CHAPTER XVI
WHAT WAS FOUND IN THE SHAFT
"The crisis has passed," announced the surgeon in a relieved tone.
Two great tear drops rolled down Bob Jarvis' cheeks. He brushed themaway and rose from the chair in which he had been sitting all night.
"I'm going home. I must get ready to go to work. If he should becomeworse won't you please let me know?"
"Yes," answered the surgeon, giving the boy a quick, keen glance. "He'llbe all right now. No need to worry."
Bob went to his boarding place happier and more light of heart than heever had been before.
Steve's recovery was very slow, however. All that day and the next hewas too weak to talk, having lost considerable blood. Then again theshock had been greater than many men could have sustained and lived totell about.
At the end of a week the invalid was allowed to sit up, but ten days hadelapsed before it was considered prudent to permit him to dress and walkabout. Bob spent all his evenings with his companion, but they did notdiscuss the accident. Each lad tacitly avoided the subject.
The first day that Rush was allowed to go out of doors he walked over toMr. Penton's office, a hundred yards away, and asked permission to seethe superintendent. Mr. Penton welcomed the young man warmly.
"I am glad to see you out, Rush. You had a pretty close call, didn'tyou?"
"I guess so, though I do not remember much about what happened beyond acertain point."
"If you feel strong enough I wish you would tell me exactly whatoccurred leading up to the accident," said the superintendent.
"Oh, yes, sir; I am strong enough. I could go to work and I think Ishall to-morrow."
"We'll see about that."
Steve related briefly what he knew of the accident, but his story shedno new light on the affair. He could not even guess how it had happened,beyond what Mr. Penton himself told the boy.
"There is one thing I should like to do, sir," said Steve.
"And what is that?"
"I wish you would give me permission to examine the shaft where I fellin."
"That already has been done. Something gave way, and----"
Steve smiled faintly.
"I have reason to know that something gave way," he said. "I wish Icould satisfy myself, though, just how it happened."
"Of course. There is no objection to your doing so."
"I will ask Bob Jarvis to help me. He is a shrewd boy, and he may seesome things that I might not notice."
"He will have to be pretty keen if he does," laughed Mr. Penton. "Icannot imagine much of anything escaping your observation. But, my lad,you have some reason for wanting to do this. What is it?"
"I want to find out how the accident occurred."
"Ah, you suspect something?"
"I do not know whether I do or not. Perhaps I am curious. Most boys havesome curiosity, you know, sir."
"Go ahead, but do not try it until you are well and strong. We can'tafford to have you laid up again. We need you, you know."
A faint flush stole into Steve Rush's face. He had grown to be very fondof the big-bodied, big-hearted superintendent of the Cousin Jack Mine inthe few months that he had known him.
"I thank you, sir. You are very kind to me. I want to tell you how muchI appreciate it all."
"Rubbish!" scoffed Mr. Penton.
On the third day following, Steve made his first trip below ground sincethe accident. The lad was welcomed with enthusiasm by nearly every onehe met, many of whom he knew only by sight.
"I never knew I was so popular," smiled Steve, after he had looked upJarvis, who was still at work at level seventeen.
Bob grinned.
"I reckon there are certain quarters where you are not so popular, eh?"
"I should not be surprised if that were true. But those quarters nolonger exist, I understand."
"Yes; the pair have hit the trail over the mountains. What are you goingto do down here to-day?"
"I am going down in the skip shaft."
Jarvis nodded understandingly.
"Mr. Penton said you might knock off and go with me."
"Did he? That's fine. I'll see the mine captain and tell him."
"I have told him already. You may come with me now, and we'll make alittle examination on our own hook."
Bob dropped his shovel, and, telling the shift boss where he was going,accompanied Steve down the ladder to the level below. There the ladslooked over the platform by the tally-board, Steve pointing out where hewas standing when he went through the floor.
"I never knew there was a trap there," he said, pointing to the newplanking that covered the hole through which he had dropped.
"Nor I. I guess not many men in the mine knew about it. The timberssupporting it must have been rotten."
"Perhaps," answered Steve dryly. "Come on up to the sub-level; we willbegin our investigation there."
Bob followed, though he did not fully understand the purpose of hiscompanion. Rush made his way to the door on the sub-level through whichthe man Spooner had entered the shaft. The lad opened the door and stoodpeering in, holding his candle ahead of him as he did so.
"You are not going in here, are you?" questioned Jarvis.
"Yes."
"Why not go in on the level below and save this climb?"
"I have my reasons, old man. Do you see the red mud on the rungs of theladder here?"
"Yes, I see it; but what does that prove?"
"No one has any business in this shaft and yet someone has been hererather recently, for the mud is still soft. That mud came from someone's rubber boots not so many moons ago."
"You ought to be a detective," exclaimed Bob admiringly.
"We will go down now. Be careful. This isn't a very safe place, and amisstep would take you to the surface by the route I followed two weeksago."
