The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-10-27

. Mason dropped the poker. He did mo-
! want it to fall either to the base Of the
stack or strike any of his fellows on the
platform. He reached for it, His foot
slipped from the timber, Mason knew
that he would fall but counted on land
ing an the platform. He yelled to Nc
Evoy, who was near the bottom of the
!, ladder:
Get out of the way!" he cried, $50
I won't hurt you"
McEvoy tried to jump from the lad
der, but the great body of Mason struck
him and he fell to the platform. That
break in the fall threw Mason towards
the open space between the platform
and the boiler and he was going
through the open space when McEvoy
scrambled to his feet unhurt, save from
q bruise on his left arm. He did not
think of the sting in his arm then.
With a bound he caught the hosting
rope, determined to follow Mason down
the stack, praying that he could slide to
the base quicker than his friend could
fall. Once Mason yelled out, Miller
heard it on the platform, and looked
down, but McEvoy was deaf to all. He
was sliding as fast as the wind goes
He saw Mason falling. The big body of
his friend was shooting down the stack
and hitting the sides. He was twenty
or more feet above poor Mason, and
when they had gone down fifty feet or
more McEvoy grew sick at heart; he
saw that he could not beat Mason to
the base, but kept sliding only to be at
the side of the poor fellow when he
crashed to the ground and give him
! what holm and comfort pASsihln
Mason, after shooting through the
space between the platform and the
side of the stack, thought of the rope
He tried to grab it, but his hand missed
every time. He even tried to take hold
of one of the angles on the sides Of the
stack, which hold the bolts. But they
We're too sharp and almost tore his
| hands. He grew desperate. When he
| hit on one side he tried to jam himself
there, but he could do nothing in such a
| big space. Mason made up his mind to
die He counted on nothing. He had
no regrets and only once he thought
what his fall would be. For seventy
five feet he went like a meteor. The
fall was making him dizzy. He could
not tell whether he had struck the
ground or not-all he knew was that ev-
u tliliIS oVCliCu So light eio IL LC Neho |
suspended in the air He gave up
hope Then he closed his eyes.
McEvoy' heard the thud below. He |
could have jumped from the rope on |
which he was sliding, for when Mason |
fell he dropped on the coil of rope, and |
McEvoy knew-that is, he believed as
much-that the terrible fall had been
broken and there was chance that his
friend had escaped death
Mason lay in a heap on the coil of !
rope at the base. McEvoy lifted him
up. The men on the platform saw that.
They hoisted the boltman's chair from
their platform, and in a little while Nc
Nulty was with them. Robinson was
helping McEvoy with his burden and
they had Mason in the open air. He
was breathing hard They talked to
him, but the young man did not an
swer. He was unconscious. Some one
began lowering the platform to the
base, and the other workmen crowded
about. A workman hurried to tele-
phone for an ambulance and begged
that his call be attended to instantly, |
for there was a chance to save a
friends life.
Mason opened his eyes. Robinson
wiped the blood from the poor fellows
face Mason wanted to speak, but :
they cautioned him to wait little un-
til the doctors would come. The ambu-
lance was quick and the student began
examining the boler-maker. They
found him bruised all over. Just how
serious his hurts were they did not
know, and they began asking where he
suffered the most pain.
"On the back Mason answered
The medical students looked there
and saw that the spine was not broken
,r injured, though there was big red
patch there, and his hips and shoulders
we're cut and discolored, while his face
vas scratched.
Hes not hurt so badly" said one of
he students, while the workmen were
fitting Mason into the ambulance.
That's good" put in McEvoy, who
,egan feeling the rope sting in his
lands.
Out at the hospital Mason was cared
or, and they say now that he will be
BILE to be about In a few days He
vas awake last afternoon when a
newspaper man called to see him in the
ward His eyes were discolored
Lucky fellow, Mason remarked
The patient smiled.
Yes. but my back and hips hurt me
et," Mason said at length, after
himself in the bed to take I
ONE tea that the nurse had given.
what were you thinking of when
ou were falling?"
That's hard to say" returned Ma
on.
You We're conscious?"
Eyes, until l had fallen about seven
y-five feet-it might have been ninety
,et"
did you believe you were going to
e?"
cat first I only thought Of saving
lyself. 1 was going down twenty feet
more then, I couldn't help myself,
nd l made up my mind that l would =
Q smashed to pieces -.
What was uppermost in your mind ~
len?" Y
Hard to say. I felt no pain, even '
lough I hit the sides. I was just like
kite in the air. I expected that II
OuId hit the bottOm and then II