The lad was confused. He did not know which way to turn, nor what second he might step into an opening and plunge downward. Had he but known it there was little danger of such an accident so long as he kept to the main level. There were many dangerous holes--ore chutes--but these ordinarily were protected so that there was little chance of one's falling through them. Such accidents, however, had been known to occur. At last Steve saw a man who looked as if he might be a person in authority, and to this one he appealed to direct him to the Spooner contract. "Who are you?" demanded the man sharply. "My name is Rush. May I ask who you are?" "I am the mine captain. Do you work with Spooner?" "I am going to do so if I can find the way to his place." "Come this way. I will show you how to get there. You are late." "Yes, sir; I was not able to find my way and I guess I was among the last ones to come down in the cage." "This is your first experience below ground?" "It is, sir." "Then let me give you some advice; never get careless. There is danger everywhere about here." "So I have already discovered, sir." "There is no excuse for men getting hurt, however, if they do not get careless. That is why so many get hurt, and why some lose their lives. We do everything we can to look out for the safety of our people, but we cannot guard against everything." "I shall try to follow your advice, sir." The captain strode along rapidly through dark drifts, turning here and there with perfect confidence. Steve felt sure that he never should be able to find his way about in that labyrinth without getting lost, and he asked the captain how he should do so. "Follow the crowd," was the brief answer. "There, do you see that ladder?" "Yes, sir." "Climb it. It is a forty-foot ladder. The top of it is the sub-level, where the Spooner contract is located." "Thank you, sir," answered Rush, beginning his long, dark climb up the slender ladder to the unknown regions above him. CHAPTER IV STEVE SHOOTS THE CHUTES Reaching the sub-level, as he supposed, Steve found it enshrouded in inky blackness. He was in a side drift, but he did not know it. "I guess I am as badly off as I was before. I haven't the least idea where I am, so I guess there is not much danger of getting lost." Removing the candle from his hat, the lad held it before him, lighting the shadows sufficiently to enable him to see where he was stepping. After a time he came out into a larger tunnel, which, he decided, must be one of the main levels, for there was a narrow track extending along it. Steve decided to follow this track and trust to luck. He had gone along for perhaps fifteen minutes when he made a discovery. "I've lost the track!" he exclaimed. "I wonder where it could have gone to?"