It
was the middle of nineteenth century in America where coal mining in the riverbank
area of Mississippi was getting accelerated day by day like nothing else they
conceived at that time. Mr. Brad Adams the then supervising engineer of the
mines was a greybeard, cantankerous, cruel some, envious man treating the
workers with no nobility and as beast of burdens. He was always dressed in a
black overcoat with one hand permanently in pocket as if someone was going to
steal his purse or kidney perhaps. His glasses were shattered, head was
cultivated with ample amount of white hair. Basically he looked like a black
chimney exhaling white gases. There were two things he was always concerned
about, one was money and the other was Sentinel which was no mythological
warrior as it sounds from its name but a monstrous dog of German crossbreed
ready to gulp down anything at any time. They both are like the indomitable
rulers of that area due to financial power of Adam and Sentinel’s muscular ferocity.
David
Broom a poor blacksmith and poultry farmer who was also living in that area. He
was an innocent self dependant man, always working dawn to dusk to earn his
livelihood. The maximum number of turkeys he had in his poultry farm was in one
digit region. Mr. Adams and his dog Sentinel always used to go to the mines
through this poultry farm. Mr. Adams had always been ignoring these poor red
Indians as gypsies but for Sentinel it was a type of breakfast place where the
turkeys were visible to this monster as roasted chickens. Once Adam left Sentinel
to the poultry, the gigantic creature showing a sudden testosterone blast
destroyed the fences and swallowed down the turkeys as morning snacks, Adam was
in cloud nine as he was proud of having Sentinel. When David tried to stop it,
the marauding bulldozer like structure led no mercy at him and wounded him
severely. In some fraction of seconds his world was devastated, his leg’s
tendons and ligaments were bitten by Sentinel, face was burning in the pain of
newly formed scars, sky above his head was turning red as the blood trickled
over his eyes and finally he was left on the farm to die with a tormenting
soul.
Meanwhile
in the coalfield it became impossible to dig in night especially due to
darkness, they could not use lamps and candles due to the presence of extremely
ignitable gases in the very dip of the mine. Bunsen burner was yet to be
invented in the year 1850. The mine engineers designed a special type of lamp dissipating
less heat hence suitable for illumination inside underground, they installed it
dip in the mines but the only problem was sparking the lamp for the first time,
the engineers confirmed that the first time illumination of the lamp would go
with a massive blast due to the gases present there and then the lamp would
burn incessantly with no hitch. They all denied to this investment as it would
take the sacrifice of a human’s life as somebody had to light it but greedy
Adam forced them to sanction this project as working day and night in the coal
fields simply meant double money. Finally
a tender form was issued and it was announced that the man who would light the
lamp would be compensated with handsome money for the sacrifice of his life.
Meanwhile
in the streets of the town a beggar called himself Peter was reading the notice
of the tender. He had no one left in the world .His facial recognition was
almost impossible as it was filled with heavy beard and moustache, one side of
his cheek was significant having a blemish as if someone has used a sword on
his cheek, his dresses were soiled and perforated at every inch distance and he
was a limp working with a disintegrating wooden stick. He decided to go for the
offer by helping the mines people and giving up his distressed life. He applied
his tender for 100 dollars.
The day approached Mr. Adams told his
subordinate to find out three tenders
with minimum demanding money so that staff selected three tenders 100
dollars(peter),200 dollars(John Garret) and 400 dollars(Andrew Coulson ). Adam
called the three applicants next day.
At
first it was Peter the beggar. From his mysterious appearance and filth
clothing Adam was sure enough why the beggar was going for this, also peter
acknowledged Adam about his miseries .Adam told him to wait outside, then
called John Garret a very old man almost scoring a century in matter of ages .He
described that his son misbehaved him so if he would get 200 dollars he would
deposit them for his grandson’s study and eagerly die.
Then
came Mr. Andrew Coulson a professional businessman dressed in coat of worth as
an arm and leg. He was a friend of Adam, at first Adam was shocked to see him
there but then he assured himself that Coulson was not a person who would let
himself die for anything. Adam asked, “What on the earth are you doing here?
