that they had descended the mine, as he did
not wish to have any appearance of thrusting himself forward. For
another hour he wrote; and then the window of the office flew in pieces,
the chairs danced, and the walls rocked, while a dull heavy roar, like
distant thunder, burst upon his ears.

He leaped to his feet and rushed to the door. Black smoke was pouring up
from the pit's mouth, sticks and pieces of wood and coal were falling in
a shower in the yard; and Jack saw that his worst anticipation had been
realized, and that a terrible explosion had taken place in the Vaughan
pit.

CHAPTER XXIV.

IN DEADLY PERIL.

For a moment Jack stood stunned by the calamity. There were, he knew,
over three hundred men and boys in the pit, and he turned faint and sick
as the thought of their fate came across him. Then he ran towards the
top of the shaft. The bankman lay insensible at a distance of some yards
from the pit, where he had been thrown by the force of the explosion.
Two or three men came running up with white scared faces. The smoke had
nearly ceased already; the damage was done, and a deadly stillness
seemed to reign.

Jack ran into the engine-house. The engine-man was leaning against a
wall, scared and almost fainting.

"Are you hurt, John?"

"No!"

"Pull yourself round, man. The first thing is to see if the lift is all
right. I see one of the cages is at bank, and the force of the explosion
is in the upcast shaft. Just give a turn or two to the engine and see if
the winding gear's all right. Slowly."

The engineman turned on the steam; there was a slight movement, and then
the engine stopped.

"A little more steam," Jack said. "The cage has caught, but it may
come."

There was a jerk, and then the engine began to work.

"That is all right," Jack said, "whether the lower cage is on or not.
Stop now, and wind it back, and get the cage up again. Does the bell
act, I wonder?"

Jack pulled the wire which, when in order, struck a bell at the bottom
of the shaft, and then looked at a bell hanging over his head for the
answer. None came.

"I expect the wire's broke," Jack said, and went out to the pit's mouth
again.

The surface-men were all gathered round now, the tip-men, and the
yard-men, and those from the coke-ovens, all looking wild and pale.

"I am going down," Jack said; "we may find some poor fellows near the
bottom, and can't wait till some headman comes on the ground. Who will
go with