Reed had started again, and plunging farther and farther into the natural cutting in the mountain-side, soon after reached the end of the _cul de sac_, where, partly obliterated by time, there were abundant traces of the old workings, notably the shafts with their crumbling sides, one going down perpendicularly, and into which the young engineer pushed over a stone. This fell down and down for some time before it struck against a projection with such force that it sent up a hollow reverberating roar, and directly after came the dull, sullen sound of its plunge into the water which had gathered in the huge well-like place. "She's pretty deep, sir," said one of the men, with a laugh. "Yes," said Reed, with a nod, and he went on climbing over the blocks of stone fallen from above, and which cumbered the place, to one of the other two shafts, both of which had been made following a lode running raggedly down at an angle of about seventy degrees. "We'll try this," said Reed sharply. "Want me to go down and chip off a few bits that seem most likely?" said Sturgess roughly. "No. Now, my lads, drive the crowbar well in here," said the engineer, indicating a rift close to where they stood, a crevice between two immense blocks of limestone. "This here one's handier," said one of the men, pointing to a crack close to the opening. "Yes, and when you have loosened it by driving in that bar, more likely to be pulled down into the shaft. In here, please." The man inserted the sharp edge of the bar, and his companion made the great chasm echo as he began to drive the iron in with strokes of the heavy hammer he carried, till it was deemed safe. "Hold a ridgement o' sojers now, sir," said the hammerman. "Yes, that's safe enough," said Reed; and after carefully examining the ropes, he knotted two together, and formed a loop at the end of one. "Shall we two go down, sir?" "No; I am going," replied Reed quietly. "Find it precious dirty and wet, sir. Best let us." "No, thank you. Let me down. How far is it to the first level?" "'Bout two hundred foot, I should say, p'raps more; but I dare say it don't go down so straight far, but works out'ard like. I d'know, though. I've never been down, and nobody as I ever heard of ever did go." "No," said the other with a laugh, "and strikes me as you won't find nothing worth your while when you do go. The old folks got out all the good stuff from here hundreds o' years ago." "You will be ready to haul up when I signal," said Reed quietly. "Oh, yes, sir. You may trust us. We don't want to make an inquess on you." "Light the lanthorn," said Reed to Sturgess, and taking off the flat tin case he carried slung under his left arm, he took from it a cold chisel and a geologist's hammer; stripped off his coat, rolled up his sleeves over his white muscular arms, and then secured the lanthorn to his waist with the strap of his binocular.