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Show <+. the damp blackness closed in around him. Suddenly he sax; a cave-in J He crouched low and waited; l e t his eyes get used to the darkness, raised his head a Little and looked intently into the mine. He could see nothing but fallen timbers xiith d i r t and rocks on top of them. Hardly breathing himself he listened for any sound. No sound, no movement, came from the cave. His heart seemed to be shaking his XThole body i t x<jas beating so hard and fast. Slowly he lox^ered his head betxjeen his shoulders again. He x-jas afraid to move novi for fear he'd s t a r t another cave-in. The cold damp a i r settled into his tense legs and arms, and even the bones in his head started to ache, faintly he began to hear again the nox* loxr and far-axuay crying of the baby which he s t i l l would have sxrorn was a bobcat if he'd heard i t coming from a t r e e , but the baby's crying calmed his body and he said to himself, a l l right, a l l right noxv you've got to get out-get help. Moving gradually he put one foot back, shifted his xreight to that foot, xjaited and then raised the other one; bent almost double, listening and a l e r t every second, he carefully backed out. Then he f e l l to his knees and tapped l i g h t l y with his f i s t on the ground; put his ear to the ground and listened. Getting to his feet he called again slow and thin, "Hellooo-hellOOOOO, are you hurrrrt?" Bill put his hand over one ear, bent his other one toxnards the opening of the tunnel and stood completely s t i l l listening. Finally he turned and ran back up the h i l l to the cabin. |
