Burnham Breaker Part 61

"Come!" he said, "the way's clear an' we'll find better air in there."

But Bachelor Billy did not respond. He had fallen against the lower face of coal, unconscious. Conway saw that he must do quick work.

He reached over, grasped the man by his shoulders, and with superhuman effort drew him up to the shelf and across the body of the mule. Then, creeping into the opening, he pulled the helpless man through with him into the old mine, and dragged him up the chamber out of reach of the poisoned current. He loosened his collar and chafed his wrists and the better air in there did the rest.

Bachelor Billy soon returned to consciousness, and learned where he was.

"That was fulish in me," he said, "to weaken like that; but I'm no'

used to that white damp. Gi' me a minute to catch ma breath an' I'll go wi' ye."

Conway went down and walled up the opening again. When he came back Bachelor Billy was on his feet, walking slowly down the chamber, throwing the light of his lamp into the entrances on the way.

"Did he go far fra the openin,' thenk ye?" he asked. "Would he no'

most like stay near whaur he cam' through?"

Then he tried to lift up his voice and call to the boy; but he was too weak, he could hardly have been heard across the chamber.

"Call 'im yoursel', Mike," he said; "I ha' no power i' my throat, some way."

Conway called, loudly and repeatedly. There was no answer; the echoes came rattling back to their ears, and that was all that they heard.

"Mayhap he's gone to the headin'," said Billy, "an" tried to get oot by the auld slope."

"That's just what he's done," replied Conway, earnestly; "I told 'im where the old openin' was; he's tried to get to it."

"Then we'll find 'im atween here an' there."

The two men had been moving slowly down the chamber. When they came to the foot of it, they turned into the air-way, and from that they went through the entrance into the heading. At this place the dirt on the floor was soft and damp, and they saw in it the print of a boy's shoe.

"He's gone in," said Bachelor Billy, examining the foot-prints, "he's gone in toward the face. I ken the place richt well, it's mony's the time I ha' travelled it."

They hurried in along the heading, not stopping to look for other tracks, but expecting to find the boy's body ahead of them at every step they took.

When they reached the face, they turned and looked at each other in surprise.

"He's no' here," said Billy.

"It's strange, too," replied Conway. "He couldn't 'a' got off o' the headin'!"

He stooped and examined the floor of the pa.s.sage carefully, holding his lamp very low.

"Billy," he said, "I believe he's come in an' gone out again. Here's tracks a-pointin' the other way."

"So he has, Mike, so he has; the puir lad!"

Bachelor Billy was thinking of the disappointment Ralph must have felt when he saw the face of the heading before him, and knew that his journey in had been in vain.

Already the two men had turned and were walking back.

At the point where they had entered the heading they found foot-prints leading out toward the slope. They had not noticed them at first.

They followed them hastily, and came, as Ralph had come, to the fall.

"He's no' climbit it," said Billy. "He's gone up an' around it. The lad knew eneuch aboot the mines for that."

They pa.s.sed up into the chambers, but the floor was too dry to take the impress of footsteps, and they found no trace of the boy.

When they reached the upper limit of the fall, Billy said:--

"We mus' turn sharp to the left here, or we'll no' get back. It's a tarrible windin' headin'."

But Conway had discovered tracks, faintly discernible, leading across into a pa.s.sage used by men and mules to shorten the distance to the inner workings.

"He's a-goin' stret back," said Billy, sorrowfully, as they slowly followed these traces, "he's a-goin' stret back to whaur he cam'

through."

Surely enough the prints of the child's feet soon led the tired searchers back to the opening from Conway's chamber.

They looked at each other in silent disappointment, and sat down for a few moments to rest and to try to think.

Bachelor Billy was the first to rise to his feet.

"Mike," he said, "the lad's i' this auld mine. Be it soon or late I s'all find 'im. I s'all search the place fra slope to headin'-face. I s'all no' gae oot till I gae wi' the boy or wi' 'is body; what say ye?

wull ye help?"

Conway grasped the man's hand with a pressure that meant more than words, and they started immediately to follow their last track back.

They pa.s.sed up and down all the chambers in the tier till they reached the point, at the upper limit of the fall, where Ralph had turned into the foot-way. Their search had been a long and tiresome one and had yielded to them no results.

They began to appreciate the fact that a thorough exploration of the mine could not be made in a short time by two worn-out men. Billy blamed himself for not having thought sooner to send for other and fresher help.

"Ye mus' go now, Mike," he said. "Mayhap it'd take days wi' us twa here alone, an' the lad's been a-wanderin' aroun' so."

But Conway demurred.

"You're the one to go," he said. "You can't stan' it in here much longer, an' I can. You're here at the risk o' your life. Go on out with ye an' get a bit o' the fresh air. I'll stay and hunt for the boy till the new men comes."

But Bachelor Billy was in earnest.

"I canna do it," he said. "I would na get farther fra the lad for warlds, an' him lost an' a-dyin' mayhap. I'll stan' it. Never ye fear for me! Go on, Mike, go on quick!"

Conway turned reluctantly to go.

"Hold out for an hour," he shouted back, "an' we'll be with ye!"

Before the sound of his footsteps had died away, Billy had picked up his lamp again and started down on the easterly side of the fall, making little side excursions as he went, hunting for foot-prints on the floor of the mine.

When he came to the heading, he turned to go back to the face of the fall. It was but a few steps. There was a little stream of water running down one side of the pa.s.sage and he lay down by it to drink.

Half hidden in the stream he espied a miner's lamp. He reached for it in sudden surprise. He saw that it had been lately in use. He started to his feet and moved up closer to the fall, looking into the dark places under the rock. His foot struck something; it was the oil-can.