Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
"To partners!" Addy toasted with the others, then nodded and stood. "It's been a good meetin', gentlemen, an' now I got me some work ta do."
There was a lot to organize, and she'd likely have to recruit Weedy to help keep track of things, but for now, a telegraph to inquire about a new wagon was her priority. Finding a driver was something she could worry about once the wagon was here. All in all, though, it was intimidating and exciting all at once to be starting this new venture!
"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
"We'll ride along with you Addy we've eaten up enough of Mister Alder's time. Sir, thank you, what we're doing I believe will be not just good for us. but good for Kalispell, at least that's our hope." Speed said.
Sykes was grinning, this was going to put his people to work, and with that, it would mean getting more ore out of the ground sooner, as they were able to shore up the tunnels and any shafts that were needed as they went along following the veins. Square set timbers were a must no matter the direction, down or across. It was safer by far than any other type of shoring.
They all were happy with the deal and the partnership all of them were going to make money! Perhaps a lot of money.
Friday, April 7, 1877, steady rainfall, 30.4 degrees, with fog and a light breeze sweeping in from the east.
Ore was in three wagons, ready to move out, but the weather had them stranded due to the mud. The gteams were housed in a barn the men had erected for that purpose, safely out of the rain. Men were working two levels down; the beams from Alders had been set, both horizontally and vertically, eliminating any chance of a cave-in, or so the square set timbering promised. Where it had been used, cave-ins had been rare indeed.
Speed Guyer had made Ty Mine Superintendent, and young Rip as Assistant, under the guidance and watchful eyes of Sykes, Apgar, and Hank Brimley. Both of them were catching on quickly to the job requirements, which included directing and coordinating production, operations, and maintenance activities at the mining site, where they also lived. Managing the miners, the budgets, and implementing and monitoring mining plans. It was a lot to take on, but Ty was up for the job. Not too different than a ranch foreman.
There was the thought that Rip needed to go to school, but it was twenty-odd miles away from the mine, and that was a long, sometimes dangerous hour-long ride for the boy to make. Hank Brimley had books that would serve to help the boy with reading and mathematics, but he also had several current mining texts, which Rip could not get enough of, digesting everything the pages offered.
Brimley wanted to talk with Speed about sending this lad on to college, once he had completed his secondary education requirements. Yes, the men were nearly self-taught about mining, mostly by trial and error, or through on-the-job tutors over thje years. A college-educated mining engineer would be a priceless addition to Guyer's future mining endeavors, if the boy and Speed were willing.
Storyteller / Shared NPC
Sykes was, if nothing else, a good judge of men. Mining was his strength, but also. The men he selected would be men to get the job done, so he had insisted on five dollars a day in pay for them. Speed had not argued the point. And production showed that Sykes was right.
When it came to Rip and his education, Sykes took his time feeling the boy out, getting a feel for what he liked what he was good at. He took him down into 'the hole' to see how he responded. Some just could not take it, Rip seemed unfazed and eager to learn. Sykes was eager to teach. All of this was with Ty Thornton's knowledge and blessing.
One evening, he and Ty stood outside the head frame talking when Freddie Sykes broke the idea, "You got yerself an honest to goodness mining engineer in young Rip. He snaps up information faster than I can give it to him, an' the boy remembers ever'thing. I quizz him, an' he knows it. All this boy needs is schoolin'."
"I know you were talkin' 'bout this and see'n Speed 'bout him. Problem is, school's an hour away on a good day. I been goin' over things with him, like numbers, an' readin', but he's better at it than I am. Boy reads everything he can lay a hand to." Ty said.
"Well, I'll say this about young Rip, I give him a project to figure the shoring for the next level. I done it already, an' double-checked 'er. The boy was within an eighth of an inch! A danged eighth of an inch, Ty!"
"Then we need to see Speed first thing. You an' me'll ride in ta town an' see him right off." Replied Ty, knowing that Sykes was right, and that the boy might never get a chance like that again.
"
"Sounds about right to me," Sykes said as he half turned. "Best see what fer supper, if there's any left."
"Should be plenty, least way that's how it looked after I et, an' Rip went ta worshin' dishes," Ty told him, watching the man walk toward the cook shack and dining hall. 'Needing to send that boy off to school might present some problems,' He thought to himself. 'You were supposed to be long gone from here months ago, not worrying about this orphan lad you got yerseslf hooked up with!' Things had not gone anywhere near as planned. There was no range war, not even any skirmishes, and here he had ridden a couple thousand miles to become a mine superintendent, though it was Sykes and Brimley calling the shots, while training him to do the job.
He reached into his vest pocket and took out the good-sized silver locket he had purchased to mount the picture he carried. Molly McGuire. She had gone to Oregon. He was going to help Shade finish whatever trouble he had and then ride west to find her. That never happened. Rip came into his life, Speed got himself shot, the job came up, and he took it. Maybe not in that order, but something like that, and then the summer had turned to winter, and here he was, standing out in the spring twilight looking at something that should have happened, but just didn't.
He had the thought that maybe it was for the best. He had nothing to offer her, and no telling if she was alive or dead, let alone still a single woman, widow or not! But he would keep the picture, a fond memory of a time that seemed long past. He turned then, slipping the locket back in his vest pocket, and walked back toward that same cook shack. A cup of coffee sounded pretty good.
The morning dawned above freezing, but not by a whole lot. The sun was rising through a partly cloudy sky. As usual, the triangle at the cook shack was ringing loudly, the men already up and ready for the day ahead, started filing out of the bunkhouse. Ty and Rip were already at the long table with plates before them, and platters of streaks, bacon, eggs, potatoes, and hot biscuits along with a bowls of gravy spread out on the tabletop.
