The Underground City.......................................................................................................................................1

Jules Verne ...............................................................................................................................................1

IF Mr. James Starr will come tomorrow to the Aberfoyle coalmines, Dochart pit, Yarrow shaft, a

"Mr. James Starr will be awaited for, the whole day, at the Callander station, by Harry Ford, son of the old

Such was the letter which James Starr received by the first post, on the 3rd December, 18, the letter

The engineer's curiosity was excited to the highest pitch. It never occurred to him to doubt whether this letter

might not be a hoax. For many years he had known Simon Ford, one of the former foremen of the Aberfoyle

mines, of which he, James Starr, had for twenty years, been the manager, or, as he would be termed in

English coalmines, the viewer. James Starr was a stronglyconstituted man, on whom his fiftyfive years

weighed no more heavily than if they had been forty. He belonged to an old Edinburgh family, and was one

of its most distinguished members. His labors did credit to the body of engineers who are gradually

devouring the carboniferous subsoil of the United Kingdom, as much at Cardiff and Newcastle, as in the

southern counties of Scotland. However, it was more particularly in the depths of the mysterious mines of

Aberfoyle, which border on the Alloa mines and occupy part of the county of Stirling, that the name of Starr

had acquired the greatest renown. There, the greater part of his existence had been passed. Besides this,

James Starr belonged to the Scottish Antiquarian Society, of which he had been made president. He was also

included amongst the most active members of the Royal Institution; and the Edinburgh Review frequently

published clever articles signed by him. He was in fact one of those practical men to whom is due the

prosperity of England. He held a high rank in the old capital of Scotland, which not only from a physical but

We know that the English have given to their vast extent of coalmines a very significant name. They very

justly call them the "Black Indies," and these Indies have contributed perhaps even more than the Eastern

At this period, the limit of time assigned by professional men for the exhaustion of coalmines was far

distant and there was no dread of scarcity. There were still extensive mines to be worked in the two

Americas. The manufactories, appropriated to so many different uses, locomotives, steamers, gas works,

were not likely to fail for want of the mineral fuel; but the consumption had so increased during the last few

years, that certain beds had been exhausted even to their smallest veins. Now deserted, these mines perforated

the ground with their useless shafts and forsaken galleries. This was exactly the case with the pits of

Ten years before, the last butty had raised the last ton of coal from this colliery. The underground working

stock, traction engines, trucks which run on rails along the galleries, subterranean tramways, frames to

support the shaft, pipesin short, all that constituted the machinery of a mine had been brought up from its

depths. The exhausted mine was like the body of a huge fantasticallyshaped mastodon, from which all the

Nothing was left but long wooden ladders, down the Yarrow shaftthe only one which now gave access to

the lower galleries of the Dochart pit. Above ground, the sheds, formerly sheltering the outside works, still

marked the spot where the shaft of that pit had been sunk, it being now abandoned, as were the other pits, of

It was a sad day, when for the last time the workmen quitted the mine, in which they had lived for so many

workmen which composed the active and courageous population of the mine. Overmen, brakemen, putters,

wastemen, barrowmen, masons, smiths, carpenters, outside and inside laborers, women, children, and old

men, all were collected in the great yard of the Dochart pit, formerly heaped with coal from the mine.

Many of these families had existed for generations in the mine of old Aberfoyle; they were now driven to

seek the means of subsistence elsewhere, and they waited sadly to bid farewell to the engineer.

James Starr stood upright, at the door of the vast shed in which he had for so many years superintended the

powerful machines of the shaft. Simon Ford, the foreman of the Dochart pit, then fiftyfive years of age, and

other managers and overseers, surrounded him. James Starr took off his hat. The miners, cap in hand, kept a

profound silence. This farewell scene was of a touching character, not wanting in grandeur.

"My friends," said the engineer, "the time has come for us to separate. The Aberfoyle mines, which for so

many years have united us in a common work, are now exhausted. All our researches have not led to the

discovery of a new vein, and the last block of coal has just been extracted from the Dochart pit." And in

confirmation of his words, James Starr pointed to a lump of coal which had been kept at the bottom of a

"This piece of coal, my friends," resumed James Starr, "is like the last drop of blood which has flowed

through the veins of the mine! We shall keep it, as the first fragment of coal is kept, which was extracted a

hundred and fifty years ago from the bearings of Aberfoyle. Between these two pieces, how many

generations of workmen have succeeded each other in our pits! Now, it is over! The last words which your

engineer will address to you are a farewell. You have lived in this mine, which your hands have emptied. The

work has been hard, but not without profit for you. Our great family must disperse, and it is not probable that

the future will ever again unite the scattered members. But do not forget that we have lived together for a

long time, and that it will be the duty of the miners of Aberfoyle to help each other. Your old masters will not

We shall keep our eye on you, and wherever you go, our recommendations shall follow you. Farewell then,

So saying, James Starr wrung the horny hand of the oldest miner, whose eyes were dim with tears. Then the

overmen of the different pits came forward to shake hands with him, whilst the miners waved their caps,

This farewell would leave a lasting remembrance in all these honest hearts. Slowly and sadly the population

quitted the yard. The black soil of the roads leading to the Dochart pit resounded for the last time to the tread

of miners' feet, and silence succeeded to the bustling life which had till then filled the Aberfoyle mines.

One man alone remained by James Starr. This was the overman, Simon Ford. Near him stood a boy, about

James Starr and Simon Ford knew and esteemed each other well. "Goodby, Simon," said the engineer.

"Yes, till we meet again. Ford!" answered James Starr. "You know that I shall be always glad to see you, and

"It's a long way off, is Edinburgh!" answered the man shaking his head. "Ay, a long way from the Dochart

"Even here, Mr. Starr! We're not going to leave the mine, our good old nurse, just because her milk is dried

"Goodby then, Simon," replied the engineer, whose voice, in spite of himself, betrayed some emotion.

"No, I tell you, it's TILL WE MEET AGAIN, Mr. Starr, and not Just 'goodby,'" returned the foreman. "Mark

All this had taken place ten years ago; but, notwithstanding the wish which the overman had expressed to see

him again, during that time Starr had heard nothing of him. It was after ten years of separation that he got this

letter from Simon Ford, requesting him to take without delay the road to the old Aberfoyle colliery.

A communication of an interesting nature, what could it be? Dochart pit. Yarrow shaft! What recollections of

the past these names brought back to him! Yes, that was a fine time, that of work, of struggle,the best part

of the engineer's life. Starr reread his letter. He pondered over it in all its bearings. He much regretted that

just a line more had not been added by Ford. He wished he had not been quite so laconic.

Was it possible that the old foreman had discovered some new vein? No! Starr remembered with what minute

care the mines had been explored before the definite cessation of the works. He had himself proceeded to the

lowest soundings without finding the least trace in the soil, burrowed in every direction. They had even

attempted to find coal under strata which are usually below it, such as the Devonian red sandstone, but

without result. James Starr had therefore abandoned the mine with the absolute conviction that it did not

"No," he repeated, "no! How is it possible that anything which could have escaped my researches, should be

revealed to those of Simon Ford. However, the old overman must well know that such a discovery would be

the one thing in the world to interest me, and this invitation, which I must keep secret, to repair to the Dochart

On the other hand, the engineer knew Ford to be a clever miner, peculiarly endowed with the instinct of his

trade. He had not seen him since the time when the Aberfoyle colliery was abandoned, and did not know

either what he was doing or where he was living, with his wife and his son. All that he now knew was, that a

rendezvous had been appointed him at the Yarrow shaft, and that Harry, Simon Ford's son, was to wait for

"I shall go, I shall go!" said Starr, his excitement increasing as the time drew near.

Our worthy engineer belonged to that class of men whose brain is always on the boil, like a kettle on a hot

fire. In some of these brain kettles the ideas bubble over, in others they just simmer quietly. Now on this day,

But suddenly an unexpected incident occurred. This was the drop of cold water, which in a moment was to

condense all the vapors of the brain. About six in the evening, by the third post, Starr's servant brought him a

second letter. This letter was enclosed in a coarse envelope, and evidently directed by a hand unaccustomed

to the use of a pen. James Starr tore it open. It contained only a scrap of paper, yellowed by time, and

"It is useless for the engineer James Starr to trouble himself, Simon Ford's letter being now without object."

THE course of James Starr's ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first.

"What does this mean?" said he to himself. He took up the torn envelope, and examined it. Like the other, it

bore the Aberfoyle postmark. It had therefore come from the same part of the county of Stirling. The old

miner had evidently not written it. But, no less evidently, the author of this second letter knew the overman's

secret, since it expressly contradicted the invitation to the engineer to go to the Yarrow shaft.

Was it really true that the first communication was now without object? Did someone wish to prevent James

Starr from troubling himself either uselessly or otherwise? Might there not be rather a malevolent intention to

This was the conclusion at which James Starr arrived, after mature reflection. The contradiction which

desire to visit the Dochart pit. And besides, if after all it was a hoax, it was well worth while to prove it. Starr

also thought it wiser to give more credence to the first letter than to the second; that is to say, to the request of

such a man as Simon Ford, rather than to the warning of his anonymous contradictor.

"Indeed," said he, "the fact of anyone endeavoring to influence my resolution, shows that Ford's

communication must be of great importance. Tomorrow, at the appointed time, I shall be at the rendezvous."

In the evening, Starr made his preparations for departure. As it might happen that his absence would be

prolonged for some days, he wrote to Sir W. Elphiston, President of the Royal Institution, that he should be

unable to be present at the next meeting of the Society. He also wrote to excuse himself from two or three

engagements which he had made for the week. Then, having ordered his servant to pack a traveling bag, he

The next day, at five o'clock, James Starr jumped out of bed, dressed himself warmly, for a cold rain was

falling, and left his house in the Canongate, to go to Granton Pier to catch the steamer, which in three hours

For the first time in his life, perhaps, in passing along the Canongate, he did NOT TURN TO LOOK AT

HOLYROOD, the palace of the former sovereigns of Scotland. He did not notice the sentinels who stood

before its gateways, dressed in the uniform of their Highland regiment, tartan kilt, plaid and sporran

complete. His whole thought was to reach Callander where Harry Ford was supposedly awaiting him.

The better to understand this narrative, it will be as well to hear a few words on the origin of coal. During the

geological epoch, when the terrestrial spheroid was still in course of formation, a thick atmosphere

surrounded it, saturated with watery vapors, and copiously impregnated with carbonic acid. The vapors

gradually condensed in diluvial rains, which fell as if they had leapt from the necks of thousands of millions

of seltzer water bottles. This liquid, loaded with carbonic acid, rushed in torrents over a deep soft soil, subject

form, and maintained in its semifluid state as much by the heat of the sun as by the fires of the interior mass.

The internal heat had not as yet been collected in the center of the globe. The terrestrial crust, thin and

incompletely hardened, allowed it to spread through its pores. This caused a peculiar form of vegetation, such

as is probably produced on the surface of the inferior planets, Venus or Mercury, which revolve nearer than

The soil of the continents was covered with immense forests. Carbonic acid, so suitable for the development

of the vegetable kingdom, abounded. The feet of these trees were drowned in a sort of immense lagoon, kept

continually full by currents of fresh and salt waters. They eagerly assimilated to themselves the carbon which

they, little by little, extracted from the atmosphere, as yet unfit for the function of life, and it may be said that

they were destined to store it, in the form of coal, in the very bowels of the earth.

It was the earthquake period, caused by internal convulsions, which suddenly modified the unsettled features

of the terrestrial surface. Here, an intumescence which was to become a mountain, there, an abyss which was

to be filled with an ocean or a sea. There, whole forests sunk through the earth's crust, below the unfixed

strata, either until they found a restingplace, such as the primitive bed of granitic rock, or, settling together

As the waters were contained in no bed, and were spread over every part of the globe, they rushed where they

liked, tearing from the scarcelyformed rocks material with which to compose schists, sandstones, and

limestones. This the roving waves bore over the submerged and now peaty forests, and deposited above them

the elements of rocks which were to superpose the coal strata. In course of time, periods of which include

millions of years, these earths hardened in layers, and enclosed under a thick carapace of puddingstone,

schist, compact or friable sandstone, gravel and stones, the whole of the massive forests.

And what went on in this gigantic crucible, where all this vegetable matter had accumulated, sunk to various

depths? A regular chemical operation, a sort of distillation. All the carbon contained in these vegetables had

agglomerated, and little by little coal was forming under the double influence of enormous pressure and the

Thus there was one kingdom substituted for another in this slow but irresistible reaction. The vegetable was

transformed into a mineral. Plants which had lived the vegetative life in all the vigor of first creation

became petrified. Some of the substances enclosed in this vast herbal left their impression on the other more

rapidly mineralized products, which pressed them as an hydraulic press of incalculable power would have

Thus also shells, zoophytes, starfish, polypi, spirifores, even fish and lizards brought by the water, left on

Pressure seems to have played a considerable part in the formation of carboniferous strata. In fact, it is to its

degree of power that are due the different sorts of coal, of which industry makes use. Thus in the lowest

layers of the coal ground appears the anthracite, which, being almost destitute of volatile matter, contains the

greatest quantity of carbon. In the higher beds are found, on the contrary, lignite and fossil wood, substances

in which the quantity of carbon is infinitely less. Between these two beds, according to the degree of pressure

to which they have been subjected, are found veins of graphite and rich or poor coal. It may be asserted that it

is for want of sufficient pressure that beds of peaty bog have not been completely changed into coal. So then,

the origin of coal mines, in whatever part of the globe they have been discovered, is this: the absorption

through the terrestrial crust of the great forests of the geological period; then, the mineralization of the

vegetables obtained in the course of time, under the influence of pressure and heat, and under the action of

Now, at the time when the events related in this story took place, some of the most important mines of the

Scottish coal beds had been exhausted by too rapid working. In the region which extends between Edinburgh

and Glasgow, for a distance of ten or twelve miles, lay the Aberfoyle colliery, of which the engineer, James

directed the works. For ten years these mines had been abandoned. No new seams had been discovered,

although the soundings had been carried to a depth of fifteen hundred or even of two thousand feet, and when

James Starr had retired, it was with the full conviction that even the smallest vein had been completely

Under these circumstances, it was plain that the discovery of a new seam of coal would be an important

event. Could Simon Ford's communication relate to a fact of this nature? This question James Starr could not

cease asking himself. Was he called to make conquest of another corner of these rich treasure fields? Fain

The second letter had for an instant checked his speculations on this subject, but now he thought of that letter

no longer. Besides, the son of the old overman was there, waiting at the appointed rendezvous. The

The moment the engineer set foot on the platform at the end of his journey, the young man advanced towards

"I should not have known you, my lad. Of course in ten years you have become a man!"

"I knew you directly, sir," replied the young miner, cap in hand. "You have not changed. You look just as you

"Put on your cap, Harry," said the engineer. "It's pouring, and politeness needn't make you catch cold."

"No, Harry. The weather is settled. It will rain all day, and I am in a hurry. Let us go on."

"Then did Simon Ford send me a second letter to contradict the first?" asked the engineer quickly.

"Very well," said Starr, without speaking of the anonymous letter. Then, continuing, "And can you tell me

"Well, Harry, I will not ask you more. But let us get on, for I'm anxious to see Simon Ford. Bythebye,

"Really! has your family never left the old mine since the cessation of the works?"

"Not a day, Mr. Starr. You know my father. It is there he was born, it is there he means to die!"

"I can understand that, Harry. I can understand that! His native mine! He did not like to abandon it! And are

"Yes, Mr. Starr," replied the young miner, "for we love one another, and we have but few wants."

And walking rapidly through the streets of Callander, in a few minutes they had left the town behind them.

HARRY FORD was a fine, strapping fellow of five and twenty. His grave looks, his habitually passive

expression, had from childhood been noticed among his comrades in the mine. His regular features, his deep

blue eyes, his curly hair, rather chestnut than fair, the natural grace of his person, altogether made him a fine

specimen of a lowlander. Accustomed from his earliest days to the work of the mine, he was strong and

hardy, as well as brave and good. Guided by his father, and impelled by his own inclinations, he had early

are little more than apprentices, he had managed to make himself of some importance, a leader, in fact,

among his fellows, and few are very ignorant in a country which does all it can to remove ignorance. Though,

during the first years of his youth, the pick was never out of Harry's hand, nevertheless the young miner was

not long in acquiring sufficient knowledge to raise him into the upper class of the miners, and he would

certainly have succeeded his father as overman of the Dochart pit, if the colliery had not been abandoned.

James Starr was still a good walker, yet he could not easily have kept up with his guide, if the latter had not

slackened his pace. The young man, carrying the engineer's bag, followed the left bank of the river for about

a mile. Leaving its winding course, they took a road under tall, dripping trees. Wide fields lay on either side,

around isolated farms. In one field a herd of hornless cows were quietly grazing; in another sheep with silky

The Yarrow shaft was situated four miles from Callander. Whilst walking, James Starr could not but be

struck with the change in the country. He had not seen it since the day when the last ton of Aberfoyle coal

had been emptied into railway trucks to be sent to Glasgow. Agricultural life had now taken the place of the

more stirring, active, industrial life. The contrast was all the greater because, during winter, field work is at a

standstill. But formerly, at whatever season, the mining population, above and below ground, filled the scene

with animation. Great wagons of coal used to be passing night and day. The rails, with their rotten sleepers,

now disused, were then constantly ground by the weight of wagons. Now stony roads took the place of the

The engineer gazed about him with a saddened eye. He stopped now and then to take breath. He listened. The

air was no longer filled with distant whistlings and the panting of engines. None of those black vapors which

the manufacturer loves to see, hung in the horizon, mingling with the clouds. No tall cylindrical or prismatic

chimney vomited out smoke, after being fed from the mine itself; no blastpipe was puffing out its white

formerly black with coal dust, had a bright look, to which James Starr's eyes were not accustomed.

When the engineer stood still, Harry Ford stopped also. The young miner waited in silence. He felt what was

passing in his companion's mind, and he shared his feelings; he, a child of the mine, whose whole life had

"Yes, Harry, it is all changed," said Starr. "But at the rate we worked, of course the treasures of coal would

"I do regret it, Mr. Starr," answered Harry. "The work was hard, but it was interesting, as are all struggles."

"No doubt, my lad. A continuous struggle against the dangers of landslips, fires, inundations, explosions of

firedamp, like claps of thunder. One had to guard against all those perils! You say well! It was a struggle, and

"The miners of Alva have been more favored than the miners of Aberfoyle, Mr. Starr!"

"Indeed," cried the young man, "it's a pity that all the globe was not made of coal; then there would have been

"No doubt there would, Harry; it must be acknowledged, however, that nature has shown more forethought

by forming our sphere principally of sandstone, limestone, and granite, which fire cannot consume."

"Do you mean to say, Mr. Starr, that mankind would have ended by burning their own globe?"

"Yes! The whole of it, my lad," answered the engineer. "The earth would have passed to the last bit into the

furnaces of engines, machines, steamers, gas factories; certainly, that would have been the end of our world

"There is no fear of that now, Mr. Starr. But yet, the mines will be exhausted, no doubt, and more rapidly

"That will happen, Harry; and in my opinion England is very wrong in exchanging her fuel for the gold of

other nations! I know well," added the engineer, "that neither hydraulics nor electricity has yet shown all they

utilized. But no matter! Coal is of a very practical use, and lends itself easily to the various wants of industry.

Unfortunately man cannot produce it at will. Though our external forests grow incessantly under the

influence of heat and water, our subterranean forests will not be reproduced, and if they were, the globe

James Starr and his guide, whilst talking, had continued their walk at a rapid pace. An hour after leaving

The most indifferent person would have been touched at the appearance this deserted spot presented. It was

like the skeleton of something that had formerly lived. A few wretched trees bordered a plain where the

ground was hidden under the black dust of the mineral fuel, but no cinders nor even fragments of coal were to

They walked into the shed which covered the opening of the Yarrow shaft, whence ladders still gave access

to the lower galleries of the pit. The engineer bent over the opening. Formerly from this place could be heard

the powerful whistle of the air inhaled by the ventilators. It was now a silent abyss. It was like being at the

When the mine was being worked, ingenious machines were used in certain shafts of the Aberfoyle colliery,

which in this respect was very well off; frames furnished with automatic lifts, working in wooden slides,

oscillating ladders, called "manengines," which, by a simple movement, permitted the miners to descend

But all these appliances had been carried away, after the cessation of the works. In the Yarrow shaft there

remained only a long succession of ladders, separated at every fifty feet by narrow landings. Thirty of these

ladders placed thus end to end led the visitor down into the lower gallery, a depth of fifteen hundred feet.

This was the only way of communication which existed between the bottom of the Dochart pit and the open

air. As to air, that came in by the Yarrow shaft, from whence galleries communicated with another shaft

whose orifice opened at a higher level; the warm air naturally escaped by this species of inverted siphon.

"I will follow you, my lad," said the engineer, signing to the young man to precede him.

"Yes, and I only wish it was still the safety lamp, which we formerly had to use!"

"Sure enough," returned James Starr, "there is no fear of firedamp explosions now!"

Harry was provided with a simple oil lamp, the wick of which he lighted. In the mine, now empty of coal,

escapes of light carburetted hydrogen could not occur. As no explosion need be feared, there was no necessity

for interposing between the flame and the surrounding air that metallic screen which prevents the gas from

catching fire. The Davy lamp was of no use here. But if the danger did not exist, it was because the cause of it

had disappeared, and with this cause, the combustible in which formerly consisted the riches of the Dochart

Harry descended the first steps of the upper ladder. Starr followed. They soon found themselves in a profound

obscurity, which was only relieved by the glimmer of the lamp. The young man held it above his head, the

better to light his companion. A dozen ladders were descended by the engineer and his guide, with the

James Starr examined, as well as the insufficient light would permit, the sides of the dark shaft, which were

Arrived at the fifteenth landing, that is to say, half way down, they halted for a few minutes.

