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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Deep Down, a Tale of the Cornish Mines, by 
+R.M. Ballantyne
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Deep Down, a Tale of the Cornish Mines
+
+Author: R.M. Ballantyne
+
+Release Date: June 7, 2007 [EBook #21726]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DEEP DOWN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
+
+
+
+
+DEEP DOWN, A TALE OF THE CORNISH MINES, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ONE.
+
+BEGINS THE STORY WITH A PECULIAR MEETING.
+
+Necessity is the mother of invention.  This is undoubtedly true, but it
+is equally true that invention is not the only member of necessity's
+large family.  Change of scene and circumstance are also among her
+children.  It was necessity that gave birth to the resolve to travel to
+the end of the earth--of English earth at all events--in search of
+fortune, which swelled the bosom of yonder tall, well-favoured youth,
+who, seated uncomfortably on the top of that clumsy public conveyance,
+drives up Market-Jew Street in the ancient town of Penzance.  Yes,
+necessity--stern necessity, as she is sometimes called--drove that youth
+into Cornwall, and thus was the originating cause of that wonderful
+series of events which ultimately led to his attaining--but hold!  Let
+us begin at the beginning.
+
+It was a beautiful morning in June, in that period of the world's
+history which is ambiguously styled "Once-upon-a-time," when the
+"Kittereen"--the clumsy vehicle above referred to--rumbled up to the
+Star Inn and stopped there.  The tall, well-favoured youth leapt at once
+to the ground, and entered the inn with the air of a man who owned at
+least the half of the county, although his much-worn grey shooting
+costume and single unpretentious portmanteau did not indicate either
+unusual wealth or exalted station.
+
+In an off-hand hearty way, he announced to landlord, waiters,
+chambermaids, and hangers-on, to all, indeed, who might choose to
+listen, that the weather was glorious, that coaches of all kinds,
+especially Kittereens, were detestable machines of torture, and that he
+meant to perform the remainder of his journey on foot.
+
+He inquired the way to the town of St. Just, ordered his luggage to be
+forwarded by coach or cart, and, with nothing but a stout oaken cudgel
+to encumber him, set out on his walk of about seven miles, with the
+determination of compensating himself for previous hours of forced
+inaction and constraint by ignoring roads and crossing the country like
+an Irish fox-hunter.
+
+Acting on the presumptuous belief that he could find his way to any part
+of the world with the smallest amount of direction, he naturally missed
+the right road at the outset, and instead of taking the road to St.
+Just, pursued that which leads to the Land's End.
+
+The youth, as we have observed, was well-favoured.  Tall,
+broad-shouldered, deep-chested, and athletic, with an active step, erect
+gait, and clear laughing eye, he was one whom a recruiting-sergeant in
+the Guards would have looked upon with a covetous sigh.  Smooth fair
+cheeks and chin told that boyhood was scarce out of sight behind, and an
+undeniable _some thing_ on the upper lip declared that manhood was not
+far in advance.
+
+Like most people in what may be termed an uncertain stage of existence,
+our hero exhibited a variety of apparent contradictions.  His great size
+and muscular strength and deep bass voice were those of a man, while the
+smooth skin, the soft curling hair, and the rollicking gladsome look
+were all indicative of the boy.  His countenance, too, might have
+perplexed a fortune-teller.  Sometimes it was grave almost to sternness,
+at other times it sparkled with delight, exhibiting now an expression
+that would have befitted a sage on whose decisions hung the fate of
+kingdoms, and anon displaying a dash of mischief worthy of the wildest
+boy in a village school.
+
+Some of the youth's varied, not to say extravagant, actions and
+expressions, were perhaps due to the exhilarating brilliancy of the
+morning, or to the appearance of those splendid castles which his mind
+was actively engaged in building in the air.
+
+The country through which he travelled was at first varied with trees
+and bushes clothed in rich foliage; but soon its aspect changed, and ere
+long he pursued a path which led over a wide extent of wild moorland
+covered with purple heath and gorse in golden-yellow bloom.  The ground,
+too, became so rough that the youth was fain to confine himself to the
+highroad; but being of an explorative disposition, he quickly diverged
+into the lanes, which in that part of Cornwall were, and still are,
+sufficiently serpentine and intricate to mislead a more experienced
+traveller.  It soon began to dawn upon the youth's mind that he was
+wandering in a wrong direction, and when he suddenly discovered a
+solitary cottage on the right hand, which he had previously observed on
+the left, he made up his mind to sacrifice his independence and
+condescend to ask for guidance.
+
+Lightly leaping a wall with this intent, he crossed two fields, and
+stooped as he looked in at the low doorway of the cottage, from the
+interior of which there issued the loud cries of a child either in great
+pain or passion.
+
+A sturdy little boy seated on a stool, and roaring like a young bull,
+while an elderly woman tried to comfort him, was the sight which met his
+gaze.
+
+"Can you show me the road to St. Just?" inquired our adventurer.
+
+"St. Just, sur?" said the woman, stepping out in front of the door,
+"why, you're on the way to St. Buryan, sure.  Ef you do keep on the
+right of the hill over theere, you'll see the St. Just road."
+
+A yell of unparalleled ferocity issued at this moment from the cottage,
+and it was found that the noisy urchin within, overcome by curiosity,
+had risen to ascertain who the stranger outside could be, and had been
+arrested by a pang of agony.
+
+"Aw dear, aw dear, my poor booy," exclaimed the woman, endeavouring
+gently to press the boy down again on the stool, amid furious roaring.
+
+"What's wrong with him?" asked our traveller, entering the apartment.
+
+"He's tumbled off the wall, dear booy, an' semen to me he's scat un
+shoulder very bad."
+
+"Let me have a look at him," said the youth, sitting down on the edge of
+a bed which stood at one end of the room, and drawing the child between
+his knees.  "Come, little man, don't shout so loud; I'll put it all
+right for you.  Let me feel your shoulder."
+
+To judge from the immediate result, the young man seemed to put it all
+wrong instead of "all right," for his somewhat rough manipulation of the
+boy's shoulder produced such a torrent of screams that the pitying woman
+had much ado to restrain herself from rushing to the rescue.
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed the youth in grey, releasing his victim; "I thought so;
+he has broken his collar-bone, my good woman; not a serious matter, by
+any means, but it will worry him for some time to come.  Have you got
+anything to make a bandage of?"
+
+"Sur?" said the woman.
+
+"Have you a bit of rag--an old shirt or apron?--anything will do."
+
+The woman promptly produced a cotton shirt, which the youth tore up into
+long strips.  Making a pad of one of these, he placed it under the boy's
+arm-pit despite of sobs and resistance.  This pad acted as a fulcrum on
+which the arm rested as a lever.  Pressing the elbow close to the boy's
+side he thus forced the shoulder outwards, and, with his left hand, set
+the bone with its two broken ends together.  To secure it in this
+position he bound the arm pretty firmly to the boy's body, so that he
+could not move a muscle of the left arm or shoulder.
+
+"There," said the youth, assisting his patient to put on his shirt,
+"that will keep all straight.  You must not on any account remove the
+bandage for some weeks."
+
+"How long, sur?" exclaimed the woman in surprise.
+
+"For some weeks; but that will depend on how the little fellow gets on.
+He may go about and use his right arm as he pleases, but no more
+climbing on walls for some time to come.  Do you hear, little man?"
+
+The urchin, whose pain was somewhat relieved, and who had moderated down
+to an occasional deep sob, said "Iss."
+
+"You're a doctor, sur, I think?" said the woman.
+
+"Yes, I am; and I'll come to see you again, so be careful to attend to
+my directions.  Good-morning."
+
+"Good mornin', sur, an' thank 'ee!" exclaimed the grateful dame as the
+youth left the house, and, leaping the low enclosure in front of it,
+sped over the moor in the direction which had been pointed out to him.
+
+His resolution to ignore roads cost our traveller more trouble than he
+had anticipated, for the moor was very rugged, the brambles vexatious,
+and the spines of the gorse uncommonly sharp.  Impediments of every kind
+were more numerous than he had been accustomed to meet with even on the
+heath-clad hills of Scotland, with which--although "the land of the
+mountain and the flood" was not that of his birth--he had from childhood
+been familiar.
+
+After a good deal of vigorous leaping and resolute scrambling, he
+reached one of those peculiar Cornish lanes which are so deeply sunk in
+the ground, and edged with such high solid walls, that the wayfarer
+cannot in many places see the nature of the country through which he is
+passing.  The point at which he reached the lane was so overgrown with
+gorse and brambles that it was necessary to search for a passage through
+them.  This not being readily found, he gave way to the impetuosity of
+his disposition, stepped back a few paces, cleared the obstacles with a
+light bound, and alighted on the edge of the bank, which gave way under
+his weight, and he descended into the lane in a shower of stones and
+dust, landing on his feet more by chance than by dexterity.
+
+A shout of indignation greeted the traveller, and, turning abruptly
+round, he beheld a stout old gentleman stamping with rage, covered from
+head to foot with dust, and sputtering out epithets of opprobrium on the
+hapless wight who had thus unintentionally bespattered him.
+
+"Ugh! hah! you young jackanapes--you blind dumbledory--ugh!  What mean
+you by galloping over the country thus like a wild ass--eh?"
+
+A fit of coughing here interrupted the choleric old gentleman, in the
+midst of which our hero, with much humility of demeanour, many
+apologies, and protestations of innocence of intention to injure, picked
+up the old gentleman's hat, assisted him to brush his clothes with a
+bunch of ferns, and in various other ways sought to pacify him.
+
+The old man grumbled a good deal at first, but was finally so far
+mollified as to say less testily, while he put on his hat, "I warrant
+me, young man, you are come on some wild-goose chase to this
+out-o'-the-way region of the land in search of the picturesque--eh?--a
+dauber on canvas?"
+
+"No, sir," replied the youth, "I profess not to wield the pencil or
+brush, although I admit to having made feeble efforts as an amateur.
+The scalpel is more to my taste, and my object in coming here is to
+visit a relative.  I am on my way to St. Just; but, having wandered
+somewhat out of my road, have been obliged to strike into bypaths, as
+you see."
+
+"As I _see_, young man!--yes, and as I _feel_," replied the old
+gentleman, with some remains of asperity.
+
+"I have already expressed regret for the mischance that has befallen
+you," said the youth in grey somewhat sternly, for his impulsive spirit
+fired a little at the continued ill-humour of the old gentleman.
+"Perhaps you will return good for evil by pointing out the way to St.
+Just.  May I venture to ask this favour of you?"
+
+"You may venture, and you _have_ ventured; and it is my belief, young
+man, that you'll venture many a thing before this world has done with
+you; however, as you are a stranger in these parts, and have expressed
+due penitence for your misdeed, though I more than half doubt your
+sincerity, I can do no less than point out the road to St. Just, whither
+I will accompany you at least part of the way; and, young sir, as you
+have taken pretty free liberty with _me_ this morning, may I take the
+liberty of asking _you_ the name of your relative in St. Just?  I am
+well acquainted with most of the inhabitants of that town."
+
+"Certainly," replied the youth.  "The gentleman whom I am going to visit
+is my uncle.  His name is Donnithorne."
+
+"What!  Tom Donnithorne?" exclaimed the old gentleman, in a tone of
+surprise, as he darted a keen glance from under his bushy eyebrows at
+his companion.  "Hah! then from that fact I gather that you are Oliver
+Trembath, the young doctor whom he has been expecting the last day or
+two.  H'm--so old Tom Donnithorne is your uncle, is he?"
+
+The youth in grey did not relish the free and easy, not to say
+patronising, tone of his companion, and felt inclined to give a sharp
+answer, but he restrained his feelings and replied,--"He is, and you are
+correct in your supposition regarding myself.  Do you happen to know my
+uncle personally?"
+
+"Know him personally!" cried the old gentleman with a sardonic laugh;
+"Oh yes, I know him intimately--intimately; some people say he's a very
+good fellow."
+
+"I am glad to hear that, for to say truth--"
+
+He paused abruptly.
+
+"Ha!  I suppose you were going to say that you have heard a different
+account of him--eh?"
+
+"Well, I _was_ going to observe," replied Oliver, with a laugh, "that my
+uncle is rather a wild man for his years--addicted to smuggling, I am
+told, and somewhat given to the bottle; but it is well known that
+tattlers give false reports, and I am delighted to hear that the old boy
+is not such a bad fellow after all."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated the other.  "Then you have never seen him, I
+suppose?"
+
+"No, never; although I am a Cornishman I have seen little of my native
+county, having left it when a little boy--before my uncle came to live
+in this part of the country."
+
+"H'm--well, young man, I would advise you to beware of that same uncle
+of yours."
+
+"How!" exclaimed the youth in surprise; "did you not tell me just now
+that he is a very good fellow?"
+
+"No, sir, I did not.  I told you that _some_ people say he is a very
+good fellow, but for myself I think him an uncommonly bad man, a man who
+has done me great injury in his day--"
+
+"It grieves me to hear you say so," interrupted Oliver, whose ire was
+again roused by the tone and manner of his companion.
+
+"A decidedly bad man," continued the old gentleman, not noticing the
+interruption, "a thorough rascal, a smuggler, and a drunkard, and--"
+
+"Hold, sir!" cried the youth sternly, as he stopped and faced the old
+gentleman, "remember that you speak of my relative.  Had you been a
+younger man, sir--"
+
+Again the youth paused abruptly.
+
+"Go on, sir," said the old gentleman ironically, "you would have
+pommelled me to a jelly with your cudgel, I suppose; is that it?--acting
+somewhat in the spirit of your kinsman, that same smuggling and tippling
+old scoundrel, who--"
+
+"Enough, sir," interrupted the young man angrily; "we part company
+here."
+
+So saying, he vaulted over the wall that separated the road from the
+moor, and hurried away.
+
+"Take the first turn to the left, and keep straight on, else you'll lose
+yourself aga-a-a-in," roared the old gentleman, "and my compliments to
+the rascally old smugg-le-e-r-r!"
+
+"The old scoundrel!" muttered the youth as he hurried away.
+
+"The young puppy!" growled the old gentleman as he jogged along.  "Given
+to smuggling and the bottle indeed--humph! the excitable jackanapes!
+But I've given him a turn in the wrong direction that will cool his
+blood somewhat, and give me leisure to cool mine too, before we meet
+again."
+
+Here the old gentleman's red countenance relaxed into a broad grin, and
+he chuckled a good deal, in the midst of a running commentary on the
+conduct and appearance of his late companion, from the disjointed
+sentences of which it might have been gathered that although his
+introduction to the young doctor had been unfortunate, and the
+succeeding intercourse stormy, his opinion of him was not altogether
+unfavourable.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWO.
+
+SHOWS WHAT ASTONISHING RESULTS MAY FOLLOW FROM TAKING THE WRONG ROAD.
+
+Before Oliver Trembath had advanced half a mile on his path, he had
+cooled sufficiently to experience some regret at having been so quick to
+take offence at one who, being evidently an eccentric character, should
+not, he thought, have been broken with so summarily.  Regrets, however,
+had come too late, so he endeavoured to shake off the disagreeable
+feelings that depressed him, and, the more effectually to accomplish
+this, burst forth into a bravura song with so much emphasis as utterly
+to drown, and no doubt to confound, two larks, which, up to that time,
+had been pouring their melodious souls out of their little bodies in the
+bright blue sky above.
+
+Presently he came to a part of the moor where two roads diverged--one to
+the right and the other to the left.  Recalling the shout of advice
+which the old gentleman had given him in parting, he took that which led
+to the left, and was gratified, on gaining an eminence a short distance
+in advance, to see in the far distance a square turret, which he
+concluded was that of the church of St. Just.
+
+Keeping this turret in view, the youth stepped out so vigorously that he
+soon reached the small town that clustered round the church, and going
+up to the first man he met, said, "This is the town of St. Just, I
+suppose, is it not?"
+
+"No, et is'n; thee's come the wrang road, sur," replied the rustic.
+"This es Sennen church-town.  St. Just es up over th' hill theere."
+
+Oliver Trembath's first feeling was one of surprise; this was followed
+by annoyance, which quickly degenerated into anger as it flashed into
+his mind that the old gentleman might possibly have led him wrong on
+purpose.
+
+"How far is it to St. Just?" he inquired.
+
+"'Bout six miles, sur."
+
+"Then I suppose I am not far from the Land's End?" said Oliver after a
+pause.
+
+"No, not fur," replied the man.  "Et do lie straight before 'ee."
+
+Thanking the man, Oliver started off at a smart pace, resolving, before
+proceeding to St. Just, to visit this extreme western point of England--
+a visit to which he had often looked forward with pleasant anticipation.
+
+During the last hour of his walk the sun had been obscured by clouds,
+but, just as he approached the cliffs, the clouds separated, and a
+golden flood rushed over the broad Atlantic, which now lay spread out
+before him in all its wide majesty as far as the eye could see.
+
+"A good omen!" cried the youth with a shout, as he hurried towards the
+shore, intending to fling off his garments and bathe in the mighty
+ocean, which, from the place where he first beheld it, appeared to be
+smooth and still as a mill-pond.  But Oliver was compelled to restrain
+his ardour, for on nearing the sea he found that he stood on the summit
+of high cliffs, beyond which the Land's End stretched in a succession of
+broken masses of granite, so chafed and shattered by the action of the
+sea, and so curiously split, as to resemble basaltic columns.  To reach
+the outermost of those weather-worn sentinels of Old England, required
+some caution on the part of our traveller, even although well used to
+scaling the rocky heights of Scottish mountains, and when he did at last
+plant his foot on the veritable Land's End, he found that it was a
+precipice apparently sixty feet high, which descended perpendicularly
+into deep water.  His meditated bathe was therefore an impossibility,
+for those glassy undulations, which appeared so harmless at a distance,
+gathered slow and gradual height as they approached the land, and at
+last, assuming the form of majestic waves, flung themselves with a grand
+roar on the stern cliffs which they have battered so long in vain, and
+round which--always repulsed but never conquered--they seethed in milky
+foam.
+
+With glistening eye, and heaving breast, and mantling colour, the young
+doctor stood long and motionless on this extreme point of land--absorbed
+in admiration of the glorious scene before him.  Often had he beheld the
+sea in the firths and estuaries of the North, but never till now had he
+conceived the grandeur of the great Atlantic.  It seemed to him as if
+the waves of those inland seas, when tossed by wild storms, were but
+rough miniature copies of the huge billows which arose before him,
+without apparent cause, and, advancing without rush or agitation, fell
+successively with solemn roar at his feet, awakening irresistibly within
+him deep and new thoughts of the Almighty Creator of earth and sea.
+
+For many minutes he stood entranced, his mind wandering in a species of
+calm delight over the grand scene, but incapable of fixing itself
+definitely on any special feature--now sweeping out to where the Scilly
+Isles could be seen resting on the liquid horizon, anon following the
+flight of circling seagulls, or busy counting the innumerable ships and
+boats that rested on the sea, but ever and anon recurring, as if under
+the influence of fascination, to that rich turmoil of foam which boiled,
+leaped, and churned, around, beneath, and above the mighty breakers.
+
+Awaking at last from his trance, Oliver tore himself from the spot, and
+hastened away to seek the nearest strip of sand where he might throw off
+his clothes and plunge into the boiling surf.
+
+He proceeded in a southerly direction, impatiently expecting at every
+step to discover some spot suitable for his purpose, but he had taken a
+long and rapid walk before he found a break in those wild cliffs which
+afforded him the opportunity of descending to the water's edge.  Here,
+on a narrow strip of sand, he undressed and leaped into the waves.
+
+Well was it for Oliver that day that he had been trained in all manly
+exercises, that his "wind" was good, that his muscles were hard, his
+nerves well strung, and, above all, that in earliest youth he had
+learned to swim.
+
+Misjudging, in his ignorance, the tremendous power of the surf into
+which he sprang, and daring to recklessness in the conscious possession
+of unusual strength and courage, he did not pause to look or consider,
+but at once struck out to sea.  He was soon beyond the influence of the
+breaking waves, and for some time sported in the full enjoyment of the
+briny Atlantic waters.  Then turning towards the shore he swam in and
+was speedily tossing among the breakers.  As he neared the sandy beach
+and felt the full power of the water on his partially exhausted frame,
+he experienced a slight feeling of anxiety, for the thunder of each wave
+as it fell and rushed up before him in seething foam, seemed to indicate
+a degree of force which he had not realised in his first vigorous plunge
+into the sea.  A moment more and a wave caught him in its curling crest,
+and swept him onwards.  For the first time in his life, Oliver
+Trembath's massive strength was of no avail to him.  He felt like a
+helpless infant.  In another instant the breaker fell and swept him with
+irresistible violence up the beach amid a turmoil of hissing foam.  No
+sooner did he touch the ground than he sprang to his feet, and staggered
+forward a few paces but the returning rush of water swept sand and
+stones from beneath his feet, carried his legs from under him, and
+hurled him back into the hollow of the succeeding wave, which again
+rolled him on the sand.
+
+Although somewhat stunned, Oliver did not lose consciousness or
+self-possession.  He now fully realised the extreme danger of his
+position, and the thought flashed through his brain that, at the
+farthest, his fate must be decided in two or three minutes.  Acting on a
+brave spirit, this thought nerved him to desperate effort.  The instant
+he could plant his feet firmly he bounded forwards, and then, before the
+backward rush of water had gathered strength, fell on his knees, and dug
+his fingers and toes deep into the sand.  Had the grasp been on
+something firm he could easily have held on, but the treacherous sand
+crumbled out of his grasp, and a second time he was carried back into
+the sea.
+
+The next time he was cast on the beach he felt that his strength was
+failing; he staggered forward as soon as he touched bottom, with all the
+energy of one who avails himself of his last chance, but the angry water
+was too strong for him.  Feeling that he was being overpowered, he cast
+his arms up in the air, and gave utterance to a loud cry.  It was not
+like a cry of despair, but sounded more like what one might suppose
+would be the shout of a brave soldier when compelled to give way--
+fighting--before the might of overwhelming force.  At that moment a hand
+caught the young man's wrist, and held it for a few seconds in a
+powerful grasp.  The wave retreated, a staggering effort followed, and
+the next moment Oliver stood panting on the beach grasping the rough
+hand of his deliverer.
+
+"Semen to me you was pretty nigh gone, sur," said the man, who had come
+thus opportunely to the rescue, as he wrung the sea-water from his
+garments.
+
+He was a man of middle height, but of extremely powerful frame, and was
+habited in the garb of a fisherman.
+
+"Truly I had been gone altogether but for your timely assistance; may
+God reward you for it!" said Oliver earnestly.
+
+"Well, I don't think you would be so ready to thank me if you did knaw I
+had half made up my mind to lev 'ee go."
+
+Oliver looked at the man in some surprise, for he spoke gruffly, almost
+angrily, and was evidently in earnest.
+
+"You are jesting," said he incredulously.
+
+"Jestin'; no I ain't, maister.  Do 'ee see the boat out over?" he said,
+pointing to a small craft full of men which was being rowed swiftly
+round a point not more than half a mile distant; "the villains are after
+me.  They might as well have tried to kitch a cunger by the tail as nab
+Jim Cuttance in one of his dens, if he hadn't bin forced by the softness
+of his 'art to pull a young fool out o' the say.  You'll have to help me
+to fight, lad, as I've saved your life.  Come, follow me to the cave."
+
+"But--my clothes--" said Oliver, glancing round him in search of his
+garments.
+
+"They're all safe up here; come along, sur, an' look sharp."
+
+At any other time, and in other circumstances, Oliver Trembath's fiery
+spirit would have resented the tone and manner of this man's address,
+but the feeling that he owed his life to him, and that in some way he
+appeared to be the innocent cause of bringing misfortune on him, induced
+him to restrain his feelings and obey without question the mandate of
+his rescuer.  Jim Cuttance led the way to a cave in the rugged cliffs,
+the low entrance to which was concealed by a huge mass of granite.  The
+moment they entered several voices burst forth in abuse of the fisherman
+for his folly in exposing himself; but the latter only replied with a
+sarcastic laugh, and advised his comrades to get ready for action, for
+he had been seen by the enemy, who would be down on them directly.  At
+the same time he pointed to Oliver's clothes, which lay in a recess in
+the side of the cavern.
+
+The youth dressed himself rapidly, and, while thus engaged, observed
+that there were five men in the cavern, besides his guide, with whom
+they retired into the farthest recess of the place, and entered into
+animated and apparently angry, though low-toned, conversation.  At
+length their leader, for such he evidently was, swung away from them,
+exclaiming, with a laugh, "Well, well, he's a good recruit, and if he
+should peach on we--us can--"
+
+He concluded the sentence with a significant grunt.
+
+"Now, sur," he said, advancing with his comrade towards Oliver, who was
+completing his toilet, "they'll be here in ten minutes, an' it is
+expected that you will lend we a hand.  Here's a weapon for you."
+
+So saying, he handed a large pistol to Oliver, who received it with some
+hesitation.
+
+"I trust that your cause is a good one," he said.  "You cannot expect me
+to fight for you, even though I am indebted to you for my life, without
+knowing against whom I fight, and why."
+
+At this a tall thick-set man suddenly cocked his pistol, and uttering a
+fierce oath swore that if the stranger would not fight, he'd shoot him
+through the head.
+
+"Silence, Joe Tonkin!" cried Jim Cuttance, in a tone that at once
+subdued the man.
+
+Oliver, whose eyes had flashed like those of a tiger, drew himself up,
+and said--"Look at me, lads; I have no desire to boast of what I can or
+will do, but I assure you it would be as easy to turn back the rising
+tide as to force me to fight against my will--except, indeed, with
+yourselves.  As I have said, I owe my life to your leader, and
+apparently have been the innocent means of drawing his enemies upon him.
+Gratitude tells me to help him if I can, and help him will if the cause
+be not a bad one."
+
+"Well spoken, sur," said the leader, with an approving nod; "see to the
+weapons, Maggot, and I'll explain it all to the gentleman."
+
+So saying, he too Oliver aside, told him hurriedly that the men who ere
+expected to attack them were fishermen belonging to a neighbouring cove,
+whose mackerel nets had been accidentally cut by his boat some weeks
+ago, and who were bent on revenge, not believing that the thing had been
+done by accident.
+
+"But surely you don't mean to use fire-arms against them in such a
+quarrel?" said Oliver.
+
+A sort of humorous smile crossed the swarthy countenance of the man as
+he replied--
+
+"They will use pistols against we."
+
+"Be that as it may," said Oliver; "I will never consent to risk taking
+the life of a countryman in such a cause."
+
+"But you can't fight without a weapon," said the man; "and sure, if 'ee
+don't shut them they'll shut you."
+
+"No matter, I'll take my chance," said Oliver; "my good cudgel would
+have served me well enough, but it seems to have been swept away by the
+sea.  Here, however, is a weapon that will suit me admirably," he added,
+picking up a heavy piece of driftwood that lay at his feet.
+
+"Well, if you scat their heads with that, they won't want powder and
+lead," observed the other with a grin, as he rose and returned to the
+entrance of the cave, where he warned his comrades to keep as quiet as
+mice.
+
+The boat which had caused so much angry discussion among the men of the
+cave had by this time neared the beach, and one of the crew stood up in
+the bow to guide her into the narrow cove, which formed but a slight
+protection, even in calm weather, against the violence of that surf
+which never ceases to grind at the hard rocks of West Cornwall.  At
+length they effected a landing, and the crew, consisting of nine men
+armed with pistols and cutlasses, hurried up to the cliffs and searched
+for the entrance to the cavern.
+
+While the events which have been related were taking place, the shades
+of evening had been gradually creeping over land and sea, and the light
+was at that time scarcely sufficient to permit of things being
+distinguished clearly beyond a few yards.  The men in the cavern hid
+themselves in the dark recesses on each side of the entrance, ready for
+the approaching struggle.
+
+Oliver crouched beside his rescuer with the piece of driftwood by his
+side.  Turning suddenly to his companion, he said, in an almost
+inaudible whisper--
+
+"Friend, it did not occur to me before, but the men we are about to
+fight with will recognise me again if we should ever chance to meet;
+could I not manage to disguise myself in some way?"
+
+"If you get shut," replied his companion in the same low tone, "it won't
+matter much; but see here--shut your eyes."
+
+Without further remark the man took a handful of wet earth and smeared
+it over Oliver's face, then, clapping his own "sou'-wester" on his head,
+he said, with a soft chuckle, "There, your own mother wouldn't knaw
+'ee!"
+
+Just then footsteps were heard approaching, and the shadow of a man was
+seen to rest for a moment on the gravel without.  The mouth of the cave
+was so well hidden, however, that he failed to observe it, and passed
+on, followed by several of his comrades.  Suddenly one of them stopped
+and said--
+
+"Hold on, lads, it can't be far off, I'm sartin' sure; I seed 'em
+disappear hereabouts."
+
+"You're right," cried Jim Cuttance, with a fierce roar, as he rushed
+from the cavern and fired full at the man who had spoken.  The others
+followed, and a volley of shots succeeded, while shouts of defiance and
+anger burst forth on all sides.  Oliver sprang out at the same moment
+with the leader, and rushed on one of the boat's crew with such violence
+that his foot slipped on a piece of seaweed and precipitated him to the
+ground at the man's feet; the other, having sprung forward to meet him
+was unable to check himself, tripped over his shoulders, and fell on the
+top of him.  The man named Maggot, having been in full career close
+behind Oliver, tumbled over both, followed by another man named John
+Cock.  The others, observing them down, rushed with a shout to the
+rescue, just as Oliver, making a superhuman effort, flung the two men
+off his back and leaped to his feet.  Maggot and the boatman also sprang
+up, and the latter turned and made for the boat at full speed, seeing
+that his comrades, overcome by the suddenness of the onset, were in
+retreat, fighting as they went.
+
+All of them succeeded in getting into the boat unharmed, and were in the
+act of pushing off, when Jim Cuttance, burning with indignation, leaped
+into the water, grasped the bow of the boat, and was about to plunge his
+cutlass into the back of the man nearest him, when he was seized by a
+strong hand from behind and held back.  Next moment the boat was beyond
+his reach.
+
+Turning round fiercely, the man saw that it was Oliver Trembath who had
+interfered.  He uttered a terrible oath, and sprang on him like a tiger;
+Oliver stood firm, parried with the piece of driftwood the savage cut
+which was made at his head, and with his clenched left hand hit his
+opponent such a blow on the chest as laid him flat on the sand.  The man
+sprang up in an instant, but instead of renewing the attack, to Oliver's
+surprise he came forward and held out his hand, which the youth was not
+unwilling to grasp.
+
+"Thank 'ee, sur," he said, somewhat sternly, "you've done me a sarvice;
+you've prevented me committin' two murders, an' taught me a lesson I
+never knaw'd afore--that Jim Cuttance an't invulnerable.  I don't mind
+the blow, sur--not I.  It wor gov'n in feer fight, an' I was wrang."
+
+"I'm glad to find that you view the matter in that light," said Oliver
+with a smile, "and, truly, the blow was given in self-defence by one who
+will never forget that he owes you his life."
+
+A groan here turned the attention of the party to one of their number
+who had seated himself on a rock during the foregoing dialogue.
+
+"What! not hurt, are 'ee, Dan?" said his leader, going towards him.
+
+To this Dan replied with another groan, and placed his hand on his hip.
+
+His comrades crowded round him, and, finding that he was wounded and
+suffering great pain, raised him in their arms and bore him into the
+cavern, where they laid him on the ground, and, lighting a candle,
+proceeded to examine him.
+
+"You had better let me look at him, lads," said Oliver, pushing the men
+gently aside, "I am a surgeon."
+
+They gave place at once, and Oliver soon found that the man had received
+a pistol-ball in his thigh.  Fortunately it had been turned aside in its
+course, and lay only a little way beneath the skin, so that it was
+easily extracted by means of a penknife.
+
+"Now, friends," said Oliver, after completing the dressing of the wound,
+"before I met with you I had missed my way while travelling to St. Just.
+Will one of you direct me to the right road, and I shall bid you
+good-night, as I think you have no further need of my services."
+
+The men looked at their leader, whom they evidently expected to be their
+spokesman.
+
+"Well, sur, you have rendered we some help this hevenin', both in the
+way o' pickin' out the ball an' helpin' to break skulls as well as
+preventin' worse, so we can do no less than show 'ee the road; but hark
+'ee, sur," here the man became very impressive, "ef you do chance to
+come across any of us in your travels, you had better not knaw us,
+'xcept in an or'nary way, d'ye understand? an' us will do the same by
+thee."
+
+"Of course I will act as you wish," said Oliver with a smile, "although
+I do not see why we should be ashamed of this affair, seeing that we
+were the party attacked.  There is only one person to whom I would wish
+to explain the reason of my not appearing sooner, because he will
+probably know of the arrival in Penzance this morning of the conveyance
+that brought me to Cornwall."
+
+"And who may that be?" demanded Jim Cuttance.
+
+"My uncle, Thomas Donnithorne of St. Just," said Oliver.
+
+"Whew!" whistled the fisherman in surprise, while all the others burst
+into a hearty fit of laughter.
+
+"Why do you laugh?" asked Oliver.
+
+"Oh, never mind, sur, it's all right," said the man with a chuckle.
+"Iss, you may tell Thomas Donnithorne; there won't be no harm in tellin'
+he--oh, dear no!"
+
+Again the men laughed loud and long, and Oliver felt his powers of
+forbearance giving way, when Cuttance said to him: "An' you may tell all
+his friends too, for they're the right sort.  Come now, Maggot here will
+show 'ee the way up to St. Just."
+
+So saying, the stout fisherman conducted the young surgeon to the mouth
+of the cavern, and shaking hands with him left him to the guidance of
+the man named Maggot, who led him through several lanes, until he
+reached the highroad between Sennen church-town and St. Just.  Here he
+paused; told his companion to proceed straight on for about four miles
+or so, when he would reach the town, and bade him good-night.
+
+"And mind 'ee, don't go off the road, sur," shouted Maggot, a few
+seconds after the young man had left him, "if 'ee don't want to fall
+down a shaft and scat your skull."
+
+Oliver, not having any desire to scat his skull, whatever that might be,
+assured the man that he would keep to the road carefully.
+
+The moon shone clear in a cloudless sky, covering the wide moor and the
+broad Atlantic with a flood of silver light, and rendering the road
+quite distinct, so that our traveller experienced no further difficulty
+in pursuing his way.  He hurried forward at a rapid pace, yet could not
+resist the temptation to pause frequently and gaze in admiration on the
+scene of desolate grandeur around him.  On such occasions he found it
+difficult to believe that the stirring events of the last few hours were
+real.  Indeed, if it had not been that there were certain uneasy
+portions of his frame--the result of his recent encounter on the beach--
+which afforded constant and convincing evidence that he was awake, he
+would have been tempted to believe that the adventures of that day were
+nothing more than a vivid dream.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THREE.
+
+INTRODUCES A FEW MORE CHARACTERS AND HOMELY INCIDENTS.
+
+It was late when our hero entered the little town of St. Just, and
+inquired for the residence of his uncle, Thomas Donnithorne.  He was
+directed to one of the most respectable of the group of old houses that
+stood close to the venerable parish church from which St. Just derives
+its title of "Church-town."
+
+He tapped at the door, which was opened by an elderly female.
+
+"Does Mr Thomas Donnithorne live here?" asked Oliver.
+
+"Iss, sur, he do," answered the woman; "walk in, sur."
+
+She ushered him into a small parlour, in which was seated a pretty,
+little, dark-eyed, rosy-cheeked girl, still in, or only just out of, her
+teens.  Oliver was so taken aback by the unexpected sight that he stood
+gazing for a moment or two in rather stupid silence.
+
+"Your name is Oliver Trembath, I presume," said the girl, rising and
+laying down the piece of needlework with which she was occupied.
+
+"It is," replied Oliver, in some surprise, as he blundered out an
+apology for his rudeness.
+
+"Pray sit down, sir," said the girl; "we have been expecting you for
+some time, and my uncle told me to act the part of hostess till his
+return."
+
+"Your uncle!" exclaimed Oliver, whose self-possession, not to say
+impudence, returned immediately; "if Thomas Donnithorne be indeed your
+uncle, then, fair maid, you and I must needs be cousins, the which, I
+confess, fills me with satisfaction and also with somewhat of surprise,
+for up to this hour I have been ignorant of my good fortune in being
+related to so--so--"
+
+"I made a mistake, sir," said the girl, interrupting a speech which was
+evidently verging towards impropriety, "in calling Mr Donnithorne uncle
+to you, who are not aware, it seems, that I am only an adopted niece."
+
+"Not aware of it!  Of course not," said Oliver, throwing himself into a
+large armchair, while his fair companion busied herself in spreading the
+board for a substantial meal.  "I could not be aware of much that has
+occurred in this distant part of the kingdom, seeing that my worthy
+uncle has vouchsafed to write me only two letters in the course of my
+life; once, many years ago, to condole with me--in about ten lines,
+address and signature included--on the death of my dear mother; and once
+again to tell me he had procured an appointment for me as
+assistant-surgeon in the mining district of St. Just.  He must have been
+equally uncommunicative to my mother, for she never mentioned your
+existence.  However, since I have now made the agreeable discovery, I
+trust that you will dispense with ceremony, and allow me at once to call
+you cousin.  By the way, you have not yet told me your name."
+
+The maiden, who was charmingly unsophisticated, replied that her name
+was Rose Ellis, and that she had no objection whatever to being called
+cousin without delay.
+
+"Well, cousin Rose," said Oliver, "if it be not prying into secrets, I
+should like to know how long it is since my uncle adopted you."
+
+"About nineteen years ago," replied Rose.
+
+"Oh!" said Oliver remonstratively, "before you were born? impossible!"
+
+Rose laughed--a short, clear, little laugh which she nipped in the bud
+abruptly, and replied--
+
+"Well, it was only a short time after I was born.  I was wrecked on this
+coast"--the expressive face here became very grave--"and all on board
+our ship perished except myself."
+
+Oliver saw at once that he had touched on a tender subject, and hastened
+to change it by asking a number of questions about his uncle, from which
+he gradually diverged to the recent events in his own history, which he
+began to relate with much animation.  His companion was greatly
+interested and amused.  She laughed often and heartily in a melodious
+undertone, and Oliver liked her laugh, for it was peculiar, and had the
+effect of displaying a double row of pretty little teeth, and of almost
+entirely shutting up her eyes.  She seemed to enjoy a laugh so much that
+he exerted all his powers to tickle her risible faculties, and dwelt
+long and graphically on his meeting with the irascible old gentleman in
+the lane.  He was still busy with this part of the discourse when a
+heavy step was heard outside.
+
+"There's my uncle," exclaimed Rose, springing up.
+
+A moment after the door opened, and in walked the identical irascible
+old gentleman himself!
+
+If a petrified impersonation of astonishment had been a possibility,
+Oliver Trembath would, on that occasion, have presented the phenomenon.
+He sat, or rather lay, extended for at least half a minute with his eyes
+wide and his mouth partly open, bereft alike of the powers of speech and
+motion.
+
+"Heyday, young man!" exclaimed the old gentleman, planting his sturdy
+frame in the middle of the floor as if he meant then and there to demand
+and exact an ample apology, or to inflict condign and terrible
+chastisement, for past misdeeds; "you appear to be making yourself quite
+at home--eh?"
+
+"My _dear_ sir!" exclaimed Oliver, leaping up with a look of dismay;
+"how can I express my--my--but is it, _can_ it be possible that you are
+Mr Donnithorne--m-my--uncle?"
+
+Oliver's expression, and the look of amazement on the countenance of
+Rose Ellis, who could not account for such a strange reception of her
+newly-found cousin, proved almost too much for the old gentleman, whose
+eyes had already begun to twinkle.
+
+"Ay, young man, I am Tom Donnithorne, your uncle, the vile, old,
+smuggling, brandy-loving rascal, who met his respectful nephew on the
+road to St. Just"--at this point Rose suddenly pressed her hand over her
+mouth, darted to her own apartment in a distant corner of the house, and
+there, seated on her little bed, went into what is not inaptly styled
+fits of laughter--"and who now," continued the old gentleman, relaxing
+into a genial smile, and grasping his nephew's hand, "welcomes Oliver
+Trembath to his house, with all his heart and soul; there, who will say
+after that, that old Donnithorne does not know how to return good for
+evil?"
+
+"But, my dear uncle," began Oliver, "allow me to explain--"
+
+"Now, now, look at that--kept me hours too late for supper already, and
+he's going to take up more time with explanations," cried the old
+gentleman, flinging himself on the chair from which Oliver had risen,
+and wiping his bald pate with a red silk handkerchief.  "What can you
+explain, boy, except that you met an angry old fellow in a lane who
+called your uncle such hard names that you couldn't help giving him a
+bit of your mind--there, there, sit down, sit down.--Hallo!" he shouted,
+starting up impulsively and thrusting his head into the passage, "Rose,
+Rose, I say, where are you?--hallo!"
+
+"Coming, uncle--I'm here."
+
+The words came back like an echo, and in another minute Rose appeared
+with a much-flushed countenance.
+
+"Come along, lass, let's have supper without delay.  Where is aunty?
+Rout her out, and tell that jade of a cook that if she don't dish up in
+five minutes I'll--I'll--.  Well, Oliver, talking of explanations, how
+comes it that you are so late?"
+
+"Because I took the wrong road after leaving you in the lane," replied
+the youth, with a significant glance at his uncle, whose eyes were at
+the moment fixed gravely on the ground.
+
+"The wrong road--eh?" said Mr Donnithorne, looking up with a sly
+glance, and then laughing.  "Well, well, it was only _quid pro quo_,
+boy; you put a good deal of unnecessary earth and stones over my head,
+so I thought it was but fair that I should put a good deal more of the
+same under your feet, besides giving you the advantage of seeing the
+Land's End, which, of course, every youth of intelligence must take a
+deep interest in beholding.  But, sure, a walk thither, and thence to
+St. Just, could not have detained you so long?"
+
+"Truly no," replied Oliver; "I had a rencontre--a sort of adventure with
+fishermen, which--"
+
+"Fishermen!" exclaimed Mr Donnithorne in surprise; "are ye sure they
+were not smugglers--eh?"
+
+"They said they were fishermen, and they looked like such," replied
+Oliver; "but my adventure with them, whatever they were, was the cause
+of my detention, and I can only express my grief that the circumstance
+has incommoded your household, but, you see, it took some time to beat
+off the boat's crew, and then I had to examine a wound and extract--"
+
+"What say you, boy!" exclaimed Mr Donnithorne, frowning, "beat off a
+boat's crew--examine a wound!  Why, Rose, Molly, come hither.  Here we
+have a young gallant who hath begun life in the far west in good style;
+but hold, here comes my excellent friend Captain Dan, who is no friend
+to the smugglers; he is to sup with us to-night; so we will repress our
+curiosity till after supper.  Let me introduce you, Oliver to my wife,
+your Aunt Molly, or, if you choose to be respectful, Aunt Mary."
+
+As he spoke, a fat, fair, motherly-looking lady of about five-and-forty
+entered the room, greeting her husband with a rebuke, and her nephew
+with a smile.
+
+"Never mind him, Oliver," said the good lady; "he is a vile old
+creature.  I have heard all about your meeting with him this forenoon,
+and only wish I had been there to see it."
+
+"Listen to that now, Captain Dan," cried Mr Donnithorne, as the
+individual addressed entered the room; "my wife calls me--me, a staid,
+sober man of fifty-five--calls me a vile old creature.  Is it not too
+bad? really one gets no credit nowadays for devoting oneself entirely to
+one's better half; but I forget: allow me to introduce you to my nephew,
+Oliver Trembath, just come from one of the Northern Universities to
+fight the smugglers of St. Just--of which more anon.  Oliver, Captain
+Hoskin of Botallack, better known as Captain Dan.  Now, sit down and
+let's have a bit of supper."
+
+With hospitable urgency Mr Donnithorne and his good dame pressed their
+guests to do justice to the fare set before them, and, during the course
+of the meal, the former kept up a running fire of question, comment, and
+reply on every conceivable subject, so that his auditors required to do
+little more than eat and listen.  After supper, however, and when
+tumblers and glasses were being put down, he gave the others an
+opportunity of leading the conversation.
+
+"Now, Oliver," he said, "fill your glass and let us hear your
+adventures.  What will you have--brandy, gin, or rum?  My friend,
+Captain Dan here, is one of those remarkable men who don't drink
+anything stronger than ginger-beer.  Of course you won't join _him_."
+
+"Thank you," said Oliver.  "If you will allow me, I will join your good
+lady in a glass of wine.  Permit me, Aunt Mary, to fill--"
+
+"No, I thank you, Oliver," said Mrs Donnithorne good-humouredly but
+firmly, "I side with Captain Dan; but I'll be glad to see you fill your
+own."
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Mr Donnithorne, "Molly's sure to side with the opponent
+of her lawful lord, no matter who or what he be.  Fill your own glass,
+boy, with what you like--cold water, an it please you--and let us drink
+the good old Cornish toast, `Fish, tin, and copper,' our three staples,
+Oliver--the bone, muscle, and fat of the county."
+
+"Fish, tin, and copper," echoed Captain Dan.
+
+"In good sooth," continued Mr Donnithorne, "I have often thought of
+turning teetotaller myself, but feared to do so lest my wife should take
+to drinking, just out of opposition.  However, let that pass--and now,
+Oliver, open thy mouth, lad, and relate those surprising adventures of
+which you have given me a hint."
+
+"Indeed, uncle, I do not say they are very surprising, although,
+doubtless, somewhat new to one who has been bred, if not born, in
+comparatively quiet regions of the earth."
+
+Here Oliver related circumstantially to his wondering auditors the
+events which befell him after the time when he left his uncle in the
+lane--being interrupted only with an occasional exclamation--until he
+reached the part when he knocked down the man who had rescued him from
+the waves, when Mr Donnithorne interrupted him with an uncontrollable
+burst.
+
+"Ha!" shouted the old gentleman; "what! knocked down the man who saved
+your life, nephew?  Fie, fie!  But you have not told us his name yet.
+What was it?"
+
+"His comrades called him Jim, as I have said; and I think that he once
+referred to himself as Jim Cuttance, or something like that."
+
+"What say you, boy?" exclaimed Mr Donnithorne, pushing back his chair
+and gazing at his nephew in amazement.  "Hast fought side by side with
+Jim Cuttance, and then knocked him down?"
+
+"Indeed I have," said Oliver, not quite sure whether his uncle regarded
+him as a hero or a fool.
+
+The roar of laughter which his answer drew from Captain Dan and his
+uncle did not tend to enlighten him much.
+
+"Oh!  Oliver, Oliver," said the old gentleman, on recovering some degree
+of composure, "you should have lived in the days of good King Arthur,
+and been one of the Knights of the Round Table.  Knocked down Jim
+Cuttance!  What think'ee, Captain Dan?"
+
+"I think," said the captain, still chuckling quietly, "that the less our
+friend says about the matter the better for himself."
+
+"Why so?" inquired Oliver quickly.
+
+"Because," replied his uncle, with some return of gravity, "you have
+assisted one of the most notorious smugglers that ever lived, to fight
+his Majesty's coastguard--that's all.  What say you, Molly--shall we
+convict Oliver on his own confession?"
+
+The good lady thus appealed to admitted that it was a serious matter,
+but urged that as Oliver did the thing in ignorance and out of
+gratitude, he ought to be forgiven.
+
+"_I_ think he ought to be forgiven for having knocked down Jim
+Cuttance," said Captain Dan.
+
+"Is he then so notorious?" asked Oliver.
+
+"Why, he is the most daring smuggler on the coast," replied Captain Dan,
+"and has given the preventive men more trouble than all the others put
+together.  In fact, he is a man who deserves to be hanged, and will
+probably come to his proper end ere long, if not shot in a brawl
+beforehand."
+
+"I fear he stands some chance of it now," said Mr Donnithorne, with a
+sigh, "for he has been talking of erecting a battery near his den at
+Prussia Cove, and openly defying the Government men."
+
+"You seem to differ from Captain Dan, uncle, in reference to this man,"
+said Oliver, with a smile.
+
+"Truly, I do, for although I condemn smuggling,--ahem!"  (the old
+gentleman cast a peculiar glance at the captain), "I don't like to see a
+sturdy man hanged or shot--and Jim Cuttance is a stout fellow.  I
+question much whether you could find his match, Captain Dan, amongst all
+your men?"
+
+"That I could, easily," said the captain with a quiet smile.
+
+"Pardon me, captain," said Oliver, "my uncle has not yet informed me on
+the point.  May I ask what corps you belong to?"
+
+"To a sturdy corps of tough lads," answered the captain, with another of
+his quiet smiles--"men who have smelt powder, most of 'em, since they
+were little boys--live on the battlefield, I may say, almost night and
+day--spring more mines in a year than all the soldiers in the world put
+together--and shorten their lives by the stern labour they undergo; but
+they burn powder to raise, not to waste, metal.  Their uniform is red,
+too, though not quite so red, nor yet so elegant, as that of the men in
+his Majesty's service.  I am one of the underground captains, sir, of
+Botallack mine."
+
+Captain Dan's colour heightened a very little, and the tones of his
+voice became a little more powerful as he concluded this reply; but
+there was no other indication that the enthusiastic soul of one of the
+"captains" of the most celebrated mine in Cornwall was moved.  Oliver
+felt, however, the contact with a kindred spirit, and, expressing much
+interest in the mines, proceeded to ask many questions of the captain,
+who, nothing loath, answered all his queries, and explained to him that
+he was one of the "captains," or "agents," whose duty it was to
+superintend the men and the works below the surface--hence the title of
+"underground;" while those who super-intended the works above ground
+were styled "grass, or surface captains."  He also made an appointment
+to conduct the young doctor underground, and go over the mine with him
+at an early date.
+
+While the party in old Mr Donnithorne's dwelling were thus enjoying
+themselves, a great storm was gathering, and two events, very different
+from each other in character, were taking place--the one quiet, and
+apparently unimportant, the other tremendous and fatal--both bearing on
+and seriously influencing the subjects of our tale.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOUR.
+
+AT WORK UNDER THE SEA.
+
+Chip, chip, chip--down in the dusky mine!  Oh, but the rock at which the
+miner chipped was hard, and the bit of rock on which he sat was hard,
+and the muscles with which he toiled were hard from prolonged labour;
+and the lot of the man seemed hard, as he sat there in the hot, heavy
+atmosphere, hour after hour, from morn till eve, with the sweat pouring
+down his brow and over his naked shoulders, toiling and moiling with
+hammer and chisel.
+
+But stout David Trevarrow did not think his lot peculiarly hard.  His
+workshop was a low narrow tunnel deep down under the surface of the
+earth--ay, and deep under the bottom of the sea!  His daily sun was a
+tallow candle, which rose regularly at seven in the morning and set at
+three in the afternoon.  His atmosphere was sadly deficient in
+life-giving oxygen, and much vitiated by gunpowder smoke.  His working
+costume consisted only of a pair of linen trousers; his colour from top
+to toe was red as brick-dust, owing to the iron ore around him; his food
+was a slice of bread, with, perchance, when he was unusually luxurious,
+the addition of a Cornish pasty; and his drink was water.  To an
+inexperienced eye the man's work would have appeared not only hard but
+hopeless, for although his hammer was heavy, his arm strong, and his
+chisel sharp and tempered well, each blow produced an apparently
+insignificant effect on the flinty rock.  Frequently a spark of fire was
+all that resulted from a blow, and seldom did more than a series of
+little chips fly off, although the man was of herculean mould, and
+worked "with a will," as was evident from the kind of gasp or stern
+expulsion of the breath with which each blow was accompanied.  Unaided
+human strength he knew could not achieve much in such a process, so he
+directed his energies chiefly to the boring of blast-holes, and left it
+to the mighty power of gunpowder to do the hard work of rending the rich
+ore from the bowels of the unwilling earth.  Yes, the work was very
+hard, probably the hardest that human muscles are ever called on to
+perform in this toiling world; but again we say that David Trevarrow did
+not think so, for he had been born to the work and bred to it, and was
+blissfully ignorant of work of a lighter kind, so that, although his
+brows frowned at the obstinate rock, his compressed lips smiled, for his
+thoughts were pleasant and far away.  The unfettered mind was above
+ground roaming in fields of light, basking in sunshine, and holding
+converse with the birds, as he sat there chip, chip, chipping, down in
+the dusky mine.
+
+Stopping at last, the miner wiped his brow, and, rising, stood for a few
+moments silently regarding the result of his day's work.
+
+"Now, David," said he to himself, "the question is, what shall us do--
+shall us keep on, or shall us knack?"
+
+He paused, as if unable to answer the question.  After a time he
+muttered, "Keep on; it don't look promisin', sure 'nuff, an' it's poor
+pay; but it won't do to give in yet."
+
+Poor pay it was indeed, for the man's earnings during the past month had
+been barely ten shillings.  But David Trevarrow had neither wife, child,
+nor mother to support, so he could afford to toil for poor pay, and,
+being of a remarkably hopeful and cheery disposition, he returned home
+that afternoon resolved to persevere in his unproductive toil, in the
+hope that at last he should discover a good "bunch of copper," or a
+"keenly lode of tin."
+
+David was what his friends and the world styled unfortunate.  In early
+manhood he had been a somewhat wild and reckless fellow--a noted
+wrestler, and an adept in all manly sports and games.  But a
+disappointment in love had taught him very bitterly that life is not all
+sunshine; and this, coupled with a physical injury which was the result
+of his own folly, crushed his spirit so much that his comrades believed
+him to be a "lost man."
+
+The injury referred to was the bursting of a blood-vessel in the lungs.
+It was, and still is, the custom of the youthful miners of Cornwall to
+test their strength by racing up the almost interminable ladders by
+which the mines are reached.  This tremendous exertion after a day of
+severe toil affected them of course very severely, and in some cases
+seriously.  Many an able-bodied man has by this means brought himself to
+a premature end.  Among others, David Trevarrow excelled and suffered.
+No one could beat him in running up the ladders; but one day, on
+reaching the surface, blood issued from his mouth, and thenceforth his
+racing and wrestling days were ended, and his spirit was broken.  A long
+illness succeeded.  Then he began to mend.  Slowly and by degrees his
+strength returned, but not his joyous spirit.  Still it was some comfort
+to feel able for work again, and he "went underground" with some degree
+of his old vigour, though not with the light heart or light step of
+former days; but bad fortune seemed to follow him everywhere.  When
+others among his comrades were fortunate in finding copper or tin, David
+was most unaccountably unsuccessful.  Accidents, too, from falls and
+explosions, laid him up more than once, and he not only acquired the
+character of an unlucky man from his friends, but despite a naturally
+sanguine temperament, he began himself to believe that he was one of the
+unluckiest fellows in the world.
+
+About this time the followers of that noble Christian, John Wesley,
+began to make an impression on Cornwall, and to exert an influence which
+created a mighty change in the hearts and manners of the people, and the
+blessed effects of which are abundantly evident at the present day--to
+the rejoicing of every Christian soul.  One of those ministers of our
+Lord happened to meet with David Trevarrow, and was the means of opening
+his eyes to many great and previously unknown truths.  Among others, he
+convinced him that "God's ways are not as man's ways;" that He often,
+though not always, leads His people by thorny paths that they know not
+of, but does it in love and with His own glory in their happiness as the
+end in view; that the Lord Jesus Christ must be to a man "the chiefest
+among ten thousand, and altogether lovely," else He is to him nothing at
+all, and that he could be convinced of all these truths only by the Holy
+Spirit.
+
+It were vain to attempt to tell all that this good man said to the
+unhappy miner, but certain it is that from that time forth David became
+himself again--and yet not himself.  The desire to wrestle and fight and
+race returned in a new form.  He began to wrestle with principalities
+and powers, to fight the good fight of faith, and to run the race set
+before him in the gospel.  The old hearty smile and laugh and cheery
+disposition also returned, and the hopeful spirit, and so much of the
+old robust health and strength, that it seemed as if none of the evil
+effects of the ruptured blood-vessel remained.  So David Trevarrow went,
+as of old, daily to the mine.  It is true that riches did not flow in
+upon him any faster than before, but he did not mind that much, for he
+had discovered another mine, in which he toiled at nights after the
+day's toil was over, and whence he extracted treasure of greater value
+than copper or tin, or even gold--treasure which he scattered in a
+Sabbath school with liberal hand, and found himself all the richer for
+his prodigality.
+
+Occasionally, after prolonged labour in confined and bad air, a faint
+trace of the old complaint showed itself when he reached the top of the
+ladders, but he was not now depressed by that circumstance as he used to
+be.  He was past his prime at the period of which we write, and a
+confirmed bachelor.
+
+To return from this digression: David Trevarrow made up his mind, as we
+have said, to "go on," and, being a man of resolute purpose, he went on;
+seized his hammer and chisel, and continued perseveringly to smite the
+flinty rock, surrounded by thick darkness, which was not dispelled but
+only rendered visible by the feeble light of the tallow candle that
+flared at his side.
+
+Over his head rolled the billows of the Atlantic; the whistling wind
+howled among the wild cliffs of the Cornish coast, but they did not
+break the deep silence of the miner's place of midnight toil.  Heaven's
+artillery was rending the sky, and causing the hearts of men to beat
+slow with awe.  The great boulders ground the pebbles into sand as they
+crashed to and fro above him, but he heard them not--or if he did, the
+sound reached him as a deep-toned mysterious murmur, for, being in one
+of the low levels, with many fathoms of solid rock between him and the
+bottom of the superincumbent sea, he was beyond the reach of such
+disturbing influences, tremendous though they were.
+
+The miner was making a final effort at his unproductive piece of rock,
+and had prolonged his toil far into the night.
+
+Hour after hour he wrought almost without a moment's respite, save for
+the purpose, now and then, of trimming his candle.  When his right arm
+grew tired, he passed the hammer swiftly to his left hand, and, turning
+the borer with his right, continued to work with renewed vigour.
+
+At last he paused, and looking over his shoulder called out--"Zackey,
+booy."
+
+The sound died away in a hollow echo through the retiring galleries of
+the mine, but there was no reply.
+
+"Zackey, booy, are 'ee slaipin'?" he repeated.
+
+A small reddish-coloured bundle, which lay in a recess close at hand,
+uncoiled itself like a hedgehog, and, yawning vociferously, sat up,
+revealing the fact that the bundle was a boy.
