Finder, Coal Mine Dog

by Alison Hart

  “Hurry,” Thomas tells his friend. “A fire is raging in the second vein.”

  “I will not leave my mules.”

  “Dominick, you must! The cage to the second vein caught on fire. There’s no way to get them to the surface.” Thomas tries to pry his friend’s fingers from around Letty’s bridle. Tears are streaming down Dominick’s cheeks and he won’t let go.

  “If we don’t escape now we’ll all die,” Thomas says, his own eyes glistening.

  Letty rears, pulling Buster with him, and I jump out of the way. Their fear is making them panic. In this state they will soon crash into us.

  Then Letty strikes out with a front hoof, forcing Dominick to let go. “At least help me unharness them,” he sobs as he pats Buster. “I won’t have them die in their traces.”

  Thomas swiftly unbuckles Letty. Wheeling, the mules trot off deep into the mine. I hope they will be all right. But it is time to get Thomas and Dominick to safety, and there is only one way out.

  I whirl toward the air shaft stairs. I look back. Dominick wipes his eyes and stumbles after Thomas and me.

  When we reach the sump, steam is rising from the burned coal car. There’s no sign of Bobby, Rosenjack, or the cage. A stream of miners rushes toward the ladder. Ole Freiburg still holds the hose as if in a trance. Thomas stops beside him. “Is the cage running?”

  “No. The engineer hoisted it free of the burning hay car. But it has been quiet for a while.”

  “We warned as many as we could in the third vein,” Thomas adds. “Dominick and I are going up the stairs. Join us, sir, while there’s time to escape.”

  Ole nods, but I sense his confusion. “Why did no one warn us earlier?” he says in a hushed voice.

  Get a move on, I bark as smoke rolls down the air shaft, propelled by the surface fan. Above the frantic calls of the miners, I hear the signal bell ring seven times. Then there is a hush. The great fan above the shaft has stopped.

  “The engineer must be trying to keep air from fueling the fire,” Thomas says to Dominick. He has been silent since leaving his mules, and his eyes are dull.

  Thomas squeezes his shoulder. “Don’t think about your mules. Think instead of greeting your mother and father…and Lucia.”

  “Si, amico mio,” he answers quietly. Then he gestures toward the stable, which is shrouded in smoke. “If we can find the mule trough, we can douse ourselves. It might help our chances.”

  “Finder, stream,” Thomas says to me. My throat is parched, so I am only too eager. My nose immediately takes me to the hose that snakes to the raised trough, which is still filled with water. Thomas and Dominick soak their hats, faces, and jackets. When they are dripping wet, Thomas helps me into the water and splashes me all over. I lap desperately before jumping from the trough. Then I hear a faint meow.

  Snow White! Crouching, I peer under the trough. The cat is huddled against the damp wood, and I smell her singed fur. She stares at me without blinking.

  I whine and Dominick bends to look. “What is it?” He stoops, grabs Snow White by the scruff, and hauls her out. “I could not save my mules, but I can save their cat.” Instantly, she curls into a ball against his chest, and he buttons his damp jacket around her.

  We hurry past the office and head toward the ladder. Several miners surge from the east tunnel, fear etched in their faces. They elbow past us and quickly disappear up the ladder.

  Holding Snow White against his chest with one hand, Dominick hauls himself up with the other. “Pass Finder to me,” he calls from the top rung.

  Thomas gives me a boost, raising me as high as he can. Dominick leans down and together they push and pull me to the stairs above. Once I am safe, I bark for Thomas to hurry. Then the three of us dash up the stairs to the second ladder. This time I climb up on my own. I follow Thomas and Dominick, fear propelling me through the open doorway to the second vein.

  Men crowd the passageway, fighting to get out. Without the fan, there isn’t enough air, and many of the miners are slumped unconscious against walls. On one side, the stable walls are burning. I can hear the scream of the mules. On the other side, the miners who pushed their way past us to get on the ladder first are lying on the tunnel floor, where a broken timber has crushed them.

  A mule trots by us, his bell clanging. A support beam crackles above, and then crashes to the floor. I jump aside, trembling.

  “Finder!” Thomas gestures from the escape shaft stairs that lead to the surface. “This way, boy.”

