Thepeoplecouldnotunderstandthis。Theboy’smiserieswentsteadilyon，weekafterweek。Itisquitelikelythatthepeoplewouldhaveunderstoodiftheyhadknownhowhewasemployinghissparetime。Hesleptinanout—cabinnearFlint’s;andthere，nights，henursedhisbruisesandhishumiliations，andstudiedandstudiedoverasingleproblem——howhecouldmurderFlintBucknerandnotbefoundout。Itwastheonlyjoyhehadinlife;thesehoursweretheonlyonesinthetwenty—fourwhichhelookedforwardtowitheagernessandspentinhappiness。
Hethoughtofpoison。No——thatwouldnotserve;theinquestwouldrevealwhereitwasprocuredandwhohadprocuredit。HethoughtofashotinthebackinalonelyplacewhenFlintwouldbehomewardboundatmidnight——hisunvaryinghourforthetrip。No——somebodymightbenear，andcatchhim。Hethoughtofstabbinghiminhissleep。No——hemightstrikeaninefficientblow，andFlintwouldseizehim。Heexaminedahundreddifferentways——noneofthemwouldanswer;forineventheveryobscurestandsecretestofthemtherewasalwaysthefataldefectofarisk，achance，apossibilitythathemightbefoundout。Hewouldhavenoneofthat。
Buthewaspatient，endlesslypatient。Therewasnohurry，hesaidtohimself。HewouldneverleaveFlinttillhelefthimacorpse;therewasnohurry——hewouldfindtheway。Itwassomewhere，andhewouldendureshameandpainandmiseryuntilhefoundit。Yes，somewheretherewasawaywhichwouldleavenotatrace，noteventhefaintestcluetothemurderer——therewasnohurry——hewouldfindthatway，andthen——oh，then，itwouldjustbegoodtobealive！Meantimehewoulddiligentlykeepuphisreputationformeekness;andalso，asalwaystheretofore，hewouldallownoonetohearhimsayaresentfuloroffensivethingabouthisoppressor。
Twodaysbeforethebefore—mentionedOctobermorningFlinthadboughtsomethings，andheandFetlockhadbroughtthemhometoFlint’scabin:afreshboxofcandles，whichtheyputinthecorner;atincanofblasting—powder，whichtheyplaceduponthecandle—box;akegofblasting—powder，whichtheyplacedunderFlint’sbunk;ahugecoiloffuse，whichtheyhungonapeg。FetlockreasonedthatFlint’sminingoperationshadoutgrownthepick，andthatblastingwasabouttobeginnow。Hehadseenblastingdone，andhehadanotionoftheprocess，buthehadneverhelpedinit。Hisconjecturewasright——blasting—timehadcome。Inthemorningthepaircarriedfuse，drills，andthepowder—cantotheshaft;itwasnoweightfeetdeep，andtogetintoitandoutofitashortladderwasused。Theydescended，andbycommandFetlockheldthedrill——withoutanyinstructionsastotherightwaytoholdit——andFlintproceededtostrike。Thesledgecamedown;thedrillsprangoutofFetlock’shand，almostasamatterofcourse。
\"Youmangysonofanigger，isthatanywaytoholdadrill？Pickitup！
Standitup！There——holdfast。D——you！I’llteachyou！\"
Attheendofanhourthedrillingwasfinished。
\"Now，then，chargeit。\"
Theboystartedtopourinthepowder。
\"Idiot！\"
Aheavybatonthejawlaidtheladout。
\"Getup！Youcan’tliesnivelingthere。Now，then，stickinthefusefirst。Nowputinthepowder。Holdon，holdon！Areyougoingtofilltheholeallup？Ofallthesap—headedmilksopsI——Putinsomedirt！
Putinsomegravel！Tampitdown！Holdon，holdon！Oh，greatScott！
getoutoftheway！\"Hesnatchedtheironandtampedthechargehimself，meantimecursingandblaspheminglikeafiend。Thenhefiredthefuse，climbedoutoftheshaft，andranfiftyyardsaway，Fetlockfollowing。
Theystoodwaitingafewminutes，thenagreatvolumeofsmokeandrocksbursthighintotheairwithathunderousexplosion;afteralittletherewasashowerofdescendingstones;thenallwassereneagain。
\"IwishtoGodyou’dbeeninit！\"remarkedthemaster。
