The G-Man pressed his back against the rock wall of the branch tunnel and carefully peered out around the corner to see if the main tunnel was clear. He held his pistol high at the ready. Francy pressed close behind him, with Little Elk and White Fawn following. The blue of the afternoon sky filled the entrance at the end of the tunnel. All was clear, no one in sight.
“It’s clear in the main tunnel, but they’ll see us if we go out that way.” Jack whispered. “Do you know where that other tunnel goes?”
Francy shook her head ‘no’. “We’ll have to try it though. I know there’s no way out from the direction we just came from.”
Jack checked the main tunnel again, making sure that it was still clear. “Go!” He motioned them forward, remaining where he was to cover them as they swiftly slid into the darkness of the other branch of the tunnel. Then he dashed across and found his way past his companions so he could lead them and confront any dangers first.
Slowly and steadily, they moved deeper into the tunnel, winding and turning, burrowing downward through the mountain. At times the pitch was so steep that their feet slipped on the rock floor. Their constant reliance on clinging to the rock wall was all that prevented them from falling. What feeble light had filtered in from the main tunnel was now gone and the foursome groped along the rock wall in total darkness, listening for sounds, alert to dangers, but the sound of their own breathing and click of their footsteps on rock was all they heard.
Deeper and deeper, they descended into the dark chasm. Clayton started to feel dizzy and more unsteady on his feet. Suddenly he stopped, forcing his companions to halt with him. “What is it Jack?” Francy asked.
Jack remained silent a moment, sniffing the air. “How are you all feeling ?” Jack asked with urgent concern.
“Tired,”Francy answered. “Well maybe a bit woozy.”
“I feel funny too, “ Little Elk said.
“Gas!” Clayton gasped. “There’s natural gas seeping through the walls. We can’t keep going. We’ll have to go back.”
“But it’s dangerous to go back,” White Fawn protested. “Those men will kill us.”
“We’ll have to chance it. The gas will kill us for sure if we go ahead. Wait while I get past you so I can be in the lead going back.” He didn’t wait for answer, but groped his way back, touching each and every one as he moved. “We’ve got to hurry away from here,” he said, taking White Fawn by the hand and starting back up the incline of the tunnel.
They were about halfway back to the main tunnel, before the dizziness subsided. The gas did not flow this way, meaning that there must have been an opening somewhere in the tunnel below creating a downdraft and sucking the gas in that direction only.
Suddenly, they heard the sound of an approaching group of men coming from the main tunnel. They burst around the corner into the branch tunnel. In the light of their torches, Clayton could see there were seven or eight men. The torches illuminated the tunnel before them, and for the first time, Jack got a glimpse of the tunnel they were in. They had been crawling along the rock wall unaware that there was a spur rail running down the center of the tunnel. He should have surmised as such, since most mines had rails for their ore cars. And there in the flickering light, he saw an ore car ahead of them.
At the same time, the advancing men opened fire on their quarry. The G-Man answered back, his pistol flaming three times in the gloom. Three men dropped to the floor. The thundering crash of each shot echoed within the enclosed walls, mixing with the resounding echoes of the assailant’s fire.
The guards halted their fire and retreated, leaving their fallen comrades where they lay with their burning torches on the floor next to them. “Follow me!” Clayton shouted, running toward the retreating men.
“What are we doing?” White Fawn screamed, yet still following Jack’s lead, running to keep up with him. The others followed suit.
Light had once again faded as the other men retreated with their torches, but the lingering glow of the fallen torches, provide just enough light to show the way to the ore car. If Jack had had time to think about anything but the urgency of the moment, he probably would have thought, ‘I’ve done this before.’
“Quick! Everyone in!” He helped White Fawn into the car, while Francy lifted Little Elk in and scrambled in after him.
The guards had regrouped and were back firing, by the time Jack found a perch on the rear coupling of the car and released the hand brake, sending the car into motion down the natural decline of the tunnel. Bullets spanged dangerously close and Clayton returned fire as the ore car picked up speed and rolled into the darkness of the tunnel below. “Keep down!” He shouted to his passengers. Firing from the pursuing men halted as they ran forward after the speeding car.
****
Chapter Twenty One
Ride of Death
Death Rides the Black Hills: A Frontier G-Man Novel Page 20
