nd I daresay he was squinting over our machinery, and he wants to
see the pumping come to naught. Just please him. But look at this;
isn't it fine?"

He pointed to the steady stream of clear water rushing toward them, and
falling downward, glittering in the sunshine. "Ready to go in with me?"

For answer the two boys took off their boots and socks, and stood them
in a niche in the rock, while Hardock passed in through the mouth of the
adit; and directly after he had disappeared in the darkness, he
re-appeared in the midst of a glow of light produced by a lanthorn he
had placed behind a piece of rock.

"Come on, my lads," he cried, and the two boys stepped in, with the cold
water gurgling about their feet, and stooping to avoid striking their
heads against the roof of the low gallery.

"One o' the first things I mean to have done is to set the men to cut a
gully along here for the water to run in, for I daresay we shall always
have to keep the pump going. Then the water can keep to itself, and we
shall have a dry place for the trucks to run along."

"But this place won't be used much," said Gwyn, as he followed the man,
and kept on thinking about his strange feelings, as he crept along there
in the darkness toward the light, after his terrible fall.

"I don't know so much about that, my lad. Don't you see, it will be
splendid for getting rid of our rubbish? The trucks can be tilted, and
away it will go; but what's to prevent us from loading ships with ore
out below there in fine weather? But we shall see."

It was a strange experience to pass out of the brilliant sunshine into
the black, cold tunnel through the rock, with the water bubbling about
their feet, and a creepy, gurgling whispering sound coming toward them
in company with a heavy dull clanking, as the huge pump worked steadily
on. Try how they would to be firm, and forcing themselves to fall back
upon the knowledge of what was taking place, there was still the feeling
that this little stream of water was only the advance guard of a deluge,
and that at any moment it might increase to a rushing flood, which would
sweep them away, dashing them out headlong from the mouth of the gallery
to fall into the sea.

But there in front was the black outline of Hardock's stooping figure,
with the lanthorn held before him, and making the water flash and
sparkle, while from time to time the man held up the lanthorn, and
pointed to a glittering appearance in th