"One man didn't," interrupted Bob Jarvis grimly. "Steve Rush didn't, or three of us would have been down there now, smashed flat."
Mr. Penton nodded.
"You two may go home, if you wish."
"For what, sir?" asked Rush.
"Your nerves no doubt are a little shaken, and——"
"Our nerves are all right, sir. Besides, we may be needed here. I think we had better go down on one of the skips and see if we can be of any service to the men who fell——"
Just then the superintendent was called to the telephone by the side of the shaft. He returned after giving some brief directions.
"It's all over, boys," he said.
"Have they found them?"
"Yes. The men are dead. It could not have been otherwise after that terrible fall. They are sending the bodies up on a skip. I shall be busy here for the next hour. If you will meet me at my office, at the end of the hour, I shall be there. I want to say something to you both. I had intended seeing you some time to-day."