Year: 1874

"a ANS1ps DCdu dRdllob blC
rough tunnel and should you by
chance be so unfortunate as to wander
out of the main current of air, your
safest guide, you might very possibly
have to resign yourself to fate, and sit
down in the forlorn hope of being dis
covered by search-party.


I invited Jenny In. It was some.
thing out of the ordinary way of bust
ness which could make him look SO
scared through his covering OF coal
dust. He seemed 80 upset, that I
thought of asking him to sit down, but
remembered in time, that collier sit
ting in a chair IS as comfortable as the
pfoverbial cat on hot plate. Your
collier can kneel, can lie on bis side,
can sit on his heels, can stoop in any
excruciating posture you may please to
name, by the hour together but ask
him to sit in chair, and you propose
an impossibility. The cause of Jenamy's
perturbation d1d not come out Quickly
it required much questioning, also sew.
eral applications TO fiat bottle to get
his not very connected story from him.
1t appeared that, in the course of his
work he had remembered that some for
gotten props had been left in certain
road midway in the waste. They were
lying near an air-dooH" tight-fit-
ting, wooden door placed in o roadway,
to prevent the air from passing along it.


He accordingly set off in search,
found the props and set down to rest
while deciding upon their merits. He
placed his lamp upon the floor and was
Just pulling out his pipe for smoke
irregular Jenny, when his at
tention was drawn to the door through
which he had just passed. It was
slowly opening Well, there would
be nothing wonderful in that, pro-
vided the opener had passed through
and made himself visible; only, as
none did pass through, and as the
door, after opening to nearly its fullest
extent, slowly and silently closed
again, there certainly was little
foundation for Jemmy's astonishment.
Then, "As I sot theer," said Jenny,
"thinkin' what could make it oppen, it
sturred agen, and KEEP cropin and crop
in, wider and wider, till it wur rect
oppen agen I ne'er touched it; I
wur three yards off. I wur no. so mich
feart t. fust time. but afterwards
After the second opening, Jenny was
greatly Mortified, to tell the truth, and
wished to beat retreat; but to do so
he must repass through the door itself
He managed to screw up his courage
for this, opened it, shook it, to see that
the hinges were firm, closed it after
him, and on the express engine of trepi-
dation, commenced to retire. In the
fascination Of terror, however, he felt
compelled to look back and hoped that
the sight of the door fast closed might
reassure him; but no sooner did he
turn round, than, 10 open comes the
door again, in the same steady style as
before, and closes in like manner.
"Three times y thought Jenny. "I'm
done for !" He, most cool and clear
headed fellow in all matters connected
with his special business, was, as such
men often are, very accessible to fear
of the unknown. What he had Witness
ed was, of course, a "sign," expressly
sent to warn him of approaching dan
ger, probably of an untimely end.
When he had finished his tale, [ natur-
ally pooh-poohed the whole matter,
said he must have been dreaming, sent
him home to recover himself, and told
him I would meet him in the mine next
day and go with him to the diabolical
spot, and see if the phenomenon oc-
Cured again not that I said "phe-
nomenon " to Jenny, as it mi ght have
increased his fears, but swords to that
effect"


had rather long round to make
next morning in a part of the mine we
we're Just opening, and it was noon
when I met Jenny in the "gal-stable. :"
(All horses are "gals," down Lanca-
shire pits /; above ground young women
are lasses." It was with some little
difficulty that persuaded him to get
off the provender-box and accompany
me on the proposed expedition but at
last we set out, and were presently
travelling along the silent road in the
deserted waste. I questioned him
closely; but though he was now cool,
he persisted in the accuracy of his
story. could only conclude that his
memory had failed him in some i'm
portant particular, or that he had been
too frightened to notice something
which would at once explain the appar-
ent mystery. Half an hour of awkward
stopping through half mile of very
low air-passages, and clambering over
fallen roof, brought us to the spot.
The passage, just where the air.door
etood, was in tolerable preservation,
and was comparatively wide and high
some six feet by four. The door was
some four feet square, set in brick
framework a good substantial door of
thick deal, tolerably heavy for spiritual
influences, I thought Jenny had
hung back as we approached it, and it
was only by half dragging him along
that I got him through. We anchored
upon the prostrate props. "Now, Jem-
N.Y." said, "let's Just see if your
door will play any such tricks to-day"
I was certain that, If the manifestation
was not fgment of Jemmy's imagina-
tion, which seemed only too probable,
I should, on seeing it occur myself, be
able to explain it.


| We lighted pipes against the rules,
must confess, below ground, but an
indulgence which could allow myself
with certain trusty men who never
abused liberties. "He's going to dis.
appoint u.s." I said "you have made
me lose an hour for nothing" Here
Jemmy's pipe fell from his mouth, and
he clutched hold of me nervously.
"Look, look Master Thomas l-looh


its openin' nowl' Sure enough, il
was, and in the manner in which he had
described it. AS if drawn by an un
seen hand, gently, almost impercep


tibly, it came open--just little streal
first, and then wider and wider, till one
could peer through it into the din