“Blowed in,” said one of the others with a laugh. “Wonderful windy up here sometimes.”
Reed had started again, and plunging farther and farther into the natural cutting in the mountain-side, soon after reached the end of the cul de sac, where, partly obliterated by time, there were abundant traces of the old workings, notably the shafts with their crumbling sides, one going down perpendicularly, and into which the young engineer pushed over a stone. This fell down and down for some time before it struck against a projection with such force that it sent up a hollow reverberating roar, and directly after came the dull, sullen sound of its plunge into the water which had gathered in the huge well-like place.
“She’s pretty deep, sir,” said one of the men, with a laugh.
“Yes,” said Reed, with a nod, and he went on climbing over the blocks of stone fallen from above, and which cumbered the place, to one of the other two shafts, both of which had been made following a lode running raggedly down at an angle of about seventy degrees.
“We’ll try this,” said Reed sharply.
“Want me to go down and chip off a few bits that seem most likely?” said Sturgess roughly.
“No. Now, my lads, drive the crowbar well in here,” said the engineer, indicating a rift close to where they stood, a crevice between two immense blocks of limestone.
“This here one’s handier,” said one of the men, pointing to a crack close to the opening.
“Yes, and when you have loosened it by driving in that bar, more likely to be pulled down into the shaft. In here, please.”
The man inserted the sharp edge of the bar, and his companion made the great chasm echo as he began to drive the iron in with strokes of the heavy hammer he carried, till it was deemed safe.