***
The clan realized that Randy seemed distant and distracted with the normal everyday events of the Mountain House. Jenna had tried to engage him in more activities and childcare, but her attempts to draw him out of his funk seemed only to piss him off. He spent hours in the barn drawing designs for some motorized thing. Robert had sneaked a peek at the drawings on the workbench and realized what it was that Randy was dreaming up.
When Randy walked into the kitchen for a cup of coffee, Jenna stomped her foot and confronted him over his standoffish attitude. As she ranted and vented her frustration, Randy became angry over her words and walked out on her. As she stood in the kitchen, considering if she needed to continue the battle or step back and let Randy work things out, Robert stepped up in front of her and said, “Jenna, I have figured out what is occupying Randy’s engineering mind. I would like to explain it to you if you can calm yourself long enough to hear my words.” Jenna looked Robert in the eyes, trying to calm her emotions long enough to hear her friends words. She took a deep breath and said, “I love that man more than he will ever understand, but when he gets into these moods, I want to punch him and force him to talk to me.” Robert stood quietly, waiting for Jenna to calm down. Finally, she sat down in the rocking chair and said, “Robert, if you understand what is going on with Randy, please sit down and explain it to me.”
Robert turned a kitchen chair around and sat so he was facing Jenna. He said, “Your husband is trying to design a way to provide us with a permanent source of electricity that costs us virtually nothing to own and operate. He, along with Rodney and I believe that the electricity we are now enjoying will soon be turned off. The power company is experiencing huge financial expenses as they try to maintain the generators at the power plant. Not only are the huge generators in need of repair, but they may have to shut down the power plant. The transformers that step the voltage up to 17,500 volts before sending it to the grid are failing. They need new insulating oil and will soon fail if they are not serviced soon. The price of the oil and the recycling of the used oil are quite costly. The power company does not have enough paying customers to pay for the repairs. Randy saw two small steam engines for sale in the city. He is trying to figure out how to connect them to the generators we already own to produce our own electricity. There is also an issue with speed control of the steam engines since the centrifugal governors are missing. If he can work out the details and we can fabricate our own governors, we can build the generator plant and supply our own electricity.” Jenna sat thinking about Robert’s words and asked, “Why did he not explain that to me, instead of remaining silent?” Robert laughed and said, “You never asked him, you were content to be angry and confrontational. He has a lot on his mind and sometimes becomes quite standoffish when he is working on a project of this importance. Just leave him alone for a couple days and I think he will explain his work to all of us.”
Robert knew that Jenna was now pissed at him, along with her husband. Jenna was a very headstrong woman and resented anyone standing up to her. Robert had spoken his mind and explained the project Randy was working on to her. The other women had also heard Robert’s words and now realized the importance of Randy’s engineering project. None of the women understood the technical details of the project, but they did understand that Randy did not need to hear Jenna bitching at him every time he walked into the Mountain House. Randy’s project was extremely important to the clan’s long-term survival and Jenna needed to understand that fact. Robert and Rodney intended to do everything they possibly could to help Randy get the steam powered generator system up and running.
When the guys walked out into the barn to care for the animals, Robert stepped up beside Randy and said, “I am afraid I may have pissed Jenna off after you walked out. I sat her down and explained that she needed to take a deep breath and leave you to hell alone until you work out the project you are designing. I think my words finally got her attention. I apologize to you for speaking harshly to your wife, but she needed to understand that the long term survival of the clan depends on careful planning and preparation.” Randy said, “You don’t have to apologize to me about educating Jenna. She sometimes needs someone to teach her a little bit of reality. She lives in a paper doll world most of the time and forgets that we have to plan for next year as well as dealing with today’s events.”
When the guys got out of bed in the morning, the girls were busy tending plants and keeping the children busy. The sun was shining and the snow had stopped falling. By noon, the guys decided to take the new truck into town and again look at the two steam engines. If the engines would turn over and the boiler tubes looked to be in good shape, they would load one of them up and take it to the Mountain House. They would have to pick up the second one later. Steam engines were a seventeenth century engineering marvel, but the engineers who built them used metals available to them at the time. That metal was cast iron and it was inherently quite heavy.
When the guys arrived in Hillsburg, they filled up both gasoline tanks on the truck and then headed for the farm where they had found the steam engines. The farmer had stored them for many years, but he had stored them up on six-inch square timbers so they would not sit directly on the ground. He cleaned and painted the outside of the engines on a regular basis and sprayed oil on the inside of the fireboxes once each year. He also flushed the heat exchanger tubes with water-soluble antifreeze. The engines were passed down to the farmer by his grandfather and the aging farmer now wanted to sell the engines to someone who would care for them and maybe even put them back in service.
As the farmer showed off his engines to the guys for a second time, Randy noticed a large flat belt pulley bolted to the drive shaft. When he asked the farmer the purpose for the pulleys, the man said, “I use my John Deer tractor and a flat drive belt to turn the drive lines on the engines to insure they do not seize. If you notice, there are large oiler pots on each bronze bushing. I fill the pots and run the steam engine on a regular basis. I can run them now if you are concerned that they might not turn.” Randy said, “I hate to ask, but would you mind turning them. I would hate to purchase the engines if they happened to have seized since the last time you turned them.” The farmed had no objections and soon had the tractor in place and the drive belt installed. Then he filled the oil pots and started the old tractor. As he applied power to roll over the steam engine, the tractor began to snort and belch smoke. After a couple moments, the steam engine began to rotate and soon was turning at a fast pace. Once the farmer had powered the second steam engine, the guys were convinced that they needed both engines.
When the farmer walked over to where the guys stood talking, Randy asked, “Have you decided on a price? The last time we talked, you were uncertain what you wanted for the pair of them.” The man thought a moment and spoke his price. Randy said, “That price is quite high, but the engines have been well cared for. I will honor your price. How would you want your money? I can deposit funds into your bank account or give you dollars. I also am willing to give you pure gold.” The farmer thought a moment and asked, “Is the gold certifiable as to its purity?” Randy said, “We have smelted our placer and nuggets gold down into ingots. We can certify the gold at the local assay office and then transfer the gold directly to you as he ascertains its true value.” The farmer smiled and reached out his hand to Randy. Then he shook Rodney and Robert’s hands to seal the deal. The farmer asked, “When would you like to finalize the purchase?” Randy said, “How about right now. The assay office should be open.”
When they stepped into the assay office, the owner stepped out from behind the counter and greeted them. Randy knew the farmer was a longtime resident of the area and he had done business with the man for many years. Randy explained the nature of their business to the broker and he agreed to help them with their transactions. They agreed to the fee the broker would charge for his services and then began the task of checking the purity of Randy’s gold ingots. Once the broker
had weighed each gold ingot and documented its vale, he stamped a number into the bar to attest to its purity. Once the process was complete for each bar of gold, Randy began moving the bars across the counter to the farmer. Once the man was paid, he hand wrote out a receipt for the two steam engines and passed the document to Randy. Randy then paid the broker his fee before they walked out the front door of the assay office.
When they returned to the farm, the farmer helped them load the first of the two steam engines onto the truck with his backhoe. Once loaded, they began the trip up the mountain with their engine. The trip home was a slow adventure. The engine in the bed of the truck was heavier than any of them had suspected. The suspension in the new truck seemed quite capable of handling the load, but the engine was lacking in power. Twice, Rodney had to slow the vehicle and shift down into a lower gear to climb a grade. By the time they turned east onto the gravel road leading to the Mountain House, they had used up half a tank of gasoline.
Once the engine was unloaded in the barn, the guys took some time to inspect it further and begin planning how to connect the steam engines drive shaft to their generators. After a little discussion, they came up with a plan. They also needed to house the steam engines under a roof of some sort to protect them and the generators from the weather. They could not enclose the steam engine due to the heat that it created, but they could put a roof over it. The generators and electrical panels would need to be located in a sheltered workroom. There was one last problem to work out before they could produce electricity of the correct voltage. Neither steam engine had any form of speed control. To produce 120/240 volts alternating current, the generators had to run at a precise speed. That speed would have to remain constant no matter the load placed on the steam engines. To provide that speed regulation, they would have to design and build centrifugal governors for the engines.
As the guys closed up the barn and talked about their plans for tomorrow, Jenna walked in and stood at the workbench beside Randy. After a few minutes, Rodney said to Robert, “Would you help me get the truck into the garage for the night? I would like to check the oil and check the pressure in the tires before we return to the city to pick up the other engine.” Robert looked at Rodney, wondering his real intentions, but soon realized Rodney simply wanted to leave Randy and Jenna alone so they could talk.” As they guys walked out, Jenna held out her hand, palm up. Randy saw what she was holding and smiled at her. She said, “I have waited long enough to make love to you. My body has healed, but we will need to go slow the first time. You must understand that I love you and need to apologize to you for my words and actions. I am sorry that I spoke to you in such a manner. We are married and best friends. I should by now understand your ways.” Randy walked over to the door leading into the tunnel and closed it. Jenna took hold of her husband’s hand and guided him into the tool room. Randy hung a pair of white panties over the outside doorknob before shutting and locking it, signaling the rest of the clan that the tool room was temporarily off limits. Jenna spread a blanket over two bales of straw and began undressing. When she was naked, she walked over to Randy and began helping him undress. She pulled a small tube of lubricant from the pocket of her jeans and giggled as she said, “Brought this so we would not have to use axle grease.” When she sat down on the bale of straw, Randy stepped between her legs and tore open the package Jenna had brought with her. Then she laid back to accept his manhood.
As they dressed and giggled like two school kids, Jenna stood on her toes and kissed Randy hard on the lips. Then she stepped back and said, “I would like to request that you try not to exclude me, the one who loves you most, from your problems and engineering quests. I am not some dummy who cannot understand the problems and dilemmas you face as you work to provide this clan with a permanent source of electricity. I am well versed in the science of locomotion in all forms. I am quite capable of understanding the complexities of speed regulation on a generator. I am also capable of building a centrifugal governor for a steam engine to provide a stable speed match throughout the engines load range. You seem to forget that I have a master’s degree in mechanical engineering.”