You selfish basterd ”. He replied, “Not more than you Adam ,Well I am here for
that tender, Don’t look at me like that I am not gonna die, You sanction me
this tender and I will give that gypsy beggar Peter 100 dollars to die and we
will share 150 dollars each”. It was a bonanza deal for Adam, He could not deny
that offer anyhow and decided to stick to that plan. Same thing happened; the
deal was signed with Andrew Coulson for four hundred dollars.
The
next day Coulson and Adam went to peter and told him that they had provided you
this job, handed him 100 dollars and told him that he had to come to the mines
the next day to illuminate the lamp and left the street. Peter knew about their
malicious intention and went to a nearer broken home, he opened the door and
went inside. He first time took off his blanket after several months and
started bearding himself in front of a shattered mirror ,a very familiar face
evolved on the mirror that was his real identity ,he was no one else but David
Broom still alive in disguise and disgust to avenge the pain he had been
enduring since that day. From occupation he was a third generation blacksmith.
That night he was doing something else, his masterpiece. He had promised himself to unbeard the
hitherto invincible lion in his own den who was Adam in that area, and release
all the red Indian and African Negros from permanent slavery who were tiresome
workers of the mines.
The
next day he put on his old blanket and wrapped a dirty paper over something
what he was preparing last night and went to the mine field. Earlier in the
morning Mr. Adams went to bank to deposit those dollars as if someone was
spying on him to steal his money but left Sentinel with Mr. coulson as it was
impossible to travel with that monstrous creature inside a small cart. The
total area was evacuated Mr. Coulson and all the staff at the safest distance
but they placed the workers somewhat nearer to mines to know the intensity of
explosion by judging it from the wound and damage that could be done to the
slaves in accordance with the orders of chief engineer Mr. Brad Adams. Sentinel
was wandering in their office while other members were waiting for Peter, when
he reached there everyone waved at him as if they really care for him. The dog
started barking but no one noticed anything awkward and he went to the fields.
standing in front of the underground door he opened the wrapped paper and
unbundled his collections there were three turkey bones ,one of them was
extremely large from the other two .There was something else ,his masterpiece a
round neck steel collar having cup on its top. Sentinel could smell roasted
turkey from two or three miles ,he could not resist and ran into the mines,
meanwhile David placed the larger piece just in front of the door and the
smallest one in the lamp’s ignition chamber and waited outside the mine with
the last piece of meat. The dog was greedier than his master he ran like a
bullet train and started shaking his tail in front of David. David threw the
piece on ground; Sentinel rushed there and started licking the bone. David tied
the collar on the dog’s neck and filled the cup with small thick candle and
ignited it. He whispered, “Oh dear Senti! You are my avenging angel, May piece occur
to you”. He pelted a stone at the door and started leaving that place. Then the
dog realized wherefrom the real aroma was coming from the biggest ever bone piece
waiting for him at the door, without a second of delay he rushed there and
showed how carnivorous he was to the bone piece.
Till
the time he would have finished the largest piece David was watching from a
reasonable safe distance through a binocular. Mr. Adam reached and started
searching for the dog, someone told him that it ran into the fields, he was
anguished and decided to bring it back but others protested him as David had
also made it to the fields.
After
completing the scrumptious mutton Sentinel nosed the last one and went for it,
when he bowed down to lick the bone the flame burning over his head ignited the
lamp the sudden massive heat generated triggered the capricious gases to
explode like nothing else they witnessed that day.
Fire
persisted still the last piece of coal was burned almost in two days, Adam
could not believe what had happened, the workers were not hampered that much.
Government could not resist the loss and when found out what had happened they
suspended Adam and took him in custody. All the slaves were released and Adam
was charged 15 years of jail for signing such a horrible tender, everything in
Mississippi changed except the beggar on the street, who was eagerly waiting
for his redemption.
Written by ; Pulak Kar
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