Us and Them by Hugh R. MacDonald

Author:Hugh R. MacDonald
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press
Published: 2016-05-05T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

“Holy gee, Mickey. I thought I was gonna lose my supper,” JW said, his legs shaky from the cage ride. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to dropping like that, especially with my eyes closed. There seemed to be a little whimpering going on. Was that you?”

“Wasn’t me. Some of the men hate this more than me, but they gotta feed their families. Can you imagine, being afraid every day before you even start work and then having to do it all over again the next day, for forty years?”

Feelings of dread and despair came over JW, but he pushed them away. No one to come rescue me from it all. This just might have to be my life’s work, JW thought. “Not what I want to do, Mickey, but if I have to, I will. But I’ll try to get a job where I won’t be dropping over eight hundred feet every day.”

“Don’t forget there is still the ride on the rake another mile or so before we start work. If you find one of those jobs, I’d like one too.”

The ride on the rake seemed a snail’s pace compared to the cage. As it came to a stop, JW heard an explosion.

“Yep, that’s where we’re going, JW. Maimed and dead are two real possibilities, so keep your eyes open. You watch my back, and I’ll watch yours.”

JW nodded, and they walked in silence as he took in his surroundings. The coal dust lay like a heavy morning fog, the helmet lamp barely casting enough light to see where they were going. Dust soon found its way into their mouths, noses and lungs. JW licked his lips and quickly spat. As he closed his mouth his teeth felt gritty, and he spat again but soon realized that his mouth would just get dried out, and he still would have the same gritty feeling on his teeth and tongue. Reluctantly, he swallowed the coal dust mixing with his saliva.

Reaching the work area, he saw that there was little explanation required. His father said there would be blasting, shovelling and a fair bit of pick use. The mine was almost as high as he was tall, which provided some relief. He might have to bend over slightly, but if he widened his stance, his head didn’t quite reach the ceiling. He was glad that he and Mickey would be working together.

“You’re Andy’s boy, ain’t you?” one of the miners asked.

“Yes, sir, I am.”

“Name’s Butts, and this is Dawe. We both worked with and for your father. He’s a good man, and he sure is missed. Hope he’s gettin’ along good.”

“Yeah, he’s getting better every day,” JW said. “He figures he could be back in a month or two,” he added.

“That’s good news. When he replaced Red, things got even better than under Red, and Red was a real good man too,” Butts said.

“We just did a blast,” Dawe said. “More than enough to last you the shift. You’ll spend your shift with your head down, shovelling.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.