Theywentdowntheshaft，cleaneditout，drilledanotherhole，andputinanothercharge。
\"Lookhere！Howmuchfuseareyouproposingtowaste？Don’tyouknowhowtotimeafuse？\"
\"No，sir。\"
\"Youdon’t！Well，ifyoudon’tbeatanythingIeversaw！\"
Heclimbedoutoftheshaftandspokedown:
\"Well，idiot，areyougoingtobeallday？Cutthefuseandlightit！\"
Thetremblingcreaturebegan:
\"Ifyouplease，sir，I——\"
\"Youtalkbacktome？Cutitandlightit！\"
Theboycutandlit。
\"Ger—reatScott！aone—minutefuse！Iwishyouwerein——\"
Inhisragehesnatchedtheladderoutoftheshaftandran。Theboywasaghast。
\"Oh，myGod！Help。Help！Oh，saveme！\"heimplored。\"Oh，whatcanI
do！WhatcanIdo！\"
Hebackedagainstthewallastightlyashecould;thesputteringfusefrightenedthevoiceoutofhim;hisbreathstoodstill;hestoodgazingandimpotent;intwoseconds，threeseconds，fourhewouldbeflyingtowardtheskytorntofragments。Thenhehadaninspiration。Hesprangatthefuse;severedtheinchofitthatwasleftaboveground，andwassaved。
Hesankdownlimpandhalflifelesswithfright，hisstrengthgone;buthemutteredwithadeepjoy:
\"Hehaslearntme！Iknewtherewasaway，ifIwouldwait。\"
AfteramatteroffiveminutesBucknerstoletotheshaft，lookingworriedanduneasy，andpeereddownintoit。Hetookinthesituation;
hesawwhathadhappened。Heloweredtheladder，andtheboydraggedhimselfweaklyupit。Hewasverywhite。HisappearanceaddedsomethingtoBuckner’suncomfortablestate，andhesaid，withashowofregretandsympathywhichsatuponhimawkwardlyfromlackofpractice:
\"Itwasanaccident，youknow。Don’tsayanythingaboutittoanybody;
Iwasexcited，anddidn’tnoticewhatIwasdoing。You’renotlookingwell;you’veworkedenoughforto—day;godowntomycabinandeatwhatyouwant，andrest。It’sjustanaccident，youknow，onaccountofmybeingexcited。\"
\"Itscaredme，\"saidthelad，ashestartedaway;\"butIlearntsomething，soIdon’tmindit。\"
\"Damnedeasytoplease！\"mutteredBuckner，followinghimwithhiseye。
Iwonderifhe’lltell？Mightn’the？……Iwishithadkilledhim。\"
Theboytooknoadvantageofhisholidayinthematterofresting;heemployeditinwork，eagerandfeverishandhappywork。AthickgrowthofchaparralextendeddownthemountainsidecleartoFlint’scabin;themostofFetlock’slaborwasdoneinthedarkintricaciesofthatstubborngrowth;therestofitwasdoneinhisownshanty。Atlastallwascomplete，andhesaid:
\"Ifhe’sgotanysuspicionsthatI’mgoingtotellonhim，hewon’tkeepthemlong，to—morrow。HewillseethatIamthesamemilksopasIalwayswas——alldayandthenext。Andthedayafterto—morrownightthere’llbeanendofhim;nobodywilleverguesswhofinishedhimupnorhowitwasdone。Hedroppedmetheideahisownself，andthat’sodd。\"
V
Thenextdaycameandwent。
Itisnowalmostmidnight，andinfiveminutesthenewmorningwillbegin。Thesceneisinthetavernbilliard—room。Roughmeninroughclothing，slouch—hats，breechesstuffedintoboot—tops，somewithvests，nonewithcoats，aregroupedabouttheboiler—ironstove，whichhasruddycheeksandisdistributingagratefulwarmth;thebilliard—ballsareclacking;thereisnoothersound——thatis，within;thewindisfitfullymoaningwithout。Themenlookbored;alsoexpectant。Ahulkingbroad—
shoulderedminer，ofmiddleage，withgrizzledwhiskers，andanunfriendlyeyesetinanunsociableface，rises，slipsacoiloffuseuponhisarm，gathersupsomeotherpersonalproperties，anddepartswithoutwordorgreetingtoanybody。ItisFlintBuckner。Asthedoorclosesbehindhimabuzzoftalkbreaksout。
\"Theregularestmanthateverwas，\"saidJakeParker，theblacksmith:
\"youcantellwhenit’stwelvejustbyhimleaving，withoutlookingatyourWaterbury。\"
