Questions of Honour - Kate Welsh

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the cage and pulley system used to transport men and coal to the surface. Helmut introduced Josh to the shed supervisor.

      “I think you ought to wait before you go in there,” he said. “The men are clearing a crush. Can’t tell how much firedamp it’ll cause.”

      Joshua turned back to the man. “It’s no more dangerous for me than it is for them.”

      “But what if something happens to you, sir?”

      Joshua smiled and clapped the man on the shoulder. “I take full responsibility for my actions. Shouldn’t take long.”

      But it did. And he was appalled. The open flames on the miners’ caps continually elongated as pockets of methane flowed through the tunnel, proving the old-fashioned furnace didn’t ventilate nearly well enough. In England, the shaft would not only have been closed, but it also never would have been opened in the first place. Anger felt as if it had burned a hole in Joshua’s gut by the time he reached the surface.

      “Pull the men out,” he ordered, fury rife in his tone. “I counted five violations. Each one could cause a disaster. There are too many men in each breast. They’ve robbed the pillars to the point of insanity and the wood’s either rotted from the water or too light to start with. And the ventilation system’s a joke.”

      “If we pull the men out they’ll be furious, as will your father,” Faltsburg protested.

      Josh pinned him with a steely look. “Close it down, Helmut.”

      “Joshua, I know you’re thinking of the safety of the men but what about their families? We shut it down and they go further in debt to the store. You know how it works. The men would rather take chances. That’s what this business is about.”

      Through gritted teeth Joshua repeated his order. “Close … it … down! I won’t risk their lives for money. Gather them around the engineer’s hut. When I get through firing Williams, I’ll talk to them. As for my father, he wouldn’t relish spending the rest of his natural life behind bars. If even one of those engineering violations results in loss of life, he could. And at this point, I wouldn’t lift a finger to stop it.”

      Forty-five minutes later Joshua emerged from the engineers’ hut. Williams had been fired exactly forty-two minutes earlier. Josh had checked the specs. Engineering plans hadn’t been followed. Corners had been cut. Dangerous corners.

       Chapter Four

      Joshua stopped on the boardwalk outside the shed to talk to the miners and laborers milling about on the snowy ground. Their faces were blackened with coal dust. Their hands buried deep in their pockets. “Some of you may recognize me,” he began. “But for those who don’t, I’m Joshua Wheaton. I’ve returned to Wheatonburg to take over my father’s mining operations. The first thing I did was close down the River Fall shaft until it’s brought up to government standard.”

      “And what are we supposed to be eating on until then?” a voice shouted.

      “You’ll be paid an hourly wage to equal your best week during the last quarter. I’ll expect each man to work to his full ability. I see no reason why we can’t have River Fall in operation by the New Year. The furnace will be replaced by a top of the shaft ventilation fan. We’ll replace a good portion of the timbers, clean out the gob from the crushed-down breasts, add more brattles and construct safety doors to get the air currents moving. I’d also like to implement a better system for pumping the water out of the mine.” Joshua glanced down ruefully at his soaked trouser cuffs and boots. “Easy to see why it’s called River Fall.”

      Several of the men laughed, giving Josh hope that he might be able to come to a pleasant accord with them.

      “Ve all get paid the same?” a man with a German accent called out.

      “This is not specialty work. If you object, you needn’t work. I’m sure Prescott would issue you credit but that would increase your debt.”

      “It sounds like a fair shake,” another man shouted. “I say we go along. We lose nothing and even gain since no one can dig as much in winter as summer.”

      “It’s fools you are to believe the word of a Wheaton. The same old Biddle fans sit where they’ve put in topside ventilation. How’s he going to be getting Harlan Wheaton to go along with buying new fans?”

      Joshua scanned the crowd looking for the familiar face that went with the voice. It had matured but Brendan Kane’s Americanized Irish brogue was still easily recognizable. Josh fought to hide his hurt. Brendan was the best friend he’d ever had. First Abby, then the people he’d met in town and now Brendan. He didn’t understand.

      “I don’t know what’s been happening around here, Brendan. But I’m now solely in charge of the mines. I’ll get the fans. In fact, Helmut, wire Bannans in Pottsville. Tell them to send the two Gribal fans I had them hold for me.”

      The men murmured amongst themselves for several minutes before Joshua drew their attention. “So what do you say? Will you give me a chance to turn things around?”

      “What about the men in the other shafts?” one man shouted. “My son and brother are working Destiny and my cousin’s at Lilybet.”

      “I’ll personally inspect them, too. If we have to halt production there it will be done in the same way. Digging on the new tunnel will be stopped until the rest are brought up to European standards. Those who want to work on the cleanup show up here at your regular time tomorrow. You have the rest of the day off with pay.”

      Joshua watched the men break up and head for town. He wondered what they were saying. Once he would have been privy to their opinions but everything had changed. Deep in thought, he didn’t hear the footsteps.

      “So you’ve come back, have you?” Brendan Kane sneered. Joshua turned to his old friend and was met with a solid punch in the jaw that sent him sprawling. Joshua looked up into the blazing green eyes of his onetime friend. “Stay away from Abby and Daniel or I swear I’ll kill you.” Brendan didn’t wait for a response. He just pivoted on his heel and stalked off.

      “What the hell was that about?” Joshua asked aloud, not expecting an answer. He pushed himself to his feet, while rubbing his sore jaw. Then he heard a sound often heard around mines—a hacking cough. Dolly McAllister sat on the edge of the raised boardwalk of the engineering shed. Josh had once made two promises to the old man. He was on the road to keeping one, but he knew he might never keep the other.

      The first real contact Joshua had had with mine workers occurred during the rescue attempted for Dolly’s son, Daniel. He’d met Abby that day, as well. Harlan had been out of town and Josh had tried to fill shoes too big and soiled for a boy of thirteen. He’d dug with the rest of the men after Abby had shamed them into allowing him to help. Joshua had vowed to make mining safer, and to name his first son after the Daniel they had been unable to save.

      “Well now, it seems no one else will be tellin’ you what the community thinks of what you did. Nor about how your return might cause more hurt to those hurt enough by you already.”

      “I came back to make a difference. To help, not hurt.”

      Dolly pinned Joshua with a measuring look. “I don’t doubt you believe you can, or that you’ll fail where mining is concerned. But I’m talkin’ about Brendan’s feelin’s on the matter. ‘Twas Brendan who had to pick up the pieces of Abby’s life after Sullivan was gone. ‘Twas Brendan who’s had to support her and the boy all these years. He’s had to be a father to a boy who’s sneered at by most of Wheatonburg.”

      “I went away to school. I didn’t tell her to marry Sullivan,” Joshua growled.

      McAllister shook his gray head. “Just goes to prove book learnin’ don’t mean a hoot in hell without common sense,” the old man continued with exaggerated patience.

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