Читать книгу A Pit-brow Lassie - John Monk Foster - Страница 11

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It wanted but a few minutes to six o'clock a.m., and the night-shift men belonging to the King pit were gathered together at the bottom of the shaft ready to ascend. Whilst they were awaiting the coming of the cage that was to bear them to the surface one of the miners inquired—

"Where's Luke Standish and his mates?"

The question was addressed generally to those present, and as no one there was able to offer any information concerning the men spoken of, a short pause followed the interrogation. Then one of the others suggested—

"Luke an' t'others have haply gone whoam."

"Ah don't think so," the miner replied, who had previously spoken. "It's too soon for 'em yet."

Then the cage came down with a rush, filled with day-shift miners, and as these came forth from out of the iron structure their places were taken by those waiting to ascend. Then the hooker on—the man in charge of the pit bottom—pulled the signalling lever three times, striking the bell in the engine-house on the surface three times to let the man at the engine know that men were in the cage, and the next moment the great vehicle with its burden of living beings glided swiftly upwards towards the day.

Amongst the men who had come down in the last cageful was the underlooker—the official next in authority to the manager—and going to the office where the other officials were seated he remarked—

"Everythin's a' reet, ah suppose?"

His question was addressed to the night fireman, Sam Grimshay, who was just putting on his jacket in readiness to go home, and as he was, of course, ignorant of the mishap which had transpired an hour before at the far end of the north level, he replied—

"Oh, ay! Everthin's a' reet. There was a bit o' gas up number two jig, bur ah geet it eawt."

"Did yo' send Luke Standish an' some moour o' barrin' int' Doctor's shunt?"

"Ah did," the fireman replied, "an' when ah was theer ut suppr toime they wur gerrin on very weel."

Ben Chadwick, the underlooker, had no more questions to put to Grimshay, so he took up his can, left the office, and was going towards the pit shaft to ascend when he met a pony driver who was running in the direction of the place the fireman had just quitted.

"Wheer ar' ti' running to? What's up?" Grimshay demanded of the lad, who answered by asking him a question.

"Wheer's Ben Chadwick?"

"In th' office. What dost want him for?"

"Doctor's shunt has fawn up, an' noan o' t' coalers can get to their work," the lad exclaimed almost breathlessly.

The fireman hurried the pony driver into the presence of the underlooker and other officials, who listened in amazement to the lad's news. According to his statement the roof in the shunt indicated had given way, completely blocking the road, so that all the colliers whose working places lay beyond the fall would be thrown out of employment for that day at least.

"And wheer is Luke Standish that he didn't send word abeawt it afoor this?"

"Luke Standish!" the lad iterated, seemingly bewildered by the question.

"Ay; wheer is he an' t' others?"

"Ah dunna know; ah've seen nowt on 'em."

"Haply Luke an' his mates will be at t' other side o' t' dirt," Grimshay suggested. "Ah know as they'n not gone up t' pit."

"Could yo' heer anybody workin' at t' other side o' t' dirt?" the underlooker queried of the lad.

"Nowe, ah 'couldn't," was the ready answer. "Me an t' others sheawted monny o' tahme but nobuddy ansert us."

"Ah wonder wheere they are?" Ben Chadwick asked uneasily, and his discomfort was shared by every man present. The thought which had sprung up instinctively in each mind was that Luke and his workmates were buried under the fallen roof in Doctor's shunt.

"We'd better make sure first as Luke an' t'others hannot gone up pit," said the underlooker. "Tom," speaking to one of the day firemen, "gooa up with Sam heeur, an' get to know for sartin whether these chaps are deawn or not. If they're up pit their lamps will be into t'lamp heawse."

The man addressed went to the pit bottom with the night fireman, and they ascended the shaft in company with the colliers who had been thrown idle through the fall at the far end of the north level.

On going to the lamp house the man sent thither could find none of the lamps belonging to either Luke Standish, Joe Thomson, or the other two, and this showed clearly enough that the four men were still down the mine.

