Woodcutter's Revival (19 page)

After Michael's gentle nurturing, she realized she did not want to please her father any more. In fact, she now wanted to establish her independence. She only wished she did not have a lingering doubt that she might be using Raymond to do so. After all, it was not independence if it depended upon someone else to accomplish it. She rationalized, “I do love Raymond, though.”

That evening Victoria made supper for Michael and Raymond. She said she was afraid to ask Reverend Pharris to marry them as he might try to delay the ceremony until Mr. Thomas returned. She said she had been checking and there was a justice of the peace in Junction. She could wire down and arrange a Saturday afternoon ceremony. They could stay over at the inn in Junction, have a short honeymoon and return on Sunday, ready for the work week. Raymond had no objections. Michael was reluctant to be part of a scheme that would definitely set Mr. Thomas off again. He agreed he would go down and witness the ceremony, and return Saturday evening, but with reservations. It was a plan!

Raymond thought the next two and a half days of work were the longest days he had ever experienced. Finally, Saturday came! He met Michael and Victoria at the depot. They went to Junction, met the justice of the peace and had the ceremony. Michael shook Raymond's hand, kissed the bride and headed back for Discovery on the next train.

The next day, as Victoria and Raymond boarded the train, they saw Mr. Thomas. They forgot there was only one train on Sunday. He obviously looked shocked to see them and didn't need any explanation of what had happened. He listened for a moment and got up and stormed off to the club car. After he left, Victoria said, “He will have to get over this. I am tired of him having his own way about everything.”

Raymond and Victoria stayed in his room at the inn on Sunday night. The next day at work, Mr. Thomas acted as though nothing had ever happened. He coldly said, “Good morning” to Victoria as she started her work day. He called for Raymond first thing in the morning to come to the office. He said he checked the mines and found, in tunnel five, that the shoring timbers had crept down to five feet on spacing instead of ten feet. He instructed Raymond that he would be placing the timbers at ten feet or find other work. He said, “The days of mollycoddling these workers are over.”

After Raymond left the office, Victoria came in and said, “You have somebody who wants to talk to you.”

Before Mr. Thomas could ask who it was or what he wanted, Michael walked into the office.

“Hello, Brother.”

“Just when things seemed they couldn't get worse. You come strolling in, probably wanting a handout. I should have figured you were behind my daughter‘s coup.”

“I had nothing to do with that. I came to ask for your forgiveness and to forgive you.”

“I can understand why you would want my forgiveness, but what do you have to forgive me of? “

“I forgive you for cheating and slandering me. I ask for your forgiveness for getting so mad at you that I was contemplating on how to do you in.”

Victoria interjected, “Michael will be staying in town.”

“Alright, I am forgiven. Now get the hell out of my office! You better stay out of my way and my family's business!”

As Raymond returned to the mines, he wondered when Mr. Thomas had time to go to the mines and check the shoring unless he went down during the middle of the night. When Raymond told the workers, they objected, but understanding the gravity of the situation, began placing the shoring timbers at ten feet.

By Friday, they had made great progress with the use of the Widow Maker. They also had a couple of extra men to clear debris who were freed from cutting and placing timbers and hand chiseling. Right after lunch the men went back into the shaft. As they started drilling, they could hear the earth settling and groaning. Some dust began to sift through the cracks in the cavern. The first man out rang the alarm and shouted, “Everybody out!”

As Raymond was shutting down the compressor, Mr. Thomas arrived on the scene. The men looked at him and started walking away. He told Raymond to get them back. Raymond just looked at him, in shock. Mr. Thomas shouted, “Alright! If you want to get back on my good side and save your job, get in there and get that Ingersoll!”

Raymond, who was usually cautious, acted upon impulse. He wanted to get back into the good graces of Mr. Thomas. As he found his way back into the cavern and reached for the Ingersoll, there was a rumbling like none of them had ever experienced.

