The Opelousas courier., 1897-07-24

Gle was the first to come back te
sense. He gave one choking CIV O.
SJim!' and staggered forward to tha1
black pile. The boys hand was stick.
ing out from the bottom of it, clutch
ing convulsively at nothing. [ sank
down and watched, in a sort of dreary
fascination, as old jim, utterine
strange cries, tore at the mass in 6
mad frenzy. God help him! Jim was
the only thing he had in the world tc
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 N that he would never
again make the galleries echo his pierre
ing whistle.
For Whole hours, I suppose,
neither OF IS 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
lock after her!' Once the old man
broke out, quayeringly, into the hymn,
"Abide With Me!' but he get no fur
Their than the third line. That, per
haps, was about s o'clock, but we
could keep no count of the time, rs 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 a we hold out. Mr..
Carson? I'm afraid to go II I've
been a goddess nan 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 u 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 u situation, and let any
man conceive a worse, if he can. One
slender chance of escape at the best
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 I was 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 IAN guess what happened, and
why, after a long spell of fighting to
break through that horrible wall, old
Jim threw himself down with a groan
and refused to go on. As fast as we
loosened n mass, another crashed
down in its place; at the end of our des-
perate attempt WI 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
fickered out; half an hour later, old
Jim's followed suit.
"Total oblivion! As I sat end con-
templated our fate, a faintness of
mingled hunger and dn,pair crept over
me. Young Jim, Gaite 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 terroS-at others he
would catch up his pick and hack at |
the walls with the fury of a maniac.
And worse was to come.
II think I must have tainted. I do
not seem to recollect any more until
the moment when I became conscious
OF my mates hard breathing wei me,
and Of the fact that his hand was feel
ing-or, so it seemed-for my throat.
I. dashed away, painting under the
sh~ock~Iethis new horror.
~~Jim,stW gasped, for Heavens
re keep SAT- If we're to go, let us
die like menu ~
mo answered. heard him crawling
away, and thpt was all. The dead
was OILY broken by a faint
trickling sound. Trsckling! Yes; I
put my hand to the level, and found
half a inch of water--and hotter and
sitting grew the atmosphere. Pray
ing hard to myself, I 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, I was already
practically alone; the fear that was
whitening my hair had turned
Did Jim's brain.
"He suddenly sent up a peal of
1elirious laughter. Water! Who
'ays water? Why, mates, I'm swim
ming in it! Here a gop
Presently he began creeping round
o find me. I could hear him coming,
y his labored respiration, and the
wishing of the ooze as he moved.
Round and round the space we went
'tealthily, until at last he made @ cum
ling rush and caught me by the ankle.
Got hint He yelled it with a glee
hat was unmistakable.
more words could never convey
he sensation Of that moment. Half
uffocated, past all ordinary fear, I
losed with my poor old mate, and we
vent staggered to and fro across our
'rison, until at last I managed to throw
lin % that his head struck heavily