The Iron Boys in the Mines; or, Starting at the Bottom of the Shaft

hes to see you at his o

wounds had been treated, and he had been allowed to go home late in the afternoon of the same day. The powder-man, ho

had the superintendent not given orders that he was not to d

the offices. The superintendent was out at the moment and Rush was ushered into the hands

this," he thought aloud. "Some day, in the di

to be a super

ing into the smiling face of Mr. Pe

have been thinki

sure. You are now a part of one of the greatest games in the industrial world. R

rt I am playing in that world. In answer to your question,

go on just the same. In this connection there is another littl

no,

per time and make such settlement as can be agreed upon, after which the injured party signs a release. I have prepared a release here with the amount

n the eyes of the superinten

ou the

hrough carefully, then asking for a pen, drew a line throu

ish my mother's signature to the paper, I will have her sign i

l of the money that causes me to say that, but the principle that prompted the refusal. I felt that you would act as you have done. I see I was not mi

r hard work and to learn everything there is to learn in th

n and I'll see what can be done for you in some other dir

yes,

vicinity of the shaft watching the progress of the work and asking questions whenever he could find anyone willing to answer them. He visited the dry houses, where the miners changed their clothes and took

t forget. He learned it from the old

will get fully a third more work out of them," said the old at

the trammers who worked in his part of the mine, and reached Spooner's contract some fifteen minutes before the hour for beginning work. The contractor liked to have his men on t

All evidences of the accident had been removed and once more the drift was open and workable. A new powder-man had tak

l?" demanded the contractor, after t

you mea

anged up hammering on th

ooked

bout it

he tools on my job. I'll expect you to p

, s

ng it to-morrow. The sh

about it, and if he says it is proper for me t

I'm running my business; the super isn't. If you try that game on me I'll fire you. You

t says I ought to pay you, I shall do so gladly. You can fire me if you wish to. I am no

n the meantime, was energetically throwing dirt and when the long day was ended he had shoveled into ore

ed a grunt of

o do better than that. Unless you can handl

complished that in the last ten years," answered the boy promptly. "But I'll equal it

r had no m

his contract?" asked Steve, as he was wai

er got out in a day," was the

does he

ctors get less and some more, depending upon how the ore runs

ers run abo

kon th

and what he was learning in these early

n. One day he fell considerably below this, as the ore came out hard and was not delivered

, and gave him an opportunity to rest before the whistles blew to resume work. Steve usually chose some quiet spot in an unused drift, where, seating himself by the side of a little stre

urday afternoon, when he was attracted by a bobbing candle on a min

. "I believe that's Bob Jarvis. He is probably coming in here to

o you

t down and have

unching to

h for both of us in my pail, and here is some of the finest wat

th a steady gaze. Presently Rush noticed that Jarvis was acting peculiarly.

ter? Anything g

ng. Something's going tha

do you

you a lickin

e from the drift. I shan't forget that, old fellow. I hop

oing to g

ing to g

lic

et after carefully placing

fight me after having s

t's

ion of the moment. The taller boy

nt to fight

a coward; you'll be a

hirt came next. These removed, he stuck his candlestick in a crevice i

have it?" he

hes when we can. All fair and above board," ans

d Steve. "I am read