The Duel in The Dccpcr Pit It came upon me like the shock of a bullet-wound. The thing was imâ€" poasible to refute; it was real. Thc nickel-plated revolver was in the mil- dewed locker where he said I should find it. Valpy homicide. The net which his maniac cunning had spun around my life seemed of such malignant strength and grip that no human effort could win me clear of its toils. ’ For a while I was so stunned by its discovery that: Valpy’s letter fluttered from my fingers to the coaly mud of the floor, and the fluttering tallow- sandle with its stepping of clay threatened to follow it. Peril of life is no great novelty to me. It was not so much the physical danger which mused my head to whirl then, as the lhook of the other discovery. Valpy had been my friend for more than twenty years; we had known one anâ€" other in salon and steamer-room, by tent and camp-fire; our camaraderie and run its course with never a hitch â€"and now he demanded my life for an offense which could nevger in possibi- lity have existed. He said in the bit- ter letter which he left me to read. that I had alienated from him the af- fections of his wife. \Vhy, the man had no wife. This challenge of his was no sudden spas-m; I saw that he had been con- trivlng for weeks to pin me so that I must fight him. He plans with consummate skill; laid them, too, in the full sight of myself, and yet never allowed me a'gleam or a glimmer of this real object will the time was full and ripe for doing so. He had found the advertisement in the "Daily Courier," as it were by ac- cident, before my very eyes, and after we had talked chaffinigly about it dur- ing a lazy afternoon, it was actually this that suggested his taking up this ptlt which was offered for lease. "D‘you know, Calvert," he had said. "I've the deuce of a good mind to fol- low your advice. I‘m getting rather bored with wandering over the globe doing nothing. It sounds fascinating to have an occupation in life, and the idea of being a colliery proprietor is, to a man of my antecedents, distinctly bizarreâ€"that is, attractive. Honestly, if this place turns out to be anything like the advertisement states I believe I'll go in for it. Will you come with me when I go to prospect t" I had laughed and assented, and for the succeeding days he was full of the mine as a child with its first school- boy hobby. Our rooms were littered with plans, tables, reports and speci- mens. The smuggled Tauchnitz novels had disappeared, the bookcase was reinforced by technical literature of a new genus. Everything about the mine was about twenty times a day. In the neighborhood of a shallow seam of coal recently worked out. The shaft penetrated lower than this, and was known usually as the Deeper Fit;- For years it had been unworked, flooded. Now the water had drained away of its own accordâ€"as mine wa- ter does once in a thousand timesâ€" nnd the workings were again ready for the collier's pick. surrounding the original workings could be obtained readily and cheaply. Altogether it was a most desirable property to secure. So the rusted engine on the pit-bank was cleaned, a wire rope rove over the sheave in the derrick, heavy iron cage bent to its end. On a day appointed Valpy and I same to Bromlope to make the descent. ' There is a slight feeling of exulta- tion when one drops down the shaft through which living man has not penetrated the entrails of this planet or over sixteen years; and this feelâ€" lng exhilarates. The cage descended slowly, screaming and grating along the rusted guide-iron, and in a mat- ter of many minutes lauded as on a platform of ebony bog left by the re- ceding waters. With our candles shoulder-height, we stepped off the floor of the cage, plodding heavily through the mud. The gallery was low enough to make us crouch our heads; the air was chill and moist. Presently we came to a small ob- long cavern which formerly had been the colliers' drawing-room and eat- lngjchember. Valpy went in first, asking me to remain in the gallery. Presently he called that I should come to him. "Look here, old man," be said, thrusting a roll of foolscap into my fingers, “have another turn at geo- graphy; make sure how you stand, and then we can move more comfort- ably. I’ll just go out and see if the narrow gallery which runs round the back of this is still sound, or whethâ€" or it has fallen in." He went through the doorway and. after the yellow beam of his candle had been swamped in the darkness. I could still hear the faint