yn.

"Oh! I'd forgotten," cried Joe, piteously, "you've no matches."

"No, I've no matches."

"But you had some, I know--you had a box; feel in your pockets again."

There was a faint rustling sound as in obedience to his companion's
imperative words, Gwyn felt in each pocket vainly, and then uttered a
sigh like a groan.

"No, no, no!" he cried, "there is a hole in my pocket, and the box must
have gone through."

"Oh," cried Joe, angrily; "how could I be such a fool as to trust you to
carry them?"

"You mean how could you be such a fool as to come without a box
yourself," said Gwyn, bitterly.

"Yes, that's it, I suppose. Here, I know--we must strike a light from
the rock with the backs of our knives."

"What for?" said Gwyn, bitterly. "Where are the tinder and matches?"

Joe uttered a sigh, and they both relapsed into silence once more.

"What are we to do?" said Joe, at last. "It is horrible, horrible to be
in this black darkness. Say something, Ydoll--we can't lie down here
and die."

"We can't go on in the black darkness," said Gwyn, bitterly.

"We must feel our way."

"And suppose we come to some hole and go down?"

Joe drew his breath sharply through his teeth as he winced at the
horrible idea.

"Better lie down again and go to sleep," said Gwyn, despondently. "We
can do no more."

"Lie down till they come with lights and find us?"

"Yes," said Gwyn, who gathered courage from these words of hope. "It's
of no use to give up. Father must have found his way out by this time.
Sam Hardock knows so much about mines; he is sure not to be lost for
long."

"But if they don't find us? I'm so faint and hungry now I don't know
what to do."

"Yes, I suppose what I feel is being hungry," sighed Gwyn, "but we
mustn't think about it. I say, how far do you think we wandered about
yesterday?"

"Miles and miles and miles," said Joe, dismally; "and for nothing at all
but to lose ourselves. But I say, Ydoll, it wasn't yesterday. We
couldn't have slept long."

"I felt as if I slept all night."

"But we couldn't; because we only slept as long as our candle burned."

"Of course not. How stupid! But I'm so done up that my head doesn't
seem as if it would go; let's lie down and go to sleep till they find
us."

"And perhaps that will be never. Someone will find our bones, perhaps."

"Ha, ha!" cried Gwyn, bursting into a mocking laugh. "We're a nice pair
of miserable cowards! I did think yo