Son Philip, by George Manville Fenn. ________________________________________________________________________ Philip is the son of an old mine-owner. His father and mother wouldhave liked him to become something other than an overseer in their mine, but it is what Philip wants to be. Some of the men are engaging in dangerous practices, and deeply resentit when Philip pulls them up over them. One of them swears that he willput his mark on Philip. Under Philip's guidance the mine begins to run well, but still some ofthe men are resentful of not being allowed to smoke even though there isgas in the mine. At this point there are a couple of those George Manville Fennsituations, which find you wondering "how ever will Philip get out ofthis?" And so the book ends, with Philip running a really successful mine, witha good accident record. How does he do it? ________________________________________________________________________ SON PHILIP, BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN. CHAPTER ONE. THEIR BOY. "Well, why not be a soldier?" Philip Hexton shook his head. "No, father. There's something very brave in a soldier's career; but Ishould like to save life, not destroy it. " "You would save life in times of trouble; fight for your country, andthat sort of thing. " "No, father; I shall not be a soldier. " "A sailor, then?" "I have not sufficient love of adventure, father. " "Oh no, my boy, don't be a sailor, " said Mrs Hexton piteously. "I havehad sufferings enough over your father's risks in the mine. " "No, no, Phil; you must not be a sailor, " said sturdy, grey-haired oldHexton, laughing. "I should never get a wink of sleep if you did. Every time the wind blew your mother would be waking me up to ask me ifI didn't think you were wrecked. " "No, dear; I shall not be a sailor, " said Philip Hexton; and leaving hischair at the breakfast table he went round to his mother's side, sankdown on one knee, passed his arm around her, and drew her to his broadbreast. It was a pleasant sight to see the look of pride come into the mother'sface, as she laid one hand upon her son's shoulder, and pressed a fewloose strands of hair away from his thoughtful forehead, which wrinkledslightly, and there was a look of anxiety in his face as he lookedtenderly at the loving woman. "That's right, Phil dear, " she said; "don't choose any life that is fullof risks. " "Don't try to make a milksop of him, mother, " said Mr Hexton, laughing. "Why, one would think Phil was ten years old, instead of twenty. Isay, my boy, had she aired your night-cap for you last night, and warmedthe bed?" "Well, I must confess to the warm bed, father, " said the young man. "Anight-cap I never wear. " "I thought so, " said Mr Hexton, chuckling. "You must not stop at home, Phil. She'll want you to have camomile tea three times a week. " "You may joke as much as you like, Hexton, " said his wife, bridling, "but no one shall ever say that I put anybody into a damp bed; and asfor the camomile tea, many a time has it given you health when you havebeen ailing. " "Why, you don't think I ever took any of the stuff you left out for me, do you?" "Of course, dear. " "Never took a glass of it, " said Old Hexton, chuckling. "Threw it allout of the window. " "Then it was a great shame, " said Mrs Hexton angrily, "and a very badexample to set to your son. " "Never mind, Phil; don't you take it, " chuckled Mr Hexton. Thenbecoming serious he went on: "Well, there's no hurry, my boy; only nowthat you are back from Germany, and can talk High Dutch and Low Dutch, and French, and all the rest of it, why it is getting time to settlewhat you are to do. I could allow you so much a year, and let you be agentleman, with nothing to do, if I liked; but I don't hold with a youngfellow going through life and being of no use--only a tailor's dummy towear fine clothes. " "Oh no, father; I mean to take to a business life, " said Philip Hextonquickly. "Of course, my lad; and you'll do well in it. I began life in a pair ofragged breeches that didn't fit me, shoving the corves of coal in amine; and now, " he exclaimed proudly, "I'm partner as well as manager inour pit. So what I say is, if I could do what I have done, beginninglife in a pair of ragged breeches that didn't fit me, why, what can myboy do, as has had a first-class education, and can have money to backhim?" "My dear James, " said Mrs Hexton, "I do wish you would not be so fondof talking about those--those--" "Ragged breeches, mother?" said the old fellow, chuckling; "but I will. That's her pride, Phil, my boy. Now she wears caps made of real lace, she wants to forget how humble she used to be. " "Nothing of the kind, James, " said the pleasant lady tartly; "I'm notashamed of our humble beginnings, but I am ashamed to make vulgarremarks. " "That's a knock-down, Phil, my boy, " said Mr Hexton. "There, I won'tmention them again, mother. But come, we are running away from oursubject. I'm heartily glad to see you back, Phil, " he cried; and therewas a little moisture gathered in his eyes as he spoke; "and I thank Godto see that you have grown into so fine, healthy, and sturdy a fellow. God bless you, my boy! God bless you!" He had left his seat at the foot of the table, and came round to standbeside his son, patting his shoulder, and then taking and wringing hishand. He half bent down, too, once, as if to kiss the broad sunburntforehead, but altered his mind directly, as he thought it would be weak, and ended by going and sitting down once more. "There's plenty of time, of course, " he said, "but somehow I shouldn'tdislike to have it settled. Have you ever thought about the matter, Phil?" "Yes, father, deeply, " said the young man, rising, and then standingholding his mother's hand. "I like sport, and games, and a bit ofidleness sometimes, especially for a Continental trip. " "Well, if you call that idleness, Phil, " said the elder, rubbing hislegs, "give me the hardest day's work in the pit. Remember our climbingup the Gummy Pass, mother, last year?" "Oh, don't talk about it, father, " said the old lady. "But then we arenot so young as we used to be. Go on, Philip, my dear. " She held on tightly by her son's hand as she spoke, and kept gazing upat him with a wonderfully proud look. "Well, father, as I say, I like a bit of change. " "Of course, my lad; all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. " "But I think it is the duty of every young man--boy, if you like, mother, " he said, smiling. "Young man, Philip, " she replied, "for I'm sure you've grown into a veryfine young man. " "Ugly as possible, " growled the father, with a twinkle in his eye. "I'm sure he's a much finer and handsomer young man than you were when Imarried you, father!" said the old lady with spirit. "Oh, of course!" chuckled Mr Hexton; "he's lovely! Phil, boy, pray usescented soap and plenty of pomatum. " "Come, father, let's set aside joking for the time, " said Philipquietly. "I'm very glad to get home again, and to find my mother soproud and happy to have me back--and you, too, sir. " Mr Hexton nodded, and changed his position a little. "You want to know what I mean to settle to be, sir?" "Yes, my boy; I should like to know. " "Well, father, I'll tell you, for I have thought of it long and deeply, and I have studied chemistry a good deal for that end. " "Bravo, Phil!" said Mr Hexton. "A doctor, mother; I thought as much. " "No, sir, not a doctor; though I think a medical man's a grandprofession, and one only yet in its infancy. But I want to be of someuse, father, in my career. I want to save life as a medical man does. You know the old saying, father?" "About getting the wrong pig by the ear, as I did?" "No, sir; about prevention being better than cure. " "Yes, my boy; but what are you going to prevent instead of cure?" "I want to prevent so much loss of life in our coal-pits, father. " "Oh, my boy, my boy, " cried Mrs Hexton passionately; "don't say youwant to take up your father's life!" "Why not, mother dear?" said the young man firmly; "would it not be agood and a useful life, to devote one's self to the better management ofour mines--to studying nature's forces, and the best way of fightingthem for the saving of life?" "But, my boy, my boy, think of the risks!" "I didn't spend hundreds on your education to have you take to a pitlife, " growled Mr Hexton. "Oh, my boy, it is such a dangerous life. The hours of misery we passno