"You are very stout, Mr. Starr," replied Harry, "and it's something too, you see, to live all one's life in the

"Right, Harry. Formerly, when I was twenty, I could have gone down all at a breath. Come, forward!"

But just as the two were about to leave the platform, a voice, as yet far distant, was heard in the depths of the

shaft. It came up like a sonorous billow, swelling as it advanced, and becoming more and more distinct.

"We have no neighbors in the bottom of the pit," replied Harry. "We are alone, quite alone."

"Well, we must let this intruder pass," said James Starr. "Those who are descending must yield the path to

They waited. The voice broke out again with a magnificent burst, as if it had been carried through a vast

speaking trumpet; and soon a few words of a Scotch song came clearly to the ears of the young miner.

"The Hundred Pipers!" cried Harry. "Well, I shall be much surprised if that comes from the lungs of any man

"An old mining comrade," replied Harry. Then leaning from the platform, "Halloo! Jack!" he shouted.

"Is that you, Harry?" was the reply. "Wait a bit, I'm coming." And the song broke forth again.

In a few minutes, a tall fellow of five and twenty, with a merry face, smiling eyes, a laughing mouth, and

sandy hair, appeared at the bottom of the luminous cone which was thrown from his lantern, and set foot on

the landing of the fifteenth ladder. His first act was to vigorously wring the hand which Harry extended to

"Delighted to meet you!" he exclaimed. "If I had only known you were to be above ground today, I would

"This is Mr. James Starr," said Harry, turning his lamp towards the engineer, who was in the shadow.

"Mr. Starr!" cried Jack Ryan. "Ah, sir, I could not see. Since I left the mine, my eyes have not been

"Ah, I remember a laddie who was always singing. That was ten years ago. It was you, no doubt?"

"Ay, Mr. Starr, but in changing my trade, I haven't changed my disposition. It's far better to laugh and sing

"You're right there, Jack Ryan. And what do you do now, as you have left the mine?"

"I am working on the Melrose farm, forty miles from here. Ah, it's not like our Aberfoyle mines! The pick

comes better to my hand than the spade or hoe. And then, in the old pit, there were vaulted roofs, to merrily

echo one's songs, while up above ground!But you are going to see old Simon, Mr. Starr?"

"I wanted to see you, man," replied Jack, "and ask you to come to the Irvine games. You know I am the piper

"Yes; Mr. Starr's visit will last some time, and I must take him back to Callander."

"Well, Harry, it won't be for a week yet. By that time Mr. Starr's visit will be over, I should think, and there

"Indeed, Harry," said James Starr, "you must profit by your friend Jack's invitation."

"In a week, that's settled," returned Ryan. "Goodby, Harry! Your servant, Mr. Starr. I am very glad to have

seen you again! I can give news of you to all my friends. No one has forgotten you, sir."

"Goodby, Jack," said Harry, shaking his hand. And Jack Ryan, singing as he went, soon disappeared in the

A quarter of an hour afterwards James Starr and Harry descended the last ladder, and set foot on the lowest

From the bottom of the Yarrow shaft radiated numerous empty galleries. They ran through the wall of schist

and sandstone, some shored up with great, roughlyhewn beams, others lined with a thick casing of wood. In

tion embankments supplied the place of the excavated veins. Artificial pillars were made of stone from

neighboring quarries, and now they supported the ground, that is to say, the double layer of tertiary and

quaternary soil, which formerly rested on the seam itself. Darkness now filled the galleries, formerly lighted

either by the miner's lamp or by the electric light, the use of which had been introduced in the mines.

"No, my lad," replied the engineer, "for I am anxious to be at your father's cottage."

"Follow me then, Mr. Starr. I will guide you, and yet I daresay you could find your way perfectly well

Harry, followed by the engineer, and holding his lamp high the better to light their way, walked along a high

gallery, like the nave of a cathedral. Their feet still struck against the wooden sleepers which used to support

They had not gone more than fifty paces, when a huge stone fell at the feet of James Starr. "Take care, Mr.

"A stone, Harry! Ah! these old vaultings are no longer quite secure, of course, and"

"Mr. Starr," said Harry Ford, "it seems to me that stone was thrown, thrown as by the hand of man!"

"Nothing, nothing, Mr. Starr," replied Harry evasively, his anxious gaze endeavoring to pierce the darkness.

"Here I am, Harry." And they both advanced, whilst Harry looked on every side, throwing the light of his

"But," muttered Harry, "that was a most singular thing. It is the first time such an accident has happened to

"Chance," replied the young man, shaking his head. "Yes, chance." He stopped and listened.

"I thought I heard someone walking behind us," replied the young miner, listening more attentively. Then he

added, "No, I must have been mistaken. Lean harder on my arm, Mr. Starr. Use me like a staff."

"A good solid staff, Harry," answered James Starr. "I could not wish for a better than a fine fellow like you."

They continued in silence along the dark nave. Harry was evidently preoccupied, and frequently turned,

TEN minutes afterwards, James Starr and Harry issued from the principal gallery. They were now standing in

a glade, if we may use this word to designate a vast and dark excavation. The place, however, was not

entirely deprived of daylight. A few rays straggled in through the opening of a deserted shaft. It was by

means of this pipe that ventilation was established in the Dochart pit. Owing to its lesser density, the warm

air was drawn towards the Yarrow shaft. Both air and light, therefore, penetrated in some measure into the

Here Simon Ford had lived with his family ten years, in a subterranean dwelling, hollowed out in the

schistous mass, where formerly stood the powerful engines which worked the mechanical traction of the

Such was the habitation, "his cottage," as he called it, in which resided the old overman. As he had some

means saved during a long life of toil, Ford could have afforded to live in the light of day, among trees, or in

any town of the kingdom he chose, but he and his wife and son preferred remaining in the mine, where they

were quite fond of their cottage, buried fifteen hundred feet below Scottish soil. Among other advantages,

there was no fear that tax gatherers, or rent collectors would ever come to trouble its inhabitants.

At this period, Simon Ford, the former overman of the Dochart pit, bore the weight of sixtyfive years well.

Tall, robust, wellbuilt, he would have been regarded as one of the most conspicuous men in the district

Simon Ford was descended from an old mining family, and his ancestors had worked the very first

carboniferous seams opened in Scotland. Without discussing whether or not the Greeks and Romans made

use of coal, whether the Chinese worked coal mines before the Christian era, whether the French word for

coal (HOUILLE) is really derived from the farrier Houillos, who lived in Belgium in the twelfth century, we

may affirm that the beds in Great Britain were the first ever regularly worked. So early as the eleventh

century, William the Conqueror divided the produce of the Newcastle bed among his companionsinarms.

At the end of the thirteenth century, a license for the mining of "sea coal" was granted by Henry III. Lastly,

towards the end of the same century, mention is made of the Scotch and Welsh beds.

It was about this time that Simon Ford's ancestors penetrated into the bowels of Caledonian earth, and lived

there ever after, from father to son. They were but plain miners. They labored like convicts at the work of

extracting the precious combustible. It is even believed that the coal miners, like the saltmakers of that

However that might have been, Simon Ford was proud of belonging to this ancient family of Scotch miners.

He had worked diligently in the same place where his ancestors had wielded the pick, the crowbar, and the

mattock. At thirty he was overman of the Dochart pit, the most important in the Aberfoyle colliery. He was

devoted to his trade. During long years he zealously performed his duty. His only grief had been to perceive

the bed becoming impoverished, and to see the hour approaching when the seam would be exhausted.

It was then he devoted himself to the search for new veins in all the Aberfoyle pits, which communicated

underground one with another. He had had the good luck to discover several during the last period of the

working. His miner's instinct assisted him marvelously, and the engineer, James Starr, appreciated him

highly. It might be said that he divined the course of seams in the depths of the coal mine as a hydroscope

reveals springs in the bowels of the earth. He was par excellence the type of a miner whose whole existence is

indissolubly connected with that of his mine. He had lived there from his birth, and now that the works were

abandoned he wished to live there still. His son Harry foraged for the subterranean housekeeping; as for

"Go up there! What is the good?" he would say, and refused to leave his black domain. The place was

remarkably healthy, subject to an equable temperature; the old overman endured neither the heat of summer

nor the cold of winter. His family enjoyed good health; what more could he desire?

But at heart he felt depressed. He missed the former animation, movement, and life in the wellworked pit.

He was, however, supported by one fixed idea. "No, no! the mine is not exhausted!" he repeated.

And that man would have given serious offense who could have ventured to express before Simon Ford any

doubt that old Aberfoyle would one day revive! He had never given up the hope of discovering some new bed

which would restore the mine to its past splendor. Yes, he would willingly, had it been necessary, have

resumed the miner's pick, and with his still stout arms vigorously attacked the rock. He went through the dark

galleries, sometimes alone, sometimes with his son, examining, searching for signs of coal, only to return

Madge, Simon's faithful companion, his "gudewife," to use the Scotch term, was a tall, strong, comely

woman. Madge had no wish to leave the Dochart pit any more than had her husband. She shared all his hopes

and regrets. She encouraged him, she urged him on, and talked to him in a way which cheered the heart of the

old overman. "Aberfoyle is only asleep," she would say. "You are right about that, Simon. This is but a rest, it

Madge, as well as the others, was perfectly satisfied to live independent of the outer world, and was the

The engineer was eagerly expected. Simon Ford was standing at his door, and as soon as Harry's lamp

"Welcome, Mr. Starr!" he exclaimed, his voice echoing under the roof of schist. "Welcome to the old

overman's cottage! Though it is buried fifteen hundred feet under the earth, our house is not the less

"And how are you, good Simon?" asked James Starr, grasping the hand which his host held out to him.

"Very well, Mr. Starr. How could I be otherwise here, sheltered from the inclemencies of the weather? Your

ladies who go to Newhaven or Portobello in the summer time would do much better to pass a few months in

the coal mine of Aberfoyle! They would run no risk here of catching a heavy cold, as they do in the damp

"I'm not the man to contradict you, Simon," answered James Starr, glad to find the old man just as he used to

be. "Indeed, I wonder why I do not change my home in the Canongate for a cottage near you."

"And why not, Mr. Starr? I know one of your old miners who would be truly pleased to have only a partition

"The goodwife is in better health than I am, if that's possible," replied Ford, "and it will be a pleasure to her to

"We shall see that, Simon, we shall see that!" said the engineer, to whom the announcement of a good

"Ravenously hungry. My journey has given me an appetite. I came through horrible weather."

"Well, Mr. Starr, here it never rains. But I needn't describe to you all the advantages, which you know as well

as myself. Here we are at the cottage. That is the chief thing, and I again say you are welcome, sir."

Simon Ford, followed by Harry, ushered their guest into the dwelling. James Starr found himself in a large

"The soup is ready, wife," said Ford, "and it mustn't be kept waiting any more than Mr. Starr. He is as hungry

as a miner, and he shall see that our boy doesn't let us want for anything in the cottage! Bythebye, Harry,"

"He's an honest and a merry fellow," said Ford; "but he seems to be quite happy above ground. He hasn't the

true miner's blood in his veins. Sit down, Mr. Starr, and have a good dinner, for we may not sup till late."

"One moment, Simon," said James Starr. "Do you want me to eat with a good appetite?"

"Well, in order to eat heartily, I must not be at all anxious. Now I have two questions to put to you."

"Your letter told me of a communication which was to be of an interesting nature."

"To you and to me, Mr. Starr. But I do not want to tell it you until after dinner, and on the very spot itself.

"Simon," resumed the engineer, "look me straight in the face. An interesting communication? Yes. Good! I

will not ask more," he added, as if he had read the reply in the old overman's eyes.

"Do you know, Simon, who the person is who can have written this?" answered the engineer, handing him

Ford took the letter and read it attentively. Then giving it to his son, "Do you know the writing?" he asked.

"I think, father," returned Harry, "that someone has had some interest in trying to prevent Mr. Starr from

"But who," exclaimed the old miner, "who could have possibly guessed enough of my secret?" And Simon

"Let us begin, Mr. Starr," she said. "The soup is already getting cold. Don't think any more of that letter just

On the old woman's invitation, each drew in his chair, James Starr opposite to Madgeto do him

honorthe father and son opposite to each other. It was a good Scotch dinner. First they ate "hotchpotch,"

soup with the meat swimming in capital broth. As old Simon said, his wife knew no rival in the art of

preparing hotchpotch. It was the same with the "cockyleeky," a cock stewed with leeks, which merited high

praise. The whole was washed down with excellent ale, obtained from the best brewery in Edinburgh.

But the principal dish consisted of a "haggis," the national pudding, made of meat and barley meal. This

remarkable dish, which inspired the poet Burns with one of his best odes, shared the fate of all the good

Madge received the sincere compliments of her guest. The dinner ended with cheese and oatcake,

accompanied by a few small glasses of "usquebaugh," capital whisky, five and twenty years oldjust

Harry's age. The repast lasted a good hour. James Starr and Simon Ford had not only eaten much, but talked

Harry had been rather silent. Twice he had left the table, and even the house. He evidently felt uneasy since

Whilst he was absent, the engineer observed to Ford and his wife, "That's a fine lad you have there, my

"Yes, Mr. Starr, he is a good and affectionate son," replied the old overman earnestly.

"A wife for Harry," exclaimed Ford. "And who would it be? A girl from up yonder, who would love

merrymakings and dancing, who would prefer her clan to our mine! Harry wouldn't do it!"

"I would forbid nothing," returned the old miner, "but there's no hurry about that. Who knows but we may

When Madge rose from the table, all followed her example, and seated themselves at the door of the cottage.

"Mr. Starr," responded Ford, "I do not need your ears, but your legs. Are you quite rested?"

"Quite rested and quite refreshed, Simon. I am ready to go with you wherever you like."

"Are you going to take safety lamps!" exclaimed James Starr, in amazement, knowing that there was no fear

"Not just yet, sir, not just yet!" returned the old overman, his deepset eyes gleaming strangely.

Harry soon reappeared, carrying three safety lamps. He handed one of these to the engineer, the other to his

father, and kept the third hanging from his left hand, whilst his right was armed with a long stick.

"Forward!" said Simon Ford, taking up a strong pick, which was leaning against the wall of the cottage.

"A good supper, wife, do you hear?" exclaimed Ford. "We shall be hungry when we come back, and will do

MANY superstitious beliefs exist both in the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland. Of course the mining

population must furnish its contingent of legends and fables to this mythological repertory. If the fields are

peopled with imaginary beings, either good or bad, with much more reason must the dark mines be haunted

to their lowest depths. Who shakes the seam during tempestuous nights? who puts the miners on the track of

an as yet unworked vein? who lights the firedamp, and presides over the terrible explosions? who but some

spirit of the mine? This, at least, was the opinion commonly spread among the superstitious Scotch.

In the first rank of the believers in the supernatural in the Dochart pit figured Jack Ryan, Harry's friend. He

was the great partisan of all these superstitions. All these wild stories were turned by him into songs, which

But Jack Ryan was not alone in his belief. His comrades affirmed, no less strongly, that the Aberfoyle pits

were haunted, and that certain strange beings were seen there frequently, just as in the Highlands. To hear

them talk, it would have been more extraordinary if nothing of the kind appeared. Could there indeed be a

better place than a dark and deep coal mine for the freaks of fairies, elves, goblins, and other actors in the

fantastical dramas? The scenery was all ready, why should not the supernatural personages come there to play

So reasoned Jack Ryan and his comrades in the Aberfoyle mines. We have said that the different pits

communicated with each other by means of long subterranean galleries. Thus there existed beneath the

county of Stirling a vast tract, full of burrows, tunnels, bored with caves, and perforated with shafts, a

Miners, though belonging to different pits, often met, when going to or returning from their work.

Consequently there was a constant opportunity of exchanging talk, and circulating the stories which had their

origin in the mine, from one pit to another. These accounts were transmitted with marvelous rapidity, passing

Two men, however, better educated and with more practical minds than the rest, had always resisted this

temptation. They in no degree believed in the intervention of spirits, elves, or goblins. These two were Simon

Ford and his son. And they proved it by continuing to inhabit the dismal crypt, after the desertion of the

Dochart pit. Perhaps good Madge, like every Highland woman, had some leaning towards the supernatural.

But she had to repeat all these stories to herself, and so she did, most conscientiously, so as not to let the old

Even had Simon and Harry Ford been as credulous as their companions, they would not have abandoned the

mine to the imps and fairies. For ten years, without missing a single day, obstinate and immovable in their

convictions, the father and son took their picks, their sticks, and their lamps. They went about searching,

sounding the rock with a sharp blow, listening if it would return a favorable sound. So long as the soundings

had not been pushed to the granite of the primary formation, the Fords were agreed that the search,

unsuccessful today, might succeed tomorrow, and that it ought to be resumed. They spent their whole life

in endeavoring to bring Aberfoyle back to its former prosperity. If the father died before the hour of success,

It was during these excursions that Harry was more particularly struck by certain phenomena, which he

vainly sought to explain. Several times, while walking along some narrow crossalley, he seemed to hear

sounds similar to those which would be produced by violent blows of a pickax against the wall.

Harry hastened to seek the cause of this mysterious work. The tunnel was empty. The light from the young

lamp, thrown on the wall, revealed no trace of any recent work with pick or crowbar. Harry would then ask

himself if it was not the effect of some acoustic illusion, or some strange and fantastic echo. At other times,

on suddenly throwing a bright light into a suspiciouslooking cleft in the rock, he thought he saw a shadow.

He rushed forward. Nothing, and there was no opening to permit a human being to evade his pursuit!

Twice in one month, Harry, whilst visiting the west end of the pit, distinctly heard distant reports, as if some

miner had exploded a charge of dynamite. The second time, after many careful researches, he found that a

By the light of his lamp, Harry carefully examined the place attacked by the explosion. It had not been made

in a simple embankment of stones, but in a mass of schist, which had penetrated to this depth in the coal

stratum. Had the object of the explosion been to discover a new vein? Or had someone wished simply to

destroy this portion of the mine? Thus he questioned, and when he made known this occurrence to his father,

neither could the old overman nor he himself answer the question in a satisfactory way.

"It is very queer," Harry often repeated. "The presence of an unknown being in the mine seems impossible,

and yet there can be no doubt about it. Does someone besides ourselves wish to find out if a seam yet exists?

Or, rather, has he attempted to destroy what remains of the Aberfoyle mines? But for what reason? I will find

A fortnight before the day on which Harry Ford guided the engineer through the labyrinth of the Dochart pit,

he had been on the point of attaining the object of his search. He was going over the southwest end of the

mine, with a large lantern in his hand. All at once, it seemed to him that a light was suddenly extinguished,

some hundred feet before him, at the end of a narrow passage cut obliquely through the rock. He darted

His search was in vain. As Harry would not admit a supernatural explanation for a physical occurrence, he

concluded that certainly some strange being prowled about in the pit. But whatever he could do, searching

with the greatest care, scrutinizing every crevice in the gallery, he found nothing for his trouble.

If Jack Ryan and the other superstitious fellows in the mine had seen these lights, they would, without fail,

have called them supernatural, but Harry did not dream of doing so, nor did his father. And when they talked

over these phenomena, evidently due to a physical cause, "My lad," the old man would say, "we must wait. It

However, it must be observed that, hitherto, neither Harry nor his father had ever been exposed to any act of

violence. If the stone which had fallen at the feet of James Starr had been thrown by the hand of some

James Starr was of opinion that the stone had become detached from the roof of the gallery; but Harry would

not admit of such a simple explanation. According to him, the stone had not fallen, it had been thrown; for

otherwise, without rebounding, it could never have described a trajectory as it did.

Harry saw in it a direct attempt against himself and his father, or even against the engineer.

THE old clock in the cottage struck one as James Starr and his two companions went out. A dim light

penetrated through the ventilating shaft into the glade. Harry's lamp was not necessary here, but it would very

soon be of use, for the old overman was about to conduct the engineer to the very end of the Dochart pit.

After following the principal gallery for a distance of two miles, the three explorersfor, as will be seen, this

was a regular exploration arrived at the entrance of a narrow tunnel. It was like a nave, the roof of which

rested on woodwork, covered with white moss. It followed very nearly the line traced by the course of the

"Well, Simon," returned the engineer, "it will be difficult to go further than that, if I don't mistake."

"Yes, indeed, Mr. Starr. That was where our picks tore out the last bit of coal in the seam. I remember it as if

it were yesterday. I myself gave that last blow, and it reechoed in my heart more dismally than on the rock.

Only sandstone and schist were round us after that, and when the truck rolled towards the shaft, I followed,

with my heart as full as though it were a funeral. It seemed to me that the soul of the mine was going with it."

The gravity with which the old man uttered these words impressed the engineer, who was not far from

sharing his sentiments. They were those of the sailor who leaves his disabled vessel of the proprietor who

sees the house of his ancestors pulled down. He pressed Ford's hand; but now the latter seized that of the

"That day we were all of us mistaken," he exclaimed. "No! The old mine was not dead. It was not a corpse

that the miners abandoned; and I dare to assert, Mr. Starr, that its heart beats still."

"Speak, Ford! Have you discovered a new vein?" cried the engineer, unable to contain himself. "I know you

"Could firedamp issue from the bowels of the earth if coal was not there to produce it?"

