Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 513 — page 10: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

10 The Demon Doctor. ‘““Where are you?” asked Lawrence, as he felt around for his prostrate companion, There was a great noise on the ground, a little dis- tance away, like a quantity of rubbish dropping down a well, and Mike’s voice, still uttering wails of an- ish, became muffled. ‘* Ow, Mr. Sinclair, be keerful. Sure, ’m down a pit a million fate dape!” howled Mike Carroll. ‘A pit?” “Yis; moind yerself, or ye'll be intil it, too, Good- by Mr. Sinclair; ye’ll nivir see poor Moik again, I’m kilt, and me corpse is phere the b’ves kin never howld a wake over it. Och, wurroo, wurroo!”’ ‘‘Don’t talk nonsense, Mike. You’re worth a dozen corpses yet, and you'll get as good a wake as you cou d desire when you do die. Where the deuce are you?’ ‘*Sorra a wan o’ me knows, except that it’s ina moighty damp place that lam.” Lawrence crawled carefully along until he reach- ed the edge of the pit that Mike declared was a mil- lion feet deep. He understood it at once. It was a shaft sunk from one level to another to save boring through several hundred yards of solid earth from the main shaft. Like every other part of the worked-out mine it was half full of rubbish, and was, moreover, wet from a spring that had found its way there from above. “ Are you hurt!”’ asked Lawrence. ‘Well, now, be jabers, I don’t belave I’m damaged at all, at all, barring the scratch on the ind o’ me nose that I got before,’ returned Mike, ‘‘ but I’m — and cowld, and it’s as dark as the mischief down ere.’ ‘* So it is up here, for that matter,’’ said Lawrence. ‘Look out, 1’m coming down.”’ “The saints purtect yez!’’ was Mike Carroll’s de- vout adjuration. The shaft had been braced with cross-pieces of scantiing as well as planks against the wall, On these pieces of scantling, Lawrence easily made his way down the shaft, stepping from one to the other, and clinging to chinks between the boards on the walls. In a few seconds he stood in a pool of water at the bottom of the shaft, by the side of Mike Carroll, As soon as he reached the spot. he looked around bim in every direction, and started with a thrill of joy as he said: ** See, Mike, we are in a long passage, and, as sure as we are alive, I can see a faint glimmer of light in the distance.”’ ‘* Well, I ain’t quite sure that T am aloive, but I be lave I kin see the loight.”’ Without another word, the two plodded through the water and rubbish in the direction of the feeble glimmer that was to them indeed a star of hope. The road was a rough one, but they did not notice that as they moved swiftly along, over heaps of rub- bish, scattered bowlders, masses of slate, and other obstructions that met them at every step. “ Moighty strange thing that light don’t git an bigger,” said Mike. ‘ We are nearly up toit, an’ it looks just as shmall as it did at first.” ‘Tt is strange,” said Lawrence, as his heart beat faster with an apprehension that perhaps, after all, the opening through which the blessed daylight shone might not be large enough for them to get through. He increased his pace to a run closely followed by Mike. The licht still glimmered feebly. Half a dozen yards, and the two stood by an open- ing big enough to get through, certainly, but that did not lead into the open air. ‘‘ We have only found our way to another prison, n said Lawrence Sinclair, despondently, ‘Don’t give up the ship. yet, Mr. Sunclair,”’ said Mike, cheerily. ‘‘ Let’s follow this thing to the ind, ar ow he frishman sprung to the opening, and gavea yell of joy. ‘‘ Hutroo! Mr. Sunclair! Sure I can sec the blessed stars, anyhow!” ‘Stars! How is that?” asked Lawrence, as he followed his companion. Then, as he looked up and saw where they were, he said, in despairing tones: “Stars! Yes, certainly; and the top of the earth is as much out of our reach as they are,”’ ‘“Arrah, now, Mr. Sunclair, 1 dunno about that. Be gob. I think as we'll be standing on top of the ‘arth afore we reach the stars.” ‘‘T do not see how, Mike! Here we are at the bot- tom of ashaft, the sides of which are smooth boards, without a chink big enough for either the hands or feet. If pon can tell me bow we are going to get out of it. I wish you would do it.”’ - Von't you see that thing phwat’s a-hanging over the head uv yez?”’ ‘*Yes, It’s the old cage that used to take the miners up and down, years ago, when the mine was being worked. But what’s the use of that? It’s so old and rusty that it would fall to pieces if it were used. Notthat there is any fear of ourusing it. It is at least twelve feet over our heads, We could never reach it, if we wanted to do s»,” “(Ywdn't we? Well, now, whist a minute. I think we kin get hould of that cage, and I think we'll get out of this by it, too, begorra!” ‘* You're hopeful, Mike; but I’d like to know how ou are going to do it,’ said Lawrence, listlessly, as e gat down ona pile of broken slate, and thought ot Lucette’s peril, while he was powerless to help er, It was this thought that unmanned him whenever it occurred to him, Mike Carroll did not appear to notice his compan- jon’s despondency, as he chattered away: “ Now, Mr. Sunclair, I want to call your attintion to the fact that there are twocages a-hangin’in this ere shaft—wan of ’em agreat deal hoigher than the other, d’ye moind?”’ Lawrence looked up and nodded assent, ‘Very well, then, Yer see, when wan goes up, the other cooms down, ’cause they bees balanced, and they can’t both coom down thegither. See?” Again Lawrence nodded. The little Irishman seemed to be talking just to keep up the spirits of both, and the young man appreciated his efforts. Mike did not seem to be distressed over the taci- turnity of the other. He was too full of the scheme he had in his mind to notice or think much about anything else. : “Well, now, Muster Sunclair, yer see that the iron cage phwat you oy is rusty—and ye’re roight about that, for it is moighty rusty—hangs on & chain,” “Yes, I believe it does, though I can’t see it very plainly,’’ said Lawrence, “No; the shtars are moighty pritty things a-twinklin’ an’ a-shparklin’ in the skoye beyant, but they don’t give as much loight as an electric lamp, fora fact. Well, anyhow, as I was a-sayin’, the cage be Raney to a chain, and, moreover, be the same token, the ither wan above hangs On the ither ind of that same chain.”’ ‘“But what does all this talk amount to, when you can't reach either of the cages?’ asked Lawrence. ‘‘Phwait awhile, an’ I'll show yez,”’ said Mike, with a triumphant air of mystery ashe went over to the opening by which they had entered the shaft, and picked up a coil of rope, with a stout hook at the end. ‘There, phwat d'ye say to that?” Lawrence Sinclair sprung to his feet as if endowed with new life. ‘‘By heavens, Mike! I believe we shall be able to escape, after all, I see your idea exactly.” “Glad fit, Mr. Sinclair, But I want you to ex- lain wan thing that’s been a-poozzlin’ me iver since ‘ve kim down in this unchristian place.”’ ‘What is it?” , ‘‘ Explain to me how it is I kin see shtars beyant in the dayloight. Unless I’m bewitched, I dunno how to aceount for it, be gob!’ Lawrence Sinclair laughed as he told Mike that it was a fact in natural science with which every miner was familiar. A person at the bottem of a deep hole, such as a mine or a well, can always see the stars in the daylight. ‘‘Begorra, thin, that’s a wonderful thing, sure as you’re born,” said Mike. “Many things are wonderful in nature when you come to think about them,” said Lawrence. ‘‘ Now about that rope. I suppose we must throw up that hook, try and catch the cage, and pull it down.” “Thrue for yez, Mr. Sunclair. Ye shtruck it the first time.” Without wasting any more time in words, Law- rence took the rope, which was about fifteen feet long, and coiled it loosely in his left hand, Then. seizing the hook in his right, he threw it with all his cone toward the iron cage suspended above his 1ead. ‘‘Bo the Lord, Mr. Sunclair, you’ve got it the first toime. ‘‘ You’ve just caught that cage as nate as I c’u’d ha’ done it meself.”’ p ht “Well, help me pull it down, then, Mike,” said Lawrence, as he vainly tugged at the rope without stirring the cage or its rusty iron chain. Mike seized the rope and added his strength to Sinclair’s in trying to move the cage. In vain, : ‘Well, Mr. Sunclair, I guess we'll have to cloimb,”’ said Mike. Before Lawrence could answer, the active Irish- man had gone up the rope, hand over band, and was hanging to the cage. No sooner had he got a firm hold upon it than there was a thunderous whirring sound, a creaking of wheels and a groaning of machinery, and the cage came down with a run, ‘Be the powers. did yees iver see anything loike thot, now.’ said Mike, with a comical look of sur- prise. ‘‘ Begorra, we'll have to cloimb up the chain now, sure.”’ This was an easy thing for the two powerful, ac- tivemen. They did not hesitate a moment in grasp- ing the rusty chain, and in less than ten minutes both were near the op Lawrence was the first to reach the surface. He climbed up until he came to the large iron * drum ”’ on whieh the chain was suspended, Mike Carroll being several feet below. ‘“Shtick your fut out at the side, Mr. Sunclair. Then you can step off,”’ said Mike. Lawrence followed the suggestion. and reached for the side of the shaft with his right foot. ; As he did so, he received a blow on the back of his head that made him release his hold of the rope and pitch down the shaft, while the voice of Oscar, the negro, said, tauntingly: “Whar was you gwine, anyhow, toss?” i ES CHAPTER Xi. THE STRUGGLE IN THE SKIFF. ' Wuen Barney Driver ran from the_house of the | bank cashier, after seeing the Demon Doctor stand- ing like an avenging spirit in the parlor, he was | filled with superstitious fears. He never slackened his headlong pace until he | reached the wooden bridge that spanned the chasm before referred to, When he got there, however, his natural coolness and insolent self-possession re- , turned to his aid. | ‘“Pshaw! That old fellow frightened me, with bis confounded electric lamp. I believe he will scare | well-known voice, me to death yet before I make my bargain with him. I wonder if he knew it was me.” He walked slowly down the winding path to the railroad track, thinking ha 2 “Oh, he didn’t know me, 1'm sure; and if he was to say he did,I would prove an althi, Barne Driver isn’t to be caught easily, if he knows himself. ae job bas gone up for this night, though, un- ess—’ He put his hand to his long knife mechanically and walked more swiftly down the hill. ‘Ah, there are Oscar and Curly. I can just see them down there outside the lock, though it’s as dark as a nigger’s pocket. The moon has nearly gone out of sight.” He crossed the railroad track, ran down the sloping bank to the water’s edge and whistied softly. An answering whistle came back over the river. The boat that he had noticed near’ the dam was shaking in the water that was pouring over the dam with aloud rattle and slam that could be heard for half a mile down the river, notwithstanding that the still back-water below the dam gave no intima- tion of the turmoil above. “T wouldn’t get so near the dam if I were they,” muttered Barney, as he watched the frail craft—the same in which he was first introduced to the reader— bobbing about in the surf. ‘‘ They will be over the wickets if they ain’t careful.” It was evident that the occupants of the boat were either careless or did not appreciate the power of the current made by the fall of the water over the row of wickets stretching across the river, and known as Davis Island Dam. ‘Tord! They’ll be over the wickets as sure as sposnane | What the deuce is the matter with them?” The men in the boat bent to their oars as the boat swerved around in the strong current at the wickets, and with-three or four powerful strokes propelled their craft toward the shore. “Hurry up, Osear! Pull hard, Cony: Wind that. log, there, Oscar. Back water—bac <back, I tell you. Now, pull all! That’s it! Steady! Steady!’ Barney Driver thus directing his two men in the neeh watched themas they made their way toward im. He kepton glancing furtively bebind him, for he did not know how soon some one might come from ‘the house he had intended to rob, and though his superstitious fears of the Demon Doctor were allayed, he did not attempt to belittle the power that the electric student possessed by means of the wonderful natural force he had brought under control. ‘Never mind about grounding the boat, Oscar,” he said as the nose of the craft came within a few feet of him. ‘“‘Ican jump. Move forward, Oscar, and I’ll jump into her bows. : The negro, who was sitting with his back to Barney pulled his large slouch hat down over his: brows, and obeyed the order silently, while Curly Bob. in the stern rested on his oars and waited for’ Barney to jump. Barney seated himself in the stern and his two CoRpAnORe pulled into the middle of the river, ‘Now make for the city as quick as you like,” said Barney. ‘“ The job here is bu’sted and we want. to settle things at the crib in the mines and keep shady for a while, I’ve got a little business to settle with }that Demon Doctor, curse him!—and then, Oscar, good-by to this part of the country, eh?” The negro grunted acquiescence and worked steadily at his oars. f “Tl tell you all about this thing to-night, after awhile, Osear,” continued Barney, graciously; ‘though you don’t seem to be very anxious about tt 0 One perhaps you don’t care about a share of Again Oscar grunted, but as it was too dark to distinguish his face, Barney did not know whether the grunt signified assent or dissent. 4 Look out, there! Where are you rowing tof You are taking us straight across instead of down the river. Why, we are nearly onto the wickets,” said Barney, 48 he turned around and tried to pierce the gloom behind him, Ere he could say another word, Oscar had sprun from his seat, and with a well-directed blow sent. Barney Driver apremlng in the botton of the boat, Barney, though utterly at a loss to know the mean- ing of the attack, grappled with his assailaut, and exerted his utmost strength to arise. In vain; the other beld him down with a erip of iron, and seemed determined to choke him into in- sensibility, ‘‘Wha—what’s the matter, Oscar? Curly. help me! I believe this black foo}’s crazy!” yelled Bar- ney, desperately. oe : Be ont oat think he’s sinsible, thin!” said a as Curly Bob leaned over Barney and, thrusting his face close to that of* the pros- trate ruffian, showed the grinning features of Mike Carroll. “You villain! Where is that young lady?’’ de- manded the man with the slouch hat, whom Barney had addressed as Oscar, but who he now saw in the: faint light of the stars was none other than Law- rence Sinclair. “Trap by. Heavens!” growled Barney the Blacksheep, involuntarily, “ Thrapped, be St. Pathrick! Yis, that’s it, me handsomeb’ye. Hould him tight, Mr. Sunclair, ap if he don’t tell yez where he has put yer swateheart we'll doomp him in the wather an’ let him shwim to perdition.’ 1’) make it hot for both of you, yet!” hissed Driver. “ Indade, thin, an’ we'll make it cowld for you if OOKS oe Ps Bt | com. hl ie wv