As Jenna bent down to pick up the tube of lubricant and the empty condom package, Randy said, “Actually, Jenna. I cannot remember you ever mentioning the fact that you had a postgraduate degree. I am certain I would have remembered something as important as that.” Jenna blew out a puff of air in frustration over his comment. Then she said, “You certainly must have looked at the paperwork I have stored in the drawer under my bed at some time during our marriage. How could you have missed such a thing?” Randy stepped up to her and pulled her into his arms. He snuggled her up close and said, “I do not pry into the private things my wife has stored away under her bed. I love you more than you can possibly imagine, but I do not feel I have the right to poke around in your past life.” Jenna giggled and said, “When we get back to the mine, I will show you my degrees and give you names for my past lovers.” Randy laughed and said, “I suggest you keep that bit of information to yourself. I am not certain I need or want to know who you seduced before you met me.” Jenna giggled and said, “There was only two. I was the class nerd in high school and to busy trying to pass my college courses to fool around with the party group. My first sex partner did me in the back seat of his car at the drive in movie and then never spoke to me again. I was a virgin and he simply used me as a trophy. I hate him to this day. The other was my cousin.” Randy laughed and said, “You did your cousin?” Jenna looked up into her husband’s eyes and said, “Yes. We were at the beach and he got a bulge in the front of his bathing suit that was quite impressive. I did him on the beach after dark. I think he was a virgin, but he professed he was not.”
Randy tried not to laugh over Jenna’s words, but she was quite red faced after her confession. Randy said, “I had more than two lovers in my lifetime. I did a cheerleader in high school. She kept trying to kiss me on the bus as we returned from an away game and I finally let her sit on my lap. I quickly realized she had no underwear on underneath her cheerleading skirt. I was scared to death for a month that she was pregnant, but that never happened.” I had two actual girlfriends over my lifetime and of course made love to both of them. Then there was the fourth sex partner. I married that lover and just made love to her in the tool room of my barn.” When they walked out of the tool room, Jenna hung the pair of white panties on a nail high up on the wall beside the door. They would remain hanging there until another couple needed them.
As Jenna and Randy walked back into the living area, the clan was busy tending the plants. Britney walked up to Jenna and hugged her. Then she said, “I hope you two are all better now. I hate it when you are angry at each other.” Jenna giggled, slid her hand into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out the empty condom package. She palmed the package into Britney’s hand and asked, “Would you throw this away for us?” They heard Britney say, “Ew,” as they walked away.
The following morning, the guys headed down into the city to pick up the second steam engine. As they navigated the switchbacks that descended the steepest part of the mountain, a car pulled up behind them and turned on its flashing lights. Rodney pulled the truck over to the edge of the metal guardrail and stopped. A police officer got out of the car and walked up to the driver’s side window. Rodney rolled down the window to talk to the man and realized he was looking down the barrel of a Glock. The officer said, “Please, keep your hands on the steering wheel and your passengers need to keep their hands where I can see them.” Then Rodney asked, “What is the gun all about? You have no reason to treat us like criminals.”
The officer said, “I know you three from a run in I had with you at the gun store. I am not taking any chances with you bad asses.” Rodney laughed at the man and then asked, “What is it that you need. Why did you stop us on this dangerous mountain road?” The officer said that Rodney was speeding. Rodney said, “The speed limit is fifty-five on this road, but you cannot do even hal
f that speed on these switchbacks. Who are you kidding?” The officer moved the pistol up closer to Rodney and said, “I intend to write you up for reckless driving.” Rodney said, “That works for me. We will discuss your use of force and your power hungry attitude in front of the judge. I am certain he will want you to point your loaded gun at him, also.” The kid cop holstered his pistol and headed back to his car. Instead of writing a ticket, he sped back down the mountain.
As the guys entered the city limits, they passed the police car containing the officer that had stopped them earlier and Rodney blew his horn and waved. Rodney knew he would meet up with the young officer again in the near future.
Once they had the steam engine loaded and chained to the bed of the truck, they stopped in at the gas station and filled up the truck and as many gas cans as their ration of sixty gallons would fill. Once they had finished at the filling station, they took time to visit the railroad station. Robert had seen a fresh load of railroad ties piled alongside the tracks a few days ago. The guys had considered setting the steam engines on them to keep them up off the ground and to keep the vibrations to a minimum. If the company would sell them a few, they would haul them up to the Mountain House later in the week.
When they walked into the office of the railroad station, the engineer working there said they needed the ties in the yard to repair a bad section of the tracks, but they had six more truckloads in route. Then he explained that he could have a truck stop off at the Mountain House and deliver as many ties as they required, since the trucks came down to the city from the north and would have to pass the road to the Mountain House on their way. The guys accepted the engineer’s offer and paid for the ties they needed. The engineer made a phone call and finalized the deal. The railroad ties would arrive at the Mountain House within four days.
Universal Mass Page 21
