Rensselaer Republican, Volume 23, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 May 1891 — THE MASTER OF THE MINE. [ARTICLE]

THE MASTER OF THE MINE.

By Robert Buchanan.

CHAPTER XXXV—Concluded. Here I paused, and striking a light lit the dandies on my person. My companions did the same. The lurid light lit up their pale, anxious faces, and shot faint rays down into the mine. “Now, then, lads!” I cried, desoending the second stagecf ladders. Some of these were very shaky, and I had to use greA caution; but I knew the way blindfold, and all my old experience of the place stood me in good stead. / At last, with noliarm dono to anyone, we reached the central platform. Here the roar was deafening; and the solid rock seemed splitting with the sound. I bent over the abyss and held down the light, using hand as a reflector.' Sure enough, several of the ladders had broken away, leaving only the precipitous shaft, steep as the sides of a well. I strained my eyes into the darkness, and fancied I discerned far beneath something like the gleam of dashing water. Then I shouted —but my shout was drowned in the subterranean tumult. On the central platform was a windlass, with a portion of aif old. disused crane. Round this I passed one of the ropes, instructing the men to hold one end and gradually give way or draw in as I should direct. Then I took the other end, and fastened it securely under my armpits. “It be naw use, Measter Hugh!” cried Michael Penmaur. “Dawn’t ’ee go. It be gawining to your death.” But finding that I was not be persuaded, the brave fellow wrung my hand, and promised to do his best to help me; nor were the others less kindly and sympathetic. As they lowered me over the platform I partially supported myself against the slimy rocks, but the next moment I was suspended in air. Slowly, carefully. they let me down, the candles on my person flickering and flaming, and lighting up the damp,oozy walls. At length, some distance down, my footrest on ladder, descending which I reached the lowest platform of all. Looking up, I saw far above me, as in a narrow' frame, the faces of the men. I shouted to them, but they could not hear; but I waved a signal to them, and they answered back. Then I released myself from the rope, and prepared to look around. Suddenly my foot struck against something soft, like a body; and stooping down, light in hand, I saw’ two of the miners, lying among the debrits of the broken ladder, stone dead, and dreadfully disfigured. ! One was Jem Tredgar, a collosses J young fellow from Penzance, six feet high, and weighing over fifteen stane. The fall had -smashed him like an egg, and death had been instantaneous. Full of new horror, I lent over the platform and looked down. As I did so. my head went round, and I should have "fallen had I not clutched again at the rope which swung loose, close to my hand. Right under me. flooding the bottom Of the mine, roared the sea, boiling backwards and forwards with wild pulsations along the shafts and j galleries through which it had broken in. A salt spume rose from it, and the walls of the shaft were dripping and dashed w’ith clots of foam. From the point where I stood, the ladders hadbeen entirely washed Or broken away. The roar was deafening, but I > shouted with all my might. I paus- I ed and listened; no answer came. - ! Again I shouted; again I paused and listened. - - ... . . - Suddenly. from the darkness beneath, I heard a faint voice answer me. My heart stood still. Then, with an effort, I shouted again. The faint cry was repeated. ‘Who’s there?’ I called; but the sound of my voice was blown away, and only the same faint cry came in answer. I seized th° rope. and. looking up to the men above me. pointed downward: thay signalled, and seemed to understand. Then I secured the rppe again under my armpits, and signalling to them to give away, swung over the platform. My instructions to ..the men had been simple. When I tugged once at the rope they were to lower away, i when I tugged twice they were to ; stop lowering, when I tugged three times sharply, they were to haul in. _ i The further I deceended the greater grew my peril; for the rope was not a strong one. and many of the outjutting points of the rock were sharp enough to sever it by friction; add to which, that the long swing’at such, a distance rendered it liable to break or rotten stran. As I went down, I was conscious of flying spray and splashing water; and when I had descended some fifteen yards my feet touched the sea. However, I made no sign, but entered the water, found myself waist-, deep, and touching the bottom. Then I tugged twice at the rope, and looked about me. The spot where I stood formed a sort submerged shingle, sloping down to the deeper portions of the shaft galleries. On every side the sea rushed and boiled. As I stood there, it surged up to my breast and extinguished in the lights I carried on my person —only those escaping which were stuck, miner-fashion, in my hat. I shouted again, almost desparing of an answer. To my amaae, a voice answered close by, and, straining my eyes, I saw, crouched on a ledge