Chapter Seventeen

I
n Wellspring, Stewart found that he loved his new job. There were growing pains that were the greatest challenge of his life, but the rewards were also great. He actually felt as if he was headed in the right direction with his life and he was able to help people with their problems. When Stewart got to the boarding house that night, he had a letter from home. His mom and dad said they talked to Raymond's parents and he stayed in Discovery. He got a job in the mines and he found a girl. Stewart was relieved that Raymond was safe. He smiled and thought, “'He found a girl.' That is the main reason he stayed up there.”

James had a meeting every morning to discuss pending cases, research and investigation results and changes in available evidence on which Stewart might be working. James said, I received a response from governor Mitchells. He read the last paragraph:

“Thank you for your recent correspondence. I have considered your request. Although their methods may appear to be severe, at times, the Pinkertons provide a valuable service. They keep business producing and maintain a level of public peace and safety that might be disrupted if labor disputes were allowed to go unregulated. Therefore, I find no grounds to appoint a special prosecutor in the above described matters.”

Stewart said, “You know, if bosses and officials have to use violence and deception, maybe what they are trying to hold on to doesn't really belong to them.”

“That is true. So, that is that. I still believe the public concern that is beginning to develop over the press release might have some impact on the future. In another matter, can you be able to go out of town for a few days on Wednesday? “

“Sure, what are we doing?”

“I got a notice from the justice of the peace in Junction that a young couple wants us to come up and file an injunction against her father for unsafe mining practices, and possible child labor violations. There is also a matter of replevin or recovering property that was illegally taken from another party. Since the laws are ambiguous on this matter, she relayed her concerns to the J.P. He told her he would contact a law firm in Wellspring. We will be going up and conducting a deposition.”

Stewart was excited. This would be a chance to get back into the mountains and not have to walk the distance. He figured Discovery was a small town, so he had no doubt he would be seeing Raymond.

Edward Thomas received notification that a deposition would be conducted on Friday, regarding the injunction Victoria had filed when she went to Junction to get married. He abruptly left town to go to Wellspring to talk to Robert Connor and make sure he or one of his employees would be available for the deposition.

Stewart met James at the station. They boarded the train and stowed their luggage. “You don't mind if we work while we ride, do you? It'll be about a six hour trip.”

As the train started moving Stewart looked out the windows to see town from the height of the train window. He enjoyed the bumping and clattering, the smell of coal and wood burning, and the rhythmic rocking of the train.

When they arrived in Discovery, they made their way to the inn dining room to eat and meet with Victoria. Stewart could not wait to find Raymond and ask who he had met. Stewart also realized that Victoria was Michaels' niece and he wanted to ask about Michael. When they finally finished, Stewart asked, “How is your Uncle Michael?”

With a surprised look, Victoria answered, “Fine, how do you know him?”

“I am Stewart. I spent the winter with him.”

Victoria took Stewart and James to the one room school house which had a small attached cabin for the head master. “He lives here. He is the school master.”

“I should have known. He has always been a teacher. Now he is one officially.”

Michael and Stewart talked for an hour. Stewart asked, “What are you teaching the children?”

“I'm teaching them some classical literature like Dickens. We started with
Hard Times
and
Bleak House
. I'm also teaching them some American History. They love my Rough Rider accounts. We are doing some calculations, grammar and a little science. We get to teach them about an hour of Bible reading with discussion every day. I have them work through the answers themselves. I am showing them the difference between education and indoctrination.”

Stewart smiled a reflective smile that seemed to exude respect and said, “I studied that curriculum all winter.”

Michael continued, “Miss Victoria comes over and teaches the young ones some crafts and such for about an hour every afternoon. I take the older students to the furniture factory and teach some woodworking. I want them to have options other than just blind acceptance of going into the mines for their futures.”

Stewart asked, “Do you remember our talk about restoration?”

“You mean recovering the years the gnawing locusts have eaten, exposing the wrong, and restoring the wronged?” Michael asked.

“So, the woodcutter has been revived!”

Michael exclaimed, “Boy, I feel like I have died and gone to heaven!”

Stewart and James finally went back to their rooms to get some sleep. It had been a very long day. The next morning, at breakfast Stewart asked Victoria if she had met a man named Raymond in town. She looked down and attempted to conceal her grief. Yes, I have. I can take you to him.