+
+"Ded 'ee call, uncle?" asked the boy in a sleepy tone.
+
+"Iss did I," said the man; "fetch me the powder an' fuse, my son."
+
+The lad rose, and, fetching out of a dark corner the articles required,
+assisted in charging the hole which his uncle had just finished boring.
+This was the last hole which the man intended to blast that night.  For
+weeks past he had laboured day after day--sometimes, as on the present
+occasion, at night--and had removed many tons of rock, without procuring
+either tin or copper sufficient to repay him for his toil, so that he
+resolved to give it up and remove to a more hopeful part of the mine, or
+betake himself to another mine altogether.  He had now bored his last
+hole, and was about to blast it.  Applying his candle to the end of the
+fuse, he hastened along the level to a sufficient distance to afford
+security, warning his nephew as he passed.
+
+Zackey leaped up, and, scrambling over the debris with which the bottom
+of the level was covered, made good his retreat.  About a minute they
+waited in expectancy.  Suddenly there was a bright blinding flash, which
+lit up the rugged sides of the mine, and revealed its cavernous
+ramifications and black depths.  This was accompanied by a dull
+smothered report and a crash of falling rock, together with a shower of
+debris.  Instantly the whole place was in profound darkness.
+
+"Aw, booy," exclaimed the miner; "we was too near.  It have knacked us
+in the dark."
+
+"So't have, uncle; I'll go an' search for the box."
+
+"Do, my son," said David.
+
+In those days lucifer matches had not been invented, and light had to be
+struck by means of flint, steel, and tinder.  The process was tedious
+compared with the rapid action of congreves and vestas in the present
+day.  The man chipped away for full three minutes before he succeeded in
+relighting his candle.  This done, the rock was examined.
+
+"Bad still, Uncle David?" inquired the boy.
+
+"Iss, Zackey Maggot, so we'll knack'n, and try the higher mine
+to-morrow."  Having come to this conclusion Uncle David threw down the
+mass of rock which he held in his brawny hands, and, picking up his
+implements, said, "Get the tools, booy, and lev us go to grass."
+
+Zackey, who had been in the mine all day, and was tired, tied his tools
+at each end of a rope, so that they might be slung over his shoulder and
+leave his hands free.  Trevarrow treated his in the same way, and,
+removing his candle from the wall, fixed it on the front of his hat by
+the simple process of sticking thereto the lump of clay to which it was
+attached.  Zackey having fixed his candle in the same manner, both of
+them put on their red-stained flannel shirts and linen coats, and
+traversed the level until they reached the bottom of the ladder-shaft.
+Here they paused for a few moments before commencing the long wearisome
+ascent of almost perpendicular ladders by which the miners descended to
+their work or returned "to grass," as they termed the act of returning
+to the surface.
+
+It cost them more than half an hour of steady climbing before they
+reached the upper part of the shaft and became aware that a storm was
+raging in the regions above.  On emerging from the mouth of the shaft or
+"ladder road," man and boy were in a profuse perspiration, and the sharp
+gale warned them to hasten to the moor-house at full speed.
+
+Moor-houses were little buildings in which miners were wont to change
+their wet underground garments for dry clothes.  Some of these used to
+be at a considerable distance from the shafts, and the men were often
+injured while going to them from the mine, by being exposed in an
+overheated state to cutting winds.  Many a stout able-bodied miner has
+had a chill given him in this way which has resulted in premature death.
+Moor-houses have now been replaced by large drying-houses, near the
+mouths of shafts, where every convenience is provided for the men drying
+their wet garments and washing their persons on coming to the surface.
+
+Having changed their clothes, uncle and nephew hastened to St. Just,
+where they dwelt in the cottage of Maggot, the blacksmith.  This man,
+who has already been introduced to the reader, was brother-in-law to
+David, and father to Zackey.
+
+When David Trevarrow entered his brother-in-law's cottage, and told him
+of his bad fortune, and of his resolution to try his luck next day in
+the higher mine, little did he imagine that his change of purpose was to
+be the first step in a succession of causes which were destined to
+result, at no very distant period, in great changes of fortune to some
+of his friends in St. Just, as well as to many others in the county.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIVE.
+
+DESCRIBES A WRECK AND SOME OF ITS CONSEQUENCES.
+
+While the miner had been pursuing his toilsome work in the solitude and
+silence of the level under the sea, as already described, a noble ship
+was leaping over the Atlantic waves--homeward bound--to Old England.
+
+She was an East-Indiaman, under close-reefed sails, and although she
+bent low before the gale so that the waves almost curled over her lee
+bulwarks, she rose buoyantly like a seagull, for she was a good ship,
+stout of plank and sound of timber, with sails and cordage to match.
+
+Naturally, in such a storm, those on board were anxious, for they knew
+that they were drawing near to land, and that "dear Old England" had an
+ugly seaboard in these parts--a coast not to be too closely hugged in
+what the captain styled "dirty weather, with a whole gale from the
+west'ard," so a good lookout was kept.  Sharp eyes were in the foretop
+looking out for the guiding rays of the Long-ships lighthouse, which
+illumine that part of our rocky shores to warn the mariner of danger and
+direct him to a safe harbour.  The captain stood on the "foge's'l" with
+stern gaze and compressed lip.  The chart had been consulted, the
+bearings correctly noted, calculations made, and leeway allowed for.
+Everything in fact that could be done by a commander who knew his duty
+had been done for the safety of the ship--so would the captain have said
+probably, had he lived to be questioned as to the management of his
+vessel.  But everything had _not_ been done.  The lead, strange to say,
+had not been hove.  It was ready to heave, but the order was delayed.
+Unaccountable fatality!  The only safe guide that remained to the good
+ship on that wild night was held in abeyance.  It was deemed unnecessary
+to heave it yet, or it was troublesome, and they would wait till nearer
+the land.  No one now can tell the reasons that influenced the captain,
+but _the lead was not used_.  Owing to similar delay or neglect,
+hundreds upon hundreds of ships have been lost, and thousands of human
+lives have been sacrificed!
+
+The ship passed like a dark phantom over the very head of the miner who
+was at work many fathoms below the bottom of the sea.
+
+"Land, ho!" came suddenly in a fierce, quick shout from the mast-head.
+
+"Starboard! starboard--hard!" cried the captain, as the roar of breakers
+ahead rose above the yelling of the storm.
+
+Before the order was obeyed or another word spoken the ship struck, and
+a shriek of human terror followed, as the foremast went by the board
+with a fearful crash.  The waves burst over the stern, sweeping the
+decks fore and aft.  Wave after wave lifted the great ship as though it
+had been a child's toy, and dashed her down upon the rocks.  Her bottom
+was stove in, her planks and timbers were riven like matchwood.  Far
+down below man was destroying the flinty rock, while overhead the rock
+was destroying the handiwork of man!  But the destruction in the one
+case was slow, in the other swift.  A desperate but futile effort was
+made by the crew to get out the boats, and the passengers, many of whom
+were women and children, rushed frantically from the cabin to the deck,
+and clung to anything they could lay hold of, until strength failed, and
+the waves tore them away.
+
+One man there was in the midst of all the terror-stricken crew who
+retained his self-possession in that dread hour.  He was a tall, stern
+old man with silver locks--an Indian merchant, one who had spent his
+youth and manhood in the wealthy land collecting gold--"making a
+fortune," he was wont to say--and who was returning to his fatherland to
+spend it.  He was a thinking and calculating man, and in the
+anticipation of some such catastrophe as had actually overtaken him, he
+had secured some of his most costly jewels in a linen belt.  This belt,
+while others were rushing to the boats, the old man secured round his
+waist, and then sprang on deck, to be swept, with a dozen of his
+fellow-passengers, into the sea by the next wave that struck the doomed
+vessel.  There was no one on that rugged coast to lend a helping hand.
+Lifeboats did not then, as now, nestle in little nooks on every part of
+our dangerous coasts.  No eye was there to see nor ear to hear, when,
+twenty minutes after she struck, the East-Indiaman went to pieces, and
+those of her crew and passengers who had retained their hold of her
+uttered their last despairing cry, and their souls returned to God who
+gave them.
+
+It is a solemn thought that man may with such awful suddenness, and so
+unexpectedly, be summoned into the presence of his Maker.  Thrice happy
+they who, when their hearts grow chill and their grasps relax as the
+last plank is rending, can say, "Neither death, nor life, nor any other
+creature, is able to separate us from the love of God, which is in
+Christ Jesus our Lord."
+
+The scene we have described was soon over, and the rich cargo of the
+East-Indiaman was cast upon the sea and strewn upon the shore, affording
+much work for many days to the coastguard, and greatly exciting the
+people of the district--most of whom appeared to entertain an earnest
+belief in the doctrine that everything cast by storms upon their coast
+ought to be considered public property.  Portions of the wreck had the
+name "Trident" painted on them, and letters found in several chests
+which were washed ashore proved that the ship had sailed from Calcutta,
+and was bound for the port of London.  One little boy alone escaped the
+waves.  He was found in a crevice of the cliffs the following day, with
+just enough vitality left to give a few details of the wreck.  Although
+all possible care was bestowed on him, he died before night.
+
+Thus sudden and complete was the end of as fine a ship as ever spread
+her canvas to the breeze.  At night she had been full of life--full of
+wealth; in the morning she was gone--only a few bales and casks and
+broken spars to represent the wealth, and stiffened corpses to tell of
+the life departed.  So she came and went, and in a short time all
+remnants of her were carried away.
+
+One morning, a few weeks after the night of the storm, Maggot the smith
+turned himself in his bed at an early hour, and, feeling disinclined to
+slumber, got up to look at the state of the weather.  The sun was just
+rising, and there was an inviting look about the morning which induced
+the man to dress hastily and go out.
+
+Maggot was a powerfully-built man, rough in his outer aspect as well as
+in his inner man, but by no means what is usually termed a bad man,
+although, morally speaking, he could not claim to be considered a good
+one.  In fact, he was a hearty, jolly, reckless fisherman, with warm
+feelings, enthusiastic temperament, and no principle; a man who, though
+very ready to do a kind act, had no particular objection to do one that
+was decidedly objectionable when it suited his purpose or served his
+present interest.  He was regarded by his comrades as one of the
+greatest madcaps in the district.  Old Maggot was, as we have said, a
+blacksmith to trade, but he had also been bred a miner, and was
+something of a fisherman as well, besides being (like most of his
+companions) an inveterate smuggler.  He could turn his hand to almost
+anything, and was "everything by turns, but nothing long."
+
+Sauntering down to Priests Cove, on the south of Cape Cornwall, with his
+hands in his pockets and his sou'-wester stuck carelessly on his shaggy
+head, he fell in with a comrade, whom he hailed by the name of John
+Cock.  This man was also a fisherman, _et cetera_, and the bosom friend
+and admirer of Maggot.
+
+"Where bound to this mornin', Jack?" inquired Maggot.
+
+"To fish," replied John.
+
+"I go with 'ee, booy," said Maggot.
+
+This was the extent of the conversation at that time.  They were not
+communicative, but walked side by side in silence to the beach, where
+they launched their little boat and rowed out to sea.
+
+Presently John Cock looked over his shoulder and exclaimed--"Maggot, I
+see summat."
+
+"Do 'ee?"
+
+"Iss do I."
+
+"What do un look like?"
+
+"Like a dead corp."
+
+"Aw, my dear," said Maggot, "lev us keep away.  It can do no good to
+we."
+
+Acting on this opinion the men rowed past the object that was floating
+on the sea, and soon after began to fish; but they had not fished long
+when the dead body, drifted probably by some cross-current, appeared
+close to them again.  Seeing this they changed their position, but ere
+long the body again appeared.
+
+"P'raps," observed Maggot, "there's somethin' in its pockets."
+
+As the same idea had occurred to John Cock, the men resolved to examine
+the body, so they rowed up to it and found it to be that of an elderly
+man, much decomposed, and nearly naked.  A very short examination
+sufficed to show that the pockets of such garments as were still upon it
+were empty, and the men were about to let it go again, when Maggot
+exclaimed--
+
+"Hold fast, Jack, I see somethin' tied round the waist of he; a sort o'
+belt it do seem."
+
+The belt was quickly removed and the body released, when it sank with a
+heavy plunge, but ere long reappeared on the surface.  The fishermen
+rowed a considerable distance away from it, and then shipped their oars
+and examined the belt, which was made of linen.  Maggot sliced it up as
+he would have ripped up a fish, and laid bare, to the astonished gaze of
+himself and his friend, a number of glittering gems of various colours,
+neatly and firmly embedded in cotton, besides a variety of rings and
+small brooches set with precious stones.
+
+"Now, I tell 'ee," said Maggot, "'tis like as this here will make our
+fortin', or else git we into trouble."
+
+"Why, whatever shud we git into trouble 'bout it for?" said John Cock.
+"'Tis like as not they ain't real--only painted glass, scarce wuth the
+trouble o' car'in' ashore."
+
+"Hould thy tongue, thee g'eat chucklehead," replied Maggot; "a man
+wouldn't go for to tie such stuff round his waist to drown hisself with,
+I do know, if they worn't real.  Lev us car' 'em to Maister
+Donnithorne."
+
+John Cock replied with a nod, and the two men, packing up the jewels,
+pulled in-shore as fast as possible.  Hauling their boat beyond the
+reach of the surf, they hastened to St. Just, and requested a private
+audience of Mr Donnithorne.  [See note 1.]
+
+That excellent gentleman was not unaccustomed to give private audiences
+to fishermen, and, as has been already hinted at the beginning of this
+tale, was reported to have private dealings with them also--of a very
+questionable nature.  He received the two men, however, with the hearty
+air of a man who knows that the suspicions entertained of him by the
+calumnious world are false.
+
+"Well, Maggot," said Mr Donnithorne, "what is your business with me?
+You are not wont to be astir so early, if all be true that is reported
+of 'ee."
+
+"Plaise, sur," said Maggot, with a glance at Rose Ellis, who sat sewing
+near the window, "I'm come to talk 'bout private matters--if--"
+
+"Leave us, Rose dear, for a little," said the old gentleman.
+
+As soon as she was out of the room Maggot locked the door, a proceeding
+which surprised Mr Donnithorne not a little, but his surprise was much
+greater when the man drew a small parcel from the breast of his rough
+coat, and, unrolling it, displayed the glittering jewels of which he had
+so unexpectedly become possessed.
+
+"Where got you these?" inquired Mr Donnithorne, turning them over
+carefully.
+
+"Got 'em in the say--catched 'em, sure 'nough," said Maggot.
+
+"Not with a baited hook, I warrant," said the old gentleman.  "Come, my
+son, let's hear all about it."
+
+Maggot explained how he had obtained the jewels, and then asked what
+they were worth.
+
+"I can't tell that," said Mr Donnithorne, shaking his head gravely.
+"Some of them are undoubtedly of value; the others, for all I know, may
+not be worth much."
+
+"Come now, sur," said Maggot, with a confidential leer, "it's not the
+fust time we have done a bit o' business.  I 'spose I cud claim salvage
+on 'em?"
+
+"I don't know that," said the old gentleman; "you cannot tell whom they
+belonged to, and I suspect Government would claim them, if--But, by the
+way, I suppose you found no letters--nothing in the shape of writing on
+the body?"
+
+"Nothin' whatsomever."
+
+"Well, then, I fear that--"
+
+"Come now, sur," said Maggot boldly; "'spose you gives John and me ten
+pounds apaice an' kape 'em to yourself to make what 'ee can of 'em?"
+
+Mr Donnithorne shook his head and hesitated.  Often before had he
+defrauded the revenue by knowingly purchasing smuggled brandy and
+tobacco, and by providing the funds to enable others to smuggle them;
+but then the morality of that day in regard to smuggling was very lax,
+and there were men who, although in all other matters truly honest and
+upright, could not be convinced of the sinfulness of smuggling, and
+smiled when they were charged with the practice, but who, nevertheless,
+would have scorned to steal or tell a downright lie.  This, however, was
+a very different matter from smuggling.  The old gentleman shrank from
+it at first, and could not meet the gaze of the smuggler with his usual
+bold frank look.  But the temptation was great.  The jewels he suspected
+were of immense value, and his heart readily replied to the objections
+raised by his conscience, that after all there was no one left to claim
+them, and he had a much better right to them, in equity if not in law,
+than Government; and as to the fellows who found them--why, the sum they
+asked would be a great and rich windfall to them, besides freeing them
+from all further trouble, as well as transferring any risk that might
+accrue from their shoulders to his own.
+
+While the old gentleman was reasoning thus with himself, Maggot stood
+anxiously watching his countenance and twisting the cloth that had
+enclosed the jewellery into a tight rope, as he shifted his position
+uneasily.  At length old Mr Donnithorne said--
+
+"Leave the jewels with me, and call again in an hour from this time.
+You shall then have my answer."
+
+Maggot and his friend consented to this delay, and left the room.
+
+No sooner were they gone than the old gentleman called his wife, who
+naturally exclaimed in great surprise on beholding the table covered
+with such costly trinkets--
+
+"Where _ever_ did you get these, Tom?"
+
+Mr Donnithorne explained, and then asked what she thought of Maggot's
+proposal.
+
+"Refuse it," said she firmly.
+
+"But, my dear--"
+
+"Don't `but' about it, Tom.  Whenever a man begins to `but' with sin, it
+is sure to butt him over on his back.  Have nothing to do with it, _I_
+say."
+
+"But, my dear, it is not dishonest--"
+
+"I don't know that," interrupted Mrs Donnithorne vigorously; "you think
+that smuggling is not dishonest, but I do, and so does the minister."
+
+"What care _I_ for the minister?" cried the old gentleman, losing his
+temper; "who made _him a_ judge of my doings?"
+
+"He is an expounder of God's Word," said Mrs Donnithorne firmly, "and
+holds that `Thou shalt not steal' is one of the Ten Commandments."
+
+"Well, well, he and I don't agree, that's all; besides, has he never
+expounded to you that obedience to your husband is a virtue? a
+commandment, I may say, which you are--"
+
+"Mr Donnithorne," said the lady with dignity, "I am here at your
+request, and am now complying with your wishes in giving my opinion."
+
+"There, there, Molly," said the subdued husband, giving his better half
+a kiss, "don't be so sharp.  You ought to have been a lawyer with your
+powerful reasoning capacity.  However, let me tell you that you don't
+understand these matters--"
+
+"Then why ask my advice, Tom?"
+
+"Why, woman, because an inexplicable fatality leads me to consult you,
+although I know well enough what the upshot will be.  But I'm resolved
+to close with Maggot."
+
+"I knew you would," said Mrs Donnithorne quietly.
+
+The last remark was the turning-point.  Had the good lady condescended
+to be _earnest_ in her entreaties that the bargain should not be
+concluded, it is highly probable her husband would have given in; but
+her last observation nettled him so much that he immediately hoisted a
+flag of defiance, nailed it to the mast, and went out in great
+indignation to search for Maggot.  That individual was not far off.  The
+bargain was completed, the jewels were locked up in one of the old
+gentleman's secret repositories, and the fishermen, with ten pounds
+apiece in their pockets, returned home.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Note 1.  It may be well here to inform the reader that the finding of
+the jewels as here described, and the consequences which followed, are
+founded on fact.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIX.
+
+TREATS OF THE MINER'S COTTAGE, WORK, AND COSTUME.
+
+Maggot's home was a disordered one when he reached it, for his youngest
+baby, a fat little boy, had been seized with convulsions, and his wife
+and little daughter Grace, and son Zackey, and brother-in-law David
+Trevarrow, besides his next neighbour Mrs Penrose, with her sixteen
+children, were all in the room, doing their best by means of useless or
+hurtful applications, equally useless advice, and intolerable noise and
+confusion, to cure, if not to kill, the baby.
+
+Maggot's cottage was a poor one, his furniture was mean, and there was
+not much of it; nevertheless its inmates were proud of it, for they
+lived in comparative comfort there.  Mrs Maggot was a kind-hearted,
+active woman, and her husband--despite his smuggling propensities--was
+an affectionate father.  Usually the cottage was kept in a most orderly
+condition; but on the present occasion it was, as we have said, in a
+state of great confusion.
+
+"Fetch me a bit of rag, Grace," cried Mrs Maggot, just as her husband
+entered.
+
+"Here's a bit, old 'ooman," said Maggot, handing her the linen cloth in
+which the jewels had been wrapped up, and which he had unconsciously
+retained in his hands on quitting Mr Donnithorne--"Run, my dear man,"
+he added, turning to John Cock, "an' fetch the noo doctor."
+
+John darted away, and in a quarter of an hour returned with Oliver
+Trembath, who found that the baby had weathered the storm by the force
+of its own constitution, despite the adverse influences that were around
+it.  He therefore contented himself with clearing the place of
+intruders, and prescribing some simple medicine.
+
+"Are you going to work?" inquired Oliver of David Trevarrow, observing
+that the man was about to quit the cottage.
+
+"Iss, sur--to Botallack."
+
+"Then I will accompany you.  Captain Dan is going to show me over part
+of the mine to-day.  Good-morning, Mrs Maggot, and remember my
+directions if this should happen to the little fellow again."
+
+Leaving the cottage the two proceeded through the town to the north end
+of it, accompanied by Maggot, who said he was going to the forge to do a
+bit of work, and who parted from them at the outskirts of the town.
+
+"Times are bad with you at the mines just now, I find," said Oliver as
+they walked along.
+
+"Iss sur, they are," replied Trevarrow, in the quiet tone that was
+peculiar to him; "but, thank God, we do manage to live, though there are
+some of us with a lot o' child'n as finds it hard work.  The Bal [The
+mine] ain't so good as she once was."
+
+"I suppose that you have frequent changes of fortune?" said Oliver.
+
+The miner admitted that this was the case, for that sometimes a man
+worked underground for several weeks without getting enough to keep his
+family, while at other times he might come on a bunch of copper or tin
+which would enable him to clear 50 pounds or more in a month.
+
+"If report says truly," observed Oliver, "you have hit upon a `keenly
+lode,' as you call it, not many days ago."
+
+"A do look very well now, sur," replied the miner, "but wan can never
+tell.  I did work for weeks in the level under the say without success,
+so I guv it up an went to Wheal Hazard, and on the back o' the
+fifty-fathom level I did strike 'pon a small lode of tin 'bout so thick
+as my finger.  It may get better, or it may take the bit in its teeth
+and disappear; we cannot tell."
+
+"Well, I wish you good luck," said Oliver; "and here comes Captain Dan,
+so I'll bid you good-morning."
+
+"Good-morning, sur," said the stout-limbed and stout-hearted man, with a
+smile and a nod, as he turned off towards the moor-house to put on his
+mining garments.
+
+Towards this house a number of men had been converging while Oliver and
+his companion approached it, and the former observed, that whatever
+colour the men might be on entering it, they invariably came out light
+red, like lobsters emerging from a boiling pot.
+
+In Botallack mine a large quantity of iron is mingled with the tin ore.
+This colours everything in and around the mine, including men's clothes,
+hands, and faces, with a light rusty-red.  The streams, of course, are
+also coloured with it, and the various pits and ponds for collecting the
+fluid mud of tin ore seem as if filled with that nauseous compound known
+by the name of "Gregory's Mixture."
+
+In the moor-house there were rows of pegs with red garments hung thereon
+to dry, and there were numerous broad-shouldered men dressing and
+undressing--in every stage of the process; while in a corner two or
+three were washing their bodies in a tank of water.  These last were men
+who had been at work all night, and were cleansing themselves before
+putting on what we may term their home-going clothes.
+
+The mining dress is a very simple, and often a very ragged affair.  It
+consists of a flannel shirt, a pair of linen trousers, a short coat of
+the same, and a hat in the form of a stiff wide-awake, but made so thick
+as to serve the purpose of a helmet to guard the head from the rocks,
+etcetera.  Clumsy ankle-boots complete the costume.  As each man issued
+from the house, he went to a group of wooden chests which lay scattered
+about outside, and, opening his own, took from it a bag of powder, some
+blasting fuse, several iron tools, which he tied to a rope so as to be
+slung over his shoulder, a small wooden canteen of water, and a bunch of
+tallow candles.  These last he fastened to a button on his breast,
+having previously affixed one of them to the front of his hat.
+
+Thus accoutred, they proceeded to a small platform close at hand, with a
+square hole in it, out of which protruded the head of a ladder.  This
+was the "ladder road."  Through the hole these red men descended one by
+one, chatting and laughing as they went, and disappeared, leaving the
+moor-house and all around it a place of solitude.
+
+Captain Dan now prepared to descend this ladder road with Oliver
+Trembath.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVEN.
+
+TELLS OF THE GREAT MINE AND OF A ROYAL DIVE UNDER THE SEA.
+
+Botallack, to the dark depths of which we are now about to descend, is
+the most celebrated mine in the great mining county of Cornwall.  It
+stands on the sea coast, a little more than a mile to the north of St.
+Just.  The region around it is somewhat bleak and almost destitute of
+trees.  In approaching it, the eyes of the traveller are presented with
+a view of engine-houses, and piles of stones and rubbish, in the midst
+of which stand a number of uncouth yet picturesque objects, composed of
+boards and timber, wheels, ropes, pulleys, chains, and suchlike gear.
+These last are the winding erections of the shafts which lead to the
+various mines, for the whole region is undermined, and Botallack is only
+one of several in St. Just parish.  Wherever the eye turns, there, in
+the midst of green fields, where rocks and rocky fences abound, may be
+seen, rising prominently, the labouring arms, or "bobs," of the pump and
+skip engines, and the other machinery required in mining operations;
+while the ear is assailed by the perpetual clatter of the "stamps," or
+ore-crushing machines, which never cease their din, day or night, except
+on Sundays.
+
+Botallack, like all the other mines, has several "shafts" or entrances
+to the works below, such as Boscawen Shaft, Wheal Button, Wheal Hazard,
+Chicornish Shaft, Davis Shaft, Wheal Cock, etcetera, the most
+interesting of which are situated among the steep rugged cliffs that
+front and bid defiance to the utmost fury of the Atlantic Ocean.
+
+From whatever point viewed, the aspect of Botallack mine is grand in the
+extreme.  On the rocky point that stretches out into the sea, engines
+with all their fantastic machinery and buildings have been erected.  On
+the very summit of the cliff is seen a complication of timbers, wheels,
+and chains sharply defined against the sky, with apparently scarce any
+hold of the cliff, while down below, on rocky ledges and in black
+chasms, are other engines and beams and rods and wheels and chains,
+fastened and perched in fantastic forms in dangerous-looking places.
+
+Here, amid the most savage gorges of the sea and riven rocks--half
+clinging to the land, half suspended over the water--is perched the
+machinery of, and entrance to, the most singular shaft of the mine,
+named the "Boscawen Diagonal Shaft."  This shaft descends under the sea
+at a steep incline.  It is traversed, on rails, by an iron carriage
+called the "gig," which is lowered and drawn up by steam power.
+Starting as it does from an elevated position in the rocks that are
+close to the edge of the sea, and slanting down through the cape,
+_outward_ or seaward, this vehicle descends only a few fathoms when it
+is _under the ocean's bed_, and then its further course is far out and
+deep down--about two-thirds of a mile out, and full 245 fathoms down!
+The gig conveys the men to and from their work--the ore being drawn up
+by another iron carriage.  There is (or rather there was, before the
+self-acting brake was added) danger attending the descent of this shaft,
+for the rope, although good and strong, is not immaculate, as was proved
+terribly in the year 1864--when it broke, and the gig flew down to the
+bottom like lightning, dashing itself to pieces, and instantly killing
+the nine unfortunate men who were descending at the time.
+
+Nevertheless, the Prince and Princess of Wales did not shrink from
+descending this deep burrow under the sea in the year 1865.
+
+It was a great day for St. Just and Botallack that 24th of July on which
+the royal visit was paid.  Great were the expectation and preparation on
+all hands to give a hearty welcome to the royal pair.  The ladies
+arrayed themselves in their best to do fitting honour to the Princess;
+the balmaidens donned their holiday-attire, and Johnny Fortnight [see
+note 1] took care, by supplying the poor mine-girls with the latest
+fashions, that their appearance should be, if we may be allowed the
+word, _splendiferous_!  The volunteers, too, turned out in force, and no
+one, looking at their trim, soldierly aspect, could have believed them
+to be the same miners who were wont to emerge each evening through a
+hole in the earth, red as lobsters, wet, ragged, and befouled--in a
+word, surrounded by a halo of dishevelment, indicative of their rugged
+toils in the regions below.
+
+Everywhere the people turned out to line the roads, and worthily receive
+the expected visitors, and great was the cheering when they arrived,
+accompanied by the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland, the Earl of Mount
+Edgecumbe, Lady de Grey, Lord and Lady Vivian, General Knollys, and
+others, but louder still was the cheer when the Princess rode down the
+steep descent to the cliffs in a donkey-carriage.
+
+The Botallack cliffs themselves, however, were the central point, not
+only of the interest, but of the grandeur of the scene, for here were
+presented such a view and combination as are not often witnessed--nature
+in one of her wildest aspects, combined with innumerable multitudes of
+human beings swayed by one feeling of enthusiastic loyalty.  Above, on
+every attainable point, projection, and eminence, men and women
+clustered like gay flies on the giant cliffs, leaving immense gaps here
+and there, where no foot might venture save that of a bird.  Midway, on
+the face of the precipice, clung the great beams and supports of the
+Boscawen Diagonal Shaft, with the little gig perched on them and the
+royal party seated therein, facing the entrance to the black abyss--the
+Princess arrayed in a white flannel cloak trimmed with blue, and a straw
+hat with a blue ribbon round it, and the Prince clad in miner's costume.
+Underneath, a dizzy depth to gaze down, lay the rugged boulders of the
+shore, with the spray of the Atlantic springing over them.
+
+Deafening was the cheer when the gig at last entered the shaft and
+disappeared, and intense the anxiety of the vast multitude as they
+watched the descent--in imagination, of course, for nothing could be
+seen but the tight wire-rope uncoiling its endless length, and
+disappearing like a thin snake down the jaws of some awful sea-monster
+that had climbed so far up the cliffs to meet and devour it!  Now they
+are at the shore; now passing under the sea; fairly under it by this
+time; a few minutes more and they have reached the spot where yonder
+seagull is now wheeling above the waves, wondering what new species of
+bird has taken possession of its native cliffs.  Five minutes are
+passed--yet still descending rapidly!  They must be half a mile out from
+the land now--half of a mile out on the first part of a submarine tunnel
+to America!  "Old England is on the lee," but they are very much the
+reverse of afloat; solid rock is above, on either side and below--so
+close to them that the elbows must not be allowed to protrude over the
+edge of their car, nor the head be held too high.  Here even royalty
+must stoop--not that we would be understood to imply that royalty cannot
+stoop elsewhere.  Those who dwell in Highland cottages could contradict
+us if we did!  Presently the rope "slows"--the lower depths are reached,
+and now for some time there is patient waiting, for it is understood
+that they are examining the "levels," where the stout men of Cornwall
+tear out the solid rock in quest of copper and tin.
+
+After a time the thin snake begins to ascend; they are coming up now,
+but not so fast as they went down.  It is about ten minutes before the
+gig emerges from that black hole and bears the Prince and Princess once
+more into the light of day.
+
+Yes, it was a great day for Botallack, and it will dwell long in the
+memories of those who witnessed it--especially of that fortunate captain
+of the mine who had the honour of conducting the Princess on the
+occasion, and of whose enthusiasm in recalling the event, and in
+commenting on her intelligence and condescension, we can speak from
+personal observation.
+
+But, reader, you will say, What has all this to do with our story?
+
+Nothing--we admit it frankly--nothing whatever in a direct way;
+nevertheless, indirectly, the narrative may possibly arouse in you
+greater interest in the mine down which we are about to conduct you--not
+by the same route as that taken by the Prince and Princess (for the
+Boscawen Shaft did not exist at the period of our tale), but by one much
+more difficult and dangerous, as you shall see.
+
+Before we go, however, permit us to add to the offence of digression, by
+wandering still further out of our direct road.  There are a few facts
+regarding Botallack and mining operations, without a knowledge of which
+you will be apt at times to misunderstand your position.
+
+Let us suppose that a mine has been already opened; that a "lode"--that
+is, a vein of quartz with metal in it--has been discovered cropping out
+of the earth, and that it has been dug down upon from above, and dug in
+upon from the sea-cliffs.  A shaft has been sunk--in other words, a hole
+excavated--let us say, two or three hundred yards inland, to a depth of
+some forty or fifty fathoms,--near the sea-level.  This shaft is perhaps
+nine feet by six wide.  The lode, being a layer of quartz, sometimes
+slopes one way, sometimes another, and is occasionally perpendicular.
+It also varies in its run or direction a little here and there, like a
+wildish horse, being sometimes met by other lodes, which, like bad
+companions, divert it from the straight course.  Unlike bad companions,
+however, they increase its value at the point of meeting by thickening
+it.  Whatever course the lode takes, the miner conscientiously follows
+suit.  His shaft slopes much, little, or not at all, according to the
+"lie of the lode."
+
+It is an ancient truism that water must find its level.  Owing to this
+law, much water accumulates in the shaft, obliging the miner to erect an
+engine-house and provide a powerful pumping-engine with all its gear, at
+immense cost, to keep the works dry as he proceeds.  He then goes to the
+shore, and there, in the face of the perpendicular cliff, a little above
+the sea-level, he cuts a horizontal tunnel about six feet high by three
+broad, and continues to chisel and blast away the solid rock until he
+"drives" his tunnel a quarter of a mile inland, which he will do at a
+rate varying from two to six feet per week, according to the hardness of
+the rock, until he reaches the shaft and thus provides an easy and
+inexpensive passage for the water without pumping.  This tunnel or level
+he calls the "Adit level."  But his pumping-engine is by no means
+rendered useless, for it has much to do in hauling ore to the surface,
+etcetera.  In process of time, the miner works away all the lode down to
+the sea-level, and must sink the shaft deeper--perhaps ten or twenty
+fathoms--where new levels are driven horizontally "on the lode," and
+water accumulates which must be pumped up to the Adit level, whence it
+escapes to the sea.
+
+Thus down, down, he goes, sinking his shaft and driving his levels on--
+that is, always following the lode _ad infinitum_.  Of course he must
+stop before reaching the other side of the world!  At the present time
+Botallack has progressed in that direction to a depth of 245 fathoms.
+To those who find a difficulty in realising what depth that really is,
+we would observe that it is equal to more than three and a half times
+the height of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, nearly four times the
+height of St. Rollox chimney in Glasgow, and considerably more than
+twice the height, from the plain, of Arthur's Seat, near Edinburgh.
+
+When the levels have been driven a considerable distance from the shaft,
+the air naturally becomes bad from want of circulation.  To remedy this
+evil, holes, or short shafts, called "winzes," are sunk at intervals
+from the upper to the lower levels.  These winzes are dangerous traps
+for the unwary or careless, extending frequently to a depth of ten or
+fifteen fathoms, and being bridged across by one or two loose planks.
+Ladders are fixed in many of them to facilitate progress through the
+mine.  When a miner drives the end of his level so far that the air will
+not circulate, a new winze is usually sunk down to him from the level
+above.  The circulation is thus extended, and the levels progress
+further and further right and left until they occupy miles of ground.
+The levels and shafts of Botallack, if put together, would extend to not
+less than forty miles, and the superficial space of ground, on and
+beneath which the mine lies, is above 260 acres.
+
+When the lode is rich, and extends upwards or downwards, it is cut away
+from between levels, in a regular systematic manner, strong beams being
+placed to support temporary platforms, on which the miners may stand and
+work as they ascend.  When they have cut all the lode away up to the
+level above them, a false timber bottom is made to replace the rocky
+bottom of the level which is being removed.  Thus, in traversing the old
+workings of a mine one suddenly comes to great caverns, very narrow, but
+of such immense height above and depth below that the rays of your
+candle cannot penetrate the darkness.  In such places the thick short
+beams that were used by the old miners are seen extending from side to
+side of the empty space, disappearing in dim perspective.  Woe betide
+the man who stumbles off his narrow plank, or sets his foot on an
+insecure beam in such places!  Where such workings are in progress, the
+positions of the miners appear singularly wild and insecure.  The men
+stand in the narrow chasm between the granite walls above each others'
+heads, slight temporary platforms alone preserving them from certain
+death, and the candles of those highest above you twinkling like stars
+in a black sky.
+
+In these underground regions of Botallack, above three hundred men and
+boys are employed, some of whom work occasionally by night as well as by
+day.  On the surface about two hundred men, women, and boys are employed
+"dressing" the ore, etcetera.
+
+Other mines there are in the great mining centres of Cornwall--Redruth,
+St. Just, St. Austell, and Helston, which are well worthy of note--some
+of them a little deeper, and some richer than Botallack.  But we profess
+not to treat of all the Cornish mines; our object is to describe one as
+a type of many, if not all, and as this one runs farthest out beneath
+the sea, is deeper than most of the others, and richer than many,
+besides having interesting associations, and being of venerable
+antiquity, we hold it to be the one most worthy of selection.
+
+With a few briefly stated facts we shall take final leave of statistics.
+
+As we have said, the Boscawen shaft measures 245 fathoms.  The
+ladder-way by which the men ascend and descend daily extends to 205
+fathoms.  It takes a man half an hour to reach the bottom, and fully an
+hour to climb to the surface.  There are three pumping and seven winding
+engines at work--the largest being of 70 horse-power.  The tin raised is
+from 33 to 35 tons a month.  The price of tin has varied from 55 pounds
+to 90 pounds per ton.  In time past, when Botallack was more of a copper
+than a tin-mine, a fathom has been known to yield 100 pounds worth of
+ore, and a miner has sometimes broken out as much as 300 pounds worth in
+one month.
+
+The mine has been worked from time immemorial.  It is known to have been
+wrought a hundred years before it was taken by the present company, who
+have had it between thirty and forty years, and, under the able
+direction of the present manager and purser, Mr Stephen Harvey James,
+it has paid the shareholders more than 100,000 pounds.  The profit in
+the year 1844 was 24,000 pounds.  At the termination of one period of
+working it left a profit of 300,000 pounds.  It has experienced many
+vicissitudes of fortune.  Formerly it was worked for tin, and at one
+period (1841) was doing so badly that it was about to be abandoned, when
+an unlooked for discovery of copper was made, and a period of great
+prosperity again set in, during which many shareholders and miners made
+their fortunes out of Botallack.
+
+Thus much, with a humble apology, we present to the reader, and now
+resume the thread of our narrative.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Note 1.  The packmen are so styled because of their visits being paid
+fortnightly.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHT.
+
+DOWN, DOWN, DOWN.
+
+Before descending the mine Captain Dan led Oliver to the counting-house,
+where he bade him undress and put on miner's clothing.
+
+"I'll need a biggish suit," observed Oliver.
+
+"True," said Captain Dan; "we are obliged usually to give visitors our
+smallest suits.  You are an exception to the rule.  Indeed, I'm not sure
+that I have a pair of trousers big enough for--ah yes, by the way, here
+is a pair belonging to one of our captains who is unusually stout and
+tall; I dare say you'll be able to squeeze into 'em."
+
+"All right," said Oliver, laughing, as he pulled on the red garments;
+"they are wide enough round the waist, at all events.  Now for a hat."
+
+"There," said the captain, handing him a white cotton skull-cap, "put
+that on."
+
+"Why, what's this for?" said Oliver.
+
+"To keep _that_ from dirtying your head," replied the other, as he
+handed his companion a thick felt hat, which was extremely dirty, on the
+front especially, where the candle was wont to be fixed with wet clay.
+"Now, then, attach these two candles to that button in your breast, and
+you are complete.--Not a bad miner to look at," said Captain Dan with a
+smile of approval.
+
+The captain was already equipped in underground costume, and the dirty
+disreputable appearance he presented was, thought Oliver, a wonderful
+contrast to his sober and gentlemanly aspect on the evening of their
+first meeting at his uncle's table.
+
+"I'll strike a light after we get down a bit--so come along," said
+Captain Dan, leaving the office and leading the way.
+
+On reaching the entrance to the shaft, Oliver Trembath looked down and
+observed a small speck of bright light in the black depths.
+
+"A man coming up--wait a bit," said the captain in explanation.
+
+Presently a faint sound of slow footsteps was heard; they grew gradually
+more distinct, and ere long the head and shoulders of a man emerged from
+the hole.  Perspiration was trickling down his face, and painting him,
+streakily, with iron rust and mud.  All his garments were soaking.  He
+sighed heavily on reaching the surface, and appeared to inhale the fresh
+air with great satisfaction.
+
+"Any more coming?"
+
+"No, Captain Dan," replied the man, glancing with some curiosity at the
+tall stranger.
+
+"Now, sir, we shall descend," said the captain, entering the shaft.
+
+Oliver followed, and at once plunged out of bright sunshine into subdued
+light.  A descent of a few fathoms brought them to the bottom of the
+first ladder.  It was a short one; most of the others, the captain told
+him, were long ones.  The width of the shaft was about six feet by nine.
+It was nearly perpendicular, and the slope of the ladders corresponded
+with its width--the head of each resting against one side of it, and the
+foot against the other, thus forming a zigzag of ladders all the way
+down.
+
+At the foot of the first ladder the light was that of deep twilight.
+Here was a wooden platform, and a hole cut through it, out of which
+protruded the head of the second ladder.  The Captain struck a light,
+and, applying it to one of the candles, affixed the same to the front of
+Oliver's hat.  Arranging his own hat in a similar way, he continued the
+descent, and, in a few minutes, both were beyond the region of daylight.
+When they had got a short way down, probably the distance of an
+ordinary church-steeple's height below the surface, Oliver looked up and
+saw the little opening far above him, shining brightly like a star.  A
+few steps more and it vanished from view; he felt that he had for the
+first time in his life reached the regions of eternal night.
+
+The shaft varied in width here and there; in most places it was very
+narrow--about six feet wide--but, what with cross-beams to support the
+sides, and prevent soft parts from falling in, and other obstructions,
+the space available for descent was often not more than enough to permit
+of a man squeezing past.
+
+A damp smell pervaded the air, and there was a strange sense of
+contraction and confinement, so to speak, which had at first an
+unpleasant effect on Oliver.  The silence, when both men paused at a
+ladder-foot to trim candles or to rest a minute, was most profound, and
+there came over the young doctor a sensation of being buried alive, and
+of having bid a final farewell to the upper earth, the free air, and the
+sunshine, as they went down, down, down to the depths below.
+
+At last they reached a "level" or gallery, by which the ladder-shaft
+communicated with the pump-shaft.
+
+Here Captain Dan paused and trimmed Oliver's candle, which he had thrust
+inadvertently against a beam, and broken in two.
+
+"You have to mind your head here, sir," said the captain, with a quiet
+smile; "'tis a good place to learn humility."
+
+Oliver could scarce help laughing aloud as he gazed at his guide, for,
+standing as he did with the candle close to his face, his cheeks, nose,
+chin, forehead, and part of the brim of his hat and shoulders were
+brought into brilliant light, while the rest of him was lost in the
+profound darkness of the level behind, and the flame of his candle
+rested above his head like the diadem of some aristocratic gnome.
+
+"How far down have we come?" inquired Oliver.
+
+"About eighty fathoms," said the captain; "we shall now go along this
+level and get into the pump-shaft, by which we can descend to the
+bottom.  Take care of your feet and head as you go, for you'll be apt to
+run against the rocks that hang down, and the winzes are dangerous."
+
+"And pray what are winzes?" asked Oliver as he stumbled along in the
+footsteps of his guide, over uneven ground covered with debris.--"Ah!
+hallo! stop!"
+
+"What's wrong?" said the captain, looking back, and holding up his
+candle to Oliver's face.
+
+"Candle gone again, captain; I've run my head on that rock.  Lucky for
+me that your mining hats are so thick and hard, for I gave it a butt
+that might have done credit to an ox."
+
+"I told you to mind your head," said Captain Dan, relighting the candle;
+"you had better carry it in your hand in the levels, it will light your
+path better.  Look out now--here is a winze."
+
+The captain pointed to a black yawning hole, about six or seven feet in
+diameter, which was bridged across by a single plank.
+
+"How deep does it go?" asked the youth, holding up his candle and
+peering in; "I can't see the bottom."
+
+"I dare say not," said the captain, "for the bottom is ten fathoms down,
+at the next level."
+
+"And are all the winzes bridged with a single plank in this way?"
+
+"Why, no, some of 'em have two or three planks, but they're quite safe
+if you go steady."
+
+"And, pray, how many such winzes are there in the mine?" asked Oliver.
+
+"Couldn't say exactly, without thinkin' a bit," replied the captain;
+"but there are a great number of 'em--little short of a hundred, I
+should say--for we have a good many miles of levels in Botallack, which
+possesses an underground geography as carefully measured and mapped out
+as that of the surface."
+
+"And what would happen," asked Oliver, with an expression of
+half-simulated anxiety, "if you were to fall down a winze and break your
+neck, and my candle were to get knocked or blown out, leaving me to find
+my way out of a labyrinth of levels pierced with holes sixty feet deep?"
+
+"Well, it's hard to say," replied Captain Dan with much simplicity.
+
+"Go on," said Oliver, pursing his lips with a grim smile, as he followed
+his leader across the narrow bridge.
+
+Captain Dan continued his progress until he reached the pump-shaft, the
+proximity of which was audibly announced by the slow ascent and descent
+of a great wooden beam, which was styled the "pump-rod."  Alongside, and
+almost touching it, for space was valuable there, and had to be
+economised, was the iron pipe--nearly a foot in diameter--which conveyed
+the water from the mine to the "Adit level."
+
+The slow-heaving plunge, of about ten feet in extent, and the sough or
+sigh of the great beam, with the accompanying gurgle of water in the
+huge pipe, were sounds that seemed horribly appropriate to the
+subterranean scene.  One could have imagined the mine to be a living
+giant in the last throes of death by drowning.  But these were only one
+half of the peculiarities of the place.  On the other side of the shaft
+an arrangement of beams and partially broken boards formed the
+traversing "ways" or tube, up which were drawn the kibbles--these last
+being large iron buckets used for lifting ore to the surface.
+
+In the present day, machinery being more perfect, the ancient kibble has
+been to some extent supplanted by skips, or small trucks with wheels (in
+some cases iron boxes with guiding-rods), which are drawn up smoothly,
+and without much tear and wear; but in the rough times of which we
+write, the sturdy kibble used to go rattling up the shaft with deafening
+noise, dinting its thick sides, and travelling with a jovial
+free-and-easy swing that must have added considerably to the debit side
+of the account of working expenses.  Between the pump-rod and the
+kibble-way there was just room for the ladders upon which Captain Dan,
+followed by Oliver, now stepped.  This shaft was very wet, water dropped
+and spirted about in fine spray everywhere, and the rounds of the
+ladders were wet and greasy with much-squeezed slime.
+
+It would seem as though the kibbles had known that a stranger was about
+to descend and had waited for him, for no sooner did Oliver get on the
+ladder than they began to move--the one to ascend full, and the other to
+descend empty.
+
+"What's that?" exclaimed Oliver.
+
+"It's only the kibbles," replied Captain Dan.
+
+Before the captain could explain what kibbles were, these reckless
+buckets met, with a bang, close to Oliver's cheek, and rebounded on the
+beams that protected him from their fury.  Naturally the young man
+shrank a little from a noise so loud and so near.  He was at once
+scraped down on the other side by the pump-rod!  Drawing himself
+together as much as possible, and feeling for once the disadvantage of
+being a large man, he followed his leader down, down, ever down, into
+the profounder depths below.
+
+All this time they had not met with a miner, or with any sign of human
+life--unless the pump and kibbles could be regarded as such--for they
+had been hitherto traversing the old levels and workings of the mine,
+but at last, during one of their pauses, they heard the faint sound of
+chip, chip, chip, in the far distance.
+
+"Miners?" inquired Oliver.
+
+Captain Dan nodded, and said they would now leave the shaft and go to
+where the men were at work.  He cautioned his companion again to have
+regard to his head, and to mind his feet.  As they proceeded, he stopped
+ever and anon to point out some object of peculiar interest.
+
+"There's a considerable space above and below you here, sir," said the
+captain, stopping suddenly in a level which was not more than three feet
+wide.
+
+Oliver had been so intent on his feet, and mindful of the winzes, that
+he had failed to observe the immense black opening overhead.  It
+extended so high above him, and so far forward and backward in the
+direction of the level, that its boundaries were lost in an immensity of
+profoundly dark space.  The rocky path was also lost to view, both
+before and behind them, so that the glare of their lights on the
+metallic walls rendered the spot on which they stood a point of
+brilliancy in the midst of darkness.  Only part of a great beam was
+visible here and there above them, as if suspended in the gloom to
+render its profundity more apparent.
+
+This, Captain Dan explained, was the space that had once been occupied
+by a rich lode of ore, all of which had been removed years ago, to the
+great commercial advantage of a past generation.
+
+Soon after passing this the captain paused at a deep cutting in the
+rock, and, looking sadly at it for a few minutes, said,--"It was here
+that poor Trevool lost his life.  He was a good lad, but careless, and
+used to go rattling along the levels with his light in his hat and his
+thoughts among the stars, instead of carrying the light in his hand and
+looking to his feet.  He fell down that winze and broke his back.  When
+we got him up to grass he was alive, but he never spoke another word,
+and died the same night."
+
+"Poor fellow!" said Oliver; "I suppose your men have narrow escapes
+sometimes."
+
+"They have, sir, but it's most always owin' to carelessness.  There was
+a cousin of that very lad Trevool who was buried with a comrade by the
+falling in of a shaft and came out alive.  I was there at the time and
+helped to dig him out."
+
+Captain Dan here stopped, and, sticking his candle against the wet wall
+of the mine, sat down on a piece of rock, while our hero stood beside
+him.  "You see," said he, "we were sinking a shaft, or rather reopening
+an old one, at the time, and Harvey, that was the man's name, was down
+working with a comrade.  They came to a soft bit o' ground, an' as they
+cut through it they boarded it up with timbers across to prevent it
+slipping, but they did the work hastily.  After they had cut down some
+fathoms below it, the boarding gave way, and down the whole thing went,
+boards, timbers, stones, and rubbish, on their heads.  We made sure they
+were dead, but set to, nevertheless, to dig them out as fast as
+possible--turning as many hands to the work as could get at it.  At last
+we came on them, and both were alive, and not very much hurt!  The
+timbers and planks had fallen over them in such a way as to keep the
+stones and rubbish off.  I had a talk with old Harvey the other day on
+this very subject.  He told me that he was squeezed flat against the
+side of the shaft by the rubbish which buried him, and that he did not
+lose consciousness for a moment.  A large stone had stuck right above
+his head, and this probably saved him.  He heard us digging down to him,
+he said, and when we got close he sang out to hold on, as the shovel was
+touching him.  Sure enough this was the case, for the next shovelful of
+rubbish that was lifted revealed the top of his head!  We cleared the
+way to his mouth as carefully as we could, and then gave him a drop of
+brandy before going on with the work of excavation.  His comrade was
+found in a stooping position, and was more severely bruised than old
+Harvey, but both of them lived to tell the tale of their burial, and to
+thank God for their deliverance.  Yes," continued the captain, detaching
+his candle from the wall and resuming his walk, "we have narrow escapes
+sometimes.--Look here, doctor, did you ever see a rock like that?"
+
+Captain Dan pointed to a place in the side of the rocky wall which was
+grooved and cut as if with a huge gouge or chisel, and highly polished.
+"It was never cut by man in that fashion; we found it as you see it, and
+there's many of 'em in the mine.  We call 'em slinking slides."
+
+"The marks must have been caused when the rocks were in a state of
+partial fusion," observed Oliver, examining the place with much
+curiosity.
+
+"I don't know as to that, sir," said the captain, moving on, "but there
+they are, and some of 'em polished to that extent you could almost see
+your face in 'em."
+
+On turning the corner of a jutting rock a light suddenly appeared,
+revealing a pair of large eyes and a double row of teeth, as it were
+gleaming out of the darkness.  On drawing nearer, this was discovered to
+be a miner, whose candle was at some little distance, and only shone on
+him partially.
+
+"Well, Jack, what's doing?" asked the captain.
+
+The man cast a disconsolate look on a large mass of rock which lay in
+the middle of the path at his feet.  He had been only too successful in
+his last blasting, and had detached a mass so large that he could not
+move it.
+
+"It's too hard for to break, Captain Dan."
+
+"Better get it into the truck," said the captain.
+
+"Can't lift it, sur," said the man, who grudged to go through the
+tedious process of boring it for a second blast.
+
+"You must get it out o' that, Jack, at all events.  It won't do to let
+it lie there," said the captain, passing on, and leaving the miner to
+get out of his difficulty as best he might.
+
+A few minutes more and they came on a "pare" of men (in other words, a
+band of two or more men working together) who were "stopeing-in the back
+of the level," as they termed the process of cutting upwards into the
+roof.
+
+"There's a fellow in a curious place!" said Oliver, peering up through
+an irregular hole, in which a man was seen at work standing on a plank
+supported by a ladder.  He was chiselling with great vigour at the rock
+over his head, and immediately beyond him another man stood on a plank
+supported by a beam of timber, and busily engaged in a similar
+occupation.  Both men were stripped to the waist, and panted at their
+toil.  The little chamber or cavern in which they worked was brilliantly
+illuminated by their two candles, and their athletic figures stood out,
+dark and picturesque, against the light glistering walls.
+
+"A curious place, and a singular man!" observed the captain; "that
+fellow's family is not a small one.--Hallo!  James Martin."
+
+"Hallo!  Captain Dan," replied the miner, looking down.
+
+"How many children have you had?"
+
+"How many child'n say 'ee?"
+
+"Ay, how many?"
+
+"I've had nineteen, sur, an' there's eight of 'em alive.  Seven of 'em
+came in three year an six months, sur--three doubles an' a single, but
+them uns are all gone dead, sur."
+
+"How old are you, Jim?"
+
+"Forty-seven, sur."
+
+"Your brother Tom is at work here, isn't he?"
+
+"Iss, in the south level, drivin' the end."
+
+"How many children has Tom had, Jim?"
+
+"Seventeen, sur, an' seven of 'em's alive; but Tom's only thirty-eight
+years old, sur."  [See note 1.]
+
+"Good-morning, Jim."
+
+"Good-morning, Captain Dan," replied the sturdy miner, resuming his
+work.
+
+"Good specimens of men these," said the captain, with a quiet smile, to
+Oliver.  "Of course I don't mean to say that all the miners hereabouts
+are possessed of such large families--nevertheless there are, as I dare
+say you have observed, a good many children in and about St. Just!"
+
+Proceeding onward they diverged into a branch level, where a number of
+men were working overhead; boring holes into the roof and burrowing
+upwards.  They all drove onwards through flinty rock by the same slow
+and toilsome process that has already been described--namely, by
+chipping with the pick, driving holes with the borer, and blasting with
+gunpowder.
+
+As the Captain and Oliver traversed this part of the mine they had
+occasionally to squeeze past small iron trucks which stood below holes
+in the sides of the level, down which ever and anon masses of ore and
+debris came from the workings above with a hard crashing noise.  The ore
+was rich with tin, but the metal was invisible to any but trained eyes.
+To Oliver Trembath the whole stuff appeared like wet rubbish.
+
+Suddenly a low muffled report echoed through the cavernous place.  It
+was followed by five or six similar reports in succession.
+
+"They are blasting," said Captain Dan.
+
+As he spoke, the thick muddy shoes and brick-dust legs of a man appeared
+coming down the hole that had previously discharged ore.  The man
+himself followed his legs, and, alighting thereon, saluted Captain Dan
+with a free-and-easy "Good-morning."  Another man followed him; from a
+different part of the surrounding darkness a third made his appearance,
+and others came trooping in, until upwards of a dozen of them were
+collected in the narrow tunnel, each with his tallow candle in his hand
+or hat, so that the place was lighted brilliantly.  They were all clad
+in loose, patched, and ragged clothes.  All were of a uniform rusty-red
+colour, each with his broad bosom bared, and perspiration trickling down
+his besmeared countenance.
+
+Here, however, the uniformity of their appearance ended, for they were
+of all sizes and characters.  Some were robust and muscular; some were
+lean and wiry; some were just entering on manhood, with the ruddy hue of
+health shining through the slime on their smooth faces; some were in the
+prime of life, pale from long working underground, but strong, and
+almost as hard as the iron with which they chiselled the rocks.  Others
+were growing old, and an occasional cough told that the "miners'
+complaint" had begun its fatal undermining of the long-enduring,
+too-long-tried human body.  There were one or two whose iron
+constitutions had resisted the evil influences of wet garments, bad air,
+and chills, and who, with much of the strength of manhood, and some of
+the colour of youth, were still plying their hammers in old age.  But
+these were rare specimens of vigour and longevity; not many such are to
+be found in Botallack mine.  The miner's working life is a short one,
+and comparatively few of those who begin it live to a healthy old age.
+Little boys were there, too, diminutive but sturdy urchins, miniature
+copies of their seniors, though somewhat dirtier; proud as peacocks
+because of being permitted at so early an age to accompany their fathers
+or brothers underground, and their bosoms swelling with that stern
+Cornish spirit of determination to face and overcome great difficulties,
+which has doubtless much to do with the excessive development of chest
+and shoulder for which Cornish miners, especially those of St. Just, are
+celebrated.  [See note 2.]
+
+It turned out that the men had all arranged to fire their holes at the
+same hour, and assemble in a lower level to take lunch, or, as they term
+it, "kroust," while the smoke should clear away.  This rendered it
+impossible for the captain to take his young companion further into the
+workings at that part of the mine, so they contented themselves with a
+chat with the men.  These sat down in a row, and, each man unrolling a
+parcel containing a pasty or a thick lump of cake with currants in it,
+commenced the demolition thereof with as much zeal as had previously
+been displayed in the demolition of the rock.  This frugal fare was
+washed down with water drawn from little flat barrels or canteens, while
+they commented lightly, grumblingly, or laughingly, according to
+temperament, on the poor condition of the lode at which they wrought.
+We have already said that in mining, as in other things, fortune
+fluctuates, and it was "hard times" with the men of Botallack at that
+period.
+
+Before they had proceeded far with their meal, one of the pale-faced men
+began to cough.
+
+"Smoke's a-coming down," he said.
+
+"We shall 'ave to move, then," observed another.
