CHAPTER THE FIFTEENTH
Across the Pit
All unconscious of what was happening behind them, the boys, on reachingthe foot of the well, passed through the open doorway into the narrowpassage.
"These be rare doings," began Sam; but Dick silenced him.
"Don't speak, Sam," he whispered. "We don't know who is here, or hownear."
They passed on their left the passage where Dick had been checked by thelandfall on his first approach from the cave. Moving slowly and withgreat caution, stopping every now and then to listen, they uttered nevera word until they arrived at the point where the transverse gallerystruck off to the right. Here they halted. It was necessary to decidewhether to go straight on, and come by-and-by to the seal cave, or toturn into the passage, which they had never as yet traversed. A momentsufficed for coming to a decision. The light from Dick's candle showedthat this passage was strutted, like that along which they had alreadycome.
"This must be the way," whispered Dick, and low as was his tone, thewords echoed and re-echoed strangely in the narrow gallery.
They advanced, picking their way still more carefully than before,peering into the darkness ahead, occasionally turning to look behindthem. The floor of the adit at first sloped slightly downwards, but atlength appeared to become level. The air was close and stuffy. Sam,following his young master, and seeing the weird shadows cast on thewalls by the smoking flame, was soon in a cold sweat, not so much offear as of nervous anticipation. His dread of ghosts had disappearedwith knowledge; but it was knowledge of a negative kind. He knew therewere no ghosts, but his imagination conjured up nameless terrors. Morethan once he was tempted to retreat, but he was too apprehensive even tohalt long enough to strike a light and kindle his own candle, and thesight of Dick's tall form moving steadily on in front of him helped himto pluck up courage.
When they had been walking for a few minutes, Sam suddenly hurriedforward and caught Dick by the arm.
"I heerd summat!" he whispered hoarsely.
Dick stopped. Far from comfortable himself, the touch of Sam's handmade him jump, and the thumping of his heart was almost audible. Theylistened intently; no sound struck upon their ears.
"It must have been a falling stone," said Dick.
"Suppose the roof fell on us, same as it did in the cave!" murmured Sam.
"'Tis not likely. Don't get jumpy, Sam. Let us go on."
Again they advanced; a few steps brought them to another adit branchingto the right; but a glance at this revealing no struts, Dick decided notto change his course until he had thoroughly explored the passage inwhich he was. In a few minutes he came to another adit, this time onthe left, and this also he passed by for the same reason, and because itwas narrower than any of those he had hitherto seen. Now the floorseemed to ascend gradually, and shortly afterwards became much moreuneven. At length he stopped short, and waited until Sam came up withhim.
"Look at this," he whispered.
Sam looked, and saw a narrow plank bridge, about seventeen feet long,spanning a black, yawning chasm.
"'Tis an old mine shaft," said Dick. "We must cross the bridge."
"Will it bear us, think 'ee?" said Sam timorously.
"It will, if it bears smugglers carrying tubs. We must try."
Dick leant forward and probed the planks with the muzzle of hisfowling-piece.
"'Tis firm and steady," he said. "I will go first. Don't start until Iget across. The candle will give you more light than it gives me."
"I don't like to see 'ee do it," said Sam, almost whimpering. "If yefall, 'twill be yer grave."
But Dick had already set his foot on the bridge. He trod warily, movingalmost by inches until he reached the middle. Then he quickened hispace, and covered the second half in three swift strides.
"'Tis quite safe," he whispered, turning at the end.
"Didn' it wamble?"
"No."
"Not a little teeny bit?"
"Come, come, I am heavier than you."
"Well, I woll."
He moistened his lips, pressed his hat firmly on his head, then startedforward and crossed the whole bridge at a run.
"Here I be!" he panted. "Name it all! I'll never do it again."
"Then I shall leave you behind. My word! 'tis close and stuffy here."
They went on. In a minute or two the passage widened, and lookinground, they discovered that they were in what appeared to be theentrance to a huge cavern. Still advancing, they were brought up withina few yards by a rough and irregular wall, not wholly of granite, likethe wall of the seal cave, but partly of rock, partly of earth. Therewere small heaps of soil and stones of different sizes on the unevenfloor, and the wall was not perpendicular, but inclined like the eavesof a house.
