Us and Them

by Hugh R. MacDonald

  JW hoped they would at least get along as well as Gulliver and Tennyson did. Those two had forged a grudging tolerance of each other. Beauty’s outstretched paw was met with a small nip of Tennyson’s teeth, but neither seemed ready to attack. After several minutes of watching their limited interaction, JW decided it was time to separate the two. He petted Tennyson’s head and lowered him to the floor.

  “If you have time, I could show you what tools are needed to build your boat,” Alfred said. “I have some, and your grandfather’s shed has others that we will need. They are old but well-oiled and are of high quality. But we will need several more, some bigger planes to hew the bigger planks. They may be costly, but perhaps there is someone from whom you can borrow?”

  “I don’t know anyone who has boat-building tools, who isn't using them,” JW said. “And I’m not sure they would be willing to lend them if I did. Guess that puts an end to our plans to build a boat.”

  “Unless we make our own,” Andrew Donaldson said.

  JW and Alfred turned to where Andrew now stood.

  “Your grandfather was a pretty good blacksmith, and he taught me the trade before I went to the pit. There is still a forge we can use.”

  “You mean you can make the tools we might need, Da?”

  “Well, more like I can show you how to make the tools you’ll need. I’ll get you started. When my strength comes back, I’ll help a little more, but for now, you can swing the hammer to flatten out the iron.”

  “Shipbuilding and blacksmithing skills! I won’t need to go back to school, and I might even be able to get out of the coal mines,” JW said, laughing. “Just hope I can learn well enough to build more than a raft.”

  “Between your father and me, we will have you working in both crafts very soon. Then after years of practice you will master them. But like the alphabet, you have to learn A before B,” Alfred said. Looking around, he added, “This barn is very big. You could build the boat within its walls, if your father permits.”

  “That would be best to keep everything as dry as possible,” Andrew said. “Besides, there is more than enough room for the animals.”

  “Thanks, Da. That’s great,” JW said.

  Andrew looked over his shoulder as he was leaving the barn and smiled at the animated conversation going on between the old man and his son. He caught JW’s eye and winked at him, getting a smile in return.

  JW made a clucking sound and Lightning moved forward. He knew pulling the hay cutter through the thick grass in the fields was hard on the old horse but was surprised at the pace at which he moved. The usual scraping sound from the wheels was gone, and he realized the seat was no longer lopsided. JW stopped and got off the cutter. He saw that the wheels had been greased and the seat straightened and, more importantly, the blades had been sharpened. Climbing back into the seat, he got back to cutting the field and finished hours earlier than usual. The only pauses were to give Lightning a rest and some oats and water. The chore done, now the hay would lie in the field and dry before he would again harness Lightning, when it was time to rake.

  JW smiled when he pulled the barn door open and it swung easily outward then closed gently behind him and Lightning. He brushed down the horse and brought more water and oats then went looking for Alfred. JW found him reading in the shed.

  “You’ve been busy,” JW said. “The cutter moves like a fish through water, and the door moves like.... Thank you.”

  “I saw something where I could help, and I did. I’m glad it made things easier for you and Lightning,” Alfred said.

  Chapter 19

  JW saw the flickering light coming toward him. If it was one of the old open-flame headlamps moving that fast, he was sure it would go out. There was a muffled sound of crying in the air. His heart went out to the boy who stood before him, shoulders shaking as he tried not to sob.

  “I’m scared, JW. I saw someone – something – coming down the tunnel calling my name,” Donnie said. “I just wanna go home.” Donnie looked at the floor.

  JW knew Donnie was embarrassed, but the fear he felt overrode the embarrassment. Putting his hand on Donnie’s shoulder, he tried to reassure him. “It’s okay to be afraid, but you can’t let it make you panic.” JW quickly added, “I’ve panicked a time or two, but you can be fired for leaving the trap door.”

  “But it was calling my name, JW,” Donnie said, calmer now that he was no longer alone.

  “Remember we talked about how it’s only the wind?”

  “Yeah—”

  “Well, that’s all it was, ’cause there’s no such thing as ghosts.”

  “They told me,” Donnie said, referring to the older miners, “about the men who’d been killed ’cause of the boys who’d fallen asleep. They said they’d come to get us in the night.”

  “Even if that was true,” JW said, and saw Donnie’s eyes open wide, “which it’s not, you never fell asleep and had men die because of it, have you?”

  “No, I’m too afraid to sleep,” Donnie said.

  “Well then, why would ghosts be after you? And the wind howling or the dead silence can make you think you’re hearing things,” JW said, hoping Donnie believed him.

  “Yeah, I guess,” Donnie said, not sounding totally convinced but less afraid.

  “We’d better get you back to your door before a tram comes along. C’mon.”

  The walk back to his door only took a few minutes. When it came into view, Donnie picked up his pace and called “Thank you” in the darkness. JW would soon be leaving for tunnel twelve, but he didn’t have the heart to tell Donnie, who would have only Patty left to stick up for him.

