Only 06 - Winter Fire

Something wasn’t quite right, but he couldn’t decide what it was.
    The match died.
    He pushed forward until the natural wall of stone crowded him on one side, the man-made wall pushed him on the other side, and the rubble made a solid barrier in front of him.
    Too much debris , Case realized, understanding what seemed wrong.
    The ruined wall wasn’t high enough or wide enough to account for the heap of stone. Even if his eye had been misled by the uncertain light of the match, most of the stones that fell out of the ruins would have dropped into the canyon and vanished, as had the one he accidentally knocked loose.
    It could have been like a little stone crib for storing things , he thought. If the structure fell in on itself, that would explain a lot of the stones .
    He lit another match and studied the mound. It didn’t quite reach to the low ceiling. There might be enough room at the top for a man to look over and see what was on the other side.
    The second match went out.
    â€œSee anything?” Sarah asked, but there was no real hope in her voice.
    â€œRocks.”
    She didn’t ask any more.
    Case took off his hat and levered himself to the top of the rubble pile. Awkwardly he struck a match and peered into the inky black at the far side.
    He didn’t see anything. There just wasn’t enough room for him to look over.
    He blew out the match.
    â€œGet as far back as you can,” he said to her. “I’m going to shift the top of this mess so I can look over on the other side.”
    â€œBe careful. Some of these ruins are dangerous.”
    â€œAre you just figuring that out?” he muttered.
    â€œI’ve known since I looked at the first one,” she said indifferently.
    â€œBut you kept at it.”
    Whatever she said was lost in the sounds of stone grumbling and scraping when he started shoving debris away from the top of the mound. As much as possible hepushed the stone away from him, into the darkness ahead.
    The rattle and bounce of debris told Case that the area beyond the barrier was open. He pushed faster. A cascade of stone ran down the far side, clunking and scraping with dull sounds.
    Then came a sound that wasn’t stone striking stone.
    â€œWas that your shovel?” Sarah asked.
    â€œI left it behind you.”
    â€œBut something sounded like metal.”
    â€œStay back” was all he said.
    He shoved more stone away from the top, pulled off one glove, and began running his fingers over the newly uncovered debris.
    Stone met his touch. Then more stone, rough and cold. Then something very cold.
    And smooth.
    He struck a match and stared at the rubble that was only inches from his face.
    All he saw was pale rectangles of rock and a few stones so dark they seemed to absorb light.
    Black rectangles? Case thought. I’ve never seen black rock in these canyons, except for veins of coal .
    Is this a stash of coal?
    Abruptly he plunged his hand into the rubble. His fingers closed around a black rectangle.
    Cold. Smooth. Heavy.
    Much too heavy for coal.
    â€œCase? Are you all right?”
    Distantly he realized that Sarah had called to him more than once.
    â€œI’m fine,” he said.
    â€œWhat are you doing?”
    â€œSorting through debris.”
    â€œIt got so quiet all of a sudden.”
    â€œI’m just catching my breath.”
    The match flickered out.
    Case hardly noticed. He didn’t need light to rememberwhat the heavy black rectangle looked like.
    There was a cross carved into it.
    With an effort he managed to free his knife from its belt sheath. Working by feel in the dark, he gouged at the bar with the sharp tip of the steel.
    He lit another match.
    A teardrop of pure silver gleamed out of the black rock.
    â€œI will be damned,” he said.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œIt’s here. The silver is here.”
    Sarah made a startled sound and clawed her way toward him.
    â€œMove over,” she said.
    He couldn’t, but he could roll onto one side.
    â€œI can’t see anything at all,” she said, frustrated. “Are you sure there’s silver?”
    She struggled to dig a match out of her jacket. Crowded next to him as she was, it was nearly impossible.
    â€œDon’t bother,” he said.
    â€œBut—”
    â€œTake off a glove,” he said over her objections.
    With an impatient jerk, she stripped off a glove.
    â€œBrace yourself with the other hand,” he