Chapter 10 Chapter 10 On the way back and forth

Hearing Harry's voice, James Starr, Madge, and Simon Ford climb into the hole leading to the Dochart Coal Bunker where a new coal deposit has been discovered. So they came to the entrance of a rather large alley.One would really have thought that this passage had been hewn by hand, dug with pickaxes and pickaxes for the purpose of opening a new deposit.The prospectors could not help wondering if, by a curious accident, they had been led to an old coal mine whose existence the oldest miner in the county had never known existed. No!It was the geological strata during the subsidence of the Mesozoic that "reserved" this alley.It may be that some torrent used to flow here when the water on high was going to mix with the bogged-down vegetation, but it is now like a granite-like rock formation that has been excavated thousands of feet below it. dry.At the same time, the air here moves freely—suggesting that there is a natural "fire fan" that circulates it with the outside atmosphere.

The engineer's observation was correct, and in this new mine the ventilation is felt to be very good.As for the gas that had escaped through the slate of the rock face not long ago, it seemed to be contained in a simple "pocket" and has now withdrawn, and there must be no gas left in the air of the alley.However, out of an abundance of caution, Harry only brought the safety light, which guaranteed him 12 hours of light. James Starr and his companions felt an utter joy, for their hopes were utterly fulfilled.All around them was coal, and coal.Some kind of excitement made them all speechless.Simon Ford is also restrained, his happiness comes out not through long speeches, but through short interjections.

It might have been imprudent for them to go so deep into this dungeon.Hi!They didn't think much of going back.The alleys are smooth, with few twists and turns.There are no cracks to interrupt the passage, no "products" to emit noxious fumes.So, without any reason to stand still, James Starr, Madge, Harry, and Simon Ford walked for an hour without any markers to point them in the right direction through this strange tunnel. No doubt they would have gone farther, had they not come to the end of the road they had followed since they entered the lane. At the end of the alley is a huge cave. It is impossible to estimate how high and deep this hole is.At what height did the vault of the cave form a circle, and how far back did the rock wall corresponding to the vault retreat?The darkness in the cave prevented them from seeing clearly.But, by the lights, the prospectors could observe that beneath the vaults of the cavern lay a vast expanse of stagnant water—a pond or lake—with picturesque shores, undulating and towering Rock, hidden in darkness.

"Stop!" cried Simon Ford, stopping suddenly. "One more step forward, and we may roll into some abyss!" "Then we shall rest a little, my friends," replied the engineer, "and, besides, it is time to think about going back to the cottage." "Our lights will light us for ten hours, Mr Starr," said Harry. "Well, rest for a while," interjected James Starr, "I admit that my legs are going to rest!—and you, Madge, don't you think that you have walked the same distance? Tired?" "Not very tired, Mr James," replied the stout Scotch woman; "we are used to exploring the old mines at Aberfoyle all day long."

"Well!" Simon Ford added, "Medkey could go 10 times that way if necessary! However, I still want to ask, Mr. James, is my intelligence worth using for you? Say no, Mr. James, say no!" "Hi! my old chap, I haven't been this happy for a long time!" replied the engineer, "and the little part of this excellent coal we have explored seems to indicate a very considerable area, at least in length." "Breadth as well as depth, Mr. James!" retorted Simon Ford. "This, we will know later." "And me, I can vouch for it! Please trust my old miner's instincts. My instincts have never deceived me!"

"I would like to believe you, Simon," the engineer replied with a smile, "but in the end, what I can judge from this short exploration is that we have mineable elements that we can mine for centuries!" "Centuries!" cried Simon Ford. "I have no doubts, Mr. James! It will last a thousand years and more, till the last coal is drawn from our new mine!" "God is listening to you!" replied James Starr, "as to the quality of the coal that emerges from these rock faces . . . " "Excellent, Mr James, excellent!" replied Simon Ford, "see this for yourself!"

As he spoke, he picked up a black rock with a pickaxe. "Look! Look!" he repeated, holding the coal under the lamp, "the surface of this coal is glistening! We'll get fat coal here, coal rich in bituminous matter! And they'll be split Come on, almost no coal ash! Ah! Mr. James, after 20 years, finally a deposit that can compete vigorously with Swan Sea and Cardiff! Well, those firemen will also compete for this, and if mining costs less If there are many, it won’t be more expensive to sell outside!” "Indeed," said Madge, who had taken the coal and examined it expertly, "it's fine charcoal—take it, Simon, to the cottage! I hope the first A lump of coal is burning under our kettle!"

"Well said, wife!" replied the old foreman, "you will see that I am not deceived." "Mr. Starr," Harry asked now, "do you have any idea of ​​the approximate bearing of this long drift we've been walking down since entering the new mine?" "No, boy," replied the engineer, "with a compass, I might be able to ascertain its general direction. But without a compass, here I am like a sailor at sea, in mist, without the sun Unable to determine bearing." "Undoubtedly, Mr James," retorted Simon Ford, "but, I beseech you, do not compare our position with that of sailors, whose feet are always and everywhere abysses, we are on firm ground , here we never have to worry about sinking!"

"I would not cause you such displeasure, old Simon," replied James Starr, "that it would have occurred to me to depreciate the value of the new mines at Aberfoyle by an inaccurate comparison! I would only One thing to say, it's that we don't know where we are." "We're underground in Stirlingshire, Mr James," replied Simon Ford, "I'm as sure of that as if..." "Listen!" said Harry, interrupting the old foreman. All pricked up their ears like young miners.His auditory nerves were well trained, and suddenly he noticed a dull voice, as if it was a whisper from afar.James Starr, Simon and Madge, they soon heard it too.The sound came from the upper layers of the rock group, a rumbling sound, which could clearly be felt as a continuous "crescendo" and "decrescendo", although very softly.

