by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER XXVII.
RESCUED.
A stranger arriving at Stokebridge on that Sunday morning might havethought that a fair or some similar festivity was going on, so great wasthe number of people who passed out of the station as each train camein. For the day Stokebridge was the great point of attraction forexcursionists from all parts of Staffordshire. Not that there wasanything to see. The Vaughan mine looked still and deserted; no smokeissued from its chimneys; and a strong body of police kept all, exceptthose who had business there, from approaching within a certain distanceof the shaft. Still less was there to see in Stokebridge itself. Everyblind was down--for scarce a house but had lost at least one of itsmembers; and in the darkened room women sat, silently weeping for thedead far below.
For the last four days work had been entirely suspended through thedistrict; and the men of the other collieries, as well as those of theVaughan who, belonging to the other shift, had escaped, hung about thepit yard, in the vague hope of being able in some way to be useful.
Within an hour of the explosion the managers of the surrounding pits hadassembled; and in spite of the fact that the three volunteers who hadfirst descended were, without doubt, killed, plenty of other bravefellows volunteered their services, and would have gone down ifpermitted. But the repeated explosions, and the fact that the lower partof the shaft was now blocked up, decided the experienced men who hadassembled that such a course would be madness--an opinion which wasthoroughly endorsed by Mr. Hardinge and other government inspectors andmining authorities, who arrived within a few hours of the accident.
It was unanimously agreed that the pit was on fire, for a light smokecurled up from the pit mouth, and some already began to whisper that itwould have to be closed up. There are few things more painful than tocome to the conclusion that nothing can be done, when women, half madwith sorrow and anxiety, are imploring men to make an effort to savethose below.
Jane Haden, quiet and tearless, sat gazing at the fatal shaft, when shewas touched on the shoulder. She looked up, and saw Harry.
"Thou art not down with them then, Harry?"
"No; I almost wish I was," Harry said. "I came up with Jack, and hurriedaway to get breakfast. When I heard the blow I ran up, and found Jackhad just gone down. If I had only been near I might have gone withhim;" and the young man spoke in regret at not having shared hisfriend's fate rather than in gladness at his own escape.
"Dost think there's any hope, Harry?"
"It's no use lying, and there's no hope for Jack, mother," Harry said;"but if any one's saved it's like to be your Bill. He was up in the oldworkings, a long way off from the part where the strength of the blowwould come."
"It's no use telling me, Harry; I ask, but I know how it is. There ain'ta chance--not a chance at all. If the pit's afire they'll have to floodit, and then it will be weeks before they pump it out again; and whenthey bring Jack and Bill up I sha'n't know 'em. That's what I feel, Isha'n't even know 'em."
"Don't wait here, Mrs. Haden; nought can be done now; the inspectors andmanagers will meet this evening, and consult what is best to be done."
"Is your father down, Harry? I can't think of aught but my own, or I'dhave asked afore."
"No; he is in the other shift. My brother Willy is down. Come, mother,let me take you home."
But Mrs. Haden would not move, but sat with scores of other women,watching the mouth of the pit, and the smoke curling up, till nightfell.
The news spread round Stokebridge late in the evening that the managershad determined to shut up the mouth of the pit, if there was still smokein the morning. Then, as is always the case when such a determinationis arrived at, there was a cry of grief and anger throughout thevillage, and all who had friends below protested that it would benothing short of murder to cut off the supply of air. Women went down tothe inn where the meeting was held, and raved like wild creatures; butthe miners of the district could not but own the step was necessary, forthat the only chance to extinguish the fire was by cutting off the air,unless the dreadful alternative of drowning the pit was resorted to.
In the morning the smoke still curled up, and the pit's mouth wasclosed. Boards were placed over both the shafts, and earth was heapedupon them, so as to cut off altogether the supply of air, and so stiflethe fire. This was on Thursday morning. Nothing was done on Friday; andon Saturday afternoon the mining authorities met again in council. Therewere experts there now from all parts of the kingdom--for the extent ofthe catastrophe had sent a thrill of horror through the land. It wasagreed that the earth and staging should be removed next morning early,and that if smoke still came up, water should be turned in from thecanal.