Dick gazed about him in search of a further opening. There was none.The way was blocked, just as it had been in the offshoot of the passagefrom the seal cave to the well. The general appearance of the placeindicated that at some time or other the upper earth had fallen in. Tomake sure that there was not even the smallest orifice in the wall, Dickmoved close along it, carefully examining it by the light of his candle.When about half-way round, he stopped, and placed his hand on somethingthat protruded from the wall, which was here earthen. But thisprojecting object was neither earth nor rock. In shape it was convex andregular. He passed his hand over it, brushing off some adheringparticles of soil.
"Why, Sam," he said wonderingly, "'tis part of a tub."
"Do 'ee tell o't?" said Sam, moving his palm over the surface. "So'tis, and be-dazed if there bean't a rope on it."
He tugged at the rope, and fell backwards, almost upsetting Dick.
"Rot it all!" he exclaimed.
"'Tis rotted already," said Dick smiling. "It must have been there along time."
"Cansta pull un out, Maister?" said Sam. "Maybe there's summat inside,and I do be most tarrible dry."
"We'll see; but you shan't drink neat spirit, Sam, so you needn't thinkit. Lend a hand here."
Between them the boys soon succeeded in working the tub from the looseearth in which it was imbedded. It was a small barrel about fourteeninches in diameter, bound with wooden hoops, exactly similar to thosewhich the smugglers were wont to use. The broken rope, or "slingstuff," as it was called, attached to it proved that it had once formedpart of a run cargo. Sam shook it; there was no "glug" of liquor.
"'Tis spiled, sure enough," he said, "but the hoops bean't broke."
"Here's another, Sam," said Dick, who had been looking into the holeleft by the removal of the tub. "I can't help thinking we have come toan old haunt of the smugglers; yes, I understand it now. You know therewas a landslip hundreds of years ago, just beyond the cove. The earthmust have fallen in on a cargo before it could be removed."
"But why didn' they dig 'em out arterwards? And why be the tub as emptyas a drum?"
"Yes, 'tis strange they did not dig them out, but the emptiness is easyto understand. The spirit has run away."
"Run away! How could it with the tub sound, not a hole in it? Besides,there bean't no smell, and I don't care who the man is, but if speritsrun out, you can smell 'em anywhere."
"I suppose----" began Dick, but his answer was suddenly cut short. Fromthe direction of the passage through which they had come there fell upontheir ears a dull rumbling sound, which reverberated for a few seconds,then died away into silence.
The boys stood for a moment in silent bewilderment; then, with aforeboding of evil, Dick hastened back from the cavern along thegallery. In a minute the astounding cause of the noise was explained.The bridge by which they had crossed the shaft was gone. Only thejagged end of it jutted out from the further brink of the chasm. By theflickering light of the candle Dick thought he saw a figure movingbackwards through the gallery on the opposite side. He shouted, hisvoice coming back to him in a hundred echoes. The figure disappeared,if indeed it were not an
hallucination: Dick's state of horrifiedamazement might well predispose him to see visions. He stood on thebrink, bathed in chill and clammy perspiration. He realised to the fullthe situation of himself and his companion. They were trapped in thegallery. Before them was a shaft perhaps hundreds of feet deep; behind,an impenetrable wall.
"I said I'd never do it again, and I never will," sobbed Sam.
"Hoy! hoy!" shouted Dick.
"Yo-hoy, hoy!" Sam repeated in his rougher tones.
But there was no reply; only the mocking, receding echoes.
