Woodcutter's Revival (10 page)

As the train began to roll Raymond stowed his suitcase in the overhead rack and settled in to get comfortable for the six hour ride. As he glanced back toward the direction of the mining office, standing in the alley was Victoria waving goodbye and smiling. His heart leaped in his chest as he waved back.

After waving, he noticed a gentleman sitting in the seat across and facing his. The man wore a dark wool suit with a tie of smooth texture and a floral design. The tie might have been silk, but Raymond would not have known since he had never seen a silk tie. Raymond also noticed a watch draped from the man's vest pocket to a loop on the vest. Raymond thought back to how his father's watch was worn in his “fifth” pocket of his dungarees as he never had a vest to wear and display his watch chain. Besides that, his fathers' watch was adorned with a braided leather strand rather than a gold chain.

Finally, the train was progressing beyond the Discovery town limits and proceeding down the mountain pass. Raymond stared out the window. The gentleman across from him began a conversation. “So, you're going to Wellspring. Ever been there before?”

“No. This is my first train trip. I have never been this far west.”

“So, you're going down for some training? You mean Old Thomas is going to release some money to improve a mining process, and he is not the one going for training?”

Raymond was taken off guard. He was surprised to hear someone call Mr. Thomas anything other than Mr. Thomas. He also wondered how this stranger knew his plans. It was almost as if he were showing off that he knew something about Raymond, while Raymond had no inclination who he might be. Raymond also wondered if it might be a test to see if he would defend Mr. Thomas or eventually report back to him.

“Oh, I'm sorry. Forgive my lack of manners. I'm Robert Conner. I work with old Ned.”

Raymond had never heard anybody call Mr. Thomas “Ned” before. Raymond said, “Weren't you at breakfast in the inn this morning? You don't live in Discovery do you? What do you do for the mines?”

“Whoa, I object,” said Mr. Conner, jokingly to ease Raymond's tension. “In court, I only have to handle one question at a time, and I usually ask the questions. I am chief prosecuting attorney in Wellspring. Before I became prosecutor, I was with Adams, Bailey and Conner. It is pretty bad when your name begins with a “C” and you are still listed last among the partners.”

Raymond looked a little puzzled. This guy could talk.

“I represent Thomas Mines, mostly on mineral rights and mining claims. I'm also an investor and general trouble shooter. It used to be easy. A miner simply staked a workable claim and the square footage was his. As miners began to tunnel deeper into the hills, adjacent boundaries had to be determined including the imaginary vertical division between the claims.

“Then the miners wanted to organize. They have even revolted, held strikes and caused riots in the coal mines. So now I have to keep up on who the organizers are and where they are working. We've been able to keep them out of Discovery, because there's nothing else up here for them.

“They stand out in the community. The only way they can work is to get a job and infiltrate the mine, working from inside. So, I also have to keep contact with the Pinkertons, just in case. When you need them, there's no time to locate them and get them moving. You need them on the next train up.”

Raymond had never experienced anything like this conversation. He began to feel as if Mr. Conner was watching his reactions to determine if he was with the Thomases or a possible infiltrator. Raymond could not define it, but he had a strange feeling the jovial multi-directional conversation was a professional, practiced means of lowering a person's defenses to obtain more information and observe reactions. No doubt, it was second nature for a man in Mr. Conner's position. Was it a coincidence that he was on this train, sitting directly across from Raymond and engaging in a conversation?

Raymond decided to talk about what was really on his mind and change the subject. “Have you met Miss Victoria?”

“Oh yes. She is a fine young lady. Anybody of her stature who can deal with the old man surely has pluck.”

“I've never seen such an amazing creature as her.”

“Boy, you've got it bad. I think your condition might be fatal.”

Raymond, a little embarrassed that he could so easily and obviously reveal his condition to a total stranger, acknowledged, “Possibly. Possibly.”

To once again ease the tension, since his first tack did not work, Raymond offered, “I'm going to the Mining Institute. Mr. Thomas wants me to learn about the use of steam for drilling and hammering.”

Conner burst out again, “Old Thomas is going to finally get the mines into the Steam Age.”

Raymond, smiling with a puzzled look, acknowledged the statement with a forced smile. Conner smiled back with a smile that revealed he must have been proud of his observation. “It sounds as if you are moving right into Thomas Mines. This doesn't have anything to do with Miss Victoria, does it?”

Now Raymond grinned as he knew more than he was saying about the subject, but said nothing. Conner continued, “The man who ends up with her will be very lucky and very unfortunate. She'll be a wonderful catch, but I'm afraid her old man will be a package deal for a while. One would certainly find it challenging, at best, to be his son-in-law.”

Raymond just smiled dreamily as he shook his head at the thought. Although Raymond might have thought to the contrary, he had only seen Mr. Thomas on his best behavior to this point. There would be time in the not-too-distant future, when he, like everybody else who had been around long enough, would see the other side of Mr. Thomas. The two passengers continued in small talk for a while. Conner took a sip from his pocket flask and offered one to Raymond. Raymond gracefully declined. Pretty soon, Conner drifted off to sleep.

