The Way of the Dogs (The Colter Saga Book 2) Page 11

  “I suspect Reverend Carter will be a cross for you to bear, father,” James said.

  Chapter 18

  James and the other board members finished the replacement cabin for the one burned on the west ridge at the start of the Temple War. Early in July James decided it was time to show Molly some more of the family secrets. He and Molly had Sunday dinner out at Haven and rested for an hour or so. It was cool for the first part of July despite being a sunny day.

  “Would you be up for a little walk?” James asked.

  “Sure, I feel great,” Molly said. “Where are we going?”

  “I want to show you what we’ve been working on,” James said. “We replaced the old building that burned down across the valley.”

  “It’s kind of far” Molly said. “Isn’t it half way up the ridge?”

  “If you get tired,” James said. “We can come back.”

  “Lead on,” Molly said, more cheerful than she felt about it.

  They took their time and Molly felt fine as they approached the door of the cabin.

  “So this is what you and other elders have been laboring on for a month,” Molly said walking around the small room. “It looks a little shabby for all the work you put in. Why did you build it out of old lumber? It looks about the same as before.”

  The smell of old pine lumber was strong and there was a table with a kerosene lantern sitting in the center. The table was in front of a bookcase along the back wall. Molly stood studying the bookcase and James stood studying Molly.

  “Is someone planning to do a lot of reading here?” Molly asked looking at James for answers.

  “First of all we used old lumber because we wanted it to look old,” James said. “When the old shack burned to the ground it revealed the mouth of a cave. We used the old shack to conceal the cave. The entrance was hidden behind the bookshelf at the rear of the old cabin,” James said.

  James reached under the lower shelf of the bookcase and pulled a loose nail. The bookcase opened slowly into the room revealing the entrance to the cavern. Air stirred from deep in the cave and water could be heard dripping from somewhere close to the entrance. The hushed sound of rushing water could be heard from somewhere farther back in the cavern.

  “Wow,” Molly said. “Only the directors know about this place?”

  “The directors and those we trust,” James said. “Others may suspect the secret, but this place is monitored closely. We’ve made this place kind of a shrine to the settlers of Haven and off limits to anyone not a Colter Director. Do you want to go in?” James asked.

  “Is it safe?” Molly asked. “It looks a little creepy to me.”

  “Stay close to me,” James said, as he lit the lantern from the table.

  Molly took his hand as they crossed the threshold of the cave and walked into the darkness. About fifty yards into the cave entrance, the cave widened into a large room. The light from his lantern played off the sides of the rock walls of the cave. The ceiling of the cave disappeared into the darkened heights. The sound of rushing water in the distance was much louder the further they walked into the cavern.

  “Down the path, about another hundred yards, is a small underground river, Molly. If we go down there we need to stay on the path. There are dangerous side passages.”

  “Let’s go,” Molly said. “One question though. Just how cold is it in here? I'm cold."

  "The temperature is always sixty degrees in here,” James said. “We won’t go far.”

  The circle of light from the kerosene lantern seemed to dance as they walked closer to the rushing water. The path led down to a vaulted ceiling on the right side. The stream of water emerged from the rock on one side and disappeared under a rock to their right. The path followed the water for a ways and then veered off to a different channel of the cave altogether. Another hundred yards and they came to a small room with three different tunnels all going off in different directions.

  “This is as far as we go,” James said. “It gets a little complicated depending on which tunnel you follow from here. Had enough?”

  “The cave is bigger than I thought it would be,” Molly said. “I wish I had my own lantern. Overall, I like it.”

  “Did you see anything unusual on the way down?”

  Molly thought about it. “No, I just saw you and the light.”

  “Follow me,” James said as he started back towards the entrance. As he got close to the opening in the wall for the river, James stopped handed Molly the lantern and looked around. “See anything?” he asked.

  “Not a thing,” Molly said.

  James walked towards the wall and disappeared.

  Molly walked towards where James had disappeared and found a crevice in the wall which perfectly camouflaged an entry to another section of the cave. She followed with the lantern. James stood next to a deep chasm that fell away into the earth. Molly couldn’t even guess how deep it was.

  “The fun is beginning to wear off, James,” Molly said. “Can I rest for a bit?”

  “Of course you can,” James said. “It’s just a little ways further. Why don’t you sit here and I’ll go get things ready.” James walked over to a niche in the wall and pulled a lantern out and lit it. At the same niche he pulled a lever and a wooden bridge swung out over the chasm to the other side.

  “I’ll be right back,” James said.

  He walked across the bridge and disappeared in a tunnel on the other side. After a few minutes, he returned and sat on the floor of the cave next to Molly.