"No, certainly not!" replied the engineer. "No coal, no firedamp. No effects without a cause."

"An old miner could not be deceived," answered Ford. "I have met with our old enemy, the firedamp!"

"But suppose it was another gas," said Starr. "Firedamp is almost without smell, and colorless. It only really

"Mr. Starr," said Simon Ford, "will you let me tell you what I have done? Harry had once or twice observed

something remarkable in his excursions to the west end of the mine. Fire, which suddenly went out,

sometimes appeared along the face of the rock or on the embankment of the further galleries. How those

flames were lighted, I could not and cannot say. But they were evidently owing to the presence of firedamp,

"Yes, little partial explosions," replied Ford, "such as I used to cause myself when I wished to ascertain the

presence of firedamp. Do you remember how formerly it was the custom to try to prevent explosions before

"Yes," replied James Starr. "You mean what the 'monk,' as the men called him, used to do. But I have never

"Indeed, Mr. Starr, you are too young, in spite of your fiveandfifty years, to have seen that. But I, ten years

older, often saw the last 'monk' working in the mine. He was called so because he wore a long robe like a

monk. His proper name was the 'fireman.' At that time there was no other means of destroying the bad gas but

by dispersing it in little explosions, before its buoyancy had collected it in too great quantities in the heights

of the galleries. The monk, as we called him, with his face masked, his head muffled up, all his body tightly

wrapped in a thick felt cloak, crawled along the ground. He could breathe down there, when the air was pure;

and with his right hand he waved above his head a blazing torch. When the firedamp had accumulated in the

air, so as to form a detonating mixture, the explosion occurred without being fatal, and, by often renewing

this operation, catastrophes were prevented. Sometimes the 'monk' was injured or killed in his work, then

another took his place. This was done in all mines until the Davy lamp was universally adopted. But I knew

the plan, and by its means I discovered the presence of firedamp and consequently that of a new seam of coal

All that the old overman had related of the socalled "monk" or "fireman" was perfectly true. The air in the

Firedamp, marshgas, or carburetted hydrogen, is colorless, almost scentless; it burns with a blue flame, and

makes respiration impossible. The miner could not live in a place filled with this injurious gas, any more than

one could live in a gasometer full of common gas. Moreover, firedamp, as well as the latter, a mixture of

inflammable gases, forms a detonating mixture as soon as the air unites with it in a proportion of eight, and

perhaps even five to the hundred. When this mixture is lighted by any cause, there is an explosion, almost

As they walked on, Simon Ford told the engineer all that he had done to attain his object; how he was sure

that the escape of firedamp took place at the very end of the farthest gallery in its western part, because he

had provoked small and partial explosions, or rather little flames, enough to show the nature of the gas, which

An hour after leaving the cottage, James Starr and his two companions had gone a distance of four miles. The

engineer, urged by anxiety and hope, walked on without noticing the length of the way. He pondered over all

that the old miner had told him, and mentally weighed all the arguments which the latter had given in support

of his belief. He agreed with him in thinking that the continued emission of carburetted hydrogen certainly

showed the existence of a new coalseam. If it had been merely a sort of pocket, full of gas, as it is

sometimes found amongst the rock, it would soon have been empty, and the phenomenon have ceased. But

far from that. According to Simon Ford, the firedamp escaped incessantly, and from that fact the existence

of an important vein might be considered certain. Consequently, the riches of the Dochart pit were not

entirely exhausted. The chief question now was, whether this was merely a vein which would yield

"Here we are!" exclaimed the old miner. "At last, thank Heaven! you are here, Mr. Starr, and we shall soon

"Be calm, my man!" said the engineer. "I am as excited as you are, but we must not lose time."

The gallery at this end of the pit widened into a sort of dark cave. No shaft had been pierced in this part, and

the gallery, bored into the bowels of the earth, had no direct communication with the surface of the earth.

James Starr, with intense interest, examined the place in which they were standing. On the walls of the cavern

the marks of the pick could still be seen, and even holes in which the rock had been blasted, near the

termination of the working. The schist was excessively hard, and it had not been necessary to bank up the end

of the tunnel where the works had come to an end. There the vein had failed, between the schist and the

tertiary sandstone. From this very place had been extracted the last piece of coal from the Dochart pit.

"We must attack the dyke," said Ford, raising his pick; "for at the other side of the break, at more or less

"And was it on the surface of these rocks that you found out the firedamp?" asked James Starr.

"Just there, sir," returned Ford, "and I was able to light it only by bringing my lamp near to the cracks in the

James Starr had seated himself on a rock. After critically inhaling the air of the cavern, he gazed at the two

miners, almost as if doubting their words, decided as they were. In fact, carburetted hydrogen is not

completely scentless, and the engineer, whose sense of smell was very keen, was astonished that it had not

revealed the presence of the explosive gas. At any rate, if the gas had mingled at all with the surrounding air,

it could only be in a very small stream. There was no danger of an explosion, and they might without fear

open the safety lamp to try the experiment, just as the old miner had done before.

"Could they have been mistaken?" he murmured. "No: these men know what they are about. And yet"

He waited, not without some anxiety, until Simon Ford's phenomenon should have taken place. But just then

it seemed that Harry, like himself, had remarked the absence of the characteristic odor of firedamp; for he

exclaimed in an altered voice, "Father, I should say the gas was no longer escaping through the cracks!"

"No longer!" cried the old minerand, pressing his lips tight together, he snuffed the air several times.

Ford took the lamp with a trembling hand. He drew off the wire gauze case which surrounded the wick, and

As they had expected, there was no explosion, but, what was more serious, there was not even the slight

crackling which indicates the presence of a small quantity of firedamp. Simon took the stick which Harry was

holding, fixed his lamp to the end of it, and raised it high above his head, up to where the gas, by reason of its

buoyancy, would naturally accumulate. The flame of the lamp, burning straight and clear, revealed no trace

"Yes," responded Ford, carrying the lamp to that part of the wall at which he and his son had, the evening

The old miner's arm trembled whilst he tried to hoist the lamp up. "Take my place, Harry," said he.

Harry took the stick, and successively presented the lamp to the different fissures in the rock; but he shook

his head, for of that slight crackling peculiar to escaping firedamp he heard nothing. There was no flame.

"Nothing!" cried Ford, clenching his fist with a gesture rather of anger than disappointment.

"Look, father!" Harry was not mistaken. The obstruction of the fissures was clearly visible by the light of the

lamp. It had been recently done with lime, leaving on the rock a long whitish mark, badly concealed with coal

"Yes!" returned the young man, "that mysterious being who haunts our domain, for whom I have watched a

hundred times without being able to get at himthe author, we may now be certain, of that letter which was

intended to hinder you from coming to see my father, Mr. Starr, and who finally threw that stone at us in the

gallery of the Yarrow shaft! Ah! there's no doubt about it; there is a man's hand in all that!"

Harry spoke with such energy that conviction came instantly and fully to the engineer's mind. As to the old

overman, he was already convinced. Besides, there they were in the presence of an undeniable fact the

"Take your pick, Harry," cried Ford; "mount on my shoulders, my lad! I am still strong enough to bear you!"

The young man understood in an instant. His father propped himself up against the rock. Harry got upon his

shoulders, so that with his pick he could reach the line of the fissure. Then with quick sharp blows he

attacked it. Almost directly afterwards a slight sound was heard, like champagne escaping from a bottlea

Harry again seized his lamp, and held it to the opening. There was a slight report; and a little red flame, rather

Harry leaped to the ground, and the old overman, unable to contain his joy, grasped the engineer's hands,

exclaiming, "Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah! Mr. Starr. The firedamp burns! the vein is there!"

THE old overman's experiment had succeeded. Firedamp, it is well known, is only generated in coal seams;

therefore the existence of a vein of precious combustible could no longer be doubted. As to its size and

"Yes," thought James Starr, "behind that wall lies a carboniferous bed, undiscovered by our soundings. It is

vexatious that all the apparatus of the mine, deserted for ten years, must be set up anew. Never mind. We

have found the vein which was thought to be exhausted, and this time it shall be worked to the end!"

"Well, Mr. Starr," asked Ford, "what do you think of our discovery? Was I wrong to trouble you? Are you

"No, no, my old friend!" answered Starr. "We have not lost our time; but we shall be losing it now, if we do

not return immediately to the cottage. Tomorrow we will come back here. We will blast this wall with

dynamite. We will lay open the new vein, and after a series of soundings, if the seam appears to be large, I

will form a new Aberfoyle Company, to the great satisfaction of the old shareholders. Before three months

have passed, the first corves full of coal will have been taken from the new vein."

"Well said, sir!" cried Simon Ford. "The old mine will grow young again, like a widow who remarries! The

bustle of the old days will soon begin with the blows of the pick, and mattock, blasts of powder, rumbling of

wagons, neighing of horses, creaking of machines! I shall see it all again! I hope, Mr. Starr, that you will not

"And, sir, you shall be our viewer again. May the new working last for many years, and pray Heaven I shall

The old miner was overflowing with joy. James Starr fully entered into it; but he let Ford rave for them both.

Harry alone remained thoughtful. To his memory recurred the succession of singular, inexplicable

An hour afterwards, James Starr and his two companions were back in the cottage. The engineer supped with

good appetite, listening with satisfaction to all the plans unfolded by the old overman; and had it not been for

his excitement about the next day's work, he would never have slept better than in the perfect stillness of the

The following day, after a substantial breakfast, James Starr, Simon Ford, Harry, and even Madge herself,

took the road already traversed the day before. All looked like regular miners. They carried different tools,

and some dynamite with which to blast the rock. Harry, besides a large lantern, took a safety lamp, which

would burn for twelve hours. It was more than was necessary for the journey there and back, including the

"To work! to work!" shouted Ford, when the party reached the further end of the passage; and he grasped a

"Stop one instant," said Starr. "Let us see if any change has taken place, and if the firedamp still escapes

"You are right, Mr. Starr," said Harry. "Whoever stopped it up yesterday may have done it again today!"

Madge, seated on a rock, carefully observed the excavation, and the wall which was to be blasted.

It was found that everything was just as they left it. The crevices had undergone no alteration; the carburetted

hydrogen still filtered through, though in a small stream, which was no doubt because it had had a free

passage since the day before. As the quantity was so small, it could not have formed an explosive mixture

with the air inside. James Starr and his companions could therefore proceed in security. Besides, the air grew

purer by rising to the heights of the Dochart pit; and the firedamp, spreading through the atmosphere, would

"To work, then!" repeated Ford; and soon the rock flew in splinters under his skillful blows. The break was

chiefly composed of puddingstone, interspersed with sandstone and schist, such as is most often met with

veins. James Starr picked up some of the pieces, and examined them carefully, hoping to discover some trace

Starr having chosen the place where the holes were to be drilled, they were rapidly bored by Harry. Some

cartridges of dynamite were put into them. As soon as the long, tarred safety match was laid, it was lighted on

a level with the ground. James Starr and his companions then went off to some distance.

"Oh! Mr. Starr," said Simon Ford, a prey to agitation, which he did not attempt to conceal, "never, no, never

"Patience, Simon!" responded the engineer. "You don't mean to say that you think you are going to find a

"Excuse me, sir," answered the old overman; "but of course I think so! If there was good luck in the way

As he spoke, came the explosion. A sound as of thunder rolled through the labyrinth of subterranean

Ford's comparison was justified by the appearance of an excavation, the depth of which could not be

calculated. Harry was about to spring through the opening; but the engineer, though excessively surprised to

find this cavity, held him back. "Allow time for the air in there to get pure," said he.

A quarter of an hour was passed in anxious waiting. The lantern was then fastened to the end of a stick, and

introduced into the cave, where it continued to burn with unaltered brilliancy. "Now then, Harry, go," said

The opening made by the dynamite was sufficiently large to allow a man to pass through. Harry, lamp in

hand, entered unhesitatingly, and disappeared in the darkness. His father, mother, and James Starr waited in

silence. A minutewhich seemed to them much longerpassed. Harry did not reappear, did not call.

James Starr could not even see the light of his lamp, which ought to have illuminated the dark cavern.

Had the ground suddenly given way under Harry's feet? Had the young miner fallen into some crevice?

The old overman, dead to their remonstrances, was about to enter the opening, when a light appeared, dim at

first, but gradually growing brighter, and Harry's voice was heard shouting, "Come, Mr. Starr! come, father!

If, by some superhuman power, engineers could have raised in a block, a thousand feet thick, all that portion

of the terrestrial crust which supports the lakes, rivers, gulfs, and territories of the counties of Stirling,

Dumbarton, and Renfrew, they would have found, under that enormous lid, an immense excavation, to which

but one other in the world can be compared the celebrated Mammoth caves of Kentucky. This excavation

was composed of several hundred divisions of all sizes and shapes. It might be called a hive with numberless

ranges of cells, capriciously arranged, but a hive on a vast scale, and which, instead of bees, might have

lodged all the ichthyosauri, megatheriums, and pterodactyles of the geological epoch.

A labyrinth of galleries, some higher than the most lofty cathedrals, others like cloisters, narrow and

windingthese following a horizontal line, those on an incline or running obliquely in all directions

The pillars sustaining the vaulted roofs, whose curves allowed of every style, the massive walls between the

passages, the naves themselves in this layer of secondary formation, were composed of sandstone and

schistous rocks. But tightly packed between these useless strata ran valuable veins of coal, as if the black

blood of this strange mine had circulated through their tangled network. These fields extended forty miles

north and south, and stretched even under the Caledonian Canal. The importance of this bed could not be

calculated until after soundings, but it would certainly surpass those of Cardiff and Newcastle.

We may add that the working of this mine would be singularly facilitated by the fantastic dispositions of the

secondary earths; for by an unaccountable retreat of the mineral matter at the geological epoch, when the

mass was solidifying, nature had already multiplied the galleries and tunnels of New Aberfoyle.

Yes, nature alone! It might at first have been supposed that some works abandoned for centuries had been

discovered afresh. Nothing of the sort. No one would have deserted such riches. Human termites had never

gnawed away this part of the Scottish subsoil; nature herself had done it all. But, we repeat, it could be

compared to nothing but the celebrated Mammoth caves, which, in an extent of more than twenty miles,

contain two hundred and twentysix avenues, eleven lakes, seven rivers, eight cataracts, thirtytwo

unfathomable wells, and fiftyseven domes, some of which are more than four hundred and fifty feet in

height. Like these caves, New Aberfoyle was not the work of men, but the work of the Creator.

Such was this new domain, of matchless wealth, the discovery of which belonged entirely to the old overman.

Ten years' sojourn in the deserted mine, an uncommon pertinacity in research, perfect faith, sustained by a

marvelous mining instinct all these qualities together led him to succeed where so many others had failed.

Why had the soundings made under the direction of James Starr during the last years of the working stopped

just at that limit, on the very frontier of the new mine? That was all chance, which takes great part in

However that might be, there was, under the Scottish subsoil, what might be called a subterranean county,

which, to be habitable, needed only the rays of the sun, or, for want of that, the light of a special planet.

Water had collected in various hollows, forming vast ponds, or rather lakes larger than Loch Katrine, lying

just above them. Of course the waters of these lakes had no movement of currents or tides; no old castle was

reflected there; no birch or oak trees waved on their banks. And yet these deep lakes, whose mirrorlike

surface was never ruffled by a breeze, would not be without charm by the light of some electric star, and,

connected by a string of canals, would well complete the geography of this strange domain.

Although unfit for any vegetable production, the place could be inhabited by a whole population. And who

mines of Aberfoyle, as well as in those of Newcastle, Alloa, or Cardiff when their contents shall have been

exhaustedwho knows but that the poorer classes of Great Britain will some day find a refuge?

AT Harry's call, James Starr, Madge, and Simon Ford entered through the narrow orifice which put the

Dochart pit in communication with the new mine. They found themselves at the beginning of a tolerably wide

gallery. One might well believe that it had been pierced by the hand of man, that the pick and mattock had

emptied it in the working of a new vein. The explorers question whether, by a strange chance, they had not

been transported into some ancient mine, of the existence of which even the oldest miners in the county had

No! It was merely that the geological layers had left this passage when the secondary earths were in course of

formation. Perhaps some torrent had formerly dashed through it; but now it was as dry as if it had been cut

some thousand feet lower, through granite rocks. At the same time, the air circulated freely, which showed

that certain natural vents placed it in communication with the exterior atmosphere.

This observation, made by the engineer, was correct, and it was evident that the ventilation of the new mine

would be easily managed. As to the firedamp which had lately filtered through the schist, it seemed to have

been contained in a pocket now empty, and it was certain that the atmosphere of the gallery was quite free

from it. However, Harry prudently carried only the safety lamp, which would insure light for twelve hours.

James Starr and his companions now felt perfectly happy. All their wishes were satisfied. There was nothing

but coal around them. A sort of emotion kept them silent; even Simon Ford restrained himself. His joy

It was perhaps imprudent to venture so far into the crypt. Pooh! they never thought of how they were to get

The gallery was practicable, not very winding. They met with no noxious exhalations, nor did any chasm bar

the path. There was no reason for stopping for a whole hour; James Starr, Madge, Harry, and Simon Ford

walked on, though there was nothing to show them what was the exact direction of this unknown tunnel.

And they would no doubt have gone farther still, if they had not suddenly come to the end of the wide road

The gallery ended in an enormous cavern, neither the height nor depth of which could be calculated. At what

altitude arched the roof of this excavationat what distance was its opposite wall the darkness totally

concealed; but by the light of the lamp the explorers could discover that its dome covered a vast extent of still

"Halt!" exclaimed Ford, stopping suddenly. "Another step, and perhaps we shall fall into some fathomless

"Let us rest awhile, then, my friends," returned the engineer. "Besides, we ought to be thinking of returning to

"Well, let us make a halt," replied Starr; "I confess my legs have need of a rest. And you, Madge, don't you

"Not over much, Mr. Starr," replied the sturdy Scotchwoman; "we have been accustomed to explore the old

"Tired? nonsense!" interrupted Simon Ford; "Madge could go ten times as far, if necessary. But once more,

Mr. Starr, wasn't my communication worth your trouble in coming to hear it? Just dare to say no, Mr. Starr,

"Well, my old friend, I haven't felt so happy for a long while!" replied the engineer; "the small part of this

marvelous mine that we have explored seems to show that its extent is very considerable, at least in length."

"And I can answer for it! Trust to the instinct of an old miner! It has never deceived me!"

"I wish to believe you, Simon," replied the engineer, smiling. "As far as I can judge from this short

exploration, we possess the elements of a working which will last for centuries!"

"Centuries!" exclaimed Simon Ford; "I believe you, sir! A thousand years and more will pass before the last

"Heaven grant it!" returned Starr. "As to the quality of the coal which crops out of these walls?"

"Look! look!" he repeated, holding it close to his lamp; "the surface of this piece of coal is shining! We have

here fat coal, rich in bituminous matter; and see how it comes in pieces, almost without dust! Ah, Mr. Starr!

twenty years ago this seam would have entered into a strong competition with Swansea and Cardiff! Well,

stokers will quarrel for it still, and if it costs little to extract it from the mine, it will not sell at a less price

"Indeed," said Madge, who had taken the fragment of coal and was examining it with the air of a connoisseur;

"that's good quality of coal. Carry it home, Simon, carry it back to the cottage! I want this first piece of coal

"Well said, wife!" answered the old overman, "and you shall see that I am not mistaken."

"Mr. Starr," asked Harry, "have you any idea of the probable direction of this long passage which we have

"No, my lad," replied the engineer; "with a compass I could perhaps find out its general bearing; but without

a compass I am here like a sailor in open sea, in the midst of fogs, when there is no sun by which to calculate

"No doubt, Mr. Starr," replied Ford; "but pray don't compare our position with that of the sailor, who has

everywhere and always an abyss under his feet! We are on firm ground here, and need never be afraid of

"I won't tease you, then, old Simon," answered James Starr. "Far be it from me even in jest to depreciate the

New Aberfoyle mine by an unjust comparison! I only meant to say one thing, and that is that we don't know

"We are in the subsoil of the county of Stirling, Mr. Starr," replied Simon Ford; "and that I assert as if"

"Listen!" said Harry, interrupting the old man. All listened, as the young miner was doing. His ears, which

were very sharp, had caught a dull sound, like a distant murmur. His companions were not long in hearing it

themselves. It was above their heads, a sort of rolling sound, in which though it was so feeble, the successive

All four stood for some minutes, their ears on the stretch, without uttering a word. All at once Simon Ford

exclaimed, "Well, I declare! Are trucks already running on the rails of New Aberfoyle?"

"Father," replied Harry, "it sounds to me just like the noise made by waves rolling on the sea shore."

"No," said the engineer, "but it is not impossible that we should be under Loch Katrine."

"The roof cannot have much thickness just here, if the noise of the water is perceptible."

"Very little indeed," answered James Starr, "and that is the reason this cavern is so huge."

"Besides, the weather is so bad outside," resumed Starr, "that the waters of the loch must be as rough as those

"Well! what does it matter after all?" returned Simon Ford; "the seam won't be any the worse because it is

under a loch. It would not be the first time that coal has been looked for under the very bed of the ocean!

When we have to work under the bottom of the Caledonian Canal, where will be the harm?"

"Well said, Simon," cried the engineer, who could not restrain a smile at the overman's enthusiasm; "let us

cut our trenches under the waters of the sea! Let us bore the bed of the Atlantic like a strainer; let us with our

our brethren of the United States through the subsoil of the ocean! let us dig into the center of the globe if

"Are you joking, Mr. Starr?" asked Ford, with a pleased but slightly suspicious look.