\"Andit’stheonlyvirtuehe’sgot，asfurasIknow，\"saidPeterHawes，miner。
\"He’sjustablightonthissociety，\"saidWells—Fargo’sman，Ferguson。
\"IfIwasrunningthisshopI’dmakehimsaysomething，sometimeorother，orvamostheranch。\"Thiswithasuggestiveglanceatthebarkeeper，whodidnotchoosetoseeit，sincethemanunderdiscussionwasagoodcustomer，andwenthomeprettywellsetup，everynight，withrefreshmentsfurnishedfromthebar。
\"Say，\"saidHamSandwich，miner，\"doesanyofyouboyseverrecollectofhimaskingyoutotakeadrink？\"
\"Him？FlintBuckner？Oh，Laura！\"
Thissarcasticrejoindercameinaspontaneousgeneraloutburstinoneformofwordsoranotherfromthecrowd。Afterabriefsilence，PatRiley，miner，said:
\"He’sthe15—puzzle，thatcuss。Andhisboy’sanotherone。Ican’tmakethemout。\"
\"Noranybodyelse，\"saidHamSandwich;\"andiftheyare15—puzzleshowareyougoingtorankupthatotherone？WhenitcomestoA1right—downsolidmysteriousness，helaysoverbothofthem。Easy——don’the？\"
\"Youbet！\"
Everybodysaidit。Everymanbutone。Hewasthenew—comer——Peterson。
Heorderedthedrinksallround，andaskedwhoNo。3mightbe。Allansweredatonce，\"ArchyStillman！\"
\"Isheamystery？\"askedPeterson。
\"Isheamystery？IsArchyStillmanamystery？\"saidWells—Fargo’sman，Ferguson。\"Why，thefourthdimension’sfoolishnesstohim。\"
ForFergusonwaslearned。
Petersonwantedtohearallabouthim;everybodywantedtotellhim;
everybodybegan。ButBillyStevens，thebarkeeper，calledthehousetoorder，andsaidoneatatimewasbest。Hedistributedthedrinks，andappointedFergusontolead。Fergusonsaid:
\"Well，he’saboy。Andthatisjustaboutallweknowabouthim。Youcanpumphimtillyouaretired;itain’tanyuse;youwon’tgetanything。Atleastabouthisintentions，orlineofbusiness，orwherehe’sfrom，andsuchthingsasthat。Andasforgettingatthenatureandget—upofhismainbigchiefmystery，why，he’lljustchangethesubject，that’sall。Youcanguesstillyou’reblackintheface——it’syourprivilege——butsupposeyoudo，wheredoyouarriveat？Nowhere，asnearasIcanmakeout。\"
\"Whatishisbigchiefone？\"
\"Sight，maybe。Hearing，maybe。Instinct，maybe。Magic，maybe。Takeyourchoice——grownups，twenty—five;childrenandservants，halfprice。
NowI’lltellyouwhathecando。Youcanstarthere，andjustdisappear;youcangoandhidewhereveryouwantto，Idon’tcarewhereitis，norhowfar——andhe’llgostraightandputhisfingeronyou。\"
\"Youdon’tmeanit！\"
\"Ijustdo，though。Weather’snothingtohim——elementalconditionsisnothingtohim——hedon’teventakenoticeofthem。\"
\"Oh，come！Dark？Rain？Snow？Hey？\"
\"It’sallthesametohim。Hedon’tgiveadamn。\"
\"Oh，say——includingfog，per’aps？\"
\"Fog！he’sgotaneye’tcanplunkthroughitlikeabullet。\"
\"Now，boys，honorbright，what’shegivingme？\"
\"It’safact！\"theyallshouted。\"Goon，Wells—Fargo。\"
\"Well，sir，youcanleavehimhere，chattingwiththeboys，andyoucanslipoutandgotoanycabininthiscampandopenabook——yes，sir，adozenofthem——andtakethepageinyourmemory，andhe’llstartoutandgostraighttothatcabinandopeneveryoneofthembooksattherightpage，andcallitoff，andnevermakeamistake。\"
\"Hemustbethedevil！\"
\"Morethanonehasthoughtit。NowI’lltellyouaperfectlywonderfulthingthathedone。Theothernighthe——\"
Therewasasuddengreatmurmurofsoundsoutside，thedoorflewopen，andanexcitedcrowdburstin，withthecamp’sonewhitewomanintheleadandcrying:
\"Mychild！mychild！she’slostandgone！FortheloveofGodhelpmetofindArchyStillman;we’vehuntedeverywhere！\"
Saidthebarkeeper:
\"Sitdown，sitdown，Mrs。Hogan，anddon’tworry。Heaskedforabedthreehoursago，tuckeredouttrampingthetrailsthewayhe’salwaysdoing，andwentup—stairs。HamSandwich，runupandrousthimout;he’sinNo。14。\"
Theyouthwassoondown—stairsandready。HeaskedMrs。Hoganforparticulars。
\"Blessyou，dear，thereain’tany;Iwishtherewas。Iputhertosleepatsevenintheevening，andwhenIwentinthereanhouragotogotobedmyself，shewasgone。Irushedforyourcabin，dear，andyouwasn’tthere，andI’vehuntedforyoueversince，ateverycabindownthegulch，andnowI’vecomeupagain，andI’mthatdistractedandscaredandheart—
broke;but，thankstoGod，I’vefoundyouatlast，dearheart，andyou’llfindmychild。Comeon！comequick！\"
\"Moverightalong;I’mwithyou，madam。Gotoyourcabinfirst。\"
Thewholecompanystreamedouttojointhehunt。Allthesouthernhalfofthevillagewasup，ahundredmenstrong，andwaitingoutside，avaguedarkmasssprinkledwithtwinklinglanterns。Themassfellintocolumnsbythreesandfourstoaccommodateitselftothenarrowroad，andstrodebrisklyalongsouthwardinthewakeoftheleaders。InafewminutestheHogancabinwasreached。
\"There’sthebunk，\"saidMrs。Hogan;\"there’swhereshewas;it’swhereIlaidheratseveno’clock;butwheresheisnow，Godonlyknows。\"
\"Handmealantern，\"saidArchy。Hesetitonthehardearthfloorandkneltbyit，pretendingtoexaminethegroundclosely。\"Here’shertrack，\"hesaid，touchingthegroundhereandthereandyonderwithhisfinger。\"Doyousee？\"
Severalofthecompanydroppedupontheirkneesanddidtheirbesttosee。Oneortwothoughttheydiscernedsomethinglikeatrack;theothersshooktheirheadsandconfessedthatthesmoothhardsurfacehadnomarksuponitwhichtheireyesweresharpenoughtodiscover。Onesaid，\"Maybeachild’sfootcouldmakeamarkonit，butIdon’tseehow。\"
YoungStillmansteppedoutside，heldthelighttotheground，turnedleftward，andmovedthreesteps，closelyexamining;thensaid，\"I’vegotthedirection——comealong;takethelantern，somebody。\"
Hestrodeoffswiftlysouthward，thefilesfollowing，swayingandbendinginandoutwiththedeepcurvesofthegorge。Thusamile，andthemouthofthegorgewasreached;beforethemstretchedthesagebrushplain，dim，vast，andvague。Stillmancalledahalt，saying，\"Wemustn’tstartwrong，now;wemusttakethedirectionagain。\"
Hetookalanternandexaminedthegroundforamatteroftwentyyards;
thensaid，\"Comeon;it’sallright，\"andgaveupthelantern。Inandoutamongthesage—busheshemarched，aquarterofamile，bearinggraduallytotheright;thentookanewdirectionandmadeanothergreatsemicircle;thenchangedagainandmovedduewestnearlyhalfamile——andstopped。
\"Shegaveitup，here，poorlittlechap。Holdthelantern。Youcanseewhereshesat。\"
Butthiswasinaslickalkaliflatwhichwassurfacedlikesteel，andnopersoninthepartywasquitehardyenoughtoclaimaneyesightthatcoulddetectthetrackofacushiononaveneerlikethat。Thebereavedmotherfelluponherkneesandkissedthespot，lamenting。
\"Butwhereisshe，then？\"someonesaid。\"Shedidn’tstayhere。Wecanseethatmuch，anyway。\"
Stillmanmovedaboutinacirclearoundtheplace，withthelantern，pretendingtohuntfortracks。
\"Well！\"hesaidpresently，inanannoyedtone，\"Idon’tunderstandit。\"
Heexaminedagain。\"Nouse。Shewashere——that’scertain;sheneverwalkedawayfromhere——andthat’scertain。It’sapuzzle;Ican’tmakeitout。\"
Themotherlostheartthen。
\"Oh，myGod！oh，blessedVirgin！someflyingbeasthasgother。I’llneverseeheragain！\"
\"Ah，don’tgiveup，\"saidArchy。\"We’llfindher——don’tgiveup。\"
\"Godblessyouforthewords，ArchyStillman！\"andsheseizedhishandandkisseditfervently。