Philip Hexton's heart beat fast at the sight he saw; and for a moment he felt as if he must turn and run for his life.

But he did not. Bending down half-double, he ran towards the group of men, gaining impetus each moment, till, stumbling over some of the newly hewn-out coal, he was thrown, as it were, full against Ebenezer Parks, his right fist catching the burly miner in the ear, just as he was, pipe in mouth, about to open the lamp, and they fell heavily together, the lamp fortunately being extinguished by the shock.

CHAPTER FOUR.

AN UNPLEASANT THREAT.

"You villain!" cried Philip excitedly, as he rose, and then seated himself panting upon a lump of coal; "another moment, and you would all have been lying scorched and dying where you now stand."

"Villain, eh?" roared the great pitman, staggering up with his head bleeding from a cut caused by his fall, "villain, am I, lad? Then I'll be villain for some'at."

As he spoke, beside himself with pa.s.sion, he caught up his miner's pick, and, but for the quick movement of the young man, would have dealt him what might have been a deadly blow.

"Nay, nay, Eben, lad," cried one of the men, closing with him, "howd thee hand: we don't want murder here." But it was not until a couple more of the miners had seized him by the arms and wrested away the short sharp pick, that he ceased to struggle.

Philip stood as well as the low roof would allow of the erect posture, and looked on.

"There lad, thou'st better goo," said one of the men; "and don't thee coom interferin' agen."

"Interfering!" cried Philip, with spirit, "recollect who I am, and that I will not have such reckless acts in the mine."

"Oh, it's thy mine, is it?" said the man in a provoking tone. "I didn't know that. Say, Eben Parks, thee mustn't niver smoke a pipe in Master Philip Hexton's mine."

"Let me goo!" cried the big miner; "let me goo, I tell 'ee! I'll mak'

such a mark on him as he weant forget again."

"Let him go!" cried Philip angrily, "and let him touch me if he dare; and let him recollect that there is law in the land for men who commit a.s.saults, as well as for those who break the rules of the pit."

"I'll put such a mark on him as he weant forget," cried the big miner, after another ineffectual struggle to be free.

"Why don't 'ee goo!" cried one of the men again. "Thee keeps makin' him savage wi' staying."

"Loose him, I tell you!" said Philip firmly; and they released the big miner, who came at him like a bull; but as the young man did not flinch, but gazed full in his eyes, the great fellow made what we call "an offer" at him, and then let his arms fall to his side.

"Sithee!" he exclaimed, pointing to his bleeding head, and speaking in a low, hoa.r.s.e voice, "thou'st made thy mark on me, and I don't rest till I've made mine on thee. Now goo, while thee shoes are good; thou'st not wanted here."

Philip turned from him with an angry look of contempt, and addressed the men:

"You seem to forget, my lads, that under my father I'm inspector of this mine."

"Ay, and a nice pa.s.s too, for a set o' boys to be put over us, ordering men about as if they was bairns," growled the big miner.

"And that my orders here are to be strictly obeyed," continued Philip, ignoring the great ruffian's presence. "Why did you men stand by and see that fool--I can call him nothing else--I say, why did you, a set of experienced men, stand by, and see that fellow deliberately break the most important rule in the mine, and not interfere?"

"S'pose men are going to wuck here through a night shift and not want a pipe o' 'bacco?" said one of them fiercely.

"I suppose that when you work for a company of proprietors, and receive their money, you are going to obey their regulations, and are going to avoid damaging their property, if you will not even take care not to risk your own lives."

"Bah! Stoof!" exclaimed one of the party. "Theer's no danger."

"No danger!" cried Philip, pointing to the other lamps, "why, you see for yourselves that the mine is terribly fiery to-night. Shame upon you! Look how the gas keeps flashing inside the lamps. You know there is danger. I told you there was danger before you came to work."

"And how did you know?" cried Ebenezer Parks insolently.

"By study, brute!" cried Philip pa.s.sionately; "by making use of the brains with which I have been blessed, and not going through life willing to risk the lives of my fellow-men for the sake of a little self-indulgence."

"Don't see much self-indulgence, as thou calls it, in having a pipe o'

'bacco."

"Ay! how wouldst thou like to wuck all neet on the neet shift?" cried another.

"Sithee," cried Ebenezer, spitting in his great black hands and thrusting his head forward, "thou ca'st me a fool, lad."

"Stand back!" cried Philip, so sternly that the great fellow flinched.

"You are worse than a pack of children," he continued. "Shame on you!

learn to give up your self-indulgence sooner than run such risks."

"Ay, it's easy enew to talk," growled one of the men; "but don't you think you are coming to lord it over us. S'pose we don't know when she's safe and when she isn't?"

"If I'm to judge from what I've seen to-night," cried Philip, "I'm sure you do not know, and that you are not fit to be trusted. Because you work in a seam and it is safe to-day, do you suppose it follows that it will be safe to-morrow? I tell you men that you are always working on the very edge of death through your own folly."

"And I tell 'ee," cried Ebenezer Parks, "that thou knows nowt about it."

"Silence, sir!" cried Philip, whose blood was up; and in a puzzled way, as if he could not half understand it, the big miner shook his head, and shrank back astonished that this boy, as he called him, should master him as he did.

For the big miner had yet to learn that knowledge is power--a power of ten thousand times greater force than the stoutest muscles ever owned by man.

"I have never spoken to you before as I am speaking now," cried Philip.

"You force me to it, and I tell you that, while I have the management here, the regulations shall be strictly carried out to the very letter; there shall be no evasions--no more of these contemptible tricks. How did you open that Davy-lamp, sir?" he cried, turning sharply upon Ebenezer.

There was no answer, and the big fellow actually shrank as Philip made a sharp movement forward.

But it was not to strike a blow, only to pick up something lying shining amongst the pieces of coal.

"Just as I thought," said the young man, holding out the nail; "a contemptible pick-lock, to open the lamps that are locked up, by a wise rule, for your safety; and you--you great ma.s.s of bone and muscle, you call yourself a man! Shame upon you, shame!"

Without another word, Philip picked up the extinct lamp just as the overman came up in search of him, placed it under his arm, signed to the new-comer to lead on, and followed, hot, flushed, and angry, along the dark galleries, and out of the pit.

"Yah!" growled Ebenezer Parks, breaking the silence that lasted some few minutes after Philip's steps had died away; "he's n.o.bbut a boy."

"n.o.bbut a boy, eh?" said one of the men who had held him; "well, all I can say is, as I hope my bairn'll grow up just like un."

"He was man enew to tackle thee, Eben," said another.

"Ay, he's a plucked un," said another. "I like the lad, that I do."