The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1898-03-09

done the thinking.
care you afraidY' says she.
"'Some,' says l, nodding toward the
scuttle mole.
CT mean of me?' says she, smiling.
"'Not much says 1.
care you strong? says she.
"'That's part of my act says I. But
not against crazy man with hatchet,'
says l, wondering what she would do
next and about how long it would be
till the crazy man was on deck with his
iomahawk cleaning in the air.
"'Then,' says she, grab hold of me
right quick and carry me across the
rope over to Mrs. Peck's house SOS my
husband won't get at me with that AK
''She had more nerve in minute than
had in week, but when she said that
my professional pride come to me, and
without any more talk I reached for my
balancing pole, and STOPPING down so
she could get on my back which she
didn't like very much. I made quick
run for the end of the rope just as the
crazy husband came out of the scuttle
through the barrel and tumbled down
on the roof half smothered with sand.
told her to hold tight and do the pray
in for both of us, and I thought could
get her through safe. 1 don't know
how 1 ever got on that rope with her on
my back, for that wasn't the way my
profession done business, but l got
there, and as shot out with the woman
clinging to me the people in the street
below set up such yell as I never heard
before, and / come near losing my bal
ance, for 1 knew, as they didn't, why
this feature that wasn't on the bills was
being showed.
"The crowd yelled about twice, and
then all Of a sudden got so still l could
hear the little wcman's heart beat.
Anyway, l thought could, but maybe
it was my own. knew when they done
that the crowd had seen the man on the
roof with the Ratchet, and recognized
him, for all the people in the town knew
the kind of a fellow he was. At the
same time the crowd got still something
came to me telling me to nerve myself.
for the crazy man would cut the rope
and drop me and my load in the street,
to be crushed into 4 shapeless mass, and
[ came near letting go and dropping be-
fore l was dropped. | couldn't see what
was going on behind me, and ali the lit
tie woman knew she was whispering to
me to go ahead, because we were safe if
[ only kept my path. I didn't know
whether she thought about the man
with the Ratchet or not. Likely she
Old. 1t wasn't her to mention it, though,
under them circumstances.
"While 1 was thinking about him cut
ting the rope 1 was getting along it
toward the safe end as fast as I could.
the little woman hanging on till she
nearly choked me, but it didn't hurt
and | was standing it beautiful. It's
funny how a man will find pleasure in
life when there's so much in sight that
amt, and nearly forgot the man with
the Ratchet thinking about the little
woman's arms holding onto my neck as
the one hope of her life. But it was
only for second; then I felt jar on
the rope and l choked and braced my
self, for I was sure that the crazy man
was beginning to cut, and l knew that
three or four licks would be enough. I
waited for the second jar, but it didn't
come, and in its place come spring to
the rope, as if a weight had been taken
eff of it, followed by a swishing sound
and dull thud on the sidewalk so feet
below us. At the same time the crowd
sent up groan as if every person in it
was hurt. didn't know for sure what
had happened, but I guessed that that
crazy man, like most any crazy person
or a mad dog, only had room IN his mind
for one thing at time, and when that
more. He wanted to kill his wife, and
the only way he knew how TO do it was
with the Ratchet by cutting her to
pieces. 1t did not strike him that he
could kill her by cutting the rope and
letting her drop to the ground. That
was too much for him. He knew an
easier way, and, as she was out there
on the rope not 40 feet from him, he
would go out there and kill her. Crazy
people have such crazy way of doing
things, don't they? He did, and when
he took his second step out on the rope
he went over and down to his death.
That's what had made the rope spring
back. 1 guess the little woman must
have felt that something awful had hap
pened, though she never said word,
because when l at last stepped safe on
TO the roof and the crowd yelled hun
dred times louder than they did before
they knew what they were yelling
about, the little woman let go her, hold
around my neck and dropped at my feet
in a dead faint; and I didn't blame her,
either; ii was time for somebody to
faint, and if she hadn't done it Iwould,
sure pop. Her doing it gave me some
thing else to think about, and l got
her downstairs as quick as l could,
where the women took charge of her
and soon brought her out all right.
81 guess that's all there is to it,"
smiled the signor, picking up his bal
Z, :, o;,cr ,,o1a md ,,oinfipcr RI, II m lit,