“Good man!” said David; “I owe you something for that, Silas. Be sure and tell them at the hotel that we are all right and quite comfortable, and that there is nothing to worry about. And while you’re at it, you may give Oswald and my sister my hearty congratulations, and tell them, from Miss Virginia and me, that we hope they’ll be as happy as they deserve to be.” Plegg, the imperturbable, let slip a little imprecation of joy. “I--I’ll be damned!” he burbled; “you don’t know what a relief it is to hear you talking that way! Any more errands?” “Yes; one more. Our engagement--Miss Virginia’s and mine--hasn’t been announced yet, so you may break the news, if you care to; to Mr. Grillage when you see him, to my people, and to the folks at the Inn. Also, you may let it go to the fellows on the staff and to the men on the job. We shall be married as soon as Mr. Grillage is up and able to give the bride away.” “Good!--oh, _bully_ good!” came from the other end of the tube, from which it may be inferred that the first assistant’s half-cynical habit of self-restraint and reticence was broken beyond repair. Then: “Of course, I’m taking your word for it, but if Miss Virginia would--er--sort of counter-sign the order ... I haven’t heard her voice yet.” Virginia put her lips to the tube and her eyes were dancing. “It’s so, Mr. Plegg; can you hear me? And there are some other things that are going to be so, too--things in which you’ll have to help. We are counting upon you--may we?” “You may, indeed; to the last scrapings of the grab-bucket!” was the ready assurance. “Now--I don’t want to be impolite, but if that is all, I’ll ask you both to take your faces away from the pipe; I’m going to put the air blast on again.” Even with the help of the steel shield it took the remainder of the night and the better part of the next forenoon for the outside men, working in fifteen-minute shifts, to dig through the mass of the slide, the work being delayed somewhat by the encountering, in the midst of things, of a great bowlder which had to be carefully blasted with dynamite. Nevertheless, the task was accomplished finally. With the advancing shield the diggers burst through with a yell of triumph, and the poor prisoners were passed out one by one to the clean air and the blessed sunshine of the outdoor world. Once more able to take command, David Vallory gave directions for the clearing of the tunnel by digging and timber-shoring from either side of the slide, and outlined for Plegg in a few words a plan for the excavating and permanent filling and arching of the breach. Plegg heard him through, and then looked up to say: “Does this mean that we’re to have a new deal?” “Either a new deal or a smash. If I can come to some sort of terms with Mr. Ford, we’ll go on and finish this job honestly, the way it ought to be finished. If I can’t, we’ll take our losses and get out, without waiting to be kicked out.”