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Show I "The Fighting TraiF 1 M EPISODE 10 'TIIK WATEU THAI" L . ' H Tho cntranco to the main shaft of Pj5 joM'10 mine was a" bustle and hurry. M MaJeBUru cars wore traveling in and out H with unusual speed, making up for H tho tlmo that had been lost. Near M the entrance Casey and Nan were H .talking quietly, enjoying the first re- H lax in days, now tliat tho excitement H had died down. Gwyn, with a shift H of workmen, was down in the mine. H Then with an abruptness that wa3 H Htartllng, Nan's voice broke off In H tho mlddlo of a sentence. There was H a rumbling, terrifying sound from H within tho mine, accompanied by sov- H oral sharp explosions, coming In rap- H id succession. Both Casey and Nan H started In fright. What did tills un H expected turn uf afralrs mean? Was H it more of Vou Week's work.' Their H minds were working Willi lightning H quickness. Suddenly the signal lot H tho cage to be lowoied worked fran- H tlcally. Casey rati to the donkoy-un- H glno and ordered It to bo sent down H Immediately. M H Tho rive minutes which followed. H loforo tho cago was lifted, were H filled with mental agony and sus- H ponso for both Casey and Nan. They H wero nervously trying to imaglno H tlie scono when tho men from below H who had given tho signal, "would H roach the surfaco. And then, wrap- H ped In a little film of smoke, the H cage appeared at tho top of tho shaft. Tlio forms of half a score of stag- H .goring, weakened men, almost fell H forward. Casey and Nan rushed for- H ward to meet them, and saw, lying H juono on tho floor of the cage, tho H forms of a dozen unconscious victinu H of tho catastrophe To theso they H -went and hrouglit thorn out, ono by H one, where miners could work over I and rovlvo them. As Casoy carried I tho last man out of tho shaft, Nan H her oyes wot with tears, cried: "awyiil Vv'nero Is Gwyn? Ho did I not como up in tho cago!" jJm "Wo tried to mako him como up," rJ onrfHftthoso who had been rescued I an2wured, "but ho wouldn't. Said lio'd stay down and try to savo somo I others. Hotter send tho cage right I down again to him," I "What happened?" Casoy demand- cd. I "Illg oxploslon," was tho roply. I "Tried to wrock tho mine, I guess. I Most of it was In the old part wlioro no ono was working. Tho biggest 'I danger's rrom tho Hiuoko. Tho wholo I mine Is filled with It. That's what I Kot us tho Hiuoko heavy, black I stuff that'll Biiiother you In a sec- I ond!" I Tlio words seemed to burn Nan's H aa Mm " aawajjSjg very soul. Tho thought of her husband hus-band imprisoned below in the suffocating suffo-cating smoke terrified her. She rushed to tho cage, but it was already descending for another load of humans. hu-mans. Standing beside tho spot where tho cago was located, Casey and Nan waited many anxious minutes min-utes for it to riso again, hoping that Gwyn would be among those in tho second load. But, when at last the cago was again hoisted to tho surface, sur-face, Gwyn was not to bo seen. Only a mass of huddled men, more dead than alive, emerged. Ono told Nan that Gwyn had saved the majority of them, and, when the cago had been lifted, ho had gono back for more of tho imprisoned miners. "I'm going down!" she screamed to Casey. "Ho's down thero and I'm going to help him! Dou't stop me!" "Don't!" Casey shou&d back to her. "Lot mo go. I can holp him moro than you can." Hut Nan, ns ho spoke, had already run to tho cago and vanished in tho smoke that now curled out of the shaft in heavy clouds. Her voice wai heard coming from the cage, as Casey Ca-sey rushed forward to check her bravo but seemingly futile descent. "All right! Lot mo down! Quick!" Tlio man inchargo of the donkey engino which controlled tho cage obeyed tho ordor. Hogan's dog, attracted at-tracted by tho sound of Nan's voice, rushed Into tho smoko, and when Casey reached tho shaft, ho arrived Just In tlmo to Beo it being lowored enveloped in smoko, to tho bottom of tho mine. Tho donso, black smoko rolled thru tho web work of tunnels that wovo and lnterwovo under the ground, until un-til overy subterranean passago of tho mlno seemed filled. To ono Imprisoned Im-prisoned there escapo must seem impossible. Even should ho escape asphyxiation, tho task of finding tho way through tho black tunnels, lighted light-ed only hazily by tho burning wood of tho bhorlng, was a practically hopo less ono. Yet, for over an hour Gwyn oxhpusted almost to Insensibility, had staggored along with faltering steps. Ho had wandered away from tho cago and had been unablo to ro-turn ro-turn to It. Ho was lost In tho blinding, blind-ing, suffocating curtain of smoko that onvoloped him. Now, by an effort ef-fort that was superhuman and which sapped overy ouuco of his energy, ho braced Himself and hurried. Ho had thought, a moment beforo, that ho had heard Nan's volco calling for help In ono of tho passagos which led off from that In which ho was trapped. Floundering along as rap- idly as his weak legs would permit, and