The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1912-01-13

( gone twenty PAGES in the chamber
5 Suddenly he stopped.
l You're not afraid, are your" he
( asked.
"No.o-o-o-not afraid. Only-two
hundred cases of dynamite"
He laughed again, With a joyous
ring in his voice, and in this moment,
as they stood alone under the noun
tain, with the faint glow of the lantern
lighting up their faces, Il seemed the
most natural thing in the world for
him to take the little hand that still
clung to his arm.
1T can't hurt u.s." he said. you
could build a bonfire in here and moth.
ing would happen. Look" He held
the lantern high above his head, and
she saw that the rock wall of the
chamber was four or five feet above
them. THE dynamite and the pow
der are under us" he went on, with
the exception of fifty cases which are
piled up at the end of this chamber.
There's ten feet of space here, and the
chamber is twenty feet wide. 1t runs
back hundred yards under the noun
tain. The dynamite and the powder
are covered over with six feet of ce-
ment and broken rock. The wire goes
under ground Just outside the mouth
of the chamber, and causes the explo-
sion from BENEATH. Now" He
was talking to her eagerly in his en-
thusiasm. "Now-by leaving this air
chamber-we will get more than one
explosion. There will be three or four,
where IL there were no air-chamber,
and no vent, there would be but ONE,
and we would lose three times the ex-
plosive force we will now get The
first or second explosion will explode
the fifty cases of dynamite back there
at the end OF the chamber. BY George,
1t ought TO rip thunder out of the
mountain"
BY George, 1T WILL" she cried,
and for an instant he felt her fingers
tighten about his own.
Il beg your pardon" he STAN
mered.
For what?" she demanded. BE
cause you can work up enthusiasm
enough in real work 10 FORGET
YOURSELF? It's glorious! | wish
were man. II we're I'G-Td do
something-something big-lihe blow
ing up mountains, building rail-
roads"
you really think it's blg?" he asked
in whisper. Il thought-you
know"
Yes, know what you thought" the
girl interrupted, as he hesitated.
Everyone thinks the same. II were
a man I'd BE a mani"
This time he could not see that curl
Gus tightening OF her lips.
"Ill show you the dynamite" he
suggested. you're not afraid?"
mo"
He led her deeper into the chamber.
No sound came to them now. In the
intensity Of the silence he could hear
the girl at his side breathing quickly,
and when he raised the lantern above
his head he saw that her eyes were
wide open, and their pupils big and
dark. A moment more and the Ian
tern glow began to reveal row upon
row OF boxes in their path.
That's the dynamite" he said, and
his voice sounded hollow and unreal.
ugh! shuddered his companion,
and he felt her pressing closer 10 him.
Almost in the same breath she clutched
his arm with her free hand. WHAT
WAS THAT?"
Nothing" he began-and stopped.
He had heard the sound, faint at
first, like a shovelful of gravel falling
upon the rock floor behind them. II
was followed now by a strange rush
ing sound that seemed to send a throb
through the mountain, and Philip
whirled toward the mouth of the coy
ote. Back there he should still have
seen the pale light of day filtering
through the outlet In place of that
there was the blackness Of night. He
held the lantern behind him, and
looked hard. 1t was still black, and
there rushed over him q feeling Of
horror II he had been alone he
would have cried out, and would have
run like madman TO the place where
the light should have been. In a flash
he knew what had happened. A rock
had loosened over the mouth of the
chamber, letting down slide OF rock
and earth. They were shut in! He
tried to speak calmly, but Miss Rod
ney had felt the thrill Of horror that
passed like an electric shock through
his body.
Il guess 1t was a little dirt falling
over the mouth of the tunnel" he said.
I'm afraid you'll have to soil your
dress getting out Miss Rodney, and
incidentally you'll have the pleasure
OF seeing me work for few minutes"
Miss Rodney did not reply as they
retraced their steps. The lantern light
revealed the coyote vent choked with
earth and broken trap. and when Phil
ip saw the trap, wedged and crushed
in the hole, he placed the lantern on
the floor, so that the girl could not see
his face. He dared not speak for a
moment, and turned from her to strip
off his coat With a little cry Miss
Rodney sprang to the lantern, and in
another moment she was holding 1t
close to his face, staring into his hor-
ror-flled eyes. His face was as white
as death, and his lips were set in
hard. tense line. In the girls face
Philip did not see what he had ex-
pected TO see She said nothing Her
eyes we're almost black, The lantern
shook in her hand. He knew that she
had seen In his face all that he could
have told her. and yet In her own
there was none Of the weakness that
he had feared. II was like a white
cameo in the half gloom.
lie turned from her and began to I