Dick leant against the wall in dull stupefaction. He had said nothing tohis parents about the expedition; he had expressly charged Sam not tospeak of it to Reuben. His very caution had proved his undoing. Socommon was it for him to be all day away from home with Sam that theirabsence would scarcely be remarked until night, and then, even if itcaused alarm, no one would dream of looking for them at the well, stillless in one of the passages below. But if Dick's suspicions andinferences were well founded, at some time during the day or night therewould be smugglers in one or other of the galleries, and they wouldsurely come within sound of his voice, and not be so base as to refuseto help him. Then it struck him that perhaps such a cry might merelyterrify them; that they might believe it to be the utterance of thedisembodied spirits that were said to haunt the place. But no; as hisfirst terrors subsided, and he regained his thinking power, a suddenlight dawned upon him. The ghosts were the invention of the smugglersthemselves! They had taken advantage of ancient tradition and floatingrumour for their own purposes, encouraged the credulity of the many inorder that the few might preserve the secret of their hiding-place. Andthen it flashed upon him that his presence near their jealously-guardedlair had been discovered, and that his return had been deliberately cutoff, so that they might carry out undisturbed the important operation ofwhich Trevanion and Doubledick had spoken. In that case hisincarceration would be temporary, like Penwarden's. As soon as the runhad been accomplished, he, like the old exciseman, would be liberated,and the smugglers would gloat over their triumphant strategy.
"How many candles have you got?" he asked suddenly.
Sam rummaged in his pocket, and produced five stumps varying in length.
"They will last about twelve hours," said Dick. "There is no wind hereto make them gutter."
"But they won't make us a bridge," groaned Sam.
"Listen to me," said Dick.
Speaking calmly, he told Sam the conclusions to which he had come.
"Now, Sam, you see what we have to do. It was about nine o'clock whenwe came down the well. It will be twelve hours or more before theyattempt the run. We have twelve hours before us; we must get across theshaft and dish them--I don't know how, but we must do it."
"How can we? Rake it all, we shall have no dinner!"
"Don't talk like that," said Dick sternly. "We want all our wits anddetermination. 'Tis mere folly to think about dinner, or groan and moanbecause we are hungry. I tell you, young Sam, you must do your best tohelp, and be cheerful, or you and I will split."
"Well, I'll keep my solemn thoughts to myself and spake out nothing butmerry ones, if I can think 'em."
Dick considered for a few moments; then he took from his pocket a knifeand a long piece of string, knotted the latter about the haft, and stuckthe blade into a lighted candle. This he lowered into the chasm, lyingat full length to make the most of the string. But the flame revealedno bottom to the shaft. Even had they seen a floor it seemed impossibleto get there, or, getting there, to be in any way profited. At one time,no doubt, there had been a means of ascending and descending the shaft;but the very existence of the bridge showed that the machinery had longsince disappeared, and the passage-way by which they had made theirentrance was the only exit.
"We had better blow out the candle," said Dick. "We don't know how longwe may be here, and you may be glad to eat it before we get out ofthis."
"That I never could; but 'tis wisdom to save it, when we can't seeanything nice to look at, and you can allers meditate better in thedark."
They reclined against the wall of the gallery. For a time they weresilent except for sighs that now and then escaped Sam's heaving breast.After one prolonged expiration Dick asked sharply what he was gruntingabout.
"Don't 'ee laugh, now, if I tell o't," said Sam pleadingly. "My simplethought was, what would Maidy Susan say if she knowed o' this horribleplace o' torment? 'There shall be weepin' and gnashin' o' teeth,' sayspa'son; 'twill come to that afore long wi' me. There now, 'nation takeit! I said I'd spake merry thoughts. Maybe you could put one into mymizzy-mazy head, Maister Dick."
"I'll break it for you if you can't talk sense---- There! Did you hearthat?"
"'Twas like the whisk of a rabbit's scut among the furze. Hoy! Yo-hoy!Come and help two poor boys in misery."
"Hoy! hoy!" shouted Dick.
The echoes crossed and clashed, but there was no answer.
Another period of silence. It seemed to last for hours. At length Dickrelit the candle and once more scanned the shaft. Could he jump it? Hemeasured it with his eye. He had never been to school; jumping as asport was unknown to him. In the ordinary course of his outdooradventures he had sometimes leapt across a stream or from rock to rock,but never a space so wide as this. Realising the impossibility of thefeat, he blew out the candle and returned to his place beside Sam.
"I seed yer thought," said the boy, "but Sir Bevil fox-hunting nevertook a gap like that. A hoss med do it, but not a two-legged body."
