Gave up the farm idea . Tell plans soon . Well , busy , and very happy . D. K . If they had known what the heavy dash under ` happy ' meant , that postal would have been a very eloquent bit of pasteboard ; for Dan was free , and had gone straight away to the liberty he panted for . Meeting an old friend by accident , he obliged him at a pinch by acting as overseer for a time , finding the society even of rough miners very sweet , and something in the muscular work wonderfully pleasant , after being cooped up in the brush-shop so long . He loved to take a pick and wrestle with rock and earth till he was weary -- which was very soon ; for that year of captivity had told upon his splendid physique . He longed to go home , but waited week after week to get the prison taint off him and the haggard look out of his face . Meanwhile he made friends of masters and men ; and as no one knew his story , he took his place again in the world gratefully and gladly -- with little pride now , and no plans but to do some good somewhere , and efface the past . Mrs Jo was having a grand clearing-out of her desk one October day , while the rain poured outside , and peace reigned in her mansion . Coming across the postals , she pondered over them , and then put them carefully away in the drawer labelled ` Boys ' Letters ' , saying to herself , as she bundled eleven requests for autographs into the waste-paper basket : ` It is quite time for another card , unless he is coming to tell his plans . I 'm really curious to know what he has been about all this year , and how he 's getting on now . ' That last wish was granted within an hour ; for Ted came rushing in , with a newspaper in one hand , a collapsed umbrella in the other , and a face full of excitement , announcing , all in one breathless jumble : ` Mine caved in -- twenty men shut up -- no way out -- wives crying -- water rising -- Dan knew the old shaft -- risked his life -- got 'em out -- most killed -- papers full of it -- I knew he 'd be a hero -- hurray for old Dan ! ' ` What ? Where ? When ? Who ? Stop roaring , and let me read ! ' commanded his mother , entirely bewildered . Relinquishing the paper , Ted allowed her to read for herself , with frequent interruptions from him -- and Rob , who soon followed , eager for the tale .
It was nothing new ; but courage and devotion always stir generous hearts , and win admiration ; so the account was both graphic and enthusiastic ; and the name of Daniel Kean , the brave man who saved the lives of others at the risk of his own , was on many lips that XXXXX .
Jo Ted accident autographs brush-shop day hour postals waste-paper week