uel would have sent Dick home, but he begged that, though he was
tired, he might go back to learn how it had fared with poor Bill Hagger.

"But I thought that Bill Hagger was one of your greatest enemies. He
seemed always to be ill-treating you," observed Samuel.

"So he did, father," answered Dick. "But don't you mind what the
missionary said the other day? `We should love our enemies and do good
to them that despitefully use us and hate us.'"

"So he did, Dick, to be sure; and I've often thought since then, what a
hard matter it must be to do it."

"He said that we must pray for God's help and grace, father, and that
then we shall be able to do what now seems so hard," was Dick's answer.

On reaching the bottom of the shaft, and going on a little way, they met
some men carrying Bill Hagger, who had been got out from under the coal,
but so dreadfully mangled, that it did not seem possible he could live.

Samuel now went back to work with his pick, and Dick returned to the
charge of his trap.

STORY SIX, CHAPTER 5.

Day after day Dick sat by the side of his trap, all in the dark and by
himself, opening and shutting it, as the corves and rolleys came by, and
Samuel worked away as usual with his pick and spade. Though not as
strong as many of the other hewers, he made as much as any one else by
keeping at his work. The missionary continued to come to the village
occasionally on the Sunday, but many of the men were absent that day, or
would not come to hear. He was a man very earnest in his work. His
great object was so to preach the gospel, that his hearers might
understand and accept the offers it makes. He therefore considered how
he might best get the ears of all the people in the district. Few men,
knowing the dangers of a coal mine, would go down a second time for
pleasure; but hearing that all the labourers collected in one place to
eat their meals, he got leave to go down to read the Bible and preach to
them all that time. They understood from this that he really wished to
do them good; and in the course of a week or two there were very few who
did not try to attend to what he said. Some few did much more than
that, they repented--they turned to Christ--they put their whole trust
in Him. Happy was it for those few who did so.

Dick was now becoming a biggish boy, and he hoped soon to be made a
putter. He did not like the work a bit more than before. He could not
help thinking of the green