Spake As a Dragon (56 page)

“
What do you mean ‘divide’
Father – the gold belongs to us, we found it!”

“
Well, we did find it Son,
but remember the bells and headstocks were found on the
Meetinghouse property and the cannonballs were found stacked on the
Masonic Lodge grounds.”

“
I agree about
where
the gold was found, but it had been lying there for
over seventy years, without us figuring out the mystery it would
still be there for the next seventy years!”

“
I know Luke, but fair is
fair. We’ll just have to figure it all out. Just think – over a
million dollars! Let’s go home.”

GOOD AND BAD
NEWS

Back at Scarlett Robert and Luke
gathered the family together. All the Scarburgs, all the Holmes,
Nate’s family, and Elsa were all crowded together in the parlor
anxiously awaiting Robert to tell how the trip to Columbia
went.

After everyone settled down, Robert
begins, “Now Luke and I have some good news and bad. Which do y’all
want to hear first?”

Someone yelled out ‘bad’ and save the
‘good’ for last. “Okay,” replies Robert, “Here is the bad: we found
the right department in the United States government where we
needed to send the gold.”

Across the room was heard the soft
moan of disappointment. “Ah gee,” said Thomas Henry, “I was
thinkin’ how I was gonna buy me one of them new ‘yo-yo’
things.”

And Stephen piped up, “Yeah, I wanted
a ‘rolling hoop’, I saw them down at the hardware
store.”

“
I’m sorry too Robert,”
exclaimed Malinda sadly, “I wanted a set of glass marbles and one
of those new baseballs for the boys, and a couple of store bought
dolls for the girls. The girls are getting too old to be playing
with their shuck dolls, it’s been a long time since the children
have had any real toys, but we shouldn’t have gotten our hopes up
after all it isn’t our gold.”

Taking the yellow telegraph response
from his pocket, he unfolded it and held it in the air for all to
see, “Not our gold huh? Yes, yes it is! That is the good news! The
government said if we found it we could keep it. The gold is ours!
It says so right here on this official telegram.” The room fell
silent. Everyone was looking around at the others with a look of
bewilderment.

Someone says, “Ours...? To
keep?”

“
Robert! You’re not saying
the gold is ours to keep and spend as we see fit,” said
Malinda.

“
Yes, it is ours, but
there is a but...”

Malinda looks at Robert dishearten,
“Aren’t there always? We really do not get to keep it,
right?”

“
Oh no, we’re keeping it
all right, the ‘but’ is we have to divide it with the Meetinghouse
and the Masonic Lodge.”

Just as Luke said earlier Matthew
jumped in, “Divide it? Father we found it. It ought to belong to us
alone.”

“
Now let’s not get greedy,
I think roughly five hundred thousand dollars will be enough for
you all to buy that ‘yo-yo’ gadget and the ‘hoop de do’ thing, and
the dolls, balls, dresses and clothes and...and...anything else you
heart desires. Now what do you think of that?”

Malinda and the rest were finally
speechless.

“
And Nate we have plenty
of land right here on Scarlett don’t see why you and Elsa can’t
build y’all a nice place right here with us. We can rebuild
Scarlett bigger and better and do all the things we need and want
to do. The question still remains: how to divide the
gold?”

“
Father,” said Mattie Ann,
“there is the Meetinghouse and the Masons and us, that’s three,
divide the gold into three parts and each gets a part.”

“
Good suggestion Mattie
Ann, then the Meetinghouse Elders and the members of the Lodge can
split their third anyway they see fit. Yes, that is the answer –
split the gold three ways.”

EXPLANATION

The next morning Robert had assembled
the same group of Elders and the same members of the Masonic Lodge
underneath the old oak in front of the Mill. They thought they had
been requested to meet to hear Robert tell where the gold was to be
sent.

Tipping his hat, “Elder Lindley and
friends, Worshipful Master Turney and members thank you all for
coming. I know you are anxious to hear of mine and Luke’s trip to
Columbia to return the gold.”

“
Ah, yes,” said Elder
Lindley in a somber tone, “proceed.”