The four of them listened for a few minutes with their ears pricked up, but none of them said a word. Then, suddenly, Simon Ford exclaimed: "Hey! By St. Mungo! Is the dump truck already on the new Aberfoyle track?" "Father," Harry replied, "I think it's more the sound of water rolling over a coastal strip." "Then we are not under the sea!" exclaimed the old foreman. "No," replied the engineer, "but it is not impossible that we are under the bed of Lake Catlin." "Then the vault in this place may not be thick, because the sound of water can be heard?"

"It's not thick, that's what it is," replied James Starr, "and that's what makes the cave so huge." "You may be right, Mr Starr," said Harry. "Besides, it's such a bad weather out there," went on James Starr, "that the lake might swell like Worth Bay." "Hey! What's the matter, after all," replied Simon Ford, "it can't be any worse than a phosphate bed stretching out at the bottom of a lake! It wouldn't be the first time people went to the bottom of the ocean to find coal! When we What's the harm when all the deepest and deepest parts of the North Canal have to be mined?". "Well said, Simon," cried the engineer, looking at the excited foreman, and couldn't help smiling, "we're pushing our trench right under the sea! Hollowing the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean! Dig under the ocean to meet our American brothers! Dig to the center of the earth, if necessary, to extract its last coal from it!" "You think it's a joke, Mr. James?" asked the old foreman, with a slightly mocking air. "I'm kidding! Old Simon! No! But you're so excited I can't help it! Listen, let's get back to reality, which is already beautiful. We'll leave our picks there until another day, Go back to the cottage!" Nothing else to do right now.Some time later, the engineer, accompanied by a team of miners, will revisit New-Aberfoyle with lights and the necessary tools.But hurry back to the Dochart Coal Bunker.Besides, the road is easy to walk.The approach road runs almost straight through the rock formations to the opening where the dynamite blasts open.Therefore, there is no need to worry about getting lost. But just as James Starr was walking towards Ping Lane, Simon Ford stopped him. "Mr. James," he said to him, "do you see this great hole, and the subterranean lake at the bottom, and the water that soaks the sands of our feet? Well, right here, where I'm moving my family, in the Here I shall build a new cottage, and in a year's time there will be more than one town among the rocks of our old England, if a few brave fellows will follow my example!" James Starr approved Simon Ford's idea with a smile, shook his hand, and the three of them walked ahead of Madge into the depths of the alley to return to the Dochart coal bunker. During the first mile, nothing happened.Harry went ahead.Hold the lamp high above your head.He followed the main alley carefully, not once straying into the narrow tunnels that radiated left and right.When, therefore, it seemed that the way back should be as easy as the way back, a vexing complication suddenly arose; For, at one point, Harry held the lamp up with a violent gust of air, as if produced by the beating of invisible wings.The blown crooked lamp slipped from Harry's grasp.It fell on the rocky floor of the lane and broke. Immediately James Starr and his companions were plunged into pitch-black darkness.Since the oil in the lamp has been spilled, it can no longer be used. "Well, Harry," cried Youmont Ford, "you want us to break our necks and go back to the cottage?" Harry didn't answer.He is thinking.Had he perhaps seen yet another hand of a mysterious figure behind this latest accident?Is there an enemy in such depths, whose inexplicable antagonism will someday create severe difficulties?Is there an intention to ban all attempts to mine new carbon-bearing deposits?In fact, this is absurd, but the facts speak for themselves, and each fact has turned mere doubt into affirmation. While waiting, the prospectors were in a bad place.They had to walk about five miles in pitch darkness along the alley that led to Dochart's coal bunker.Then they had to walk another hour before reaching the cottage. "Keep going," said Simon Ford, "we have not a moment to waste. We shall grope like blind men. It is impossible to get lost. The tunnels that lead our way are only real alleys like mole holes. Going down the main passage, we must come to the hole that opens the way for us. Next, this is an old coal mine. We are familiar with it, Harry or I, and it is not the first time we are here in the dark. Besides, there we The lamp we left can be found. On the road!—Harry, you go first, Mr. James, you follow him, Madge, you follow, and I, I, the rear. Especially note that we don't Separate, heel to heel, or arm to arm!" You can only obey the guidance of the old foreman.As he said, it is not easy to get lost by groping.Just put your hands in place of your eyes and trust the instinct, which in the old foreman and his son became a second nature. Accordingly, James Starr and his companions proceeded in the appointed order.They do not speak, but not for lack of thought.It was obvious that they had an opponent.But who is he, and how can he deal with an attack so mysteriously prepared?These extremely disturbing thoughts came to their minds.However, this is not the time to be discouraged. Harry walked forward with a firm step, arms outstretched.He kept walking from one rock wall to another in the alley.When encountering potholes and side entrances, he found out by groping with his hands that he could not enter.Even though the potholes were shallow and the opening was narrow, he kept walking on the right path. In the darkness where you can't reach your fingers, because it is extremely dark, this difficult return journey took about two hours.By calculating the time and considering that the forward speed cannot be fast, James Starr estimated that he and his partners might reach the exit soon. Indeed, almost immediately, Harry stopped. "Have we come to the end of the alley at last?" asked Simon Ford. "Yes," replied the young miner. "So you should have found the connection again between New-Aberfoyle and the Dochart bunker?" "No," Harry replied, his curled hands touching only the full, solid surface of a rock wall. The old foreman stepped forward to touch the slate himself. He uttered a call. Either the prospectors had lost their way on the way back, or the narrow opening in the rock wall where the dynamite had blown had been newly plugged! In either case, James Starr and his mates are imprisoned in New-Aberfoyle!

---

Notes: