Here, Joe, let's tell our fathers that this fellow is hanging about
here."

"No," said Joe, dismally. "I feel as if I didn't mind about anything
now. My father looked at me as if I'd been doing it all on purpose to
annoy him. Let's go home."

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

A BRUTAL THREAT.

Gwyn did not see Joe for a whole week, and he did not go over to the
mine, for the Colonel had called him into his room the next morning, and
had a very long, serious talk with him, and this was the end of his
lesson,--

"Of course, I meant you to go and read for the army, Gwyn, my lad, but
this mine has quite upset my plans, and I can't say yet what I shall do
about you. It will seem strange for one of our family to take to such a
life, but a man can do his duty in the great fight of life as well
whether he's a mine owner or a soldier. He has his men to keep in hand,
to win their confidence, and make them follow him, and to set them a
good example, Gwyn. But I can't say anything for certain. It's all a
speculation, and I never shut my eyes to the fact that it may turn out a
failure. If it does, we can go back to the old plans."

"Yes, father," said the boy, rather dolefully, for his father had
stopped as if waiting for him to speak.

"But if it turns out a successful, honest venture, you'll have to go on
with it, and be my right-hand man. You'll have to learn to manage,
therefore, better than ever I shall, for you'll begin young. So we'll
take up the study of it a bit, Gwyn, and you shall thoroughly learn what
is necessary in geology, and metallurgy and chemistry. If matters come
to the worst, you won't make any the worse officer for knowing such
matters as these. It's a fine thing, knowledge. Nobody can take that
away from you, and the more you use it the richer you get. It never
wastes."

"No, father," said Gwyn, who began to feel an intense desire now to go
on with his reading about the wars of Europe, and the various campaigns
of the British army, while the military text-book, which it had been his
father's delight to examine him in, suddenly seemed to have grown
anything but dry.

"Begin reading up about the various minerals that accompany tin ore in
quartz, for one thing, and we'll begin upon that text-book, dealing with
the various methods of smelting and reducing ores, especially those
portions about lead ore, and extracting the silver that is found with
it."

"Yes, father," said Gwyn, quietly; and the