Woodcutter's Revival (5 page)

“It seems we do not grow as people unless we have gone through some adversity. About peace, I am not torn by the doubt of whether I should be some other place or doing something else. Happiness to most people is either the hope they hold for the future or pleasant memories of the past. True happiness can only come from living in the present.”

Stewart reluctantly had to excuse himself to begin supper. He had plenty to think about while he was preparing the meal. Somehow, he knew these thoughts would be like a star on which he would guide the course of his future. He would never be able to reach out and touch the star, but most of the time, he would be able to look up and see if he was going in the right direction toward it.

Chapter Five

B
ack in Discovery, Raymond had been working in the mines for almost three weeks. Although he did not like the work, every time he entered the mine shaft he felt less assured that he would ever leave Discovery. Even though he had sincerely planned to travel on to Wellspring he could not dismiss the haunting feeling that these mountains would be his home.

The miners worked five days for approximately ten hours a day, while working only six hours on Saturday. They rarely thought of their lack of free time. There was not much to do in Discovery. If there was anything to do, there was no money to do it.

All their clothes and supplies were purchased at the general store owned by Mr. Thomas. The people did not use real money. They used what was called the “scrip” system. Mr. Thomas had minted tokens of silver that were of about eighty percent of the volume of silver compared to the actual government coins that were in circulation at the time. That way, there were fewer temptations to take the silver tokens to Wellspring to convert into actual purchasing power.

Thomas owned all the housing in town. People paid rent with the silver tokens. This arrangement did not seem bad because, in town the tokens had enough purchasing power to live comfortably – just comfortably enough to not have time or energy to think about moving on. There was no comforting for the sickness – the malady from breathing the damp air filled with dust.

Oh, mountain air was clean and dry, but the air inside the cool caverns created humidity. The humidity was also a byproduct of men breathing and sweating in an enclosed area. The air was also filled with dust – the particles that were kicked up from blasting, digging and moving granite and quartz laden with metallic mineral deposits. The dust was a cloud that choked breathing at the worst times and stuck to a sweaty body at the best times.

There was also the sickness of the soul that hung over the miner. When he was not in the mine, he still could not get the dread out of his mind – the dread of going back into the living grave and not knowing if the narrow tunnel would become an actual grave.

As Raymond worked, he wondered when he would be able to catch a glimpse of Victoria again. He had not been around women much in his young life, except for his mother and his sister. Neither of Stewart's sisters, Margaret nor Kathryn, was close enough in age for there to be mutual interest. This was the first time he felt this strange aching feeling. While feeling the pain, he wondered why the thought of her also brought so much exhilaration, as he always caught himself smiling when day dreaming about her.

Most of the miners were family men. During the early prospecting days, almost all the miners were single men, hoping to send money back to their families so they could make their way out west to join them. As the mines became more settled in the process of recovering and smelting silver, the town became a little more family oriented and stable.

Thomas had an economic restriction on the ability to leave as the railroad would not take the silver tokens at face value. Unless silver prices were down, the miners had to earn about twenty percent more to convert the tokens into actual silver value.

Beside the reduced value of the silver tokens, the overall economy of Discovery ensured the miners' need to stay and work. Housing was provided and deducted from wages. After purchasing food and fuel, and they were able to save back a few tokens, there would be a need to purchase more coal or wood for the winter, or a new pair of shoes, work jacket or overalls. Thomas even hired some of the older boys to cut wood to sell to miners, as they had no time or energy to cut their own wood.

There was rumor of one enterprise created to keep the men occupied and interested in “civic affairs” when the gambling and liquor would not dull the pain or provide sufficient distraction. This type of enterprise was neither sanctioned nor prohibited by Mr. Thomas or the local church. It temporarily provided for companionship and comfort for the minors. Although everybody worked and did what they could, the only person who could accumulate wealth was Edward Thomas.

There was still the need to hire drifters who would work long enough to save money for train fair. Most of the people passing through were in search of something greater than spending their lives on the side of a mountain and working for somebody else. They were headed for Wellspring, which was just beyond the mountain range and down the river valley which flowed from north to south. Those who could afford the fare caught the train down. The spur line had been connected from Junction to end at Discovery. Those who could not afford train fare endured the walk down.

Raymond was beginning to wrestle with a decision to board at the inn, or move to the boarding house. He could also opt to rent a small house from Mr. Thomas. He did not like the idea of sharing a room with strangers, which might be included in the reduced price at the boarding house. He could still eat two of his meals each day at the inn, included in the price of his board, if he opted for the inn's monthly rate.

Renting would also mean paying extra for his third meal each day, skipping a meal, or doing some cooking on weekends, as he packed his lunch every day he worked. He was not quite convinced he was ready for that. There was also Daryl to consider in the mix, but he was not sure how long he could count on Daryl staying in town. Why had he been so easily swayed from his earlier determination to stay in Discovery for only a short time?

He decided he would ask Daryl if he wanted to share a room and split the costs at the inn. He found himself wondering how he had gotten so close to Daryl in such a short time. It seemed they had so many similarities such as background, age, temperaments and interests. He would ask him at supper.

After his shift ended for the day, Raymond returned to his room and washed his face and hands as best he could. Even after washing in the basin there was a residue of a mixture of granite and quartz dust, and silver ore that clung around his nostrils and gave his face a blackened appearance. The towel he used, although white, had black streaks and smears.