+
+The pouring in of gunpowder smoke here set two or three more a-coughing,
+and obliged them all to rise and seek for purer--perhaps it were better
+to say less impure--air in another part of the level, where the draught
+kept the smoke away.  Here, squatting down on heaps of wet rubbish, and
+sticking their candles against the damp walls, they continued their
+meal, and here the captain and Oliver left them, retraced their steps to
+the foot of the shaft, and began the ascent to the surface, or, in
+mining parlance, began to "return to grass."
+
+Up, up, up--the process now was reversed, and the labour increased
+tenfold.  Up they went on these nearly perpendicular and interminable
+ladders, slowly, for they had a long journey before them; cautiously,
+for Oliver had a tendency to butt his head against beams, and knock his
+candle out of shape; carefully, for the rounds of the ladders were wet
+and slimy and a slip of foot or hand might in a moment have precipitated
+them into the black gulf below; and pantingly, for strength of limb and
+lung could not altogether defy the influence of such a prolonged and
+upright climb.
+
+If Oliver Trembath felt, while descending, as though he should _never_
+reach the bottom, he felt far more powerfully as if reaching the top
+were an event of the distant future--all the more that the muscles of
+his arms and legs, unused to the peculiar process, were beginning to
+feel rather stiff.  This feeling, however, soon passed away, and when he
+began to grow warm to the work, his strength seemed to return and to
+increase with each step--a species of revival of vigour in the midst of
+hard toil with which probably all strong men are acquainted.
+
+Up they went, ladder after ladder, squeezing through narrow places,
+rubbing against wet rocks and beams, scraping against the boarding of
+the kibble-shaft, and being scraped by the pump-rods until both of them
+were as wet and red and dirty as any miner below.
+
+As he advanced, Oliver began to take note of the places he had passed on
+the way down, and so much had he seen and thought during his sojourn
+underground, that, when he reached the level where he first came upon
+the noisy kibbles, and made acquaintance with the labouring pump-rod, he
+almost hailed the spot as an old familiar landmark of other days!
+
+A circumstance occurred just then which surprised him not a little, and
+tended to fix this locality still more deeply on his memory.  While he
+was standing in the level, waiting until the captain should relight and
+trim his much and oft bruised candle, the kibbles began their noisy
+motion.  This was nothing new now, but at the same time the shout of
+distant voices was heard, as if the gnomes held revelry in their dreary
+vaults.  They drew gradually nearer, and Oliver could distinguish
+laughter mingled with the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps.
+
+"Foolish lads!" ejaculated Captain Dan with a smile, and an expression
+that proved he took some interest in the folly, whatever it might be.
+
+"What is it?" inquired Oliver.
+
+"They are racing to the kibble.  Look and you shall see," replied the
+other.
+
+Just then a man who had outrun his comrades appeared at the place where
+the level joined the shaft, just opposite.  Almost at the same moment
+the kibble appeared flying upwards.  The miner leaped upon it, caught
+and clung to the chain as it passed, and shouted a defiant adieu to his
+less fortunate comrades, who arrived just in time to witness him
+disappear upwards in this rapid manner "to grass."
+
+"That's the way the young ones risk their lives," said the captain,
+shaking his head remonstratively; "if that young fellow had missed the
+kibble he would have been dashed to pieces at the bottom of the shaft."
+
+Again Captain Dan said "Foolish lads," and shook his head so gravely
+that Oliver could not help regarding him with the respect due to a
+sedate, fatherly sort of man; but Oliver was young and unsophisticated,
+and did not know at the time that the captain had himself been noted in
+his youth as an extremely reckless and daring fellow, and that a
+considerable spice of the daring remained in him still!
+
+Diverging to the right at this point Captain Dan led Oliver to an old
+part of the mine, where there were a couple of men opening up and
+extending one of the old levels.  Their progress here was very different
+from what it had been.  Evidently the former miners had not thought it
+worth their while to open up a wide passage for themselves, and Oliver
+found it necessary to twist his broad shoulders into all sorts of
+positions to get them through.
+
+The first level they came to in this part was not more than three feet
+high at the entrance.
+
+"A man can't hold his head very high here, sir," said his guide.
+
+"Truly no, it is scarce high enough for my legs to walk in without any
+body above them," said Oliver.  "However, lead the way, and I will
+follow."
+
+The captain stooped and made his way through a winding passage where the
+roof was so low in many places that they were obliged to bend quite
+double, and the back and neck of the young doctor began to feel the
+strain very severely.  There were, however, a few spots where the roof
+rose a little, affording temporary relief.  Presently they came to the
+place where the men were at work.  The ground was very soft here; the
+men were cutting through _soft_ granite!--a condition of the stone which
+Oliver confessed he had never expected to see.  Here the lights burned
+very badly.
+
+"What can be the matter with it?" said Oliver, stopping for the third
+time to trim the wick of his candle.
+
+Captain Dan smiled as he said, "You asked me, last night, to take you
+into one of the levels where the air was bad--now here you are, with the
+air so bad that the candle will hardly burn.  It will be worse before
+night."
+
+"But I feel no disagreeable sensation," said Oliver.  "Possibly not,
+because you are not quite so sensitive as the flame of a candle, but if
+you remain here a few hours it will tell upon you.  Here are the men--
+you can ask them."
+
+The two men were resting when they approached.  One was old, the other
+middle-aged.  Both were hearty fellows, and communicative.  The old one,
+especially, was ruddy in complexion and pretty strong.
+
+"You look well for an old miner," said Oliver; "what may be your age?"
+
+"About sixty, sur."
+
+"Indeed! you are a notable exception to the rule.  How comes it that you
+look so fresh?"
+
+"Can't say, sur," replied the old man with a peculiar smile; "few miners
+live to my time of life, much less do they go underground.  P'raps it's
+because I neither drink nor smoke.  Tom there, now," he added, pointing
+to his comrade with his thumb, "he ain't forty yit, but he's so pale as
+a ghost; though he is strong 'nuff."
+
+"And do you neither drink nor smoke, Tom?" inquired Oliver.
+
+"Well, sur, I both smokes and drinks, but I do take 'em in moderation,"
+said Tom.
+
+"Are you married?" asked Oliver, turning again to the old man.
+
+"Iss, got a wife at hum, an' had six child'n."
+
+"Don't you find this bad air tell on your health?" he continued.
+
+"Iss, sur.  After six or seven hours I do feel my head like to split,
+an' my stummik as if it wor on fire; but what can us do? we must live,
+you knaw."
+
+Bidding these men goodbye, the captain and Oliver went down to another
+level, and then along a series of low galleries, in some of which they
+had to advance on their hands and knees, and in one of them,
+particularly, the accumulation of rubbish was so great, and the roof so
+low, that they could only force a passage through by wriggling along at
+full length like snakes.  Beyond this they found a miner and a little
+boy at work; and here Captain Dan pointed out to his companion that the
+lodes of copper and tin were rich.  Glittering particles on the walls
+and drops of water hanging from points and crevices, with the green,
+purple, and yellow colours around, combined to give the place a
+brilliant metallic aspect.
+
+"You'd better break off a piece of ore here," said Captain Dan.
+
+Oliver took a chisel and hammer from the miner, and applying them to the
+rock, spent five minutes in belabouring it with scarcely any result.
+
+"If it were not that I fear to miss the chisel and hit my knuckles," he
+said, "I think I could work more effectively."
+
+As he spoke he struck with all his force, and brought down a large
+piece, a chip of which he carried away as a memorial of his underground
+ramble.
+
+"The man is going to fire the hole," said Captain Dan; "you'd better
+wait and see it."
+
+The hole was sunk nearly two feet deep diagonally behind a large mass of
+rock that projected from the side of the level.  It was charged with
+gunpowder, and filled up with "tamping" or pounded granite, Then the
+miner lighted the fuse and hastened away, giving the usual signal,
+"Fire!"  The others followed him to a safe distance, and awaited the
+result.  In a few minutes there was a loud report, a bright blinding
+flash, and a concussion of the air which extinguished two of the
+candles.  Immediately a crash followed, as the heavy mass of rock was
+torn from its bed and hurled to the ground.
+
+"That's the way we raise tin and copper," said Captain Dan; "now,
+doctor, we had better return, if you would not be left in darkness, for
+our candles are getting low."
+
+"Did you ever travel underground in the dark?" inquired Oliver.
+
+"Not often, but I have done it occasionally.  Once, in particular, I
+went down the main shaft in the dark, and gave a miner an awful fright.
+I had to go down in haste at the time, and, not having a candle at hand,
+besides being well acquainted with the way, I hurried down in the dark.
+It so chanced that a man named Sampy had got his light put out when
+about to ascend the shaft, and, as he also was well acquainted with the
+way, he did not take the trouble to relight.  There was a good deal of
+noise in consequence of the pump being at work.  When I had got about
+half-way down I put my foot on something that felt soft.  Instantly
+there was uttered a tremendous yell, and my legs at the same moment were
+seized by something from below.  My heart almost jumped out of my mouth
+at this, but as the yell was repeated it flashed across me I must have
+trod on some one's fingers, so I lifted my foot at once, and then a
+voice, which I knew to be that of Sampy, began to wail and lament
+miserably.
+
+"`Hope I haven't hurt 'ee, Sampy?' said I.
+
+"`Aw dear! aw dear! aw, my dear!' was all that poor Sampy could reply.
+
+"`Let us go up, my son,' said I, `and we'll strike a light.'
+
+"So up we went to the next level, where I got hold of the poor lad's
+candle and lighted it.
+
+"`Aw, my dear!' said Sampy, looking at his fingers with a rueful
+countenance; `thee have scat 'em all in jowds.'"
+
+"Pray," interrupted Oliver, "what may be the meaning of `scat 'em all in
+jowds'?
+
+"Broke 'em all in pieces," replied Captain Dan; "but he was wrong, for
+no bones were broken, and the fingers were all right again in the course
+of a few days.  Sampy got a tremendous fright, however, and he was never
+known to travel underground without a light after that."
+
+Continuing to retrace their steps, Captain Dan and Oliver made for the
+main shaft.  On the way they came to another of those immense empty
+spaces where a large lode had been worked away, and nothing left in the
+dark narrow void but the short beams which had supported the working
+stages of the men.  Here Oliver, looking down through a hole at his
+feet, saw several men far below him.  They were at work on the "end" in
+three successive tiers--above each other's heads.
+
+"You've seen two of these men before," said Captain Dan.
+
+"Have I?"
+
+"Yes, they are local preachers.  The last time you saw the upper one,"
+said Captain Dan with a smile, "you were seated in the Wesleyan chapel,
+and he was in the pulpit dressed like a gentleman, and preaching as
+eloquently as if he had been educated at college and trained for the
+ministry."
+
+"I should like very much to go down and visit them," said Oliver.
+
+"'Tis a difficult descent.  There are no ladders.  Will your head stand
+stepping from beam to beam, and can you lower yourself by a chain?"
+
+"I'll try," said Oliver.
+
+Without more words Captain Dan left the platform on which they had been
+walking, and, descending through a hole, led his companion by the most
+rugged way he had yet attempted.  Sometimes they slid on their heels
+down places that Oliver would not have dreamed of attempting without a
+guide; at other times they stepped from beam to beam, with unknown
+depths below them.
+
+"Have a care here, sir," said the captain, pausing before a very steep
+place.  "I will go first and wait for you."
+
+So saying, he seized a piece of old rusty chain that was fastened into
+the rock, and swung himself down.  Then, looking up, he called to Oliver
+to follow.
+
+The young doctor did so, and, having cautiously lowered himself a few
+yards, he reached a beam, where he found the captain holding up his
+candle, and regarding him with some anxiety.  Captain Dan appeared as if
+suspended in mid-air.  Opposite to him, in the distance, the two "local
+preachers" were hard at work with hammer and chisel, while far below, a
+miner could be seen coming along the next level, and pushing an iron
+truck full of ore before him.
+
+A few more steps and slides, and then a short ascent, and Oliver stood
+beside the man who had preached the previous Sunday.  He worked with
+another miner, and was red, ragged, and half-clad, like all the rest,
+and the perspiration was pouring over his face, which was streaked with
+slime.  Very unlike was he at that time to the gentlemanly youth who had
+held forth from the pulpit.  Oliver had a long chat with him, and found
+that he aspired to enter the ministry, and had already passed some
+severe examinations.  He was self-taught, having procured the loan of
+books from his minister and some friends who were interested in him.
+His language and manners were those of a gentleman, yet he had had no
+advantages beyond his fellows.
+
+"My friend there, sir, also hopes to enter the ministry," said the
+miner, pointing, as he spoke, to a gap between the boards on which he
+stood.
+
+Oliver looked down, and there beheld a stalwart young man, about a
+couple of yards under his feet, wielding a hammer with tremendous
+vigour.  His light linen coat was open, displaying his bared and
+muscular bosom.
+
+"What! is _he_ a local preacher also?"
+
+"He is, sir," said the miner, with a smile.
+
+Oliver immediately descended to the stage below, and had a chat with
+this man also, after which he left them at their work, wondering very
+much at the intelligence and learning displayed by them; for he
+remembered that in their sermons they had, without notes, without
+hesitation, and without a grammatical error, entered into the most
+subtle metaphysical reasoning (rather too much of it indeed!), and had
+preached with impassioned (perhaps too impassioned) eloquence, quoting
+poets and prose writers, ancient and modern, with the facility of good
+scholars--while they urged men and women to repent and flee to Christ,
+with all the fervour of men thoroughly in earnest.  On the other hand,
+he knew that their opportunities for self-education were not great, and
+that they had to toil in the meantime for daily bread, at the rate of
+about 3 pounds a month!
+
+Following Captain Dan, Oliver soon reached the ladder-way.
+
+While slowly and in silence ascending the ladders; they heard a sound of
+music above them.
+
+"Men coming down to work, singing," said the captain, as they stood on a
+cross-beam to listen.
+
+The sounds at first were very faint and inexpressibly sweet.  By degrees
+they became more distinct, and Oliver could distinguish several voices
+singing in harmony, keeping time to the slow measured tread of their
+descending steps.  There seemed a novelty, and yet a strange
+familiarity, in the strains as they were wafted softly down upon his
+ear, until they drew near, and the star-like candles of the miners
+became visible.  Their manly voices then poured forth in full strength
+the glorious psalm-tune called "French," which is usually sung in
+Scotland to the beautiful psalm beginning, "I to the hills will lift
+mine eyes."
+
+The men stopped abruptly on encountering their captain and the stranger.
+Exchanging a few words with the former, they stood aside on the beams
+to let them pass.  A little boy came last.  His small limbs were as
+active as those of his more stalwart comrades, and he exhibited no signs
+of fatigue.  His treble voice, too, was heard high and tuneful among the
+others as they continued their descent and resumed the psalm.  The sweet
+strains retired gradually, and faded in the depths below as they had
+first stolen on the senses from above; and the pleasant memory of them
+still remained with the young doctor when he emerged from the mine
+through the hole at the head of the shaft, and stood once more in the
+blessed sunshine!
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Note 1.  Reader, allow us to remark that this is a fact.  Indeed, we may
+say here, once for all, that all the _important_ statements and
+incidents in this tale are facts, or founded on facts, with considerable
+modification, but without intentional exaggeration.
+
+Note 2.  It has been stated to us recently by a volunteer officer, that
+at battalion parade, when companies were equalised in numbers, the
+companies formed by the men of St. Just required about four paces more
+space to stand upon than the other volunteers.  No one who visits a St.
+Just miner at his underground toil will require to ask the reason why.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINE.
+
+TREATS OF DIFFICULTIES TO BE OVERCOME.
+
+One afternoon a council--we may appropriately say of war--was held in
+St. Just.  The scene of the council was the shop of Maggot, the
+blacksmith, and the members of it were a number of miners, the president
+being the worthy smith himself, who, with a sledge-hammer under his arm
+in the position of a short crutch, occupied the chair, if we may be
+allowed so to designate the raised hearth of the forge.
+
+The war with poverty had not been very successfully waged of late, and,
+at the time of which we write, the enemy had apparently given the miners
+a severe check, in the way of putting what appeared to be an insuperable
+obstacle in their path.
+
+"Now, lads," said Maggot, with a slap on the leathern apron that covered
+his knees, "this is the way on it, an' do 'ee be quiet and hould yer
+tongues while I do spaik."
+
+The other men, of whom there were nearly a dozen, nodded and said, "Go
+on, booy; thee's knaw tin, sure;" by which expression they affirmed
+their belief that the blacksmith was a very knowing fellow.
+
+"You do tell me that you've come so close to water that you're 'fraid to
+go on?  Is that so?"
+
+"Iss, iss," responded the others.
+
+"Well, I'll hole into the house, ef you do agree to give un a good
+pitch," said Maggot.
+
+"Agreed, one and all," cried the miners.
+
+In order that the reader may understand the drift of this conversation,
+it is necessary to explain that the indefatigable miner, David
+Trevarrow, whom we have already introduced in his submarine workshop,
+had, according to his plan, changed his ground, and transferred his
+labour to a more hopeful part of the mine.
+
+For some time previous the men had been at work on a lode which was very
+promising, but they were compelled to cease following it, because it
+approached the workings of an old part of the mine which was known to be
+full of water.  To tap this old part, or as the miners expressed it, to
+"hole into this house of water," was, they were well aware, an
+exceedingly dangerous operation.  The part of the mine to which we
+allude was not under the sea, but back a little from the shore, and was
+not very deep at that time.  The "adit"--or water-conducting--level by
+which the spot was reached commenced at the cliffs, on a level with the
+seashore, and ran into the interior until it reached the old mine, about
+a quarter of a mile inland.  Here was situated the "house," which was
+neither more nor less than a number of old shafts and levels filled with
+water.  As they had approached the old mine its near proximity was made
+disagreeably evident by the quantity of moisture that oozed through the
+crevices in the rocks--moisture which ere long took the form of a number
+of tiny rills--and at last began to spirt out from roof and sides in
+such a way that the miners became alarmed, and hesitated to continue to
+work in a place where they ran the most imminent risk of being suddenly
+drowned and swept into the sea, by the bursting of the rocks that still
+withstood the immense pressure of the confined water.
+
+It was at this point in the undertaking that David Trevarrow went to
+examine the place, and made the discovery of a seam--a "keenly lode"--
+which had such a promising appearance that the anxiety of the miners to
+get rid of this obstructive "house" was redoubled.
+
+It was at this point, too, that the council of which we write was held,
+in order to settle who should have the undesirable privilege of
+constituting the "forlorn hope" in their subterranean assault.
+
+Maggot, who was known to be one of the boldest, and, at the same time,
+one of the most utterly reckless, men in St. Just, was appealed to in
+the emergency, and, as we have seen, offered to attack the enemy
+single-handed, on condition that the miners should give him a "pitch" of
+the good lode they had found--that is, give him the right to work out a
+certain number of fathoms of ore for himself.
+
+They agreed to this, but one of them expressed some doubt as to Maggot's
+courage being equal to the occasion.
+
+To this remark Maggot vouchsafed no other reply than a frown, but his
+friend and admirer John Cock exclaimed in supreme contempt,--"What!
+Maggot afear'd to do it! aw, my dear, hould tha tongue."
+
+"But he haven't bin to see the place," urged the previous speaker.
+
+"No, my son," said Maggot, turning on the man with a look of pity, "but
+he can go an' see it.  Come, lads, lev us go an' see this place of
+danger."
+
+The miners rose at once as Maggot threw his forehammer on a heap of
+coals, put on his hat, and strode out of the forge with a reckless
+fling.  A few minutes sufficed to bring them to the beach at the mouth
+of the adit.
+
+It was a singularly wild spot, close under those precipitous cliffs on
+which some of the picturesque buildings of Botallack mine are perched--a
+sort of narrow inlet or gorge which from its form is named the Narrow
+Zawn.  There was nothing worthy of the name of a beach at the place,
+save a little piece of rugged ground near the adit mouth, which could be
+reached only by a zigzag path on the face of the almost perpendicular
+precipice.
+
+Arrived here, each man lighted a candle, wrapped the customary piece of
+wet clay round the middle of it, and entered the narrow tunnel.  They
+advanced in single file, James Penrose leading.  The height of the adit
+permitted of their walking almost upright, but the irregularity of the
+cuttings rendered it necessary that they should advance carefully, with
+special regard to their heads.  In about a quarter of an hour they
+reached a comparatively open space--that is to say, there were several
+extensions of the cutting in various directions, which gave the place
+the appearance of being a small cavern, instead of a narrow tunnel.
+Here the water, which in other parts of the adit flowed along the
+bottom, ran down the walls and spirted in fine streams from the almost
+invisible crevices of the rock, thus betraying at once the proximity and
+the power of the pent-up water.
+
+"What think'ee now, my son?" asked an elderly man who stood at Maggot's
+elbow.
+
+After a short pause, during which he sternly regarded the rocks before
+him, the smith replied, "_I'll do it_," in the tone and with the air of
+a man who knows that what he has made up his mind to do is not child's
+play.
+
+The question being thus settled, the miners retraced their steps and
+went to their several homes.
+
+Entering his cottage, the smith found his little girl Grace busily
+engaged in the interesting process of nursing the baby.  He seated
+himself in a chair by the fireside, smoked his pipe, and watched the
+process, while his wife busied herself in preparing the evening meal.
+
+Oh! but the little Maggot was a big baby--a worthy representative of his
+father--a true chip of the old block, for he was not only fat, riotous,
+and muscular, but very reckless, and extremely positive.  His little
+nurse, on the contrary, was gentle and delicate; not much bigger than
+the baby, although a good deal older, and she had a dreadful business of
+it to keep him in order.  All her efforts at lifting and restraining him
+were somewhat akin to the exertion made by wrestlers to throw each other
+by main force, and her intense desire to make baby Maggot "be good" was
+repaid by severe kicks on the shins, and sundry dabs in the face with,
+luckily, a soft, fat pair of fists.
+
+"Sit 'ee quiet, now, or I'll scat oo nose," said the little nurse
+suddenly, with a terrible frown.
+
+It need scarcely be said that she had not the remotest; intention of
+carrying out this dreadful threat to smash the little Maggot's nose.
+She accompanied it, however, with a twist that suddenly placed the
+urchin in a sitting posture, much to his own surprise, for he opened his
+eyes very wide, drew his breath sharply, and appeared to meditate a
+roar.  He thought better of it, however, and relapsed into goodness just
+as the door opened, and David Trevarrow entered.
+
+"Oh, uncle David," cried little Grace, jumping up and running towards
+him, "do help me nuss baby."
+
+"What's the matter with the cheeld--bad, eh?  Fetch un to me and I'll
+cure him."
+
+There was no necessity to fetch baby, for that obstreperous individual
+entertained an immense regard for "Unkil Day," and was already on his
+fat legs staggering across the floor to him with outstretched arms.
+Thereafter he only required a pair of wings to make him a complete
+cherub.
+
+Little Grace, relieved of her charge, at once set to work to assist her
+mother in household matters.  She was one of those dear little earnest
+creatures who of their own accord act in a motherly and wifely way from
+their early years.  To look at little Grace's serious thoroughgoing
+face, when she chanced to pause in the midst of work, and meditate what
+was to be done next, one might imagine that the entire care of the
+household had suddenly devolved upon her shoulders.  In the matter of
+housewifery little Grace was almost equal to big Grace, her respected
+mother; in downright honesty and truthfulness she greatly excelled her.
+
+The description of Maggot's household, on that evening, would be very
+incomplete were we to omit mention of Zackey Maggot.  That young man--
+for man he deemed himself, and man he was, in all respects, except the
+trifling matters of years, size, and whiskers--that young man entered
+the room with his uncle, and, without deigning to change his wet red
+garments, sat him down at his father's feet and caught hold of a small
+black kitten, which, at the time, lay sound asleep on the hearth, and
+began to play with it in a grave patronising way, as though his taking
+notice of it at all were a condescension.
+
+That black kitten, or Chet, as it was usually styled, was accustomed to
+be strangled the greater part of the morning by the baby.  Most of the
+afternoon it was worried by Zackey, and, during the intervals of
+torment, it experienced an unusually large measure of the vicissitudes
+incident to kitten life--such as being kicked out of the way by Maggot
+senior, or thrown or terrified out of the way by Mrs Maggot, or dashed
+at by stray dogs, or yelled at by passing boys.  The only sunshine of
+its life (which was at all times liable to be suddenly clouded) was when
+it slept, or when little Grace put it on her soft neck, tickled its
+chin, and otherwise soothed its ruffled spirit, as only a loving heart
+knows how.  A bad memory seemed to be that kitten's chief blessing.  A
+horror of any kind was no sooner past than it was straightway forgotten,
+and the facetious animal would advance with arched back and glaring eyes
+in defiance of an incursive hen, or twirl in mad hopeless career after
+its own miserable tail!
+
+"'Tis a keenly lode," said Maggot, puffing his pipe thoughtfully.
+
+"Iss," assented David Trevarrow, also puffing his pipe, at the clouds
+issuing from which baby gazed with endless amazement and admiration;
+"it's worth much, but it isn't worth your life."
+
+"Sure, I ain't goin' to give my life for't," replied Maggot.
+
+"But you're goin' to risk it," said David, "an' you shouldn't, for
+you've a wife an' child'n to provide for.  Now, I tell 'ee what it is:
+you lev it to me.  _I'll_ hole to the house.  It don't matter much what
+happens to me."
+
+"No, 'ee won't," said Maggot stoutly; "what I do promise to do I _will_
+do."
+
+"But if you die?" said David.
+
+"Well, what if I do? we have all to come to that some day, sooner or
+later."
+
+"Are you prepared to die?" asked Trevarrow earnestly.
+
+"Now, David, don't 'ee trouble me with that.  'Tis all very well for the
+women an' child'n, but it don't suit me, it don't, so lev us have no
+more of it, booy.  I'll do it to-morrow, that's fixed, so now we'll have
+a bit supper."
+
+The tone in which Maggot said this assured David that further
+conversation would be useless, so he dropped the subject and sat down
+with the rest of the family to their evening meal.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TEN.
+
+SHOWS HOW MAGGOT MADE A DESPERATE VENTURE, AND WHAT FLOWED FROM IT.
+
+"A wilful man must have his way" is a proverb the truth of which was
+illustrated by the blacksmith on the following day.
+
+David Trevarrow again attempted to dissuade him from his purpose, and
+reiterated his offer to go in his stead, but he failed to move him.
+Mrs Maggot essayed, and added tears to her suasion, as also did little
+Grace; but they failed too--the obdurate man would not give way.  The
+only one of his household who did not attempt to dissuade him
+(excepting, of course, the baby, who cared nothing whatever about the
+matter) was Zackey.  That urchin not only rejoiced in the failure of the
+others to turn his father from his purpose, but pleaded hard to be
+allowed to go with him, and share his danger as well as glory.  This,
+however, was peremptorily denied to the young aspirant to fame and a
+premature death by drowning in a dark hole.
+
+Early in the forenoon Maggot and his friends proceeded to the shore,
+where they found a number of miners and others assembled near the adit
+mouth--among them our hero Oliver Trembath, Mr Donnithorne, and Mr
+Cornish, at that time the purser and manager of Botallack mine.
+
+The latter gentleman accosted Maggot as he came forward, and advised him
+to be cautious.  Of course the smith gave every assurance that was
+required of him, and immediately prepared himself to make the dangerous
+experiment.
+
+Supplying himself with a number of tallow candles, a mining hammer, and
+other tools, Maggot stripped to the waist, and jestingly bidding his
+friends farewell, entered the mouth of the tunnel, and disappeared.  The
+adit level, or tunnel, through which he had to pass to the scene of his
+operations, was, as we have said, about a quarter of a mile in length,
+about six feet high, and two and a half feet wide.  It varied in
+dimensions here and there, however, and was rough and irregular
+throughout.
+
+For the first hundred yards or so Maggot could see well enough to grope
+his way by the daylight which streamed in at the entrance of the adit,
+but beyond this point all was intense darkness; so here he stopped, and,
+striking a light by means of flint, steel, and tinder, lit one of his
+candles.  This he attached to a piece of wet clay in the usual fashion,
+except that he placed the clay at the lower end of the candle instead of
+round the middle of it.  He then stuck it against the rock a little
+above the level of his head.  Lighting another candle he advanced with
+it in his hand.  Walking, or rather wading onward (for the stream was
+ankle-deep) far enough to be almost beyond the influence of the first
+candle, he stopped again and stuck up another.  Thus, at intervals, he
+placed candles along the entire length of the adit, so that he might
+have light to guide him in his race from the water which he hoped to set
+free.  This precaution was necessary, because, although he meant to
+carry a candle in his hat all the time, there was a possibility--nay, a
+strong probability--that it would be blown or drowned out.
+
+Little more than a quarter of an hour brought him to the scene of his
+intended adventure.  Here he found the water spirting out all round,
+much more violently than it had been the day before.  He did not waste
+much time in consideration, having made up his mind on the previous
+visit as to which part of the rock he would drive the hole through.
+Sticking his last candle, therefore, against the driest part of the wall
+that could be found, he seized his tools and commenced work.
+
+We have already said that Maggot was a strong man.  As he stood there,
+naked to the waist, holding the borer with his left hand, and plying the
+hammer with all his might with the other, his great breadth of shoulder
+and development of muscle were finely displayed by the candlelight,
+which fell in brilliant gleams on parts of his frame, while the rest of
+him was thrown into shadow, so deep that it would have appeared black,
+but for the deeper shade by which it was surrounded--the whole scene
+presenting a grand Rembrandt effect.
+
+It is unnecessary to say that Maggot wrought with might and main.
+Excited somewhat by the novelty and danger of his undertaking, he felt
+relieved by the violence of his exertion.  He knew, besides, that the
+candles which were to light him on his return were slowly but surely
+burning down.  Blow after blow resounded through the place incessantly.
+When the smith's right arm felt a very little wearied--it was too
+powerful to be soon or greatly exhausted--he shifted the hammer to his
+left hand, and so the work went on.  Suddenly and unexpectedly the borer
+was driven to its head into the hole by a tremendous blow.  The rock
+behind it had given way.  Almost at the same instant a large mass of
+rock burst outwards, followed by a stream of water so thick and violent
+that it went straight at the opposite side of the cavern, against which
+it burst in white foam.  This, rebounding back and around, rushed
+against roof and sides with such force that the whole place was at once
+deluged.
+
+Maggot was knocked down at the first gush, but leaped up and turned to
+fly.  Of course both candles--that in his hat as well as that which he
+had affixed to the wall--were extinguished, and he was at once plunged
+in total darkness, for the rays of the next light, although visible,
+were too feeble to penetrate with any effect to the extremity of the
+adit.  Blinded by rushing water and confused by his fall, the smith
+mistook his direction, and ran against the side of the level with such
+violence that he fell again, but his sturdy frame withstood the shock,
+and once more he sprang to his feet and leaped along the narrow tunnel
+with all the energy of desperation.
+
+Well was it for Maggot at that hour that his heart was bold and his
+faculties cool and collected, else then and there his career had ended.
+Bending forward and stooping low, he bounded away like a hunted deer,
+but the rush of water was so great that it rapidly gained on him, and,
+by concealing the uneven places in the path, caused him to stumble.  His
+relay of candles served him in good stead; nevertheless, despite their
+light and his own caution, he more than once narrowly missed dashing out
+his brains on the low roof.  On came the water after the fugitive, a
+mighty, hissing, vaulting torrent, filling the level behind, and leaping
+up on the man higher and higher as he struggled and floundered on for
+life.  Quickly, and before quarter of the distance to the adit mouth was
+traversed, it gurgled up to his waist, swept him off his legs, and
+hurled him against projecting rocks.  Once and again did he succeed in
+regaining his foothold, but in a moment or two the rising flood swept
+him down and hurled him violently onward, sporting with him on its
+foaming crest until it disgorged him at last, and cast him, stunned,
+bruised, and bleeding, on the seashore.
+
+Of course the unfortunate man's friends had waited for him with some
+impatience, and great was their anxiety when the first of the flood made
+its appearance.  When, immediately after, the battered form of their
+comrade was flung on the beach, they ran forward and bore him out of the
+stream.
+
+Oliver Trembath being on the spot, Maggot wae at once attended to, and
+his wounds bound up.
+
+"He'll do; he's all right," said Oliver, on completing the work--"only
+got a few cuts and bruises, and lost a little blood, but that won't harm
+him."
+
+The expression of anxiety that had appeared on the faces of those who
+stood around at once vanished on hearing these reassuring words.
+
+"I knaw'd it," said John Cock energetically.  "I knaw'd he couldn't be
+killed--not he."
+
+"I trust that you may be right, Oliver," said old Mr Donnithorne,
+looking with much concern on the pale countenance of the poor smith, who
+still lay stretched out, with only a slight motion of the chest to prove
+that the vital spark had not been altogether extinguished.
+
+"No fear of him, he's sure to come round," replied Oliver; "come, lads,
+up with him on your backs."
+
+He raised the smith's shoulder as he spoke.  Three tall and powerful
+miners promptly lent their aid, and Maggot was raised shoulder-high, and
+conveyed up the steep, winding path that led to the top of the cliff.
+
+"It would never do to lose Maggot," murmured Mr Donnithorne, as if
+speaking to himself while he followed the procession beside Mr Cornish;
+"he's far too good a--"
+
+"A smuggler--eh?" interrupted the purser, with a laugh.
+
+"Eh, ah! did I say smuggler?" cried Mr Donnithorne; "surely not, for of
+all vices that of smuggling is one of the worst, unless it be an
+overfondness for the bottle.  I meant to have said that he is too
+valuable a man for St. Just to lose--in many ways; and you know, Mr
+Cornish, that he is a famous wrestler--a man of whom St. Just may be
+justly proud."
+
+Mr Donnithorne cast a sly glance at his companion, whom he knew to be
+partial to the ancient Cornish pastime of wrestling.  Indeed, if report
+said truly, the worthy purser had himself in his youthful days been a
+celebrated amateur wrestler, one who had never been thrown, even
+although he had on more than one occasion been induced in a frolic to
+enter the public ring and measure his strength with the best men that
+could be brought against him.  He was long past the time of life when
+men indulge in such rough play, but his tall commanding figure and huge
+chest and shoulders were quite sufficient to warrant the belief that
+what was said of him was possible, while the expression of his fine
+massive countenance, and the humorous glance of his clear, black eye,
+bore evidence that it was highly probable.
+
+"'Twould be foul injustice," said the purser with a quiet laugh, "if I
+were to deny that Maggot is a good man and true, in the matter of
+wrestling; nevertheless he is an arrant rogue, and defrauds the revenue
+woefully.  But, after all he is only the cat's-paw; those who employ him
+are the real sinners--eh, Mr Donnithorne?"
+
+"Surely, surely," replied the old gentleman with much gravity; "and it
+is to be hoped that this accident will have the effect of turning Maggot
+from his evil ways."
+
+The purser could not refrain from a laugh at the hypocritical solemnity
+of the old gentleman, who was, he well knew, one of the very sinners
+whom he condemned with such righteous indignation, but their arrival at
+Maggot's cottage prevented further conversation on the subject at that
+time.
+
+Mrs Maggot, although a good deal agitated when her husband's almost
+inanimate and bloody form was carried in and laid on the bed, was by no
+means overcome with alarm.  She, like the wives of St. Just miners
+generally, was too well accustomed to hear of accidents and to see their
+results, to give way to wild fears before she had learned the extent of
+her calamity; so, when she found that it was not serious, she dried her
+eyes, and busied herself in attending to all the little duties which the
+occasion required.  Little Grace, too, although terribly frightened, and
+very pale, was quite self-possessed, and went about the house assisting
+her mother ably, despite the tendency to sob, which she found it very
+difficult to overcome.  But the baby behaved in the most shameful and
+outrageous manner.  His naughtiness is almost indescribable.  The
+instant the door opened, and his father's bloody face was presented to
+view, baby set up a roar so tremendous that a number of dogs in the
+neighbourhood struck in with a loud chorus, and the black kitten,
+startled out of an innocent slumber, rushed incontinently under the bed,
+faced about, and fuffed in impotent dismay!
+
+But not only did baby roar--he also fell on the floor and kicked,
+thereby rendering his noise exasperating, besides exposing his fat
+person to the risk of being trod upon.  Zackey was therefore told off as
+a detachment to keep this enemy in check, a duty which he performed
+nobly, until his worthy father was comfortably put to bed, after which
+the friends retired, and left the smith to the tender care of his own
+family.
+
+"He has done good service anyhow," observed Mr Donnithorne to his
+nephew, as he parted from him that evening; "for he has cleared the mine
+of water that it would have cost hundreds of pounds and many months to
+pump out."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ELEVEN.
+
+SHOWS THAT MUSIC HATH CHARMS, AND ALSO THAT IT SOMETIMES HAS
+DISADVANTAGES.
+
+One morning, not long after his arrival at St. Just, the young doctor
+went out to make a round of professional visits.  He had on his way to
+pass the cottage of his uncle, which stood a little apart from the chief
+square or triangle of the town, and had a small piece of ground in
+front.  Here Rose was wont to cultivate her namesakes, and other
+flowers, with her own fair hands, and here Mr Thomas Donnithorne
+refreshed himself each evening with a pipe of tobacco, the flavour of
+which was inexpressibly enhanced to him by the knowledge that it had
+been smuggled.
+
+He was in the habit of washing the taste of the same away each night,
+before retiring to rest, with a glass of brandy and water, hot, which
+was likewise improved in flavour by the same interesting association.
+
+The windows of the cottage were wide open, for no Atlantic fog dimmed
+the glory of the summer sun that morning, and the light air that came up
+from the mighty sea was fresh and agreeably cool.
+
+As Oliver approached the end of the cottage he observed that Rose was
+not at her accustomed work in the garden, and he was about to pass the
+door when the tones of a guitar struck his ear and arrested his step.
+He was surprised, for at that period the instrument was not much used,
+and the out-of-the-way town of St. Just was naturally the last place in
+the land where he would have expected to meet with one.  No air was
+played--only a few chords were lightly touched by fingers which were
+evidently expert.  Presently a female voice was heard to sing in rich
+contralto tones.  The air was extremely simple, and very beautiful--at
+least, so thought Oliver, as he leaned against a wall and listened to
+the words.  These, also, were simple enough, but sounded both sweet and
+sensible to the listener, coming as they did from a woman's lips so
+tunefully, and sounding the praises of the sea, of which he was
+passionately fond:--
+
+  SONG.
+
+  "I love the land where acres broad
+  Are clothed in yellow grain;
+  Where cot of thrall and lordly hall
+  Lie scattered o'er the plain.
+  Oh!  I have trod the velvet sod
+  Beneath the beechwood tree;
+  And roamed the brake by stream and lake
+  Where peace and plenty be.
+  But more than plain,
+  Or rich domain,
+  I love the bright blue sea!
+
+  "I love the land where bracken grows
+  And heath-clad mountains rise;
+  Where peaks still fringed with winter snows
+  Tower in the summer skies.
+  Oh!  I have seen the red and green
+  Of fir and rowan tree,
+  And heard the din of flooded linn,
+  With bleating on the lea.
+  But better still
+  Than heath-clad hill
+  I love the stormy sea!"
+
+The air ceased, and Oliver, stepping in at the open door, found Rose
+Ellis with a Spanish guitar resting on her knee.  She neither blushed
+nor started up nor looked confused--which was, of course, very strange
+of her in the circumstances, seeing that she is the heroine of this
+tale--but, rising with a smile on her pretty mouth, shook hands with the
+youth.
+
+"Why, cousin," said Oliver, "I had no idea you could sing so
+charmingly."
+
+"I am fond of singing," said Rose.
+
+"So am I, especially when I hear such singing as yours; and the song,
+too--I like it much, for it praises the sea.  Where did you pick it up?"
+
+"I got it from the composer, a young midshipman," said Rose sadly; at
+the same time a slight blush tinged her brow.
+
+Oliver felt a peculiar sensation which he could not account for, and was
+about to make further inquiries into the authorship of the song, when it
+occurred to him that this would be impolite, and might be awkward, so he
+asked instead how she had become possessed of so fine a guitar.  Before
+she could reply Mr Donnithorne entered.
+
+"How d'ee do, Oliver lad; going your rounds--eh?--Come, Rose, let's have
+breakfast, lass, you were not wont to be behind with it.  I'll be bound
+this gay gallant--this hedge-jumper with his eyes shut--has been
+praising your voice and puffing up your heart, but don't believe him,
+Rose; it's the fashion of these fellows to tell lies on such matters."
+
+"You do me injustice, uncle," said Oliver with a laugh; "but even if it
+were true that I am addicted to falsehood in praising women, it were
+impossible, in the present instance, to give way to my propensity, for
+Truth herself would find it difficult to select an expression
+sufficiently appropriate to apply to the beautiful voice of Rose Ellis!"
+
+"Hey-day, young man," exclaimed Mr Donnithorne, as he carefully filled
+his pipe with precious weed, "your oratorical powers are uncommon!
+Surely thy talents had been better bestowed in the Church or at the Bar
+than in the sickroom or the hospital.  Demosthenes himself would have
+paled before thee, lad--though, if truth must be told, there is a dash
+more sound than sense in thine eloquence."
+
+"Sense, uncle!  Surely your own good sense must compel you to admit that
+Rose sings splendidly?"
+
+"Well, I won't gainsay it," replied Mr Donnithorne, "now that Rose has
+left the room, for I don't much care to bespatter folk with too much
+praise to their faces.  The child has indeed a sweet pipe of her own.
+By the way, you were asking about her guitar when I came in; I'll tell
+you about that.
+
+"Its history is somewhat curious," said Mr Donnithorne, passing his
+fingers through the bunch of gay ribbons that hung from the head of the
+instrument.  "You have heard, I dare say, of the burning of Penzance by
+the Spaniards more than two hundred years ago; in the year 1595, I think
+it was?"
+
+"I have," answered Oliver, "but I know nothing beyond the fact that such
+an event took place.  I should like to hear the details of it
+exceedingly."
+
+"Well," continued the old gentleman, "our country was, as you know, at
+war with Spain at the time; but it no more entered into the heads of
+Cornishmen that the Spaniards would dare to land on our shores than that
+the giants would rise from their graves.  There was, indeed, an old
+prediction that such an event would happen, but the prediction was
+either forgotten or not believed, so that when several Spanish galleys
+suddenly made their appearance in Mounts Bay, and landed about two
+hundred men near Mousehole, the inhabitants were taken by surprise.
+Before they could arm and defend themselves, the Spaniards effected a
+landing, began to devastate the country, and set fire to the adjacent
+houses.
+
+"It is false," continued the old man sternly, "to say, as has been said
+by some, that the men of Mousehole were seized with panic, and that
+those of Newlyn and Penzance deserted their houses terror-stricken.  The
+truth is, that the suddenness of the attack, and their unprepared
+condition to repel it, threw the people into temporary confusion, and
+forced them to retreat, as, all history shows us, the best and bravest
+will do at times.  In Mousehole, the principal inhabitant was killed by
+a cannon-ball, so that, deprived of their leading spirit at the critical
+moment when a leader was necessary, it is no wonder that at _first_ the
+fishermen were driven back by well-armed men trained to act in concert.
+To fire the houses was the work of a few minutes.  The Spaniards then
+rushed on to Newlyn and Penzance, and fired these places also, after
+which they returned to their ships, intending to land the next day and
+renew their work of destruction.
+
+"But that night was well spent by the enraged townsmen.  They organised
+themselves as well as they could in the circumstances, and, when day
+came, attacked the Spaniards with guns and bows, and that so
+effectively, that the Dons were glad to hoist their sails and run out of
+the bay.
+
+"Well, you must know there was one of the Spaniards, who, it has been
+said, either from bravado, or vanity, or a desire to insult the English,
+or from all three motives together, brought a guitar on shore with him
+at Mousehole, and sang and played to his comrades while they were
+burning the houses.  This man left his guitar with those who were left
+to guard the boats, and accompanied the others to Penzance.  On his
+return he again took his guitar, and, going up to a high point of the
+cliff, so that he might be seen by his companions and heard by any of
+the English who chanced to be in hiding near the place, sang several
+songs of defiance at the top of his voice, and even went the length of
+performing a Spanish dance, to the great amusement of his comrades
+below, who were embarking in their boats.
+
+"While the half-crazed Spaniard was going on thus he little knew that,
+not three yards distant from him, a gigantic Mousehole fisherman, who
+went by the name of Gurnet, lay concealed among some low bushes,
+watching his proceedings with an expression of anger on his big stern
+countenance.  When the boats were nearly ready to start the Spaniard
+descended from the rocky ledge on which he had been performing,
+intending to rejoin his comrades.  He had to pass round the bush where
+Gurnet lay concealed, and in doing so was for a few seconds hid from his
+comrades, who immediately forgot him in the bustle of departure, or, if
+they thought of him at all, each boat's crew imagined, no doubt, that he
+was with one of the others.
+
+"But he never reached the boats.  As he passed the bush Gurnet sprang on
+him like a tiger and seized him round the throat with both hands,
+choking a shout that was coming up, and causing his eyes to start almost
+out of his head.  Without uttering a word, and only giving now and then
+a terrible hiss through his clenched teeth, Gurnet pushed the Spaniard
+before him, keeping carefully out of sight of the beach, and holding him
+fast by the nape of the neck, so that when he perceived the slightest
+symptom of a tendency to cry out he had only to press his strong fingers
+and effectually nip it in the bud.
+
+"He led him to a secluded place among the rocks, far beyond earshot of
+the shore, and there, setting him free, pointed to a flat rock and to
+his guitar, and hissed, rather than said, in tones that could neither be
+misunderstood nor gainsaid--
+
+"`There, dance and sing, will 'ee, till 'ee bu'st!'
+
+"Gurnet clenched his huge fist as he spoke, and, as the Spaniard grew
+pale, and hesitated, he shook it close to his face--so close that he
+tapped the prominent bridge of the man's nose, and hissed again, more
+fiercely than before--
+
+"`Ye haaf saved bucca, ye mazed totle, that can only frighten women an'
+child'n, an burn housen; thee'rt fond o' singin' an' dancin'--dance now,
+will 'ee, ye gurt bufflehead, or ef ye waant I'll scat thee head in
+jowds, an' send 'ee scrougin' over cliffs, I will.'"
+
+In justice to the narrator it is right to say that these words are not
+so bad as they sound.
+
+"The fisherman's look and action were so terrible whilst he poured forth
+his wrath, which was kept alive by the thought of the smouldering embers
+of his own cottage, that the Spaniard could not but obey.  With a
+ludicrous compound of fun and terror he began to dance and sing, or
+rather to leap and wail, while Gurnet stood before him with a look of
+grim ferocity that never for a moment relaxed.
+
+"Whenever the Spaniard stopped from exhaustion Gurnet shouted `Go on,'
+in a voice of thunder, and the poor man, being thoroughly terrified,
+went on until he fell to the ground incapable of further exertion.
+
+"Up to this point Gurnet had kept saying to himself, `He is fond o'
+dancin' an' singin', let un have it, then,' but when the poor man fell
+his heart relented.  He picked him up, threw him across his shoulder as
+if he had been a bolster, and bore him away.  At first the men of the
+place wanted to hang him on the spot, but Gurnet claimed him as his
+prisoner, and would not allow this.  He gave him his liberty, and the
+poor wretch maintained himself for many a day as a wandering minstrel.
+At last he managed to get on board of a Spanish vessel, and was never
+more heard of, but he left his guitar behind him.  It was picked up on
+the shore, where he left it, probably, in his haste to get away.
+
+"The truth of this story, of course, I cannot vouch for," concluded Mr
+Donnithorne, with a smile, "but I have told it to you as nearly as
+possible in the words in which I have often heard my grandfather give
+it--and as for the guitar, why, here it is, having been sold to me by a
+descendant of the man who found it on the seashore."
+
+"A wonderful story indeed," said Oliver--"_if true_."
+
+"The guitar you must admit is at least a fact," said the old gentleman.
+
+Oliver not only admitted this, but said it was a sweet-sounding fact,
+and was proceeding to comment further on the subject when Mr
+Donnithorne interrupted him--
+
+"By the way, talking of sweet sounds, have you heard what that
+gruff-voiced scoundrel Maggot--that roaring bull of Bashan--has been
+about lately?"
+
+"No, I have not," said Oliver, who saw that the old gentleman's ire was
+rising.
+
+"Ha! lad, that man ought to be hanged.  He is an arrant knave, a
+smuggler--a--an ungrateful rascal.  Why, sir, you'll scarcely believe
+it: he has come to me and demanded more money for the jewels which he
+and his comrade sold me in fair and open bargain, and because I refused,
+and called him a few well-merited names, he has actually gone and given
+information against me as possessor of treasure, which of right, so they
+say, belongs to Government, and last night I had a letter which tells me
+that the treasure, as they call it, must be delivered up without delay,
+on pain of I don't know what penalties.  Penalties, forsooth! as if I
+hadn't been punished enough already by the harassing curtain-lectures of
+my over-scrupulous wife, ever since the unlucky day when the baubles
+were found, not to mention the uneasy probings of my own conscience,
+which, to say truth, I had feared was dead altogether owing to the
+villainous moral atmosphere of this smuggling place, but which I find
+quite lively and strong yet--a matter of some consolation too, for
+although I do have a weakness for cheap 'baccy and brandy, being of an
+economical turn of mind, I don't like the notion of getting rid of my
+conscience altogether.  But, man, 'tis hard to bear!"
+
+Poor Mr Donnithorne stopped here, partly owing to shortness of breath,
+and partly because he had excited himself to a pitch that rendered
+coherent speech difficult.
+
+"Would it not be well at once to relieve your conscience, sir,"
+suggested Oliver respectfully, "by giving up the things that cause it
+pain?  In my profession we always try to get at the root of a disease,
+and apply our remedies there."
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed the old gentleman, wiping his heated brow, "and lose
+twenty pounds as a sort of fee to Doctor Maggot, who, like other doctors
+I wot of, created the disease himself, and who will certainly never
+attempt to alleviate it by returning the fee."
+
+"Still, the disease may be cured by the remedy I recommend," said
+Oliver.
+
+"No, man, it can't," cried the old gentleman with a perplexed
+expression, "because the dirty things are already sold and the money is
+invested in Botallack shares, to sell which and pay back the cash in the
+present depressed state of things would be utter madness.  But hush!
+here comes my better half, and although she _is_ a dear good soul, with
+an unusual amount of wisdom for her size, it would be injudicious to
+prolong the lectures of the night into the early hours of morning."
+
+As he spoke little Mrs Donnithorne's round good-looking face appeared
+like the rising sun in the doorway, and her cheery voice welcomed Oliver
+to breakfast.
+
+"Thank you, aunt," said Oliver, "but I have already breakfasted more
+than an hour ago, and am on my way to visit my patients.  Indeed, I have
+to blame myself for calling at so early an hour, and would not have done
+so but for the irresistible attraction of a newly discovered voice,
+which--"
+
+"Come, come, youngster," interrupted Mr Donnithorne, "be pleased to
+bear in remembrance that the voice is connected with a pair of capital
+ears, remarkable for their sharpness, if not their length, and at no
+great distance off, I warrant."
+
+"You do Rose injustice," observed Mrs Donnithorne, as the voice at that
+moment broke out into a lively carol in the region of the kitchen,
+whither its owner had gone to superintend culinary matters.  "But tell
+me, Oliver, have you heard of the accident to poor Batten?"
+
+"Yes, I saw him yesterday," replied the doctor, "just after the accident
+happened, and I am anxious about him.  I fear, though I am not quite
+certain, that his eyesight is destroyed."
+
+"Dear! dear!--oh, poor man," said Mrs Donnithorne, whose sympathetic
+heart swelled, while her blue eyes instantly filled with tears.  "It is
+so very sad, Oliver, for his delicate wife and four young children are
+entirely dependent upon him and his two sons--and they found it
+difficult enough to make the two ends meet, even when they were all in
+health; for it is hard times among the miners at present, as you know,
+Oliver; and now--dear, dear, it is very, _very_ sad."
+
+Little Mrs Donnithorne said nothing more at that time, but her mind
+instantly reverted to a portly basket which she was much in the habit of
+carrying with her on her frequent visits to the poor and the sick--for
+the good lady was one of those whose inclinations as well as principles
+lead them to "consider the poor."
+
+It must not be imagined, however, that the poor formed a large class of
+the community in St. Just.  The miners of that district, and indeed all
+over Cornwall, were, and still are, a self-reliant, independent,
+hard-working race, and as long as tough thews and sinews, and stout and
+willing hearts, could accomplish anything, they never failed to wrench a
+subsistence out of the stubborn rocks which contain the wealth of the
+land.  Begging goes very much against the grain of a Cornishman, and the
+lowest depth to which he can sink socially, in his own esteem, is that
+of being dependent on charity.
+
+In some cases this sentiment is carried too far, and has degenerated
+into pride; for, when God in His wisdom sees fit, by means of disabling
+accident or declining health, to incapacitate a man from labour, it is
+as honourable in him to receive charity as it is (although not always
+sufficiently esteemed so) a high privilege and luxury of the more
+fortunate to give.
+
+Worthy Mrs Donnithorne's charities were always bestowed with such
+delicacy that she managed, in some mysterious way, to make the
+recipients feel as though they had done her a favour in accepting them.
+And yet she was not a soft piece of indiscriminating amiability, whose
+chief delight in giving lay in the sensations which the act created
+within her own breast.  By no means.  None knew better than she when and
+where to give money, and when to give blankets, bread, or tea.  She was
+equally sharp to perceive the spirit that rendered it advisable for her
+to say, "I want you to do me a favour--there's a good woman now, you
+won't refuse me, etcetera," and to detect the spirit that called forth
+the sharp remark, accompanied with a dubious smile and a shake of her
+fat forefinger, "There now, see that you make better use of it _this_
+time, else I shall have to scold you."
+
+Having received a message for poor Mrs Batten, the miner's wife, the
+doctor left the cottage, and proceeded to pay his visits.  Let us
+accompany him.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWELVE.
+
+IN WHICH OLIVER GETS "A FALL," AND SEES SOME OF THE SHADOWS OF THE
+MINER'S LIFE.
+
+In crossing a hayfield, Oliver Trembath encountered the tall, bluff
+figure, and the grave, sedate smile of Mr Cornish, the manager.
+
+"Good-morning, doctor," said the old gentleman, extending his hand and
+giving the youth a grasp worthy of one of the old Cornish giants; "do
+you know I was thinking, as I saw you leap over the stile, that you
+would make a pretty fair miner?"
+
+"Thanks, sir, for your good opinion of me," said Oliver, with a smile,
+"but I would rather work above than below ground.  Living the half of
+one's life beyond the reach of sunlight is not conducive to health."
+
+"Nevertheless, the miners keep their health pretty well, considering the
+nature of their work," replied Mr Cornish; "and you must admit that
+many of them are stout fellows.  You would find them so if you got one
+of their Cornish hugs."
+
+"Perhaps," said Oliver, with a modest look, for he had been a noted
+wrestler at school, "I might give them a pretty fair hug in return, for
+Cornish blood flows in my veins."
+
+"A fig for blood, doctor; it is of no avail without knowledge and
+practice, as well as muscle.  _With_ these, however, I do acknowledge
+that it makes weight--if by `blood' you mean high spirit."
+
+"By the way, how comes it, sir," said Oliver, "that Cornishmen are so
+much more addicted to wrestling than other Englishmen?"
+
+"It were hard to tell, doctor, unless it be that they feel themselves
+stronger than other Englishmen, and being accustomed to violent exertion
+more than others, they take greater pleasure in it.  Undoubtedly the
+Greeks introduced it among us, but whether they practised it as we now
+do cannot be certainly ascertained."
+
+Here Mr Cornish entered into an enthusiastic account of the art of
+wrestling; related many anecdotes of his own prowess in days gone by,
+and explained the peculiar method of performing the throw by the heel,
+the toe, and the hip; the heave forward, the back-heave, and the Cornish
+hug, to all of which the youth listened with deep interest.
+
+"I should like much to witness one of your wrestling-matches," he said,
+when the old gentleman concluded; "for I cannot imagine that any of your
+peculiar Cornish hugs or twists can be so potent as to overturn a stout
+fellow who is accustomed to wrestle in another fashion.  Can you show me
+one of the particular grips or twists that are said to be so effective?"
+
+"I think I can," replied the old gentleman, with a smile, and a twinkle
+in his eye; "of course the style of grip and throw will vary according
+to the size of the man one has to deal with.  Give me hold of your
+wrist, and plant yourself firmly on your legs.  Now, you see, you must
+turn the arm--so, and use your toe--thus, so as to lift your man, and
+with a sudden twist--there!  That's the way to do it!" said the old
+gentleman, with a chuckle, as he threw Oliver head foremost into the
+middle of a haycock that lay opportunely near.
+
+It is hard to say whether Mr Cornish or Oliver was most surprised at
+the result of the effort--the one, that so much of his ancient prowess
+should remain, and the other, that he should have been so easily
+overthrown by one who, although fully as large a man as himself, had his
+joints and muscles somewhat stiffened by age.
+
+Oliver burst into a fit of laughter on rising, and exclaimed, "Well
+done, sir!  You have effectually convinced me that there is something
+worth knowing in the Cornish mode of wrestling; although, had I known
+what you were about to do, it might not perhaps have been done so
+easily."
+
+"I doubt it not," said Mr Cornish with a laugh; "but that shows the
+value of `science' in such matters.  Good-morning, doctor.  Hope you'll
+find your patients getting on well."
+
+He waved his hand as he turned off, while Oliver pursued his way to the
+miners' cottages.
+
+The first he entered belonged to a man whose chest was slightly affected
+for the first time.  He was a stout man, about thirty-five years of age,
+and of temperate habits--took a little beer occasionally, but never
+exceeded; had a good appetite, but had caught cold frequently in
+consequence of having to go a considerable distance from the shaft's
+mouth to the changing-house while exhausted with hard work underground
+and covered with profuse perspiration.  Often he had to do this in wet
+weather and when bitterly cold winds were blowing--of late he had begun
+to spit blood.