  Panting with relief, I race to him. Dominick is climbing ahead of us, and I dash after him with Thomas behind me. Nine bells ring from above and suddenly the boys stop. I hear a whirrrr as the fan starts again, drawing the flames on their lamps straight up. The fan is running in reverse. Slowly, the giant blades gain momentum, sucking the fire up the shaft until the wood timbers that line it begin to glow.

  “By God, Dominick, we must go back!” Thomas yells. “Before the stairs catch on fire!” He climbs down as fast as possible. Whirling, I leap after him. Dominick cries out as the wood on the stairs begins to burn. “Jump!” Thomas hollers, and his friend falls, landing on top of us.

  Four men shove their way around us, hoping to escape up the stairs. I recognize Ole Freiburg and Mr. Erickson, a timberman who often helps Uncle with repairs.

  “It’s no use. The stairs are turning to cinders!” Dominick calls to them as he sits up. His handsome black hair is singed and his left hand is red and blistered. Thomas rips the sleeve of his shirt. As he wraps the damp fabric around his friend’s palm, Snow White peeps from under Dominick’s jacket. I give her a lick to tell her to be brave.

  I press against Thomas’s leg, trying to keep my courage too.

  “Which way then?” one of the men asks, alarm in his voice.

  “There is no way out,” another replies as he drops to his knees. “We’ve been left to die.”

  “There might be a way out,” Thomas says. All eyes turn to him. “The main shaft cage at the big bottom may still be running.”

  “Only there’s no safe route to get there.” Erickson gestures right and left. “The passageways are choked with smoke. And the timbers are giving way.”

  Ole Freiburg begins to weep softly. “There are no lanterns to guide us, no signs or rescuers to point the way. We will burn to death before we make it.”

  Thomas sinks to the floor, defeated. I glance from man to man. Dominick’s head is slumped against his chest. His bandaged hand strokes Snow White. “Mr. Erickson,” Thomas whispers. “My uncle worked late last night. He was home when I left this morning. Did you see him come into the mine? Is he safe?”

  Erickson exhales slowly. “I don’t know, son.”

  A sob catches in Thomas’s throat and I lay my head on his bent leg. Then the lamps sputter. The air is stifling. As the flames on the hats go out one by one, the small group is illuminated only by the glow of the fire. All I see in their faces is exhaustion and despair. All I smell is smoke.

  And yet…I pick up another smell. Lifting my nose, I sniff deeply. My keen sense of smell picks up a hint of fresh air, and instantly I know the way to safety.

  CHAPTER 13

  This Way!

  November 13, 1909

  I paw at Thomas’s pant leg. He barely raises his head. I spin around and dance down the passageway in the opposite direction of the escape stairs, then I dash back.

  This way, this way, I tell him, my woofs insistent. He raises his head, blinks, and widens his bloodshot eyes. “Finder,” he says, slowly getting to his feet. “Finder can lead us to safety.”

  “The dog?” Erickson aims a dazed look at me.

  “The dog pulls a cart like a goat,” Ole Freiburg says. “How can he lead us out?”

  “Finder has a hunter’s nose,” Thomas says. “He can scent a raccoon trail in the dead of night. Why can’t he scent good air and safety? He and I have traveled all these passageways to the main shaft cage. If anyone can find the way to the big bottom, he can.” Grabbin
g Dominick’s elbow, he hoists him to his feet. “Come on. We have to try.”

  The smoke is growing thicker and I bark urgently. The men look at me and then over my head to the tunnel beyond. The kerosene torches have long gone out and it is pitch black.

  Erickson shakes his head. “That’s the east runaround. It’s the longest way to the main shaft cage. He’ll be leading us to our deaths.”

  “I agree.” One of the men stands, helping his friend up. “I won’t put my life in the hands of a dog. Let’s go, Harry.” The two shuffle away from the shaft, disappearing into the haze.

  Overhead, the whirrrr of the fan blades suddenly stops. An instant later an explosion high in the air shaft rocks the mine.

  Ole Freiburg gasps. “Sounded like the fan house blew up.”

  “If it did, it means no fresh air is coming into the mine at all,” Erickson says. “We’ve got to get out of here. The shortest route is past the sump and stable. There’s no time to waste. Come with us,” he says to Thomas and Dominick.

