Kenneth Tingle - Strangeville (8 page)

“Hey, John, step back a lil bit,” he instructed.

I stepped back while the man strapped the drill over his shoulder, pushed it against the wall with his weight behind it and then pulled the trigger. A high pitched “weeeeee” sound filled the tunnel as heavy dust spread through the air. I covered my mouth with my hand to avoid breathing it in, but coughed a few times anyway.

The drill stopped and the man stepped back.

“That’ll do it, Biff,” he said.

“Much obliged,” Biff answered as the man threw the drill over his shoulder and walked off deeper into the tunnel.

“Okay, John, lemme show ya what ma job is. They call me a Shot-firer,” he said, emphasizing the title “Shot-firer” like it was a position of great importance.

He rolled up a sheet of paper and stuck it halfway into the newly-drilled hole, so it stuck out like a funnel. Then he opened a thick leather pouch and poured dark powder through the paper into the hole.

“What’s that?” I asked curiously.

“Gun powder.”

“What!”

He pulled a long wooden match and a cloth wick from his pocket, placed the wick into the rolled-up paper, struck the match against his leg, and lit it. 

“Git runnin’, John!”

“Oh, my fricken,” I screamed, as we ran down the tunnel.

The sound of a loud “whooooomph!” echoed loudly all around us, with smoke and the smell of sulfur thick in the air.

“Let’s see what we done,” Biff calmly said.

I took a deep breath to slow my heartbeat down a little and followed him back to our spot. There were large boulders on the floor now, cracks lining the wall in a spider-like pattern around the drilled hole, and the smell of sulfur was even stronger as I stepped over some debris.

“Let’s git this in the cart. We can bust up the big stuff later.”

I crouched down and Biff and I tossed chunks until the cart was full.

“Now what? Do we have to push this thing outside?” I asked.

“Hell, no! That would take half the doggone day. We needs a mule.”

Biff put his hands around his mouth and breathed deep to yell, “We needs a mule down this way!”

His voice boomed loudly through the tunnel, and echoed off the walls.

A few seconds later, a voice in the distance boomed back, “Hold yer horses! We heard the dang blast!”

There was the sound of footsteps and the clomp of hoofs coming towards us; then they appeared in the light beam of my cap—three men and a mule.

“Greetin’s,” one of them said, nodding his head.

Biff nodded back so I did the same. Another man hooked a thick strap to a harness around the mule’s body and then hooked the other side to the coal cart.

Two of the men began pushing the cart from the back as the mule pulled. It squeaked on the tracks as it slowly began to move. The mule grunted, the men groaned a little, and they slowly went down the tracks out of site.

The third man walked behind, calling out, “Careful wit that mule! Them thangs is expensive. Ah don’t give a shit about y’all. Ah ha ha ha.”

The three of them burst into laughter in the dark distance. Biff laughed, too.

“Them’s a good bunch a fellers.”

He handed me the pick, and with a commanding voice, he said, “Okay, you gits the hang of it. Jes break off what ya can. The fellers will bring the cart back. Ah needs ta see if anyone drilled ta do ma job. Ah’ll be back ta check on ya.”

He walked away and headed down the tracks. I continued striking the wall with the pick. Large chunks easily fell with each swing, since the explosives had loosened everything up. There was a large pile on the ground when one of the men wheeled the empty cart back.

“It’s a lot lighter when it’s empty,” I cheerily said.

“Sure thang!” he answered gratefully and walked off into the darkness.

I lifted the pick to swing again but heard some rumbling deeper down the tunnel; the sound of boulders bouncing off each other, and then the thud of them landing on the ground.

“Roof-fall! Roof-fall!” a voice screamed desperately.

I dropped the pick and ran deeper into the mine towards the screams. The light beam from my cap only went a few feet ahead so I couldn’t go that fast. Soon I came to a stack of boulders blocking the tunnel. Dust was heavy in the air, which made me pull my shirt up over my mouth to stop coughing.

I cleared my throat, and yelled, “Is everyone okay in there?”

“Git us out! Ah can’t breathe in here,” the voice pleaded behind the wall of boulders.

I started rolling stones off from the top, first the smaller ones, and then after I could get a wider stance, I pulled the bigger ones off. I dodged them as they rolled off the pile onto the floor. When I had a decent sized hole, I stuck my head through.

“Everyone all right?” I asked, looking in the light beam, trying to find them through the dust-filled air.

A man coughed and answered in a hoarse voice, “Ma light went out. Ah can’t see the other fellers.”

There was some more coughing and another voice said, “Um all right, but ah can’t find Toby. Ma light’s busted, too.”

“You guys climb out. My lights okay. I’ll go in and find him.”

The first man slowly climbed out and cautiously climbed down the pile of rocks. The second man followed behind, moving a little quicker. I started to climb into the hole when one of them grabbed my arm.

“Be careful, feller. That roof might let go some more.”

“I’ll be careful,” I reassured him, and then I continued climbing through the hole.

I carefully climbed down the other side, stood on some rocks resting on the floor, and turned my head back and forth to scan the dusty air with my light beam; no one there. About twenty feet ahead, there was a mound of rocks that was big enough to cover a man.

“Toby!” I yelled frantically.

I maneuvered through the debris on the floor, stepped over a wooden support beam that had collapsed with the roof, and started pulling rocks off the pile.

“Toby, are you under here?”

A groan came from beneath the rubble. I threw rocks to the side as quickly as my body would move. His face appeared, but he wasn’t moving. I removed the layer of rocks on his upper body and pulled him out. He groaned again.

“Ya gut him?” came a voice from the other side.

“I got him! I need help getting him through the hole.”

Other men had showed up now and one stuck his head through the wall.