+
+It is necessary here to remind the reader that matters in this respect--
+and in reference to the condition of the miner generally--are now much
+improved.  The changing-houses, besides being placed as near to the
+several shafts as is convenient, are now warmed with fires, and supplied
+with water-troughs, so that the men have a comfortable place in which to
+wash themselves on coming "to grass," and find their clothes thoroughly
+dried when they return in the morning to put them on before going
+underground.  This renders them less liable to catch cold, but of course
+does not protect them from the evil influences of climbing the ladders,
+and of bad air.  Few men have to undergo such severe toil as the Cornish
+miner, because of the extreme hardness of the rock with which he has to
+deal.  To be bathed in perspiration, and engaged in almost unremitting
+and violent muscular exertion during at least eight hours of each day,
+may be said to be his normal condition.
+
+Oliver advised this man to give up underground work for some time, and,
+having prescribed for him and spoken encouragingly to his wife, left the
+cottage to continue his rounds.
+
+Several cases, more or less similar to the above, followed each other in
+succession; also one or two cases of slight illness among the children,
+which caused more alarm to the anxious mothers than there was any
+occasion for.  These latter were quickly but good-naturedly disposed of,
+and the young doctor generally left a good impression behind him, for he
+had a hearty, though prompt, manner and a sympathetic spirit.
+
+At one cottage he found a young man in the last stage of consumption.
+He lay on his lowly bed pale and restless--almost wishing for death to
+relieve him of his pains.  His young wife sat by his bedside wiping the
+perspiration from his brow, while a ruddy-cheeked little boy romped
+about the room unnoticed--ignorant that the hour was drawing near which
+would render him fatherless, and his young mother a widow.
+
+This young man had been a daring, high-spirited fellow, whose animal
+spirits led him into many a reckless deed.  His complaint had been
+brought on by racing up the ladders--a blood-vessel had given way, and
+he had never rallied after.  Just as Oliver was leaving him a Wesleyan
+minister entered the dwelling.
+
+"He won't be long with us, doctor, I fear," he said in passing.
+
+"Not long, sir," replied Oliver.
+
+"His release will be a happy one," said the minister, "for his soul
+rests on Jesus; but, alas! for his young wife and child."
+
+He passed into the sickroom, and the doctor went on.
+
+The next case was also a bad one, though different from the preceding.
+The patient was between forty and fifty years of age, and had been
+unable to go underground for several years.  He was a staid, sober man,
+and an abstemious liver, but it was evident that his life on earth was
+drawing to a close.  He had been employed chiefly in driving levels, and
+had worked a great deal in very bad air, where the candles could not be
+made to burn unless placed nine or ten feet behind the spot where he was
+at work.  Indeed, he often got no fresh air except what was blown to
+him, and only a puff now and then.  When he first went to work in the
+morning the candle would not keep alight, so that he had to take his
+coat and beat the air about before going into the level, and, after a
+time, went in when the candles could be got to burn by holding them on
+one side, and teasing out the wick very much.  This used to create a
+great deal of smoke, which tended still further to vitiate the air.
+When he returned "to grass" his saliva used to be as black as ink.
+About five years before giving up underground work he had had
+inflammation of the lungs, followed by blood-spitting, which used to
+come on when he was at work in what he called "poor air," or in
+"cold-damp," and he had never been well since.
+
+Oliver's last visit that day was to the man John Batten; who had
+exploded a blast-hole in his face the day before.  This man dwelt in a
+cottage in the small hamlet of Botallack, close to the mine of the same
+name.  The room in which the miner lay was very small, and its furniture
+scanty; nevertheless it was clean and neatly arranged.  Everything in
+and about the place bore evidence of the presence of a thrifty hand.
+The cotton curtain on the window was thin and worn, but it was well
+darned, and pure as the driven snow.  The two chairs were old, as was
+also the table, but they were not rickety; it was obvious that they owed
+their stability to a hand skilled in mending and in patching pieces of
+things together.  Even the squat little stool in the side of the chimney
+corner displayed a leg, the whiteness of which, compared with the other
+two, told of attention to small things.  There was a peg for everything,
+and everything seemed to be on its peg.  Nothing littered the
+well-scrubbed floor or defiled the well-brushed hearthstone, and it did
+not require a second thought on the part of the beholder to ascribe all
+this to the tidy little middle-aged woman, who, with an expression of
+deep anxiety on her good-looking countenance, attended to the wants of
+her injured husband.
+
+As Oliver approached the door of this cottage two stout youths, of about
+sixteen and seventeen respectively, opened it and issued forth.
+
+"Good-morning, lads!  Going to work, I suppose?" said Oliver.
+
+"Iss, sur," replied the elder, a fair-haired ruddy youth, who, like his
+brother, had not yet sacrificed his colour to the evil influence of the
+mines; "we do work in the night corps, brother and me.  Father is worse
+to-day, sur."
+
+"Sorry to hear that," said the doctor, as he passed them and entered the
+cottage, while the lads shouldered their tools and walked smartly down
+the lane that led to Botallack mine.
+
+"Your husband is not quite so well to-day, I hear," said the doctor,
+going to the side of the bed on which the stalwart form of the miner
+lay.
+
+"No, sur," replied the poor woman; "he has much pain in his eyes to-day,
+but his heart is braave, sur; I never do hear a complaint from he."
+
+This was true.  The man lay perfectly still, the compressed lip and the
+perspiration that moistened his face alone giving evidence of the agony
+he endured.
+
+"Do you suffer much?" inquired the doctor, as he undid the bandages
+which covered the upper part of the man's face.
+
+"Iss, sur, I do," was the reply.
+
+No more was said, but a low groan escaped the miner when the bandage was
+removed, and the frightful effects of the accident were exposed to view.
+With intense anxiety Mrs Batten watched the doctor's countenance, but
+found no comfort there.  A very brief examination was sufficient to
+convince Oliver that the eyes were utterly destroyed, for the miner had
+been so close to the hole when it exploded that the orbs were singed by
+the flame, and portions of unburnt powder had been blown right into
+them.
+
+"Will he see--a _little_, sur?" whispered Mrs Batten.
+
+Oliver shook his head.  "I fear not," he said in a low tone.
+
+"Speak out, doctor," said the miner in firm tones, "I ain't afeard to
+knaw it."
+
+"It would be unkind to deceive you," replied Oliver sadly; "your eyes
+are destroyed."
+
+No word was spoken for a few minutes, but the poor woman knelt by her
+husband's side, and nestled close to him.  Batten raised his large brown
+hand, which bore the marks and scars of many a year of manly toil, and
+laid it gently on his wife's head.
+
+"I'll never see thee again, Annie," he murmured in a low deep tone; "but
+I see thee face now, lass, as I _last_ saw it, wi' the smile of an angel
+on't--an' I'll see it so till the day I die; bless the Lord for that."
+
+Mrs Batten rose and went softly but quickly out of the room that she
+might relieve her bursting heart without distressing her husband, but he
+knew her too well to doubt the reason of her sudden movement, and a
+faint smile was on his lips for a moment as he said to Oliver,--"She's
+gone to weep a bit, sur, and pray.  It will do her good, dear lass."
+
+"Your loss is a heavy one--very heavy," said Oliver, with hesitation in
+his tone, for he felt some difficulty in attempting to comfort one in so
+hopeless a condition.
+
+"True, sur, true," replied the man in a tone of cheerful resignation
+that surprised the doctor, "but it might have been worse; `the Lord
+gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord!'"
+
+Mrs Batten returned in a few minutes, and Oliver left them, after
+administering as much comfort as he could in the circumstances, but to
+say truth, although well skilled in alleviating bodily pains, he was
+incapable of doing much in the way of ministering to the mind diseased.
+Oliver Trembath was not a medical missionary.  His mother, though a
+good, amiable woman, had been a weak, easy-going creature--one of those
+good-tempered, listless ladies who may be regarded as human vegetables,
+who float through life as comfortably as they can, giving as little
+trouble as possible, and doing as little good as is compatible with the
+presence of even nominal Christianity.  She performed the duties of life
+in the smallest possible circle, the centre of which was herself, and
+the extremity of the radii extending to the walls of her garden.  She
+went to church at the regulation hours; "said her prayers" in the
+regulation tone of voice; gave her charities in the stated way, at
+stated periods, with a hazy perception as to the objects for which they
+were given, and an easy indifference as to the success of these
+objects--the whole end and aim of her wishes being attained in, and her
+conscience satisfied by, the act of giving.  Hence her son Oliver was
+not much impressed in youth with the power or value of religion, and
+hence he found himself rather put out when his common sense told him, as
+it not unfrequently did, that it was his duty sometimes to administer a
+dose to the mind as well as to the body.
+
+But Oliver was not like his mother in any respect.  His fire, his
+energy, his intellectual activity, and his impulsive generosity he
+inherited from his father.  Amiability alone descended to him from his
+mother--an inheritance, by the way, not to be lightly esteemed, for by
+it all his other qualities were immeasurably enhanced in value.  His
+heart had beat in sympathy with the mourners he had just left, and his
+manly disposition made him feel ashamed that the lips which could give
+advice glibly enough in regard to bandages and physic, and which could
+speak in cheery, comforting tones when there was hope for his patient,
+were sealed and absolutely incapable of utterance when death approached
+or hopeless despair took possession of the sufferer.
+
+Oliver had felt something of this even in his student life, when the
+solemnities of sickness and death were new to him; but it was pressed
+home upon him with peculiar power, and his manhood was often put to the
+blush when he was brought into contact with the Wesleyan Methodism of
+West Cornwall, where multitudes of men and women of all grades drew
+comfort from the Scriptures as readily and as earnestly as they drew
+water from their wells--where religion was mingled with everyday and
+household duties--and where many of the miners and fishermen preached
+and prayed, and comforted one another with God's Word, as vigorously, as
+simply, and as naturally as they hewed a livelihood from the rocks or
+drew sustenance from the sea.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
+
+TREATS OF SPIRITS AND OF SUNDRY SPIRITED MATTERS AND INCIDENTS.
+
+One sunny afternoon Mrs Maggot found herself in the happy position of
+having so thoroughly completed her round of household work that she felt
+at leisure to sit down and sew, while little Grace sat beside her, near
+the open door, rocking the cradle.
+
+Baby, in blissful unconsciousness of its own existence, lay sound asleep
+with a thumb in its mouth; the resolute sucking of that thumb having
+been its most recent act of disobedience.
+
+Little Grace was flushed, and rather dishevelled, for it had cost her
+half an hour's hard wrestling to get baby placed in recumbent
+somnolence.  She now sought to soothe her feelings by tickling the chin
+of the black kitten--a process to which that active creature submitted
+with purring satisfaction.
+
+"Faither's long of coming hum, mother," said little Grace, looking up.
+
+"Iss," replied Mrs Maggot.
+
+"D'ee knaw where he is?" inquired Grace.
+
+"No, I doan't," replied her mother.
+
+It was evident that Mrs Maggot was not in the humour for conversation,
+so Grace relapsed into silence, and devoted herself to the kitten.
+
+"Is that faither?" said Grace, after a few minutes, pointing to the
+figure of a man who was seen coming over the distant moor or waste land
+which at that period surrounded the town of St. Just, though the greater
+part of it is now cultivated fields.
+
+"It isn' like un," said Mrs Maggot, shading her eyes with her hand;
+"sure, it do look like a boatsman."
+
+[The men of the coastguard were called "boatsmen" at that time.]
+
+"Iss, I do see his cutlash," said little Grace; "and there's another man
+comin' down road to meet un."
+
+"Haste 'ee, Grace," cried Mrs Maggot, leaping up and plucking her
+last-born out of the cradle, "take the cheeld in to Mrs Penrose, an'
+bide theer till I send for 'ee--dost a hear?"
+
+Plucked thus unceremoniously from gentle slumber to be plunged headlong
+and without preparation into fierce infantine war, was too much for baby
+Maggot; he uttered one yell of rage and defiance, which was succeeded by
+a lull--a sort of pause for the recovery of breath--so prolonged that
+the obedient Grace had time to fling down the horror-struck Chet, catch
+baby in her arms, and bear him into the neighbouring cottage before the
+next roar came forth.  The youthful Maggot was at once received into the
+bosom of the Penrose family, and succeeding yells were smothered by
+eight out of the sixteen Penroses who chanced to be at home at the time.
+
+That Mrs Maggot had a guilty conscience might have been inferred from
+her future proceedings, which, to one unacquainted with the habits of
+her husband, would have appeared strange, if not quite unaccountable.
+When baby was borne off, as related, she seized a small keg, which stood
+in a corner near the door and smelt strongly of brandy, and, placing it
+with great care in the vacant cradle, covered it over with blankets.
+She next rolled a pair of stockings into a ball and tied on it a little
+frilled night-cap, which she disposed on the pillow, with the face
+pretty well down, and the back of the head pretty well up, and so
+judiciously and cleverly covered it with bedclothes that even Maggot
+himself might have failed to miss his son, or to recognise the outlines
+of a keg.  A bottle half full of brandy, with the cork out, was next
+placed on the table to account for the odour in the room, and then Mrs
+Maggot sat down to her sewing, and rocked the cradle gently with her
+foot, singing a sweet lullaby the while.  Ten minutes later, two stout
+men of the coastguard, armed with cutlasses and pistols, entered the
+cottage.  Mrs Maggot observed that they were also armed with a pick and
+shovel.
+
+"Good-hevenin', missus; how dost do?" said the man who walked foremost,
+in a hearty voice.
+
+"Good-hevenin', Eben Trezise; how are _you_?" said Mrs Maggot.
+
+"Braave, thank 'ee," said Trezise; "we've come for a drop o' brandy,
+missus, havin' heard that you've got some here, an' sure us can smell
+it--eh?"
+
+"Why, iss, we've got wan small drop," said Mrs Maggot, gently arranging
+the clothes on the cradle, "that the doctor have order for the cheeld.
+You're welcome to a taste of it, but plaise don't make so much noise,
+for the poor cheeld's slaipin'."
+
+"He'll be smothered, I do think, if you don't turn his head up a bit,
+missus," said the man; "hows'ever you've no objection to let Jim and me
+have a look round the place, I dessay?"
+
+Mrs Maggot said they were welcome to do as they pleased, if they would
+only do it quietly for the sake of the "cheeld;" so without more ado
+they commenced a thorough investigation of the premises, outside and in.
+Then they went to the smithy, where Mrs Maggot knew her husband had
+concealed two large kegs of smuggled liquor on the hearth under a heap
+of ashes and iron debris, but these had been so cleverly, yet
+carelessly, hidden that the men sat down on the heap under which they
+lay, to rest and wipe their heated brows after their fruitless search.
+
+"Hast 'ee found the brandy?" inquired Mrs Maggot, with a look of
+innocence, when the two men returned.
+
+"Not yet," replied Eben Trezise; "but we've not done.  There's a certain
+shaft near by that has got a bad name for drinkin', missus; p'raps you
+may have heard on it?  Its breath do smell dreadful bad sometimes."
+
+Both men laughed at this, and winked to each other, while Mrs Maggot
+smiled, and, with a look of surprise, vowed that she had not heard of
+the disreputable shaft referred to.
+
+Despite her unconcerned look, however, Mrs Maggot felt anxious, for she
+was aware that her husband had recently obtained an unusually large
+quantity of French brandy and tobacco from the Scilly Islands, between
+which and the coasts of Cornwall smuggling was carried on in a most
+daring and extensive manner at the time of our story, and she knew that
+the whole of the smuggled goods lay concealed in one of those numerous
+disused shafts of old mines which lie scattered thickly over that part
+of the country.  Maggot's absence rendered her position still more
+perplexing, but she was a woman of ready wit and self-reliance, and she
+comforted herself with the knowledge that the brandy lay buried far down
+in the shaft, and that it would take the boatsmen some time to dig to
+it--that possibly they might give up in despair before reaching it.
+
+While the men went off to search for the shaft, and while Mrs Maggot
+was calmly nursing her spirited little baby, Maggot himself, in company
+with his bosom friend John Cock, was sauntering slowly homeward along
+the cliffs near Kenidjack Castle, the ruins of which occupy a bold
+promontory a little to the north of Cape Cornwall.  They had just come
+in sight of the tin-mine and works which cover Nancharrow valley from
+the shore to a considerable distance inland, where stand the tall
+chimneys and engine-houses, the whims and varied machinery of the
+extensive and prolific old tin-mine named Wheal Owles.
+
+The cliffs on which the two men stood are very precipitous and rugged--
+rising in some places to a height of about 300 feet above the rocks
+where the waters of the Atlantic roll dark and deep, fringing the coast
+with a milky foam that is carried away by the tide in long streaks, to
+be defiled by the red waters which flow from Nancharrow valley into
+Porth Ledden Cove.
+
+This cove is a small one, with a narrow strip of sand on its shore.  At
+its northern extremity is a deep narrow gorge, into which the waves
+rush, even in calm weather, with a peculiar sound.  In reference to this
+it is said that the waves "buzz-and-go-in," hence the place has been
+named Zawn Buzzangein.  The sides of the Zawn are about sixty feet high,
+and quite precipitous.  In one part, especially, they overhang their
+base.  It was here that Maggot and his friend stopped on their way home,
+and turned to look out upon the sea.
+
+"No sign o' pilchers yet," observed Maggot, referring to the immense
+shoals of pilchards which visit the Cornish coasts in the autumn of each
+year, and form a large portion of the wealth of the county.
+
+"Too soon," replied John Cock.
+
+"By the way, Jack," said Maggot, "wasn't it hereabouts that the schooner
+went ashore last winter?"
+
+"Iss, 'twor down theer, close by Pullandeese," replied the other,
+pointing to a deep pool in the rocks round which the swell of the
+Atlantic broke in white foam.  "I was theere myself.  I had come down
+'bout daylight--before others were stirring, an' sure 'nuff there she
+lay, on the rocks, bottom up, an' all the crew lost.  We seed wan o'
+them knackin' on the rocks to the north, so we got ropes an' let a man
+down to fetch un up, but of coorse it was gone dead."
+
+"That minds me, Jack," said Maggot, "that I seed a daw's nest here the
+last time I come along, so lev us go an' stroob that daw's nest."
+
+"Thee cusn't do it," said John Cock.
+
+Maggot laughed, and said he not only could but would, so he ran down to
+the neighbouring works and returned with a stout rope, which he fixed
+firmly to a rock at the edge of the overhanging cliff.
+
+We have already said that Maggot was a noted madcap, who stuck at
+nothing, and appeared to derive positive pleasure from the mere act of
+putting his life in danger.  No human foot could, by climbing, have
+reached the spot where the nest of the daw, or Cornish chough, was
+fixed--for the precipice, besides being perpendicular and nearly flat,
+projected a little near the top, where the nest lay in a crevice
+overhanging the surf that boiled and raged in Zawn Buzzangein.  Indeed,
+the nest was not visible from the spot where the two men stood, and it
+could only be seen by going round to the cliffs on the opposite side of
+the gorge.
+
+Without a moment's hesitation Maggot swung himself over the edge of the
+precipice, merely cautioning his comrade, as he did so, to hold on to
+the rope and prevent it from slipping.
+
+He slid down about two yards, and then found that the rock overhung so
+much that he was at least six feet off from the crevice in which the
+young daws nestled comfortably together, and no stretch that he could
+make with his legs, long though they were, was sufficient to enable him
+to get on the narrow ledge just below the nest.  Several times he tried
+to gain a footing, and at each effort the juvenile daws--as yet ignorant
+of the desperate nature of man--opened their little eyes to the utmost
+in undisguised amazement.  For full five minutes Maggot wriggled and the
+daws gazed, and the anxious comrade above watched the vibrations and
+jerks of the part of the rope that was visible to him while he listened
+intently.  The bubbles on Zawn Buzzangein, like millions of watery eyes,
+danced and twinkled sixty feet below, as if in wonder at the object
+which swung wildly to and fro in mid-air.
+
+At last Maggot managed to touch the rock with the extreme point of his
+toe.  A slight push gave him swing sufficient to enable him to give one
+or two vigorous shoves, by which means he swung close to the side of the
+cliff.  Watching his opportunity, he planted both feet on the narrow
+ledge before referred to, stretched out his hands, pressed himself flat
+against the rock, let go the rope, and remained fast, like a fly
+sticking to a wall.
+
+This state of comparative safety he announced to his anxious friend
+above by exclaiming,--"All right, _John--I've_ got the daws."
+
+This statement was, however, not literally true, for it cost him several
+minutes of slow and careful struggling to enable him so to fix his
+person as to admit of his hands being used for "stroobing" purposes.  At
+length he gained the object of his ambition, and transferred the
+horrified daws from their native home to his own warm but unnatural
+bosom, in which he buttoned them up tight.  A qualm now shot through
+Maggot's heart, for he discovered that in his anxiety to secure the daws
+he had let go the rope, which hung at a distance of full six feet from
+him, and, of course, far beyond his reach.
+
+"Hullo!  John," he cried.
+
+"Hullo!" shouted John in reply.
+
+"I've got the _daws_," said Maggot, "but I've lost the _rope_!"
+
+"Aw! my dear," gasped John; "have 'ee lost th' rope?"
+
+It need scarcely be said that poor John Cock was dreadfully alarmed at
+this, and that he eagerly tendered much useless advice--stretching his
+neck the while as far as was safe over the cliff.
+
+"I say, John," shouted Maggot again.
+
+"Hullo!" answered John.
+
+"I tell 'ee what: I'm goin' to jump for th' rope.  If I do miss th'
+rope, run thee round to Porth Ledden Cove, an' tak' my shoes weth 'ee;
+I'll be theere before 'ee."
+
+Having made this somewhat bold prediction, Maggot collected all his
+energies, and sprang from his narrow perch into the air, with arms and
+hands wildly extended.  His effort was well and bravely made, but his
+position had been too constrained, and his foothold too insecure, to
+admit of a good jump.  He missed the rope, and, with a loud cry, shot
+like an arrow into the boiling flood below.
+
+John Cock heard the cry and the plunge, and stood for nearly a minute
+gazing in horror into Zawn Buzzangein.  Presently he drew a deep sigh of
+relief, for Maggot made his appearance, manfully buffeting the waves.
+John watched him with anxiety while he swam out towards the sea, escaped
+the perpendicular sides of the Zawn, towards which the breakers more
+than once swept him, doubled the point, and turned in towards the cove.
+The opposite cliffs of the gorge now shut the swimmer out from John's
+view, so he drew another deep sigh, and picking up his comrade's shoes,
+ran round with all his might to Porth Ledden Cove, where, true to his
+word, having been helped both by wind and tide, Maggot had arrived
+before him.
+
+"Are 'ee safe, my dear man?" was John's first question.
+
+"Iss," replied Maggot, shaking himself, "safe enough, an' the daws too,
+but semmen to me they've gone dead."
+
+This was too true.  The poor birds had perished in their captor's bosom.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
+
+CONTINUES TO TREAT OF SPIRITS, AND SHOWS THE VALUE OF HOSPITALITY.
+
+Having accomplished the feat narrated in the last chapter Maggot
+proceeded with his friend towards the town.  On their way they had to
+pass the mouth of an old shaft in which both of them chanced to be much
+interested at that time, inasmuch as it contained the produce of a
+recent smuggling expedition on a large scale, consisting of nearly a
+hundred tubs of brandy.  The liquor had been successfully brought ashore
+and concealed in the mine, and that night had been fixed on for its
+removal.  Mules had been provided, and about fifty men were appointed to
+meet at a certain spot, at a fixed hour, to carry the whole away into
+the neighbouring towns.
+
+Maggot and his comrade began to converse about the subject that was
+uppermost in their minds, and the former increased his pace, when John
+Cock drew his attention to the fact that the sun was getting low.
+
+"The boys will be mustering now," said John, "an' them theere daws have
+kep' us late enough already."
+
+"They do say that the boatsmen are informed about the toobs," observed
+Maggot.
+
+"More need to look alive," said John.
+
+"Hallo!" exclaimed Maggot suddenly; "there's some wan in the shaft!"
+
+He pointed to a neighbouring mound of rubbish, on which, just as he
+spoke, a man made his appearance.
+
+Without uttering a word the smugglers sauntered towards the mound,
+assuming a careless air, as though they were passing that way by chance.
+On drawing near they recognised Ebenezer Trezise, the coastguard-man.
+
+"Good-hevening, sur," said Maggot; "semmen as if you'd found a keenly
+lode."
+
+"Why, iss, we've diskivered a noo vein," said Trezise with a sly smile,
+"and we're sinkin' a shaft here in the hope o' raisin' tin, or
+_somethin'_."
+
+"Ha! hope you'll let John an' me have a pitch in the noo bal, won't
+'ee?" said Maggot with a laugh.
+
+"Oh, cer'nly, cer'nly," replied the boatsman; "if you'll lend us a hand
+to sink the shaft.  You appear to have been in the water, and 'twill
+warm 'ee."
+
+"No, thank 'ee," replied Maggot; "I've bin stroobin' a daw's nest under
+cliff, an' I fell into the say, so I'm goin' hum to dry myself, as I'm
+afeared o' kitchin' cold, being of a delikit constitootion.  But I'll
+p'raps lend thee a hand afterwards."
+
+Maggot nodded as he spoke, and left the place at a slow saunter with his
+comrade, followed by the thanks and good-wishes of the boatsman, who
+immediately returned to the laborious task of clearing out the old
+shaft.
+
+"They've got the scent," said Maggot when out of earshot; "but we'll do
+'em yet.  Whenever thee gets on the leeside o' that hedge, John, do 'ee
+clap on all sail for Balaswidden, where the boys are waitin', an' tell
+'em to be ready for a call.  I'll send Zackey, or wan o' the child'n to
+'ee."
+
+John went off on his errand the moment he was out of sight of the
+boatsmen, and Maggot walked smartly to his cottage.
+
+"Owld ooman," he said, commencing to unbutton his wet garments, "do 'ee
+git ready a cup o' tay, as fast as you can, lass; we shall have company
+to-night."
+
+"Company!" exclaimed Mrs Maggot in surprise; "what sort o' company?"
+
+"Oh! the best, the best," said Maggot with a laugh; "boatsmen no less--
+so look sharp.  Zackey booy, come here."
+
+Zackey put down the unfortunate black kitten (which immediately sought
+comfort in repose) and obeyed his father's summons, while his mother,
+knowing that her husband had some plot in his wise head, set about
+preparing a sumptuous meal, which consisted of bread and butter, tea and
+fried mackerel, and Cornish pasty.
+
+"Zackey, my son," said Maggot while he continued his toilet.
+
+"Iss, father."
+
+"I want 'ee to come down to the owld shaft with me, an' when I give 'ee
+the ward cut away as hard as thee legs can spank to Balaswidden, an'
+fetch the lads that are theere to the owld shaft.  They knaw what to do,
+but tell 'em to make so little noise as they can.  Dost a hear, my son?"
+
+"Iss, faither," replied Zackey, with a wink of such profound meaning
+that his sire felt quite satisfied he was equal to the duty assigned
+him.
+
+"Now, doan't 'ee wag tongue more than enough," continued Maggot; "and go
+play with the chet till I'm ready."
+
+The urchin at once descended like a thunderbolt on the black kitten, but
+that marvellous animal had succeeded in snatching five minutes' repose,
+which seemed to be amply sufficient to recruit its energies, for it
+began instantly to play--in other words to worry and scratch the boy's
+hand--with the utmost glee and good-humour.
+
+In a few minutes Maggot and his son went out and hastened to the old
+shaft, where they found the boatsmen still hard at work with pick and
+shovel clearing away the rubbish.
+
+"You haven't found a bunch o' copper yet, I dessay?" said Maggot with a
+grin.
+
+"No, not yet, but we shan't be long," replied Eben Trezise with a
+knowing smile.
+
+"It's warm work," observed Maggot, as he looked down the hole, and saw
+that what the boatsman said was true, and that they would not be long of
+reaching the spot where the liquor had been concealed.
+
+Trezise admitted that it _was_ warm work, and paused to wipe his heated
+brow.
+
+"I wish we had a drop o' water here," he said, looking up.
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Maggot; "not much chance o' findin' water in _that_
+hole, I do think--no, nor brandy nuther."
+
+"Not so sure o' that," said Trezise, resuming his work.
+
+"Now, et _is_ a shame to let 'ee die here for want of a drop o' water,"
+said Maggot in a compassionate tone; "I'll send my booy hum for some."
+
+The boatsmen thanked him, and Zackey was ordered off to fetch a jug of
+water; but his father's voice arrested him before he had gone a hundred
+yards.
+
+"Hold on a bit, my son.--P'raps," he said, turning to Trezise, "you'd
+come up hum with me and have a dish o' tay?  Missus have got it all
+ready."
+
+The invitation appeared to gratify the boatsmen, who smiled and winked
+at each other, as though they thought themselves very clever fellows to
+have discovered the whereabouts of a hidden treasure, and to be
+refreshed in the midst of their toil by one whom they knew to be a noted
+smuggler, and whom they strongly suspected of being concerned in the job
+they were at that time endeavouring to frustrate.  Throwing down their
+tools they laughingly accepted the invitation, and clambered out of the
+shaft.
+
+"Now's your time," whispered Maggot with a nod to his hopeful son, and
+then added aloud--
+
+"Cut away, Zackey booy, an' tell mother to get the tay ready.  Run, my
+son, let us knaw what thee legs are made of."
+
+"He's a smart lad," observed Trezise, as Zackey gave his father an
+intelligent look, and dashed away at the top of his speed.
+
+"Iss, a clever cheeld," assented Maggot.
+
+"Bin down in the mines, I dessay?" said Trezise.
+
+"Iss, oh iss; he do knaw tin," replied Maggot with much gravity.
+
+In a few minutes the two coastguard-men were seated at Mrs Maggot's
+well-supplied board, enjoying the most comfortable meal they had eaten
+for many a day.  It was seasoned, too, with such racy talk, abounding in
+anecdote, from Maggot, and such importunate hospitality on the part of
+his better half, that the men felt no disposition to cut it short.
+Little Grace, too, was charmingly attentive, for she, poor child, being
+utterly ignorant of the double parts which her parents were playing,
+rejoiced, in the native kindliness of her heart, to see them all so
+happy.  Even the "chet" seemed to enter into the spirit of what was
+going on, for, regardless of the splendid opportunity that now presented
+itself of obtaining repose to its heart's content, that black ball of
+concentrated essence of mischief dashed wildly about the floor and up
+the bed-curtains, with its back up and its tail thickened, and its green
+eyes glaring defiance at everything animate, inanimate, or otherwise,
+insomuch that Maggot made sundry efforts to quell it with the
+three-legged stool--and Mrs Maggot followed suit with a dish-clout--but
+in vain!
+
+Meanwhile, men and mules and horses were converging by many paths and
+lanes towards the old shaft, and the shaft itself was apparently endued
+with the properties of a volcano, for out of its mouth issued a
+continuous shower of dust and stones, while many stalwart arms laid bare
+the mine beneath, and tossed up the precious "tubs" of brandy.
+
+Before the pleasant little tea-party in Maggot's cottage broke up the
+whole were scattered abroad, and men and mules and horses sped with
+their ill-gotten gains across the furze-clad moors.
+
+"Sure it's early to break up," said Maggot, when the boatsmen at last
+rose to take their leave; "there's no fear o' the bunches o' copper
+melting down there, or flyin' away."
+
+"There's no saying," replied Eben Trezise; "you've heerd as well as we
+of lodes takin' the bit in their teeth an' disappearing--eh?"
+
+"Well, iss, so they do sometimes; I'll not keep 'ee longer;
+good-hevenin' to 'ee," said Maggot, going outside the door and wishing
+them all manner of success as they returned to the old shaft.
+
+Reader, shall we follow the two knowing fellows to that shaft?  Shall we
+mark the bewildered expression of amazement with which they gazed into
+it, and listen to the wild fiendish laugh of mingled amusement and wrath
+that bursts from them in fitful explosions as the truth flashes into
+their unwilling minds?  No; vice had triumphed over virtue, and we deem
+it a kindness to your sensitive nature to draw a veil over the scene of
+her discomfiture.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
+
+INTRODUCES A STRANGER, DESCRIBES A PICNIC, AND REVEALS SOME SECRETS OF
+MINING.
+
+Somewhere in the vicinity of that magnificent piece of coast scenery in
+West Cornwall, known by the name of Gurnard's Head, there sauntered, one
+fine afternoon, a gentleman of tall, commanding aspect.  All the parts
+of this gentleman were, if we may so speak, _prononce_.  Everything
+about him savoured of the superlative degree.  His head and face were
+handsome and large, but their size was not apparent because of the
+capacity of his broad shoulders and wide chest.  His waist was slender,
+hair curly and very black, only to be excelled by the intense blackness
+of his eyes.  His nose was prominent; mouth large and well shaped;
+forehead high and broad; whiskers enormous; and nostrils so large as to
+appear dilated.  He was a bony man, a powerful man--also tall and
+straight, and a little beyond forty.  He was to all appearance a hero of
+romance, and his mind seemed to be filled with romantic thoughts, for he
+smiled frequently as he gazed around him from the top of the cliffs on
+the beautiful landscape which lay spread out at his feet.
+
+Above him there were wild undulating slopes covered with rich green
+gorse; below were the cliffs of Gurnard's Cove, with rocky projections
+that resemble the castellated work of man's hand, and intermingled
+therewith much of the _materiel_ connected with the pilchard fishery,
+with masses of masonry so heavy and picturesque as to resemble Nature's
+handiwork.  Beyond lay the blue waters of the Atlantic, which at that
+time were calm almost as a mill-pond, studded with a hundred sails, and
+glittering in sunshine.
+
+The spot appeared a beautiful solitude, for no living thing was visible
+save the romantic gentleman and a few seagulls and sheep.  The pilchard
+fishery had not yet commenced, and the three or four fishermen who
+pitched and repaired their boats on the one little spot of sand that
+could be seen far below on that rugged coast appeared like mice, and
+were too far distant to break the feeling of solitude--a feeling which
+was not a little enhanced by the appearance, on a spot not far distant,
+of the ruined engine-house of a deserted mine.
+
+It was indeed a lovely afternoon, and a beautiful scene--a very
+misanthrope would have gazed on it with an approach at least to
+benignity.  No wonder that George Augustus Clearemout smiled on it so
+joyously, and whisked his walking-cane vigorously in the exuberance of
+his delight.
+
+But, strange to say, his smile was always brightest, and the cane
+flourished most energetically, when he turned his eyes on the ruined
+mine!  He even laughed once or twice, and muttered to himself as he
+looked at the picturesque object; yet there seemed nothing in its
+appearance calculated to produce laughter.  On the contrary, there were
+those alive whom the sight of it might have reduced to tears, for, in
+its brief existence, it had raised uncommonly little tin or copper,
+although it had succeeded in sinking an immense amount of gold!
+Nevertheless Mr Clearemout chuckled every time he looked at the ruin,
+and appeared very much tickled with the thoughts to which it gave rise.
+
+"Yes! the very thing! capital!" he muttered to himself, turning again
+and again to the object of his admiration, "couldn't be better--ha! ha!
+most suitable; yes, it will do for 'em, probably it will _do_ 'em--do
+'em," (he repeated the phrase two or three times with a greater display
+of white teeth at each utterance of it), "a most superb name--Wheal
+Do-em--ha! ha!  Spell it with two o's to make it look more natural, and
+ensure correct pronunciation--Wheal Dooem--nothing could be finer, quite
+candid and above-board--no one can call it a swindle."
+
+This last idea caused Mr Clearemout to break into the loudest laugh in
+which he had hitherto indulged, and he was about to repeat it, when the
+appearance of a phaeton at a turn of the carriage road reduced him to
+gravity.
+
+The vehicle contained a party of ladies and gentlemen from St. Just,
+among whom were Rose Ellis, Mrs Donnithorne and her husband, Oliver
+Trembath, and Mr William Grenfell, a gentleman of property in the
+neighbourhood.
+
+As it approached the spot where Mr Clearemout stood, the horse swerved
+at a sheep which started out from behind a furze bush, and then backed
+so rapidly that the hind-wheels were on the point of passing over the
+edge of the road, when the tall stranger sprang to its head, and led it
+gently forward.
+
+The danger was not great, for the road at the place was elevated little
+above the sward, but it was sufficiently so to warrant a profusion of
+thanks from the occupants of the vehicle, and a pressing invitation to
+Mr Clearemout to join the picnic party then and there assembling.
+
+"You see, we're not all here," said Mr Donnithorne, bustling about
+energetically, as he pulled baskets and bottles from the body of the
+vehicle, while Oliver assisted the ladies to alight; "there's another
+machineful coming, but we have lots of grub for all, and will only be
+too glad of your company, Mr--Mr--what did you say?"
+
+"Clearemout," interposed that gentleman, with a bow and a bland smile
+that quite took Mr Donnithorne by storm.
+
+"Ah, yes, glad to have you, Mr Clearemout; why, our necks might all
+have been broken but for you.  Rose, my dear, do look after this basket.
+There--thanks--how hot it is, to be sure!  Mr Clearemout--Mr
+Grenfell; no introduction--only to let you know his name--my wife--
+niece, Rose--Oliver Trembath, and all the rest; there, dispense with
+ceremony on a picnic always.  That's the chief fun of it."
+
+While the lively old gentleman ran on thus, and collected the baskets
+together, Mr Grenfell, who was a tall, gentlemanly man of about sixty,
+with a grave, aristocratic countenance and polite manner, assured Mr
+Clearemout that he was happy to make the acquaintance of a man who had
+rendered them such opportune service, whereupon Mr Clearemout declared
+himself to be fortunate in being present at such a juncture, and
+protested that his service was a trifle in itself, although it had led
+to an introduction which was most gratifying.  Then, turning with much
+urbanity of manner to the ladies, he entered into conversation with
+them.
+
+"Here they come!" shouted old Mr Donnithorne, as another carriage drove
+up.
+
+"The rest of our party," said Mr Grenfell, turning to Mr Clearemout;
+"friends from St. Just."
+
+The carriage stopped as he spoke, and a number of ladies and gentlemen
+descended therefrom, and mingled their congratulations at the narrow
+escape which had just been made, with thanks to the dark stranger, and
+with orders, questions, counter-orders, and explanations innumerable,
+about baskets to be carried and places to be selected.
+
+The picnic, we need scarcely say, very much resembled picnics in
+general.  All were in good spirits--elated with the splendour of the
+day, the beauty of the views, and the freshness of the sea-breeze that
+sprang up soon after their arrival.  The only one whose feelings were
+not absolutely unruffled was Oliver Trembath.  That youth was afflicted
+with an unaccountable dislike to the dark stranger which rendered him
+somewhat uncomfortable.  As for the stranger, he made himself extremely
+agreeable--told anecdotes, sang songs, and became an immaculate waiter
+on the whole company, handing about plates, glasses, knives, etcetera,
+etcetera, as deftly as if he were dealing a pack of cards.  Above all,
+he was a good listener, and not only heard other people's stories out to
+the end, but commented on them as one who had been interested.  With all
+this, he was particularly attentive to Rose Ellis, but so guarded was he
+that no one noticed the attentions as being peculiar except Rose
+herself, and Oliver Trembath, who, for the first time in his life, to
+his great surprise and displeasure, felt the demon of jealousy
+tormenting his breast.
+
+But in the midst of all this, Mr George Augustus Clearemout displayed
+an insatiable curiosity in regard to mines and miners.  Whatever might
+be the subject of conversation for the time, he invariably took the
+first opportunity of returning to his favourite theme with one or
+another of the party, as occasion served.
+
+Ashamed of the feelings which troubled him, Oliver Trembath resolved to
+take the bold and manly step of stifling them, by making himself
+agreeable to the object of his dislike.  Accordingly, he availed himself
+of an opportunity when the party broke up into groups to saunter about
+the cliffs, and entered into converse with the stranger on the subject
+of mines.
+
+"You appear to take much interest in mining, I think," said he, as they
+walked out on the promontory together.
+
+"I do indeed," replied Clearemout; "the mines of Cornwall have ever been
+a subject of deep interest to me, and the miners I regard as a race of
+men singularly endowed with courage and perseverance."
+
+"Your opinion of them is correct," said Oliver.  "Have you ever seen
+them at work?"
+
+"No, I have only just arrived in the county, but I hope to visit the
+mines ere long."
+
+"When you do," said Oliver with enthusiasm, "your opinion of them will
+be strengthened, for their endurance underground, and their perseverance
+in a species of labour which taxes their muscular power as well as their
+patience to the uttermost, surpasses anything I have either seen or
+heard of.  England does not fully appreciate, because she is not
+minutely acquainted with, the endurance and courage of her Cornish
+miners.  The rocks through which they have to cut are so hard and
+unyielding that men who had not been trained from childhood to subdue
+them would lose heart altogether at the weight of toil and the small
+return for it.  Sometimes, indeed, miners are fortunate, and here, as
+elsewhere, lucky hits are made, but for the most part their gains are
+barely sufficient for their wants; and whether they are lucky or unlucky
+in that respect, the toil is always hard--so hard that few of them
+retain health or strength sufficient to go underground beyond the age of
+forty-five, while hundreds of them find an early grave, owing to disease
+resulting from their peculiar work, or to accidents.  These last are
+usually occasioned by the bursting out of collections of water which
+flood the mines, or the fall of masses of timber, or the premature
+explosion of blast-holes.  At other times the men lose hold of the
+ladders--`fall away' from them, as they express it--or stumble into a
+winze, which is a small shaft connecting level with level, in which
+latter case death is almost certain to ensue, many of the winzes being
+sixty feet deep.  In St. Just you will see many poor fellows who have
+been blinded or maimed in the mines.  Nevertheless Cornish miners are a
+contented, uncomplaining race of men, and Cornwall is justly proud of
+them."
+
+"I am much interested in what you tell me," said Clearemout; "in fact I
+have come here for the purpose of making inquiry into mines and mining
+concerns."
+
+"Then you will find this to be the very place for you," said Oliver.
+"My uncle, Mr Donnithorne, and Mr Grenfell, and Mr Cornish are
+intimately acquainted with mining in all its phases, and will, I am
+certain, be happy to give you all the information in their power.  As to
+the people of St. Just and its neighbourhood, you will find them most
+agreeable and hospitable.  I can speak from personal experience,
+although I have only been a short time among them."
+
+"I doubt it not," replied Mr Clearemout with a bland smile; "my own
+limited experience goes far to corroborate what you say, and I hope to
+have the pleasure of still further testing the truth of your
+observations."
+
+And Mr George Augustus Clearemout did test their truth for several
+weeks after the picnic.  He was received with kindness and hospitality
+everywhere; he was taken down into the mines by obliging agents, and was
+invited to several of the periodical business dinners, called
+"account-dinners," at which he met shareholders in the mines, and had an
+opportunity of conversing with men of note and wealth from various parts
+of the county.  He dwelt, during his stay, with old Mr Donnithorne,
+and, much to the surprise if not pleasure of Rose, proved himself to be
+a proficient on the guitar and a good musician.
+
+At length the dark gentleman took his departure for London, whither we
+shall follow him, and watch his proceedings for a very short time,
+before returning to the principal scene of our tale.
+
+Almost immediately on his arrival in the great city, he betook himself
+to the West End, and there, in a fashionable square, solicited an
+interview with an old lady, whose principal noteworthy points were that
+she had much gold and not much brains.  She was a confiding old lady,
+and had, on a previous occasion, been quite won by the insinuating
+address of the "charming Mr Clearemout," who had been introduced to her
+by a noble lord.
+
+To this confiding old lady George Augustus painted Cornish mines and
+mining in the most glowing colours, and recommended her to invest in a
+mine a portion of her surplus funds.  The confiding old lady had no
+taste for speculation, and was rather partial to the three per cent
+consols, but George Augustus was so charmingly persuasive that she could
+not help giving in--so George proposed little plans, and opened up
+little prospects, and the confiding old lady agreed to all the little
+plans without paying much regard to the little prospects.
+
+After this Mr Clearemout paid another visit in another West End
+square--this time to a gentleman.  The gentleman was young and noble,
+for Clearemout styled him "My lord."  Strange to say he also was of a
+confiding nature--very much so indeed--and appeared to be even more
+completely under the influence of George Augustus than the confiding old
+lady herself.
+
+For the benefit of this young gentleman Mr Clearemout painted the same
+picture in the same glowing colours, which colours seemed to grow warmer
+as the sun of success rose upon it.  He added something about the value
+of a name, and referred to money as being a matter of small consequence
+in comparison.  The young lord, like the old lady, agreed to everything
+that was proposed to him, except the proposal to advance money.  On that
+point he was resolute, but Clearemout did not care much about obtaining
+money from the confiding young gentleman.  His name was as good as gold,
+and would enable him to screw money out of others.
+
+After this the dark man paid a visit to several other friends at the
+West End, all of whom were more or less confiding--some with selfish,
+others with unselfish, dispositions--but all, without exception, a
+little weak intellectually.  These had the same glowing pictures of a
+Cornish mine laid before them, and most of them swallowed the bait
+whole, only one or two being content to nibble.
+
+When afternoon began to merge into evening Mr Clearemout paid a last
+visit for the day--but not in the West End, rather nearer to the City--
+to a gentleman somewhat like himself, though less prepossessing, for
+whose benefit he painted no glowing picture of a mine, but to whom he
+said, "Come, Jack, I've made a pretty good job of it; let's go and have
+a chop.  If your luck has equalled mine the thing is done, and Wheal
+Dooem, as I have named the sweet little thing, will be going full swing
+in a couple of weeks--costing, perhaps, a few hundreds to put it in
+working order, with a trifle thereafter in the shape of wages to a man
+and a boy to coal the fire, and keep the thing moving with as much noise
+as possible to make a show, and leaving a pretty little balance of some
+twenty or thirty thousand at the credit of the Company, for you and me
+to enjoy in the meantime--_minus_ a small sum for rent of office,
+clerk's salary, gas and coal, etcetera, as long as the bubble lasts."
+
+Thus did this polite scoundrel go about from house to house getting up a
+Cornish Mining Company on false pretences (as other polite scoundrels
+have done before, and doubtless as others will do again), bringing into
+unmerited disrepute those genuine and grand old mines of Cornwall which
+have yielded stores of tin and copper, to the enriching of the English
+nation, ever since those old-world days when the Phoenicians sailed
+their adventurous barks to the "Cassiterides" in quest of tin.
+
+While these things were being done in London, a terrible catastrophe
+happened in Botallack mine, which threw a dark cloud for some time over
+more than one lowly cottage in St. Just.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
+
+DESCRIBES "HOLING TO A HOUSE OF WATER" AND ITS TERRIBLE CONSEQUENCES.
+
+One morning, about seven o'clock, George and James, the two fair-haired
+sons of poor John Batten of Botallack, started for their work as usual.
+They were in high spirits, having obtained a good "pitch" on last
+setting-day, and things were looking well.
+
+They put on their underground clothing at the changing-house, and with
+several spare candles attached to buttons on the breasts of their coats,
+and their tools slung over their shoulders, walked towards the head of
+the ladder-shaft.  At the mouth of the shaft they paused for a moment
+and glanced round.  The sky was bright, the landscape green, and the sun
+lit up many a distant sail on the Atlantic.
+
+"I do wish," said the younger with a slight sigh, "that our work was
+more in the sunshine?"
+
+"You'll never be a true miner, Jimmy, if 'ee go hankerin' after the sun
+like that," said his brother with a laugh, as he stepped on the ladder
+and began to descend.
+
+Jimmy took a last look at the rising sun, and followed him close without
+replying.  The lads were soon beyond the reach of daylight.
+
+This was the last they ever saw of earthly sunshine.  In a few minutes
+there came a low soft sound up the shaft; it was the lads singing one of
+Wesley's beautiful hymns.  They had been taught to sing these by their
+mother from their infancy, and usually beguiled the tedium of the long
+descent of the ladders by singing one or two of them.
+
+Arrived at their place of work the brothers threw down their tools,
+fixed their candles against the walls of the level, and began the labour
+of the day.
+
+Other men were in that part of the mine at the time, and the brothers
+found that a message had been sent to one of the captains requesting him
+to come and examine the place, as the men were becoming uneasy at the
+increasing flow of water from the walls.  One miner, named John Nicols,
+was "driving an end," that is, extending the level lengthwise, and two
+others were "stopeing," or cutting up into the roof in pursuit of a
+promising little lode.  They were using hammer and pick in soft ground
+when the water trickled through to them.
+
+It was well known that they were approaching an old part of the mine
+which had not been worked for thirty years.  The drainage of the ground
+was not, however, accurately known, therefore questions had been put to
+experienced miners as to the probable condition of this "untapped land."
+The answer was that, as far as was known, the old mine was full of
+"deads," that is, of rubbish, and that there was therefore, in all
+probability, no gathering of water in it.
+
+Just at that moment one of the captains entered the level, accompanied
+by Oliver Trembath.  The latter had been called to see a patient near
+the mine, and chanced to be with the captain when he was summoned.
+Being anxious to see the place, and the nature of the danger that
+threatened, he had descended along with him.
+
+Before the captain had time to put a question, and while the men were
+still picking cautiously at the soft ground, the flow of water suddenly
+increased.  Recognising probable danger, a lad named Oats called to his
+father, who was at the "end" of the level with Nicols.  At the same
+moment the water forced a gap in the wall three feet long by about half
+a foot wide, and burst in upon them with terrific violence.  All turned
+and fled.  Oats and his son, with the captain and Nicols, made for the
+nearest shaft--which was about eighty yards distant--and escaped, but
+the brothers Batten and Oliver were thrown down and swept away.  One
+desperate effort was made by Oliver to outstrip the rushing stream; but
+the candles had been blown out, and, not stooping sufficiently low, he
+dashed his head against an overhanging rock, and fell.  He retained
+sufficient consciousness, however, to be aware that a desperate struggle
+for life must be made, and, without knowing what he did, or at what he
+aimed, he fought with the strength of a giant in thick darkness against
+the chaotic flood; but his strength soon gave way, and in a few seconds
+he became insensible.
+
+That a terrible catastrophe had occurred was at once known to all the
+men in the mine by the roar of the rushing water.  In order that the
+reader may clearly understand the situation, it is necessary to explain
+that the accident occurred in one of the _upper_ levels, at or near its
+extremity.  At the same depth there were many of these underground
+passages, running in various directions, and several miles in extent,
+some of them being worked, but most of them old and used up--all the ore
+having been extracted from them.  At various depths below this level
+other levels had been cut--also running in various directions, and of
+several miles' extent.  These successive levels were not only connected
+and communicated with by the main shafts of the mine, but by "winzes" or
+smaller shafts which connected level with level in many places.  Some of
+these were used as ladder-ways, but others had been cut merely for the
+purpose of securing ventilation.  In many parts of these lower levels
+miners were at work--some, in following the course of promising lodes,
+"stopeing," or cutting overhead, some cutting downwards, some "driving
+ends" or extending the levels, and others sinking winzes to keep up the
+ventilation as they pushed further and further from the shafts or
+throats, down which flowed the life-giving air.
+
+By all of these men the dreaded sounds above--which reached the
+profounder depths with the muffled but deep-toned roar of a distant
+storm--were well understood and well heard, for the pent-up waters, in
+their irresistible fury, carried before them the pent-up atmosphere, and
+sent it through the low and narrow levels as if through the circling
+tubes of a monster trumpet, which, mingled with the crash of hurling
+timbers, rocks, and debris, created a mighty roar that excelled in
+hideous grandeur the prolonged peals of loud thunder.
+
+Every man dropped his tools, and ran to the nearest shaft for his life.
+It was not, indeed, probable that the flood would fill all the
+wide-extended ramifications of the vast mine, but no one knew for
+certain where the catastrophe had occurred, or how near the danger might
+be to the spot where he laboured.  Enough for each that death was
+dealing terrible destruction somewhere _overhead_, and that, unless
+every muscle were strained to the uttermost, the pathway might be filled
+up, and his retreat cut off.  The rush was swiftly but not easily made.
+Those who have never traversed the levels of a Cornish mine may perhaps
+fancy, on hearing of levels six feet high, and about two and a half feet
+broad, on the average, that the flight might resemble the rush of men
+through the windings and turnings of the intricate passages in a
+stupendous old castle.  But it was far otherwise.  The roofs, walls, and
+floors of these levels were irregular, not only in direction, but in
+height and form.  There was no levelling or polishing-off anywhere.  It
+was tunnelling of the roughest kind.  Angles and projections remained as
+the chisel, the pick, and the blasting-powder had left them.  Here, the
+foot tripped over a lump, or plunged into a hollow; there, the head
+narrowly missed a depending mass of rock, or the shoulder grazed a
+projecting one.  Elsewhere, pools of water lay in the path, and at
+intervals the yawning chasm of a winze appeared, with one or two broken
+planks to bridge the gulf, of twenty, forty, or sixty feet, that
+descended to the levels below.  Sometimes it was possible to run with
+the head stooped a little; generally the back had to be bent low--often
+double; and occasionally progress could only be made on hands and
+knees,--this, too, with a candle to be guarded from blasts of air or
+dripping water, and trimmed, lest it should go out and leave the place
+in total darkness.
+
+But long-continued habit and practice had made the men so familiar with
+the place, and so nimble in their movements, that they traversed the
+levels with wonderful rapidity, and most of them ascended the shaft of
+the mine in safety.
+
+Some, however, escaped with the utmost difficulty, and a few there
+were--chiefly among those who had been near to or immediately below the
+scene of the outbreak--who perished miserably.
+
+At the first rush the water had almost filled the level where it
+occurred, and, sweeping onward about eight fathoms to a winze, plunged
+down and partly over it.  The greater part, however, went down to the
+eighty-five fathom level.  East of this a man named Anguin, with his two
+sons, William and James--youths of about twenty years of age--were at
+work.  They heard the roar of the approaching torrent, and the father
+and younger son James rushed towards the winze, intending to ascend the
+ladder.  Before they reached it the flood was pouring down with
+deafening noise.  The least harmful part of the cataract was the water,
+for the current now carried along with it stones, pieces of timber, and
+rubbish.  To encounter all this might have caused the stoutest hearts to
+quail, but miners can never calculate the probable extent of an
+inundation.  They might, indeed, by remaining in the roof of the level,
+escape; but, on the other hand, if the flood should be great enough to
+fill the place, they would certainly be drowned.  Father and son,
+therefore, preferred to make a desperate effort to save their lives.
+They dashed into the flood and made a grasp at the ladder, but before
+their hands touched the first round they were beaten down and swept away
+dead corpses.  William, on the other hand, climbed to a cross-piece of
+timber, where he remained until the water abated, which it did in a very
+short time, for events of this kind are for the most part awfully sudden
+and brief as well as fatal.  Then, descending, he groped his way in the
+dark over the very spot where his father and brother lay dead--fearfully
+mutilated and covered with rubbish--and escaped up the shaft.
+
+In a still lower level two brothers were at work.  Miners usually work
+in couples--sometimes in larger numbers--and brothers frequently go
+together.  They were in a winze about thirty fathoms from the
+engine-shaft.  Being overtaken by the flood they were washed _down_, to
+the next level, and along it nearly to the shaft.  As the torrent tore
+past this place, bearing splintered timber, stones, and rubbish along
+with it, an iron wagon was caught up and flung across the level.  This
+formed a barricade, against which the brothers were dashed.  The elder
+of these brothers was afterwards found alive here, and carried to the
+surface; but he was speechless, and died twenty minutes after being
+brought up.  When the dead body of the younger and weaker brother was
+recovered, it was found to be dreadfully shattered, nearly every bone
+being crushed.
+
+In the same level, two men--John Paul and Andrew Teague--hearing the
+rush of the advancing torrent above their head, made for a shaft, went
+up it against a heavy fall of water, and escaped.
+
+A man named Richard--a powerful man and a cool experienced miner, who
+had faced death in almost every form--was at work in one of the lowest
+levels with his son William, a youth of twenty-one, and his nephew, a
+lad of seventeen, who was the sole support of a widowed mother with six
+children.  They were thirty fathoms from one of the winzes down which
+the water streamed.  On hearing the roar Richard cautioned the younger
+men to be prompt, but collected.  No time was to be lost, but rash haste
+might prove as fatal as delay.  He sent them on in front of him, and
+they rushed under and past the winze, where they were nearly crushed by
+the falling water, and where, of course, their candles were
+extinguished, leaving them in midnight darkness.  This last was not so
+serious a matter to the elder Richard as, at first sight, it might
+appear.  He knew every foot of the ground they had to traverse, with all
+its turnings, yawning chasms, and plank bridges, and could have led the
+way blindfold almost as easily as with a light.  As they neared the
+shaft he passed the younger men, and led the way to prevent them falling
+into it.  At this time the water raged round them as high as their
+waists.  The nephew, who was weak, in consequence of a fever from which
+he had not quite recovered, fell, and, passing the others unobserved,
+went down the shaft and was lost.  The escape of Richard and his son was
+most wonderful.  William was a stout fellow, but the father much more
+so.  They were driven at first into the shaft, but there the fall of
+water was so great that they could do nothing more than cling to the
+ladder.  By this cataract they were beaten back into the level, but here
+the water rose around them so quickly and with such force as to oblige
+them to make another effort to ascend.
+
+There was a crevice in the roof of the level here, in which the father
+had left part of his supply of candles and a tinder-box.  He succeeded
+in reaching these, and in striking a light, which revealed to them the
+full horrors of their situation.  It was with difficulty that the candle
+could be kept burning by holding it close to the roof under a projecting
+piece of rock which sheltered it partially from the dashing spray.
+
+"Let us try again!" shouted the father.
+
+The noise was so great that it was with difficulty they could make each
+other hear.
+
+"It's all over with we," cried the son; "let us pray, faither."
+
+The father urged his son, however, to make another effort, as the water
+had risen nearly to their waists, and prevailed on him to do so, getting
+on the ladder himself first, in order to bear the brunt of the falling
+water and thus break its force to his son.  As the water below was now
+rising swiftly William only held the light long enough to enable his
+father to obtain a secure footing on the ladder, when he dropped it and
+followed him.  So anxious was the youth to escape from the danger that
+menaced him from below, that he pressed eagerly up against his father.
+In doing so, he over-reached the rounds of the ladder on which his
+father trod, and, almost at every step, the latter unwittingly planted
+his heavy-nailed boots on the son's hands, lacerating them terribly.  To
+avoid this was impossible.  So heavy was the descending flood, that it
+was only his unusually great strength which enabled the father to
+advance slowly up against it.  The son, being partially sheltered by his
+father's body, knew not the power against which he had to contend, and,
+being anxious to go up faster, pressed too closely on him, regardless,
+in his alarm, of the painful consequences.  Masses of stone, wood, and
+rubbish, dashed down the shaft and grazed their shoulders, but
+providentially none struck them severely.  Thus, slowly and painfully,
+did they ascend to a height of eighty-four feet, and were saved.
