"It's all folly about the genius of the mine," he said at last, "The mine is flooded, that's a sure thing. But what has caused the flood, we down here can't tell...."
"Well, if you don't know what it is, shut up," cried the men.
Now that we were dry and the water was not touching us, no one wanted to listen to the old man. The authority which his coolness in danger had gained for him was already lost.
"We shan't die from drowning," he said at last, quietly; "look at the flame in your lamps, how short it is now."
"Don't be a wizard, what do you mean? Speak out."
"I am not trying to be a wizard, but we shan't be drowned. We are in a bell of air, and it is this compressed air which stops the water from rising. This airshaft, without an outlet, is doing for us what the diving bell does for the diver. The air has accumulated in the shaft and now resists the water, which ebbs back."
"It is the foul air that we have to fear.... The water is not rising a foot now; the mine must be full...."
"Where's Marius?" cried Pages, thinking of his only son, who worked on the third level.
"Oh, Marius! Marius," he shrieked.
There was no reply, not even an echo. His voice did not go beyond our "bell."