"I left thirty men and boys there this morning at half-past six. It was fair thronged up with them." The old man's voice shook.
Meanwhile Madan and the doctors were busy with the transport of the seven unconscious men, some of whom were already dying. Each of them had to be carried on his back by two men, and as soon as the sick procession was organised it was seen that only three of the search party were left free—Tressady, Burrows, and the Scotch fireman, Macgregor.
Up the level and along the heading, past the point where Dixon was still at work, over the minor falls that everywhere attested the range of the explosion, and through the pools of water that here and there gathered the drippings of the mine, the seven men were tenderly dragged or carried, till at last the party regained the main intake or roadway.
George turned to Madan.
"You will have your hands full with these poor fellows. Macgregor and
I—Mr. Burrows, if he likes—will push on to the West Heading."
Madan looked uneasy.
"You'd better go up, Sir George," he said, in a low voice, "and let me go on. You don't know the signs of the roof as I do. Eight or nine hours after an explosion is the worst time for falls. Send down another shift, sir, as quick as you can."
"Why should you risk more than I?" said George, quietly. "Stop! What time is it?" He looked at his watch. Five o'clock—nearly nine hours since they descended! He might have guessed it at three, if he had been asked. Time in the midst of such an experience contracts to a pin's point. But the sight of the watch stirred a pang in him.
"Send word at once to Lady Tressady," he said, in Madan's ear, drawing the manager to one side. "Tell her I have gone on a little farther, and may be another hour or two in getting back. If she is down at the bank, beg her from me to go home. Tell her the chances are that we may find the other men as safe as these."
Madan acquiesced reluctantly. George then plundered him of some dry biscuits—of some keys, moreover, that might be useful in opening one or two locked doors farther up the workings.