With the fury of the blast, great clouds of earth flew high in the air. Hal and Chester felt the ground open up beneath them and they gasped for breath as they were precipitated into what seemed a bottomless pit. How far they fell they could not tell, but it seemed a long ways; and hardly had they struck bottom when a shower of earth fell upon them.
Fortunately for them, they were in a section of the trench that was protected on either side by artificial abuttments of hard dirt and stones thrown up by the troops and these caught heavy beams and rocks and other debris that would have showered down upon them and crushed them to death. A great log, or such it appeared, came down lengthwise and struck the abuttments on either side of the pit into which the lads had fallen; a second did likewise and these prevented the shower of rocks and pieces of big guns from going through. It was all that saved the lads.
Then more earth fell and covered these and the pit was effectually sealed. Below there was no light, and when Hal and Chester regained their feet neither could see light above. They groped for each other in the dark and at last clasped hands.
"Great Scott! What's happened?" gasped Chester. "Where are we?"
"We are in a pit caused by the explosion of that shell," said Hal, quietly. "The next question is how to get out."
He put a hand above his head, but could touch nothing. He tried jumping, but with no better success.
"I can't reach the top," he said.
The lads felt around the sides of the pit. The walls were sheer. It was useless to think of getting up that way.
"Well, we're up against it," said Hal. "I don't know how we are to get out of here. By Jove! It's lucky we weren't killed by the shell."
"We might just as well have been as to die down here," said Chester.