Wanted: Engineer (Silverpines Series Book 11)

by George H. McVey

  “So tell me Jeremiah, what was it you needed to see me about?”

  “Mister Ryder, I need to take a leave of absence from the mine for a while.”

  Nathan looked at him. “I see. May I ask why?”

  Jeremiah wondered what he should say. In the two weeks, he’d gotten a return letter from Maude saying she had actually been looking for a husband and like a lot of the women in town, she’d even went so far as to put an ad in a paper called the Grooms Gazette. But after getting his letter she’d stopped her advertisement. Because she too wondered often about what if they’d courted. Did he tell his boss it was personal or did he tell him what was going on? He’d always been treated well and, truth was, Nathan and Justin Smythe were only a few years older than him and had been like big brothers to him. So he decided that he would just be honest with the man. “I need to go to Silverpines, Oregon.”

  Nathan looked at Smythe. “Now that’s interesting; why?”

  Jeremiah was confused, it seemed like Nathan and Justin knew about Silverpines. “I grew up there and an old friend could use my help.”

  “I see, well that’s interesting. Did you know, Mister Henderson, that I happen to have a business interest in Silverpines?”

  That was shocking news. “No sir, I don’t believe I did.”

  “I just learned it recently myself. It seems I own part of Pike Mining Consortium whose mine collapsed during their earthquakes. Do you know about that?”

  “Yes sir. I know about the mine and the collapse. The friend I need to go see is close friends with the owner of the largest share of that mine and my pa was the one who helped open the mine when your Grandfather and Mr. Pike decided to open it.”

  “So you know Betsy Sewell then?”

  Jeremiah nodded. “Sort of, I mean we were kids. She was a friend and not married, but yes.”

  “Then I say we pack a bag, Mister Henderson, because we’re heading to Silverpines in the morning. Seems a minor investor has decided to take advantage of Mrs. Sewell and her lack of business or mining experience. Justin and I were just talking last night about going up there to give her a hand dealing with the man who is demanding she open the mine. Since you need to go see your friends, and I assume wanted to help them with some mining problem, I’ll just pay you to be my expert on the mining side of things. From what I understand there is need for a mine engineer to help reopen if we decided to go that way. Does that interest you?”

  Jeremiah decided he should be as open as he could with his boss. “Yes sir, it does. But you should know that the friend I’m going to see is a young woman whom I intend to court.”

  The older man rubbed his hands together “Ah, romance and adventure. No wonder my Callin’s been going crazy the last few days.”

  He clapped Jeremiah on the back. “Then get packed, Henderson. I’ve already sent a wire saying my private Pullman is leaving for Silverpines in the morning. We’ll get you a chance with your young lady and get Mrs. Sewell and my business back in working shape.” He looked at his lawyer. “Justin, you and George dig into this Willard Francis Lunsford, I want to know everything about him before I meet him.”

  Justin nodded, “I can do that Nathan. I’ll have a messenger bring what I find to you in Silverpines.”

  “Good, then let’s go to Silverpines. Raise a mine from the dead, win the girl’s hand in marriage and kick some slimy businessman’s butt. Not necessarily in that order! What do you say, Henderson?”

  Jeremiah nodded. “Sounds like a solid plan to me, Mister Ryder.”

  “What have I told you about that, Jeremiah?”

  “Sorry Boss.”

  “Better; see you in the morning.” The Marshal smiled. “This is gonna be fun. I can’t wait!”

  Two

  Maude was all smiles. Betsy and she both had received telegrams just the day before. Betsy actually had two; one she thought was good news and one she thought was bad news. Betsy’s first telegram had come yesterday morning early and it was from Willard Francis Lunsford stating that he’d found one Lucius Fagan, an expert at reopening collapsed and worn out mines, and that he and a private security force would be arriving today to begin opening the mine. The audacity of the man to think he could tell Betsy who would open her mine had angered her and sent the baby into a state, making her sick. But then later both she and Betsy had gotten telegrams. Maude’s was from Jeremiah and his stated: “Will arrive in Silverpines three days with help. Stop. Expect to be courted. Stop.” Betsy’s was from Nathan Ryder and said: “Arriving Silverpines in three days with Engineer. Stop. Allow nothing until I arrive. Stop.”

