Bonds of Earth, The

by Thompson, E. V.

  However, he could not afford to allow Bolitho to lie down and rest as he frequently pleaded to be allowed to do. If he did, Goran knew he would not be able to lift him to his feet again. Struggling on, he hoped Jenken would soon return with help.

  Goran was less than halfway to the boundary wall with his burden when he heard a sound that struck dread into him, causing his stomach to contract in fear. It was the sound of a hound baying in the woods, an indication that a gamekeeper – most probably Marcus Grimble – was on his rounds.

  Although the sound was still some distance away, if the gamekeeper was heading in his direction Goran knew there was no way he could reach the boundary wall with the injured man before the hound picked up their scent.

  Then, to Goran’s great relief he heard the sound of men running towards him from the direction of the estate’s boundary wall. Minutes later young Jenken, accompanied by a number of men in miners’ garb put in an appearance.

  Explanations could wait for later. Breathlessly, Goran said, ‘Quick! Carry Bolitho back to the wall and get him off Spurre land; there’s a gamekeeper heading this way with a foxhound that’ll pick up our scent in no time. If we’re caught we’ll all be in serious trouble.’

  The miners wasted no time and when two men lifted Albert Bolitho bodily between them the party hurried him towards the boundary wall.

  The sound of the hound was much closer now, its excited baying suggesting it had picked up their scent. It was with great relief that the miners lifted their injured colleague over the wall into Agnes Roach’s field before the animal and its keeper came into view.

  For a moment Goran was taken aback to find the three Pyne girls there. They had been with their father when Jenken reached the mine with his dramatic news and had followed the rescue party at a slower pace, arriving at the scene just as the miners lifted their injured colleague over the wall.

  However, this was not the moment to question the reason for their presence, the hound was dangerously close and Goran took it upon himself to give orders to the miners carrying Albert Bolitho.

  ‘Take Bolitho to that second clump of gorse, there’s room to hide him there. Take the haversack with you – and keep him quiet. If it’s gamekeeper Grimble with the hound, he’ll be carrying a gun and won’t hesitate to use it.’

  ‘Tom, Arthur … go with Albert and do as the boy says. Gag him if you think it’s necessary.’ The man issuing the order spoke with authority and Goran realized this must be Captain Pyne.

  Within minutes the gorse bushes had closed around the miners and the injured man, but they were only just in time. The branches had hardly ceased trembling when a foxhound came over the wall from the estate and Goran recognized the same young hound he and the girls had met with before. It seemed the hound recognized the girls too. It bounded towards them, tail flailing the air in pleasure and the miners looked on in momentary amusement at Jennifer’s feigned protestations when she was singled out for special attention.

  Their amusement was short-lived. Appearing on the far side of the wall, gamekeeper Grimble took in the scene and, reaching over, placed his gun against the wall on the field side. Climbing over after it, he called in vain for the frisky young hound to come to him.

  ‘Your dog is too pleased at making new friends to hear you.’ The comment was made by Captain Pyne.

  Retrieving his gun, Grimble growled angrily, ‘It’s a hound, not a dog, and he’s bred to hunt foxes, not to make friends.’

  ‘It would appear his training is not yet complete,’ Captain Pyne said, ‘but we haven’t been introduced. I’m Piran Pyne, captain of the Wheal Hope mine we’re opening up a little way along the edge of the moor.’

  Ignoring the hand held out to him, Gamekeeper Grimble said, ‘In my experience mines and miners bring nothing but trouble in their wake and unless I’m mistaken it’s already arrived. Someone’s been trespassing on Spurre land after rabbits. I’ve been aware of the snares for a day or two and today I found a lot of blood close to a warren. Whoever hurt himself would have needed help to get away. Nobody I can see looks to be hurt but it’s more than coincidence you all being here. What have you done with the poacher?’

  ‘I really don’t know what you’re talking about, but this so-called poacher … how was he injured? Did he have a gun and accidentally shoot himself, or was the injury caused in some other way? Perhaps you’d like to take me to the place where this “accident” happened, so I’ll have some idea how badly he’s been hurt, then I can check to make sure none of my miners is involved.’

