Down the Slope

by James Otis

  CHAPTER III

  IN THE SHAFT

  Mrs. Byram had no suspicion that her son might be exposed to any dangeruntil after he had been absent an hour, and then the remembrance of thethreats made by Skip Miller and his friends caused her the deepestanxiety. Fred would not have staid at the store longer than wasabsolutely necessary, and the fear of foul play had hardly gainedpossession of her mind before she was on her way to search for him.

  The company's clerk had but just finished explaining that the newbreaker boy left there with his purchases some time previous, whenDonovan entered in time to hear the widow say:

  "I do not understand why he should remain away so long, for he must knowI would be troubled concerning him."

  "Didn't your boy stay in the house after I left him at the gate, Mrs.Byram?" the breaker boss asked.

  Mrs. Byram explained why Fred ventured out, and the man appeared to bedisturbed in mind.

  "This is just the time when he oughter kept his nose inside. Them youngruffians are likely to do any mischief."

  "Then you believe something serious has happened."

  "I didn't say quite that; but it won't do much harm to have a look forhim. You go home, an' I'll call there in an hour." Then turning to someof the loungers, he asked, "Has anybody seen Skip Miller lately?"

  "You're allers tryin' to make out that he's at the bottom of everythingthat goes wrong," Skip's father, who entered at this moment, said in asurly tone.

  "If he ain't, it's not for lack of willingness. Do you know where heis?"

  "Home, where he's been for an hour or more."

  Donovan looked hard at the speaker, and Miller retorted:

  "If you don't believe me, it won't take long to find out for yourself."

  "That's exactly what I'm going to do. Mrs. Byram, I will see you againin less than an hour."

  With these words the breaker boss left the store, and Fred's motherwalked slowly home, the anxiety in her heart growing more intense eachmoment.

  Two hours passed before Donovan returned and announced his inability tofind the missing boy.

  "I did think Skip might have had a hand in it," he said; "but I reckonhe's innocent this time. I found him near his own home with a crowd ofcronies, and according to all accounts he's been there since supper."

  "But what has become of Fred?" Mrs. Byram asked, preserving a semblanceof calmness only after the greatest difficulty.

  "I hope nothing serious has happened. The superintendent has beennotified, and promises to send men out in search of him at once. It isjust possible he went down the slope to see the night shift at work."

  There was nothing in these words to afford the distressed mother anyrelief, and the sorrow which would not be controlled took completepossession of her, as Donovan hurried away to join those who wereexamining every place where an accident might have occurred.

  Meanwhile the subject of all this commotion remained where theregulators had left him. It was a long time before he recoveredconsciousness, and then several moments were spent in trying to decidewhere he was and what had happened.

  The fragments of conversation heard while the boys were carrying himtold that he was in an abandoned shaft, and, unacquainted though he waswith mines in general, it did not require much thought to convince himhow nearly impossible it would be to escape unaided.

  The bonds which fastened his limbs, as well as the gag, had not beentied firmly, and in a short time he was free to begin such anexamination of the place as was possible in the profound darkness.

  Here and there he could feel the timbers left when the shaft wasdeserted, and, after groping about some moments, discovered atunnel-like opening ten or twelve feet across. The roof or top of thisplace was beyond his reach, and he knew it must be a drift from whichall the coal had been taken.

  "It may lead for miles under the hill, and I would be no better off byfollowing it," he thought. "Unless there is a slope which communicateswith it, I'd be in a worse fix than now, because the chances of beinglost or suffocated must be about even."

  Then in his despair he shouted at the full strength of his lungs, untilit was impossible to speak louder than a whisper.

  Nothing less than the booming of a cannon could have been heard from theshaft by any one in the settlement, and with the night shift in theworking mine there would hardly be any one in the vicinity.

  After giving full sway to his grief for half an hour or more, angerreplaced sorrow, and he rushed into the tunnel with no other thoughtthan to escape from that particular place.

  Stumbling on over decaying timbers, rocks, and mounds of earth which hadfallen from the roof, he pushed straight ahead until the decidedinclination told that this drift tended upward. There was now reason tobelieve it might communicate with another which, in turn, was reached bya slope, and hope grew strong once more.

  How long he had traveled when the sound of voices caused him to halt itwas impossible to form any idea; but it seemed as if several hourselapsed, and the first thought was to shout for help.

  "I won't do it," he said, checking himself. "This tunnel may have led meback to the other mine, and if the people ahead are some of the nightshift they'll be likely to have considerable sport at my expense."

  Walking cautiously in the direction of the voices he was suddenlybrought to a standstill by an apparently solid wall of earth.

  He groped around until there was no question but that he had reached theend of the drift, and when this discovery had been made he found a smallaperture which opened into a gallery or chamber where were a dozen men,the lamps in their hats illumining the place sufficiently for Fred todistinguish the party.

  He had reached the limit of the abandoned drift, and was looking in upona portion of the new mine.

  Even now he made no appeal for help. The conversation of the men causedhim to listen with no thought of his own condition.

  "Unless we do the job to-morrow night there's little chance of gettin'through with it all right," one of the party was saying, and anotherreplied with an oath:

  "There's no reason why we should wait. To-night would suit me."

  "I don't believe in it," a third man said. "What's to be gained byfloodin' the mine, an' turnin' ourselves out of a chance to earn aliving?"

  "You allers was chicken-hearted, Joe Brace. Haven't we put up withenough from the mine owners an' bosses? We work for starvation wages,while they can barrel money."

  "Would you say that if you hadn't been thrown out of a job?"

