Tunnel of Gold

by Susan K. Marlow

  Jem was forced to agree with Shen. No matter how much he wanted to help Pa, he knew it was his father’s decision to evict or not evict the scavenger miners. He could trust him to make the right decision. Pa did not need Jem’s help. Or Will’s. Especially not this kind of help.

  Jem saw Ellie and Nathan standing close by. The reckless branding incident suddenly popped into his head. Had he learned his lesson yet? I’m responsible for Ellie and Nathan. This is too dangerous.

  “Thanks, Will,” Jem said. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do. You’ve been a real friend today. But Pa will skin the hide offa me if I go along with this.” He reached out and clasped Ellie’s hand. “We’ve seen enough of the inside of a mine. Let’s go home.”

  Jem didn’t wait to see if Will would join them. He took Ellie’s candle and held it up to light their way out.

  “I’m mighty glad you didn’t go along with that fool notion of Will’s,” Chad said when they’d gone a few steps.

  Chad’s words and ready smile made Jem feel good all over.

  Suddenly, running footsteps echoed from the tunnel. Jem glanced behind his shoulder. The look on Will’s face turned Jem’s blood to ice.

  “Run!” Will shouted. “I lit the—”

  Ka-boom!

  Blackness. Blackness so dark it numbed Jem’s mind.

  And dust. Thick, choking dust that made his breath come in shallow, rapid gasps.

  Jem’s first thought was that he’d died and gone to that place of “outer darkness,” where there was “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” He could understand the gnashing part. Gritty dirt filled his mouth and grated against his teeth. He tried to create enough spit to clear it, but it was no use. His tongue was drier than dust.

  Jem rubbed his eyes and peered into the blackness, but it was as if someone had tied a blindfold tightly around his eyes. No, he corrected, worse than a blindfold. With a blindfold, one could often see a hint of gray, or maybe even a crack of light.

  Here, there was nothing.

  Jem tried to sit up, but something heavy lay across his legs. He kicked and thrashed at the heavy something until it groaned and fell away.

  In a flash, everything came back. He wasn’t stuck in eternal outer darkness but in the belly of a collapsed mine. He’d heard stories about trapped miners. Very few of the stories ended well. A wave of gut-wrenching fear set Jem’s heart racing out of control. He squeezed his eyes shut. Whatever else happens, God, don’t let me panic. Even if I’m so scared I’m shaking, keep me brave for Ellie and Nathan. Keep me calm.

  Slowly, Jem sat up. He hurt all over, but no searing pain ripped through his arms or legs; nothing seemed broken. He ignored the ache in his head and strained to see through the dark. The mine entrance must be somewhere. Surely, he could find a glimmer of light from the outside world. It was still afternoon. Or was it? Jem had no idea how long he’d been unconscious.

  He listened, barely breathing. The usual drip, drip, drip of groundwater had changed to a faint splashing. Rocks continued to settle, clunking or rolling to the ground. Jem listened harder, but he heard nothing more. No moaning or weeping; no breathing noises. Nothing.

  Anger at Will’s stupidity for getting them all trapped suddenly energized Jem. Blood rushed through his veins, warming his face and making his head pound. “Ellie!” he shouted. “Nathan! Chad! Anybody!”

  His voice echoed back, unanswered. Please, God, Jem pleaded, don’t let them be dead. He reached out in the direction he’d kicked the groaning something earlier and touched warm flesh. Moving his hands up and down the still body, he knew it was one of the boys. A whiff of hair tonic gave away the sleeper’s identity. “Nathan!” Jem shook his cousin. “Wake up.”

  Nathan answered with a startled cry. He gripped Jem’s arm and wouldn’t let go. Then he began to sob.

  The “weeping” part of that Bible verse, Jem thought. “Stop it, Nathan,” he ordered. “If you’re alive enough to blubber, then you’re not hurt too bad.” He tried to make his voice sound light and reassuring. “Do you hurt anywhere?”

  Nathan sniffed, and his sobs lessened. “All over. But m-mostly … my head.” He coughed. “What happened? Why is it so dark?”

  “Take a—” Jem bit back his answer to such dumb questions. He remembered how confused and disoriented he had felt when he first came to. “Will set off the powder, and everything came tumbling down.”

