Evening star., 1923-09-20

he touched the candle to the master
1use-and started a mad rush for the
pale daylight without. 1t was the
alone and on his own responsibility,
for aught he knew the dealy concus-
sion OF the blast would sound ere he
, covered half the distance to the
blacksmith .shop-and safety
Early in his mad flight his candle
blew out. His heavy boots hindered
rather than helped him as he tried
desperately to make speed and yet
keep his footing. One bad. fall on
the rocky floor with a stick of the
powder in his pockets striking under
him and he knew he would never hear
the blasts behind, Fifty-seventy-f five
-one hundred yards; he slackened
his pace. Perhaps he hadn't prepared
the blasts right after all, he suddenly
| thought. Then, as though ashamed
of the near panic he was in. he even
slowed down to a walk before finally
emerging into the entrance way OF
| the tunnel. And we'll he did! Pre-
! monition was certainly aiding re-
| source now, for no sooner was ne
| in the short wind-break that formed
| the entrance to the tunnel, than he
heard loud curses emanating from
I the bunk houses. Dropping quickly
to his hands and knees, he sneaked
| rapidly forward and peered over the
embankment. One look, and he fat
| tened suddenly on the ground. There
| on the porch and in the doorway OF
! the bunk house was sight strange
! to behold.
| sharpe, standing in his underwear
with naked feet buried in fully SIX
Inches of snow, tails of his fannel
shirt whipping grotesquely IN the
wind, was wildly thrashing the, all
with a gun, calling loudly me wnlIe
| for all manner of accursed thieves to
come out and fight. The fuzzy hail
| on the back of his head stoop up In
/ bold relief over his bald pate, and
ihis huge nose seemed actually tc
dilate with anger.
| Back of him stood Browning, at
tired even as was Sharpe himself
except that the Tapping shirt tails
were missing. The flabby. pointed
| paunch of his stomach that fitted sc
well in street attire, seemed woefully
misplaced and ridiculous now as IL
strained at the buttons of his union
suit. Other men were peering from
windows on both sides of the door
and some even pranced about within
the doorway itself as though anxious
to break past Browning and stand
| in the cold snow with Sharpe.
The contrast between his recent
rendezvous with death, and the queer
antics of the men before him made
only desire in life at the moment 4,
seemed. was to rise to his feet and
whoop from sheer delight. However
thoughts of the ominous moments to
come ana Ine expected tnunQer or tne
blast behind. impelled him to action
| of a far different kind.
Grasping a gun from either hip he
| sprang suddenly up and sent a volley
| of bullets whistling above the con.
| fused heads in the doorway an6
] windows of the bunk house Then
| feeling assured of the effect of his
Yolley, he looked a moment upon the
wild scene it caused. and rushed
quickly to the blacksmith shop by
the tunnel side. slung his pack to his
shoulders, and rushed off into the
snowstorm, and down the trail toward
Salmon Tooth Pass. Scarcely had he
turned his back to the mine, however
when came a deafenfng roar coupled
with blast of wind which literally
swept him from his feet The very
earth, 1t seemed, shook beneath him
Pete smiled griInly as the echoes
reverberated about him. Then gather.
| ing himself to his feet he plunged
boldly and unafraid down the snow.
covered. treacherous trail of the
mountain side.
Hours afterward the half naked
prisoners in the bunk house heard
| still another deafening roar far dowr
in the gully below-and they knew
that jenkins would no longer bs
telling lie when he posted signs
reading:
Salmon Tooth Pass closed-land.
slides blocking the trail"