"Whatever is the meaning of all this?" panted the Colonel, as Major
Jollivet came up more slowly, looking weak and pale, but urged on by his
excitement, to their side.
Gwyn blurted out something incoherent, for he was too much exhausted to
speak plainly, and stared confusedly at his father.
"What?" cried the latter; "I can't understand you. Here, Joe Jollivet,
what have you to say?"
"Blurr--blurr--bline!" babbled Joe.
"Splendid cuts, Pendarve. The grand old form," panted Major Jollivet.
"You--you--you--sent--sent--the blood--der--der--dancing through--in--my
veins."
"Yes, I flatter myself, he had them home," said the Colonel, smiling
with satisfaction. "Regular old pursuing practice. Lucky for him it
was not the steel. But what is it all about? Who is the fellow? Was
he trying to rob you?"
"No--you, father," stuttered Gwyn. "C-caught him--mum--measuring the
mine. Took away--his line."
"What? You boys did?"
Joe nodded, still too breathless to speak, and not feeling disposed to
utter incoherent sounds again.
"Yes--father--Joe's got it."
"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed the Colonel. "It seems to me that you've both got
it. Do you know that your nose is bleeding, sir?"
Gwyn gave that organ the aboriginal wipe, drawing the back of his hand
across his face, looked at it and saw that it was covered with blood.
"No--didn't know, father," he said, taking out his handkerchief now.
"Yes, it does bleed."
"Bleed, yes! Why, you have had a regular fight, then?"
"Running fight, seemingly," said the Major, grimly. "Tut--tut--tut!
What a disreputable pair of young blackguards they look."
"Never mind," said the Colonel, suavely. "They did quite right to
attack the enemy, even if he was in greater force. But I don't quite
understand it, Gwyn. Did he say he was measuring the mine?"
"No, father; but we saw him doing it."
"But how could he know anything about it? The man was a stranger to
me."
"I never saw him before, father?"
"Humph!" ejaculated the Colonel, turning to the Major, "I'm glad I
brought you out to have a look. Pretty good proof that someone believes
the old mine to be valuable, eh?"
"Yes, or a trick to make it seem so."
"Pooh! Impossible! It might be if someone wanted to sell the mine; but
it is not for sale, and not likely to be. So you found him measuring--
sounding, I suppose you mean?"
"Yes, sir," said Joe. "Here's the line, and it seems to have knots in
it to show the depth."
For the boy was busily reeling up the loose cord, and walking back
toward where the leaden weight had twined it round the piece of granite.
Joe set this free, and it proved to be a regular fishing sinker.
"But what did the fellow say to give you an excuse for attacking him as
you did?"
"Said he was fishing, father," replied Gwyn; "but that was only his
insolence."
"Might have been stupid enough to think he could fish there," said the
Major.
"No; he meant to find out something about the place. It is being talked
about the--"
"Yes, a good deal," said the Major, significantly. "Well, as you have
brought me here to see it, you may as well show me the hole."
By this time the line was all wound up, and the Colonel led the way back
to the mine, where, just as they reached the rough stone-wall, Gwyn ran
forward and picked up a common memorandum book, which had fallen, to lie
half-hidden amongst the heath.
A roughly pointed lead pencil was between the leaves, which opened to
show that the owner had been making notes; but that he was not
accustomed to the work was evident from the spelling, the first entry
reading as follows:--
"_Dounter warter 30 fathom_."