THE MINE BOSS IN A DILEMMA
The companions of the Mollie who exhibited such consternation at the
sight of the mine boss were almost as frightened as he to see those for
whom they had been so recently searching through the old workings, and
who they thought must surely have been killed by the explosion, standing
before them. They shrunk back as the young man stepped towards them; but
reassured by his cheery words, they allowed him to help them from the
car, and were almost ready to believe that it was not he, but some other
who had confronted them so boldly at the meeting. He could not have been
kinder to them if they had been his dear friends; and from that hour
they ranked among his firmest supporters and adherents in the colliery.
Derrick caught hold of Monk Tooley, and insisted upon taking him, as he
said, to see Bill, and show him that he was all right. In reality he
wanted to give the man a chance to rest, and recover somewhat from his
recent trying experience, before meeting with his wife and children.
Bill Tooley, under kind care, amid quiet and pleasant surroundings, and
aided by his own strong constitution, was in a fair way to recover his
health and strength. The fever had left him, and he was able to sit up
for a few minutes at a time. The only serious trouble seemed to be with
his right leg. It gave him great pain, and was threatened with a
permanent lameness. He already seemed a different boy from what he had
been, and would hardly be recognized for the bully of a short time
before. He gave way to occasional outbursts of impatient anger, but
these were always quieted by the gentle presence and soothing words of
either Mrs. Sterling or little Helen; and in his rough way he would
express sorrow for them by saying, "Don't yer mind me, mum; I don' mean
nothin'; only dis ere blessed leg gits de best of me sometimes." Or to
Helen, "Don't yer be afeared, sissy; I know I talks awful ugly; but I
ain't. It's only de pain of de leg breakin' out in bad words."
The meeting between father and son that night, when Derrick persuaded
Monk Tooley to go home with him, was curious to witness. Bill was as
fond of his father, in his way, as the latter was of him, and had been
very anxious when he knew he was in the mine at the time of the
explosion. Both were much affected when Monk stepped to his son's
bedside; but they had no words to express their feelings. The father
said,
"Well, lad, how goes it?"
Bill answered, "Middlin', feyther. I heerd yer got blowed up."
"Well, yer see I didn't. Job Taskar's killed, though."
"Better him nor anoder."
"Yes. Yer want ter be gittin' outen dis, son. Times is hard, an' idlin's
expensive."
"All right, feyther; I'll soon be in de breaker agin."
This was all; but the two were assured of each other's safety and
well-being, and for them that was enough.
Monk Tooley accepted a cup of tea from Mrs. Sterling, and departed with
a very warm feeling in his heart towards those who were doing so much
for his boy.
His wife and the neighbor women, who as usual were gathered in her
house, were loud in their exclamations of pleasure and wonder at seeing
him safe home again from "the blowing up of the mine," but he gruffly
bade them "be quiet, and not be making all that gabble about a trifle."
The mine boss took an early opportunity to examine the plans of the old
workings, and soon discovered the slight difference between them and
Derrick's tracing that they had followed in their recent expedition.
Summoning the boy, he pointed it out, and asked him whether he had made
a mistake in copying the plan, or had purposely made the alteration that
had led to such serious consequences.
Derrick confessed that he had added a little to one line of the plan,
because he thought the line was intended to go that way, and when he
drew it so it seemed to make everything come out all right.
"Well," said Mr. Jones, "the result shows that instead of making
everything come out all right, you made it come all wrong. Now, Derrick,
I want this to be a lesson that you will remember all your life. By
making that one little bit of a change in a single line you placed
yourself and me in great peril. In consequence of the situation to which
it led one man has lost his life, and several others came very near
doing so. You thought you knew better than your father who drew that
plan, and in your ignorance undertook to improve upon his work.
"I won't say that good may not come out of all this, for I believe that
with the loss of their leader the society of Mollies is broken up, in
this colliery at least, for some time to come, but that does not make
your fault any the less.
"Remember, my boy," he added, somewhat more gently, as he saw great
tears rolling down the lad's cheeks, "that the little things of this
life lead to and make up its great events, and it is only by paying the
closest attention to them that we can ever hope to achieve good
results."
