t and his
thoughts among the stars, instead of carrying the light in his hand and
looking to his feet. He fell down that winze and broke his back. When
we got him up to grass he was alive, but he never spoke another word,
and died the same night."

"Poor fellow!" said Oliver; "I suppose your men have narrow escapes
sometimes."

"They have, sir, but it's most always owin' to carelessness. There was
a cousin of that very lad Trevool who was buried with a comrade by the
falling in of a shaft and came out alive. I was there at the time and
helped to dig him out."

Captain Dan here stopped, and, sticking his candle against the wet wall
of the mine, sat down on a piece of rock, while our hero stood beside
him. "You see," said he, "we were sinking a shaft, or rather reopening
an old one, at the time, and Harvey, that was the man's name, was down
working with a comrade. They came to a soft bit o' ground, an' as they
cut through it they boarded it up with timbers across to prevent it
slipping, but they did the work hastily. After they had cut down some
fathoms below it, the boarding gave way, and down the whole thing went,
boards, timbers, stones, and rubbish, on their heads. We made sure they
were dead, but set to, nevertheless, to dig them out as fast as
possible--turning as many hands to the work as could get at it. At last
we came on them, and both were alive, and not very much hurt! The
timbers and planks had fallen over them in such a way as to keep the
stones and rubbish off. I had a talk with old Harvey the other day on
this very subject. He told me that he was squeezed flat against the
side of the shaft by the rubbish which buried him, and that he did not
lose consciousness for a moment. A large stone had stuck right above
his head, and this probably saved him. He heard us digging down to him,
he said, and when we got close he sang out to hold on, as the shovel was
touching him. Sure enough this was the case, for the next shovelful of
rubbish that was lifted revealed the top of his head! We cleared the
way to his mouth as carefully as we could, and then gave him a drop of
brandy before going on with the work of excavation. His comrade was
found in a stooping position, and was more severely bruised than old
Harvey, but both of them lived to tell the tale of their burial, and to
thank God for their deliverance. Yes," continued the captain, detaching
his candle from the wall and resuming his walk, "we