The Raid on Mill Creek Mine, Part Two - Dynamite

"Smasher, we care not to be foolin' with dynamite. Let's fergit about that," Joker said.
"You kin fergit about it if you wish to. I'm gonna accept a look. Some blastin' crumb would appear in absolute accessible to accomplishment off what's larboard of that there motor barn," Smasher told him. It came to me afresh that Smasher just ability accept a brace of marbles apart and awkward about in his arch giving him those crazy ideas. Joker was right. Bang was alarming stuff. A guy could get destroyed to smithereens or worse. Smasher started off by himself down the clay alley that led adjoin the crumb magazine.
"Come on guys. Smasher's right! If there's any bang in the magazine, we ability as able-bodied accept that too," Wizzer batten up. "Smasher is right! It ability appear in handy. Let's go!" The draft of us followed Smasher and Wizzer adjoin the crumb magazine.
The crumb annual was bound with the bigger padlock I accept anytime seen. The hasps of that lock was set into a animate bowl that was attached to the architecture with rivets whose active was the admeasurement of my wrists. That rig was a bout for Smasher's hatchet and a accomplished lot more. Twenty account of abiding anguish with our hatchets hadn't fabricated so abundant as a cavity on the lock. I absitively to attending about in the aback of the architecture for something bigger that we could use to batter on that lock. If I angry the bend of the crumb magazine, I noticed some cracks in the adhesive joints amid the blocks of the building. A appropriation block, which isn't annihilation added than a section of balk that is cut four inches by four inches aboveboard and is about three anxiety long, lay on the arena at my feet. I best it up and gave one of the blocks that ran forth the able in the architecture a tap or two with the base end of the bassinet block. Thump! Thump! Plop. The block fell central the building.
The draft of the assemblage was authoritative so abundant babble with their anguish on the lock that they couldn't apprehend me. I gave a tap to three added blocks, and three added blocks fell central the building. With just two or three curtains with a bassinet block I'd fabricated a appropriate aperture in the crumb magazine. I crawled inside. Those boys alfresco the architecture were abiding authoritative a abhorrent racket. Pranking isn't one of my specialties, but in one shiver it was done. Goose bumps popped out on my accoutrements as an abstraction pricked my brain.
"Who is aggravating to breach in here?" I screamed as loud as I could. That bark slipped from my throat afore I could stop it. The annual echoed. Things got quiet alfresco the architecture in an abominable hurry.
"Cripes, there's somebody in there. Let's get out of here!" one of them hollered. I could apprehend them running. I poked about in the anguish and begin one of the blocks that I had agape loose. I sat the block on end and sat down, comatose my bend on one of the dozens and dozens of agenda cases that was ample in the magazine, and waited to see how continued it would yield for the added guys to appear back. I chipped with a accept of copse at one of the blocks that I had pushed into the crumb annual while I waited for the added guys to return. Ping! -- Ping! -- Ping! Bullets began to backlash off the building, followed by the aciculate able of rifles. Cripes! The guys was cutting at the architecture with their twenty twos. What a bind I had gotten myself into. I ample I had bigger stick my arch out through the aperture that I had fabricated in the rear of the architecture and let the guys apperceive that it was me that they was cutting at. This actuality was a acceptable able building, but castigation absolutely was accepting clumsily antsy about those bullets that were aerial about alfresco and slamming into the ancillary of the crumb magazine. I ashore my arch through the aperture in the aback of the architecture and began to shout.
"Boys, it is me you are cutting at." Ping! Another ammo ricocheted off the building. I ducked aback central to what I hoped was safety. They accept to not accept heard me. I approved again. "Guys, it's me, Squirt!" Ping! Ping! I knew afresh that it wasn't just a bind I had gotten myself into; it was the accomplished basin and all. There was annihilation for me to do now but lay low and achievement I didn't get asleep or worse. It wasn't continued afore I heard them advancing back. If they were traveling to be cutting like that, I ample I would let them anticipate they had hit something. I continued out on the attic of the crumb annual and moaned, "Help me! Advice me! I'm shot! I'm shot!"
"Where are you, Squirt?" one of them shouted.
"I'm here, central the building. Appear about the back," I moaned my best apery of anyone who's just been shot.
Smokey poked his arch through the aperture I had fabricated and asked, "Squirt are you all right? Honest, we didn't beggarly to shoot you. We was alone kiddin' with you. We knew that it was you that was central actuality all along."
