boisterously,--

"Here we are; bottom. Give's hold o' one o' them lanthorns, or we shall
be in the sumph."

He snatched the lanthorn Joe carried, held it down, and stepped off the
skep.

"It's all right," he said; "there's some planking here."

The two boys followed, and looked down into the black thick water of the
sumph, a great tank into which the drainings of the mine ran ready for
being pumped up; and now Gwyn held up his light to try and penetrate the
gloom, but could only dimly trace the entrance of what appeared to be a
huge, arch-roofed tunnel, and as they stepped over the rough wet granite
beneath it, Dinass placed a hand to the side of his mouth and uttered a
stentorian hail, which went echoing and rolling along before them, to be
answered quite plainly from somewhere at a distance.

A load fell from Gwyn's breast, and he uttered a sigh of relief.

"It's all right, Joe," he said. "There they are, but some distance in.
Come on."

He led the way, Joe followed, and Dinass came last with the other
lanthorn; and in a few minutes the great archway contracted and grew
lower and lower, till it very nearly met their heads, and the sides of
the place were so near that they could in places have been touched by
the extended hands.

"Hold hard a moment," said Dinass, after they had gone on a short
distance; and as the boys turned to him wonderingly, he continued, "this
here's the main lead of course, but it's sure to begin striking out
directly right and left like the roots of a tree. What you've got to
do's to keep to the main lead, and not go turning off either side. It's
not very easy, because they're often as big as one another. That's what
I wanted to say to you as one thing to mind. T'other's to keep a sharp
look-out for ways downward to lower leads. There would be no railings
left round here, 'cause the wood'll all have rotted away. I'd keep your
light low down, and if you see a place like a square well don't step
into it. You won't break your neck, 'cause it will be quite full of
water, for the pumping hasn't reached down there, but you might be
drowned, for it aren't likely I'm coming down after you."

"I'll take care," said Gwyn, with his voice sounding husky; and Joe
nodded, with his eyes looking wild and dilated.

"That's all I wanted to say," said Dinass, "so on you go."

"Give another shout," said Gwyn, "and let them know we're here."

"What for?" said the man, roughly.

"You heard