Ben's Revenge
Richard W. HolmesIllustrations by Bryan Cook (www.bryancook.com)
Pure Hearts Press, 2008
Fiction, 132 pages, 14.95Forward / Chapter 1 / Author's Website
Australia is unique in that it is the home of 95% of the world’s known black opal reserves, all buried beneath the dry Outback soil in a small area of New South Wales known as Lightning Ridge.
The black opal in the Lightning Ridge area is mined in sedimentary rock dating to the Cretaceous Period, eighty to one hundred and thirty million years ago. The Lightning Ridge opal miners dig to a maximum depth of seventy feet, which has led some to ask the question: What might lie below the Cretaceous zone? In many places in Australia there exist volcanic intrusions of rock known as kimberlite that predate the Cretaceous period by millions of years. These kimberlite intrusions are sometimes the ‘host rock’ for diamonds. Could it be that if the Lightning Ridge miners dig deeper they might run into one of these pockets of kimberlite?
This story was inspired by a man I met in Lightning Ridge, now dead, who found one of the largest gem opal deposits in the Lightning Ridge area of Australia. He claimed that in a certain spot under the Cretaceous sediments, a miner would find kimberlite, the host rock for diamonds. He was an individual that used every mapping technique available in his search for precious opal.
I find Australia an exciting and interesting country. The people there are warm and friendly and ready to help a stranger enjoy their home ‘among the gum trees.’
Richard W. Holmes
"Look, Charlie, I’m telling you those diamonds are down there! I found six of them which Kate and Rusty have. All we gotta do is tunnel back down there where I found those stones. I’m sure there are even more to be found. I’d bet me flaming boots on it mate!”
“Yeah, yeah, Ben, How many times are you gonna tell that story? You got a real stick there! Sure you haven’t got a kangaroo loose in yer top paddock?’”
“Sam, another round of beer for Charlie and me.” Ben waved his empty mug at the bartender. “We’re just getting started.”
“Ben, I think you’ve had enough, you’ve already had six schooners.”
Ben banged his mug on the scarred wooden bar. “Another round, Sam. I’m as dry as a dingo in a dust storm!”
“Yeah, but yeh got to pay cash Ben, no more credit,” said Sam.
“I’ve always paid my tab, Sam.”
“Ben, I’m sorry but you’re over your limit now. Cash only.”
Charlie said, “Look Ben, I’ll pay for one more round for the road, but that’s it. I got to go back to work anyway. Another round on me, Sam.”
Both Charlie and Ben sat there finishing the last round Charlie had just paid for. Ben was out of cash not only for beer, but he was also out of money for mining opal.
Ben was a miner in his late fifties. He always wore dirty khaki shorts and an old worn-out brown shirt that showed so much wear that most men would have thrown it away many battles of life earlier. Ben had a wild look about him due in part to the large, unshaved, gray white beard he possessed. He was short in stature, five feet six inches with a stocky build. For whatever reason, Ben had never been married. He was pretty much a solitary individual as were many opal miners. Ben was of Middle East descent and spoke with an accent. He ran a gas station and repair shop in Lightning Ridge. In his spare time he always dug for opal at Allah’s Rush. He had made the first opal hit at Allah’s Rush and named the field.
Over the years, Ben would run out of money, and constantly hit on anyone he knew to keep his efforts going to mine opal. To entice others, he was always telling of the great opal riches in Allah’s Rush just waiting to be uncovered, if he had just a little more money to dig a few more feet of dirt. Many people who knew Ben considered him a ratter based on unproven stories about him getting into other miners’ digs. However, no one had ever caught Ben in their mine nor had anyone seen him actually ratting a claim. That seemed to be the usual situation with ratters, people who steal opal from another’s claim. They came in the night when a miner least expected to be robbed.
Six months earlier, Ben was approached by Rusty and Kate to locate an area at Allah’s Rush where another old miner had dug a tunnel mining opal, years earlier. Ben was puzzled by their request, but showed them the location the old miner, Jaruk, had dug. However, right near that location, the opal field had subsided. It destroyed all the mine openings in that area when it sank, due to lack of proper mine propping. Many levels had been dug and water seepage weakened the overlaying roof. This caused the whole mining structure to collapse. Ben, however, felt that the area Jaruk had been in, though it was close to where the opal field had dropped, was still intact. With this being the case, Rusty and Kate wanted to drill a shaft down to where Jaruk had mined many years previous. Ben, sensing an opportunity, tried to persuade Rusty and Kate to drill a shaft on the north side of the field where Ben was certain they could find millions of dollars worth of opal. However, Rusty and Kate had insisted that they wanted a hole drilled where Jaruk had once dug. Ben could not believe it. He told them that it was ridiculous to dig such a shaft.
Rusty and Kate got a permit from the Mines Department for the tract and contracted Tom Cardigan, who owned Cardigan’s Drilling, to put down an eighty-foot hole where Ben said Jaruk had once dug.
With the hole dug, Rusty and Kate now had a dilemma. Neither of them wished to go down such a deep hole in a dangerous location. This being the case, Rusty and Kate now had to take Ben into their confidence and persuade him to climb down and find out what was down in the new shaft. The driller was paid, leaving Rusty, Kate and Ben standing near the new hole. Finally, they had to tell Ben it wasn’t opals they were looking for but diamonds. Again, Ben thought that both Rusty and Kate had lost their minds. He could not believe they were unwilling to go down a hole they had just paid good money to have drilled.
Taking Ben into their confidence, Rusty and Kate negotiated a three way split. With Ben now included in their search, Ben agreed to go down the hole and see what he could find.
The new shaft did in fact meet up with the old miner’s tunnel. Upon reaching the end of the long tunnel, more than eighty feet down, Ben found strange-looking dirt. The dirt sparkled with white stones reflecting from the light attached to his hat. Ben had no more than picked up a few stones, when a rumbling sound rolled through the tunnel. He beat a fast retreat down the tunnel and back up the newly drilled mine shaft. Ben, no more than reached the top of the shaft, when the whole mine structure collapsed. He popped out the top of the hole in a big puff of dirt.
To Rusty and Kate’s amazement, Ben stood there covered with mine dirt, holding six shiny stones in his hand. Kate realized they now had a problem with Ben in on their secret about the diamonds. On the spot, she offered Ben ten thousand dollars for his share. Kate told Ben that this was a one time offer. If he wanted the money, instead of the stones, they would drive to the bank and gets Ben the cash.
Ben, not believing what his eyes had just seen, and not even sure that Rusty and Kate were right about the diamonds, agreed to take the money. He was, as usual, down to his last cent.
Now, six months later, Ben was out of money and back to his old ways of trying to convince others to invest in his schemes. He did his best to persuade the people who lived in the Lightning Ridge community that he, Rusty, and Kate had found diamonds and not opals at Allah’s Rush. However, Ben had no evidence to prove that he had in fact found diamonds at the end of the tunnel.
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