At six in the morning a number of the leading authorities met at themine. Men had during the night removed the greater part of the earth,and the rest was now taken off, and the planks withdrawn. At once avolume of smoke poured out. This was in any case expected; and it wasnot for another half-hour, when the accumulated smoke had cleared off,and a straight but unbroken column began to rise as before, that theconviction that the pit was still on fire seized all present.
"I fear that there is no alternative," Mr. Hardinge said; "the pit mustbe flooded."
There was not a dissentient voice; and the party moved towards the canalto see what would be the best method of letting in the water, when a cryfrom the men standing round caused them to turn, and they saw a densewhite column rise from the shaft.
"Steam!" every one cried in astonishment.
A low rumbling sound came from the pit.
"What can have happened?" Mr. Hardinge exclaimed, in surprise. "This ismost extraordinary!"
All crowded round the pit mouth, and could distinctly hear a distantroaring sound. Presently this died away. Gradually the steam ceased torise, and the air above the pit mouth was clear.
"There is no smoke rising," one of the inspectors said. "What on earthcan have happened? Let us lower a light down."
Hoisting gear and rope had been prepared on the first day, in case itshould be necessary to lower any one, for the wire rope had snapped whenthe attempt had been made to draw up the cage after the secondexplosion, and the sudden release from the strain had caused the engineto fly round, breaking some gear, and for the time disabling it fromfurther work. A hundred and forty fathoms of rope, the depth of theshaft being a hundred and twenty, had been prepared, and was inreadiness to be passed over a pulley suspended above the shaft. Alighted candle in a candlestick was placed on a sort of tray, which wasfastened to the rope, and then it was lowered gradually down. Eagerlythose above watched it as it descended--down--down, till it became amere speck below. Then it suddenly disappeared.
"Stop," Mr. Hardinge, who was directing the operations, said.
"There are six more fathoms yet, sir--nigh seven--before it gets to thehundred-and-twenty fathom mark."
"Draw up carefully, lads. What can have put the light out forty feetfrom the bottom of the shaft? Choke-damp, I suppose; but it's verysingular."
When the candle came up to the surface there was a cry of astonishment;the tray and the candle were wet! The whole of those present wereastounded, and Mr. Hardinge at once determined to descend himself andverify this extraordinary occurrence. There was no fear of an explosionnow. Taking a miner's lamp, he took his seat in a sling, and was lowereddown. Just before the rope had run out to the point at which the lightwas extinguished he gave the signal to stop by jerking a thin rope whichhe held in his hands.
There was a pause, and in a minute or two came two jerks, the signal tohaul up.
"It is so," he said, when he gained the surface; "there are forty feetof water in the shaft, but where it came from is more than I can tell."
Much astonished at this singular occurrence, the group of miningengineers walked back to breakfast at Stokebridge, where the populationwere greatly excited at the news that the pit was flooded. To the minersit was a subject of the greatest surprise, while the friends of those inthe pit received the news as the death-blow of the
ir last hopes. It wasnow impossible that any one could be alive in the pit.
At ten o'clock the mining authorities went again to discuss the curiousphenomenon. All agreed that it was out of the question that so large aquantity of water had accumulated in any old workings, for the plan ofthe pit had been repeatedly inspected by them all. Some inclined to thebelief that there must have been some immense natural cavern above theworkings, and that when the fire in the pit burned away the pillars leftto support the roof, this must have fallen in, and let the water in thecavern into the mine; others pointed out that there was no examplewhatever of a cavern of such dimensions as this must have been, beingfound in the coal formation, and pointed to the worked-out Logan pit,which was known to be full of water, as the probable source of supply.
During the previous four days the plan had been discussed of cuttingthrough from the Logan, which was known to have been worked nearly up tothe Vaughan boundary. This would enable them to enter the pit andrescue any miners who might be alive, but the fact that to erectpumping gear and get out the water would be an affair of many weeks, ifnot months, had caused the idea to be abandoned as soon as broached. Tothose who argued that the water had come from the Logan, it was pointedout that there were certainly several yards of solid coal between theVaughan and the Logan still standing, and that as the force of theexplosion was evidently near the Vaughan shaft it was incredible thatthis barrier between the pits should have been shattered. However, itwas decided to solve the question one way or the other by an immediatevisit to the top of the old Logan shaft.