  "That's my business. Here's a crowd of us who have sworn to sticktogether, no matter what happens, an' five have been warned out. Are wegoin' peaceable, not liftin' a finger agin them as have got rich whilewe starved?"

  "But how are we helpin' ourselves by floodin' the mine?"

  "Three or four of sich bosses as Donovan may be in the drift when withone stroke of a pick I let the water into the lower level, and that'llshow the others we're men, even if they do treat us like brutes."

  "You will drown some of your own mates."

  "Them as are on the level must take their chances."

  "It's murder, that's what it is, an' I'll have none of it!" Brace cried,as he leaped to his feet, and in another instant the whole party werefacing him who dared dispute their right to do wrong.

  For some moments our hero could not distinguish a word, so great was theconfusion; but when the tumult subsided in a measure two men wereholding Brace, while he who appeared to be leader stood before him in athreatening attitude.

  "You've sworn to go with the crowd, and know the penalty for traitors."

  "I know that I'll blow the whole business if I get the chance. I've gota brother in the lower level; do you think I'll stand by while he isbein' murdered?"

  "Better do that than turn agin us. We'll give you one chance; swear tohold your tongue, an' we'll do no more than make sure you can't betrayus."

  "An' if I don't choose to swear?"

  "Then we'll leave you here lashed hand an' foot. When the mine isflood
ed this drift will be cut off, an' it don't need a lawyer to saywhat'll happen then."

  "So to spite them as have done you a bad turn you're willin' to murderme?"

  "That's about the size of it."

  "Listen to me, Cale Billings. I promised to stand by you fellers whenthe agreement was to help each other agin the bosses; but now it'smurder you mean. I'd rather be on the lower level when the deed is donethan have part or parcel with them as are willin' to make widows an'orphans."

  "Then we know what to do," Billings cried angrily, as he rushed towardBrace, and for several moments Fred had only a confused idea of what wastaking place.

  Brace was fighting against the entire party, and, under suchcircumstances, the struggle could not be prolonged.

  When the watcher could next distinguish the occupants of the chamberBrace laid on his back bound hand and foot, while the others were on thepoint of departure.

  Billings remained behind his companions to say:

  "We gave you all the chance we could, an' now it's only yourself you'vegot to thank for what'll happen before forty-eight hours go by."

  "I'd die twice over rather than put the stain of blood on my hands."

  "Well, you've got the chance to try it once, an' I reckon you'll wishthings was different before long. We'll take good care nobody comes thisway too soon."

  Then the party filed out of the room, one or two glancing back withundisguised pity, and as they passed along the drift the place waswrapped in profound darkness, with nothing to break the silence savethe doomed man's heavy breathing.

  Fred waited until believing the would-be murderers were beyond the soundof his voice, and then he called softly:

  "Brace! Brace!"

  "Who's there?"

  "A breaker boy who came into the mine yesterday."

  "Where are you?"

  Fred explained to the best of his ability, and added:

  "Do you know of any way I can get out of here?"

  "No; that part of the mine has been closed a good many years, an' itwould take a week to work up through the old slope. Before then thewater on the lower level is bound to flood this end of the workings."

  "And we shall be drowned."

  "I don't see any help for it."

  "But we can't stay here and be killed!" Fred cried in an agony of fear.

  "It's tough, but there's no way out of it unless----"

  "What? Speak quickly, for time mustn't be lost if we're to do anythingtoward helping ourselves."

  "How large a cut is there through the wall where you are standing?"

  "It's only a small one--perhaps four or five inches across."

  "Couldn't you make it large enough to crawl through?"

  "It wouldn't take long if I had a shovel; but without one it will behard."

  "Set about it, lad; work is better than idleness when a fellow is inthis kind of a scrape."

  Fred obeyed instantly, tearing away the earth regardless of the injurydone his hands; but making very slow progress. The wall was composed ofslate and gravel, and a pick would have been necessary to effect aspeedy entrance.

  Meanwhile Brace strove to cheer the boy by talking of the possibilitythat they might yet escape, and hour after hour Fred continued at thetask until the moment arrived when it was possible, by dint of muchsqueezing, to make his way through the aperture.

  "Do you think it is near the time when the men are to flood the mine?"he asked, groping around until his outstretched hands touched Brace'sprostrate body, when he began feverishly to untie the ropes.

  "No, lad, we must have half a dozen hours before us."

  "Then we are all right!" Fred cried joyfully. "You know the way out, andBillings' plot can be made known in time to prevent the mischief."

  "Don't fool yourself with the idea that matters have been straightenedbecause I'm free," Brace replied, as he rose to his feet when Fred'stask had been finished.

  "But what is to prevent our leaving here?"

  "Did you catch what Billings said when he left?"

  "Yes."

  "Then there's no need of sayin' anything more. Some of the murderin'crowd will be on guard at the entrance to the drift, and, knowing whatwe do of their plans, every means will be used to prevent our everseeing daylight again."

  "Don't you intend to do anything toward trying to escape?"

  "Of course. I'm not quite a fool."

  "Shall you go back with me, or try to find the shaft?"

  "That would be useless. We will go straight through this drift."

  "But if Billings' crowd are watching for you?"

  "It's simply a case of fighting for life. There ain't much hope ofoverpowerin' them; the job will be child's play compared with tryin' tohold our own agin the flood that's sure to come soon."

  Brace groped around for something which would serve as a weapon, butfinding nothing, he said grimly:

  "We'll have to go as we are, lad, an' remember that if we don't getthrough the drift you'll never see the breaker again."