Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1897-05-15

that line of froth stood on his lips.
''He was the first to come back. to
sense. He gave one choking cry Of
Jimn and staggered forward to that
black pile. The boys hand was stick
ing out from the bottom of it, clutch
ing convulsively at nothing. sank
down and watched, in sort of dreary
fascination, as old Jim, uttering
strange cries, tore at the mass in a
mad frenzy. God help him! Jim was
the only thing he had in the world to
love. In less than five minutes he had
dragged him out, and sat down to hug
him in his arms. Dead? No; he could
just open his poor Justified eyes in
answer to his fathers whispers; but
we knew at once that he would never
again make the galleries echo his pierre
ing whistle.
"For whole hours, 7 suppose,
neither of us attempted to realize our
situation. We sat on in the dead 81
lence, waiting for something to hap
pen. Once or twice we saw young
Jim's blackened lips move feely, and
each time his father would mutter
brokenly. 'Ay, my precious boy, we'll
look after her!" Once the old man
broke out, quaveringly, into the hymn,
"Abide With Me!' but he got no fur
ther than the third line. That, per-
haps, was about 8 o'clock, but we
could keep no count of the 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.
"'How long can we hold out, Mr..
Carson? I'm afraid to 60 on. I've
been a goddess man all my time
That reused me. I 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 with 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 can. One
slender chance of escape at the best
left; perhaps the entire passage was
not blocked, and we might force oul
way to the main gallery. was not
afraid of death in the way that it comes
to most people, but I was afraid tc
meet and struggle with it there. W.
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, ani
why, after long spell of fighting to
break through that horrible wall, ole
Jim threw himself down with q groar
and refused to 60 on. As fast as We
loosened one mass, another crashed
down in its place; at the end of our des
perate attempt we were half choket
and blinded with dust, our hands were
raw and we had made scarce any head
way. Barely, too, had we given NJ
the work as hopeless when my laml
hickered out; half an hour later, ole
Jim's followed suit.
Total oblivion! As I sat and con
tcmplated our fate, faintness o
mingled hunger and despair crept owe
me. Young Jim, quite still, wa
propped up against the wall close by
Within few feet of me sat his father
at times he would start up and shriel
out in nameless terror-at others h
would catch up his pick and hack a
the walls with the fury Of a maniac
And worse was to come.
81 think 1 must have tainted. I Il,
not seem to recollect any more unit
the moment when 1 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
/ dashed away, painting under th'
shock OF this new horror.
"Jim,' I gasped, for Heaven
sake keep sane! If we're to go, let III
die like men!
mo answer; I heard him crawling
away, and that was all. The deat
silence was only broken by fain
trickling sound. Trickling! Yes;
put my hand to the level, and foun,
half an inch of weter--and hotter ant
sitting grew the atmosphere. Pray
ing hard to myself, I realized now that
should no help come, only few hour
could live bctwixt us and the end
And then-old Jim might go first, an
[ should be left. Nay, I was alread
practically alone; the fear that wa
slowly whitening my hair had turne'
old Jim's brain.
"He suddenly sent up a peal O
delirious laughter. Water! VIII
says water? Why, mates, I'm swim
ming in it. Here a go!
presently he began creeping roun'
to find me. 1 could hear him coming
by his labored respiration, and tn
swishing of the ooze as he moved
Round aud round the space we wen
stealthily. until at last he made Gun
ming rush and caught me by the ankle
Got him! He yelled it with gle
TIM. was unmistakable.
"NIore words could never conve
the sensation of that moment. Hal
su tfocated. past all ordinary fear,
closed with my poor old mate, and W
went staggered to and fro across OH
prison. until at last managed to thro,
him 50 that his head struck heavil