end of that time
the hole was sufficiently deep to blast, so Maggot called out,--"Zackey,
my son, fetch the fuse and powder." The boy was quickly lowered with
these materials, and then drawn up.

Meanwhile Maggot proceeded to charge the hole, and his comrade sat down
to rest. He put in the powder and tamping, and asked the other to hand
him the tamping-bar.

"Zackey has forgot it," said Trevarrow, looking round.

"It don't matter; hand me the borer."

"No, I won't," said Trevarrow decidedly, as he grasped the iron tool in
question. "Ho! Zackey booy, throw down the tampin'-bar."

This was done, and the operation of filling the hole continued, while
Trevarrow commented somewhat severely on his companion's recklessness.

"That's just how the most o' the reckless men in the bal do get blaw'd
up," he said; "they're always picking away at the holes, and tamping
with iron tools; why, thee might as well put a lighted match down the
muzzle of a loaded gun as tamp with an iron borer."

"Come, now," said Maggot, looking up from his work with a leer, "it
warn't that as made old Kimber nearly blow hisself up last week."

"No, but it was carelessness, anyhow," retorted Trevarrow; "and lucky
for him that he was a smart man, else he'd bin gone dead by this time."

Maggot soon completed the filling of the hole, and then perpetrated as
reckless a deed as any of his mining comrades had ever been guilty of.
Trevarrow was preparing to ascend by the windlass, intending to leave
his comrade to light the fuse and come up after him. Meanwhile Maggot
found that the fuse was too long. He discovered this after it was fixed
in the hole, and, unobserved by his companion, proceeded to cut it by
means of an iron tool and a flat stone. Fire was struck at the last
blow by the meeting of the iron and the stone, and the fuse ignited. To
extinguish it was impossible; to cut it in the same way, without
striking fire, was equally so. Of course there was plenty of time to
ascend by the windlass, but _only one_ at a time could do so. The men
knew this, and looked at each other with terrible meaning in their eyes
as they rushed at the bucket, and shouted to the man above to haul them
up. He attempted to do so, but in vain. He had not strength to haul up
two at once. One could escape, both could not, and to delay would be
death to both. In this extremity David Trevarrow looked at his comrade,
and said calmly,--"Escape, my brother; a minut