built into it like a tiny restaurant. Here some of the dwarf miners were taking their breaks until a signal bell rang; then the hardworking miners picked up their tools, put on their hats, and trudged back to work.
Next, their tour proceeded into even darker, narrower underground passages, where they saw many wonders. Great stone arches, dramatically lit with lanterns. Rock formations in an array of colors, like natural sculptures formed by water and erosion. Startlingly bright white calcium formations grew next to sleek, jet-black coal. Reddish clumps of iron mingled with sparkly green galena and silvery lead sulfide. Bright blue copper sulfate striped bold yellow deposits of garish sulfur.
“Whew, that stinks!” Dani declared, holding her nose.
“It wasn’t me,” Jake said on cue.
T he girls rolled their eyes at his joke, but at least Archie laughed. They were just glad he was starting to act like his normal self again.
“Ah, that’s sulfur for you! Rotten egg smell. Well, way down here, we’re not that far from the underworld, you know,” Emrys jested. “We always joke we mustn’t dig too deep, or we might accidentally crack open the Pit of Hades and let the devil out. Then we’d have some explainin’ to do.”
The boys laughed, but Dani’s eyes became like saucers. Ufudd stamped his feet. “You hear that, Old Scratch? You stay down there where you belong!”
Dani O’De ll, the good Irish-Catholic girl, was suddenly looking over her shoulder, obviously wishing she had brought her little rosary. She seemed to fear that every shadow thrown out by the lanterns might be a demon lurking in the tunnels.
Jake resisted the urge to sneak up behind her and scare her with a roguish “Boo!” He could hardly blame the carrot-head for believing in the devil, considering that a bona fide angel had once saved her life.
Come to think of it, it had been a while since they had seen Dr. Celestus.
Ufudd also noticed Dani’s uneasiness and spoke up to put her at ease, for at age ten, she was the youngest of their party. “Now, now, don’t you worry, my pip,” said the little old dwarf. “We’ll not dig that deep. We’re very careful here, as you can see. Master Emrys, tell them about how we make the gold.”
“Right.” They continued on their tour with the head dwarf narrating as they went. “Gold, you see, is nearly always mixed with other kinds of minerals. That means it has to be separated out from them. Fine gold has to be purified. All the worthless stuff has got to be burned away. Just like with people,” Emrys added with a chuckle.
He led them along to watch the dwarves at work at all the various stages of the process, from the initial taking of samples with a diamond-bit drill to the final smelting process that turned out pure, solid-gold bars.
“ You may not realize it,” he continued, “but it takes one whole ton of rock to get just six and a half grams of gold.”
“Really?” Archie exclaimed. “No wonder the alchemists back in the olden days tried so hard to do it the easy way, changing lead into gold.”
Emry s snorted. “Legend has it there was a local wizard once in these parts who succeeded. Unfortunately for him, it turns out that gold made from magic only lasts for a couple of hours and crumbles when sunlight touches it. What we bring out of the Everton Mine is the genuine article, 99.9 percent pure. Now, let’s head up this way. Watch your step. It can be slippery.”
Indeed, they had long since realized why Derek had told them to wear their boots. Water trickled down the walls of the mine here and there and made their footing treacherous in places.
They steadied each other as they went, with Emrys at the head and Ufudd bringing up the rear of their party.
As they trekked on through the twilight, Jake was able to forget about his phobias from working in the coalmine. Bit by bit, he finally relaxed until he noticed he was actually having fun, trekking through tunnels, up
Next, their tour proceeded into even darker, narrower underground passages, where they saw many wonders. Great stone arches, dramatically lit with lanterns. Rock formations in an array of colors, like natural sculptures formed by water and erosion. Startlingly bright white calcium formations grew next to sleek, jet-black coal. Reddish clumps of iron mingled with sparkly green galena and silvery lead sulfide. Bright blue copper sulfate striped bold yellow deposits of garish sulfur.
“Whew, that stinks!” Dani declared, holding her nose.
“It wasn’t me,” Jake said on cue.
T he girls rolled their eyes at his joke, but at least Archie laughed. They were just glad he was starting to act like his normal self again.
“Ah, that’s sulfur for you! Rotten egg smell. Well, way down here, we’re not that far from the underworld, you know,” Emrys jested. “We always joke we mustn’t dig too deep, or we might accidentally crack open the Pit of Hades and let the devil out. Then we’d have some explainin’ to do.”
The boys laughed, but Dani’s eyes became like saucers. Ufudd stamped his feet. “You hear that, Old Scratch? You stay down there where you belong!”
Dani O’De ll, the good Irish-Catholic girl, was suddenly looking over her shoulder, obviously wishing she had brought her little rosary. She seemed to fear that every shadow thrown out by the lanterns might be a demon lurking in the tunnels.
Jake resisted the urge to sneak up behind her and scare her with a roguish “Boo!” He could hardly blame the carrot-head for believing in the devil, considering that a bona fide angel had once saved her life.
Come to think of it, it had been a while since they had seen Dr. Celestus.
Ufudd also noticed Dani’s uneasiness and spoke up to put her at ease, for at age ten, she was the youngest of their party. “Now, now, don’t you worry, my pip,” said the little old dwarf. “We’ll not dig that deep. We’re very careful here, as you can see. Master Emrys, tell them about how we make the gold.”
“Right.” They continued on their tour with the head dwarf narrating as they went. “Gold, you see, is nearly always mixed with other kinds of minerals. That means it has to be separated out from them. Fine gold has to be purified. All the worthless stuff has got to be burned away. Just like with people,” Emrys added with a chuckle.
He led them along to watch the dwarves at work at all the various stages of the process, from the initial taking of samples with a diamond-bit drill to the final smelting process that turned out pure, solid-gold bars.
“ You may not realize it,” he continued, “but it takes one whole ton of rock to get just six and a half grams of gold.”
“Really?” Archie exclaimed. “No wonder the alchemists back in the olden days tried so hard to do it the easy way, changing lead into gold.”
Emry s snorted. “Legend has it there was a local wizard once in these parts who succeeded. Unfortunately for him, it turns out that gold made from magic only lasts for a couple of hours and crumbles when sunlight touches it. What we bring out of the Everton Mine is the genuine article, 99.9 percent pure. Now, let’s head up this way. Watch your step. It can be slippery.”
Indeed, they had long since realized why Derek had told them to wear their boots. Water trickled down the walls of the mine here and there and made their footing treacherous in places.
They steadied each other as they went, with Emrys at the head and Ufudd bringing up the rear of their party.
As they trekked on through the twilight, Jake was able to forget about his phobias from working in the coalmine. Bit by bit, he finally relaxed until he noticed he was actually having fun, trekking through tunnels, up
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