Raymond was happy for the opportunity to take in the scenery. He had never seen such high bridges through the mountain passes. The first two times they crossed a trestle, he held his breath as he could see nothing below the train to suspend it in what appeared to be mid-air. He pulled some lunch that he brought from the inn and had placed in the leather courier.

Most of the spur lines at this time did not yet have dining cars. Raymond continued to watch out the window for the afternoon, listening to the gentle and rhythmic clatter of the wheels hitting the expansion joints on the track. He also enjoyed the gentle side to side swaying of the train as it reached its top speed of about twenty miles for every hour traveled.

Dusk came early and he watched as the sun going over the mountains cast a brilliant violet hue. After sundown, the porter lit a lamp near Raymond's seat, so he began to read. He dozed off for a while. He woke as the train began a downward slope and changed the rhythm of clattering which had lulled him to sleep. As he awoke, he looked to the southwest as the train began to go down a grade of what seemed to be the steepest descent of the day.

There in the distance, the heavy sky of late autumn reflected the lights of Wellspring. He could not pull himself away from the window as he watched. He could see the town drawing nearer and beginning to take a definite shape as the train descended down the switch-backs. For a while the town would be on the right and then the train turned to the other side onto a new switch-back going in the other direction. Then Wellspring would be to his left.

The train continued until they proceeded through tent towns, in which the tents had wooden bases and a canvas top. The streets were in random order, of maybe disorder. Whenever possible, planks were placed to offer make-shift sidewalks. They soon began to pass through areas which appeared to be recently constructed wood frame houses, office buildings, stores, hotels and saloons. The only establishments that appeared as if they were still open for business were the saloons. Occasionally, a hotel would have the foyer lights on. He began hoping there would be a hotel near the depot once he arrived in town, as he did not have a reservation until Sunday night.

He was amazed how quickly the train passed through town. He watched as any pedestrians or horse drawn carriages had to wait for the train to cross the streets. They were now passing mostly brick buildings that looked as if they had been standing for years. He figured this was the center of the city. Soon, the conductor said, “Next stop, Wellspring.”

As the train screeched to a stop, Raymond gathered his things, said, “Good-by, it was nice to meet you,” to Mr. Conner and shook his hand. He followed the other passengers from the train to the depot and out into the street. There, across the street was a hotel with what appeared to be a casino in the lobby. The place was as busy as mid-day. Reluctantly, Raymond entered the Golden Nugget and asked for a room. By now he was worn out and did not want to look for a quieter setting. The clerk asked if he just wanted a room or anything else. Raymond, with a puzzled look said, “No, just a room.”

Sunday morning came and Raymond was up early. He had some important things to accomplish. He had to find out how to get to the Institute and find his hotel in which Victoria had booked a room. He did not know how long they would hold his room and he did not want to have to find a room further from the Institute. Secondly, he wanted to retrace his steps through town. When he and Stewart agreed to meet at the “edge” of town; did they mean the new shanties in Tent Town; the newly constructed boarding houses and commerce in the wood frame area; or the established brick and mortar central city?

He figured his best bet would be to go the greatest distance in which he could perceive the visible signs of the trail, as it would be obscured by buildings, trees or foothills. He almost wished he could have come in to town by the light of day. That way he would know what the trail looked like coming through the pass with visibility from the train. These were details they could never have foreseen in their planning.

He obtained directions from the desk clerk at the hotel and set out. As he started in an eastward direction, he found an interesting restaurant to get some breakfast. After eating, as he was walking, he noticed the trolley cars proceeding down the tracks in the middle of the street.

After asking for directions, Raymond found himself seated comfortably aboard one of the cars, heading in the general direction of the Mining Institute. As he rode across town, he drank in all the sights and attempted to keep his bearing, so he would later be able to get around on his own. After finding the Institute he checked into his hotel and placed his things in the room.

The next plan was to travel back across toward the trail head and begin to look around town in an effort to locate Stewart. Raymond rode the trolley back to the end of the line. Then he walked several blocks. After an hour's walk, he reached an area in which the wood frame buildings began to be outnumbered by tents. He visited several stores and hotels.

At the establishments that had notes and cards on make-shift bulletin boards, he left notes to Stewart. The bulletin boards had a wide variety of notes on them, some fresh and others were so old the writing had long since weathered off. People did not bother taking the old ones down, they just pinned or tacked new ones over the old. After asking around to gather any information about Stewart or where a young man might go to in town, he started back to his hotel.

Raymond enjoyed the opportunity to learn at the Institute. The two weeks flew by. As Raymond spent his last night in town he reflected back on the trip. He thought Mr. Thomas would be impressed, if not a little threatened by what he had learned. It made him feel a sense of satisfaction that a man who had gained all that Mr. Thomas had gained, might be a little intimidated by him – at least by his newly acquired knowledge.

He also wondered if Victoria would be proud of him and if she would tell him if she was proud. Finally, he thought the men might respect him, or at least respect his newly acquired knowledge. Even though he had not found Stewart, he considered it a good trip.