"I see I've got to do it myself," exclaimed Spooner, grabbing a handful of fuses from the shoulders of the man who handled the dynamite.
The powder-man reached for his fuses, but the contractor already had them in his hand and was striding toward the drift.
The powder-man hesitated, then started after him on a trot.
"It's again' the rules, sir, to go in until ten minutes after firing the fuse when there's a missed hole," he warned.
"Rules!" jeered the contractor. "I'm the rules. I guess I'm running this drift."
By this time both men had reached the dome-like space where the drift ended, which included a very rich vein of iron ore.
Steve Rush shaded his eyes and, stooping over, peered into the drift. He was looking between the two men who at that moment were arguing excitedly. They appeared to have forgotten that they were treading on dangerous ground, but long familiarity with high explosives had made them careless.
The lad saw something a few feet beyond them that caused his heart to leap. A tiny spark had sprung up from the darkness, then as suddenly died out.
"Look out!" shouted the young miner, now keenly alive to the danger of the men ahead.