one knows, " cried Mrs Hexton, wringing her hands. "Mother, " said the young man, "it is to endeavour to save mothers andwives and children from suffering all these pains; for I would strive tomake our mines so safe that the men could win the coal almost withoutrisk. And as for education, father, " he said proudly, as he turned tothe stern, grey, disappointed man, "is it not by knowledge that we areable to battle with ignorance and prejudice? Don't regret what you havegiven me, father. " "But it seems all thrown away if you are going to be nothing better thanoverseer of a mine. " "Oh, no, " said the young man smiling, "it will give me the means forbetter understanding the task I have in hand; and if, mother, I can onlysave four or five families from the terrible sufferings we know of, Ishall not have worked all in vain. " "No, my boy, no, " said Mrs Hexton mournfully. "Ah!" he exclaimed, "knowing what I have of pit life, it has made mewretched scores of times to read some terrible account of the long rollof unfortunates burned, suffocated, or entombed, to die in agonies ofstarvation and dread. Don't be disappointed, father, but let me make myeffort, and work with you. " The elder seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then held out his hand. "No, Phil, " he said, "I won't stand in your way. I'm disappointedbecause I wanted you to be something better, but--" "Better, father! Could you find a better man than Davy, whom we blessfor his lamp?" "Which the reckless donkeys will open in a dangerous gallery, " cried MrHexton angrily. "No, my boy; Humphry Davy was a man indeed, and if youturned out half as good, or a quarter, I should be proud of you. " "That I shall never be, father, " said the young man; "but I mean totry. " CHAPTER TWO. DOWN IN THE PIT. "Don't tell me, lad; I hevn't worked in t'pit twenty year for nowt. Think I don't know? Him and his newfangled ways are wuth that!" The great swarthy pitman snapped his fingers as he stood in the centreof a group waiting for the return of the cage from the bowels of theearth. All about them was dark and weird-looking, with the lights castingstrange shadows where the machinery stood around. There was a hissingnoise and a ruddy light from the engine-house, with the panting clank ofmachinery; pistons worked up, and wheels spun round; while where thegroup of miners stood there was a square, black-looking pit, surroundedby a massive frame-work, supporting one big wheel, from which depended athin-looking wire-rope, which was rapidly running down. A few minutes after, and there was the ringing of a bell, theclink-clank of machinery; the wheel spun round in the other direction, and in due time the cage, as it was called, came to the surface; thegroup of men stepped in, and the signal for descent was about to begiven, when one of the men exclaimed: "Here he cooms!" Philip Hexton strode up the next moment, nodded shortly to the men, stepped into the crowded cage, and giving the signal, the stoutiron-framed contrivance began rapidly to descend, and the fresh comer, who was still very new at these descents, felt that strange sensation asthe cage rushed down, just as if the whole of the internal organs hadburst out laughing at the fun they were going to have of trying tofrighten their owner's head. It is not a pleasant sensation, that of a descent into a coal-pit. There is the rushing noise of the cage, the whirring of wheels, theconstant dripping and plashing sound of falling water, the thudding ofthe pump, the stifling feeling of dank heat, the stuffy mist, and joinedto all the knowledge that if that slender thread of wire-rope shouldhappen to break, the cage would fall perhaps hundreds of feet, and itsoccupants be killed. Then, he who descends knows that he is going intoa series of subterranean caves where the gas escapes, that the slightestcontact with a light will explode, burning, slaying, and destroying, andleaving behind the choke-damp, which is even more deadly in itsinsidious effects. Now Philip Hexton, in making up his mind to take to his father's life, had readily prepared himself to run all risks, in the hope of soonlessening them; but after three months' action as deputyassistant-manager under his father, he had awakened to the fact that allhe had done had been to establish a general feeling of dislike amongstthe men, who, though they did not openly show it, opposed Philip Hextonall the more by a stubborn, quiet resistance that he found it difficultto overcome. It was something unusual for the manager's son to come down upon thenight shift; but, after mastering the various technicalities of theplace, the young deputy had set himself vigorously to work to try andmore rigorously enforce the rules of the mine, many of which, he soonfound, were terribly neglected by the men. Upon reaching the bottom, Philip saw the party go into a kind of office, where each was supplied with a locked and lighted Davy-lamp, whoselittle wick burned dimly through the wire gauze; and then, as they wereabout to shoulder their sharp steel-pointed picks, he said aloud: "You'll need to be very careful to-night, my lads, for there's a gooddeal of gas up in the new four-foot. " The men did not answer, but went sulkily away, leaving Philip to take agauze lamp of a larger construction to go and spend a couple of hoursinspecting different parts of the mine, in company with one of theoldest hands in the pit. "I wish I could get the men to believe a little more in me, " he said, asthey went plashing along through the dark passages of the muddy pit, past places where the black roof was supported by stays, some of whichwere seamed and charred by explosions and fires in the mine. "Ay, lad, they're a bit obstnit, " said the old miner; "they don't likeinterference. " "No, " said Philip rather bitterly, "not even when I am working to savetheir lives. " "Nay, lad; but that's what they don't believe. Yo' mun go on wi' 'emmore gently. But what brought you down to-neet?" "There was a fall in the barometer, and a great want of pressure in theatmosphere this evening, " said Philip. "I could not rest without comingto see that everything possible was done. " "Ah, " said the overman grimly, "that's what our lads weant believe in--your brometers, and pressures, and such like. They don't like to beteached by one who they say's nobbut a boy. " "Does it matter how many years old a person is, " cried Philip sternly, "if he can point out what is right? Look here, " he said, as he stoppedshort in a low-roofed and distant part of the mine, "do you see this?" He pointed to his Davy-lamp, inside of which the light kept burningblue, and there was a series of little sputtering explosions. "Ay, I see it, lad; it's often so, " said the overman coolly; "but theventilation's about reet, and it will soon carry that off. It's nowt todo wi' no brometers. " "Listen!" said Philip; and as the man impatiently stood still, there wasa low dull hissing noise plainly to be heard, where the gas was rushingfrom the cracks and fissures of the shaley rock and gathering in thelong galleries of the mine. "Now, " said Philip, "does not the barometer speak truly? When the airis weighty and dense it keeps back the gas, when it is light the gasforces its way out. What would be the consequences if I were to openour lamp?" "There wouldn't be no consekences, " said the overman with a grim laugh;"there'd be a inquest, if they had pluck enough to come and hunt outwhat of us was left. " In spite of himself, Philip could not help a shudder, as he listened tothe cynical, callous manner in which his companion spoke of theirproximity to a dreadful death. Then, bidding him follow, he went onalong the gloomy maze towards where he could hear the rumble of trucksladen with coal, the sound of the ringing picks, the echoing shouts ofthe men, and the impatient snort of some pony, toiling with its load upan incline. There was a quick sharp draught of air as they passed through a doorwhich was closed behind them by a boy, and, satisfied that theventilation was good, Philip Hexton and his companion went on. Meanwhile Ebenezer Parks, the big miner who had been complaining whenthe young man came up, kept on with his remarks as, in company with hisparty, he made his way to the four-foot seam, as it was called--a partof the mine where the good coal was but a yard in thickness, and atwhich they had to work in a stooping, sometimes in a lying, position. "She