Down the Slope

Each second the vapor became denser, and he wondered why the miners did not perceive it.

The catastrophe must be very near at hand, and he was exposed to the greatest danger.

When it seemed as if an hour had passed, the last man went up the slope, and he started at full speed to gain a higher level.

The incline was almost reached; half a dozen steps more and he would be partially sheltered by the jutting point of slate.

"Luck is still with me," he cried, so loud that those above must have heard him, and at that instant the earth seemed to rock to and fro; there was a flash of blinding light, and the air was filled with flying fragments.

Where had been the lower level was now an apparently solid mass of earth, coal, and slate, covering the body of him who had wreaked his vengeance upon the company.

Joe and Bill were returning from the store when the noise of the explosion was heard, and they, as well as everyone in the vicinity, knew from sad experience what had occurred.

"We're responsible for this!" Bill cried, his face paling. "The gas has burst through from the old drift."

"Thank God it came when most of the poor fellows were quittin' work," and Joe started on a run, followed by every person in the village.

At the mouth of the slope a vast crowd had gathered. Women were calling their husbands and children by name, and as each learned her loved ones were safe, shouts of joy mingled with the wailings of those whose cries remained unanswered.

Even after Mr. Wright arrived the utmost confusion prevailed. All knew it would be certain death to make a descent, while the deadly vapor was so dense, and a second explosion might be expected at any moment.

Bill and Joe stood near the mouth of the slope ready to respond to the first call for volunteers, when Mrs. Byram came up.

"Where is Fred?" she asked, with a brave attempt controlling her fears.

"He went to your house with Sam, so there's no need to worry about them."

"They were not there more than ten minutes."

"Then both are in the crowd somewhere, for they wouldn't go down the slope till we got back."

The almost distracted mother had no thought of keeping Skip's secret at such a time, and when the two miners heard her story all hope for the safety of the boys fled.

"They must have been in the old drift underneath the explodin' gas," Joe exclaimed, involuntarily.

"It isn't sure the trouble began where we think," Bill said, quickly, with a warning glance at his companion. "I've known of men who were shut in a drift for a week, an' then brought out none the worse for wear, so don't despair, Mrs. Byram."

"But why isn't something done to aid them?"

"We shall set to work the very minute it is safe to venture into the next level. Go home, an' Joe or I will bring you the first news."

"Do you think I could remain there knowing my boy is dying, or – or – dead?"

The women near by endeavored to console the sorrowing mother with words of encouragement they themselves believed to be false, and Bill whispered to his mate:

"There's a mighty slim show for the poor lads, an' it's through helpin' him as tried to murder 'em that they've been caught."

Mr. Wright was doing his utmost to ascertain how many were yet in the mine, and after a long while succeeded in learning that at least a dozen men had been overpowered while some distance up the slope.

Those who reached the surface told of a number whom they had seen fall, and some were certain one or two did not have time to gain the slope.

"Who will go with me?" the superintendent asked, as a car was made ready. "I don't want the married men to volunteer, for they are needed at home, and none of us may come back alive."

"Then why not stay here yourself?" a woman cried. "Your wife an' children need you as much as ours need their fathers."

"Because it is my duty," was the calm reply. "Now who will come? I only want two."

"Then the car is full," Bill said, as he and Joe took their places in the box-like vehicle. "We're willin' to go alone, if you'll stay behind."

"No man shall encounter dangers from which I shrink. Lower away slowly, boys," he added to those who were fastening a rope to the car, "and keep a sharp look-out for our signals."

"An' it was his house my Jim helped try to burn!" the woman who had spoken before said in a whisper.

"Make haste," Mr. Wright cried, impatiently. "Remember that every second is precious."

The miners crowded around the car to shake its brave occupants by the hand as if they were never to return, and it was absolutely necessary to push them away in order that the terrible journey might be begun.

With their safety lamps held so that the condition of the air might be ascertained at each stage of the descent, the men slowly disappeared from view, and at the mouth of the slope the crowd surged to and fro in painful suspense; but not a sound could be heard, save as some wife or mother gave vent to a sob of distress.

CHAPTER XVII

DOWN THE SLOPE

During the time that Billings was making his preparations for the last act of his life, Sam and Fred remained seated a short distance from the cut which led to Skip's hiding place.

Both were listening intently for the first sound which should betoken the coming of the miners, and the falling earth which was displaced by Billings' feet as he worked in the cutting attracted their attention.

"There's some one in the tunnel we made," Sam whispered. "Let's creep up and find out who it is."

"That won't do, for there's no chance Billings would come back if he once got out, and we should arouse suspicions."

Despite this warning Sam advanced a short distance, and on becoming convinced that the tunnel really had an occupant rejoined Fred, as he whispered:

"We'd better sneak further along. I reckon somebody is on guard up there, and we musn't be seen so far down."

He had held the shovel during this excursion, and still retained it as they walked noiselessly along the drift until arriving at the mouth of the short slope.

Here the two halted at the moment when the confined gas, ignited by the open lamp, burst its bonds, and the shock sent them headlong up the incline.

Huge masses of earth were detached on every hand, except directly in the narrow way leading to Skip's hiding place, and on scrambling to their feet a solid wall shut them out from the drift.

"What was that?" Fred cried in alarm, as he assured himself his lamp was uninjured.

"An explosion, an' we're penned in here to starve to death," Sam replied, in a trembling voice.

"Can't we dig through this bank and reach the hole in the roof?"

"There is no longer any lower level, as we knew it, and unless we could make a new drift there'd be no use working."