“
Luke and I traveled to
Columbia knowing if we send a telegram from our local Western Union
office word of the gold would spread like a wildfire. We decided to
send a message from the state capitol at Columbia to the Department
of the Treasury in Washington, D.C. asking them what we were
supposed to do with the gold. Well fellows, they thought at first
we were trying to send them a ton and half of gold ore. After
assuring them we had approximately a ton and a half of pure gold, I
was told they did not want it. They would not take it.”

The Worshipful Master spoke up, “Well,
where are we to send it or what are we to do with it
then?”

“
Nothing,” answered
Robert.

“
Nothing, what does that
mean?”

“
It means IT...IS...OURS!”
Robert said, slowly speaking the words.

“
Ours, ours to keep,” said
Elder Lindley?

“
Yes, absolutely yes,”
Robert said pulling out the telegram and passing it around for all
to read, “and here is my proposal, unless you all have a different
arrangement. I suggest we load up the bells and headstocks and
bring them to the Mill. William you bring the thirty cannonballs as
well. We will take the gold inside, put the largest iron pot we can
find over the forge and then melt the bells, headstocks and
cannonballs. We’ll pour the gold up into gold bars and then divide
it into thirds – one for us, one for the Meetinghouse and one for
the Lodge. That’s the fairest way I can determine to do it right.
Anyone with another suggestion?”

Everyone shook their heads, “Good plan
Robert, good plan,” commented the Elder. “We have already removed
the bells and headstocks from the belfry, we’ll load them in a
couple of wagons and have them down here this
afternoon.”

“
Same with us,” said
Lonnie. “Just as soon as we can get the cannonballs
loaded.”

“
Fine gentlemen, in the
meantime I will get the forge fired up and ready and get the
blacksmith to make us some molds to pour the gold into for
cooling.” Waving as he walked to the Mill, “See you all
later.”

Two days later stacked in three huge
piles are one hundred eighty bars of pure gold, sixty bars to a
stack. Each bar weighing in at thirty pounds each. Robert was a tad
off in his guessing the gold’s weight there was twenty-nine hundred
pounds more. Instead of 2,500 pounds there was 5,400. At the going
rate of $30.00 per 12 ounces Troy, they had $1,944,000 of pure 24
karat gold, or split three ways: $648,000 each. Each bar was worth
$10,800.

Representatives of the Meetinghouse
and the Lodge were on hand bright and early the third morning and
each loaded their wagons with sixty bars or eighteen hundred pounds
of gold. The disposition of their individual shares of gold was up
to the members of the Meetinghouse and the Lodge.

Robert and Luke were standing outside
the Mill’s large sliding door as the wagons drove away heavy
loaded. Robert smiled, “Come on Luke, back that wagon up we need to
get our gold and get on home.”

Luke stood in the wagon and the men
from the Mill passed a bar along until it got to Robert. Robert
handed it to Luke who was making a nice pile in the wagon. When
they got to the last bar Robert turned to the workers in the Mill,
“Jethro, Rubin and Dan you all have been faithful and loyal to our
family and the Mill, without you we could never have gotten it
going. Y’all stayed even when there were times we did not have
enough money for a division of the money, we really appreciate you
and it will never be forgotten. In the meantime, to say thank you,”
Robert stopped talking, took the last bar of gold and handed it to
Jethro, “Here sell this and divide the money out among the
men.”

The others gathered around Jethro
sticking out their old, dirty hands to touch the shiny gold bar.
“Well, I do declare!” Jethro said holding the gold up into the air.
“Yous mean this here bar of gold is ours, all ours?”

You all deserve it.” Laughing Robert
added, “Don’t spend it all in once place now, you hear.”

Back up onto the wagon seat Robert
said to Luke, “Let’s go home, but stop at the bank first. There’s
something I need to do.”

Luke ties the mules to the hitching
post in front of the Scarlettsville National Bank. Meanwhile,
Robert slid a bar of gold into a burlap sack and entered the
building. Asking the first teller he came to, “May I see the bank’s
president?”

Opening the president’s door Robert
exchanged pleasantries and begins, “Mr. Scott I wish to borrow
$10,000 from your bank. What is the interest rate?”

