Evening star., 1923-10-30
Continued from Yesterdays Starr
Thieves Fall Out.

Thieves Fall Ont.
HERE'S no need why they
- should behave otherwise now,
sir" replied the detective.
Haven't you got one or two
trusty men to whom you could say
word or two. giving them the hint 10
spread the news among the rest OF their
fellow workers that everythings all
right?"
Ouinton reflected; then he thought
OF Black Moses Pogmore. and said he
would 60 and find him. The result was
that the crowd which gathered around
the court next morning, though much
bigger in dimensions than at the first
hearing, was quiet and orderly, ana
chiefly concerned in giving Sir Ciin-
ton a rousing reception when he came
out-a free man.
Inside, the court was packed TO the
doors. The fench was again nileo'
there was no room at the solicitors
table nor anywhere in the well OF the
court; the galleries and back benches
were filled to their utmost capacity. OF
all the people who had been there pc
fore only Marshall Stead was -HaisSlnE-
The merely formal proceedings ~hich
led to Clinton's discharge from CUSTODY
were soon over. and then the court pc
came a pandemonium from wnicn the
police and officials found 1t difiicuN 10
make a way for the released man ana
his cousin. And suddenly Phlllpa' as
in a dream. found herself standlng on
the steps outside the court, with Cnn-
ton on one side of her and Quinton on
the other, and in front vast -stretcn-
ing crowd of men in their Sunday pest,
who were shouting as II at popular
ST. Leger winner. The men would have
a speech-Sir Clinton must speak to
them-they must and would near ms
voice! Then they cheered again: until
he lauehingly showed signs of obeying
their win by climbing to the baiustraoes
and removing his hat
"Friends and neighbors.' he began.
But what he was going to say was
never said. At that moment mighty
reverberat ton. as Of the loudest thunder,
burst. as it seemed, all around tnem.
and looking round with blanched faces
men saw a gigantic column OF smoke
break from the mouth of the coiliery
shaft, and in the moment that followed
sudden shrill cry pierced ssN,nsion eVery ear ai
the pit! And my mans gone down."
The workings OF the Mannersley main
colliery are known to all mining ex-
perts and to the men who there tear
their sustenance from the bowels OF the
earth to be among the most extensive
in the country. just as the main SHAFT
is one Of the deepest.
Some of the miners who. for lack OF
accommodation in Mannersley itself.
isolated cottages on the edge of the
parish used to calculate that after de-
scending to the bottom of the shaft
they were obliged to walk just as far
then iaboring as they had walked from
their own cottage down to the cage
in which they descended. One man In
particular, who had turn for exacti-
tude and locality. af{irmed that he had
once worked exactly beneath his own
bit of garden, which was mile and
three e-quarters from the pit brow. The
ramifications Of these workings spread
far and wide in all directions. Many
Of them were never used or visited,
and Dogger Tandy had therefore
spoken wisely when he told Marshall
Stead that somewhere in their burrow-
like twistfngs was the place for him to
hide; he would be as safe there for a
few days as If he had been suddenly
transplanted to South Africa. And
there Stead was-safe underground.
1t had been an easy enough thing to
away. ayn nun Once % dressed % up up in = an old suit
of Dogger Tandy's pit garments, with
q little elementary makeup to assist
in the disguise, with q food pail In one
hand and a lamp in the other. he had
ion possible, nobody paying the least
attention to him.
Down below Tandy proved himself
an excellent guide. He appeared to
know every inch Of that vast-spread. !.
ing warren in which human beings. half
naked, grimed and blackened with coal
dust, dragged fuel from the EARTH 8
womb with infinite cost Of sweat and
labor to themselves.
It was indeed a warren. thought
Stoad as Tandy hurried him along gall
leries and passages, and he caught
glimpses of forms and lights In all d.
rections. 1t made him feel momen-
tary sensation Of queerness to realize
that the green grass. and the fresh
air. and the wide-spreading sky. the
busy village, the winding river, and the
gray castle, were twelve hundred feet
above it.
The disused working of which Tandy
had spoken as being safe and never
visited, was one Of which great things
had been expected and never realized.
Dogger Tandy knew how to get into
it from the main workings without at
tracing attention: 1t was only q ques-
tion Of slipping away up thi: gallery
and down that; He led Stead to the
as an old mole might have led a young
visitor to the most decent chamber Of
its underground castle.
This hiding place was rooted and
boarded room. which had been intended
trived to get some horse rugs there.
and from the disused stable nearby
he procured q quantity OF hay. which
had been left and was quite dry. The
place was naturally warm enough. and
that respect. They had brought with
them a food supply for day and a
half-the full extent of time which
they consideryd it would be necessary