  ‘You’ll keep off the Spurre Estate – you and your men, or you’ll find yourself in serious trouble.’

  ‘I don’t think so. In fact, I intend coming on Sir John’s estate very soon. He’s been to see me about the dues he can expect if we follow a lode beneath his land and has said I can go anywhere I like on Spurre land in order to locate worthwhile lodes. While I’m about it I’d like to see where this accident took place, then I’ll be able to pursue the matter further.’

  Captain Pyne had called Marcus Grimble’s bluff and the gamekeeper knew it. He also knew that if the mantrap was found there would be serious consequences for him and his employer. He would need to remove the trap – and others like it – before the mine captain ventured onto the estate.

  ‘If Sir John has given you permission to go on his land there’s nothing I can do about it, but while you’re there you’d better remember what it is you’re supposed to be doing and not get up to anything else … neither you nor any of your men.’

  ‘Of course not, laws are made to be obeyed, aren’t they? We should all be fully aware of the punishments that will be dealt out to those who break any of them.’

  Grimble glared uncertainly at Captain Pyne for a few moments before turning and heading back towards the tumbledown section of the boundary wall.

  ‘Don’t forget your hound, gamekeeper. You don’t want him to become too attached to my girls.’

  Turning back, the gamekeeper called the hound to him in a voice that brooked no disobedience. Knowing it was in trouble, the hound leapt to obey the furious command but when it neared the gamekeeper, aware of the aura of fury emanating from him, it dropped to its belly and crawled towards him obsequiously. Reaching him the hound looked up fearfully. It had seriously overstepped the mark and anticipated certain chastisement.

  Before anyone realized what was about to happen, Grimble lowered the gun he was holding and, with the end of the barrel against the hound’s head, pulled the trigger.

  The sudden loud report startled the watching miners and terrified the young girls. As the hound fell on its side, dead, Morwenna and Nessa screamed and Jennifer burst into tears.

  Angrily, Captain Pyne demanded, ‘Was that really necessary – and in front of the children?’

  ‘If it wasn’t for them it would still be alive. A foxhound’s bred to hunt foxes, not get friendly with every child it meets. The hound was no good for the job it was bred for.’

  With this Grimble turned to walk away, but Goran, who was upset at the callousness of the gamekeeper, called after him, ‘What about the hound?’

  ‘It’s no good to me, feed it to your pigs.’

  He had reached the wall when Goran said, ‘You leave a dead hound on Mrs Roach’s land and Sir John Spurre will find it lying across his doorstep in the morning with a note tied to it telling him to ask you for an explanation.’

  Grimble turned back angrily with the apparent intent to take issue with him about his remarks, but two of the miners, who had been as appalled as Goran at the gamekeeper’s callous action, moved to stand alongside him.

  Coming no closer, Grimble said, ‘You’re growing too big for your boots, young Trebartha, you’d do well to stay out of my way.’

  With this, he reached down and taking hold of the dead young foxhound, heaved it over the wall before climbing after it.

  The two oldest Pyne girls were tearful and Jennifer was sobbing bitterly when her father picked her up. Comfo
rting her he gave instructions for his men to carry Albert Bolitho to Wheal Hope on one of the sheep hurdles. A doctor had been sent for when they set out to rescue him and the miner would be treated there.

  This done, the mine captain turned to Goran. ‘Are all the estate gamekeepers like that one?’

  ‘They all do a job I wouldn’t care for, but most are reasonable men. Marcus Grimble isn’t. He goes out of his way to upset people and enjoys doing it.’

  ‘He’s upset my girls and my men too, so word will get around about the type of man he is. He’d do well to steer well clear of Wheal Hope miners, they’re hard on men like Grimble. But you stood up to him … and I understand you did the same for my girls the other day. Now you’ve saved Albert Bolitho from transportation – and saved his life too, probably. None of us will forget that, so if Grimble gives you trouble let me know, we have ways of dealing with men like him.’

