ON DUTY
In order to reach the yard where the lumber was to be found it was
necessary that the boys should pass near the store, and at a point where
Mr. Wright's house could be seen plainly. The mob which now surrounded
it was in full view, and the angry shouts, mingled with breaking glass,
came to their ears with great distinctness.
"It doesn't seem right for us to stay here when we might be of some
service there," Fred said as he pointed in the direction of the
building.
"I don't know what we could do if we were on the spot. It isn't likely
those men would stop because we asked them to do so, and, so far as I
can judge, it is very much better to stay at a respectful distance."
"And let them destroy the buildings?"
"What can you do to prevent it?"
"Nothing that I know of, and yet it is wicked to let this thing be done
without some protest."
"Mr. Wright would attend to that matter if a protest would amount to
anything. Our duty is to protect your mother, and that must be attended
to before anything else."
"I realize that fact fully; but----"
At this moment Mr. Wright called from the rear of the store:
"Boys, come here!"
Obeying the summons they were led to a rear room where were assembled
the principal officers of the mine, all looking more or less
frightened, and the superintendent said as they entered:
"Is there anything to prevent your doing as I wish during the next few
hours."
"Not that I know of, sir," Fred replied. "We were about to fasten up the
broken windows at home; but that is of little consequence in case you
require our services."
"The force of men on guard at the slope is too small if the rioters try
to effect an entrance. It is in the highest degree important that
Billings' crowd be prevented from getting in, until all our arrangements
have been made. Will you go on duty there until troops can be summoned?"
"We are willing to do everything in our power."
"Then arm yourselves with these guns."
Mr. Wright pointed to a number of muskets as he spoke, and Sam did not
delay in selecting a weapon.
"I must tell mother where I have gone or she will be worried," Fred
said, as he started toward the door.
"I will call upon her at once, and you need not delay."
"How long are we likely to remain on duty?"
"Only until troops arrive. We have telegraphed to the governor, and a
company should be here within the next twenty-four hours."
"It isn't probable the sentinels will take our word for it that you have
sent us."
"Here is a line to Donovan, and you had better start at once, for
there's no saying how soon the rioters may get tired of destroying
dwellings. Tell Donovan that we hope to send him a larger force soon."
The boys felt very much like soldiers as they marched toward the slope,
each armed with a gun and half a dozen cartridges, and the tumult which
could be heard distinctly, heightened the illusion.
"They have set fire to some building," Sam said, as he pointed to a
column of smoke which rose from the direction of the superintendent's
home. "If that kind of work has begun there's little chance of its being
ended while Billings' crowd hold the town."
"I ought to have staid with mother. There's no reason why I should help
fight the company's quarrels while she may be in danger."
"You could be of no assistance, and it is better to be out of the way,
for Skip and his gang will not remain quiet while it is possible to do
mischief."
"At the same time I should be with her," Fred replied; but making no
motion to return.
Upon arriving at the entrance to the slope they were stopped by a
sentinel who cried as he leveled his gun:
"Halt! What do you want?"
"We have been sent by Mr. Wright with a note to Donovan," Sam replied.
"Stay where you are, and I will call him."
"This looks like fighting," Sam said, as the sentinel shouted for the
breaker boss. "If they are afraid to let the boys come nearer than
hailing distance, what'll be done when the mob get here?"
"If the soldiers arrive things will be worse than they are now," Fred
said with a sigh, and then Donovan interrupted the mournful conversation
by calling as he came up the slope:
"Oh, it's you, eh? Well, get in here quick. I thought Mr. Wright had
sent some one to help us."
"So he has," and Sam handed the breaker boss the superintendent's
letter. "We're to go on duty here till help arrives in the shape of
soldiers."
"I s'pose you two will count for one man; but we need a good many more
by the looks of things. Go into the first level an' stay there till
you're wanted."
Obeying these instructions the boys found a dozen men lounging about the
chamber, some lying on the empty trucks, and others moving to and fro
restlessly; but all well armed.
Each one was most eager to know what was being done in the village, and
the story had but just been told when the first alarm came.
"Get up to the mouth of the slope," Donovan shouted from above. "There's
a small crowd comin' this way, an' it's best to be prepared for 'em."
The command was promptly obeyed, and all watched the score of men who
were approaching. Instead of nearing the sentinels they turned off to
the left before arriving within hailing distance, and one of the party
said in a tone of satisfaction:
"That's all right; they're only lookin' around to see if our eyes are
open."
"They are going in the direction of the shaft into which Skip's crowd
threw me," Fred whispered to Sam.
"Yes."
"And in that way it would be possible to get into this portion of the
mine."
"I s'pose so; but they ain't likely to make such a long trip as that."
"Why not, if by so doing the lower level could be flooded without any
risk to themselves?"
"Now don't get frightened, Fred, there isn't one chance in a hundred
that any of the crowd know about the old gallery."
"But if they do all of us might easily be driven out by the water."
"Since it troubles you so much, speak to Donovan. He's the boss, and
will know if anything should be done."
