The Copper City Read Online Free PDF Page A

to sit down and let the ringing of the hammer die in his ears, and to allow his shoulder muscles to relax after the shuddering vibrations that had racked through him each time he struck the drill against the unyielding rock face. “Take your hand off me.”
    The big man didn’t move, just stared intently into his face.
    Quantro looked at the hand. “Won’t tell you twice. Don’t tell nobody twice.”
    The big miner’s face cracked into an evil grin. He chuckled with pleasure at his unexpected find. “Now I know you, Blondie. You’re the one that gave me the lump on my head the other night.”
    â€œYou could be right.”
    â€œHa! Now I think I get my own back.”
    â€œMaybe you will, maybe you won’t,” Quantro whispered, shrugging away the hand. How come these things always came back to bite you on the ass? As it slipped from his shoulder he twisted away. The big man came forward, dropping his pick. Quantro dropped the long drill and backed off across the narrow tunnel, the fourteen-pound hammer still in his right hand.
    The miner lunged, swinging wildly. The blow caught Quantro on the side of his head. He staggered, the big man’s laughter suddenly distant. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. His eyes eased back into focus to see the huge, hairy face bearing down on him.
    Second nature brought up his hands to defend himself. He realized he was clinging to the hammer. He whipped it up and rammed the end of the shaft into the miner’s gut. The big man gasped. Foul breath washed from his mouth, forced in a rush between his rotten teeth.
    The muscles of his bulging stomach must have been tighter than they appeared. After one faltering step he seized the hammer shaft. With enormous strength he wrenched it from Quantro’s hands.
    With horror, Quantro watched him whirl the hammer around like a battle-ax above his head. He moved to jump sideways but found himself hemmed in by the ring of miners pressing forward to gain a better view. Their bloodlust was rising. Caught in the circle of leering faces, evil in the half light of the tunnel, Quantro realized that nothing short of a bullet would stop this huge angry bear.
    He had no gun. They were forbidden underground.
    Quantro sifted the precious few alternatives he had. He decided to go for the legs. If he could throw him off balance before he launched the hammer, then there was a chance. As he made to dive, the big man completed his final swing then hurled the deadly missile.
    Quantro was already into the act of his lunge when the big man roared. His hands released the hammer and he swerved sideways, his knees bending, released from the strain of holding ground. His timing thrown, Quantro slammed awkwardly into the solid muscle of the man’s thigh. The maw of the tunnel swallowed up the hammer and it landed with a clatter somewhere in the darkness.
    The bad landing jarred Quantro’s jawbone. His teeth rattled like piano keys in the back of his head. Huge hands grabbed the back of his sweat-soaked shirt and hauled him from the floor. A boot crashed into his ribs and he flopped against the tunnel wall. Dazed, chest aching, he was barely aware of the miner standing over him, still breathing shallowly.
    â€œI don’t need no hammer to kill you, Blondie.”
    I’m in bad trouble, was all Quantro could think.
    Hands grabbed him again. He was effortlessly lifted to his feet. Even then, he could see he was being set up. There seemed nothing he could do about it. A fist crashed into his face, followed by another to the shoulder. His head snapped back, then slumped forward as he began to slide down the wall.
    Exultant, the miner was throwing punches as swiftly as he was able. Blows pounded Quantro’s numb body as his mind closed up to send him on the path to oblivion. In his excitement, the big man mistimed a stroke. His fist crashed into the wall just as Quantro dropped like a stone. He