"Ring it down, Bob."
Young Jarvis gave the bell lever a pull. A second later the gong on that level rang sharply. A rush of air told them the steel cage was on its way down to the fifteenth level, where the young men were awaiting it. With a noisy clatter the cage came to a stop at the opening on that level; the iron guard bars fell back with a bang.
"All aboard," said Steve, standing aside that the five other men, all miners, waiting to be conveyed to the surface might step into the damp cage.
"You first," bowed Jarvis with mock politeness, waving Steve in ahead of him.
"Give them the signal, Bob," ordered Rush.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang! Five strokes rang out on the gong at the top of the shaft leading down into the mine, indicating to the cage-tender of the Red Rock Mine that his cage was coming up with a load of human freight. In other words, there were men on the cage, hence the steel elevator was to be raised with care.
Slowly, but steadily, gaining in speed as it ascended, lighted only by the faint glimmer of the tallow candles on the oilskin hats of the occupants, the cage rose toward the surface.
Steve Rush and Bob Jarvis had been inspecting the tracks in the Red Rock Mine and were now on their way to the surface for the purpose of going down in the Cousin Jack Mine, there to continue their work of inspection. A few seconds had passed when the cage began to sway from side to side.
Steve instinctively reached up and took hold of the safety rod that extended across the top of the cage.
"Hang on, Bob! We're going altogether too fast for comfort," warned Rush. "What ails that engineer up there? It looks as though he were trying to give us a shaking up."