The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1904-09-16

or the other" he whispered to his as
sistant
Towards the middle of the afternoon
Colet collapsed with all the symptoms
of violent sunstroke His face be-
came almost black. His pulse beat fu-
riously. "Water!" he muttered, with
cracked lips. His companions turned
away. Then followed delirium. He
murmured of running streams and
splashing fountains. Death comes
quickly when the thermometer marks
1876 degrees on the Sahara. The poor
lad suddenly sprang to his feet, and,
staggering from the hut, he put his
palms together above his head and
dived, as one dives from river bank,
headlong into the black shadow of
the tower, streaming across the sand.
When Littlefield reached him he was
dead.
The sun completed it's circuit and
sank like a plummet toward the west
ern horizon. Belleau and his assistant
feebly tried the boring again. The
drill was withdrawn with some diff
Guilty. When it came to the surface it
was coated with stiff clay. cool to the
touch. The old engineer pointed to it.
He could not speak. 1t was ques-
ton of few hours.
Belleau, completely exhausted, threw
himself down on the sand at the door
of the hut and seemed to sleep. Lit
tlefield, lying fiat on his back, tried
TO gaze through the gray depths of the
zenith Suddenly, far above, he per-
ceived black spot that lowered and
circled in wide orbit. 1t seemed to
be watching intently. A sickness OF
utter horror and despair came upon the
young man.
He approached his chief and touched
the shoulder of the still form. There
| was no response. "Belleau!" he ex-
| claimed, with hoarse emphasis. Nc
| answer He passed his hand over the
temple fringed with gray locks. The
flesh was chill and harsh. The heart
| had ceased to beat. The old engineer
had passed away as peacefully as
baby goes to sleep within its mothers
encircling arms. The drill never
| stopped.
| "Clink-clank! Clink-clank!"
When Littlefeld opened his eyes
| again the lids seemed to CRATE heavily
upon the balls. He looked up. The
gray sky was gone and the odious black
spot with it. 1t was night, and ovel
the velvet depths of space the imperial
tropic stars were passing in majestic
procession They shone with wonder.
full brilliancy.
The young engineer gazed drowsily
at them. He felt strangely comfortable
as he lay there upon the sand. The
| tormenting thirst had ceased. He die
not even feel surprised when he found
| that his limbs had lost the power o.
motion. Life seemed concentrated in {
small area of the brain just behind
the eyes. He perceived nothing bu
| those glorious wheeling stars-somt
red, some blue, some of yellow lus
| ter.
Then came fieeting visions of fal
| distant landscape A New England
house, white clapboarded, with prin
green shutters-great elm trees over
arching, and the continual gurgle of :
brook, flowing underneath planl
bridge-all the odorous sweets of june
were in the air, and he was walkin.
up the path. A slight girl stood at tn
gate and stretched out her hands t.
him, smiling angelically with brown
eyes, that looked clearly into his own
Harry" she said, and her voic'
sounded like the far-away tinllle of ;
silver bell, "you have come at last"
Then the light went out like a glow
ing coal, and only the great calm, des
ert stars looked down pityingly.
"Clink-clank! Clink-clank"
But when the day came again tn
great drill had ceased it's clanking
In those hours of darkness the water
under the earth, liberated from thei
prison, had burst with impetuous fore
through the vent, tossed the machin
aside, and the first rays of the SUI
were reflected on the ebullient foo
that dubbed up from the well, gushe'
| in rainbow spray around the irol
! posts of the tall derrick, filled the hol
lows beside the track with crysta
pools, and then FASTENED by three dark
silent forms that needed it not, befor
plunging once more into the sands tina
gave it birth.