Brownsmith's Boy Part 70

I walked about on the soft sand, feeling about above my head, and all over the face of the cave side for a long time in vain; and then with my head swimming I sank down in despair, and leaned heavily back, to utter a cry of pain.

"What's matter?" cried Shock, coming to me.

"I've struck the back of my head against a sharp stone," I cried, turning round to feel for the projecting piece.

"Why, it's here, Shock. This is the piece I hung my jacket on, but it has sunk down. No, no," I cried; "I forgot; it is the bottom of the hole that has filled up. The sand has come up all this way. Keep back."

I had turned on my hands and knees and was tearing out the sand just below the projecting piece of sand-rock.

"What yer doing?" cried Shock. "You'll make more come down and cover us up."

"My jacket is buried down here," I cried, and I worked away feeling certain that I should find it, and at last, in spite of the sand coming down almost as fast as I tore it out, I scratched and sc.r.a.ped away till, to my great delight, I got hold of a part of the jacket and dragged it out.

"Hurrah!" I cried. "I've got it."

"And the bread and meat?" cried Shock. "Oh, give us a bit; I am so bad."

"No," I said despairingly.

"What! yer won't give me a bit?" he cried fiercely.

"It isn't here," I said. "It was in my pocket, but it's gone. Stop!"

I cried; "it was a big packet and it must have come out."

I plunged my arms into the soft sand again, and worked away for long, though I was ready to give up again and again, and my fingers were getting painfully sore, but I worked on, and at last, to my great delight, as I dug down something slipped slowly down on to the back of my hands--I had dug down past it, and the sand had brought it out of the side down to me.

"Here it is!" I cried, standing up and shaking the sand away from the paper as I tore it open.

Shock uttered a cry like a hungry dog as he heard the paper rustle, and then I divided the sandwiches in two parts and wrapped one back in the paper.

"What yer doin'?" cried Shock.

"Saving half for next time," I said. "We mustn't eat all now."

Shock growled, but I paid no heed, and gave him half of what I had in my hands, and then putting the parcel with the rest right at the end where the sand did not fall, I sat down and we ate our gritty but welcome meal.

We tried round the place again and again, using up the candle till the wick fell over and dropped in the sand; and then first one match and then another was burned till we were compelled to give up all hope of escaping by our own efforts.

Refreshed and strengthened by the food, Shock expressed himself ready for a new trial at digging his way out.

"I can do it," he said. "I'll soon get through."

Soon after he was clinging to me, hot, panting, and trembling in every limb, after narrowly escaping suffocation, and when I wanted to take up the task where he had left off, he clung to me more tightly and would not let me go from his side.

"Yer can't do it," he said hoa.r.s.ely. "Sand comes down and smothers yer.

Faster yer works, faster it comes. Let Ike bring the shovels."

There was no other chance. I felt that, and sat down beside Shock and talked and tried to cheer him up; and when I broke down he roused up and tried to cheer me. Then I talked to him about stories I had read, where people had been buried alive, and where they were always dug out at last, and when I was weary he took his turn, showing me that in his rough way he could talk quickly and in an interesting way about catching birds and rats. How at times he had caught rats with his hands, and had been bitten by them.

"But," he added, with a laugh, "I served 'em out for it--I bit them after I'd skinned and cooked 'em."

"How horrible!" I said.

"Horrible! Why? They'd lived on our fruit and corn till they were fat as fat, I like rat."

Then we grew tired, and as soon as we ceased talking a curious sensation of fear came over us. I say us, for more than once I knew that Shock felt it, by his whispering to me in an awe-stricken tone:

"I never know'd as being in the dark was like this before. It's darker like, much darker, you know than being in one of the lofts under the straw."

CHAPTER THIRTY.

HOW WE WERE RESCUED.

It is all confused at times as I try to recall it. Some of our adventure stands out clear to me, as if it took place only yesterday, while other parts seem strange and dreamy, and I know now that we both dozed a great deal in the warm close place like a pair of animals shut up for their winter sleep.

We soon finished our food, for we were in such good hope of soon being dug out that we had not the heart to save a part of it in our hungry state. Then we slept again, and woke, and slept again, till waking and sleeping were mixed up strangely. The horror seemed to wear off a great deal, only when Shock started up suddenly and began talking loudly about something I could not understand, my feeling of fear increased.

How time went--when it was night and when it was day--I could not tell; and at last almost our sole thought was about what we should eat when we got out again.

At last I felt too weak and helpless to do more than lie still and try to think of a prayer or two, which at times was only half uttered before I dropped asleep.

Then I woke to think of Mr Solomon and the garden, and fell asleep again. And then I recall trying to rouse up Shock, who seemed to be always sleeping; and while I was trying feebly to get him to speak to me again I seem to have gone to sleep once more, and everything was like being at an end.

At first I had suffered agonies of fear and horror. At last all seemed to fade, as it were, into a dreamless sleep.

"It was like this here," Ike told me afterwards. "I lay down and made myself comfortable, and then after smoking a pipe I went off asleep.

When I woke up I heerd you two a chiveying about and shouting, but it was too soon to move, so I went asleep again.

"Then I woke up and looked about for you, and shouted for you to come down and have something to eat, and bring up the horse again, for I thought by that time he'd have had a good rest.

"I shouted again, but I couldn't make you hear, so I went up higher and hollered once more, and then Juno came trotting up to me and looked up in my face.

"I asked her where you two was, but she didn't say anything of course, so I began to grow rough, and I said you might find your way back, my lads; and I went down to the public, ordered some tea and some briled ham; see to my horse having another feed and some water, and then, as you hadn't come down, I had my tea all alone in a huff.

"Then I finished, and you hadn't come, so I says, 'Well, that's their fault, and they may go without.' But all the same I says to myself, 'Well, poor chaps, they don't often get a run in the country!' and that made me a bit soft like, and I pulled a half-quartern loaf in two and put all the briled ham that was left in the middle, and tied it up in a clean hankychy for you to eat going home.

"Then I pays for the eating and the horse, harnessed him up, after a good rub down his legs, and whistled to Juno, who was keeping very close to me, and we went up the hill to the sand-pit again.

"I shouted and hollered again, and then, as it was got to be quite time we started, I grew waxy, and pulls out my knife and cuts a good ash stick out of the hedge for Master Shock, for I put it down to him for having led you off.

"Still you didn't come, and though I looked all about there was nothing fresh as I could see, only sand everywhere; and at last I says to myself, 'I sha'n't wait with that load to get out of the pit here,' and so I started.

"Nice tug the hoss had, but she brought it well out on to the hard road, and there I rested just a quarter of an hour, giving a holler now and then.

"'I'm off!' I says at last, 'and they may foller. Come on, Juno,' I says; but the dog wasn't there.

"That made me more waxy, and I shouted and whistled, and she come from out of the sand-pit and kept looking back, as if she wanted to know why you two didn't come. She follered the cart, though, right enough; and feeling precious put out, I went on slowly down the hill; stopped in the village ten minutes, and then, knowing you could find out that I'd gone on, I set to for my long job, and trudged on by the hoss.