The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-07-02


shreked around the house. man crept-slowly-
steathily-crash! splitting, parayzing roar, sud
faces In that instant beheld Herbs wildly clutching
hands and his eyes bullying, and behind him Duffey
grinnng And had jumped to my feet and cracked
my head against the rock above.
In second it all dark again and while
ears were yet ringing heard Duffey yell, Quick,
boys This way"
1t time. That crash gunpowder
lowed by another sound. one of falling rock.
Then all was quiet and we three were huddled to-
gether in the waiting.
Boys" said Duney and his voice trembled. X
guess I've done it this time I'm afraid we are walled
in. I didn't think it would hard. only meant
to make you fellows jump with that frecracker"
What frecracker?"
1.-The big one I'd saved since last Fourth"
We lit candles and in their Pickering light the
faces Of the boys pale and bedaubed were truly
CHASTITY Those tons of limestone that had hung there
in wicked expectancy for years at the sound of that
foolish explosion had simply and treacherously let
depths of that abandoned lead NINE zoo feet from the
surface and miles from the nearest habation We set
about exploring dungeon In the clay at the far
ther side we found two passages The first led down
ward and deeper into the EARTH but in the upward
slope of the second there promise of liberty
fresh air.
hopes sank we wriggled
and sticky devousness and the air fouler and
fouIer and the smoke from our candles choked us and
said all too plainly, mo exit Now up, down, it
led only to end in wretched cul-desac where lay the
skeleton of unfortunate grounding. Evidently
we were not the first to be caught in this trap We
crawled back without a word.
We had now to try the remaining passage. 1t was
much as exaggerated rat hole of the kind you find
in the the cellar. We tossed in pebble, but
the sound Of it's striking reached Maybe it
was not pleasant thing to go nto but it was this or
starve.
This time to lead the way, and without ado
let myself down. dug my heels elbows back and fin
into the clay and trusted to Providence for the
rest It steep here vertical in fact but
that the danger comparatively small. Indeed, in
places I could scarcely thru, and the
thought of being in that hole something
awful. Down. down. went and gazed despairingy
at the of the boys above until twist
passage deprived of this small comfort.
Now and again would call out and the answer would
muffed ndistinct, a great distance.
And still descended, down, down and still down.
Would it never end? Was this the bottomess pit or
what? My question answered
Suddenly, without warning my feet felt nothing
beneath them. My lost their hold my elbows
slipped I began to fall. AS fell yelled,
shrieked, the shrek ended in thud as landed in
a clay bank ten below. There is much comfort
even in mud at times. No bones broken only
was a good deal disturbed.
up lay there, and from the clear pure
day above shot single of white light And in its
descent it shed glow disclosed the lofty
arches a natural cavern, and beneath feet a
dark pool I at the bottom of the mine.
The rest told. The other boys dropped
down beside me, found a passage which finally
brought us the surface. And when emerged into
and candle grease.
as Duffey left us at said Say, ghost
story sort o. brought down the house, didn't t?"-
Chicago Record.