ff home to bed, and cried like a lass.

"And next morning I was up before him, and down the pit. He worked a
good piece from me, so I did not see him, and it came on nigh nine
o'clock before I began to wonder why the viewer had not been round, for
I had heard say there was a foul place cut into by some of them, and at
such times the viewer generally looks into every corner.

"Well, about nine, the viewer and underviewer came up with the overman,
and stood talking alongside of me, when there came a something sudden
and sharp, as tho' one had boxed your ears, and then a 'whiz, whiz,'
and the viewer stumbled a one side, and cried out, 'God save us!'

"I hardly knew what had happened till I heard him singing out clear and
firm, 'Come here to me, you lads; come here. Keep steady, and we'll be
all right yet.' Then I knew it was a fire, and a sharp one, and began
crying out for Jack.

"I heard him calling for me, and then he ran up and got hold of me; and
so ended the only quarrel we ever had, and that was a one-sided one.

"'Are you all here?' said the viewer. 'Now follow me, and if we meet
the afterdamp hold your breath and run. I am afraid it's a bad job, but
we may get through yet.'

"We had not gone fifty yards before we came on the afterdamp, filling
the headway like smoke. Jack and I took hold of each other's collars
and ran, but before we were half-way through, he fell. I kept good hold
of his shirt, and dragged him on on the ground. I felt as strong as a
horse; and in ten seconds, which seemed to me like ten hours, I dragged
him out under the shaft into clear air. At first I thought he was dead,
but he was still alive, and very little of that. His heart beat very
slow, and I thought he'd die; but I knew if he got clear air that he
might come round.

"When we had gotten to the shaft bottom we found it all full of smoke;
the waft had gone straight up, and they on the top told us after that
all the earth round was shook, and the black smoke and coal-dust flew
up as though from a gun-barrel. Any way it was strong enough to carry
away the machine, so we waited there ten minutes and wondered the
basket did not come down; but they above, meanwhile, were rigging a
rope to an old horse-whim, and as they could not get horses, the men
run the poles round themselves.

"But we at the bottom knew nothing of all this. There were thirty or so
in the shaft bottom, standing there, dripping wet wi' water, and
shouting for the o