‘Geordie. I’m from Newcastle,’ he said. ‘That’s what they call us all. Me name’s George Holdway.’ He screwed up his face and looked at Caleb. ‘What’s yours?’

‘Caleb Hunt.’

‘You’re that Yankee they’re all talkin’ about.’

Caleb smiled. ‘Call me a Yankee again, friend, and you’re not getting any of this morphine.’

A glimmer of a smile caught the man’s dry lips.

Thank God for morphine, Caleb thought as he watched the pain in the man’s eyes dull. It had been in short supply in the war and he had had to become adept at amputating limbs from fully conscious men. Not a skill any doctor would wish to master.

‘I’m going to look at your hand again, Geordie. I’ll be as gentle as I can but …’

‘Do what you have to, doc,’ Geordie mumbled.

The miner must have had nerves of steel. Despite the pain relief, his body tensed and he grimaced during the examination but he did not utter a sound.

Caleb straightened and shook his head. His first diagnosis had been correct. The miner’s hand was shattered beyond repair.

‘You’ve got to do something to save his hand.’ The man who swung the mallet looked wretched.

‘Too many small bones,’ Caleb said and laid a hand on the stricken man’s shoulder. ‘It wasn’t your fault. It’s a dangerous job.’

The miner flinched under Caleb’s touch. ‘We know the risks, but we’ve been working as a team for five years. We prided ourselves on being the fastest and the best …’ He looked away, ashamed of the tears that ran in rivulets down his dusty face.

Caleb turned to Bowen. ‘Are you sober enough to administer the chloroform?’

Bowen met his hard gaze. ‘I am.’

‘And you two?’ He turned to Geordie’s comrades. ‘I need a couple of men with stout stomachs.’

‘He’s our mate, we ain’t going anywhere.’

Caleb looked into the faces of the two nuggety miners and understood. Miners, like soldiers, formed strong bonds. They introduced themselves as Len and Alf. If they had surnames, they could wait.

Silence fell over the room as Caleb completed his preparations. No one questioned him, and the miners moved without comment to obey his commands. Adelaide settled herself beside Geordie with a damp cloth, wiping the mud and sweat from the man’s face and talking to him as Bowen administered the chloroform.

Satisfied the patient was unconscious, Caleb set Bowen to watch Geordie’s breathing and directed the two miners to hold him still. Even unconscious, a patient could still move.