Debbie
Miracle in the Midas
Heath Barkley was struggling to stay alert. The pain in his side was throbbing something fierce and a raging fever was a nagging reminder that the bullet had been in there far too long. He could barely remember being shot and couldn't recall any of the events that led to him being where he currently found himself.
He had come to and found himself in an abandoned mine with nothing more than a low burning lantern to guide him. He forced himself to his feet and made his way to the entrance only to be met by gunfire directed squarely at him. He stumbled back into the mine seeking safety from the unknown assailant. He smashed the lantern to avoid giving the gunman a target and then hid behind a mine car. Mustering what little strength he had remaining in a desperate attempt at self defense, Heath managed to push the heavy ore car down the tracks. He heard the attacker scream just before the timbers and rocks began to rain down on them both.
Heath wasn't sure how long he was unconscious that time, but he awoke again to the sound of a man's voice, encouraging him to wake up. He didn't know who it was other than it was highly unlikely it was the same man that had been trying to kill him a short while ago. Though trapped under a fallen beam, Heath found himself comforted by the man he couldn't see but could hear. The voice was comforting yet demanding. The benefactor would not let Heath give up, despite the pain, the fatigue, the seeming hopelessness of his situation.
Time passed slowly. Neither of the men had any idea if anyone even knew they were there. In an effort to keep the wounded man conscious, the other talked. They exchanged first names and a little bit of history. The older man told how he had lost his family several years before and how much he missed them. He talked of drifting from place to place. Heath told about how he had found his family and had set down roots.
Despite the pitch blackness of the surroundings, Heath's love for his family was obvious to the stranger; evident in the tender way he spoke their names and described them so well the man could "see" each of his siblings, from his older brothers to his little sister.
When Heath's voice began to fade, the stranger grew desperate. He was afraid time was running out for the young man. If someone didn't find him soon, the cold, damp mine would become his grave. He urged Heath to keep talking.
"Reckon I've…told ya 'nough 'bout my…brothers and sister."
"Tell me about Victoria, then."
"She's really somethin'." Despite his physical pain, Heath's voice communicated emotional contentment. "I must be about the luckiest man alive…ta have two wonderful mothers…ta love me like that. Bought her a pearl stick pin…not her birthday or nuthin…just…"
Heath stopped talking for a time, needing to catch his breath and ride through yet another wave of pain. His companion laid a gentle hand on the trapped
young man's arm to remind him he wasn't alone. Finally, Heath was able to speak again.
"Well, she... she... There's nothin'…more ta tell…ya."
"The little I know about real love is that it's unconditional." The stranger spoke as if he knew firsthand of the kind of unconditional love he
was talking about. "It's not something you can buy."
"Hang on!" Heath's weak but angry response encouraged the stranger. The boy still had some fight in him. Heath paused again before continuing in
a calmer tone. "This wasn't about…me buyin'…her love. This was…a way for me…ta show her how…I felt."
Heath's unseen companion decided to keep pushing the young man. Strong emotion might be his salvation. "Ah... And what's she doing to prove how
she feels about you?"
"She hasn't got…anything ta prove…she already…has. Well... Look, Mister…you'll understand…when you meet her…all right?...If we don't…get
murdered…by those…pirates first."
The stranger could feel the heat radiating off his young friend's body as the fever continued to climb. The boy was starting to hallucinate. Time was running out. As his mind raced in desperate thought as to how to get keep Heath fighting to stay alive, he heard the faint sounds of picks and shovels working to remove the dirt and rock wall between them.
"Heath! Somebody's coming! Stay awake, Son. You're gonna be outta here soon."
Several minutes later, a small tunnel opened in the rock wall and lantern light illuminated the grotto.
"He's in here! Heath!" Nick Barkley hurried to squeeze his tall frame through the opening and rushed to his brother's aid. "Heath, are you alright? Talk to me, Boy."
"Mmm... Murdered by pirates…heart torn out and eaten… meet Victoria Barkley...can't quite decide which…sounds more fun..."
Immensely relieved his brother was still alive, Nick couldn't help but chuckle at Heath's confused dilemma. "You know Victoria Barkley's more fierce than any pirate, little brother, and if I don't get you home to her all in one piece, we're both gonna feel her wrath."
Two other men, who had worked to widen the opening, crawled through and helped Nick to lift the heavy wooden beam to free Heath. His moaning was a reassuring reward to his brother and the others who carried him to safety.
"Bring me some water!" Nick ordered as he cradled his injured brother just outside the mine entrance. "And a blanket!"
Heath sipped the water greedily. He opened his eyes just a slit, the bright sunlight assaulting his vision. "Nick?"
"Yeah, Heath, it's me. You're gonna be alright, Heath."
"Where's Tom? He get out…alright?"
"Tom?" Nick looked at the other rescuers who shrugged their shoulders before his attention was drawn back to his brother who was trying to sit up. "Hold still, Heath! There wasn't anybody else in there with you."
"Tom's in there," Heath argued. "He kept me talkin', kept me hopin' somebody'd come." In his weakened state, it was easy for Nick to hold his brother down as he continued to struggle to go after the man he believed had saved his life. "He musta passed out, Nick. Ya gotta save him!"
"Alright, Heath, alright." Nick gave directions to the other men. "You two help me get my brother into the wagon. You two go back in there and look around. Make sure we didn't leave a man behind."
As they pulled away from the Midas Mine, Heath kept up his argument. "Where'd he go, Nick?"
Nick continued to gently wipe the dust from his brother's face. "You musta dreamed him, Heath. There wasn't anybody in there but you."
"He was real, Nick! It was too dark ta see him…but I could hear him…and he touched me. Said his name was Tom…asked me all 'bout the family…told me you would come…"
Nick was relieved, when giving in to overwhelming fatigue, Heath finally relaxed his head on his brother's lap and fell into a restless sleep. Nick doubted Heath would remember anything about the pirates or the mysterious Tom he apparently had conjured up in his fevered mind. All that mattered was that Heath was alive and Nick was determined to keep him that way.
"Pick up the pace, George. This boy needs a doctor bad."
Tom watched from the shadows just inside the mine entrance as the wagon and riders rounded the bend and could no longer be seen.
"Go home to that woman who loves you, Heath. I wish I could."
The old man adjusted his hat to provide some shade for his eyes and started across the open land. His footprints grew fainter until they faded away completely.
The End
The characters were respectfully borrowed from the television show, The Big Valley, which is the property of Four Star Productions. This story is also
based on the episode, "The Twenty-five Graves of Midas" which was written by Ken Pettus.
