Both of the listeners found heart to smile at the latter sentence before Dane's resentment mastered him.
"It is particularly considerate of him, but his proposition has some sense in it," said Maxwell aside. "You are acting surgeon-major, Hilton. What do you suggest?"
"You can go straight to perdition, or anywhere else that pleases you, so long as you don't waste our time!" thundered Dane; and with a salute which expressed no resentment, but only relief, Rideau withdrew.
"How long does this thing generally last?" asked Dane.
"Sometimes it clears a village out in a fortnight, more often it hangs round a month, or even longer, picking out odd victims; and before that time has gone we shall have the rains."
"Which will prevent any further mining, probably cut off our road to the coast, and render life here almost impossible," Dane said hoarsely.
"Exactly. There can be no more mining now."
As the two men's eyes met, each knew just what his comrade was thinking.
"We must see them through," said Dane, and Maxwell answered, as though this decision had never been in doubt: "Of course!"
With that they fell to work again, for there was much to do, which was fortunate, because, otherwise, the thought of what both would certainly lose and what one was risking for the sake of naked heathen, many of whom were little higher in intelligence than dumb cattle, might have maddened them. Still, even the most stupid had trusted the white men, and, in their own fashion, served them well.