Ben was the first on his feet, which was not saying much, since the bottom of the opening was not level, and he stood in the soft loam up to his ankles. Shaking himself to find that no bones were broken, he drew a long breath.
“Major, are you all right?” he asked.
“No—no—I’m not all—all right,” came with a gasp. “I’ve had my wi—wind knocked ou—out of me.”
“Any bones broken?”
“I gue—guess not. But wh—who ever heard of such a con—founded trick?”
“I’ve heard of it several times, major. But we are not as bad off as we might have been had the rebels put some sharp sticks down here to spit us with.”
“True.” Major Morris gave a grunt, and wiped the dirt from his eyes. “Well, I reckon we’ve learned what their engineering corps was up to.”
This was said so dryly that in spite of his discomfiture Ben was compelled to laugh.
“Yes, we’ve learned. The question is, now we are down here, how are we going to get out?”