Year: 1872

wishing that had gone up as well, and
| thinking about what that mans fate
| would have been if he had been alone.
| felt cold shudder go through me, as |
knew that he would have been drowned
and then thought of the rats, and shiv-
cred again as trod upon something that
| felt to me like bone.


I knew better though directly, for that
which | had kicked against was hoe
handle which man in front had let slip
from his hand, he himself slipping down
directly after, with hard splash, into
the water.


"Here, get him up!" cried the foreman
| savagely, land take him back to that
whole! What ours you men are! You're
as bad as if there was real danger. Sup
pose you were down in a fiery mine"
The men muttered little, and then,
while two helped the nervous man out,
we all went forward, the foreman chat
| ting away cheerily the while, SO as to
keep the others from thinking about what
had taken place. He pointed out the
overflow places, where, when the sewer
got too full, part of the water would
run down to the river, and then he showed
us how clean and smooth the brick face
of the sewer was To this man he busily
ApIdluCo blit6 thC ldiLle, blNi olilOh " do
not injurious and to that he related how
many scores of times he had been along
this same part of the sewers but in spite
of all his CHEEKY ways, and the occasional
stoppage for a smoke and glass of bran
by, the men were terribly nervous, and
waded on in a slow, half-hearted way.
And it was dismal work. Now there
was scare of some ones light going out,
and though we had plenty more, the men
were in regular shiver of suspense till
the lamp was trimmed and we were 60
ing on again. Then there was an alarm
of rats, because some one had seen half a
dozen go swimming down the black
stream, after scutf1ing out of one of the
side drains and soon after one of those
in front gave sort of yell, dropped his
lantern with splash, and swore that we
were going wrong, that we had lost our
way, and that we should never get out Of
the horrible place alive.


He was great, six-foot, broad-shoul-
dered fellow who said this, but it was
half sobbed out, and his nerve was so
gone that the poor chap was as hysterical
as girl.


For few moments | thought there
would be regular rush back, and if
there had, life must have been lost,
crowded as we were in that narrow hole,
with hard work to keep our footing as
the stream rushed by us; for the sewers
are round at the bottom as well as arched
at the top, many of them being shaped
like an egg, with the thin part at the bot
| tom.


The foreman was ready for them
though, and he roared out to them:
Stop! How can we be going wrong if
we follow the stream? That must take
us right!'


This checked the men, who saw the
sense of what he said, and as soon as he
had got them once more journeying slow,
| ly on


"What big babies you fellows arep' he
exclaimed, you're as readily scared as q
| flock of sheep. You forget that there are
ways out all along here, where a man
could call for help even if too weak to
raise the gratings.''


Nobody spoke, for the blackness of the
place seemed to Cypress everybody, and
we crawled on along the wet, Shiny, un.
but not SO bad as I had expected, and
there was very little work for us to do
the rains of the past week having pretty
well flushed the whole length of the sew
ers; but every now and then some one
stopped and began to sniff, as if he could
tell that there was foul air there-the foul
gas that no one can breathe and live!
+ / should think we had been wading OF
| for about an hour, when one of the me1
ahead said that there was very peculiar
smell on in front, not like the regular
sewer smells, but strange, suffocatins
| odor


The foreman was twenty yards behind
peering into side sewer, when this wa.
said, and he did not hear it.


"There's been CANNON enough of tha
Sort" said one of the new men, who haG
had little more Dutch courage out Of
the brandy bottle than was good for him
''Look here if the light will burn it's all
right"


Poor fellow! he had only half learned
his lesson, and did not know that we were
travelling right under where the chemica
works piled their trade, sending all sorts
of poisonous refuse into the sewer to give
out explosive gases. AS he spoke he un
fastened his lantern and took out the
light, and at the same moment Iheard the
foreman behind-''Take care there! gas
For Gods sake, quick-every manhood


down, for your lives!"


was nearest to him and initiated him


on the instant dragging the India-rubbe


hood down over my face, and dashiL!


down beneath the filthy water, but not 81


quickly but that | saw what seemed to b.


a binding flash of lightning run alon.


the sewer, making every brick distinct


then the water was rushing over my head


and | bent down till | was all but suffo


Gated. Once I raised my head


snatched breath that was stifin.


in its foul heat, and then I DASHED


down again and held out as lon


as I could, knowing as l did that the ga


had fired; and then from feeling hot


shivered with cold, as 1 wondered wheth


er any of my mates were killed, an
whether should get out alive!
This way" some one shouted gu


stream p
turned in dizzy way TO follow til
voice, but as l did so felt somethin
clutch my leg, and as bent down there


the horrible darkness-ten times as blac
after that scorching, binding flash
. touched hand, helped some one to STAG


ger up, and then, with the water stream
ing off us, and the air choking us at ever
breath and making my ears sing, we stas
! gerei along.


How far that was, don't know, for
is all mixed up in a confused trouble
: way, and was like one walking in hi


sleep till felt my hand seized, and som
; one, 1 knew directly after to be the for,


man, half led, half pushed me and tt
!: man who clung to me, into one of til
e openings, where, in a machine-like sort {


way, we climbed up into the light, whe
d | rolled down on the pavements, and la
$ half stupid for few minutes.
v The voice of our foreman, though
e reused me, and knowing what l did,
d went down again and helped him an
d three more, and among us we got the re
d up--four of them horribly burned by tt
t. explosion, and the rest so badly scare
r that it was mercy they got out alive.
e | said the rest, but there was one mis-
e ing upon the foreman counting us owe


and then, calling to US to follow, he rs
v like madman down the street to tt
d next opening, where the secret of the e.
g plosion lay before us-the trap was shu
e and the foul gas made by the chemica
Y could not escape.


IS heard him grind his teeth as he dra
/ ged it up, and after it the grating, when
G was as he hoped; the missing man.;


old man-had made for this place al