They were just starting when they heard a movement in the street, andmen setting off to run. A moment later a miner entered the roomhurriedly. "There be a big smoke coming up from the old Logan shaft; itbe too light for coal smoke, and I don't think it be steam either."
With exclamations of surprise the whole party seized their hats andhurried off. It was twenty minutes' sharp walking to the shaft, where,by the time they reached it, a large crowd of miners and others werealready assembled. As they approached, eager men ran forward to meetthem.
"It be gunpowder smoke, sir!"
There was indeed no mistaking the sulphurous smell.
"It's one of two things," Mr. Hardinge said; "either the fire has spreadto the upper workings, some powder bags have exploded, and the shockhas brought down the dividing wall, in which case the powder smoke mightpossibly find its way out when the water from the Logan drained in; orelse, in some miraculous way some of the men have made their escape, andare letting off powder to call our attention. At any rate let us drop asmall stone or two down. If any one be below he will know he isnoticed." Then he turned to the miners standing round: "I want thepulley and rope that we were using at the Vaughan, and that small cagethat was put together to work with it. I want two or three strong poles,to form a tripod over the pit here, and a few long planks to make astage."
Fifty willing men hurried off to fetch the required materials.
"The smoke is getting thinner, a good deal," one of the managers said."Now if you'll hold me, I will give a shout down."
The mouth of the pit was surrounded by a wooden fencing, to prevent anyone from falling down it. The speaker got over this and lay down on hisface, working nearer to the edge, which sloped dangerously down, whileothers, following in the same way, held his legs, and were in their turnheld by others. When his head and shoulders were fairly over the pit hegave a loud shout.
There was a death-like silence on the part of the crowd standing round,and all of those close could hear a faint murmur come from below.
Then arose a cheer, echoed again and again, and then half-a-dozenfleet-footed boys started for Stokebridge with the news that some of theimprisoned pitmen were still alive.
Mr. Hardinge wrote on a piece of paper, "Keep up your courage; in anhour's time the cage will come down;" wrapped it round a stone, anddropped it down. A messenger was despatched to the Vaughan, for thepolice force stationed there to come up at once to keep back the excitedcrowd, and with orders that the stretchers and blankets in readinessshould be brought on; while another went into Stokebridge for a surgeon,and for a supply of wine, brandy, and food, and two or three vehicles.No sooner were the men sent off than Mr. Hardinge said, in a loud tone:
"Every moment must be of consequence; they must be starving. Will anyone here who has food give it for them?"
The word was passed through the crowd, and a score of picnic basketswere at once offered. Filling one of them full with sandwiches from therest, Mr. Hardinge tied the lid securely on, and threw it down theshaft. "There is no fear of their standing under the shaft," he said;"they will know we shall be working here, and that stones might fall."
In less than an hour, thanks to the willing work of many hands, aplatform was constructed across the mouth of the Logan shaft, and atripod of strong poles fixed in its place. The police kept the crowd, bythis time very many thousands strong, back in a wide circle round theshaft, none being allowed inside save those who had near relatives inthe Vaughan. These were for the most part women, who had rushed wildlyup without bonnets or shawls--just as they stood when the report reachedthem that there were yet some survivors of the explosion. At full speedthey had hurried along the road--some pale and still despairing,refusing to allow hope to rise again, but unable to stay away from thefatal pit; others crying as they ran; some even laughing in hystericalexcitement. Most excited, because most hopeful, were those whosehusbands had stalls in the old workings, for it had from the first beenbelieved that while all in the main workings were probably killed atonce by the first explosion, those in the old workings might havesurvived for days.
Jane Haden walked steadily along the road, accompanied by HarryShepherd, who had brought her the news, and by Nelly Hardy.
"I will go," she said, "but it is of no use; they are both gone, and Ishall never see them again."
Then she had put on her bonnet and shawl, deliberately and slowly, andhad started at her ordinary pace, protesting all along against its beingsupposed that she entertained the slightest hope; but when she nearedthe spot, her quivering lips and twitching fingers belied her words.Nelly remained outside the crowd, but Harry made a way for Jane Hadenthrough the outside circle of spectators.
