When Matthew Clemens ventured into the churchyard to gather information about the Cornish miners buried there, one gravestone in particular seemed to call his attention. The inscription was to Reuben Visick and his two eldest sons, all three killed in a mining accident more than a hundred years before. But below the inscription were the words that echoed again and again in Matthew's head: "And to Jeremy Visick, His Son, Age 12, Whose Body Still Lies in Wheal Maid."
The lines were as clear to Matthew as if he'd heard them spoken. Night after night they drew him to the churchyard, or to the...