she cared nothing for him— had liked him, 
perhaps, had been very chatty and kind, and 
had even flirted with him a little, but had 
never seriously thought of him. The fact of 
this accident, although Jt had no doubt 
changed her feelings towards him, had yet 
in no wav altered or improved hi9 chances of 
being loved. He was not blind to the fact 
that Laura's manner wa9 changed to him; 
that she no longer talked gaily and lightly 
with him; that her color went and came if site 
chanced to meet him suddenly; but lie told 
himself, and thoroughly believed, that this 
was gratitude, not love. Under these cir¬ 
cumstances, therefore, the Rev. Rich a no 
IIallowrs began to revolve in his own mind 
whether it was really necessary for a rector 
to he married at all. He could not have the 
woman he loved, and, nfler loving Laura 
Hjerksitawe, it was out of the question that 
he could think of marrying another. No; 
he really got on very well, and he was not 
at all sure that a clergyman was not more 
useful as a single man than ho would be 
married— at least he had more time to him- 
" Can nothing he done?” Mr. Hallo web 
asked; “this is dreadful!” and a shudder 
ran through him as he thought of Laura’s 
distress. 
“Nothing, sir,” the man said. “Look 
there;” and he pointed to a light smoke 
wreathing up from the shaft; she’s a-fire 
now, and she may blow any moment. It 
would be madness.” 
The men standing round murmured an 
assent. Anything that men can do, miners 
will dare to rescue comrades; but this was 
too much. 
At this moment there was a stir, and the 
crowd drew' back to let a woman pass. It 
was Laura IIernhhawe. Her face was as 
pale as death, and her hair had broken from 
its bonds in the speed with which she had run. 
“ 1 hear my father is in the pit,” she gasped 
out; “ is it true?" 
A dead silence answered her. She sank 
down upon the balk of timber 
few paces; then he felt a door, Ho gave a 
low muffled cry, which was answered by a 
dull knocking within. 
Thank God! Mr. Herwshawe was alive, 
sheltered in the small room from the vio¬ 
lence of the first blast. Tho thoughts of 
Laura’s delight gave a new strength to him, 
and revived the consciousness which had a 
moment before seemed fast deserting him. 
Feeling upon the ground, ho found that some 
pieces or tho roof had fallen and blocked tho 
door. With a short prayer for strength, ho 
began to remove them; several times lie de¬ 
sisted, and lay almost insensible, but each 
time the thought of Laura seemed to call 
him back to life, 
As he removed the last 
piece, and felt tho door pushed open from 
within, life seemed to leave 1dm, and he be¬ 
came unconscious. 
Terrible was tho suspense upon the sur¬ 
face after tho clergyman had disappeared. 
Very rapidly the meu let the rope slip through 
their fingers. Every moment was worth a 
life, for at any Instant they might hear the 
low, rumbling sound, followed Instantly by 
a rush of flame, of stone, and of all that re¬ 
mained of the brave man wbo ventured 
down. No one spoke. In spite of the dan¬ 
ger, one of the men leaned over the shaft, 
and his raised hand and attentive eye showed 
that the light still burned. More slowly now 
the rope was run out, for they knew lie was 
near the bottom, which might be so filled 
with rubbish that even a foothold might lx> 
impossible. Tho light had disappeared, now 
lost in the thick vapor; but stil! tho rope ran 
out. Presently it stopped. Now was the 
question, was ho insensible already? The 
men 9tood by tho rope ready to run It over 
the sheaf as quickly ns possible, and all stood 
lireathluHs. In a moment there was a fhtnt 
but decided jerk of tho repo. 
“Thank God!” broke from all standing 
around; and tho rope was slacked to allow 
tho adventurer to prococd Into tho work¬ 
ings. At this moment a fresh spoo tutor was 
added to those round the shaft. Laura 
Hernsiiawe had recovered from hor fldnt- 
Ing, aud had refused to listen to the prayers 
in despair, 
I and then rising agaiu she exclaimed -wildly, 
[ “ He may be alive still; a thousand pounds to 
anyone who will go down and bring him up !” 
