Elias turned to Warren beseechingly. “Sir, I beg you.”
“Elias, she is a very capable woman, and you’d do well to recognize that,” said Warren sternly. He turned to me. “But, in fairness, I know when too many hands are involved in that kind of detailed work, it actually can get more complicated. Would you mind terribly if instead I took you up on your earlier hospitality? I thought I smelled tea back there, and now I can’t stop thinking about it.”
Elias’s smug smile nearly drove me to refuse. I’d served them willingly last time, but now this felt like proof that I could do only “women’s work.” But I kept the polite fa?ade and went back to the shanty, grateful that on this trip, at least, I didn’t have to hide Alanzan artifacts. I’d used up the last of my cinnamon thorn tea this morning and would have to endure the humiliation of asking Mistress Marshall for more. Not that I would’ve ever served that to Warren anyway. I instead used some decent black that Cedric had splurged on during a recent trip to town.
By the time it was steeped and ready to go, I found all sorts of progress outside. Warren’s men were almost at the top of the outcropping. Cedric was just about finished with his task when Elias unceremoniously set down an enormous pile of rope, as well as a couple more explosives with the components already joined. “Since you’re so eager to help,” said Elias, “this needs untangling.” His tone was as demeaning as ever. I was about to hurry over to help Cedric, but Warren beckoned me over, excitement on his face. He pointed up.
“We could mine what’s at the top with picks, but the bottom would be too inaccessible because of the column’s narrowness. Once they’ve assessed what’s there, they’ll blow off the outer rock on top and then mine what’s exposed. They’ll keep blowing it off section by section, working their way down until we get everything out. And then . . .” Warren gestured to the foothills beyond. “Then we go after that.”
“Where you’ll get a lot more than a forty percent commission,” I said with a smile.
“Hey, boss,” called one of the men on top. He’d been looking in the crevasse. “This place is stacked. I can tell just from where he picked at it the other day.”
This elicited a few cheers from the men on the ground. Warren looked equally excited but managed to keep his voice dignified. “Well, that is what we’re here for. Proceed.”
The men on top set to work placing the combined explosive components. Warren took my arm and began steering me backward. “The charges are designed to be strong enough to break through the rock but not so powerful they bring that whole structure down. Nonetheless—it’s best if we keep our distance in case there’s any falling debris.”
Other men on the ground were doing the same, and I cast an anxious look over at Cedric. He was on the opposite side of the outcropping from me but farther back than we were. When the explosives were set, the men pulled the pins out and then began quickly rappelling back down. Part of me expected something dramatic—like the explosives going off just as the men made it to the ground. But the mixing of the components had been timed to give a high margin of safety, and the men were back in the safe zone when the top of the outcropping exploded spectacularly.
Even knowing what to expect, I couldn’t help a small cry of surprise. Thunder boomed around us, and the ground shook as a flash of fire lit up the crevasse. Warren pulled me to him and put his arm out protectively, but there was no need. We were indeed outside the most dangerous radius, and the rocks and debris that rained down stayed relatively close to the cliff itself. As the smoke blew away, I could see glittering spots on the ground among the rocky debris.
“There’s gold there,” I said.
Warren smiled. “From the outer layers of the deposit. We can just walk over and pick that up later when the main part of the excavation has wrapped up. A lot easier than panning, huh?”
I started to answer and then caught sight of something in my periphery. I turned and saw a figure on horseback approaching from the side of the claim opposite the one that led to town. “Cedric,” I called. “There’s someone there.”
Cedric rose and put a hand to his eyes to block the sun. A big grin broke out over his face. “Hey, Sully!” Cedric strode away from his task and waved to the approaching figure, who answered with his own wave.
A few things happened almost at once then. I saw Elias shoot Warren a questioning look. Eager to meet Cedric’s infamous neighbor, I left Warren’s side and hurried after Cedric, going very near where he’d been working on the rope. Elias ran up and grabbed me from behind, literally throwing me back toward Warren so that I hit the ground hard and bit my tongue.