“Is he—is it bad?” she asked.
The man turned away, looking at the darkness:
“The doctor says ’e’d been dead hours. ’E saw ’im i’ th’ lamp-cabin.”
The old woman, who stood just behind Elizabeth, dropped into a chair, and folded her hands, crying: “Oh, my boy, my boy!”
“Hush!” said Elizabeth, with a sharp twitch of a frown. “Be still, mother, don’t waken th’ children: I wouldn’t have them down for anything!”
The old woman moaned softly, rocking herself. The man was drawing away. Elizabeth took a step forward.
“How was it?” she asked.
“Well, I couldn’t say for sure,” the man replied, very ill at ease. “’E wor finishin’ a stint an’ th’ butties ’ad gone, an’ a lot o’ stuff come down atop ’n ’im.”
“And crushed him?” cried the widow, with a shudder.
“No,” said the man, “it fell at th’ back of ’im. ’E wor under th’ face, an’ it niver touched ’im. It shut ’im in. It seems ’e wor smothered.”