  —

  Mickey looked into Sally’s eyes. He liked that she held his hand tightly. They talked a lot about the future. Pretty much every time they saw each other they discussed marriage and the number of children they would have some day. Sally’s plans included finishing high school and becoming a nurse. She’d told Mickey that she and Beth would do the program together.

  “Sally,” Mickey said, his voice displaying the nervousness he felt.

  Sally looked into his eyes. “Yes, Mickey?”

  “You know I like— love you, right?”

  “I think so.”

  “Well, I don’t think we should wait another two or three years to get married.”

  “But, Mickey, I still have a lot of schoolin’ ahead of me.”

  “You won’t need any more school once we’re married,” Mickey said.

  “But where would we live? And how would we afford all the things we need?”

  “I don’t have all the answers, but it’ll work out somehow. I’m working tunnel twelve now, and the money’s better, so that should do. That’s all Da has coming in, and we all manage just fine,” Mickey said, not bothering to add that he and his family had missed more than a few meals over the years, or that most of his pay went to help feed his little brother and sisters.

  “But where would we live? There’s no room at your place or mine,” Sally said.

  Mickey wanted so badly to be out of his house, he’d be willing to live in a barn if he had to. He hadn’t considered that he and Sally might have to live with family. The thought of them living with his parents made him reconsider. “You’re right, there is no room. I guess I never thought of all we'd need. And if we’re both working we’d have more money, at least until the babies came along.” He didn’t see the relieved look on Sally’s face at the reprieve she’d been given.

  “Yes, and the time will fly by quickly, and then we’ll be married with a place of our own,” Sally said. “I’d better get along home. Ma needs some help with the little ones.”

  Mickey walked her to her door then went back the way he’d come, passing by his grandfather’s house. His mother’s father was a kind, gentle man with hands the size of pan shovels, the kind used to load coal. He had wor
ked the mines and didn’t have a problem with his oldest daughter marrying a miner, not until she’d been a few months into the marriage and he’d gotten to see the true colours of Shawn McGuire – mean to the core. He’d told his daughter that she could return home anytime she wished, but he knew she never would.

  Mickey turned and looked at the large house that his grandfather lived in all alone and decided to pay him a visit. He tried to drop by as often as he could to spend time with him, but with work and the coal hauling he and JW had been doing, he hadn’t seen him for almost a month. The door to the house opened as he pushed through the gate on the fence.

  “I saw you walking by and hoped you might have time for a little visit,” his grandfather said, opening the door wider as Mickey started to enter.

  “Sorry I haven’t been by much lately, Grandpa. Me and JW were hauling coal after work, so I didn’t have much time.”

  “Yes, and I see you’re still spending time with Amos’s daughter. Before long you’ll be old and married with kids of your own.”

  Mickey looked around the room, taking in the photographs of his grandmother and those of his own mother and her sisters. There had been no boys before Mickey, so he was held in high regard by his grandfather. Oh, Mickey knew that his grandfather loved his granddaughters and grandsons equally and that he tried not to show any favouritism, but it would be to him and his little brother he would tell the stories of his time in the mines.

  “Sally and I were just talking about getting married but think we should wait until we have a place to live. She plans to be a nurse,” Mickey told his grandfather.

  “Waiting would probably be best. With the mines the way they are these days, another strike or closure could happen anytime. Come to think of it, that’s the way they’ve always been and probably always will be, so I guess you can’t wait forever.”

  “Grandpa, me and Da aren’t getting along too good these days. Ha! Can’t remember when we ever did.” Mickey looked around the room, delaying what he wanted to ask, trying to summon up the courage. “I was wondering if I could move in with you. I wouldn’t be any trouble, and I’d give you whatever you needed out of my pay to help with groceries and such.” Mickey held his breath, waiting for his grandfather’s response.

  “You’d be more than welcome to stay with me, but I wouldn’t want to cause any trouble for your mother. Like you, I don’t get along too well with your father, and I can’t remember when we ever did. I don’t like to speak ill of your father, but he’s a bully, picking on those most likely to be afraid of him, so I would want you to talk it over with your mother first. If it’s okay with her, you can come here as soon as you want.”

  “Thanks, Grandpa. I’ll talk to Ma tonight after Da goes to work. I best get home for supper. Talk to you later.”

  As he closed the gate behind him, Mickey started to realize that his leaving would cause trouble for his mother in more than one way. She’d lose his money coming in, and she’d have to listen to his father growling about his leaving. He was conflicted by his desire to get out of the house away from his father and not wanting to make it any harder on his mother than it already was.

  The sun was shining, but the cool air sent a chill across his shoulders. His path toward adulthood had a lot of hills and valleys, and seemed destined to unfold however it would. By the time he opened the door to his house, Mickey knew he would not ask his mother tonight. He would wait a while longer. At least he knew he could stay with his grandfather. He sighed deeply as his foot crossed the threshold.