Once on the platform below, the boys halted. Holding their candles abovetheir heads, they looked about them curiously. A new post had been setin place of the old one, the latter still lying on the platform. Thisthe boys examined carefully.
"You see, the post is in good condition, Bob. The post didn't give way,after all. I wonder how it was held up?"
"Perhaps it rested on a piece of wood placed across these two posts thatproject up through the floor," suggested Bob.
"Yes, that's so. I think you are right. But where is the piece? I shouldlike to see it."
Steve was hunting here and there with his customary energy, while BobJarvis stood looking on, not being quite sure what he should do.
"You look about on that side, Bob. Be careful that you don't fall intothe shaft. Here is sawdust on the floor, but I presume the men did thatwhen they put in the new support. Hello! I've got something."
Steve triumphantly held up a saw that he had found.
"This may mean something and it may not. We shall find out when we getback again."
Suddenly the boy uttered an exclamation.
"What is it?" demanded Bob, hastening over to the spot where Steve waspulling something from between the platform and the rock wall of theshaft. What he had found was a piece of plank from which two pieces hadbeen split off. At the breaking point on each end they plainly saw thecut of a saw.
"Well, what do you think of that?" muttered Bob. "Is that the plank thatheld up the post?"
"Judging from the mark in the middle, I should say it was. Bring the oldpost over here."
Bob did so, and at Steve's direction placed the end of the post on thebroken piece of plank. The post fitted the faint outline perfectly.
"Well, what do you think of that?" breathed Jarvis.
"That somebody has tried to make a clean job of getting me out of theway. That plank was sawed partly through so that it might not break atonce, but would do so when any extra weight was thrown upon it. We mustfind those other pieces, Bob. Look about. I guess we'll have somethingto report to Mr. Penton."
Illustration: Steve Triumphantly Held Up a Saw.
"Shall w
e say who did it?"
"We can't really say. We may have our suspicions, but unless we get moreevidence we shall have to let it go as it is. I have some facts in mypossession that may help us, though."
Steve got down on his hands and knees and began going over the floorwith great thoroughness. He was keen and alert and his eyes glowed withresolute purpose.
"Here's one of the broken pieces," cried Bob.
"Good. See if you can find the other. We shall have our case complete ina few minutes if we keep on having such good luck."
But one piece was all that Bob was able to find, the other no doubthaving been thrown into the shaft. The one found was lying at the edgeof the platform near its end.
"I guess there is nothing more here for us to do," decided the ladfinally. "We will take our evidence and go to Mr. Penton."
"We haven't enough to hang a dead cat on."
Steve smiled.
"We shall see," he answered. "You tuck the saw under your coat and Iwill carry the boards."
Entering the first cage that stopped at this level, the boys werequickly conveyed to the surface. Steve asked the cage-tender at themouth of the shaft if he had seen the superintendent about the shaft,and was informed that Mr. Penton was at that moment in the dry house. Hewas no doubt dressing to go down in the mine.
The boys hurried to the dry house, finding Mr. Penton talking with oneof the time-checkers.
"May we see you alone, sir?" asked Steve.
"Certainly. Come into my dressing room. You have some news, eh?" queriedthe superintendent, flashing a keen glance at them.
"We think we have, sir."
After entering the dressing room, Mr. Penton nodded for them to proceed.Steve went right to the point.
"We have been down in the skip shaft."
"On seventeen platform?"
"Yes, sir."
"Did you discover anything of consequence?"
"Mr. Jarvis has a saw that we found there. It belongs to one of thetimber-men, and was stolen from him the day before the accident."
The superintendent pricked up his ears at this.
"I learned that fact this morning. He doesn't know that we have the saw.We found it where it had evidently been thrown by the person who usedit. And here is something else, sir."
Steve laid the broken pieces of plank on a table. Mr. Penton picked themup, turning them over in his hands, pausing when he discovered the marksof the saw, then he glanced at Steve.
"What is this?"
"It is the support that rested under the post holding up the old trap,"answered the lad.
"Then--then----"
"Someone had sawed it partly through, so the support would give way andlet someone else down. I happened to be the one who was let down."
The smile vanished from the eyes of the general superintendent and thelines of his face hardened perceptibly.
"How do you know this piece supported the post?"
"You will find the mark of the post on it. We fitted the post to themark to make sure. Whoever did the job, entered the skip shaft fromsub-level seventeen. I am sure of this, because I found fresh mud on therungs of the ladder. No one is supposed to go down there, is he, sir?"
"No; no one does go down there. This is very serious. Why did not my mendiscover all these things?"
"I guess they did not look very sharply. The evidence was there to befound if one looked hard enough."
"Rush, you suspect someone?" said Mr. Penton sharply. "Whom do yoususpect?"
"Perhaps this may answer the question," answered the lad, laying on thetable a brass time check about the size of a half dollar.
"Where--where did you get this?"
"On the platform where the job was done, sir," answered Steve, directinga steady gaze at the stern face of the superintendent.