Page 4 of Fall of Giants (The Century 1)

"I don't like socialists. Atheists are doomed to eternal damnation. And trade unionists are the worst of the lot. "

He glared at them, but he had not asked a question, so Billy said nothing.

"I don't want troublemakers," Jones went on. "In the Rhondda Valley they've been on strike for forty-three weeks because of people like your fathers stirring them up. "

Billy knew that the strike in the Rhondda had not been caused by troublemakers, but by the owners of the Ely Pit at Penygraig, who had locked out their miners. But he kept his mouth shut.

"Are you troublemakers?" Jones pointed a bony finger at Billy, making Billy shake. "Did your father tell you to stand up for your rights when you're working for me?"

Billy tried to think, though it was difficult when Jones looked so threatening. Da had not said much this morning, but last night he had given some advice. "Please, sir, he told me: 'Don't cheek the bosses, that's my job. '"

Behind him, Spotty Llewellyn sniggered.

Perceval Jones was not amused. "Insolent savage," he said. "But if I turn you away, I'll have the whole of this valley on strike. "

Billy had not thought of that. Was he so important? No-but the miners might strike for the principle that the children of their officials must not suffer. He had been at work less than five minutes, and already the union was protecting him.

"Get them out of here," said Jones.

Morgan nodded. "Take them outside, Llewellyn," he said to Spotty. "Rhys Price can look after them. "

Billy groaned inwardly. Rhys Price was one of the more unpopular deputy managers. He had set his cap at Ethel, a year ago, and she had turned him down flat. She had done the same to half the single men in Aberowen, but Price had taken it hard.

Spotty jerked his head. "Out," he said, and he followed them. "Wait outside for Mr. Price. "

Billy and Tommy left the building and leaned on the wall by the door. "I'd like to punch Napoleon's fat belly," said Tommy. "Talk about a capitalist bastard. "

"Yeah," said Billy, though he had had no such thought.

Rhys Price showed up a minute later. Like all the deputies, he wore a low round-crowned hat called a billycock, more expensive than a miner's cap but cheaper than a bowler. In the pockets of his waistcoat he had a notebook and a pencil, and he carried a yardstick. Price had dark stubble on his cheeks and a gap in his front teeth. Billy knew him to be clever but sly.

"Good morning, Mr. Price," Billy said.

Price looked suspicious. "What business have you got saying good morning to me, Billy Twice?"

"Mr. Morgan said we are to go down the pit with you. "

"Did he, now?" Price had a way of darting looks to the left and right, and sometimes behind, as if he expected trouble from an unknown quarter. "We'll see about that. " He looked up at the winding wheel, as if seeking an explanation there. "I haven't got time to deal with boys. " He went into the office.

"I hope he gets someone else to take us down," Billy said. "He hates my family because my sister wouldn't walk out with him. "

"Your sister thinks she's too good for the men of Aberowen," said Tommy, obviously repeating something he had heard.

"She is too good for them," Billy said stoutly.

Price came out. "All right, this way," he said, and headed off at a rapid walk.

The boys followed him into the lamp room. The lampman handed Billy a shiny brass safety lamp, and he hooked it onto his belt as the men did.

He had learned about miners' lamps in school. Among the dangers of coal mining was methane, the inflammable gas that seeped out of coal seams. The men called it firedamp, and it was the cause of all underg

round explosions. Welsh pits were notoriously gassy. The lamp was ingeniously designed so that its flame would not ignite firedamp. In fact the flame would change its shape, becoming longer, thereby giving a warning-for firedamp had no smell.

If the lamp went out, the miner could not relight it himself. Carrying matches was forbidden underground, and the lamp was locked to discourage the breaking of the rule. An extinguished lamp had to be taken to a lighting station, usually at the pit bottom near the shaft. This might be a walk of a mile or more, but it was worth it to avoid the risk of an underground explosion.

In school the boys had been told that the safety lamp was one of the ways in which mine owners showed their care and concern for their employees-"as if," Da said, "there was no benefit to the bosses in preventing explosions and stoppage of work and damage to tunnels. "

After picking up their lamps, the men stood in line for the cage. Cleverly placed alongside the queue was a notice board. Handwritten or crudely printed signs advertised cricket practise, a darts match, a lost penknife, a recital by the Aberowen Male Voice Choir, and a lecture on Karl Marx's theory of historical materialism at the Free Library. But deputies did not have to wait, and Price pushed his way to the front, with the boys tagging along.

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