Smokey crawled through the hole. "Where at are you hit? Lemme see. Yer arm is bleedin'."
"Smokey, I ain't feelin' so good. Kin we jist get out of here." I staggered to my feet. "I don't anticipate I'm bad hurt. I jist wish to get out of actuality n' see some sunshine."
"Make allowance fellahs. Squirt's been shot." Smokey crawled out through the aperture in the building. I started to clamber out afterwards him. Smasher affective me by the arm to advice me through the aperture that I had bankrupt in the crumb magazine. As luck would accept it, he latched assimilate my arm appropriate at the atom was it was bleeding. He jerked his duke aback like he had been snake bit. The blush drained from his face like somebody had opened a faucet in one of his shoes to let his claret cesspool out. Smasher was an able at some things, but searching at anyone else's claret wasn't one of them unless his anchor had been the cause.
Smokey wiped the claret from my arm with his hanky and took a attending at area I had been 'shot'. "It's alone a nick, Squirt. You'll live." He captivated my arm with his hanky. It was no ammo that had done that nick. I had aching myself on something aciculate if I had crawled into the building. I'd had that aggravating blemish afore they had amorphous to shoot. It wasn't for me to acquaint them that though.
"Squirt, you draft actuality n' accumulate a anchor while we analysis central to see if there's any bang in there," Smasher said. "Sing out if you see anybody." I could accept told them that the bang was there. I had been sitting with my bend comatose on a accomplished case of the being if they had done their shooting. It wasn't continued afore they agitated a box from the crumb magazine. The arrangement on it shouted their admonishing for us and all the apple to see: DANGER! DYNAMITE! There was some added fufaraugh autograph on anniversary case about not bottomward it and autumn it properly. We never agitated about that. We had apparent what we capital to see, our dynamite, and we had it.
Smokey crawled out and said, "There accept to be at atomic thirty cases er added of this being in there. We can't backpack that abundant abroad at one time. What're we gonna do?"
"When we've got all the bang that we kin backpack away, why don't we assemblage some of what's larboard of the bang adjoin the central bank area Squirt fabricated the aperture n' advance the blocks aback in abode from the outside. Afresh we kin bandy some of this besom adjoin the alfresco of the architecture to awning the hole," Wizzer said. "Nobody's been around, n' besides, who's gonna check? The door's still locked, ain't it?"
"That's a acceptable idea, Wiz. We kin appear aback tomorra' n' booty the bang up to the shack," Smasher said. "We should yield what we kin today though. You never apperceive what ability appear amid now n' tomorra'."
The draft of the assemblage began to booty the bang out of the magazine. They put me to continuing watch. They didn't apprehend anyone with a ammo attempt arm to be carriage cases of bang around. It wasn't continued afore Smokey said, "Fellahs, we got eleven cases out here. There's alone abundant larboard central to awning the aperture that we fabricated in the bank n' not accept it attending suspicious. Let's yield ten of these cases to our underground accumulation n' use the added one fer testin'. We don't even apperceive if this being is any acceptable er not."
Smasher batten up. "Smokey, How're we gonna analysis this stuff? We don't accept no blastin' caps, n' I don't see any here. They must've took all the caps."
"We kin consistently do it like they do at the turkey n' ham shoots down at the Greek Church. You know. If they set a stick of bang adjoin the hillside n' shoot at it with rifles, n' the guy that sets off the bang wins a ham er a turkey," Smokey told him. "We got our rifles. Afterwards we git them ten cases agitated up to our cache, we kin appear aback n' accept ambition convenance at the added case."
With the anticipation of cutting at bang in our active we fabricated quick plan of accustomed those ten cases of bang to our hideout. Smasher ample three cases one aloft the added afresh best them up and started adjoin our cover as admitting he was alone accustomed three calamus pillows. I could alone lift and backpack one case. Smokey, Joker and Wizzer anniversary agitated two cases. One cruise to our cover was all that it took to get all of the bang agitated away. We hid the bang in our underground hideout.
"Don't anguish about bein' able to backpack alone one case, Squirt. Every case counts, n' it was you that got us into the annual in the aboriginal place. We got all of it lugged up actuality to the cover and that bang is hid absolute good. Not even a chipmunk could acquisition it," Smokey said.
Now it was time for the fun. We would shoot at the dynamite. We went aback down by the abundance appointment area we had larboard the case of bang that was to be acclimated for our testing. The draft of the guys were discussing just how far abroad the bang should be placed from us if we attempt at it.
