The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1908-01-16
WATCHERS OF THE Cable
BY DENISON HALEY Cliff,


| and listening to It's dreary Groom. He
always remembered his fathers ex-
perience at the foot of the Long Hill,
and he knew if the cable broke there
would be several runaway cars down
one of the city's steepest grades, for
the cars climbing the Powell street
hill would slide back.
"The first the watcher knew of
the trouble was when the hurrying
cable showed it's torn strands. In
stantly he opened he tar tank above
the wheel. and the rope spit the
drops into his face. A grating sound
broke the monotonous hum of the
cable. More severed wires rolled in.
And then young Farrelley knew that
one of the wheels in the long shaft
had broken it's axle, settling into the
fork, and was cutting into the whirl-
ing cabic.
well, the lad didn't hesitate. He
knew that he could only reach the
broken wheel through the shaft, for
the tunnel was built so low that no
manholes opened to the pulleys until
the cable reached the street and
rolled into position close to the long,
endless slot. A dim memory of his
fathers collision came to him.
"There was not moment to lose
Turning, he pressed the button close
above him that signaled to the en-
CINE room to stop the machinery, for
| do ;r hos xx,sk +
/ the cable running. Then lighting a
lantern, he sprang into the dark hole,
beside the whirling rope.
"The low tunnel stretched away
before him, black and appalling, four
feet square, running underground
fifty rods to the road from the cable
room. At regular distances through
it were placed eight wheels. or pull
! leys, over which the cable ran.
"Farrelley lost no time. On all
fours he crept along under. the swift
running cable, thu lantern before
him. The ripping strands were flying
past him. He knew the old cable
could not last long. His hands trem-
bled, and the lantern shook like a
vibrating headlight.
"He passed the first Of the whir-
ring wheels. He paused a second,
holding the lantern close to the cable
| He could see now that the trouble
lay with the sixth wheel Of the series
| Fresh breaks flew by, grating over
/ the wheel. He became terrified, for
fear the wire would snap before the
machinery closed down.
Gle lunged forward suddenly. In
that instant the auxiliary wheels in
the engine room caught up the slack,
and the cable leaped taut, striking
the lantern globe. The glass shiv-
cred into a thousand bits, and the
lantern was torn from his grasp. He
was in total darkness.
"In moment OF frantic fear he
clutched for the lantern; his hand
closed upon the flying cable, and be-
fore he could let go he was hurled
| backward, and his fingers were
caught and crushed between the rope
and the wheel groovei Then he was
flung aside, and the cable flew on.
"Farrelley lay back upon the grass
+, caked ground, convulsed with pain.
! Overhead the cable sang on, sinister
and inexorable in its note But it's
Groom was broken by a continual
scraping, grating of wires torn
loose. And as he lay. there flashed
over his mind sudden realization
that sent the blood from his face.
The cable was still running! Had
his message been received in the en-
CINE room?
SIN the horror of this new posi-
bility he forgot the aching pain in his
hand A vague instinct told him of
the true danger. Somehow his sig
nal had miscarried, and the machin-
cry was not going to stop!
"Farrelley had the grit of his
! father. He knew that quicker than
he could crawl back and have the
power shut off he could creep ahead
and dislodge the sixth wheel. Every
moment was valuable now. Suppose
the wire rope SNAPPED before he could
reach it? He remembered his
father!
! Holding his injured hand close
to his breast, he continued to drag
himself on, close to the crusted earth,
dense night all around him. He
passed the second wheel, and it spit
tar at him defiantly.
Through an eternity of seconds he
crawled on, and the third pulley rat
tied over him. He knew then that he
had covered half the distance. He
was weak now from the pain, which
ran, throbbing, into his tired brain.
eeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeoe