Chapter 9

The week wore on, hour after hour, day after day of back breaking work. Slowly the women were making progress in the mine, they were getting there. Sunday came and went, most of them staying home from Cat's service to rest for the coming week of work. They were running out of time and there was still a lot of work to be done if they wanted to finish in time.

Load after load the girl fought the stubborn mule, cursing the animal for the fifthtieth time as it refused point black to bring the empty carts closer to the women could fill them up and have her take them out of the mine. 'Come on Sweetie-' The girl tried to coax her forward, staring nervously up at the roof as it began to creak.

'What was that?'

'My Noah used to call that 'the ghost in the attic.' Abigail spoke up, pushing against a beam to hold it in place until Cat could hammer the wedge in to secure it. 'It's okay.'

'Come on Sweetie-' The girl began to beg, tugging on the rope as the stubborn mule pulled back. 'Sweetie-'

'Gas!' Someone began to yell suddenly. 'Everybody get out! Hurry!'

A flurry of commotion began as the woman ran out of the shaft, the girl trying to keep the mule under control as it balked and began to swing around. 'Settle down.' She hurriedly moved out of the way as more women ran past, holding the mule out of the way.

Abigail walked over to the bird, the canary singing loudly in the now still and empty mine then looked over at Joanna as she fought with the mule. 'You okay Joanna?'

'Yeah, just don't want this thing kicking the timber. If she does it might come down again. Woah-' She tried soothing the mule as it jumped around again, tossing its head. 'It's okay sweetie.'

She was relieved the girl was alright, she'd seen that the animal had almost run her over in the rest of the women's frantic rushing to get out of the mine. Grabbing the canary's cage off the hook she headed out of the tunnel to give who had made the false alarm a good talking too.

The girl sighed as the mule calmed down then she led it forward again, stopping where the women had left off. There was no sense waiting around, standing doing nothing wouldn't get them anywhere.

'Looks like it's just me and you Sweetie.' She started over to the wall of rubble, picking up a rock then carried it back to the cart and placed it in. She hated the silence, hated the darkness. When the rest of the women were around she could handle it but here, alone, she could feel herself starting to panic.

She started to talk to the mule to keep her mind off the fact she was alone in the mine, carrying rock after rock to the cart. Slowly she was beginning to fill the carts up, still talking to the mule so that she didn't have to listen to the sound of silence.

Heading back for another rock to start filling the second cart she didn't realize one of the timbers was starting to give. In the mad rush the wedge hadn't been hammered in properly, the beam giving a creak as it finally came loose.

Joanna screamed as the beam knocked her down, pinning her to the ground. She gasped, panting as it laid across her and she tried to get out from underneath it but there was no way she could. It was too heavy, the beam crushing her. She couldn't move.

'S-sweetie-' She panted, calling for the mule. 'S-sweeite.'

The mule brayed, he-hawing as it dragged the carts behind it, moving towards the girl.

'Good -girl-' The mule nudged her, sniffing at her. 'Go t-to b-bed. G-go.'

Sweetie flicked her ears, wondering why on earth she was being told to go to bed in the middle of the day. Maybe the human was wrong. Maybe she was confused. There was still work to be done.

'S-sweetie-' The girl was getting desperate, it was getting harder and harder for her to catch her breath. 'G-get help.'


'The company doctor said Suzanne Lowry cut a muscle in her leg with that pick axe-' Francine brought everyone up to speed as they sat resting under the shelter, having an early lunch after the false alarm they'd had earlier that day. 'She could be hobbled for a while. Kate Frazier broke her arm, Nancy Sanders got a concussion and a nasty gash in her head. That makes seven of us too injured to go back in.'

'I should've been more grateful for my Paul.' Florence exclaimed, fixing the bandage around her leg. 'He was a good provider.'

'Well-' Abigail interjected, taking a sip of water from her cup. 'He might have been a first-rate miner but I'll bet he wouldn't have had a chance changing a diaper.'

They laughed. 'No, I guess he wouldn't have.'

'Hat's off to you ladies for stickin' with it.' Max started as he and Brad walked over. 'You've got guts. Truly.'

'For what it's worth-' Brad added. 'I thought you were all crazy at first, but now I hope you give Mr. Gowen a run for his money.'

'Thanks, fellas.' Cat nodded. 'That means a lot.'

'Hello, hello everyone-' Elizabeth hurried over to them. 'Hello.'

'Elizabeth-' Abigail stood up. 'What are you doing here?'

'At that first meeting, you told me to keep thinking about this eviction problem, so I did. Actually, your children and I did.'

'Well, we're all ears, Miss Thatcher.' Florence replied.

'How do you feel about painting your houses?'