This was all that was ever said to Derrick upon this subject, but it was
enough, and he will never forget it. When he left the presence of the
mine boss he was overwhelmed with shame, and was angry to think that
what he considered so trifling a thing as to be unworthy of mention
should be treated so seriously. For an hour he walked alone through the
woods back of the village, and gave himself up to bitter thoughts.
Gradually he began to realize that every word the mine boss had said was
true, and to see what he had done in its proper light. He thought of all
the kindness Mr. Jones had shown him, and the confidence reposed in him.
Finally he broke out with, "I have been a conceited fool, and now I know
it. If I ever catch Derrick Sterling getting into a scrape of this kind
again for want of paying attention to little things, or by thinking he
knows more than anybody else, he'll hear from me, that's all."
This was only a vague threat, but it meant a great deal, and from that
day to this neither of these failings has been noticed in the young
miner, even by those most intimately acquainted with him.
Nearly two weeks after this, upon returning home one evening from his
day's work in the mine, Derrick found a message from Mr. Jones awaiting
him. It asked him to call that evening, as the mine boss wished to see
and consult him upon business of importance.
Mrs. Sterling was greatly pleased at this, for it showed that her boy
still enjoyed the confidence of the man who had it in his power to do so
much for him, and that his favor was not withdrawn in consequence of the
recent affair of the tracing. Derrick had told his mother the whole
story, without making any effort to shield himself from blame; and
though she had trembled at the resulting consequences of his fault, and
the knowledge of how much worse they might have been, she had rejoiced
at the manner in which he accepted its lesson. She had only feared that
Mr. Jones, upon whom so much depended, would never trust her boy again,
or take him into his confidence as he had done.
Derrick was made equally happy by the message; for since the day on
which the mine boss had pointed out the weak spot in his character, and
delivered his little lecture on the wickedness of neglecting details, he
had held no conversation with him. He made haste to finish his supper,
wondering all the while, with his mother and Bill Tooley, who was now
able to sit at the table with them, what the business could be.
"There's some ladies over there," said little Helen; "they came to-day,
and I saw them."
"Where?" asked Derrick.
"At Mr. Jones's."
Now as the young mine boss was a bachelor, and lived alone, with the
exception of an old negro servant, this was startling information, and
her hearers thought Helen must have made some mistake. However, on the
chance that she might be right, Derrick was more particular than usual
in getting rid of every particle of grime and coal-dust, and dressed
himself in his best clothes. These, though much worn, nearly outgrown,
and even mended in several places, were scrupulously neat, and made him
appear the young gentleman he really was.
Although Derrick had been away to boarding-school, and was very
differently brought up from the other boys of the village, he was not at
all accustomed to society, especially that of ladies, and he felt
extremely diffident at the prospect of meeting these strangers, if
indeed Helen's report were true.
As he approached the house of the mine boss he saw that it was more
brilliantly lighted than usual, and just as he reached the door a
shadow, apparently that of a young girl, moved across one of the white
window-shades.
Instead of ringing the bell the boy walked rapidly on, with a quickly
beating heart, for some distance past the house.
"Supposing it should be a girl," he thought to himself, "I should never
dare say anything to her, and she'd find it out in a minute; then she'd
make fun of me. I wish I knew whether I was going to see them, or see
Mr. Jones alone. I hope he won't make me go in and be introduced."
Undoubtedly Derrick was bashful, and while he had apparently been brave
in the burning breaker, and in various trying situations, was only a
coward after all.
Again he approached the house, and again he walked hurriedly past it. As
he turned and walked towards it for the third time somebody came rapidly
from the opposite direction, and stopped at the very door he was afraid
to enter. They reached it at the same moment, and the somebody
recognizing him, said heartily, "Ah, Derrick, is that you? I'm glad I
got back in time. I was unexpectedly detained by business, and feared
you might get here before me. Walk in."
There was no help for it now. Wishing with all his heart that he were
safely at home, or down in the mine, or anywhere but where he was, and
trembling with nervousness, Derrick found himself a moment later inside
the house, and--alone with Mr. Jones in the library.
