The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-03-19
A NOCTURNAL JOURNEY
 INTO AN ALABAMA MINE


 A newspaper man was spending the
 night at the lodging house in one of the
 coal mining towns in the Birmingham
 district
 A short time after retiring at an early
 hour he was aroused by the wall of a
 woman's voice. She was pleading with someone to save her husband
 The newspaper man dressed shurriedly
 and rushed into the hall. where he found
 a scene of great confusion. Three men,
 including the husband of the woman who was Wa1ling and wrnging her hands in
 great distress, had not yet come from the
 mines and it was now 10 o'clock.
 All the men should have been out by at the latest. The mine foreman was
 trying to persuade the woman that her
 husband had been delayed in the camp and would be home, but the anxious look on his face belied his words.
 The woman and the others, who were equally as anxious as she, would not be pacified in the least until the foreman agreed to go down into the mine after the missing men, The newspaper man volunteered to accompany him.
 On approaching the mouth of the mine, about 3o0 yards from the little lodging house, the foreman said to the newspap per man, "I cannot permit you to go into the mine without warning you that it may be dangerous. The mine is not safe. I do not expect to find these three men alive. I cannot persuade others to go with me at this time of night. Gas is accommodating in the roof of some of the lower headings and it is my opinion that these men have been overcome in some way"
 "If you go down so will I'' replied the newspaper man, who scented a good story"
 For about 50 feet the mine shaft sloped ralo if ak al easy of descent. Then the opening be- came almost level, but the roof was low and the walkway rough and muddy. The newspaper man was not permitted to carry light for the good reason that he might touch the gas" and the small oil lamp on the foreman's cap cast weird light through the dark, musty chambers of the underground passages
 There was a sickening smell of damp earth and foul air. The roof grew lower with almost every step forward ana the explorers now had to stoop. In one or two places they almost had to crawl.
 The passage they followed sometimes turned upward and then downward, now to the right and then to the left. the general tendency being down, down, down, deep into the bowels of the earth.
 At one narrow passage the men crawled over some stone and dirt that had recently fallen from the roof, almost closing the way.
 Part of this stuff fell since l came out this afternoon said the foreman with a grim laugh, stopping to regard the effect it would have on the race ol the young newspaper man.
 The answer was a smile, but 1t was forced The newspaper man had spoken but few words since he entered the slope He had followed in silence. More than once he was prompted to turn pack, put it was too late. He could never ma ms way ont of this labyrinth of twisted pas sa .as with a confusion of headings turn ing to the right and left. Then ne olo not have the courage to admit his cow ardice He had volunteered on this dan | eerous journey and would stick 1t out II he died with the men he was sure had already given up their lives
 .'We are one mile underground now, volunteered the foreman. lhs iliiselms men have been Worklae oie-haii ~ ~ further down. N ~
 The nevspaper man groaned Ine 1ore- man laughed. The echo of the laugh sounded like the howl of demons Tn the dark caverns below them. .,--.,
 As they pushed forward the 1oreinair 1 at intervals would call aloud the name ol t,e missing husband. The newspaper man thought he heard an ans"erlns .S,,. It was but the echo of an echo answering e-afd
 .I believe it is all up with them saiu t1,a foreman at last when they hau reached a point about one and quarter miles under ground. "rhey ought to near my whistle from here to the very bottom ] of the mine What a report thls IS to carry back to the poor woman at the lodging house. The other two men were single and had no close relatives that knew of. but the poor woman! l do not believe I have the courage to tell her. l had hoped against all hope that we wouio find the man alive.
 Hello, Whats that?'
 Both men stood glaring into the oarh- ness of the passage below It was unmis- takably the voices of men. Yes, ana they were chatting and laughing pleasantly It was the three missing miners.
 Hello boss, what are you doing down here? We thought that you had gone out long ago." said the married man or the three as they came in sight.
 That is exactly what l would ike to know" said the foreman What are you doing in here so late. Your wife IS al most crazed with grief back there at the lodging house. What is the matter, any way?"
 why our shots blew out and we stayed down to refire them. When we got ready we found we had no matches, and then got to talking and forget that it was get ting late,