  “C-can’t you l-light a c-candle?” Nathan stammered. “It’s awful dark.”

  Jem paused. Why didn’t I think of that? I guess my mind is still fuzzy. He reached into his pocket and curled his fingers around two candles and the small metal tin of matches. From his other pocket, he drew out three more candles.

  For the first time since the accident, Jem found himself smiling. This was something he could do, something that would keep his mind off the fact that they were trapped. Alone. In the dark. With no chance of—stop it!

  “Good idea,” he told Nathan, shoving the candles toward his cousin’s voice. Fingers fumbling in the dark, Jem pulled off the top of the tin and carefully withdrew one of the precious matches. He replaced the lid and stuffed it back in his pocket. Then he scraped the match across a large rock near his boot.

  The match burst into light that made Jem blink and gasp. The smell of sulfur exploded in his nostrils. A few inches away, Nathan clutched the candles and gaped at the small, bright flame. His face was black with grime. Blood had turned his pale hair rusty red. “Hurry,” Nathan said, “before the match goes out.”

  Jem lit the candles then blew out the match. Globs of melted wax on the tunnel floor kept three of the candles in place. Nathan and Jem held the other two. Jem did not light any more, even though Nathan offered the ones in his pockets. “We should save them,” he said. “It might be awhile before Pa and the rest of the town can dig us out.” If they even know where we are.

  Jem did not share this bleak thought with his cousin.

  The flickering candles made the tunnel look almost cheery. “At least nobody else will have to wake up in outer darkness,” Jem said. He looked around for the others, heart thudding. “Ellie!” he whispered and hurried to her side.

  Ellie lay sprawled near an overhang along the side of the tunnel. The narrow outcropping had kept the larger rocks away; she was covered with only a spattering of small gravel.

  Jem knelt down next to her and brushed the rubble from her hair and clothes. “Wake up,” he said gently. He handed Nathan his candle and pulled Ellie into his lap. “Please wake up,” he pleaded. Jem had taken his little sister into the mine. If anything happened to her because of his decision, he’d never forgive himself.

  Ellie bolted upright and threw her hands over her head. “The rocks are falling!” she shrieked. Then she saw Jem and grabbed him around his neck, hugging him tight. “I wanna go home,” she sobbed. “I don’t like coyote holes this big.”

  A bubble of laugher burst from Jem’s throat. Ellie was fine, completely uninjured. Thank you, God! “Neither do I,” he told her. “Now, let go of me so we can see if Chad and Will are all right.”

  They found Chad half buried under some larger rocks. Jem and Nathan freed him and shook him awake. Chad cried out in pain and sat up. “It feels like a knife is stabbing my shoulder,” he rasped. “I think it got wrenched out of the socket.” He took a deep, shuddering breath and clutched his left arm to keep it still. “I hurt bad.”

  “Don’t worry,” Jem told him. “Soon as we get out of here, Doc Martin will pop that shoulder right back where it belongs.”

  Chad gave Jem a weak smile then leaned his head back against the tunnel wall and closed his eyes. “If I keep still, I can stand it.”

  Jem glanced around for Will and saw he was already awake. He appeared uninjured, huddled next to the rock wall, with his knees pulled up under his chin. His eyes were wide and scared-looking. Tears ran down his cheeks, leaving muddy trails. His breath came in choking gulps. “I’m sorry … I’m sorry,” he moaned. “It wasn’
t supposed to happen this way.”

  Jem squatted beside him. “Oh? How is a mine explosion supposed to happen, Will?” He was so angry, he wanted to shake him. Blowing things up with gunpowder was dangerous and unpredictable. Of course it wouldn’t turn out the way Will planned.

  Jem was only spouting off, covering up his own terror with surly words. But Will looked up and answered as if Jem really wanted to know. “The mine was supposed to come down behind us. You know, where I set the powder in the cracks. Way back there.” He pointed toward the shadows. A pile of debris partially blocked the tunnel. “Then we could just run out through the mine entrance.”

  “It looks like the explosion blew up more than just one part of this old mine,” Jem said. “It’s a miracle more of the ceiling didn’t fall on us.” He stood up, held his candle high, and started toward the entrance.

