of tobacco in his mouth and spat on the ground.
âIâll speak to the stableman and weâll talk about it tomorrow. Good night, Willie.â
Willie was filled with a wild hope. His heart pounded so hard, it hurt. He forgot how tired he was. He ran all the way home and told John what Ned had said.
âI might be goinâ to be a driver,â he shouted with happiness.
John looked worried. âCalm down, Willie. Your friend, Ned, shouldnât get your hopes up like that. Itâs not likely theyâll let a little boy like you drive a wild horse.â
âBut sheâs not really wild,â said Willie.
âLots of men have been killed or injured, drivinâ,â said John. âSometimes thereâs a runaway box, if itâs not properly spragged. Sometimes a box goes off the rails and upsets. Sometimes a horseâ¦.â
âI donât care,â interrupted Willie. âIâll be a good driver if theyâll just give me a chance. You wait and see!â
Chapter 7
The very next day, the overman arrived at Willieâs trap with another boy to take his place.
âNext time Ned Hall comes through, you get on the box with him. Ned will teach you a few things about driving,â said the overman.
Willie couldnât believe his luck. What a good friend Ned Hall had turned out to be!
Ned came along, and he and Willie sat together on the box.
âGem will work in very low seams,â Ned explained. âSome are only about one metre high. Just a couple of miners work at the face, pickinâ coal. Theyâll do the loading. Sometimes itâs so low they have to work on their hands and knees. Thereâs just barely enough room to get the coal tossed in between the roof and the top of the box.â
âSounds like a tight squeeze,â said Willie.
Ned agreed. âIf you get the job, all youâd have to do would be to drive back and forth as fast as you safely can. The men depend on you to get the coal out. But youâd have to be very careful. You wouldnât want Gem to stumble on the rough roadway. You wouldnât want her to scrape her head or shoulders on the ceiling or the sides. Drivinâ isnât as simple as trappinâ, Willie bây.â
âBut itâs a lot more fun,â said Willie.
âFun!â said Ned, laughing. âI never thought of it as beinâ fun. But I like my work. Now if you was drivinâ, when you get out to the landing you would unhitch Gem from the full box. Then youâd hitch onto an empty. Then back you go, back and forth, back and forth, all day long. Dâyou think that would be fun?â
âI know Iâd like it,â insisted Willie.
That night they walked home together. Willie learned that Ned boarded at a house on Monkey Row. Ned was unmarried and had come from Newfoundland three years before.
All that week, Willie worked with Ned, driving back and forth, getting to know all the hazards of driving, and all the duties of a driver.
The weekend came, and after church Nellie and Willie walked two kilometres to the hospital to see their father. He was thin and pale and bearded. One leg was attached to a pulley which raised his leg from the bed.
He smiled at his children. âSo now youâre the man of the house, Willie,â he said.
Willie smiled at him shyly. âYes, Papa. Iâll get my pay at the end of the month. Halloweâen night,â he said.
âGood boy. I can remember when I got my first bobtail sheet,â said his father. He tried to change his position, and winced with pain.
âIâm goinâ to try out as a driver soon,â said Willie. He couldnât keep the hope out of his voice. âMaybe Iâll get a raise!â But he thought heâd better not mention that, if he got the job, he would be driving Gem, a Sable Island horse.
âA driver!â His father was surprised. âMaybe all that time