Middletown transcript., 1897-06-19

naQ In tn0 WOrIQ TO love. In l0SS IHdL
five minutes he had dragged him out
and sat down to hug him in his arms.
DeadP No; he could just op N his poor
dust-filled eyes in answer to his fathers
whispers; but we knew at once that
he would never again make the CALLER
les echo his piercing whistle.
For whole hours, l suppose. neither
of US attempted to realize our situation.
We sat on in the dead silence, waiting
for something to happen. Once or
twice we saw young Jim's blackened
lips move freely, and each time his
father would mutter brokenly. 'Ay
my precious boy, we'll look after herl"
Once the old man broke out, quaver.
iugly, into the hymn, "Abide With
Mep' but he got no further than the
third line. That perhaps was about 8
O'Clock, but we could keep no count Of
b time, as my watch had stopped.
Hour after hour must have gone by,
and still old Jim sat, with rigid face
and staring eyes, clasping his burden.
In all probability it was morning above
ground before at last he spoke.
Sc How long can we hold out, Mr..
Carson9 I'm afraid to go on. I've
been goddess man all my time.'
That reused me. examined our
position carefully. The passage was
about eight yards wide at this point,
and measured about twenty PAGES from
the end to where that solid wall Of
coal blocked our path to the outer
world. As the bore ran level hwith the
foot of the north shaft, we were about
forty feet below The clear surface. We
had no food, and our lamps would
burn, say, another five or six hours;
while the breathing air, hot and gas
eous already, would probably become
uncomfortable before the evening came.
That was our situation, and let any
man conceive worse, if he eau. One
slender chance of escape at the best was
left;perhaps The entire passage was not
blocked, and we might force our way
to the main gallery was not afraid of
death in the way that it comes to most
people, but l Mas afraid to meet and
struggle with it there. We sprang to
the task, wild at the thought that those
few hours Of stupor might have made
all the difference.
''You can guess what happened, and
why, after long spell Of fighting to
break through that horrible wall, old
Jim threw himself down with groan
and refused to go on. AS fast as we
loosered one mass, another crashed
down in its place; at the end of our des-
perate attempt we were half choked
and blinded with dust, our hands were
raw and we had made scarce any head
way. Barely, too, had we given up
the work as hopeless when my lamp
fiickered out; half an hour later, old
Jim'S followed suit.
Total obliyionI AS sat and con-
templated our fate, a faintness Of min
gled hunger and despair crept over me.
Young Jim, quite still, was propped
up against the wall close by. Within
a few feet of me sat his father; at times
he would start up and shrek out in
nameless terror-at others he would
catch up his pick and hack at the walls
with the fury of a maniac. And
worse was to come.
ST think l must have tainted. / do
not seem to recollect any more until
the moment when became conscious
of my mates hard breathing over me,
and of the fact that his hand was feel
ing-or, so it seemed--for my throat.
7 dashed away, painting under the
shock of this new horror.
!" dim, gasped, for Heavens sake
keep sane II we're to go, let US die
like men.p
mo answer; heard him crawling
away, and that was all. The dead
silence was only broken by faint
trickIing sound. Tricklingl Yes; I
put my hand to the Level, and found half
an inch of water-and hotter and more
sitting grew the atmosphere. Praying
hard to myself, / realized now that,
should no help come, only a few hours
could live betwixt US and the end,
And then-old Jim might go first, and
/ should be left Nay, / was already
practically alone; the fear that was
slowly whitening my hair had turned
old Jim's brain.
He suddenly sent up peal of del
irious laughter. Waterl Who says
water? Why, mates. I'm swimming
in i'll Here gol'
Presently he began lJcreeping round
to find me. could hear him coming,
by his labored respiration. and the
swishing of the ooze as hs moved.
Round and round the space we went
stealthily. until at last he made cum
ming rush 7 He yelled it with q glee
that was unmistakable.
'sMore words could never convey
The sensation Of that moment. Half
suffocated. past all ordinary fear, /
closed with my poor old mate, and We
went staggered to and fro across our