"I joking, old man? no! but you are so enthusiastic that you carry me away into the regions of impossibility!

Come, let us return to the reality, which is sufficiently beautiful; leave our picks here, where we may find

Nothing more could be done for the time. Later, the engineer, accompanied by a brigade of miners, supplied

with lamps and all necessary tools, would r�sum� the exploration of New Aberfoyle. It was now time to

return to the Dochart pit. The road was easy, the gallery running nearly straight through the rock up to the

orifice opened by the dynamite, so there was no fear of their losing themselves.

"Mr. Starr," said he, "you see this immense cavern, this subterranean lake, whose waters bathe this strand at

our feet? Well! it is to this place I mean to change my dwelling, here I will build a new cottage, and if some

brave fellows will follow my example, before a year is over there will be one town more inside old England."

James Starr, smiling approval of Ford's plans, pressed his hand, and all three, preceding Madge, reentered

the gallery, on their way back to the Dochart pit. For the first mile no incident occurred. Harry walked first,

holding his lamp above his head. He carefully followed the principal gallery, without ever turning aside into

the narrow tunnels which radiated to the right and left. It seemed as if the returning was to be accomplished

as easily as the going, when an unexpected accident occurred which rendered the situation of the explorers

Just at a moment when Harry was raising his lamp there came a rush of air, as if caused by the flapping of

invisible wings. The lamp escaped from his hands, fell on the rocky ground, and was broken to pieces.

James Starr and his companions were suddenly plunged in absolute darkness. All the oil of the lamp was

Harry did not answer. He wondered if he ought to suspect the hand of a mysterious being in this last

accident? Could there possibly exist in these depths an enemy whose unaccountable antagonism would one

day create serious difficulties? Had someone an interest in defending the new coal field against any attempt at

working it? In truth that seemed absurd, yet the facts spoke for themselves, and they accumulated in such a

In the meantime the explorers' situation was bad enough. They had now, in the midst of black darkness, to

follow the passage leading to the Dochart pit for nearly five miles. There they would still have an hour's walk

"Come along," said Simon Ford. "We have no time to lose. We must grope our way along, like blind men.

There's no fear of losing our way. The tunnels which open off our road are only just like those in a molehill,

and by following the chief gallery we shall of course reach the opening we got in at. After that, it is the old

mine. We know that, and it won't be the first time that Harry and I have found ourselves there in the dark.

Besides, there we shall find the lamps that we left. Forward then! Harry, go first. Mr. Starr, follow him.

Madge, you go next, and I will bring up the rear. Above everything, don't let us get separated."

All complied with the old overman's instructions. As he said, by groping carefully, they could not mistake the

way. It was only necessary to make the hands take the place of the eyes, and to trust to their instinct, which

James Starr and his companions walked on in the order agreed. They did not speak, but it was not for want of

thinking. It became evident that they had an adversary. But what was he, and how were they to defend

themselves against these mysteriouslyprepared attacks? These disquieting ideas crowded into their brains.

Harry, his arms extended, advanced with a firm step, touching first one and then the other side of the passage.

If a cleft or side opening presented itself, he felt with his hand that it was not the main way; either the cleft

In darkness through which the eye could not in the slightest degree pierce, this difficult return lasted two

hours. By reckoning the time since they started, taking into consideration that the walking had not been rapid,

Starr calculated that he and his companions were near the opening. In fact, almost immediately, Harry

"Well! have you not found the hole which connects New Aberfoyle with the Dochart pit?"

The old overman stepped forward, and himself felt the schistous rock. A cry escaped him.

Either the explorers had strayed from the right path on their return, or the narrow orifice, broken in the rock

by the dynamite, had been recently stopped up. James Starr and his companions were prisoners in New

A WEEK after the events just related had taken place, James Starr's friends had become very anxious. The

engineer had disappeared, and no reason could be brought forward to explain his absence. They learnt, by

questioning his servant, that he had embarked at Granton Pier. But from that time there were no traces of

James Starr. Simon Ford's letter had requested secrecy, and he had said nothing of his departure for the

Therefore in Edinburgh nothing was talked of but the unaccountable absence of the engineer. Sir W.

Elphiston, the President of the Royal Institution, communicated to his colleagues a letter which James Starr

had sent him, excusing himself from being present at the next meeting of the society. Two or three others

though these documents proved that Starr had left Edinburgh which was known beforethey threw no

light on what had become of him. Now, on the part of such a man, this prolonged absence, so contrary to his

A notice was inserted in the principal newspapers of the United Kingdom relative to the engineer James Starr,

giving a description of him and the date on which he left Edinburgh; nothing more could be done but to wait.

The time passed in great anxiety. The scientific world of England was inclined to believe that one of its most

distinguished members had positively disappeared. At the same time, when so many people were thinking

about James Starr, Harry Ford was the subject of no less anxiety. Only, instead of occupying public attention,

the son of the old overman was the cause of trouble alone to the generally cheerful mind of Jack Ryan.

It may be remembered that, in their encounter in the Yarrow shaft, Jack Ryan had invited Harry to come a

week afterwards to the festivities at Irvine. Harry had accepted and promised expressly to be there. Jack Ryan

knew, having had it proved by many circumstances, that his friend was a man of his word. With him, a thing

promised was a thing done. Now, at the Irvine merrymaking, nothing was wanting; neither song, nor dance,

The notice relative to James Starr, published in the papers, had not yet been seen by Ryan. The honest fellow

was therefore only worried by Harry's absence, telling himself that something serious could alone have

prevented him from keeping his promise. So, the day after the Irvine games, Jack Ryan intended to take the

railway from Glasgow and go to the Dochart pit; and this he would have done had he not been detained by an

accident which nearly cost him his life. Something which occurred on the night of the 12th of December was

of a nature to support the opinions of all partisans of the supernatural, and there were many at Melrose Farm.

Irvine, a little seaport of Renfrew, containing nearly seven thousand inhabitants, lies in a sharp bend made by

the Scottish coast, near the mouth of the Firth of Clyde. The most ancient and the most famed ruins on this

of the coast were those of this castle of Robert Stuart, which bore the name of Dundonald Castle.

At this period Dundonald Castle, a refuge for all the stray goblins of the country, was completely deserted. It

stood on the top of a high rock, two miles from the town, and was seldom visited. Sometimes a few strangers

took it into their heads to explore these old historical remains, but then they always went alone. The

inhabitants of Irvine would not have taken them there at any price. Indeed, several legends were based on the

The most superstitious declared they had seen these fantastic creatures with their own eyes. Jack Ryan was

naturally one of them. It was a fact that from time to time long flames appeared, sometimes on a broken piece

of wall, sometimes on the summit of the tower which was the highest point of Dundonald Castle.

Did these flames really assume a human shape, as was asserted? Did they merit the name of firemaidens,

given them by the people of the coast? It was evidently just an optical delusion, aided by a good deal of

However that might be, these firemaidens had the reputation of frequenting the ruins of the old castle and

there performing wild strathspeys, especially on dark nights. Jack Ryan, bold fellow though he was, would

"Old Nick is enough for them!" said he. "He doesn't need me to complete his infernal orchestra."

We may well believe that these strange apparitions frequently furnished a text for the evening stories. Jack

Ryan was ending the evening with one of these. His auditors, transported into the phantom world, were

All at once shouts were heard outside. Jack Ryan stopped short in the middle of his story, and all rushed out

of the barn. The night was pitchy dark. Squalls of wind and rain swept along the beach. Two or three

fishermen, their backs against a rock, the better to resist the wind, were shouting at the top of their voices.

shouts were, however, not for the inhabitants of the farm, but to warn men who, without being aware of it,

were going to destruction. A dark, confused mass appeared some way out at sea. It was a vessel whose

position could be seen by her lights, for she carried a white one on her foremast, a green on the starboard

side, and a red on the outside. She was evidently running straight on the rocks.

"Ay," answered one of the fishermen, "and now they want to tack, but it's too late!"

"It seems so," responded one of the fishermen, "unless he has been misled by some"

The man was interrupted by a yell from Jack. Could the crew have heard it? At any rate, it was too late for

them to beat back from the line of breakers which gleamed white in the darkness.

But it was not, as might be supposed, a last effort of Ryan's to warn the doomed ship. He now had his back to

the sea. His companions turned also, and gazed at a spot situated about half a mile inland. It was Dundonald

Castle. A long flame twisted and bent under the gale, on the summit of the old tower.

Clearly, it needed a good strong imagination to find any human likeness in that flame. Waving in the wind

like a luminous flag, it seemed sometimes to fly round the tower, as if it was just going out, and a moment

All was then explained. The ship, having lost her reckoning in the fog, had taken this flame on the top of

Dundonald Castle for the Irvine light. She thought herself at the entrance of the Firth, ten miles to the north,

What could be done to save her, if there was still time? It was too late. A frightful crash was heard above the

tumult of the elements. The vessel had struck. The white line of surf was broken for an instant; she heeled

At the same time, by a strange coincidence, the long flame disappeared, as if it had been swept away by a

"The FireMaiden!" shouted Ryan, for the last time, as the apparition, which he and his companions believed

supernatural, disappeared. But then the courage of these superstitious Scotchmen, which had failed before a

fancied danger, returned in face of a real one, which they were ready to brave in order to save their

fellowcreatures. The tempest did not deter them. As heroic as they had before been credulous, fastening

ropes round their waists, they rushed into the waves to the aid of those on the wreck.

Happily, they succeeded in their endeavors, although someand bold Jack Ryan was among the

numberwere severely wounded on the rocks. But the captain of the vessel and the eight sailors who

The ship was the Norwegian brig MOTALA, laden with timber, and bound for Glasgow. Of the MOTALA

herself nothing remained but a few spars, washed up by the waves, and dashed among the rocks on the beach.

Jack Ryan and three of his companions, wounded like himself, were carried into a room of Melrose Farm,

where every care was lavished on them. Ryan was the most hurt, for when with the rope round his waist he

had rushed into the sea, the waves had almost immediately dashed him back against the rocks. He was

The brave fellow was therefore confined to bed for several days, to his great disgust. However, as soon as he

was given permission to sing as much as he liked, he bore his trouble patiently, and the farm echoed all day

with his jovial voice. But from this adventure he imbibed a more lively sentiment of fear with regard to

brownies and other goblins who amuse themselves by plaguing mankind, and he made them responsible for

the catastrophe of the Motala. It would have been vain to try and convince him that the FireMaidens did not

exist, and that the flame, so suddenly appearing among the ruins, was but a natural phenomenon. No

reasoning could make him believe it. His companions were, if possible, more obstinate than he in

their credulity. According to them, one of the FireMaidens had maliciously attracted the MOTALA to the

coast. As to wishing to punish her, as well try to bring the tempest to justice! The magistrates might order

what arrests they pleased, but a flame cannot be imprisoned, an impalpable being can't be handcuffed. It must

be acknowledged that the researches which were ultimately made gave ground, at least in appearance, to this

The inquiry was made with great care. Officials came to Dundonald Castle, and they proceeded to conduct a

most vigorous search. The magistrate wished first to ascertain if the ground bore any footprints, which could

be attributed to other than goblins' feet. It was impossible to find the least trace, whether old or new.

Moreover, the earth, still damp from the rain of the day before, would have preserved the least vestige.

The result of all this was, that the magistrates only got for their trouble a new legend added to so many

othersa legend which would be perpetuated by the remembrance of the catastrophe of the MOTALA, and

A hearty fellow like Jack Ryan, with so strong a constitution, could not be long confined to his bed. A few

sprains and bruises were not quite enough to keep him on his back longer than he liked. He had not time to be

Jack, therefore, soon got well. As soon as he was on his legs again, before resuming his work on the farm, he

wished to go and visit his friend Harry, and learn why he had not come to the Irvine merrymaking. He could

not understand his absence, for Harry was not a man who would willingly promise and not perform. It was

unlikely, too, that the son of the old overman had not heard of the wreck of the MOTALA, as it was in all the

papers. He must know the part Jack had taken in it, and what had happened to him, and it was unlike Harry

As Harry had not come, there must have been something to prevent him. Jack Ryan would as soon deny the

Two days after the catastrophe Jack left the farm merily, feeling nothing of his wounds. Singing in the

fullness of his heart, he awoke the echoes of the cliff, as he walked to the station of the railway, which VIA

As he was waiting for his train, his attention was attracted by a bill posted up on the walls, containing the

"On the 4th of December, the engineer, James Starr, of Edinburgh, embarked from Granton Pier, on board the

Prince of Wales. He disembarked the same day at Stirling. From that time nothing further has been heard of

"Any information concerning him is requested to be sent to the President of the Royal Institution,

Jack Ryan, stopping before one of these advertisements, read it twice over, with extreme surprise.

"Mr. Starr!" he exclaimed. "Why, on the 4th of December I met him with Harry on the ladder of the Dochart

pit! That was ten days ago! And he has not been seen from that time! That explains why my chum didn't

And without taking time to inform the President of the Royal Institution by letter, what he knew relative to

James Starr, Jack jumped into the train, determining to go first of all to the Yarrow shaft. There he would

descend to the depths of the pit, if necessary, to find Harry, and with him was sure to be the engineer James

"They haven't turned up again," said he to himself. "Why? Has anything prevented them? Could any work of

importance keep them still at the bottom of the mine? I must find out!" and Ryan, hastening his steps, arrived

Externally nothing was changed. The same silence around. Not a living creature was moving in that desert

region. Jack entered the ruined shed which covered the opening of the shaft. He gazed down into the dark

"And my lamp!" he exclaimed; "suppose it isn't in its place!" The lamp which Ryan used when he visited the

pit was usually deposited in a corner, near the landing of the topmost ladder. It had disappeared.

uneasy. Then, without hesitating, superstitious though he was, "I will go," said he, "though it's as dark down

And he began to descend the long flight of ladders, which led down the gloomy shaft. Jack Ryan had not

forgotten his old mining habits, and he was well acquainted with the Dochart pit, or he would scarcely have

dared to venture thus. He went very carefully, however. His foot tried each round, as some of them were

wormeaten. A false step would entail a deadly fall, through this space of fifteen hundred feet. He counted

each landing as he passed it, knowing that he could not reach the bottom of the shaft until he had left the

thirtieth. Once there, he would have no trouble, so he thought, in finding the cottage, built, as we have said, at

Jack Ryan went on thus until he got to the twentysixth landing, and consequently had two hundred feet

Here he put down his leg to feel for the first rung of the twentyseventh ladder. But his foot swinging in

space found nothing to rest on. He knelt down and felt about with his hand for the top of the ladder. It was in

"Old Nick himself must have been down this way!" said Jack, not without a slight feeling of terror.

He stood considering for some time, with folded arms, and longing to be able to pierce the impenetrable

darkness. Then it occurred to him that if he could not get down, neither could the inhabitants of the mine get

up. There was now no communication between the depths of the pit and the upper regions. If the removal of

the lower ladders of the Yarrow shaft had been effected since his last visit to the cottage, what had become of

The prolonged absence of James Starr proved that he had not left the pit since the day Ryan met with him in

the shaft. How had the cottage been provisioned since then? The food of these unfortunate people,

imprisoned fifteen hundred feet below the surface of the ground, must have been exhausted by this time.

All this passed through Jack's mind, as he saw that by himself he could do nothing to get to the cottage. He

with a malevolent intention. At any rate, the authorities must be informed, and that as soon as possible.

Harry's name echoed and reechoed among the rocks, and finally died away in the depths of the shaft.

Ryan rapidly ascended the upper ladders and returned to the light of day. Without losing a moment he

reached the Callander station, just caught the express to Edinburgh, and by three o'clock was before the Lord

There his declaration was received. His account was given so clearly that it could not be doubted. Sir William

Elphiston, President of the Royal Institution, and not only colleague, but a personal friend of Starr's, was also

informed, and asked to direct the search which was to be made without delay in the mine. Several men were

placed at his disposal, supplied with lamps, picks, long rope ladders, not forgetting provisions and cordials.

The same evening the expedition arrived at the opening of the Yarrow shaft, and descended to the

twentyseventh landing, at which Jack Ryan had been stopped a few hours previously. The lamps, fastened

to long ropes, were lowered down the shaft, and it was thus ascertained that the four last ladders were

As soon as the lamps had been brought up, the men fixed to the landing a rope ladder, which unrolled itself

down the shaft, and all descended one after the other. Jack Ryan's descent was the most difficult, for he went

The space at the bottom of the shaft was completely deserted; but Sir William was much surprised at hearing

"Burnt?" repeated Sir William. "Indeed, here sure enough are cinders which have evidently been cold a long

"Do you think, sir," asked Ryan, "that Mr. Starr could have had any reason for burning the ladders, and thus

had become very thoughtful. "Come, my lad, lead us to the cottage. There we shall ascertain the truth."

Jack Ryan shook his head, as if not at all convinced. Then, taking a lamp from the hands of one of the men,

he proceeded with a rapid step along the principal passage of the Dochart pit. The others all followed him.

In a quarter of an hour the party arrived at the excavation in which stood Simon Ford's cottage. There was no

light in the window. Ryan darted to the door, and threw it open. The house was empty.

They examined all the rooms in the somber habitation. No trace of violence was to be found. All was in

order, as if old Madge had been still there. There was even an ample supply of provisions, enough to last the

The absence of the tenants of the cottage was quite unaccountable. But was it not possible to find out the

exact time they had quitted it? Yes, for in this region, where there was no difference of day or night, Madge

The almanac was pinned up on the wall, and there the last cross had been made at the 6th of December; that

is to say, a day after the arrival of James Starr, to which Ryan could positively swear. It was clear that on the

6th of December, ten days ago, Simon Ford, his wife, son, and guest, had quitted the cottage. Could a fresh

exploration of the mine, undertaken by the engineer, account for such a long absence? Certainly not.

It was intensely dark all round. The lamps held by the men gave light only just where they were standing.

His finger was pointing to a tolerably bright light, which was moving about in the distance. "After that light,

The president and his men, little given to superstition, darted off in the direction of the moving light. Jack

Ryan, bravely following their example, quickly overtook the headmost of the party.

It was a long and fatiguing chase. The lantern seemed to be carried by a being of small size, but singular

Every now and then it disappeared behind some pillar, then was seen again at the end of a cross gallery. A

sharp turn would place it out of sight, and it seemed to have completely disappeared, when all at once there

would be the light as bright as ever. However, they gained very little on it, and Ryan's belief that they could

After an hour of this vain pursuit Sir William Elphiston and his companions had gone a long way in the

southwest direction of the pit, and began to think they really had to do with an impalpable being. Just then it

seemed as if the distance between the goblin and those who were pursuing it was becoming less. Could it be

fatigued, or did this invisible being wish to entice Sir William and his companions to the place where the

inhabitants of the cottage had perhaps themselves been enticed. It was hard to say.

The men, seeing that the distance lessened, redoubled their efforts. The light which had before burnt at a

distance of more than two hundred feet before them was now seen at less than fifty. The space continued to

diminish. The bearer of the lamp became partially visible. Sometimes, when it turned its head, the indistinct

profile of a human face could be made out, and unless a sprite could assume bodily shape, Jack Ryan was

obliged to confess that here was no supernatural being. Then, springing forward,

"Courage, comrades!" he exclaimed; "it is getting tired! We shall soon catch it up now, and if it can talk as

But the pursuit had suddenly become more difficult. They were in unknown regions of the mine; narrow

passages crossed each other like the windings of a labyrinth. The bearer of the lamp might escape them as

easily as possible, by just extinguishing the light and retreating into some dark refuge.

"And indeed," thought Sir William, "if it wishes to avoid us, why does it not do so?"

Hitherto there had evidently been no intention to avoid them, but just as the thought crossed Sir William's

mind the light suddenly disappeared, and the party, continuing the pursuit, found themselves before an

To trim their lamps, spring forward, and dart through the opening, was for Sir William and his party but the

work of an instant. But before they had gone a hundred paces along this new gallery, much wider and loftier

than the former, they all stopped short. There, near the wall, lay four bodies, stretched on the ground four

It was indeed the engineer, Madge, Simon, and Harry Ford who were lying there motionless. But one of the

bodies moved slightly, and Madge's voice was heard faintly murmuring, "See to the others! help them first!"

Sir William, Jack, and their companions endeavored to reanimate the engineer and his friends by getting them

to swallow a few drops of brandy. They very soon succeeded. The unfortunate people, shut up in that dark

cavern for ten days, were dying of starvation. They must have perished had they not on three occasions found

a loaf of bread and a jug of water set near them. No doubt the charitable being to whom they owed their lives

Sir William wondered whether this might not have been the work of the strange sprite who had allured them

However that might be, the engineer, Madge, Simon, and Harry Ford were saved. They were assisted to the

cottage, passing through the narrow opening which the bearer of the strange light had apparently wished to

point out to Sir William. This was a natural opening. The passage which James Starr and his companions had

made for themselves with dynamite had been completely blocked up with rocks laid one upon another.

So, then, whilst they had been exploring the vast cavern, the way back had been purposely closed against

THREE years after the events which have just been related, the guidebooks recommended as a "great

attraction," to the numerous tourists who roam over the county of Stirling, a visit of a few hours to the mines

No mine in any country, either in the Old or New World, could present a more curious aspect.

To begin with, the visitor was transported without danger or fatigue to a level with the workings, at fifteen

hundred feet below the surface of the ground. Seven miles to the southwest of Callander opened a slanting

tunnel, adorned with a castellated entrance, turrets and battlements. This lofty tunnel gently sloped straight to

A double line of railway, the wagons being moved by hydraulic power, plied from hour to hour to and from

the village thus buried in the subsoil of the county, and which bore the rather ambitious title of Coal Town.

