‘Poor little mite,’ thought Kaleb. ‘What a poor little mite!’
Chapter 4
Before very long, Mattias also had calloused hands and tough skin on his knees. He tried as well as he could to fit in with everyone, but he never used swear words because he’d been told it was wrong.
At first, he’d cried himself to sleep every night, thinking of everybody back home who’d be worried and missing him. He longed every minute to see daylight again and be free but in the end he learned to accept the situation – although he didn’t resign himself to it.
The meagre rations they were given each day weren’t enough to fill the boys’ stomachs. The food consisted of cold watery soup or gruel and stale, almost mouldy crusts of bread. They never tasted a hot meal but their bodies had grown accustomed to it and somehow they survived.
The other workers dared not talk to the boys because they knew that they were kept down the mine under a strict cloak of secrecy. The workers knew that the boys were invaluable for the efficient operation of the mine, but deliberately avoided them. If they were caught talking to the boys, it could lead to severe punishment.
Nevertheless, they were very fascinated by the tiny new youngster. They’d never heard such a bright and friendly voice – or such beautiful words – and despite the poor light given off by the tar-sticks and the black dust that covered the pit-boys’ faces, not a man among them failed to be moved by the little boy’s eyes.
In fact, each of them felt a warm glow inside when they met his gaze. Mattias made a point of greeting them all pleasantly every morning and always had a kind word for anyone who was injured.
His reputation quickly spread and one of the men said of him very sincerely: “I swear he’s as pure and innocent as the Lamb of God himself!”
The men consequently gave Mattias bread and bits of sausage that he gladly shared with the other boys, and all agreed that it was terrible that he’d been brought down the mine.
Would they do anything to help him, though? No, no one would dare! They didn’t even dare risk talking about the boys in their own homes in case they were later found out and suffered Hauber’s or Nermarken’s wrath. Besides, the pit-boys mostly came into contact with foreigners and simple hewers, none of whom had the power to do anything. Once, when Mattias had asked one of them to get a message to Graastensholm, the man had fled faster than if the devil had been at his tail. He was aware that Hauber’s eagle eyes were everywhere and missed nothing. Hauber, they all believed, was more dangerous than any viper.
From the conversations they overheard, the boys understood that winter had come. Down in the mine, the temperature changed very little – it was always cold and damp and the only warm place was close to the stove. It did get a little colder during the winter, but the boys couldn’t know whether it was because of the winds blowing through the tunnels and passageways or the mountain itself becoming frozen.
Knut’s harsh dry cough was worse at night and rheumatism was troubling him as well. Every evening Mattias would dress the boy’s torn hands and feet and tend to his big sores as best he could. Søren always watched him with contempt and told him that what he was doing was needless pampering.
“You’re just wasting your time,” he’d say. “That won’t do any good at all!”
Kaleb on the other hand helped and encouraged Mattias.
Sadly, Knut had never been as healthy as the other boys and he had no resistance to the exertion and strain of the work. In their breaks, they often spoke about how they’d escape, but usually when Søren was out of earshot because the other three still didn’t trust him completely. He’d become a good deal less enthusiastic than he used to be about hiding in the relative safety of the mine, but if he were captured above ground, he’d still risk losing his head. Søren couldn’t leave and said he’d tattle on the others out of jealousy if he found out that they were planning to escape.
So in great secrecy and without a word to Søren, they gradually hatched a plan. It was a wild and impossible scheme but it helped to keep their spirits up, and they relished letting their imagination run riot.
“Oh, if only I was in the sunshine!” Knut would sigh. “Feel its warmth on me and see it shine so bright. That’s all I’d ask for!”
“We’ll get out!” Mattias told him. “We will – I promise you!”
But there wasn’t anyone they could talk to about their plight – not even visitors. Whenever the superintendents inspected the mine, the boys were locked away, and the visiting gentlemen weren’t taken anywhere near the boys, so there was no point in banging on the door or calling for help. But at least there were a couple of apprentice hewers who were kind to them, keeping them informed of what was happening in the world above and helping them to avoid places where Hauber was patrolling.
They’d often considered walking out when Hauber wasn’t around, and on one occasion they had tried – only to be stopped by a foreign watchman at the bottom of the ladders. When Hauber returned, they were all whipped so badly they were in pain for a long time afterwards. Knut was so badly hurt that they feared he might die.
There were many nights when Mattias would lie weeping silently, aching to be back at the cheerful and welcoming Graastensholm and his Linden Avenue home, surrounded by all those he loved. He was scared that he’d die each time they sent him to clear out a narrow fissure by breaking off lumps of ore. He could almost feel the enormous weight of the mountain pressing down on him, tearing at his back, suffocating him, knowing full well that at any second the wrong piece of rock might break loose.
If that happened, Mattias knew he’d be crushed and badly injured, even killed. There were many times when he’d bitten his lip until the blood ran in order to stop himself from crying out in fear and panic. Throughout these terrible experiences, the thought that one day he’d get out of the mine was all that kept him going.
