The Pickens sentinel. (Pickens, S.C.) 1911-2016, 1915-02-11

Alan Nesotiates for the eurros.
left carelessly thrust into the wall oy
Marrophat's lieutenant, and gutterlng'
had dropped a flaming wick into III
tie heap of bone-dry debris. This last
famed, licked hungrily at the timber
ing that upheld the falls OF the tunnel
The timbering caught fire without de-
Law. In a space Of time incredibly
brief the flames were spreading right
and left, the tunnel was vault Oh
blistering fury.
AS Alan said his last mute fareWeil
to Rose and Barcus, the FIRE spread
out in the bottom Of the shaft and In
-aded the powder room.
Alan had guessed Alright at Mario
phat's design, the keg Of blasting pow
! der was less than al eighth full; its
explosion could not possibly have ef-
fected the cave-in Alan had at nrst
feared.
But what Marrophat had overlooked
was the proximity to the keg OF some
several sticks Of dynamite. masked oy
a film Of earth that had fallen from
the crumbling walls.
When the blazing fuse dropped
sparks into the blasting powder this
last exploded right willingly and the
dynamite took its cue without the
least delay.
The resultant detonation was ter
rife. The bulkhead was crushed In
like an eggshell barrier. Part OF the
walls fell in, but the tunnels and smart
Iremained intact The released flood
reamed out and spread swiftly to the
esrecesses Of the burning tun-
Lat no, = Sssa clouds Of steam filed that
n,aoo nI, ~ +erroFsth the fires were extin-
guished. :, oa
Swept with the streanS ~ ..;res poa. ea
out Of the tunnel, Alan SSn.l..s ss " y
throughout toFeesstns sis holfS ssas 40.
the waist Of Rose. BarcIs srSe
him unseen in the darkness. It Was>
not until Alan had contrived to catch
an unburned timber and stay himself
and his almost witless burden beneath
the mouth of the shaft that he discoV-
cred Barcus alive, if almost unrecog-
nizable in his mask Of mold and SCOT,
battling back toward the shaft against
the kneedeep tide.
Haif-blinded and sti1ed as he was by
the reek Of steam and powder fumes,
Alan struggled with himself until MS
wits were passably clear.
| Immediately before him dangled the
hosting bucket and rope.
Surrendering the care Of Rose to
Barcus, Alan climbed into the bucket
and stared upward, examining the
walls of the shaft FOR way to the
top.
There was none other than the nest
difficult; gaps too great to be bridged
by climbing showed in the wooden
ladders.
The one feasible route was via the
rope. And there was nobody at the
top to work the windlass-and Alan
F, hoped there would be NOBODY 10 op-
pose his essay.
He addressed himself to the task
without murmuring-lifted himself up
on the rope, wound it round one leg,
and be an that heartbreaking climb.
+; How he accomplished it he never
knew. That it must be accomplished
was his one, all-absorbing thought.
And somehow, by some almost super
human effort, it was eventually accom-
plished.
He arrived at the top Of the shaft
far too exhausted to show sunrise
when, falling in half-fainting condi:
ton within two feet of the brink, he
saw Judith Trine running like mad
across the clearing.
But without her aid he would not
within hours have been able to work
the windlass and lift Rose and Bar
Gus to the surface.
Continued Next week.