splashing of his feet in the semi-liquid mud. Then I stuck my candle by its clay socket against the wall. and careâ€" lessly unrolled the crisp paper and flattened it out. So confident had I been that it was merely a map of the mine which had been handed to me. that it caused me a preliminary shock to find it was in- stead a note scribbled in blue pencil. As I conned through, the hair tickled a; my scalp: was mad; his mania was thrust out at had laid his' It was . Th ro alti . e y es ‘. Valpy had anticipated the manoeuver, and the ' eat once; . . I ' I ,to kill me. dmued “no m5 “"sure as God can see us even through Valpy accused me of tampering with the love of this imaginary wife of his, setting forth this indictment with detail and circumstance. He called to my memory the fact that our engine-man on the pitâ€"bank had reâ€" turned tohls home, and had been orâ€" dered not to rewind us to the sur- face for eight more hours. Then be challenged me to fight him to the death. Previous to my entrance into 1119 room he had placed a revolver and cartridges in the locker opposite the door; he himself possessed an armaâ€" ment similar in all respects. Furthermore, he had observed that our watches coincided. So I should be able to know when he made it ex- actly 10.30; up to that time there. was a truce between us. The second it passed, he gave me his most sacred word of honor, he should set about cndeavoring to slay me, Some people reading so strangea screed under such strange circum- stances might have scented the prac- tical joke and endeavored to trca‘t the matter as such. I knew Valpy too well; he was always anearnest sort, of man; and the letter was pious to a degree. By some cerebral lesion he had lost his mind, and as with oth- er mad creatures, his first wrth ruse against his slancllesl friend. If the chance came to him he would shoot me down like a beast. Now, as I have said. the first shock stunned me; but. the habits of a life Spent for the greater part in Wild places soon made themselves felt. My own self-preservation clamored to be thought about. I glanced at my watch. There were left to me four minutes’ grace. Then thc truce would come. to an end, 811d 1: might expect war to open at any moment. Next I blew out the candle-flame. Everything seemed to point to this as a necessity. Then when the cold darkâ€" ness had closed down, I nipped the smelling wick and slipped the candle into a pocket. It might be wanted again. I most sincerely hoped It would be wanted, because at that Stage olf the affair I had but one idea in my mind; I must come upon Valpy suddenly and disarm him; the rest would be simple. I was by far his su- perior in point of bodily strength- First, however, he must be found; and that, moreover, without letting blin know he was being sought for until We came to handâ€"grips. In other words, he must be stalked. This seemed plain enough. , But as I went out, of the door into the gallery, a sense of the difficulties of my position began to grow upon me There were two ways to turnâ€"up and down. From the farâ€" ther side, other galleries led off at right angles; on my own side, there were still others; in fact, as I knew from the maps and plans, the coal seam round the foot of the shaft was burrowed till the reticulations, if measured end on end, would make a line of tunnel many miles in length. Of course, there would be stoppages at all places where the roof had caved, but these points were to me unknown. Valpy and I descended the pit mainly to find how frequently they existed. Thinking off these things, I listen- ed intently. In that black silence the only sound which fell upon the ear was the distant rivulet of water tickling from a roofâ€"track into a Shallow pool below. Then a voice startled me. "Half-past: ten, Calvert. I see you have put out your candle, so we be- gin on entirely even terms. I need hardly recommend you to do your best Because if you fail, as all this great roof of rock. so surely will I satisfy my honor with your life." The voice seemed to come from close to my elbow. On the first tone I be- gan moving toward it, using infinite care to Stalk noiselessly. voice receded before me like an ignis fatuus, if one may use such a word in reference to sound. and I saw that and was in equalâ€"paced retreat. His original distance I could not guess, because the tunnels acted like a speakâ€" ing-tube, and carried sounds withlitâ€" tie diminution of volume. I traveled on thus for quite two hundred yards, ready to