“Then how, for mercy’s sake, did you get down here, will you tell me?” cried Mr. Havens, much astonished.
“Through an old bears’ den that John Peep showed us.”
“John Peep? That young Indian lad that went to school with you, Chetwood, and was so clever at his books?”
“Yes, sir. He was with us until just a minute or two ago. Now he’s gone away—so as not to be thanked, I suppose. He’s a good fellow,” declared Chet confidently.
“He surely is a good fellow if he showed you how to get down here to our rescue,” agreed Mr. Havens. “But I must look into this strange cave-in of the Crayton shaft. It’s a most mysterious thing. People don’t go around closing old mines for nothing; unless it’s mischievous boys.”
“’Twasn’t me!” denied Dig emphatically.
“You’re not the only mischievous young scamp there is in Silver Run,” chuckled Mr. Havens. “Well, boys—how is it? Can we crawl through?”
“You come along and try it, Boss. Easy on that foot, now!” said one of the miners solicitously.
“Oh, Father! are you hurt?” cried Chet, in sudden anxiety.
“Not so much but I shall get over it,” replied Mr. Havens, hobbling through the aperture between the two mines. “Now, Jackson, you’re in charge of the work on this drift. Just as soon as you can get to it from our end, build a bulkhead of heavy timbering across this hole. We don’t want any connection between the two mines.”