Part 4 (2/2)
Derrick felt a great lump rising in his throat, and bitter thoughts and words crowded each other closely in his mind. He knew, however, that the man before him was as greatly his superior in wordy strife as in bodily strength, so he simply said,
”The next time you try to kill me you'd better take some surer means of doing it.”
”Kill you! Who says I wanted to kill you?” demanded the miner, fiercely, as he stopped and glared at the boy. ”Didn't I holler to ye to run?
Didn't I give yer fair warnin' that I was shootin' a blarst? Didn't I?
Course I did and yer didn't pay no 'tention to it. Oh no, sonny! 'twon't do. Ye mustn't talk 'bout killin' down in dese workin's, cause 'twon't be 'lowed. Come back now, an' git my wagon. Here's a light for yer, but don't let me hear no more talk 'bout killin', or ye may have a chance to wish yer was dead long before yer really is.”
Derrick made no reply to this, but turning Harry Mule about, they went back after the car. He was convinced that this man was his bitter and unscrupulous enemy, and made up his mind that he must be constantly on his guard against him. He did not tell anybody of this startling incident of his first day's experience in the mine for a long time afterwards; as, upon thinking it over, he realized that the peril, which he had so happily escaped might readily be charged to his own carelessness.
At lunch time he let Harry Mule make his own way back to the mine stable for oats and water. He had been told by the mine boss that the knowing animal would not only do this, but would afterwards return to his place of duty when started towards it by one of the stable-boys. While the mule was gone, his young driver went into the blacksmith's shop to eat his own lunch in company with Job Taskar, who had invited him to do so.
Job questioned Derrick closely as to his acquaintance among the men and boys of the colliery, and asked particularly in regard to his likings or dislikings of the several overseers.
”I hear thee's a great friend o' t' mine boss,” said Job.
”Not at all,” answered Derrick. ”Mr. Jones was a friend of my father's, but I hardly know him.”
”All says thee's boss's favorite.”
”I'm sure I don't know why they should. Of course it was good of him to give me a job; but he had to get somebody to drive the mule. It doesn't seem to me that I've got any easier place than anybody else.”
Here Derrick put one hand up to his badly aching head, which had been bruised by a flying chunk from Monk Tooley's blast.
Noting the movement, Job asked what was the matter, for although he had heard about the blast from Monk Tooley, he wanted to learn what the boy thought of it.
”I got hit by a falling chunk,” replied Derrick, guardedly.
”Humph!” growled Job; ”better keep clear o' they chunks. One on 'em might hit ye once too often some time.”
Job held no more conversation with the boy, but lighted his pipe, and sat at one side of the forge, scowling and smoking. Derrick also kept silence, as he sat on the opposite side of the forge, rubbing his aching head with a grimy hand.
While they sat thus, several miners dropped in for a smoke and a chat.
They all looked curiously at Derrick, but none of them spoke to him.
Thus neglected, he felt very unhappy and uncomfortable, and was glad when the jingling of Harry Mule's harness outside gave notice that it was again time to go to work.
The rest of the day pa.s.sed uneventfully and monotonously, for, with the exception of burly Tom Evert, who gave the lad a cheery word whenever he pa.s.sed him, n.o.body spoke to him. Even Harry Mule seemed to realize that his young driver was not having a very pleasant time, and rubbed his nose sympathetically against his shoulder, as much as to say, ”I'm sorry for you, and I'll stand by you even if n.o.body else does.”
At last, in some mysterious way, everybody seemed to know all at once, that it was time to quit work, and Harry Mule knew it as quickly as anybody. Before Derrick noticed that the miners had stopped work, this remarkable animal, having just been unhitched from a car, threw up his head, uttered a prolonged and ear-rasping bray, and started off on a brisk trot, with a tremendous clatter and jingling of chains, towards his stable.
The door-boys heard him coming, opened their doors to let him pa.s.s, closed them after him, and started on a run for the foot of the slope.
Of course Derrick followed his charge as fast as possible, calling, as he ran, ”Whoa, Harry! Whoa! Stop that mule, he's running away!” Neither Harry nor anybody else paid the slightest attention to him, and when he finally reached the stable he found his mule already there, exchanging squeals and kicks with several other b.u.mping-mules that had come in from other parts of the mine.
Then he knew that it was really quitting-time, and went to work, as quickly as his inexperience would allow, to rub Harry down, water and feed him, and make him comfortable for the night. Everybody else who had stable-work to do finished it before he, and when at last he felt at liberty to leave the mine and start towards the upper world and the fresh air he longed so ardently to breathe again, he was alone.
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