The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1897-10-02

man out of the bank could put the
books away and lock them up
against fire. The man who did this
nearly always was an old fellow,
partly deaf, and a janitor rather
than clerk. One day, when I had
shut up the inside safe and gone out
to join Kate in her trap at the door,
she sent me back to wait until she
went up town to see friend about
a church supper they were interest
ed in. Old Jock, as we called him,
was not at his desk when I came
back, though I had said goodby to
him as I went out, nor was there
any one in the bank, and as I sat
moment at my own desk I noticed
paper that had been left there by
mistake I got up at once to put it
where it belonged in the safe, and
as I went into the vault did not
observe that all the books had been
put away, though I could hear old
Jock in the little room back telling
his boy about sweeping out.
"The paper belonged in a pigeon
hole far back in the vault and high
up, so that was compelled to go up
stepladder we kept there, and
about the time I had got myself hid
away in the shadow the big door
swung to, and I could hear old Jock
turn the combination out of joint.
yelled out, but it was too late, even
if the old man s ears had been sharp,
and I found myself in the disagree
able predicament Of being shut up
in my own safe and no visible means
of escape. At first it struck me as
ludicrous. Then it became serious,
and in few moments had gone to
thinking as those people think who
are confronted with tremendous
moments in their lives. I soon de-
cided that my only hope of getting
out was through Miss Vernon, who,
when she returned, would naturally
inquire for me, and in this way old
Jock would in time discover that he
had shut me up IN the vault. How
long it would be until Miss Vernon
returned or what chance of the old
man still being there when she
came now began to demand discus
sion in my brain, and for minute
or two I stood still in the thick
darkness and listened to my heart
beating. Then I remembered that
we always kept hammer in pi
geonhole near the door, and, cropping
around, I found it and at once began
to pound on the door. Immediate
~ a response came, but of course !
did not know who was giving it,
though evidently the boy, as the
old man could scarcely have heard.
This gave me hope at once, and !
set up regular tattoo on the door
with my hammer, to all of which
came the responses from the out
side, but it was not getting me out
of my prison, and CONTINENT was
pcC0n1luS lrKsOnu0:
'tFor the first time now I heard
family the sound of human voices
calling to me, but it was as if they
were miles away, and I could not
distinguish whose they were,
though I thought I knew Kate's. II
answered back, but the place was
SO thick and heavy that my voice
frightened me, and I used the ham,
mer instead of calling. Up to this
time'I had not thoroughly realized
what my entombment meant, but
now it came upon me that the only
man in town except myself who
knew the combination had gone
away for a vacation to the seashore
and that with the door alright, or
practically so, I could not live a
very great while in the vault, GER
tainly not long enough to hear from
either the clerk on vacation or from
the people from whom we had
bought the safe in st. Louis. In
deed, it l stood it for two hours l
felt would be doing we'll, for my
pounding had filled the little air I
had with dust, and it was nearly
suffocating me. The pounding from
the outside increased the dust, too,
and, while I could prevent myself
from doing it and did stop, the very
fact of my stopping made those on
the outside pound harder, as if to
encourage me when, as they
thought, I was losing hope.
''This thought came to me with
shock so great that I almost collaps-
ed. caught at the sides of the
vault in the inky darkness, and for
minute I became deathly sick.
Following this came almost a frenzy
to yell and howl and claw at the
door and scratch my face and tear
At nv hair had heard If naOn7o |