  So, in just two more days Jeremiah would be here and he had stated he intended to court her. That thought made her smile. She wondered what he looked like after all this time? Would he be tall? Handsome? Fat? Would his blond hair still cover his head, or like some other men she knew, would he be going bald? Would the reality of his kisses live up to her daydreams of them? She blushed at the direction her thoughts were going, and she thought the Howard sisters would be appalled if they knew what she was thinking while walking down Main Street. She quickly raised her parasol and took a few deep breaths to cool herself before anyone saw her in such a state.

  She was on her way to the mercantile for Betsy. She wanted to let Mister Cutler know that his famous cousin was heading to town. As she entered the store she saw a man in a slick black buggy, surrounded by some of the hardest looking armed men she’d ever seen, stop in front of the livery. She wondered about the short heavyset man who was quickly giving orders to the men around him. What business did he have in Silverpines? She’d have to remember to swing by the jail and let Alexzander know what she’d seen. With all the swindlers and conmen that had made their ways through Silverpines, the women had become quick to inform the town marshal of men like those that just arrived.

  She entered the mercantile and the bell announced her arrival.

  “Good afternoon, Miss Jones. How can I help you today?”

  “Good day, Clay. You were exactly who I was looking for.”

  “Well then, it’s a lucky thing for you that I’m here. What can we at Silverpines Mercantile do for you today?”

  “Oh I don’t really need anything, though I think I will take some ginger tea. I’m sure Betsy will need it before this is all said and done.”

  The shopkeeper laughed. “Yes, with all the grooms coming in Millie has me ordering it by the case. She thinks when the snow comes this winter we may need an extra amount of it.”

  “The way things are going around here I don’t doubt it. But that wasn’t really the reason I stopped by. Betsy asked me to pop in and let you know that she got a telegram you would find interesting.”

  The older shopkeeper looked at her with a curious expression on his face. “Oh?”

  “Yes, it seems your famous cousin will be in town in two days. She thought you might like to know that Nathan has some business to conduct with her and informed her he’d be here in two days’ time.”

  The man smiled. “Now that is good news. Do you know if he’s bringing Grace and the children with him?”

  “His telegram was short and to the point, I’m afraid, and didn’t mention them.”

  The man just waved the lack of information away. “No worries, I was just curious. My children will love seeing him again and I wanted to introduce him to the rest of the family.”

  “It turns out that he owns a percentage of the mine and with his knowledge Betsy wanted his opinion on what that Willard Francis Lunsford is asking her to do. That man had the gall to tell her he’d hired her a Mine Engineer and Security Force to reopen the mine.”

  Clay looked at her and then moved around the counter. “Yes, that Francis guy; he isn’t what he seems, is he?”

  “I don’t know. He had the proper papers.”

  “Hmm, I’ll talk to Nathan about it. But it will be good to see my second cousin again. Last time was before my Lucy passed.” Clay took her by the elbow and led her deeper into
the store. “I can’t explain what I’m going to ask you, Miss Jones, but would you mind going to the back room and staying out of sight until I deal with the men about to enter my store?”

  She was slightly surprised but knew that Clay always had a reason for everything he did. “No matter what you hear, stay back there until I come get you, please.”

  “Of course, Mister Cutler, no problem. Should I go visit with Millie instead?”

  “That might be better, yes. Tell her I said to fix you a cuppa tea and you two catch up for a bit. I’ll come get you when I’m done.”

  “All right.” Her face was confused but she went up the stairs. She had just entered the apartment when there came a sound of several boots on the boardwalk outside. “I’m telling you man, Lunsford said he’d put us in charge and that little piece of fluff being offered as a wife, he’d leave to me. I can’t wait to get my taste of that.”

