The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1908-05-08

rs to leave no trace except,
a pit ripped out Of tie noun
C. He looEa,l to his fuses and
that they were wrapped in oil
then placed them In his hat.
j. finished, he set out. walking
4 difficulty under the weight lie
fed
That his choice Of location had been
ell made was evidenced by the fact
hat the ground beneath his feet slOp-
d away to a basin out Of which bub-
oled a spring. 1t furnished the drink
ug supply Of the Midas. and he knew
very inch Of the crevice it had worn
down the mountain. so felt his way
cautiously along. At tie bottom Of the
hill where it ran out upon the level it
had worn considerable ditch through
the soil, and into tLiS lie crawled Oh
hands and knees. His bulging clothes
handicapped him 50 that his gait was
slow and awkward. While the rain had
Swelled the streamlet till II trickled
chilling him so that his muscles cramp-
ed AMI his very bones cried out with
it. The sharp Schist cut into his palms
till they were shredded and bleeding.
while his knees found every jagged
bit Of bedrock over which he dragged
himself. He could not see an arms
length ahead without rising, and. hav-
ing removed hF Slickc- for greater
freedom OF movement, the rain beat
upon his back till he was soaked and
&den and felt streamlets cleaving
inward between his ribs. Now and
he squatted upon his launches.
g his eyes to either side. The
banks were barely high enough to
shield him. At iast he came to bridge
Of planks spanning the ditch and was
about to rear himself for another look
when he suddenly flattened into the
stream bed. half damming the waters
with his body. 1t was for this he had
so carefully wrapped his fuses. A man
passed over him so close above that he
might have touched him. The sentry
paused few PAGES beyond and accost-
ed another. then retraced his steps
over the bridge Evidently this was
the picket line, so Roy wormed his
way forward till he saw the blacker
blackness Of the mine buildings, then
drew himself, dripping. out from the
bank. He had run the gantlet safely.
Since evictlng the owners, the receiv-
er had erected substantial houses In
place Of the tents he had found on the
mine. They were Of frame and CORFU
gated iron, sheathed within and suited
to withstand a moderate exposure.
The partners had witnessed the opera
ton from distance, but knew nothing
about the buildings from close exami-
nation.
A thrill Of affection for this place
warmed the young man. He loved this
old mine. 1t had realized the dream Of
his boyhood and had answered the
hope he had chung to during his long
fight against the northland. 1t had
come to him when he was disbearten-
ed, bringing cheer and happiness. and
had yielded Itself like bride. Now 1t
seemed crime to rayage it.
He crept toward the nearest wall
and listened. Within was the sound
Of voices, though the windows were
dark, showing that the inhabitants
were on the alert Beneath the foun-
dations he made mysterious prepara-
tions, then sought out the office build
Ing and cook house, doing likewise.
He found that back Of the seeming re-
pose Of the Midas there was strained
expectancy.
Although suspense had heightened
the time out Of all calculation, he
judged he had been gone from his CON-
panions at least an hour and that they
must be in place by now. If they were
Motif anything failed at this eleventh
hour-well, those were the fortunes of
war. In every enterprise, however
carefully planned, there comes time
when chance must take Its turn.
he made his way inside the black
smith shop and fumbled for a match.
Just as he was about to strike 1t he
heard the swish Of oiled clothes pass
Ing and waited for some time. Then,
Igniting his punk and hiding it under
his coat, he opened the door to listen.
The wind had died down now, and the
rain sang musically upon the metal
roofs.
He ran swiftly from house to house,
and, when he had done, at the apices
Of the triangle he had traced three
glowing Goals were sputtering.
The final bolt was launched at last.
He stepped down into the ditch and
drew his As, while to his tautened
senses 1t seemed that the very hills
leaned forth In breathless pause, that
the rain had ceased and the whole
night hushed its thousand voices. He
found his lower jaw set so stifly that
the muscles ached. Leveling his wea-
pom at the caves Of the bunk house, he
pulled trigger rapidly, the bang, bang.
bang, six times repeated, sounding dull
and dead beneath the blanket of mist