  Only I sense the fire is the fiercest by the stable. Taking Thomas’s sleeve between my teeth, I tug him in the other direction. This way.

  “Finder wants us to go through the east runaround,” Thomas says.

  “God be with you then,” Erickson says. Seizing Freiburg’s arm, he plunges toward the mule stable.

  “I trust Finder,” Thomas tells Dominick, who’s looking longingly after the two men. “You must decide for yourself.”

  Dominick nods. “Snow White and I trust him too.”

  Thomas points down the passageway. “Finder, lead the way. Dominick, put your hand on my shoulder. We’ll use the rails and the tunnel walls as guides.”

  I trot off down the east tunnel, turning from time to time to send them an encouraging bark. “Keep barking, Finder! You are our beacon,” Thomas calls.

  I stop. The air is slightly clearer here. But then I scent fear and hear snorts of terror. Coal cars clang and hooves thump against rock. The hair on my back rises—there are terrified mules ahead. A mule can kill with one swift kick. How will we get through?

  I stop, ears pricked, nostrils flared. The stench of sweat and dung is on the right side of the rails. Crouching, I belly crawl against the left-hand wall. Thomas follows. Dominick, still holding Snow White, scuttles after us.

  Finally, we are clear of the mules. My nose bangs against a wooden door. It’s one of the trapdoors between us and the big bottom. I scratch the wood, feeling heat on the other side. My ears flatten. What if the tunnel on the other side is burning?

  Thomas hears my scratching and shoves the door open. A man stumbles through and stops before us. Thomas lights a match, which flares for an instant. There is a haunted look in the man’s eyes. “Are we near the big bottom?” Thomas asks.

  The man shakes his head. “You can go no farther, boys. We are going to die here.” Pushing past us, he lunges down the tunnel in the direction we just came.

  “No! Don’t go that way! It’s too dangerous!” Thomas hollers. But the man ignores him and disappears into the smoke.

  “The poisonous fumes have addled his mind,” Dominick says weakly. “Or perhaps he’s right. We will die here.”

  Thomas lights another match and holds it up. Dominick blinks, his eyes dazed. “We’ll make it,” Thomas tells him. “Just keep your hand on my shoulder.”

  The flame on the match goes out, but it lasted long enough to show me the second trapdoor ahead. When I reach it, I again scratch on the wood, hoping Thomas will hear and not run into it.

  “Good job, Finder.” Thomas pushes it with his shoulder, but it doesn’t budge. “Dominick, help me get the door open.”

  “I c-can’t,” his friend chokes out. “I can’t…catch my breath. It’s…like a…rock is crushing…my chest.”

  “Let me take Snow White.”

  “No. Use your strength to…get us out of here.”

  For a second, Thomas pats me as if reassuring himself that I am still here. I cannot see him and he cannot see me. But I sense that he is weakening too.

  I whine. We can’t give up.

  Using both hands, palms flat, he shoves the door. Abruptly, he jumps back and cries with pain. “It’s burning hot!” He quickly sticks his hands under his damp jacket.

  “We’ve got to get through,” he says, slamming his shoulder against the door again and again. With a crack, it crashes open and he falls through to the other side. I bump Dominick with my nose, and he drags himself through the opening.

  “We made it to the big bottom,” Thomas says, sitting up. “I hear voices. The cage must be ahead.”

  “Only…I can’t…go any farther,” Dominick pants.

  “Yes, you can.” Standing, Thomas grabs his friend under his shoulders and lifts him to his feet. I dart in the direction of the main shaft cage, trying to show them the way.

  Suddenly, a man bumps into me. Then another and another, legs and boots rolling me over and over down the tunnel and away from Thomas.

  Yelping, I finally escape to one side. I hear a faint meow and a flash of white runs past me. I struggle to my feet, my ribs aching, and stare into the black. Where are Thomas and Dominick?

  I weave through the men surging toward the main shaft cage. Their cries and moans fill the air. Finally someone yells, “Over here!” Then several bells ring, and I hear the clank of the cage.

  Frantically, I go from man to man, trying to find Thomas, but again someone boots me in the ribs. When I struggle to my feet, I bark, Thomas! Thomas! Only there is no answering call.

