s soon as you can."

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.

ANXIOUS TIMES.

An hour glided by and not a sound was heard from below. Then another
hour, and the boys began to grow impatient.

"Why, the place must be very big," said Gwyn, after straining over the
rail and looking down for some time. "Shall I shout?"

"Couldn't do no harm," said Dinass; and Gwyn hailed several times, and
then gave place to Joe, who was beginning to look uncomfortable.

But the second series of shouting produced nothing but a dull smothered
echo, and the lad spoke quite hoarsely when he turned to Gwyn, who was
looking angrily at Dinass and the engineer, both of whom sat coolly
enough close to the skep shaft, waiting the signal to lift.

"Think there's anything wrong?" said Joe in a whisper to the engineer.

"Oh, no, the place is big. See what a while it took to pump it out."

"But there may be deep holes here and there, and it would be horrible if
they had slipped down one."

"They wouldn't all slip down a hole. If one did, the others would come
for help. No; they're thoroughly exploring the place and chipping off
specimens. I daresay they'll bring up quite a load."

"I hope so," said Joe, solemnly, and Gwyn, who felt very uncomfortable,
tried to cheer him up, but in a low voice, so that the others should not
hear.

"I say, how strange it is that if anyone doesn't come back when you
expect him you are sure to think he has met with an accident."

"I don't, if they've only gone out," said Joe, with a shiver. "This
isn't like that. This place seems to me now quite awful."

"Pooh! I say, I believe you'd go down and look for them if you might."

"Yes," said Joe, quickly; "I shouldn't like to, but I would."

"I wonder what it's like down below--all long, narrow passages
roughly-cut through the rock," said Gwyn; "they wouldn't cut so
carefully as they do now."

"No, as they say, the old people would only cut where the lode of ore
ran, of course. But I hope there's nothing wrong."

"Of course you do; so do I. What's the good of fidgeting."

Joe did not say what was the good of fidgeting, but he fidgeted all the
same; and Gwyn noted, as the time went on, that his companion looked
quite hollow-cheeked, while at the same time he felt a peculiar sinking
sensation that was very much like dread; and at last, as over two hours
and a-half had passed, he began to feel that something ought to be done.

Joe not only felt, but said so, and