The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1939-02-09

were swaying for want of air, when
all of a sudden his limbs and his
body went slack and I knew I was
free And then was back on
the surface and was blowing like
any grampus and thanking God for
the gift of that tainted air.
Now whether in fact / killed Vir-
gil or whether he drowned himself
in an effort to end my life, I never
shall know: but know the man was
dead or else had lost his senses and
so was presently drowned, for
though he rose beside me, he never
moved and I think that after little
he sank for good.
Though my case was not so bad,
it was evil enough.
was not wholly exhausted, but
the struggle had snapped my
strength, and I badly needed the
respite could not take. As was to
be expected, the walls of the well
were smooth, and though I proved
them all round, dislodging slugs and
slime and all manner of filth, !
could find no sort of handhold to
which / could cling. There were
cracks in plenty between the blocks
of stone of which the walls had been
built, for either they had not been
cemented, or else the cement was
gone: but they were too small for
nay fingers, and there was nothing
else.
All the time my strength was fall
ing, for the deadly chill of the wa
ter was laying hold of my muscles
and stealing into my blood, and
though I did what I could to hold
it at bay, the realization that must
very soon sink began, as an i'll
hammered bully, to thrust aside my
efforts to think what to do to be
saved.
To show how desperate I was, I
wasted the last of my strength In
frantic effort to find Elizabeth's key
this, with the mad idea of thrust
ing it into a crack and so creating
projection to which could cling,
and though, I suppose, a more ut
terly futile design was never con-
ceived, as luck would have it, it
actually saved my life.
To get a hand into my pocket
was very hard, but the moment my
fingers were in, they closed upon
something which I had not known
was there. And that was the hum
bic tool which once already that
night had saved two lives. It was
the screw-driver, indeed.
In a twinkling I had the screw
driver out and had pressed its blade
into a crack perhaps some eight or
ten inches above my head.
Praying that the steel was honest,
gradually let the handle take some
of my weight, and when found
that it would hold me, I let it
take more. But for the help of the
water, it must have bent or broken
beneath my weight; but the two to-
gether bore me and gave me just
that respite my weary muscles re-
quired. And, what was still more
important, it gave me a definite
hope that, though my plight was Sc
rious, might In the end be saved.
And then I heard Elizabeth call
ing my name
For a moment I thought very
fast. Then
''Lie down. I yelled. "Lie down
and crawl slowly forward. I'm down
in the well, but lie down. The para
pets gone"
Perhaps two minutes went by:
and then fragment of mortar fell
down by my side.
"Stopl" I screamed. "Stay still.
You're right on the edge"
Elizabeth answered at once.
I'm quite all right. my darling.
What shall / do?"
I wonder how many women, so
placed, would so have comported
themselves. No wailing, no useless
inquiries, no bubbling statements of
how she came to be there Only
the eager question-"What shall I
do?"
And / was ready enough. Whilst
she was approaching, had not been
wasting my time.
Find the car" / said. "When
you've found her, switch on her
lights. Then back her slowly to-
wards the mouth of the court. Her
lights will show you the cord that
took from your neck. Take that and
the pieces that bound your ankles
and wrists. Then back the car again
till you see your dressing-case. Put
that into the car, and then drive
slowly forward until your lights are
shining full on the well. When
you've done that, come back and
III tell you some more"
"All right"
How long she was gone, cannot
pretend to say, but she must have
been very quick, for though the time
passed slowly, at the moment at
which ! pictured her finding the
case, the rim of the well above me
grew suddenly bright. Then she
must have dipped" the lamps, for
the light came down-to reveal a
ladder of dogs driven into the wall
of the well.
Some wells have ladders, like
that, to the waters edge, and at
once left my handhold and, SWIM
ming beneath the ladder, stretched
up my hand. But the dogs did not
come so low For all that.
was sure that they could not be far
away, because a ladder is useless.
unless it runs some way down.
As returned to my screw-driv-
err
Eyes, Richard?" said Elizabeth.
quietly.
''Tie all the cord together and add
the strap. Then open the tool-box