Nor was there a moment to be lost. Tom was already reduced to the
choice between silence and having his mouth filled with sand.
Harry's hands worked with lightning speed. Feverishly he dug out the
sand, until he had scooped away enough to bare Tom's shoulders and a few
inches beneath.
Swoop! Down went the extra noose over Tom's lifted arms, and then down
to a snug noose under his armpits.
From the platform a cheer went up, for the unconscious laborer had just
been hauled to safety.
It was with a thrill of horror that Hazelton found his own legs firmly
embedded in the sand well up to his thighs.
"Get Reade started first!" shouted the young assistant engineer. "Don't
bother with me until I give the word."
How the line fastened to Tom tightened and strained! At times it seemed
as though it must give way.
Presently Tom's shoulder and a part of his torso were free.
In the meantime Harry Hazelton had sunk in up to the waist line.
"We'll haul on you, too, now, Mr. Hazelton!" sounded the voice of
Foreman Payson.
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