The Democratic advocate., 1907-01-25

but could not answer.
1.-Two of my shots had struck the first
man, both taking effect in the body. Only
one had hit the second, but it struck him
in the forehead As the pistols were 48
caliber and the range was so close both
men were instantly killed. =
Miners Fate in Hands of Madman.
MANHATTAN, NEv.-To be whizzed
up and down a 200-foot shaft for two
hours, with maniac at the throttle of the
hosting machine is the experience vouch-
safed to Jack Wright, miner employed
in the Jumping Jack mine here.
Jack, who has good appetite, came
up from the lower levels at noon the other
day to eat his lunch in the sunshine At
one o clock he stepped upon the ''bucket''
by which his companions had already
dropped back to work, and signaled to the
engineer at the hoist, who was in plain
view, to lower him. The latter, John
Pugh by name, started to comply. He
had released the brake, and the big drum
about which the cable was coiled had al
ready made several revolutions, when
Richard Perry walked into the hoisthouse.
''Stop that bucket r he said.
Pugh, his eyes glued to the payingout
cable, paid no attention. Perry, the for
mer engineer at the hoist, had been fired
several weeks before for drunkenness, and
ever since he had been lounging in harm
less drunken befuddlement about the
works.
''Stop that bucket - repeated Perry.
''Wait "a minute till | get Jack down,
said Pugh, with conciliatory manner.
''Stop that bucket : said Perry.
There was something SO insistive in the
command that this time Pugh looked up.
He glanced up into the muzze Of 40
Colts, behind which two eyes, out of their
sockets with maniacal frenzy, glared.
''Wait minute" Pugh started to say,
trying to gain time.
Perry CRASHED his teeth, placed the
cold muzzle upon Pugh's temple, and
cooked the gun. Pugh put on the brakes,
turned on his heel, jumped out OF the rear
window, and went down the hill to get
help.
Perry calmly established himself upon
the vacated stool, his cooked six-shooter
conveniently at hand. He released the
brake. The drum began to revolve, slow
ly at first, then faster, till it hummed.
Then, just as the extremity Of the cable
was almost reached, Perry jammed on the
brakes, released them, jammed them on
again, and brought the thing to stop at
the place on the cable where a piece of
twine showed the reaching of the lowest
level. Immediately, however, he threw
the electric controller forward a notch, then
another, then full on, and the drum began
to revolve in the other direction. UP
wound the cable, the drum fairly buzzing.
Perry kept his eyes on the shaft. Sud
denly the bucket whizzed out of the open
ing up into the sunlight. Perry threw off
the controller, snapped on the brakes, and
the bucket stopped, a bare six inches from
the top Of the gallows frame. Then OFT
came the brakes, and down swooped the
bucket into the shaft again. When it got
down, it came up again; when it was up,
it went down again-all at vertiginous
speed. And this is the game that for two
hours, alone upon the top of Gold Hill,
the mad engineer played.
As for Wright, meanwhile, he was not
having nice time. When Pugh had
made his discreet exit he had found him.
self in motionless bucket, swinging idly
between two levels. He was just reaching
over to ring two bells for further descent
when the bucket started down. His sat
isfaction was of short duration, however.
Down dropped the bucket at speed that
jumped Wright's heart into his mouth.
There were big drops of perspiration upon
his honest brow when the thing clambering
down, -''z-z-z-z-z-z' the bucket
began to slide upward. The speed in
sure there was something wrong, and SO,
very wisely, he dropped to the bottom of
the bucket, making himself as small as
possible, and anchoring himself with his
feet and back Up he shot; stream of
golden sunlight blinded him; he had a
faint vision of the scaffolding above, and
then, just as he had made up his mind he
was dead-the bucket stopped 1t swung
second there, then down it went again
with dizzying swoop.
The impressions of Wright during the
next two hours might be very interesting
only he didn't have any impressions.
About on his third mad trip up and down
the shaft he discreetly shut his eyes and
tainted away. He doesn't call it ''faint-
ing" He says he 'just got dizzy" So
'dizzy'' did he get, indeed, that it took
most of half day to revive him, and even
now he zigzags crafty as he walks, and
swears he will never again be caught in
any kind of an elevator.
Meanwhile Pugh was walking and run
ming down the hill toward town The first
man he met there was L. M. Sullivan, the
principal owner of the Jumping Jack
mine The two men started back up the
hill. When they reached the top they
peered down into the hosting house
through the back window, which had
served for Pugh's precipitous exit. From
there they could see Perry intent upon his
work, alternately putting on power and
brake The machine buzzed and the ca
BILE whizzed, and, looking at the mouth Of
the shaft, they could see at regular inter
walls the bucket shoot up and down again
1t seemed empty, and they thought Wrigh
dead.
The concentration with which PER-,
played his deadly game twas his undoing
Noiselessly jumping through the window
Sullivan sprang upon him from behind
pinioning his arms. Meanwhile, Pugl
stopped the bucket at the surface, ane
then the two men, after sharp struggle
succeeded in throwing the madman to tn,
| ground and tying him up with a rome