A few moments later the whistle blew, but Charnock and his companion did not stop, and Festing heard the thud of the hammer as he went on.  This rather puzzled him.  The work was hard and he had not expected Charnock’s assistant to continue his task longer than he need.  Festing was fastidiously just, and thought it shabby to steal a workman’s time; moreover, he imagined that if he had asked the fellow to go on after the whistle blew he would have refused.

Curiosity led him to wait farther along the track until the thud of the hammer stopped.  It looked as if Charnock was putting in the dynamite, and Festing hoped he would be careful with the detonator.  By and by he heard a warning shout, and a moment or two afterwards saw a blaze of light.  Then there was a curious sharp report, and pieces of broken rock splashed into the river.  The gorge rang with echoes and a mass of gravel roared down the slope.  It was obviously a good shot and had moved more spoil than Festing expected.  A glance at his watch showed that the others had given up a quarter of an hour of their short noon rest.

Festing set off again, and in the meantime, Charnock, holding his breath as he stood on the snowy bank, looked down into the hole the explosion had made.

“I think we’ve made a first-class job,” he said, stepping back out of reach of the fumes.  “I like the company’s taste in powder.”

“It’s better than ours,” his companion agreed with a chuckle.

“Much better.  The company is richer than us.  It would have saved us some hard work if you had hooked a few more sticks.”

“They’re a mean crowd,” said the other.  “Blamed suspicious how they tally out their stores, but I’ll see what I can do.  I’d sooner use good powder than cut frozen gravel with the pick.”

“The pick’s no tool for white men.  We won’t use it unless we’re forced,” Charnock answered, and both laughed.

He went to the shack, and while they were at dinner Festing asked:  “How did you persuade Jim Brown to stop until you fired the shot?”

“I didn’t persuade him.  I took it for granted he would stop.”

“He’s a good man, but sometimes sulky if one wants him to do what he thinks is outside his job.  I don’t imagine I’d have found him so obliging if I’d asked him to keep on.”

Charnock laughed.  “Perhaps not; our methods are different.  You would have explained logically why the thing ought to be finished; but that’s a mistake.  There are not so many logical people as you think.  Instead of arguing, I made a silly joke.”

“You certainly get on with the boys,” said Festing thoughtfully.

“They’re a careless, irresponsible crowd.  I’m irresponsible, too, and they understand me.  They trust you, but you sometimes puzzle them.  Perhaps that accounts for the thing.”