The air was heavy with the noxious vapor as he went rapidly toward the
slope up which crowds of miners were passing, and as some of the men
loitered behind the others it became necessary he should hide in the
drift to escape detection.

"Why don't the fools move faster," he said, in a hoarse whisper. "It
can't be many seconds before the thing comes, an' there'll be no chance
for me. There'd be a lynchin' sure if I should show up jest ahead of an
explosion."

Big drops of perspiration stood on his brow as he realized that the trap
he had set for others might close upon himself, and for an instant he
resolved to run back and extinguish the lamp.

"It won't do," he said, half turning and then moving nearer the slope.
"There's gas enough in the drift to choke me before I'd get ten yards.
Why don't the idiots move faster!"

Only the absolute conviction that he would be lynched if caught at such
a time prevented Billings from rushing out.

Each second the vapor became denser, and he wondered why the miners did
not perceive it.

The catastrophe must be very near at hand, and he was exposed to the
greatest danger.

When it seemed as if an hour had passed, the last man went up the slope,
and he started at full speed to gain a higher level.

The incline was almost reached; half a dozen steps more and he would be
partially sheltered by the jutting point of slate.

"Luck is still with me," he cried, so loud that those above must have
heard him, and at that instant the earth seemed to rock to and fro;
there was a flash of blinding light, and the air was filled with flying
fragments.

Where had been the lower level was now an apparently solid mass of
earth, coal, and slate, covering the body of him who had wreaked his
vengeance upon the company.

Joe and Bill were returning from the store when the noise of the
explosion was heard, and they, as well as everyone in the vicinity, knew
from sad experience what had occurred.

"We're responsible for this!" Bill cried, his face paling. "The gas has
burst through from the old drift."

"Thank God it came when most of the poor fellows were quittin' work,"
and Joe started on a run, followed by every person in the village.

At the mouth of the slope a vast crowd had gathered. Women were calling
their husbands and children by name, and as each learned her loved ones
were safe, shouts of joy mingled with the wailings of those whose cries
remained unanswered.

Even after Mr. W