  She shuddered at the oily voice. She knew without a doubt she had to be who that man was talking about. But she shut the door behind her and smiled at Millie. “Your husband sort of ordered me to take tea with you and stay here until he comes and gets me.”

  Millie smiled. “Well then, come tell me what you know while I brew us some tea.”

  For two days Jeremiah got an inside look at what it was like to be Nathan Ryder. The boss was handed a pile of files at the first stop at the end of the first day. It was the preliminary report on the investor that was causing problems for Betsy Sewell. He was also informed that the man had overstepped and hired a Mining Engineer and Private Security force loyal to him. And Nathan had asked Jeremiah to look at reports of mines the Engineer had “reopened”.

  With every word that Jeremiah read the worse he felt for Betsy and Nathan. “This guy is a money first guy, Nathan.”

  Nathan looked at him and indicated he should take a seat at the table with him. “What do you mean a ‘money first guy’?”

  “There are several ways to run a mine. Just like I’m sure there are several ways to run a ranch. There’s the way I do it which is what I like to call the long view. We may pay a bit more in the beginning and make a bit less. But in the end you’ll make more because I make sure my mine is safe and my workers happy and productive, which means we bring up more ore long term. It means I don’t take any short cuts just like my Pa didn’t. We make sure the mine is as safe as we can manage and as productive as it can be.”

  “Right, I get it. Less chance of an accidental collapse or the miners revolting for bad food, pay or conditions.”

  “Exactly. Then there is the strip it quick way. It’s hardest on people, working them round the clock. Get in, dig fast, strip out everything you can get and get out or hire new workers as the current ones die off or leave. I’m not a fan of that way, either people get hurt or occasionally management and owners get killed.”

  “Right; you beat a wild bull long enough, you’re gonna get the horns.”

  “Yes, to continue with the ranching analogies.”

  Nathan smiled, “And the ‘money first way’?”

  “It’s a lot like the quick strip method only more dangerous to the workers. A lot of reclaimed mines end up being run this way. Go in with shoddy equipment and undertrained or untrained workers, drive them with overbearing security and cut corners on safety like shoring up, and focus on making your money first and hope you get what you want before disaster strikes and disaster will strike. Silverpines doesn’t need that kind of mining after what they just went through. Losing the mine a second time would be the end of mining in the town and maybe the end of the town. This Lucius Fagan guy he hired, every mine he’s reopened has had a disaster within months of his leaving. Mostly because he goes in, takes short cuts to get back up and running, then he and his security hire untrained replacements and leave a dangerous mine in the hands of men who shouldn’t be running a mine to begin with. But what do they care? They’re off to the next job before the fallout comes and with a hefty bonus for bringing in money quickly.”

  Nathan looked at Jeremiah. “And you think that’s what this Lucius Fagan is?”

  “Boss, he’s reopened or restored five mines in five years. I guarantee you he’s told this Lunsford he’d have his investment back to him plus his promised increase in a year. Which means he’ll have no choice but to cut corners and create a dangerous situation.”

  “And you wouldn’t do that?”

  Jeremiah shook his head. “No, you lost a whole mine here. Just guessing but with two cave-ins in two days you’ve lost 90% of the mine or more. On top of that there will be health concerns when reopening the structure and removing remains. Both to be respectful and to work with doctors to make sure the dead bodies are disposed of right so no one gets sick. Honestly Nathan, the only reason I’d say reopen at all is because we know there is more ore there. But safely, it would take two to five years to get the mine back to the production levels it was before the collapse. It would be spring before I’d even feel comfortable trying to dig for ore. You need to clear the debris of the collapse, shore up the mine with stronger timbers than last time, hire an experienced crew to start and help train any untrained crew. All that before you even try to pull a nugget out of the ground. To be pulling the amount of ore that the mining records indicate they were before the earthquakes would take five years, maybe four if we were lucky and could find a good initial crew. But right now, you have none there. I mean, you could pull a few men from our four shifts and offer them an incentive to move. I know you have other mines that operate like the Goldtown mine, so pull say two full crews from each and you could have a good twelve-hour operation for getting the mine reopened by this time next year and then start bringing out ore. But that’s running two six-hour crews, you’d still be down twelve hours a day. By splitting those crews and supplementing with untrained crew you could have a fully trained, 24-hour operation in four years and be fully functioning again in five. But anything less just isn’t safe to your miners, and in the case of Silverpines, those that have already been through one town-destroying disaster.”

