"Now, haul away!" cried Alick. "We mustn't mind how we get him out,
provided he comes out."
We pulled and pulled, the snow slipping in around us, and at length the
Irishman's legs came into view, though, as Alick was on one side of the
hole and I on the other, their owner must have suffered no little
inconvenience and pain. As soon, however, as Alick could get on firmer
ground, the body quickly followed, and at length we heard Pat's voice in
smothered tones exclaiming, "Shure, if you pull my legs off, I'll niver
be able to walk again at all, at all!"
"Never mind your legs, if we can get your head out," answered Alick,
laughing.
We saw that Pat was not likely to be much the worse for the adventure,
and in a few seconds we got him safe out of the hole, and in a few more
he was all to rights, and we helped him put on his snow-shoes, which
were fortunately not broken. His cap had stuck to his head, and he had
not even lost his mitts.
"Bedad! I thought I was niver going to stop till I got to the bottom of
the airth! I'm mighty obliged to yese, for if ye hadn't caught me I
should have been going on still," said Pat, shaking the snow from his
fur dress.
We again put on our snow-shoes, while Pat was knotting the traces.
Making a circuit to avoid the pit, which was of considerable extent, we
proceeded as before. We had gone two or three miles farther, and were
near a wood, when Pat cried out, "For the life of me it's more than I
can do to see the way," and Martin confessed that he also had almost
lost his sight.