The Farmington times and herald. (Farmington, St. Francois Co., Mo.) 1902-1905, 1905-01-27

6olHE nibl"T IN OtHCF WOIlS. ihd'
powerful, relentless. modern force
compressed air. was lowing tnrcely
yet silently. into the chamber far down
beneath the river which. did 1t possess
an occupant, would prove perhaps
chamber Of death.
Edward Dart" cried Kate passion.
ately, pointing 10 the gauge, what
does that mean"
The mans hand sprang back from
the lever, as to wrench the latter In
Its socket.
What are you doing herer" he
asked roughly.
Tell me-is anyone inside the lock-"
Tell you? What for?"
Because | must--I will know Be-
cause Mr.. Blatchford explained to me-
the working of this lock, and know
that the pressure is dangerous. | can
not trust you" Then she added, trem-
Robert Leslie?"
How do | know" he snecred, al
though beads of sweat stood out on his
brow His hand was back on the steel
rod.
Then take your hand OFF that lever,
| tell you-reduce the pressure of air."
Dart mace no movement. The needle
now pointed to "a. In her frenzy for
the supposed safety Of her lover. Kate
sought to drag Dart away from his
l. .K,
both hands, thus showing that his
broken limb had entirely healed. ul-
though he had seen fit to hide the
cure for purposes Of his own.
Help, Help" she screamed A
piece of iron lay nearby. She sliced
II and struck him a full blow on the
temples, and the fellow collapsed like
an emptled sack.
Then she instantly clutched the
right lever and lowered 1t, gaspiRG
and choking in her excitement She
expected It to turn the opposite di-
rection, but, to her terror, 1t continued
to reyolve as before.
Sixty-hye-GG tt Merciful hcav-
ems, what shoulG she do?
Instantly she graspcd the other lev
er and exerted all her strength. Every
second Of suspense seemed an eterni-
| ". Kate Maxwell was now firmly con-
WINGED that her lover. Robert Leslie
was in the air chamber at the bot
tom OF the shaft How could she save
him" She pictured him fallen upon
| the slime Of the river bed with the
| terrible compressed air. gripping his
body and slowly crushing it, as n boa
constructor would crush hound. To
| reduce the volume Of air would bring
relief at once-perhaps save his life
Her lips formed silent prayer, and
as If In answer to that supplication.
the needle Of the gauge At last way
| cred In the balance, then began TO
slowly move in the opposite direction
When ii got to So she would de-
press the lever and stop its 1.-THE
needless course F'ifty-4j-40-fip-
ure by figure 1t turned slowly. Thank
God, the danger WAS past! If Robert
were In the air chamber and lived.
his rescue had come In the very nick
Of time
But horrors-what was this, Al
though she pressed with all her might,
the needle continued TO turn. after 30
was passed. She sprang at the other
lever; she gripped it with both hands
she shriekeu for help.
II II reached d certain point, the
water would he unchecked and II
would flow into the air chamber, and
Leslie would be drowned like a rat in
a trap.
Thirty -- 25-2 p -- % - %, Could
nothing be done!
Twenty -one-2J-lg--1S In vain
the young girl put forth her full re-
naming strength Darts fall must
have destroyed, the nice mechanism of
the instrument, and Kate had thus be-
come unwittingly, an accessory to her
lovers murder. The needle pointed to
nine and was stlll descending when she
tainted at the door of the lock.
A few moments later. John Batch
ford. engineer of the Marbury tunnel,
at last completed after many months
OF labor, came up the shaft smiling.
followed By his little gang Of faithful
worRmcn.
At the spectacle which met their
eyes. they stopped short. and Robert
Leslie. as pale as death, flung him.
self beside the recumbcnt form of his
sweetheart. who lay white and still
scarce two feet from the great iron
door which barred the way into the
tunnel. Several OF his comrades turned
their attention to Dart. who was sub
sequently borne home, suffering from
shock.
When Kate Maxwell recovered con-
seriousness, she clasped her lover close
ly. The gauge, she murmered
stretching out her finger. Il thought
you were dead down there And the
levers would not work"
Mr.. Batchford examined the lndi-
Gator and levers while she spoke
Then he gave a low whistle.
by Jupiter" he said quietly, you
turned on less air at the right mo-
ment. Mistress Kate. was out six
feet in my reckoning. and the two ends
Of the tunnel met sooner than | ex-
pected. But If we had met. with the
pressure here at 65, whether there had
been an explosion or not. It would
have been rather rough on Leslie. He
would have been paralyzed for life
That's the worst of putting a sick man
on duty: there's always the risk OF q
relapse at the wrong moment
Kate Maxwell, looking up into her
lovers face, was silent
He'd Seen FIN.
What business is mana in. mann