the Aberfoyle mines.

One man alone remained by James Starr. This was the overman,



Simon Ford. Near him stood a boy, about fifteen years of age,

who for some years already had been employed down below.



James Starr and Simon Ford knew and esteemed each other well.

"Good-by, Simon," said the engineer.



"Good-by, Mr. Starr," replied the overman, "let me add,

till we meet again!"



"Yes, till we meet again. Ford!" answered James Starr. "You know

that I shall be always glad to see you, and talk over old times."



"I know that, Mr. Starr."

"My house in Edinburgh is always open to you."



"It's a long way off, is Edinburgh!" answered the man shaking his head.

"Ay, a long way from the Dochart pit."



"A long way, Simon? Where do you mean to live?"

"Even here, Mr. Starr! We're not going to leave the mine,



our good old nurse, just because her milk is dried up!

My wife, my boy, and myself, we mean to remain faithful to her!"



"Good-by then, Simon," replied the engineer, whose voice,

in spite of himself, betrayed some emotion.



"No, I tell you, it's TILL WE MEET AGAIN, Mr. Starr,

and not Just 'good-by,'" returned the foreman. "Mark my words,



Aberfoyle will see you again!"

The engineer did not try to dispel the man's illusion. He



patted Harry's head, again wrung the father's hand, and left the mine.

All this had taken place ten years ago; but, notwithstanding the wish



which the overman had expressed to see him again, during that time

Starr had heard nothing of him. It was after ten years of separation



that he got this letter from Simon Ford, requesting him to take without

delay the road to the old Aberfoyle colliery.



A communication of an interesting nature, what could it be?

Dochart pit. Yarrow shaft! What recollections of the past



these names brought back to him! Yes, that was a fine time,

that of work, of struggle,--the best part of the engineer's life.



Starr re-read his letter. He pondered over it in all its bearings.

He much regretted that just a line more had not been added



by Ford. He wished he had not been quite so laconic.

Was it possible that the old foreman had discovered some



new vein? No! Starr remembered with what minute care the mines

had been explored before the definite cessation of the works.



He had himself proceeded to the lowest soundings without finding

the least trace in the soil, burrowed in every direction.



They had even attempted to find coal under strata which are usually

below it, such as the Devonian red sandstone, but without result.



James Starr had thereforeabandoned the mine with the absolute

conviction that it did not contain another bit of coal.



"No," he repeated, "no! How is it possible that anything

which could have escaped my researches, should be revealed



to those of Simon Ford. However, the old overman must well

know that such a discovery would be the one thing in the world



to interest me, and this invitation, which I must keep secret,

to repair to the Dochart pit!" James Starr always came



back to that.

On the other hand, the engineer knew Ford to be a clever miner,



peculiarly endowed with the instinct of his trade.

He had not seen him since the time when the Aberfoyle



colliery was abandoned, and did not know either what he was

doing or where he was living, with his wife and his son.



All that he now knew was, that a rendezvous had been appointed

him at the Yarrow shaft, and that Harry, Simon Ford's son,



was to wait for him during the whole of the next day at

the Callander station.



"I shall go, I shall go!" said Starr, his excitement increasing

as the time drew near.



Our worthy engineer belonged to that class of men whose brain is always

on the boil, like a kettle on a hot fire. In some of these brain



kettles the ideas bubble over, in others they just simmer quietly.

Now on this day, James Starr's ideas were boiling fast.



But suddenly an unexpectedincident occurred. This was the drop of cold

water, which in a moment was to condense all the vapors of the brain.



About six in the evening, by the third post, Starr's servant brought

him a second letter. This letter was enclosed in a coarse envelope,



and evidently directed by a hand unaccustomed to the use of a pen.

James Starr tore it open. It contained only a scrap of paper,

• communication [kə,mju:ni´keiʃən] n.通信；通讯联系 (初中英语单词)


• invitation [,invi´teiʃən] n.邀请；请帖；吸引 (初中英语单词)


• curiosity [,kjuəri´ɔsiti] n.好奇；奇事；珍品 (初中英语单词)


• manager [´mænidʒə] n.经理；管理人；干事 (初中英语单词)


• mysterious [mi´stiəriəs] a.神秘的；难以理解的 (初中英语单词)


• existence [ig´zistəns] n.存在；生存；生活 (初中英语单词)


• institution [,insti´tju:ʃən] n.建立；制定；制度 (初中英语单词)


• review [ri´vju:] v.&n.复习；回顾；检查 (初中英语单词)


• physical [´fizikəl] a.物质的；有形的 (初中英语单词)


• extent [ik´stent] n.长度；程度；范围 (初中英语单词)


• surprising [sə´praiziŋ] a.惊人的；意外的 (初中英语单词)


• professional [prə´feʃənəl] a.职业的 n.自由职业 (初中英语单词)


• extensive [ik´stensiv] a.广阔的；大量的 (初中英语单词)


• mineral [´minərəl] n.矿物 a.矿物的 (初中英语单词)


