Otis James
Down the Slope

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."

"But this part of the mine seems to be all right."

"Yes, unless there's another explosion I reckon we can stay here 'til – "

"'Till what?"

"We shall starve to death after a while."

This mournful conversation was interrupted by Skip, who came running down the slope with the most abject fear written on every feature of his face.

Familiar as he was with the mine he had no need to ask for the cause of the noise, and understood as well as Sam the little hope there was for life.

"Are you shut in, too?" he cried.

"We're here," Sam replied, grimly.

"An' you'd been outside if I hadn't wanted to stay rather than take a flogging."

"You're right, Skip, but this ain't the time to find fault. All three are in the same box, an' we might as well be friendly."

"Won't they try to get us out?" Fred asked, faintly.

"Nobody knows where we are," Skip replied, bitterly.

"We told mother about you, and she'll be sure to repeat it to Joe and Bill now we're in such danger."

Skip's face brightened for an instant, and then he said, in a despairing tone:

"They don't know where this place is. Billings is certain the oldest miners never heard of the drift; he thinks it was made years before the workings were opened at Farley's."

"Joe and Bill have been down here."

"Even they wouldn't know where to start in. How long will the air hold out, Sam?"

"I don't know, but there's no need of usin' it any faster than's necessary. We'll put out two of the lamps; one is enough, an' we may be mighty glad to drink the oil."

Fred was very nearly incapable of action. The knowledge that his companions had lost hope literally dazed him, and he could not even follow Sam's suggestion.

Two of the lamps were extinguished, and since Fred was the only one retaining the means of dispelling the darkness, Sam and Skip forced him on ahead as they went still further into the tunnel where the air would be more pure.

"This is the only point from which we may expect aid," Sam said, "an' seein' that we can do nothin' it's better to stay here."

"Won't Joe and Bill try to help us?" Fred asked.

"They'll try, but whether it'll be possible to do anything is another matter."

"Can't we begin to dig? We've got one shovel."

"Neither of us knows in which direction to start, an' when workin' more food would be needed, therefore, to keep alive as long as possible we'd better stay quiet."

Skip threw himself on the floor close to the end of the cutting, as if reconciled to whatever might happen, and Sam sat down beside him.

"Do you think there is any chance that we can get out of here?" Fred asked after a long silence, and Sam replied, gravely:

"We may as well look the matter straight in the face. It's possible they can strike us without much trouble, but that ain't likely."

During half an hour the boys remained silent and motionless, as if each was trying to reconcile himself to the terrible doom which threatened, and then Fred said, with a feeble attempt at cheerfulness:

"It must be near supper time. Suppose we have one square meal?"

"Because a man knows he's slowly drowning there's no reason why he should try to keep his head under water more than is necessary," Sam replied, sternly.

"What do you mean?"

"We are not suffering with hunger now, but soon will be, so it's wise to wait till grub is absolutely needed to keep us alive."

"Then let's do something; this sitting still thinking of what is to come seems worse than the reality can ever be."

"Very well, we've got a shovel; we'll decide in which direction it's best to dig, an' begin operations."

"There surely is a chance of striking another drift."

"Yes, there's a chance," Sam replied, as if the conversation wearied him. "Each one shall say which course he thinks most likely to bring us out."

Skip wished to continue up the slope, arguing that each inch gained would carry them so much nearer the surface, while Fred believed it best to work through the mass of earth that had fallen, because there a pick would not be necessary.

"We'd better try Skip's plan," Sam finally said. "By making our way along the old drift a chamber of gas might be struck, when all hands would be suffocated. Come on, and I'll start it."

He wielded the shovel until tired, the others carrying the earth back to the foot of the slope in their hats, and then Fred tried his hand at the labor.

In this manner each did a certain amount of the work, but at the expense of no slight suffering. In the confined space it was very warm, and this exercise brought with it an intense thirst, which, of course, could not be quenched.

Skip drank a little oil now and then, but Fred could not force himself to taste the ill-smelling stuff.

