Olivia's Mine by Janine McCaw Read Free Book Online Page A

What do you tink, eh?”
    “I think it’s very beautiful here,” Olivia
stated. “Not the port so much, it looks like most other ports,
really, at least to me. But on the other side of the water, by
those mountains, it some of the most beautiful country I’ve ever
seen.”
    “And see that big mountain o’er south, that’s
Mount Baker we were talkin’ about befer. I’ve seen it up and down
de coast, and I tell ye, ye get the best view of it right ‘ere in
Canada.”
    Frenchie noticed Olivia removing the blanket
Lucy had loaned her earlier.
    “You probably tot it would be very cold
‘ere eh? Tres frois. And yeh,
in some places in Canada, ye would be right. The very east coast,
dem Maritimes, dey are cold mostly all de time. Dey ‘ave storms dat
keep a banshee’s nipples ‘ard until de summer. All de way down de
St. Lawrence, de big river dat runs east-west, it’s de same ting
mostly, maybe not quite so bad. Sometimes de river is frozen with
ice. Ye go nowhere. But de summers, de are very ‘ot. Very ‘umid. Ye
sweat like a pig, ye do. Der are lots of lakes and rivers as you go
east tru Quebec to Ontario. Den ye get to the Prairies. Deys flat.
Lots of wheat grows der in the summer, but it is damn cold in de
winter. Dey grow lots of mosquitoes too. And grass’oppers. I dunt
know what it is, but dey get more grass’oppers den anywhere else in
de world, I tink. And dey ‘ave tiny little flies dat bite and make
ye scratch too. I went der once to see my sister, den I told ‘er
from now on, she ‘as to come and visit me. Den ye get to Alberta,
where der are not so many lakes, but der are lots of mountains, and
deer, and elk and wild buffalo. De land der is very rich with
minerals, which is very good, and I ‘eard talk dat dey tink der
maybe a lot of oil under de ground. Can ye believe dat?”
    “What about Britannia Beach?” Olivia asked.
“What are de, I mean, what are the winters like there?”
    “Well, dey are not so bad as some places. You
know what it is like in Seattle. Rain, rain, and more rain. Mostly
de same ‘ting ‘ere. De winds dat come across de Pacific Ocean are
mostly warm. Dey keep things pretty calm. But sometimes ye get a
blast from Alaska, like we did in 1912. Dunt blame me for dat,
dat’s one of your United States of America. Den it can get really
cold. Now where Lucy lives, up at Jane camp, well, we got
tirty-five feet a snow one day. Sometimes if it’s really bad, we
dunt see Lucy fer munts. Sometimes we get a lot of snow. De Beach
site, where your house is, dat’s a liddle milder, counta de
currents comin’ off de ocean. You’ll need good boots but we’ll be
able to find ya,” the Captain laughed.
    Olivia smiled. Frenchie’s words were
re-assuring.
    “You told me you’ve been working these waters
for some time.”
    “Aye,” he replied.
    “You probably know the history of the mine
quite well…”
    Frenchie noticed some hesitation in Olivia’s
voice.
    “Misses, if ye got a question ye be best ta
be like Lucy and just spit it out. I’m gittin’ old, der’s no time
for beatin’ around da bush,” he winked.
    “Well, I was wondering…you hear about these
things so often and Frank assures me everything’s fine, but then he
would, wouldn’t he? Have there been any deaths at the mine?”
    The words were so full of uncertainty that
Olivia didn’t really know whether she wanted to hear the answer or
not.
    “No, I can’t say as I recollect any of late,
at least not any dat didn’t ‘appen just because de miner was drunk
or stupid or both. Der was dat doctor who conked ‘is ‘ead, and
died, but ‘e was stupid dat dey. Dat’s why McMichael, ‘e has de
foremen check de worker’s breath before a shift ta make sure des
sober befer ‘e let’s dem clock in. I dunna like de man, but ‘e runs
a tight ship like dey say, I’ll give ‘im dat. Always lookin’ out
fer safety, not like de guy who ran it befer. Der used to be more
cave-ins and tings before McMichael