Again there was silence. Presently Sam fell asleep, snoring vigorously.Dick pondered and puzzled; to him sleep was impossible. All at once heremembered the barrel he had found in the wall of the cave. A fainthope stirred within him. He wakened Sam, relit the candle, and hurriedback through the passage.
"What be goin' to do?" asked Sam.
"To see how many tubs there are," he said.
"If there be a million they bean't no good wi' all the sperits gonea-lost," said Sam. "Howsomever, 'twill be summat to do to count 'em,and keep us from the squitchems."
They regained the cave. Dick, bending so that the light of the candleshone full into the hole in the wall, began to scrape away with hisknife the earth that partially concealed the second barrel. Not to bebackward, Sam set to work in the same way a little to the right. Thesecond tub was soon unearthed, then a third.
"We must be careful not to disturb the earth above," said Dick, "or weshall have the rest covered up again. I believe there are a good numberhere."
"All leery," said Sam with a sigh. "But I don't care who the man is,they bean't leerier nor I.... There's my tongue runnin' to vittalsagain; I reckon 'tis because I hain't done growin'."
After resting a while, they resumed their work. In course of time, theyhad a row of ten or twelve barrels standing against the wall.
"I wish there was something else," said Dick.
"What yer manin' be 'tis not for me to say," said Sam, "but my feelingsbe just the same. Why, dash my bones, here _be_ summat else; a box,Maister; look at un."
He drew forth a long flat box, which he shook as he had shaken thebarrels.
"Ah! 'tis full o' nothing, seemingly. If 'twas only tay, now, or baccathat we med chaw; but 'tis a'most as light as a feather."
He prised up the lid of the box with his knife. The wood was thin, andcrumbled away at the touch of the steel. There was something pinkbeneath, and the removal of the lid disclosed a quantity of silk, which,when it was unfolded, proved to be many yards in length.
"Only think o't!" said Sam. "Don't it feel plum! Oh! what a noblegarment 't'ud make for Maidy Susan!"
"'Tis much too good for her," said Dick. "It would suit Mother better."
"True, 'tis fit for queens and other high females, but the Mistress begettin' a old ancient person, and 't'ud look more fitty on a nesh youngframe. Ah me! it bean't no good for high or low, this side o' that darkfearsome hole in the ground."
> "Let us see if there are any more boxes," said Dick. "And let me tellyou, Mother is only forty-five, so mind what you say, Sam."
"Well, forty-five is more 'n double twenty, can 'ee deny it? When I beforty-five, I shall be a old aged feller with a beard and a shiny sconcelike Feyther, and he don't care a cuss what raiment he do wear."
Further search brought to light several boxes like the first, containingsilks of various hue, and laces which even to Dick's inexperienceappeared valuable. The materials seemed to be in as good a condition aswhen they left Lyons or Nice, and without doubt represented aconsiderable sum of money. But to Dick, as he contemplated them, theysuggested a more immediate and urgent use than the turning into money.The wood of the barrels appeared to be sound; it had been preserved fromrotting by their spirituous contents. By breaking them up into theirseparate staves, he would have at his disposal enough timber to make abridge. The staves were two feet long and about five inches broad; tenor twelve lengths would be required to span the gap, and allowsufficient grip. The "sling-stuff" round the barrels, as he had alreadyproved, was too friable to be of any value for lashing, but the silk,torn into strips, might answer this purpose.
"Take hold of the end of this," he said to Sam, handing him a length ofthe material, "and pull as hard as you can."
The test proved that the silk was capable of enduring a heavy directstrain, and if this were so in the piece, it would be still strongerwhen wound many times about the wood.
Dick explained his plan.
"Drown it all!" cried Sam. "What a tarrible deed o' wickedness! Can'ee abear to think o' this noble shinin' stuff tore to strents andlippets?"
"'Tis a pity, of course, but 'tis more important that we should get overthe gap than that any woman, matron or maid, should flaunt it in finearray. We'll set to work at once. Time must be getting on. The candlehas nearly gone: that means three hours or so. Light another, Sam."
Dick tore the silk carefully into even strips, while Sam knocked theends off the tubs, and broke the staves apart. Every now and then theboy paused, heaving a deep sigh.
