"Ready?"

"Nay," cried Dinass, thrusting back his pipe and pouch and catching up a
miner's pick, which he swung round his head; "keep back, you cowards.
You're afraid to go yourselves, and you want to force me. Keep off, or
I'll do someone a mischief. There isn't one of you as dare tackle me
like a man."

"Oh, yes, there is," cried the first speaker; "any of us would. Now,
once more, will you go down with the young gentlemen?"

"Go yourself. No!"

"Oh, I'd go, but it's your job. You're made next to Master Sam Hardock,
so just show that you're worth the job."

"Lower away there," cried Dinass, "and let the boys go down
theirselves."

"Not me," said the engineer.

"Right," said the leader of the men. "Now, Tom Dinass, this time
settles it: will you go down?"

"No!"

"Then here goes to make you."

The man dashed at Dinass, who struck at him with the pick, but the
handle was cleverly caught, the tool wrested from his grasp and thrown
on the floor, while, before the striker could recover himself, he was
seized, there was a short struggle, and his opponent, who was a clever
Cornish wrestler, gave him what is termed the cross-buttock, lifted him
from the ground, and laid him heavily on his back.

The men raised a frantic cheer of delight, which jarred terribly on the
two boys in their anxious state, though all the same they could not help
feeling satisfied at seeing Dinass prostrated and lying helpless with
the miner's foot upon his chest.

"Let him get up," said Gwyn; "we'd sooner go alone than with him; but if
you'll come with us I should be glad."

"I'd come with you, sir, or any on us would--"

"Ay, ay," chorused the men.

"But we feel, as miners, that when a man's got his dooty to do, he must
do it. So Master Tom Dinass here must go by fair means or foul."

"I'll go," cried Dinass. "Set o' cowards--ten or a dozen on you again'
one."

"Nay, there was only one again' you with bare hands and without a pick.
You go down, mate, and when you come up t'others'll see fair, and I'll
show you whether I'm a coward."

"Don't I tell you I'll go?" growled Dinass. "Let me get up."

"Do you mean it? No games, or it'll be the worse for you," said the
miner, sternly.

"I said I'd go with them," growled Dinass. "I aren't afraid, but I
warn't engaged to do this sort of thing."

"You'll go, then?"

"Are you deaf? Yersss!" roared Dinass; and as the miner took his foot
from the prostrate man's chest a