+
+In another part of the mine, below the level where the accident
+occurred, James Penrose, whom we have already introduced to the reader,
+was at work with John Cock.  The latter having taken a fancy to try
+mining for a time instead of smuggling--just by way of a change--had
+joined the former in working a "pitch" in Botallack mine.  These men
+were peculiarly situated.  They were in a level which the water entered,
+not by flowing along or descending, but, by rising up through a winze.
+On hearing the noise they ran to this winze, and, looking down, saw the
+water boiling and roaring far below.  They were about to pass on to the
+shaft when Penrose observed a dark object moving on the ladder.  It came
+slowly up.
+
+"Hallo!  John," cried Penrose, "stay a bit; here's some one on the
+ladder."
+
+John Cock returned, and they both stooped to afford help.  In another
+moment Oliver Trembath, drenched and bleeding, and covered with mud,
+stood, or rather reeled, before them.  It was evident that he was only
+half conscious, and scarcely able to stand.  But they had no time to
+speak--scarcely to think--for the water was already boiling up through
+the winze like a huge fountain, and filling the level.  They seized
+Oliver by the arms and dragged him hastily towards the nearest winze
+that led upward.  Here they found water pouring down like rain, and
+heard its thunders above them, but the stream was not sufficient to
+retard their progress up the winze, which they ascended with comparative
+ease.  Penrose and Cock were surprised at this, but the small quantity
+of water was soon accounted for by the fact that the hatch or trap-door
+of the winze had been closed; and thus, while it prevented the great
+body of water above from descending, also effectually shut off the only
+way of escape.  They were therefore compelled to descend again to the
+level, in which the water was now rising rapidly.
+
+Oliver leaned against the rock, and stood in apathetic silence.  Penrose
+tried to rouse him, but failed.  His injuries had rendered him almost in
+capable of coherent speech, and his replies showed that his mind was
+rambling on the necessity of making haste and struggling hard.
+
+James Penrose, who was a "class-leader" and a local preacher among the
+Wesleyans, and mentally much superior to his comrades, now proved beyond
+a doubt that his God was to him "a very present help in trouble."  Both
+he and Cock knew, or at least believed, that death was certain to
+overtake them in a few minutes, for both before and behind retreat was
+cut off, and the water was increasing with frightful rapidity.
+Observing that Cock looked anxious, Penrose turned and said
+earnestly,--"John, you and I shall be dead in a few minutes.
+
+"For myself I have no fear, for my peace is already made with God,
+through Jesus Christ--blessed be His name--but, oh!  John, you do know
+that it is not so with you.  Turn, John, turn, even now, to the Lord,
+who tells you that `though thy sins be as scarlet they shall be as white
+as snow,' and that `_now_ is the day of salvation,' if you will only
+repent, and believe on Him!"
+
+"Pray for un, James," said Cock, whose face betrayed his fears.
+
+Penrose at once clasped his hands, and, closing his eyes, prayed for his
+comrade with such fervour that his voice rose loud and strong above the
+turmoil of the flood.  He was still engaged in prayer when the water
+drove them from the level, and compelled them to re-ascend the winze.
+Here John Cock began to pray for himself in agonising tones.  By this
+time Oliver had partially recovered, and suggested that they should
+ascend the winze to the top.  Penrose assured him that it was useless to
+do so; but, while he was still speaking, he observed that the water
+ceased to rise, and began quickly to abate.  In fact, all that we have
+taken so long to describe--from the outburst to the termination of the
+great rush--took place within half an hour.
+
+The noise overhead now grew less and less, until it almost ceased.  They
+then ascended to the trap-door and tried to force it open, but failed.
+They shouted, however, and were heard, ere long, by those who had
+escaped and had returned to the mine to search for their less fortunate
+companions.  The trap-door was opened, strong and willing hands were
+thrust down the dark winze to the rescue, and in a few seconds the three
+men were saved.
+
+The danger was past--but several lives had been lost in the terrible
+catastrophe.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
+
+TOUCHES ON THE CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS: OLIVER IN A NEW LIGHT AND HIS UNCLE
+IN A SAD ONE.
+
+That was a sad day in St. Just which followed the event related in the
+last chapter.  Many a heart-broken wail was heard round the mouths of
+the shafts, as the remains of those who perished were brought to the
+surface, and conveyed to their former homes.
+
+Saddest of all perhaps was the procession that marched slowly to the
+cottage of blind John Batten, and laid the two fair-haired lads before
+their stricken parents.  Tears were wrung from the strongest men there
+when they beheld the agonised but tearless mother guide her husband's
+hand to their faces that he might for the last time feel the loved ones
+whom, she said in the bitterness of her grief, "he should never see
+more."
+
+"Never see more, dear lass!" he replied with a sad smile, "how can thee
+say so?  Shall we not behold their dear faces again when we see our
+blessed Lord face to face?"
+
+Thus the Christian miner comforted himself and his sorrowing family.
+
+It is right to add that such catastrophes are not of frequent occurrence
+in the mines.  The danger of "holing to a house of water," is so great
+and so well known that the operation is usually conducted with great
+care, and accident is well guarded against.
+
+Nevertheless, an occasional act of carelessness will now and then result
+in a terrible disaster.  A catastrophe, similar in all its chief
+features to that which has been related in the last chapter, happened in
+North Levant mine many years ago, and in the burying-ground of the
+Wesleyan Chapel of St. Just may be seen a tombstone, which bears record
+of the sad event as follows:--
+
+  _Sacred to the memory of_ JAMES, _aged_ 20, _and_ JOHN, _aged_ 15
+  _years, sons of James and Nanny Thomas of Bollowall, in this Parish,
+  who were drowned (with three others) by the holing to a house of water
+  in North Levant Mine on the first of April_ 1867.
+
+A "house" of much larger dimensions, and containing a much greater body
+of water than that which caused the latest destruction of life in North
+Levant mine, was cleared of water not long ago in Botallack.  The agents
+knew of its existence, for, the whole region both above and below ground
+being measured off and planned, they could lay their finger on the exact
+spot where they knew that an old mine existed.  They kept a large borer,
+six feet long, going constantly before them as they cut their way
+towards the point of danger.  The result was that when the borer at last
+pierced through to the old mine, there were six feet of solid rock
+between them and the water.  Through the small hole the water flowed,
+and thus the mine was slowly but safely drained.  In the other case, the
+ground happened to be soft, and had been somewhat recklessly cut away.
+
+Of course, there are occasions--proving the truth of the proverb that
+"accidents will happen in the best regulated families"--in which neither
+foresight nor precaution can prevent evil; but these are comparatively
+few.  Sometimes the cupidity of a miner will lead him, for the sake of
+following a rich lode, to approach too near and too recklessly to
+danger, despite the vigilance of captains, and cause considerable risk
+to the mine as well as to themselves.  Such was the case once long ago
+at Botallack, when the miners below the sea cut away the rock to within
+three or four feet of the water, and actually made a small hole through
+so that they had to plug it up with a piece of wood.
+
+This is a fact which we can vouch for, having seen the plug, and heard
+the boulders rattling loudly over our head with each successive wave;
+but there is no danger here, because the cutting under the sea is
+narrow, and the rock solid and intensely hard.
+
+Such also was the case, not many years since, at Levant mine, where the
+men working in the levels under the sea drove upwards until the salt
+water began to trickle through to them in alarming quantities--insomuch
+that the other miners struck work, and refused to go again into the
+mine, unless the workings in that part were stopped, and the place made
+secure.  This was accordingly done, and the men returned to the mine.
+The danger here was really great, because the cutting that had been made
+was wide, and the ground overhead comparatively soft.
+
+But, to return to our tale.
+
+For many days after the catastrophe Oliver Trembath lay in his bed
+suffering from severe cuts and bruises, as well as from what must have
+been, as nearly as possible, concussion of the brain, for he had
+certainly been washed down one of the winzes, although he himself
+retained only a confused recollection of the events of that terrible
+day, and could not tell what had befallen him.  At length, however, he
+became convalescent, and a good deal of his old vigour returned.
+
+During this period of illness and convalescence Oliver had been
+constrained by old Mr Donnithorne to take up his abode in his house,
+and the young doctor could not have experienced more attention and
+kindness from the old couple if he had been their son.  Rose Ellis, too,
+did her best to cheer him, and, as we need scarcely add, was wonderfully
+successful in her efforts!
+
+It was during this period that Oliver made the acquaintance of a young
+man of St. Just, named Charles Tregarthen--a congenial spirit--and one
+who was, besides, a thorough gentleman and an earnest Christian.  With
+this youth he formed a sincere friendship, and although the subject of
+religion was never obtrusively thrust upon him by young Tregarthen, it
+entered so obviously into all his thoughts, and shone so clearly in his
+words and conduct, that Oliver's heart was touched, and he received
+impressions at that time which never left him.
+
+Oliver and his friend were sitting one forenoon in Mr Donnithorne's
+dining-room, which commanded an extensive view of green fields and
+grass-covered stone walls, with the beams and machinery of mines on the
+horizon, and the blue sea beyond.  They were planning a short walking
+tour, which it was thought would be of great benefit to Oliver in that
+stage of his recovery, when old Mr Donnithorne entered the room with a
+somewhat perturbed expression of countenance.
+
+"How are you, Charlie my boy?" he said.  "Oliver, I want to have a few
+minutes' talk with you in my room on business; I know Charlie will
+excuse you."
+
+"I was on the point of taking leave at any rate," said Tregarthen with a
+smile, as he grasped Oliver's hand; "think over our plan, like a good
+fellow; I am sure Mr Donnithorne will approve of it, and I'll look in
+to-morrow forenoon to hear what decision you come to."
+
+"Oliver," said Mr Donnithorne, sitting down opposite the invalid when
+his friend had left, and frowning portentously, "d'you know I'm a ruined
+man?"
+
+"I trust not, uncle," replied Oliver with an incredulous smile,
+supposing that the old gentleman was jesting.
+
+"Yes, but I am," he repeated with tremendous gravity.  "At all events, I
+shall be ere long.  These--these--vile jewels will be the death of me."
+
+Having thus broken the ice Mr Donnithorne went on with much volubility
+of utterance and exasperation of tone to explain that legal proceedings
+had been instituted for the recovery of the jewels which he had
+purchased from the fishermen; that things seemed almost certain to go
+against him; and that in all probability he should be compelled to sell
+his estate in order to refund the money.
+
+"But can you not sell your shares in Botallack and refund with the
+proceeds?" said Oliver.
+
+"No, I cannot," replied the old gentleman.  "You know that at present
+these shares are scarcely saleable except at a ruinous discount, and it
+would be a pity to part with them just now, seeing that there is some
+hope of improvement at this time.  There is nothing for it but to sell
+my estate, and I don't think there will be enough left to buy butter to
+my bread after this unhappy affair is settled, for it amounts to some
+thousands of pounds."
+
+"Indeed, uncle! how comes it that they found out the value of them?"
+
+"Oh, simply enough, Oliver, but strangely too.  You must know that
+Maggot, the scoundrel (and yet not such a scoundrel either, for the
+fellow informed on me in a passion, without having any idea of the
+severity of the consequences that would follow),--Maggot, it seems, kept
+the cloth belt in which the jewels were found tied round the owner's
+waist, and there happened to be a piece of parchment sewed up in the
+folds of it, in which the number and value of the jewels were
+enumerated.  This belt was ferreted out by the lawyers, and the result
+is that, as I said before, I shall be a ruined man.  Verily," added Mr
+Donnithorne, with a look of vexation, as he stumped up and down the room
+with his hands thrust deep into his breeches pockets, "verily, my wife
+was a true prophetess when she told me that my sin would be sure to find
+me out, and that honesty was the best policy.  'Pon my conscience, I'm
+half inclined to haul down my colours and let her manage me after all!"
+
+"I am much concerned at what you tell me," said Oliver, "and I regret
+now very deeply that the few hundreds which I possessed when I came
+here--and which you know are all my fortune--have also been invested in
+Botallack shares, for they should have been heartily at your service,
+uncle."
+
+"Don't trouble yourself about your hundreds, lad," said the old
+gentleman testily; "I didn't come here to ask assistance from you in
+that way, but to tell you the facts of the case, and ask you to do me
+the favour to carry a letter to my lawyer in Penzance, and inquire into
+the condition of a mine I have something to do with there--a somewhat
+singular mine, which I think will surprise as well as interest you; will
+you do this, for me, lad?"
+
+"Most willingly," replied Oliver.  "You heard my friend Charlie
+Tregarthen speak of our intention to go on a walking tour for a couple
+of days; now, if you have no objection, he and I will set off together
+without delay, and make Penzance our goal, going round by the Land's End
+and the coast."
+
+"So be it, Oliver, and don't hurry yourselves, for the business will
+wait well enough for a day or two.  But take care of yourself, lad;
+don't go swimming off the Land's End again, and above all things avoid
+smugglers.  The scoundrels! they have been the ruin of me, Oliver.  Not
+bad fellows in their way either, but unprincipled characters--
+desperately regardless of the national laws; and--and--keep clear of
+'em, I advise you strongly--have nothing to do with 'em, Oliver, my
+son."
+
+So saying the old gentleman left the room, shaking his head with
+profound gravity.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
+
+TELLS OF KING ARTHUR AND OTHER MORE OR LESS FABULOUS MATTERS.
+
+Next day Oliver Trembath and his friend Charles Tregarthen, before the
+sun had mounted his own height above the horizon, were on their way to
+the Land's End.
+
+The young men were admirably suited to each other.  Both were well
+educated, and possessed similar tastes, though their temperaments were
+dissimilar, and both were strong athletic youths--Oliver's superiority
+in this latter respect being at that time counterbalanced by his recent
+illness, which reduced him nearly to a level with his less robust
+companion.
+
+Their converse was general and desultory until they reached the Land's
+End, on the point of which they had resolved to breakfast.
+
+"Now, Oliver, we have purchased an appetite," said Tregarthen, throwing
+down a wallet in which he carried some provisions; "let us to work."
+
+"Stay, Charlie, not here," said Oliver; "let us get out on the point,
+where we shall have a better view of the cliffs on either side of the
+Land's End.  I love a wide, unobstructed view."
+
+"As you will, Oliver; I leave you to select our table, but I pray you to
+remember that however steady your head may have been in days of yore
+when you scaled the Scottish mountains, the rough reception it has met
+with in our Cornish mines has given it a shake that renders caution
+necessary."
+
+"Pshaw!  Charlie, don't talk to me of caution, as if I were a timid old
+woman."
+
+"Nay, then, I talk of it because you are _not_ a timid old woman, but a
+reckless young man who seems bent on committing suicide.  Yonder is a
+grassy spot which I think will suit you well."
+
+He pointed to a level patch of sward on the neck of land that connects
+the outlying and rugged promontory which forms the extreme Land's End
+with the cliffs of the mainland.  Here they spread their meal, and from
+this point they could see the cliffs and bays of the iron-bound shore
+extending on the one hand towards Cape Cornwall, and on the other
+towards that most romantic part of the coast known by the somewhat
+curious name of Tolpedenpenwith, where rocks and caverns are found in
+such fantastic fashion that the spot has become justly celebrated for
+picturesque grandeur.  At their feet, far below, the great waves (caused
+by the swell, for there was no wind) boomed in solemn majesty,
+encircling the cliffs with a lace-work of foam, while on the horizon the
+Scilly Islands could be seen shimmering faintly.  A bright sun shone on
+the unruffled sea, and hundreds of ships and boats lay becalmed on its
+breast.
+
+"'Tis a splendid scene!" said Oliver, sitting down beside his friend.
+
+"It is indeed, and reminds me of the sea of glass before the great white
+throne that we read of in Revelation.  It is difficult to imagine or to
+believe that the peaceful water before us, lying between this spot and
+the Scilly Islands yonder, was once a land full of verdure and life--yet
+such tradition tells us was the case."
+
+"You mean, I suppose, the fabled land of Lionesse?" said Oliver.
+
+"Yes; you have heard the story of its destruction, I suppose?"
+
+"Not I," said Oliver, "so if you have a mind to tell it me while I
+satisfy the cravings of an unusually sharp appetite I'll consider you a
+most obliging fellow.  Pass me the knuckle of ham--thanks--and the
+bread; now go ahead."
+
+"'Tis a romantic story," said Tregarthen.
+
+"All the better," replied Oliver.
+
+"And terrible," added Tregarthen.
+
+"It won't spoil my appetite," said his friend.
+
+"Well, then, I'll tell it--to the best of my ability."  The youth then
+began the following legend, pausing ever and anon during the narration
+to swallow a piece of bread or a mouthful of cold tea, which constituted
+the principal elements of their frugal meal.
+
+"You must know that, once upon a time, long, long ago, in those ancient
+days before Norman or Dane had invaded this land, while Britain still
+belonged to the British, and King Arthur held his court in Tintagel's
+halls, there was a goodly land, named Lethowsow or the Lionesse,
+extending a distance of thirty miles between this cape and yonder
+shadowy islets which seem to float like cirrus clouds on the horizon.
+It is said that this land of Lionesse was rich and fertile, supporting
+many hundreds of families, with large flocks and herds.  There were no
+fewer than forty churches upon it, from which it follows that there must
+have been a considerable population of well-doing people there.
+
+"About the time of the events which I am going to narrate, King Arthur's
+reign was drawing to a close.  Treason had thinned the ranks of the once
+united and famous knights of the Round Table.  It is true that Sir Kaye,
+the seneschal, remained true, and Sir Ector de Mans, and Sir Caradoc,
+and Sir Tristram, and Sir Lancelot of the Lake, of whom it was said that
+`he was the kindest man that ever struck with sword; and he was the
+goodliest person that ever rode among the throng of knights; and he was
+the meekest man, and the gentlest, that did ever eat in hall among
+ladies; and he was the sternest knight to his mortal foe that ever laid
+lance in rest.'  But many seats at the Round Table that once were filled
+by brave warriors had become empty, and among these, that of Prince
+Mordred, who, it was rumoured, meant to declare open war against his
+royal cousin and benefactor.
+
+"One night King Arthur sat at the Round Table in Tintagel Castle with
+his knights gathered round him, and Queen Guenever with her maidens by
+his side.  At the beginning of the feast the king's brow was clouded,
+for, although there was no lack of merriment or song, there was a want
+of the free-hearted courtesy and confidence of former days.  Still the
+semblance of unabated good-fellowship was kept up, and the evening
+passed in gaiety until its close, when the king rose to retire.  Taking
+in his hand a golden cup to pledge his guests, he was about to drink,
+when a shudder passed through his frame, and he cast the goblet away,
+exclaiming, `It is not wine, but blood!  My father Merlin is among us,
+and there is evil in the coming days.  Break we up our court, my peers!
+It is no time for feasting, but rather for fasting and for prayer.'
+
+"The king glanced with a dark frown at the chair of his kinsman Mordred,
+but it was not empty!  A strange, indistinct, shadowy form rested on it.
+It had no human shape, but a dreadful outline of something unearthly.
+Awe-struck and silent, the company at once broke up.
+
+"On the following day, news of Mordred's revolt arrived at Tintagel
+Castle, and day after day fresh rumours reached it of foes flocking in
+numbers to the rebel standard.  The army increased as it advanced, but,
+strange to say, King Arthur showed no disposition to sally forth and
+meet the traitor.  It seemed as if his brave heart had quailed at last,
+and his good sword Excalibur had lost its magic virtue.  Some thought
+that he doubted the fidelity of those who still remained around him.
+But, whatever the cause might have been, King Arthur made no
+preparation, and indicated no feeling or intention.  He lay still in his
+castle until the rebels had approached to the very gates.  There was
+something terrible in this mysterious silence of the king, which had a
+tendency to overawe the rebels as they drew near, and remembered that
+they were about to match themselves against warriors who had grown old
+in fellowship with victory.
+
+"When the main body of the invaders appeared, the great bell of the
+fortress at last rang out a stirring peal, and before the barbican the
+trumpets sounded to horse.  King Arthur then with his knights and
+men-at-arms, the best warriors of Britain, arose and sallied forth to
+fight in their last battle.
+
+"Next evening a broken band of horsemen alone remained to tell of the
+death of their king and the destruction of all their hopes.  They
+numbered several hundreds, but their hacked armour, jaded steeds, and
+gaping wounds told that they were unfit to offer battle to any foe.
+They were in full flight, bearing a torn banner, still wet with the
+blood of King Arthur; yet they fled unwillingly, as men who were unused
+to retreat, and scarce knew how to comport them in the novel
+circumstances.  Their course was in the direction of the Lionesse, the
+tract of country called in the Cornish tongue Lethowsow.  On they
+dashed, without uttering a word, over the bleak moors before them.
+Sometimes they halted to drink at a spring or tighten their girths, and
+occasionally a man fell behind from sheer exhaustion.  At night they
+encamped, after a hard ride of thirty miles.  Next morning the flight
+was resumed, but the vindictive Mordred still thundered on in pursuit.
+Ere long they heard a trumpet sounding in their rear, and King Arthur's
+men halted for a few minutes, with the half-formed design of facing the
+foe and selling their lives dearly.  While they paused in gloomy
+irresolution, gazing sternly on the advancing host, whose arms flashed
+back the rays of the morning sun, a mist rose up between them and their
+foes.  It was a strange shadowy mist, without distinct form, yet not
+without resemblance to something ghostly.  The knights at once
+recognised it as the shade of Merlin, the Great Wizard!  Slowly the
+cloud uprose between the pursuers and pursued, effectually protecting
+the latter; nevertheless, although baffled, the former did not give up
+the chase.
+
+"At last Mordred reached a lofty slope, from the top of which he
+descried his enemies retreating across the land of Lionesse.  Mad with
+rage, he descended to the plain, where soft sunlight shone through
+luxuriant glades and across the green pastures, gladdening the hearts of
+man and beast.  Nature was all peaceful, and gloriously beautiful, but
+Mordred's eyes saw it not, his heart felt not the sweet influences.  The
+bitterness induced by hatred and an evil conscience reigned within, as
+he urged his steed furiously onward.
+
+"Suddenly a terrible change occurred in the atmosphere, which became
+oppressively sultry and horrible, while low muttering thunders were
+heard, and heavings of the earth felt.  At the same time the cloud
+gradually condensed in front of Mordred, and, assuming a distinct form,
+stood before him in the person of Merlin the Wizard.  For a few seconds
+they stood face to face, frowning on each other in awful silence.  Then
+Merlin raised his arm, and immediately the thunders and confused
+mutterings increased, until the earth began to undulate and rend as if
+the foundations of the world were destroyed.  Great fissures appeared,
+and the rocks welled up like the waves of the sea.  With a cry of agony
+the pursuers turned to fly.  But it was too late.  Already the earth was
+rent into fragments; it upheaved convulsively for a few seconds; then
+sank beneath the level of the deep, and the ocean rushed wildly over the
+land, leaving nothing behind to mark the spot where land had been, save
+the peaked and barren rocks you see before you, with the surge beating
+continually around them."
+
+"A most extraordinary tale, truly," said Oliver.  "Do you believe it has
+any foundation?"
+
+"I believe not the supernatural parts of it, of course," replied
+Tregarthen; "but there is _something_ in the fact that the land of
+Cornwall has unquestionably given up part of its soil to the sea.  You
+are aware, I suppose, that St. Michael's Mount, the most beautiful and
+prominent object in Mounts Bay, has been described as `a hoare rock in a
+wood,' about six miles from the sea, although it now stands in the bay;
+and this idea of a sunken land is borne out by the unquestionable fact
+that if we dig down a few feet into the sand of the shore near Penzance,
+we shall come on a black vegetable mould, full of woodland _detritus_,
+such as branches, leaves of coppice wood, and nuts, together with
+carbonised roots and trunks of forest trees of larger growth; and these
+have been found as far out as the lowest tide would permit men to dig!
+In addition to this, portions of land have been overwhelmed by the sea
+near Penzance, in the memory of men now alive."
+
+"Hum!" said Oliver, stretching out his huge limbs like a giant basking
+in the sunshine, "I dare say you are correct in your suppositions, but I
+do not profess to be an antiquary, so that I won't dispute the subject
+with you.  At the same time, I may observe that it does seem to me as if
+there were a screw loose somewhere in the historical part of your
+narrative, for methinks I have read, heard, or dreamt, that King Arthur
+was Mordred's uncle, not his cousin, and that Mordred was slain, and
+that the king was the victor, at the fatal field of Camelford, although
+the victory was purchased dearly--Arthur having been mortally wounded
+and carried back to Tintagel to die there.  But, of course, I won't
+pretend to doubt the truth of your narrative because of such trifling
+discrepancies.  As to the encroachment of the sea on the Cornish coast,
+and the evidences thereof in Mounts Bay, I raise no objection thereto,
+but I cannot help thinking that we want stronger proof of the existence
+of the land of Lionesse."
+
+"Why, Oliver," said Tregarthen, laughing, "you began by saying that you
+would not dispute the subject with me, and in two minutes you have said
+enough to have justified a regular attack on my part, had I been so
+disposed.  However, we have a long road before us, so I must protest
+against a passage of arms just now."
+
+Having finished breakfast, the two friends proceeded along the coast a
+few miles to Tolpedenpenwith.  Here, in the midst of the finest scenery
+on the coast, they spent the greater part of the day, and then proceeded
+to Penberth Cove, intending to secure a lodging for the night, order
+supper, and, while that was in preparation, pay a visit to the famous
+Logan Rock.
+
+Penberth Cove is one of the prettiest little vales in the west of
+Cornwall.  It is enriched with groups of trees and picturesque cottages,
+and possesses a luxuriant growth of shrubs and underwood, that almost
+conceals from view the streamlet, which is the chief cause of its
+fertility.
+
+There were also, at the time we write of, one or two houses which,
+although not public inns, were open for the entertainment of travellers
+in a semi-private fashion.  Here, therefore, our excursionists
+determined to put up for the night, with the widow of a fisherman who
+had perished in a storm while engaged in the herring fishery off the
+Irish coast.  This good woman's chief physical characteristic was
+rotundity, and her prominent mental attribute good-humour.  She at once
+received the gentlemen hospitably, and promised to prepare supper for
+them while they went to visit the far-famed Logan or Logging Rock, which
+lay in the vicinity.
+
+This rock is one of those freaks of nature which furnish food for
+antiquaries, points of interest to strangers, and occupation to guides.
+Every one who goes to the Land's End must needs visit the Logan Rock, if
+he would "do" the country properly; and if our book were a "Guide to
+Cornwall," we should feel bound to describe it with much particularity,
+referring to its size, form, weight, and rocking quality, besides
+enlarging on the memorable incident in its career, when a wild officer
+of the navy displaced it from its pivot by means of seamen and crowbars,
+and was thereafter ordered to replace it (a herculean task, which he
+accomplished at great cost) on pain of we know not what penalties.  But,
+as we make no pretensions to the important office of a guide, we pass
+this lion by, with the remark that Oliver and his friend visited it and
+rocked it, and then went back to Penberth Cove to sup on pilchards,
+after which followed a chat, then bed, sound sleep, daybreak and
+breakfast, and, finally, the road to Penzance, with bright sunshine,
+light hearts, and the music of a hundred larks ringing in the sky.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINETEEN.
+
+SMALL TALK AND SOME ACCOUNT OF CORNISH FAIRIES.
+
+"What a splendid country for a painter of cliffs!" observed Oliver, as
+the friends walked briskly along; "I wonder much that our artists do not
+visit it more frequently."
+
+"Perhaps they find metal more attractive nearer home," replied
+Tregarthen; "all the world has not fallen so violently in love with
+furze-clad moorland and rugged sea-cliffs as you seem to have done.
+Besides, the country is somewhat remote.  Mayhap when a railway runs
+into it, which will doubtless be the case before many years pass by, we
+shall see knights of the brush pitching their white tents on the Land's
+End; meanwhile we have a few promising young men of our own who bid fair
+to rival the great Opie himself.  You have heard of him, of course?"
+
+"I have heard of him indeed, and seen some of his works, but I'm ashamed
+to confess that, having left Cornwall when very young, and been a
+dweller in the far north of the kingdom ever since, I have only known
+the facts that he was a celebrated Cornish artist, and became the
+President of the Royal Academy.  Can you tell me anything of his
+personal history?"
+
+"Not much, but I can give you a brief outline of his career.  John Opie
+was the son of a carpenter of St. Agnes, near Truro, and was discovered
+and extracted, like a `bunch' of rich ore, from the midst of the
+tin-mines, by Dr Wolcot--who was celebrated under the name of Peter
+Pindar.  The doctor first observed and appreciated Opie's talent, and,
+resolving to bring him into notice, wrote about him until he became
+celebrated as the `Cornish Wonder.'  He also introduced people of note
+to the artist's studio in London, many of whom sat for their portraits.
+These gave so much satisfaction that the reputation of the `Cornish
+Wonder' spread far and wide, and orders came pouring in upon him,
+insomuch that he became a rich man and a Royal Academician, and
+ultimately President of the Academy.  He married an authoress, and his
+remains were deposited in St. Paul's Cathedral, near to those of Sir
+Joshua Reynolds.  I have heard my grandfather say that he met him once
+in the town of Helston, and he described him as somewhat rough and
+unpolished, but a sterling, kind-hearted man."
+
+"Did he paint landscape at all?" inquired Oliver.
+
+"Not much, I believe.  He devoted himself chiefly to portraits."
+
+"Well, now," said Oliver, looking round him; "it strikes me that this is
+just the country for a landscape painter.  There is nowhere else such
+fine cliff scenery, and the wild moors, which remind me much of
+Scotland, are worthy of being sketched by an able brush."
+
+"People have curiously different opinions in reference to the moors
+which you admire so much," said Tregarthen.  "A clergyman who lived and
+wrote not very long ago, came to Cornwall in search of the picturesque,
+and he was so disappointed with what he termed a barren, desolate
+region, that he stopped suddenly on the road between Launceston and
+Bodmin, and turned his back on Cornwall for ever.  As might be expected,
+such a man gave a very false idea of the country.  On the other hand, a
+more recent writer, commenting on the first, speaks of his delight--
+after having grown somewhat tired of the almost too rich and
+over-cultivated scenery of Kent--on coming to what he styled `a sombre
+apparition of the desert in a corner of green England,' and dwells with
+enthusiasm on `these solitudes, and hills crowned with rugged rocks,
+classical heaths and savage ravines, possessing a character of desolate
+grandeur.'  But this writer did more.  He travelled through the country,
+and discovered that it possessed other and not less beautiful features;
+that there were richly clothed vales and beautiful rivulets, cultivated
+fields and prolific gardens, in close proximity to our grand cliffs and
+moors."
+
+"He might have added," said Oliver, "that plants and flowers flourish in
+the open air here, and attain to a size, and luxuriance which are rare
+in other parts of England.  Why, I have seen myrtles, laurels, fuchsias,
+pomegranates, and hortensias forming hedges and growing on the windows
+and walls of many houses.  To my mind Cornwall is one of the finest
+counties in England--of which Flora herself has reason to be proud, and
+in which fairies as well as giants might dwell with much delight."
+
+"Spoken like a true Cornishman!" said Tregarthen, laughing; "and in
+regard to the fairies I may tell you that we are not without a few of
+them, although giants confessedly preponderate."
+
+"Indeed!" said Oliver; "pray whereabouts do they dwell?"
+
+"You have heard of the Gump, I suppose?"
+
+"What! the barren plain near Carn Kenidjack, to the north of St. Just?"
+
+"The same.  Well, this is said to be a celebrated haunt of the pixies,
+who have often led benighted travellers astray, and shown them wonderful
+sights.  Of course one never meets with any individual who has actually
+seen them, but I have frequently met with those who have assured me they
+had known others who had conversed with persons who had seen fairies.
+One old man, in particular, I have heard of, who was quite convinced of
+the reality of a fairy scene which he once witnessed.
+
+"This old fellow was crossing the Gump one evening, by one of the
+numerous paths which intersect it.  It was summer-time.  The sun had
+gone down beyond the sea-line, and the golden mists of evening were
+merging into the quiet grey that hung over the Atlantic.  Not a breath
+of wind passed over land or sea.  To the northward Chun Castle stood
+darkly on the summit of the neighbouring hill, and the cromlech loomed
+huge and mysterious; southward were traces of mystic circles and upright
+stones, and other of those inexplicable pieces of antiquity which are
+usually saddled on the overladen shoulders of the Druids.  Everything,
+in fact--in the scene, the season, and the weather--contributed to fill
+the mind of the old man with romantic musings as he wended his way over
+the barren moor.  Suddenly there arose on the air a sound of sweet, soft
+music, like the gentle breathings of an Aeolian harp.  He stopped and
+gazed around with looks of mingled curiosity and surprise, but could see
+nothing unusual.  The mysterious sounds continued, and a feeling of
+alarm stole over him, for twilight was deepening, and home was still far
+distant.  He attempted to advance, but the music had such a charm for
+him that he could not quit the spot, so he turned aside to discover, if
+possible, whence it came.  Presently he came to a spot where the turf
+was smoother and greener than elsewhere, and here the most wonderful and
+enchanting scene met his gaze.  Fairies innumerable were before him;
+real live fairies, and no mistake.  Lying down on the grass, the old man
+crept cautiously towards them, and watched their proceedings with deep
+interest.  They were evidently engaged in the pleasant occupation of
+holding a fair.  There were stalls, tastefully laid out and decorated
+with garlands of flowers.  On these were spread most temptingly all the
+little articles of fairy costume.  To be sure the said costume was very
+scanty, and to all appearance more picturesque than useful; nevertheless
+there was great variety.  Some wore heath-bells jauntily stuck on their
+heads; some were helmeted with golden blossoms of the furze, and looked
+warlike; others had nothing but their own luxuriant hair to cover them.
+A few of the lady fairies struck the old man as being remarkably
+beautiful, and one of these, who wore an inverted tulip for a skirt,
+with a small forget-me-not in her golden hair, seemed to him the very
+picture of what his old Molly had been fifty years before.  It was
+particularly noticeable that the stalls were chiefly patronised by the
+fairy fair sex, with the exception of one or two which were much
+frequented by the men.  At these latter, articles were sold which
+marvellously resembled cigars and brandy, and the old man declared that
+he saw them smoke the former, and that he smelt the latter; but as he
+had himself been indulging a little that evening in smuggled spirits and
+tobacco, we must regard this as a somewhat ungenerous statement on his
+part, for it is ridiculous to suppose that fairies could be such
+senseless creatures as to smoke or drink!  They danced and sang,
+however, and it was observed that one young man, with a yellow night-cap
+and a bad cold, was particularly conspicuous for his anxiety to be
+permitted to sing.
+
+"The music was naturally the great attraction of the evening.  It
+consisted of a large band, and although some of the performers used
+instruments made of reeds, and straws, and other hollow substances, cut
+into various forms and lengths, most of them had noses which served the
+purpose of musical instruments admirably.  Indeed, the leader of the
+band had a prolongation of the nose so like to a flesh-coloured
+clarionet, that it might easily have been mistaken for the real thing,
+and on this he discoursed the most seraphic music.  Another fairy beside
+him had a much longer nose, which he used as a trombone with great
+effect.  This fellow was quite a character, and played with such
+tremendous energy that, on more than one occasion, he brought on a fit
+of sneezing, which of course interrupted the music, and put the
+clarionet in a passion.  A stout old misshapen gnome, or some such
+creature, with an enormous head, served for the big drum.  Four fairies
+held him down, and a fifth belaboured his head with a drumstick.  It
+sounded wonderfully hollow, and convinced the old man that it was
+destitute of brains, and not subject to headache.
+
+"All the time that the old man gazed at them, troops of fairies
+continued to arrive, some on the backs of bats, from which they slipped
+as they whirred past; others descending, apparently, on moonbeams.  The
+old man even fancied that he saw one attempting to descend by a
+starbeam, which, being apparently too weak to support his weight, broke,
+and let him down with a crash into the midst of a party who were very
+busy round a refreshment stall, where a liberal supply of mountain dew
+was being served out; but the old man never felt quite sure upon this
+point, for, at sight of the mountain dew, he felt so thirsty that he
+determined to taste it.  Fixing his eyes on the stall, he suddenly threw
+his hat into the midst of the party, and made a dash at it; but, to his
+intense disappointment, the vision was instantly dispelled, and nothing
+was to be seen on the spot but a few snails creeping over the wet grass,
+and gossamer threads bespangled with dewdrops."
+
+"A very pretty little vision," exclaimed Oliver, "and not the first that
+has been prematurely dispelled by too ardent a pursuit of strong drink!
+And now, Charlie, as you appear to be in the vein, and we have still
+some distance to go, will you tell me something about the giants, and
+how it came to pass that they were so fond of roaming about Cornwall?"
+
+"Their fondness for it, Oliver, must be ascribed to the same cause as
+your own--just because it is a lovable place," said Tregarthen;
+"moreover, being a thinly-peopled county, they were probably not much
+disturbed in their enjoyment of it.  To recount their surprising deeds
+would require a longer space of time than is just now at our disposal,
+but you have only to look round, in passing through the country, to
+understand what a mighty race of men they were.  There are `giants'
+quoits,' as you know, without end, some of which have the marks of the
+fingers and thumbs with which they grasped them.  Their strength may be
+estimated by the fact that one of these quoits is no less than forty
+feet long and twenty wide, and weighs some hundreds of tons.  It would
+puzzle even your strong arm to toss such a quoit!  One of these giants
+was a very notable fellow.  He was named `Wrath,' and is said to have
+been in the habit of quenching his thirst at the Holy Well under St.
+Agnes's Beacon, where the marks of his hands, made in the solid granite
+while he stooped to drink, may still be seen.  This rascal, who was well
+named, is said to have compelled poor St. Agnes, in revenge for her
+refusing to listen to his addresses, to carry in her apron to the top of
+Beacon Hill the pile of stones which lies there.  But here we are at
+Penzance, so we shall have done with fiction for the present, and revert
+to matters of fact.  You have business with a lawyer, I believe, and I
+have business for a short time with a friend.  Let us appoint a time and
+place of meeting."
+
+"What say you to the Wherry Mine at two o'clock?" said Oliver.  "It is
+probable that my business will be concluded by that time, when we can go
+and see this mine together.  My uncle seems to set great store by it,
+because of an old prophecy to the effect that some day or other it will
+enrich somebody!"
+
+"Why, that prophecy has been fulfilled long ago," said Tregarthen, with
+a laugh.  "The mine was a bold undertaking, and at one time paid well,
+but I fear it won't do so again.  However, let us meet there; so
+farewell, old boy, till two."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY.
+
+THE MINE IN THE SEA.
+
+True to their appointment, young Tregarthen and Oliver Trembath met at
+the western end of the town of Penzance, close to the sea-beach, where a
+mass of buildings and a chimney indicated the position of the Wherry
+Mine.
+
+Oliver's countenance betrayed anxiety as he came forward.
+
+"Nothing wrong, I hope?" said Tregarthen.
+
+"Well, I can't say exactly that things are wrong; but, at the same time,
+I don't know that they are altogether right."
+
+"Much the same thing," said Tregarthen, smiling; "come, Oliver, unbosom
+yourself, as novelists say.  It will do you good, and two heads, you
+know, are better than one."
+
+"It's not easy to unbosom myself, old fellow," returned Oliver, with a
+troubled look; "for my poor uncle's affairs are in a perplexed
+condition, and I hate explanations, especially when I don't understand
+the nature of what I attempt to explain, so we'll not talk about it,
+please, till after our visit to the mine.  Let it suffice to say that
+that notorious smuggler Jim Cuttance is concerned in it, and that we
+must go to Newlyn this afternoon on a piece of business which I shall
+afterwards disclose.  Meanwhile, where is this mine?"
+
+"Lift up your eyes and behold," said Tregarthen, pointing to an object
+which was surrounded by the sea, and stood above two hundred yards from
+the beach.
+
+"What! that martello-tower-like object?" exclaimed Oliver in much
+surprise.
+
+"Even so," replied Tregarthen, who thereupon proceeded to give his
+friend a history and description of the mine--of which the following is
+the substance:--
+
+At the western extremity of the sea-beach at Penzance there is a reef of
+sunken rocks which shows its black crest above water at low tide.  It
+was discovered that this reef contained tin, and the people of the town
+attacked it with hammers and chisels, when each receding tide left it
+exposed, as long as the seasons would permit, until the depth became
+unmanageable.  After having been excavated a few fathoms the work was
+abandoned.
+
+Fortunately for the progress of this world there exist a few
+enterprising men whom nothing can discourage, who seem to be spurred on
+by opposition, and to gather additional vigour and resolution from
+increasing difficulties.  These men are not numerous, but the world is
+seldom without a few of them; and one made his appearance in Penzance
+about the end of last century, in the person of a poor miner named
+Thomas Curtis.  This man conceived the bold design of sinking a shaft
+through this water-covered rock, and thus creating a mine not only
+_under_, but _in_ the sea.
+
+With the energy peculiar to his class he set to work.  The distance of
+the rock from the beach was about two hundred and forty yards; the depth
+of water above it at spring tides about nineteen feet.  Being exposed to
+the open sea, a considerable surf is raised on it at times by the
+prevailing winds, even in summer; while in winter the sea bursts over
+with such force as to render all operations on it impossible.
+
+That Curtis was a man of no common force of character is obvious from
+the fact that, apart from the difficulties of the undertaking, he could
+not expect to derive any profit whatever from his labour for several
+years.  As the work could only be carried on during the short period of
+time in which the rock was above water, and part of this brief period
+must necessarily be consumed each tide in pumping out the water in the
+excavation, it of course progressed slowly.  Three summers were consumed
+in sinking the pump-shaft.  After this a framework, or caisson, of stout
+timber and boards, was built round the mouth of the shaft, and rendered
+watertight with pitch and oakum.  It rose to a height of about twelve
+feet above the surface of the sea, and was strengthened and supported by
+stout bars, or buttresses of timber.  A platform was placed on the top,
+and a windlass, at which four men could work, was fixed thereon.  This
+erection was connected with the shore by a stage or "wherry" erected on
+piles.  The water was cleared out; the men went "underground," and, with
+the sea rolling over their heads, and lashing wildly round the turret
+which was their only safeguard from terrible and instant destruction,
+they hewed daily from the submarine rock a considerable portion of tin.
+
+These first workers, however, had committed an error in carrying on
+their operations too near the surface, so that water permeated freely
+through the rock, and the risk of the pressure above being too great,
+for it rendered the introduction of immense supporting timbers
+necessary.  The water, too, forced its way through the shaft during the
+winter months, so that the regular working of the mine could not be
+carried on except in summer; nevertheless, this short interval was
+sufficient to enable the projector to raise so much ore that his mine
+got the reputation of being a profitable adventure, and it was wrought
+successfully for many years.
+
+About the end of the century the depth of the pump-shaft was about four
+fathoms, and the roof had been cut away to the thinness of three feet in
+some places.  Twelve men were employed for two hours at the windlass in
+hauling the water, while six others were "teaming" from the bottom into
+the pump.  When sufficient water had been cleared away the men laboured
+at the rock for six hours--in all, eight hours at a time.  The prolific
+nature of the mine may be gathered from the fact that in the space of
+six months ten men, working about one tenth of that time--less than
+three weeks--broke about 600 pounds worth of ore.  During one summer
+3,000 pounds worth of tin was raised!
+
+A steam-engine was ultimately attached to the works, and the mine was
+sunk to a depth of sixteen fathoms, but the expense of working it at
+length became so great that it was abandoned--not, however, before ore
+to the amount of 70,000 pounds had been raised from under the sea!
+
+At the time of our tale another effort had been made to work the Wherry
+Mine, and great expectations had been raised, but these expectations
+were being disappointed.  Our unfortunate friend Mr Donnithorne was
+among the number of those who had cause to regret having ventured to
+invest in the undertaking, and it was to make inquiries in regard to
+certain unfavourable rumours touching the mine that Oliver Trembath had
+been sent to Penzance.
+
+After inspecting Wherry Mine the two friends walked along the shore
+together, and Oliver explained the nature of the difficulties in which
+his uncle was involved.
+
+"The fact is, Charlie," he said, "an old fish-purchaser of Newlyn named
+Hitchin is one of the principal shareholders in this concern.  He is as
+rich, they say, as Croesus, and if we could only prevail on him to be
+amiable the thing might be carried on for some time longer with every
+hope of a favourable result, for there can be no doubt whatever that
+there is plenty of tin in the mine yet, and the getting of it out is
+only a question of time and capital."
+
+"A pretty serious question--as most speculators find," said Tregarthen,
+laughing; "you appear to think lightly of it."
+
+"Well, I don't pretend to know much about such matters," replied Oliver,
+"but whatever may be the truth of the case, old Hitchin refuses to come
+forward.  He says that he is low in funds just now, which nobody seems
+to believe, and that he owes an immense sum of money to Jim Cuttance,
+the smuggler, for what, of course, he will not tell, but we can have no
+difficulty in guessing.  He says that Cuttance is pressing him just now,
+and that, therefore, he cannot afford to advance anything on the mine.
+This being the case it must go down, and, if it does, one of the last
+few gleams of prosperity that remain to my poor uncle will have
+fluttered away.  This must be prevented, if possible, and it is with
+that end in view that I purpose going to Newlyn this afternoon to see
+Hitchin and bring my persuasive powers to bear on him."
+
+"H'm, not of much use, I fear," said Tregarthen.  "Hitchin is a tough
+old rascal, with a hard heart and a miserly disposition.  However, it
+may be worth while to make the attempt, for you have a very oily tongue,
+Oliver."
+
+"And you have an extremely impudent one, Charlie.  But can you tell me
+at what time the mackerel boats may be expected this evening, for it
+seems the old fellow is not often to be found at home during the day,
+and we shall be pretty sure to find him on the beach when the boats
+arrive?"
+
+Thus appealed to, Tregarthen cast a long look at the sea and sky.
+
+"Well, I should say, considering the state of the tide and the
+threatening appearance of the sky, we may expect to see them at six
+o'clock, or thereabouts."
+
+"That leaves us nearly a couple of hours to spare; how shall we spend
+it?" said Oliver.
+
+"Go and have a look at this fine old town," suggested Tregarthen.  "It
+is worth going over, I assure you.  Besides the town hall, market,
+museum, etcetera, there are, from many points of the surrounding
+eminences, most superb views of the town and bay with our noble St.
+Michael's Mount.  The view from some of the heights has been said by
+some visitors to equal that of the far-famed Bay of Naples itself."
+
+"Part of this I have already seen," said Oliver, "the rest I hope to
+live to see, but in the meantime tin is uppermost in my mind; so if you
+have no objection I should like to have a look at the tin-smelting
+works.  What say you?"
+
+"Agreed, by all means," cried Tregarthen; "poor indeed would be the
+spirit of the Cornishman who did not feel an interest in tin!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
+
+TREATS OF TIN-SMELTING AND OTHER MATTERS.
+
+There is something grand in the progress of a mechanical process, from
+its commencement to its termination.  Especially is this the case in the
+production of metals, nearly every step in the course of which is marked
+by the hard, unyielding spirit of _vis inertiae_ on the one hand, and
+the tremendous power of intelligence, machinery, and manual dexterity on
+the other.
+
+Take, for example, the progress of a mass of tin from Botallack.
+
+Watch yonder stalwart miner at work, deep in the bowels of the mine.
+Slowly, with powerful blows, he bores a hole in the hard rock.  After
+one, two, or three hours of incessant toil, it is ready for the powder.
+It is charged; the match is applied; the man takes shelter behind a
+projection; the mass is rent from its ancient bed, and the miner goes
+off to lunch while the smoke is clearing away.  He returns to his work
+at length, coughing, and rubbing his eyes, for smoke still lingers
+there, unable, it would seem, to find its way out; and no wonder, lost
+as it is in intricate ramifications at the depth of about one thousand
+five hundred feet below the green grass!  He finds but a small piece of
+ore--perhaps it is twice the size of his head, it may be much larger,
+but, in any case, it is an apparently poor return for the labour
+expended.  He adds it, however, to the pile at his side, and when that
+is sufficiently large fills a little iron wagon, and sends it up "to
+grass" through the shaft, by means of the iron "kibble."  Here the large
+pieces of ore are broken into smaller ones by a man with a hammer; as
+far as the inexperienced eye can distinguish he might be breaking
+ordinary stones to repair the road!  These are then taken to the
+"stamps."
+
+Those who have delicate nerves would do well to keep as far as possible
+from the stamps of a tin-mine!  Enormous hammers or pounders they are,
+with shanks as well as heads of malleable-iron, each weighing, shank and
+head together, seven hundredweight.  They are fearful things, these
+stamps; iron in spirit as well as in body, for they go on for ever--
+night and day--wrought by a steam-engine of one hundred horse-power, as
+enduring as themselves.  The stamps are so arranged as to be
+self-feeders, by means of huge wooden troughs with sloping bottoms, into
+which the ore is thrown in quantities sufficient to keep them constantly
+at work without requiring much or constant attendance.  Small streams of
+water trickle over the ore to keep it slowly sliding down towards the
+jaws, where the stamps thunder up and down alternately.  A dread power
+of pounding have they, truly; and woe be to the toe that should chance
+to get beneath them!
+
+The rock they have to deal with is, as we have said, uncommonly hard,
+and it enters the insatiable mouth of the stamps about the size of a
+man's fist, on the average, but it comes out from these iron jaws so
+exceeding fine as to be incapable of thickening the stream of
+reddish-yellow water that carries it away.  The colour of the stream is
+the result of iron, with which the tin is mingled.
+
+The particles of tin are indeed set free by the stamps from solid
+bondage, but they are so fine as to be scarcely visible, and so
+commingled with other substances, such as iron, copper, sulphur,
+etcetera, that a tedious process of separation has yet to be undergone
+before the bright metal can be seen or handled.
+
+At the present time the stream containing it is poured continuously on
+several huge wooden tables.  These tables are each slightly raised in
+the centre where the stream falls, so that all the water runs off,
+leaving the various substances it contains deposited on the table, and
+these substances are spread over it regularly, while being deposited, by
+revolving washers or brushes.
+
+Tin, being the heaviest of all the ingredients contained in the stream,
+falls at once to the bottom, and is therefore, deposited on the head or
+centre of the table; iron, being a shade lighter, is found to lodge in a
+circle beyond; while all other substances are either spread over the
+outer rim or washed entirely away.  When the tables are full--that is,
+coated with what appears to be an earthy substance up wards of a foot in
+depth--the rich tin in the centre is carefully cut out with shovels and
+placed in tubs, while the rest is rewashed in order that the tin still
+mingled with it may be captured--a process involving much difficulty,
+for tin is so very little heavier than iron that the lighter particles
+can scarcely be separated even after repeated and careful washings.
+
+In old times the tin was collected in large pits, whence it was
+transferred to the hands of balmaidens (or mine-girls) to be washed by
+them in wooden troughs called "frames," which somewhat resembled a
+billiard table in form.  Indeed, the frames are still largely employed
+in the mines, but these and the modern table perform exactly the same
+office--they wash the refuse from the tin.
+
+Being finally cleansed from all its impurities, our mass of tin bears
+more resemblance to brown snuff than to metal.  An ignorant man would
+suppose it to be an ordinary earthy substance, until he took some of it
+in his hand and felt its weight.  It contains, however, comparatively
+little foreign substance.  About seventy per cent of it is pure tin, but
+this seventy per cent is still locked up in the tight embrace of thirty
+per cent, of refuse, from which nothing but intense fire can set it
+free.
+
+At this point in the process, our mass of tin leaves the rough hand of
+the miner.  In former days it was divided among the shareholders in this
+form--each receiving, instead of cash, so many sacks of tin ore,
+according to the number of his shares or "doles," and carrying it off on
+mule or horse back from the mine, to be smelted where or by whom he
+pleased.  But whether treated in this way, or, as in the present day,
+sold by the manager at the market value, it all comes at last to the
+tin-smelter, whose further proceedings we shall now follow, in company
+with Oliver and his friend.
+
+The agent of the smelting company--a stout, intelligent man, who
+evidently did "knaw tin"--conducted them first to the furnaces, in the
+neighbourhood of which were ranged a number of large wooden troughs or
+bins, all more or less filled with tin ore.  The ore got from different
+mines, he said, differed in quality, as well as in the percentage of tin
+which it contained.  Some had much iron mixed with it, in spite of all
+the washings it had undergone; some had a little copper and other
+substances; while some was very pure.  By mixing the tin of different
+mines, better metal could be procured than by simply smelting the
+produce of each mine separately.  Pointing to one of the bins, about
+three yards square, he told them it contained tin worth 1,000 pounds.
+There was a large quantity of black sand in one of the bins, which, the
+agent said, was got by the process of "streaming."  It is the richest
+and best kind of tin ore, and used to be procured in large quantities in
+Cornwall--especially in ancient times--being found near the surface,
+but, as a matter of course, not much of that is to be found now, the
+land having been turned over three times in search of it.  This black
+sand is now imported in large quantities from Singapore.
+
+The agent then conducted his visitors to the testing-house, where he
+showed them the process of testing the various qualities of tin ore
+offered, to the House for sale.  First he weighed out twenty parts of
+the ore, which, as we have said, resembled snuff.  This, he remarked,
+contained about five-sixths of pure tin, the remaining one-sixth being
+dross.  He mixed it with four parts of fine coal dust, or culm, and
+added a little borax--these last ingredients being intended to expedite
+the smelting process.  This compound was put into a crucible, and
+subjected to the intense heat of a small furnace for about twenty
+minutes.  At the end of that time, the agent seized the crucible with a
+pair of tongs, poured the metal into an iron mould, and threw away the
+dross.  The little mass of tin thus produced was about four inches long,
+by half an inch broad, and of a dull bluish-grey colour.  It was then
+put into an iron ladle and melted, as one would melt lead when about to
+cast bullets, but it was particularly noteworthy here, that a very
+slight heat was required.  To extract the metal from the tin ore, a
+fierce heat, long applied, was necessary, but a slight heat, continued
+for a few minutes, sufficed to melt the metal.  This remelted metal was
+poured into a stone mould, where it lay like a bright little pool of
+liquid silver.  In a few seconds it solidified, retaining its clear
+purity in all its parts.
+
+"That," said the agent, "is tin of the very best quality.  We sell it
+chiefly to dyers, who use it for colouring purposes, and for whom no tin
+but the best is of any use.  I will now show you two other qualities--
+namely, second and inferior."
+
+He went to a small cupboard as he spoke, and took therefrom a small
+piece of tin which had already gone through the smelting process in the
+crucible above described.  Melting this in the ladle, he poured it into
+the mould, where it lay for a few moments, quite bright and pure, but
+the instant it solidified, a slight dimness clouded its centre.
+
+"That," explained the agent, "is caused by a little copper which they
+have failed to extract from the tin.  Such tin would not do for the
+dyers, but it is good for the tin-plate makers, who, by dipping thin
+sheets of iron into molten tin, produce the well-known tin-plates of
+which our pot-lids and pans, etcetera, are manufactured.  This last bit,
+gentlemen," he added, taking a third piece of tin from the cupboard, "is
+our worst quality."
+
+Having melted it, he poured it into the mould, where it assumed a dull,
+half-solid appearance, as if it were a liquid only half frozen--or, if
+you prefer it, a solid in a half molten state.
+
+"This is only fit to mix with copper and make brass," said the agent,
+throwing down the mould.  "We test the tin ore twice--once to find out
+the quantity of metal it contains, and again to ascertain its quality.
+The latter process you have seen--the former is just the same, with this
+difference, that I am much more careful in weighing, measuring,
+etcetera.  Every particle of dross I would have collected and carefully
+separated from any metal it might contain; the whole should then have
+been reweighed, and its reduction in the smelting process ascertained.
+Thus, if twenty parts had been the weight of tin ore, the result might
+perhaps have been fourteen parts of metal and six parts of dross.  And
+now, gentlemen, having explained to you the testing process, if you will
+follow me, I will show you the opening of one of our furnaces.  The
+smelting-furnace just shows the testing process on a large scale.  Into
+this furnace, six hours ago," he said, pointing to a brick erection in
+the building to which he led them, "we threw a large quantity of tin
+ore, mingled with a certain proportion of culm.  It is smelted and ready
+to be run off now."
+
+Here he gave an order to a sturdy man, who, with brawny arms bared to
+the shoulders, stood close at hand.  He was begrimed and hairy--like a
+very Vulcan.
+
+Seizing an iron poker, Vulcan probed the orifice of the furnace, and
+forthwith there ran out a stream of liquid fire, which was caught in an
+iron bowl nearly four feet in diameter.  The intense heat of this pool
+caused the visitors to step back a few paces, and the ruddy glow shone
+with a fierce glare on the swart, frowning countenance of Vulcan, who
+appeared to take a stern delight in braving it.
+
+Oliver's attention was at once attracted to this man, for he felt
+convinced that he had seen his face before, but it was not until he had
+taxed his memory for several minutes that the scene of his adventure
+with the smugglers near the Land's End flashed upon him, when he at once
+recognised him as the man named Joe Tonkin, who had threatened his life
+in the cavern.  From a peculiar look that the man gave him, he saw that
+he also was recognised.
+
+Oliver took no further notice of him at the time, however, but turned to
+watch the flow of the molten tin.
+
+When the iron cauldron was almost full, "slag," or molten refuse began
+to flow and cover the top of the metal.  The hole was immediately
+plugged up by Vulcan, and the furnace cleared out for the reception of
+another supply of ore.  The surface of the tin was now cleared of slag,
+after which it was ladled into moulds and allowed to cool.  This was the
+first process completed; but the tin was still full of impurities, and
+had to undergo another melting and stirring in a huge cauldron.  This
+latter was a severe and protracted operation, which Vulcan performed
+with tremendous power and energy.
+
+In reference to this, it may interest the reader to mention a valuable
+discovery which was the result of laziness!  A man who was employed in a
+tin-smelting establishment at this laborious work of stirring the molten
+metal in order to purify it, accidentally discovered that a piece of
+green wood dropped into it had the effect of causing it to bubble as if
+it were boiling.  To ease himself of some of his toil, he availed
+himself of the discovery, and, by stirring the metal with a piece of
+green wood, caused such a commotion that the end in view was
+accomplished much more effectually and speedily than by the old process.
+The lazy man's plan, we need scarcely add, is now universally adopted.
