The mine

"Yo boss, how much further we gotta keep digging?" One of the miner's asked, setting his pickaxe aside to wipe his brow. The group had been mining for days, going deeper and deeper into the earth, with seemingly little to show for it. Their boss, a strong man named Lloyd, had woven stories of the fortunes that they would make, digging up silver and gold and who knows what else. But so far, all they had manage to find was rock and stones.

"Are you questioning me?" Lloyd demanded, pushing a finger into the man's face. The man flinched and stepped backwards, which resulted in his slamming his head into the hard stone wall. "Do you really think that I brought you down here for nothing? Did you forget of all the riches that I told you about? Do you think that was all a lie?"

"Of course we don't, boss," one of the other miners said. "We know you're in it with us. It's just that we've been out here for so long, and we have so little to show for it so far. It's not good for the crew's morale."

"Not good for morale, eh?" Lloyd picked up the pickaxe the first miner had set aside and swung it hard, sticking it into the wall by this new complainer's head with a reverberating crash. "Don't you tell me how to run my crew, son," he warned. "My aim is perfect. Ain't no mistake you're still standing there."

The crew nodded, trying not to shake in their boots. They knew that showing fear or hesitation in front of Lloyd would not end well for them. They had seen others go down that route before. It was not a pretty sight to see.

Lloyd backed off and gestured flatly for the men to continue. Carefully they picked back up their pickaxes, gently removing the one stuck in the wall so as not to do any damage to the stone that they did not want, and set back to work. Their muscles ached, but they kept pushing. Even if they thought they could get away with resting with Lloyd there, they knew that there would be no point. The longer it took them to find anything of value, the longer they would be in the earth.

Very abruptly, one of the miner's took a swing and the rock before him fell in. Far in the distance, they heard the rocks crashing to the ground. They collected together in front of the hole and looked inside. They pointed flashlights, but they couldn't penetrate the darkness far enough to see to the other wall.

Suddenly, Lloyd's arms clasped around their shoulders. "Well boys," he exclaimed happily. "It looks like we hit something alright."