CHAPTER NINE.
DROWNING AN ENEMY.
I did not sleep that morning, but kept watch with Uncle Jack, and assoon as the men came to work I hurried off to Mrs Stephenson's to tellthe others of the night's adventures.
Half an hour later they were with me at the works, where a quietexamination was made, everything being done so as not to take theattention of the work-people, who were now busy.
We had first of all a good look round outside, and found that beneaththe window of the furnace-house there were some half dozen great nailsor spikes carefully driven into the wall, between the stones, so as tomake quite a flight of steps for an active man, and across the windowlay a tangled-together length of thin wire.
We did not stop to draw out the nails for fear of exciting attention,but strolled back at once into the works.
And now once for all, when I say _we_, please to understand that it isnot out of conceit, for my share in our adventures was always verysmall, but to avoid uncling you all too much, and making so manyrepetitions of the names of Uncle Dick, Uncle Jack, and Uncle Bob.
I saw several of the men look up from their work as we went through thegrinding-shop, but they went on again with their task, making the bladesthey ground shriek as they pressed them against the swiftly revolvingstones.
"They must know all about it, Uncle Bob," I whispered, and he gave me ameaning look.
"Yes," he said softly; "that's the worst of it, my lad. Master and manought to shake hands and determine to fight one for the other; but, asyou see, they take opposite sides, and it is war."
We went next into the wheel-pit and had a look round, after which UncleJack spoke aloud to the man who acted as general engineer, and said hethought that the great axle wanted seeing to and fresh cleaning.
The man nodded, and said gruffly that he would see to it, and then, ashe turned away, I saw him wink at one of the men grinding at a stone andthrust his tongue into his cheek.
Just then he caught my eye, his countenance changed, and he looked asfoolish as a boy found out in some peccadillo, but the next instant hescowled at me, and his fierce dark eyes said as plainly as if theyspoke:
"Say a word about that and I'll half kill you."
I read the threat aright, as will be seen; and, turning to follow myuncles, I saw that the man was coming on close behind me, with a look inhis countenance wonderfully like that with which he was being followedby Piter, who, unobserved, was close at his heels, sniffing quietly athis legs and looking as if he would like to fix his teeth in one or theother.
Seeing this I stopped back, half expecting that Piter, if left behind,might be kicked by the man's heavy clogs. The others did not notice myabsence, but went on out of the grinding-shop, and the engineer cameclose up to me, stooping down as I waited, and putting his face close tomine.
"Look here, mester," he began in a low threatening tone, "do you knowwhat's meant by keeping thy tongue atween thy teeth?"
"Yes," I cried; and in the same breath, "Mind the dog! Down, Piter!Down!"
The man made a convulsive leap as he caught sight of the dog, and hisintention was to alight upon the frame-work of one of the largegrindstones close by his side--one that had just been set in motion, butthough he jumped high enough he did not allow for the lowness of theceiling, against which he struck his head, came down in a sittingposition on the grindstone, and was instantly hurled off to the floor.
This was Piter's opportunity, and with a low growl and a bound he wasupon the man's chest. Another moment and he would have had him by thethroat, but I caught him by the collar and dragged him off, amidst themurmur of some, and the laughter of others of the men.
I did not want to look as if I was afraid, but this seemed to be a goodexcuse for leaving the grinding-shop, and, holding on by Piter's collar,I led him out.
Just before I reached the door, though, I heard one of the men say tohis neighbour--heard it plainly over the whirr and churring of thestones:
"I've know'd dawgs poisoned for less than that."
"What shall I do?" I asked myself as soon as I was outside; but theanswer did not come. I could only think that my uncles had troubleenough on their hands, and that though it was very evident that the menat work for them were not very well affected, it was not likely that wehad any one who would wilfully do us an injury.
After all, too, nobody had threatened to poison the dog; it was only aremark about what had been known to happen.
All this had taken but a very short time, and by the time I had joinedmy uncles they were just entering the office on the upper floor thatlooked over the dam.
There were several men at work here at lathes and benches, and theirtools made so much noise that they did not notice my entrance, closelyfollowed by the dog; and so it was that I found out that they, too, musthave known all about the cowardly attempt of the night, for one said toanother:
"Didn't expect to be at work here this morning; did you, mate?"
"No," growled the man addressed; "but why can't they leave un aloan.They pay reg'lar, and they're civil."
"What do you mean?" said the first speaker sharply. "You going to sidewi' un! What do we want wi' a set o' inventing corckneys here!"
