Wednesday:

In the morning there were more critically ill miners… and more bodies.

Shiv and Clyde did not survive the night. 

Moreover, Dennis, Crawford and a young miner named Jason were now in a critical condition. The sight of Jason, a boy who looked like he should still be in school, thrashing around in agony, was not an easy one for Andrew.

Andrew was one of the men summoned for digging duties. This time no one, least of all Andrew, argued with Boarensky. Fear was a powerful disincentive against speaking out.

Always a thin man, Andrew's worsening health condition had him panting for breath as he helped carry Clyde’s bedsheet covered body into the forest and towards the impromptu graveyard. At one point Andrew missed his footing and his grip under Clyde’s armpits slipped so that the head and shoulders fell into the mud with a dull thump. A miner named Matthew, who was holding Clyde by his feet, glared at Andrew over his irreverence.

“I’m sorry.” Andrew apologised, quickly picking up the other end of the body. They continued on their journey until they reached a clearing in the trees. There was a cross, crudely made from two sticks tied together, marking the spot where Bruce had been buried the day before. 

Kairo and two miners named Shaquille and Robert followed them into the clearing with the enshrouded body of Shiv. Kairo handed around shovels. Wordlessly, they began digging.

As Andrew dug, he took perverse satisfaction in the thought that while Boarensky had been ordering graves dug for his workers, one was being secretly dug for him. 

They all said a short prayer over the two new makeshift crosses after the burial, with Kairo saying his in a strange, indigenous language and Andrew only pretending to be praying. Then the four of them went down to the mining pit while Kairo returned the shovels to camp. 

While the men worked in the pit, Andrew looked down on them and assessed the situation. When they had started, it was with a full complement of twelve men. The ravages of malaria had whittled that down to six. This had, in turn, reduced the daily gold production. They would be lucky if they hit half of an ounce today, much less an ounce of gold.

Kairo returned from camp with an ominous look on his face and made a beeline straight for Andrew.

"The boss wants to see you." He said shortly. 

"About?" Andrew asked, taken aback. Kairo shrugged. There was nothing to do but to see what he wanted. Andrew got up and sighed.

"Deputize for me till I come back, will ya?" He asked. Kairo nodded. 

As Andrew walked towards Boarensky's tent, his mind raced. What did the Russian want with him? Boarensky was the kind of boss who, far from micromanaging, delighted in thrusting all the work into the hands of his deputy as long as the gold kept flowing. As such, their work relationship consisted mostly of him bringing the daily gold haul and Boarensky grunting in satisfaction as he locked it away in a safe.

Andrew had no sooner arrived than Boarensky peeped out and motioned for him to come into the tent. Andrew sidestepped an aluminium bucket placed at the entrance to catch leaks and entered.