“ It is impossible, Miss Laura,” the over- 
| seer said; “ the pit is on fire; she will blow 
again in a minute or two.” 
“ Five thousand pounds to whoever will 
go down !” she said frantically. “ O men, if 
you be men, go down and see if any live!” 
The men drew back, but one or two spoke 
together, and were coming forward when 
the women rushed upon them, 
“No, Jamte —no, Willie, you don’t go. 
Our two boys are down now; you shan’t go; 
I will not let you; what is money now ?” 
and clinging to the men, they dragged them 
away. 
Laura Heunstiawe sank hack upon the 
balk, despairing now, for she felt she could 
not press the point. During their colloquy 
Mr. Halloweb had been earnestly question¬ 
ing tho boy, and ho now whispered to the 
foreman. The latter gave a start of surprise, 
aud made a gesture of refusal. Then Mr. 
Hallowed spoke aloud. 
“ I shall have my way. I am God’s min¬ 
ister— I have no one in the world to lament 
me. It is my duty to try, at least. Get the 
ropo ready at once, aud lend me a thick cap 
to protect my head, and a flannel jacket.” 
Laura IIerxsuawe had started up and 
exclaimed, “No, no!” — then she had been 
silent. Without a word she stood motion¬ 
less, while the clergyman put the miner’s 
clothes over his own amid a dead silence 
from all around. 
Mr. Halloweb was very pale, but per¬ 
fectly calm. When he was ready, and while 
tho men were busy hoisting up the rope 
which they had lowered after the Explosion, 
for the proper gear was blown away, Laura 
went up to him and said, 
“ I must speak to you before you go, Mr. 
Hallowes and she led the wav into a 
mouth. The clergyman followed her, and 
closed the door. She took both his hands, 
and stood for a moment still and silent. 
Then she said, “ May God in heaven hires 
you and protect you! You need no earthly 
strength ; but if it can cheer you in this fear¬ 
ful danger, think that I, who wait here to 
pray for you, have two lives I love at stake; 
that if you come not back, I shall be for life 
widow as well as orphan. May God bless 
you! Now kiss me, and go ” 
He drew hor to him, kissed her once and 
then opening the door of the shed said to 
the women outside: 
“ Look to Miss Herxbiiawe, she has 
fainted. Now, men,let me down as quickly 
| as you can, I know what I have to do.” 
Mr. Hallowes was outwardly as quiet 
and calm as when he entered the hut; but 
the men noticed that lie had a bright, steady 
light in his eye; that while before he might 
have looked like a martyr walking firmly to 
the stake, now he might have l^een a soldier 
leading a forlorn hope. As he was lowered 
down into utter darkness the clergyman 
might lie truly said to have felt no fear. lie 
knew his danger, he knew that at any instant 
the blast of fire might come which should 
send his body a mangled oinder far up above 
the mouth of the shaft. But he knew now 
that Laura IIernshawe loved him, and 
very fervent were his silent prnyere that he 
might be spared to enjoy the great happiness. 
Then, as he knew by the slacking of the 
speed of his descent he was near the bottom, 
he gave a last appeal to God for protection, 
aud prepared for his work. 
Already the smoke was almost stifling, and 
would have been quite so had he not kept a 
wet cloth, with which he had provided him¬ 
self before starting, pressed across his mouth 
and nostrils. In his other hand he held a 
safety-lamp; but the sharp flaring explosions 
within the wirework, as well as his own 
difficulty of breathing, told him of tho in¬ 
flammable nature of the atmosphere around 
him. Now lie was at the bottom, and, to 
ins great joy, lie found the entrance to the 
workings comparatively clear, and then ex¬ 
tinguished the lamp—the danger from which 
was enormous—his instructions being so 
clear that lie needed it no longer. So stifling 
did he feel the air that he lay down and 
crawled along upon his breast — it was but a 
