Waterbury Democrat., 1901-02-16

s. timhers the mines would become sfuin- ed, akd the loss would be as heavy for :. the miners as the owners in case tie strike ended and work was again re- sumed. From six to eight men remain-l ed at each mine. There were an engt neer, an assistant engineer, two fire men and three or four pump men. ac. cording to the size apd number Of pumps. These were kept going day and night, as the water rose very rap- idly if left to flow.
 Stuart had gone up to the Davis mine, one of the newer ventures of his father and recently developed. Its greatest depth was 300 feet. 1t had a manhole with ladders and a shaft at some distance from it for the skip or iron carriage used for hauling ore to the surface. There were six men at this mine in charge at this time.
 Stuart had come to the engine house and was talking with the engineer when Eric came in.
 Stuart called him over to the dry. room, where the miners changed their clothing for miners dress.
 Erie, 1 want to go down into the mine. Won't you go with me? I want to see again for myself what the work is, ard besides there is a new pump at the bottom that I want to look att
 Eric consented, and the two soon had on the miners dress and were going down the ladders. It was getting late in the afternoon, and they left orders with the engineer that when they gave the signal from the bottom he might let down the skip, and they would come up in that.
 For an hour they explored different levels. Stuart was restless and seemed intent on realizing as fully as possible just how the miners worked. He climb ed up into difficult places and even fired off blast in one chamber, using one of the powder sticks left by the men when they came out.
 At last he and Eric stood at the bot. tom of the mine. This was an 3excaya- tion about If feet across, and the wa ter ran i'll very much as if it had been a cistern. By leaning back against the ladders the light from 900 feet above could be seen. Eric was sitting thus with his back to the ladder rounds and his feet in the water which ran over the floor of the mine about four inches deep and Stuart was examining the pump at tie other side of the shaft when a terrible thing happened. X noise like the roar of a torrent grew about these two men, and before Eric could get out from his position against tine ladders a mass of iron ore came rushing down the manhole, breaking out rounds of the ladders as it fell, and, bounding from side to side, struck Eric on the shoulders with terrific force and threw him f. 2 downward in the wa. ter.
 Stuart/tas at his side in moment He raj ed him and by the light of the canP- in lis hat saw the nature of the accident. He could not think whethe. the mass had fallen or been thrown purposely into the shaft. He dragged Erie away from the foot of the ladder He was seriously injured. With the one thought of getting him to the top as soon as possible Stuart seized the lever at the bottom of the ore shaft and pulled # back as a signal to the engineer to let down the skip. There was no answering signal, and Stuart pulled tie wire rope again. Still no an swer. He looked up through the main shaft. What was that? The pump had suddenly stopped below. But what was that great light at the top? It must be nearly sunGown now. Something was Cl fire! The truth flashed upon hin that th" engine house over the Eiail shaft was Oa fire. The ladders aToris cd escape ior q man possibly, but rst illvUilbered with a body, and a dct:., body perhaps at that. Stuart dcs.i.s. water in Fries; face, ard he groa-lej;- lie was not dead, but unconscious. .A:i>i then the whole situation forced itself E=ESaETMNyMN5lNliG iGL:IIl2sLgTZ