No Great Mischief

After the funeral, Calum and the other men who were working down the mine receive a phone call. The superintendent of the mine has reached out, pleading for the men to return. He offers an increased bonus and his condolences, as well as an assurance that this will not happen again. The men agree; Alex will go with them, taking the dead man’s spot.

That afternoon, Calum visits his old farmstead and spends hours reuniting with his aging horse, who stayed behind. The next day, before the men leave, Alex’s aunt hands him a shirt she had purchased for her dead son. She tells Alex to wear it, and he promises to do so.

Alex arrives in Sudbury with the other men, ready to work in the uranium mine. The French Canadians work the night shift, and the clann Chalum Ruaidh will begin work in the morning. The men retrieve their abandoned gear and prepare to start work again.

The mining site buzzes with activity. As well as the frenzy below ground, new infrastructure is being erected above. Men from all over Canada—whose backgrounds are Italian, Portuguese, and so on—have descended on the site. In the dining hall, they sit in their separate ethnic groups, each speaking their own language.