spring, every nerve at high- est tension. Then I stopped to listen around was absolute, but as my ear strained to even further refinements. it seemed to me that I caught ever and anon the faint hush of breathing. Then. not very far away, a splinter of stone, dislodge" from roof or wall, fell with a falsel J splash to the slime of the roadway, at i what had before been a suspicion now became a cer- tainty. . Valpy had rounded my flank and was now stalking me! Let it he confessed that my first thought was for flight. My next, lilo-waver, pointed out that he was playing 11)] game, If he came upon me in the darkness, 1 could seize him before he was able to use his weapon; with him once iii my grip, I should be content. The gallery there was a good six feet in height, and I leaned against the cold, slime-covered wall with hands half raised. You can guess how keenly I listened for any small sound speaking of his advance, but not the faintest whispar came to me. In our many wanderings Vulpy and Ioften stalked big game togeth- er, and I remembered wilh a grim smile how well he had earned the title of “Cat†which had once been ad- mirably bestowed upon him by a lien- gal shikari. Here he was stalking me now through slush which to another man’s movements would have been noisy with squelchings and splashes, and yet, though I felt that he was advancing, yes. and following my spoor with his finger-tips in each foot- step, the deep earthâ€"silence was nev- er intruded upon. Suspense in many of its lurid shapes had been shown to me before but the agony of that wait for the madman is one of the deepest scars on my memory, Always far sharper than my own. pod now more tartly stung, by inâ€" Yet the. with every muscle' At first it appeared that the silence ? 5d 8†fin-9133411111109- -laid hands upon sanity, his animal senses showed him my whereabouts first, and he raised the muzzle of the revolver and pulled the trigger. The sum of what my dazed eyes saw was valpy‘s smudged white face, and the pistol, in a dazzling halo of flame. The bullet struck the wall beneath my left armpit, bringing down a small avalanche of shale. I had no thought of returning his fire. Intle_ed, my revolver was ill my pocket, still unloaded, but I letlpt-tl forward, endeavoriug to grapple with him before he could get in another shot. Doubling like an eel in the utter darkness, he left a side-pocket of his coat in my band and fled, giv- ing priming shots behind him till he had emptied his revolver. The lead brought down great sheets of stone from the roof and sides till I thought that the whole stratum must have collapsed about our ears; still no shot. touched .me, and I crashed on at his heels. But Valin ran like adeer and distanced ,me; and at length I sln'W'; down. with hands and arms hauling from contact with the rocky walls; and I heard Valpy slack his pace at the same time, and board also the tinkle cat the empty shells as be ejected them and reloaded bis revol- vier. My original feeling toward my cumâ€" panion had been one of compassion. This was beginning to give way now, and wild anger was coming in its. place. What had I done that my life should be so savagely attacked? The breech of his revolver closed with a vicitrus sharp, and I heard him cook the hammer. Then be halted, waiting for me, Ihalted too; to ad- vance upon him so would be a demand for instant. death. As a general thing he was but an indifferent shot, but now I knew instinctively that he would not fire until the muzzle of his weapon rested against my breast. Hc advanced again; I retreated. keeping pace with him; we were both too excited by this time to play heed about, treading delicately. Under- neath were Lâ€"rails. and on these, our boots slid and clauked. The dark- ness was profound, and as I ran I steered by trailing raw finger-tips along the jagged walls. The plan of the mine was fixed pretty securely in my head. and twice I turned corners at right angles, hoping that the doom ble would cause him to miss me. He did nothing of the kind, hanging like a dog on the 1 ack, and the third time I tried it he laughed loud in derision. I was hot enough with exertion, heaven knows. but that laugh chilled me to the bone. The particular hor- ror of it was something I could not describe. a something I would wish only my most hateful enemy to ex- periencc. So Valpy hunted me on throughthe network of the oolliery, till a thing ‘lh’appcned which brought me to bay whether I wished it. or no. The ground rose beneath my feet, and