There was no way by which the passage of time could be measured. When all were sleepy they laid down to rest, and on awakening a small quantity of food was dealt out. After the scanty meal had been eaten they continued what every one now believed was useless labor, ceasing only when the desire for slumber became overpowering again.

Reckoning these periods of work and rest as days and nights, seventy-two hours had elapsed when the supply of food was exhausted, and they realized that the final struggle was at hand.

The air remained reasonably pure, probably because a vent had been left somewhere in the choked drift, but there were moments when the odor of gas was perceptible, thus causing Sam to believe efforts were still being made to reach them by those on the outside.

But little work was done when the food had been consumed. Now and then one or the other would use the shovel in a listless way for a few moments at a time, but each had become so weak that any prolonged exertion was out of the question.

They slept as much as possible, and refrained from discussing the terrible situation. Fred no longer listened for the sounds which would tell that help was near at hand, and the odor of the oil did not prevent him now from taking his share when the scanty allowance was doled out.

Finally the hour came when the last drop had been drank. The tiny flame of the lamp seemed to have been the only link which connected them with the outer world, and then without any means of dispelling the profound darkness the bitterness of death came upon them.

Fred was the first to sink into a stupor from which he awakened only at rare intervals. Then Skip yielded to despair, and Sam was virtually alone.

All three were half sitting, half lying in the excavation they had made, and the moments passed unheeded. To Fred it seemed as if he had been unconscious for many days when he became aware that Sam was shouting wildly.

In a dazed way he raised his head, and after a while understood that his companion was saying in an incoherent tone:

"They're coming! They're coming!"

"Who? Who?" Skip asked, feebly, trying in vain to rise to his feet.

"The miners! Can't you hear the sound of their picks?"

When they could bring themselves to understand the meaning of Sam's words both the sufferers were revived by the excitement sufficiently to stagger to an upright position, but as only at intervals was the cheering sound heard, fatigue soon overpowered them again, and once more Sam alone remained conscious.

He made every effort to preserve all his faculties, and after another long, painful time of suspense he was rewarded by hearing a faint hail.

"Hello! lads, are you near?"

"Yes! yes! In the end of a short slope."

"How many are there?"

"Three."

"All well?"

"Two are pretty near gone. Hurry as fast as possible."

"Don't fret, lad, we're workin' the best we know how, an' have been these four days, though not allers on the right track."

Then from time to time the laborers shouted in order that they might not deviate from the right course, and Sam answered each call at the full strength of his lungs, which at the best was faint.

Nearer and nearer came the sound of shovels and picks until the trembling of the wall told that life, liberty, and food were near at hand.

Sam remained leaning close against the barrier that he might hear every hail, until he saw the face of a man appear from amid a shower of falling earth, and then, knowing the rescue was accomplished he lost consciousness.

Around the mouth of the shaft stood a great crowd when the inanimate boys were brought out. During the nights as well as days this throng remained waiting to see those known to be in the half-ruined mine. These anxious watchers, sympathizing with the three grief-stricken mothers, had left their posts only so long as was absolutely necessary, and had seen each lifeless body as it was sent to the surface, the last coming from the slope being the mangled remains of Cale Billings.

Each morning the newspapers had printed long articles regarding the disaster at Farley's, and in the list of those known to be dead were four names, the number of victims sacrificed that Billings might avenge a fancied wrong.

With the rescue of the boys the work was finished, and in the rear of the bearers all the watchers and laborers followed to the village, remaining in the streets until word was sent that no injuries had been sustained.

Then, perhaps for the first time, came the question of what was to be done now that Farley's was in such a condition as to preclude any possibility that the works could be opened for several months.

"It's a hard look-out for all of us," one old miner said to a mate, "but thank God that villain of a Billings has no more than four lives to answer for."

CHAPTER XVIII
SHUT DOWN

Food and rest were all that was needed to restore the boys who had been rescued to their normal condition once more, and since the works were necessarily shut down they had ample opportunity for the latter remedy.

Fred learned from his mother that Bill and Joe had remained foremost among the laborers nearly every moment of the time they were imprisoned in the drift; but the full story of the rescue was not told until on the second day, when Joe called.

