lping,
but a stone fell on him and he sat down. There was no light except the
flicker of the lamps in the men's hats and they did not see Thirlwell.

"Are you hurt, kid?" one asked Drummond.

"He's scared," Driscoll growled. "Let him get out; this is a man's job."

Drummond sprang to his feet, although Thirlwell noted an ugly bruise on
his forehead.

"Talk about being scared!" he cried. "Why you're 'most scared to death
of the rapid! What d'you reckon lives there that's going to get you in
the dark?"

Driscoll stepped forward. His face looked gray, but his mouth was hard
and his eyes shone with savage rage. Thirlwell thought the man's passion
was dangerous, and running up, got in front of him and sent Drummond to
the shaft.

"Load up that broken rock," he said. "If you leave the job and come back
here, I'll fire you out."

He was disturbed by the quarrel, because he understood something of
Driscoll's feelings when stung by the taunt. Then he was curious about
Drummond's object for making it, and wondered how much he knew. He kept
them apart and when they stopped at noon Driscoll came up to him.

"I want to quit when the week's up," he said.

"Why?" Thirlwell asked, looking hard at him.

"For one thing, I've put up most of the new timbers and guess she'll
hold for a while. Then I sure don't like that _Metis_ kid. Reckon I'll
kill him if I stop."

"Do what you think best," said Thirlwell, who saw he must get rid of one
and would sooner keep Drummond. "If you come back later, we may find you
a job."

At the end of the week, Driscoll went off into the bush, and after
supper Thirlwell sent for Drummond. Scott was sitting near him outside
the shack when the young man came up.

"If you make any fresh trouble here, you know what's coming to you,"
Scott remarked. "Steve is a good miner and it won't pay us to keep you
and let him go."

"I guess you won't find the boys are sorry he lit out. There's something
wrong about the man."

"If that's so, it's not your business," Thirlwell rejoined. "But why did
you tell him he was scared of the rapid?"

Drummond sat down on a fir-stump and grinned with frank amusement. He
had finished his duty until the next shift went under ground and in the
meantime his employers had no authority over him. Indeed, he felt that
he had conceded something by coming when he was sent for, and he might
not have done so had he not liked Thirlwell.

"Because Steve certainly _was_ scared,"