"What a ghastly place!" she
commented. "I should think Ezekiel's valley of dry bones must have been
something like this."
Harley met them at the door of his office with a smile in his crafty
eyes. "Warden is waiting for you in the mine," he said to Fletcher. "His
lambs have been a bit restless this afternoon. He has set his heart on a
full-dress parade, but I don't know if it will come off."
Fletcher's black brows drew together. "What do you mean by that?" he
demanded.
Harley shrugged his shoulders with a laugh. "You wait and see!"
The entrance to the mine yawned like an immense cavern in the rock. The
roaring screech of the machines issuing from it made an inferno of sound
from which, involuntarily, Dot shrank.
She looked at Hill appealingly as they drew near. He turned instantly to
Harley.
"Go ahead, will you, and tell them to stop work? We can't hear ourselves
speak in this."
"I'll come with you, Mr. Harley," said Adela, promptly. "I want to see
the machines going."
Harley paused for a moment. "You know your way, Mr. Hill?" he said.
Hill nodded with a hint of impatience. "Yes, yes. I was here only the
other day."
"Very good," said Harley. "But don't forget to turn to the right when you
get down the steps. The other way is too steep for ladies."
He was gone with the words and Adela with him, openly delighted to have
escaped from her solemn escort, and ready for any adventure that might
present itself.
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