Arrived in Coal Town, the visitor found himself in a place where electricity played a principal part as an

agent of heat and light. Although the ventilation shafts were numerous, they were not sufficient to admit

much daylight into New Aberfoyle, yet it had abundance of light. This was shed from numbers of electric

discs; some suspended from the vaulted roofs, others hanging on the natural pillarsall, whether suns or

stars in size, were fed by continuous currents produced from electromagnetic machines. When the hour of

rest arrived, an artificial night was easily produced all over the mine by disconnecting the wires.

Below the dome lay a lake of an extent to be compared to the Dead Sea of the Mammoth cavesa deep lake

whose transparent waters swarmed with eyeless fish, and to which the engineer gave the name of Loch

There, in this immense natural excavation, Simon Ford built his new cottage, which he would not have

exchanged for the finest house in Prince's Street, Edinburgh. This dwelling was situated on the shores of the

loch, and its five windows looked out on the dark waters, which extended further than the eye could see. Two

months later a second habitation was erected in the neighborhood of Simon Ford's cottage: this was for James

himself body and soul to New Aberfoyle, and nothing but the most imperative necessity ever caused him to

On the discovery of the new field, all the old colliers had hastened to leave the plow and harrow, and r�sum�

the pick and mattock. Attracted by the certainty that work would never fail, allured by the high wages which

the prosperity of the mine enabled the company to offer for labor, they deserted the open air for an

The miners' houses, built of brick, soon grew up in a picturesque fashion; some on the banks of Loch

Malcolm, others under the arches which seemed made to resist the weight that pressed upon them, like the

piers of a bridge. So was founded Coal Town, situated under the eastern point of Loch Katrine, to the north of

the county of Stirling. It was a regular settlement on the banks of Loch Malcolm. A chapel, dedicated to St.

Giles, overlooked it from the top of a huge rock, whose foot was laved by the waters of the subterranean sea.

When this underground town was lighted up by the bright rays thrown from the discs, hung from the pillars

and arches, its aspect was so strange, so fantastic, that it justified the praise of the guidebooks, and visitors

It is needless to say that the inhabitants of Coal Town were proud of their place. They rarely left their

laboring village in that imitating Simon Ford, who never wished to go out again. The old overman

maintained that it always rained "up there," and, considering the climate of the United Kingdom, it must be

acknowledged that he was not far wrong. All the families in New Aberfoyle prospered well, having in three

years obtained a certain competency which they could never have hoped to attain on the surface of the

county. Dozens of babies, who were born at the time when the works were resumed, had never yet breathed

This made Jack Ryan remark, "It's eighteen months since they were weaned, and they have not yet seen

It may be mentioned here, that one of the first to run at the engineer's call was Jack Ryan. The merry fellow

thought it his duty to return to his old trade. But though Melrose farm had lost singer and piper it must not be

thought that Jack Ryan sung no more. On the contrary, the sonorous echoes of New Aberfoyle exerted their

Jack Ryan took up his abode in Simon Ford's new cottage. They offered him a room, which he accepted

without ceremony, in his frank and hearty way. Old Madge loved him for his fine character and good nature.

She in some degree shared his ideas on the subject of the fantastic beings who were supposed to haunt the

mine, and the two, when alone, told each other stories wild enough to make one shudderstories well

Jack thus became the life of the cottage. He was, besides being a jovial companion, a good workman. Six

"That was a good work done, Mr. Ford," said he, a few days after his appointment. "You discovered a new

field, and though you narrowly escaped paying for the discovery with your life well, it was not too dearly

"No, Jack, it was a good bargain we made that time!" answered the old overman. "But neither Mr. Starr nor I

"Not at all," returned Jack. "You owe them to your son Harry, when he had the good sense to accept my

"And not to go, isn't that it?" interrupted Harry, grasping his comrade's hand. "No, Jack, it is to you, scarcely

healed of your wounds to you, who did not delay a day, no, nor an hour, that we owe our being found still

"Rubbish, no!" broke in the obstinate fellow. "I won't have that said, when it's no such thing. I hurried to find

out what had become of you, Harry, that's all. But to give everyone his due, I will add that without that

"A goblin, a brownie, a fairy's child," repeated Jack Ryan, "a cousin of the FireMaidens, an Urisk, whatever

"No doubt, Jack," answered Harry. "It remains to be seen whether this being was as supernatural as you

"Supernatural!" exclaimed Ryan. "But it was as supernatural as a Willo'theWisp, who may be seen

skipping along with his lantern in his hand; you may try to catch him, but he escapes like a fairy, and

vanishes like a shadow! Don't be uneasy, Harry, we shall see it again some day or other!"

"Well, Jack," said Simon Ford, "Willo'theWisp or not, we shall try to find it, and you must help us."

"You'll get into a scrap if you don't take care, Mr. Ford!" responded Jack Ryan.

We may easily imagine how soon this domain of New Aberfoyle became familiar to all the members of the

Ford family, but more particularly to Harry. He learnt to know all its most secret ins and outs. He could even

say what point of the surface corresponded with what point of the mine. He knew that above this seam lay the

Firth of Clyde, that there extended Loch Lomond and Loch Katrine. Those columns supported a spur of the

Grampian mountains. This vault served as a basement to Dumbarton. Above this large pond passed the

Balloch railway. Here ended the Scottish coast. There began the sea, the tumult of which could be distinctly

heard during the equinoctial gales. Harry would have been a firstrate guide to these natural catacombs, and

all that Alpine guides do on their snowy peaks in daylight he could have done in the dark mine by the

He loved New Aberfoyle. Many times, with his lamp stuck in his hat, did he penetrate its furthest depths. He

explored its ponds in a skillfullymanaged canoe. He even went shooting, for numerous birds had been

introduced into the cryptpintails, snipes, ducks, who fed on the fish which swarmed in the deep waters.

Harry's eyes seemed made for the dark, just as a sailor's are made for distances. But all this while Harry felt

irresistibly animated by the hope of finding the mysterious being whose intervention, strictly speaking, had

he succeed? He certainly would, if presentiments were to be trusted; but certainly not, if he judged by the

The attacks directed against the family of the old overman, before the discovery of New Aberfoyle, had not

ALTHOUGH in this way the Ford family led a happy and contented life, yet it was easy to see that Harry,

naturally of a grave disposition, became more and more quiet and reserved. Even Jack Ryan, with all his good

humor and usually infectious merriment, failed to rouse him to gayety of manner.

One Sundayit was in the month of Junethe two friends were walking together on the shores of Loch

Malcolm. Coal Town rested from labor. In the world above, stormy weather prevailed. Violent rains fell, and

Down in Coal Town there was perfect calm; no wind, no rain. A soft and pleasant temperature existed instead

of the strife of the elements which raged without. What wonder then, that excursionists from Stirling came in

The electric discs shed a brilliancy of light which the British sun, oftener obscured by fogs than it ought to be,

might well envy. Jack Ryan kept talking of these visitors, who passed them in noisy crowds, but Harry paid

"I say, do look, Harry!" cried Jack. "See what numbers of people come to visit us! Cheer up, old fellow! Do

the honors of the place a little better. If you look so glum, you'll make all these outside folks think you envy

"Never mind me, Jack," answered Harry. "You are jolly enough for two, I'm sure; that's enough."

"I'll be hanged if I don't feel your melancholy creeping over me though!" exclaimed Jack. "I declare my eyes

are getting quite dull, my lips are drawn together, my laugh sticks in my throat; I'm forgetting all my songs.

"Ah, poor fellow!" said Jack, shrugging his shoulders. "If you would only do like me, and set all the queer

things down to the account of the goblins of the mine, you would be easier in your mind."

"But, Jack, you know very well that these goblins exist only in your imagination, and that, since the works

"That's true, Harry; but if no spirits have been seen, neither has anyone else to whom you could attribute the

"I shall find out the spirits as you call them," said Harry, in a tone of firm conviction.

"Both punish and reward. Remember, if one hand shut us up in that passage, another hand delivered us! I

"But, Harry, how can we be sure that these two hands do not belong to the same body?"

"Well, I don't know. Creatures that live in these holes, Harry, don't you see? they can't be made like us, eh?"

"Oh, no! don't say that, Harry! Perhaps some madman managed to get in for a time."

"A madman! No madman would have formed such connected plans, or done such continued mischief as

"Well, but anyhow he has done no harm for the last three years, either to you, Harry, or any of your people."

"No matter, Jack," replied Harry; "I am persuaded that this malignant being, whoever he is, has by no means

found my convictions. But at any rate, for the sake of the new works, I must and will know who he is and

"For the sake of the new works did you say?" asked Jack, considerably surprised.

"I said so, Jack," returned Harry. "I may be mistaken, but, to me, all that has happened proves the existence of

an interest in this mine in strong opposition to ours. Many a time have I considered the matter; I feel almost

sure of it. Just consider the whole series of inexplicable circumstances, so singularly linked together. To

begin with, the anonymous letter, contradictory to that of my father, at once proves that some man had

become aware of our projects, and wished to prevent their accomplishment. Mr. Starr comes to see us at the

Dochart pit. No sooner does he enter it with me than an immense stone is cast upon us, and communication is

interrupted by the breaking of the ladders in the Yarrow shaft. We commence exploring. An experiment, by

which the existence of a new vein would be proved, is rendered impossible by stoppage of fissures.

Notwithstanding this, the examination is carried out, the vein discovered. We return as we came, a prodigious

gust of air meets us, our lamp is broken, utter darkness surrounds us. Nevertheless, we make our way along

the gloomy passage until, on reaching the entrance, we find it blocked up. There we wereimprisoned.

Now, Jack, don't you see in all these things a malicious intention? Ah, yes, believe me, some being hitherto

invisible, but not supernatural, as you will persist in thinking, was concealed in the mine. For some reason,

known only to himself, he strove to keep us out of it. WAS there, did I say? I feel an inward conviction that

he IS there still, and probably prepares some terrible disaster for us. Even at the risk of my life, Jack, I am

Harry spoke with an earnestness which strongly impressed his companion. "Well, Harry," said he, "if I am

forced to agree with you in certain points, won't you admit that some kind fairy or brownie, by bringing bread

"Jack, my friend," interrupted Harry, "it is my belief that the friendly person, whom you will persist in calling

speak of, and I mean to seek them both in the most distant recesses of the mine."

"Perhaps I have. Listen to me! Five miles west of New Aberfoyle, under the solid rock which supports Ben

Lomond, there exists a natural shaft which descends perpendicularly into the vein beneath. A week ago I

went to ascertain the depth of this shaft. While sounding it, and bending over the opening as my plumbline

went down, it seemed to me that the air within was agitated, as though beaten by huge wings."

"But that is not all, Jack. This very morning I went back to the place, and, listening attentively, I thought I

"Groaning!" cried Jack, "that must be nonsense; it was a current of air unless indeed some ghost"

"No, Jack, Providence will aid me in the attempt. Tomorrow, you and some of our comrades will go with me

to that shaft. I will fasten myself to a long rope, by which you can let me down, and draw me up at a given

"Well, Harry," said Jack, shaking his head, "I will do as you wish me; but I tell you all the same, you are very

"Nothing venture nothing win," said Harry, in a tone of decision. "Tomorrow morning, then, at six o'clock.

It must be admitted that Jack Ryan's fears were far from groundless. Harry would expose himself to very

great danger, supposing the enemy he sought for lay concealed at the bottom of the pit into which he was

"Why in the world," repeated Jack Ryan, "should he take all this trouble to account for a set of facts so very

easily and simply explained by the supernatural intervention of the spirits of the mine?"

But, notwithstanding his objections to the scheme, Jack Ryan and three miners of his gang arrived next

morning with Harry at the mouth of the opening of the suspicious shaft. Harry had not mentioned his

intentions either to James Starr or to the old overman. Jack had been discreet enough to say nothing.

Harry had provided himself with a rope about 200 feet long. It was not particularly thick, but very

strongsufficiently so to sustain his weight. His friends were to let him down into the gulf, and his pulling

The opening into this shaft or well was twelve feet wide. A beam was thrown across like a bridge, so that the

cord passing over it should hang down the center of the opening, and save Harry from striking against the

The cord was fastened round Harry's thighs and under his arms, to keep him from rocking. Thus supported,

he was free to use both his hands. A safetylamp hung at his belt, also a large, strong knife in a leather

Harry advanced to the middle of the beam, around which the cord was passed. Then his friends began to let

him down, and he slowly sank into the pit. As the rope caused him to swing gently round and round, the light

of his lamp fell in turns on all points of the side walls, so that he was able to examine them carefully. These

walls consisted of pit coal, and so smooth that it would be impossible to ascend them.

Harry calculated that he was going down at the rate of about a foot per second, so that he had time to look

During two minutesthat is to say, to the depth of about 120 feet, the descent continued without any

No lateral gallery opened from the side walls of the pit, which was gradually narrowing into the shape of a

whence he concluded that the bottom of the pit communicated with a gallery of some description in the

The cord continued to unwind. Darkness and silence were complete. If any living being whatever had sought

refuge in the deep and mysterious abyss, he had either left it, or, if there, by no movement did he in the

Harry, becoming more suspicious the lower he got, now drew his knife and held it in his right hand. At a

depth of 180 feet, his feet touched the lower point and the cord slackened and unwound no further.

Harry breathed more freely for a moment. One of the fears he entertained had been that, during his descent,

the cord might be cut above him, but he had seen no projection from the walls behind which anyone could

The bottom of the abyss was quite dry. Harry, taking the lamp from his belt, walked round the place, and

An extremely narrow passage led aside out of the pit. He had to stoop to look into it, and only by creeping

could it be followed; but as he wanted to see in which direction it led, and whether another abyss opened

An obstacle speedily arrested his progress. He fancied he could perceive by touching it, that a human body

lay across the passage. A sudden thrill of horror and surprise made him hastily draw back, but he again

His senses had not deceived him; a body did indeed lie there; and he soon ascertained that, although icy cold

at the extremities, there was some vital heat remaining. In less time than it takes to tell it, Harry had drawn

the body from the recess to the bottom of the shaft, and, seizing his lamp, he cast its lights on what he had

The child still breathed, but so very feebly that Harry expected it to cease every instant. Not a moment was to

be lost; he must carry this poor little creature out of the pit, and take it home to his mother as quickly as he

eagerly fastened the cord round his waist, stuck on his lamp, clasped the child to his breast with his left arm,

and, keeping his right hand free to hold the knife, he gave the signal agreed on, to have the rope pulled up.

It tightened at once; he began the ascent. Harry looked around him with redoubled care, for more than his

For a few minutes all went well, no accident seemed to threaten him, when suddenly he heard the sound of a

great rush of air from beneath; and, looking down, he could dimly perceive through the gloom a broad mass

It was an enormous birdof what sort he could not see; it flew upwards on mighty wings, then paused,

hovered, and dashed fiercely down upon Harry, who could only wield his knife in one hand. He defended

himself and the child as well as he could, but the ferocious bird seemed to aim all its blows at him alone.

Afraid of cutting the cord, he could not strike it as he wished, and the struggle was prolonged, while Harry

He soon knew they did, for they pulled the rope up faster; a distance of about eighty feet remained to be got

over. The bird ceased its direct attack, but increased the horror and danger of his situation by rushing at the

cord, clinging to it just out of his reach, and endeavoring, by pecking furiously, to cut it.

Harry felt overcome with terrible dread. One strand of the rope gave way, and it made them sink a little.

A second strand was divided, and the double burden now hung suspended by only half the cord.

Harry dropped his knife, and by a superhuman effort succeeded, at the moment the rope was giving way, in

catching hold of it with his right hand above the cut made by the beak of the bird. But, powerfully as he held

He might have caught it, and held on with both hands by sacrificing the life of the child he supported in his

left arm. The idea crossed him, but was banished in an instant, although he believed himself quite unable to

drawn to the surface. For a second he closed his eyes, believing they were about to plunge back into the

He looked up once more; the huge bird had disappeared; his hand was at the very extremity of the broken

ropewhen, just as his convulsive grasp was failing, he was seized by the men, and with the child was

The fearful strain of anxiety removed, a reaction took place, and Harry fell fainting into the arms of his

A COUPLE of hours later, Harry still unconscious, and the child in a very feeble state, were brought to the

cottage by Jack Ryan and his companions. The old overman listened to the account of their adventures, while

Madge attended with the utmost care to the wants of her son, and of the poor creature whom he had rescued

Harry imagined her a mere child, but she was a maiden of the age of fifteen or sixteen years.

She gazed at them with vague and wondering eyes; and the thin face, drawn by suffering, the pallid

complexion, which light could never have tinged, and the fragile, slender figure, gave her an appearance at

once singular and attractive. Jack Ryan declared that she seemed to him to be an uncommonly interesting

It must have been due to the strange and peculiar circumstances under which her life hitherto had been led,

that she scarcely seemed to belong to the human race. Her countenance was of a very uncommon cast, and

her eyes, hardly able to bear the lamplight in the cottage, glanced around in a confused and puzzled way, as

As this singular being reclined on Madge's bed and awoke to consciousness, as from a long sleep, the old

Nell uttered these few words like one unused to speak much. They were in the Gaelic language, which was

often spoken by Simon and his family. Madge immediately brought her some food; she was evidently

"Days?" repeated Nell, as though the word had no meaning for her, and she shook her head to signify entire

Madge took her hand, and stroked it caressingly. "How old are you, my lassie?" she asked, smiling kindly at

"Years?" replied Nell. She seemed to understand that word no better than days! Simon, Harry, Jack, and the

rest, looked on with an air of mingled compassion, wonder, and sympathy. The state of this poor thing,

clothed in a miserable garment of coarse woolen stuff, seemed to impress them painfully.

Harry, more than all the rest, seemed attracted by the very peculiarity of this poor stranger. He drew near,

took Nell's hand from his mother, and looked directly at her, while something like a smile curved her lip.

"Alone! alone!" cried the girl, raising herself hastily. Her features expressed terror; her eyes, which had

appeared to soften as Harry looked at her, became quite wild again. "Alone!" repeated she, "alone!"and she

"The poor bairn is too weak to speak to us," said Madge, when she had adjusted the pillows. "After a good

rest, and a little more food, she will be stronger. Come away, Simon and Harry, and all the rest of you, and let

her go to sleep." So Nell was left alone, and in a very few minutes slept profoundly.

mines, but in Stirlingshire, and ultimately throughout the kingdom. The strangeness of the story was

exaggerated; the affair could not have made more commotion had they found the girl enclosed in the solid

rock, like one of those antediluvian creatures who have occasionally been released by a stroke of the pickax

from their stony prison. Nell became a fashionable wonder without knowing it. Superstitious folks made her

story a new subject for legendary marvels, and were inclined to think, as Jack Ryan told Harry, that Nell was

"Be it so, Jack," said the young man; "but at any rate she is the good spirit. It can have been none but she who

brought us bread and water when we were shut up down there; and as to the bad spirit, who must still be in

Of course James Starr had been at once informed of all this, and came, as soon as the young girl had

sufficiently recovered her strength, to see her, and endeavor to question her carefully.

She appeared ignorant of nearly everything relating to life, and, although evidently intelligent, was wanting in

many elementary ideas, such as time, for instance. She had never been used to its division, and the words

Her eyes, accustomed to the night, were pained by the glare of the electric discs; but in the dark her sight was

wonderfully keen, the pupil dilated in a remarkable manner, and she could see where to others there appeared

profound obscurity. It was certain that her brain had never received any impression of the outer world, that

her eyes had never looked beyond the mine, and that these somber depths had been all the world to her.

The poor girl probably knew not that there were a sun and stars, towns and counties, a mighty universe

composed of myriads of worlds. But until she comprehended the significance of words at present conveying

As to whether or not Nell had lived alone in the recesses of New Aberfoyle, James Starr was obliged to

remain uncertain; indeed, any allusion to the subject excited evident alarm in the mind of this strange girl.

existed in connection with the place, which she could have explained, was manifest.

"Should you like to stay with us? Should you like to go back to where we found you?" asked James Starr.

"Oh, yes!" exclaimed the maiden, in answer to his first question; but a cry of terror was all she seemed able to

James Starr, as well as Simon and Harry Ford, could not help feeling a certain amount of uneasiness with

regard to this persistent silence. They found it impossible to forget all that had appeared so inexplicable at the

time they made the discovery of the coal mine; and although that was three years ago, and nothing new had

happened, they always expected some fresh attack on the part of the invisible enemy.

They resolved to explore the mysterious well, and did so, well armed and in considerable numbers. But

nothing suspicious was to be seen; the shaft communicated with lower stages of the crypt, hollowed out in the

Many a time did James Starr, Simon, and Harry talk over these things. If one or more malevolent beings were

concealed in the coalpit, and there concocted mischief, Nell surely could have warned them of it, yet she

said nothing. The slightest allusion to her past life brought on such fits of violent emotion, that it was judged

best to avoid the subject for the present. Her secret would certainly escape her byandby.

By the time Nell had been a fortnight in the cottage, she had become a most intelligent and zealous assistant

to old Madge. It was clear that she instinctively felt she should remain in the dwelling where she had been so

charitably received, and perhaps never dreamt of quitting it. This family was all in all to her, and to the good

folks themselves Nell had seemed an adopted child from the moment when she first came beneath their roof.