After breakfast, they made their way to the opening of number five tunnel. The rocks and debris were still visible in the cavern. There was a sign that read: “Here lies Raymond. He found perfect peace.”

Victoria explained that the men had attempted to clear the mine for three days. They knew after that, by the location and intensity of the slide, that he would not have survived. From the position of the slide, they knew he took the brunt of it. They changed their efforts from rescue to recovery. They knew that further efforts might place the rescuers in danger. Reluctantly they called off the search and made the cave a tomb.

She also told them how she had married Raymond. Stewart and Victoria attempted to comfort each other.
She said, “This will change our case from an injunction to a wrongful death claim against Mr. Thomas.”

They went back to the dining room at the inn. Stewart took meticulous notes while James talked to Victoria and prepared her for the deposition. After supper, James approached Mr. Connor and Winston, who were also staying at the inn and getting supper in the dining room. “We received information today that will make this deposition for a wrongful death suit rather than to obtain an injunction. Do you want to proceed with the deposition, even though the suit has not been filed, or do you want us to go back to Wellspring, file and then reconvene?”

“No, let's go ahead and get it over with.”

“Will you inform your client?”

“We will. He returned from Wellspring with us.”

“Thank you.”

The next morning, James, Stewart and Victoria came into the mining office to hold the deposition in the conference room. Robert Connor came out of Mr. Thomas's office as white as a sheet, pointing back toward Mr. Thomas's desk and the floor. There, on the floor was Edward Thomas. He was already ashen gray, with a trickle of blood formed under each nostril.

James and Stewart ran in to see if they could help. James said, “He is alive. We need to get him to a bed as close by as possible. Do you have a doctor in town?”

Victoria said, “Let's take him home.”

The men recruited a couple of miners who were passing by the office on the sidewalk. They sent another man for the doctor. They carried Edward to his home and placed him in the bed in the guest room on the lower level rather than attempting to carry him up the stairway.

Edward Thomas was paralyzed. He could only blink his eyes. Victoria asked him questions. “Father, if you can understand me, blink twice.”

He blinked twice. It appeared he could understand her. Michael had been informed of the situation and came into the room.

“Father, I have held you responsible for Raymond's death. I am trying to forgive you, but I don't know if I will be able to do so.”

She could see a tear well up in Edward's eyes and overflow down his cheek. Michael stood beside her and held her hand. “I have decided I will not pursue the wrongful death law suit, but there is a trade-off. I am going to have Mr. Peterson and Mr. Taylor draw up an agreement that you will start giving dividends to the miners who have been your loyal employees all these years. You and I will retain fifty percent – your split at thirty percent and mine at twenty percent. The miners will receive percentages depending upon the number of years they have worked for us.”

The tears had stopped flowing from Mr. Thomas's eyes. They now stood open with a look of horror. Victoria continued, “There is one other matter. Uncle Michael will be restored to twenty percent ownership. I know your original agreement was for him to have forty percent to your sixty percent, but your sixty percent has been reduced.”

Michael objected, “Princess that is not necessary. I don't need the money or the headaches. I will be fine teaching.”

“I'm sorry Uncle Michael, I have made up my mind,” Victoria said as she looked at Michael through the tops of her eyes with a down-turned facial expression.

“I know that look. We will consider your proposal. Now I have something to say. Edward, you are my brother. I meant it with all my heart when I told you I forgave you. I also was sincere when I asked for your forgiveness.

“The stories about me and ignoring me were the easy parts. The fact that you could just turn your back on your brother, that took longer. I had things I wanted to say to you, but you wouldn't even reason with me. That is truly water under the bridge. I would like to know that I am forgiven for wanting to kill you back then.”

Edward closed his eyes for a brief spell and finally blinked them twice. For the next day, Victoria and Michael stayed beside Edward, reminiscing about his and Michaels' childhoods and fond memories of their parents. Victoria talked about tender remembrances of her mother and the good times the family shared. Victoria sang hymns and read Bible verses. During the night on the second day, Edward slipped away.

After Victoria regained composure, she said, “Uncle Michael, I couldn't have made it through these past few weeks without you.”

“Don't' worry, Princess. I'm not going anywhere. I am right where I belong.”