thud, thud, thud," reached
their ears. With their spirits raised they were again going on, when
out went Dick's lamp. They were in complete darkness. Not a glimmer of
light came from where the other men were at work. Dick shouted as
loudly as he could to draw attention. As to David, his voice could not
help much. No one attended to them. They stumbled on for some time
farther.

"I know that voice. It's Bill Hagger, I'm sure," said Dick. "I've
often heard him sing that song; I would rather it had been any one else,
but I don't think he would ill-treat us now."

Dick shouted to Bill to come with his light. Just at that moment while
they were waiting for Bill's answer, there was a loud, thundering crash,
with a fearful shriek and cries for help.

"The roof has fallen in, and Bill is buried under it. Oh, let us push
on, and see if we cannot help him out," cried Dick.

The two boys had groped their way on for some distance, when they saw
far-off the glimmer of a light.

"That must be Bill's lantern," said Dick. "He must have set it down
before the roof fell in on him."

Bill had ceased shrieking, but they could hear his groans.

They at last reached the spot. A large mass of coal had fallen, and
shut him up in a side passage. Part of it must have fallen on him. The
boys, weak as they were, in vain tried to lift the big lumps of coal off
the young man. They soon saw that they might very likely, in so doing,
bring down more on their own heads, and that it would be better to hurry
on to get help. Dick entirely forgot all the ill-treatment he had
received from Bill, and overcoming the fatigue he had been feeling, ran
on, with the help of Bill's lamp, towards the place where he expected to
find men at work, dragging poor David along with him. He felt David
growing heavier and heavier. At last, without uttering a sound, down he
sank by his side. Was he really dead? He held the light to his
friend's pale face. He breathed. There was only one thing to be done.
He dragged him to the side of the gallery, out of the way of any rolley,
which might by chance come by, and ran on to where he thought he heard
some men at work. He shouted out. The first man who appeared was his
father. He told him that he had found David.

"What alive?" asked Samuel.

"Yes, father; but he won't be if we don't make haste; and besides him
there is Bill Hagger, with a heap of coals over him."

On hearing this, Samuel Kempso