sings to-night, lad, " said one of the men, as they strippedthemselves to their trousers, and then began to use their sharp-pointedpicks, their blackened skins soon beginning to glisten with perspirationin the stifling heat. "Hey, she do, " said Ebenezer, giving a careless glance at his sputteringlamp. "There's part gas in pit to-neet. " The dim sputtering lamps, and the warning hiss of the gas were forgottenas the men worked on, showing wondrous skill in the handling of theirpicks, and fetching out great lumps of coal with the greatest ease, inspite of the awkward position in which they worked. This went on for a couple of hours, when Ebenezer threw down his pick, seated himself with his back against a pillar of coal, one of those leftto support the roof, and took from his trousers pocket a steeltobacco-box, a black short pipe, and a nail. "Who's going to hev a smoke?" he said. "I wouldn't let young master ketch you smoking, " said one of the men. "He'd better not say owt to me, " said the man fiercely. "I know whatI'm 'bout better than he can tell me;" and as he filled his pipe severalmore laughed and filled theirs; while, looking like some black spirit ofmischief, the big miner took the gauze lamp from the roof where it hung. "Now then, lads, who wants a leet?" he said; and, taking the nail, heproceeded to pick the lock of the Davy-lamp, or rather unfasten it withthe improvised key. There was a click as the little snap flew back; and then, placing hispipe in his mouth, he proceeded to open the lamp. This was about as wise an act as for a man to strike a match over anopen barrel full of glistening grains of gunpowder--perhaps far worse. CHAPTER THREE. MAKING AN ENEMY. Even as the big miner had his hand upon the gauze cover of the Davy-lampthere were tiny little explosions going on within, for in spite of thegreat current of air that was kept up through the pit, a draught whichswept away the dangerous gas, there were places which its purifyinginfluence did not reach, places such as this new gallery in thefour-foot seam, where the vapour had been steadily increasing for hoursand collecting round the heads of the men. Familiarity breeds contempt. Often enough we know that the men who workin gunpowder mills have to be searched to keep them from taking matcheswith them when they enter the mill. Philip Hexton and his companion went on, the latter ready to grumble ashe grew weary of what he looked upon as unnecessary labour. "T'pit wasreet enew, " he said to himself; and what need was there of "peeking andpoking about this how?" For the young inspector seemed never satisfied. He was always on thelook-out for danger; and as they went on and on through the blackgalleries, where the iridescent tints of the shaley coal flecked withiron pyrites glittered and flashed in the dim light, he kept pausing andlistening. "He won't stop at it long, " said the overman to himself; "he's 'boutscarred of it now. I niver see a lad so freckened at every sound. " It was quite true. Philip Hexton was startled at every sound; but itwas from fear for others--not for self. So far from feeling theordinary coward's dread, he would have gone at once into the mostdangerous places to save another's life; but he was at times appalled atthe reckless ways of the men. In one gallery the roof, as the light glimmered upon it, was onebeautiful fret-work of ancient vegetation, being carved, as it were, into knotted stems full of beautiful flutings. Huge ferny leaves couldbe seen bending in graceful curves, and here and there, shining likecuttings in jet, traces of the cone-like fruit borne by some of thetrees of that far-back age when the coal was deposited in bituminousbeds. These geological remains had a great interest for Philip Hexton, and hepromised himself plenty of amusement when his time of leisure came. Atpresent it was all work--extremely hard work, for, until he couldthoroughly master every technicality in the pit, he felt himself to beat a great disadvantage with the men. "Yo' weant be so partic'lar when yo've been here a few year, MasterHexton, " said the overman, as they were making their way down a widegallery whose coal had been worked out long enough before, and acrosswhich part of the mine they were passing to reach a distant portionwhere the men were at work on the "new four-foot. " "Indeed!" said Philip, smiling, "I think you'll find me twice asstrict. " "Not yo', " chuckled the man; "I used to think the same when I was young;but, bless thee, lad, a man's life would be a burden to him if he wasfancying the pit o' fire at every bit of gas. There'd be no coal-miningat all, for the lads'd be too scarred to come down. " "If I live and have my way, " said Philip sternly, "the pit here shall beso safe that work can go on in peace for every one, and every man shallact as guardian of his fellow's safety. " "Sounds very pratty, lad, " said the overman, "but it weant wuck. Lookhere, there's a bit o' gas in this corner. " He held the lamp up close to the roof, and tiny explosions again beganinside the gauze. Then he lowered the lamp, and they ceased, showing how light theexplosive gas was, and how it floated about the roof. "Sithee, " continued the overman, holding up the lamp again, so thatPhilip could make out that there was a rift above their heads, where atsome time or other the roof had fallen; "that place has got part gas init, for the ventilation don't touch here; but that don't mean as thewhole mine's dangerous. " "But the whole mine _is_ dangerous, " said Philip hastily. "It's madedangerous by the recklessness of the men. Stop, man, what are you goingto do?" He was too late, for, unperceived by him, the overman had unlocked thelamp, and held it up open above their heads, when there was a blindingflash, and an echoing report, and then a rumbling, distant, rushingnoise. "What do you think o' that, lad?" said the overman coolly, relocking hislamp. "I think it was madness, " said Philip excitedly. "You might have firedthe mine. " "Nay, lad, there was no fear o' that I knowed well enew what I wasdoing, and that bit o' gas was just as well away. " The young deputy's heart beat fast, and he was about to speak angrily, but he felt that it would be better to consult with his father to see ifa stop could not be put to such reckless ways. For he argued if anoverman would run such a risk as this, knowing that the detached portionof gas might possibly communicate with a larger body, was it not likelythat the ordinary winners of the coal would, without the overman'sknowledge and experience, run even greater risks? "Yo'll get used to it all by and by, " said the man condescendingly; "andif yo'll take my bit of advice, yo'll let the men tak' care o'theirsens. " Philip Hexton must have walked in and out quite a couple of miles, examining ventilating-doors, seeing that the boys who opened and shutthem for the corves to pass were doing their duty, and the like; and, trifling as it may sound, a great deal depends in a coal-mine upon sucha thing as the opening and shutting of a door, for by means of thesedoors the current of air that is sucked, as it were, through thepassages of the pit by the great furnace at the bottom of the shaft isaltered in its course, and turned down this or that passage, sweepingout the foul air or gas, and making safe the pit. Hence, then, theneglect of one boy may alter the whole ventilation of some part of amine, the purifying draught may be stopped from coursing through somedangerous gallery where the gas comes singing out of the seams, a lightbe taken inadvertently there, and ruin and death be the result. The young deputy was going on thinking to himself whether it would notbe possible to invent a process by which the dangerous gas of a minemight be collected in great gasholders, and then burned within gauzeshades for the lighting up of the pit, when the distant_chip_--_chip_--_chip_ ringing and echoing where the men were at work inthe new four-foot grew less persistent, and in place of becoming louderas they drew nearer, gradually began to cease, as if first one man andthen another had thrown aside his took. "Hadn't we better turn down here now, Master Hexton?" said the overman. "No; I want to inspect the new four-foot, " replied Philip. "My lad, thee needn't go theer to-neet, " said the overman. "That's allright, I warrant. " "He has some reason for stopping me from going there, " was PhilipHexton's