at rack just fliish with the water, twei human figures. One sat recumbent, with hjs head against the wall; the other lay senseless, resting his head on the first one’s lap. Mere like gnomes or wild beasts they seemed, dripping wet, and covered with filth and ooze. But even in the faint light I recognized them. The man sitting was my uncle, John Pendragon. The man lying senseless was John Redruth. CHAPTER XXXVI. THE TWO MEN. ‘Hugh, my lad!’ said my uncle, stretching out his hands. - I waded through the water till I came close to him. - ‘Ay. here I . ami’ I answered. ‘Thank God you are living; but he, is he <1 cad or living? . ‘Lawd knaws I’ was the reply. ‘He ha’ lain like that these two hours, and I thought the waters were rising to wash us awav. ’ So loud waS the thunder on every side of us, that Ave had to shout at each other in order to be heard; and even our shouts sounded like mere whispers, though we were so close - ■ ■ -j I took a light from my hat, and reaching out of the water, looked into the young master’s face. It was ghastly pale, but there was a mark on the temple; as of blood. I put my hand upon his heart, and discovered that it was faintly beating, ‘He lives still,’ I said; then, without more parley, I disengaged myself from the rope, and proceeded to make it fast to the senseless man. As I did so, the water almost swept me away., but. I held onto, the .rock and kept my place. When the rope was firmly secured under George Redruth’s armpits, I shook him Sharply, and, to my joy, he opened his eyes, partially recovering from his stupor. -Then I touched the rope and pointed upward, making signs that he was to be drawn up. He seemed scarcely to understand; but, lifting him in my arms, I placed him in position, and then tugged three times, as a signal for the men to haul in. There was a momentary pause; then the rope tightened, and the light body began slowly to ascend. Still waist-deep in the sea, I watched it journey upwards —lax and loose as a dead thing, now rasping against the damp walls, now qulvering and turning round and round, till it passed the first platform. Far, far above it, I saw the faint gleam from the spot where the men were gathered. At last it disappeared -from sight, and I knew that, if life lasted, George Redruth was saved ! Then I clambered on the ledge beside my uncle, who was still lying in the same position, with his head leaning back against the dripping wall. —. ... I took his hands in mine, and pressed them eagerly. As I did so, I saw, to my horror, that the breast of his mining-shirt was saturated with blood, thathis face was ghastly white, and that there was on his lips a light stain of red. ‘Are you hurt?’ I said, with my lips close to his ear. He inclined his head gently, and groaned as if in great pain. It was neither the time nor the place to question him further; but pressed his hand again in token of sympathy, Our eyes met, and his were full of some strange speechless sorrow. Presently, I saw the rope descending, weighted with a small bar of iron; down it came till it reached the water’s edge. I leapt down, and wading out, drew it towards the ledge. «► ‘ ■Uncle,-’’ !- owed, “seel—it is- your turn!” And I pointed upward. He shook his head feebly. “Na, na, lad,” he said. Lea’ me me here to die!” It was not to be thought of. Wildly, in dumb show, I besought him to make an effort to ascend, and at last he assented. “I’ll try. lad; I'll try,” he said. “But I doubt my back be broke. A ; lump o’ rock fell on me as I were carrying young master here.” I looked ’at him in surprise. To tell the truth, I had had a wild sus- ! picion, ever since the news of the 1 accident, that it might have been caused by foul play on my uncle part. I knew him to be mad with trouble, and if by any chance he had discovered young Redruth’s guilt, God alone knew what he might have done. But if-he spoke the truth, and I knew well that he was not a man to lie, I had deeply wronged him.- ■ Instead of attempting to destroy, he had actually imperilled his own life to save the betrayer of his daughter’s honor. Gently and tenderly I secured the rope around him, but he moaned with pain as I raised him to launoh him upward. As the rope tightened, he uttered a cry of agony. However, it was too late to avoid" the risk, and it was the last chance. Supporting him in my arms as long as possible, I saw him drawn upward. When his full weight fell upon the rope his agony grew terrible, and I think he fainted away; for he hung in the air like a dead man, with limbs and arms pendant. I watched him rise slowly, and felt no little anxiety lest the. rope should yield beneath his weight, for he was & heavy man, compared to whom George Redruth was a very feather. However, the rope stood the test, and he was drawn safely up the abyss. After a long interval, during which I waited in sickening terror, with the waters thundering and the rocks quaking around me, the ! rope again descended. I seized it, ' secured it under my armpits, and’

