The Opelousas courier., 1899-12-02

a candle flame a-p'intin' toward me!
Cause why, you mought, by some
means, get I've the bullet, but yor
can't never get over the fame; tain
no use to laugh, cause it's 80, and
there's no miner but what knows it,
and knows a mans doomed when
fame p'ints him out There amt nc
dodgin' it, nor palaverip' it, nor brib.
In tit just follers . man round, and
p'ints straight at him, like a finger
p'intin' to a signboard with ''Dead
man" writ on.
Most people thinks that accidents
in mines is quick and sudden; now,
that amt SO at all, leastwise as far as
warnin's is concerned. Iuever knowed
trouble to a mine, or to the miners,
but what some one had seen signs of
danger that We miners knows how to
read.
You see them two lamps hangin' up
yonder in the corner, with dust and
cobwebs all over 'em? Well, T
wouldn't have en- lighted, not if I had
to 60 in darkness all my life for want
OF EN-!
There's a story to 'em both-one's
a short one, and t'other a long one.
I'll tell EN- both-the short one first:
l had a mate, Bob Williams-me
and him worked together most of the
time, and IL day I noticed the fame
of my candle fickcrin' and twistin'
about till it p'inted right at Bob, and
there it kept steady for two hours or
more, follerin' him round, when he
moved, as if it was tied fast to him.
My heart felt as heavy as lead-I
knowed it meant mischief; but I didn't
say nothin' to Bob, except warnin'
him to be extra careful about the blast
for me and him was blastin' that
day.
Well, he got through all right, and,
as we stepped on the cage to be drawn
up the shaft I began to think the
c~andle-Aame was givin' warnin' too
soon for once, though I might
a-knowed better, too; but 1 felt kind of
queerish ag'in as I saw it a-stretchin'
out, long and thin, p%'intin' still tow
ard Bob, while the cage went slowly
up the shaft.
All on a sudden, the flame gave a
kind of leap, and at the same second
Bob gave a loud cry, and staggered
backward off the cage-we was both
standin' up and holdin' on to the
chains-and down he went hundreds
of feet, dashin' his poor body all to
pieces against the rough sides; aud, as
he fell, my light went out
It's never been lit since, and never
will be, while I'm q Twin man.
That's the short story-I just telled
it to prove what I said about the can
dle-fame; the one Tn comm to now
is the Il l promised you, and the
fame gave warnin' then, too, as it
alters does, if it's watched proper by
them as know it.
It was all in the papers about the
trouble at Barwood shaft, but it's a
different thing, the settin' in
an easy chair and readin' about acct {
dents, to the bein' in EN- and sufferin' !
EN- yourself, I a tell you, special
there's somebody along with you :
you care a heap more about than 7
you do about yourself, and that's how
t was with he, as you'll see present. I
y. 8
Barwood mine was one of the finest t
,oal mines to be found anywhere, and :!
lad been worked many a long year, l
it's owners vas as rich as the old .
elbow I've heard tell ola king named !
or Crow-sis, it don't matter !.
/
I was just married when I got the
'hance of bein' overseer of the men in d
he Barwood mine. It was a pretty j
post, though, of course, t
here was higher ones. I had to see 6
hat the men did their work proper I
nd follered the orders that were give
ne for 'em by the manager. a
There was a map Of the mine 8
-hangin' up in the Office. and I used y
0 study it regular, SO as to get all the Il
and twists in my head; and the y
lore l studied its lay, the more an
aea crept into my mind and wouldn't II
e got out. It was just this: b
The mine, as I said, was an old one, "
nd the part we was workin' in now b
'asn't the oldest part. There was one 81
art that had been abandoned, because fs
nee, years before, the water had broke I,
and drowned 20 men, and all q
heir tryin' hadn't ever got the water Eel
ut ag'in; it was spread all through the t.
line below old Barwood shaft like the g.
reat underground lakes I've read Of, al
lookin' down into the big, gaping Il
louth of the shaft, you could see the al
alter gleamin' 200 feet below. W
So the owners had to sink another m
away off to the left of the old 81
ne, over a mile away, and then they b
ommenced workin' ag'in. They had "
cen diggin' in a kind OF circle from W
le new shaft, stretchin' away in
very direction, and as I pondered over T.
lat map, it grew on MI like, that one ar
the levels was gettin' entirely too ca
ose to the old Barwood shaft, and m
lere might be danger of the penned- to
, lake a-bustin' through, and drown m
: out the new mine just as it had fr
,ne the old one. to
The idea wouldn't leave me at all. al
I got SO restless and uneasy that br
wife noticed it; but when I told IN,
sr at last, she laughed and made fun re
my pertendin' to know more than
manager. fel
You promised to let me go down til
tn you some day." says she, "and
w you must take me down with Won ho
Poo! to think of your On
i'm afraid!' in
! tried to turn her mind, but 60 she pc
'uld, and, as I never broke my word au
nnhndv I ho1 ~ eo- olI-- IL