  “Don’t leave, Jem,” Ellie whimpered. She stumbled over to her brother and grasped his hand. “Take me with you.”

  Ellie’s hand was ice-cold. Jem squeezed it, then gently peeled her fingers away. “I’m not going far,” he said. “I want to see how much of the tunnel is blocked. Stay with Nathan. I’ll be right back.”

  Ellie dropped her hand to her side and stepped aside without an argument. Jem should have been pleased. Holding Ellie back was usually a full-time job. But from the moment Jem had led her into the Belle mine, his sister’s spunk had fizzled away. She changed her mind about seeing this hole, but I dragged her in here anyway.

  Cautiously, Jem picked his way around piles of rocks, some the size of small boulders. He heard a low rumbling then a large crack. Jem dodged a shower of fist-sized stones that tumbled to the ground in front of him. Waving away the dust, he took a few more steps and came face to face with a mound of rubble that filled the tunnel from top to bottom.

  A feeling of panic rose at the sight of the blocked tunnel. Jem clenched his jaw and swallowed his alarm. This is really bad, God. But I know You’re here. You must have a way out for us. Or a way in for Pa. I have to trust You and stay calm.

  “Jem!” Ellie’s frightened shout bounced off the tunnel walls. “What was that noise?”

  “Just a little rock shower,” he yelled back. “I’m fine.”

  Jem wasn’t fine. Not really. He couldn’t keep his hands from shaking. The candlelight wobbled all over the place. He hurried back to the group and sat down. “The way out is completely blocked.” He let out a long, dismal breath. “But I knew that before I checked. There wasn’t a glimmer of light when I woke up. Not from anywhere.”

  A choked cry burst from Will. His face turned white. “That means”—he gulped—“that means I’ve killed Wu Shen.” He buried his head in his knees and sobbed.

  CHAPTER 17

  No Way Out

  Jem sucked in his breath at Will’s words. Wu Shen! The Chinese boy had run ahead, no doubt in a hurry to get away from crazy Will Sterling and his black powder. How far had Shen gone before the explosion? “Maybe he got out in time,” Jem said weakly. He slumped to the tunnel floor.

  Will shook his head. “He’s buried under a pile of rocks. I know he is. He’s dead.”

  Ellie started crying. “Are we gonna die too?”

  “Probably,” Will said. His voice rose higher. “We’re trapped. We’ll never get out. I deserve to die. I killed—”

  “Shut up!” Chad roused long enough to shout.

  Jem dropped his candle and lunged for Will. He grabbed him by the shoulders. “Don’t you scare my sister, or I’ll slap you silly. What’s the matter with you?” He whirled on Ellie. “Quit blubbering. Nobody’s going to die.” He shouted the words, hoping to convince himself it was true.

  The fate of other trapped miners came to mind, but he pushed those stories into a little-used corner of his memory. “It’s just going to be a long night,” he finished.

  “That’s for sure,” Nathan muttered. He picked up the dropped candle and touched the wick to his own candle’s flame. Then he handed it to Ellie. “Here. Hold Jem’s candle. Maybe it’ll perk you up.”

  Jem knew better. One little candle was not going to perk Ellie up. Not now. Not with Will spouting fools’ talk about dying. But he gave Nathan a grateful nod. With Chad in so much pain he could barely talk, and Will ready to jump over the edge of a hysterical cliff, Jem was glad he could count on his cousin. Perhaps he and Nathan could hold things together for the others.

  Pale but determined-looking, Nathan nodded back.

  “Ellie,” Jem said, using his you-better-mind-me-or-else voice, “I want you to keep Chad company. He’s hurt. He needs somebody to look after him.”

  Ellie’s tears dried up. She gripped her candle tighter, flicked a glance at Chad, and nodded.

  Jem smiled. Tending hurt animals always sparked Ellie’s interest, even if she was only rescuing a baby chick and returning it to its mother. Chad was no baby chick, and he probably didn’t care if Ellie sat by him or not. His eyes were closed, and his face showed a peculiar shade of gray under the dirt.

  But it will keep Ellie busy and her mind off dying. It won’t hurt Chad any, either. Jem gave himself a mental pat on the back for taking care of one problem. If only the rest of their problems could be solved so easily!