giving the signal, was drawn upward. On reaching the bottom platform, I rested a monjent, then I signalled and rose once more into the air. By this time the lights in my hat were extinguished, and I was in total darkness; but is I gained the middle platform, half a dozen bands were stretched ®utt© grasp fine, till, tottering trembling, I stood upon my feet. Wildly and joyfully the men surrounded me, almost kissing me in their rapture at my reappearance. I looked around for Geoi*£e Redruth. He had. recovered from his faintness, they said, and had been helped by two of the men up to. the mouth of the mine. But lying on the plat-, form, his head supported on Michael Penmaur’s knee, was my uncle, white and bleeding, like a man whose time had come. I knelt by his side, and took his hand. He:looked into my face, and I saw that his eyes wefe filmy and dim, The air of the mine, even up there, was fetid and foul, and I saw that he breathed with difficulty. “Hugh, my lad!” he said faintly, “Come close —I want to whisper to ’e& you forgive me?” “Forgive you? ’ I cried, greatly moved. “What have Ito forgive ?” “Listen, lad, and I’ll tell ’ee !” He paused, his head fell and I thought that he was gone; but the 1 next moment he recovered, and gazed into my face again. Just then the two nien who had gone up with George Redruth re-aescended, and one of them held out to me a flask of brandy. I took it eagerly, and held it J*my uncle’s lips. He drank a little, and the spirit seemed to revive "him. ’*. “Hugh! are you thar, my lad? ” “Yes,” I answered, fairly sobbing., “Is ,tnat your hand in mine ?” “Yes, yes I” . “Put down your head and listen. I be dying, sure enough, and afore I die I want to ha’ your forgiveness. They would ha’ hung ’ee for what I did. ’Twas I that killed the overseer !” I had guessed as much, but when the truth came from my uncle’s own lips I started in horror. He clutched my hand, as if fearing I would shrink away. “ ’Twere all on. account of my Annie, my poor little lass. We met out on the cliff beyant the mine, and I taxed him wi’ bringing her trouble upon her, and he said summat that made me murdering mad. He said she was a light lass, light and bad; and, Lawd forgive me! afore I had time to think, I struck at him wi’ my knife! Then he staggered back. ’Twere on the very edge of the crag, and the earth seemed to give way under him, and he went o’er —screaming—he went o’er to his death, on the rocks below. That was how it cam’ about. I didn’t mean to kill ’un, ’twere done like a flash o’ lightning—and the next marning, the next marning they found ’un lying, dead and bloody on the shore.” The confession came in stifled whispers, often so faint that I could scarcely hear; but other ears heard and understood it as well as mine, and when he ceased a horrified ftiurmur passed from man to man. “May God forgive you” I murmured, still bending over him. He did not seem to hear me. His eyes were fixed on vacancy, his hands clutched mine like a vice. Suddenly he leant forward, drew his hand from mine, and pointed. “Seetherel” he cried, “ ’Tis hisself, all bloody, and beckoning wi’ his finger. And wha’ be that standing by ’un, all in white? Annie! Annie, my lass! speak to father ! speak to ♦ *• *' sphrik to’ * * * father!” The last word died in his throat, where it met the death rattle- there was a struggle, a last convulsion, and he fell back like a lump of lead, I think I too must have lost my senses for a time. The next thing I remember was standing in the open air, and staggering like a drunken man. with kindly arms supporting me on either side., I looked round wildly;. An excited crowd of women and men* surrounded me; and close by, not far from the mine mouth, the dead body of my uncle lay in the sunlight, with Annie and my aunt bending over it and bitterly weeping. I sank down upon a rock and hid my face. When I looked up again, I saw George Redruth and his mother standing near me, and near them Madeline. The yoUng master seemed quite himself, though greatly agitated. ‘Trelawney,’ he said, ‘this a sad affair. Well, I owe you my life.’ I looked him coldly in the face; his eyes sank beneath my gaze. ‘Nd, sir,’ I replied. ‘You owe your life to the poor martyr lying yonder, and you know best what cause he had to love you. ’ ‘You are right,’ he said. ‘He begat. the task which you completed. When the outer rock gave way and the sea rushed in upon us I must have fainted, and Pendragon bore me to the place where you found me. I will take care that those he leaves behind are well rewarded.’ Again I looked him in the face. ‘Too late forthat,’ I answered. He returned my look with something of the old dislike. All my spirit revolted against him, thinking of the sorrow he had wrought. ‘lt is well for you,’ I said, ‘that John Pendragon did not know what I know. Had he done so, perhaps he would have left you to the mercy of the sea.’ ‘What do you mean?’ cried Redruth, turning pale as death ‘Ask your own heart. God has spared you and taken a better man. Had you met with your deserts, you would be lying in.his place.'

‘Take care, Trelawney! I owe you my life, as I said, but —’ \ ; ,‘You owe me nothing,’ I returned. ‘I helped you as I would have helped my bitterest enemy at such a moment. But now that it is done, I almost wish it were undone; and you know why!’ With an impatient exclamation, he turned away. ‘Come, mother! Come, Madeline! You see how this fellow hates me.' I would-gladly own iny debt to him, but it useless. Perhaps when he is cooler he will permit me to be of service to him. If not —why, I cannot help it. Come!’ Mother and son walked slowly away, but Madeline did not stir. She remained where she had been, with her gentle eyes fixed on me. George Redruth turned and saw her. ‘Come, Madeline,’ he cried; we are not wanted here.’ ‘I think I am wanted,’ she replied. ‘Mr. Trelawney, shall I go?’ And as she spoke she held out both her hands to me with a loving gesture. I looked at her in wonder. Then suddenly the whole meaning of her attitude dawned upon me, and, taking her hands with a joyful drew her to my bosom. Pale and trembling, George Redruth returned and confronted us. ‘Madeline, what does this mean?’ ‘lt means that I have found my love where you found your life —in the arms of this brave man!’ [To beContinued.J