  Embarrassed by the nods of approval from the remaining miners and the way the two oldest Pyne girls were looking at him, Goran said, ‘Thanks. I hope I never need to call for your help but it’s good to know it’s there. You mentioned that Sir John has given you permission to make checks on his land. Do you expect the underground work of the mine to extend this far?’

  ‘Probably. We’ve started work on a copper find that will likely go down deep where we are at the moment, but I’ve also come across another lode that seems to be running in this direction, and in my opinion it’s likely to be a rich one.’

  Knowing the position of the mine, the extent of the Spurre Estate and Agnes’s words when he had told her of his first meeting with the Pyne girls, Goran pursued his questioning. ‘That means you’ll be working beneath the farms of both Agnes Roach and her brother, Elworthy Coumbe. I work on both, and we’re standing on Agnes’s land right now. Their lands extend up to the ridge and along it for six or seven fields to where the moor dips into a valley. I think she’s interested in mining rights.’

  Captain Pyne frowned, ‘When I met Sir John we discussed the direction the lode was likely to take and he told me all mining rights on the edge of the moor around here were his. We even discussed the percentages of dues he wants for working beneath his lands.’

  ‘Well, nothing has been said about it to Agnes. She didn’t even know you’d begun mining up this way until I told her … and that wasn’t until after I’d met your girls.’

  ‘I don’t like the sound of this. I hope Sir John isn’t trying to get more than he’s entitled to. If the lodes are as rich as I believe them to be there could be a lot of money involved – and disputed dues and mining rights have resulted in more than one good mine failing. Will you tell your two employers I’d like to come down and speak to them as soon as I can find time? But I need to get back to the mine, there’s a lot of work going on there right now. Thank you once more for all you did for Albert Bolitho, he’s got enough troubles without this. I’ll make certain he and his family don’t starve but, much as I’d like to, I can’t afford to support every out of work miner and regrettably there are far too many of them.’

  Captain Pyne left with his remaining miners and the three girls, the still sobbing Jennifer being carried in his arms. After the unwelcome confrontation with Marcus Grimble and what Captain Pyne had said about mining rights and dues, Goran had been left with a great deal to think about.

  He felt a little better when, before the party from the mine passed out of sight, Jennifer waved to him over her father’s shoulder and Nessa turned and did the same. However, she turned back so quickly he was not sure whether she saw him raise his arm in acknowledgement.

  Chapter 5

  WHEN GORAN RETURNED to the farmhouse and told Agnes Roach of the latest incident involving Grimble and the miners from Wheal Hope, she expressed her disapproval.

  ‘When I first heard about the mine I said there’d be trouble. It follows miners as surely as night follows day. Mining and farming don’t sit comfortably with each other. We look after the land, putting as much back into it as we take out, knowing that if we take care of it the land will always be here for those who come after. The miner takes what he wants and puts nothing back. When there’s no more to take he moves on to do the same somewhere else. We’re like oil and water. Mind you, that doesn’t mean I hold with these mantraps. They might just as easily have caught one of those young girls you found on Spurre land. When I was a young girl a little lad belonging to a washerwoman at the Hall trod on one of them. It took the poor little soul’s leg clean off and he was dead before they could get help to him. I thought they weren’t allowed to put them down any more. Not that a ban would stop Sir John using them if he wanted to, he believes he’s above the law – and I doubt there’s anyone in Cornwall would argue with that.’

  ‘Talking about the law and Sir John, Captain Pyne who’s in charge of the Wheal Hope says he’s had a meeting with Sir John who told him he owns mining rights to all the land hereabouts. They even talked about the amount of money he would be given for the ore they took out.’

  ‘Sir John said that? If this mine captain comes down here to see me I’ll soon tell him different. If there’s any mining done beneath either farm then the dues come to us, not to anyone else!’

  ‘That’s more-or-less what I told him. He said he’ll come down and see you when he’s not quite so busy and he’d like me to show him where the boundaries are for the two farms so he’ll have a better idea about it when he talks to Sir John again.’