They had helped themselves, taking what they wanted and digging in as Sykes and Brimley sat down across from them and started loading their plates, the men ate well at the Copper Queen, Ty saw to that early on.
"So, Rip, we, them two, and us are headin' fer town after we eat. We're gonna see Mister Guyer about schoolin' fer you." Ty said, breaking the silence.
"Why? I can read and write, do figures, all'a that." The boy protested.
"Because Rip, you could be a great minin' engineer, you got the smarts for it, but ya gotta have yerself and eddication and a sheepskin depolma to land them top jobs," Sykes told him.
"Awe're goin' along to verify what we know about you and what you been learnin' from us, which is a drop in the bucket compared ta what ya need." Brimley added between bites.
"You got the makin's boy of bein' one if not the top minin' engineer in the territory. Not jest here, and not jest copper, but gold, silver, all manner of minerals and metals." Ty added.
"But where? Where would I go to school fer that?" The boy wanted to know, "I can get long just fine here."
"Mine's peter out, go bust, but you already got the interest, why not make sure you got a future doin' this kinda work?" So you finish here and go on to a university for the last part of it. You invest the time learnin', then the degree pays off. Not no four dollars a day, but big money!"
The boy paused in the quest to finish what he was eating, "Serious? No joke?"
Ty patted him on the shoulder, "Ain't no way I'd joke about something' this important."
Rip nodded, he knew that Ty was straight with him, oh, there was kidding around alright, but never about work, and this was as serious as it gets. "Alright, I'm for it. You do mean I'd be running the mine?
Brimley cracked a smile, "Yep, you'd engineer the whole seebang! Let's eat an' get goin'."
"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
The ride into Kalispell went by quickly as the four of them were talking about what the education would mean to the boy, as well as the territory. The men were also well aware of how quickly Rip was to learn anything and then put that knowledge to use right away. They also knew that he would be the engineer of the Copper Queen Mining Empire if that was the direction that Speed wanted to take. And both men were not getting any younger; that Rip was the future, and they were just lucky to have had the opportunity to discover what his potential could be.
As they dismounted, Ambrose Pierce, the assayer, was just walking up the boardwalk toward the office. "Good morning, gents. I hope all's well up to the mine." He greeted as he reached the door opening it.
"You bet it is, and pullin' ore like you wouldn't believe!" Rip said excitedly.
"Well now, you know the price per ton is on the rise." Pierce informed them gleefully. "Up nearly a dime."
"Say, that is good news, Ambrose!" Hank Brimley was quick to say. "Takin Rip here to meet with Mister Guyer about his education."
"Don't let me hold you up, gentlemen. Proceed!" The assayer said, holding the door for them.
Ada Fetterman was already standing when she said, "He's in back." Ada advised, and the group made their way to the back part of the building where his private office was located, the door standing wide open. The man was busy going over mining reports from the district, he looked up, "Hello, what have we got here?" He asked looking at them.
"Mister Guyer, We're here on behalf of Rip here. Now I ain't got the right words about all this but Sykes here believes and so do me an' Brimley, that Rip's shown the apply, uh,
Appitude." Sykes offered.
"The appitude that needs polish'n and sent off ta the university ta be a first class minnin' engineer." Ty explained. "HJe's smart as a whip about the job he's doin' plus extree. Sykes and Brimley, along with Vince Apgar, who's mindin' the store, believe he's got the natural feel for it, an' the smarts too. But it'd take your help ta get this done, an' it'll benefit you in the long run."
There was silence as Speed leaned back in his chair, looking at them for a long moment, then he spoke, "Alright. What do you think about all of this, Rip?"
"Well sir, i believe I'm good at what I do up there to the mine, but this men have convinced me that to get anywhere in mining, other than using a pick or single jack, I need to go to school for it. To be a mining engineer, and I would surely like to try and get that degree that says I'm a mining engineer."
"It will be a lot of time and effort to get that done, you understand that?" Speed asked.
"Yes, sir, I do." He replied. "And I'm up for it." Rip responded.
"Alright, Rip. I'll need to get in touch with a friend of mine who can get you tested, and if you score high enough, there's a fielding school, Lance School of Mines in Butte, Montana. Away from home, I know, but closer than Colorado' school, he can get you in, now."
"But, he ain't finished his schoolin' here." Tyrell protested, thinking the boy would need to finish his schooling in Kalispell first, it appeared that was not the way it might work.
"He will finish his schooling and continue with his studies at a higher level, but with the focus being on mining. The man, Dan Lourds, travels around looking for young men just like Rip here, who have the aptitude and the potential for positions like Mining Engineer. He travels the Territory looking, so we'll invite him here to have a look. I believe he has a test that he administers." Speed explained. "This could take some time, getting a hold of him."
"I know Dan Lourds, offered me a job teachin', I couldn't abide the classroom, but he's top notch!" Brimley said in support of the man.
And I as well, Speed. You get him here, the boy here'll ace that test of his. There won't be anything on it that Rip hasn't done." Sykes stated, "Like we had coached him up on it without knowin' he was someone you'd know."
"Good." Speed said. "The idea that we have the makings of a first-class mining engineer right here in our midst is great news, for him, and us. This could take a while to track him down, but track him down we will. That's a promise! You pass the test, you'll be headed to mining school."
Rip grinned, "Thank you, sir, I can't tell you how excited I am to take that test. I never feared no test, not ever in school, and I'm not afraid of this one. These men have trained me well to this point." Brimley and Sykes grinned right along with the young man, older than his years, as smart as anyone of them. They all believed he could do this.
