Harry pulled himself together and floundered still closer.
Nor was there a moment to be lost. Tom was already reduced to the choice between silence and having his mouth filled with sand.
Harry's hands worked with lightning speed. Feverishly he dug out the sand, until he had scooped away enough to bare Tom's shoulders and a few inches beneath.
Swoop! Down went the extra noose over Tom's lifted arms, and then down to a snug noose under his armpits.
From the platform a cheer went up, for the unconscious laborer had just been hauled to safety.
It was with a thrill of horror that Hazelton found his own legs firmly embedded in the sand well up to his thighs.
“Get Reade started first!” shouted the young assistant engineer. “Don't bother with me until I give the word.”
How the line fastened to Tom tightened and strained! At times it seemed as though it must give way.
Presently Tom's shoulder and a part of his torso were free.
In the meantime Harry Hazelton had sunk in up to the waist line.