F or a moment Jack stood stunned by the calamity. There were, he knew, over three hundred men and boys in the pit, and he turned faint and sick as the thought of their fate came across him. Then he ran towards the top of the shaft. The bankman lay insensible at a distance of some yards from the pit, where he had been thrown by the force of the explosion. Two or three men came running up with white scared faces. The smoke had nearly ceased already; the damage was done, and a deadly stillness seemed to reign.  
Jack ran into the engine-house. The engine-man was leaning against a wall, scared and almost fainting.
 
"Are you hurt, John?"
 
"No!"
 
"Pull yourself round, man. The first thing is to see if the lift is all right. I see one of the cages is at bank, and the force of the explosion is in the upcast shaft. Just give a turn or two to the engine and see if the winding gear's all right. Slowly."
 
[Pg 236]
 
The engineman turned on the steam; there was a slight movement, and then the engine stopped.
 
"A little more steam," Jack said. "The cage has caught, but it may come."
 
There was a jerk, and then the engine began to work.
 
"That is all right," Jack said, "whether the lower cage is on or not. Stop now, and wind it back, and get the cage up again. Does the bell act, I wonder?"
 
Jack pulled the wire which, when in order, struck a bell at the bottom of the shaft, and then looked at a bell hanging over his head for the answer. None came.
 
"I expect the wire's broke," Jack said, and went out to the pit's mouth again.
 
The surface-men were all gathered round now, the tip-men, and the yard-men, and those from the coke-ovens, all looking wild and pale.
 
"I am going down," Jack said; "we may find some poor fellows near the bottom, and can't wait till some headman comes on the ground. Who will go with me? I don't want any married men, for you know, lads, there may be another blow at any moment."
 
"I will go with you," one of the yard-men said, stepping forward; "there's no one dependent on me."
 
"I, too," said another; "it's no odds............