People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1899-08-10

mine. The mouth Of the opening wa.
ihoked up with broken timbers ane
masses of rock, and on board nailed
to tree growing out of a crevice Just
above the tunnel arch he read: "Mc-
Nabb Tunnel, T. c. &I.Co." The name
brought back Ludlow's story of the
.eud and the lawsuit. and he examined
the place with awakening interest.
From the small cleared space in front
II the working he could see the extent
- the cove with its shelving sides pitch
irg down toward the yellow fields in
'he center; and, as there was but ore
house in sight in the bowllike depres-
son, he concluded DIT once that it was
'Ae home of the Bynums. Turning
again to the tunnel. he found that by
scrambling over the pile of debris in
the entrance he could reach q place
where the height of the excavation
permitted him to stand upright; and
when his eyes became accustomed to
the dim half-light, he looked about him
with the observant curiosity of one
who sees latent possibilities for the
collecting of literary material from the
most commonplace surroundings.
There was little to be seen save the
ragged walls of coal and few rusty
mining tools; the heading stopped alb
ruptly about 30 feet from the entrance,
and the excavation was mere irreg-
Tar gap in the edge of the thick seam
of coal. While he was examining
miners lamp which he found sticking
in crevice, he felt breath of cold
air which seemed to come from above,
and, looking up, he saw narrow rift
in the sandstone roof of the tunnel
from which the draught appeared to
issue. Lighting the lamp and thrust
ing it up into the aperture on the end
of a stick, he could see that the rift
widened above the opening and that it
extended indefinitely into the mountain
at right angles to the direction of the
tunnel. The opportunities for further
exploration seemed promising, and
Gingbrand, yielding to an inquisitive
impulse, drew himself up into the crew
ice by the help of coal pick. By the
smoky flare of the lamp he could see
that he was standing in natural tun-
mel of considerable height, running
crosswise of the coal working and COM
municating with it by the aperture
through which he had entered. As il
was evident that the latter opening
was artificial or accidental, he deter
mined to ascertain il there was any
other means of egress from the cavern.
turning to the left, the exploration
rame shortly TO an end against a wall
OF broken rock and detritus which
about it until Just as we had decided
to abandon the work. When we be-
gin again, as expect to within few
days--I shall leave Waterman up
there at night"
'The place will ask for brave man.
81 can find one" rejoined Ludlow.
cheerfully. Don't you want the job?'
"Pm afraid / shouldn't be of much
use; but I'll take it, if you say So"
Ludlow looked incredulous. THAT
doesn't sound much like the line you
took this morning"
mo, l know it doesn't; but perhaps
I'm a little like the man who wanted
a drink of whisky in order to ascer-
tain what effect it would have on him.
I've tried moral suasion on my weak
ness until I'm convinced there's no
virtue in that kind of treatment, and il
has occurred 70 me that heroic dose
of carnage may be what is needed"
1T may be, but shouldn't go around
hunting for the occasion If / were you, y
replied Ludlow, holding the gate open,
Perhaps III have to-" said Ring
brand, as they entered the house. POS.
sibly the OCCASION will hunt me-"
CTo be Contin -