ts lay still with tingling nerves. Daly must
have heard him and was, no doubt, crouching in the dark, ready to
shoot. He tried again to find the pistol, and then with an effort
pulled himself together. The next move might draw a shot, but he must
risk that and not lie there helpless. Besides, if the fellow missed,
he might grapple with and disarm him, and he sprang to his feet.

"Daly!" he called in a voice that he meant to be careless but was
rather hoarse. "It's Foster. I want to talk about Featherstone."

There was no reply. He heard water falling into a pool, but except for
this the mine was strangely silent, and after waiting for a moment he
drew back against the rock.

"Pete!" he shouted.

His voice sounded muffled and he wondered whether Pete could hear, but
tried to fix his attention on the dark in front. It was there that
danger might lurk. Then he heard Pete stumbling among the stones, and
presently the man came up, panting with haste.

"Where's the lamp?" Foster asked.

He knew he was going to do a dangerous thing if Daly was hiding near,
but something must be risked and he struck a match. It sputtered,
throwing an illusive gleam on the wet rock a yard or two in front, and
then went out. Foster struck another with a hoarse exclamation and
touched the wick of a small, flat, metal lamp, such as Western miners
hook on their hats. Candles are not common in Canadian towns where
water-power makes electric lighting cheap. The lamp gave a dim smoky
light, and when Foster picked up his pistol they waited a few moments,
looking eagerly in front.

A trickle of water fell from a crack in the roof and running down the
floor of the adit vanished into the gloom. Here and there a ragged
projection caught the light, but the rest of the tunnel was hidden in
impenetrable darkness. They went on cautiously, though Foster now felt
anxious because there was no sign of Daly. After a minute or two, the
light fell on a wall of dry rock with a pool at the bottom, and he knew
they had reached the end of the adit. Next moment he saw there was an
opening to one side where some ore had been taken out. If Daly was in
the mine, he was there, and warning Pete with a sign, he turned the
comer.

The light showed a small, dry chamber, strewn with sharp stones, some
of which had been put together to make a hearth. Between these lay the
ashes of a fire; bits of food were scattered about, and a blue Hudson's
Bay blanket