Nell was in truth a charming creature; her new mode of existence added to her beauty, for these were no

doubt the first happy days of her life, and her heart was full of gratitude towards those to whom she owed

them. Madge felt towards her as a mother would; the old woman doted upon her; in short, she was beloved by

everybody. Jack Ryan only regretted one thing, which was that he had not saved her himself. Friend

Jack often came to the cottage. He sang, and Nell, who had never heard singing before, admired it greatly; but

anyone might see that she preferred to Jack's songs the graver conversation of Harry, from whom by degrees

she learnt truths concerning the outer world, of which hitherto she had known nothing.

It must be said that, since Nell had appeared in her own person, Jack Ryan had been obliged to admit that his

belief in hobgoblins was in a measure weakened. A couple of months later his credulity experienced a further

shock. About that time Harry unexpectedly made a discovery which, in part at least, accounted for the

During several days he had been engaged in exploring the remote galleries of the prodigious excavation

towards the south. At last he scrambled with difficulty up a narrow passage which branched off through the

upper rock. To his great astonishment, he suddenly found himself in the open air. The passage, after

ascending obliquely to the surface of the ground, led out directly among the ruins of Dundonald Castle.

There was, therefore, a communication between New Aberfoyle and the hills crowned by this ancient castle.

The upper entrance to this gallery, being completely concealed by stones and brushwood, was invisible from

without; at the time of their search, therefore, the magistrates had been able to discover nothing.

A few days afterwards, James Starr, guided by Harry, came himself to inspect this curious natural opening

into the coal mine. "Well," said he, "here is enough to convince the most superstitious among us. Farewell to

"I hardly think, Mr. Starr, we ought to congratulate ourselves," replied Harry. "Whatever it is we have instead

"That's true, Harry," said the engineer; "but what's to be done? It is plain that, whatever the beings are who

hide in the mine, they reach the surface of the earth by this passage. No doubt it was the light of torches

waved by them during that dark and stormy night which attracted the MOTALA towards the rocky coast, and

of former days, they would have plundered the unfortunate vessel, had it not been for Jack Ryan and his

friends. Anyhow, so far it is evident, and here is the mouth of the den. As to its occupants, the question is

"I say yes; because Nell trembles when we mention them yes, because Nell will not, or dare not, speak

Harry was surely in the right. Had these mysterious denizens of the pit abandoned it, or ceased to visit the

James Starr could not rest till he had penetrated this mystery. He foresaw that the whole future of the new

excavations must depend upon it. Renewed and strict precautions were therefore taken. The authorities were

informed of the discovery of the entrance. Watchers were placed among the ruins of the castle. Harry himself

lay hid for several nights in the thickets of brushwood which clothed the hillside.

Nothing was discoveredno human being emerged from the opening. So most people came to the

conclusion that the villains had been finally dislodged from the mine, and that, as to Nell, they must suppose

While it remained unworked, the mine had been a safe enough place of refuge, secure from all search or

pursuit. But now, circumstances being altered, it became difficult to conceal this lurkingplace, and it might

reasonably be hoped they were gone, and that nothing for the future was to be dreaded from them.

James Starr, however, could not feel sure about it; neither could Harry be satisfied on the subject, often

repeating, "Nell has clearly been mixed up with all this secret business. If she had nothing more to fear, why

should she keep silence? It cannot be doubted that she is happy with us. She likes us all she adores my

mother. Her absolute silence as to her former life, when by speaking out she might benefit us, proves to me

that some awful secret, which she dares not reveal, weighs on her mind. It may also be that she believes it

better for us, as well as for herself, that she should remain mute in a way otherwise so unaccountable."

In consequence of these opinions, it was agreed by common consent to avoid all allusion to the maiden's

former mode of life. One day, however, Harry was led to make known to Nell what James Starr, his father,

It was a feteday. The miners made holiday on the surface of the county of Stirling as well as in its

subterraneous domains. Parties of holidaymakers were moving about in all directions. Songs resounded in

many places beneath the sonorous vaults of New Aberfoyle. Harry and Nell left the cottage, and slowly

Then the electric brilliance darted less vividly, and the rays were interrupted with fantastic effect by the sharp

angles of the picturesque rocks which supported the dome. This imperfect light suited Nell, to whose eyes a

"Nell," said Harry, "your eyes are not fit for daylight yet, and could not bear the brightness of the sun."

"Indeed they could not," replied the girl; "if the sun is such as you describe it to me, Harry."

"I cannot by any words, Nell, give you an idea either of his splendor or of the beauty of that universe which

your eyes have never beheld. But tell me, is it really possible that, since the day when you were born in the

depths of the coal mine, you never once have been up to the surface of the earth?"

"Never once, Harry," said she; "I do not believe that, even as an infant, my father or mother ever carried me

thither. I am sure I should have retained some impression of the open air if they had."

"I believe you would," answered Harry. "Long ago, Nell, many children used to live altogether in the mine;

communication was then difficult, and I have met with more than one young person, quite as ignorant as you

are of things aboveground. But now the railway through our great tunnel takes us in a few minutes to the

upper regions of our country. I long, Nell, to hear you say, 'Come, Harry, my eyes can bear daylight, and I

"I shall soon say so, Harry, I hope," replied the girl; "I shall soon go with you to the world above; and yet"

"What are you going to say, Nell?" hastily cried Harry; "can you possibly regret having quitted that gloomy

"No, Harry," answered Nell; "I was only thinking that darkness is beautiful as well as light. If you but knew

what eyes accustomed to its depth can see! Shades flit by, which one longs to follow; circles mingle and

intertwine, and one could gaze on them forever; black hollows, full of indefinite gleams of radiance, lie deep

at the bottom of the mine. And then the voicelike sounds! Ah, Harry! one must have lived down there to

Nell's voice altered slightly as she said these words; however, Harry thought he might press the subject a little

further, so he said, "But one might be easily lost in these great galleries, Nell. Were you not afraid of losing

"Yes, now and then," answered the girl with a little hesitation; "sometimes I have been as far as the old mine

"The cottage! oh, yes; but the people who lived there I only saw at a great distance."

"They were my father and mother," said Harry; "and I was there too; we have always lived therewe never

"Why so, Nell? Was it not just because we were obstinately resolved to remain that we ended by discovering

the new vein of coal? And did not that discovery lead to the happy result of providing work for a large

population, and restoring them to ease and comfort? and did it not enable us to find you, Nell, to save your

"Ah, yes, for me indeed it is well, whatever may happen," replied Nell earnestly; "for otherswho can tell?"

"Oh, nothingnothing. But it used to be very dangerous at that time to go into the new cuttingyes, very

dangerous indeed, Harry! Once some rash people made their way into these chasms. They got a long, long

"Yes, lost!" repeated Nell in a trembling voice. "They could not find their way out."

"And there," cried Harry, "they were imprisoned during eight long days! They were at the point of death,

Nell; and, but for a kind and charitable beingan angel perhapssent by God to help them, who secretly

brought them a little food; but for a mysterious guide, who afterwards led to them their deliverers, they never

Nell looked up hastily, seized the young man's hand, and gazed so fixedly into his eyes that his feelings were

"I was indeed," said Harry, after a pause, "and she to whom we owe our lives can have been none other than

Nell hid her face in her hands without speaking. Harry had never seen her so much affected.

"Those who saved your life, Nell," added he in a voice tremulous with emotion, "already owed theirs to you;

THE mining operations at New Aberfoyle continued to be carried on very successfully. As a matter of course,

the engineer, James Starr, as well as Simon Ford, the discoverers of this rich carboniferous region, shared

of quitting the cottage. He took his father's place as overman, and diligently superintended the works of this

colony of miners. Jack Ryan was proud and delighted at the good fortune which had befallen his comrade. He

They frequently met, either at the cottage or at the works in the pit. Jack did not fail to remark the sentiments

entertained by Harry towards Nell. Harry would not confess to them; but Jack only laughed at him when he

It must be noted that Jack Ryan had the greatest possible wish to be of the party when Nell should pay her

first visit to the upper surface of the county of Stirling. He wished to see her wonder and admiration on first

beholding the yet unknown face of Nature. He very much hoped that Harry would take him with them when

the excursion was made. As yet, however, the latter had made no proposal of the kind to him, which caused

One morning Jack Ryan was descending through a shaft which led from the surface to the lower regions of

the pit. He did so by means of one of those ladders which, continually revolving by machinery, enabled

persons to ascend and descend without fatigue. This apparatus had lowered him about a hundred and fifty

feet, when at a narrow landingplace he perceived Harry, who was coming up to his labors for the day.

"Well met, my friend!" cried Jack, recognizing his comrade by the light of the electric lamps.

"Ah, Jack!" replied Harry, "I am glad to see you. I've got something to propose."

"Nell is all right, Jackso much so, in fact, that I hope in a month or six weeks"

"Marry her myself, if you don't; so look sharp," laughed Jack. "By Saint Mungo! I think an immense deal of

bonny Nell! A fine young creature like that, who has been brought up in the mine, is just the very wife for a

miner. She is an orphanso am I; and if you don't care much for her, and if she will have me"

Harry looked gravely at Jack, and let him talk on without trying to stop him. "Don't you begin to feel jealous,

"But if you don't marry Nell yourself, you surely can't expect her to remain a spinster?"

A movement of the ladder machinery now gave the two friends the opportunityone to go up, the other

"My good fellow, I can tell you I am quite capable of giving a friend a bit of advice."

"Well, look here! You love Nell as heartily as she deserves. Old Simon, your father, and old Madge, your

mother, both love her as if she were their daughter. Why don't you make her so in reality? Why don't you

"Come, Jack," said Harry, "you are running on as if you knew how Nell felt on the subject."

"Everybody knows that," replied Jack, "and therefore it is impossible to make you jealous of any of us. But

"Stop a minute, Jack!" cried Harry, detaining his companion, who was stepping onto the moving staircase.

"Jack," resumed Harry, "I need not pretend that I do not love Nell; I wish above all things to make her my

"But for the present I have scruples of conscience as to asking her to make me a promise which would be

"I mean just thisthat, it being certain Nell has never been outside this coal mine in the very depths of which

she was born, it stands to reason that she knows nothing, and can comprehend nothing of what exists beyond

it. Her eyesyes, and perhaps also her hearthave everything yet to learn. Who can tell what her thoughts

will be, when perfectly new impressions shall be made upon her mind? As yet she knows nothing of the

world, and to me it would seem like deceiving her, if I led her to decide in ignorance, upon choosing to

"Hem!yespretty well. What I understand best is that you are going to make me miss another turn of the

"Jack," replied Harry gravely, "if this machinery were to stop altogether, if this landingplace were to fall

"Well done, Harry! that's how I like to be spoken to! Let's settle, then, that, before you marry Nell, she shall

"No indeed, Jack; I am perfectly able myself to educate the person who is to be my wife."

"But, first of all," resumed Harry, "I wish that Nell should gain a real knowledge of the upper world. To

illustrate my meaning, Jack, suppose you were in love with a blind girl, and someone said to you, 'In a

month's time her sight will be restored,' would you not wait till after she was cured, to marry her?"

"Well, Jack, Nell is at present blind; and before she marries me, I wish her to see what I am, and what the life

really is to which she would bind herself. In short, she must have daylight let in upon the subject!"

"Well said, Harry! Very well said indeed!" cried Jack. "Now I see what you are driving at. And when may we

"In a month, Jack," replied Harry. "Nell is getting used to the light of our reflectors. That is some preparation.

In a month she will, I hope, have seen the earth and its wonders the sky and its splendors. She will

But while Harry was thus giving the rein to his imagination, Jack Ryan, quitting the platform, had leaped on

"Far beneath you," laughed the merry fellow. "While you soar to the heights, I plunge into the depths."

"Fare ye well. Jack!" returned Harry, himself laying hold of the rising ladder; "mind you say nothing about

"That I may be one of the party when Nell's first excursion to the face of the earth comes off!"

A fresh throb of the machinery placed a yet more considerable distance between the friends. Their voices

"I say! do you know what Nell will like better than either sun, moon, or stars, after she's seen the whole of

"Why, you yourself, old fellow! still you! always you!" And Jack's voice died away in a prolonged "Hurrah!"

Harry, after this, applied himself diligently, during all his spare time, to the work of Nell's education. He

taught her to read and to write, and such rapid progress did she make, it might have been said that she learnt

by instinct. Never did keen intelligence more quickly triumph over utter ignorance. It was the wonder of all

Simon and Madge became every day more and more attached to their adopted child, whose former history

continued to puzzle them a good deal. They plainly saw the nature of Harry's feelings towards her, and were

far from displeased thereat. They recollected that Simon had said to the engineer on his first visit to the old

possibly be found suitable for a lad whose whole life must be passed in the depths of a coal mine?"

Well! now it seemed as if the most desirable companion in the world had been led to him by Providence. Was

not this like a blessing direct from Heaven? So the old man made up his mind that, if the wedding did take

place, the miners of New Aberfoyle should have a merrymaking at Coal Town, which they would never

It must be remarked that another person wished for this union of Harry and Nell as much as Simon didand

that was James Starr, the engineer. Of course he was really interested in the happiness of the two young

people. But another motive, connected with wider interests, influenced him to desire it.

It has been said that James Starr continued to entertain a certain amount of apprehension, although for the

present nothing appeared to justify it. Yet that which had been might again be. This mystery about the new

cuttingNell was evidently the only person acquainted with it. Now, if fresh dangers were in store for the

miners of Aberfoyle, how were they possibly to be guarded against, without so much as knowing the cause of

"Nell has persisted in keeping silence," said James Starr very often, "but what she has concealed from others,

she will not long hide from her husband. Any danger would be danger to Harry as well as to the rest of us.

Therefore, a marriage which brings happiness to the lovers, and safety to their friends, will be a good

Thus, not illogically, reasoned James Starr. He communicated his ideas to old Simon, who decidedly

appreciated them. Nothing, then, appeared to stand in the way of the match. What, in fact, was there to

prevent it? They loved each other; the parents desired nothing better for their son. Harry's comrades envied

his good fortune, but freely acknowledged that he deserved it. The maiden depended on no one else, and had

Why, then, if there were none to place obstacles in the way of this unionwhy, as night came on, and, the

extinguished, and all the inhabitants of Coal Town at rest within their dwellingswhy did a mysterious form

always emerge from the gloomier recesses of New Aberfoyle, and silently glide through the darkness?

What instinct guided this phantom with ease through passages so narrow as to appear to be impracticable?

Why should the strange being, with eyes flashing through the deepest darkness, come cautiously creeping

along the shores of Lake Malcolm? Why so directly make his way towards Simon's cottage, yet so carefully

as hitherto to avoid notice? Why, bending towards the windows, did he strive to catch, by listening, some

And, on catching a few words, why did he shake his fist with a menacing gesture towards the calm abode,

while from between his set teeth issued these words in muttered fury, "She and he? Never! never!"

A MONTH after this, on the evening of the 20th of August, Simon Ford and Madge took leave, with all

manner of good wishes, of four tourists, who were setting forth from the cottage.

James Starr, Harry, and Jack Ryan were about to lead Nell's steps over yet untrodden paths, and to show her

the glories of nature by a light to which she was as yet a stranger. The excursion was to last for two days.

James Starr, as well as Harry, considered that during these eight and forty hours spent above ground, the

maiden would be able to see everything of which she must have remained ignorant in the gloomy pit; all the

varied aspects of the globe, towns, plains, mountains, rivers, lakes, gulfs, and seas would pass,

In that part of Scotland lying between Edinburgh and Glasgow, nature would seem to have collected and set

forth specimens of every one of these terrestrial beauties. As to the heavens, they would be spread abroad as

over the whole earth, with their changeful clouds, serene or veiled moon, their radiant sun, and clustering

stars. The expedition had been planned so as to combine a view of all these things.

Simon and Madge would have been glad to go with Nell; but they never left their cottage willingly, and could

James Starr went as an observer and philosopher, curious to note, from a psychological point of view, the

novel impressions made upon Nell; perhaps also with some hope of detecting a clue to the mysterious events

connected with her childhood. Harry, with a little trepidation, asked himself whether it was not possible that

this rapid initiation into the things of the exterior world would change the maiden he had known and loved

hitherto into quite a different girl. As for Jack Ryan, he was as joyous as a lark rising in the first beams of the

sun. He only trusted that his gayety would prove contagious, and enliven his traveling companions, thus

James Starr had decided, very sensibly, to set off in the evening. It would be very much better for the girl to

pass gradually from the darkness of night to the full light of day; and that would in this way be managed,

since between midnight and noon she would experience the successive phases of shade and sunshine, to

Just as they left the cottage, Nell took Harry's hand saying, "Harry, is it really necessary for me to leave the

"But, Harry," resumed Nell, "ever since you found me, I have been as happy as I can possibly be. You have

Harry looked at her in silence. Nell was giving utterance to nearly his own thoughts.

"My child," said James Starr, "I can well understand the hesitation you feel; but it will be good for you to go

with us. Those who love you are taking you, and they will bring you back again. Afterwards you will be free,

Simon, and Madge, and Harry. But at least you ought to be able to compare what you give up with what you

"Harry, I am willing to follow you," replied the maiden. At nine o'clock the last train through the tunnel

started to convey Nell and her companions to the surface of the earth. Twenty minutes later they alighted on

the platform where the branch line to New Aberfoyle joins the railway from Dumbarton to Stirling.

The night was already dark. From the horizon to the zenith, light vapory clouds hurried through the upper air,

driven by a refreshing northwesterly breeze. The day had been lovely; the night promised to be so likewise.

On reaching Stirling, Nell and her friends, quitting the train, left the station immediately. Just before them,

between high trees, they could see a road which led to the banks of the river Forth.

The first physical impression on the girl was the purity of the air inhaled eagerly by her lungs.

"Breathe it freely, Nell," said James Starr; "it is fragrant with all the scents of the open country."

"Ah!" said Nell, "how I should like to feel myself carried along in that silent whirl! And what are those

"Those are the stars I have told you about, Nell. So many suns they are, so many centers of worlds like our

The constellations became more clearly visible as the wind cleared the clouds from the deep blue of the

firmament. Nell gazed upon the myriad stars which sparkled overhead. "But how is it," she said at length,

"My child," replied James Starr, "they are indeed suns, but suns at an enormous distance. The nearest of these

millions of stars, whose rays can reach us, is Vega, that star in Lyra which you observe near the zenith, and

fifty thousand millions of leagues distant. Its brightness, therefore, cannot affect your vision. But our own

sun, which will rise tomorrow, is only distant thirtyeight millions of leagues, and no human eye can gaze

fixedly upon that, for it is brighter than the blaze of any furnace. But come, Nell, come!"

They pursued their way, James Starr leading the maiden, Harry walking by her side, while Jack Ryan roamed

about like a young dog, impatient of the slow pace of his masters. The road was lonely. Nell kept looking at

the great trees, whose branches, waving in the wind, made them seem to her like giants gesticulating wildly.

The sound of the breeze in the treetops, the deep silence during a lull, the distant line of the horizon, which

could be discerned when the road passed over open levelsall these things filled her with new sensations,

After some time she ceased to ask questions, and her companions respected her silence, not wishing to

influence by any words of theirs the girl's highly sensitive imagination, but preferring to allow ideas to arise

At about half past eleven o'clock, they gained the banks of the river Forth. There a boat, chartered by James

Starr, awaited them. In a few hours it would convey them all to Granton. Nell looked at the clear water which

flowed up to her feet, as the waves broke gently on the beach, reflecting the starlight. "Is this a lake?" said

"No," replied Harry, "it is a great river flowing towards the sea, and soon opening so widely as to resemble a

gulf. Taste a little of the water in the hollow of your hand, Nell, and you will perceive that it is not sweet like

The maiden bent towards the stream, and, raising a little water to her lips, "This is quite salt," said she.

"Yes, the tide is full; the sea water flows up the river as far as this," answered Harry.

"Oh, Harry! Harry!" exclaimed the maiden, "what can that red glow on the horizon be? Is it a forest on fire?"

big silver plate, which the spirits of air hand round and round the sky to collect the stars in, like money."

"Why, Jack," said the engineer, laughing, "I had no idea you could strike out such bold comparisons!"

"Well, but, Mr. Starr, it is a just comparison. Don't you see the stars disappear as the moon passes on? so I

"What you mean to say, Jack, is that the superior brilliancy of the moon eclipses that of stars of the sixth

"How beautiful all this is!" repeated Nell again and again, with her whole soul in her eyes. "But I thought the

"So she is, when 'full,'" said James Starr; "that means when she is just opposite to the sun. But tonight the

moon is in the last quarter, shorn of her just proportions, and friend Jack's grand silver plate looks more like a

"Oh, Mr. Starr, what a base comparison!" he exclaimed, "I was just going to begin a sonnet to the moon, but

Gradually the moon ascended the heavens. Before her light the lingering clouds fled away, while stars still

sparkled in the west, beyond the influence of her radiance. Nell gazed in silence on the glorious spectacle.

The soft silvery light was pleasant to her eyes, and her little trembling hand expressed to Harry, who clasped

"Let us embark now," said James Starr. "We have to get to the top of Arthur's Seat before sunrise."

The boat was moored to a post on the bank. A boatman awaited them. Nell and her friends took their seats;

the sail was spread; it quickly filled before the northwesterly breeze, and they sped on their way.

What a new sensation was this for the maiden! She had been rowed on the waters of Lake Malcolm; but the

oar, handled ever so lightly by Harry, always betrayed effort on the part of the oarsman. Now, for the first

time, Nell felt herself borne along with a gliding movement, like that of a balloon through the air. The water

was smooth as a lake, and Nell reclined in the stern of the boat, enjoying its gentle rocking. Occasionally the

moonlight on the waters was as though the boat sailed across a glittering silver field. Little wavelets rippled

At length Nell was overcome with drowsiness, her eyelids drooped, her head sank on Harry's shouldershe

slept. Harry, sorry that she should miss any of the beauties of this magnificent night, would have aroused her.

