Beside Anna, Jim’s face was grim. Like Em, he’d flown to Anna’s assistance at the first call. He knew how lethal these mine shafts could be.
‘Are you sure he’s down there?’ The fire chief’s voice was curt and filled with concern.
‘Matt saw him fall. He raced straight away to find me, and I ran all the way there. He’s down there all right. And he’s conscious. I’ve spoken to him. But he sounds so deep. He’s fallen so far.’ She choked back a sob.
‘And I had to leave Matt there,’ she whispered as she fought to collect herself. ‘I know he’s too little to leave while I came for help, but it took us ages to find the hole again and I was scared Sam might stop calling. I couldn’t leave Sam alone. If he can’t call out there’s no way we’d find where the shaft was.’
She broke right down then, and Em’s hand came out to take hers. Anna was very close to breaking point anyway. So much had happened to her over the last month.
And now this…
‘You did the right thing, Anna,’ she told her strongly. ‘Now leave the rest to us.’
She had no choice. She’d left Ruby with a neighbour. Once again, Anna had needed to ask for help, but she wasn’t holding back. She wanted Em, and she wanted Jim and she wanted anyone else who could help. And especially…
‘Jonas,’ she whispered. ‘Where’s Jonas? I need him.’
Now there was an admission!
‘Lou’s contacting him now,’ Em told her. ‘He was out doing a house call but he’ll meet us there.’
‘As soon as we find the shaft, I’ll send a man back to bring him through the hills,’ Jim said curtly, still concentrating on not overturning the truck. The last thing they wanted was to hit a shaft themselves, but the ground here was clear enough. When they reached the rough country they’d have to get out and walk. Slowly.
‘The kids know this isn’t safe,’ Jim said, and it was as if he was speaking to himself. His voice was grim with foreboding. ‘I’ve told them that, over and over.’
He sounded just like a parent, Em thought. He sounded as frantic as Anna was herself. She looked at the pair of them, and they looked like partners. If only Anna would see it.
But she wasn’t concentrating on partnerships now.
‘I did, too.’ Anna took a deep breath. ‘But the boys were mad with me.’
‘Why?’
‘They overheard Jim asking if he could take them to the motor show in Blairglen next week,’ Anna whispered. ‘And they heard me refusing.’
‘So they headed for the hills?’
‘Sam has a temper,’ Anna said, and Jim nodded at that.
‘Plus he’s as stubborn as a mule,’ he told her. ‘Just like his mother.’ Then he flicked a glance at Em’s white face, and he nodded again. ‘And their uncle,’ he added almost to himself. ‘You and Jonas both, Anna Lunn. Of all the damned fool families for me and Em to fall in love with…’
He didn’t finish. They were at the edge of the cleared land, and they could go no further in the truck. They piled out-Anna, Jim and Em, and the six members of the fire crew from the back of the truck-and Anna led the way into the bush.
Anna shouldn’t be doing this, Em thought worriedly as the men hacked through the scrub where she indicated. She was only a few weeks post-op, and if she fell on that arm, she could do herself real damage.
‘Hold Jim’s hand, Anna,’ she told her. ‘With your good arm. Jim, hold onto her and don’t let her fall.’
‘I can manage.’
‘For heaven’s sake, we have one casualty, and I don’t want two,’ Em snapped. ‘Stop being so darned independent and do what you’re told.’
Anna cast her a scared look, Jim gave Em a thumbs-up signal and Anna’s hand was taken, whether she liked it or not.
And then they reached Matt.
The little boy was sitting completely by himself on a fallen log. He was one distraught six-year-old, and Em had never seen a child more frightened in her life. There were tears streaming down his face, and he looked as if he’d been crying for ever.
It was all Em could do not to rush forward and gather him into her arms, but Anna was there before her. Despite her still painful arm, she did just that.
‘It’s OK, sweetheart. We’ve got help.’ Somehow Anna managed to sound coherent. ‘Look, Dr Mainwaring’s here…and Jim…and all these men. They’ll get Sam out.’
But for Matt, it wasn’t enough. He’d obviously been speaking to his big brother down the shaft, and he had someone else in mind. ‘Sam says we need Uncle Jonas,’ he quavered. ‘Where’s Uncle Jonas?’
‘He’s right here.’
The voice came out of the bush, and Jonas emerged into the clearing like he’d been conjured.
He must have been right behind them, following the noise they were making as they bush-bashed toward the mine, and how he’d got there so fast, Em didn’t know. From where he’d been doing his house call he must have moved like greased lightning. He didn’t hold back as Em did, but strode forward and took Anna and Matt into his arms.
And he hugged them both.
Hard.
Then they all stared at the tiny slit in the ground that marked the entrance to the shaft.
Em’s heart sank when she saw what was facing them.
The timber covering the shaft was strewn with leaves and rotten twigs. She could see why neither boy had realised it was a shaft. It was horribly camouflaged. One of the rotten planks under the leaf litter had split, a hole about eighteen inches wide and about two feet long had appeared and Sam had slipped through.
He must have grabbed at the surrounding timber as he’d fallen, because already there were twigs covering the hole. If Matt hadn’t been here to see… To guide them back…
It was a miracle that he had. They never would have found this without him.
‘Sam?’ Jonas released Anna and walked to within four feet of the hole. Here the earth was mounded, tossed out by the miners a hundred years ago so he knew it was solid, but to go any closer would be suicidal.
‘Uncle… Uncle Jonas…’ It was a sob of pain from way below ground, and Em closed her eyes at the sound. Not only did Sam sound like he was hurt, he also sounded like he was a long, long way down.
Thirty feet, Anna had estimated, and she couldn’t be far wrong. Sam’s quavery voice echoed into a whisper, sounding over and over through the bush. It was as if he was almost gone from them and only his ghost was lingering.
But Jonas had himself under control-sort of-and was answering his nephew.
‘We’re all here, Sam,’ Jonas said strongly back down to him. ‘Your mum, Dr Mainwaring, Jim and the men from the fire brigade are all here. And Matt’s here, too. He led us to you like a real hero. OK, Sam.’ He forced his voice to be matter-of-fact. ‘Let’s get some action. Can you tell me what you’re standing on?’
And the echoing whisper came up. ‘I’m not…I’m not standing on anything.’
Not standing on anything… That was the worst possible answer. Em’s stomach clenched at the thought of what it meant.
‘So what’s holding you up?’ Jonas said, and Em could detect a faint tremor behind the strength of his words.
Then she glanced back at movement behind her and discovered that the men from the fire brigade were unloading planks from the truck and carrying them toward the shaft. Jim wasn’t wasting time.
‘My shoulders are stuck,’ Sam whimpered. He caught his breath and started again. Every word was obviously a huge effort. ‘I fell and fell and then my shoulders wedged against the sides. My feet are waving in air. Uncle Jonas, my arm’s really, really hurting but I’m scared to wiggle in case I fall even further.’
‘Good boy. Not moving is a really sensible decision.’ Somehow Jonas had forced his voice back to normal. ‘Are your arms above your head or below?’ He said it as if it didn’t matter, but everyone knew that it did. Desperately. If his hands were free, maybe someone could be lowered to grasp him and he could be lifted.
