The Adair County news. [volume] (Columbia, Ky.) 1897-1987, 1922-01-17


had been wrought either in us or in
our surroundings during the noisy in
terlude.
Great Jehui" exclaimed the old
man-thOugh he was within arms
reach / could make him out only as q
dim shadow-"Great Jehu II b'lievO
I'm goin' blind, Stanniei II can't
see nothin' a-talll"
'DOn't worry" 1 FASTENED to say I;
I'm in the same boat. We've been
looking too long and steadily through
those auger-holes. tn pass in min
ute"
But it didn't pass and presently the
voice Of my old side partner came
again out of the darkness.
"P'raps it's clOudin' up some," he
suggested in half-whisper. II can't
see no stars through them windows"
At this looked toward the window
openings, but the interior blackness
had blotted them out completely. AL
most instinctively turned back to the
door and put an eye to a loophole.
One glance was enough. The trouble,
whatever 1T might be, was with US and
not with the sky. The stars were
shining as brightly as ever.
Don't move, Daddy" / cautioned.
and then CROPPED my way along the
wall and climbed to the top Of our
earth-sack breastwOrk at point which
l guessed to be under the nearest Of
the two windows.
When l drew myself up and tried 10
thrust hand through the opening
the mysterious darkness was ex-
planned. The window embrasures were
stopped up, both of them, on the out
side by something that felt like a
heavy canvas curtain, though how the
curtain was held in place 1 could not
determine. But it was firmly braced
in some way. With all the purchase
l could get-which wasn't much-I
couldn't dislodge it or push it aside
Making my way back to the door
told Daddy what had found.
Huh !" he said; "that old tarpaulin
that was out yOnder in the ore shed.
How dye reckon they got 1t there,
Stannie"
Its hOisted on a framework Of
some kind, and they did It while we
were rubbering and trying to find out
what all that noise was about"
We were not kept very long in doubt
as to what the next enemy move was
to be. With the cessation of the TOM
tom clatter the collie had grown curl
ously restless. We couldn't see him,
but we could hear him running from
post to pillar, shifting at the cracks
and occasionally giving a whining
growl. Presently he began to cough
and sneeze; then he came racing back
to us, flattening himself to hold his
nose to the crack under the door and
taking long breaths as if he were half
stifed. 1 stopped to pat him and i'm
mediately imagined / was smelling
burning sulphur matches.
"Get down here, Daddy, and smell
this dog" l whispered. as 1t old
fashioned matches, or what?"
One sniff was all that the old man
needed.
"GOsh-tO- ee-whIz-brimstone :" he
chOked; them devils are smOkin' us
out That's why they stopped up them
window holes; so we couldn't get any
air ="
There appeared to be little enough
time for any defensive move. The as
phyxiating gas was coming stronger
every moment, and any search for its
source seemed utterly hopeless. Yet
we went at it, coughing and choking,
and stumbling over everything in the
darkness, as matter of course.
After all it was Barney who q honor
him with the human pronoun because
he certainly deserved it, it was Bar
ney who showed us the devils door
way. The red glow was now sending
enough light through cracks and crew
ices and the bullet rippings overhead
to make our inner darkness a degree
or so less than Stygian. Missing the
dog for a moment at our common
breathing hole, we saw him circling a
particular spot in the floor and snarl-
At that we both remembered that
the shafthouse floor was raised a foot
or so from the rocky ledge on the
down-mOuntain side, and that the
space underneath was partly open.
Daddy pointed to the circling dog.
"Barney's got it!' he painted.
They've run their chimney up under
the floor !" Then: "Where in Sam
Hill did you leave that axT'
The ak was near at hand and 1 ran
for it. Holding my breath began to
chop madly at the floor planking. BY
this time the AFR was so bad that 1t
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