"Let her sleep!" said the engineer. "She will better enjoy the novelties of the day after a couple of hours' rest."

At two o'clock in the morning the boat reached Granton pier. Nell awoke. "Have I been asleep?" inquired she.

"No, my child," said James Starr. "You have been dreaming that you slept, that's all."

The night continued clear. The moon, riding in midheaven, diffused her rays on all sides. In the little port of

Granton lay two or three fishing boats; they rocked gently on the waters of the Firth. The wind fell as the

dawn approached. The atmosphere, clear of mists, promised one of those fine autumn days so delicious on

A soft, transparent film of vapor lay along the horizon; the first sunbeam would dissipate it; to the maiden it

exhibited that aspect of the sea which seems to blend it with the sky. Her view was now enlarged, without

Harry taking Nell's hand, they followed James Starr and Jack Ryan as they traversed the deserted streets. To

Nell, this suburb of the capital appeared only a collection of gloomy dark houses, just like Coal Town, only

She stepped lightly forward, and easily kept pace with Harry. "Are you not tired, Nell?" asked he, after half

"No! my feet seem scarcely to touch the earth," returned she. "This sky above us seems so high up, I feel as if

"I say! keep hold of her!" cried Jack Ryan. "Our little Nell is too good to lose. I feel just as you describe

"It is when we no longer experience the oppressive effect of the vaulted rocky roof above Coal Town," said

James Starr, "that the spacious firmament appears to us like a profound abyss into which we have, as it were,

"Ah! you will soon get over that, Nell," said Harry. "You will get used to the outer world, and most likely

"No, Harry, never!" said Nell, and she put her hand over her eyes, as though she would recall the

Between the silent dwellings of the city, the party passed along Leith Walk, and went round the Calton Hill,

where stood, in the light of the gray dawn, the buildings of the Observatory and Nelson's Monument. By

Regent's Bridge and the North Bridge they at last reached the lower extremity of the Canongate. The town

Nell pointed to a large building in the center of an open space, asking, "What great confused mass is that?"

"That confused mass, Nell, is the palace of the ancient kings of Scotland; that is Holyrood, where many a sad

scene has been enacted! The historian can here invoke many a royal shade; from those of the early Scottish

kings to that of the unhappy Mary Stuart, and the French king, Charles X. When day breaks, however, Nell,

this palace will not look so very gloomy. Holyrood, with its four embattled towers, is not unlike some

handsome country house. But let us pursue our way. There, just above the ancient Abbey of Holyrood, are the

superb cliffs called Salisbury Crags. Arthur's Seat rises above them, and that is where we are going. From the

summit of Arthur's Seat, Nell, your eyes shall behold the sun appear above the horizon seaward."

They entered the King's Park, then, gradually ascending they passed across the Queen's Drive, a splendid

carriageway encircling the hill, which we owe to a few lines in one of Sir Walter Scott's romances.

Arthur's Seat is in truth only a hill, seven hundred and fifty feet high, which stands alone amid surrounding

heights. In less than half an hour, by an easy winding path, James Starr and his party reached the crest of the

crouching lion, which, seen from the west, Arthur's Seat so much resembles. There, all four seated

themselves; and James Starr, ever ready with quotations from the great Scottish novelist, simply said, "Listen

to what is written by Sir Walter Scott in the eighth chapter of the Heart of MidLothian. 'If I were to choose a

spot from which the rising or setting sun could be seen to the greatest possible advantage, it would be from

this neighborhood.' Now watch, Nell! the sun will soon appear, and for the first time you will contemplate its

The maiden turned her eyes eastward. Harry, keeping close beside her, observed her with anxious interest.

Would the first beams of day overpower her feelings? All remained quiet, even Jack Ryan. A faint streak of

pale rose tinted the light vapors of the horizon. It was the first ray of light attacking the laggards of the night.

Beneath the hill lay the silent city, massed confusedly in the twilight of dawn. Here and there lights twinkled

among the houses of the old town. Westward rose many hilltops, soon to be illuminated by tips of fire.

Now the distant horizon of the sea became more plainly visible. The scale of colors fell into the order of the

solar. Every instant they increased in intensity, rose color became red, red became fiery, daylight dawned.

Nell now glanced towards the city, of which the outlines became more distinct. Lofty monuments, slender

steeples emerged from the gloom; a kind of ashy light was spread abroad. At length one solitary ray struck on

the maiden's sight. It was that ray of green which, morning or evening, is reflected upwards from the sea

An instant afterwards, Nell turned, and pointing towards a bright prominent point in the New Town, "Fire!"

"No, Nell, that is no fire," said Harry. "The sun has touched with gold the top of Sir Walter Scott's

monument"and, indeed, the extreme point of the monument blazed like the light of a pharos.

It was daythe sun arosehis disc seemed to glitter as though he indeed emerged from the waters of the

sea. Appearing at first very large from the effects of refraction, he contracted as he rose and assumed the

Nell closed her eyes, but her eyelids could not exclude the glare, and she pressed her fingers over them. Harry

advised her to turn in the opposite direction. "Oh, no," said she, "my eyes must get used to look at what yours

Even through her hands Nell perceived a rosy light, which became more white as the sun rose above the

horizon. As her sight became accustomed to it, her eyelids were raised, and at length her eyes drank in the

The good child knelt down, exclaiming, "Oh Lord God! how beautiful is Thy creation!" Then she rose and

looked around. At her feet extended the panorama of Edinburghthe clear, distinct lines of streets in the

New Town, and the irregular mass of houses, with their confused network of streets and lanes, which

constitutes Auld Reekie, properly so called. Two heights commanded the entire city; Edinburgh Castle,

crowning its huge basaltic rock, and the Calton Hill, bearing on its rounded summit, among other

Fine roadways led in all directions from the capital. To the north, the coast of the noble Firth of Forth was

indented by a deep bay, in which could be seen the seaport town of Leith, between which and this Modern

Beyond the wide Firth could be seen the soft outlines of the county of Fife, while beneath the spectator

Nell could not speak. Her lips murmured a word or two indistinctly; she trembled, became giddy, her strength

failed her; overcome by the purity of the air and the sublimity of the scene, she sank fainting into Harry's

The youthful maiden, hitherto entombed in the massive depths of the earth, had now obtained an idea of the

universe of the works both of God and of man. She had looked upon town and country, and beyond these,

HARRY bore Nell carefully down the steeps of Arthur's Seat, and, accompanied by James Starr and Jack

Ryan, they reached Lambert's Hotel. There a good breakfast restored their strength, and they began to make

Nell was now refreshed, and able to look boldly forth into the sunshine, while her lungs with ease inhaled the

free and healthful air. Her eyes learned gladly to know the harmonious varieties of color as they rested on the

green trees, the azure skies, and all the endless shades of lovely flowers and plants.

The railway train, which they entered at the Waverley Station, conveyed Nell and her friends to Glasgow.

There, from the new bridge across the Clyde, they watched the curious sealike movement of the river. After

a night's rest at Comrie's Royal Hotel, they betook themselves to the terminus of the Edinburgh and Glasgow

Railway, from whence a train would rapidly carry them, by way of Dumbarton and Balloch, to the southern

"Now for the land of Rob Roy and Fergus MacIvor!the scenery immortalized by the poetical descriptions

"Only by its songs, Mr. Starr," replied Jack; "and judging by those, it must be grand."

"So it is, so it is!" cried the engineer, "and our dear Nell shall see it to the best advantage."

A steamboat, the SINCLAIR by name, awaited tourists about to make the excursion to the lakes. Nell and her

companions went on board. The day had begun in brilliant sunshine, free from the British fogs which so often

The passengers were determined to lose none of the beauties of nature to be displayed during the thirty miles'

voyage. Nell, seated between James Starr and Harry, drank in with every faculty the magnificent poetry with

which lovely Scottish scenery is fraught. Numerous small isles and islets soon appeared, as though thickly

them, while between them glimpses could be had of quiet valleys, or wild rocky gorges on the mainland.

"Nell," said James Starr, "every island here has its legend, perhaps its song, as well as the mountains which

overshadow the lake. One may, without much exaggeration, say that the history of this country is written in

Nell listened, but these fighting stories made her sad. Why all that bloodshed on plains which to her seemed

The shores of the lake form a little harbor at Luss. Nell could for a moment catch sight of the old tower of its

ancient castle. Then, the SINCLAIR turning northward, the tourists gazed upon Ben Lomond, towering

"Oh, what a noble mountain!" cried Nell; "what a view there must be from the top!"

"Yes, Nell," answered James Starr; "see how haughtily its peak rises from amidst the thicket of oaks, birches,

and heather, which clothe the lower portion of the mountain! From thence one may see twothirds of old

Caledonia. This eastern side of the lake was the special abode of the clan McGregor. At no great distance, the

struggles of the Jacobites and Hanoverians repeatedly dyed with blood these lonely glens. Over these scenes

shines the pale moon, called in old ballads 'Macfarlane's lantern.' Among these rocks still echo the immortal

As the SINCLAIR advanced along the base of the mountain, the country became more and more abrupt in

character. Trees were only scattered here and there; among them were the willows, slender wands of which

The steamer passed a few more islets, Inveruglas, Eiladwhow, where stand some ruins of a stronghold of the

clan MacFarlane. At length the head of the loch was reached, and the SINCLAIR stopped at Inversnaid.

Leaving Loch Arklet on the left, a steep ascent led to the Inn of Stronachlacar, on the banks of Loch Katrine.

There, at the end of a light pier, floated a small steamboat, named, as a matter of course, the Rob Roy. The

travelers immediately went on board; it was about to start. Loch Katrine is only ten miles in length; its width

never exceeds two miles. The hills nearest it are full of a character peculiar to themselves.

"Here we are on this famous lake," said James Starr. "It has been compared to an eel on account of its length

and windings: and justly so. They say that it never freezes. I know nothing about that, but what we want to

think of is, that here are the scenes of the adventures in the Lady of the Lake. I believe, if friend Jack looked

about him carefully, he might see, still gliding over the surface of the water, the shade of the slender form of

"To be sure, Mr. Starr," replied Jack; "why should I not? I may just as well see that pretty girl on the waters

It was by this time three o'clock in the afternoon. The less hilly shores of Loch Katrine westward extended

like a picture framed between Ben An and Ben Venue. At the distance of half a mile was the entrance to the

narrow bay, where was the landingplace for our tourists, who meant to return to Stirling by Callander.

Nell appeared completely worn out by the continued excitement of the day. A faint ejaculation was all she

was able to utter in token of admiration as new objects of wonder or beauty met her gaze. She required some

hours of rest, were it but to impress lastingly the recollection of all she had seen.

Her hand rested in Harry's, and, looking earnestly at her, he said, "Nell, dear Nell, we shall soon be home

again in the gloomy region of the coal mine. Shall you not pine for what you have seen during these few

"No, Harry," replied the girl; "I shall like to think about it, but I am glad to go back with you to our dear old

"Nell!" said Harry, vainly attempting to steady his voice, "are you willing to be bound to me by the most

"Yes, Harry, I could, if you are sure that I am able to make you happy," answered the maiden, raising her

Scarcely had she pronounced these words when an unaccountable phenomenon took place. The Rob Roy, still

half a mile from land, experienced a violent shock. She suddenly grounded. No efforts of the engine could

The cause of this accident was simply that Loch Katrine was all at once emptied, as though an enormous

fissure had opened in its bed. In a few seconds it had the appearance of a sea beach at low water. Nearly the

"My friends!" exclaimed James Starr, as the cause of this marvel became suddenly clear to him, "God help

ON that day, in the colliery of New Aberfoyle, work was going on in the usual regular way. In the distance

could be heard the crash of great charges of dynamite, by which the carboniferous rocks were blasted. Here

masses of coal were loosened by pickax and crowbar; there the perforating machines, with their harsh

Hollow, cavernous noises resounded on all sides. Draughts of air rushed along the ventilating galleries, and

the wooden swingdoors slammed beneath their violent gusts. In the lower tunnels, trains of trucks kept

passing along at the rate of fifteen miles an hour, while at their approach electric bells warned the workmen

to cower down in the refuge places. Lifts went incessantly up and down, worked by powerful engines on the

surface of the soil. Coal Town was throughout brilliantly lighted by the electric lamps at full power.

Mining operations were being carried on with the greatest activity; coal was being piled incessantly into the

trucks, which went in hundreds to empty themselves into the corves at the bottom of the shaft. While parties

had labored during the night were taking needful rest, the others worked without wasting an hour.

Old Simon Ford and Madge, having finished their dinner, were resting at the door of their cottage. Simon

smoked a good pipe of tobacco, and from time to time the old couple spoke of Nell, of their boy, of Mr. Starr,

and wondered how they liked their trip to the surface of the earth. Where would they be now? What would

they be doing? How could they stay so long away from the mine without feeling homesick?

Just then a terrific roaring noise was heard. It was like the sound of a mighty cataract rushing down into the

mine. The old people rose hastily. They perceived at once that the waters of Loch Malcolm were rising. A

great wave, unfurling like a billow, swept up the bank and broke against the walls of the cottage. Simon

caught his wife in his arms, and carried her to the upper part of their dwelling.

At the same moment, cries arose from all parts of Coal Town, which was threatened by a sudden inundation.

The inhabitants fled for safety to the top of the schist rocks bordering the lake; terror spread in all directions;

whole families in frantic haste rushed towards the tunnel in order to reach the upper regions of the pit.

It was feared that the sea had burst into the colliery, for its galleries and passages penetrated as far as the

Caledonian Canal. In that case the entire excavation, vast as it was, would be completely flooded. Not a

But when the foremost fugitives reached the entrance to the tunnel, they encountered Simon Ford, who had

quitted his cottage. "Stop, my friends, stop!" shouted the old man; "if our town is to be overwhelmed, the

floods will rush faster than you can; no one can possibly escape. But see! the waters are rising no further! it

"And our comrades at the far end of the workswhat about them?" cried some of the miners.

"There is nothing to fear for them," replied Simon; "they are working on a higher level than the bed of the

It was soon evident that the old man was in the right. The sudden influx of water had rushed to the very

bed of the vast mine, and its only ultimate effect was to raise the level of Loch Malcolm a few feet. Coal

Town was uninjured, and it was reasonable to hope that no one had perished in the flood of water which had

Simon and his men could not decide whether this inundation was owing to the overflow of a subterranean

sheet of water penetrating fissures in the solid rock, or to some underground torrent breaking through its worn

bed, and precipitating itself to the lowest level of the mine. But that very same evening they knew what to

think about it, for the local papers published an account of the marvelous phenomenon which Loch Katrine

The surprising news was soon after confirmed by the four travelers, who, returning with all possible speed to

the cottage, learned with extreme satisfaction that no serious damage was done in New Aberfoyle.

The bed of Loch Katrine had fairly given way. The waters had suddenly broken through by an enormous

fissure into the mine beneath. Of Sir Walter Scott's favorite loch there was not left enough to wet the pretty

foot of the Lady of the Lake; all that remained was a pond of a few acres at the further extremity.

This singular event made a profound sensation in the country. It was a thing unheard of that a lake should in

the space of a few minutes empty itself, and disappear into the bowels of the earth. There was nothing for it

but to erase Loch Katrine from the map of Scotland until (by public subscription) it could be refilled, care

being of course taken, in the first place, to stop the rent up tight. This catastrophe would have been the death

The accident was explicable when it was ascertained that, between the bed of the lake and the vast cavity

beneath, the geological strata had become reduced to a thin layer, incapable of longer sustaining the weight of

Now, although to most people this event seemed plainly due to natural causes, yet to James Starr and his

friends, Simon and Harry Ford, the question constantly recurred, was it not rather to be attributed to

genius about to renew his persecution of those who ventured to work this rich mine?

At the cottage, some days later, James Starr thus discussed the matter with the old man and his son: "Well,

Simon," said he, "to my thinking we must class this circumstance with the others for which we still seek

"I am quite of your mind, Mr. James," replied Simon, "but take my advice, and say nothing about it; let us

"But he exists! he is there! Where can he lie concealed? Is it possible to conceive that the most depraved

human being could, singlehanded, carry out an idea so infernal as that of bursting through the bed of a lake?

I believe I shall end by thinking, like Jack Ryan, that the evil demon of the mine revenges himself on us for

Nell was allowed to hear as little as possible of these discussions. Indeed, she showed no desire to enter into

them, although it was very evident that she shared in the anxieties of her adopted parents. The melancholy in

It was at length resolved that James Starr, together with Simon and Harry, should return to the scene of the

disaster, and endeavor to satisfy themselves as to the cause of it. They mentioned their project to no one. To

those unacquainted with the group of facts on which it was based, the opinion of Starr and his friends could

A few days later, the three friends proceeded in a small boat to examine the natural pillars on which had

rested the solid earth forming the basin of Loch Katrine. They discovered that they had been right in

suspecting that the massive columns had been undermined by blasting. The blackened traces of explosion

were to be seen, the waters having subsided below the level of these mysterious operations Thus the fall of a

portion of the vast vaulted dome was proved to have been premeditated by man, and by man's hand had it

"It is impossible to doubt it," said James Starr; "and who can say what might not have happened had the sea,

"You may well say that," cried the old overman, with a feeling of pride in his beloved mine; "for nothing less

than a sea would have drowned our Aberfoyle. But, once more, what possible interest could any human being

"It is quite incomprehensible," replied James Starr. "This case is something perfectly unlike that of a band of

common criminals, who, concealing themselves in dens and caves, go forth to rob and pillage the surrounding

country. The evil deeds of such men would certainly, in the course of three years have betrayed their

existence and lurkingplaces. Neither can it be, as I sometimes used to think, that smugglers or coiners

carried on their illegal practices in some distant and unknown corner of these prodigious caverns, and were

consequently anxious to drive us out of them. But no one coins false money or obtains contraband goods only

"Yet it is clear that an implacable enemy has sworn the ruin of New Aberfoyle, and that some interest urges

him to seek in every possible way to wreak his hatred upon us. He appears to be too weak to act openly, and

lays his schemes in secret; but displays such intelligence as to render him a most formidable foe.

"My friends, he must understand better than we do the secrets of our domain, since he has all this time eluded

our vigilance. He must be a man experienced in mining, skilled beyond the most skillful that's certain,

"Let me see! Have you never had a personal enemy, to whom your suspicions might point? Think well! There

is such a thing as hatred which time never softens. Go back to recollections of your earliest days. What

befalls us appears the work of a stern and patient will, and to explain it demands every effort of thought and

Simon did not answer immediatelyhis mind evidently engaged in a close and candid survey of his past life.

Presently, raising his head, "No," said he; "no! Heaven be my witness, neither Madge nor I have ever injured

"Mr. Starrand you, father," said Harry, "I do beg of you to keep silence on this matter, and not to question

my poor Nell. I know she is very anxious and uneasy; and I feel positive that some great secret painfully

oppresses her heart. Either she knows nothing it would be of any use for us to hear, or she considers it her

duty to be silent. It is impossible to doubt her affection for usfor all of us. If at a future time she informs

me of what she has hitherto concealed from us, you shall know about it immediately."

"So be it, then, Harry," answered the engineer; "and yet I must say Nell's silence, if she knows anything, is to

Harry would have continued her defense; but the engineer stopped him, saying, "All right, Harry; we promise

"My boy," said old Simon, "your marriage shall take place this very day month. Mr. Starr, will you undertake

They then returned to the cottage, but said not a word of the result of their examinations in the mine, so that

to the rest of its inhabitants, the bursting in of the vaulted roof of the caverns continued to be regarded as a

Nell gradually resumed her customary duties, and Harry made good use of her little visit to the upper air, in

the instructions he gave her. She enjoyed the recollections of life above ground, yet without regretting it. The

somber region she had loved as a child, and in which her wedded life would be spent, was as dear to her as

The approaching marriage created great excitement in New Aberfoyle. Good wishes poured in on all sides,

and foremost among them were Jack Ryan's. He was detected busily practicing his best songs in preparation

During the month preceding the weddingday, there were more accidents occurring in New Aberfoyle than

had ever been known in the place. One would have thought the approaching union of Harry and Nell actually

provoked one catastrophe after another. These misfortunes happened chiefly at the further and lowest

extremity of the works, and the cause of them was always in some way mysterious.

Thus, for instance, the woodwork of a distant gallery was discovered to be in flames, which were

extinguished by Harry and his companions at the risk of their lives, by employing engines filled with water

and carbonic acid, always kept ready in case of necessity. The lamp used by the incendiary was found; but no

Another time an inundation took place in consequence of the stanchions of a watertank giving way; and Mr.

Starr ascertained beyond a doubt that these supports had first of all been partially sawn through. Harry, who

had been overseeing the works near the place at the time, was buried in the falling rubbish, and narrowly

A few days afterwards, on the steam tramway, a train of trucks, which Harry was passing along, met with an

obstacle on the rails, and was overturned. It was then discovered that a beam had been laid across the line. In

short, events of this description became so numerous that the miners were seized with a kind of panic, and it

"You would think that there was a whole band of these ruffians," Simon kept saying, "and we can't lay hands

Search was made in all directions. The county police were on the alert night and day, yet discovered nothing.

