Love's Abiding Joy (Love Comes Softly #4)(30)

The boy nodded his head and Clark turned and hurried back into the old mine. Traveling more quickly this time with a better idea of what was ahead of him, he still protected himself with a raised arm and a groping foot. But he moved with less caution because he knew that time was a major factor.

As he felt and slipped his way down the left tunnel, he prayed that he might get to Abe before the whole mine collapsed. The dust still hung heavily in the air, but Clark didn't think it was any worse than before. It appeared that there had been no further cave-ins.

He came to the last steep slide and let himself down carefully, trying hard not to disturb any more of the rock around him. At the bottom, he dropped on all fours and felt his way forward to where he had left Abe. In the darkness he found the outstretched arm and the near-buried face, and he began to dig methodically, painstakingly, lifting away the debris from around him. It was slow work. Some of the rocks that buried the boy were boulder-sized, and it took all of Clark's strength to move them to the side. He clawed and pushed, pulled and scratched, tore and pried until at last he had the boy freed from his prison.

He stopped for only a minute to catch his breath, and then he lifted the boy tenderly and once again began the climb to the outside world. Just as he pushed Abe ahead of him up the steep slope, there was a terrifying crack and a monstrous roar, and the ceiling of the cavern collapsed all around him. Pain seared through Clark as a heavy timber fell with sickening impact upon his leg, and then merciful blackness.



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Chapter Thirteen




A Double Tragedy



The men in the wagon had just pulled up and begun to throw questions at the boy when the roar from within the cave burst upon them. Another cave-in! The boy crumpled to the ground with a cry of despair; and Andy, who lay on the ground shivering in shock, began to whimper.

"Someone look after thet boy," barked Scottie, and Lane moved forward to examine the youngster and ordered some blankets brought from the wagon.

Willie headed for the mine entrance and was stopped by Scottie's hands.

"I'm goin' in," said Willie.

"No, ya ain't. Nobody's goin' in there 'til we know thet it's finished fallin'."

Willie hesitated and stood listening to the rumbling inside the hillside.

The dust began to sift out of the entrance as they stood and stared, straining their ears. Willie turned to the sobbing boy. "Did the man who came with ya go in there, boy?" The boy nodded his head.



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"Has he been out a'tall?"

"He brought Andy out."

"Where is he now?"

"He went back in fer Abe."

It was exactly as Willie knew that it would be, yet somehow he had dared to hope that it might not be so.

The rumbling gradually stopped. Willie headed for the wagon and came back with a lantern and a rope. Again Scottie stepped forward and without a word took the lantern from him and lit it.

"Lane," Scottie instructed, "grab these shovels an' follow me."

Willie moved to fall in line.

"Mr. LaHaye," said Scottie, "you ain't goin' in there." "What ya talkin'--" Willie began, but Scottie interrupted. "I'm talkin"bout you," said Scottie firmly. "You an' yer

missus an' those two little boys."

"But--"

"No buts. Thet there mine might give ag'in. Ya know thet, an' I know thet."

Scottie then turned to Lane. "I'm not askin' any man to take chances," he said. "You stay several feet behind me an' iffen ya hear a rumble, then run fer it. Now, boy, where do we find 'em?"

The young boy moved forward and was able to again intelligently give the men directions, and then Scottie and Lane moved through the mine opening.

Willie fidgeted at the entry. He wanted to go in and help with the search for Clark. He would go in. And then he thought of Missie. Of Missie and his two sons. If anything should happen to her father, she would need her husband even more.

He paced back and forth before the mouth of the mine and then went over to see if there was anything he could do for the young boy who lay groaning on the ground.

He turned to the boy who leaned against the rock outcropping, staring at the gaping hole that had caused all of their misery.

"Boy," he said, "do ya live 'round here?"



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"In town," he answered.

"This yer brother?" asked Willie, indicating Andy on the ground.

"My friend. My brother--he's still in there."

"Yer folks be worryin'?"

"I reckon."

"Do ya think thet ya should ride on home an' tell 'em? Yer

pa might want to git on over here an' help git yer brother out." The boy looked surprised that he hadn't thought of that. "Yah," he said and headed for his grazing horse.

"An' git word to the folks of this here boy too, will ya, son?

They can come over and see what they can do to make 'im

more comfortable."

The boy cast a backward glance at his friend and hurried

off.

From then on there was nothing for Willie to do except watch the entrance of the mine and pray that there would be no more cave-ins. Occasionally he talked to the half-conscious boy or gave him sips of water. The broken foot was painful, but as Willie examined it with his eyes, not wanting to move it, he thought that it looked like it might heal properly. He could see no protruding bones or broken skin.