Evening star., 1923-11-02
from Yesterdays Starr
Tragedy I'm the Mine.

self had been searched by tho
i police on more than one occa-
sion, he lifted Stead up again
with one hand and went through him
with the other in quite professional
style, discovering nothing, however,
put another bag in which money
Jmgied. This. too, he threw on the
.aole beside the diamonds. After
which, with another hearty kick. he
nung Stead on the sacking again and
shook his fist at him.
what's the use of golden sover-
elshs and diamonds to you down
here?' The snarled. You can't buy
whites with 'em, nor yet a drop Of
liquor. nor yet a bit o. 'bacca Aren't
you dependent on me for your bite
ana sup, you ungratefuI dog? Who's
a-keepin' of YOU safe from the hang
man, you scoundrelo
LII learn You to treat ME uncivil.
You shall have a spell O. starvation
tnd darkness, my beauty, till you
Know your master, and then happen
III do something for YOU dye see?"
he had restored the diamonds to
tnelr Dag as he spoke. and now, trans
.erring both bags to his pocket he
picked up the lamp. and with a fierce
scowl and a shake Of his fist, turned
20 ieave Stead alone in darkness.
1t was at this point that Stead's
sanity gave way. With a howl which
was more like that of a desperate
prute than a man he made one bound
at the miner, and fastening on his
throat with tearing and gripping fin
gers. bore him to the ground and
screaming in his madness, strove to
squeeze the life out of him.
randy. surprised by the sudden
ness OF the attack, fell against the
wall. The safety lamp slipped out of
mis- hand and rolling away on the floor
was suddenly extinguished. He rec
ognized, with q curious alertness OF
mind, that he was engaged in a
deathlike struggle with a madman.
whom despair and fear had endowed
with .superhuman strength, and that
ne would need all his own resources
and energy TO combat 1t. Already he
felt the blood bursting In the veins OF
his head from the fierceness OF Stead's
his breath coming in shorter gasps.
The grip was like that OF a giant. In
a short time it would-ah!
Dogger Tandy was quick to think
in ways OF violence. He had long.
powerful, muscular arms, and hands
as strong as an apes. Finding he
could not tear Stead's grip away from
his throat, he got one hand at the
back OF his opponents head. the other
firmly under his chin. Then he braced
himself for the effort, and with the
force of a machine jerked the other
mans head upward and backward
until he heard the spine crack and
felt convulsive tremor run through
the body. the grip on his throat relax
and become as feeble childs. He
shook the body and rose, trembling. to
his feet.
HE would have it. curse him. he
muttered to himself II wouldn't ha'
finished him If 1t hadn't been that he'd
ha' finished me-Tm most strangled
as 1t is. Curse that lamp shall
have to find my way out now in the
darkness"
Feeling for the table he leaned
against 1t for a minute or two to
recover his breath. Then he began
to feel about in the hope of discov-
ering the tin bottle in which he had
brought drink to Stead during his
captivity. He found 1t at last and
shook it eagerly; there was nothing
In 1t.
Dogger Tandy threw the empty bot
tie away with another oath, and
shook himself together. He stumbled
forward a step or two and bending
down, felt for Stead's body; then, un-
doing the. clothing. placed his hand on
the heart.
He's a goner,"-he muttered, rising
UP. "A goner, right enough. Well
serve him right-he shouldn't ha'
tried to throttle me, curse him! Well.
let's be clearing out"
Mechanically he thrust his hand
into the pocket of his rough jacket
to feel II his prize was safe. Another
curse broke from him-the diamonds
were gone.
Can't be far away" he said. Must
ha' slipped out when he few at me-"
Doggcr' Tardy got down on his
hands and knees and began to
feel about the floor. He knew that he
and the dead man had rolled hither
and thither in the struggle, but, after
all, the area was circumscribed and
the bag must be close at hand. And
yet, feel about as he would in the soft
coal-dust strewn surface, he could not
lay his hands on what he sought.
He began to swear beneath his
breath, for he was beginning to real
ize two things in no very pleasant
fashion-first, that he was alone with
a dead man, whose life he had taken,
and second. that the impenetra BILE
heavily upon him, and that his nerves
were getting unstrung. He searched
with his fingers more eagerly than
ever, but the diamonds eluded him.
Then Dogger Tandy suddenly re-
membered something, He remember
ed that In his pocket there were
some matches-three matches.
Now 1t was a very terrible thing to
be IN possession OF matches in the
workings of Mannersley's main COL
liery, and Dogger Tandy had no busi-
ness to have those matches on his
person. But he had these, and he
knew where-they were in a hole in
the lining Of the waistcoat pocket
and were all that remained of a small
stock which he had kept there. And
in his eagerness to find the bag con-
tanning the diamonds he felt for them
and drew one out. Standing UP in
the darkness he ruminated.
II never heard of no gas in these
here workings" he said. Anyhow,
I'm going to chance it can't stop
here forever affecting about, as IL I
was a-playing blind mans buff"
And he struck the match on the sole
Of his boot and carefully shielding
the flame with the other hand, bent
down and looked quickly about him.
The little wash leather bag lay
close at hand-just by Marshall
Stead's. shoulder. He made a snatch
and secured 1t, but not without see
ing the dead mans wide-open eyes,
now glazed and staring and terrible.
The flame of the match died out.
Now the darkness seemed ten thou
sand times more dense and impene-
trable than ever, and Dogger Tandy
| began to sweat with fear of 1t, and
of those staring eyes and that rigid
form. He felt his way out of the dis
used office and into the gallery, and
made off as fast as he could toward
the new workings.
But the blackness and silence, and
the thought of what he had left be-
hind were strong upon him. He knew
little of where Ne was going, for he
had never visited that part of the
mine without a lamp, and before he
had gone far he realized that he was
not going in the right direction. It
seemed to him that he had taken
some wrong turning. and he stopped,
feeling at the walls on either side