mate, "but
thank God that villain of a Billings has no more than four lives to
answer for."

CHAPTER XVIII

SHUT DOWN

Food and rest were all that was needed to restore the boys who had been
rescued to their normal condition once more, and since the works were
necessarily shut down they had ample opportunity for the latter remedy.

Fred learned from his mother that Bill and Joe had remained foremost
among the laborers nearly every moment of the time they were imprisoned
in the drift; but the full story of the rescue was not told until on the
second day, when Joe called.

"It looked pretty blue one spell," the latter said in reply to Fred's
questions. "The first attempt to get down the slope was a failure. When
we reached the upper level all three were so nearly overcome by the foul
air that Mr. Wright could hardly make the signal for the car to be
pulled back. Late at night we tried it agin, an' brought out the four
poor fellows who were caught on the slope. Next mornin' Billings' body
was found, an' then it wasn't hard to tell what caused the trouble."

"Did you spend any time there looking for us?"

"No, for Bill and me calculated that if you hadn't got to Skip before
the explosion come it would be a month's work to find the bodies. We
went down the old shaft, an' began from there, workin' at guess till
both of us began to believe we'd gone wrong. If Sam hadn't yelled jest
as he did the gang would have started in from the old drift that runs to
the chamber."

"In that case we wouldn't have been found in time."

"You're right; but seein' as we did find you all secure, there's no use
speculatin' about the other side of the matter."

"Have you seen Skip?"

"He was down to the store this mornin' tellin' what he knew of Billings'
movements, for the coroner is investigatin' the affair."

"And Sam?"

"He's lively as a cricket, an' counts on comin' here this afternoon."

"How long will it be before the works can be opened again?"

"Two or three months for the whole gang, but some can begin in half that
time, I reckon. It's goin' to be rough on them as haven't anything laid
by for a rainy day."

"And mother and I can be counted among those," Fred said, with a sigh.

"Don't worry about that my son," Mrs. Byram replied cheerily. "It is
sufficient for me that your life has been spared, and I am certain we
shall be able to provide for the future, but you are not to go into the
mine again. The four ter