"No, and we won't do much until the dust settles, either. Relax and get cooled off. When the dust has settled a little, we can go back and see just how bad the block is."
Rick remembered the tons of rock above the timbers. The block had to be bad, he thought. There was plenty of rock there. Then, as he thought about it, he wasn't so sure. A pretty large area had shown cracks, but perhaps only a layer had fallen. They might be able to dig out. Nothing to do about it but wait and see.
Scotty switched off his light and the blackness closed in. Rick shifted uncomfortably. Once before he had been lost in complete blackness like this, in the Caves of Fear. But that had been different; he hadn't been exactly trapped in the same way then, and the caves had covered miles under a Tibetan mountain. At least he knew exactly where he was this time.
He said, "We should have brought a picnic lunch."
Scotty chuckled, but didn't reply.
Rick said, "Suppose we can't get out?"
"We will. Dr. Miller will be hunting for us sooner or later. He couldn't miss the mine, especially with the boards off the entrance."
"Then all we need is patience and a tight belt."
"That's it."
The boys fell silent. Rick was cheered by Scotty's estimate of the situation. He closed his eyes, and for perhaps the hundredth time started mulling over the chain of events, searching for a clue to the two things they needed to know: how and why the ghost was produced.