“Bring em here, and we’ll pull em out,” he said urgently.

I put my hands around his waist and stood him up, dragged him to the wall and lifted him a little. The man grabbed his arms and pulled while I pushed his legs.

They slowly brought Toby through the hole and I followed along to the other side. A crowd was starting to form, and I saw silhouettes of men. The light beams from their caps blinded me.

“That new feller there, he pulled Toby out. He done saved his life!” someone yelled.

“John, ya done good!” Biff’s voice called out from behind the crowd.

“Hey, feller, um gonna buy you a jug a shine,” another said.

There were all kinds of conversations going on amongst the men now. Voices were drowning each other out in a loud, disorganized ruckus.

“What in the tarnation is goin’ on here?” a foreman screamed as he approached.

“Toby an the boys had a roof-fall. That feller there, he dug Toby out an gut him through the hole. He’s a doggone hero!” someone said, pointing at me.

“Toby, you awright?” the foreman asked.

“Ya…um okay, ah guess,” Toby said groggily, just back to consciousness.

He sat leaning against the wall rubbing his head.

“Everybody outside,” the foreman ordered. “We gonna check the mines fer safety.”

The crowd started to break up and headed down the tracks. I found Biff amongst them and walked out with him.

Men were constantly turning around and coming to me, saying things like, “Ya done good, feller. Lemme shake yer hand” said one.

“Don’t forgit, ah gut a jug a shine fer ya,” yelled another.

“If ya ever needs anythang, jes give a holler,” came a distant voice.

Biff slapped me on the back, and proudly said, “Yer a doggone hero, John Campbell.”

Back home I was just another faceless man struggling to survive. But now, here in Strangeville, I was a real life hero!

At this moment, I felt happy—something I wasn’t used to. We all gathered outside the mine entrance and waited for further instructions. Men continued to come over to me.

“Yer a hero, feller.”

“Ya done good.”

A young man broke through the crowd. He was covered in coal dust from head to toe, and his face was smudged black.

“Ma name’s Toby. Ah jes wanna thank ya. Ah owes ya ma life,” he said, shaking my hand.

“The name’s John, and you don’t owe me anything.”

The foreman came out of the mine entrance.

“Awright, listen up! Y’all can go home. We gonna survey the whole mine. In the mornin’, we’ll let ya know if it’s safe!”

Smedley came through the crowd, and hollered at me, “Ah’ll give y’all a lift back ta Biff’s. Doggone it, ah jes met John this mornin’ an he’s already a hero!”

Biff laughed, “Sure is.”

We followed a line of other old pickups out of the dirt parking lot. Smedley and Biff were talking about another roof-fall from a few years ago.

“We lost a feller in that one,” Biff said solemnly.

Smedley pulled up to Biff’s house, and said, “See y’all in the mornin’. Ya done good, John.”

“Thanks, Smedley. It was a pleasure meeting you. I appreciate the ride,” I said gratefully.

Biff opened the door to his house and went straight to the kitchen, saying, “Um so hungry ah could eat a horse. Ah’ll fix us some vittles.”

“Sounds good. If you don’t mind, I’m going to wash all this coal dust off,” I said, more of a request than a statement.

“Suit yerself. But don’t waste no time. Ya want the vittles when they good an hot.”

I went upstairs and took a hot shower, put on a comfortable pair of jeans, and a loose collared shirt. Then I brushed my hair. Biff was waiting in the kitchen with some spaghetti and meatballs already on the table.

“Dig in,” he smiled.

I sat across from him and put a meatball in my mouth.

“Another great meal. Thanks, Biff.”

“Now don’t be thankin’ me every time we eat. Like ah said, fellers should look out fer each other. An that’s the end of it.”

“Okay, sorry. I just feel like a freeloader.”

“What’s a free…” there was a knock on the door.

“Who in the devil is that?” Biff asked curiously.

He got up and left the room.

I heard the door open and Biff’s voice saying, “Oh, fer heaven’s sake. Ah’ll git him.”

He came back into the kitchen with a grin, and said, “It’s fer you, John.”

“Someone is looking for me?”

“That’s right. Go see who it is.”

I slid my chair back, got up and walked to the front door. Delilah was standing there in a light blue dress. Her wavy hair was blowing softly in the passing breeze, and her big green eyes locked with mine as we stood face to face.

“Delilah, this is a surprise.”

“Well, Mistah John Campbell, ah don’t usually go callin’ on fellers. But ah jes had to stop by,” she said jovially.

“Okay,” I said with a smile that completely took over my face.

The breeze carried her scent to me—a mixture of perfume, hair, and the oil of her skin.

“It seems ta me that yer a big hero now. Ya sure know how ta make a grand entrance, John Campbell. A few days in town an folks jes can’t stop talkin’ about ya.”

She flashed her beautiful, hypnotizing smile.

“Oh, I’m not really a hero. I was just in the right place at the right time.”

“That ain’t what folks is sayin’. They sayin’ Toby would be dead if ya didn’t save him.”

“I’m just glad I could help, that’s all.”

She stared at my face for a few seconds before bringing her gaze back to mine. 

“Ah guess ah better be on ma way. Don’t want folks ta start talkin’,” she said in a flirty tone.

She walked down the steps, and I couldn’t help but notice her toned legs and smooth skin as she glided along Biff’s little sidewalk.

“Delilah, wait,” I called out from the doorway.

She spun around.

I hopped down the steps and walked over to her. I stood close, very close; not intentionally in any way, but for some reason, I just stopped very close to her.

“Look, I know you just met me. But I…” I hesitated a moment, looked away briefly, and gazed into her eyes.

“But what?” she smiled.

“Well, maybe it’s crazy. I don’t know. But I was hoping you would let me take you out this Saturday.”