“
Uh, 3% Mr. Scarburg, but
$10,000
! Sir, Scarlett, is worthless, and it will be a
couple of years if that, before you could get out a paying crop.
And you are recently returned from the Army, and you nor your
family have nothing of value to backup this loan, besides, this
would be the largest loan our bank has ever taken. No sir, no
sir’ree bob, can’t do it!”

“
You reckon this would be
sufficient to cover that loan,” Robert said flopping the heavy
burlap sack down on his desk with a thud? Mr. Scott slowly pulled
apart the opening to the sack, peered inside, paused and said, “Oh
my!” Looking once again, he pulled the gold bar from the sack
looked at Robert and said, “Yes Sir, Mr. Scarburg, I believe this
will more than cover a $10,000 loan! My oh my, how much does this
bar weigh Mr. Scarburg?” He said emphasizing the Mister in his
address to Robert.

“
Just 30 pounds Mr. Scott!
That’s all!”

Opening the large safe he asked, “Ten
thousand dollars is a lot of money Mr. Scarburg, what do you intend
to do with such a large amount of cash?”

“
A number of things Mr.
Scott, but right now I’m going to get started rebuilding Scarlett
and there’s a manufacturing company I need to invest in. And there
might be a few other things I need to do!”

Back on the wagon Roberts instructs
Luke to stop at the lumberyard. Robert jumps from the wagon goes
into the yard’s office and returns in a few minutes. “What was that
all about Father?”

“
Tomorrow workmen they
will begin rebuilding Scarlett. I want it returned to its previous
glory. No, even better.”

“
So you’re going to
supervise the rebuilding of Scarlett, huh?”

“
In a while, maybe, but
Son right now I want you, Nate and me to make a little trip to our
farm in Alabama. Will you go with me? I have already asked Nate and
he is willing to go.”

“
Well, yes of course
Father, if you want, but why would we want to go back down there,
the farm is gone.”

“
You and I have some
unfinished business to take care of. Nate is going to help if
needed.”

MONEY FLYING
EVERYWHERE

Back at the guesthouse Sary, Ora Lee,
Catherine and Malinda are preparing supper as Robert and Luke
return. Robert is carrying a rather large burlap sack. Standing at
the kitchen table, Malinda asked what was in the sack. Walking over
to the table Robert empties its contents all over the tabletop.
Hundreds and hundreds of 5’s, 10’s, 20’s and 100 dollar bills,
grabbing a handful he pitched it into the air, “This is what is in
that sack Mother, and there’s more where that came
from.”

The four women could not believe their
eyes, money was flying everywhere, on the table, on the floor, and
even in the soup they were having for supper. “Robert Scarburg have
you gone crazy,” Malinda said going around the room picking up
money. “If you had to realize what me and Sary had to go through
just for one of these bills during the War you would be ashamed.
Why in one minute I can pick up enough money to pay the taxes on
our farm for years. For years, I say! If Sary and I had just a
small portion of this money, we could have kept that scoundrel
Simeon LaPree from taking our farm away.”

“
Speaking of the farm
Malinda Luke, Nate and I have decided to make a little trip back to
Alabama.”

“
Back
! I can’t for
the life of me think why!”

“
I need to compensate
Doctor Crawford for the money he let you have during my absence and
to thank him personally for the care he gave my family while I was
gone, and Nate wants to visit his Pa and brother’s
graves.”

“
Oh, Robert the few
dollars that Doc Crawford gave us was a gift, he did not expect any
repay, and Uncle Jed and Jefferson are resting peacefully
underneath that red oak in the edge of the yard.”

“
No, no! I will not let
any debt of mine go unpaid! You forget, Nate has never seen where
his pa and brother are buried either.”

“
Wait! Wait just a minute
Robert Scarburg, you’re not going back to only repay Doc and Nate
to see those graves, you are going after Simeon LaPree! Tell me I’m
wrong! Robert that man is dangerous and mean; he will kill you and
probably Luke and Nate too. Please, I beg you, don’t go. I prayed
to God to bring retribution upon that man long ago for what he did
to our family, but since you, Luke and Matthew have returned home
from the War God has softened my heart. I do not think of LaPree
any longer. I cannot lose you and Luke now.”