"It looked pretty blue one spell," the latter said in reply to Fred's questions. "The first attempt to get down the slope was a failure. When we reached the upper level all three were so nearly overcome by the foul air that Mr. Wright could hardly make the signal for the car to be pulled back. Late at night we tried it agin, an' brought out the four poor fellows who were caught on the slope. Next mornin' Billings' body was found, an' then it wasn't hard to tell what caused the trouble."

"Did you spend any time there looking for us?"

"No, for Bill and me calculated that if you hadn't got to Skip before the explosion come it would be a month's work to find the bodies. We went down the old shaft, an' began from there, workin' at guess till both of us began to believe we'd gone wrong. If Sam hadn't yelled jest as he did the gang would have started in from the old drift that runs to the chamber."

"In that case we wouldn't have been found in time."

"You're right; but seein' as we did find you all secure, there's no use speculatin' about the other side of the matter."

"Have you seen Skip?"

"He was down to the store this mornin' tellin' what he knew of Billings' movements, for the coroner is investigatin' the affair."

"And Sam?"

"He's lively as a cricket, an' counts on comin' here this afternoon."

"How long will it be before the works can be opened again?"

"Two or three months for the whole gang, but some can begin in half that time, I reckon. It's goin' to be rough on them as haven't anything laid by for a rainy day."

"And mother and I can be counted among those," Fred said, with a sigh.

"Don't worry about that my son," Mrs. Byram replied cheerily. "It is sufficient for me that your life has been spared, and I am certain we shall be able to provide for the future, but you are not to go into the mine again. The four terrible days spent at the slope, fearing each instant that the rescuing party would reach the drift too late, caused me to resolve that you should not be exposed to any more such dangers."

"But it don't stand to reason he'll have another experience like the last," Joe said, promptly. "He's already gone through more'n the majority of us fellers, an' lightning don't often strike twice in the same place."

Mrs. Byram shook her head to signify that the decision was final, but before she could add words to the gesture Mr. Wright knocked at the door.

"I have come to make some arrangements with Fred about working in the store," he said, as his summons was answered, and entering, continued, after a nod to the invalid and Joe, "we shall need more help there for a while, and will pay three dollars per week."

There could be no hesitation about accepting the proposition, and before the superintendent left it was decided Fred should begin next morning, provided he felt sufficiently strong.

"Sam Thorpe is to work with you," Mr. Wright said as he turned to leave the house, "and I expect good service from my new clerks."

"I'll go bail that you get it," Joe said, with a laugh, "an' now, if it ain't askin' too much, I'd like to know what chance there is for the rest of us."

"We can use about a hundred men, among whom will be you and Bill. The pumps have been choked so long that it will be some time before even the upper level can be put into working shape, but employment shall be given to all at the earliest possible moment."

Then Mr. Wright returned to the office, and during the remainder of the day Fred had quite as many callers as could be entertained in the little house.

Among these were Sam and Skip, and the latter renewed the promises made in the mine.

"I've backed out from the Regulators, an' while the shut down lasts am goin' to see what I can do in the way of workin' the garden. Father's let me off from a floggin' if I go straight after this."

On the following morning Fred was at his new place of business at a very early hour, and both he and Sam found plenty with which to occupy their time until sunset, when they were at liberty to do as they chose.

During the next week nothing of particular interest to the young clerks transpired.

At the mine the largest force, which could be worked to advantage, was employed, and those who were forced to remain idle were given credit for food and rent.

When the labor had become systematized to such a degree as to allow the superintendent a little leisure, and while Fred was copying some letters in the private office, Mr. Wright watching him several moments in silence, asked:

"Do you never expect to do anything but work in a mine, Fred?"

"Oh, yes, sir; if mother and I can get some money laid by I want to go to the city."

"What will you do there?"

"I don't know, sir, but there should be plenty of chances for a fellow who is willing to work."

"There are, but since it may be some time before you are in a condition to leave here, why not make yourself familiar with this branch of mining?"

"How could that be done, sir?"

"By hard study. You may use any of my books, and after getting a smattering of the business you might decide to take up civil engineering, a profession which would suit you admirably."

