other's assistance, and glanced at
them with meaning smiles. There had been races at Hancock that day,
and they evidently believed that these two had attended them. No one
spoke to them, however, and it quickly became apparent that the
supremest moment in the life of one of the two, which would also have
been his last on earth but for the other, had passed unnoticed by any
of the scores of human beings in closest proximity to them at the
time.

It was hard to realize this, and for a few minutes the young men sat
in silence, dreading but expecting to be overwhelmed with a clamor of
questions. It was a relief to find that they were to be unmolested,
and when the conductor had passed on after punching their tickets, the
one who had rescued the other turned to him with a smile, saying:

"No one knows anything about it, for which let us be grateful."

"You can bet I'm grateful, Mister, in more ways than one," answered
the other, his eyes filling with the tears of a deep emotion as he
spoke. "I won't forget in a hurry that you've saved my life, and from
this time on, if ever you can make any use of so poor a chap as me,
I'm your man. My name's Tom Trefethen, and I live in Red Jacket, where
I run a compressor for No. 3 shaft of the White Pine Mine. That's all
there is to me, for I 'ain't never done anything else, don't know
anything else, and expect I'm no good _for_ anything else. So, you
see, I hain't got much to offer in exchange for what you've just give
me; same time, I'm your friend all right, from this minute, and I
wouldn't do a thing for you only just what you say; but that goes,
every time."

"That's all right, Tom, and don't you worry about trying to make any
return for the service I have been able to render you. I won't call it
a slight service, because to do so would be to undervalue the life I
was permitted to save. Besides, you have already repaid me by giving
me a friend, which was the thing of which I stood in greatest need,
and had almost despaired of gaining."

"Why, Mister--"

"Peveril," interrupted the other. "Richard Peveril is my name, though
the friends I used to have generally called me 'Dick Peril."'

"Used to have, Mr. Peril? Do you mean by that that you hain't got any
friends now?"

"I mean that five minutes ago it did not seem as though I had a friend
in the world; but now I have one, who, I hope, will prove a very
valuable one as well, and his name is Tom Trefethen."

"It's good of yo