first thought. "The men have ceased working; something must bewrong. " "This is the gainest wayer, " said the overman, turning sharply down apassage, light in hand, of course thinking that his companion wouldfollow him, for he knew well enough what the stoppage meant, and he didnot want the young man to see the miners smoke. But Philip Hexton was made of different metal to what he expected, and, careless of being left in the gloom of one of those weird passages, theyoung man stood for a moment peering forward into the black darkness, and, making out a faint glimmer of light, stretched out his hands andbegan to make his way cautiously along by the shaley wall. It was terribly bad walking, the floor being uneven from the many fallsof coal from the roof. Here and there, too, were wooden supports whichhad to be avoided; but after stumbling along cautiously for about fiftyyards, and avoiding the obstacles as if by a miracle, the distant glowof light was sufficient, dim as it was, to show him the supports thatintervened, and fifty yards further he could walk quite fast, for therewere the Davy-lamps hanging here and there, each forming a faint star, with a dull halo around. They seemed very near the ground till the young deputy remembered thatthey were in the four-foot seam, and the next moment he was spared aviolent blow by one of his hands coming in contact with the roof. Philip Hexton's heart beat fast at the sight he saw; and for a moment hefelt as if he must turn and run for his life. But he did not. Bending down half-double, he ran towards the group ofmen, gaining impetus each moment, till, stumbling over some of the newlyhewn-out coal, he was thrown, as it were, full against Ebenezer Parks, his right fist catching the burly miner in the ear, just as he was, pipein mouth, about to open the lamp, and they fell heavily together, thelamp fortunately being extinguished by the shock. CHAPTER FOUR. AN UNPLEASANT THREAT. "You villain!" cried Philip excitedly, as he rose, and then seatedhimself panting upon a lump of coal; "another moment, and you would allhave been lying scorched and dying where you now stand. " "Villain, eh?" roared the great pitman, staggering up with his headbleeding from a cut caused by his fall, "villain, am I, lad? Then I'llbe villain for some'at. " As he spoke, beside himself with passion, he caught up his miner's pick, and, but for the quick movement of the young man, would have dealt himwhat might have been a deadly blow. "Nay, nay, Eben, lad, " cried one of the men, closing with him, "howdthee hand: we don't want murder here. " But it was not until a couplemore of the miners had seized him by the arms and wrested away the shortsharp pick, that he ceased to struggle. Philip stood as well as the low roof would allow of the erect posture, and looked on. "There lad, thou'st better goo, " said one of the men; "and don't theecoom interferin' agen. " "Interfering!" cried Philip, with spirit, "recollect who I am, and thatI will not have such reckless acts in the mine. " "Oh, it's thy mine, is it?" said the man in a provoking tone. "I didn'tknow that. Say, Eben Parks, thee mustn't niver smoke a pipe in MasterPhilip Hexton's mine. " "Let me goo!" cried the big miner; "let me goo, I tell 'ee! I'll mak'such a mark on him as he weant forget again. " "Let him go!" cried Philip angrily, "and let him touch me if he dare;and let him recollect that there is law in the land for men who commitassaults, as well as for those who break the rules of the pit. " "I'll put such a mark on him as he weant forget, " cried the big miner, after another ineffectual struggle to be free. "Why don't 'ee goo!" cried one of the men again. "Thee keeps makin' himsavage wi' staying. " "Loose him, I tell you!" said Philip firmly; and they released the bigminer, who came at him like a bull; but as the young man did not flinch, but gazed full in his eyes, the great fellow made what we call "anoffer" at him, and then let his arms fall to his side. "Sithee!" he exclaimed, pointing to his bleeding head, and speaking in alow, hoarse voice, "thou'st made thy mark on me, and I don't rest tillI've made mine on thee. Now goo, while thee shoes are good; thou'st notwanted here. " Philip turned from him with an angry look of contempt, and addressed themen: "You seem to forget, my lads, that under my father I'm inspector of thismine. " "Ay, and a nice pass too, for a set o' boys to be put over us, orderingmen about as if they was bairns, " growled the big miner. "And that my orders here are to be strictly obeyed, " continued Philip, ignoring the great ruffian's presence. "Why did you men stand by andsee that fool--I can call him nothing else--I say, why did you, a set ofexperienced men, stand by, and see that fellow deliberately break themost important rule in the mine, and not interfere?" "S'pose men are going to wuck here through a night shift and not want apipe o' 'bacco?" said one of them fiercely. "I suppose that when you work for a company of proprietors, and receivetheir money, you are going to obey their regulations, and are going toavoid damaging their property, if you will not even take care not torisk your own lives. " "Bah! Stoof!" exclaimed one of the party. "Theer's no danger. " "No danger!" cried Philip, pointing to the other lamps, "why, you seefor yourselves that the mine is terribly fiery to-night. Shame uponyou! Look how the gas keeps flashing inside the lamps. You know thereis danger. I told you there was danger before you came to work. " "And how did you know?" cried Ebenezer Parks insolently. "By study, brute!" cried Philip passionately; "by making use of thebrains with which I have been blessed, and not going through lifewilling to risk the lives of my fellow-men for the sake of a littleself-indulgence. " "Don't see much self-indulgence, as thou calls it, in having a pipe o''bacco. " "Ay! how wouldst thou like to wuck all neet on the neet shift?" criedanother. "Sithee, " cried Ebenezer, spitting in his great black hands andthrusting his head forward, "thou ca'st me a fool, lad. " "Stand back!" cried Philip, so sternly that the great fellow flinched. "You are worse than a pack of children, " he continued. "Shame on you!learn to give up your self-indulgence sooner than run such risks. " "Ay, it's easy enew to talk, " growled one of the men; "but don't youthink you are coming to lord it over us. S'pose we don't know whenshe's safe and when she isn't?" "If I'm to judge from what I've seen to-night, " cried Philip, "I'm sureyou do not know, and that you are not fit to be trusted. Because youwork in a seam and it is safe to-day, do you suppose it follows that itwill be safe to-morrow? I tell you men that you are always working onthe very edge of death through your own folly. " "And I tell 'ee, " cried Ebenezer Parks, "that thou knows nowt about it. " "Silence, sir!" cried Philip, whose blood was up; and in a puzzled way, as if he could not half understand it, the big miner shook his head, andshrank back astonished that this boy, as he called him, should masterhim as he did. For the big miner had yet to learn that knowledge is power--a power often thousand times greater force than the stoutest muscles ever owned byman. "I have never spoken to you before as I am speaking now, " cried Philip. "You force me to it, and I tell you that, while I have the managementhere, the regulations shall be strictly carried out to the very letter;there shall be no evasions--no more of these contemptible tricks. Howdid you open that Davy-lamp, sir?" he cried, turning sharply uponEbenezer. There was no answer, and the big fellow actually shrank as Philip made asharp movement forward. But it was not to strike a blow, only to pick up something lying shiningamongst the pieces of coal. "Just as I thought, " said the young man, holding out the nail; "acontemptible pick-lock, to open the lamps that are locked up, by a wiserule, for your safety; and you--you great mass of bone and muscle, youcall yourself a man! Shame upon you, shame!" Without another word, Philip picked up the extinct lamp just as theoverman came up in search of him, placed it under his arm, signed to thenew-comer to lead on, and followed, hot, flushed, and angry, along thedark galleries, and out of the pit. "Yah!" growled Ebenezer Parks, breaking the silence that lasted some fewminutes after Philip's steps had died away; "he's nobbut a boy. " "Nobbut a boy, eh?" said one of the