The evil intentions seeming specially designed to injure Harry. Starr forbade him to venture alone beyond the

They were equally careful of Nell, although, at Harry's entreaty, these malicious attempts to do harm were

of former times. Simon and Madge watched over her by day and by night with a sort of stern solicitude. The

poor child yielded to their wishes, without a remark or a complaint. Did she perceive that they acted with a

view to her interest? Probably she did. And on her part, she seemed to watch over others, and was never easy

When Harry came home in the evening, she could not restrain expressions of childlike joy, very unlike her

usual manner, which was rather reserved than demonstrative. As soon as day broke, she was astir before

anyone else, and her constant uneasiness lasted all day until the hour of return home from work.

Harry became very anxious that their marriage should take place. He thought that, when the irrevocable step

was taken, malevolence would be disarmed, and that Nell would never feel safe until she was his wife. James

Starr, Simon, and Madge, were all of the same opinion, and everyone counted the intervening days, for

It was perfectly evident that nothing relating to Nell was indifferent to this hidden foe, whom it was

impossible to meet or to avoid. Therefore it seemed quite possible that the solemn act of her marriage with

One morning, a week before the day appointed for the ceremony, Nell, rising early, went out of the cottage

before anyone else. No sooner had she crossed the threshold than a cry of indescribable anguish escaped her

Her voice was heard throughout the dwelling; in a moment, Madge, Harry, and Simon were at her side. Nell

was pale as death, her countenance agitated, her features expressing the utmost horror. Unable to speak, her

With rigid fingers she pointed to the following words traced upon it during the night: "Simon Ford, you have

robbed me of the last vein in our old pit. Harry, your son, has robbed me of Nell. Woe betide you! Woe

"Who is this man?" demanded Harry, looking alternately at his father and at the maiden.

"Silfax!" repeated Nell in tones of despair, "Silfax!"and, murmuring this name, her whole frame

shuddering with fear and agitation, she was borne away to her chamber by old Madge.

James Starr, hastening to the spot, read the threatening sentences again and again.

"The hand which traced these lines," said he at length, "is the same which wrote me the letter contradicting

yours, Simon. The man calls himself Silfax. I see by your troubled manner that you know him. Who is this

THIS name revealed everything to the old overman. It was that of the last "monk" of the Dochart pit.

In former days, before the invention of the safetylamp, Simon had known this fierce man, whose business it

was to go daily, at the risk of his life, to produce partial explosions of firedamp in the passages. He used to

see this strange solitary being, prowling about the mine, always accompanied by a monstrous owl, which he

called Harfang, who assisted him in his perilous occupation, by soaring with a lighted match to places Silfax

One day this old man disappeared, and at the same time also, a little orphan girl born in the mine, who had no

relation but himself, her greatgrandfather. It was perfectly evident now that this child was Nell. During the

fifteen years, up to the time when she was saved by Harry, they must have lived in some secret abyss of the

The old overman, full of mingled compassion and anger, made known to the engineer and Harry all that the

name of Silfax had revealed to him. It explained the whole mystery. Silfax was the mysterious being so long

"Yes, that I did," replied the overman. "The Harfang man, we used to call him. Why, he was old then! He

savage sort of fellow, who held aloof from everyone and was known to fear nothingneither fire nor water.

It was his own fancy to follow the trade of 'monk,' which few would have liked. The constant danger of the

business had unsettled his brain. He was prodigiously strong, and he knew the mine as no one else at any

rate, as well as I did. He lived on a small allowance. In faith, I believed him dead years ago."

"But," resumed James Starr, "what does he mean by those words, 'You have robbed me of the last vein of our

"Ah! there it is," replied Simon; "for a long time it had been a fancy of hisI told you his mind was

deranged that he had a right to the mine of Aberfoyle; so he became more and more savage in temper the

deeper the Dochart pit his pit!was worked out. It just seemed as if it was his own body that suffered

"I can recollect all this," resumed Simon, "since I have seen the name of Silfax on the door. But I tell you, I

thought the man was dead, and never imagined that the spiteful being we have so long sought for could be the

"Well, now, then," said Starr, "it is all quite plain. Chance made known to Silfax the new vein of coal. With

the egotism of madness, he believed himself the owner of a treasure he must conceal and defend. Living in

the mine, and wandering about day and night, he perceived that you had discovered the secret, and had

written in all haste to beg me to come. Hence the letter contradicting yours; hence, after my arrival, all the

accidents that occurred, such as the block of stone thrown at Harry, the broken ladder at the Yarrow shaft, the

obstruction of the openings into the wall of the new cutting; hence, in short, our imprisonment, and then our

deliverance, brought about by the kind assistance of Nell, who acted of course without the knowledge of this

"You describe everything exactly as it must have happened, Mr. Starr," returned old Simon. "The old 'Monk'

"I don't know that," said Starr, shaking his head; "it is a terrible sort of madness this."

"Ah! now I understand that the very thought of him must have terrified poor little Nell, and also I see that she

could not bear to denounce her grandfather. What a miserable time she must have had of it with the old man!"

"Miserable with a vengeance," replied Simon, "between that savage and his owl, as savage as himself.

Depend upon it, that bird isn't dead. That was what put our lamp out, and also so nearly cut the rope by which

"And then, you see," said Madge, "this news of the marriage of our son with his granddaughter added to his

"To be sure," said Simon. "To think that his Nell should marry one of the robbers of his own coal mine would

"He will have to make up his mind to it, however," cried Harry. "Mad as he is, we shall manage to convince

him that Nell is better off with us here than ever she was in the caverns of the pit. I am sure, Mr. Starr, if we

"My poor Harry! there is no reasoning with a madman," replied the engineer. "Of course it is better to know

your enemy than not; but you must not fancy all is right because we have found out who he is. We must be on

our guard, my friends; and to begin with, Harry, you positively must question Nell. She will perceive that her

silence is no longer reasonable. Even for her grandfather's own interest, she ought to speak now. For his own

"I feel sure, Mr. Starr," answered Harry, "that Nell will of herself propose to tell you what she knows. You

see it was from a sense of duty that she has been silent hitherto. My mother was very right to take her to her

room just now. She much needed time to recover her spirits; but now I will go for her."

"You need not do so, Harry," said the maiden in a clear and firm voice, as she entered at that moment the

room in which they were. Nell was very pale; traces of tears were in her eyes; but her whole manner showed

The girl arrested her lover by a gesture, and continued, "Your father and mother, and you, Harry, must now

know all. And you too, Mr. Starr, must remain ignorant of nothing that concerns the child you have received,

"I am the granddaughter of old Silfax," resumed Nell. "I never knew a mother till the day I came here," added

"I knew no father till I saw Simon Ford," continued Nell; "nor friend till the day when Harry's hand touched

mine. Alone with my grandfather I have lived during fifteen years in the remote and most solitary depths of

the mine. I say WITH my grandfather, but I can scarcely use the expression, for I seldom saw him. When he

disappeared from Old Aberfoyle, he concealed himself in caverns known only to himself. In his way he was

kind to me, dreadful as he was; he fed me with whatever he could procure from outside the mine; but I can

dimly recollect that in my earliest years I was the nursling of a goat, the death of which was a bitter grief to

me. My grandfather, seeing my distress, brought me another animal a dog he said it was. But, unluckily,

this dog was lively, and barked. Grandfather did not like anything cheerful. He had a horror of noise, and had

taught me to be silent; the dog he could not teach to be quiet, so the poor animal very soon disappeared. My

grandfather's companion was a ferocious bird, Harfang, of which, at first, I had a perfect horror; but this

creature, in spite of my dislike to it, took such a strong affection for me, that I could not help returning it. It

even obeyed me better than its master, which used to make me quite uneasy, for my grandfather was jealous.

Harfang and I did not dare to let him see us much together; we both knew it would be dangerous. But I am

"My grandfather," continued Nell, "always regarded your abode in the mine with a very evil eyenot that

there was any lack of space. His chosen refuge was farvery far from you. But he could not bear to feel that

you were there. If I asked any questions about the people up above us, his face grew dark, he gave no answer,

and continued quite silent for a long time afterwards. But when he perceived that, not content with the old

domain, you seemed to think of encroaching upon his, then indeed his anger burst forth. He swore that, were

you to succeed in reaching the new mine, you should assuredly perish. Notwithstanding his great age, his

"Go on, Nell, my child," said Simon to the girl, who paused as though to collect her thoughts.

"On the occasion of your first attempt," resumed Nell, "as soon as my grandfather saw that you were fairly

inside the gallery leading to New Aberfoyle, he stopped up the opening, and turned it into a prison for you. I

only knew you as shadows dimly seen in the gloom of the pit, but I could not endure the idea that you would

die of hunger in these horrid places; and so, at the risk of being detected, I succeeded in obtaining bread and

water for you during some days. I should have liked to help you to escape, but it was so difficult to avoid the

vigilance of my grandfather. You were about to die. Then arrived Jack Ryan and the others. By the

providence of God I met with them, and instantly guided them to where you were. When my grandfather

discovered what I had done, his rage against me was terrible. I expected death at his hands. After that my life

became insupportable to me. My grandfather completely lost his senses. He proclaimed himself King of

Darkness and Flame; and when he heard your tools at work on coalbeds which he considered entirely his

own, he became furious and beat me cruelly. I would have fled from him, but it was impossible, so narrowly

did he watch me. At last, in a fit of ungovernable fury, he threw me down into the abyss where you found me,

and disappeared, vainly calling on Harfang, which faithfully stayed by me, to follow him. I know not how

long I remained there, but I felt I was at the point of death when you, my Harry, came and saved me. But now

"No," continued the maiden, "my resolution is taken. By one means only can your ruin be averted; I must

return to my grandfather. He threatens to destroy the whole of New Aberfoyle. His is a soul incapable of

mercy or forgiveness, and no mortal can say to what horrid deed the spirit of revenge will lead him. My duty

is clear; I should be the most despicable creature on earth did I hesitate to perform it. Farewell! I thank you

all heartily. You only have taught me what happiness is. Whatever may befall, believe that my whole heart

At these words, Simon, Madge, and Harry started up in an agony of grief, exclaiming in tones of despair,

James Starr put them all aside with an air of authority, and, going straight up to Nell, he took both her hands

in his, saying quietly, "Very right, my child; you have said exactly what you ought to say; and now listen to

what we have to say in reply. We shall not let you go away; if necessary, we shall keep you by force. Do you

think we could be so base as to accept of your generous proposal? These threats of Silfax are formidableno

doubt about it! But, after all, a man is but a man, and we can take precautions. You will tell us, will you not,

even for his own sake, all you can about his habits and his lurkingplaces? All we want to do is to put it out

"You want to do what is quite impossible," said Nell. "My grandfather is everywhere and nowhere. I have

never seen his retreats. I have never seen him sleep. If he meant to conceal himself, he used to leave me

alone, and vanish. When I took my resolution, Mr. Starr, I was aware of everything you could say against it.

Believe me, there is but one way to render Silfax powerless, and that will be by my return to him. Invisible

himself, he sees everything that goes on. Just think whether it is likely he could discover your very thoughts

and intentions, from that time when the letter was written to Mr. Starr, up to now that my marriage with

Harry has been arranged, if he did not possess the extraordinary faculty of knowing everything. As far as I

am able to judge, my grandfather, in his very insanity, is a man of most powerful mind. He formerly used to

talk to me on very lofty subjects. He taught me the existence of God, and never deceived me but on one point,

which wasthat he made me believe that all men were base and perfidious, because he wished to inspire me

with his own hatred of all the human race. When Harry brought me to the cottage, you thought I was simply

ignorant of mankind, but, far beyond that, I was in mortal fear of you all. Ah, forgive me! I assure you, for

many days I believed myself in the power of wicked wretches, and I longed to escape. You, Madge, first led

me to perceive the truth, not by anything you said, but by the sight of your daily life, for I saw that your

husband and son loved and respected you! Then all these good and happy workmen, who so revere and trust

Mr. Starr, I used to think they were slaves; and when, for the first time, I saw the whole population of

Aberfoyle come to church and kneel down to pray to God, and praise Him for His infinite goodness, I said to

myself, 'My grandfather has deceived me.' But now, enlightened by all you have taught me, I am inclined to

think he himself is deceived. I mean to return to the secret passages I formerly frequented with him. He is

certain to be on the watch. I will call to him; he will hear me, and who knows but that, by returning to him, I

The maiden spoke without interruption, for all felt that it was good for her to open her whole heart to her

But when, exhausted by emotion, and with eyes full of tears, she ceased speaking, Harry turned to old Madge

and said, "Mother, what should you think of the man who could forsake the noble girl whose words you have

"I should think he was a base coward," said Madge, "and, were he my son, I should renounce and curse him."

"Nell, do you hear what our mother says?" resumed Harry. "Wherever you go I will follow you. If you persist

Overcome by her feelings, the girl's lips blanched, and she sank into the arms of Madge, who begged she

IT was agreed that the inhabitants of the cottage must keep more on their guard than ever. The threats of old

Silfax were too serious to be disregarded. It was only too possible that he possessed some terrible means by

Armed sentinels were posted at the various entrances to the mine, with orders to keep strict watch day and

night. Any stranger entering the mine was brought before James Starr, that he might give an account of

himself. There being no fear of treason among the inhabitants of Coal Town, the threatened danger to the

subterranean colony was made known to them. Nell was informed of all the precautions taken, and became

more tranquil, although she was not free from uneasiness. Harry's determination to follow her wherever she

During the week preceding the wedding, no accident whatever occurred in Aberfoyle. The system of

watching was carefully maintained, but the miners began to recover from the panic, which had seriously

interrupted the work of excavation. James Starr continued to look out for Silfax. The old man having

vindictively declared that Nell should never marry Simon's son, it was natural to suppose that he would not

The examination of the mine was carried on minutely. Every passage and gallery was searched, up to those

higher ranges which opened out among the ruins of Dundonald Castle. It was rightly supposed that through

this old building Silfax passed out to obtain what was needful for the support of his miserable existence

As to the "firemaidens," James Starr began to think that appearance must have been produced by some jet of

firedamp gas which, issuing from that part of the pit, could be lighted by Silfax. He was not far wrong; but

all search for proof of this was fruitless, and the continued strain of anxiety in this perpetual effort to detect a

malignant and invisible being rendered the engineer outwardly calman unhappy man.

As the weddingday approached, his dread of some catastrophe increased, and he could not but speak of it to

the old overman, whose uneasiness soon more than equaled his own. At length the day came. Silfax had

By daybreak the entire population of Coal Town was astir. Work was suspended; overseers and workmen

alike desired to do honor to Simon Ford and his son. They all felt they owed a large debt of gratitude to these

bold and persevering men, by whose means the mine had been restored to its former prosperity. The

ceremony was to take place at eleven o'clock, in St. Giles's chapel, which stood on the shores of Loch

At the appointed time, Harry left the cottage, supporting his mother on his arm, while Simon led the bride.

Following them came Starr, the engineer, composed in manner, but in reality nerved to expect the worst, and

Jack Ryan, stepping superb in full Highland piper's costume. Then came the other mining engineers, the

principal people of Coal Town, the friends and comrades of the old overman every member of this great

In the outer world, the day was one of the hottest of the month of August, peculiarly oppressive in northern

countries. The sultry air penetrated the depths of the coal mine, and elevated the temperature. The air which

entered through the ventilating shafts, and the great tunnel of Loch Malcolm, was charged with electricity,

and the barometer, it was afterwards remarked, had fallen in a remarkable manner. There was, indeed, every

indication that a storm might burst forth beneath the rocky vault which formed the roof of the enormous crypt

But the inhabitants were not at that moment troubling themselves about the chances of atmospheric

disturbance above ground. Everybody, as a matter of course, had put on his best clothes for the occasion.

Madge was dressed in the fashion of days gone by, wearing the "toy" and the "rokelay," or Tartan plaid, of

matrons of the olden time, old Simon wore a coat of which Bailie Nicol Jarvie himself would have approved.

Nell had resolved to show nothing of her mental agitation; she forbade her heart to beat, or her inward terrors

betray themselves, and the brave girl appeared before all with a calm and collected aspect. She had declined

every ornament of dress, and the very simplicity of her attire added to the charming elegance of her

appearance. Her hair was bound with the "snood," the usual headdress of Scottish maidens.

All proceeded towards St. Giles's chapel, which had been handsomely decorated for the occasion.

The electric discs of light which illuminated Coal Town blazed like so many suns. A luminous atmosphere

pervaded New Aberfoyle. In the chapel, electric lamps shed a glow over the stainedglass windows, which

shone like fiery kaleidoscopes. At the porch of the chapel the minister awaited the arrival of the wedding

It approached, after having passed in stately procession along the shore of Loch Malcolm. Then the tones of

the organ were heard, and, preceded by the minister, the group advanced into the chapel. The Divine blessing

was first invoked on all present. Then Harry and Nell remained alone before the minister, who, holding the

sacred book in his hand, proceeded to say, "Harry, will you take Nell to be your wife, and will you promise to

"And you, Nell," continued the minister, "will you take Harry to be your husband, and"

Before he could finish the sentence, a prodigious noise resounded from without. One of the enormous rocks,

on which was formed the terrace overhanging the banks of Loch Malcolm, had suddenly given way and

opened without explosion, disclosing a profound abyss, into which the waters were now wildly plunging.

In another instant, among the shattered rocks and rushing waves appeared a canoe, which a vigorous arm

propelled along the surface of the lake. In the canoe was seen the figure of an old man standing upright. He

was clothed in a dark mantle, his hair was dishevelled, a long white beard fell over his breast, and in his hand

he bore a lighted Davy safety lamp, the flame being protected by the metallic gauze of the apparatus.

In a loud voice this old man shouted, "The firedamp is upon you! Woewoe betide ye all!"

At the same moment the slight smell peculiar to carburetted hydrogen was perceptibly diffused through the

atmosphere. And, in truth, the fall of the rock had made a passage of escape for an enormous quantity of

explosive gas, accumulated in vast cavities, the openings to which had hitherto been blocked up.

Jets and streams of the firedamp now rose upward in the vaulted dome; and well did that fierce old man

know that the consequence of what he had done would be to render explosive the whole atmosphere of the

James Starr and several others, having hastily quitted the chapel, and perceived the imminence of the danger,

now rushed back, crying out in accents of the utmost alarm, "Fly from the mine! Fly instantly from the

"Now for the firedamp! Here comes the firedamp!" yelled the old man, urging his canoe further along the

Harry with his bride, his father and his mother, left the chapel in haste and in terror.

"Fly! fly for your lives!" repeated James Starr. Alas! it was too late to fly! Old Silfax stood there, prepared to

fulfill his last dreadful threatprepared to stop the marriage of Nell and Harry by overwhelming the entire

As he stood ready to accomplish this act of vengeance, his enormous owl, whose white plumage was marked

At that moment a man flung himself into the waters of the lake, and swam vigorously towards the canoe.

It was Jack Ryan, fully determined to reach the madman before he could do the dreadful deed of destruction.

Silfax saw him coming. Instantly he smashed the glass of his lamp, and, snatching out the burning wick,

Silence like death fell upon the astounded multitude. James Starr, in the calmness of despair, marvelled that

Silfax, gazing upwards with wild and contracted features, appeared to become aware that the gas, lighter than

the lower atmosphere, was accumulating far up under the dome; and at a sign from him the owl, seizing in its

claw the lighted match, soared upwards to the vaulted roof, towards which the madman pointed with

Suddenly Nell sprang from Harry's arms, and, with a bright look of inspiration, she ran to the very brink of

the waters of the lake. "Harfang! Harfang!" cried she in a clear voice; "here! come to me!"

The faithful bird, surprised, appeared to hesitate in its flight. Presently, recognizing Nell's voice, it dropped

the burning match into the water, and, describing a wide circle, flew downwards, alighting at the maiden's

Then a terrible cry echoed through the vaulted roofs. It was the last sound uttered by old Silfax.

Just as Jack Ryan laid his hand on the edge of the canoe, the old man, foiled in his purpose of revenge, cast

"Save him! oh, save him!" shrieked Nell in a voice of agony. Immediately Harry plunged into the water, and,

But his efforts were useless. The waters of Loch Malcolm yielded not their prey: they closed forever over

Six months after these events, the marriage, so strangely interrupted, was finally celebrated in St. Giles's

chapel, and the young couple, who still wore mourning garments, returned to the cottage. James Starr and

Simon Ford, henceforth free from the anxieties which had so long distressed them, joyously presided over the

entertainment which followed the ceremony, and prolonged it to the following day.

On this memorable occasion, Jack Ryan, in his favorite character of piper, and in all the glory of full dress,

blew up his chanter, and astonished the company by the unheard of achievement of playing, singing, and

It is needless to say that Harry and Nell were happy. These loving hearts, after the trials they had gone

As to Simon Ford, the exoverman of New Aberfoyle, he began to talk of celebrating his golden wedding,

fifty years of marriage with good old Madge, who liked the idea immensely herself.

"All right, my boy," replied the overman quietly, "I see nothing against it in this fine climate of ours, and

Will the dwellers in Coal Town ever be called to witness this second ceremony? Time will show. Certainly

the strange bird of old Silfax seemed destined to attain a wonderful longevity. The Harfang continued to

haunt the gloomy recesses of the cave. After the old man's death, Nell had attempted to keep the owl, but in a

very few days he flew away. He evidently disliked human society as much as his master had done, and,

besides that, he appeared to have a particular spite against Harry. The jealous bird seemed to remember and

hate him for having carried off Nell from the deep abyss, notwithstanding all he could do to prevent him.

Still, at long intervals, Nell would see the creature hovering above Loch Malcolm.

Could he possibly be watching for his friend of yore? Did he strive to pierce, with keen eye, the depths which

The history of the Harfang became legendary, and furnished Jack Ryan with many a tale and song. Thanks to

him, the story of old Silfax and his bird will long be preserved, and handed down to future generations of the