  CHAPTER 14

  Rescued

  November 13, 1909

  I must find Thomas! Working my way again to the side of the passageway, I tip my ears. Men mill about in confusion; several fall in a heap before me. I leap over them and rush back the way I came. Thomas and Dominick must be there.

  This time I steer clear of the stumbling crowd. Not Thomas, not Thomas, not Thomas, vibrates through my brain as I sniff trouser legs and boots.

  Thomas! I find him slumped against the wall, his hands held in front of him, and I smell seared flesh. Dominick lies next to him, unconscious. Snow White is gone.

  Wiggling with happiness, I wash Thomas’s face with my tongue. It tastes of soot and tears. “Finder,” he whispers. “I thought I’d lost you.”

  I bark. The smoke is getting thicker, the crackle of flames nearer. Get up, get up! I grasp his sleeve in my teeth and tug until it rips. Get up, get up!

  He pushes himself to his feet without using his hands and sways unsteadily. “We can’t leave Dominick,” he whispers. With his last bit of strength, he drags his friend forward alongside the tunnel wall. This way, this way! I whine, leading him toward the hoisting cage. I can’t see it, but the scent of fresh air curling from the shaft beckons.

  “The cage is this way!” someone shouts above the moans and prayers of the men.

  I turn back to Thomas. He’s heard the shout too. But suffocating from lack of air, he collapses. Dominick is still in his arms. A miner trips over the two bodies, plummeting to the ground where he lies without moving.

  I race toward the cage. Mr. Norberg, Alex and Bobby Deans, and Mr. Dovin are guiding men onto the cage. I bark frantically, and Mr. Dovin holds up a sputtering lantern. “It’s Thomas’s dog! The boy must be close.”

  I lead the way past trampling feet to Thomas and Dominick. Dovin pushes through the jostling crowd. “The cage is just ahead!” he shouts. “Keep going, men!”

  When he reaches us, he calls out, “Need help here!” and Alex rushes over. He helps Thomas to his feet and the two carry Dominick to the cage and onto the platform.

  “Don’t leave without me!” a man suddenly screeches. As the panicked miner lunges to get on the platform, his knee slams into me, propelling me backward. I crack my head against the cage’s support beam, pain envelops me, and all goes dark.

  “Finder. Finder!

  Thomas is calling me. Are we going for a hike? Fetching sticks? Digging for pota
toes?

  Water splashes my face. I sneeze and my eyes open. Thomas exhales loudly. “Thank God, Finder! I thought…I thought…” Setting down the tin cup, he rocks me in his arms. “So many dead,” he moans. “I couldn’t bear it if you were gone too.”

  I lick his face, telling him I’m all right. Except my head and ribs ache and my nose and paws sting.

  For a second, confusion overtakes me. Are we still in the mine?

  Thomas’s arms tighten around me and I look around. There is blue sky above and I am breathing fresh air. But I can still smell smoke, I can still hear wailing. And I see flames shooting high.

  I whimper anxiously, thinking I need to save Dominick…or someone. “We’re safe, Finder,” Thomas tells me, his voice raspy. “We got out of the mine.” Then I see we’re sitting on a blanket outside the mine hospital. There are men all around us, some sitting up like Thomas. Others are stretched out, still. Men and women hover over them, applying medicine and bandages. Beside us, Alex Deans lies flat.

  Dr. Howe hurries over with a leather bag. His clothes are ragged and smell of soot.

  “Is Dominick all right?” Thomas asks.

  The doctor frowns. “He’s in the hospital. We’re doing all we can.”

  “And Alex?” He nods toward his friend.

  “Exhaustion. He’ll come to when he’s rested. How about you?” He checks Thomas’s pulse and looks in his eyes. Then I notice the thick bandages swaddling Thomas’s hands. “You came through better than most. Though it will take a while for these burns to heal.”

  The doctor strokes my head. “Hello, Finder. I hear you were quite the hero—as were you, Thomas. Peter Donna said you stayed in the third vein to warn the others. And despite your burns, you managed to get Dominick to the cage. Your uncle will be proud.”

  Thomas presses his lips together. “Uncle George…? he finally asks.

  Dr. Howe looks grave. “Your uncle’s a hero too. He warned the miners in the second vein even though he didn’t need to work today. But there’s been no sign of him. Hundreds are unaccounted for.”