People's voice., 1899-09-14

but hit II be takin' a right smart mo-
chances il she gets sight O. we-all."
"She hain't gwine to. When the fires
done started, you'n me can hide in the
ivy bushes"
That IL fix hit; an afterwards "a
low to ride for McNairville2"
"Uh-huh; we can jest bout make hit
in time for the cyars, if we put out
sort O. lively"
'"How about the hosses? Y'-all sold
'em with the place, didn't YEP"
81 did so, an the feller can take 'em
wharsomever he's lucky enough to fin
'em, cayn't he?" i
They were silent again, and Ring.
brand smelled tobacco smoke. He stood
motionless in the darkness, trying to
think of some way in which the cold
blooded plot could be frustrated; there
seemed to be but one way, and his de-
sire for vengeance cooled little as he
thought of it, but he crept into posi-
tion where he could command the widest
range Of space In the other chamber,
and watched for the men TO cross the
narrow field Of visisn on their way hack
10 the mine. II seemed hours before
they spoke again, and then the gruffer
voice said: Il don't believe that thar
lamps gwine out, Buddy"
81 reckon hit air, for shore" was the
reply; "but hit don't make no diff
ence; we-all can fin the way without
hit"
A little later the light faded and flick
cred and then went out, leaving behind
II darkness that was almost tangible,
and Ringbrand's heart sank as he real
lied that one chance Of saving Hesters
father and brother was gone, Il was
only chance, he knew, for the noun
taineers were two to one, and he was
not enough of marksman to be sure of
disabling even one of them; neverthe-
less, he had made up his mind to fire
upon them when they came again in
view, trusting to the shortness of the
range to offset his lack of skill with the
weapon.
He thought he heard them when they
left the chamber, and again, after what
seemed an interminable interval, there
was faint rustling such as might have
been made by the two men climbing
out Of the cave The correctness Of this
last supposition was confirmed short
ly afterward by the dull rumble of
distant explosion, and the listener knew
that another of the mysterious attacks
had been successfully made on the
working in the McNabb mine.
With the certainty that the men had
left the cavern, and that with their dis
appearance his only chance of prevent
ing the terrible conclusion of their plot
had taken flight, Ringbrand sat up and
stroye fiercely to concentrate his mind
upon some expedient that would free
him in time TO enable him TO warn the
Iatimers. For awhile the awful re-
sponsibility resting upon him pushed
him so near to the edge of distraction
that connected thought was an impos-
sibility, and he got up and tramped up
and down the familiar limits of his cell
in feverish agony of helplessness.
Then his brain cleared again, and one
plan after another was considered and
rejected. The sandstone was compara-
lively soft-could le not dig through
to the other chamber?-yes, possibly,
but it would take too much time. The
other end of the cavern was filled with
broken rock and earth which had fallen
into the crevlce from above-could he
not dig enough of this down to makeit
possible to climb out on the heap of de-
bris?-undoubtedly, in time, but the
Indlng In the mass OF single boWlder
too large to be loosened might cost the
lives Of two men. No, there must be no
more experiments.
At last, when the travail of sugges-
tion had become well-nigh unbearable
in its hopeless insistence, he stumbled
over the log; at the same instant, as
if the shock had opened the door of his
understanding, possible solution of
the problem, clear and distinct in every
detail, flashed upon him like an inspira-
ton, and he threw himself down upon
the sand to watch for the coming of the
daylight, praying with what faith there
was in him for strength and dexterity
to enable him to earn his freedom quick
ly.