Mattias had been incarcerated in the mine for some time when two new boys, both outcasts of society’s poorest and most pitiable families, had joined them. They’d been working together and in their nervous haste they’d started a rock fall. No one spoke of them after that.
Whenever the hewers happened to strike a water source, the mine would quickly become flooded and every man made for high ground so as not to be trapped by the rising water. The little room with the stove was relatively high up but the dampness hung in the air for a long while after a flood.
The workers told them that it was a warm summer outside but the boys barely noticed any change in the temperature.
After a while, Mattias realised that Knut had almost gone blind. For a long time, he’d been able to see fairly well in the darkness but now even that had been taken from him.
“Stay with me, Mattias,” he would say in the evenings. “You’ve got such a kind voice and gentle hands.”
“And his eyes are very special, too – if only you could see them,” muttered Kaleb.
“It’s good to have Kaleb with us, too,” Mattias said to the frail blind boy.
“Yes,” whispered Knut. “Thank God he’s here.”
Because they were so concerned about their friend, Kaleb and Mattias summoned up all their courage and went to speak to Hauber about Knut. “He must be allowed to go,” they said. “Knut can’t work any more. He can’t see either.”
“What’s there to see down here anyway?” Hauber snapped.
“But ...” they began to protest, “he’s so unwell ...”
“That would look fine, I’ll say! Letting him of all people go up! Now get back to work, you pair of troublemakers before I give you another taste of my whip!”
Later that autumn, a tragedy occurred when a big boulder tumbled down, crushing a hewer. He was dying, and nothing could be done to save him – it would take days to move the rock. Fighting for every breath, the man begged: “Let me speak to little Mattias, please!”
Hauber grumb
led about the time they were wasting but this time the men ignored him and fetched Mattias.
“Pray for me, please, Mattias,” said the man. “Pray for my wretched soul! And when you stand before Our lord as surely you shall, will you ask Him to show me mercy?”
Mattias was surprised to be asked to say a prayer but he dutifully folded his hands and repeated the Lord’s Prayer. The dying man tried to whisper the words but his voice was failing. None of the other men moved. They just stood watching in complete silence.
Mattias ended by saying: “Take this man unto You, Dear Lord, for he is in much pain. He has always worked hard and been good to us. Amen.”
“Amen,” said his comrades as the man slipped away.
As Kaleb closed the man’s eyes, Mattias rested his head against his lifeless shoulder and began to weep inconsolably.
“Well now!” yelled Hauber, his voice shriller and louder than usual, “Back to work! Are you just going to stand here and mope all day?”
***
No matter how harsh their conditions became, the boys never forgot their so-called ‘Big Plan of Escape.’ And although they could see no chance of making it work, they spent more time than ever dreaming of the delights that awaited them above ground if they ever succeeded in getting out. So while they didn’t believe they could escape in reality, they nonetheless made small, discreet preparations.
One day, Kaleb and Mattias approached a friendly hewer to seek some information. “What does it look like outside right now?” they asked him. “We’ve been wondering, you know, about the stovepipe? Does it come out in the middle of Kongsberg, do you think?”
“Nah!” laughed the man. “You’re miles out. It sticks up way out in the forest!”
“Near the mine?”
“Don’t be stupid! There’s not a house within a mile of it!”
The boys smiled and thanked him – they’d successfully gleaned another valuable piece of information. They were very glad about this since they were now determined to carry out their plan, although doing so would require great courage. Because they were extremely anxious about how Søren would react, they decided to wait a little longer. Then Knut began to cough up blood and could no longer stand. Nobody offered any help or made any attempt to get him out of the mine, and he was left where he lay.
“Left to die!” said Kaleb. “They daren’t let him out because then people might get to know about us!”
A ceaseless hollow ache in the pit of their stomachs reminded Mattias and Kaleb of the anguish they felt over their friend’s predicament. They were deeply sad and worried but then came the second event – another accident. This time the victim was Søren.
He’d been working in a narrow upward-sloping shaft connecting two levels of the mine when the roof that consisted mostly of earth caved in and buried him. When they eventually found him, he was dead. They had only been delaying their escape plan because of how Søren may react. Providence had now removed that obstacle. Their minds were made up.
That evening Kaleb said: “It has to be tomorrow night before they get another poor soul down here. And Knut’s so ill he’s got to get out right now!”
“Please God, let me get out!” Knut pleaded. “I don’t care how. Just let me see the daylight once more.”
Kaleb and Mattias looked hard at one another. “One of the hewers says that it’s late March right now, and the weather isn’t bad,” said Kaleb thoughtfully. “The snow’s nearly all gone. Do you know what’s got to be done, Mattias?”
The boy nodded. In the two years since he’d arrived at the mine, he had grown strong. The blood of the resilient Ice People ran in his veins.
“It’s so awful,” he said as he considered the events of the day, “that we needed to wait for Søren to die before we could carry out our escape.”
The other two nodded in agreement. Although the death of their comrade had saddened them, they now realised the benefits it had brought. Yes, they understood exactly what little Mattias meant.