"Sit down, Derrick," said the latter, as he stood in front of the
fireplace. "I have sent for you to ask you to help me out of a sort of a
scrape."
So he was not to be asked to meet strange ladies or girls after all, and
his fears were groundless. What a goose he had been! Why should he be
afraid of a girl anyhow? she wouldn't bite him. These and other similar
thoughts flashed through Derrick's mind as he tried to listen to Mr.
Jones, and to overcome a feeling of disappointment that in spite of his
efforts presently filled his mind.
"It is this," continued the mine boss. "For some time past my only
sister, Mrs. Halford, who lives in Philadelphia, has been threatening to
bring her daughter Nellie on a trip through the Lehigh Valley into the
coal region to see me, and be taken down into a mine. They arrived
unexpectedly this afternoon, and have got to return home the day after
to-morrow; so to-morrow is the only opportunity they will have for
visiting the mine. Of course I had made arrangements to take them
around, and show them everything there is to be seen; but now I find I
can't do it. Two hours ago I received a telegram telling me that an
important case, in which I am the principal witness, is to be tried in
Mauch Chunk to-morrow, and I must be there without fail. Now I want you
to take my place, act as guide to the ladies, and show them all the
sights of interest about the colliery, both above-ground and in the
mine. Will you do this for me?"
Derrick hesitated, blushed, stammered, turned first hot and then cold,
until Mr. Jones, who was watching him with an air of surprise and
amusement, laughed outright.
"What is the matter?" he asked at length. "Ain't I offering you a
pleasanter job than that of driving a bumping-mule all day?"
"No, sir--I mean yes, sir; of course I will, sir," said Derrick, finally
recovering his voice. "Only don't you think one of the older men--"
"Oh, nonsense! You're old enough, and know the colliery well enough. I
don't want them taken through the old workings," added Mr. Jones, with a
twinkle in his eyes.
"If you did, sir, I believe I could guide them as well as anybody!"
exclaimed Derrick, with all his self-possession restored, together with
a touch of his old self-conceit.
"I haven't a doubt of it," answered the other. "Now, if it's all settled
that you are to act as their escort to-morrow, step into the parlor and
let me introduce you to the ladies."
With this he threw open the door connecting the two rooms, and said,
"Sister, this is Derrick Sterling, of whom I have spoken to you so
often, and who will act as your guide in my place to-morrow. Derrick,
this is my sister, Mrs. Halford, and my niece, Miss Nellie."
Poor Derrick felt very much as he had done when, with the same
companion, he had been unexpectedly ushered into the meeting of the
Mollie Maguires, and, as on that occasion, his impulse was to run away.
Before he had a chance to do anything so foolish, a motherly-looking
woman, evidently older than Mr. Jones, but bearing a strong resemblance
to him, stepped forward, and taking the boy by the hand, said, "I am
very glad to meet you, Derrick, for my brother has told me what a brave
fellow you are, and that he feels perfectly safe in trusting us to your
guidance to-morrow."
Then Miss Nellie, a pretty girl of about his own age, whose eyes
twinkled with mischief, held out her hand, and said, "I think you must
be a regular hero, Mr. Sterling, for I'm sure you've been through as
much as most of the book heroes I've read about."
Blushing furiously at this, and coloring a still deeper scarlet from the
knowledge that he was blushing, and that they were all looking at him,
Derrick barely touched the tips of the little fingers held out to him.
Then thinking that this perhaps seemed rude, he made another attempt to
grasp the offered hand more heartily, but it was so quickly withdrawn
that this time he did not touch it at all, whereupon everybody laughed
good-naturedly.
Instead of further embarrassing the boy, this laugh had the effect of
setting him at his ease, and in another minute he was chatting as
pleasantly with Miss Nellie and her mother as though they had been old
friends.
Before he left them it was arranged that, early in the morning, he
should show the ladies all that was to be seen above-ground, and that
they should spend the heat of the day in the cool depths of the mine.
The boy had much to tell his mother, little Helen, and Bill Tooley, who
were sitting up waiting for him, when he arrived home; but, after all,
he left them to wonder over the age of Miss Halford, whom he only
casually mentioned as Mr. Jones's niece.