"How did he know where I was?"
"H'm, he found out all right. Ye can't hide from him fer long. He thinks a lot of you, he sure does."
"Where is he now, then?"
"Oh, he skedaddled when he saw the fire. He was 'most scared t' death."
"So he left you alone to save us?" Jess asked. "There was a note of tenderness in her voice.
"Oh, I didn't mind. He'd only been in the way. He's no good."
"And you came right through the fire to help us! We would have been burned alive but for you."
"I'm glad I was in time. Oh!" Eben tried to smother the groan, but in vain. The intense excitement on the lake while seeing from the flames had kept his mind from his burns, but now in the darkness and stillness of the mine it was different. His sufferings increased, and he felt like screaming with the pain. He could sit still no longer.
"You stay here," he ordered, "while I go an' see how things look outside."
"Be careful of yourself, and keep out of the fire," Mrs. Hampton warned.