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Analysis Of The Poem ' The Mineshaft 's Circular Chamber '

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Chapter Twenty
Didn’t See That Coming

The mineshaft’s circular chamber
Maybe an hour later

“I have to find it for you,” a gruff voice said.
My sight came back, diffused, dim—dreamlike. A ghost drifted beside me in a billowy blouse, navy breeches, stockings, and buckled boots. His hair—long and loose and peacock blue—was gathering a lace of dust. He was blurred as ghosts often are, but his voice was clear.
Captain McBride, I thought. But that’s impossible. He’s dead, which means . . . I’m dead too?
“Don’t fret, child.” He reached out and brushed his ghostly fingers across my cheek. “I’m going to give you something. Hide it in your sock and don’t tell anyone you have it.”
I attempted to move but couldn’t. I felt like I was hovering at …show more content…

Through the long passageways over sharp rocks and low under-hangs and was several dozen steps away from the etched figures on the limestone wall when I heard a distant voice that was definitely Bane’s echoing around the mineshaft. “Hurry up, girl.”
I crept the rest of the way through and stumbled out into the stone space. I must have looked like a dirty coal miner, but Bane was too interested in the Sade Stone to pay me much attention.
“It’s about time,” he said.
“Sorry, for the delay. The Stone’s inside,” I mumbled, handing him the flashlight.
He took several long strides, stopped, and eyed me suspiciously.
Breathe, I told myself. He’s a man, not a monster.
“Is this another one of your tricks?”
“No,” I replied.
“No, sir,” he corrected.
“Sir,” I repeated.
He unscrewed the flashlight cap and dumped the pebbles into his hand. “You’re so done.”
I turned to run, wondering if I’d appear on a milk carton someday soon—a blond kid, hands clasped over my doughnut-shaped mouth as a madman chased after me.
I reached the corridor with the low ceiling just as Bane rounded the corner. In seconds, my sneakers crossed laces with his tennis shoes, and our combined forward momentum carried us through in a tangle of elbows and knees and a sudden frenzy of flying rocks. I hit the mine floor rolling like a girl-shaped soccer ball.
Bane stopped me with a kick to the chest. He could have continued thumping me into Silly Putty, but he was too busy

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