  Chapter 20

  JW looked at the huge bull wheel, which looked like a Ferris wheel with no seats. It was used to hoist the cage that he and the other miners would be in. The cage would drop vertically more than eight hundred feet. The rake going down the slope at high speeds didn’t compare to this. His father had explained the difference between slope mining and vertical mining before, but it had only been in passing. Over the weekend, his father had told him about the bull wheels that raised and lowered the cage by using cables, made of wire braided like rope. There was a man driving an engine that controlled the speed of the descent and ascent. JW had learned that the lowering and raising both happened at about the same speed. His father said the cage was supposed to go slower when the men travelled to and from the mine and faster when it was just the coal being raised. But the owners were always after more and more production and wanted the cage moving as fast as it could go every time.

  “This doesn’t feel like a fast train ride, JW,” his father said. “Even after you get used to it, and many never do, most times it feels as if your stomach is still topside. Shaft mining or vertical mining uses a cage to get the men, materials, coal and horses in and out of the mine. It’s like the elevator in that department store in North Sydney, but there’s no door. Only a bar across the opening keeps the men in.”

  JW had sat quietly taking it all in. This wasn’t a story to explain the importance about staying awake on the trap door. This was to let him know it was going to be really scary.

  “Sometimes you have to travel on another rake to get you to where you’ll be working, JW, and that’s the case in tunnel twelve. Straight down a long way, and then down the slope for quite aways. I’m not trying to scare you, just prepare you, because the usual bunch will be trying to put fear in you. You’re gonna hear about broken cables on the cage and how dangerous it is. And it’s all true. If the cable breaks, you better hope the cage is near the bottom, because, if not, it’s serious injury – or worse.” JW noticed his father hadn’t used the word death, but he figured it was all too real a possibility.

  JW walked over to the shaft and peered down into an abyss. Looking straight up, he noticed the cables were moving, and he backed away from the edge. A few moments later he saw the cage break the surface. Some of the men exiting the cage looked pale, as if they’d been out on a rough sea. Others didn’t seem to mind it, and he hoped he could be more like them.

  “Hey, JW,” Mickey called.

  “Hiya, Mickey.”

  “Looking to make some better money?”

  “Apparently Anderson thinks I must want it, because he volunteered me.”

  “Look at the bright side; at least you won’t have to see Da on any of your shifts. He’s scared to death of the cage. Cable broke on a shift right before his a few years back, and he never worked that shift or any others that required a cage to get below. Four men and two horses were killed. There were no survivors.”

  Mickey paused, and the two looked at each other, wordless for a moment.

  “Da didn’t seem too pleased when he heard I was coming here,” JW said, “and Ma is beside herself with worry. She wanted Da to go and get me outta working tunnel twelve. But he and I both know I got no choice for now.”

  “Ma doesn’t know that I’ve moved from the trap. Da does. He’s not saying much, but I guess he’s worried too. We’re not really seeing eye-to-eye these days. I asked Grandpa if I could move in with him.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said as long as it doesn’t cause any trouble for Ma. Grandpa is not too impressed with the old fella either, but he doesn’t want any more misery for Ma. I thought about it on the walk home, and I realized that Ma needs the money I’m bringing in. It’ll be at least another year before Greg can start in the mines. Poor fella, I don’t think he knows he’s next on the list to work in the pit,” Mickey said.

  “Well, Da’s starting to get his strength back, so he could be back in a month or two,” JW said.

  “That’s great news. Does that mean back to school for you then?” Mickey asked.

  “Not this year. I’ve missed too much time. I didn’t think Da would ever be going back to work, so I never even went the first day, and it’s over a month since school started. But Alfred will be teaching me how to build a boat, and Da is going to be showing me some blacksmithing skills. If we’re going to be o
n the same shift, you could come over and learn with me.”

  “I’m sure there would be a lot of arithmetic needed to build a boat,” Mickey said.

  “There’s a fair bit, I’m sure, but most of it should be hands-on, same with the blacksmith stuff. Be nice to have a boat to do some fishing on our days off. You can still be the first mate.”

  They both laughed. JW saw the men making their way to the cage, and Mickey motioned for him to head toward it. “Remember to keep your eyes closed. It’s like when we jump off the cliff swimming, except it seems to last forever instead of a few seconds. Just don’t scream here, even if you have to bite your tongue.”

  “Ain’t gonna happen,” JW said, hoping he could keep his word. Squaring his shoulders, he stepped into the cage. He looked at the other men. No one seemed in the mood to tease anyone. Everyone seemed to be lost in their thoughts. Maybe they are readying themselves for the descent, JW thought. He watched the lips of some of the miners; they seemed to be praying. Disorientation overtook him as the cage dropped.

  —

  Beth looked out her bedroom window. She knew worrying for JW was futile, because he would have to face danger every time he entered the pit. If only the kids at school hadn’t told her about tunnel twelve and the dangers it posed. JW had told her of his first night going down on the trip; how he’d let out a scream as it plummeted down the slope. He’d only been thirteen, thrust into an adult world. Beth figured he might still be afraid but doubted now, at sixteen, he’d let others see.

  She missed walking to school with JW, talking about their future. Although she was proud he was doing the right thing, helping out his family, she truly wished he could just be there with her. She pulled the blankets down and slid beneath the cool sheets, sighing deeply as she thought about his first night going down that shaft. Despite her worrying, she felt the arms of sleep enfold her, and she smiled as JW’s face came to mind.