"Not enough to turn on anything—not even the purifiers?"
"Nothing."
"Where were you?"
"Up in the stope."
"Good God!" That news, to Clancy, was informative enough.
"But to hell with all that. What happened, and where?"
"A skip-load, and then a magazine, of high explosive, right at Station Seven—it's right at the main shaft, you know." Jones did not know, since he had never been in that part of the mine, but he could see the picture. "Main shaft filled up to above Seven, and both emergency shafts blocked. Number One at Six, Number Two at Seven—must have been a fault—But here's Chief Engineer Stanley." The works manager, not too unwillingly, relinquished the microphone.
A miner came running up and Jones covered his mouth-piece. "How about the glory holes?"
"Plugged solid, all four of 'em—by the vibro, clear up to Eleven."
"Thanks." Then, as soon as Stanley's voice came on: