"We were getting the best of it on our level when the powder house went——"
"Nonsense! I tell you it's all right, but unless you do keep the fire from spreading into the other side of the mine you'll go up in smoke, the whole crowd of you. Now get back to work."
Some of the men turned to retrace their steps.
"He's lying to you," shouted one of those who had not turned. "Come with me, and I'll show you the way out. The kid's gone crazy."
"Back, Every Man of You!"
"Back, I tell you! Every man of you!" shouted Steve, placing himself squarely in front of the man who had started to run.
The fellow did not stop. He started to run right over Rush, when, quick as a flash, Steve's clenched fist landed on the miner's jaw, sending the man down in a heap. In the meantime Bob Jarvis, with a howl, had jumped into the fray. He knocked down two men who sought to force their way past him.
"Come on, you cowards! You'll find my fist is harder to get away from than the fire in the lagging. I'll pound every one of you if you don't get back to your stations."
Others had come running along the cross-cut after the explosion, until there were fully thirty men in the party.