Show MINERS FATE IN HANDS OF MADMAN COAL DIGGER D UP AND DOWN shafa FOR TWO houra IN FAINT WHEN RESCUED insane ex M ne engineer drives sue cessor from post at point of re volver vict m rescued in bobly cond t on manhattan nev to be whizzed ui and down a foot shaft for two hours with a maniac at the throttle of the hoisting machine Is the deperi ence vouchsafed to jack wright a miner employed in the jumping jack mine here jack who has a good appetite came up from the lower levels at noon the other day to eat his lunch in the sun shine at one clock he stepped upon the bucket by which his corn the man shot up and down with lightning rap d ty had already dropped back to work and signaled to the engineer at ahe hoist who was in plain view to lower him the latter john pugh by name started to comply he had re eased the brake and the big drum about which the cable was coiled had already made several revolutions when richard perry walked into the hois stop that bucket he said P agh his eyes glued to the paying out cable paid no attention perry the former engineer at the hoist had been alred several weel s before tor drunkenness and ever since he had been lounging in harmless drunken about the works stop that bucket repeated perry wail a minute till I 1 get jack down said pugh with a conciliatory manner stop that bucket said perry there was something so in the command that this time pugh looked up he glanced up into the muzzle of a 45 colts behind which two eyes out of their sockets with maniacal frenzy glared wait a minute pugh started to say trying to gain time perry gnashed his teeth placed the cold muzzle upon pughs temple and cocked the gun pugh put on the brakes turned on his heel lumped out of the rear window and went down the hill to get help perry calmly established himself upon the vacated stool his cocked six shooter conveniently at hand he re leased the brake the drum began to revolve slowly at first then taster till it hummed then just as the ex of the cable was almost reached perry op the brakes released them jammed them on again and brought the thing to a stop al the place on the cable where a pece of twine showed the reaching of the N lowest level immediately however he threw the electric controller tor ward a notch then another then full on and the drum began to revolve in the other direction up wound the cable the drum airey airly buzzing perry kept his eyes on the shaft suddenly the bucket whizzed out of the opening up into the sunlight perry threw off the controller snapped on the brakes and the b bicket stopped a bare six inches from the top of the gallows frame then off came the brakes and down swooped the bucket into the again hen it got down it came up again when it was up it went down again all at a vertiginous speed and this is the game that for two hours alone upon the top of gold hill the mad engineer played As for wright meanwhile he was not having a nice time when pugh had mad his discreet exit he had found himself in a motionless bucket swinging idly between two levels he was just reaching over to ring two bells for further descent when the bucket started down his tion was of short duration however down dropped the bucket at a speed that lumped wright s heart into his mouth there were big of perspiration upon his honest brow when the thing clambering down when z z az a z z z the bucket began to slid upward the speed increased to a mad one this time he was sure there was something wrong and so very wisely he dropped to the hot torn of the bucket making small as possible and anchoring him self with his feet and back up he shot a stream of golden sunlight blinded him he had a faint vision of the scaffolding above and then just as he had made up his mind he was dead the bucket stopped it swung a second there then down it went again with a dizzying swoop the impressions of wright during the next two hours might be very in te resting only be dian didn t have any am pres about on his third mad trip up and down the shaft he dis freetly shut his eyes and fainted away he doean doesn t call it fainting he says he just got dizzy so diz zy did he get indeed that it took most of half a day to revive him and even now he zigzags crazily as he walks and swears he will never again be caught in any kind of an elevator meanwhile pugh was walking and running down the hill toward town the first man he met there was L M sullivan the principal owner of the jumping jack mine the two men started back up the hill when they reached the top they peered down into the hoisting house through the back window which had served tor pugh s precipitous exit from there they could see perry intent upon bis work alternately putting on power and brake the machine buzzed and the cable whizzed and looking at the mouth of the shaft they could see at regular intervals the bucket shoot up and down again it seemed empty and they thought wright dead the concentration with which perry played his deadly game was his undo ing noiselessly jumping through the window sullivan sprang upon him from behind pinioning his arms meanwhile pugh stopped the bucket at the surface and then the two men after a sharp struggle succeeded in throwing the madman to the ground and tying him up with a rope then they found wright limp at the hot torn of the bucket perry was panting in a corner of the hoi trussed up like a sausage what did you do that tora asked sullivan heatedly tuat fellow s name Is jack isn t if counter questioned perry pointing to afie limp form of wright what has that got to do with it well I 1 was just jumping the jack that s all scowled perry turning his face to the wall so far this is the only explanation he has vouchsafed and he Is plainly |