Having looked over the bunk house, and selected the oes they wanted, Brimley Nsd Vincent followed Tyrell, Rip, Amos and Ambros to the mine itself. They all sttod at the edge of the shaft which did not go down all that far, but to jump in might just break a leg, so they took turns being lowered to the stope. They were using torches to illuminate the tunnels on the right and left where the vein had be discovered.

Brimley and Vincent went down first to have a look and decide if this was a for sure strike. They looked at one another with wide grins.

"Rich'd be the word on this thing." Vincent said.

It seems to be growing wider on this side, lets look vat the other side an' then we can let that assayer fella have his turn, but by Henbery, this is rich alright." Brimly agreed.

"Already down here, boys. Be a tight squeeze but ya know, we're all just bustin' at the seams to know what's what here and from what you both said so far I'm a believer, even if I wanna see 'er myself." Ambrose said.

"Well crowd on in here." Brimly invited, "You'll see that Guyer done struck it!"

"That would be the way it sounds for sure. And from what I can see, hoe the vein is getting wider as she goes to where they stopped digging. I'd love to see another yard of it, but my sense is it gets wider as she goes."

"This could assay out at sixty to maybe eighty a ton!" Ambrose exclaimed. "We need to get some men on this as soon as we can. Maybe not til spring, but I'm game to come up and work with you boys, get us some real good samples and see exactly what we've got here."

Brimley and Vincent smiled.

"He's right as rain, you got yerselves a claim, an' why the man couldn't get a loan or cash partners to develop it makes no sense, less'n he didn't want it to get out." Vincent said.

"Er the fella was sickly, er some other problem befell him." Brimley added. "Now, here's a thought we now maybe thirty, forty men that could mine this stuff, best maybe we ride out an' hire us on may ten 'er fifteen of um."

"Be a grand idea to get this thing producing and off to the mill in Missoula, hundred twenty-some miles be the closest, til maybe we get one build closer." Vincent surmised. "Ain't one closer."

"Wages? What 'er aya payin'?" Brimley wanted to know,

"Five dollars a day and found." Ty said without batting an eye.

Well Mister Thorton, seems to me you won't have any problems getting good help. Last I heard they were paying four down in Nevada, about the same south of here in the silver mines." Ambros Pierce stated, having knowledge of that sort of thing. "And yes, Missoula would be the closest."

"Well then, let's get after it!" Ty said. Things were coming together.

"And git after it we will!" Brimley said. Know a feller, good with Dideshimers square set timbers, so we'll need the timbers right off. Names Sykes, grumpy ol' man, but the best at what he does."

"Sykes?" Ambrose asked, "Heard that name a time or two from the mines in the south, and you're right Mister Brimley, right as the mail. If you can get him here, well, we'll be doing just fine going forward."

"Well then boys, let's head back to town an' get this ball a'rollin'!" Vincent suggested. "An' Ty, Rip, thanks for the tour. Been a real pleasure. We'll be back with our gear an' such."

"See you then, men." Ty called after them.

"Bye!" Rip called out, "We're gettin' started ain't we?"

"Yep, that'd be just what we're doin' and by golly, I believe we got the right men as well," Ty stated.