Chapter III.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6589, 5 July 1889, Page 1

Chapter 111.

I " When I regained consciousness I was at home in my own bed, propped comfortably up in a clond of pillows, tbat gave ease to my fractured limbs. My injuries had been attended to by the skilled hand of the doctor, and that personage himself was standing by my bed, whea I opened my partially blind eyes and looked about me ; and my ■wife came forward, and, dropping on her inees by my side, buried her face on my shoulder and sobbed for sheer joy at my return to life. After my scattered senses had regained something of their former power, I enquired for Charley, but I was cautioned to silence by the doctor who, however, satisfied my curiosity by telling me, that Charley lay in the next room, fighting hiß dread battle with the " King of Terrors." The weary dayo dragged their dreary lengths along, and I could tell by the changing colour, and jaded appearance of my wife's countenance, that the incessant strain of nursing wan fast breaking down her health. I was rapidly becoming >iwaleßcent although I was a terrible

looking object with my right arm shattered and face burnt and seared almost beyond recognition, while I was quite without feeling, as yet, in my lower extremities. Charley poor fellow, was in a miserable plight, he was nothing but a heap of bandages from head to foot, both legs and arms were broken and his body was horribly crushed. The doctor had good hopes of my ultimate recovery, but of Charley he feared the worst. The weather was beautifully fine, and the bracing purity of the air so assisted our recovery that after a couple of months we were both able to be carried up here. Then it was that I spent some of the happiest days of my life. We would sit here, Charley my wife and myself, for hours together, drinking in the beauty of the landscape and exchanging those confidences which will remain with me the memory of a lifetime. One day when Charley was in a more talkative mood than usual, he told me of that awful time when _ the rope snapped. Fora moment he stood irresolute, an exultant thought at my death flashing through his mind, then the call of duty told him there was a possibility of saving my life by getting down in time to destroy the fuses, or to send me up. What though it brought me back to enjoyment of lite with her, while for him it meant certain death or a life-long misery! If he let me perish without any attempt to save me, he would look upon himself _as my murderer. Ho dashed to the side of the shaft and bending ov&r called me byname, then rapidly overhauling the rope, he shouted to old Joe to heave like an engine when he signalled, and, crossing his legs on the rope, slid down it. How nobly he acquitted himself of his task you know. As I Bwung clear of the untimbered portion of the shaft the shots went off, and he was blown by the force of the explosion against a side, and, as the terrible upheaval continued, piece upon piece of rock was rained against and upon him. He was conscious through it all, and felt a thrill of joy, even amidst such desolation, at seeing me swinging in mid-air, as it were, and slowly but sorely ascending. Old Joe worked like a Troj an, and, after getting my inanimate and singed form to the surface, rushed for help. This was soon forthcoming, and some of the miners immediately descended and tenderly brought poor Charley to the top, while a messenger was sent for a doctor. As Charley reached the open air, my wife, who, although they had hoped to keep her ignorant of the accident until after the arrival of the doctor, had been aroused by the commotion, came rushing to the side of the shaft. With one agonized look she saw me lying apparently dead, and then turning' to the stretcher upon which Charley was laid, threw herself in a fit of passion upon him and fainted. At that supreme moment consciousness forsook Charley, from which state he did not emerge for a couple of days. I was touched, inexpressibly so, at the heroic deed of this man, whose life I had intended to take, and I confessed to him my dark and treacherous design, and begged his forgiveness, but he only smiled Badly and said there was nothing to forgive. Vengeance was complete, and upon me had it fallen. Not only was this man capable of such heroio Beltsacrifice, but to ease my mind, took the whole blame of my murderous intentions upon himself. Shortly after this, the I weather changed, and we were confined to the house. I was by this time able to get about unassiated, except by the aid of a crutch, and I would hobble into Charley's room, where we would while the time away, by recounting our life's adventures. The atmosphere ' began to get more and more severe, and snow began to fall. Charley, who had brightened so much during the sunny days, Buffered a relapse and was strictly confined to his bed, from which the doctor said he would never rise more in this world. My wife was most diligent in her devotion to your friend, and I began to fear that her health would break down beyond recovery under it. One lovely morning, when I was sitting by Charley's bed-side, for Mary would sometimes allow me to divide with her the care of the dying man, he spoke to me of you and of your former great friendship. He also told me of his love for my wife, and begged me to treat her with love and care, and never again fail in my trust towards her. He assured me of the near approach of death, and yearned to see my wife onoe more before he died. I had her summoned from the fitful repose which she was taking, and, when she came in and saw his condition, she knew that the hand of Death was upon him. And to me, watching the two, it seemed as if that clammy presence were reflected in her own features. Together they sat in silent communion, their handa clasped and hearts in unison, and as the sun rose higher and higher, gilding with a shadowed refulgence the familiar objects of the curtained room, his spirit passed from this troubled shore to the realms of eternal bliss. My sorrow was intense, but my wife sat by the bedside, mute and stolid, with no sense for anything cave that the saviour of her husband and the, love of her heart lay wrapped in the cold slumber of death before her. Do what we could, we could not draw her from this torpid state, and after removing her to perform the necessary offices to the dead, she would find her way back to the side of the corpse, where she would kneel in that dull, passionless, apathetic state. So the evening closed, and I remained in the room alone with the dead and my speechless wife. Aa the night wore on, I must have slumbered, for I woke with the feeling of an ioy kiss imprinted on my lips. I started to my feet and with a hoarse cry ol! agony called aloud to my wife, but she answered not, and going to her Bide and lifting her bent head to my gaze, I dropped in indescribable anguish by her side. She was dead. We buried them side by side, here upon the spot where we had together so often viewed the wondrous loveliness of Nature's handiwork, and here I trust I too shall be laid when the hand of Gad alights upon my brow, and I am bid rejoin those dear departed ones, where all is Love !" tt # # # # Two years afterwards, when the eventß of this narrative had become somewhat dulled in my memory, I received a communication from Messrs West and Soften, aolioitorsof Keefton, acquainting me with the death of James Tregarth, and of my appointment as his legatee. Tregarth having again speculated luckily in mining shares, died a comparatively rich man, so that I found myself in affluent circumstances. Provision had been made in his will for a headistone over his own and the other two graves, and there on that lonely West Coast mount, which is visited for its beautiful outlook on the surrounding scenery, the curious tourist in search of the picturesque often wonders ab the otory that lies hidden in its inscription :— • CHARLEY, JAMES, MAEY, TOGETHKR.