“Oh, they’ll be all right,” said Harry Vores. “The place is bigger than we thought; but we ought to have known, seeing what a sight of water was pumped out. They’ve only gone farther than they expected, and we shall be having them all up in a bunch directly.”
He had hardly uttered these words when the gong arranged for signalling gave three tings, and the engineer responded by standing by to hoist.
Another signal was sent up, and the wheel began to revolve, the wire rope tightened, and the empty skep descended.
“Won’t bring ’em all up at once, will you, mate?” said Harry Vores.
“No; two lots,” said the engineer; and the men all eagerly gathered round the place to see the explorers of a mine which had not been entered probably for hundreds of years when they came up, and to learn what report they would have to give of the prospects of the place.
The rope ran over the wheel almost silently, for the work had been well done; and as they were waiting, Grip, who had passed the greater part of his time watching the place where he had seen his master disappear, grew more and more excited. He kept on bursting into loud fits of barking till the ascending skep appeared, when he bounded away among the men, barking, snarling and growling savagely, for the only occupant of the skep was Dinass.
“Hullo!” cried Vores, as the man stepped out, muddy and wet, with his cheeks reddened by the minerals which had discoloured his hands, and looking as if he had rubbed his face from time to time.
“Hullo, to you,” he said sourly; and he sat down at once upon a rough bench, with the water slowly dripping from his legs and boots.
“Where are the young guv’nors? Lie down, dog!”
“Young guv’nors?” said Dinass, looking wonderingly round as he slowly took the lanthorn from where it swung from his waist by a strap.