He sickened at the contemplation, and in sheer necessity of relief could not help shouting to the Deputy• Can't you talk a bit? Do for heaven's sake try, or I shall go mad!'

The Deputy rose at the summons into a sitting posture, looking, Israel thought, more like a man who had actually risen from the dead, than even from the extremest danger of death.

And it was evident, from the wandering look of his eyes, and the painful efforts that became gradually apparent in his face, that he felt for the time as one divided from all past experience by an impassable gulf.

He gazed on Israel without recognition. He stared up at the roof, and sideways at the walls of his chamber; looked down upon his own form; touched with the fingers of one hand the fingers of the other, as if vainly striving to know whether they were indeed his own; then helplessly closed his eyes, and leaned back against the heapedup pillows behind him, and so remained for some minutes, during which Israel did not think it well to speak to him, or make any kind of effort to attract his attention, watching him, however, the while with the deepest interest.

The doctor now came in, but before he could speak to the Deputy, who looked, he thought, better, an incident occurred which turned the thoughts of all present in a new direction. Suddenly the air was rent by another tremendous explosion.

The glass in Israel's windows was broken by the concussion. He needed no one to tell him what had happened. His continual misgivings had been only too fearfully realised. The explorers, who had gone down on their chivalrous mission to re-open the mine, prepare for a renewal of the labours of the men suddenly thrown out of work, succour the wounded, if any yet lived, and bring away the dead for decent burial, these men-part of the noble army of martyrs of science, were now engulfed in that same fearful whirlpool of fire that Israel had so lately passed through.

Israel rose at once from his couch, and carefully and

thoughtfully dressed himself. He searched for and put away in the pockets of his thick overcoat various articles likely to be useful to himself or others- among them a flask of brandy and a quantity of biscuits-slung his safetylamp about him, cast one look at the Deputy, and then went forth, avoiding the notice of his old housekeeper, who was half crazed to be told by a neighbour gossip a few minutes later how glad she was to see the master go forth again.

CHAPTER XLIV.

THICK-COMING FANCIES.

ISRAEL before his departure took a last look of the sleeping Deputy; and as he gazed on his face-of which he could only see the scarred side, and above it the calm, pale brow -he seemed drawn even at that critical moment, as if by some kind of secret fascination, to recall one particular incident; in spite of the superstitious fear that Rees Thomas who was a perpetual wonder to him, might have a latent power to imbibe the knowledge of it, thus set afloat in the spiritual atmosphere that hung about him.

When miners believe themselves to be approaching old and abandoned workings, which frequently become vast reservoirs of water, the law of the position is to keep on boring by the aid of a boring rod, not only considerably in advance and directly in front of the workings, but also in diagonal lines right and left. This is done not simply to enlarge the area of rock or coal thus submitted to experiment, but in order to guard against a very fruitful source of danger, that arising from the fact that the space along any extended front may be divided into different stalls, that is, places where coal has been worked out, while pillars of coal were left standing on each side as walls. A stall or level may be safely driven in one direction, while

in another there may be old and abandoned stalls, full of water.

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Scarcely in three out of every ten cases,' says an experienced agent, is this thoroughly carried out." Welsh colliers, it seems, get sixpence a yard for boring. The work is chiefly done by night, so as to avoid interfering with the winning of coal, and the Overmen often take the men's word as to the distances they have driven the boring rod.

Now as eight yards of diagonal boring are but four of actual advance, and may be fraudulently lessened to two or even one, it is easy to see what a fruitful source of danger lies in this imperfect boring.

Israel had been dealing with just such a danger within the last few months, when pecuniary difficulties had become pressing, and coal must be got at all hazards. As he advanced he had bored to the right and left, and straight onward, in the direction he wanted his hewers to go, and no signs of these hidden reservoirs of water had appeared.

But one day, Israel, who was always hovering about the boring apparatus, and who was sure to be there when the borers were away near the engine to get a hot potato with their dinners-one day, at the noontide hour, Israel saw, to his alarm, signs in the left hand diagonal boring that caused him, without recalling the men from their refreshment, instantly to work the borer himself; and to go on as if almost madly desirous to go as far as possible before he might be interrupted by any inquisitive eyes.

He was but too successful. Easier every instant, as he did not fail to note, became the work of penetration; until at last he stopped, his face dripping with perspiration, and he stood still as if paralysed with fear.

But that was no mood for Israel long to remain in. He remembered his maps, and on remembering, was certain now, with this experience of his with the boring rod, that he was about to tap a sort of hidden underground-lake, that would, once let loose, soon make a mere watery wreck of the whole mine.

But he also felt sure that by slightly inclining to the

right his future working level, he could avoid danger for many months, and yet keep in close proximity to this watery abyss-the shape of which he knew from his maps; and so resolved not to stay all workings whatsoever in the neighbourhood, as he knew he ought to have done, but simply to close up the way on the left.

With characteristic strength of will and promptitude of purpose, he managed unaided to break off the stem of the boring rod and to leave the greater portion within the rock; thanking his stars that no rush of water had overtaken him, and set to nought all his plans for concealment.

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'I think, Keys,' he said, as one of the borers returned from his dinner, the smell of tobacco strong about him, and suggesting for once with impunity a breach of the peremptory rule against smoking, I think we'll stop this. We're wasting time here; and might as well bore into the sides of Plynlymmon. I've had an accident-trying to withdraw the rod-but it's no matter-it was pretty well worn out. So leave this, and turn the place into a gobfor your rubbish.'

Thus Israel not only silenced possible suspicion, but. prepared a buttress, that would daily grow stronger, against any pressure, such as water in great body often exercises with fatal effect.

Now, as he recalled the incident, his own conductthought nothing of at the time-seemed to startle him alike as regarded the past, present, and future.

The injury done by the explosion might not in itself be likely to set free these imprisoned waters; but there were so many possibilities contingent upon the explosion -as Falls-men imprisoned, and having to cut their way through the most unexpected places-and so on, that his heart was heavy with misgivings as he went towards the mine.

CHAPTER XLV.

THE CALL OF THE FORLORN HOPE.

THE vast crowd of people that had been collected around the pit-mouth, in consequence of the second and more terrible explosion, opened, and became suddenly silent as if moved by one common impulse, when Israel appeared, and strode right onwards to the scene of all his anxieties.

He spoke to no one, looked in no one's face, but strode on, the very incarnation of silent concentrated strength, and clearness of will and purpose, till he was able to survey for the first time all that had happened outside the mine since the night of his fatal visit.

However he might be secretly affected by the ruinous condition of things, no word or look revealed the slightest touch of emotion.

'Where is Morgan?' he demanded aloud. This was the night-deputy mentioned in a former chapter-who had refused to go down in search of Israel, when Rees Thomas had undertaken the task.

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Morgan came forward.

Fit up with boards and canvas a place to receive as they come up the people who may be hurt. Let every necessary be provided. Send for every available doctor. Lose not a moment. Employ whatever hands you need.'

He then began to examine into the means of going down, and found a small sheave which would enable them soon to suspend a tub to facilitate the descent. This was got ready.

A fearful task was before him. The very mouth of the pit had, in parts, lost its shape through the fall of masses of earth and rock, which doubtless blocked up the shaft at the bottom, and perhaps cut off from all access to the air those who were in the mine, and some of whom might but for that circumstance be found alive.