Joe, behind him, cried out, "I say, Sand ... I'm gettin' ... short..."
"Back, everybody! Fire-damp!" cried the leader in a raucous voice, after a violent effort.
It was a narrow squeak. Though only a few minutes in the poisoned air, they were all on the verge of unconsciousness. Gasping, trembling, the sweat oozing from every pore, they struggled on until they reached the widened area of the passage, and then sank, exhausted, to the ground. Tom, who was at the tail of the procession was not so bad as the others, not having penetrated so far into the poison zone.
The pure air soon revived them. Their respiration, which was very laboured at first, improved as soon as the sweet, dry air entered their lungs, and ousted the putrid gas which had lodged there. A pull at the water-can, which fortunately they had brought with them, helped them a lot, and in a short time they were themselves again.
"That ends chapter one," said Joe dryly. "Whereaway now, Captain?"
"We've come to the end of our tether sudden enough, and with a vengeance. It'll be something, Mr. Neville, to tell 'em in England. Let us get back to the old passage. This is nothing but a death-trap."
CHAPTER XXVI
THE EXPLORERS
"'The best hearts, Trim, are ever the bravest,' replied my uncle Toby."—STERNE.
"That's a valiant flea that dares eat his breakfast on the lip of a lion!"—SHAKESPEARE.