Just then he caught sight of me, and swung round and continued his work,while I walked straight to the office door and went in, where Uncle Jackwas just opening a window that looked out upon the dam.
"Yes," he said, "here we are."
He pointed to a sort of raft formed of a couple of planks placed aboutfive feet apart and across which a dozen short pieces of wood had beennailed, forming a buoyant platform, on which no doubt our enemies hadfloated themselves down from the head of the dam, where there was atimber yard.
"All plain enough now," said Uncle Jack, grinding his teeth. "Oh, if Icould have had hold of those two fellows by the collar when they fellin!"
"Well," said Uncle Bob, "what would you have done--drowned them?"
"Not quite," said Uncle Jack; "but they would have swallowed a greatdeal more water than would have been good for them."
"Never mind about impossible threats," said Uncle Dick. "Let's examinethe powder canister now."
This was taken from its resting-place during the time the men were atbreakfast and carried into the office, where the dangerous weapon of ourenemies was laid upon the desk and examined.
It was a strong tin canister about ten inches high and six across, andbound round and round, first with strong string and afterwards looselywith some soft black-looking cord, which Uncle Dick said was fuse; andhe pointed out where one end was passed through a little hole punchedthrough the bottom of the canister, while the loosely-twisted fuse washeld on by thin wire, which allowed the soft connection with the powderto hang out in loops.
"Yes," said Uncle Dick; "if that is good fuse, the very fact of any parttouching a spark or smouldering patch of ash would be enough to set italight, and there is enough, I should say, to burn for a quarter of anhour before it reaches the powder. Yes, a good ten pounds of it," headded, balancing the canister in his hands.
"But it may be a scare," said Uncle Bob: "done to frighten us. We don'tknow yet that it is powder."
"Oh, we'll soon prove that," cried Uncle Jack, taking out his knife.
"Uncle! Take care!" I cried in agony, for I seemed to see sparksflying from his knife, and the powder exploding and blowing us to atoms.
"If you are afraid, Cob, you had better go back home," he said rathergruffly, as he cut the fuse through and tore it off, to lie in a littleheap as soon as he had freed it from the wire.
Then the string followed, and the canister stood upright before us onthe desk.
"Looks as harmless as if it were full of arrow-root or mustard," saidUncle Bob coolly. "Perhaps, after all, it is a scare."
I stood there with my teeth closed tightly, determined not to show fear,even if the horrible stuff did blow up. For though there was no lightin the room, and the matches were in a cupboard, I could not get out ofmy hea
d the idea that the stuff _might_ explode, and it seemed terribleto me for such a dangerous machine to be handled in what appeared to beso reckless a way.
"Lid fits pretty tight," said Uncle Jack, trying to screw it off.
"Don't do that, old fellow," said Uncle Dick. "It would be grindingsome of the dust round, and the friction might fire it."
"Well, yes, it might," replied Uncle Jack. "Not likely though, and Iwant to examine the powder."
"That's easily done, my boy. Pull that bit of fuse out of the hole, andlet some of the powder trickle out."
"Bravo! Man of genius," said Uncle Jack; and he drew out the plug offuse that went through the bottom of the canister.
As he did this over a sheet of paper a quantity of black grains likevery coarse dry sand began to trickle out and run on to the paper,forming quite a heap, and as the powder ran Uncle Jack looked round athis brother and smiled sadly.
"Not done to frighten us, eh, Bob!" he said. "If that stuff had beenfired the furnace-house and chimney would have been levelled."
"Why, Cob," said Uncle Dick, laying his hand affectionately upon myshoulder. "You must be a brave fellow to have hauled that away from thefurnace."
"I did not feel very brave just now," I said bitterly. "When Uncle Jackbegan to handle that tin I felt as if I must run away."
"But you didn't," said Uncle Bob, smiling at me.
"Is that gunpowder?" I said hastily, so as to change the conversation.
"No doubt of it, my lad," said Uncle Jack, scooping it up in his hand,so that it might trickle through his fingers. "Strong blasting powder.Shall I fire some and try?"
"If you like," I said sulkily, for it was, I knew, said to tease me.
"Well, what's to be done, boys?" said Uncle Jack. "Are we going to laythis before the police? It is a desperate business!"
"Desperate enough, but we shall do no good, and only give ourselves agreat deal of trouble if we go to the law. The police might trace outone of the offenders; but if they did, what then? It would not stop theattempts to harm us. No: I'm of opinion that our safety lies in our ownwatchfulness. A more terrible attempt than this could not be made."