men who had held him; "well, all Ican say is, as I hope my bairn'll grow up just like un. " "He was man enew to tackle thee, Eben, " said another. "Ay, he's a plucked un, " said another. "I like the lad, that I do. " "Like him!" growled Eben, glaring vindictively round at his companions. "Man enew for me? Sithee: you know me, lads, and what I can do. " There was no reply. "Yo' all know me, and what I can do, and do you think I'm going to let abit of a boy, wi' his pretence about his larning and studies, bunch meand ca' me a fool and a brute when I know more about t'mine wi' one o'my hands than he does wi' his whole body. " Still there was no reply, the men taking up their picks and lookinguneasily at the speaker. "Tell 'ee what. I'm a man, I am, and a man o' my word. I said I'd putmy mark on him for this job; and I will. Yo' all hear me, don't 'ee? Isay I'll put my mark upon him. " The big miner, with his fierce blackened face and rolling eyes, lookedvindictive enough then to be guilty of any atrocity as he seemed to beseeking for an answer. "Yo' hear me? I say I'll put my mark upon him. " "Not thou, lad, " said one of his companions at last. "I tell 'ee I will. Never mind when or wheer. And now wheer's the manas'll go and tell him what I say?" No one spoke, and soon after that was heard the regular metallic_chip_--_chip_--_chip_ of the picks in the black wall of coal, EbenezerParks muttering to himself the while, and thinking of how he could bestrevenge himself upon "that boy. " CHAPTER FIVE. 'TWIXT FATHER AND SON. When her son went home, Mrs Hexton was sitting up very straight andstern-looking in her chair, with a knitted stocking in one hand, aworsted-threaded needle in the other, and a handkerchief tied over herhead to keep off the draught, for the new drawing-room was cold. Mr Hexton was seated in an easy-chair--at least, he was in theeasy-chair; but it is not fair to say that he was seated, for he wasfilling up the chair just as if he had no bones, and making a rathersonorous noise as he breathed. It was past one o'clock, and the servants had gone to bed at ten, soonafter which time Mr Hexton had proposed that they should follow, butMrs Hexton had declared her intention of sitting up for her son. "Why, what nonsense!" her husband had said. "Come along to bed. " "You can go, dear, " she replied quietly. "I should not be happy if Idid not see him safely back. And, besides, he will want a cup of teaand a bit of toast. " "And his face washed, and his feet put in warm water, while his motherbrushes his hair, and fusses over him, " said Mr Hexton pettishly. "Forgoodness' sake, don't go on petting and coddling the boy like that. " Mrs Hexton said nothing--only rose from her chair, and placed thetea-tray and the caddy ready, for they had been brought in the lastthing by one of the maids. Then she lifted the bright copper kettle outof the fender and placed it on the hob, where it began to sing a song ofits own composition, and she ended by taking up three pairs of her son'sstockings to darn. There was not the slightest need for Mrs Hexton to perform such a dutyas this, but she had darned her husband's stockings when they were poorpeople, and she could not easily give up her old habits when they werecomparatively rich. And now, as she ran the long, glistening needle inand out amongst the worsted threads, her husband sat back in his chairand said it was absurd; but all the same, as he watched her withhalf-closed eyes, he thought what a good woman she was, and how happy itmade him to think that she was not in the slightest degree spoiled byprosperity, while he fervently prayed that she might continue as she wasto the end. Then, as he sank back lower and lower, thinking how earnestly his sonhad set about his task of reforming and improving the matters in themine, he began to recall the terrible accidents that had happened attheir pit, and at those in the neighbourhood. It would be a grandthing, he thought, if Philip, with his fresh and earnest mind and hisknowledge, could do something to lessen the dangers of the pitman'slife; though he rather trembled for the result, knowing as he did howhard it is to get over old prejudices. Then all became very misty and strange; and to his blurred eyesight itseemed as if Mrs Hexton's grey stocking-covered hand got itself mixedup with her head, and her head appeared to be mixed up with the copperkettle on the hob, and then it was his wife who was singing like thetea-kettle, and then all was blank till he started up wide awake, forthere was a noise at the door, and Mrs Hexton immediately began to makethe tea. "Have I been asleep, mother?" said Mr Hexton. "Hallo, Phil! backagain?" "Why, father--mother!" exclaimed the young man, "why haven't you bothgone to bed?" "I thought you'd find a cup of tea so refreshing, " said the old ladybriskly; and, waiting till it had stood long enough, she poured out acup, placed a pair of slippers a little more in front of the fire, herwork in a basket, and ended by kissing her son and saying good-night. He followed her to the door, where she laughingly turned round and badeMr Hexton make haste up, kissed her son once more, and left him withhis father. "Nice to be you, Phil, " said the latter. "Oh, she has left out twocups! I'll have a cup of tea with you. " This he took, and then, as father and son sat together, the latter wasthe first to speak. "I've had rather a scene to-night, father, " he said. "Scene! What! Not an accident?" said Mr Hexton, nearly upsetting histea in his excitement. "No, father, no accident; but the pit was so foul to-night that Ibelieve if I had not interfered the place would have fired. " "They will do it, Phil; they will do it, " said Mr Hexton, as soon ashis son had finished his narration. "I've tried all I know to stop it, but they'll run any risk, especially if they've tried the same thingbefore without accident. " "Yes, I see that, " said Philip. "It is so hard to make them see thatthere is danger at one time that does not exist at another. " "Exactly, " said the elder seriously. "But I'm very sorry about thatfellow Parks. He's a spiteful and dangerous man. I don't like hisowing you a grudge. " "I'm not afraid, father, " said Philip. "I've right on my side. Ibelieve, too, that he is a great coward. " "Maybe, " said Mr Hexton thoughtfully; "but still I would much rather ithad not happened. Bother the fellows! it does seem hard; we are alwaysstriving to give them the means of working in safety, and in return theyfly in your face. " "We'll forgive them that, father, " said the young man smiling, "but wemust have the rules of the mine strictly carried out. " "I'll back you up, Phil, in anything in reason, " said Mr Hexton; "butlook here: be careful--don't trust yourself in that fellow's way, myboy. I'm afraid he's an ugly character, and there's no knowing to whatlengths spite will lead an ignorant man. What shall you do? Haul himup before the bench for threatening language--have him bound over?" "No, father, " said Philip quietly, as he sipped his tea. "I shall takeno further notice. I have shown the men to-night that I mean business, that I am working for their good; and I have no doubt in the end thatthey will learn to respect me as well as obey. " "And I wanted to stop him from going down the pit, " said Mr Hexton tohimself, as he sat watching his son. "It will be a long fight, father, " cried Philip, rising and holding outhis hand. "Good-night!" he said with a smile; "we've declared war, butI mean to win. " CHAPTER SIX. IN GREAT PERIL. There could be no doubt that Philip Hexton did mean to win the fight, and there could also be no doubt that he was going the right way to workto win it. The greater part of the men met his efforts for their goodin a surly, churlish way, as people will meet any one who tries tointerfere with their cherished notions; but there were others, fewthough they were, who had the good sense and honesty to own that theyoung deputy was right, and to join with him in trying to reform theways of the men in the pit. Ebenezer Parks went on with his work as usual, showing no disposition toresume the quarrel; but Philip noticed one thing, and that was--the mannever would look him in the face. No sooner did the young deputy comein sight than Parks bent over his work, or stooped to trim his lamp withthe wire that passed through it; he never once gazed frankly and openlyin Philip's eyes. Time wore