Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1909-06-25

perhaps | ought not to ask, although
/ have known you for yearly three
yearsY but Is 1t usual for a wife to
wear two wedding rings"
Dead silence. He had just lowered
his violin, after a very soft solo-for
1t was considerably past Midnight
when I ventured hat curious CUES
ton. There had been an evening
party, and, as l was to stay at the
house till morning, Carson's wife had
said Goodnight" and left us to finish
our Inevitable smoke and talk. His
mouth twitched a little, but it was
some time before he retorted in a low
tone:
"Is it usual for a man we'll under
forty to have hair as white as
miner"
We'll, perhaps not-but l thought
you attributed that to some shock or
other. What has that to do with
with the two rlngs?"
"Everything." He listened at the
door for a moment, turned down the
lights and hen came and sat down.
spreading his hands over the fire.
1.-TWO rings? Exactly, inc is the ring
I put on her finger when I married
her; the SECOND was put there by an
other and Will stay there as long
as the FIRST
Never mind, now" I said. His
voice had trailed off huskily. Il
had no idea there was any tragic ele-
ment behind the fact"
Tragic? Heavens. 1t vas more
than that, Arthur" he whispered, turn
ing up a drawn face. Il never meant
to touch upon it, but when you spoke
1t came back with a rush as vivid as
If l had been standing at the mouth
Of the old north shaft again. And
that was six years ago
you've heard me speak at least, Of
the mine itself-the Langley Mine, in
Derbyshire. had only been assist
ant surveyor at the pits there for
about nine months when 1t happened.
At 8 o'clock that morning, Arthur,
three Of US stepped Into the cage-Old
Jim Halliday, the foreman. his son
Jim, and myself; the men had gone
down an hour before. I hall never
forget that young Jim's sweetheart
udu "GiheU over 70 me pit With ulul
as she occasionally did. They were
to be married in a week or two, and
she-and she had on her finger the
ring that he had bought in Derby the
day before-just for safety's sake, or
perhaps out Of womanly pride. ! rec
ollect just as the chain clanked and
the winter sunshine was disappearing
overhead, he shouted out a third
"Good-by!" to her-little dreaming
that it was to be a last good by. Little
enough old Halliday and l thought
that days would clause before ""
emerged into Gyls sunlight again!
"A new vein had been bored the
year before, and then abandoned be-
cause 1t ran in the direction Of the
river. We three had had instructions
to widen 1t for a space Of three hun
dred yards-a piece of work that had
occupied us nearly a month. Old Jim
picked and young jim wheeled the
coal away to the nearest gallery, from
where it was carried over rails to the
bottom of the main shaft.
We'll, by 4 o'clock that afternoon
we calculated roughly that we had
reached the limit laid down.
81 think It's as near as possible,
Mr.. Carson old Halliday said. Jim,
give another count, we don't want the
water coming in
Jim went back. We could hear
him singing out The PAGES in his light
hearted fashion as he returned, his
voice echoing through the long gal
leries.
observation-disclosures! you're miles
of 1t, dad!' He was only a score Of
yards off, though. 'Two-sixty-nine-
two seventy-four. III allow a full
twenty yet. I reckon
He had just finished his count
when-but there, no man could prop
erly describe it. 1t was something one
had to realize for himself before he
could understand a bare half Of the
sudden terror that whitened our lips
and seemed to bring our hearts to a
standstill. There was a rumbling in
one Of the distant galleries, and a sick
ening tremble OF the ground under
Meath US: then-then the most para
Lying sound, l do believe. that Is to
be heard in this world. How or why
1t happened IS something to be placed
among the host Of unsolved mysteries;
but there was one grinding, splinter
ing roar, as though the earth had split
Into pieces.
Before we could stir hand or foot
to save ourselves, before we could
ever take in that an explosion had &C.
Cured while we were guarding against
another sort Of danger, down thun-
dered a mass OF coal, tons upon ton
OF Il, that blocked up the only passage
leading to the shaft. 1t just reached
young Jim; standing where he did, he
was struckdown-we heard his screech
sti1ed beneath the debris. For about
I've more seconds the earth seemed to
be heaving and threatening universal
chaos: then al! became still as death.
"A tomb! We had our lamps; old
Jim and / looked. and saw that we
were cut of from h rest Of the
world.
What happened next l hardly
know; I was stupefed with the shock,
sick with a mortal fear of death. He
and I stood staring mutely at each
0thsr. The only thing I rscollect Is