“Pump more water , damn it!” , Tom’s voice echoed along the wall of the cave.
The cave was hot , humid and the men had been pumping water out as fast as they could. It was at the height of the Califonia gold rush and there was noone more hardworking than Tom. There had been rumours of gold streams near where the dig but it was near to the river as well.
He and his team had been digging non-stop for a few days but there had been no luck so far. And to make the matter worse , the water from the river had been pouring into the cave as they digged deeper. The foreman had warned him about the danger yet Tom stood firm. The dig must continue till they found the gold.
Tom knew there were several caves running along the river and any of them could hit on the gold and took ownership. He ccould not afford to lose it again after what happened in the last venture. He had made up up his mind to get gold or be gone.
The team consisted of a foreman , 2 pump boys and 3 experienced diggers. Tom himself supervised the whole operations in the cave itself. It was a back breaking work from dawn to dusk yet the the promises of riches spurred them on.
“Tom we have to stop here. It is getting too dangerous” , voiced out the foreman.
“No. We continue” , said Tom.
“Look here. We had a discussion yesterday and decided it is better to be alive than poor. There will be another dig another day.”
“You can’t be serious! We are close. I can feel it.”
“Goodbye Tom.”
The workers threw their equipment and walked out of the cave , leaving Tom alone in the dark. Tom , determined , picked up the axe and started to chip away at the rock , never noticing at the rising water level. After a few min , the lights started to flickr and that was when Tom noticed.
The wall which everyone had abandoned , was pure , solid gold. He had been digging without realising because of the argument with the foreman. His triumph had come , and with that , he heard the sound of the cave collasping due to the water pressure.
He would have his gold and his death as well.
The End