Brownsmith's Boy Part 68

"Yes. Will you shake hands?"

"What for?"

This staggered me, and I could make no reply, and so we remained silent for some time.

"Here, let's see," said Shock all at once. "Where's that there candle?"

"Here it is," I said, and as he struck a light I held the sc.r.a.p of little more than an inch long to the flame, and it burned up so that we could examine our position, and we soon found that our prison was reduced to about half its size.

"It's of no use to try and dig our way out, Shock," I said despairingly, as I extinguished the candle. "We shall only bring down more sand and cover ourselves in."

"Like Old Brownsmith's toolips," said Shock, laughing. "I say, should we come up?"

"Don't talk like that," I said angrily. "Don't you understand that we are buried alive."

"Course I do," he said. "Well, what on it?"

"What of it?" I said in agony, as the perspiration stood upon my brow.

"Yes, what on it? They'll dig us out like we do the taters out of a clamp. What's the good o' being in a wax. I wish I'd some more rabbud."

I drew in a long breath, and sat down as far from the sealed-up opening as I could get, and listened to the rustling trickling noise made by the sand every now and then, as more and more seemed to be coming in, and I knew most thoroughly now that our only course was to wait till Ike missed us, and came and dug us out.

"And that can't be long," I thought, for we must have been in here two or three hours.

All at once I heard a peculiar soft beating noise, and my heart leaped, for it sounded like the quick strokes of a spade at regular intervals.

"Hear that, Shock?" I cried.

"Hear what?" he said, and the noise ceased.

"Somebody digging," I cried joyfully.

"No. It was me--my feet," he said, and the sound began again, as I realised that he must be lying in his old att.i.tude, kicking his legs up and down.

If I had any doubt of it I was convinced the next moment, for he burst out:

"I've been to Paris, and I've been to Do-ho-ver, I've been a travelling all the world o-ho-ver.

Over and over, and over, and o-ho-ver, So drink up yer licker and turn the bowl o-ho-ver."

"Don't, don't, don't, Shock," I cried pa.s.sionately. "I can't bear it;"

and I again covered my face with my hands, and crouched lower and lower, listening to the trickling of the sand that seemed to be flowing in like water to take up all the s.p.a.ce we had left.

Suddenly I started, for a hand touched me.

"Is that you, Shock?"

"Yes. Mind my coming and sitting along o' you? I ain't so werry dirty now."

"Mind? no," I said: "it will be company."

"Yes," he said. "It's werry dark and werry quiet like, ain't it?"

"Yes, very."

"Ain't Ike a long time?"

"Yes," I said despairingly, for I began to wonder whether we should be found.

"I'd ha' came shovelling arter him 'fore now. I say, ain't you tired?"

"Tired!" I said. "No, I never thought of feeling tired shut up in this horrible place. Let's try if we can't get out by the way the smoke went."

"I've been trying," said Shock; "but it's too high up. You can't reach it."

"Not if you stood on my shoulders?"

"No," he said. "I looked when you had hold of the candle, and if you did try you'd only pull the sand down atop of your head."

I knew it, and heaved a deep sigh.

Then there was a long silence, and I was roused out of thoughts about how we had enjoyed ourselves that morning, and how little we had imagined that we should have such a termination to our holiday, by a heavy breathing.

I listened, and there it was quite loud as if some animal were near.

"Do you hear that, Shock?" I whispered.

There was no answer.

"Shock!" I said, "do you hear that noise?"

No answer, and I understood now that in spite of our perilous position he had fallen fast asleep.

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.

FINDING A TREASURE.

"Can't be time to get up yet," I thought, and I turned over on my soft bed. It was too dark, and I was dozing off again when a loud snorting gasp made me start and throw off the clothes that lay so heavy on me.

Then I stopped short, trembling and puzzled. Where was I? It was very dark. That was not clothes, but something that slipped and trickled through my fingers as I grasped at it. My legs felt heavy and numbed, and this darkness was so strange that I couldn't make it out.

Was I asleep still? I must have been to sleep--heavily asleep, but I was awake now, and--what did it mean?

A curious feeling of horror was upon me, and I lay perfectly still. I could not stir for some minutes, and then it all came like a flash, and I knew that I must have lain listening for some time to Shock breathing heavily, and then insensibly have fallen asleep, and for how long?

That I could not of course tell, but so long that the sand had gone on trickling in till it had nearly covered me, as I lay nearest to the opening. It had been right over my chest, and sloped up and away from, me, so that my legs were deeply buried, and it required quite a struggle to get them free, while to my horror as I dragged them out from beneath the heavy weight more sand came down, and one hard lump rolled down and up against me sufficiently hard to give me pain.