"You tell him."
"Not much; I'm not going to be laughed at."
Fred hesitated only a moment; he believed that it was of the utmost
importance this possible means of entering the mine should be guarded,
and calling Donovan aside told him of his escape from the shaft; but
refrained from mentioning Joe Brace's name.
"I reckon you're more frightened than hurt, lad; but at the same time I
don't want to run any risks. Since Sam Thorpe knows the way through,
take him an' start. One of you could keep a hundred from comin' in at
such a small hole as you tell about."
"Are we to stay there?"
"Half an hour'll be long enough; if they don't show theirselves by then
we'll know there's nothin' to be feared from that quarter."
Fred repeated to Sam what Donovan had said, and the orders were not
received in a cheerful spirit.
"That's all you get for bein' scared. It ain't any joke to travel
through the lower level, an' we can count on stayin' there till
midnight."
"It's better than being flooded out."
"I'm not so sure of that."
"Then you won't go?"
"Of course I will. Do you think I'm such a fool as to act dead against
orders. Come on, an' let's get through with it as soon as possible."
By using an empty car, allowing it to run down the grade by its own
weight, they were soon at the heavy doors which marked the termination
of the first level. Here a halt was made, because even the boys whose
duties it was to open the barriers were absent, and from this point the
remainder of the journey was made on foot.
At the lower level five miners were found repairing the pumps, and the
boys were forced once more to tell what had occurred in the village.
"Men what want to work don't go round kickin' up sich a row as this,"
one of the party said, as Fred and Sam passed on. "Give some of that
Billings' crowd a chance an' the slope never'd be opened agin."
"There's a miner who won't join the mob," Fred said.
"Yes; but for every man like that a dozen can be found to fight against
their own interests."
Now the boys no longer walked side by side. Sam led the way, watching
narrowly the lamp in his companion's cap to discover the first signs of
fire-damp, and guarding well the flame which served to show him the
proper course.
"Be careful of your matches," he said warningly. "They may be worth a
good deal before we get back from this wild goose chase."
"How much farther must we go?"
"Half an hour of fast traveling should bring us to where you found the
tunnel choked with coal, an' I don't reckon you count on tryin' to get
any farther."
"We couldn't do it, no matter how much we might want to."
"Oh, yes; when the doors are opened that pile will come down mighty
quick; but while it stays as it is the passage is blocked better than if
a dozen men were on guard."
Another time of silence, during which the boys walked rapidly, and then
Sam uttered an exclamation of surprise.
"Some one has been working here. Half the coal is pulled away, an' it
won't be much of a job to get into the chamber."
"Who could have done it?"
"Perhaps Billings' gang worked a spell after the order to quit was
given?"
"What could they have gained by reaching Joe again?"
"Taken him through the old drift to the shaft. But let's work our way
over this pile, an' then start back before our oil gives out."
Ten minutes of sharp labor and the boys were in the chamber where Brace
had been left to die, Sam throwing himself on the hard floor, as he
said:
"We'll take a breathin' spell before leaving. You see now there was no
use in comin'."
"So it seems; but I couldn't help thinking some of that crowd which
passed the slope knew how to get here."
"It ain't possible--Hark! What was that?"
A low hum as of conversation could be heard from the other side of the
wall, and Sam sprang to the aperture made by Fred and Joe Brace.
"I'll never yip again about you're being scared," he whispered after one
glance. "Here come the whole crowd, an' we're in a fix."
"They won't dare to crawl through, if we threaten to shoot."
"Let's first find out exactly what they are here for. It may be they are
only looking for Joe."
Standing either side the aperture the boys watched the approach of the
men whose movements were revealed by the miner's lamp each carried.
It was impossible to distinguish the conversation until the party was
very near the break in the wall, and then one shouted:
"Hello Joe! How are you?"
"We've come to pull you out of this scrape," another said, after waiting
a few seconds for a reply.
Then a lamp was pushed through, Fred and Sam crouching close against the
wall to avoid observation, and its owner cried in a tone of
astonishment:
"He isn't here! The place is empty!"
A deep silence reigned for a moment, and then some one said in an angry
tone.
"It ain't hard to understand the whole thing now. He slipped the ropes,
an' come out this way. Wright has heard the story, an' that's why the
works were shut down so suddenly."
"But what's become of him? He ain't in the town."
"Of course he is, an' hidin' somewhere. Jim, you run back an' tell
Billings so's he can hunt the sneak out."
"Are you goin' on alone?"
"Why not? Them fools are guardin' the slope, an' we can flood the place
before they so much as think any one has got in behind them. Tell the
boys we'll be back by sunset."
Sam touched Fred, to warn him that the time for action had arrived, and,
slight as was the movement, it caught the attention of the man on the
opposite side.
"Hold on," he cried. "There's somebody in here, an' we must know who it
is."
Before he could thrust his lamp through, Sam shouted:
"Stand back, or there'll be trouble. Two of us are here, both armed, and
we shall fire at the first one who so much as shows the tip of his
nose."