholly
unstrung. She was brave, as women 20.
undoubtedly brave; but the shock and the
terror of such q position as this were
more than enough to terrify the bravest.
at last Cyril. ventured on a single remark.
How lucky" he said in an undertone,
II didn't get out at Warnworth, after all.
1t would have been dreadful if you'd been
left all alone in this position"
Elma glanced up ut him with a sudden
rush of gratitude. BY the dim light of the
oil-lamp that still fickered feebly in the
carriage. overhead, she could see his face;
II she knew by the look in those truth
ful eyes that he really. meant it. He really
posed himself to this risk, which he might
otherwise have avoided. because he would
be sorry to think q helpless should
be lett alone by herselfin the dark to face
it. And frightened as she was. she was
glad oft, too. To be alone would be awful.
This was prominently one of those many
positions in life in which q woman prefers
to have . man beside her.
And yet most men, she knew, would
have thought to themselves ut
once, what a fool I was to
come on beyond my proper station, and
let myself in for this beastlv scrape, just
because I'd 60 q few miles farther with q
pretty girl l never saw in my life before,
and will probably never see in my life
again, it once get well out ofthis precious
p~redicament."
But that they would ever get out of it at
all seemed toboth otthem now in the high
Elma, by instinct, argued out the whole
situation at once, and correctly. There
had been much rain lately. The sand
stone was water-logged. 1t had caved
in bodily before them and behind them.
A little isthmus Of archwav still held out
In isolation just above their heads. At
any moment that isthmus might give way
too, and, falling on their carriage, might
crush them beneath its weight. Their
lives depended upon the continued resist
ing power Of some fifteen yards or so OF
dislocated masonry.
Appalled, at the though. Cyril moved
from his place for a minute, and went
forward to examine the fallen block in
front. Then he paced his way back with
cropping steps to the equally ruinous mass
behind them. Elma's eyes, growing grad.
ually accustomed to the darkness and the
faint glinimer Of the oil-lamps, followed
his action with vague and fearful inter-
est.
''If the roof doesn't give way, he said,
calmly, at last, when he returned once more
to her, and ii we can only let them know
we're alive in the tunnel, Trey may possibly
dig Us Il before we choke. There's r
enough here for eighteen hours for us"
He spoke very quietly reassuringly,
as If being shut up in q fallen tunnel be-
tween two masses Of earth were n matter
that needn't cause one the slightest uneasi-
ness; but his words suggested to Elma's
mind O fresh and hitherto unthought-ot
danger.
Eighteen hours" she cried, horror
struck. "Do you mean to say we may have
20 stop here, all alone, for eighteen hours
together? Oh, how very dreadful! How
long! How frightening! And if they don't
dig us out before eighteen hours are over,
do you mean to say We shall die ofchok-
ing?"
Cyril gazed down at her with a very re-
gretful and sympathetic face.
Z lt.Ant< ,n.nn, - Nx fr;rvttnp, Svrs ~ hn sold
''at least. not more than you're frighten-
ed already; but of course there's
only q certain amount Of oxygen in the
space that's left US, and as we're using
ii up at every breath, it'll naturally hold
out for a limited time only. 1t cant be
much more than eighteen hours. Still, |
don't doubt they'll begin digging us out at
once; and If they dig through fast, they
may yet be in time, even SO, to save u.s."
Elma bent forward with her face in her
hands again, and. rocking herself to and
fro in an agony OF despair, gave herself up
to q paroxysm of utter misery. This was
too, too terrible! To think of eighteen
hours in that gloom and suspense; and
then to die ut last, gasping hard for breath,
in the poisonous air OF tina pestilential
For nearly an hour she sat there, broken
down and speeches.; while Cyril Waring,
taking y seat in silence by her side, tried At
first with mute sympathy to comfort and
console her. Then he turned to examine
the roof and the block at either end. to see
If perchance any hope remained Of opening
by main force an exit anywhere. he even
began by removing a little of the SAN at
the side of the line with a piece Of shattered
board from the broken carriage in front;
but that was clearly no nse. More sand
in as fast as he removed It. he
saw lhere was nothing left for IT but pa
thence or despair; and of the two, his "
dictated rather patience.
He returned at last. wearied out, to
Elnia's side. Elnla, still sitting disconso-
late on the loot board. rocking herself up
and down, and moaning low and ~piteously.
looked mp as he came with . mute glance
of inquiry. She was very pretty that struck
him even now. 1t made his heart bleed TO
think she should be SO cowed and terrified.
I'm sorry TO bother you," he said, after
. pause, halfafraid to speak, .'but there
are four lamps all burning hard in these
four compartments, and using up the cir
We ma need by and by for our own breath
II were to climb to the top OF the
carriage-which | can easily dol could
put them all out, and economic our oxy-
gen. II would leave US in the dark, but
It'd give : one more chance Of life. Dont
you think Id better get up aud turn them
of. Of squash them?",
Eln,a ciaspcd her hands in horror At the
hnrn Gspuevoxfinn