uld persuade them to turn in all that weary night, during which time
they were in a state of suspense as to the fate of their comrades; and
they were equally disinclined to resume work in the mine.

They seemed capable of doing nothing, until they should learn how the
matter was settled, one way or other; and--heedless even of the welcome
addition of fresh meat to their scanty fare, in the fine wapiti that
they possessed through the precision of the young engineer's rifle,
which at another time would have roused equally their enthusiasm and
their appetites--remained grouped round impromptu log-fires that they
had lit to hail the absentees when they came back, looking to their arms
and ammunition so as to be ready for anything that might happen, and
considering amongst themselves as to what was best to be done in the
event of the non-arrival of the rescue party within a reasonable limit;
Seth fretting and worrying himself the while as much as any, although he
tried to preserve a quiet demeanour in order to reassure the rest, and
exclaiming against the "paltry wounds," as he called them--which gave
him much pain in spite of Jasper continually soaking the bandages around
them with cold water in pursuance of his directions--that prevented him
from taking an active part in his protege's recovery, instead of waiting
idly there while others went bravely to the fore, as he should have
done.

Be the night however weary, and watching long, the morning comes at
last:--thus it was now with the miners of Minturne Creek.

Daylight is a wonderful panacea for those gloomy thoughts and anxieties
which are nourished and magnified during the dark hours of the night;
so, when the sun arose next morning, after the weary watch of Seth and
the others, in the expectation that they might receive every moment the
news of some disaster to their comrades who had been gone so long,
instead of their fears being increased by the knowledge that the rescue
party had not yet returned, they felt inclined to take a much more
sanguine view of the situation--a view that Seth not only endorsed but
was the prime agent in promulgating, possibly through the pain of his
wounds having considerably lessened and caused him to look on things in
a more hopeful way.

"Tha'are all right b'ys, I reckon," said he. "No noos is good noos; fur
ef anythin' had kinder happen'd to 'em, we should have heert afore."

"So thinks I," said Tom Cannon; "and let's set to work ag