a scolding for being so long, and
feeling disposed to take refuge in the excuse that he had been to see
the dog; but no lights were visible, everyone having retired to rest,
the leaving of doors unfastened not being considered a matter of much
moment at that secluded place.

So Gwyn crept to bed unheard, and had no need to make a shuffling
excuse, and slept late the next morning, to find at breakfast time his
father had been out to the dog.

"How is he? Oh, better than I expected to find him? He is not disposed
to eat, only to sleep--and the best thing for him. The bandages are as
hard as stone. Storm coming, I think, my dear."

"We must not complain," said Mrs Pendarve. "We have had lovely
weather."

"I don't complain, and should not unless the waves washed up into the
mine, and gave us a week's pumping; but we should want monsters for
that."

The Colonel was right, for there was nearly a month's bad weather,
during which the waves came thundering in all along the coast, and no
fishing-boats went out; and as no opportunity occurred for getting down
to the point, which was a wild chaos of foam, the strange behaviour of
Tom Dinass was forgotten.

There were busy days, too, in the mine, stolen from those passed in
superintending the tremendous output of tin ore. The men worked below
and above, and the Colonel and Major shook hands as they congratulated
themselves upon their adventure, it being evident now that a year of
such prosperity would nearly, if not quite, recoup them for their outlay
in machinery, they having started without the terribly expensive task of
sinking the mine through the rock. All that they had had to do was to
pump out the first excavation, and then begin raising rich tin ore for
crushing, washing, and smelting.

The stolen days were devoted to making explorations and mapping out the
mine. There were no more goings astray, for gallery after gallery was
marked in paint or whitewash with arrows, so that by degrees most of the
intricacies, which formed a gigantic network, were followed and marked,
and in these explorations abundant proof was given of the enormous
wealth waiting to be quarried out.

There was no wonder felt now that those who had gone down first should
have lost themselves.

"Wonder to me is, Mr Gwyn," said Hardock one day, "that we any on us
come up again alive."

So they kept on exploring, and, well furnished with lights, the lads
found the great hall with its pil