"'Tis like a knife goin' through my soul every time I hear the hoosh yedo make," he said. "There, I says to myself, there goes the sleeve, andthat's the petticoat, and there's this part and that I don't know thetrue name of. Ah well, Maidy Susan will never know from me, that's onecomfort. She'd be cryin' her pretty eyes out, that 'a would, if she didsee the deed o' destruction."
When nine or ten barrels had been broken up, and the floor was strewnwith strips of silk, pink, blue, green, and other colours, Dick began toarrange the materials for constructing the bridge. It was to be abouttwenty feet long, to allow for a sufficient overlapping at each end ofthe gap. When he came to consider the actual details of construction hesaw that his first idea, a bridge to cross on foot, was not feasible.The staves were too narrow to afford a secure foothold, and if placedside by side, the risk of their breaking apart was very great. Heresolved, therefore, to concentrate his energies on a single pole,formed by binding three layers of staves together, and by means of this,work his way across the gap hand over hand, his legs dangling in theshaft. It would be a ticklish feat; indeed, he was by no meansconfident of its possibility; but he had the strongest motives formaking the attempt, as well as a native doggedness that forbade him tosit idle in the face of difficulty.
The short staves had little curvature. He laid a number of them end toend to form a length of twenty-two feet, placing them alternately sothat one had its convex, the other its concave, side to the ground, andwith overlapping ends. These he bound very firmly together. Then helaid a second set on the first, in such a way that their joins occurredat different spots. Then he wound the strips of silk as tightly aspossible round this double pole, carrying the windings several inches oneach side of the joints. When four or five feet of the double pole werefinished, he tested its rigidity by endeavouring to snap it across hisknee; but though the thin wood bent slightly, the lashings held firmly,and he was well satisfied.
"'Tis very good so far, Sam," he said; "now we must put on a thirdlayer."
"'Nation take it, we shall never be done," cried Sam, stretching hisaching body. "I be mortal tired, and hungry!--there now, Maister Dick,spake yer mind like a simple honest feller, wi'out any tongue-twistin',and fine deceivin' language. Bean't 'ee most achin' hungry? Now, tellme true."
"I own I am, but 'tis no good thinking of it."
"No more do I want. You've said it. I reckon you be just as famishedas I, if not more, only too proud to own it. Be-jowned if there be anysech lofty pride in me."
They proceeded with the work, lashing the third layer firmly to theother two, and employing, for greater security, the flexible woodenhoops which had held the barrels together. At last the bridge wascomplete. It had been a long and laborious task: neither of the boyshad any idea how many hours it had occupied; they had lighted successivecandle-ends mechanically, without taking count of them. The close airof the cave was now impregnated with smoke and tallow fumes, and bothlonged for a breath of fresh air.
All this time they had neither seen nor heard any person or thing.Indeed, they had been so fully occupied, as scarcely to bestow a thoughton what might be going on beyond the gap. It did cross Dick's mind thatthe noise made by Sam in breaking the barrels might have been heard; butit was a considerable distance from the cave to the gap, and the passagebetween them was not straight. Nobody could have seen them at work; thesound, if it travelled beyond the gap, could only be a faint,indistinguishable murmur then; and the absence of a bridge was aneffectual preventive of interference. It now remained to throw thesuspension bridge across the gap. They carried it through the passage,stood it on one end, and lowered it over the opening, Sam holding thebottom end steady while Dick let the structure down by means of a silkenrope.
"'Tis too crazy a thing to bear a cat's weight," said Sam gloomily, whenit rested in place.
"I don't believe you. At any rate we can't make anything better. I'llgo first, being the heavier. If I get safe across you can come after.Hold your end firmly as I go."
"You don't want me to look at 'ee?"
"Why not?"
"Because--because--drown it all!" said the boy, dashing tears from hiseyes. "Do 'ee think I could bear it if I seed 'ee drop into thiseverlastin' pit?"
"You're a good fellow, young Sam; but I shan't drop, please God!"
