e to pay the hands what I promised them; and if we
continue working, I should have to get more stores and planks, and lots
of things, which I certainly cannot afford unless we strike visible
gold."

"I have a few hundred dollars of my own--" began Ernest; but Mr
Rawlings stopped him at once.

"No, no, my dear fellow," said he impulsively, "your natural kindness of
heart shall not lead you into throwing away your hard-earned money on my
venture. I shall sink or swim on my own bottom, as the saying goes,
although I thank you sincerely all the same. But about the mine," he
continued, veering away from the delicate subject, "I'm sorry we haven't
got a steam-engine; but that was all Seth's fault. He would believe
that a mine could be pumped out as easily as a vessel's bilge."

"That's me," said Seth, not a whit annoyed at the imputation. "I hate
them donkey enjines. They mostly chokes the pumps, and I'd liefer any
day have hand gear an' a decent crew to clear ship with."

"Well, whether you like it better or not," said Ernest Wilton, with good
humour and good sense combined, "you haven't one, and we'll have to make
the best of a bad bargain."

"That's so!" said Seth, with much satisfaction apparently.

"And that being the case," continued the young engineer, "we'll teach
our enemy to beat itself, or in other words, make water fight water."

"Jerusalem!" exclaimed Seth admiringly. "How on airth will you get to
do that, mister?"

"Look before you," said Ernest Wilton, pointing to the foaming stream
that was dashing along the valley. "Look at the waste of energy there!
Why, with a good undershot wheel that water-power is worth more than a
hundred additional hands at the pumps."

If Seth had looked at the speaker admiringly before, no words could
express his pleased astonishment now. He seemed to glow all over with
gratification.

"I'm jiggered!" he ejaculated, gazing at Ernest Wilton from the tip of
his boots to the top of his head. "You air a screamer, an' no mistake!"

Even Mr Rawlings, generally so sedate of demeanour, in contrast to Seth
Allport, who usually went into extremes, became enthusiastic.

"My dear boy," said he, grasping both of Ernest's hands and shaking them
with much heartiness, "you'll be the making of us all."

"I shall try to be," said the young engineer; "for I certainly don't
intend to be content with merely clearing the mine of water. You don't
know half the value of your propert