  “Feeling better?” he asked.

  “Surprisingly yes,” Molly said. “Let’s press on.”

  James led the way across the bridge and down a short corridor. They turned into an alcove and stopped. Seven large steel boxes stood along the far wall. Each box was bolted to the floor of the cave with steel chains wrapped around them and also bolted to the floor. The box nearest to where James and Molly stood was open with the lid thrown back. Molly carried her lantern to the box and peeked in.

  “So this is the Colter community fund,” Molly said.

  Inside the box were gold and silver coins. It would be hard to put a value on the contents, but Molly knew it must be a fortune.

  “Where did all this come from?” Molly asked.

  “It’s a long story,” James said. “You’ve got to go clear back to when Jesse and his family first came to Haven. Everyone was living pretty much on what you could hunt or grow. The first real businesses resulted from the scavengers.”

  Those are the guys who went out and tore down entire abandoned towns and sold everything they could salvage, right?” Molly asked.

  “You’re exactly right,” James said. “They sold it for gold. They also found a great deal of gold in the process of tearing down and ripping apart houses, businesses, and banks. They became quite wealthy.”

  “But they couldn’t eat the gold, could they?” Molly asked.

  “Again, you are correct,” James said. “They needed food, lumber, millwork, and all the other things that no longer existed except for one place.”

  “Haven,” Molly said. “There was a large transfer of wealth then? I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I got to get out of this cave. I’m freezing, have to pee, and need to see some blue sky.”

  “Let’s go, but I have one more thing to show you.”

  James stopped just short of the entrance and showed Molly a section of wall you could only see on the way out of the cave. James held up his lantern.

  “Can you see the writing Molly?” James asked.

  “‘I hate this dam cave’,” Molly read. “It’s signed ‘Hattie Pierce’. So this is from the story, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” James said. “This is where Hattie, Sarah, and Lily hid when the Haskins brothers came here to kill everyone. Now you know why this place is so special to us.”

  “Not to mention the gold,” Molly said.

  “Not to mention the gold,” James agreed.

  ****

  August
and September came and went and Molly was still in good spirits. The pregnancy was going very well from what the midwife could tell. The only thing bothering her was having James under foot all the time.

  “Seriously, James,” Molly said. “Can’t you find something to do? You’re going to go stir crazy hanging around here all the time. If you need something to do, how about building me and the baby a house?”

  “Getting a wee bit testy are we?” James asked.

  “I’m sorry honey,” Molly said. “But this place is too small for us and a baby. You need to do something and you need to start soon. The midwife lives three doors down the street and I have people stopping by almost every day. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I could use some time to myself.”

  “Hey. I can take a hint,” James said. “My cousin Seth wanted to talk to me about something for the family. I’ll ride out there tomorrow. See? That wasn’t so hard was it?”

  Molly came across the room and gave James a big hug and kiss.

  “Now that I’ve cleared that up,” Molly said, “I think I’ll go lay down for a nap.”

  She walked towards the bedroom and paused long enough to look back at James.

  “Aren’t you going to join me?”

  She continued into the bedroom knowing James was right behind.

  Chapter 19

  James rode out to see Seth the next day. Samson joined him after a few miles jogging next to James and the sorrel. It was late October and the leaves were turning. There was a brisk cool breeze coming from the west. James turned the collar of his long coat up as he turned down the East Ridge road to Haven. After putting the horse in the stable, James found Seth by his steam engine and electrical generator. Seth stood with both hands on his hips staring down at the engine like it was possessed.

  “Having problems with the engine?” James asked.

  “If I didn’t know better James,” Seth said. “I’d say someone sneaks in here at night and messes with this thing just to screw around with me.”

  “I don’t know,” James said. “It seems to be the nature of the beast.”

  “You’re probably right,” Seth said. “How’s that new bride?”

  “She’s tired of having me around the house,” James said. “She strongly suggested I find something to do.”

  “Good for her,” Seth said. “As it turns out, it’s just what we wanted to talk to you about.”

  Seth wiped his hands on a greasy rag.

  “Lets you and I go get some coffee,” Seth said.

  They walked to the main house, asked Janice for some coffee and went into the back room where Uncle Paul used to sit. James noted the changes made to the room. It was obvious Seth had taken it over as his. James wasn’t sure why, but this kind of bothered him.

  “So James,” Seth said. “Do you still have that dog?”

  “You mean Samson?” James asked. “We still join up when he thinks something is going to happen. Sam is usually right too.”