A smaller circle, of some thirty yards in diameter, was kept round theshaft, and within this only those directing the operations were allowedto enter. Mr. Hardinge and one of the local managers took their placesin the cage. The rope was held by twenty men, who at first stood at itsfull length from the shaft, and then advanced at a walk towards it, thusallowing the cage to descend steadily and easily, without jerks. As theycame close to the shaft the signal rope was shaken; another step or two,slowly and carefully taken, and the rope was seen to sway slightly. Thecage was at the bottom of the shaft. Three minutes' pause, the signalrope shook, and the men with the end of the rope, started again to walkfrom the shaft.
As they increased their distance, the excitement in the great crowdgrew; and when the cage showed above the surface, and it was seen thatit contained three miners, a hoarse cheer arose. The men were assistedfrom the cage, and surrounded for a moment by those in authority; andone of the head men raised his hand for silence, and then shouted:
"Mr. Brook and twenty others are saved!" An announcement which wasreceived with another and even more hearty cheer.
SAVED!]
Passing on, the rescued men moved forward to where the women stood,anxiously gazing. Blackened as they were with coal-dust, they wererecognizable, and with wild screams of joy three women burst from therest and threw themselves in their arms. But only for a moment couldthey indulge in this burst of happiness, for the other women crowdedround.
"Who is alive? For God's sake tell us! who is alive?"
Then one by one the names were told, each greeted with cries of joy,till the last name was spoken; and then came a burst of wailing andlamentation from those who had listened in vain for the names of thosethey loved.
Jane Haden had not risen f
rom the seat she had taken on a block ofbroken brickwork.
"No, no!" she said to Harry; "I will not hope! I will not hope!" andwhile Harry moved closer to the group, to hear the names of the saved,she sat with her face buried in her hands.
The very first names given were those of Jack Simpson and Bill Haden,and with a shout of joy he rushed back. The step told its tale, and JaneHaden looked up, rose as if with a hidden spring, and looked at him.
"Both saved!" he exclaimed; and with a strange cry Jane Haden swayed,and fell insensible.
An hour later, and the last survivor of those who were below in theVaughan pit stood on the surface, the last cage load being Mr. Brook,Jack Simpson, and Mr. Hardinge. By this time the mourners had left thescene, and there was nothing to check the delight felt at the recoveryfrom the tomb, as it was considered, of so many of those deemed lost.
When Mr. Brook--who was a popular employer, and whose popularity wasnow increased by his having, although involuntarily, shared the dangersof his men--stepped from the cage, the enthusiasm was tremendous. Thecrowd broke the cordon of police and rushed forward, cheering loudly.Mr. Hardinge, after a minute or two, held up his hand for silence, andhelped Mr. Brook on to a heap of stones. Although Mr. Brook, as well asthe rest, had already recovered much, thanks to the basket of foodthrown down to them, and to the supply of weak brandy and water, and ofsoup, which those who had first descended had carried with them, he wasyet so weakened by his long fast that he was unable to speak. He couldonly wave his hand in token of his thanks, and sobs of emotion chokedhis words. Mr. Hardinge, however, who had, during the hour below,learned all that had taken place, and had spoken for some time apartwith Mr. Brook, now stood up beside him.
"My friends," he said, in a loud clear voice, which was heard over thewhole crowd, "Mr. Brook is too much shaken by what he has gone throughto speak, but he desires me to thank you most heartily in his name foryour kind greeting. He wishes to say that, under God, his life, and thelives of those with him, have been saved by the skill, courage, andscience of his under-viewer, Jack Simpson. Mr. Brook has consulted me onthe subject, and I thoroughly agree with what he intends to do, and cancertify to Jack Simpson's ability, young as he is, to fill any post towhich he may be appointed. In a short time I hope that the Vaughan pitwill be pumped out and at work again, and when it is, Mr. Jack Simpsonwill be its manager!"
The story of the escape from death had already been told briefly by theminers as they came to the surface, and had passed from mouth to mouthamong the crowd, and Mr. Hardinge's announcement was greeted with astorm of enthusiasm. Jack was seized by a score of sturdy pitmen, andwould have been carried in triumph, were it not that the startlingannouncement, coming after such a long and intense strain, proved toomuch for him, and he fainted in the arms of his admirers.