Abigail raised her eyebrows, about to reply then frowned as the mule they'd been using for over a week trotted out of the mine alone. Wasn't Joanna meant to be with her? Joanna! In the mad rush and with everything that had happened she had forgotten totally about the girl. She placed her cup down and jogged over to the mule. Sweetie brayed and he-hawed, shaking her head and she looked around but the girl wasn't anywhere to be seen. 'Cat, we better go check on Joanna.'

'Right with you.' She placed her lunch pail aside and hurried after her.

Abigail grabbed a lanturn off the hook inside the entrance, looking around as she and Cat jogged down the paths to the shaft where they had been working. 'Joanna, Joanna?' She stopped, listening, there was no reply. She glanced at Cat, the look on the woman's face showing she was just as worried as she was. 'Come on.'

'Joanna?'

The girl heard someone calling her name, gasping to breath as the beam pressed down on her. 'H-Help!' She called as loud as she could, trying to catch her breath as it got harder to breath. 'I-I'm here.'

Abigail looked around, trying to figure out where the answer had come from then she saw her, the girl lying under a heavy roof beam. 'Oh dear Lord-' She gasped, running to the girls side. Kneeling down beside her she quickly assessed the situation as Cat came up behind her. 'We've got to get this off her.' Both of them took hold of the beam as the girl struggled to breath, finally managing to lift it off her and they threw it aside. The woman knelt back down beside the girl, stroking her hair. 'Where does it hurt honey?'

'My-my chest a-and stomach.'

Cat sat down beside her, beginning to unbutton the girls shirt to assess how injured the child was. Already huge bruises were starting to show on the girls skin. There was no telling how long she'd been stuck under the beam, they'd been out of the mine for some time to get the injured workers back home and then had sat down to eat lunch. 'I'm going to press down on your stomach, I want you to tell me how much it hurts.' The girl nodded and she touched her stomach, the girl only barely whimpering. She sighed in relief. 'I don't think there is any internal bleeding.'

'Does it hurt anywhere else?'

Joanna shook her head, finally able to catch her breath now that the beam was off her. 'I'm fine. Really. Don't worry about me.''

'I think we should still get her checked by the doctor-' She exclaimed as she looked over at Abigail, the woman's face shrouded in worry. 'if he hasn't already continued on his rounds.'

She nodded in agreement. 'Can you get up honey?' The girl tried to sit up, her eyes watering with tears from the pain and she stopped her, sliding her arms underneath her to carry her instead. 'I've got you honey. Come on, let's get you home.'


Abigail paced the living room back and forth as the doctor carried out his examination of the child, almost out of her mind with worry. She shouldn't have let the girl go in the mine with them in the first place, it was too dangerous. She should never have put her in that danger by agreeing she could help. She was only a child for heaven's sake-

'Abigail, she's going to be fine-' Elizabeth said softly, seated on the couch to grade her students' papers. 'Come sit down, you're making me dizzy with that pacing.'

'I should never have let her help-' She started as she sat down across from her, her head down. 'It's all my fault-'

'It is not your fault Abigail. Accidents happen.'

'It would never have happened if I said no.'

'I think you and I both know that if you said no she'd still have went anyway. I mightn't have known her for as long as you but I can see she's the kind of girl who does what she thinks is best.'

'I know-' She sniffled, a flashback coming into her mind. 'Seeing her there, trapped under that beam-'

'She'll be alright.' Elizabeth tried to reassure her. 'If I've learnt anything being here so far it's that these kids are tough. She'll be fine.'

The doctor walked out of the room and she stood up to meet him. 'How is she?'

'Some severe bruising and some abrasions but I don't think anything is broken.' Doctor Roy replied as he closed up his medical bag. 'She should stay in bed for a couple days though, she needs her rest. I've given her something for the pain, she should sleep for a little while now soon. She'll be stiff and sore for a few days but I don't think there's too much cause for alarm. She's a very lucky child.'

Abigail breathed a sigh of relief. 'Thank you doctor.'

'I'll walk you out.' Elizabeth offered.

She headed into her bedroom as Elizabeth walked the doctor out, sitting down on her bed beside the girl. 'How are you feeling?'

'Sore.' She replied with a slight grin. 'Especially with that man's poking and prodding.'

'Yeah, well next time don't go gettin trapped under beams okay.' She teased but there was a seriousness to her tone and she tucked a lock of the girl's hair behind her ear. 'You had me worried about you.'

'Sorry.' Joanna smiled sympathetically. 'I didn't mean to. I was just wanting to get more of the shaft cleared.'

'I know but what is important to me right now is you, okay?' She kissed the girls head gently. 'You just rest now and have a sleep, I'm right here.'