Page:Dave Porter in the Far North.djvu/232

206 Englishman to the driver. "Otherwise we may all take a tumble."

He had hardly spoken when a sleigh ran up on a rock on one side and plunged into a hollow on the other. In a twinkling the turnout was upset. Dave felt himself pitched out and rolled over and over before he could stop himself. Then he went down and down, he knew not whither. His hand touched that of Roger, and instinctively the two chums clung to each other. The snow filled their eyes, ears, and noses, and almost smothered them. They saw a little light, and then suddenly all became pitch-dark around them.

For several seconds after they fell neither spoke, for each was busy collecting his scattered senses. They were side by side on their backs and the snow was still all around them. Dave put out an arm, felt something of an opening, and crawled into it.

"Roger, are you all right?"

"I—I guess so!" came in a spluttering voice. "But I must have rolled ov—er a hun—hundred times!"

"So did I. We came down on the lightning express, didn't we?"

"Where are we, and where is the sleigh?"

"Don't ask me. We're at the bottom of some place. Come here, there is more room to breathe."

The senator's son followed Dave into the opening the latter had found. All was so dark