• working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)


• wooden [´wudn] a.木制的；呆板的 (初中英语单词)


• formerly [´fɔ:məli] ad.从前，以前 (初中英语单词)


• driven [´driv(ə)n] drive 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• elsewhere [,elsweə] ad.在别处；向别处 (初中英语单词)


• farewell [feə´wel] int.再见 n.&a.告别 (初中英语单词)


• character [´kæriktə] n.特性；性质；人物；字 (初中英语单词)


• pointed [´pɔintid] a.尖(锐)的；中肯的 (初中英语单词)


• fragment [´frægmənt] n.碎片；破片；断片 (初中英语单词)


• wherever [weər´evə] conj.无论在哪里 (初中英语单词)


• faithful [´feiθfəl] a.忠实的；可靠的 (初中英语单词)


• definite [´definit] a.确定的，明确的 (初中英语单词)


• therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)


• contain [kən´tein] v.包含；容纳；抑制 (初中英语单词)


• repair [ri´peə] v.&n.修理，修补 (初中英语单词)


• instinct [´instiŋkt] n.本能；直觉；天资 (初中英语单词)


• excitement [ik´saitmənt] n.兴奋；骚动；煽动 (初中英语单词)


• worthy [´wə:ði] a.有价值的；值得的 (初中英语单词)


• kettle [´ketl] n.水壶 (初中英语单词)


• bubble [´bʌbəl] n.水泡 vi.冒泡；沸腾 (初中英语单词)


• incident [´insidənt] n.小事件；事变 (初中英语单词)


• condense [kən´dens] v.凝结；节略；摘要 (初中英语单词)


• coarse [kɔ:s] a.粗(糙)的；粗鲁的 (初中英语单词)


• evidently [´evidəntli] ad.明显地 (初中英语单词)


• underground [,ʌndə´graund] ad.&a.地下(的) (高中英语单词)


• bearing [´beəriŋ] n.举止；忍耐；关系 (高中英语单词)


• distinguished [di´stiŋgwiʃt] a.卓越的，著名的 (高中英语单词)


• significant [sig´nifikənt] a.重要的；意义重大的 (高中英语单词)


• indies [´indiz] n.东(西)印度群岛 (高中英语单词)


• consumption [kən´sʌmpʃən] n.消耗；结核病 (高中英语单词)


• skeleton [´skelitən] n.骨骼；骷髅 (高中英语单词)


• access [´ækses] n.接近；通路；进入 (高中英语单词)


• upright [´ʌprait] a.直立的 ad.直立地 (高中英语单词)


• profound [prə´faund] a.深奥的；渊博的 (高中英语单词)


• disperse [di´spə:s] v.解散；驱散；传播 (高中英语单词)


• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)


• whilst [wailst] conj.当…时候；虽然 (高中英语单词)


• lasting [´lɑ:stiŋ] a.持久的；永远的 (高中英语单词)


• remembrance [ri´membrəns] n.记忆(力)；回忆 (高中英语单词)


• illusion [i´lu:ʒən] n.幻觉；幻影；错觉 (高中英语单词)


• notwithstanding [,nɔtwiθ´stændiŋ] prep.&conj.虽然；还是 (高中英语单词)


• repeated [ri´pi:tid] a.反复的；重复的 (高中英语单词)


• unexpected [ʌniks´pektid] a.突然的；意外的 (高中英语单词)


• edinburgh [´edinbərə] n.爱丁堡 (英语四级单词)


• scottish [´skɔtiʃ, ´skɑtiʃ] a.&n.苏格兰人(的) (英语四级单词)


• justly [´dʒʌstli] ad.公正地，正当地 (英语四级单词)


• exhaustion [ig´zɔ:stʃən] n.用完；精疲力尽 (英语四级单词)


• scarcity [´skeəsiti] n.缺乏；不足；稀少 (英语四级单词)


• workmen [´wə:kmen] n.workman的复数 (英语四级单词)


• composed [kəm´pəuzd] a.镇静自若的 (英语四级单词)


• courageous [kə´reidʒəs] a.勇敢的；无畏的 (英语四级单词)


• foreman [´fɔ:mən] n.领班；陪审团主席 (英语四级单词)


• touching [´tʌtʃiŋ] a.动人的 prep.提到 (英语四级单词)


• confirmation [,kɔnfə´meiʃən] n.证实；证据；确认 (英语四级单词)


• sandstone [´sændstəun] n.砂岩 (英语四级单词)


• forsaken [fə´seik] forsake的过去分词 (英语六级单词)


• abandoned [ə´bændənd] a.被抛弃的；无约束的 (英语六级单词)


• subsistence [səb´sistəns] n.生存；生计；生活费 (英语六级单词)


• wanting [´wɔntiŋ, wɑ:n-] a.短缺的；不足的 (英语六级单词)


• dispel [di´spel] vt.驱逐；驱散(乌云) (英语六级单词)


• simmer [´simə] v.煨，炖；内心充满 (英语六级单词)