The Fire in the Stone

by Colin Thiele

Rigby, 1974, ISBN 085179548X, hardcover, dustjacket

Very Good Condition, minor edge and shelf wear, a little rubbing and bumping to edges and corners, a little marking to back endpapers, dustjacket shows a little edge and shelf a little rubbing, bumping, chipping and small tears, minor creasing (see photographs)

“Ernie Ryan lived in one of the world’s most harsh and lawless areas, the opal fields of inland Australia.  The teacher in the school described him as “colourless.” But fourteen-year-old Ernie had a dream that glowed with all the colours of the opals which miners underneath the arid landscape.
One day, this dream came true. Ernie was working his own mine, and his pick broke through into the “fire in the stone”.  As he saw the green, red, and blue of precious opal flashing in the candlelight, he realised that his was rick beyond his wildest dreams.
His dream became a nightmare, however, when someone ratted his claim.  With his Aboriginal friend, Willie Winowie, Ernie set out to find the thief.  Part of the answer came when an aircraft crashed and its precious cargo of opals, worth $200000, was stolen from the wreckage.”

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