or a moment Jack stood stunned by the calamity. There were, he knew, over three hundred men and boys in the pit, and he turned faint and sick as the thought of their fate came across him. Then he ran towards the top of the shaft. The bankman lay insensible at a distance of some yards from the pit, where he had been thrown by the force of the explosion. Two or three men came running up with white scared faces. The smoke had nearly ceased already; the damage was done, and a deadly stillness seemed to reign.
Jack ran into the engine-house. The engine-man was leaning against a wall, scared and almost fainting.
"Are you hurt, John?"
"No!"
"Pull yourself round, man. The first thing is to see if the lift is all right. I see one of the cages is at bank, and the force of the explosion is in the upcast shaft. Just give a turn or two to the engine and see if the winding gear's all right. Slowly."
The engineman turned on the steam; there was a slight movement, and then the engine stopped.
"A little more steam," Jack said. "The cage has caught, but it may come."
There was a jerk, and then the engine began to work.