s better than to torture her heart with hopes that
could only by the rarest possibility be fulfilled. Now, now, if he
dared to go home to her this night, and tell her that their son was
alive, was found, was coming back to them! Ah! if he only dared!

The sunlight, streaming through the western window, fell upon him as
he walked. It was that golden light that conies from a sun low in the
west, when the days are long, and it illumined his face with a glow
that revealed there the hope, the courage, the honor, the manly
strength that held mastery in his heart.

There was a sudden commotion in the outer office. Men were talking in
an excited manner; some one opened the door, and said:--

"There's been an accident in the breaker mine, Mr. Burnham."

"What kind of an accident?"

"Explosion of fire-damp."

"What about the men?"

"It is not known yet how many are injured."

"Tell James to bring the horses immediately; I will go there."

"James is waiting at the door now with the team, sir."

Mr. Burnham put away a few papers, wrote a hurried letter to his wife,
took his hat and went out and down the steps.

"Send Dr. Gunther up to the breaker at once," he said, as he made
ready to start.

The fleet horses drew him rapidly out through the suburbs and up the
hill, and in less than twenty minutes he had reached the breaker, and
stopped at the mouth of the shaft.

Many people had already assembled, and others were coming from all
directions. Women whose husbands and sons worked in the mine were
there, with pale faces and beseeching words. There was much confusion.
It was difficult to keep the crowd from pressing in against the mouth
of the shaft. Men were busy clearing a space about the opening when
Robert Burnham arrived.

"How did it happen?" he said to the mine boss as he stepped from his
wagon. "Where was it?"

"Up in the north tier, sir. We don't know how it happened. Some one
must 'a' gone in below, where the fire-damp was, with a naked lamp,
an' touched it off; an' then, most like, it run along the roof to the
chambers where the men was a-workin'. I can't account for it in no
other way."

"Has any one come out from there?"

"Yes, Billy Williams. He was a-comin' out when it went off. We found
him up in the headin', senseless. He ain't come to yet."

"And the others?"

"We've tried to git to 'em, sir, but the after-damp is awful, an' we
couldn't stan' it; we had to come out."

"How many men are up th