the bottom, the blood
spattering and "jauping" him and the bottomer, and blinding their eyes
as it flew all over them.

"In the name o' Heavens what's that?" yelled Walker, screaming in terror
and jumping aside from the bloody upturned face, with the wide, staring
eyes, which he seemed to recognize, as the other parts of the body lay
about, still quivering and twitching, and a horrible sickness came over
him and terror flooded his mind.

"Bell, three, quick!" cried Walker, frantic with desperation in his
voice. "Bell three, dammit. An' let us up out o' here. Hurry up, hell to
you," and he drew the bell himself, and without waiting on the signal
back from above, jumped into the cage, averting his face from those
horrible eyes, which lay staring at him out of the darkness.

"Chap it awa', man!" he yelled at the bottomer, his voice rising to a
scream. "Chap it, an' let us up to hell oot o' this," and the bottomer,
no less frightened than he, tore at the bell, and jumping in himself
just as the cage began slowly to ascend, clung to the bar, shivering
with terror.

CHAPTER XIX

BLACK JOCK'S END

When Walker reached the surface, he was like a madman. He raved and
swore and frothed like a churn, running here, there and everywhere
nearly collapsing with rage, which sprang from terror.

Usually cool and calculating, steady and active-minded, he seemed to
have lost all grip upon himself. He had been drinking heavily the night
before and was none too sober in the morning when he was called upon to
go to work. Mag Robertson's attack the night before had sent him to the
drink, and being a heavy drinker he was in a bad state the following
morning. Mr. Rundell found him swearing and raving in a great passion,
sacking men and behaving like a maniac.

"Look here, Walker," he began at once, his quick temper rising anew as
he thought of the story Sanny Robertson had told him. "I'll give you
twenty-four hours to get out of here and away from the place; and if you
are not gone in that time I shall inform the police. I know the whole
story regarding the setting of the contracts. Sanny has told me, and if
I was doing right I would not give you a single minute."

Walker seemed to calm down all at once, and his eyes became cringing as
those of a kicked cur as he stood before the angry mine-owner.

"But I hinna telt you a' he has done," said Sanny Robertson, who came up
just then in time to hear Mr. Rundell's words. "The dir