erture, and
tumbled heavily to the floor of the old mine.

It was not a great fall; he fell from a height of only a few feet, but
in his exhausted condition it stunned him, and he lay for some minutes
in a state of unconsciousness.

The air was better in here, he was below the line of the poisoned
current, and he soon revived, sat up, picked up his lamp, and looked
around him.

He was evidently in a worked-out chamber. Over his head in the
side-wall was the opening through which he had fallen, and he knew
that the first thing to be done was to close it up and prevent the
entrance of any more foul air.

There was plenty of slate and of coal and of dirt near by, but he
could not reach up so high and work easily, and he had first to build
a platform against the wall, on which to stand.

It took a long time to do this, but when it was completed he stood up
on it to put the first stone in place.

On the other side of the opening he heard a hoarse sound of distress,
then a scrambling noise, and then Jasper's nose was pushed through
against his hand. The mule had stood patiently and watched Ralph while
he was at work, but when the boy disappeared he had become frightened,
and had clambered up on the shelf of coal at the face to try to follow
him. He was down on his knees now, with his head wedged into the
aperture, drawing in his breath with long, forced gasps, looking
piteously into the boy's face.

"Poor Jasper!" said Ralph, "poor fellow! I didn't think of you. I'd
get you in here too if I could."

He looked around him, as if contemplating the possibility of such a
scheme; but he knew that it could not be accomplished.

"I can't do it, Jasper," he said, rubbing the animal's face as he
spoke. "I can't do it. Don't you see the hole ain't big enough? an' I
couldn't never make it big enough for you, never."

But the look in Jasper's eyes was very beseeching, and he tried to
push his head in so that he might lay his nose against Ralph's breast.

The boy put his arms about the beast's neck.

"I can't do it, Jasper," he repeated, sobbing. "Don't you see I can't?
I wisht I could, oh, I wisht I could!"

The animal drew his head back. His position was uncomfortable, and it
choked him to stretch his neck out that way.

Ralph knew that he must proceed with the building of his wall. One
after another he laid up the pieces of slate and coal, chinking in
the crevices with dirt, keeping his head as much as possible out of