  Nathan listened and asked intelligent questions. “I just don’t see this investor being that kind of patient. Granted he’s an investor, it may be in Betsy’s best interest to just pay him off and get rid of him, but I don’t think she can do that right now.”

  “I doubt she could. Just the start-up costs to move toward reopening are going to be a large amount, Nathan.”

  “Thanks Jeremiah, you gave me lots to think about. I need you to work on those shooting techniques I showed you before we left, when we’re in the cattle car later. Don’t load your Colt. You don’t need to be super accurate. Just practice that steady, smooth pull and aiming center mass. If you can hit a man in the center of his body, you’ll stop him. I don’t know why you need to know how to shoot accurately, I just know you will.”

  Jeremiah had worked for Nathan a lot of years and had been around him and Nugget Nate even more. He knew if Nathan said he needed to know, then it was vital he know. So, when not working on how to reopen the mine, the next two days he was constantly working on smooth draws and steady hands. When the time came he wouldn’t fail Maude or any of his other old friends.

  Three

  Maude woke with excitement. Today was the day Jeremiah and Nathan were supposed to arrive on the eastbound train. Maude was up and did the chores that the Howard sisters still insisted she do, even though technically she was too old to be one of their “orphans” anymore, then she heated water for a bath. She wanted to look her best when she went to meet the train today. She’d laid out her deep navy-blue gown with the white lace covered scoop neck and short sleeves. She’d gotten out her white silk above the elbow gloves and matching satin parasol. Her shoes had been shined and she decided to wear her hair down but pulled back loose around her shoulders, showing off her slender neck. If there was one thing Edith and Ethel had taught her it was that a lady always dressed to make a lasting first impression, and she wanted Jeremiah to get off that trai
n and know beyond a doubt that she was the woman he wanted to court and marry.

  As she came downstairs Edith looked up from her cup and said, “Ethel, look at our Maude, she is certainly well turned out today.”

  Ethel looked her over. “Yes, she is.” She raised an eyebrow. “Where are you headed looking so sophisticated and put together, my dear?”

  “To the train station, Miss Ethel. My beau arrives today!”

  Ethel and Edith both sat their cups down on saucers and looked at her. “Your beau? So you finally made a decision, did you?”

  Maude blushed. “Yes.”

  “Well that’s good, we were beginning to think we were going to have to get involved with you young ladies and push the issue. Will we get the chance to meet this young man before your wedding?”

  Maude blushed again. “He’s just coming to court me, Miss Edith. And you’ve already met him.”

  Edith looked at Ethel. “We have? That seems strange, doesn’t it; Ethel, do you remember ever meeting Maude’s beau?”

  The other woman shook her head. “I don’t believe I do, Edith, not since the young scamp she used to hide in the cedar tree moved away all those years ago.”

  Maude smiled and knew that Edith picked up on it when she gasped. “Surely you aren’t saying that Jeremiah Henderson is coming to court you, Maude?”

  Maude nodded. “Yes, he is.”

  “After all this time. How in the world did that happen?”

  “He wrote me a letter, after he heard about the disasters, to check on us all.”

  “Well isn’t that interesting, and he’s coming to court you?”

  “That was what his last correspondence said. He’s arriving on today’s train with his boss who owns part of the mine.”

  “Well now, and what does young Mister Henderson do for a living that he’d be accompanying his boss here, Maude?”