David knew what it was she had begun to say and could not finish; that now Eben Grillage had lost the daughter for whom, at the end of the ends, all the cost-cuttings and life-risking economies had been made. Hence, he tried again to comfort her.
“We must always give him the benefit of the doubt,” he interposed. “From what Judith told you, it is perfectly plain that the roof hasn’t fallen of its own accord at this particular time, though there isn’t much doubt but that it would have come down some time. Within the past few days a crack had opened in one side of it big enough to conceal a charge of dynamite—or a time-clock infernal machine, which was probably what was used. It was timed to go off between the shifts, and Regnier and I were the only ones they meant to catch. It was the natural inference that we would stay in the heading to see the night shift come on; Regnier always does that.”
As if the mention of his name had evoked him, the fiery little French-Canadian came up to the heading with a flickering candle-end shielded between his hands. His first inquiry was for the president’s daughter.
“Mees Virginia—you vill not been keel? Zat ees tres bon!”
“What did you find out, Jean?” David demanded.
“Eet ees bad—ver’ bad. They vill deeg on the other side—peek—peek—but zat loose stuff she ees come down so fast as they peek it out, oui. Eet ees come down on our side, aussi, like one damn’ hopper—pardon, M’am’selle—like one hopper full with loose stones.”
“We have no tools on this side?”
“Nossing moch. The men s’all deeg with zat what they ’ave; the peek and shovel of the mucker; but eet ees nossing.”
Since anything was better than stagnation, Virginia proposed that they go to the slide to look on, or to help, if they could. The pilgrimage was made in silence, Regnier lighting the way as best he could with his candle-end. The barrier, as the candles revealed it, was a blank slope of broken rock. Four or five men of the day shift were shoveling half-heartedly at it, and the futility of the effort was apparent at once. For every shovelful removed, two more rolled down from the filled “hopper” above. David Vallory called a halt at once on the discouraging attempt.
“Let it alone, men; it isn’t worth while,” he said. “You are only wasting your strength, and you may need it all before we get out of here.”