He darted forward.
His search was in vain. As Harry would not admit a supernatural
explanation for a physical occurrence, he concluded that
certainly some strange being prowled about in the pit.
But whatever he could do, searching with the greatest
care, scrutinizing every crevice in the gallery, he found
nothing for his trouble.
If Jack Ryan and the other superstitious fellows in the mine had seen
these lights, they would, without fail, have called them supernatural,
but Harry did not dream of doing so, nor did his father.
And when they talked over these phenomena, evidently due to a
physical cause, "My lad," the old man would say, "we must wait.
It will all be explained some day."
However, it must be observed that, hitherto, neither Harry
nor his father had ever been exposed to any act of violence.
If the stone which had fallen at the feet of James Starr
had been thrown by the hand of some ill-disposed person,
it was the first criminal act of that description.
James Starr was of opinion that the stone had become detached
from the roof of the gallery; but Harry would not admit of such
a simple explanation. According to him, the stone had not fallen,
it had been thrown; for otherwise, without rebounding, it could
never have described a trajectory as it did.
Harry saw in it a direct attempt against himself and his father,
or even against the engineer.
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