on, and there could be no doubt about it, the mine regulationswere better kept, and hence there was less likelihood of an accidentoccurring, though, of course, the utmost vigilance could not protectthose who worked from mishap. Philip, with his father's help, devised two or three alterations in theventilation of the mine, which also made it less fiery, as the pitmencalled it; but his great project was to have another shaft. "You see, father, " he said, "we burrow into the ground like animals, butwe do not take their precautions. A fox or a rabbit always has a secondhole by which he can escape if there is anything wrong with the first. Ours is without doubt a dangerous pit, and if anything happened to blockthe shaft, the poor fellows down below would be entombed. " "Yes, my boy, " said Mr Hexton grimly; "but it doesn't cost the rabbitsor the foxes ten thousand pounds to make their second hole. It wouldcost us that. We must be content with one. " That question of a second shaft was always cropping up in PhilipHexton's brain, for, said he to himself, it is a sin against fourhundred men to let them go down that place without providing them withproper means of escape. But upon going into calculations he found thatthe cost of a second shaft would approach the ten thousand pounds beforeall was ready, and he knew that the proprietors would not listen to sucha proposition. What, then, was to be done? The answer came to him one evening like a flash of thought; and, starting off, he made his way through the scrubby patch of woodland onthe hill-slope joining the colliery lands to the next property. It took him some time to find that of which he was in search, for theneglected ground was overgrown with tangled brambles, hazels, andpollards; and a stranger would have at once looked upon the wildernessof a place as unturned ground. But Philip knew better. He was growingweary of his search, however, when he made his discovery in a fashionthat he did not anticipate, for, just as he was forcing his way througha tangled part of the wood, and parting the shady hazel stubbs thatarrested his progress, his feet seemed to drop suddenly from beneathhim, and he went down into semi-darkness, to hang clinging with theenergy of despair to the hazel boughs; while, had he had any doubt abouthis position as he swung gently to and fro, he was taught by thehorrible echoing plash that came up from hundreds of feet below, as themass of crumbling earth and roots, upon which he had stepped, fell intothe water. For a few moments the horror of his position seemed to paralyse him, andsuch a strange sense of terror mastered his faculties that he felt thathe must lose his hold and fall into the depths, to be drowned in a fewmoments in the awful pit. For this was the place of which he had beenin search--the shaft of the old colliery, that had not been worked forquite a hundred years; a place almost forgotten, but of whose existencehe was sure, for in the plan of their own mine he had found allusions toit and some former manager had made notes of the risks that might beencountered if any of the galleries were driven far enough to tap eitherof those belonging to the ancient mine, which would contain water enoughto flood their own. The elastic hazel boughs had bent down and down until Philip Hexton'shead was five or six feet below the crumbling edge of the mine shaft;and as he endeavoured to obtain more hold for his feet, he only seemedto kick the earth and stones away, causing them to fall and send up arepetition of that horrible echoing plash. Below him, as he glanceddown once, all was terrible darkness, though even in his horror henoticed that the sides of the old shaft were covered with beautifulferns. Above him was a tangle of crossing and interweaving branches, twigs, and brambles, and if, as might take place at any moment, theboughs by which he held should break, there was no hope for him. Heknew that he must die, and probably his fate would never become known. He hung there swinging to and fro for some moments, making not theslightest effort, till the horribly paralysing shock had somewhat passedaway. Then, as his nerves began to resume their wonted tone, he triedto think. All depended upon his being perfectly cool, and calling up all hisstrength of mind he made his plans. If he struggled vigorously he knew that the chances were that he wouldtear the rotten moss-grown stubb up by the roots; if he swung about toomuch the branches would give way at their intersection with the lowstem; if he should force his feet into the crumbling sides he would onlykick down more stones and soil, and undermine the hazel roots. It was indeed a position of awful peril--one in which, though such aproceeding would have been folly, most people would have exhaustedthemselves by shrieking for help where there was not a soul withinhearing. To and fro, with a gentle pendulum-like swing, as he let himself hang tothe full extent of his muscles, swayed Philip Hexton; and then, with thegreater part of his horror mastered by enforced coolness, he made hisfirst effort for life. There was no other plan open to him but to draw himself up hand overhand with as little effort as possible; and this he began to do. There were plenty more hazel boughs above his head if he could reachthem, and each of these, if added to those he grasped, would strengthenhis position, for they came from other roots; and very cautiously hemade his first effort, drawing himself steadily up till his chin reachedhis hands, and then, after waiting a moment, loosening his hold with onehand, and with a lightning-like rapidity getting a fresh grasp. In spite of his efforts to change his position cautiously, the hazelboughs swayed to and fro in a most ominous fashion, and he could hearthe loosened earth and stones falling below him in a shower. It was enough to unnerve him, but he strove on, knowing now that it wasa question of moments, and that if he could not grasp the boughs ofanother stubb the one from which he was banging must give way, and beprecipitated with him into the abyss. The splashing below was horrible, and it seemed to be multiplied to avast extent by the echoes, till the noise came up like a strange hissingroar. But there was not a moment to lose; and though the suggestion of his ownfall nearly unnerved him he kept up the struggle hand over hand, butwith the knowledge that he seemed to get no higher, for all he did wasto turn the hazel boughs into powerful levers strong enough to begintearing the stubb up by the roots. One by one he could hear them crack on the side farthest away, and thegreat bush came slowly bodily over towards him, bringing bough afterbough within his reach; and these he seized, forcing those he beforeclung to down beneath him into the pit. But still he seemed to get no higher, and--horror of horrors! he couldnow see the roots of the hazel coming over towards him. _Crack_, _crack_, in a dull heavy way, they kept being torn asunder, andit soon became evident that the bush was only held now by one of itsstoutest roots. The soft earth showered down upon the panting man, andhis muscles quivered under the tension to which they were exposed; butnow he was able to rest his arms to some extent by clinging to thebranches below him with his legs. Was there no hope? Such a short distance to climb if the hazel stubbwould only hold; but he dare now hardly move, for the slightestvibration brought down more earth, and, moment by moment, be expected tohear the final crack, and then to feel the rush of the air as he washurried down into the black depths below. It was very horrible, and so great was the strain upon his mind as wellas muscles that for a moment he found himself thinking whether it wouldnot be a relief to loosen his hold and fall into oblivion. "When I have made my last effort!" something seemed to whisper to him, and with it came the thought that if he were merely clinging to thehazel stems over the side of a road by some woody bank, he would feelnone of this paralysing fear. The task to win to safety would seem easythen. Why should it not now? It was the triumph of mind over cowardice and ignorant fear; and rousinghis energies, while there was yet time, he looked about for the means ofsafety. Yes; there it was. He was no nearer the top than when he first made hisattempt at escape. All he had done was to tear the hazel up by theroots, but it had bent down with it the bough