"What shall we do with the powder, then?" asked Uncle Bob; "save it tohoist some of the scoundrels with their own petard?"
"Oh, of course if you like," said Uncle Jack. "Fancy Bob trying to blowanybody up with gunpowder!"
"When he can't even do it with his breath made into words."
"Ah! Joke away," said Uncle Bob; "but I want to see you get rid of thathorrible stuff."
"We don't want to save it then?" said Uncle Jack.
"No, no; get rid of it."
"That's soon done then," said Uncle Jack, tying a piece of the cordround the canister; and, going to the open window, he lowered it downover the deep water in the dam, where it sank like a stone, and drew thecord after it out of sight.
"There," he cried, "that will soon be so soaked with water that it willbe spoiled."
"Who's that," I said, "on the other side of the dam? He's watching us."
"Squintum the grinder. What's his name--Griggs. Yes, I shouldn't be abit surprised if that scoundrel had a hand--"
"Both hands," put in Uncle Bob.
"Well, both hands in this ugly business."
"But couldn't you prove it against him?" I said.
"No, my lad," said Uncle Jack; "and I don't know that we want to.Wretched misguided lumps of ignorance. I don't want to help totransport the villains."
We had drawn back from the window to where there was still a little heapof powder on the desk as well as the fuse.
"Come, Bob," said Uncle Jack; "you may not be quite convinced yet, soI'll show you an experiment."
He took about a teaspoonful of the powder, and placed it in a shortpiece of iron pipe which he laid on the window-sill, and then taking therest of the explosive, he gave it a jerk and scattered it over thewater.
Then taking about a yard of the black soft cord that he said was fuse,he tucked one end in the pipe so that it should rest upon the powder,laid the rest along the window-sill, and asked me to get the matches.
"Now," he said, "if that's what I think--cleverly made fuse, and goodstrong powder--we shall soon see on a small scale what it would havedone on a large. Strike a match, Cob."
I did as I was told, feeling as if I was going to let off a veryinteresting firework, and as soon as the splint was well alight I wasabout to hold the little flame to the end of the fuse, but Uncle Jackstopped me.
"No," he said, "I want to see if a spark would have lit it. I mean Iwant to see if just drawing the canister over the remains of thefurnace-fire would have started the fuse. That's it, now just touch theend quickly with the match."
There was only a little spark on the wood, and no flame, as I touchedthe side of the fuse.
The effect was instantaneous. The soft black-looking cord burst intoscintillations, tiny sparks flew off on all sides, and a dull fire beganto burn slowly along the fuse.
"Capitally made," said Uncle Jack. "That would have given thescoundrels plenty of warning that the work was well done, and they wouldhave been able to get to a distance before the explosion took place."
"And now we shall see whether the powder is good," said Uncle Dick.
"But how slowly it burns!" said Uncle Bob.
"But how surely," I had it on my lips to say.
I did not speak though, for I was intently watching the progress of thesparks as they ran along the fuse slowly and steadily; and as I gazed Iseemed to see what would have gone on in the great dark building if Ihad not been awakened by the scraping sound of the canister being hauledover bench and floor.
I shuddered as I watched intently, for the fuse seemed as if it wouldnever burn through, and even when, after what in my excitement seemed along space of time, it did reach the iron pipe, though a few sparks camefrom inside, the powder did not explode.
"Uncle Bob's right!" I cried with an intense feeling of relief; "thatwas not powder, and they only tried to frighten us."
_Puff_!
There was a sharp flash from each end of the iron tube, and one littleball of white smoke came into the office, while another darted out intothe sunny morning air.
"Wrong, Cob," said Uncle Jack. "Splendidly-made fuse andtremendously-strong powder. We have had a very narrow escape. Now,lads, what's to be done?"
"What do you say, Jack?" said Uncle Dick.
"Do our duty--be always on the watch--fight it out."
"That's settled," said Uncle Dick. "Now let's get to work again. Cob,you can come and see us cast some steel ingots if you like."
"Cast!" I said.
"Yes, cast. You know what that is?"
"Yes, of course."
"But you never saw it liquid so that it could be poured out like water."
"No," I said, as I followed him, wondering whether I had not better tellhim that I had overheard a strange remark about poisoning a dog, and askif he thought there was any risk about Piter, who seemed to grow muchuglier every day, and yet I liked him better.
The end of it was that I saw the steel lifted out of the furnace incrucibles and poured forth like golden-silver water into charcoalmoulds, but I did not speak about the dog.
Patience Wins: War in the Works Page 9