you shall see how
dearly."

Then Derrick stood up and looked about him. A crowd of men and boys were
running along the top of the dump towards them. In another minute they
had both been placed in the car, and amid the joyous cries and exultant
cheers it was being rapidly rolled back towards the village.

When Mrs. Sterling began to recover consciousness she smiled at the boy
whom she saw standing beside her, and said, faintly,

"I've had an awful dream, Derrick, and I thank God it was only a dream."

And Derrick said, "Amen, mother."

CHAPTER III

THE MINE BOSS TAKES DERRICK INTO HIS CONFIDENCE

In a mining community serious accidents, and even terrible disasters,
are of such frequent occurrence that in Raven Brook the burning of the
old breaker soon ceased to furnish a topic of conversation.

It was not until the day after that of the fire that Derrick learned of
the presence of mind displayed by the old breaker boss in comprehending
his signal on the gong and setting the vertical switch for the dump. As
soon as the old man came home that evening, Derrick went to his room
prepared to pour out his heartfelt thanks. He had hardly begun when the
breaker boss interrupted him with,

"There, that'll do, an' I don't want to hear no more on it. Any fool
knows that two gongs means 'dump switch,' an' when one's been in the
mines forty year, man an' boy, as I have, he don't take no credit to
himself for doing fool's work. When you get older you'll know better'n
to mention sich a thing."

"But, Mr. Guffy--"

"That'll do, I tell ye!" roared the irascible old man. "Clear outen
here, and go over to Warren Jones's; he wants to see ye. Hold on!" he
added, as Derrick was about to leave the room. "On your way stop and
tell that hunchback butty[2] of yourn to be on hand in the new breaker
at sharp seven to-morrow morning, if he wants to keep his job. Do ye
hear?"

[Footnote 2: Butty is the word used by miners to denote helper or
partner.]

As he went out Derrick smiled to think of the old man's pride, which
would not allow him to accept thanks or praise from a boy for performing
a creditable action.

At the same time the breaker boss was muttering to himself, "He's a fine
lad. If he'd 'a' come to grief through any fault of mine I'd never got
over it. 'Twon't do, though, to let him see that I think more of him
than of any others of the young scoundrels. Boys allus gets so upperty
if they thinks you're a-favorin'