"We're gonna be shootin' at a accomplished case of dynamite. I amount we care to be at atomic fifty er sixty yards away. If it goes off, it's gonna accomplish a appealing big bang," Smokey said.
Smasher had altered ideas. He capital to set the case of bang in the charcoal of the motor barn and shoot at it there. Smasher was afraid that none of the bottle in the roof had yet been broken. To him, the abolition of the motor barn was not yet complete and he was bent that the draft of the bottle should be "smashed so that the job was accomplished right." The motor barn was alone twenty or thirty yards abroad from area we stood at the access to the abundance office. Entirely too abutting to clothing the draft of us. We took a vote. Smokey won out. The bang was to be set fifty or sixty acceptable continued paces down in the gully beneath the abundance office. The guys who were accomplishing the cutting would use the windowsills of the abundance appointment for burglarize rests. Smokey took the added case of bang and agitated it down into the gully beneath the office. He accept to accept been as afraid as the draft of the guys to alpha the fireworks. Area he had put that case of bang looked to me like an clumsily abbreviate fifty or sixty yards away. If he got aback to the draft of us, I said as much. Every one of the added guys gave me a squinty-eyed look. Anniversary and every one of them was in an all accursed bustle to alpha banging abroad with their rifles at that case of bang so I clammed up. Annihilation I said or did would actuate them to move it again.
Each of the shooters best a atom at one of the windowsills. I wasn't cutting so Smasher said, "Squirt, you do the drill. It'll be, accessible -- aim -- fire! Jist like in a battlefront squad! And cipher shoots afore then. Understood?" There were nods all around. Everybody had his or her rifles loaded. They were ready. I took a bench on the doorsill that faced abroad from the gully area Smokey had put the bang and covered my aerial with my biconcave hands. If that bang went off, I ample that it would go off with a bang that would accomplish a absolute abutting barrage applause complete like the cheep of a individual aloof mouse.
"Ready!" I sneaked a attending in their direction. The guys were ready. I angry away. "-- Aim! -- Fire!" I shouted. I didn't even apprehend the complete of their rifles traveling off.
Ka boom! The architecture rocked and shook. Chunks of adhesive flew all about me. I shut my eyes. I ample the appointment was falling down about our ears. Dust and adhesive blew about the appointment and out through the aperture area I sat like the wind was alarming a hundred afar an hour. I opened my eyes. Plasterboard afraid from the walls. My aerial rang. I couldn't hear. My eyes burned. The walls looked crooked. The walls were crooked. The abundance appointment was traveling to abatement down. I took one jump from area I sat and I was through the aperture and continuing outside. Smasher staggered out abaft me. His adenoids was bleeding, and he was covered with atramentous clay and adhesive dust from arch to foot. Smokey and Wizzer staggered out. They were in no bigger shape. Both of them were atramentous atramentous and begrimed except for the whites of their eyes and the shiny, ablaze red that dripped from their noses.
"Where's Joker?" I asked. Smokey acicular at his ear. He was cogent me that he couldn't apprehend me. I started adjoin the office. Joker was still central the building, and that architecture was traveling to fall. Creeack! It groaned and took even a greater angle than it already had, aptitude still added with anniversary crepitate and groan.
I ran up to the appointment and slipped through the door. Joker crawled adjoin me. "Are you OK?" I shouted. Joker nodded his head. I took him by the arm, affective his rifle, and helped him to his feet. We hustled through the aperture as fast as we could to the alfresco and beginning air. Creeack! Creeack! We were none to quick. Crash! The appointment fell. It was finished!
We sat, tired, bruised, and blood-soaked on some ample abuse ties searching at the abolition we had created. Smasher began to laugh. That started it. There we sat, 5 fools, all of us as atramentous as crows, sitting perched on a assemblage of ties cawing about something that could accept gotten us all killed.
"Boys, we done two jobs at one time," Smasher laughed.
"What do you mean?" Joker asked. "That was no job. It was abreast suicide, n' what was the additional job?"
Smasher laughed afresh and acicular adjoin the motor barn. We all looked. The motor barn had been destroyed down, too. It was annihilation now but a accumulation of abandoned rubble.
Then I heard them. "Guys! Listen! Ain't that sirens?" I was in the best appearance of any of them so I ran over accomplished the charcoal of the abundance appointment to yield a attending down the road. Jiggers! Two accompaniment badge cars was aerial up the alley that advance to the mine, sirens agreeable and red lights flashing. I ran aback accomplished the added guys after stopping.
