Year: 1871

IN anxious silence for the signal from
Gomez All was still A. death IN the
galern.


"Let 20 r. shouted the overseer


The drivers loosened the heads Of the
horses, and the well-trained animals dashed
on at once. In minute the bucket rose
90 yiew-emptyl


" Back Down with itl For life for
life! exclaimed the director, stamping
with impatienoe.


The men hastened 10 obey his orders,
but before the bucket had descended a
dozen yards the roar Of the explosion smote
upon their ears, and a cloud Of smoke and
dust was driven violently up the shaft
When il cleared away the faces of all
present were seen 20 be pale with horror.


"You yillianp cried the director TO
Gomez; "what is the meaning Of this n


"Upon my lile-as | am Christian
the rope shook in my hands, replied
Gomez, whose teeth chattered, and whose
whole frame seemed to tremble with nerv-
Gus agitation, while his eyes carefully
avoided those of the director.


The latter did not waste another word
upon him, but, seizing a shovel, he sprang.
into the bucket, along with two Of the
miners, and was quickly lowered down the
shaft. Here they set about removing, as
rapidly and carefully as possible, the pile
Of earth and stones with which the explo-
sion had filed the bottom of the shaft, not
doubling that they should find the
mangled remains Of the poor matchlighter
beneath them.


While they are thus engaged IN fruit
less search, let us follow the actual course
Of Manuers proceedings. He had just
lighted the matches, and was on the point
of stepping into the bucket, when it was
suddenly drawn up. A conviction Of the
overseer's perfldy instantly flashed upon
him, and with it a sense of the horror of
his position. But Manuel was, as the diS
rector had said, a quick-witted fellow. He
knew that the workmen employed in the
shaft had, few days before, come upon a
small side-cut, or passage barely large
enough to admit the body OF man, and
that, on tracing it to its termination, it
was found to lead to an immense chamber
in the old mine of San Adrian. This fam
Gus mine, as is well known, was worked
shortly after the conquest of Mexico, and,
having yielded immense wealth to its pro-
prietors, was abandoned, about the end of
the sixteenth century, on account of the
difficulty experienced in its drainage. The
workmen who had explored the passage
had reported that the chamber was nearly
full of water, and was so large that the
light of their candles did not penetrate to
the further extremity. The recollection
OF this discovery now occurred to ManueFs
mind, and seemed to offer him a chance OF
escape. Looking eagerly around, he OBJ
served the opening about three feet above


his head and gaining it by desperate
spring, he drew himself up by the hands,
and plunged into the passage. Urged by


the dread of the coming explosion, be


rushed eagerly onward, and just as the


roar of the blast filled his ears he fell head


long forward into sheet of water, which


spread about three feet below the extrem-


ity of the passage He sank beneath the


surface, and when he rose, confused and


breathless, it was to find himself floating


in utter darkness, without the slightest


idea of the point by which he had entered


and with hardly chance of discovering


the opening, which lay so high above the


water. A more horrible situation car


hardly be conceived. Still, even in this


extremity, hope did not desert him. After


some reflection, he fixed upon the direc-


tion in which he judged the passage to lie


and swan carefully towards it. He was


soon convinced, by the space passed over


that he was mistaken in his judgment; but


considering it better to keep on until he
found the wall than to waste his strength


in swimming about at random, he pro
ceeded steadily forward for distance, al


he Judged, of nearly two hundred yards
At length he encountered the wall which
rose perpendicularly far above his head, al


he found by the splash of the water whicl


he threw against it. Coasting along 1t
and occasionally touching it with ont
hand, he advanced for about hundred
yards further, by which time his limb
were becoming stiff and benumbed in th'
ice-cold water, and his heart had almos
| failed him. But he was not destined t.
perish thus. He suddenly came upon
: passage, the opening of which was littl
, lower than the surface of the water. l
{ was evident from this fact, as well as iron
> the size of the passage, that it could no


be that by which he had entered. How
r ever, it offered him at least respite iron
r death, and he promptly availed himsel
e of it. After sitting motionless for tim
to recover from the exhaustion OF his recen
! efforts, he rose and proceeded to explor
i. the passage. It proved to be sort c
3 yaulted chamber, of about his own height
? and lust wide enough for him to touch it
E sides with his outstretched hands. A SOU
{ cheering idea suddenly flashed upon hi


mind. There was tradition of an ancien
/ socabon, or adit, which had been driven a


vast expense through the mountain,
v effect the drainage of the old mine OF Sa
e Adrian. When the mine was abandoned
: the adit, of course, was no longer attende


to; its external opening became closed VI
and, in the space of more than two hundre
\ wears which had passed, its precise localit
/ indeed, everything but the mere fact
: its existence-was forgotten. Manu-
a well remembered to have one day hear
I Don Jayne say to Mexican gentleman


who accompanied him on former visit I
}, the mine. that he should consider the di
r covery of the old socabon an inestimab
: service, as it would, probably, save IL
o company an immense expense for dralnae
v in their new works.


g The further the miner advanced I'll
d more assured he became of the truth
II his supposition. The adit was--as from
= situation it must necessarily be-of gre'
y length and Manuel walked, as he suppose
e nearly five hundred yards before reaehir


the extremity. The water all the wa
It was just up to his ankles, and he thougl
is he could perceive at times that It had
s slight current in the direction in which
4 was going. The passage was closed, as
" had anticipated, by a solid mass of ear'