Knowing that it was now or never, Kaleb broke the silence. “What about you, Knut? Will you make it, do you think?”
“I’ll do anything if it means getting out. And I reckon I can still use my hands.”
“We don’t know whether it can be done at all,” Kaleb replied. “But you take whatever time you need, Knut. We’ll be helping you – Mattias in front and me behind.”
Knut nodded. “We’ll put it all in God’s hands,” he said solemnly.
Kaleb made no reply. Was he thinking that maybe the Highest Power could have intervened somewhat sooner?
***
Next afternoon the three boys began to organise themselves in earnest. They put only a few twigs in the stove for the sake of appearances and once the men had left for the day and they were locked in, the boys let the fire die out.
Then their nerve-wracking wait began.
They passed the time by making a kind of sling from their ragged blankets and bedclothes that could support Knut’s weight. If one of the others helped carry the sling, it would help Knut climb. For a while, Mattias had managed to tend the sores on his feet, but his frail health had left him with no strength at all in his legs. The stove was still too warm and they tried to stay patient as the hours slowly passed. But they had no way of knowing how many hours had gone by and how long they had left to complete their plan. Besides, Mattias found that he was growing very sleepy.
“Sing!” ordered Kaleb. “Singing should keep you awake!”
Mattias accepted the advice and sang.
He sang every rude song he’d learned down in the mine and although he didn’t understand a single word, he sang while the others clapped and laughed at his angelic and innocent voice singing the vulgar words. It was just as well that people back home at Graastensholm were unable to hear his repertoire. They would certainly have raised their eyebrows – and covered their ears.
As time passed, the boys became nervous. The stove was taking too long to cool down and they’d need a lot of time to climb out. In their anxious state of mind, they were convinced that it would soon be dawn outside and the men would be returning to start the next day’s work. The room was also getting colder.
“We have to try now,” announced Kaleb impatiently when he couldn’t stand the suspense any longer. “Otherwise it’ll be too late to get away.”
Mattias agreed and eased himself through the large stove door while he looked upwards and gingerly tested the heat.
“How does it look?” called Kaleb.
“The wall’s still warm and there’s a smell of soot but the smoke’s gone. We can do it.”
“Can you see out of the chimney? Daylight?”
“No. Give me a tar-stick? “
Kaleb handed one to him and Mattias grasped it firmly. “As far as I can see it’s wide enough but I can’t see the end.” Then with a grin he added: “We’ll come out black as night and that’s a fact!”
“We don’t know if we’ll get out yet,” said Kaleb, “it might get too narrow or be too wide even. And it could be blocked ... or they might have put something over the hole.”
“We might also fall back down,” added Mattias jokingly.
“Can you think of any more mishaps that could happen?”
“Nah!” replied Kaleb with a smile. “Ready, Knut?”
“Yes, let’s go!”
It took some awkward twisting and turning until Mattias, then Knut, then Kaleb were all up the chimney. Then began the laborious climb. They had debated whether Kaleb should go first and lift or pull Knut after him, but then decided that the strongest of them would be more use from below, supporting Knut and taking some of his weight as he climbed. The two younger ones also felt happier not to be last in case they were left behind.
“How’s it looking, Mattias?” asked Kaleb after a while.
A squeaky, breathless
but excited voice called back: “Good ... so far.”
They hadn’t taken the tar-stick with them because they were afraid that it would set fire to the soot-coated chimney. The walls were still very warm although the fire had been out for hours and the choking acrid smell of smoke lingered, stinging their throats and settling heavily on their chests.
Mattias braced himself as he climbed, hands and feet pushing hard against any part of the rough, warm surface that gave him the slightest assistance. He could only wonder at how Knut was managing. When he asked, Knut replied with a laugh: “I use my ass – and Kaleb!”
Mattias was only too well aware that his efforts at pulling the knotted sling were doing little to help and that Kaleb was carrying an almost impossible load. Mattias tried his best to ignore these fears and continued to shift himself slowly upwards. The climb continued in silence.
They stopped once, caught their breath and started upwards again. Then Knut started to cough.
“We’ll take a break!” called Kaleb.
Half sitting, half hanging and clinging in the darkness to whatever they could, they waited a long time for Knut’s chest to clear before they began the climb once more.
After a while Kaleb said to Knut: “Well, now we’ve come this far we aren’t going back down again, that’s for sure!”
“No, never,” Knut agreed breathlessly. “I’d rather die hanging here!”
“Good,” grunted Kaleb encouragingly.
Then he called out to their friend above them: “How are you doing up there, young Mattias?”
“It seems like it turns a bit up here. Yes, it does!”
“What d’you mean?”
“It leans sideways. That’s why we couldn’t see daylight.”
“Is it still as wide?”
“I don’t know yet.” Mattias’s high-pitched voice was echoing strangely down the chimney. “But it’ll be an easier climb now it’s not going straight up.”
“Thank God,” panted Knut, ”because I’m exhausted.”
Evil Legacy Page 7