  When the first of their candles sputtered and died, Jem’s feelings of accomplishment drained away. A puddle of melted wax was all that remained of the candle stump he’d jammed into the mess … how long ago? Jem had lost track of the time. He wished he had one of those fancy watches with a chain, like the mayor carried around in his vest pocket.

  Jem and Nathan exchanged grim looks. He knew what his cousin was thinking. It was going to get mighty dark in a hurry. Nathan emptied his pockets and piled five more candles on the ground. Without a word, he hurried over to Chad.

  While Nathan knelt and carefully fished around in Chad’s pockets for the precious light sources, Jem stood over Will. “I don’t suppose you brought any candles along with your black powder.”

  Will gave a muffled “No” and went back to rocking and sniveling. “Go away.”

  For a long minute, Jem looked down at Will and listened to his muttering. Most of the boy’s words were jumbled and confused, but “God is punishing me for sure” came out loud and clear. Will sounded close to his limit. Any moment, he might snap and do something crazy, like the miner in one of Strike’s prospecting stories.

  He’d told Jem that he and a dozen others had once been trapped for nine days in absolute darkness. They were so cold, they tied bandanas around their heads and chins to keep their teeth from chattering. On the ninth day, they heard a sudden shriek, then gibberish. Then the sound of running feet, a body falling, and more running. Then silence. Strike said a miner’s mind had snapped. When rescue came, they were all saved but the one who had run off.

  Listening to Will’s ramblings, Jem felt his stomach tie in knots. It would be so easy to give in, so easy to let fear take over and turn him into a quivering blob of flesh—just like Will and that other miner. But deep inside, Jem knew things weren’t as bad as the picture Will was painting in his guilty, terror-stricken mind. They had escaped the worst of the cave-in. In fact …

  Jem squatted beside Will and laid a hand on his arm. “Simmer down, Will. You’re working yourself up for no reason. God’s not punishing you or anybody else. Just the opposite. He put a bubble around us. We’re alive. No bones broken. No crushed skulls.”

  Will looked at Jem with red-rimmed eyes. His nose ran freely; he didn’t bother to wipe it. His arms continued to clasp his knees, and his whole body trembled. “I thought … I thought …” He paused.

  Jem leaned closer and kept his voice quiet. “What did you think?”

  “I thought the f-fuses were long enough to g-give us time,” he stammered. “Now, we’ll most l-likely suffocate down here or starve to death. Even if we do get out, Wu Shen’s family will hate me. Your pa will arrest me and—”

  “That’s fools’ talk,” Jem snapped. “Haven’t you got any gumption
at all?” He immediately regretted lashing out. Simmer down! he ordered his whirling thoughts. “I’m sorry,” he said aloud. Then he sighed. “You and I just can’t get along, can we? Always throwing words or fists at each other.”

  Will shrugged and said nothing. But at least he had stopped blubbering. He pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and blew his nose. Then he stared in the direction of the mine entrance.

  Jem followed his gaze. “We’re going to get out of here, Will.”

  Will kept staring into the dark passageway. “How do you know?”

  Jem didn’t know … not yet. He only knew that if Will didn’t hear some kind of hope, he might jump clean over the edge of his mental cliff. Please don’t let him snap like that other miner, he prayed. The thought of Will screaming like a lunatic prodded Jem to dig deep into his memory.

  Then he remembered something. His heart leaped. Thank you, God! “I know we’re going to get out of here,” he said, “because of my name.”

  “Huh?” Will scrunched up his face in disbelief. “Your name?”

  Nathan left the pile of candles and wandered over to listen. From a few yards away, Ellie’s chatter ceased. She sat next to Chad, but she was looking at her brother. Chad watched Jem too, glassy-eyed and clearly hurting.

  Jem had everybody’s attention now. Good. “You heard right, Will. My name’s Jeremiah, like the prophet in the Bible. Pa says I need to ‘gird up my loins’ like my namesake and never forget that God has a plan.”

  Jem looked up. Dark shadows lurked in the cracks of the rocky ceiling. He shivered. “Sometimes I forget. When I do, I get scared, really scared. Like you, Will. But just now I remembered what the other Jeremiah wrote: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,’ saith the Lord,” Jem recited, “‘thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.’ So, I know God has a plan, and it’s a good one.”