feeling his way with his hands, more than seeing, he reached a turn and halted to listen. Tho smoke, hero, driven on by tho draft where the two tunnels met, was less dense. He was ablo to breatho freer and regain tome of the strength which had loft lilm. As Gwyn stood there, wondering which way to proceed and listening attentively, to overy littlo sound, with the hope of again hearing hear-ing Nan's voice, another sound, nl-most nl-most as encouraging, reached his ears. It was a sharp, hollow bark tho bark of Hogan's dog and It came from the direction of tho tunnel tun-nel In front of Gwyn. Without listening further, Gwyn made his way along, guided by the harking of tho dog. At length, when tho barking grew distinct and closer, Gwyn stopped again. When ho resumed re-sumed his walking, it was to advance slowly and cautiously. It .seemed to him now, that tho dog must bo lower, low-er, perhaps in one of tho galleries or ledges in tho sanio tunnel, but deeper. In another moment, ho discovered dis-covered that this was a fact, for, directly ahead of him, lie could see tho drop which led to tho lower gallery. gal-lery. Ho advanced carefully, making mak-ing suro of his footing, and peered over tho ledge. Tho smoke, at this point, was well cleared away, and thero romalned but a thin veil of It. Uclow, however, It was? darker, and Gwyn could not seo distinctly. As ho looked, tho figure of tho dog, moving mov-ing about and clawing at tho wall In an attempt to got up to tho higher level, could plainly bo discerned. And, besldo the dog, stretched out on tho ground, Gwyn could see, as his oyes became accustomed to tho darkness dark-ness a human form. It was too dark below for recognition, but tho sight filled Gwyn with horror. Gwyn raised himself to his feet ho had been lying flat on the ground as ho was peering over tho ledge and mado his way around to a point where tho floor of tho tunnel Bloped moro gradually to tho lower gallery. Hero ho went down and reached tho dog and tho body. As ho leaned over to look moro closely at tho form lying on tho ground, ho started up In Burprlso. Instead of tho body of Nan, ho had found that of Shoestring Drant, lying In a littlo pool of blood dead. Gwyn reached down and examined tho figure. It was certain that tho outlaw had been klllod by a fall from tho upper gallory; thero was no sign of a bullet wound any-whoro any-whoro upon him. Just as Gwyn was about to leavo nnd continue his search, which now seomed boyond all hopo. tho sign of something clasped tightly in tho dead man's hand nttracted his attention. He picked It up, and, glancing nt It In tho light of a smoldorlnp beam, uttered ut-tered a littlo cry. It was a bit of cloth which Gwyn recognized as having been torn from Nan's dress. Shoestring, then, must have cncoun- tered his wife In the mine! This ac-u'tinted, ac-u'tinted, also, for tho presenco of tho dog. Hut what had become of Nan after she and tho outlaw had met? Hero was the mystery that confront-! ed Gwyn. Owyn, accompanied by tho nnlinnl, made his way rapidly along tho tun-' nel until ho reached tho littlo open- Ing In the wall of the mine through i which the light had come. It was a small hole, Just sufficiently largo for him to crawl through, which ho did. The refreshing air invigorated lilm greatly, and he felt a now llfrt throbbing in his veins as lie breathed It, after his long Imprisonment in the smoko filled, musty mine. Itlslng boforo Gwyn, on a steep Incline was a slopo that led to a plateau porno fifty feet above. From this plateau, and reaching down to n level with where he stood, dangled a ropo that was apparently attached to a tree above. "Someone has gone up hero beforo me." Gwyn ruminated. "I don't seo how Nan could have ilono It, cither. She nniRt have been pretty much all In after her experience In tho mine. However, thero's no other way she could have gotten out." He grasped the rope, tugged at It to make Hure that It was secure, and climbed up, hand over hand. At tho top, standing on the plateau, Gwyn was able to recognize his surroundings. surround-ings. Now, for tho first time In hours ho knew where he was. The cntranco to tho main shaft, where the others must be waiting, he know, was not far distant, though It was hidden from view by a heavy growth of tho trees and shrubbery. Ilehlnd this screen, Gwyn, knew, ran the road which led to tho town of Lost Mlno. As he omerged from tho woods nnd approached the edge of the road, he saw Casey running madly toward him, shouting and pointing down the road. When Casey caught sight of Gwyn he stopped suddenly. "Thank God, you're safe," he yelled. "Hut look! Seo what's happened hap-pened to Nan! They'vo got her, tho dirty hounds, and they're making for town as fast as their horses can run. We've got to do something quick. Como on!" Gwyn followed Casey's fingers down tile road nnd beheld, galloping nt top speed, the band of Von Hleck. On ono of the horses, bound fast so that escape was out of tho question, was Nan. (To Ho Continued) |
