Read "Annihilation" by Isabel Ostrander online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
"Good God! " Orbit exclaimed in horrified accents. "You don't mean that the little fellow tumbled down the chute! That he was buried beneath the coal! -Goddard, my old friend, what can I say to you! Surely this is only a vague supposition, a last resort! It would be too dreadful, too pitiful!"
Goddard's face worked but he was unable to reply and Orbit turned to the men who, with baskets and shovels, were filing around the rear of the house.