for a while the roof rose too. Then the roof dropped again and the floor slanted up to meet it. There had been a fall of rock. The gallery was barred effectually. The madman was not a dozen yards from my heels. I turned then like a cornered ani- mal to fight desperately for life. At my feet were jagged masses of newly fallen shale. As if by instinct they found their way into my clutch and with them I opened a furious bomâ€" bardment of defense. The roof of the gallery was rotâ€" ten and crwmbling, and where my missiles, vaguely aimed in the dark- ness, crashed against it, great mass- es detached themselves and fell into the slime of the roadway. \Vhy mer- ciful Providence prevented me from building myself into a living grave there, I cannot think, but I had chance in my of rock that I hurled, and in my sav- age fury cared not, so that Valpy might be smothered by the avalanche! which walled in myself. Far above all that, infernal turmoil of crashing stone his {pistolâ€"shots rang out shrill and clear, till the thick air grew bit- ing with powder-smoke, and once more the chambers of his weapon were empty. Then, with a final discharge of missiles to herald my No longer did I remember that once he had been my friend, that his mind was unhinged, that his state demand- He was my mor- eneuny, the object of my most and deadly tal blind him then I should have ripped the warm life from within him with willing fingers. Taking the revolver from my pocket, I slipped cartridges into the chambers as Iran. His last, bullet had scored my side like the sear ofa red-hot iron. With gnashâ€" {'18 teeth I lusted to smash my fist into the centre of his face. Valpy might have been mad all along, but at that moment I was no less a maniac than be. Then of a sudden the scene changed. The noise of pal tering feel in front of me abruptly ceased. There was a heavy splash, a bubbling cry, andâ€" silence. I halted and listened. No sound came to me through the black gloom save only for the muffled lapping of tiny war 3. Then the noise of a heavy surge echoed down the gallery, and with it came a strangled voice which cried. "Help! for God’s sake, help, Calvert l“ The voice was drowned in gurglings and splashings, and again an earthâ€" silence Strapped down. amid which i could hear my own breathing and those faint slappings of water. A great revulsion of feeling spread over me like a cold douche. Yelp}. mad or sane. was drowning in some dreadful unseen tank. which drained the water of the mine. He could not swim a stroke. If I did not rush then to save him. he Would die horribly. My fierce enmity withered and vanished within me; I remembered only tilt» friendship of twenty years. [strode fOl‘\\.ll‘(‘l again. stepped over some imisible brink. and sank deeply into water so cold that I elliel'gvd from it breathless and gasping. Al the same moment Valpy rose again tr the surface. almost noiselessly. \iell» the i mind with every splinter. coming. I , ’charged furiously at him and he in ‘t.urn fled away down the gallery. hate; and had It nigh lifeless. My fingers slid out and iwmed themselves in his hair. Slipping beneath him, I swam for the pair of us, and in that awful darkness may have sworn in anything but astraight line. I was tired, faint. bruised; and .he deadly chill of the water was parâ€" alyzing. I must have gone light- licaded then, for a horror seized me that. I was on some vast under- laka with shores leagues apart. I swam on for whit. seemed hours.â€" monthsâ€"years â€" consciousness dimâ€" ming wi'h every stroke; and when at length I did touch a shelving beach, the last glimmer of sentient life with- Hit me died away. Hall in, half out, of that foul tank‘s broth we lay together. the pair of us, for how many hours I cannot tell; and “119111118 man on the pit-bank above, growing alarmed at our non- appearance, formed a rescue party, thcy found tis still devoid of consci- ousness. When we were brought to blessed daylight 01100 more, bruiscd, bleeding. filhy beyond recognition, a doctor 10th us both in hand. and through his skill I was little worse for the adven- ture. Ilut Valpy's case was different. He woke into a raging brain-fever, and the doctor said that the disease must have smoldered in his system for weeks to permit of its arriving at such a sudden and violent head. Eventually my poor chum recovered, though only after a long and tedious: convalescence; but he knew nothingl of that awful duel he forced upon me in the black abysses of the Deeper Pit, and