"I guess he is going to discharge me," thought the boy. "Well, I have done the best I could." His surprise was great, therefore, when the superintendent said, as the lad came to a halt in front of the official's desk: "You have done very well, Rush." "Thank you, sir." "Do you still think you would like to work below ground?" "Yes, sir." "Then you may begin on Monday." "On what shift?" "The day shift, going down at seven o'clock. The best I have for you now is a contract job run by a man named Spooner. You will find it pretty hard work. You see, these contracts are given out for so much per ton and the men who take the contracts propose to get as much out of their workmen as possible. You will be worked to your full capacity." "I can stand it, sir." "If you do, you should be able to endure anything we have to offer in this business. I have arranged for Spooner to take you on as a miner's helper. Your wages will be a dollar and a quarter a day. Be very careful and guard yourself from accident. Carelessness may cost you your life, for there is danger everywhere below ground." "I will be very careful, sir." Steve hurried away full of anticipation. He was to be a real miner; he was to start his career as a miner on a level two thousand feet below the surface. The lad had never been below ground before and he was full of anticipation of what awaited him on the following Monday morning. Acting on the suggestion of the boarding-house boss, the lad had purchased a suit of yellow oilcloth, rubber boots, oilcloth hat and candle holder. This latter, as used by the ore miners, is a piece of steel, one end coming to a sharp point, the other having an opening for the candle itself. The whole fastens securely to the hat. When necessary the candle holder may be carried in the hand, or driven into a crevice of rock or ore. This, with pick and shovel, comprises the miner's outfit and was the outfit of Steve Rush when he presented himself at the mouth of the shaft on the following Monday morning. There were about five hundred men to go down in the cage, the car that carries the miners and other passengers down to the various levels, and Steve found himself pushed aside, so that he was among the last to get aboard the steel cage. "Will you tell me where the Spooner contract is located?" he asked of the cage-tender before getting aboard. "Seventeenth level." "Does the car stop there?" "If it doesn't, you're a goner." Rush leaped aboard, grasping the rod that he saw above his head to steady himself. The protecting bars in front of the cage fell in place with a noisy clang. "All clear," announced a voice. The support beneath the lad seemed to drop from under him. With a rush and a roar, a grinding and crunching the steel cage dropped from sight. Instantly everything was plunged in inky darkness. "Do--do they always go like this?" asked the young miner of a man standing beside him.