Olivia's Mine Read Online Free PDF Page A

like working at the Royal Columbia
Mining Company, Mr. Fitzpatrick?”
    Frank nodded.
    “They why the hell did I see you riding up
the skip car yesterday? You take the stairs up, all three hundred
and seventy-five of them, just like everyone else does when you’re
inside the mine. And shut that damn drill down when I’m talking to
you,” McMichael yelled.
    Frank and his partner complied, but with the
other ten men still drilling into the ore around them, it wasn’t
much help. McMichael ushered Frank into an enclave. It was slightly
quieter and provided them with a bit of privacy.
    “Now explain yourself.”
    Frank thought about what he was about to say.
He wiped some sweat from his brow, beneath his helmet. You had to
watch what you said to McMichael, especially the tone you said it
in. Don Smith had been told to vacate the premises and the town
after he had raised his voice to the boss. Frank wasn’t about to
lose his job.
    “I wouldn’t normally do that Mr. McMichael,
but my leg was sore. It was the end of a double shift for me, and I
needed to get up there, because Lloyd needed some help fixing the
concentrator.”
    “What the hell’s wrong with the concentrator
now?”
    “Nothing serious, a bolt had come loose and
Lloyd couldn’t find where it belonged, so I gave him a hand. Like I
said, it was after my shift. I wasn’t wasting any company
time.”
    McMichael sighed. “Okay Fitzpatrick, thanks
for helping out. I admire men who give a little extra. You should
think about taking that management test we’re doing. I could use
someone with a little initiative.”
    McMichael liked this man Fitzpatrick. He was
young and strong and did what he was told. He had a good head on
his shoulders and never took risks in the tunnels, which is why it
had angered him to see him doing something stupid.
    He glanced down at Frank’s leg.
    “So what’s wrong with you? I noticed you
limping earlier. Have you been to see the doctor?”
    “Yes. I went over to see him before I started
today. He said it’s just a sprain. I twisted it the wrong way or
something.”
    “A sprain? What did you trip on? Did John
Howser leave those God-blasted rods lying about again? Because if I
found out he did, there will be hell to pay. What the hell’s going
on in there? Those tools are worth hundreds of dollars and he’s
just tossing them around and leaving them wherever he damn well
feels like it. I told him last week to smarten up or he’d get his
cards.”
    “It’s nothing sir, really.”
    “Nothing? You’ve been injured on the job.
That’s a safety concern. But you know what’s a bigger safety
concern? You. Riding up the bloody skip! Really Frank, did you stop
to look at the angle that flatbed car goes up? There’s no way to
strap yourself in. It’s designed for mineral transport. It’s not a
commuter tram. You could have fallen hundreds of feet straight
down. Blood would have been splattered all over the place and your
brains would have wound up in the ore. Not a pleasant thought now
is it? Don’t be so stupid next time. I won’t have another accident
here like the time that kid doctor smashed his head on the tower.
On his first day here at the mine! Young man, about to be married,
and he meets his maker because he’s too busy gawking at the
scenery. And it wasn’t his fiancée he was gawking at either. It
really was the scenery. Stupid man.”
    “Yes sir,” Frank said quietly.
    The whistle blew to signal the end of the
shift.
    “Isn’t your wife arriving this afternoon?”
McMichael asked.
    “Yes sir, she is.”
    “Then you’d better go home and bathe. You
stink man, you stink.”
    McMichael turned to hop in the exiting
commuter tram, taking the miners back up to the beach site. The
workers were allowed to ride the commuting tunnel trams only. There
were no seats left, so Howser, a young gangly man, gave up his
own.
    “I want to see you in my office Howser, in a
half an hour,” McMichael said.
    “Yes sir,”