to this day I have never told him. A SACRIFICE. His little shop was only a few doors: from my home, but on the narrow side! streetâ€"our house was on the cornerâ€"x and often when I took baby out forl an airing myself, I stopped to talk to; him as he sat bending over his work ! Mother nature had given him an in-l telligent rather handsome face, in com- pensation for the cruel hump which she had placed between his shoulders, and as he told me stories of his loved Fatherland in his quaint Swede ac- cent, I remembered the lady whowas so impressed by the eloquence of the French President, M. Thiers, that she described him as being very tall and handsome. But Andrew Oleson was only the hunchback shoemaker. and his little shop was located in a big, shabby terrace, which seemed always to be so full of c ipants that they overflowed into the street, for ages- ticulating, chattering crowd was al- ways lounging around the doors. His trade was fairly lucrative; those North country people like to deal with one of their own race, so he mended and often made, shoes for all the Swedes, Germans and Icelanders in the West and. l, Though always busy, he was yet al- ways ready to tell the moat wonder- ‘_ful fairy stories to the children, and every one of themâ€"foreign and Can- adianâ€"loved Andrew Oleson. 1 I had known him two years when one day he told me of a ct templated change. i “ l have saved some money, Meesis,â€; he said, with a sparkle in his blue, eyes and his pals face flushed. "At. last I have got. emuugh. I hate this, place,“ with aiwave of his hand. which took in the close, sultry workshop,‘ and the stuffy little living room back of it, and for a background the dirty yard where the numerous olive branches of the families in the terrace; alternatively played amiably together, or fall into dispute and pelted eachi other with mud and decaying cabbago‘ Ieavw. "This is not like what I leftâ€"the dear old homeâ€"«but the rent was low‘ so I staid. But now, I can soon leave it. There is a little cottage down this street one long way, so pretty, with three rooms and a garden, where the vegetables may grow. so like the old home, and I buy it Meesis. I have waited some long while to get the, money, but new soon I pay them two hundred dollars. Then I pay them some each month and soon all is paid‘ and it is mine." ‘ There was such pride and happiness shining in his face that I felt deeply interested in the proposed investment, "I am very glad,†Isaid cordially, “it will be so much better for you than these small rooms, and the gar- den “ill be a great pleasure to you." His delight at the anticipated change was almost pathetic. “Don't speak of it," he said at last, “as the deal is not completed yet and! someone else may get it." I would see how the possibility of this catastrophe troubled him, and lde- vouily hoped that the cottage would not temp! any other aspiring house- holder. Some time before this 1 had learned another secret of Andrew's, though he had not told it to me. _ He loved, lnga Johannssun, my fair haired Swede servant girl. Well. he was deformed but what of that? Had he not the kindest heart! did not all the children love him? did any one ever hear him utter a rough or unkind work? Surely he would make pretty Inga a good husband. llu! fate and August Pjeturrsson, had decreed otherwise. Inga, with that feminine instinct which never errs in such matters, was perfectly well aware of Andrew's devotion, but she only tossed her ‘head, was not August l’jelurrsson the best looking Swede n the west end, and did not all the girls envy her? There came a day when Andrew ~poke; played his last cardâ€"and lost. Inga told me the next morning, "The idea of marrying himl" “You might do much worse,†I said. 3’ ,money. “Andrew would make you a good hul- hand." “But he is such an ugly looking fel- low," she pouted. "Oh, Inga! His back is deformed it true, but he has a very pleasant face, and you know how good natured he is. Then. he has saved money and would have a comfortable home for you." But visions of August‘s stalwart form obscured all of poor Andrew‘s perfect ions. All this had happened during the winter, and now for some time, Inga had gone about her work with upra- OCcupled air and a downcast fact. "What is the mvtter with Inga, lua‘anil“ asked Andrew one evening when I had employed him to make up some flower beds, "has she quarreled with August I" “No, I think not;“ I answered. absently, intent on my task of ar- ranging, the geraniums which An- drew was