Jack; the viewer told me to put you at No. 10 gate."

It was ten minutes fast--and as Jack thought very unpleasant--walking.
The sleepers on which the rails for the corves, or little waggons, were
laid, were very slippery. Pools of water stood between them and often
covered them, and blocks of coal of all sizes, which had shaken from the
corves, lay in the road. When it was not water it was black mud.
Sometimes a line of waggons full or empty stood on the rails, and to
pass these they had to squeeze against the damp walls. Before he reached
his post the gloss of Jack's new mining clothes had departed for ever.
The white jumper was covered with black smears, and two or three falls
on the slippery wooden sleepers had effectively blackened his canvas
trousers.

"There, lad," Bill Haden said at length, holding his lamp high to
afford a general view of the situation; "that's your place."

"The place" was a hollow like a cupboard, some five feet high, two deep,
and a little wider. There was a wooden seat in it, a peg or two had been
driven into the rock to hang things from, and a handful or so of hay
upon the ground showed that Jack's predecessor had an idea of comfort.

"There you are, and not a bad place either, Jack. You see this cord? Now
when thou hearst a team of corves coming along, pull yon end and open
the door. When they have passed let go the cord and the door shuts o'
'tself, for it's got a weight and pulley. It's thy business to see that
it has shut, for if a chunk of coal has happened to fall and stops the
door from shutting, the ventilation goes wrong and we all goes to
kingdom come in no time. That's all thou'st got to do 'cept to keep
awake. Of course you woan't do that; no boy does. So that you larn to
wake up when the corves come along, that ull do foine."

"But if I doan't?" Jack asked.

"Well, if thou doan't thou'lt get waked with a cuff o' th' ear by the
driver, and it depends on what sort o' chap he be how hard the cuff
thou'lt get. I doan't think thou'lt feel lonely here, for along that
side road they bring down other corves and the horse comes and takes 'em
on. On this main road the horses go through to the upper end of the
mine, half a mile farther."

"How do it make a differ whether this door be open or shut, father?"

"Well, lad, the air comes up the road we ha come by. Now it's wanted to
go round about by the workings on that side road. This door be put to
stop it from going by the straig