His heart beat very slow, and I thought he'd die; but I knew if he got clear air that he might come round.
"When we had gotten to the shaft bottom we found it all full of smoke; the waft had gone straight up, and they on the top told us after that all the earth round was shook, and the black smoke and coal-dust flew up as though from a gun-barrel.

Any way it was strong enough to carry away the machine, so we waited there ten minutes and wondered the basket did not come down; but they above, meanwhile, were rigging a rope to an old horse-whim, and as they could not get horses, the men run the poles round themselves.
"But we at the bottom knew nothing of all this.

There were thirty or so in the shaft bottom, standing there, dripping wet wi' water, and shouting for the others, who never came; now the smoke began to show in the west drive, and we knew the mine was fired, and yet we heard nought from those above.
"But what I minded most of all was, that Jack was getting better.

I knew we could not well be lost right under the shaft, so I did not swear and go on like some of them, because they did not mind us above.
When the basket came down at last, I and Jack went up among the first, and there I saw such a sight, lad, as ye'll never see till ye see a colliery explosion.

There were hundreds and hundreds there.