It was long too, very long, and in many places it was rough with
dislodged props and caps and fallen rock.
Many and many a time Bachelor Billy fell prone upon the sloping floor,
but, though he was powerless to save himself, though he met in his own
body the force of every blow, he always held the child out of harm's
way.
He began to wonder, at last, if he could ever get the lad to the
surface; if, within fifty rods of the blessed outer air, he would not
after all have to lie down and die with Ralph in his arms.
But as soon as such thoughts came to him he brought his tremendous
will and magnificent courage to the rescue, and arose and struggled
on.
The boy had not spoken since the journey began, nor had he opened his
eyes. He was still unconscious, but he was breathing; his heart was
beating, there was life in his body, and that was all that could be
asked or hoped for.
At last! oh, at last! The straight, steep, dreadful half mile of slope
was at Bachelor Billy's back. He stood out once more in the free and
open air. Under his feet were the grass and flowers and yielding soil;
over his head were the shining stars, now paling in the east; below
him lay the fair valley and the sleeping town clothed lightly in the
morning mist; and in his arms he still held the child who had thought
never again to draw breath under the starry sky or in the dewy air.
There came a faint breeze, laden with all the fragrance of the young
morning, and it swept Ralph's cheek so gently that the very sweetness
of it made his eyes to open.
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