Chapters (53)
- Cover
- About Alison Stuart
- Also by Alison Stuart
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Author’s Note
- Acknowledgements
- Preview of The Goldminer's Sister
A massive explosion from the Maiden’s Creek Mine rocked the earth beneath his feet. Such explosions were common and he wouldn’t have thought much about it, except the tall man went down on one knee as if he were ducking a bullet.
‘Danny!’
He turned at Netty’s scream to see Mac rear, his front legs pawing the air as he fought to get free from the traces. Frozen in fear, Danny could do nothing except watch as the massive ironclad hooves descended towards him.
A strong arm wrapped around him, hurling him out of the way as Mac brought his hooves to ground. A woman screamed and a man cried out.
Danny curled up in the dust of the road, his rescuer’s arm heavy across his body. Shadows fell across him and he gasped for breath as Netty leaned over him.
‘Danny, are you hurt?’
He rolled over, still fighting for breath. ‘I’m fine, Netty,’ he gasped.
Netty folded him into her arms as the attention of the crowd focused on the man who had pushed him aside. He lay quite still, face down in the dust. Mr Penrose got down on one knee and turned the man onto his back. The bright colours of the waistcoat were now dimmed with dirt.
‘Is he …?’ a woman’s timorous voice came from the back of the swelling crowd.
The man groaned and the crowd sighed out its relief, breaking into ragged cheers.
‘Hunt!’ Mr Penrose’s voice rose above the general hubbub. ‘Where are you hurt, man?’
‘Is the boy … all right?’
All eyes turned to Danny.
‘He’s fine,’ Netty answered for him. ‘Thanks to you.’
Danny wriggled free and Netty rose to her feet, all brisk efficiency once more as she went to the injured man. She knelt beside him. ‘Oh dear … your leg …’ Danny heard her say in a low voice. She looked up at the crowd. ‘You men, carry this man across to the post office and I’ll see to his injuries.’
‘Ma’am, I’ll be just fine,’ said the man in the waistcoat as he struggled to his elbows, but he had obviously never had to deal with Netty.
She glared down at him. ‘I’ll be the judge of that,’
Forgotten, Danny hovered on the edge of the crowd. He wanted to say it was all his fault and that he didn’t want the stranger to die, but words failed him. All he could do was stare in horror at the man’s torn trousers and the blood welling from his left leg.
The window panes rattled and the inkwell on the counter of the post office juddered as the mine explosion rocked the town. Adelaide glanced up from the ledger she was working on. Through the curtained windows she could see the outline of the Shady Creek coach across the road.