Page 139 - The snake's pass

VANISHED. 127
lower down than the bog, where the land suddenly
rose steeply from a wide sloping extent of wilderness
of invincible barrenness. It was over this spot that
Sutherland hoped ultimately to send the waters of the
bog. We began at the foot and made a trench some
four feet wide at the bottom, and with sloping walls, so
that when we got in so far the drain would be twenty
feet deep, the external aperture would measure about
twice as much.
The soil was heavy and full of moderate- sized boul-
ders, but was not unworkable, and amongst us we came
to the conclusion that a week of solid work would, bar
accidents and our coming across unforeseen difficulties,
at any rate break the back of the job. The men
worked in sections—one marking out the trench by
cutting the surface to some foot-and-a-half deep, and
the others following in succession. Andy sat on a stone
hard by, filled his pipe, and endeavoured in his own
cheery way to relieve the monotony of the labour of the
others. After about an hour he grew tired and went
away— perhaps it was that he became interested in a
country car, loaded with persons, that came down the
road and stopped a few minutes at the sheebeen on its
way to join the main road to Carnaclif.
Things went steadily on for some time. The men
worked well, and I possessed my soul in such patience
as I could, and studied the map and the ground most
carefully. When dinner-time came the men went off
each to his own home, and as soon as the place was