Few words were spoken, except when
a warning shout was given, when some loose rubble poured down from the
great gaping cavern in the roof, and then men jumped and sprang to
safety with the agility of desperation, to wait till the rumbling had
ceased, only to leap back again into the yawning hell, tearing at the
stones, and trying to work their way into the place where they knew
Geordie and the boy were lying. It seemed impossible that human efforts
would ever be able to clear that mountain away.
"Wait a minute, callans," said Andrew, almost dropping with exhaustion,
and drawing his hands across his eyes to wipe the sweat from them,
whilst he "hunkered" down, his back against a broken tree which stood
jutting out from the building, supporting a broken "baton" (cross-tree),
which bent down in the center, making the roadway low and unsafe. "Let
us tak a minute's thocht, and see if we can get a way o' chokin' up that
stuff fear fallin' doon. We'll never get it redd up goin' like this."
So they sat down, tired but still desperate, to listen to each one
suggesting a way of stopping the debris from continuing to fall. Baffled
and at their wits' end, they could think of nothing.
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