The mine cage

An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.

For six years, Mercer had drawn every new passage of the Bellweather Mine onto the office plan, yet he had never travelled below the first landing. Whenever the cage chain began its iron clatter, he found a reason to inspect a ledger. The other clerks knew that his elder brother had been killed underground, but none of them mentioned it.

After three days of rain, water entered the western workings. The warning bell sounded twice and then fell silent. A broken wire had left twelve men at the far face without a signal. The manager spread an old plan across the desk, but the route marked on it had been closed months earlier. Only Mercer’s copy showed the new way through the eastern passage.

Mercer suggested sending the office boy with the plan. The manager said the boy would not understand the chalk marks at the junctions. For a moment, Mercer pressed both hands against the desk. Then he rolled up his plan and asked for a lamp. In the cage, he fixed his eyes on one brass rivet while the square of daylight contracted above him. When the cage stopped, the foreman had to ask twice before Mercer released the rail.

Underground, his voice was unsteady, but his directions were exact. At the third junction, water was already washing over the rails. Mercer found the fresh cutting on his plan and showed the foreman the way through it to the trapped men. He remained beside the junction, counting each miner as they returned, although every distant crack made him turn towards the cage.

Mercer came up last. The waiting crowd cheered, but he stepped past them without raising his head. In the office, somebody placed a cup of tea before him. He held it in both hands; still, the china knocked softly against the saucer.

“Mercer’s courage is presented convincingly because the writer never turns him into a fearless hero.”

Evaluate how successfully the writer presents this idea. Support your judgement with detailed references to the passage.