ister's words had struck very deeply
into his heart.

It was a gloomy place, that mine, and opened out into strange cavernous
places, eaten away by water, or by strange crackings and subsidences of
the earth, in the far distant ages when the boiling springs of the
volcanic regions were depositing the beds of tufa, here of immense
thickness, springs which are still in evidence, but no longer to pour
out waters that scald, but of a gentle lukewarm or tepid temperature,
which go on depositing their suspended stone to this day, though in a
feeble, sluggish manner.

Dan Rugg was Sir Edward's chief man over the mine. Not a gentleman
superintendent, but a genuine miner, who gave orders, and then helped to
carry them out. He had the credit of knowing more about mines than any
man in the midland counties, knowledge gathered by passing quite half
his life underground like a mole.

Dummy was his only child, so-called on account of his being a
particularly silent, stupid-looking boy. But old Dan said he was not
such a fool as he looked, and Dan was right.

Dummy hailed his young master's coming with quiet satisfaction, for Mark
was almost the only being to whom he ever said much; and as soon as he
saw him come to where he was at work, he walked with him to a chest, and
took out a flint and steel and a good supply of home-made candles,
without stopping to ask questions; and then lighting one, he handed it
to Mark, and led off into the part of the mine where the men were not at
work.

"Aren't you going to take a candle, Dummy?" said Mark.

"No, master; I can manage."

"I believe you can see in the dark, like a rat or an owl. Can you?"

"Not very well, Master Mark; but I can see a bit. Got used to it, I
s'pose."

"Well, why are you going down there?" asked Mark.

"'Cause I thought you'd like to see the place I found while you were at
school."

"Ah! Is it worth seeing?"

"Dunno. It's big."

"Been dug out?"

"Nay. It's a big split as goes up ever so far, and goes down ever so
far. Chucked bits down; and they were precious long 'fore they hit
bottom. There's a place over the other side too, and I clum round to
it, and it goes in and in, farther than I could stop to go. Thought I'd
wait till you came home."

"That's right, Dummy. We will not go to-day; but start early some
morning, and take a basket and bottle with us."

"Ay, that's the way. Water's warm in there, I think."

By degrees, from old acquai