The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-07-22

picked up sharp piece of rock and
worked away until, a foot beneath
the surface he struck what seemed
to be wooden object which gave
forth hollow sound. He worked this
free of the packed black earth and
brought it up to the light of his lamp.
1t proved to be a common cigar box
tied round and round with strong cord.
He looked up for further directions
from his eerie master only to find him
self sole occupant of this underground
chamber in the abandoned colliery far
away from any humon being. Greatly
unnerved and exhausted with the un-
wonted emotions of the night, he stag
gered to his feet, clasped firmly the
same uncanny influence which had in
duced this strange journey, he stumbled
along over the same ground until he
found himself in the gangway just
outside the entrance to the old mine
from which he had come. He now
knew his way and hardly able to walk
he managed to crawl toward the light
which he saw burning ahead in his
shanty. 1t must be morning and Sandy
must have come and found him gone.
He swayed dzzily once or twice and
wildly at the for once thoroughly start
led Sandy who ran forward just in
time to catch Thorn who had suddenly
pitched forward.
Now that he had come into the
warmth of human kind once more, the
overstraned nerves gave way and he
collapsed. The old Scotchman stretch
ed the unconscious man on the floor,
| bathed his temples and chaffed his.
Soon the eyes opened and with strong
shudder Thorn raised himself to a
sitting posture, found the box still
clutched in his hand, shuddered again
and passed the box without a word to
the wondering Scotty.
What is't, mon?"
"Open it," said Thorn, who still sat
on the floor leaning nervously against
the wall but watching with eager eyes
the delicate Sandy cut the cord and
raise the lid of the box.
| Money" cried Sandy, "whar' ha' 80
been? Whar' did ye get it, mon?"
Wait" said Thorn as he spied 4
legal looking document neatly folded
and placed lengthwise of the box be,
TWEEN the side of the box and the rolls
of greenbacks and rolls of silver anC
gold. He glanced over it and handed
it without word to Sandy who or
reading it became intensely excited.
Mon, mon, where on airth did ~
fin it,"
Thorn then rapidly went over his ex
periences of the pump house since III
had been in il and the climax reached
the night before. Sandy listened at
tentively and every now and then nod
ded his head emphatically. Then cam
the latters turn, He told of the mur
der year ago of the former puml
house man and the man who cross
shifted him Marvin. the murdered
man, was known to have saved NJ
quite a tidy sum of money agans
a rainy day but after his death n
trace of it could ever be found. Dyke
the man who had cross-shifted him
had never been seen since.
The last seen of Marvin alive wa
the night on which he awoke from
troubled sleep, dressed in a clean sui
) of shifting clothes-faded almost whit
with many washngs, and, against a
efforts of his wife to restrain him
started for the mine, insisting tha
something there was wrong and tina
7 he would just take a look in and Sc,
In the morning he was found just out
side the door of the pump-house--mur
dered. He had been stabbed twice /
the breast evidently with a commo
: large sized jack-knife. Dyke was nc
] where to be found although the mine
: old and new and the country aroun
had been vigorously searched. He mu.
: have escaped out OF the country.
! Sandy reused himself directly an
= exclaimed, but We ha' forgotten Ii