camwyn | Well, shoot.

I missed Challenge #19 at

multifandom1000 due to unavoidable RL this week. Ah, well. I shall post what I did here instead.

This week's challenge: "A call in the middle of the night."

Loosed Upon The World

"Bill?" It was his wife's voice, very soft and very close by.

"Mm?"

And her hand on his shoulder, too. "Bill, wake up. Someone's knocking."

He suppressed a groan as he rolled over. "What time is it?" he mumbled. From what he could see through the crack in the curtains, there was no possible way the answer could be good.

"I can't tell. Where'd you put your pocket watch?"

It seemed to him that he'd left it in his good civilian suit, on the other side of the room. Before he could say so, the person knocking spoke for the first time. "Sergeant Preston?"

That sounded like Pete Russell. The young miner wouldn't be disturbing him at such an hour if there wasn't a good reason. "I'm up, Pete," he answered as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. "What is it?"

"I- I'm sorry, Sergeant, I know it's awfully late-"

"It's all right, Pete. Just tell me what's going on." He nudged the sleeping form of Prince, his lanky three-year-old husky, with one foot. The dog sprang instantly awake, hopping out of his master's way.

"Well- I did what you said, I told Sam Higgins down at the Mercantile that I just couldn't take it working for Mr. Ash in the mines any more. Only I didn't really tell him, I just sort of said it in front of him. When I was talking to Tom Boyle."

Good boy, Pete, thought the Sergeant silently, feeling around for his uniform in the dark. Sam Higgins was a suspected anarchist, and far too canny a character to trip up by direct means. To someone as naturally wary as Higgins, the accidental outburst was worth a hundred times more than the direct word. Pete couldn't have gotten his attention faster than that. "All right," he said as he pulled the trousers on. "So what happened after that?"

"He- he didn't say anything straight off, Sergeant. But after Tom left he came up to me and he said he knew a lot of men here in Frank felt the same way, and if I'd keep an ear open tonight I might hear something that'd make a lot of difference to my future."

Trousers, tunic, boots- he'd have to sit down for those last. "Scoot over, Louise," he murmured. Sleepily, she complied.

"That's why I'm here, Sergeant. I stayed up as late as I could with the lights out, and I heard this noise, and someone shoved a piece of paper under my door- there's going to be a meeting just outside town."

He could hear the young man fidgeting anxiously, even through the supposedly solid door. The town of Frank, Alberta wasn't really known for the quality of its miners' cottages. At least he and Louise would be going back to the Yukon once the anarchist ring was broken and his temporary assignment was over. "Did anyone see you coming here, Pete?"

"No. At least, I don't think so."

"Well, you can never be too careful. You'd better tell me where they're meeting and when, and then go on without me."

"A- all right, Sergeant. It's going to be up along the Frank and Grassy Mountain Railway- about halfway between here and the coal mine. And we're supposed to be there by four AM."

Sure enough, he found his watch in the suit pocket. The moonlight through the window was too feeble to make out how the hands lay. "What time is it now?"

"Quarter to."

"All right, Pete." He snapped the watch shut. "You go on. Prince and I will be along as soon as it's safe."

As the young man's footfalls faded, the Sergeant turned to the all-but-asleep form on the bed. "Hear that, Louise?"

"Mmm?" She lifted her head from the pillow. "Going to make some arrests tonight?"

He smiled fondly, brushing her cheek with his fingertips. "I hope so," he said. "The sooner I do-"

"-the sooner we can go home," finished Louise. "That'll be good."

"What's the matter? Not a cold enough April for you?"

She smiled a little, but it turned without warning into a yawn. "Just go do your job, Bill. I'll be here when you get back."

He nodded, bending down low to kiss her good-bye.

1. When did the Frank Slide take place?

On April 29, 1933 at 4:10 AM, 30 million cubic meters (90 million tons, 82 million tonnes) of limestone fell from Turtle Mountain in just 90 seconds.

3. How many people were killed?

Of the 600 people living in Frank at the time of the rockslide, approximately 70 were killed.

8. What was destroyed in the slide?

There were 7 miner's cottages (6 with people in them) destroyed, a dairy farm, ranch, shoe store, livery stable, cemetery, 2 km of the road and CPR rail line, 3 km of the Frank and Grassy Mountain Railway, a construction camp and all of the surface buildings for the Frank mine.

Author's Note: the information presented in italics above has been taken from http://www.frankslide.com/faq.html. I have taken one minor liberty with it- the year of the Slide was actually 1903. This change was made with the permission of my LXG 1936 GM,