up that hole where Grip must have gone. He must have got up
to the surface."

Hardock shook his head.

"Why not?" continued Gwyn, eagerly. "The wind rushes up there."

"Ay, but wind will go where even a mouse couldn't."

"But if Grip hadn't got up there, he'd have come back."

"If he could, sir--if he could. But don't, don't ask me questions; I'm
all mazed like, and can't think or do anything. I only want to go to
sleep, sir, out of it all, never to have any more of this horror and
trouble."

"Look here, Sam," continued Gwyn; "this noise of the wind coming up
means the water filling up the passages and driving it out, doesn't it?"

"I s'pose so, sir."

"How long will it be before the mine is quite full of water?"

"Who knows, sir? Tends on how big the hole is. Maybe hours, for it's a
vasty place--miles of workings."

"Then the water won't come up to us till the passages are all full."

"No, sir, and maybe not come to us at all. We may be too high."

"Too high? Of course. If we're above sea-level now, it won't reach
us."

"No, sir. You see the mouth of the mine's quite two hundred feet above
sea-level, the workings are all below."

"Then we may escape yet?"

"Escape, sir?" said Hardock, despairingly. "How?"

"Grip has gone up to grass."

"Ay, perhaps he has escaped," said Hardock, dismally.

"And if he has, do you think he will not bring us help? Why, it may
come any time."

"Yes, to the hole he got out of; and it'll take five years to dig down
through the solid rock to get us out. Nay, Master Gwyn, you may give it
up. We're as good as dead."

A faint sound, half groan, half cry, arrested them; and Gwyn hurried to
the crack up which Joe Jollivet had crawled.

"What is it? Can you get by?"

"No, no," came back faintly, the words being half drowned by the noise
of the wind; "stuck fast."

"Oh, why did he grow so long and awkward!" muttered Gwyn. "Here, Joe,
turn round a bit and try and come back on your side."

"Been trying hard, and I can't come back."

Gwyn's heart sank, and he hesitated for a few moments, till the piteous
word "Help!" reached his ears, when he crept into the hole, leaving his
lanthorn burning outside, sheltered from the current of air which rushed
to the outlet, and began to crawl up as fast as he could.

"Help!" came again.

"Coming. You must turn."

"Can't, I tell you. Oh, Ydoll, old fellow, it's all over now I--ah!"

Then there was a wild cry t