186 THE RED MOUNTAIN OF ALASKA. 
honey ? Was j almos' done suffumcated ? Po' chile ! 
Come to yer ole mammy, bress yer heart ! Dar ! dar ! " 
The sounds grew fainter as the rescuing Chloe with- 
drew, bearing Flossie, and evidently forgetting all about 
her late comrade. 
Relieved of his burden, the man felt new strength come 
to him. The gas was not nearly as strong now, and he 
could catch whiffs of fresh air from the opening ahead. 
And now the Fox himself, the faithful Peeschee, came 
hurrying into the passageway, and, with his arm around 
his master, managed to assist him out to daylight and 
life. 
The Chilkats had already drawn Chloe and Floss out 
of the pit, and Richard was soon pulled up after them. 
Not ten seconds after he was extricated there was a dull, 
crashing sound beneath them ; the earth settled slightly, 
in a line toward the river, and a cloud of dust arose from 
the opening in the fireplace. 
Then they knew what had happened. The old timbers, 
long ago worm-eaten and crumbling, had at some point 
been jarred or pushed down by the passing footsteps. The 
earth had fallen ; and the whole, following like a river 
behind a broken dam, had caved in, completely filling and 
destroying the passage. 
The Indians were employed for half an hour, as a mat- 
ter of safety for future visitors, in filling the entrance pit 
with bricks, stones, moss, and clods of earth — the whole 
smoothed over and covered with ashes, until not the 