The day fireman returned to the pit and descended to tell the underlooker the result of his visit to the lamp station, and Sam Grimshay went home, after telling one or two of the men upon the pit bank the news that a great fall had taken place during the morning and that four men were missing. Nor did the fireman refrain from expressing his sorrowful conviction that someone, very likely all, the missing miners were buried under the fallen roof.

The ill tidings flew about in all directions, and Kate Leigh was one of the earliest to hear them. The names of the missing miners were all known, and when Kate discovered that her lover was among the unfortunates she sustained the keenest shock it had hitherto been her lot to bear.

But she made no scene of her sorrow; she bore her suffering in a quiet, dry-eyed way that superficial observers mistook for indifference. Her love for Luke now equalled the affection he cherished toward herself, and his death would mean the overwhelming of all the bright visions they had dreamed together.

But as the fate of the missing miners yet remained a matter of uncertainty her wishes gave birth to a hope that helped to lighten the load of suspense from which she suffered.

In a short time the ill news reached Luke Standish's mother, and her sorrow dwarfed that of the pit-brow lassie. And the relatives of the other miners missing had their grief to bear also.

When Kate Leigh went home to breakfast at eight o'clock she, of course, made her mother acquainted with the bad news, and their amiable lodger happened to be present at the time. The pit-brow girl did not notice the gleam of pleasure that lit up Arthur Willesden's dark eyes as she spoke of the accident and of the men who were missing.

Had she done so her respect for that young gentleman would have undergone a speedy change. But his back was towards her, and the expression of his face passed unnoticed by Kate.

Arthur was thinking how much easier of achievement would be the task he had set himself to do—namely, that of winning Kate Leigh—if an accident in the mine had swept Luke Standish out of the way. There were only two of them in the race, and one of them was totally ignorant in one respect of the value of the prize for which he was running, and with the young miner put aside the result was easy to calculate.

Down the King Pit active measures were being adopted for the recovery or finding of the missing pitmen. The underlooker and one of the firemen, with a gang of datallers, had proceeded along the north level to the fall in Doctor's, and were already hard at work clearing away the great heap of debris.

The other fireman, old Ike Ellsworth, a man who had worked in the King ever since its commencement nearly 49 years before, and another gang of workmen were on their way through the air-ways, Ike at their head, their destination being the backside of the fall.

It was about half-past seven when Ike Ellsworth and his gang reached, by means of the circuitous route they were forced to take, the spot where Luke Standish and his mates had been working only three or four hours before. A hasty glance about the place convinced the old miner that the missing men were not buried beneath the fallen roof.

The tools they had used during the preceding shift were ranged orderly against the side of the road—picks, spades, saw, and hammer, all being there. And a more careful scrutiny of the spot showed that the cans and garments of Luke and his workmates were nowhere to be discovered.

Going to the edge of the fall, Ike spoke to the workmen on the other side.

"Is Ben Chadwick there?"

"Ay! Dun yo' want him?"

"Ah do."

Ben Chadwick came forward, and standing upon the tail end of the debris asked his subordinate how matters were on the other side. The fireman replied that the tools of the missing men were there, but their clothes could not be found, and he expressed himself as satisfied that none of them were buried under the fall.

"Then wheer are they?" Chadwick asked.

"Lost int' th' airways, o hundred to one!" Ike cried decisively.

"Dost think so, Ike?" the underlooker queried reflectively.

"Ah do, Ben!" the fireman answered, "for wheer else con they be?"

"Ay, jus' so. Well, thah'd better gooa an' look fur 'em Ike, an' I'll send Jim heeur to help thee. Heaw monny men hast wi' thee?"

"Four beside mesel'."

"Then leeuv three on 'em theeur to wurk at fa', an' tek t'other wi' thee int' th' air-roads. And Jim heeur, an' unother shall jine yo' to help find Luke and his mates."

"Aw reet," Ike Ellsworth responded, and after giving the workmen instructions he set out to search for the lost miners.