Heart of the Outback Read Online Free PDF Page B

began to glow a pale yellowish-blue.
    “What’s it like up top?”
    “So bloody hot you could fry eggs and bacon on the VW’s roof. The thermometer says it’s 108 degrees, but I think it’s shot. Have you noticed, it doesn’t go above 108 or drop below 95 degrees?”
    Mickey grinned cheekily up at him. “Well, I’m glad I’m in here and you’re working up there.”
    Both men knew there was little difference in the physical energy needed to work either in the mine or above it. The real difference was that the mine stayed approximately fifty degrees Celsius where on the surface it did not.
    “Lucky bugger.” CJ shifted away from his leaning position against the mine wall. “Finish your drink before you dehydrate.”
    “Okay. I’m setting nine sticks of gelly,” Mickey pointed to the thin milky white line running horizontally at chest level. “This one looks promising.”
    CJ laughed. “That’s what you always say.”
    Leaving Mickey to his task CJ strode back to the shaft and started to load the platform. There were about fourteen bucket loads to be sorted so he began the task of getting the mullock up to the surface then painstakingly noodling for small pieces of colour.
    All was quiet above ground, the barren landscape with its mullock dumps resembled what CJ imagined could look like an alien world. Not a bird, a breath of breeze or a sound broke the silence. And as always, the unrelenting sun beat down from a cloudless sky. The only noise CJ was aware of was his heavy breathing as he hand winched up the load. The sturdy timber frame which held the pulley creaked protestingly, like the rope, as it wound around and around. He locked the device and as fast as his aching muscles would allow removed the buckets from the platform.
    In the process of returning the platform to the mine floor he heard a noise. The sound was completely foreign to him and in the stillness, he couldn’t identify it. Until a whooshing sound and a cloud of dust shot up the shaft. Then came another sound, a scream. CJ froze as realisation hit him.
    Cave-in!
    By tradition, opal mining in Coober Pedy, compared to gold and silver mining, was relatively safe from cave-ins. The clay and claystone hills were so stable that timber shoring wasn’t necessary. Occasionally, rarely, gelignite would displace a pile of loose earth behind the claystone mine wall or roof resulting in what opal miners called a slide.
    With his heart pounding, CJ grabbed his miner’s hat and rapidly descended the ladder into thedarkness. Particles of dust flew into his mouth and clogged his throat, making him cough. Automatically he reached into his pocket for a ragged handkerchief to tie around his face.
    “Mickey! Mickey. Where are you?”
    CJ’s ears strained to catch some sound, anything. The light hit a mound of claystone across the drive. It rose about one and a half metres to half block the rest of the mine.
Shit.
Comprehension came quickly. Part of the roof had collapsed into the mine leaving a gaping vertical shaft. But where was Mickey? He stared at the pile of rubble and then he lunged forward and began to dig furiously with his hands.
    “Mickey, Jesus Christ, where are you?”

CHAPTER TWO
    C J’s hands touched something soft. Material. Grunting with the effort he grabbed a handful and pulled with all his might. The claystone and rocks fell away to expose Mickey’s head and torso.
    In the weak light CJ saw blood oozing from a head wound encrusted with earth. Silly bastard hadn’t been wearing his hat. Damn his casual attitude. He tugged some more and Mickey coughed then groaned. Thank God, he wasn’t dead. With more hand digging and tugging, enhanced by a series of voluble curses, CJ released his partner’s unconscious body from its premature grave.
    He lay him on the dirt floor and checked him over. To the best of his limited medical knowledge there were no broken bones. The wound on his head looked bad though, the blood now flowing freely,