Dick gave a hurried look behind him. He could see something shining in Smith's hand—something that the light from the torch glinted on.
"Keep on!" hoarsely whispered Tim. "He can't hit us down here. Keep on!"
Stumbling, almost falling, their candles showing but faint blue points of light as the flame flickered away from the wicks because of their speed, the boys ran toward the bottom of the shaft.
"If we reach the ladder I think we can get away," said Frank, panting from his exertion.
It seemed as if it was a mile back to the shaft, but it was only a few hundred feet. The boys expected every minute to hear the shot ring out. They caught the sounds of the footfalls of their pursuer and they sounded nearer and nearer. He was familiar with the gallery and his torch gave him better light to go by than did the candles give the boys.
Once more the angry miner's voice called:
"Hold on, whoever you are, or I'll shoot!"
"Quick! There's the shaft!" exclaimed Dick, pointing to where the big bucket rested at the bottom of the opening.
The boys made a rush for it. At the same instant a shot rang out in the darkness, the flash from the revolver lighting up the mine cavern with sudden glare. They could hear the bullet strike far above their heads with a vicious "ping!" Clearly, Smith was only firing to scare them, and did not want to run any chances of hurting them, as he had aimed high.
Then a strange thing happened. The cable, attached to the bucket, began to wind upward. There was considerable slack to it and the bucket did not immediately follow. It was evident that the machinery at the shaft mouth had started and that the ore-carrier was about to be hoisted up. An inspiration came to Dick.