Chester swung himself close to the side of the pit even as he felt the covering give and came down a short distance from Hal. He covered his head as well as he could and waited for he knew not what.
It was not long coming.
Something struck the lad a sharp blow upon the shoulder, numbing it.
Behind him the lad heard rocks and other debris crashing to the bottom.
Holding his breath, he waited for the blow he felt sure must come from
above and unconsciously his right hand stretched out toward where he knew
Hal to be.
But nothing struck him. After five seconds of the terrible roaring, there was silence. Chester looked up. There was light above. Chester uttered a short prayer of thankfulness and rose to his feet.
"All right, Hal," he said, still looking above, while he rubbed his injured shoulder.
There was no reply.
Chester looked quickly about him. There was no sign of Hal.
"Great Scott! What can have happened to him?" he asked himself anxiously.
Quickly he fell to hands and knees and explored the bottom of the pit.
There, where he knew Hal should be, he felt a mound of earth.
"Great Scott! He's buried!" cried Chester.