+
+The last operation was to run the metal into moulds with the smelter's
+name on them, and these ingots, being of portable size, were ready for
+sale.
+
+While the agent was busily engaged in explaining to Charles Tregarthen
+some portions of the work, Oliver stepped aside and accosted Joe Tonkin.
+
+"So, friend," he said, with a smile, "it seems that smuggling is not
+your only business?"
+
+"No, sur, it ain't," replied Joe, with a grin.  "I'm a
+jack-of-all-trades--a smelter, as you do see, an' a miner _also_, when
+it suits me."
+
+"I'm glad to hear it, my man, for it gives you a chance of coming in
+contact with better men than smugglers--although I'm free to confess
+that there _is_ some good among them too.  I don't forget that your
+comrade Jim Cuttance hauled me out of the sea.  Where is he?"
+
+"Don't knaw, sur," replied Tonkin, with an angry frown; "he and I don't
+pull well together.  We've parted now."
+
+Oliver glanced at the man, and as he observed his stern, proud
+expression of face, and his huge, powerful frame, he came to the
+conclusion that Cuttance had met a man of equal power and force of
+character with himself, and was glad to get rid of him.
+
+"But I have not gi'n up smuggling," added the man, with a smile.  "It do
+pay pretty well, and is more hearty-like than this sort o' thing."
+
+"I'd advise you to fall back on mining," said Oliver.  "It is hard work,
+I know, but it is honest labour, and as far as I have seen, there does
+not appear to be a more free, hearty, and independent race under the sun
+than Cornish miners."
+
+Joe Tonkin shook his head and smiled dubiously.
+
+"You do think so, sur, but you haven't tried it.  I don't like it.  It
+don't suit me, it don't.  No, no; there's nothin' like a good boat and
+the open sea."
+
+"Things are looking a little better at Botallack just now, Joe," said
+Oliver, after a pause.  "I'd strongly advise you to try it again."
+
+The man remained silent for a few minutes, then he said,--"Well, Mr
+Trembath, I don't mind if I do.  I'm tired o' this work, and as my time
+is up this very day, I'll go over to-morrow and see 'bout it.  There's a
+man at Newlyn as I've got somethin' to say to; I'll go see him to-night,
+and then--"
+
+"Come along, Oliver," shouted Tregarthen at that moment; "it's time to
+go."
+
+Oliver bade Tonkin good-afternoon, and, turning hastily away, followed
+his friend.
+
+The two proceeded arm in arm up Market-Jew Street, and turning down
+towards the shore, walked briskly along in the direction of the
+picturesque fishing village of Newlyn, which lies little more than a
+mile to the westward of Penzance.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.
+
+SHOWS HOW OLIVER AND HIS FRIEND WENT TO NEWLYN AND SAW THE MACKEREL
+MARKET, AND FOUND SOME DIFFICULTIES AND MYSTERIES AWAITING THEM THERE.
+
+The beach opposite Newlyn presented a busy scene when Oliver Trembath
+and his friend Charlie Tregarthen reached it.
+
+Although the zenith of the season was over, mackerel fishing was still
+going on there in full vigour, and immense crowds of men, women, and
+children covered the sands.  The village lies on the heights above, and
+crowds of people were leaning over the iron rails which guard the unwary
+or unsteady passenger from falling into the sea below.  A steep causeway
+connects the main street above with the shore beneath; and up and down
+it horses, carts, and people were hurrying continuously.
+
+True, there was not at that time quite as much bustle as may be
+witnessed there at the present day.  The railway has penetrated these
+remote regions of the west, and now men work with a degree of feverish
+haste that was unknown then.  While hundreds of little boats (tenders to
+the large ones) crowd in on the beach, auctioneers with long heavy boots
+wade knee-deep into the water, followed and surrounded by purchasers,
+and, ringing a bell as each boat comes in, shout,--"Now, then, five
+hundred, more or less, in this boat; who bids?  Twenty shillings a
+hundred for five hundred--twenty shillings--say nineteen--I'm bid
+nineteen--nineteen-and-six--say nineteen-an--twenty--twenty shillings
+I'm bid--say twenty-one--shall I make it twenty-one shillings for any
+person?" etcetera.
+
+The bells and voices of these auctioneers, loud though they be, are mild
+compared with the shouts of men, women, and children, as the fish are
+packed in baskets, with hot haste, to be in time for the train; and
+horses with laden carts gallop away over the sands at furious speed,
+while others come dashing back for more fish.  And there is need for all
+this furious haste, for trains, like time and tide, wait for no man, and
+prices vary according to trains.  Just before the starting of one, you
+will hear the auctioneers put the fish up at 20 shillings, 25 shillings,
+and even 30 shillings a hundred, and in the next half-hour, after the
+train is gone, and no chance remains of any more of the fish being got
+into the London market by the following morning, the price suddenly
+falls to 8 shillings a hundred, sometimes even less.  There is need for
+haste, too, because the quantity of fish is very great, for there are
+sometimes two hundred boats at anchor in the bay, each with four
+thousand fish on the average, which must all be washed and packed in
+four or five hours.  Yes, the old days cannot be compared with the
+present times, when, between the months of April and June, the three
+hundred boats of Mounts Bay will land little short of three thousand
+tons of mackerel, and the railway, for the mere carriage of these to
+London, Manchester, Birmingham, etcetera, will clear above 20,000
+pounds!
+
+Nevertheless, the busy, bustling, hearty nature of the scene on Newlyn
+beach in days of yore was not so very different as one might suppose
+from that of the present time.  The men were not less energetic then
+than now; the women were not less eager; the children were quite as wild
+and mischievous, and the bustle and noise apparently, if not really, as
+great.
+
+"What interests you?" asked Charlie Tregarthen, observing that his
+companion gazed pointedly at some object in the midst of the crowd.
+
+"That old woman," said Oliver; "see how demurely she sits on yonder
+upturned basket, knitting with all her might."
+
+"In the midst of chaos," observed Tregarthen, laughing; "and she looks
+as placidly indifferent to the noise around her as if it were only the
+murmuring of a summer breeze, although there are two boys yelling at her
+very ear at this moment."
+
+"Perhaps she's deaf," suggested Oliver.
+
+Tregarthen said he thought this highly probable, and the two remained
+silent for some time, watching, from an elevated position on the road
+leading down to the sands, the ever-changing and amusing scene below.
+Talk of a pantomime, indeed!  No Christmas pantomime ever got up in the
+great metropolis was half so amusing or so grand as that summer
+pantomime that was performed daily on Newlyn sands, with admission to
+all parts of the house--the stage included--for nothing!  The scenery
+was painted with gorgeous splendour by nature, and embraced the
+picturesque village of Newlyn, with its irregular gables, variously
+tinted roofs, and whitewashed fronts; the little pier with its modest
+harbour, perfectly dry because of the tide being out, but which, even if
+the tide had been in, and itself full to overflowing, could not
+apparently have held more than a dozen of the larger fishing-boats; the
+calm bay crowded with boats of all sizes, their brown and yellow sails
+reflected in the clear water, and each boat resting on its own image.
+On the far-off horizon might be seen the Lizard Point and the open sea,
+over which hung red and lurid clouds, which betokened the approach of a
+storm, although, at the time, all nature was quiet and peaceful.  Yes,
+the scenery was admirably painted, and nothing could exceed the
+perfection of the acting.  It was so _very_ true to nature!
+
+Right in front of the spot where the two friends stood, a fisherman sat
+astride of an upturned basket, enjoying a cup of tea which had been
+brought to him by a little girl who sat on another upturned basket at
+his side, gazing with a pleased expression into his rugged countenance,
+one cheek of which was distended with a preposterously large bite of
+bread and butter.  The great Mathews himself never acted his part so
+well.  What admirable devotion to the one engrossing object in hand!
+What a perfect and convincing display of a hearty appetite!  What
+obvious unconsciousness of being looked at, and what a genuine and
+sudden burst of indignation when, owing to a touch of carelessness, he
+capsized the cup, and poured the precious tea upon the thirsty sand.  At
+the distance from which Oliver and his friend observed him, no words
+were audible, but none were necessary.  The man's acting was so perfect
+that they knew he was scolding the little girl for the deed which he
+himself had perpetrated.  Then there was something peculiarly touching
+in the way in which he suddenly broke into a short laugh, and patted the
+child's head while she wiped out the cup, and refilled it from the
+little brown broken-nosed teapot hitherto concealed under her ragged
+shawl to keep it warm.  No wizard was needed to tell, however, that this
+was quite an unnecessary piece of carefulness on the little girl's part,
+for any brown teapot in the world, possessing the smallest amount of
+feeling, would have instantly made hot and strong tea out of cold water
+on being pressed against the bosom of that sunny child!
+
+Just beyond this couple, three tired men, in blue flannel shirts, long
+boots, and sou'-westers, grouped themselves round a bundle of straw to
+enjoy a pipe: one stretched himself almost at full length on it, in lazy
+nonchalance; another sat down on it, and, resting his elbows on his
+knees, gazed pensively at his pipe as he filled it; while the third
+thrust his hands into his pockets, and stood for a few seconds with a
+grand bend at the small of his back (as if he felt that his muscles
+worked easily), and gazed out to sea.  The greatest of the old masters
+could have painted nothing finer.
+
+Away to the right, an old man might be seen tying up the lid of a basket
+full of fish beside his cart, and dividing his attention between the
+basket and the horse, which latter, much to his surprise, was unwontedly
+restive that evening, and required an unusual number of cautions to
+remain still, and of threats as to the punishment that would follow
+continued disobedience, all of which afforded the most intense and
+unutterable delight to a very small precocious boy, who, standing
+concealed on the off side of the animal, tickled its ear with a straw
+every time it bent its head towards the bundle of hay which lay at its
+feet.  No clown or pantaloon was there to inflict condign punishment,
+because none was needed.  A brother carter standing by performed the
+part, extempore.  His eye suddenly lit on the culprit; his whip sprang
+into the air and descended on the urchin's breech.  Horror-struck, his
+mouth opened responsive to the crack, and a yell came forth that rose
+high above the surrounding din, while his little legs carried him away
+over the sands like a ragged leaf driven before the wind.
+
+To the left of this scene (and ignorant of it, for the stage was so
+large, the actors were so numerous, and the play so grand, that few
+could do more than attend to their own part) a cripple might be seen
+with a crutch hopping actively about.  He was a young man; had lost his
+leg, by an accident probably, and was looking about for a cast-away fish
+for his own supper.  He soon found one.  Whether it was that one had
+been dropped accidentally, or that some generous-hearted fish-dealer had
+dropped one on purpose, we cannot tell, but he did get one--a large fat
+one, too--and hobbled away as quickly as he could, evidently rejoicing.
+
+The cripple was not the only one who crossed the stage thus lightly
+burdened.  There were several halt and maimed, and some blind and aged
+ones there, whose desires in regard to piscatorial wealth extended only
+to one, or perhaps two, and they all got what they wanted.  That was
+sufficient for the evening's supper--for the morrow there was no need to
+care; they could return to get a fresh supply evening after evening for
+many a day to come, for it was a splendid mackerel season--such as had
+not been for many years--so said the sages of the village.
+
+There were other groups, and other incidents that would have drawn
+laughter as well as tears from sympathetic hearts, but we must forbear.
+The play was long of being acted out--it was no common play; besides, it
+is time for _our_ actors to come upon the stage themselves.
+
+"I see old Hitchin," exclaimed Oliver Trembath, starting suddenly out of
+a reverie, and pointing into the thickest of the crowd.
+
+"How can you tell? you don't know him," said his companion.
+
+"Know him!  Of course I do; who could fail to know him after the graphic
+description the lawyer gave of him?  See--look yonder, beside the cart
+with the big man in it arranging baskets.  D'you see?"
+
+"Which? the one painted green, and a scraggy horse with a bag hanging to
+its nose?"
+
+"No, no; a little further to the left, man--the one with the broken rail
+and the high-spirited horse.  There, there he is! a thin, dried-up,
+wrinkled, old shabby--"
+
+"Ah! that's the man," exclaimed Tregarthen, laughing.  "Come along, and
+let's try to keep our eyes on him, for there is nothing so difficult as
+finding any one in a crowd."
+
+The difficulty referred to was speedily illustrated by the fact that the
+two friends threaded their way to the spot where the cart had stood, and
+found not only that it was gone, but that Hitchin had also moved away,
+and although they pushed through the crowd for more than a quarter of an
+hour they failed to find him.
+
+As they were wandering about thus, they observed a very tall
+broad-shouldered man talking earnestly in undertones to a sailor-like
+fellow who was still broader across the shoulders, but not quite so
+tall.  It is probable that Oliver would have paid no attention to them,
+had not the name of Hitchin struck his ear.  Glancing round at the men
+he observed that the taller of the two was Joe Tonkin, and the other his
+friend of the Land's End, the famous Jim Cuttance.
+
+Oliver plucked his companion by the sleeve, and whispered him to stand
+still.  Only a few words and phrases reached them, but these were
+sufficient to create surprise and arouse suspicion.  Once, in
+particular, Tonkin, who appeared to be losing his temper, raised his
+voice a little, exclaiming,--"I tell 'ee what it is, Cuttance, I do knaw
+what you're up to, an' I'll hinder 'ee ef I can."
+
+The man confirmed this statement with a savage oath, to which Cuttance
+replied in kind; nevertheless he was evidently anxious to conciliate his
+companion, and spoke so low as to be nearly inaudible.
+
+Only the words, "Not to-night; I won't do it to-night," reached the ears
+of the listeners.
+
+At this point Tonkin turned from the smuggler with a fling, muttering in
+an undertone as he went, "I don't b'lieve 'ee, Cuttance, for thee'rt a
+liard, so I'll watch 'ee, booy."
+
+Oliver was about to follow Tonkin, when he observed Hitchin himself
+slowly wending his way through the crowd.  He had evidently heard
+nothing of the conversation that appeared to have reference to himself,
+for he sauntered along with a careless air, and his hands in his
+pockets, as though he were an uninterested spectator of the busy scene.
+
+Oliver at once accosted him, "Pray, sir, is your name Hitchin?"
+
+"It is," replied the old man, eyeing his interrogator suspiciously.
+
+"Allow me to introduce myself, sir--Oliver Trembath, nephew to Mr
+Thomas Donnithorne of St. Just."
+
+Mr Hitchin held out his hand, and said that he was happy to meet with a
+nephew of his old friend, in the tone of a man who would much rather not
+meet either nephew or uncle.
+
+Oliver felt this, so he put on his most insinuating air, and requested
+Mr Hitchin to walk with him a little aside from the crowd, as he had
+something of a private nature to say to him.  The old man agreed, and
+the two walked slowly along the sands to the outskirts of the crowd,
+where young Tregarthen discreetly left them.
+
+The moment Oliver broached the subject of the advance of money, Hitchin
+frowned, and the colour in his face betrayed suppressed anger.
+
+"Sir," said he, "I know all that you would say to me.  It has already
+been said oftener than there is any occasion for.  No one appears to
+believe me when I assert that I have met with heavy losses of late, and
+have no cash to spare--not even enough to pay my debts."
+
+"Indeed, sir," replied Oliver, "I regret to hear you say so, and I can
+only apologise for having troubled you on the subject.  I assure you
+nothing would have induced me to do so but regard for my uncle, to whom
+the continuance of this mine for some time would appear to be a matter
+of considerable importance; but since you will not--"
+
+"_Wilt_ not!" interrupted Hitchin angrily, "have I not said _can not_?
+I tell you, young man, that there is a scoundrel to whom I owe a large
+sum for--for--well, no matter what it's for, but the blackguard
+threatens that if I don't--pshaw!--"
+
+The old man seemed unable to contain himself at this point, for he
+turned angrily away from Oliver, and, hastening back towards the town,
+was soon lost again in the crowd.
+
+Oliver was so taken by surprise, that he stood still gazing dreamily at
+the point where Hitchin had disappeared, until he was roused by a touch
+on the shoulder from Charlie Tregarthen.
+
+"Well," said he, smiling, "how fares your suit?"
+
+Oliver replied by a burst of laughter.
+
+"How fares my suit?" he repeated; "badly, very badly indeed; why, the
+old fellow's monkey got up the moment I broached the subject, and I was
+just in the middle of what I meant to be a most conciliating speech,
+when he flung off as you have seen."
+
+"Odd, very odd," said Tregarthen, "to see how some men cling to their
+money, as if it were their life.  After all, it _is_ life to some--at
+least all the life they have got."
+
+"Come now, don't moralise, Charlie, for we must act just now."
+
+"I'm ready to act in any way you propose, Oliver; what do you intend to
+do?  Issue your commands, and I'll obey.  Shall we attack the village of
+Newlyn single-handed, and set fire to it, as did the Spaniards of old,
+or shall we swim off to the fleet of boats, cut the cables, bind the men
+in charge, and set sail for the mackerel fishing?"
+
+"Neither, my chum, and especially not the latter, seeing that a
+thundercloud is about to break over the sea ere long, if I do not
+greatly misjudge appearances in the sky; but, man, we must see this
+testy old fellow again, and warn him of the danger which threatens him.
+I feel assured that that rascal Cuttance means him harm, for he let
+something fall in his anger, which, coupled with what we have already
+heard from the smuggler himself, and from Tonkin, convinces me that evil
+is in the wind.  Now the question is, how are we to find him, for
+searching in that crowd is almost useless?"
+
+"Let us go to his house," suggested Tregarthen, "and if he is not at
+home, wait for him."
+
+"Do you know where his house is?"
+
+"No, not I."
+
+"Then we must inquire, so come along."
+
+Pushing once more through the throng of busy men and women, the friends
+ascended the sloping causeway that led to the village, and here asked
+the first man they met where Mr Hitchin lived.
+
+"Right over top o' hill," replied the man.
+
+"Thank you.  That'll do, Charlie, come along," said Oliver, turning into
+one of the narrow passages that diverged from the main street of Newlyn,
+and ascending the hill with giant strides; "one should never be
+particular in their inquiries after a place.  When I'm told to turn to
+the right after the second turning to the left, and that if I go right
+on till I come to some other turning, that will conduct me point blank
+to the street that enters the square near to which lies the spot I wish
+to reach, I'm apt to get confused.  Get a general direction if possible,
+the position indicated by compass is almost enough, and _ask again_.
+That's my plan, and I never found it fail."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.
+
+IN WHICH IS RECORDED A VISIT TO AN INFANT-SCHOOL; A WARNING TO A
+THANKLESS OLD GENTLEMAN; ALSO A STORM, AND A SUDDEN AS WELL AS
+SURPRISING END OF A MINE, BESIDES DARK DESIGNS.
+
+Oliver Trembath's plan of "asking again" had to be put in practice
+sooner than had been anticipated, for the back alleys and lanes of
+Newlyn were a little perplexing to a stranger.
+
+"Let us inquire here," said Tregarthen, seeing the half-open door of a
+very small cottage, with part of a woman's back visible in the interior.
+
+"By all means," said Oliver, pushing open the door and stooping low as
+he entered.
+
+The visitors were instantly transfixed by thirty pair of eyes--all of
+them bright blue, or bright black--few of them elevated much more than
+two feet from the ground, and not one of them dimmed by the smallest
+approach to a wink.  Nay, on the contrary, they all opened so wide when
+the strangers entered that it seemed as if either winking or shutting
+were in future out of the question, and that to sleep with eyes wide
+open was the sad prospect of the owners thereof in all time coming.
+
+"An infant-school," murmured Tregarthen.
+
+The very smallest boy in the school--an infant with legs about five
+inches long, who sat on a stool not more than three inches high--
+appeared to understand what he said, and to regard it as a personal
+insult, for he at once began to cry.  A little girl with bright red
+hair, a lovely complexion, and a body so small as to be scarce worth
+mentioning, immediately embraced the small boy, whereupon he dried his
+eyes without delay.
+
+"You have a nice little school here," said Oliver.
+
+"Iss, sur; we do feel proud of it," said the good-looking motherly dame
+in charge, with a little twitch of her shoulders, which revealed the
+horrible fact that both her arms had been taken off above the elbows,
+"the child'n are very good, and they do sing bootiful.  Now then, let
+the gentlemen hear you--`O that'll be'--come."
+
+Instantly, and in every possible pitch, the thirty mouths belonging to
+the thirty pair of eyes opened, and "O that will be joyful," etcetera,
+burst forth with thrilling power.  A few leading voices gradually turned
+the torrent into a united channel, and before the second verse was
+reached the hymn was tunefully sung, the sweet voice of the little girl
+with the bright hair being particularly distinguishable, and the shrill
+pipe of the smallest boy sounding high above the rest as he sang, "O
+that will be doyful, doyful, doyful, doyful," with all his might and
+main.
+
+When this was finished Tregarthen asked the schoolmistress what
+misfortune had caused the loss of her arms, to which she replied that
+she had lost them in a coach accident.  As she was beginning to relate
+the history of this sad affair, Oliver broke in with a question as to
+where old Mr Hitchin's house was.  Being directed to it they took leave
+of the infant-school, and soon found themselves before the door of a
+small cottage.  They were at once admitted to the presence of the testy
+old Hitchin, who chanced to be smoking a pipe at the time.  He did not
+by any means bestow a welcome look on his visitors, but Oliver,
+nevertheless, advanced and sat down in a chair before him.
+
+"I have called, Mr Hitchin," he began, "not to trouble you about the
+matter which displeased you when we conversed together on the beach, but
+to warn you of a danger which I fear threatens yourself."
+
+"What danger may that be?" inquired Hitchin, in the tone of a man who
+held all danger in contempt.
+
+"What it is I cannot tell, but--"
+
+"Cannot tell!" interrupted the old man; "then what's the use of
+troubling me about it?"
+
+"Neither can I tell of what use my troubling you may be," retorted
+Oliver with provoking coolness, "but I heard the man speak of you on the
+beach less than an hour ago, and as you referred to him yourself I
+thought it right to call--"
+
+At this point Hitchin again broke in,--"Heard a man speak of me--what
+man?  Really, Mr Trembath, your conduct appears strange to me.  Will
+you explain yourself?"
+
+"Certainly.  I was going to have added, if your irascible temper would
+have allowed me, that the notorious smuggler, Jim Cuttance--"
+
+Oliver stopped, for at the mention of the smuggler's name the pipe
+dropped from the old man's mouth, and his face grew pale.
+
+"Jim Cuttance!" he exclaimed after a moment's pause; "the villain, the
+scoundrel--what of him? what of him?  No good, I warrant.  There is not
+a rogue unhanged who deserves more richly to swing at the yard-arm than
+Jim Cuttance.  What said he about me?"
+
+When he finished this sentence the old man's composure was somewhat
+restored.  He took a new pipe from the chimney-piece and began to fill
+it, while Oliver related all that he knew of the conversation between
+the two smugglers.
+
+When he had finished Hitchin smoked for some minutes in silence.
+
+"Do you really think," he said at length, "that the man means to do me
+bodily harm?"
+
+"I cannot tell," replied Oliver; "you can form your own judgment of the
+matter more correctly than I can, but I would advise you to be on your
+guard."
+
+"What says your friend?" asked Hitchin, turning towards Tregarthen, of
+whom, up to that point, he had taken no notice.
+
+Thus appealed to, the youth echoed Oliver's opinion, and added that the
+remark of Cuttance about his intention not to do something unknown
+_that_ night, and Joe Tonkin's muttered expressions of disbelief and an
+intention to watch, seemed to him sufficient to warrant unusual caution
+in the matter of locks, bolts, and bars.
+
+As he spoke there came a blinding flash of lightning, followed by a loud
+and prolonged peal of thunder.
+
+Oliver sprang up.
+
+"We must bid you good-night," he said, "for we have to walk to St. Just,
+and don't wish to get more of the storm than we can avoid."
+
+"But you cannot escape it," said Hitchin.
+
+"Nevertheless we can go as far as possible before it begins, and then
+take shelter under a bush or hedge, or in a house if we chance to be
+near one.  I would rather talk in rain any day than drive in a
+kittereen!"
+
+"Pray be persuaded to stop where you are, gentlemen," said the old man
+in a tone of voice that was marvellously altered for the better.  "I can
+offer you comfortable quarters for the night, and good, though plain
+fare, with smuggled brandy of the best, and tobacco to match."
+
+Still Oliver and Tregarthen persisted in their resolution to leave,
+until Hitchin began to plead in a tone that showed he was anxious to
+have their presence in the house as protectors.  Then their resolution
+began to waver, and when the old man hinted that they might thus find
+time to reconsider the matter of the Wherry Mine, they finally gave in,
+and made up their minds to stay all night.
+
+According to the opinion of a celebrated poet, the best-laid plans of
+men as well as mice are apt to miscarry.  That night the elements
+contrived to throw men's calculations out of joint, and to render their
+cupidity, villainy, and wisdom alike ineffectual.
+
+A storm, the fiercest that had visited them for many years, burst that
+night on the southern shores of England, and strewed her rocks and sands
+with wrecks and dead bodies.  Nothing new in this, alas! as all know who
+dwell upon our shores, or who take an interest in, and read the records
+of, our royal and noble Lifeboat Institution.  But with this great
+subject we have not to do just now, further than to observe, as we have
+said before, that in those days there were no lifeboats on the coast.
+
+Under the shelter of an old house on the shore at Penzance were gathered
+together a huge concourse of townspeople and seafaring men watching the
+storm.  It was a grand and awful sight--one fitted to irresistibly
+solemnise the mind, and incline it, unless the heart be utterly
+hardened, to think of the great Creator and of the unseen world, which
+seems at such a season to be brought impressively near.
+
+The night was extremely dark, and the lightning, by contrast, peculiarly
+vivid.  Each flash appeared to fill the world for a moment with lambent
+fire, leaving the painful impression on observers of having been struck
+with total blindness for a few seconds after, and each thunderclap came
+like the bursting of artillery, with scarcely an interval between the
+flash and crash, while the wind blew with almost tropical fury.
+
+The terrible turmoil and noise were enhanced tenfold by the raging surf,
+which flew up over the roadway, and sent the spray high above and beyond
+the tops of the houses nearest to the shore.
+
+The old house creaked and groaned in the blast as if it would come down,
+and the men taking shelter there looked out to sea in silence.  The
+bronzed veterans there knew full well that at that hour many a
+despairing cry was being uttered, many a hand was stretched wildly,
+helplessly, and hopelessly from the midst of the boiling surf, and many
+a soul was passing into eternity.  They would have been ready then, as
+well as now, to have risked life and limb to save fellow-creatures from
+the sea, but ordinary boats they knew could not live in such a storm.
+
+Among the watchers there stood Jim Cuttance.  He had been drinking at a
+public-house in Penzance, and was at the time, to use his own
+expression, "three sheets in the wind"--that is, about half-drunk.  What
+his business was nobody knew, and we shall not inquire, but he was the
+first to express his belief that the turret and bridge of the Wherry
+Mine would give way.  As he spoke a vivid flash of lightning revealed
+the stout timbers of the mine standing bravely in the storm, each beam
+and chain painted black and sharp against the illumined sky and the
+foaming sea.
+
+"She have stud out many a gale," observed a weather-beaten old seaman;
+"p'raps she won't go down yet."
+
+"I do hope she won't," observed another.
+
+"She haven't got a chance," said Cuttance.
+
+Just then another flash came, and there arose a sharp cry of alarm from
+the crowd, for a ship was seen driving before the gale close in upon the
+land, so close that she seemed to have risen there by magic, and
+appeared to tower almost over the heads of the people.  The moments of
+darkness that succeeded were spent in breathless, intense anxiety.  The
+flashes, which had been fast enough before, seemed to have ceased
+altogether now; but again the lightning gleamed--bright as full
+moonlight, and again the ship was seen, nearer than before--close on the
+bridge of the mine.
+
+"'Tis the Yankee ship broken from her anchors in Gwavus Lake," exclaimed
+a voice.
+
+The thunder-peal that followed was succeeded by a crash of rending
+timber and flying bolts that almost emulated the thunder.  Certainly it
+told with greater power on the nerves of those who heard it.
+
+Once again the lightning flashed, and for a moment the American vessel
+was seen driving away before the wind, but no vestige of Wherry Mine
+remained.  The bridge and all connected with it had been completely
+carried away, and its shattered remnants were engulfed in the foaming
+sea.
+
+It deserved a better fate; but its course was run, and its hour had
+come.  It passed away that stormy night, and now nothing remains but a
+few indications of its shaft-mouth, visible at low water, to tell of one
+of the boldest and most singular of mining enterprises ever undertaken
+and carried out by man.
+
+There was one spectator of this imposing scene who was not very deeply
+impressed by it.  Jim Cuttance cared not a straw for storms or wrecks,
+so long as he himself was safe from their influence.  Besides, he had
+other work in hand that night, so he left the watchers on the beach soon
+after the destruction of the bridge.  Buttoning his coat up to the neck,
+and pulling his sou'-wester tight over his brows, he walked smartly
+along the road to Newlyn, while many of the fishermen ran down to the
+beach to render help to the vessel.
+
+Between the town of Penzance and the village of Newlyn several old boats
+lay on the grass above high-water mark.  Here the smuggler stopped and
+gave a loud whistle.  He listened a moment and than repeated it still
+louder.  He was answered by a similar signal, and four men in sailor's
+garb, issuing from behind one of the boats, advanced to meet him.
+
+"All right, Bill?" inquired Cuttance.
+
+"All right, sur," was the reply.
+
+"Didn't I tell 'ee to leave them things behind?" said Cuttance sternly,
+as he pointed to the butt of a pistol which protruded from the
+breast-pocket of one of the men; "sure we don't require powder and lead
+to overcome an old man!"
+
+"No more do we need a party o' five to do it," replied the man doggedly.
+
+To this Cuttance vouchsafed no reply, but, plucking the weapon from the
+man, he tossed it far into the sea, and, without further remark, walked
+towards the fishing village, followed by his men.
+
+By this time the thunder and rain had abated considerably, but the gale
+blew with increased violence, and, as there were neither moon nor stars,
+the darkness was so intense that men less acquainted with the locality
+would have been obliged to proceed with caution.  But the smugglers knew
+every foot of the ground between the Lizard and the Land's End, and they
+advanced with rapid strides until they reached the low wall that
+encompassed, but could not be said to guard, old Mr Hitchin's
+garden-plot.
+
+The hour was suited for deeds of darkness, being a little after
+midnight, and the noise of the gale favoured the burglars, who leaped
+the wall with ease and approached the back of the cottage.
+
+In ordinary circumstances Hitchin would have been in bed, and Cuttance
+knew his habits sufficiently to be aware of this; his surprise,
+therefore, was great when he found lights burning, and greater still
+when, peeping through a chink of the window-shutter, he observed two
+stout fellows seated at the old man's table.  Charles Tregarthen he had
+never seen before, and, as Oliver Trembath sat with his back to the
+window, he could not recognise him.
+
+"There's company wi' the owld man," said Cuttance, returning to his
+comrades; "two men, young and stout, but we do knaw how to manage they!"
+
+This was said by way of an appeal, and was received with a grin by the
+others, and a brief recommendation to go to work without delay.
+
+For a few minutes they whispered together as to the plan of attack, and
+then, having agreed on that point, they separated.  Cuttance and the man
+whom he had called Bill, went to the window of the room in which Hitchin
+and his guests were seated, and stationed themselves on either side of
+it.  The sill was not more than breast high.  The other three men
+quickly returned, bearing a heavy boat's-mast, which they meant to use
+as a battering-ram.  It had been arranged that Cuttance should throw up
+the window, and, at the same moment, his comrades should rush at the
+shutter with the mast.  The leader could not see their faces, but there
+was light sufficient to enable him to distinguish their dark forms
+standing in the attitude of readiness.  He therefore stepped forward and
+made a powerful effort to force up the window, but it resisted him,
+although it shook violently.
+
+Those inside sprang up at the sound, and the smugglers sank down, as if
+by mutual consent, among the bushes which grew thickly near the window.
+
+"I told you it was only the wind," said Oliver Trembath, who had opened
+the shutter and gazed through the window for some time into the
+darkness, where, of course, he saw nothing.
+
+Well was it for him that Cuttance refused to follow Bill's advice, which
+was to charge him through the window with the mast.  The former knew
+that, with the window fastened, it would be impossible to force an
+entrance in the face of such a youth as Tregarthen, even although they
+succeeded in rendering the other _hors de combat_, so he restrained
+Bill, and awaited his opportunity.
+
+Oliver's remark appeared to be corroborated by a gust of wind which came
+while he was speaking, and shook the window-frame violently.
+
+"There it is again," he said, turning to his host with a smile.  "Depend
+upon it, they won't trouble you on such a night as this."
+
+He closed and refastened the shutter as he spoke, and they all returned
+to their places at the table.
+
+Unfortunately Oliver had not thought of examining the fastening of the
+window itself.  Had he done so, he would have seen that it was almost
+wrenched away.  Cuttance saw this, however, and resolved to make sure
+work of it next time.
+
+When the men with the battering-ram were again in position, he and Bill
+applied their united strength to the window, and it instantly flew up to
+the top.  At same moment, bolts and bars gave way, and the shutter went
+in with a crash.  Making use of the mast as a rest, Cuttance sprang on
+the window-sill and leaped into the room.
+
+The whole thing was done with such speed, and, if we may so express it,
+with such simultaneity of action, that the bold smuggler stood before
+the astonished inmates almost as soon as they could leap from their
+chairs.  Cuttance ducked to evade a terrific blow which Oliver aimed at
+him with his fist, and in another instant grappled with him.  Tregarthen
+rushed to the window in time to meet Bill, on whose forehead he planted
+a blow so effectual that that worthy fell back into the arms of his
+friends, who considerately let him drop to the ground, and made a united
+assault on Charlie.
+
+Had Oliver Trembath possessed his wonted vigour, he would speedily have
+overcome his adversary despite his great strength, but his recent
+illness had weakened him a little, so that the two were pretty equally
+matched.  The consequence was that, neither daring to loosen his hold in
+order to strike an effective blow, each had to devote all his energies
+to throw the other, in which effort they wrenched, thrust, and swung
+each other so violently round the room that chairs and tables were
+overturned and smashed, and poor old Hitchin had enough to do to avoid
+being floored in the _melee_, and to preserve from destruction the
+candle which lighted the scene of the combat.
+
+At first Oliver had tried to free his right hand in order to strike,
+but, finding this impossible, he attempted to throw the smuggler, and,
+with this end in view, lifted him bodily in the air and dashed him down,
+but Cuttance managed to throw out a leg and meet the ground with his
+foot, which saved him.  He was a noted wrestler.  He could give the
+famous Cornish hug with the fervour of a black bear, and knew all the
+mysteries of the science.  Often had he displayed his great muscular
+power and skill in the ring, where "wrestlers" were wont to engage in
+those combats of which the poet writes:--
+
+  "They rush, impetuous, with a shock
+  Their arms implicit, rigid, lock;
+  They twist; they trip; their limbs are mixed;
+  As one they move, as one stand fixed.
+  Now plant their feet in wider space,
+  And stand like statues on their base."
+
+But never before had Jim Cuttance had to deal with such a man as Oliver
+Trembath, who swung him about among the chairs, and crashed him through
+the tables, until, seizing a sudden opportunity, he succeeded in
+flinging him flat on the floor, where he held him down, and planted his
+knee on his chest with such force that he nearly squeezed all the breath
+out of him.
+
+No word did Jim Cuttance utter, for he was incapable of speech, but the
+colour of his face and his protruding tongue induced Oliver to remove
+his knee.
+
+Meanwhile Charlie Tregarthen had enough to do at the window.  After he
+had tumbled Bill out, as we have described, two of the other men sprang
+at him, and, seizing him by the collar of his coat, attempted to drag
+him out.  One of these he succeeded in overthrowing by a kick on the
+chest, but his place was instantly taken by the third of the bearers of
+the battering-ram, and for a few minutes the struggle was fierce but
+undecided.  Suddenly there arose a great shout, and all three tumbled
+head over heels into the shrubbery.
+
+It was at this moment that Oliver rose from his prostrate foe.  He at
+once sprang to the rescue; leaped out of the window, and was in the act
+of launching a blow at the head of the first man he encountered, when a
+voice shouted,--"Hold on, sur."
+
+It is certain that Oliver would have declined to hold on, had not the
+voice sounded familiar.  He held his hand, and next moment Charlie
+appeared in the light of the window dragging a struggling man after him
+by the nape of the neck.  At the same time Joe Tonkin came forward
+trailing another man by the hair of the head.
+
+"Has Cuttance got off?" inquired Tonkin.
+
+"No," replied Oliver, leaping back into the room, just in time to
+prevent Jim, who had recovered, from making his escape.
+
+"Now, my man, keep quiet," said Oliver, thrusting him down into a chair.
+"You and I have met before, and you know that it is useless to attempt
+resistance."
+
+Cuttance vouchsafed no reply, but sat still with a dogged expression on
+his weather-beaten visage.
+
+Hitchin, whose nerves were much shaken by the scene of which he had been
+a trembling spectator, soon produced ropes, with which the prisoners
+were bound, and then they were conducted to a place of safe keeping--
+each of the victors leading the man he had secured, and old Hitchin
+going before--an excited advance-guard.  The two men whom Tregarthen
+knocked down had recovered, and made their escape just before the fight
+closed.
+
+Oliver Trembath walked first in the procession, leading Jim Cuttance.
+
+"I gave you credit for a more manly spirit than this," said Oliver, as
+he walked along.  "How could you make so cowardly an attack on an old
+man?"
+
+Cuttance made no reply, and Oliver felt sorry that he had spoken, for
+the remembrance of the incident at the Land's End was strong upon him,
+and he would have given all he possessed to have had no hand in
+delivering the smuggler up to justice.  At the same time he felt that
+the attempt of Cuttance was a dastardly one, and that duty required him
+to act as he did.
+
+It seemed to Oliver as if Joe Tonkin had divined his thoughts, for at
+that moment he pushed close to him and whispered in his ear, "Jim
+Cuttance didn't mean to rob th' owld man, sur.  He only wanted to give
+he a fright, an' make un pay what he did owe un."
+
+This was a new light on the subject to Oliver, who at once formed his
+resolution and acted on it.
+
+"Cuttance," he said, "it is not unlikely that, if brought to justice,
+you will swing for this night's adventure."
+
+He paused and glanced at the face of his prisoner, who still maintained
+rigid silence.
+
+"Well," continued our hero, "I believe that your intentions against Mr
+Hitchin were not so bad as they would appear to be--"
+
+"Who told 'ee that?" asked the smuggler sternly.
+
+"No matter," replied Oliver, drawing a knife from his pocket, with which
+he deliberately cut the cords that bound his prisoner.  "There--you are
+free.  I hope that you will make better use of your freedom in time to
+come than you have in time past, although I doubt it much; but remember
+that I have repaid the debt I owe you."
+
+"Nay," replied Cuttance, still continuing to walk close to his
+companion's side.  "I did give you life.  You have but given me
+liberty."
+
+"I'd advise you to take advantage of that liberty without delay," said
+Oliver, somewhat nettled by the man's remark, as well as by his cool
+composure, "else your liberty may be again taken from you, in which case
+I would not give much for your life."
+
+"If you do not assist, there is no one here who can take me _now_,"
+replied Cuttance, with a smile.  "However, I'm not ungrateful--
+good-night."
+
+As he said this, the smuggler turned sharp to the right into one of the
+numerous narrow passages which divide the dwellings of Newlyn, and
+disappeared.
+
+Charles Tregarthen, who was as sharp as a needle, observed this, and,
+leaving his man in charge of Tonkin, darted after the fugitive.  He soon
+returned, however, wiping the perspiration from his brow, and declaring
+that he had well-nigh lost himself in his vain endeavours to find the
+smuggler.
+
+"How in all the world did you manage to let him go?" he demanded
+somewhat sharply of Oliver.
+
+"Why, Charlie," replied his friend, with a laugh, "you know I have not
+been trained to the duties of a policeman, and it has always been said
+that Jim Cuttance was a slippery eel.  However, he's gone now, so we had
+better have the others placed in safe custody as soon as possible."
+
+Saying this he passed his arm through that of old Mr Hitchin, and soon
+after the smugglers were duly incarcerated in the lock-up of Penzance.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.
+
+EXHIBITS THE MANAGING DIRECTOR AND THE SECRETARY OF WHEAL DOOEM IN
+CONFIDENTIAL CIRCUMSTANCES, AND INTRODUCES THE SUBJECT OF "LOCALS."
+
+About this time that energetic promoter of mining operations, Mr George
+Augustus Clearemout, found it necessary to revisit Cornwall.
+
+He was seated in an easy-chair in a snug little back-office, or
+board-room, in one of the airiest little streets of the City of London,
+when this necessity became apparent to him.  Mr Clearemout did not
+appear to have much to do at that particular time, for he contented
+himself with tapping the arm of his easy-chair with the knuckles of his
+right hand, while he twirled his gold watch-key with his left, and
+smiled occasionally.
+
+To judge from appearances it seemed that things in general were
+prospering with George Augustus.  Everything about him was new, and, we
+might almost say, gorgeous.  His coat and vest and pantaloons had a look
+and a cut about them that told of an extremely fashionable tailor, and a
+correspondingly fashionable price.  His rings, of which he wore several,
+were massive, one of them being a diamond ring of considerable value.
+His boots were faultlessly made, quite new, and polished so highly that
+it dazzled one to look at them, while his linen, of which he displayed a
+large quantity on the breast, was as white as snow--not London snow, of
+course!  Altogether Mr G.A. Clearemout was a most imposing personage.
+
+"Come in," he said, in a voice that sounded like the deep soft whisper
+of a trombone.
+
+The individual who had occasioned the command by tapping at the door,
+opened it just enough to admit his head, which he thrust into the room.
+It was a shaggy red head belonging to a lad of apparently eighteen; its
+chief characteristics being a prolonged nose and a retracted chin, with
+a gash for a mouth, and two blue holes for eyes.
+
+"Please, sir, Mr Muddle," said the youth.
+
+"Admit Mr Muddle."
+
+The head disappeared, and immediately after a gentleman sauntered into
+the room, and flung himself lazily into the empty armchair which stood
+at the fireplace _vis-a-vis_ to the one in which Mr Clearemout sat,
+explaining that he would not have been so ceremonious had he not fancied
+that his friend was engaged with some one on business.
+
+"How are you, Jack?" said George Augustus.
+
+"Pretty bobbish," replied Jack.  (He was the same Jack whom we have
+already introduced as being Mr Clearemout's friend and kindred spirit.)
+
+"Any news?" inquired Mr Clearemout.
+
+"No, nothing moving," said Jack languidly.
+
+"H'm, I see it is time to stir now, Jack, for the wheel of fortune is
+apt to get stiff and creaky if we don't grease her now and then and give
+her a jog.  Here is a little pot of grease which I have been concocting
+and intend to lay on immediately."
+
+He took a slip of paper from a large pocket-book which lay at his elbow
+on the new green cloth-covered table, and handed it to his friend, who
+slowly opened and read it in a slovenly way, mumbling the most of it as
+he went on:--
+
+"`WHEAL DOOEM, in St. Just, Cornwall--mumble--m--m--in 10,000 shares.
+An old mine, m--m--every reason to believe--m--m--splendid lodes visible
+from--m--m.  Depth of Adit fifty fathoms--m--depth below Adit ninety
+fathoms.  Pumps, whims, engines, etcetera, in good working order--m--
+little expense--Landowners, Messrs.--m--Manager at the Mine, Captain
+Trembleforem--m--thirteen men, four females, and two boys--m--water--
+wheels--stamps--m--Managing Director, George Augustus Clearemout,
+Esquire, 99 New Gull Street, London--m--Secretary, John Muddle,
+Esquire--ahem--'"
+
+"But, I say, it won't do to publish anything of this sort just yet, you
+know," said Secretary Jack in a remonstrative tone, "for there's nothing
+doing at all, I believe."
+
+"I beg your pardon," replied the managing director, "there is a good
+deal doing.  I have written to St. Just appointing the local manager,
+and it is probable that things are really under way by this time;
+besides, I shall set out for Cornwall to-morrow to superintend matters,
+leaving my able secretary in charge here in the meantime, and when he
+hears from me this paper may be completed and advertised."
+
+"I say, it looks awful real-like, don't it?" said Jack, with a grin.
+"Only fancy if it should turn out to be a good mine after all--what a
+lark _that_ would be! and it might, you know, for it _was_ a real one
+once, wasn't it?  And if you set a few fellows to sink the
+what-d'ye-call-'ems and drive the thingumbobs, it is possible they may
+come upon tin and copper, or something of that sort--wouldn't it be
+jolly?"
+
+"Of course it would, and that is the very thing that gives zest to it.
+It's a speculation, not a swindle by any means, and admirably suits our
+easy consciences.  But, I say, Jack, you _must_ break yourself off
+talking slang.  It will never do to have the secretary of the Great
+Wheal Dooem Mining Company talk like a street boy.  Besides, I hate
+slang even in a blackguard--not to mention a black-leg--so you must give
+it up, Jack, you really must, else you'll ruin the concern at the very
+beginning."
+
+Secretary Jack started into animation at this.
+
+"Why, George," he said, drawing himself up, "I can throw it off when I
+please.  Look here--suppose yourself an inquiring speculator--ahem!  I
+assure you, sir, that the prospects of this mine are most brilliant, and
+the discoveries that have been made in it since we commenced operations
+are incredible--absolutely incredible, sir.  Some of the lodes (that's
+the word, isn't it?) are immensely rich, and upwards of a hundred feet
+thick, while the part that runs under the sea, or _is_ to run under the
+sea, at a depth of three thousand fathoms, is probably as rich in copper
+ore as the celebrated Botallack, whose majestic headland, bristling with
+machinery, overhangs the raging billows of the wide Atlantic, etcetera,
+etcetera.  O George, it's a great lark entirely!"
+
+"You'll have to learn your lesson a little better, else you'll make a
+great mess of it," said Clearemout.
+
+"A muddle of it--according to my name and destiny, George," said the
+secretary; "a muddle of it, and a fortune _by_ it."
+
+Here the secretary threw himself back in the easy-chair, and grinned at
+the opposite wall, where his eye fell on a large picture, which changed
+the grin into a stare of surprise.
+
+"What have we here, George," he said, rising, and fitting a gold glass
+in his eye--"not a portrait of Wheal Dooem, is it?"
+
+"You have guessed right," replied the other.  "I made a few sketches on
+the spot, and got a celebrated artist to put them together, which he has
+done, you see, with considerable effect.  Here, in the foreground, you
+observe," continued the managing director, taking up a new white
+pointer, "stands Wheal Dooem, on a prominent crag overlooking the
+Atlantic, with Gurnard's Head just beyond.  Farther over, we have the
+celebrated Levant Mine, and the famous Botallack, and the great Wheal
+Owles, and a crowd of other more or less noted mines, with Cape
+Cornwall, and the Land's End, and Tolpedenpenwith in the
+middle-distance, and the celebrated Logan Rock behind them, while we
+have Mounts Bay, with the beautiful town of Penzance, and St. Michael's
+Mount, and the Lizard in the background, with France in the remote
+distance."
+
+"Dear, _dear_ me! quite a geographical study, I declare," exclaimed
+Secretary Jack, examining the painting with some care.  "Can you really
+see all these places at once from Wheal Dooem?"
+
+"Not exactly from Wheal Dooem, Jack, but if you were to go up in a
+balloon a few hundred yards above the spot where it stands, you might
+see 'em all on a very clear day, if your eyes were good.  The fact is,
+that I regard this picture as a triumph of art, exhibiting powerfully
+what is by artists termed `bringing together' and great `breadth,'
+united with exceedingly minute detail.  The colouring too, is high--very
+high indeed, and the _chiaroscuro_ is perfect--"
+
+"Ha!" interposed Jack, "all the _chiar_ being on the surface, and the
+_oscuro_ down in the mine, eh?"
+
+"Exactly so," replied Clearemout.  "It is a splendid picture.  The
+artist regards it as his _chef_ _d'oeuvre_, and you must explain it to
+all who come to the office, as well as those magnificent geological
+sections rolled-up in the corner, which it would be well, by the way, to
+have hung up without delay.  They arrived only this morning.  And now,
+Jack, having explained these matters, I will leave you, to study them at
+your leisure, while I prepare for my journey to Cornwall, where, by the
+way, I have my eye upon a sweet little girl, whose uncle, I believe, has
+lots of tin, both in the real and figurative sense of the word.
+Something may come of it--who knows?"
+
+Next morning saw the managing director on the road, and in due time he
+found his way by coach, kittereen, and gig to St. Just, where, as
+before, he was hospitably received by old Mr Donnithorne.
+
+That gentleman's buoyancy of spirit, however, was not quite so great as
+it had been a few months before, but that did not much affect the
+spirits of Clearemout, who found good Mrs Donnithorne as motherly, and
+Rose Ellis as sweet, as ever.
+
+It happened at this time that Oliver Trembath had occasion to go to
+London about some matter relating to his deceased mother's affairs, so
+the managing director had the field all to himself.  He therefore spent
+his time agreeably in looking after the affairs of Wheal Dooem during
+the day, and making love to Rose Ellis in the evening.
+
+Poor Rose was by no means a flirt, but she was an innocent,
+straightforward girl, ignorant of many of the world's ways, and of a
+trusting disposition.  She found the conversation of Mr Clearemout
+agreeable, and did not attempt to conceal the fact.  Mr Clearemout's
+vanity induced him to set this down to a tender feeling, although Rose
+never consciously gave him, by word or look, the slightest reason to
+come to such a conclusion.
+
+One forenoon Mr Clearemout was sitting in Mr Donnithorne's dining-room
+conversing with Rose and Mrs Donnithorne, when the old gentleman
+entered and sat down beside them.
+
+"I had almost forgotten the original object of my visit this morning,"
+said the managing director, with a smile, and a glance at Rose; "the
+fact is that I am in want of a man to work at Wheal Dooem, a steady,
+trustworthy man, who would be fit to take charge--become a sort of
+overseer; can you recommend one?"
+
+Mr Donnithorne paused for a moment to reflect, but Mrs Donnithorne
+deeming reflection quite unnecessary, at once replied,--"Why, there are
+many such men in St. Just.  There's John Cock, as good a man as you
+could find in all the parish, and David Trevarrow, and James Penrose--
+he's a first-rate man; You remember him, my dear?"  (turning to her
+worse half)--"one of our locals, you know."
+
+"Yes, my dear, I remember him perfectly.--You could not, Mr Clearemout,
+get a better man, I should say."
+
+"I think you observed, madam," said Mr Clearemout, "that this man is a
+`local.'  Pray, what is a local?"
+
+Rose gave one of her little laughs at this point, and her worthy aunt
+exclaimed,--"La!  Mr Clearemout, don't you know what a local preacher
+is?"
+
+"Oh! a _preacher_?  Connected with the Methodist body, I presume?"
+
+"Yes, and a first-rate man, I assure you."
+
+"But," said Mr Clearemout, with a smile, "I want a miner, not a
+preacher."
+
+"Well, he is a miner, and a good one too--"
+
+"Allow _me_ to explain, my dear," said Mr Donnithorne, interrupting his
+spouse.  "You may not be aware, sir, that many of our miners are men of
+considerable mental ability, and some of them possess such power of
+speech, and so earnest a spirit, that the Wesleyan body have appointed
+them to the office of local preaching.  They do not become ministers,
+however, nor are they liable to be sent out of the district like them.
+They don't give up their ordinary calling, but are appointed to preach
+in the various chapels of the district in which they reside, and thus we
+accomplish an amount of work which could not possibly be overtaken by
+the ordinary ministry."
+
+"Indeed! but are they not untrained men, liable to teach erroneous
+doctrine?" asked Mr Clearemout.
+
+"They are not altogether untrained men," replied Mr Donnithorne.  "They
+are subjected to a searching examination, and must give full proof of
+their Christianity, knowledge, and ability before being appointed."
+
+"And good, excellent Christian men many of them are," observed Mrs
+Donnithorne, with much fervour.
+
+"Quite true," said her husband.  "This James Penrose is one of our best
+local preachers, and sometimes officiates in our principal chapel.  I
+confess, however, that those who have the management of this matter are
+not always very judicious in their appointments.  Some of our young men
+are sorely tempted to show off their acquirements, and preach
+_themselves_ instead of the gospel, and there are one or two whom I
+could mention whose hearts are all right, but whose brains are so
+muddled and empty that they are utterly unfit to teach their fellows.
+We must not, however, look for perfection in this world, Mr Clearemout.
+A little chaff will always remain among the wheat.  There is no system
+without some imperfection, and I am convinced that upon the whole our
+system of appointing local preachers is a first-rate one.  At all events
+it works well, which is one of the best proofs of its excellence."
+
+"Perhaps so," said Mr Clearemout, with the air of a man who did not
+choose to express an opinion on the subject; "nevertheless I had rather
+have a man who was _not_ a local preacher."
+
+"You can see and hear him, and judge for yourself," said Mr
+Donnithorne; "for he is, I believe, to preach in our chapel to-morrow,
+and if you will accept of a seat in our pew it will afford my wife and
+myself much--"
+
+"Thank you," interrupted Mr Clearemout; "I shall be very glad to take
+advantage of your kind offer.  Service, you say, begins at--"
+
+"Ten precisely," said Mr Donnithorne.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.
+
+SHOWS THE MINER IN HIS SUNDAY GARB, AND ASTONISHES CLEAREMOUT, BESIDES
+RELATING SOME INCIDENTS OF AN ACCIDENT.
+
+The sun rose bright and hot on Sunday morning, but the little birds were
+up before the great luminary, singing their morning hymn with noisy
+delight.  It was a peaceful day.  The wind was at rest and the sea was
+calm.  In the ancient town of St. Just it was peculiarly peaceful, for
+the numerous and untiring "stamps"--which all the week had continued
+their clang and clatter, morning, noon, and night, without
+intermission--found rest on that hallowed day, and the great engines
+ceased to bow their massive heads, with the exception of those that
+worked the pumps.  Even these, however, were required to do as little
+work as was compatible with the due drainage of the mines, and as their
+huge pulsations were intermittent--few and far between--they did not
+succeed in disturbing the universal serenity of the morning.
+
+If there are in this country men who, more than any other, need repose,
+we should say they are the miners of Cornwall, for their week's work is
+exhausting far beyond that of most other labourers in the kingdom.
+Perhaps the herculean men employed in malleable-iron works toil as
+severely, but, besides the cheering consciousness of being well paid for
+their labour, these men exert their powers in the midst of sunlight and
+fresh air, while the miners toil in bad air, and get little pay in hard
+times.  Sunday is indeed to them the Sabbath-day--it is literally what
+that word signifies, a day of much-required rest for body, soul, and
+spirit.
+
+Pity that the good old word which God gave us is not more universally
+used among Christians!  Would it not have been better that the
+translation Rest-day had been adopted, so that even ignorant men might
+have understood its true signification, than that we should have saddled
+it with a heathen name, to be an apple of discord in all generations?
+However, Sunday it is, so Sunday it will stand, we suppose, as long as
+the world lasts.  After all, despite its faulty origin, that word is
+invested with old and hallowed associations in the minds of many, so we
+enter our protest against the folly of our forefathers very humbly,
+beseeching those who are prone to become nettled on this subject to
+excuse our audacity!
+
+Well, as we have said, the Sunday morning to which we refer was
+peaceful; so would have been Maggot's household had Maggot's youngest
+baby never been born; but, having been born, that robust cherub asserted
+his right to freedom of action more violently than ever did the most
+rabid Radical or tyrannical Tory.  He "swarmed" about the house, and
+kicked and yelled his uttermost, to the great distress of poor little
+Grace, whose anxiety to get him ready for chapel was gradually becoming
+feverish.  But baby Maggot had as much objection to go to chapel as his
+wicked father, who was at that time enjoying a pipe on the cliffs, and
+intended to leave his family to the escort of David Trevarrow.
+Fortunately, baby gave in about half-past nine, so that little Grace had
+him washed and dressed, and on his way to chapel in pretty good time,
+all things considered.
+
+No one who entered the Wesleyan Chapel of St. Just that morning for the
+first time could have imagined that a large proportion of the
+well-dressed people who filled the pews were miners and balmaidens.
+Some of the latter were elegantly, we might almost say gorgeously,
+attired, insomuch that, but for their hands and speech, they might
+almost have passed for ladies of fashion.  The very latest thing in
+bonnets, and the newest mantles, were to be seen on their pretty heads
+and shapely shoulders.
+
+As we have said before, and now repeat, this circumstance arose from the
+frequency of the visits of the individual styled "Johnny Fortnight,"
+whose great aim and end in life is to supply miners, chiefly the females
+among them, with the necessaries, and unnecessaries, of wearing apparel.
+
+When the managing director entered Mr Donnithorne's pew and sat down
+beside his buxom hostess, he felt, but of course was much too well bred
+to express astonishment; for his host had told him that a large number
+of the people who attended the chapel were miners, and for a time he
+failed to see any of the class whom he had hitherto been accustomed to
+associate with rusty-red and torn garbs, and dirty hands and faces.  But
+he soon observed that many of the stalwart, serious-looking men with
+black coats and white linen, had strong, muscular hands, with
+hard-looking knuckles, which, in some instances, exhibited old or recent
+cuts and bruises.
+
+It was a new sight for the managing director to behold the large and
+apparently well-off families filing into the pews, for, to say truth,
+Mr Clearemout was not much in the habit of attending church, and he had
+never before entered a Methodist chapel.  He watched with much curiosity
+the gradual filling of the seats, and the grave, quiet demeanour of the
+people.  Especially interesting was it when Maggot's family came in and
+sat down, with the baby Maggot in charge of little Grace.  Mr
+Clearemout had met Maggot, and had seen his family; but interest gave
+place to astonishment when Mrs Penrose walked into the church, backed
+by her sixteen children, the eldest males among whom were miners, and
+the eldest females tin-dressers, while the little males and females
+aspired to be miners and tin-dressers in the course of time.
+
+"That's Penrose's family," whispered Mr Donnithorne to his guest.
+
+"What! the local's family?"
+
+Mr Donnithorne nodded.
+
+Soon after, a tall, gentlemanly man ascended the pulpit.
+
+The managing director was disappointed.  He had come there to hear a
+miner preach, and behold, a clergyman!
+
+"Who is he?" inquired Clearemout.
+
+But Mr Donnithorne did not answer.  He was looking up the hymn for Mrs
+D, who, being short-sighted, claimed exemption from the duty of "looking
+up" anything.  Besides, he was a kind, good man at heart--though rather
+fond of smuggling and given to the bottle, according to Oliver
+Trembath's account of him--and liked to pay his wife little attentions.
+
+But there were still greater novelties in store for the London man that
+morning.  It was new to him to hear John Wesley's beautiful hymns sung
+to equally beautiful tunes, which were not, however, unfamiliar to his
+ear, and sung with a degree of fervour that quite drowned his own voice,
+powerful and deep though it was.  It was a new and impressive thing to
+hear the thrilling, earnest tones of the preacher as he offered up an
+eloquent extempore prayer--to the petitions in which many of the people
+in the congregation gave utterance at times to startlingly fervent and
+loud responses--not in set phraseology, but in words that were called
+forth by the nature of each petition, such as "Glory to God," "Amen,"
+"Thanks be to Him"--showing that the worshippers followed and
+sympathised with their spokesman, thus making his prayer their own.  But
+the newest thing of all was to hear the preacher deliver an eloquent,
+earnest, able, and well-digested sermon, without book or note, in the
+same natural tone of voice with which a man might address his fellow in
+the street--a style of address which riveted the attention of the
+hearers, induced them to expect that he had really something important
+to say to them, and that he thoroughly believed in the truth of what he
+said.
+
+"A powerful man," observed the managing director as they went out; "your
+clergyman, I suppose?"
+
+"No, sir," replied Mr Donnithorne with a chuckle, "our minister is
+preaching elsewhere to-day.  That was James Penrose."
+
+"What! the miner?" exclaimed Clearemout in astonishment.
+
+"Ay, the local preacher too."
+
+"Why, the man spoke like Demosthenes, and quoted Bacon, Locke, Milton,
+and I know not whom all--you amaze me," said Mr Clearemout.  "Surely
+all your local preachers are not equal to this one."
+
+"Alas, no! some of the young ones are indeed able enough to spout poetry
+and quote old authors, and too fond they are of doing so; nevertheless,
+as I have said to you before, most of the local preachers are
+sober-minded, sterling Christian men, and a few of them have eminent
+capabilities.  Had Penrose been a younger man, he would probably have
+entered the ministry, but being above forty, with an uncommonly large
+family, he thinks it his duty to remain as he is, and do as much good as
+he can."
+
+"But surely he might find employment better suited to his talents?" said
+Clearemout.
+
+"There is not much scope in St. Just," replied Mr Donnithorne, with a
+smile, "and it is a serious thing for a man in his circumstances to
+change his abode and vocation.  No, no, I think he is right to remain a
+miner."
+
+"Well, I confess that I admire his talents," returned Clearemout, "but I
+still think that an ordinary miner would suit me better."
+
+"Well, I know of one who will suit you admirably.  He is common enough
+to look at, and if you will accompany me into the mine to-morrow I'll
+introduce you to him.  I'm not fond of descending the ladders nowadays,
+though I could do it very well when a youth, but as the man I speak of
+works in one of the levels near the surface, I'll be glad to go down
+with you, and Captain Dan shall lead us."
+
+True to his word, the old gentleman met Mr Clearemout the following
+morning at nine o'clock, and accompanied him down into the mine.
+
+Their descent was unmarked by anything particular at first.  They wore
+the usual suit of underground clothing, and each carried a lighted
+candle attached to his hat.  After descending about thirty fathoms they
+left the main shaft and traversed the windings of a level until they
+came to a place where the sound of voices and hammers indicated that the
+miners were working.  In a few seconds they reached the end of the
+level.
+
+Here two men were "driving" the level, and another--a very tall,
+powerful man--was standing in a hole driven up slanting-ways into the
+roof, and cutting the rock above his head.  His attitude and aspect were
+extremely picturesque, standing as he did on a raised platform with his
+legs firmly planted, his muscular arms raised above him to cut the rock
+overhead, and the candle so placed as to cause his figure to appear
+almost black and unnaturally gigantic.
+
+"Stay a minute, Captain Dan," said Mr Donnithorne.  "That, Mr
+Clearemout, is the man I spoke of--what think you of his personal
+appearance?"
+
+Clearemout did not reply for a few minutes, but stood silently watching
+the man as he continued to wield his heavy hammer with powerful
+strokes--delivering each with a species of gasp which indicated not
+exhaustion, but the stern vigour with which it was given.
+
+"He'll do," said Clearemout in a decided tone.
+
+"Hallo!  James," shouted Mr Donnithorne.
+
+"Hallo! sir," answered the man looking back over his shoulder.
+
+"There's a gentleman here who wants to speak to you."
+
+The miner flung down his tools, which clattered loudly on the hard rock,
+as he leaped from his perch with the agility of one whose muscles are
+all in full and constant exercise.
+
+"What! not the local--"
+
+Before the managing director could finish his sentence Mr Donnithorne
+introduced him to James Penrose, and left the two for a time to talk
+together.
+
+It need scarcely be added that Clearemout was quite willing to avail
+himself of the services of the "local," but the local did not meet his
+proposals so readily as he would have wished.  Penrose was a cautious
+man, and said he would call on Mr Clearemout in the evening after he
+had had time to consider the matter.
+
+With this reply the other was fain to rest satisfied, and shortly after
+he returned to the bottom of the shaft with his friends, leaving the
+hardy miner to pursue his work.
+
+At the bottom of the shaft they were accosted by a sturdy little man,
+who told them that a large piece of timber was being sent down the
+shaft, and it would be advisable to wait until it reached the bottom.
+
+"Is it on the way, Spankey?" asked Captain Dan.
+
+"Iss, sur, if it haven't walked into the thirty-fathom level in
+passin'."
+
+Spankey was a humorous individual addicted to joking.
+
+"Are you married, Spankey?" asked Clearemout, looking down with a grin
+at the dirty little fellow beside him.
+
+"Iss, sur.  Had, two wives, an' the third wan is waitin' for me,
+'spose."
+
+"Any children, Spankey?"
+
+"Iss, six, countin' the wan that died before it could spaik."
+
+At this point the beam was heard coming down.  In a few seconds it made
+its appearance, and was hauled a little to one side by Spankey, who
+proceeded to unwind the chain that had supported it.
+
+"I'll give 'em the signal, Captain Dan, to haul up the chain before thee
+do go on the ladders."
+
+The signal was given accordingly, and the engine immediately began to
+draw up the chain by which the beam had been lowered.
+
+This chain had a hook at one end of it, and, as ill-luck would have it,
+the hook caught Spankey by the right leg of his trousers, and whisked
+him off his feet.  Almost before those beside him could conceive what
+had happened, the unfortunate man went up the shaft feet foremost, with
+a succession of dreadful yells, in the midst of which could be heard a
+fearful rending of strong linen.
+
+Fortunately for Spankey, his nether garments were not only strong, but
+new, so that when the rend came to the seam at the foot, it held on,
+else had that facetious miner come down the shaft much faster than he
+went up, and left his brains at the bottom as a memorial of the shocking
+event!
+
+With palpitating hearts, Captain Dan, Clearemout, and old Donnithorne
+ran up the ladders as fast as they could.  In a few minutes they reached
+the thirty-fathom level, and here, to their great relief, they found
+Spankey supported in the arms of stout Joe Tonkin.
+
+That worthy, true to his promise to Oliver Trembath, had gone to work in
+Botallack Mine, and had that very day commenced operations in the
+thirty-fathom level referred to.  Hearing the terrible screams of
+Spankey, he rushed to the end of the level just as the unfortunate man
+was passing it.  The risk was great, but Tonkin was accustomed to risks,
+and prompt to act.  He flung his arms round Spankey, drew him forcibly
+into the level, and held on for life.  There was a terrible rend; the
+leg of the trousers gave way at the hip, and went flapping up to grass,
+leaving the horrified miner behind.
+
+"Not gone dead yet, sur, but goin' fast," was Spankey's pathetic reply
+to Captain Dan's anxious inquiries.
+
+It was found, however, that, beyond the fright, the man had received no
+damage whatever.
+
+The only other noteworthy fact in reference to this incident is, that
+when Captain Dan and his companions reached the surface, they were met
+by the lander, who, with a face as pale as a ghost, held up the torn
+garment.  Great was this man's relief, and loud the fit of laughter with
+which he expressed it, when Spankey, issuing from the mouth of the
+shaft, presented his naked limb, and claimed the leg of his trousers!
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.
+
+TELLS OF A DISCOVERY AND A DISASTER.
+
+That afternoon another accident occurred in the mine, which was of a
+much more serious nature than the one just recorded, and which
+interfered somewhat with the plans of the managing director of the Great
+Wheal Dooem Mining Company.
+
+Not long after his interview with Clearemout, James Penrose finished a
+blast-hole, and called to Zackey Maggot to fetch the fuse.
+
+Zackey had been working for a week past in connection with Penrose, and,
+at the time he was called, was engaged in his wonted occupation of
+pounding "tamping" wherewith to fill the hole.
+
+Wherever Zackey chanced to be at work, he always made himself as
+comfortable as circumstances would admit of.  At the present time he had
+discovered a little hollow or recess in the wall of the level, which he
+had converted into a private chamber for the nonce.
+
+There was a piece of flat rock on the floor of this recess, which Zackey
+used as his anvil, and in front of which he kneeled.  At his side was a
+candle, stuck against the wall, where it poured a flood of light on
+objects in its immediate neighbourhood, and threw the boy's magnified
+shadow over the floor and against the opposite wall of the level.  Above
+his head was a small shelf, which he had ingeniously fixed in a narrow
+part of the cell, and on this lay a few candles, a stone bottle of
+water, a blasting fuse, and part of his lunch, which he had been unable
+to consume, wrapped in a piece of paper.  A small wooden box on the
+floor, and a couple of pick-hilts, leaning against the wall, completed
+the furniture of this subterranean grotto.
+
+Zackey, besides being a searcher after metals, possessed an unusual
+amount of metal in himself.  He was one of those earnest, hard-working,
+strong-hearted boys who pass into a state of full manhood, do the work
+of men, and are looked upon as being men, before they have passed out of
+their "teens."  The boy's manhood, which was even at that early period
+of his life beginning to show itself, consisted not in his looks or his
+gait, although both were creditable, but in his firmness of purpose and
+force of character.  What Zackey undertook to do he always did.  He
+never left any work in a half-finished state, and he always employed
+time diligently.
+
+In the mine he commenced to labour the moment he entered, and he never
+ceased, except during a short period for "kroust," until it was time to
+shoulder his tools, and mount to the regions of light.  Above ground, he
+was as ready to skylark as the most volatile of his companions, but
+underground he was a pattern of perseverance--a true Cornish miner in
+miniature.  His energy of character was doubtless due to his reckless
+father, but his steadiness was the result of "Uncle Davy's" counsel and
+example.
+
+"Are you coming, Zackey?" shouted Penrose, from the end of the level.
+
+"Iss, I'm comin'," replied the boy, taking the fuse from the shelf, and
+hastening towards his companion.
+
+Penrose had a peculiar and pleased expression on his countenance, which
+Zackey observed at once.
+
+"What do 'ee grizzle like that for?" inquired the boy.
+
+"I've come on a splendid bunch of copper, Zackey," replied the man; "you
+and I shall make money soon.  Run away to your work, lad, and come back
+when you hear the shot go off."
+
+Zackey expressed a hope that the prophecy might come true, and returned
+to his cell, where he continued pounding diligently--thinking the while
+of rich ore and a rapid fortune.
+
+There was more reason in these thoughts than one might suppose, for
+Cornish miners experience variety of fortune.  Sometimes a man will
+labour for weeks and months in unproductive ground, following up a small
+vein in the hope of its leading into a good lode, and making so little
+by his hard toil that on pay day of each month he is compelled to ask
+his employer for "subsist"--or a small advance of money--to enable him
+to live and go on with his work.  Often he is obliged to give up in
+despair, and change to a more promising part of the mine, or to go to
+another mine altogether; but, not unfrequently, he is rewarded for his
+perseverance by coming at last to a rich "lode," or mass, or "bunch" of
+copper or tin ore, out of which he will rend, in a single month, as much
+as will entitle him to thirty or forty, or even a hundred pounds, next
+pay day.
+
+Such pieces of good fortune are not of rare occurrence.  Many of the
+substantial new cottages to be seen in St. Just at the present day have
+been built by miners who became suddenly fortunate in this way, so that,
+although the miner of Cornwall always works hard, and often suffers
+severe privation, he works on with a well-grounded expectation of a
+sudden burst of temporal sunshine in his otherwise hard lot.
+
+Zackey Maggot was dreaming of some such gleam of good fortune, and
+patiently pounding away at the tamping, when he heard the explosion of
+the blast.  At the same moment a loud cry rang through the underground
+caverns.  It was one of those terrible, unmistakable cries which chill
+the blood and thrill the hearts of those who hear them, telling of some
+awful catastrophe.
+
+The boy leaped up and ran swiftly towards the end of the level, where he
+called to his companion, but received no answer.  The smoke which filled
+the place was so dense that he could not see, and could scarcely
+breathe.  He ran forward, however, and stumbled over the prostrate form
+of Penrose.  Zackey guessed correctly what had occurred, for the
+accident was, and alas! still is, too common in the mines.  The shot had
+apparently missed fire.  Penrose had gone forward to examine it, and it
+exploded in his face.
+
+To lift his companion was beyond Zackey's power, to leave him lying in
+such dense smoke for any length of time would, he knew, ensure his
+suffocation, so he attempted to drag him away, but the man was too heavy
+for him.  In his extremity the poor boy uttered a wild cry for help, but
+he shouted in vain, for there was no one else at work in the level.  But
+Zackey was not the boy to give way to despair, or to act thoughtlessly,
+or in wild haste in this emergency.  He suddenly recollected that there
+was a rope somewhere about the level.  He sought for and found it.
+Fastening an end of it round the body of the man, under the armpits, he
+so arranged that the knot of the loop should reach a few inches beyond
+his head, and on this part of the loop he spread a coat, which thus
+formed a support to the head, and prevented it being dragged along the
+ground.  While engaged in this operation the poor boy was well-nigh
+suffocated with smoke, and had to run back once to where the air was
+purer in order to catch a breath or two.  Then, returning, he seized the
+rope, passed it over his shoulder, and bending forward with all his
+might and main dragged the man slowly but steadily along the floor of
+the level to a place where the air was comparatively pure.
+
+Leaving him there he quickly fixed a candle in his hat, and carrying
+another in his hand, to avoid the risk of being left in darkness by an
+accidental stumble or gust of air, Zackey darted swiftly along the level
+and ran up the ladders at his utmost speed.  Panting for breath, and
+with eyes almost starting from their sockets, he rushed into the
+engine-house, and told the man in charge what had occurred; then he
+dashed away to the counting-house and gave the alarm there, so that, in
+a very few minutes, a number of men descended the shaft and gathered
+round the prostrate miner.  The doctor who had taken Oliver Trembath's
+place during his absence was soon in attendance, and found that although
+no bones had been broken, Penrose's face was badly injured, how deep the
+injury extended could not at that time be ascertained, but he feared
+that his eyes had been altogether destroyed.
+
+After the application of some cordial the unfortunate man began to
+revive, and the first words he uttered were, "Praise the Lord"--
+evidently in reference to his life having been spared.
+
+"Is that you, Zackey?" he inquired after a few moments.
+
+"No, it is the doctor, my man.  Do you feel much pain in your head?" he
+asked as he knelt beside him.
+
+"Not much; there is a stunned feeling about it, but little pain.  You'd
+better light a candle."
+
+"There are candles burning round you," said the doctor.  "Do you not see
+them?  There is one close to your face at this moment."
+
+Penrose made no answer on hearing this, but an expression of deep
+gravity seemed to settle on the blackened features.
+
+"We must get him up as soon as possible," said the doctor, turning to
+Captain Dan, who stood at his elbow.
+
+"We're all ready, sir," replied the captain, who had quietly procured
+ropes and a blanket, while the doctor was examining the wounds.
+
+With great labour and difficulty the injured man was half hauled, half
+carried, and pushed up the shaft, and laid on the grass.
+
+"Is the sun shining?" he asked in a low voice.
+
+"Iss, it do shine right in thee face, Jim," said one of the miners,
+brushing away a tear with the back of his hand.
+
+Again the gravity of Penrose's countenance appeared to deepen, but he
+uttered no other word; so they brought an old door and laid him on it.
+Six strong men raised it gently on their shoulders, and, with slow steps
+and downcast faces, they carried the wounded miner home.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.
+
+INDICATES THAT "WE LITTLE KNOW WHAT GREAT THINGS FROM LITTLE THINGS MAY
+RISE."
+
+Soon after this accident to James Penrose, the current of events at the
+mines was diverted from its course by several incidents, which, like the
+obstructing rocks in a rapid, created some eddies and whirlpools in the
+lives of those personages with whom this chronicle has to do.
+
+As the beginning of a mighty inundation is oft-times an
+insignificant-looking leak, and as the cause of a series of great events
+is not unfrequently a trifling incident, so the noteworthy circumstances
+which we have still to lay before our readers were brought about by a
+very small matter--by a baby--_the_ baby Maggot!
+
+One morning that cherubical creature opened its eyes at a much earlier
+hour than usual, and stared at the ceiling of its father's cottage.  The
+sun was rising, and sent its unobstructed rays through the window of
+Maggot's cottage, where it danced on the ceiling as if its sole purpose
+in rising had been to amuse the Maggot baby.  If so, it was
+pre-eminently successful in its attempts, for the baby lay and smiled
+for a long time in silent ecstasy.
+
+Of course, we do not mean to say that the sun itself, or its direct
+rays, actually danced.  No, it was too dignified a luminary for that,
+but its rays went straight at a small looking-glass which was suspended
+on the wall opposite to the window, and this being hung so as to slope
+forward, projected the rays obliquely into a tub of water which was
+destined for family washing purposes; and from its gently moving surface
+they were transmitted to the ceiling, where, as aforesaid, they danced,
+to the immense delight of Maggot junior.
+
+The door of the cottage had been carelessly closed the previous night
+when the family retired to rest, and a chink of it was open, through
+which a light draught of summer air came in.  This will account for the
+ripple on the water, which (as every observant reader will note) ought,
+according to the laws of gravitation, to have lain perfectly still.
+
+The inconstancy of baby Maggot's nature was presently exhibited in his
+becoming tired of the sun, and the restlessness of his disposition
+displayed itself in his frantic efforts to get out of bed.  Being boxed
+in with a board, this was not an easy matter, but the urchin's limbs
+were powerful, and he finally got over the obstruction, sufficiently far
+to lose his balance, and fall with a sounding flop on the floor.
+
+It is interesting to notice how soon deceit creeps into the hearts of
+some children!  Of course the urchin fell sitting-wise--babies always do
+so, as surely as cats fall on their feet.  In ordinary circumstances he
+would have intimated the painful mishap with a dreadful yell; but on
+this particular occasion young Maggot was bent on mischief.  Of what
+sort, he probably had no idea, but there must have been a latent feeling
+of an intention to be "bad" in some way or other, because, on reaching
+the ground, he pursed his mouth, opened his eyes very wide, and looked
+cautiously round to make sure that the noise had awakened no one.
+
+His father, he observed, with a feeling of relief, was absent from
+home--not a matter of uncommon occurrence, for that worthy man's
+avocations often called him out at untimeous hours.  Mrs Maggot was in
+bed snoring, and wrinkling up her nose in consequence of a fly having
+perched itself obstinately on the point thereof.  Zackey, with the red
+earth of the mine still streaking his manly countenance, was rolled-up
+like a ball in his own bed in a dark recess of the room, and little
+Grace Maggot could be seen in the dim perspective of a closet, also
+sound asleep, in her own neat little bed, with her hair streaming over
+the pillow, and the "chet" reposing happily on her neck.
+
+But that easily satisfied chet had long ago had more than enough of
+rest.  Its repose was light, and the sound of baby Maggot falling out of
+bed caused it to rise, yawn, arch its back and tail, and prepare itself
+for the mingled joys and torments of the opening day.  Observing that
+the urchin rose and staggered with a gleeful expression towards the
+door, the volatile chet made a dash at him sidewise, and gave him such a
+fright that he fell over the door step into the road.
+
+Again was that tender babe's deceitfulness of character displayed, for,
+instead of howling, as he would have done on other occasions, he
+exercised severe self-restraint, made light of a bruised shin, and,
+gathering himself up, made off as fast as his fat legs could carry him.
+
+There was something deeply interesting--worthy of the study of a
+philosopher--in the subsequent actions of that precocious urchin.  His
+powers in the way of walking were not much greater than those of a very
+tipsy man, and he swayed his arms about a good deal to maintain his
+balance, especially at the outset of the journey, when he imagined that
+he heard the maternal voice in anger and the maternal footsteps in
+pursuit in every puff of wind, grunt of pig, or bark of early-rising
+cur.  His entire soul was engrossed in the one grand, vital, absorbing
+idea of escape!  By degrees, as distance from the paternal roof
+increased, his fluttering spirit grew calmer and his gait more steady,
+and the flush of victory gathered on his brow and sparkled in his eye,
+as the conviction was pressed home upon him that, for the first time in
+his life, he was _free_! free as the wind of heaven to go where he
+pleased--to do what he liked--to be _as bad as possible_, without let or
+hindrance!
+
+Not that baby Maggot had any stronger desire to be absolutely wicked
+than most other children of his years; but, having learnt from
+experience that the attempt to gratify any of his desires was usually
+checked and termed "bad," he naturally felt that a state of delight so
+intense as that to which he had at last attained, must necessarily be
+the very quintessence of iniquity.  Being resolved to go through with it
+at all hazards, he felt proportionately wild and reckless.  Such a state
+of commotion was there in his heaving bosom, owing to contradictory and
+conflicting elements, that he felt at one moment inclined to lie down
+and shout for joy, and the next, to sink into the earth with terror.
+
+Time, which proverbially works wonderful changes, at length subdued the
+urchin to a condition of calm goodness and felicity, that would have
+rejoiced his mother's heart, had it only been brought on in ordinary
+circumstances at home.
+
+There is a piece of waste ground lying between St. Just and the sea--a
+sort of common, covered with heath and furze--on which the ancient
+Britons have left their indelible mark, in the shape of pits and hollows
+and trenches, with their relative mounds and hillocks.  Here, in the
+days of old, our worthy but illiterate forefathers had grubbed and dug
+and turned up every square foot of the soil, like a colony of gigantic
+rabbits, in order to supply the precious metal of the country to the
+Phoenicians, Jews, and Greeks.
+
+The ground on this common is so riddled with holes of all sizes and
+shapes, utterly unguarded by any kind of fence, that it requires care on
+the part of the pedestrian who traverses the place even in daylight.
+Hence the mothers of St. Just are naturally anxious that the younger
+members of their families should not go near the common, and the younger
+members are as naturally anxious that they should visit it.
+
+Thither, in the course of time--for it was not far distant--the baby
+Maggot naturally trended; proceeding on the principle of "short stages
+and long rests."  Never in his life--so he thought--had he seen such
+bright and beautiful flowers, such green grass, and such lovely yellow
+sand, as that which appeared here and there at the mouths of the holes
+and old shafts, or such a delicious balmy and sweet-scented breeze as
+that which came off the Atlantic and swept across the common.  No wonder
+that his eyes drank in the beautiful sights, for they had seen little of
+earth hitherto, save the four walls of his father's cottage and the dead
+garden wall in front of it; no wonder that his nostrils dilated to
+receive the sweet odours, for they had up to that date lived upon air
+which had to cross a noisome and stagnant pool of filth before it
+entered his father's dwelling; and no wonder that his ears thrilled to
+hear the carol of the birds, for they had previously been accustomed
+chiefly to the voices of poultry and pigs, and to the caterwauling of
+the "chet."
+
+But as every joy has its alloy, so our youthful traveller's feelings
+began to be modified by a gnawing sensation of hunger, as his usual hour
+for breakfast approached.  Still he wandered on manfully, looking into
+various dark and deep holes with much interest and a good deal of awe.
+Some of the old shafts were so deep that no bottom could be seen; others
+were partially filled up, and varied from five to twenty feet in depth.
+Some were nearly perpendicular, others were sloped and irregular in
+form; but all were more or less fringed with gorse bushes in full bloom.
+In a few cases the old pits were concealed by these bushes.
+
+It is almost unnecessary to say that baby Maggot's progress, on that
+eventful morn, was--unknown to himself--a series of narrow escapes from
+beginning to end--no not exactly to the end, for his last adventure
+could scarcely be deemed an escape.  He was standing on the edge of a
+hole, which was partially concealed by bushes.  Endeavouring to peer
+into it he lost his balance and fell forward.  His ready hands grasped
+the gorse and received innumerable punctures, which drew forth a loud
+cry.  Head foremost he went in, and head foremost he went down full ten
+feet, when a small bush caught him, and lowered him gently to the
+ground, but the spot on which he was landed was steep; it sloped towards
+the bottom of the hole, which turned inwards and became a sort of
+cavern.  Struggling to regain his footing, he slipped and rolled
+violently to the bottom, where he lay for a few minutes either stunned
+or too much astonished to move.  Then he recovered a little and began to
+whimper.  After which he felt so much better that he arose and attempted
+to get out of the hole, but slipped and fell back again, whereupon he
+set up a hideous roar which continued without intermission for a quarter
+of an hour, when he fell sound asleep, and remained in happy
+unconsciousness for several hours.
+
+Meanwhile the Maggot family was, as may well be believed, thrown into a
+state of tremendous agitation.  Mrs Maggot, on making the discovery
+that baby had succeeded in scaling the barricade, huddled on her
+garments and roused her progeny to assist in the search.  At first she
+was not alarmed, believing that she should certainly find the
+self-willed urchin near the house, perhaps in the cottage of the
+Penroses.  But when the cottages in the immediate neighbourhood had been
+called at, and all the known places of danger round the house examined,
+without success, the poor woman became frantic with terror, and roused
+the whole neighbourhood.  Every place of possible and impossible
+concealment was searched, and at last the unhappy mother allowed the
+terrible thought to enter her mind that baby had actually accomplished
+the unheard-of feat of reaching the dreaded common, and was perhaps at
+that moment lying maimed or dead at the bottom of an ancient British
+shaft!
+
+Immediately a body of volunteers, consisting of men, women, and
+children, and headed by Mrs Maggot, hastened to the common to institute
+a thorough search; but they searched in vain, for the holes were
+innumerable, and the one in which the baby lay was well concealed by
+bushes.  Besides, the search was somewhat wildly and hastily made, so
+that some spots were over-searched, while others were almost overlooked.
+
+All that day did Mrs Maggot and her friends wander to and fro over the
+common, and never, since the days when Phoenician galleys were moored by
+St. Michael's Mount, did the eyes of human beings pry so earnestly into
+these pits and holes.  Had tin been their object, they could not have
+been more eager.  Evening came, night drew on apace, and at last the
+forlorn mother sat down in the centre of a furze bush, and began to
+weep.  But her friends comforted her.  They urged her to go home and
+"'ave a dish o' tay" to strengthen her for the renewal of the search by
+torch-light.  They assured her that the child could easily exist longer
+than a day without food, and they reminded her that her baby was an
+exceptional baby, a peculiar baby--like its father, uncommonly strong,
+and, like its mother, unusually obstinate.  The latter sentiment,
+however, was _thought_, not expressed.
+
+Under the influence of these assurances and persuasions, Mrs Maggot
+went home, and, for a short time, the common was deserted.
+
+Now it chanced, curiously enough, that at this identical point of time,
+Maggot senior was enjoying a pipe and a glass of grog in a celebrated
+kiddle-e-wink, with his friend Joe Tonkin.  This kiddle-e-wink, or low
+public-house, was known as Un (or Aunt) Jilly's brandy-shop at Bosarne.
+It was a favourite resort of smugglers, and many a gallon of spirit,
+free of duty, had been consumed on the premises.
+
+Maggot and his friend were alone in the house at the time, and their
+conversation had taken a dolorous turn, for many things had occurred of
+late to disturb the equanimity of the friends.  Several ventures in the
+smuggling way had proved unsuccessful, and the mines did not offer a
+tempting prospect just then.  There had, no doubt, been one or two
+hopeful veins opened up, and some good "pitches" had been wrought, but
+these were only small successes, and the luck had not fallen to either
+of themselves.  The recent discovery of a good bunch by poor Penrose had
+not been fully appreciated, for the wounded man had as yet said nothing
+about it, and little Zackey had either forgotten all about it in the
+excitement of the accident, or was keeping his own counsel.
+
+Maggot talked gloomily about the advisability of emigration to America,
+as he sent clouds of tobacco smoke up Un Jilly's chimney, and Tonkin
+said he would try the mines for a short time, and if things didn't
+improve he would go to sea.  He did not, however, look at things in
+quite the same light with his friend.  Perhaps he was of a more hopeful
+disposition, perhaps had met with fewer disappointments.  At all events,
+he so wrought on Maggot's mind that he half induced him to deny his
+smuggling propensities for a time, and try legitimate work in the mines.
+Not that Joe Tonkin wanted to reform him by any means, but he was
+himself a little out of humour with his old profession, and sought to
+set his friend against it also.
+
+"Try your luck in Botallack," said Joe Tonkin, knocking the ashes out of
+his pipe, preparatory to quitting the place, "that's my advice to 'ee,
+booy."
+
+"I've half a mind to," replied Maggot, rising; "if that theere cargo I
+run on Saturday do go the way the last did, I'll ha' done with it, so I
+will.  Good-hevenin', Un Jilly."
+
+"Good-hevenin', an' don't 'ee go tumblin' down the owld shafts," said
+the worthy hostess, observing that her potent brandy had rendered the
+gait of the men unsteady.
+
+They laughed as they received the caution, and walked together towards
+St. Just.
+
+"Lev us go see if the toobs are all safe," said Maggot, on reaching the
+common.
+
+Tonkin agreed, and they turned aside into a narrow track, which led
+across the waste land, where the search for the baby had been so
+diligently carried on all that day.
+
+Night had set in, as we have said, and the searchers had gone up to the
+town to partake of much-needed refreshment, and obtain torches, so that
+the place was bleak and silent, as well as dark, when the friends
+crossed it, but they knew every foot of the ground so thoroughly, that
+there was no fear of their stumbling into old holes.  Maggot led the
+way, and he walked straight to the old shaft where his hopeful son lay.
+
+There were three noteworthy points of coincidence here to which we would
+draw attention.  It was just because this old shaft was so well
+concealed that Maggot had chosen it as a place in which to hide his tubs
+of smuggled brandy; it was owing to the same reason that the
+town's-people had failed to discover it while searching for the baby;
+and it was--at least we think it must have been--just because of the
+same reason that baby Maggot had found it, for that amiable child had a
+peculiar talent, a sort of vocation, for ferreting out things and places
+hidden and secret, especially if forbidden.
+
+Having succeeded in falling into the hole, the urchin naturally
+discovered his father's tubs.  After crying himself to sleep as before
+mentioned, and again awakening, his curiosity in respect to these tubs
+afforded him amusement, and kept him quiet for a time; perhaps the fact
+that one of the tubs had leaked and filled the lower part of the old
+shaft with spirituous fumes, may account for the baby continuing to keep
+quiet, and falling into a sleep which lasted the greater part of the
+day; at all events, it is certain that he did not howl, as might have
+been expected of him in the circumstances.  Towards evening, however, he
+began to move about among the tubs, and to sigh and whimper in a subdued
+way, for his stomach, unused to such prolonged fasting, felt very
+uncomfortable.  When darkness came on baby Maggot became alarmed, but,
+just about the time of his father's approach, the moon shone out and
+cast a cheering ray down the shaft, which relieved his mind a little.
+
+"Joe," said Maggot in a whisper, and with a serious look, "some one have
+bin here."
+
+"D'ee think so?" said Tonkin.
+
+"Iss I do; the bushes are broken a bit.  Hush! what's that?"
+
+The two men paused and looked at each other with awe depicted on their
+faces, while they listened intently, but, in the words of the touching
+old song, "the beating of their own hearts was all the sound they
+heard."
+
+"It wor the wind," said Maggot.
+
+"Iss, that's what it wor," replied Tonkin; "come, lev us go down.  The
+wind can't do no harm to we."
+
+But although he proposed to advance he did not move, and Maggot did not
+seem inclined to lead the way, for just then something like a sigh came
+from below, and a dark cloud passed over the moon.
+
+It is no uncommon thing to find that men who are physically brave as
+lions become nervous as children when anything bordering on what they
+deem supernatural meets them.  Maggot was about the most reckless man in
+the parish of St. Just, and Tonkin was not far behind him in the quality
+of courage, yet these two stood there with palpitating hearts undecided
+what to do.
+
+Ashamed of being thought afraid of anything, Maggot at last cleared his
+throat, and, in a husky voice, said,--"Come, then, lev us go down."
+
+So saying he slid down the shaft, closely followed by Tonkin, who was
+nearly as much afraid to be left alone on the bleak moor as he was to
+enter the old mine.
+
+Now, while the friends were consulting with palpitating hearts above,
+baby Maggot, wide-awake and trembling with terror, listened with bated
+breath below, and when the two men came scrambling down the sides of the
+shaft his heart seemed to fill up his breast and throat, and his blood
+began to creep in his veins.  Maggot could see nothing in the gloomy
+interior as he advanced, but baby could see his father's dark form
+clearly.  Still, no sound escaped from him, for horror had bereft him of
+power.  Just then the dark cloud passed off the moon, and a bright beam
+shone full on the upper half of the baby's face as he peeped over the
+edge of one of the tubs.  Maggot saw two glaring eyeballs, and felt
+frozen alive instantly.  Tonkin, looking over his comrade's shoulder,
+also saw the eyes, and was petrified on the spot.  Suddenly baby Maggot
+found his voice and uttered a most awful yell.  Maggot senior found his
+limbs, and turned to fly.  So did Tonkin, but he slipped and fell at the
+first step.  Maggot fell over him.  Both rose and dashed up the shaft,
+scraping elbows, shins, and knuckles as they went, and, followed by a
+torrent of hideous cries, that sounded in their ears like the screaming
+of fiends, they gained the surface, and, without exchanging a word, fled
+in different directions on the wings of terror!
+
+Maggot did not halt until he burst into his house, and flung himself
+into his own chair by the chimney corner, whence he gazed on what was
+calculated to alarm as well as to perplex him.  This was the spectacle
+of his own wife taking tea in floods of tears, and being encouraged in
+her difficult task by Mrs Penrose and a few sympathising friends.
+
+With some difficulty he got them to explain this mystery.
+
+"What! baby gone lost?" he exclaimed; "where away?"
+
+When it was told him what had occurred, Maggot's eyes gradually opened,
+and his lips gradually closed, until the latter produced a low whistle.
+
+"I think that I do knaw where the cheeld is," he said; "come along, an'
+I'll show un to 'ee."
+
+So saying, the wily smith, assuming an air of importance and profound
+wisdom, arose and led his wife and her friends, with a large band of men
+who had prepared torches, straight to the old shaft.  Going down, but
+sternly forbidding any one to follow he speedily returned with the baby
+in his arms, to the surprise of all, and to the unutterable joy of the
+child's mother.
+
+In one sense, however, the result was disastrous.  Curious persons were
+there who could not rest until they had investigated the matter further,
+and the tubs were not only discovered, but carried off by those who had
+no title to them whatever!  The misfortune created such a tumult of
+indignation in the breast of Maggot, that he was heard in his wrath to
+declare he "would have nothin' more to do with un, but would go into the
+bal the next settin' day."
+
+This was the commencement of that series of events which, as we have
+stated at the beginning of this chapter, were brought about by that
+wonderful baby--the baby Maggot.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.
+
+DESCRIBES SETTING-DAY AT THE MINE, ETCETERA.
+
+That very evening, while Maggot was smoking his pipe by the fireside,
+his son Zackey referred to the bunch of copper which Penrose had
+discovered in the mine.  After a short conversation, Maggot senior went
+to the wounded man to talk about it.
+
+"'Twas a keenly lode, did 'ee say?" asked Maggot, after he had inquired
+as to the health of his friend.
+
+"Yes, and as I shall not be able to work there again," said Penrose
+sadly, "I would advise you to try it.  Zackey is entitled to get the
+benefit of the discovery, for he was with me at the time, and, but for
+his aid, dear boy, I should have been suffocated."
+
+Maggot said no more on that occasion about the mine, being a man of few
+words, but, after conversing a short time with the wounded man, and
+ascertaining that no hope was held out to him of the recovery of his
+sight, he went his way to the forge to work and meditate.
+
+Setting-day came--being the first Saturday in the month, and no work was
+done on that day in Botallack, for the men were all above ground to have
+their "pitches" for the next month fixed, and to receive their wages--
+setting-day being also pay day.
+
+Some time before the business of the day commenced, the miners began to
+assemble in considerable numbers in the neighbourhood of the
+account-house.  Very different was their appearance on that occasion
+from the rusty-red fellows who were wont to toil in the dark chambers
+far down in the depths below the spot where they stood.  Their
+underground dresses were laid aside, and they now appeared in the
+costume of well-off tradesmen.  There was a free-and-easy swing about
+the movements of most of these men that must have been the result of
+their occupation, which brings every muscle of the body into play, and
+does not--as is too much the case in some trades--over-tax the powers of
+a certain set of muscles to the detriment of others.
+
+Some there were, however, even among the young men, whose hollow cheeks
+and bloodless lips, accompanied with a short cough, told of evil
+resulting from bad air and frequent chills; while, on the other hand, a
+few old men were to be seen with bright eyes and ruddy cheeks which
+indicated constitutions of iron.  Not a few were mere lads, whose broad
+shoulders and deep chests and resolute wills enabled them to claim the
+title, and do the work, of men.
+
+There were some among them, both young and old, who showed traces of
+having suffered in their dangerous employment.  Several were minus an
+eye, and one or two were nearly blind, owing to blast-holes exploding in
+their faces.  One man in particular, a tall and very powerful fellow,
+had a visage which was quite blue, and one of his eyes was closed--the
+blue colour resulting from unburnt grains of powder having been blown
+into his flesh.  He had been tattooed, in fact, by a summary and
+effective process.  This man's family history was peculiar.  His father,
+also a miner, had lived in a lonely cottage on a moor near St. Just, and
+worked in Balaswidden Mine.  One night he was carried home and laid at
+his wife's feet, dead--almost dashed to pieces by a fall.  Not long
+afterwards the son was carried to the same cottage with his right eye
+destroyed.  Some time later a brother dislocated his foot twice within
+the year in the mine; and a few months after that another brother fell
+from a beam, descended about twenty-four feet perpendicularly, where he
+struck the side of the mine with his head, and had six or seven of his
+teeth knocked out; glancing off to one side, he fell twenty feet more on
+the hard rock, where he was picked up insensible.  This man recovered,
+however, under the careful nursing of his oft and sorely tried mother.
+
+Maggot was present on this setting-day, with a new cap and a new blue
+cloth coat, looking altogether a surprisingly respectable character.  A
+good deal of undertoned chaffing commenced when he appeared.
+
+"Hallo!" exclaimed one, "goin' to become an honest man, Maggot?"
+
+"Thinkin' 'bout it," replied the smith, with a good-humoured smile.
+
+"Why, if I didn't knaw that the old wuman's alive," said another, "I'd
+say he was agoin' to get married again!"
+
+"Never fear," exclaimed a third, "Maggot's far too 'cute a cunger to be
+caught twice."
+
+"I say, my dear man," asked another, "have 'ee bin takin' a waalk 'pon
+the clifts lately?"
+
+"Iss, aw iss," replied the smith with much gravity.
+
+"Did 'ee find any more daws 'pon clift?" asked the other, with a leer.
+
+There was a general laugh at this, but Maggot replied with
+good-humour,--"No, Billy, no--took 'em all away last time.  But I'm
+towld there's some more eggs in the nest, so thee'll have a chance some
+day, booy."
+
+"I hope the daws ain't the worse of their ducking?" asked Billy, with an
+expression of anxious interest.
+
+"Aw, my dear," said Maggot, looking very sad, and shaking his head
+slowly, "didn't 'ee hear the noos?"
+
+"No, not I."
+
+"They did catch the noo complaint the doctor do spaik of--bronkeetis I
+think it is--and although I did tie 'em up wi' flannel round their
+necks, an' water-gruel, besides 'ot bottles to their feet, they're all
+gone dead.  I mean to have 'em buried on Monday.  Will 'ee come to the
+berryin, Billy?"
+
+"P'raps I will," replied Billy, "but see that the gravedigger do berry
+'em deep, else he'll catch a blowin' up like the gravedigger did in
+Cambourne last week."
+
+"What was that, booy?  Let us hear about it, Billy," exclaimed several
+voices.
+
+"Well, this is the way of it," said Billy: "the owld gravedigger in
+Cambourne was standin' about, after mittin' was over, a-readin' of the
+tombstones, for he'd got a good edjication, had owld Tom.  His name was
+Tom--the same man as put a straw rope to the bell which the cows did eat
+away, so that he cudn't ring the people to mittin'.  Well, when he was
+studdyin' the morials on the stones out comes Captain Rowe.  He was wan
+o' the churchwardens, or somethin' o' that sort, but I don't knaw
+nothin' 'bout the church, so I ain't sure--an' he calls owld Tom into
+the vestry.
+
+"`Now look here, Tom,' says the captain, very stern, `they tell me thee
+'rt gettin' lazy, Tom, an' that thee do dig the graves only four fut
+deep.  Now, Tom, I was over to St. Just t'other day to a berryin', and I
+see that they do dig their graves six fut or more deeper than you do.
+That won't do, Tom, I tell 'ee.  What's the meanin' of it?'
+
+"This came somewhat suddent on owld Tom, but he wor noways put out.
+
+"`Well, you do see, Cap'n Rowe,' says he, `I do it apurpose, for I do
+look at the thing in two lights.'"
+
+"`How so?' asked the captain.
+
+"`Why, the people of St. Just only think of the berryin', but _I_ do
+think of the resurrection; the consekince is that they do dig too deep,
+an' afore the St. Just folk are well out of their graves, _ours_ will be
+a braave way up to heaven!'"
+
+The laugh with which this anecdote was received had scarcely subsided
+when the upper half of one of the account-house windows opened, and the
+fine-looking head and shoulders of old Mr Cornish appeared.
+
+The manager laid an open book on the window-sill, and from this elevated
+position, as from a pulpit, he read out the names, positions, etcetera,
+of the various "pitches" that were to be "sett" for the following month.
+One of the mine captains stood at his elbow to give any required
+information--he and his three brother captains being the men who had
+gone all over the mine during the previous month, examined the work,
+measured what had been done by each man or "pare" of men, knew the
+capabilities of all the miners, and fixed the portion that ought to be
+offered to each for acceptance or refusal.
+
+The men assembled in a cluster round the window, and looked up while Mr
+Cornish read off as follows:--
+
+"John Thomas's pitch at back of the hundred and five.  By two men.  To
+extend from the end of tram-hole, four fathom west, and from back of
+level, five fathom above."
+
+For the enlightenment of the reader, we may paraphrase the above
+sentence thus:--
+
+"The pitch or portion of rock wrought last month by John Thomas is now
+offered anew--in the first place, to John Thomas himself if he chooses
+to continue working it at our rate of pay, or, if he declines, to any
+other man who pleases to offer for it.  The pitch is in the back (or
+roof) of the level, which lies one hundred and five fathoms deep.  It
+must be wrought by two men, and must be excavated lengthwise to an
+extent of four fathoms in a westerly direction from a spot called the
+tram-hole.  In an upward direction, it may be excavated from the roof of
+the level to an extent of five fathoms."
+
+John Thomas, being present, at once offered "ten shillings," by which he
+meant that, knowing the labour to be undergone, and the probable value
+of the ore that would have to be excavated, he thought it worth while to
+continue at that piece of work, or that "pitch," if the manager would
+give him ten shillings for every twenty shillings' worth of mineral sent
+to the surface by him; but the captain also knew the ground and the
+labour that would be required, and his estimate was that eight shillings
+would be quite sufficient remuneration, a fact which was announced by
+Mr Cornish simply uttering the words, "At eight shillings."
+
+"Put her down, s'pose," said John Thomas after a moment's consideration.
+
+Perhaps John knew that eight shillings was really sufficient, although
+he wanted ten.  At all events he knew that it was against the rules to
+dispute the point at that time, as it delayed business; that if he did
+not accept the offer, another man might do so; and that he might not get
+so good a pitch if he were to change.
+
+The pitch was therefore sett to John Thomas, and another read off:--"Jim
+Hocking's pitch at back of the hundred and ten.  By one man.  To
+extend," etcetera.
+
+"Won't have nothin' to do with her," said Jim Hocking.
+
+Jim had evidently found the work too hard, and was dissatisfied with the
+remuneration, so he declined, resolving to try his chance in a more
+promising part of the mine.
+
+"Will any one offer for this pitch?" inquired Mr Cornish.
+
+Eight and six shillings were sums immediately named by men who thought
+the pitch looked more promising than Jim did.
+
+"Any one offer more for this pitch?" asked the manager, taking up a
+pebble from a little pile that lay at his elbow, and casting it into the
+air.
+
+While that pebble was in its flight, any one might offer for the pitch,
+but the instant it touched the ground, the bargain was held to be
+concluded with the last bidder.
+
+A man named Oats, who had been in a hesitating state of mind, here
+exclaimed "Five shillings" (that is, offered to work the pitch for five
+shillings on every twenty shillings' worth sent to grass); next instant
+the stone fell, and the pitch was sett to Oats.
+
+Poor James Penrose's pitch was the next sett.
+
+"James Penrose's _late_ pitch," read the manager, giving the details of
+it in terms somewhat similar to those already sett, and stating that the
+required "pare," or force to be put on it, was two men and a boy.
+
+"Put me down for it," said Maggot.
+
+"Have you got your pare?" asked Mr Cornish.
+
+"Iss, sur."
+
+"Their names?"
+
+"David Trevarrow and my son Zackey."
+
+The pitch was allocated in due form at the rate of fifteen shillings per
+twenty shillings' worth of mineral sent up--this large sum being given
+because it was not known to be an unusually good pitch--Penrose having
+been too ill to speak of his discovery since his accident, and the
+captain having failed to notice it.  When a place is poor looking, a
+higher sum is given to the miner to induce him to work it.  When it is
+rich, a lower sum is given, because he can make more out of it.
+
+Thus the work went on, the sums named varying according to the nature of
+the ground, and each man saying "Naw," or "Put me down," or "That won't
+do," or "I won't have her," according to circumstances.
+
+While this was going on at the window, another and perhaps more
+interesting scene was taking place in the office.  This apartment
+presented a singular appearances.  There was a large table in the centre
+of it, which, with every available inch of surface on a side-table, and
+on a board at the window, was completely covered with banknotes and
+piles of gold, silver, and copper.  Each pile was placed on a little
+square piece of paper containing the account-current for the month of
+the man or men to whom it belonged.  Very few men laboured singly.  Many
+worked in couples, and some in bands of three, five, or more.  So much
+hard cash gave the place a wealthy appearance, and in truth there was a
+goodly sum spread out, amounting to several hundreds of pounds.
+
+The piles varied very much in size, and conveyed a rough outline of the
+financial history of the men they belonged to.  Some large heaps of
+silver, with a few coppers and a pile of sovereigns more than an inch
+high, lying on two or more five-pound notes indicated successful labour.
+Nevertheless, the evidence was not absolutely conclusive, because the
+large piles had in most cases to be divided between several men who had
+banded together; but the little square account-papers, with a couple of
+crowns on them, told of hard work and little pay, while yonder square
+with two shillings in the centre of it betokened utter failure, only to
+be excelled by another square, on which lay _nothing_.
+
+You will probably exclaim in your heart, reader, "What! do miners
+sometimes work for a month, and receive only two shillings, or _nothing_
+as wages?"
+
+Ay, sometimes; but it is their own seeking if they do; it is not forced
+upon them.
+
+There are three classes of miners--those who work on the surface,
+dressing ore, etcetera, who are paid a weekly wage; those who work on
+"tribute," and those who work at "tut-work."  Of the first we say
+nothing, except that they consist chiefly of balmaidens and children--
+the former receiving about 18 shillings a month, and the latter from 8
+shillings to 20 shillings, according to age and capacity.
+
+In regard to "tributers" and "tut-workers," we may remark that the work
+of both is identical in one respect--namely, that of hewing, picking,
+boring, and blasting the hard rock.  In this matter they share equal
+toils and dangers, but they are not subjected to the same remunerative
+vicissitudes.
+
+When a man works on "tribute" he receives so many shillings for every
+twenty shillings' worth of ore that he raises during the month, as
+already explained.  If his "pitch" turns out to be rich in ore, his
+earnings are proportionably high; if it be poor, he remains poor also.
+Sometimes a part of the mineral lode becomes so poor that it will not
+pay for working, and has to be abandoned.  So little as a shilling may
+be the result of a "tributer's" work for a month at one time, while at
+another time he may get a good pitch, and make 100 pounds or 200 pounds
+in the same period.
+
+The "tutman" (or piecework man), on the other hand, cuts out the rock at
+so much per fathom, and obtains wages at the rate of from 2 pounds, 10
+shillings to 3 pounds a month.  He can never hope to make a fortune, but
+so long as health and strength last, he may count on steady work and
+wages.  Of course there is a great deal of the work in a mine which is
+not directly remunerative, such as "sinking" shafts, opening up and
+"driving" (or lengthening) levels, and sinking "winzes."  On such work
+tutmen are employed.
+
+The man who works on "tribute" is a speculator; he who chooses
+"tut-work" is a steady labourer.  The tributer experiences all the
+excitement of uncertainty, and enjoys the pleasures of hope.  He knows
+something, too, about "hope deferred;" also can tell of hope
+disappointed; has his wits sharpened, and, generally, is a smart fellow.
+The tut-worker knows nothing of this, his pay being safe and regular,
+though small.  Many quiet-going, plodding men prefer and stick to
+tut-work.
+
+In and about the counting-room the men who had settled the matter of
+their next month's work were assembled.  These--the cashier having
+previously made all ready--were paid in a prompt and businesslike
+manner.
+
+First, there came forward a middle-aged man.  It was scarcely necessary
+for him to speak, for the cashier knew every man on the mine by name,
+and also how much was due to him, and the hundreds of little square
+accounts-current were so arranged that he could lay his hands on any one
+in an instant.  Nevertheless, being a hearty and amiable man, he
+generally had a word to say to every one.
+
+"How's your son, Matthew?" he inquired of the middle-aged man, putting
+the square paper with its contents into his hand.
+
+"He's braave, sir.  The doctor do say he'll be about again in a week."
+
+Matthew crumpled up his account-current--notes, gold, silver, copper and
+all--in his huge brown hand, and, thrusting the whole into his breeches
+pocket, said "Thank 'ee," and walked away.
+
+Next, there came forward a young man with one eye, an explosion having
+shut up the other one for ever.  He received his money along with that
+of the three men who worked in the same "pare" with him.  He crumpled it
+up in the same reckless way as Matthew had done, also thrust it into his
+pocket, and walked off with an independent swagger.  Truly, in the
+sweat, not only of his brow, but, of every pore in his body, had he
+earned it, and he was entitled to swagger a little just then.  There was
+little enough room or inducement to do so down in the mine!  After this
+young man a little boy came forward saying that his "faither" had sent
+him for his money.
+
+It was observable that the boys and lads among those who presented
+themselves in the counting-room, were, as a rule, hearty and hopeful.
+With them it was as with the young in all walks of life.  Everything
+looked bright and promising.  The young men were stern, yet
+free-and-easy--as though they had already found life a pretty tough
+battle, but felt quite equal to it.  And so they were, every one of
+them!  With tough sinews, hard muscles, and indomitable energy, they
+were assuredly equal to any work that man could undertake; and many of
+them, having the fear of God in their hearts, were fitted to endure
+manfully the trials of life as well.  The elderly men were sedate, and
+had careworn faces; they knew what it was to suffer.  Many of them had
+carried little ones to the grave; they had often seen strong men like
+themselves go forth in the morning hale and hearty, and be carried to
+their homes at evening with blinded eyes or shattered limbs.  Life had
+lost its gloss to them, but it had not lost its charms.  There were
+loving hearts to work for, and a glorious end for which to live, or, if
+need be, to die--so, although their countenances were sedate they were
+not sad.  The old men--of whom there were but two or three--were jolly
+old souls.  They seemed to have successfully defied the tear and wear of
+life, to have outlived its sorrows, and renewed their youth.  Certainly
+they had not reached their second childhood, for they stepped forth and
+held out their hands for their pay as steadily as the best of the young
+ones.
+
+When about one-half of the number had been paid, a woman in widow's
+weeds came forward to take up the pay due to her son--her "wretched
+Harry," as she styled him.  All that was due was seven-and-sixpence.  It
+was inexpressibly sad to see her retire with this small sum--the last
+that her unsettled boy was entitled to draw from the mines.  He had
+worked previously in the neighbouring mine, Wheal Owles, and had gone to
+Botallack the month before.  He was now off to sea, leaving his mother,
+who to some extent depended on him, to look out for herself.
+
+The next who came forward was a blind man.  He had worked long in the
+mine--so long that he could find his way through the labyrinth of levels
+as easily in his blind state as he did formerly with his eyesight.  When
+his eyes were destroyed (in the usual way, by the explosion of a hole),
+he was only off work during the period of convalescence.  Afterwards he
+returned to his familiar haunts underground; and although he could no
+longer labour in the old way, he was quite able to work a windlass, and
+draw up the bucket at a winze.  For this he now pocketed two pounds
+sterling, and walked off as vigorously as if he had possessed both his
+eyes!
+
+Among others, a wife appeared to claim her husband's pay, and she was
+followed by Zackey Maggot, who came to receive his own and Penrose's
+money.
+
+"How does Penrose get on?" inquired the cashier, as he handed over the
+sum due.
+
+"Slowly, sur," said Zackey.
+
+"It is a bad case," said one of the captains, who sat close by; "the
+doctor thinks there is little or no chance for his eyesight."
+
+Poor Zackey received his pay and retired without any demonstration of
+his wonted buoyancy of spirit, for he was fond of Penrose, almost as
+much so as he was of uncle David Trevarrow.
+
+The varied fortune experienced in the mine was exhibited in one or two
+instances on this occasion.  One man and a boy, working together, had,
+in their own phraseology, "got a sturt"--they had come unexpectedly on a
+piece of rich ground, which yielded so much tin that at the end of the
+month they received 25 pounds between them.  The man had been receiving
+"subsist," that is, drawing advances monthly for nearly a year, and,
+having a wife and children to support, had almost lost heart.  It was
+said that he had even contemplated suicide, but this little piece of
+good fortune enabled him to pay off his debt and left something over.
+Another man and boy had 20 pounds to receive.  On the other hand, one
+man had only 2 shillings due to him, while a couple of men who had
+worked in poor ground found themselves 2 shillings in debt, and had to
+ask for "subsist."
+
+Some time previous to this, two men had discovered a "bunch of copper,"
+and in the course of two months they cleared 260 pounds.  At a later
+period a man in Levant Mine, who was one of the Wesleyan local
+preachers, cleared 200 pounds within a year.  He gave a hundred pounds
+to his mother, and with the other hundred went off to seek his fortune
+in Australia!
+
+After all the men had been paid, those who wished for "subsist," or
+advances, were desired to come forward.  About a dozen of them did so,
+and among these were representatives of all classes--the diligent and
+strong, the old and feeble, and the young.  Of course, in mining
+operations as in other work, the weak, lazy, and idle will ever be up to
+the lips in trouble, and in need of help.  But in mining the best of men
+may be obliged to demand assistance, because, when tributers work on
+hopefully day after day and week after week on bad ground, they must
+have advances to enable them to persevere--not being able to subsist on
+air!  This is no hardship, the mine being at all times open to their
+inspection, and they are allowed to select their own ground.  Hence the
+demand for "subsist" is not necessarily a sign of absolute but only of
+temporary poverty.  The managers make large or small advances according
+to their knowledge of the men.
+
+There was a good deal of chaffing at this point in the proceedings--the
+lazy men giving occasion for a slight administration of rebuke, and the
+able men affording scope for good-humoured pleasantry and badinage.
+
+In Botallack, at the present time, about forty or fifty men per month
+find it necessary to ask for "subsist."
+
+Before the wages were paid, several small deductions had to be made.
+First, there was sixpence to be deducted from each man for "the club."
+This club consisted of those who chose to pay sixpence a month to a fund
+for the temporary support of those who were damaged by accidents in the
+mine.  A similar sum per month was deducted from each man for "the
+doctor," who was bound, in consideration of this, to attend the miners
+free of charge.  In addition to this a shilling was deducted from each
+man, to be given to the widow and family of a comrade who had died that
+month.  At the present time from 18 pounds to 20 pounds are raised in
+this way when a death occurs, to be given to the friends of the
+deceased.  It should be remarked that these deductions are made with the
+consent of the men.  Any one may refuse to give to those objects, but,
+if he do so, he or his will lose the benefit in the event of his
+disablement or death.
+
+Men who are totally disabled receive a pension from the club fund.  Not
+long ago a miner, blind of one eye, left another mine and engaged in
+Botallack.  Before his first month was out he exploded a blast-hole in
+his face, which destroyed the other eye.  From that day he received a
+pension of 1 pound a month, which will continue till his death--or, at
+least as long as Botallack shall flourish--and that miner may be seen
+daily going through the streets of St. Just with his little daughter, in
+a cart, shouting "Pilchards, fresh pilcha-a-rds, breem, pullock, fresh
+pullock, _pil-cha-a-rds_"--at the top of his stentorian voice--a living
+example of the value of "the club," and of the principle of insurance!
+
+At length the business of the day came to a close.  The wages were paid,
+the men's work for another month was fixed, the cases of difficulty and
+distress were heard and alleviated, and then the managers and agents
+wound up the day by dining together in the account-house, the most
+noteworthy point in the event being the fact that the dinner was eaten
+off plates made of pure Botallack tin.
+
+Once a quarter this dinner, styled the "account-dinner," is partaken of
+by any of the shareholders who may wish to be present, on which occasion
+the manager and agents lay before the company the condition and
+prospects of the mine, and a quarterly dividend (if any) is paid.  There
+is a matter-of-fact and Spartan-like air about this feast which commands
+respect.  The room in which it is held is uncarpeted, and its walls are
+graced by no higher works of art than the plans and sections of the
+mine.  The food is excellent and substantial, but simple.  There is
+abundance of it, but there are no courses--either preliminary or
+successive--no soup or fish to annoy one who wants meat; no ridiculous
+_entremets_ to tantalise one who wants something solid; no puddings,
+pies, or tarts to tempt men to gluttony.  All set to work at the same
+time, and enjoy their meal _together_, which is more than can be said of
+most dinners.  All is grandly simple, like the celebrated mine on which
+the whole is founded.
+
+But there is one luxury at this feast which it would be unpardonable not
+to mention--namely the punch.  Whoever tastes this beverage can never
+forget it!  Description were useless to convey an idea of it.
+Imagination were impotent to form a conception of it.  Taste alone will
+avail, so that our readers must either go to Cornwall to drink it, or
+for ever remain unsatisfied.  We can only remark, in reference to it,
+that it is potent as well as pleasant, and that it is also dangerous,
+being of an insinuating nature, so that those who partake freely have a
+tendency to wish for more, and are apt to dream (not unreasonably, but
+too wildly) of Botallack tin being transformed into silver and gold.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.
+
+DETAILS, AMONG OTHER THINGS, A DEED OF HEROISM.
+
+To work went Maggot and Trevarrow and Zackey on their new pitch next day
+like true Britons.  Indeed, we question whether true Britons of the
+ancient time ever did go to work with half the energy or perseverance of
+the men of the present day.  Those men of old were mere grubbers on the
+surface.  They knew nothing of deep levels under the ocean.  However, to
+do them justice, they made wonderfully extensive tunnels in mother
+earth, with implements much inferior to those now in use.
+
+But, be that as it may, our trio went to work "with a will."  Maggot was
+keen to get up as much of the rich mineral as possible during the
+month--knowing that he would not get the place next month on such good
+terms.  Trevarrow, besides having no objections to make money when he
+could for its own sake, was anxious to have a little to spare to James
+Penrose, whose large family found it pinching work to subsist on the
+poor fellow's allowance from the club.  As to Zackey, he was ready for
+anything where Uncle Davy was leader.  So these three resolved to work
+night and day.  Maggot took his turn in the daytime and slept at night;
+Trevarrow slept in the daytime and worked at night; while the boy worked
+as long as he could at whatever time suited him best.
+
+As they advanced on the lode it became larger and richer, and in a day
+or two it assumed such proportions as to throw the fortunate workers
+into a state of great excitement, and they tore out and blasted away the
+precious mineral like Titans.
+
+One day, about kroust-time, having fired two holes, they came out of the
+"end" in which they wrought and sat down to lunch while the smoke was
+clearing away.
+
+"'Tes a brave lode," said Maggot.
+
+"It is," responded Trevarrow, taking a long draught of water from the
+canteen.
+
+"What shall us do?" said Maggot; "go to grass to slaip, or slaip in the
+bal?"
+
+"In the bal, if you do like it," said Trevarrow.
+
+So it was agreed that the men should sleep in the mine on boards, or on
+any dry part of the level, in order to save the time and energy lost in
+ascending and descending the long ladders, and thus make the most of
+their opportunity.  It was further resolved that Zackey should be sent
+up for dry clothes, and bring them their meals regularly.  Trevarrow did
+not forget to have his Bible brought to him, for he was too serious a
+man to shut his eyes to the danger of a sudden run of good fortune, and
+thought that the best way to guard against evil would be to devote
+nearly all his short periods of leisure time to the reading of "the
+Word."
+
+You may be sure that Maggot afterwards laughed at him for this, but he
+did not concern himself much about it at the time, because he was
+usually too hungry to talk at meal-times, and too sleepy to do so after
+work was over.
+
+They were still busily discussing the matter of remaining in the mine
+all night, when they heard the kibble descending the shaft, near the
+bottom of which they sat, and next moment a man came to the ground with
+considerable violence.
+
+"Why, Frankey, is that thee, booy?" said Maggot, starting up to assist
+him.
+
+"Aw dear, iss; I'm gone dead a'most! aw dear! aw dear!"
+
+"Why, whatever brought 'ee here?" said Trevarrow.
+
+"The kibble, sure," replied the man, exhibiting his knuckles, which were
+cut and bleeding a good deal.  "I did come by the chain, anyhow."
+
+This was indeed true.  Frankey, as his mates called him, was at that
+time the "lander" in charge of the kibbles at the surface.  It was his
+duty to receive each kibble as it was drawn up to the mouth of the shaft
+full of ore, empty it, and send it down again.  Several coils of chain
+passing round the large drum of a great horse-windlass, called by the
+miners a "whim," was the means by which the kibbles were hoisted and
+lowered.  The chain was so arranged that one kibble was lowered by it
+while the other was being drawn up.  Frankey had emptied one of the
+kibbles, and had given the signal to the boy attending the horse to
+"lower away," when he inadvertently stepped into the shaft.  With ready
+presence of mind the man caught the chain and clung to it, but the boy,
+being prevented by a pile of rubbish from seeing what had occurred,
+eased him down, supposing him to be the kibble!
+
+This "easing down" a great number of fathoms was by no means an easy
+process, as those know well who have seen a pair of kibbles go banging
+up and down a shaft.  It was all that poor Frankey could do to keep his
+head from being smashed against rocks and beams; but, by energetic use
+of arms and legs, he did so, and reached the bottom of the shaft without
+further damage than a little skin rubbed off his knees and elbows, and a
+few cuts on his hands.  The man thought so little of it, indeed, that he
+at once returned to grass by the ladder-way, to the unutterable surprise
+and no little consternation of the boy who had "eased him down."
+
+The air at the "end" of the level in which Maggot and Trevarrow worked
+was very bad, and, for some time past, men had been engaged in sinking a
+winze from the level above to connect the two, and send in a supply of
+fresh air by creating a new channel of circulation.  This winze was
+almost completed, but one of the men employed at it had suddenly become
+unwell that day, and no other had been appointed to the work.  As it was
+a matter of great importance to have fresh air, now that they had
+resolved to remain day and night in the mine for some time, Maggot and
+Trevarrow determined to complete the work, believing that one or two
+shots would do it.  Accordingly, they mounted to the level above, and
+were lowered one at a time to the bottom of the unfinished winze by a
+windlass, which was turned by the man whose comrade had become unwell.
+
+For nearly two hours they laboured diligently, scarce taking time to
+wipe the perspiration from their heated brows.  At the end of that time
+the hole was sufficiently deep to blast, so Maggot called out,--"Zackey,
+my son, fetch the fuse and powder."  The boy was quickly lowered with
+these materials, and then drawn up.
+
+Meanwhile Maggot proceeded to charge the hole, and his comrade sat down
+to rest.  He put in the powder and tamping, and asked the other to hand
+him the tamping-bar.
+
+"Zackey has forgot it," said Trevarrow, looking round.
+
+"It don't matter; hand me the borer."
+
+"No, I won't," said Trevarrow decidedly, as he grasped the iron tool in
+question.  "Ho!  Zackey booy, throw down the tampin'-bar."
+
+This was done, and the operation of filling the hole continued, while
+Trevarrow commented somewhat severely on his companion's recklessness.
+
+"That's just how the most o' the reckless men in the bal do get blaw'd
+up," he said; "they're always picking away at the holes, and tamping
+with iron tools; why, thee might as well put a lighted match down the
+muzzle of a loaded gun as tamp with an iron borer."
+
+"Come, now," said Maggot, looking up from his work with a leer, "it
+warn't that as made old Kimber nearly blow hisself up last week."
+
+"No, but it was carelessness, anyhow," retorted Trevarrow; "and lucky
+for him that he was a smart man, else he'd bin gone dead by this time."
+
+Maggot soon completed the filling of the hole, and then perpetrated as
+reckless a deed as any of his mining comrades had ever been guilty of.
+Trevarrow was preparing to ascend by the windlass, intending to leave
+his comrade to light the fuse and come up after him.  Meanwhile Maggot
+found that the fuse was too long.  He discovered this after it was fixed
+in the hole, and, unobserved by his companion, proceeded to cut it by
+means of an iron tool and a flat stone.  Fire was struck at the last
+blow by the meeting of the iron and the stone, and the fuse ignited.  To
+extinguish it was impossible; to cut it in the same way, without
+striking fire, was equally so.  Of course there was plenty of time to
+ascend by the windlass, but _only one_ at a time could do so.  The men
+knew this, and looked at each other with terrible meaning in their eyes
+as they rushed at the bucket, and shouted to the man above to haul them
+up.  He attempted to do so, but in vain.  He had not strength to haul up
+two at once.  One could escape, both could not, and to delay would be
+death to both.  In this extremity David Trevarrow looked at his comrade,
+and said calmly,--"Escape, my brother; a minute more and I shall be in
+heaven."
+
+He stepped back while he spoke--the bucket went rapidly upwards, and
+Trevarrow, sitting down in the bottom of the shaft, covered his eyes
+with a piece of rock and awaited the issue.
+
+The rumbling explosion immediately followed, and the shaft was filled
+with smoke and flame and hurling stones.  One of these latter, shooting
+upwards, struck and cut the ascending miner on his forehead as he looked
+down to observe the fate of his self-sacrificing comrade!
+
+Maggot was saved, but he was of too bold and kindly a nature to remain
+for a moment inactive after the explosion was over.  At once he
+descended, and, groping about among the debris, soon found his friend--
+alive, and almost unhurt!  A mass of rock had arched him over--or,
+rather, the hand of God, as if by miracle, had delivered the Christian
+miner.
+
+After he was got up in safety to the level above they asked him why he
+had been so ready to give up his life to save his friend.
+
+"Why," said David quietly, "I did think upon his wife and the child'n,
+and little Grace seemed to say to me, `Take care o' faither'--besides,
+there are none to weep if I was taken away, so the Lord gave me grace to
+do it."
+
+That night there were glad and grateful hearts in Maggot's cottage--and
+never in this world was a more flat and emphatic contradiction given to
+any statement, than that which was given to David Trevarrow's
+assertion--"There are none to weep if I was taken away."
+
+[A short but beautiful account of the above incident will be found in a
+little volume of poems, entitled _Lays from the Mine, the Moor, and the
+Mountain_, written by John Harris, a Cornish miner.]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY.
+
+REVEALS SOME ASTONISHING FACTS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES.
+
+Sorrow and trouble now began to descend upon Mr Thomas Donnithorne like
+a thick cloud.
+
+Reduced from a state of affluence to one bordering on absolute poverty,
+the old man's naturally buoyant spirit almost gave way, and it needed
+all the attentions and the cheering influence of his good wife and sweet
+Rose Ellis to keep him from going (as he often half-jestingly
+threatened) to the end of Cape Cornwall and jumping into the sea.
+
+"It's all over with me, Oliver," said he one morning, after the return
+of his nephew from London.  "A young fellow like you may face up against
+such difficulties, but what is an old man to do?  I can't begin the
+world over again; and as for the shares I have in the various mines,
+they're not worth the paper they're writ upon."
+
+"But things may take a turn," suggested Oliver; "this is not the first
+time the mines have been in a poor condition, and the price of tin low.
+When things get very bad they are likely to get better, you know.  Even
+now there seems to be some talk among the miners of an improved state of
+things.  I met Maggot yesterday, and he was boasting of having found a
+monstrous bunch, which, according to him, is to be the making of all our
+fortunes."
+
+Mr Donnithorne shook his head.
+
+"Maggot's geese are always swans," he said; "no, no, Oliver, I have lost
+all hope of improvement.  There are so many of these deceptive mines
+around us just now--some already gone down, and some going--that the
+public are losing confidence in us, and, somewhat unfairly, judging
+that, because a few among us are scoundrels, we are altogether a bad
+lot."
+
+"What do you think of Mr Clearemout's new mine?" asked Oliver.
+
+"I believe it to be a genuine one," said the old gentleman, turning a
+somewhat sharp glance on his nephew.  "Why do you ask?"
+
+"Because I doubt it," replied Oliver.
+
+"You are too sceptical," said Mr Donnithorne almost testily; "too much
+given to judging things at first sight."
+
+"Nay, uncle; you are unfair.  Had I judged of you at first sight, I
+should have thought you a--"
+
+"Well, what? a smuggling old brandy-loving rascal--eh? and not far wrong
+after all."
+
+"At all events," said Oliver, laughing, "I have lived to form a better
+opinion of you than that.  But, in reference to Clearemout, I cannot
+shut my eyes to the fact that the work doing at the new mine is very
+like a sham, for they have only two men and a boy working her, with a
+captain to superintend; and it is said, for I made inquiries while in
+London, that thirty thousand pounds have been called up from the
+shareholders, and there are several highly paid directors, with an
+office-staff in the City drawing large salaries."
+
+"Nonsense, Oliver," said Mr Donnithorne more testily than before; "you
+know very well that things must have a beginning, and that caution is
+necessary at first in all speculations.  Besides, I feel convinced that
+Mr Clearemout is a most respectable man, and an uncommonly clever
+fellow to boot.  It is quite plain that you don't like him--that's what
+prejudices you, Oliver.  You're jealous of the impression he has made on
+the people here."
+
+This last remark was made jestingly, but it caused the young doctor to
+wince, having hit nearer the truth than the old gentleman had any idea
+of, for although Oliver envied not the handsome stranger's popularity,
+he was, almost unknown to himself, very jealous of the impression he
+seemed to have made on Rose Ellis.
+
+A feeling of shame induced him to change the subject of conversation,
+with a laughing observation that he hoped such an unworthy motive did
+not influence him.
+
+Now, while this conversation was going on in the parlour of Mr
+Donnithorne's cottage, another dialogue was taking place in a small
+wooden erection at the end of the garden, which bore the dignified name
+of "Rose's Bower."  The parties concerned in it were George Augustus
+Clearemout and Rose Ellis.
+
+A day or two previous to the conversation to which we are about to draw
+attention, the managing director had undergone a change in his
+sentiments and intentions.  When he first saw Rose he thought her an
+uncommonly sweet and pretty girl.  A short acquaintance with her
+convinced him that she was even sweeter and prettier than at first he
+had thought her.  This, coupled with the discovery that her uncle was
+very rich, and that he meant to leave a large portion of his wealth, if
+not all of it, to Rose, decided Clearemout, and he resolved to marry
+her.  Afterwards he became aware of the fact that old Mr Donnithorne
+had met with losses, but he was ignorant of their extent, and still
+deemed it worth while to carry out his intentions.
+
+George Augustus had been a "managing director" in various ways from his
+earliest infancy, and had never experienced much opposition to his will,
+so that he had acquired a habit of settling in his own mind whatever he
+meant to do, and forthwith doing it.  On this occasion he resolved to
+sacrifice himself to Rose, in consideration of her prospective fortune--
+cash being, of course, Mr Clearemout's god.
+
+Great, then, was the managing director's surprise, and astonishing the
+condition of his feelings, when, on venturing to express his wishes to
+Rose, he was kindly, but firmly, rejected!  Mr Clearemout was so
+thunderstruck--having construed the unsophisticated girl's candour and
+simplicity of manner into direct encouragement--that he could make no
+reply, but, with a profound bow, retired hastily from her presence, went
+to his lodgings, and sat down with his elbows on the table, and his face
+buried in his large hands, the fingers of which appeared to be crushing
+in his forehead, as if to stifle the thoughts that burned there.  After
+sitting thus for half an hour he suddenly rose, with his face somewhat
+paler, and his lips a little more firmly compressed than usual.
+
+It was an epoch in his existence.  The man who had so often and so
+successfully deceived others had made the wonderful discovery that he
+had deceived himself.  He had imagined that money was his sole object in
+wishing to marry Rose.  He now discovered that love, or something like
+it, had so much to do with his wishes that he resolved to have her
+without money, and also without her consent.
+
+Something within the man told him that Rose's refusal was an unalterable
+one.  He did not think it worth while to waste time in a second attempt.
+His plans, though hastily formed, required a good deal of preliminary
+arrangement, so he commenced to carry them out with the single
+exclamation, "I'll do it!" accompanied with a blow from his heavy fist
+on the table, which, being a weak lodging-house one, was split from end
+to end.  But the managing director had a soul above furniture at that
+moment.  He hastily put on his hat and strode out of the house.
+
+Making good use of a good horse, he paid sundry mysterious visits to
+various smuggling characters, to all of whom he was particularly
+agreeable and liberal in the bestowal of portions of the thirty thousand
+pounds with which a too confiding public had intrusted him.  Among other
+places, he went to a cottage on a moor between St. Just and Penzance,
+and had a confidential interview with a man named Hicks, who was noted
+for his capacity to adapt himself to circumstances (when well paid)
+without being troubled by conscientious scruples.  This man had a son
+who had once suffered from a broken collar-bone, and whose ears were
+particularly sharp.  He chanced to overhear the conversation at the
+interview referred to, and dutifully reported the same to his mother,
+who happened to be a great gossip, and knew much about the private
+affairs of nearly everybody living within six miles of her.  The good
+woman resolved to make some use of her information, but Mr Clearemout
+left the cottage in ignorance, of course, of her resolution.
+
+Having transacted these little pieces of business, the managing director
+returned home, and, on the day following, sought and obtained an
+interview with Rose Ellis in her bower.
+
+Recollecting the subject of their last conversation, Rose blushed, as
+much with indignation as confusion, at being intruded upon, but Mr
+Clearemout at once dispersed her angry feelings by assuring her in tones
+of deferential urbanity that he would not have presumed to intrude upon
+her but for the fact that he was about to quit Cornwall without delay,
+and he wished to talk with her for only a few minutes on business
+connected with Mr Donnithorne.
+
+There was something so manly and straightforward in his tone and manner
+that she could not choose but allow him to sit down beside her, although
+she did falter out something about the propriety of talking on her
+uncle's business affairs with Mr Donnithorne himself.
+
+"Your observation is most just," said Mr Clearemout earnestly; "but you
+are aware that your uncle's nature is a delicate, sensitive one, and I
+feel that he would shrink from proposals coming from me, that he might
+listen to if made to him through you.  I need not conceal from you, Miss
+Ellis, that I am acquainted with the losses which your uncle has
+recently sustained, and no one can appreciate more keenly than I do the
+harshness with which the world, in its ignorance of details, is apt to
+judge of the circumstances which brought about this sad state of things.
+I cannot help feeling deeply the kindness which has been shown me by
+Mr Donnithorne during my residence here, and I would, if I could, show
+him some kindness in return."
+
+Mr Clearemout paused here a few moments as if to reflect.  He resolved
+to assume that Mr Donnithorne's losses were ruinous, little imagining
+that in this assumption he was so very near the truth!  Rose felt
+grateful to him for the kind and delicate way in which he referred to
+her uncle's altered circumstances.
+
+"Of course," continued the managing director, "I need not say to _you_,
+that his independent spirit would never permit him to accept of
+assistance in the form which would be most immediately beneficial to
+him.  Indeed, I could not bring myself to offer money even as a loan.
+But it happens that I have the power, just now, of disposing of the
+shares which he has taken in Wheal Dooem Mine at a very large profit;
+and as my hope of the success of that enterprise is very small, I--"
+
+"Very small!" echoed Rose in surprise.  "You astonish me, Mr
+Clearemout.  Did I not hear you, only a few nights ago, say that you had
+the utmost confidence in the success of your undertaking?"
+
+"Most true," replied the managing director with a smile; "but in the
+world of business a few hours work wonderful changes, sometimes, in
+one's opinion of things--witness the vacillations and variations `on
+'Change'--if I may venture to allude before a lady to such an
+incomprehensible subject."
+
+Rose felt her vigorous little spirit rise, and she was about to return a
+smart reply in defence of woman's intelligence even in business matters,
+but the recollection of the altered relative position in which they now
+stood restrained her.
+
+"Yes," continued Mr Clearemout, with a sigh, "the confidence which I
+felt in Wheal Dooem has been much shaken of late, and the sooner your
+uncle sells out the better."
+
+"But would it be right," said Rose earnestly, "to sell our shares at a
+high profit if things be as you say?"
+
+"Quite right," replied Clearemout, with a bland smile of honesty; "_I_
+believe the mine to be a bad speculation; my friend, we shall suppose,
+believes it to be a good one.  Believing as I do, I choose to sell out;
+believing as he does, he chooses to buy in.  The simplest thing in the
+world, Miss Ellis.  Done every day with eyes open, I assure you; but it
+is not every day that a chance occurs so opportunely as the present, and
+I felt it to be a duty to give my friend the benefit of my knowledge
+before quitting this place--for ever!"
+
+There was something so kind and touching in the tone of the managing
+director that Rose was quite drawn towards him, and felt as if she had
+actually done him an unkindness in refusing him.
+
+"But," continued her companion, "I can do nothing, Miss Ellis, without
+your assistance."
+
+"You shall have it," said Rose earnestly; "for I would do anything that
+a woman might venture, to benefit my dear, dear uncle, and I feel
+assured that you would not ask me to do anything wrong or unwomanly."
+
+"I would not indeed," answered Clearemout with emotion; "but the world
+is apt to misjudge in matters of delicacy.  To ask you to meet me on the
+cliffs near Priest's Cove, close to Cape Cornwall, to-night, would
+appear wrong in the eyes of the world."
+
+"And with justice," said Rose quickly, with a look of mingled dignity
+and surprise.
+
+"Nevertheless, this is absolutely needful, if we would accomplish the
+object in view.  A friend, whom I know to be desirous of purchasing
+shares in the mine is to pass round the cape in his yacht this evening.
+The idea of offering these shares to him had not occurred to me when I
+wrote to say that I would meet him there.  He cannot come up here, I
+know, but the stroke of a pen, with one of the family to witness it,
+will be sufficient."
+
+It was a bold stroke of fancy in the managing director to put the matter
+in such a ridiculously unbusinesslike light, but he counted much on
+Rose's ignorance.  As for poor Rose herself, she, knew not what to say
+or do at first, but when Clearemout heaved a sigh, and, with an
+expression of deep sadness on his countenance, rose to take leave, she
+allowed a generous impulse to sway her.
+
+"Your answer, then, is--No," said Clearemout, with deep pathos in his
+tone.
+
+Now, it chanced that at this critical point in the conversation, Oliver
+Trembath, having left the cottage, walked over the grass towards a small
+gate, near which the bower stood.  He unavoidably heard the question,
+and also the quick, earnest reply,--"My answer, Mr Clearemout, is--Yes.
+I will meet you this evening on the cliff."
+
+She frankly gave him her hand as she spoke, and he gallantly pressed it
+to his lips, an act which took Rose by surprise, and caused her to pull
+it away suddenly.  She then turned and ran out at the side of the bower
+to seek the solitude of her own apartment, while Clearemout left it by
+the other side, and stood face to face with the spellbound Oliver.
+
+To say that both gentlemen turned pale as their eyes met would not give
+an adequate idea of their appearance.  Oliver's heart, as well as his
+body, when he heard the question and reply, stood still as if he had
+been paralysed.  This, then, he thought, was the end of all his hopes--
+hopes hardly admitted to himself, and never revealed to Rose, except in
+unstudied looks and tones.  For a few moments his face grew absolutely
+livid, while he glared at his rival.
+
+On the other hand, Mr Clearemout, believing that the whole of his
+conversation had been overheard, supposed that he had discovered all his
+villainy to one who was thoroughly able, as well as willing, to thwart
+him.  For a moment he felt an almost irresistible impulse to spring on
+and slay his enemy; his face became dark with suppressed emotion; and it
+is quite possible that in the fury of his disappointed malice he might
+have attempted violence,--had not Oliver spoken.  His voice was husky as
+he said,--"Chance, sir--unfortunate, miserable chance--led me to
+overhear the last few words that passed between you and--"
+
+He paused, unable to say more.  Instantly the truth flashed across
+Clearemout's quick mind.  He drew himself up boldly, and the blood
+returned to his face as he replied,--"If so, sir, you cannot but be
+aware that the lady's choice is free, and that your aspect and attitude
+towards me are unworthy of a gentleman."
+
+A wonderful influence for weal or woe oft-times results from the
+selection of a phrase or a word.  Had Clearemout charged Oliver with
+insolence or presumption, he would certainly have struck him to the
+ground; but the words "unworthy of a gentleman" created a revulsion in
+his feelings.  Thought is swifter than light.  He saw himself in the
+position of a disappointed man scowling on a successful rival who had
+done him no injury.
+
+"Thank you, Clearemout.  Your rebuke is merited," he said bitterly; and,
+turning on his heel, he bounded over the low stone wall of the garden,
+and hastened away.
+
+Whither he went he knew not.  A fierce fire seemed to rage in his breast
+and burn in his brain.  At first he walked at full speed, but as he
+cleared the town he ran--ran as he had never run before.  For the time
+being he was absolutely mad.  Over marsh and moor he sped, clearing all
+obstacles with a bound, and making straight for the Land's End, with no
+definite purpose in view, for, after a time, he appeared to change his
+intention, if he had any.  He turned sharp to the left, and ran straight
+to Penzance, never pausing in his mad career until he neared the town.
+The few labourers he chanced to pass on the way gazed after him in
+surprise, but he heeded not.  At the cottage on the moor where he had
+bandaged the shoulder of the little boy a woman's voice called loudly,
+anxiously after him, but he paid no attention.  At last he came to a
+full stop, and, pressing both hands tightly over his forehead, made a
+terrible effort to collect his thoughts.  He was partially successful,
+and, with somewhat of his wonted composure, walked rapidly into the
+town.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.
+
+DESCRIBES A MARRED PLOT, AND TELLS OF RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE.
+
+Meanwhile the gossiping woman of the cottage on the moor, whose grateful
+heart had never forgotten the little kindness done to her boy by the
+young doctor, and who knew that the doctor loved Rose Ellis, more
+surely, perhaps, than Rose did herself, went off in a state of deep
+anxiety to St. Just, and, by dint of diligent inquiries and piecing of
+things together, coupled with her knowledge of Clearemout's intentions,
+came to a pretty correct conclusion as to the state of affairs.
+
+She then went to the abode of young Charles Tregarthen, whom she knew to
+be Oliver's friend, and unbosomed herself.  Charlie repaid her with more
+than thanks, and almost hugged her in his gratitude for her prompt
+activity.
+
+"And now, Mrs Hicks," said he, "you shall see how we will thwart this
+scoundrel.  As for Oliver Trembath, I cannot imagine what could take him
+into Penzance in the wild state that you describe.  Of course this
+affair has to do with it, and he evidently has learned something of
+this, and must have misunderstood the matter, else assuredly he had not
+been absent at such a time.  But why go to Penzance?  However, he will
+clear up the mystery ere long, no doubt.  Meanwhile we shall proceed to
+thwart your schemes, good Mr Clearemout!"
+
+So saying, Charlie Tregarthen set about laying his counter-plans.  He
+also, as the managing director had done, visited several men, some of
+whom were miners and some smugglers, and arranged a meeting that evening
+near Cape Cornwall.
+
+When evening drew on apace, four separate parties converged towards
+Priest's Cove.  First, a boat crept along shore propelled by four men
+and steered by Jim Cuttance.  Secondly, six stout men crept stealthily
+down to the cove, led by Charlie Tregarthen, with Maggot as his second
+in command.  Thirdly, Rose Ellis wended her way to the rendezvous with
+trembling step and beating heart; and, fourthly, George Augustus
+Clearemout moved in the same direction.
+
+But the managing director moved faster than the others, having a longer
+way to travel, for, having had to pay a last visit to Wheal Dooem, he
+rode thence to St. Just.  On the way he was particularly interested in a
+water-wheel which worked a pump, beside which a man in mining costume
+was seated smoking his pipe.
+
+"Good-evening," said Clearemout, reining up.
+
+"Good-hevenin', sur."
+
+"What does that pump?" asked the managing director, pointing to the
+wheel.
+
+"That, sur?" said the miner, drawing a few whiffs from his pipe; "why,
+that do pump gold out o' the Londoners, that do."
+
+The managing director chuckled very much, and said, "Indeed!"
+
+"Iss, sur," continued the miner, pointing to Wheal Dooem, "an' that wan
+theere, up over hill, do the same thing."
+
+The managing director chuckled much more at this, and displayed his
+teeth largely as he nodded to the man and rode on.
+
+Before his arrival at the rendezvous, the boat was run ashore not far
+from the spot where Tregarthen and his men were concealed.  As soon as
+the men had landed, Charlie walked down to them alone and accosted their
+leader.
+
+"Well, Cuttance, you're a pretty fellow to put your finger in such a
+dirty pie as this."
+
+Cuttance had seen the approach of Tregarthen with surprise and some
+alarm.
+
+"Well, sur," said he, without any of the bold expression that usually
+characterised him, "what can a man do when he's to be well paid for the
+job?  I do confess that I don't half like it, but, after all, what have
+we got to do weth the opinions of owld aunts or uncles?  If a gurl do
+choose to go off wi' the man she likes, that's no matter to we, an' if I
+be well paid for lendin' a hand, why shouldn't I?  But it do puzzle me,
+Mr Tregarthen, to guess how yow did come to knaw of it."
+
+"That don't signify," said Tregarthen sternly.  "Do you know who the
+girl is?"
+
+"I don't knaw, an' I don't care," said Jim doggedly.
+
+"What would you say if I told you it was Miss Rose Ellis?" said Charlie.
+
+"I'd say thee was a liard," replied Cuttance.
+
+"Then I do tell you so."
+
+"Thee don't mean that!" exclaimed the smuggler, with a blaze of
+amazement and wrath in his face.
+
+"Indeed I do."
+
+"Whew!" whistled Jim, "then that do explain the reason why that
+smooth-tongued feller said he would car' her to the boat close veiled up
+for fear the men should see her."
+
+A rapid consultation was now held by the two as to the proper mode of
+proceeding.  Cuttance counselled an immediate capture of the culprit,
+and pitching him off the end of Cape Cornwall; but Tregarthen advised
+that they should wait until Clearemout seized his victim, otherwise they
+could not convict him, because he would deny any intention of evil
+against Rose, and pretend that some other girl, who had been scared away
+by their impetuosity, was concerned, for they might depend on it he'd
+get up a plausible story and defeat them.
+
+Tregarthen's plan was finally agreed to, and he returned to his men and
+explained matters.
+
+Soon afterwards the managing director appeared coming down the road.
+
+"Is all right?" he inquired of Cuttance, who went forward to meet him.
+
+"All right, sur."
+
+"Go down to the boat then and wait," he said, turning away.
+
+Ere long he was joined by Rose, with whom he entered into conversation,
+leading her over the cape so as to get out of sight of the men, but
+young Tregarthen crept among the rocks and never for a moment lost sight
+of them.  He saw Clearemout suddenly place a kerchief on Rose's mouth,
+and, despite the poor girl's struggles, tie it firmly so as to prevent
+her screaming, then he threw a large shawl over her, and catching her in
+his arms bore her swiftly towards the boat.
+
+Tregarthen sprang up and confronted him.
+
+Clearemout, astonished and maddened by this unexpected interference,
+shouted,--"Stand aside, sir!  _You_ have no interest in this matter, or
+right to interfere."
+
+Charlie made no reply, but sprang on him like a tiger.  Clearemout
+dropped his burden and grappled with the youth, who threw him in an
+instant, big though he was, for Tregarthen was a practised wrestler, and
+the managing director was not.  His great strength, however, enabled him
+to get on his knees, and there is no saying how the struggle might have
+terminated had not Cuttance come forward, and, putting his hard hands
+round Clearemout's throat, caused that gentleman's face to grow black,
+and his tongue and eyes to protrude.  Having thus induced him to submit,
+he eased off the necklace, and assisted him to rise, while the men of
+both parties crowded round.
+
+"Now, then, boys," cried Jim Cuttance, "bear a hand, one and all, and
+into the say with him."
+
+The managing director was at once knocked off his legs, and borne
+shoulder-high down to the beach by as many hands as could lay hold of
+him.  Here they paused:--
+
+"All together, boys--one--two--ho!"
+
+At the word the unfortunate man was shot, by strong and willing arms,
+into the air like a bombshell, and fell into the water with a splash
+that was not unlike an explosion.
+
+Clearemout was a good swimmer.  When he came to the surface he raised
+himself, and, clearing the water from his eyes, glanced round.  Even in
+that extremity the quickness and self-possession of the man did not
+forsake him.  He perceived, at a glance, that the boat which, in the
+excitement of the capture, had been left by all the men, had floated off
+with the receding tide, and now lay a short distance from the shore.
+
+At once he struck out for it.  There was a shout of consternation and a
+rush to the water's edge.  Maggot shot far ahead of the others, plunged
+into the sea, and swam off.  Observing this, and knowing well the
+courage and daring of the man, the rest stopped on the shore to witness
+the result.
+
+Clearemout reached the boat first, but, owing to exhaustion, was unable
+to raise himself into it.  Maggot soon came up and grasped him by the
+throat, both men managed to get their arms over the gunwale, but in
+their struggle upset the boat and were separated.  Clearemout then made
+for the shore with the intention of giving himself up, and Maggot
+followed, but he was not equal in swimming to the managing director,
+whose long steady strokes easily took him beyond the reach of his
+pursuer.  He reached the shore, and stalked slowly out of the water.  At
+the same moment Maggot sank and disappeared.
+
+The consternation of his comrades was so great that in the confusion
+their prisoner was unheeded.  Some sprang into the sea and dived after
+Maggot; others swam to the boat, intending to right it and get the
+boat-hooks.
+
+Suddenly those who had remained on the beach observed something creep
+out of the sea near to some rocks a little to the right of the place
+where they stood.  They ran towards it.
+
+"Hallo! is that you, old Maggot?" they cried.
+
+It was indeed the valiant smith himself!  How he got there no one ever
+knew, nor could himself tell.  It was conjectured that he must have
+become partially exhausted, and, after sinking, had crept along the
+bottom to the shore!  However, be that as it may, there he was, lying
+with his arm lovingly round a rock, and the first thing he said on
+looking up was,--"Aw! my dear men, has any of 'ee got a chaw of baccy
+about 'ee?"
+
+This was of course received with a shout of laughter, and unlimited
+offers of quids while they assisted him to rise.
+
+Meanwhile Tregarthen was attending to Rose, who had swooned when
+Clearemout dropped her.  He also kept a watch over the prisoner, who,
+however, showed no intention of attempting to escape, but sat on a stone
+with his face buried in his hands.
+
+The men soon turned their attention to him again, and some of the more
+violent were advancing to seize him, with many terrible threats of
+further vengeance, when Rose ran between them, and entreated them to
+spare him.
+
+Tregarthen seconded the proposal, and urged that as he had got pretty
+severe punishment already, they should set him free.  This being agreed
+to, Charlie turned to the managing director, and said, with a look of
+pity, "You may go, sir, but, be assured, it is not for your own sake
+that we let you off.  You know pretty well what the result would be if
+we chose to deliver you up to justice; we care more, however, for the
+feelings of this lady--whose name would be unavoidably and disagreeably
+brought before the public at the trial--than we care for your getting
+your merited reward.  But, mark me, if you ever open your lips on the
+subject, you shall not escape us."
+
+"Iss," added Jim Cuttance, "ann remember, you chucklehead, that if you
+do write or utter wan word 'bout it, after gettin' back to London, there
+are here twelve Cornish men who will never rest till they have flayed
+thee alive!"
+
+"You need have no fear," said Clearemout with a bitter smile, as he
+turned and walked away, followed by a groan from the whole party.
+
+"Now, lads," said Cuttance after he was gone, "not wan word of this must
+ever be breathed, and we'll howld 'ee responsible, David Hicks, for t'
+wife's tongue; dost a hear?"
+
+This was agreed to by all, and, to the credit of these honest smugglers,
+and of Mrs Hicks, be it said, that not a syllable about the incident
+was ever heard of in the parish of St. Just from that day to this!
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.
+
+TOUCHES ON LOVE AND ON PILCHARD FISHING.
+
+There can be no doubt that "Fortune favours the brave," and Maggot was
+one of those braves whom, about this time, she took special delight in
+favouring.
+
+Wild and apparently reckless though he was, Maggot had long cherished an
+ambitious hope, and had for some time past been laying by money for the
+purpose of accomplishing his object, which was the procuring of a
+seine-net and boats for the pilchard fishery.  The recent successes he
+had met with in Botallack enabled him to achieve his aim more rapidly
+than he had anticipated, and on the day following that in which
+Clearemout received his deserts, he went to Penberth Cove to see that
+all was in readiness, for pilchards had recently appeared off the coast
+in small shoals.
+
+That same day Oliver Trembath, having spent a night of misery in
+Penzance, made up his mind to return to St. Just and face his fate like
+a man; but he found it so difficult to carry this resolve into effect
+that he diverged from the highroad--as he had done on his first
+memorable visit to that region--and, without knowing very well why,
+sauntered in a very unenviable frame of mind towards Penberth Cove.
+
+Old Mr Donnithorne possessed a pretty villa near the cove, to which he
+was wont to migrate when Mrs D felt a desire for change of air, and in
+which he frequently entertained large parties of friends in the summer
+season.  In his heart poor Mr Donnithorne had condemned this villa "to
+the hammer," but the improved appearance of things in the mines had
+induced him to suspend the execution of the sentence.  News of the
+appearance of pilchards, and a desire to give Rose a change after her
+late adventure, induced Mr Donnithorne to hire a phaeton (he had
+recently parted with his own) and drive over to Penberth.
+
+Arrived there, he sauntered down to the cove to look after his nets--for
+he dabbled in pilchard fishing as well as in other matters--and Rose
+went off to have a quiet, solitary walk.
+
+Thus it came to pass that she and Oliver Trembath suddenly met in a
+lonely part of the road between Penberth and Penzance.  Ah, those sudden
+and unexpected meetings!  How pleasant they are, and how well every one
+who has had them remembers them!
+
+"Miss Ellis!" exclaimed Oliver in surprise.
+
+"Mr Trembath!" exclaimed Rose in amazement.
+
+You see, reader, how polite they were, but you can neither see nor
+conceive how great was the effort made by each to conceal the tumult
+that agitated the breast and flushed the countenance, while the tongue
+was thus ably controlled.  It did not last long, however.  Oliver, being
+thrown off his guard, asked a number of confused questions, and Rose, in
+her somewhat irrelevant replies, happened to make some reference to
+"that villain Clearemout."
+
+"Villain?" echoed Oliver in undisguised amazement.
+
+"The villain," repeated Rose, with a flushed face and flashing eye.
+
+"What? why? how?--really, excuse me, Miss Ellis--I--I--the villain--
+Clearemout--you don't--"
+
+There is no saying how many more ridiculous exclamations Oliver might
+have made had not Rose suddenly said,--"Surely, Mr Trembath, you have
+heard of his villainy?"
+
+"No, never; not a word.  Pray do tell me, Miss Ellis."
+
+Rose at once related the circumstances of her late adventure, with much
+indignation in her tone and many a blush on her brow.
+
+Before she had half done, Oliver's powers of restraint gave way.
+
+"Then you never loved him?" he exclaimed.
+
+"Loved him, sir!  I do not understand--"
+
+"Forgive me, Rose; I mean--I didn't imagine--that is to say--oh!  Rose,
+can it be--is it possible--my _dear_ girl!"
+
+He seized her hand at this point, and--but really, reader, why should we
+go on?  Is it not something like a violation of good taste to be too
+particular here?  Is it not sufficient to say that old Mr Donnithorne
+came suddenly, and of course unexpectedly, on them at that critical
+juncture, rendering it necessary for Rose to burst away and hide her
+blushing face on her uncle's shoulder, while Oliver, utterly
+overwhelmed, turned and walked (we won't say fled) at full speed in the
+direction of the cove.
+
+Here he found things in a condition that was admirably suited to the
+state of his feelings.  The fishermen of the cove were in a state of
+wild excitement, for an enormous shoal of pilchards had been enclosed in
+the seine-nets, and Maggot with his men, as well as the people employed
+by Mr Donnithorne, were as much over head and ears in fishing as Oliver
+was in love.  Do you ask, "Why all this excitement?"  We will tell you.
+
+The pilchard fishing is to the Cornish fisherman what the harvest is to
+the husbandman, but this harvest of the sea is not the result of
+prolonged labour, care, and wisdom.  It comes to him in a night.  It may
+last only a few days, or weeks.  Sometimes it fails altogether.  During
+these days of sunshine he must toil with unwonted energy.  There is no
+rest for him while the season lasts if he would not miss his
+opportunity.  The pilchard is a little fish resembling a small herring.
+It visits the southern coasts of England in autumn and winter, and the
+shoals are so enormous as to defy calculation or description.  When they
+arrive on the coast, "huers"--sharp-sighted men--are stationed on the
+cliffs to direct the boatmen when to go out and where to shoot their
+seine-nets.  When these are shot, millions of pilchards are often
+enclosed in a single net.
+
+To give an idea of the numbers of fish and the extent of the fishing, in
+a few words, we may state the fact that, in 1834, one shoal of great
+depth, and nearly a mile broad, extended from Hayle River to St. Ives, a
+distance of two and a half miles.  A seine was shot into this mass, and
+3,600 hogsheads were carried to the curing cellars.  As there are 3,000
+pilchards in each hogshead, the catch amounted to nearly eleven million
+fish!  The value of these might be 3 pounds a hogshead, and the clear
+profit about 1 pound a hogshead, so that it is no wonder we hear of
+fortunes having been made in a few hauls of the pilchard seines.  At the
+same time, losses are sometimes very heavy, owing to gales arising and
+breaking or carrying away the nets.  Such facts, combined with the
+uncertainty of the arrival or continuance of the fish on any particular
+part of the coast, tend to induce that spirit of eager, anxious
+excitement to which we have referred as being so congenial to Oliver
+Trembath's state of mind at the time of which we write.
+
+On the beach the young doctor found Maggot and his men launching their
+boats, and of course he lent them a hand.
+
+"Pilchards been seen?" he inquired.
+
+"Iss, iss, doctor," was the smith's curt reply; "jump in, an' go 'long
+with us."
+
+Oliver accepted the invitation, and was rowed towards a part of the bay
+where the sea appeared to be boiling.  The boat was a large one,
+attended by several others of smaller dimensions.  The boiling spot
+being reached, Maggot, whose whole being was in a blaze of enthusiasm,
+leaped up and seized the end of a seine-net--three hundred fathoms long
+by fourteen deep--which he began to throw overboard with the utmost
+energy, while the boat was rowed swiftly round the mass of fish.  David
+Trevarrow assisted him, and in less than four minutes the whole net was
+in the sea.  One of the other boats, meanwhile, had fastened another net
+to the first, and, rowing in an opposite direction from it, progressed
+in a circular course, dropping its net as it went, until the two met--
+and thus an immense shoal of pilchards were enclosed.
+
+The nets being floated on the surface with corks, and their lower ends
+sunk to the bottom with leads, the fish were thus securely imprisoned.
+But the security was not great; a gale might arise which would sweep
+away the whole concern, or the pilchards might take a fancy to make a
+dash in one particular direction, in the event of which they would
+certainly burst the net, and no human power could save a single fin.  In
+order to prevent this, the men in the smaller boats rowed round the
+seine, beat the sea with their oars, hallooed, and otherwise exerted
+themselves to keep the fish in the centre of the enclosure.  Meanwhile a
+little boat entered within the circle, having a small net, named a
+"tuck-net," which was spread round the seine, inside, and gradually
+drawn together, until the fish were raised towards the surface in a
+solid, sweltering mass.  The excitement at this point became tremendous.
+Thousands of silvery fish leaped, vaulted, and fluttered in a seething
+mass on the sea.  Maggot roared and yelled his orders like a Stentor.
+Even mild David Trevarrow lost self-command, and shouted vociferously.
+
+"Hand the basket!" cried Maggot.
+
+A large basket, with a rope attached to one handle, was produced.
+Maggot seized the other handle, and thrust it down among the wriggling
+pilchards.  Trevarrow hauled on the rope, lifted the basket out of the
+sea, and a cataract of living silver was shot into the boat, accompanied
+by a mighty cheer.  Basketful after basketful followed, until the men
+stood leg-deep in fish.
+
+"Hold on a bit!" cried Maggot, as, with rolled-up sleeves, dishevelled
+hair, and glaring eyes, he threw one leg over the side of the boat, the
+more easily to continue his work.
+
+"Have a care," cried Oliver at that moment, stretching out his hand; but
+he was too late.  The excitable smith had overbalanced himself, and was
+already head and shoulders deep down among the pilchards, which sprang
+high over him, as if in triumph!
+
+To catch him by the legs, and pull him back into the boat, was the work
+of a moment, but the proceedings were not interrupted by the mishap.  A
+laugh greeted the smith as he was turned head up, and immediately he
+braced himself to his arduous labour with renewed energy.
+
+The boat filled, it was rowed to the shore, and here was received by
+eager and noisy men, women, and children, by whom the precious contents
+were carried to the "cellars," or salting-houses, where they were packed
+in the neatest possible piles, layer on layer, heads and tails, with a
+sprinkling of salt between.
+
+Maggot's family had followed him to Penberth.  Mrs M was there, busy as
+a bee--so was Zackey, so was little Grace, and so was the baby.  They
+all worked like Trojans, the only difference between baby Maggot and the
+others being, that, while they did as much work as in them lay, he undid
+as much as possible; was in every one's way; fell over and into
+everything, including the sea, and, generally, fulfilled his mission of
+mischief-maker with credit.  The chet was there too!  Baby Maggot had
+decreed that it should accompany him, so there it was, living on
+pilchards, and dragging out its harassed existence in the usual way.
+What between salt food, and play, kicks, cuffs, capers, and gluttony,
+its aspect at that time was more demoniacal, perhaps, than that of any
+other chet between John o' Groat's and the Land's End.
+
+Volumes would scarcely contain all that might be written about this
+wonderful scene, but enough has been said to indicate the process
+whereby Maggot secured and salted some hundreds of thousands of
+pilchards.  The enclosing of the fish was the result of a few minutes'
+work, but the salting and packing were not ended for many days.  The
+result, however, was that the lucky smith sent many hogsheads of
+pilchards the way of most Cornish fish--namely, to the Mediterranean,
+for consumption by Roman Catholics, and in due course he received the
+proceeds, to the extent of three thousand pounds.
+
+Thus did Maggot auspiciously begin the making of his fortune--which was
+originated and finally completed by his successful mining operations at
+Botallack.
+
+And let it be observed here, that he was neither the first nor the last
+poor man who became prosperous and wealthy by similar means.  There are
+men, not a few, now alive in Cornwall, who began with hammer and pick,
+and who now can afford to drink in champagne, out of a golden flagon,
+the good old Cornish toast--"Fish, tin, and copper."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY THREE.
+
+THE LAST.
+
+Many others as well as Maggot made money by the pilchards at that time.
+All round the coast of Cornwall millions of these little fish were
+taken, salted, and exported.  No fewer than one thousand hogsheads were
+taken at St. Ives in the first three seine-nets cast into the sea.  In
+Mounts Bay, Fowey Bay, Mevagissey, and other fishing grounds, immense
+quantities were caught, and the total catch of the county was little if
+at all short of thirty thousand hogsheads.
+
+Among others, old Mr Donnithorne was so successful that his broken
+fortunes were almost re-established; and a small sum which our friend
+Oliver Trembath had ventured to invest in the fishing was more than
+quadrupled before the end of the year.
+
+But this was not all.  At the next Botallack account-dinner, Mr Cornish
+gladdened the hearts of the adventurers by telling them that the lodes
+which had been "promising" for such a length of time had at last got the
+length of "performance," and that he had now the pleasure of announcing
+a large dividend, which he paid there and then.
+
+A considerable share of this fell to old Mr Donnithorne, who, in the
+enthusiasm of the occasion, observed confidentially to Captain Dan that
+he was convinced "honesty was the best policy after all"--a sentiment
+which the captain heartily agreed with, although he failed to detect the
+precise connection between it and the old gentleman's sudden influx of
+good fortune.  But, then, the captain did not drink Botallack punch,
+while old Mr Donnithorne did, which may to some extent account for the
+difference in their powers of vision.
+
+Captain Dan, however, possessed wonderful powers of vision in reference
+to the underground workings of Botallack, which were displayed to
+advantage--and to the great gratification of the shareholders--when, at
+the request of Mr Cornish, he stood up and gave a detailed and graphic
+account of the prospects of the mine; telling them that the appearance
+of the lodes in several parts of the mine was very promising indeed, and
+that some ground was returning a rich harvest for the labour that had
+been bestowed on it; that in the 105, which was driving north by six
+men, they had taken down the copper for fourteen fathoms long, nearly
+the whole of which had turned out to be worth 100 pounds per fathom;
+that a splice had been formed in the lode about two fathoms behind the
+present end, which had disordered it, but he was glad to say it was
+again improving, and was at that time about fifteen inches wide of rich
+copper, and, as far as he could judge, they were going through to the
+top part of the "bunch" of copper; that these facts, he thought, were
+very satisfactory, but that it was still more gratifying to know that
+the lode on the bottom of the 105 was far more valuable than that in the
+back; that in the "Crowns," especially in the various levels under the
+sea, the lodes were not only "promising," but performing great things,
+two men and a boy (he referred to Maggot, Trevarrow, and Zackey here)
+having broken an immense quantity of copper during the last quarter,
+which was paying splendidly.
+
+At this point, Mr Grenfell, who sat on Mr Cornish's right hand,
+exclaimed, "Hear! hear!" and a little bald-headed man, with a red nose
+and blue spectacles, near the foot of the table, echoed "Hear!" with
+genuine enthusiasm (for he had been bordering on bankruptcy for some
+months past), and swigged off a full glass of punch without winking.
+
+Thus encouraged, Captain Dan went on to remark that there were six men
+driving in Wheal Hazzard (which statement caused a "stranger" who
+chanced to be at the dinner to observe, in an undertone, that he was not
+aware they had horses or vehicles of any kind in the mines!), that one
+cross-cut was also being driven, and three winzes were sinking, and one
+rise--several of which were opening up tin of first-rate quality, while
+in the Narrow shaft, Chicornish, Higher Mine, and Wheal Cock, a great
+deal to the same effect was being done--all of which we leave to the
+imagination of the reader, merely remarking that however
+incomprehensible these things may appear to him (or her), they created
+feelings of profound joy in the assembled guests, especially in the
+breast of the almost bankrupt one with the bald, red, and blue
+headpiece.
+
+Mr Cornish afterwards congratulated the adventurers on the success of
+the mine, and the splendid prospects which were opening up to them--
+prospects which, he had no doubt, would be fully realised ere long.  He
+referred also to the condition of the miners of the neighbourhood, and
+alluded to the fact that the neighbouring mines, Wheal Owles and Levant,
+were also in a flourishing condition; a matter, he said, for which they
+had reason to be profoundly thankful, for the distress in the district
+had been severe and prolonged.  The manager's voice deepened at this
+point, and he spoke with pathos, for he had a kindly heart, and his
+thoughts were at the moment with many a poor miner, in whose little
+cottages the effects of gaunt poverty could be traced in scanty
+furniture, meagre fare, and careworn brows.  He remembered, too, that
+only the week before he had seen poor blind John Batten carried to his
+grave, and had heard the sobs of the bereaved widow, as she attempted to
+tell him how the brave man had forgotten himself to the very last, when
+he put his wasted hand on her head, and said, "I'm goin' to leave thee,
+Mary, for a time; but cheer up, dear lass, I'll be with Jesus soon, an'
+have my sight restored, and look wance more 'pon the faces of the dear
+boys, an' 'pon your own sweet face too, dear lass, when we meet again in
+heaven."
+
+There was one of the miners and shareholders of Botallack who did not
+die, but who lived to enjoy the fruit of his labour and the sunshine of
+prosperity.  James Penrose recovered--not only his health, but also, in
+some degree, his sight.  One of his eyes had indeed been entirely
+destroyed by the explosion which had so nearly killed him, but the other
+was partially restored.  A long period elapsed, however, ere he was able
+to go about.  Then he found his circumstances so much improved that it
+was not necessary to resume work underground.  Botallack, in which all
+his savings had been invested, continued steadily to improve, and from
+the income derived from this source alone he was enabled to live without
+labouring.  But Penrose was not the man to sit down in idleness.  Wesley
+never had a more earnest follower than this miner of St. Just.
+Thenceforth he devoted himself to preaching, teaching, and doing good as
+his hand found opportunity, and, being an active man as well as
+conscientious, he laboured to the end of his days in the service of his
+Lord more energetically than he had ever toiled in the mines.
+
+Penrose and David Trevarrow had always been staunch friends.  After the
+accident to the former, they became more closely united than before.
+Trevarrow did not give up underground work; he possessed no shares in
+any of the mines, but, in common with the rest of the mining community,
+he benefited by the sunshine of prosperity that became so bright at that
+period, and found leisure, when above ground, to join his friend in his
+labours of love.
+
+They both agreed to make an earnest effort to convince Maggot and John
+Cock of the error of their ways--with what amount of success it is not
+easy to state, for these worthies were made of stubborn metal, that
+required a furnace of unusually fierce heat to melt it.  However, we are
+warranted in concluding that some good was done, from the fact that both
+of them gave up smuggling, and, in various other ways, showed indication
+of an improved state of mind.  Maggot especially gave a signal and
+unexpected proof of a softened spirit, when, one Sunday morning, as he
+was getting ready for chapel, he said to his wife that it was "high time
+to send that little chucklehead the baby to Sunday school, for he was no
+better than a small heathen!"  The "baby," be it observed, was about six
+years old at the time when this speech was made, and his _protege_ the
+"chet" was a great-grandmother, with innumerable chets of her own.  It
+is right to add that, in accordance with this opinion of his father, the
+baby was carried off to school that very morning by Zackey and Grace,
+the first having grown to be a strapping youth, and the other a lovely
+girl, for whose sake there were scores of young miners in St. Just who
+would gladly have walked ten miles on their bare knees, or dived head
+foremost into Wheal Hazzard shaft, or jumped over the cliffs into Zawn
+Buzzangein, or done any other insane act or desperate deed, if, by so
+doing, they could have caused one thrill of pleasure to pass through her
+dear little heart!
+
+It is not necessary, we should think, to say that in the midst of so
+much sunshine Oliver Trembath and Rose Ellis thought it advisable to
+"make hay."  Old Mr Donnithorne and his excellent wife (of whose
+goodness and wisdom, by the way, he became more and more convinced every
+day of his life) saw no objection whatever to this hay-making--so the
+young couple were wed at the Wesleyan Chapel of St. Just--Charlie
+Tregarthen, of course, being groomsman--and the only vehicle in the town
+was hired to drive them over to Penberth Cove and bliss!
+
+As to George Augustus Clearemout, Esquire--that able managing director,
+despite his ducking at St. Just, continued to fill his chair and to
+fulfil his destiny in the airy little street in London, where, for many
+years, he represented Wheal Dooem, and "did" a too confiding public.  In
+this work he was ably assisted by Secretary Jack Muddle, who became
+quite celebrated as a clear expounder and explainer of veins, lodes,
+ores, cross-cuts, shafts, levels, winzes, minerals, metals, and mines--
+insomuch that he was regarded by many of the confiding public who
+frequented his office as a more thoroughly learned and scientific man
+than George Augustus himself.  It is interesting, how ever, to have to
+record the curious fact that the too confiding public changed their
+opinion at last on this head, and came to regard Secretary Jack as a
+humbug, and the managing director as a scoundrel.  Unfortunately this
+change of opinion did not take place until the whole of the too
+confiding public (the T.C.P., as Clearemout styled them) had lost large
+sums of money, and a few of them become bankrupt.  When affairs had
+reached this crisis, one of the T.C.P.--an irascible old gentleman,
+whose fiery nature seemed to have singed all the hair off his head,
+leaving it completely bald--went down to Cornwall in a passion to sift
+the thing for himself.  There he found the Great Wheal Dooem pump-engine
+going full swing, day and night, under the superintendence of one man,
+while the vast works underground (on which depended the "enormous"
+dividends promised to and expected by the T.C.P.) were carried on by
+another man and a boy.  On making this discovery the fiery old gentleman
+with the denuded head left Cornwall--still in a passion--and exploded in
+the face of a meeting of the members of the T.C.P., who immediately
+exploded in each other's faces, and appointed an indignation committee
+to go and explode, with unexampled fury, in the faces of the managing
+director and Secretary Jack.  But these knowing gentlemen, being aware
+that the explosion was coming, had wisely betaken themselves to the
+retirement and seclusion of the Continent.
+
+Without troubling the reader with further particulars, we may say, in
+conclusion, that the result was the stoppage of Wheal Dooem mining
+operations, and the summary dismissal of the two men and the boy.  At
+the present day the ruins of that great concern may be seen standing on
+the wild sea-cliffs of west Cornwall, solitary, gaunt, and grey, with
+the iron "bob" of the pump-engine motionless and pointing up obliquely
+to the sky, as if the giant arm of the mine were upraised to protest for
+ever against the villainy and the too confiding folly that had left it
+standing there--a monument of wasted and misdirected energy--a caution
+to all speculators--a deserted mine--in the language of miners, a
+"knacked bal."
+
+There are many such "knacked bals" in Cornwall, with their iron "bobs"--
+horizontal, depressed, or raised aloft, according to the attitude in
+which they expired--holding forth similar firm, silent, and perpetual
+protests and cautions.  Many Wheal Dooems (which having accomplished
+their ends may now be termed Wheal Donems) are to be seen all over the
+country on gorse-clad hills and on bold headlands; but, alongside of
+these, may be seen their venerable ancestors, still alive and working;
+subject, indeed, at times, to fits of depression, when, as their
+indomitable and unconquerable managers will tell you, "the price of tin
+is low," and subject also to seasons of revival, when they are getting a
+"little better price for tin," but still working on with untiring
+persistency whether the price of tin be high or low.
+
+Chief among these, our chosen type, Botallack, may be seen bristling on
+the grey cliffs of the "far west" with the Atlantic winds and spray
+revelling amongst its machinery, and the thunder of its stamps giving
+constant token that hundreds of stout-hearted, strong-limbed Cornishmen
+are still hewing out tin and copper from its gloomy depths, as they did
+in days gone by, and as they will, doubtless, continue to do in time to
+come--steadily, sternly, manfully doing their work of sinking and
+extending the mine deeper down under the sod and further out under the
+sea.
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Deep Down, a Tale of the Cornish Mines, by 
+R.M. Ballantyne
+
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