g, you'll bury
'em. P'r'aps I could squeedge myself down. Let's try.'

"So they ties the rope round me, and I lets myself into the hole, which
was all sand, and roots to hold it a bit together.

"`It's a tight fit,' I says, as I wriggled myself down with my face to
the ganger, but I soon found that wouldn't do, and I dragged myself out
again and took off my boots, tightened my strap, and went down the other
way.

"That was better, but it was a tight job going all round a corner like a
zigger-me-zag, as you calls it, or a furnace chimney; and as I scrouged
down with my eyes shut, and the sand and stones scuttling down after me,
I began to wonder how I was going to get up again.

"`Here!' I shouts, `I shall want two ropes. See if you can reach down
the other.'

"I put up my hand as far as I could reach, and the thin boy put a loop
round his foot and come down, shutting out the light, till he could
reach my hand, and I got hold of the second rope, and went scuttling
farther, till all at once I found it like the boy had said--my legs was
hanging and kicking about.

"`Here's in for it now,' I says to myself; and I wondered whether I
should be buried; but I shouts out, `Lower away,' and I let myself
slide, and then there was a rush of falling sand and I was half
smothered as I swung about, but they lowered down, and directly after I
touched bottom with my feet, and Juno was jumping about me and barking
like mad.

"`Found 'em?' I heard the ganger shout from up in daylight, and I began
to feel about for you; and, Lor'! there has been times when I've longed
for a match, when I've wanted a pipe o' tobacco; but nothing like what I
longed then, so as to see where I was, for it was as black as pitch.

"But I felt about with the dog barking, and followed to where she was,
and feeling about, I got hold of you two boys cuddled up together as if
you was asleep, and nearly covered up with sand.

"I puts my hands to my mouth, and I yells out as loud as I could: `I've
got 'em!' and there came back a `Hooray!' sounding hollow and strange
like, and then I s'pose it was the sand had got in my eyes so as they
began to water like anything.

"But I knelt down trembling all over, for I was afraid you was both
dead, and I can't a-bear touching dead boys. I never did touch none,
but I can't a-bear touching of 'em all the same.

"Then I felt something jump up in my throat, as if I'd swallowed a new
potato, only upside down like,