The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1938-11-26
By Jeanne Bowman

cable, the throb Of the motor.
Ten. o'clock. Mid-rnorning.
A man appeared from the com.
rnissary, Kathleen hurried to him
"What news?" she begged. i,
aNos much. They gave up tryini
to, break through first. drilled II
with an ,,air, hole: hope to, lshoot
through medical supplies If there.
anyone on the other end can uss
| them. w. - t~,3
Sand when was that?" Il,
Several hours ago :. wait
here comes a skip" els | gfi3
"Dog-weary muckers stumbled
| out. There was no sign of hope or
their worn faces. nothing but alb.
iect defeat. . t. ,S.-.s "a
!. yes. the air hole went through
Macdonald called. there was ne
answer" ~
| They went on. their way anc
Kathleen and the man stood ir
SILENCE. s.F - - - 80
His clumsy hand patted Kath-
leeR's shoulder Don't take thai
as, final They may be through tt
another level; may be only q
pocket there. Then too, the mer
fau in stupor sometimes; lay
there hours before IT'S too late.
There Is Lie
III ATHLEEN nodded. then tensed
- Another skip was up. mar
in slicker. engineer or official
was running. calling as he ran
Were through get the cana
ries. Get MacDonaldl"
THEY'RE through" IS;
Where the scene had been de-
serted ii was now thronged and
mad cries of 10y took up the song
They're through They've broken
through"
Men in grotesque costumes came
running out. slipp.ag oxygen tank:
over their heads as they ran
swinging cages with tiny fluffy
canaries In them: little yellow
birds that peeped with dismay, UNI
aware of their hero roles More
sensitive to poison air than any
living thing. they would collapse
before the insidious air crept into
the lungs of unsuspecting men
Only a relay crew: the others. the
picked men were already down
they'd been there waiting fol
Then Kathleen saw Donald Mac
Donald and she felt as though her
heart had weiled up and was
pushing on ou. of her breast to-
wards him. He was running. Some.
one. was handing i'm an oxygen
tank, shouting at him as they KEPT
pace. a5.s
|, Kathleen called to him, Just a:
re slipped the mask over his face
He seemed to hesitate as though
| wondering If be had heard voice
then adjusted the gear. stepped
into the skip and dropped from
sight.
She ran on to the mine collar
Hes going in first" someone
said. r1e served his time on tbs
crew: felt he ought to take the
first risk. That's Young Donald
| If anyone has to die to find ont
what's on the other side. he's 60.
imp to be that one"
Kathleen sank onto the timber
pile. tears .coursing down, lei
cheeks And said | never want.
ed to see him again" i
She sat huddled In a tight
tense. position He had loved her
Bridget said he had and she, wei
| she knew il too, Yet she had lei
him 90 down believing she hatec
him. She could have given him ths
chance to explain but she'd lis.
tened to hei pride. A
Moments passed. Cars came
down from Neutrality. came ovel
from the Macdonald mines. Peo-
pie crowded into a compact mass
Miners wive in the foreground
Kathleen marveled at the stoica'
calm of these women who waitet
az this. the eleventh. hour. with
no show Of emotion Yet. how they
must feell After their lnnr hour.
Of waiting. how they must wish Il
rush through the Gordon and figh'
ltheir way down to that walled 50tl
hole to learn for themselves the
fate OF their men, 81.
Moments passed. melted into
hall hours, hours The spring sur
beat down In a silent golden pail
Few words were spoken. The skip
hadn't come Up. II seemed. FOL
cons.
And then the cable ratified. the
rear OF the approaching cage wa,
heard Every breath In the crowd
was held. then expelled In a lonf
sigh as Morgan stepped out. hi:
face white.
Macdonald Is through. The
men are all there. He says there
Is life. That's all for now
Later, second report. -Jock
Arthur. unconscious but breathing
first man carried out"
Kathleen knew the next hour
was the longest in her life. The
skip was coming Up slowly now
And each trip hroaght with Il {
ssretcher and on the stretcher .
silent figure. but with life.
kathleen was called into action
There weren't enough nurses. Oxy-
zen had been fed slowly. now there
must be nourishment induced with
equal slowness These lives which
had been so close 70 death must
be brought back slowly. lest The
feeble CONNECTING line break.
She scanned each face. They
were mostly strangers 20 her. And
thew were ell Younger men than
Bslnav whv couldn't they waken
md tell her nf hinis
sF~Av-'sts feta. ysss.s Rswm1sl