Oxford Democrat., 1906-09-11

IAjNEj IOESNHi VI
But one day the Swede, Swanson,
driving his pick for shovelful Of sand,
brought down cart load. Where the
earth lay bare underneath 1t glistened
with tiny rivulets Of water. and pres
emily the sand began to slough down
noiselessly, loOsening more and more,
growing more fluid. All Of the men
sprang to the end of the plank road
way. An Italian who went by the
name of Macaroni-for the sake OF uni
formity-yelled Justify for Jernigan.
"What you sQuallin' fort" demanded
the sub-boss. Its only q pocket OF
auicksand"
Up to that time the air lock had not
been used, but now the men rushed
from the deep workings, the inner steel
door of the lock was clapped shut, and
the compressed air was turned In.
With q depth of sixty feet 1t was nec-
essary to use pressure of over thirty
pounds to the square inch two atmos-
pheres) in order to make the pressure
Of air within the tunnel equal to the
pressure Of earth and water without.
thereby tending to keep the soft earth
at the tunnels end from caving in.
"Now, byes," said Jernigan, well
swaller air"
Twenty men crowded into the lock,
and the outer steel door was closed.
Jernigan turned valve, and the air
came kissing In. the men held their
noses, blew into their cheeks, swallow
ed Justify with nothing to swallow,
that they might equalize the pressure
inside their bodies with that without.
Terrible sharp pains shot through their
heads. and sometimes 1t seemed as
though their eardrums must burst. But
at last the limit Of pressure was reach
ed, and the pain gradually passed
away. The door leading to the pres
| sure workings was opened and In they
went.
Jernigan's men were all young and
sound. None other can bear the strain
and fatigue of this most wearing OF
toll. The tunnel had grown misty. so
that the lights shone through halos OF
haze, and the compression Of the air
had generated so much heat that the
men began to strip. Jernigan's voice
sounded thin and high in the thick
air; 1t was an effort to speak aloud.
Paddock, who was an inveterate whis-
tier, could not blow sound.
"She's stopped slobberin'," remarked
Jernigan as they reached the tunnels
end. Most of the men began digging
cautiously and shoveling the mud into
the tram cars. Swanson, the Swede,
sat at one side and industriously made
small round balls Of clay, little lar
ger than croquet balls. 1t seemed like
child's work. and Jernigan kept up
steady stream Of raillery at the ex-
pense of the big Swede.
Swanson could have put his big fat
thumb on Jernigan and smashed him
and done with it, for he was 80 tall
he couldn't stand straight on the road
way Of the tunnel without hitting his
head-a huge hulk Of man, tow head
ed, blue eyed, slow Of speech, faithful.
He called the sub-boss always "Mees-
ter Yernigan;" Jernigan had at least
twenty names for him and not one Of
them at all complimentary. And yet
no dog ever served q master more
faithfully than Swanson served the
sub-boss.
And suddenly, as they worked, the
tunnel began to grumble, and there
was Jernifan barring the passageway
to safety like u rock.
"Give it to her. byes," he shouted.
Swanson was already on his feet,
with his arms full Of the clay balls,
and he and three Of the other men be-
gan throwing them swiftly and vigor-
ously ut the spot where the air was es-
Gaping. Each fiattened out near the
tunnel rim like thick corn cake. and
when the rattling ceased Swanson
sprang into the mud and pommeled the
clay into the break. The heavy air in
the tunnel helped to hold the patch IN
place. Then the work went on again,
the Italians picking aud shoveling;
Billy. the tram mule, tapping his long
ears; Swanson soberly patting mud pei
lets, and Jernigan directing everything
with cheerful unconcern. Once more
during the shift the tunnel grumbled,
once more there was battery Of clay
balls and once more the men won the
victory against the water.
"Ye'ro q pretty pitcher, Monty"
shouted Jernigan. "Why don't you
throw over the home plate2 Here,
Swanson, you swede. climb up there
and paddle"
At the end Of three hours Of the heavy
air and the heavier work the men re-
turned to the air lock, suffered again
the pain Of reducing pressure and went
into free air, wet and shivering with
cold. They were taken instantly to
hot room, where they were given guam
titles of steaming black coffee. and
after that they dropped down to sleep.
Two shifts day, three hours or less
each, was all these men could stand.
Thus day after day Jernigan kept his
crew burrowing, though the tunnel
grumbled its displeasure almost con.
stantly, and the earth came down half
fluid silt. So much water came in that
It ran In q stream under the plank
roadway, and the great pumps at the
shaft head worked to full capacity.
Once they thought the whole tunnel
end was coming in. The water gush.
ed inward, rose rapidly above the road.
way and swirled cold about their feet.
Two Italians bolted suddenly from the
earth working to escape. Even Pad
dock dropped his shovel. Jernigan
stood like post.
"Get back therew he roared.
He caught one italian with blow on
the chin that sent him sprawling into
the water. The second paused, and
Jernigan leaped at him and drove him
headlong against the earth at the tun'
nel's end.
Meantime Swanson, In his slow way,
was coolly pitching clay balls. Two
It,. ...o. 18th Tar,{oop foiuod him