Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-01-11

La the glow Of the light the girls
face shone pale and tense. They had
gone twenty PAGES in the chamber.
Suddenly he stopped.
You're not afraid, are you?" he
asked
"No-o-o-o-not afraid Only-two
hundred cases of dynamite
He laughed again, with 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
chung TO his arm.
1T cant hurt u.s." he said you
could build 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. Ii runs
back hundred yards under the moun-
tain. The dynamite and the powder
ares covered over with six feet of &c.
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 II there were no air-chamher
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.
II ought TO rip thunder out of the
mountain"
BY George. IT WILL" she cried,
and for an instant he felt her fingers
tighten about his own.
Ill beg your pardon" he STAN
mered
FOR what" she deman led. BE
cause YOU can work up enthusiasm
enough in real work to FORGET
YOURSELF? It's glorious. ! wish !
were man. If | We're id-Id do
something-someih hing big-like blow
Ing up mountains, building rail
roads,
You really think it's big?" he asked
in whisper. Il thought-you
know"
Yes, know what you thought the
girl interrupted, as he hesitate ed.
Everyone thinks the same. If were
a man I'd BE a man.
This time he could not see that curl
Gus tightening Of her lips.
I'm show you the dynamite lie
Su1EeSted you re not afraid
NO"
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 10 reveal roy 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 TO 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 shoveful of gravel falling
upon the rock floor behind them. 1t
was followed now by a strange rush
ing sound that seemed TO send 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 flterng
through the outlet In place of that
there was the blackness of night. lie
held the lantern behind him, and
looked hard. 1t was still black, and
there rushed over him feeling of
horror. If he had been alone he
would have cried out, and would have
run like mailman to the place whore
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.
II guess it was a little dirt falling
over the mouth of the tunnel" he said.
. I'm afraid youll 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 dld not reply az tney
retraced their steps, The lantern light
revealed the coyote vent choked with
, earth and broken trap, aud 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
: moment, and turned from her to strip
or his coat With a little cry MISS
Rodney sprang to the lantern, and IN
another moment she was holding IL
, close to his face, staring into his nor
d, fortified eyes. His face was as white
, as death. and his lips we're set In
hard. tense line. In the girls race
| Philip did not see what he had ex-
, pected to see She said nothing. Her
/. eyes were almost black. The lantern
/ shook IN her hand. lie 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. 1t was like white
cameo in the half gloom.
He turned from her and began to