"If I only could."

"There is nothing to prevent. Here is a work which you can understand, and after mastering its contents I'll guarantee you're ready to hold your own against any engineer's assistant in the middle field."

On that very day Fred began his studies, and Sam joined him with the understanding that not less than two hours of each evening should be devoted to the work.

Both the boys were astonished at discovering how little they really knew about mining, even though well acquainted with many of the details, and rapid progress was made during the fortnight that followed.

"If you keep on at this rate we'll be lookin' for new buttys," Bill said one evening when the students had explained to him the principles of hydraulics.

"You won't need any for some time, and then, perhaps, we shall have learned how ignorant we are, and give up in despair."

"There'll be a good many called for to-morrow. The upper level is in workin' order, an' a hundred men are to be put on in the morning."

This was, indeed, good news. The inhabitants of Farley's had been anxiously awaiting the day when it would be possible to earn something toward the household expenses, and this first evidence that the works were really to be opened caused a great amount of pleasurable excitement.

Nearly every one in the village was at the mouth of the slope to see the workmen go in, and there Sam and Fred met Skip.

"Mr. Donovan has promised to take me into the breaker as soon as there is any coal to come out," he said, gleefully, "an' my garden is lookin' fine."

"I don't reckon you've sold many vegetables yet," Sam replied, laughingly.

"The plants are only just up, an' the stuff will be late; but the first that is ripe I'm going to send you fellers, an' Bill and Joe."

The miners entered, while the spectators cheered loudly, and then the idle ones dispersed, well content to know their time would soon come.

Skip returned to his garden, while Sam and Fred resumed their duties at the store, but were interrupted an hour later by Mr. Wright, who said:

"It is important that a message be delivered in Blacktown before noon, and there will be no train until late this afternoon. Do you boys feel in trim for a ten mile tramp across the mountain?"

"Yes, sir, an' double the distance if necessary," Sam replied, promptly.

"Very well; wrap up some crackers and cheese while I write a letter."

Ten minutes later the two were on their way with no slight task before them, for it would be necessary to travel over a rough country the entire distance, since the journey by the road around the mountain could not be performed in a day.

It was an agreeable change after having been confined to the store so long, and they trudged on merrily, resolved to return in a more leisurely fashion because Mr. Wright had said no more work would be required of them until morning.

In three hours the message had been delivered, and they were on their way home.

Little time was spent in the valley, but on ascending the mountain once more a halt was made for lunch.

They were midway between Blacktown and Farley's. Not a dwelling could be seen in either direction, and the boys speculated as to what the country looked like before coal was found in the vicinity.

"I wonder what caused the first man to come here lookin' for it?" Sam said, musingly.

"Most likely some one well up in geology was hunting for specimens, and found an out-cropping vein."

"It must have been a mighty pleasant surprise."

"And one that I would like to experience. Just fancy poking around in this way till you struck what could be easily turned into gold."

As he spoke Fred dug up the earth here and there with a stick, playing the part, as he supposed, of the first discoverer, and at the same time slowly ascending the mountain.

"Hold on; don't leave so soon. I'm just getting ready to rest in proper style."

Fred turned around to return when he struck his toe against what appeared to be a projecting rock, and fell headlong.

"That's what you get for tryin' your hand at prospecting," Sam said, with a laugh, and Fred arose to his feet with a rueful look on his face, which caused his companion yet more mirth.

"It may be sport for you, but I don't see anything so funny about knocking all the skin off – Hello! What a queer looking rock I tumbled over!"

He had turned, and was gazing at the projecting point, a fragment of which was broken, when Sam came up to learn the cause of his companion's astonishment.

"Why, it looks like coal!" he exclaimed, taking a piece from the ground to examine it more closely, and an instant later Fred was startled by hearing him shout, "It is coal! The vein at Farley's must run straight through the hill!"

"Then this belongs to the company."

"Not a bit of it. The one who owns the land can work here, and if we could raise money enough to buy ten or fifteen acres on this side of the hill, Byram and Thorpe would be mighty rich fellows."