The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1904-04-07

~ tLc scj5lntbx freikniryAra. touln =
make nolse enough 10 attract the noiis
Of the woiksrs on the 4 lor sbtyts
For two or ,hre msnusss be shouted !
the top Of bis iurga hlline The bin wilt
clsmofous echoes, bus the closed trap ksf
The men from hearing him. Then vii
sicketing force came setse Of his perl
II left him weak and faint. What II the
shouli begin to draw tif the wheat befor
be could gc. out. lie would surely b
smolhered In the sinking mass.
/ The thought reused him like knife
stab. Round and round the bin be hurrie'
slumpipg deep In the grsin At every ster
feeling In vain along the smooth walls 10
something to which he might clIrg. Will
elenched fiits he hammered on the wood
bopiug tina, some one would hear the soun,
and understand his danger. But bis blow
drowned by the reverberation Of the ma
chInery, were no more vui!ble outsid.
than the steps OF a NY on wlndow-psne
Terror selz d him. He felt hImself II
the grasp ofa great automatic monster
To that heartltss mactaIism he was ne
more Than one OF the innumersble grsins
which IL was IT'S fu1ctlon to store and de-
liver At The bidding Of It's masters.
lie was standing near the middle Of the
bin when the thing be dreaded happened
Beneath his feet came shifting, sliding
motion, and the surface sank little, Just
the slightest Bit bat he could not have been
more appalled, had the solid ground been
suddenly torn from under him. They
were drawing Of the wheat through the
opening at the bottom! Before he knew
1t, he had sunk above his ankles. He leap
ed away from the tIeacherous center, and
crowded himself back into one Of the cor
ners.
Whenever compartment filled with
small particles is emptied through an ORR
flee below, the substance fall, from the top /;
down through the entire mass and directly
above the aperture siuks core, which is
constantly fed at the summit by particles
from the sides sliding into the cavity.
II one has ever watched In an hour glass
some grain larger than the others hang for
a line on the edge Of the vortex until the
grains fall away from under 1t
and 1t rolls down the slope to disappear In
the central qulcksand, one will understand
the peril that threatened Braithwait. O1ce
let him be dragged within the IL fluence of
the suction, and nothing could save him
from being buried alive in the smothering
grain.
The student never thought harder or fast
er than he did during the next few seconds.
All was quiet 10 the bin save for the soft
sliding of the myri,d kernels toward the In
visible ,presslon in the center. He realiz-
ID clearly the only course which held ou I
he least hope Of safety. Throwing offhis
,vercoat be tossed 1t aside In the blackness.
Then with hands and feet be began to scoop
he grain away from his corner and push
I toward the center. The cavity thus
made gave him a brief respite, until the
linking Of Its walls set him digging desper-
Itely again.
Thus hs fought and struggle d In the black |
less until utter fatigue overcame him.
lis muscles ached almost to numbness.
lis breath came short. He vas drenched |
With perspiration. But there was no cessa-
ion in the movement Of the grain. Slow
y 1t gained upon him, as he made his los
pg fight. The horror Of the death that im-
'ended goaded him to extreme efforts, but
is dimished strength could not cope with
he steady sinking Of the wheat. Oh, II
hey could only close the spout below!
The catastrophe, long averted, came at
ast. The edge crumbled beneath his feet,
e slipped, staggered, fell! Down the
ieep slope he rolled, madly trying to check
is progress by thrusling his arms and
sgs into the yielding mass; but to no avail
lis hands grasped only the sliding kernels.
In moment he was above the central
ortex. Wild with terror, he put forth the
lost desperate Efforts to climb the sides Of
he pit. Again and again he seemed to be
, q fair way to regain the top; but each
me, after he had crep. up "a little distance,
he grain would slip benta.h him, carrying
i'm back to the bottom. The moment came
/ last when he could not free his ankles
-om the clutch Of the gut. Down he
ink In the qusgmire, lower r--!ower-low
i! A resistlefs power beneath seemed to
. grasplng his feet in clutch that neither
creased nor loosened. There was some
ling terrible about Its sameness.
Now the grain reached his knees, now II
as halfway up his thighs, now he was
,ried to the waist. Higher and higher 1t
ept, until 1t was close under his armpits.
In very short time 1t would be over his
cad, and he would die horribly under the
lokiBg kernels.
But help came to Braithwait Just as all
,pe was leaving him. Heavy steps shufli-
along the floor over head. The sink-
z man realized that 1t was his last oppor- :
nifty, and cry after cry burst from his 9
)s.
His shouts were beard. The steps halt !
for . moment, then the cover above was 9
ing suddenly back, admitting the first
yht that had reached the prisoners eyes
nee he bad ia len through the opening
ID the trap had changed shut. A red face
lib bristliDg dusty. white mustsche, peer
into the blackntss Of the bin.
The wheat was sliding over Braithwsit's
oulders rs he uttered one last hoarfe,
srticulate cry. The man above could see
,thing, but he understood and his quick
WAS the sinkiog Students
lvAtIon.
heard him run along the floor
q tpssking-.ube, and guessed that the
der TO stop the DIV Of wheat wxs bling
ven. Then all at once the motion be
bis feet ceased, and he knew that