"I'll make a try for it anyhow; but I can't figger any way to get at it."
"Watch for a chance. They won't keep it in their hands all the time, and, by knockin' off work now an' then, loafin' 'round near where they are, you'll soon have your hands on it."
"You won't go back on me if I get into trouble?"
"Don't worry about that; I never shake a friend."
With this assurance Skip walked away feeling very happy because of the manner in which Billings spoke; but sadly perplexed as to the best course to accomplish the desired end.
CHAPTER XII
A SINGULAR ACCIDENT
Two trustworthy men had been selected from the night shift to keep guard on the lower level during the time between sunset and sunrise, and about an hour before the relieving whistle sounded, not having heard any suspicious noises, they lounged down toward the slope where the miners were at work.
Here, paying but little attention to what was going on around them, they conversed with the laborers, or smoked pipes as black as their faces, in order to while away the moments which must elapse before the labor was ended.