"Oh, well, I suppose if they are too frail to handle lace curtains, we'll just have to hang burlap," Emeline humphed indignantly, "make the place look like...well, a firehouse!" She laughed then and shrugged. "You men can design it however you like! I'm sure it will be nice enough."
Grinning, she moved to one of the rooms and looked out the window to the yard in the back. "Well, the outhouse looks to be in good shape," she commented, "I can put my lace curtains there! And there's room for a paddock for the horses, too. This place really is ideal! And after the five years it takes to quibble with the town council, we'll have a right fine fire company in town!"
Barnabas half turned, "Curtains are one thing, but I will guarantee you, we'll not be waiting five years for anything from the Town Council. We'll get a pumper and open the firehouse with or without them, but the fact is, this council is not like the ones in the recent past."
"No, far from it, they just need to have a meeting instead of whatever it is they are doing to get the business of the town done. And they are getting things done, and as far as curtains? Lace is fine, not much for keeping the sunlight out," Speed said. "Besides, they've not been in office all that long."
"True, I just don't see why there would be a problem with anything that didn't cost them anything. And you wanna get lace curtains and put 'em up, we can go ove't the mercantile, er the General Store and get 'em, not a problem, not at all." Barnabas said. "Best we have a talk with Mayor Wentworth on the subject."
"It will certainly make things go faster if we don't have to worry about getting approval," Emeline commented, "and we can set it up the way we'd like." Of course, it would be nice if the council approved and participated. "I think there may be a problem if we do it all on our own, some people might accuse us of a sort of extortion. I mean, accusing us of favoring businesses over others..."
She sighed and shook her head. "Politics will come into it, one way or another, I'm afraid."
"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
"That would be true of some, not of others. I mean to say, a firehouse with a pumper benefits the entire town, not just one family. You are five miles away, so it doesn't benefit you at all. Even Aurelian Redmond's farm is too far to be saved in case of another fire." Speed cited. "Butb I suppose that there are those who would be quick to accuse."
"Yep, 'spose you're right about that. I know that some would think we're trying to buy up the town, which we're not, just buyin' empty buildin's that we could spruce up and maybe rent out. There's plenty of 'em, well, not so many as we'd own the lion's share of the town, that's not what we're about. Especially the firehouse and pumper, it's somethin' the town needs for its own safety" Barnabas said in defense of what he and Em were trying to do.
"And, if we were to buy these buildin's and wanted to fix 'em up, we'd be hirin' local folks to do the work, surely I ain't sendin' my hands in town to do the work." And at that, he laughed. "Got me a list of places the bank owns, and I'm thinking seriously of buyin'p an' gettin' started with the renovations."
Emeline had to agree, that their motivations were 'pure', and for the benefit of the community, but there were gossips and jealous folks who would stir trouble regardless.
"Well," she chuckled, "you must admit, by buying up the vacant properties, we are buying the town. And we know that we're trying to help, people who know us know that...but suppose it was Elias Steelegrave who was buying the properties.
Now, that would be a huge problem, and...
"I wonder, if he gets wind of this, if he'll start trying to compete?"
"Truth be told, He might want to try, but who would sell to him? Or his minions?" Pike wanted to know.
"Well, he ain't about to win no popularity contests in this town!" Speed said emphatically. Which was probably true. "But when someone is selling, that seller might not be interested in who is buying. It would be about the money, or they wouldn't be selling! Like Milliagn and his stageline, it was for the money."
"Yeah, an' Elias was involved in that deal, no one knows how much, but he was there when the bidding went down." Pike put in. "Addy should'a got it, guess it just wasn't in the cards, 'course she didn't want it either."
"Strange how things work out, no matter what folks think about a sale being held, oftentimes the one you just know would want it, they don't." Speed said.
"I'm sure Addy would have bought it if she could have," Emeline observed, "but it was far out of her grasp. As for Mr. Millegan, I'm sure he would have preferred to pick the buyer himself, but once it was put up to auction..." Well, it wasn't as if the highest bidder could be turned down because no one liked them! "And he needed as much as he could get for his sister. It's a sad thing...he was a good part of the town."
It was always bad to lose someone who had been around for a long time, especially someone like Tuc, he'd been kind and generous, and hopefully the new owners would try to integrate with the town.
"And you are right, if Mr. Steelegrave offers a good amount for a property, it might be hard to turn down. At least he's out of town, so he might not be aware when new places come available."
"I would have lent a hand if she would have wanted it, after all, she took me in wounded and helped get me back on my feet when I was new here. That counts with me. But she had said she didn't want the thing she has her frieghtin' bidness, and a contract with Speed here, an' the Copper Queen, an' some other interests. So she's doin alright, an' home everyday."
"Oh, Elias'll hear about it, can't help but, with Latham an' Ashworth runnin' out there to try and get a piece of the action. But we'll get what's available that we like, like this place here. Gonna make a crackerjack fire house!" He added.
"A real need for the community, it is" Speed said, admiring the upper floor and what it could be used for, "Lot's of possibilities. Yes, sir, a great buy, Pronto. Exactly what will take Kalispell up a notch here abouts."
"There are a lot of notches to go, too!" Emeline laughed. "Every little bit helps, I suppose, and one day people will be coming here on purpose!"
Not much chance of that, Kalispell was fairly remote, even by Montana standards, and besides logging and mining, didn't have much to offer. And the snow in the Winter was miserable, no one would want to come here then!
"So, now that it's ours, what? Red paint on the outside while we wait for news on a pumper?" May as well start preparing!
Pike looked at Speed and back to Em, "How about we bring some of the boys in and clean 'er up before we look to having painted. I mean I agree with red for the outside, sure enough, but let's tend to the inside first." Barnabas said, mulling over painting before they even had a line on a pumper.
"I'll get a wire off to Dutton Peabody to see what he's learned before we start searching for on our own." Speed said, it made sense to him. "Then we can see what's out there."
"Yes, I think you said that earlier, and it would make sense to ensure there wasn't already something on the line." Pike added.