He took his boots off, so that he could get a firmer grip if he had toscramble up the opposite side. Then, while Sam lay flat on the groundacross the end of the pole, Dick swung himself over the shaft, grippingthe bridge with both hands extended above his head. He remainedmotionless for a few moments, testing the strength of his support; then,realising that the quicker he moved the better, since the strain bothupon the pole and his own endurance would be less than if he wentslowly, he began to advance hand over hand, but as smoothly as possible,towards the other side. As he approached the middle, he saw by thelight of the candle in his hatband that the pole was sagging alarmingly,and he felt it sway with his every movement. The further end of it wasno longer flat on the floor of the passage, but tilted up at an angle of30 degrees. Dick shivered as he felt his support apparently slippingdownwards into the shaft. But he did not pause, and in a moment he wasrelieved to find that the downward movement ceased.
Arriving within a foot or two of the wall, he saw that he was somelittle distance below the level of the passage, and the free end of thepole, now almost perpendicular, was swaying terribly. How was he to getup? There was no projection from the side of the shaft which he couldgrasp, and it seemed that at any moment the pole might slip off into thegulf, carrying him with it. His arms were aching with the unaccustomedstrain; not much longer could they sustain the weight of his body.Groping with his toes on the sheer face of the shaft, he managed to geta slight purchase with one foot. In another moment he obtained a littlebetter grip with the other, though in so doing he had to spread-eaglehimself. Now, with his double p
urchase on the wall, he was able torelieve the weight on his hands, and take breath for the final effort.
The lessening of the strain on the pole reduced the angle of inclinationof its free portion to the floor. Dick worked his way inch by inchalong; then, drawing his body upwards, he swung his leg over the pole,gripping it firmly with his hands, and in a few moments was able toreach out and grasp the free portion above the brink and haul himself onto the floor.
He flung himself face downward to rest, gasping a murmur ofthankfulness. Sam at the other end, though he had at first closed hiseyes, opened them almost immediately, unable to resist the fascinationof that perilous crossing. He shuddered when he saw the pole bend andsway under Dick's weight, and pressed his lips hard together so that heshould not cry out as the further end rose higher and higher from thelevel. When Dick had safely landed, Sam was too much overcome withemotion to utter a sound. He rubbed the chill moisture from his faceand waited.
Presently Dick got up, rekindled the candle, which had been extinguishedwhen he threw himself down, and called across.
"Now 'tis your turn, Sam. You will have an easier passage than I.Drive a couple of staves into the ground and lash the pole to them.I'll hold it firm on this side, so that it will not sway so much as whenI crossed."
"No; I can't do it; I'm all of a sweat," said Sam.
"Come, come! you'll not give in, surely."
"Iss, I woll, cheerful. Never could I sink my legs into that gashlyhole. It do put me in mind of poor fellers dangling on the drop inBodmin jail. No; there bean't meat enough in my inside to give me speritfor it, and here I'll bide--I don't care who the man is--till you findsa gangway."
"But you'll be left in the dark. This is the last candle."
"You won't make me afeard if you try. Here I be safe; not a soul canget to me across this hole; and dark or light, I bean't the man for secha deed. I be truly sorry to leave 'ee, Maister Dick, but you'd raythersee me sound in all my members than here a bit, there a bit."
"Very well. You've lost your nerve, that's clear. Shy over my boots,will you?"
Sam lifted one and cast it; but he was apparently too much shaken totake good aim. The boot fell into the shaft.
"See now! 'Tis plain!" he said forlornly. "My poor wambling arm! Evenas yer boot fell, so----"
"Hush!" cried Dick.
There had been no sound of the boot striking on the bottom. After whatseemed a long time--it was in fact no more than two or threeseconds--from the depths came rumbling reverberations of a splash. Thewater must have been nearly two hundred feet below. Both the boys weresilent as they thought of the terrible fate Dick would have met with ifhe had fallen.
"Well, good-bye, Sam!" said Dick at last, rousing himself. "One boot isno good without the other, so you can keep it. I'll come back for youas soon as I can."
"I wish 'ee well, Maister."
He stood near the brink, with a piteous expression upon his rugged face,watching Dick's gradually receding form. When a bend in the passage hidhis master and comrade from view, he leant against the wall, and buriedhis face in his hands.
The Adventures of Dick Trevanion: A Story of Eighteen Hundred and Four Page 15