of another stubb, a stout, tough-looking bough, belonging evidently to a hazel growing farther fromthe edge of the shaft. Could he reach that he might better hisposition, but the long, tough, thorny brambles that hung down swayingabout were in his way, unless he could make use of them as ropes. It was for life, and regardless of their cruel thorns he seized two inone of his hands and made a snatch higher towards the root of the stubb. Another: clinging with his knees to the branches. Another: and he had hold of the crumbling, mossy wood, some of whichfell with a quantity of earth. Another quick, sharp, despairing effort, and--joy! he had seized thefresh stout branch that had been bent down by the loosened stubb. Another effort, and he would have been on the edge of the shaft, whenthere was a sharp tug behind, and he felt himself arrested by thebrambles that had twisted round one of his legs--a slight tug, butenough to stop him in his perilous position. The tangle of hazel boughsto which his legs were clinging came away with a fierce rush, anavalanche of earth fell, and Philip Hexton was once more swinging to andfro over the awful pit, listening with closed eyes to the rustle andrush of the great rooted-up hazel, as it fell into the pit. CHAPTER SEVEN. A JOURNEY UNDERGROUND. Plash! One horrible, echoing, weird sound that seemed as if it would nevercease to reverberate against the sides of the pit-shaft, and then asilence so terrible that Philip Hexton felt as if all was over. He unclosed his eyes for a last look towards heaven, and the blue skywas above him; the great hazel stubb had made a clearance; a feeling ofhope once more filled his breast. He had hold of a stout, tough bough, and he had only to relieve himself of the clinging bramble to be able toclimb up into safety. But he was weak and exhausted now, and it took a greater effort than heexpected before he sank down upon his knees amongst the mossy growth andthanked God for his escape. A young and healthy man soon recovers from a shock, and before longPhilip Hexton was on his way back to his home, with the exultant feelingupon him that the risk he had run was for the benefit of his fellows, for he could see now the way to provide, at a very moderate cost, asecond shaft to their own pit. There it was already made. It was only a question of acquiring somefifty or a hundred acres of worthless land with the old pit workings, and the ridding of those workings from water. They had galleries intheir own mine that he knew nearly reached those of the old, and todrive from one to the other was the simplest of things. The very next day, provided with the old map of the mine, which he hadbeen studying half the night, he descended the shaft with one of theshifts of men, and, providing himself with a lamp, he set off alone toexplore some of the old workings which had been given up in consequenceof the dread that at any time the ancient mine might be tapped and theirown pit flooded by the enormous gathering of water. It was a long and dreary journey, one which no one saw him undertake, for the men went off at once to their work; and after going down two orthree of the long black passages Philip felt a strange sense ofhesitation about going farther. It was not, he told himself, that he was afraid of journeying alonethere in the dark; and, armed as he was with one of the best of theDavy-lamps, he had no fear of gas; the choke-damp there was no occasionto mind, as that followed an explosion; but all the same he felt such ahesitation as he had never, even on his first descent, felt before. "I must be shaken by my adventure, " he said to himself laughing; and heconsidered for a moment or two whether he should go back and get one ofthe overmen for a companion. He gave up the idea, though, directly, and went on, forcing himself tomaster the nervous sensation and to do his duty like a man. There were miles of galleries in the pit, and it was no light task tomake a way through mud and water between the crumbling walls. Here andthere great patches of the roof had tumbled down, and in places he foundthat the masses of coal that had been left as pillars had been takenaway, and the ceiling of the pit had come down bodily, so that he had tosit down and study his map to find a way round to the part he wanted toreach. It was strangely depressing work; but Philip Hexton had a big spirit, the strength of mind that has enabled Englishmen to make their nationwhat it is; and hence no sooner was he stopped by a fall of rock in oneplace, than he sought out and found a way round to the other side. Sometimes a clear dry part would enable him to get along pretty quickly, but generally it was very slow travelling; often, where the seam of coalhewn-out had been a thin one, it was in a position bent double. And now, as he exerted himself, he felt less of the feeling of dread. Once only did it come very strongly, and that was when, after getting bya very narrow, crumbling part of the workings, he heard a heavy fall ofrock behind, and he crept cautiously back, feeling sure that the passageby which he had come was stopped up, and that he might be left there tostarve, buried alive, without a prospect of being saved. A reference to his map reassured him, and he went on. But now a freshdoubt assailed him. Suppose his lamp should go out: how would it bepossible to get back? If he had been ready to give way to them there were hundreds of suchfear-engendered thoughts ready to oppress him; but he fought againstthem steadily, and was the master as he plodded on, with his faintlymarked shadow, distorted and broken as it fell upon the walls, forminghis only companion in his quest. "Poor mother!" he thought once; "how alarmed she would be if she couldsee me now!" "But it must be done, " he added, half aloud. "Ours is notoriously afiery mine. Ah! it is foul here. " For the lamp began to sputter and burn dimly within the gauze for a fewminutes, till he reached a more open place, thinking--"If I can get thistask done, I shall have made the mine comparatively safe, and who knowsbut the old workings may not prove, with our modern appliances, wellworthy of carrying on?" He was so elated by these thoughts that the remainder of his darksubterranean journey seemed not one-half as difficult; and at last heseated himself on a block of stone fallen from the roof to consult hismap. "Let me see, " he said, half aloud, as, with the map spread upon hisknees, he held his lamp so that the dim light might the better fall uponthe canvas-backed paper; "I must be about here; and if so, according tothis plan the old mine workings might be reached through this gallery, or this, or this. " He ran his finger along the different lines drawn in red ink, and wasstudiously considering how it would be best to proceed if he could winhis father, and, through him, the other proprietors, to his plans, whenall at once he started up, listening attentively, for it seemed to himthat he could hear a sound as of some one working with pick or bar awayahead of the place where he was seated, and not back in the yieldingseams of the pit. _Tap_, _tap_, _tap_! Yes, there it was plainly enough, and from a partof the pit where there could be no working going on. What could it be? Nobody would be in that end of the mine. It wascompletely deserted. He did not believe anyone had been in that part ofthe great maze for months; there was nothing to bring a pitman there. "Now if I were a superstitious fellow, " said Philip to himself, "andready to believe in ghosts and goblins, I should run back and spread thenews that this part of the pit is haunted by the restless spirit of somepoor pitman who lost his life here years ago, and comes back to work. But I don't believe in that sort of story, and I'm going to see what itmeans. " All the same he felt very much startled; for it seemed so unaccountablefor anyone to be there. The men would be in the regular seams. Therewas nothing to bring them here; and as they toiled at piece-work, theywould not lift a pick except to hew out coal. No overman would be herewithout his knowledge; and try how he would to find some reason for thesound, he was still at fault. The only possibility was that, in somepeculiar way the echo of a hewer's pick ran along the silent galleries, to be reverberated from this distant wall. "Impossible!" he said, doubling up his map and replacing it in hisbreast, as he rose and took up his