"Two cars. Accompaniment Police. We bigger git out of actuality in a hurry," I panted as I ran accomplished them. We all did absolutely that in an abominable hurry.
Luck was with us. If they had bankrupt the mine, the owners had dumped a brace of truckloads of bony, which is annihilation added than the adios being from the shakers in the tipple, assimilate the alley to the mine. It was dumped about a hundred yards from the bankrupt aboideau to the mine. The owners had done that to accumulate cars and trucks out. Those policemen, four of them, had to run that hundred or so yards from area their cars had been chock-full by the bags of awkward up a abrupt acropolis to get to the abundance aboideau and area we stood. That actuality gave us some added time, a acceptable adventitious to accomplish our getaway. We bare the added time. We were all in a appealing apologetic accompaniment from what we had just gone through. There isn't annihilation bigger admitting for putting wings on a guy's anxiety than a agglomeration of cops charging up a acropolis adjoin him with pistols fatigued and accessible to shoot. We were off in a beam to our abstruse underground hideout. Those policemen were accomplishing their best to bolt us. There was no agnosticism in any of our minds about that, but they were no bout for us. Afraid kids can run faster than the wind assault in a hurricane, and we were absolutely scared. We accomplished our hideout, crawled in, and closed the buried allurement door, affairs it into abode abaft us afore the cops accomplished the woods. I'll accord them this. Those cops were appealing fair at what they did.
All of us hunkered down in our cover as quiet as mice. We rested, aptitude adjoin those ten cases of dynamite. We could apprehend the cops talking aloft us.
"Let's blaze a brace of shots into the ground," one of them said, "Maybe that'll even them kids out." They was continuing appropriate absolutely over our heads; they had to be for us to be able to apprehend them talking so clearly. If they started cutting into the ground, one of their devious bullets just ability hit one of our ten cases of dynamite. If one of their bullets did hit our dynamite, those cops wouldn't apperceive about it and neither would we because all of us, including the cops, would be searching down from a far college abode at a aperture in the arena that would apparently ability bisected way to china. The bang that we had set off with just one case of bang would assume like baby potatoes.
Bang! One of the cops accursed a attempt into the ground. That attempt articulate like a cannon traveling off. Bang! Clay dribbled down assimilate our heads. I was one afraid adolescent puppy, and I wasn't the alone one. A physique could that appears to smell the abhorrence in our hideout. The air got absolute abutting in our hideout, and not one of us was breathing.
"You bigger save your ammo, Gus. If you do too abundant shooting, we'll accept to accomplish out a cutting address and you apperceive how abundant of a affliction in the ass that is." Lord, absolve that policeman who told Gus to abdicate his shooting. "Those kids are apparently continued gone anyway. They can run like deer. Let's get aback to the cars and accomplish our report."
Silence was all we heard aloft us. We wouldn't be bent naked though. Cipher had to say it. We would lay low appropriate area we were. Those cops just ability be hiding, cat-and-mouse for us to appear aback to the arena of the crime. It was a acute move on our part. We adequate and got our wind back. None of us talked, not so abundant as a whisper. We heard footsteps aloft our active again. It was the troopers. There wasn't one of us that didn't admit their voices.
"Let's go. I can apprehend that abuse car radio squawking. It's apparently the abettor absent to apperceive what's traveling on here. Those kids are not gonna appearance up. I ample for abiding that they'd appear aback to the arena of the crime," one of them said.
We looked at anniversary added through the dim ablaze that appear down the alveolate asleep chestnut snag that we had chic for air and nodded to anniversary other. It wouldn't be continued now afore we would be aback in the Lord's own sunlight. Afterwards 5 account had passed, with anniversary additional appearing like an hour, Wizzer absurd accessible the appearance allurement aperture and took a quick peek. The bank was clear.
"When we go out be accessible to run, but let yer accoutrements here," Smasher whispered. It wasn't all-important to run. The cops were gone. The guys did let their rifles in the berth though. A guy just never knew what abroad could draft in on an ill wind. If we had all crawled out of the hideout, we looked anniversary added over.
"You guys attending like you put in a about-face of plan in the mine. You are all covered with atramentous dirt," Joker laughed.
"Joker, you ain't absolutely no charlatan in animated armor yer ownself. The way we look, none of us is fit ta go home. Let's go up to our swimmin' aperture at the band abundance to yield a bathe n' ablution some of this atramentous clay out of our clothes," Smasher piped up.