and, as we were divided into three parties of six
each—each party contributing eight hours of
alternating labour in the twenty-four—we kept
the drifts in a constant state of progression.
You will readily understand that the barrier was a
long strip of coal, bounded on its tipper edge by
the dip of the old inundated workings of the up-cast,
pit, on its lower by the rise, or upper part
of the workings of the down-cast; and in order
to reach it we had to traverse an old headway
or narrow bord, which had been reopened and
made into a waggon-way to convey the coal
mined in the drifts to the pit's bottom. This
headway cut or intersected various bords or
galleries, driven parallel to the main level of
the shaft; but they were closed up at their
points of intersection by firmly-built brick
stoppings. From the shaft, or pit bottom, to
the headway, the distance was, south, four
hundred yards; and from the main level, west, up
the incline of the seam, to the barrier, eight
hundred yards; and the drifts had pierced the
barrier, in the same direction, one hundred and
eighty yards, at the time my sad tale
commences. We had worked with great caution,
keeping bore-holes a sufficient distance in
advance, both diagonally and straightforward, to
ensure our leaving a quantity of coal adequate
to resist the pressure of water on our near
approach to the upper edge of the barrier; and,
as is necessary in coal-mining operations, we
were driving a pair of drifts, connecting them
by lateral galleries for the sake of ventilation.

There were enough of us together to take off
that sense of extreme loneliness which one feels
when working in remote places, either singly or
with one companion only; and we were generally
a very merry set, full of fun and cheerfulness.

Fifteen minutes in the middle of our work
was the time we allowed ourselves for rest and
refreshment; but we always spent these well,
and made up for their shortness by the intensity
of our pleasure. But one day—the last day we
ever passed together—an unusual amount of
gloom seemed to have settled on the whole of
our little party. I was the first to attempt a
conversation: I remarked that Thomson, the
wildest of us all, looked very serious, and I
asked him the reason. Now let me tell you
that Thomson was the only gambler amongst us:
he cared nothing about religion, and was seldom
seriously disposed; and his wit being quick and
keen, he would always try to raise a laugh
against you at every opportunity that presented
itself. But to day he was neither inclined to
laugh himself, nor to cause others to do so. He
could not have done it if he had tried, for we
were all as gloomy as himself; and he explained
that he had been troubled with a remarkable
dream last night, which he could neither remember
nor understand; nor could he account for
the uneasiness which it had caused him during
the day. The conversation then took a generally
superstitious turn, and it was strange to
find that most of us were troubled and perplexed
with forebodings for which we could find no
reason. Harry Walters, who had been married
but three weeks, said, "Our Bessy," as he called
his wife, " told me to take care of myself, and
wished I was safe home again, for she felt as if
something wrong would happen." James Wilson
said he wished the shift was up, for he felt
so anxious to get home to his wife and children
he was almost tempted to leave us all. This
was said more in jest than in earnest, but he
added, seriously: "Little Susy this morning
asked me to tell her all about heaven, for she
said I had taken her there in the night, and I
was to be sure to make haste home and finish the
tale." John Whitehead, a pious and good man,
remarked that we were in the hands of God, and
we must abide by His will, let that be what it
would, for we knew not the minute we might
live only in the spirit." This was nothing ex-
traordinary for Whitehead to say, as he often
spoke to us in this manner; but it had the effect
of stopping the conversation. I then cried out,
"Let us go to work; the succeeding shift will be
in upon us before we have anything done." So,
we all rose simultaneously, and went to our
respective working-places.

We all seemed to begin with the intention of
making up for lost time, for I could hear the
ringing of my comrades' picks, while the dull
thumps of the bore-rods showed that they were
applied more diligently than they had been before
meal-time; for this morning's work had
been the worst our shift had ever done during
the driving of the drifts. For myself, I was
doing double the duty I had done in the
morning, and was beginning to feel quite cheerful,
as we always do when our work yields, when
suddenly there came a tremendous crash,
accompanied by a violent rush of wind, which swept
out all our lights and left us in darkness.

We did not stay to reflect, for we knew that
something serious had happened, and to run
towards the shaft was apparently the only chance
left to us. And run we did. I being the
youngest and most nimble, got the lead and kept
it to the end of that fearful race; for it was a
race in the dark down a narrow drift, and the
prize was precious life itself. Being in advance,
I was free from the hindrance of tumbling over
my comrades, and so escaped many bruises. An
extraordinarily strong current of air was steadily
opposing me with great force; but on I flew,
scarcely noticing it, nor did I much heed what
had been at first a low rumbling noise, but
which was now rapidly nearing and increasing
into the roar of furious elements. I took no
time to reflect on the cause of this increasing
thundering noise; my only object was to gain
the bottom of the pit, and for this I strained
every nerve. On I flew; nearer and nearer
came the horrible roar, which seemed to be close
on my right-hand side; for I had now gone a
considerable distance down the old headway,
where the workings were on each side separated
from me only by the brick stoppings at the end
of each lateral gallery, as I explained. I still
ran on; but now a noise burst into the headway,
which convinced me that the roar proceeded
from water and that the mines were inundated!