setting out, “that is,â€"yes I do know what is the matter, and I suppose it would not be a breach of trust to tell you as she would not likeâ€" ly object to your knowing. August has had letters from his father, the eldest brother is d-cad and the old people are le‘t alone. They urge him to come home to live with them, and assure him that he will be able to secure a Situation, as workmen are not so num- erous lht're now since so many have emigrated. He is anxious to go, but be his never been able to save any I think he sent money to his father occasionally; anyway, he has very little now. He might work his way home but he cannot take Inga." "And she would go?" “Yes; you see her mother is there. ‘She had thought that in time sh. might save money enough to pay her moiher's passage out, but of course she. would like to go with August." Andrew leaned thoughtfully on his spade. "I don't think August PJeturr- sson is much of a worker; it would take him a long time to save enough to take "Inga home." “Yes, I am afraid so. Of course August should go at once;,his parents need him, and as he will have to sup- port them tht-re will likely be years of waiting before Inga can go to him.†“Do you really, think she cares so much for him, ma’arni" "i am afraid so, Andrew," I said reluctantly, for I thought, it kinda“ not to deceive him; "you know how I wish she would care for someone else." H13 face flushed and the hand that held the spade trembled. "She‘has a right. to make her choice; I hope she will always be happy.†‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Matters had reached a crisis and In a was in despair. August ha had another letter from home; he must come at once or he would lose a good siluation. lnga's blue eyes were often dim with tears. It is so hard for the young to wait for their happiness. Bill one morning she came to me in great excitement. "Ob ma am. what do you think has happened? Some good friend has glVr‘n August the money to take us home. He don’t know who it was but the money was left with our minister. and the: letter said it was for to buy two tickets to Sweden and we go now, right away." Before Inga. had finished [was sure of one: thing. and Iwished that lwar sure of anotherâ€"that August chtur- rsson was worthy of the sacrifice that had been made for him. Well. they were married and went and Andrew wished Inga happiness and bade her good bye in asteady voice. “Wth are you goln to move. Anâ€" drew?" I asked one try as he pass- ed dmvn' the side street. near where I sat on the lawn. He looked away be fore he answered. "I haic changed my mind. I am going to stay here." "Mr. Oleson,†Isaid leaning for- ward to pick a pansy from the flower bed, "it would cost just about two hundred dollars to buy two tickets for Sweden. would it not?†"I think so, yes,†he was looking at something down the street. "‘Grealer love hath no man than ,this,†I said softly. A, L. D. G. _+___ SUBMARINE BOATS. They Are Emily Delfl'lf'd By Balloon Soaring Dlrt’clly Abou- Them. Should the submarine boat take the place in naval warfare that some nations expect, one of the chlief pre- cautions taken by the world’s navies will be an Immense increase in the number of balloons, with .duly train- ed staffs to work them, carried by war vessels. The balloons carried by these bat- the ships are of exactly the same maâ€" terial and pattern as those in use in the army, only smaller. They have a use far in advance of any were longâ€" distance, observational purpose. for, though the wake of a submarine boat sunk deeply in the water can only .be traced with difficulty from such an elevation as that afforded by a ship, both sulch wake and the boat itself can be seen with absolute and undevl; atiug clearness from a captive balâ€"t icon. This is the result of a Sl‘lt‘nllfl: and optical law, and when ship bah locus were first put to the practical test in regard to this matter, the re- sults attained were of the most sur< prising kind. . . ‘- Eren where the water is distinctly cloudy, objects of a much smaller‘kmd than a submarine boat, and painted of natral color, could be seen from a balloon with the utmost clearness at a depth of five fathoms, or 39 feet, though the surface was rough. _No subâ€" marine boat 00qu in the daytime get within striking distance of a threaten- ed ship that had a balloon Without being observed. THOSE LOVING GIRLS. Clara. dressed for the ball. Hmv do [ look in ’Ihis dress. Maude? M tide. Positively handsome. Why. I hardly recognized you. .