lamp. "It is impossible!" he said again, as _tap_, _tap_, _tap_, the regularstroke as of a pick was heard, and with no small feeling of trepidationhe went to search out the cause of the unusual sound. CHAPTER EIGHT. PARKS'S MARK. Before he had gone far he became aware that the noise came from the oldgallery that he had marked down as being the most likely to lead nearestto the workings of the ancient pit, and, after carefully peering downit, he held his lamp above his head to gaze in farther. But he couldsee nothing; and suddenly the noise ceased. With a quick motion Philip thrust the tall, thin lamp inside his flannelmine-coat and buttoned it up, for the thought suddenly struck him thatif anyone was at work there he would be sure to have a light. It turned out as he expected, for there, upon a ledge of rock aboutfifty yards ahead, stood a Davy-lamp, shedding its soft dull raysaround, so that some fell upon a wall of coal, which glistened in thelight as if it had been newly cut. "It is very strange, " thought Philip. "Why should anyone be at workhere? It is dangerous, too. The old mine full of water must be closebehind. " "Well, " he said, "Davy-lamps are not at all ghost-like things, so let ussee what it all means;" and going cautiously forward, with his own lamphidden, he crept near enough to see that there was a heavy iron barlying upon the flooring of the wide chamber, for the gallery had beenopened out here, and beside it a heap of newly-chipped coal, the resultof an effort evidently being made to bore through into the ancient pit. "Why, it is treachery!" exclaimed Philip mentally. "Someone is tryingto flood--Ah!" A tremendous blow fell upon his head, and he dropped to the ground, motionless, stunned as it were in body; but with every faculty of hismind quickened, and, with his eyes half-closed, he saw a dark figurestride across him, a short iron bar in his hand, pick up the lamp andhold it down. "Yes, I ar'n't made no mistake, Muster Hex'on. I said I'd mak' my markon yo, and yo've got it this time. How came he here?" The man stood in a listening attitude for a few moments, and then, apparently satisfied, raised his bar to strike again. "That first un seems to hev done it, " he said with a coarse laugh. "Spying, that's what he was about. Now I'll give them a job. " He set down the lamp once more upon the ledge, picked up the big bar, and began to drive it heavily in the hole he had made in the coal, thegreat bar going in quite three feet at each stroke, while Philip laywatching him, paralysed still in body, but seeing all that took place. At the end of half-a-dozen strokes the bar seemed to go through farther, and as the great miner drew it back a little stream of dirty water cametrickling through, and Parks stood watching it intently. "I knowed it wur theer, " he muttered; "but it'll never make no head if Idon't open it a bit more. " He hesitated for a moment, and then, raising the bar once more, drove itthrough with all his force. The effect was very different to what he had anticipated, for he musthave dislodged a goodly-sized piece of coal on the other side, and as hesnatched back the bar there was a fierce rush of water in a spurt as bigas a man's arm, whose flash Philip Hexton just saw, and then the lampwas extinguished. The noise was so great--such a fierce, hissing roar--that the cryuttered by Ebenezer Parks was half drowned; while, in less time than ittakes to tell it, the young deputy felt a sudden shock as a rush of coldwater bathed his face and head, acting so magically that he rosequickly, and, with the water rising above his ankles, began to feel hisway along the stony wall, as fast as he could, in the direction in whichhe had come. The confusion from the blow was rapidly passing away, cleared as it wasby a great horror--that of being overtaken and drowned in the floodingmine, and, sometimes striking himself heavily, but always makingprogress, he waded on. Still it was slow work, for the water seemed to hinder him, and he hadreached a curve where the gallery took a fresh direction when there wasa fiercer roar behind, one which betokened that the water was forcingfor itself a greater way; and so it proved, for in a very few momentsthe rushing icy stream was above his knees. It was very horrible there in the darkness, listening to the gurglingrush of the water, ever increasing in violence; but forgetting self forthe moment, Philip wondered where his assailant could be, and then, hearing nothing, he began to think of the men in the pit, and whetherthey would have time to escape. All depended, he knew, upon whether the wall of coal between the twomines stood firm where Ebenezer's bar had not struck, and hoping thiswould be so, but despairing of his own life now, he waded on, the waterbeing far above his knees. "I shall never find my way in the dark, " he groaned, with a chillyfeeling of horror creeping over him, and placing his hands above histhrobbing breast as if to check the beating of his heart, he uttered acry of joy, for they came in contact with the lamp. It was, of course, extinct as he tore it from his breast, but he hadmatches in his pocket far above where the water had yet reached. It was a risk, but he must chance the gas. The air caused by therushing water might have swept it away, and trembling so that he couldhardly perform the office, he drew key and matches from his pockets, nearly, in his agitation, dropping the lamp in the rushing stream thatswept against his legs. He saved it, though, and struck a match, which went out directly, andanother and another shared its fate. The next burned brightly, though, and no explosion following, he lit the lamp, trimmed the wick, droppedthe match in the water, where it went out with a faint hiss; and then, closing the gauze, he held the feeble Davy above his head. It was a star of hope, though, to him; and so it must have been toEbenezer Parks; for as the rays shone out, there came from far behind awild, despairing yell, and then, as Philip turned towards it, there wasa fierce hissing rush, the stream doubled in volume, he was sweptagainst the wall, and it was only by hurrying with it that he was ableto keep his feet. Twice over he essayed to turn, but the effort was vain. It wasimpossible to battle with it. All he could do was to hold his lamp upso as to guide him from striking against the wall, and go with therushing stream, that now increased so in depth that he felt that beforelong he might be compelled to swim. The hours or more that he passed in that flood of rushing waters seemedafterwards like some terrible confused dream to the young man, for itwas long enough before he found himself in a part where the galleriestook an upward inclination, and he gained a place where, faint andexhausted, he could rest with the water only about to his knees, anddraw out the map, by whose help he at length made out where he was. Even then he had a long and arduous trial before he managed to wade tothe foot of the shaft late at night, to find lights burning and thepumping-engine at its fullest speed, but unable to arrest the steadyrise of the water, which, by the next day, had completely drowned theworkings, though its progress was sufficiently slow to enable the men tosave their lives before it came upon them in the lower seams. A fortnight elapsed before the pit was once more drained, during whichtime Philip had been seriously ill, suffering greatly from the shock. His first inquiry was for Ebenezer Parks, whose body, however, was notfound for some time, where it had been forced into a cranny by thestream; and in strange corroboration of the tale Philip Hexton had totell, his great muscular hand still grasped the big iron bar, roundwhich the muscles were as tense as steel. Poor wretch! In the gratification of his miserable malice he had donemuch mischief and had lost his life; but he had hastened Philip Hexton'splan of utilising the shaft of the old mine, which his villainous acthad drained, and the result before long was that the old pit propertywas purchased for a mere song, the galleries fully opened out, and themine, over which Philip became overseer-in-chief, was acknowledged withits double shaft to be the best-ventilated and safest in the land. The best proof of which was that for the next ten years there was not asingle serious accident; and, as Mrs Hexton declared to her friends, all through the thoughtfulness of her brave boy. THE END.