Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-11
DAILY SHORT STORY
His Little Messar ger.
IOr.Einall

dHedu- once Caught Il rat III Il trap
by the foreleg, and 1 shall never for
get his expression, which said plainly:
Pm caught. Do please release me-.
Niles Hickman, miner, kissed his
young wife and baby one morning and,
going to the mine. was told there was
trouble on the third level and he was
to go down and investigate. Entering
the carriage. he was lowered TO the re-
CURED depth and walked along the
gangway till he came TO the entrance
of a chamber. Going to the breast, he
was looking about him when suddenly,
behind him, there was 4 deafening
noise. y mass of rock had fallen and
shut off egress from the chamber.
Hickman had two things of value
with him-one lunch can, the other
his lamp. His first terror was that no
air could enter the chamber, but there
was small stream running through it.
and this treasured him. There was
nothing TO do but wait till he was
missed, and even then no one would
know where to look for him. How
ever, there was nothing for it but TO
begin patient wait for release or
death, and, blowing out his light 10
with his head between his hands.
Presently something ran over his
foot. Hickman lighted his lamp, and
there before him was a rat looking at
him as though delighted TO see him.
The living thing, though only rat,
was cOmpaniOnable, and Hickman
wished to keep it by him. so he picked
it up, fondled it and gave it bite
from his lunch can. 1t occurred to him
that possibly the rat might be made
availabl in carrying 4 message. TAX
ing from his pocket bit of an old let
ter, he wrote on it that he was impris-
oned in BrintOn's chamber. on the third
level, and, tearing Il strip from his
clothing, tied the message about the
rats neck. Then he hunted about for
a hole, but didn't find any, so he let the
rat go its own way, and it went TO Il
corner lying in shadow, where there
was n hole, and disappeared.
1t was then that Hickman remem-
bered that few people ever see 4 rat
without killing it, and this took away
from his expectation that his device
would be effective. Still. the rat hav-
ing been killed, the message tied to its
neck might be noticed.
The hours passed. and there was no
change only the darkness, not sound.
Hickman opened his lunch can and ate
sparingly. Then he lighted his lamp
and took out his watch to note the
time 1t was + o'clock. He had beer
Imprisoned nearly ten hours. Putting
out his lamp. he continued his waiting
in darkness. He had only so much oil,
and that might lie necessary to save
his life. His ears We're constantly
strained to hear some sound to indicate
that his comrades We're digging him
out. There was nothing to disturb the
stiffness.
For five hours longer he waited. then
lit his lamp again ana looked ut his
watch. 1t was : o'clock Going to the
wall. he put his ear against it. There
was n sound of many picks. faint. but
unmistakable. What did it mean: The
mine was not being worked at night
These picks must be worked for a spe-
cial purpose.
Turning he saw his friend the rat
looking up at him. In his joy ut see
ing the creature he took il up 10 pet it,
and his fingers became cntaugled in
rats neck. and the thread extended
into the darkness. He followed it to
the hole through which the rat had
gone out-and of course had come in
and began to pull on it gently. After
pulling in more than a dozen yards of
thread n string followed which was
Joined 10 Irvine. To the farther end
of the Irvine was tied n dozen feet of
lampwick. saturated with oil. and be-
yOnd this n roll of cotton cloth the
shape of Il bologna sausage containing
food. There was also contained in the
roll a note stating that the prisoner
would be dug out, but that it would
take long while to do it.
Never did mans heart 20 out to one
of the brute creation as Hickman's
went to this rat. Though 10 divide
his provisions with it might endanger
his life. he took out bread and meat
and fed his little messenger. Then he
put his ear again to the wall and lis
tened 10 the music of the picks.
Hickman had no knowledge of the
volume that had fallen between him
and the shaft and was not prepared
for the slow advance his reScuerS were
making. Every few hours he would
put his ear TO the wall. but twenty
four hours PASSED without any appreci-
able increase in the sound. He kept
his little preServer by him. dividing
his scanty provisions with ii. fearing
that it would 90 away for food and
not return. Two days passed before
the prisoner could detect any consider
able increase in the sounds of the
picks, but after that they suddenly
grew louder. indicating that the dig
gers had broken through one barrier
and had come to the one next his
chamber.
Three days passed, and Hickman and |
his little messenger had eaten nearly
all their provisions. when suddenly one |
morning Hickman could hear the picks |
striking on the wall and soon after |
saw the point Of one of them break |