  ‘Good. When he comes here I’ll prove that whatever Sir John may own doesn’t include any rights for our land. None at all.’

  Goran was aware Agnes disliked the landowner intensely. He hoped she knew what she was talking about when it came to mining rights … but she was still speaking.

  ‘This miner who was caught in the mantrap, you say he was poaching on the Spurre estate?’

  ‘That’s right, he knew he was doing wrong but it sounds as though his family are close to starving. He was desperate to get them something to eat.’

  ‘We’ve got two fields almost ready to be cut for hay and Elworthy will have the same, as well you know. Old George Yates as good as said last year it would be the last time he’d be able to help us bring it in and I know he was bad for most of the winter, so we’re going to have to take someone else on. Will this miner be fit enough to help?’

  Goran shook his head, ‘He’ll be lucky if he’s ever able to walk properly again – but he’s got a son of about thirteen. He’s a sturdy lad and fit enough. He ran all the way from the Spurre estate to the mine to fetch help for his pa, then ran back again with Captain Pyne and the miners. I think you’d find he’ll work twice as hard as anyone else to prove he can do a man’s job and help his family.’

  ‘He might try but he’s not a man and couldn’t expect to pick up a man’s pay, but if you think he can do the job … Anyway, it’s you who’ll need to work all the harder if he can’t. Do you know where he lives?’

  ‘No, but they’ll know up at the mine.’

  Goran realized Agnes was working something out in her head and now she said, ‘You’ve got work to catch up on tonight, but if you work a bit faster and finish your chores early enough tomorrow afternoon you can take a few eggs up to the mine for this miner and find out whether his son would like to help in the haymaking with you. I’ll give him a shilling for half a day’s work and see that Elworthy does the same. He’ll have a meal here before he goes home and no doubt your ma will find some breakfast for him when he’s working over there with you. That’ll make things a little easier for the family, but you can tell him he’ll need to work hard for it – and while you’re up at the mine speak to this Captain Pyne. Tell him he’s to take no notice of what Sir John’s told him and that he’d better come and see me before he thinks of going beneath any of our farmland.’

  Goran enjoyed the unaccustomed luxury of having a task to perform on a fine summer’s evening that consisted of nothing more than carrying a basket of eggs, two loaves of farm-baked bre
ad and a pound of butter from Agnes’s farm to the Wheal Hope. Agnes was a good-hearted woman, despite the impression she chose to give to others, and the plight of Albert Bolitho and his family had moved her.

  When he arrived on the site of the new mine, Goran was impressed by the way work had progressed in a short time. The main shaft was well advanced and a number of buildings, including a solid granite engine house, were under construction, but he could see none of the miners who had been involved in the rescue of Albert Bolitho and enquiries for Captain Pyne revealed the mine captain was underground with a team of miners. Goran guessed the men he had met on that occasion were probably with him.

  However, when he asked after the injured miner the attitude of the men he was speaking to became openly hostile and Goran realized the cause of Albert Bolitho’s injuries was no secret here and his colleagues were suspicious of anyone who came asking about him.

  Fortunately, when he explained it was he who had found Albert Bolitho when he was ‘hurt’ and that he was bringing food for his family, the miners’ attitude changed immediately. One of them said, ‘Albert and his family put together a place up among the rocks on the moor. I’m not exactly sure whereabouts it is but if you go ask at Captain Pyne’s house they’ll know there.’

  Goran was directed to a newly erected cottage hidden from the mine workings by a clump of trees immediately beneath the rim of the moor. When he arrived there he saw a woman taking in washing from a line slung between two trees at the rear of the cottage, where it would have been dried by the afternoon sun. The woman’s features were so similar to those of Morwenna that Goran realized she must be the mother of the three Pyne girls.

  When he introduced himself, her face broke into an amused smile, ‘Then you must be the young man who has seen more of my daughters than any young man should?’

  Deeply embarrassed, Goran stuttered, ‘I’m sorry … but I didn’t know they were going to be … like they were. I heard their voices in among the gorse and wondered who they were … what they were doing.’