Sappers and Miners Part 12

"Nay, but I mean when you fell down the shaft. Did you hit yourself again' the sides?"

"No. It was very horrible, though. One moment I was turning slowly round and round and the next I was losing all the light; the rope slipped from round me and I was going down, down into the darkness. It was as if it lasted ever so long. Then there was a splash, the water was roaring in my ears, and I felt as if I were being dragged down lower and lower, till all at once my head shot up again. I never once felt as if I was coming up."

"How queer!" exclaimed Joe, who stood listening with his face all wrinkled over. "Didn't you feel, when you'd got as low as you went, that you were going up again?"

"No, not in the least. It was all confused like and strange, and I hardly knew anything till I was at the surface, and then I began to strike out, and swam along the sides of the slimy stones, trying to get a grip of them, but my hands kept slipping off."

"But you didn't halloa!" said Joe.

"No," continued Gwyn, still speaking in the same grave, subdued way, as if still suffering from the shock of all he had gone through. "I didn't shout; I felt stunned like, as if I'd been hit on the head."

"You must have been," cried Joe. "You hit yourself against the side."

"No, if I had it would have killed me. I can't explain it. Perhaps it was striking on the water."

"Nonsense; water's too soft to hurt you. But go on; what did you do then?"

"I hardly know, only that I kept on striking out, thinking how horribly dark it must be and wondering whether there were any live things to come at me; and then I hit my knee against the stones at the bottom."

"But you said it was deep."

"So it was in the shaft, but I must have swum into a pa.s.sage where it was quite shallow; and almost directly after I'd hit my knee my hands touched the stones and I crawled out into the dark, and went on and on, feeling afraid to go back because of the water."

"But why didn't you shout to us?" cried Joe, excitedly.

"I don't know. I suppose I couldn't. It was like being in a dream, and I felt obliged to go crawling on. Then all of a sudden I began to feel better, for I could see a faint light, and this made me try to stand up, but I couldn't without hitting my head. But I could walk stooping like, and I went on toward the pale light, which was almost like a star.

Directly after, I was there looking out of a square place like a window, trying to find a way up or a way down, but the rocks stood out overhead, and they were quite straight down below me, so I could do nothing but shout, and I began to think no one would come. Every now and then I could hear voices, but when I called my voice seemed to float out to sea. There, you know the rest. But that's an adit, isn't it, Sam Hardock?"

"Ay, my lad, and lucky for you it was there. You see, the water must run off by it out to sea when the top rises so high. But I never knew there was an opening from seaward into the mine. Being right up there, n.o.body could see it. Why it must be 'underd and fifty feet above the sh.o.r.e."

"It looked more," said Gwyn, with a shudder.

"There, I say, hadn't you better get home and change your things, my lad? You're pretty wet still. If you take my advice, you'll go off as fast as you can."

"Yes," said Joe, "you'd better. But we haven't done much to examine the mine."

"Eh?" cried Hardock, "I think we have. Found out that there's an adit for getting rid of the water and the spoil. Not bad for one day's work."

CHAPTER EIGHT.

THE MINE FEVER.

"You'll have to tell them at home, Ydoll," said Joe as they reached the rough stone-wall which enclosed the Colonel's estate. "What shall you say?"

"Oh, just what happened," replied Gwyn; "but the job is how to begin.

It's making the start."

"Pst! Look out!" whispered Joe. "Here is your father."

"Good-morning, Hardock," said the Colonel, coming upon the group suddenly.

"I hope you haven't been filling my boy's head with more stuff about mining. Why, halloa, Gwyn; how did you get in that state? Where's your cap?"

"Down the mine-shaft, father," replied the lad; and he found no difficulty about beginning. In a few minutes the Colonel knew all.

"Most reckless--most imprudent," he cried. "You ought to have known better, sir, than to lead these boys into such a terrible position; and how dare you, sir--how dare you begin examining my property without my permission!"

"Well you see, Colonel," began Hardock, "I thought--be doing you good, like, and as a neighbour--"

"A neighbour, indeed! Confounded insolence! Be off, sir! How dare you! Never you show yourself upon my land again. There, you, Gwyn, come home at once and change your clothes; and as for you, Jollivet, you give my compliments to your father and tell him I say he ought to give you a good thrashing, and if he feels too ill to do it, let him send you down to me, and I will. Now, Gwyn; right face. March!"

The Colonel led off his son, and Hardock and Joe stood looking at each other.

"Made him a bit waxy," said the miner; "but he'll come round to my way of thinking yet; and it strikes me that he'll be ordering me on to his land again, when he knows all. I say, young Jollivet, mean to go down to him to be thrashed with the young Colonel?"

"Oh, he wouldn't thrash me," said Joe, quietly. "I know the Colonel better than that. I feel all stretched and aching like. I wish he hadn't taken Gwyn home, though."

"I don't feel quite square myself, lad," said the mining captain; "but you see if the Colonel don't go looking at the mine."

Hardock's prophecy was soon fulfilled, for that evening the Colonel was rowing in his boat with his son, who had a mackerel line trailing astern, and when they came opposite to the great b.u.t.tress the Colonel lay on his oars, and let his boat rise and fall on the clear swell.

"Now, then; whereabouts is the mouth of the adit?"

"I can't quite make it out from down here, father," replied Gwyn. "Yes I can; there it is, only it doesn't look like an opening, only a dark shadowy part of the cliff. No one could tell it was a pa.s.sage in, without being up there."

"Quite right; they could not," said the Colonel, thoughtfully. "And you were drawn up from there, and right over the top of the cliff?"

"Yes, father."

"Horribly dangerous, boy--hideous. There, your mother knows something about it, but she must never be shown how frightful a risk you ran.

Come, let's get back."

Gwyn only caught one fish that evening, and his father was very thoughtful and quiet when they returned.

"Here, Gwyn," he said next morning; "come along with me, I want to have a look at the old pit-shaft, and the bit of cliff over which you were drawn."

"Yes, father," said Gwyn, and he led the way over their own ground; but before they reached the dwarf mine wall, he was conscious of the fact that they were observed; for, at the turn of the lane, Hardock's oilskin cap could be seen as if the man were watching there, and the next moment Joe Jollivet's straw hat was visible by his side.

Gwyn felt disposed to point out that they were not alone; but the next moment his father began talking about the slow progress made by the belt of pines he had planted between there and the house, so as to take off something of the barrenness of the place.

"Want of shelter, Gwyn," he said; "the great winds from the west catch them too much. I'm afraid they will always be stunted. Still, they would hide the mine buildings."

"The mine buildings, father?" said the boy, looking at his father inquiringly.

"Yes; I mean if I were to be tempted into doing anything of the kind-- opening the mine again. Seems a pity, if it does contain wealth, to let it lie there useless. Money's money, my boy."