fuse in a shaft, and then have to
climb out a fifty-foot ladder, with it burning behind you. I never did
get used to it. You keep thinking, "Now suppose there's a flaw in that
fuse, or something, and she goes off in six seconds instead of two
minutes? where'll you be then?" It would give you a good boost
towards your home on high, anyway.

So I climbed fast, and stuck my head out the top without looking--and
then I froze solid enough. There, about fifty feet away, climbing up
the hill on mighty tired hosses, was a dozen of the ugliest Chiricahuas
you ever don't want to meet, and in addition a Mexican renegade named
Maria, who was worse than any of 'em. I see at once their hosses was
tired out, and they had a notion of camping at my water hole, not
knowing nothing about the Ole Virginia mine.

For two bits I'd have let go all holts and dropped backwards, trusting
to my thick head for easy lighting. Then I heard a little fizz and
sputter from below. At that my hair riz right up so I could feel the
breeze blow under my hat. For about six seconds I stood there like an
imbecile, grinning amiably. Then one of the Chiricahuas made a sort of
grunt, and I sabed that they'd seen the original exhibit your Uncle Jim
was making of himself.

Then that fuse gave another sputter and one of the Apaches said "Un
dah." That means "white man." It was harder to turn my head than if
I'd had a stiff neck; but I managed to do it, and I see that my ore
dump wasn't more than ten foot away. I mighty near overjumped it; and
the next I knew I was on one side of it and those Apaches on the other.
Probably I flew; leastways I don't seem to remember jumping.

That didn't seem to do me much good. The renegades were grinning and
laughing to think how easy a thing they had; and I couldn't rightly
think up any arguments against that notion--at least from their
standpoint. They were chattering away to each other in Mexican for the
benefit of Maria. Oh, they had me all distributed, down to my
suspender buttons! And me squatting behind that ore dump about as
formidable as a brush rabbit!

Then, all at once, one of my shots went off down in the shaft.

"Boom!" says she, plenty big; and a slather of rock, and stones come
out of the mouth, and began to dump down promiscuous on the scenery. I
got one little one in the shoulder-blade, and found time to wish my ore
dump had a roof. But those renegades caught it square in the thick of
trou