He was hungry tonight, more so than usual. The physical labor was beginning to catch up with him. The energy of his youth enabled him to find a reserve to recover during the first few weekends, and he was in good condition from farm work and the walk up. Any stored energy he was able to find was depleted with five and one-half long days of work with insufficient intervals of rest. His joints ached, too. He wished it were Saturday night so a hot bath would help soothe the pain and he would have an additional day of rest to partially restore his energy level.

As he found a table in the dining room he glanced, with hopeful expectation over to the alcove. Daryl was already seated and said, “Don't worry. I saved the best seat in the house for you.”

Raymond, again, subconsciously glanced over to the alcove. Most evenings Victoria and Mr. Thomas dined earlier than the end of the shift. Tonight, though, there she sat. He gave his best effort to appear as if he did not notice her. He would sneak sly glances in her direction that would not be noticed as glances if she were not looking. He found that as he sat there, the glances became more frequent and longer in duration.

Either way, he felt himself blushing and anyone in the room would be able to perceive the reason. At one point he was able to, very nonchalantly, glance out of the corner of his eye. It was difficult to determine through his peripheral vision, but from Mr. Thomas' posture, he was sure they were discussing him. He wished he could have been invisible so he could go near and eavesdrop on their conversation.

Recomposing himself, Raymond said, “Daryl, there is something I want you to consider. How would you like to share a room at the inn? It would be nicer than the boarding house, but cheaper than rooming alone. ”

“Sure! But I thought you weren't going to stay.”

“Well, since I am not sure, the inn might be the best temporary solution.”

“Temporary, as in you leaving or maybe trying to share a place with someone else in the future?” Daryl grinned as he glanced over to the alcove.

Raymond could not believe Daryl had broached the subject or had been able to detect his secret desires – so secret that he had not even admitted them to himself. But now he was happy the subject had been broached. He could not deny how he really felt.

Supper finally arrived, so he diverted their attention, at least outwardly, to the food. As Mr. Thomas passed his table to exit the dining room, Victoria smiled a pleasant smile in his direction. He felt uneasy as the brief moment their eyes met, seemed like an eternity. As uneasy as he felt, he could not look away. After she had passed, he sat awkwardly, with a silly grin on his face, staring at the door, forgetting about his hunger or his food.

Finally, the trance broke and he began eating. He felt embarrassed as he looked around the dining room. The other patrons attempted not to appear to notice, and be observed watching him in amusement and amazement. Raymond finished his supper, thanked the waitress and bid good evening to all. There was no use in attempting to downplay the entire scenario. He knew any effort to minimize the situation would only amplify the obvious to the observers.

As he returned to his room he felt the solitude and the emptiness the sparse setting seemed to reveal to his soul. He had felt homesickness, but this was the first time he realized what it was to feel loneliness. He reclined on his bed for a while, thinking and finally drifting to sleep. Thoughts of Victoria were filling his every waking and sleeping moment. Seeing her had not brought any relief, only intensification of the condition.

As he began to dream, he saw her walking toward him in a white gown, carrying a bouquet and wearing a veil. He awoke in a cold sweat. The excitement of such unexpected happiness quickly turned into despair as he realized the cold, dark emptiness of the room. Although fatigued, now he could not go back to sleep. He tossed and turned. The harder he tried to sleep, the wider awake he became. “How could she ever be attracted to me?” he thought. “Her dad owns this town. I am a stranger here. She knows nothing about me except that I needed a job when I went to work in her dad's mine.”

Once he finally drifted off to sleep again, morning came quickly. As Raymond arose, he felt as though he had not slept at all. Raymond lit the lamp by his bed. As he regained his conscious thoughts, he said to himself, “It's only Thursday. The week is only half over.”

He also reasoned, “If I am going to leave after a month, like I planned, that would be a week from tomorrow. Oh well, I am more than half way through.”

Raymond had been in the shaft for about two hours when he heard the alarm. All he knew about the alarm was it meant there had been trouble in one of the tunnels and get out as quickly as possible. The community was situated in such a way that everybody could hear the whistle – similar to a locomotive whistle with a longer blast and shriller.

The whistle was mounted on the steam engine which drove the conveyor system. The ominous sound shocked Raymond as he had never heard it before. Once he realized, by the duration of the blast, that is was the warning, the sound became extremely annoying.

As he found his way out of tunnel number two, he could see dust still settling around the entrance of tunnel number four, the most recent shaft to be dug. There was a crowd of miners gathering around the semi-sealed opening. Some of them, like him, were from the crew of tunnel two. Most of them came from the other shafts or the smelter. There seemed to be some commotion and disbelief as people began to define the situation and determine a course of action. Raymond stopped beside one of the onlookers, “What happened?”

“The shaft collapsed. There are still two in there.”

Then the foreman, Mr. Peters began organizing the onlookers. He told them to form two lines. The people nearest the opening began to hand rocks and debris to the person next to them and so on, down the line. This method seemed to be the best method to clear the debris in the fastest manner possible. Raymond, noticing that a great amount of the debris consisted of small rubble, began looking for a shovel and a wheel barrow. He also enlisted the efforts of Daryl, next to him, to grab the second shovel.