Pit Pony by Joyce Barkhouse Read Free Book Online Page B

courage. No one else was on the path.
    At the lamp house he exchanged his tag for a lantern, then stopped at the deputy’s cabin underground where he was told to go back to his trap. He was disappointed. He would not have a driving lesson that day. Maybe they had decided he couldn’t be a driver, after all.
    He had plenty of time to visit Gem, anyway, before he went to his trap. He found his way along the dark passages to the stable.
    The short, stocky stableman, called “Stubby,” nodded at him.
    â€œYou can give Gem her breakfast, if you like,” he said.
    He showed Willie how to measure the grain.
    â€œA new seam has been opened. A small, narrow one. They’ll be wanting a pony or a small horse. If Gem’s harness is finished, and if Ned Hall says you’re ready, you can try out as a driver, soon,” said Stubby.
    Willie jumped for joy. He whistled merrily as he went about his chores, feeding Gem and brushing down her coat. It seemed like this Hallowe’en day might turn out to be one of the happiest days of his life.
    The long hours passed at the trap and when at last the shift was over, Willie found himself standing in line at the office with other miners to receive his first pay envelope and his “bobtail sheet.” It was called a bobtail sheet because with the cash was a statement. The company deducted the cost of rent, coal, medical fees, and even church collections from each miner’s pay. Many miners did not get any cash because they were deeply in debt to the Company Store. All they got was a bobtail sheet, stating how much they owed.
    But Willie’s envelope contained some cash. It was a proud moment.
    He counted the money. Two dollars and forty-seven cents. How much could Nellie buy with that? The flour was getting low in the barrel. There was hardly any kerosene for the lamp, and Grandma was longing for a cup of tea.
    As he limped out of the line-up, Willie wiggled his big toe. It was sticking out of the end of his right boot. There was a hole in the bottom of his left boot. He had a sore on the sole of this foot, making him limp.
    But he couldn’t hope for new boots this month. Food was more important.
    Carefully, he put the money and the bobtail sheet into his piece-can, as all the men did, in order to keep it clean from the coal dust which blackened their hands and clothes.

    Willie was one of the last to leave the office because he had visited Gem again before he went up on the rake. Outside he discovered a light snowfall had covered the ground, and a cold wind was blowing. Ahead he saw some strange lights bobbing around. There was a sound of distant shouting.
    Hallowe’en! Pranksters would be abroad. He’d better hurry home.
    He shivered and tried to run to keep himself warm, limping on his sore foot. When he came to the graveyard, he could see tombstones gleaming like pale ghosts in the wintry night.
    It had almost stopped snowing, and he decided he could see the way well enough to take a shortcut through the cemetery. He whistled under his breath as he picked his way along the path.
    A low moan came from behind one of the tombstones. He stopped and listened. Again he heard a moan, as if someone was in pain. He couldn’t be sure because of the sighing of the wind in the trees overhead.
    â€œWho’s there?” he asked.
    No one answered.
    He started on again, his heart pounding. He wished he hadn’t taken the shortcut. Maybe he was imagining things, Then he saw something white floating between the trees and the tombstones.
    He decided to go back, but when he turned to go he saw another ghostly form with a light. He stood still, too scared to move in either direction.
    A violent push sent him sprawling to the ground. His piece-can was snatched from his hand. As he struggled to his feet, he heard someone laugh.
    â€œRun for it, Smarty Pants!” a jeering voice shouted.
    He knew that voice. Simon Ross!
    He and his pals had stolen