  “It’s really something,” Seth said. “You two, I mean. I never heard of one of our dogs bonding with a human like that. I’m not sure what it means.”

  Janice brought the coffee in and set it on the table. Seth didn’t say anything to Janice. This bothered James too. Maybe it was why he didn’t hang around Haven for long periods of time.

  “Thanks Janice,” James said. “I know you have better things to do then bring coffee to us.”

  Janice smiled at him as she left the room.

  “James, do you know where we get the coffee from?” Seth asked.

  “We buy it?” James asked.

  “Yes,” Seth said. “But how does it get here for us to buy? It’s grown in Mexico I think.”

  “Probably the same as sugar and spices,” James said. “That sort of thing. Someone brings it up to here and sell it to people who sell it to us.”

  Seth smiled.

  “Yes,” Seth said. “It’s the same with all the trade goods we don’t, won’t, or can’t make for ourselves. Most of what we get comes up the Tennessee River by barge and is off loaded at Chattanooga. Your cousin John Boyd makes most of the wagons the freight haulers use to move their goods around from there.”

  “This is all good to know,” James said. “Not really seeing what this has to do with me.”

  Seth stood and began pacing back and forth.

  Normally Seth is all calm and easy going, James thought, something must be really wrong.

  “What’s got you so worried Seth?” James asked.

  “Coal has me worried,” Seth said. “Everything we do in Haven, even our companies in Eagle Rock and beyond run on coal. The freight haulers who bring the coal from up by Knoxville have jacked the price up to a point it’s seriously impacting our future and our community fund.”

  “I was just out there with Molly,” James said. “The chests looked good to me.”

  “There down quite a bit in less than a year,” Seth said.

  “Can’t we find a different freighter?” James asked.

  “The coal comes from up by Knoxville,” Seth said. “The freighters up there are run by two brothers. They drive any competition out of business or make them disappear, if you know what I mean. They’re a couple of really tough characters, Carl and Mike Evans. Have you ever heard of them?”

  “I’ve come across their wagons a few times on the roads,” James said. “Huge contraptions pulled by teams of oxen. They seem like they mean business.”

  “That’s them,” Seth said. “What we need is another source of coal. We think we’ve found one. It’s up in Sparta. Do you know where that’s at?”

  “Sure,” James said. “It’s about twenty or thirty miles from here. Assuming we can get the coal out the ground, how do you intend to get the coal down to Haven?”

  “You’re going to build us a railroad,” Seth said smiling.

  James sat looking at Seth trying to tell if he was serious.

  “Listen Seth,” James said. “When I was little I saw a model train set up in a scavenger store. It didn’t run of course, so I pushed it around the tracks by hand. I’d read books about trains when I was in school. I’ve walked and ridden down old rusted rail tracks. But I’m a long way from knowing how to build one.”

  James heard a knock at the door. John Boyd stuck his head into the room.

  “Have you told him he has to build a railroad yet?” John asked smiling.

  “I just finished, John,” Seth said. “He took it pretty well too.”

  “Dog gone it!” John said. “I wanted to be here to see the look on his face.”

  John came into the small room.

  “I was just going to tell James what we’ve learned so far,” Seth said.

  “This ought to be good,” John said. “Let me sit down before you start.”

  John walked over to a small bench by the window and sat down.

  “First of all, James” Seth said. You knew there were coal mines up by Sparta. You didn’t know we just bought them. The previous owners have agreed to stay on for two years. They’ll teach our people how to get the coal out of the ground. They bring out about eight tons of coal a day now.”

  “Is that a lot?” James asked.

  “It would fill a coal car twenty feet long and four feet high,” Seth said. “It’s a lot of weight to pull. John and I have a working steam engine capable of pulling two of these cars loaded with coal. So we should have plenty of power.”

  “Where are you getting the parts for the engine and cars?” James asked.

  “Mostly we’re getting the wheels, axles, and whatever we need from scavengers,” Seth said. So far no one else has any idea we’re thinking about a railroad. We’re buying up excess stock and storing it in one of our warehouses in town. We have the foundry working overtime for now.”

  “What’s this train going to run on?” James asked. “Do you have any rails or whatever you use?”

  “We have an old railroad bed for a train that used to run from Nashville to Chattanooga,
” Seth said. “It’s five or six miles from here. I think we can salvage enough usable rails to build our railroad.”

  “One advantage we’ll have,” John said. “We’re not talking about high speed trains or huge freight car trains. It shouldn’t take much to fit our train track together.”

  “How long are the rails at the old railroad bed?” James asked.

  “They were the standard length for the time,” John said. “About seventy feet long.”

  “You’re kidding right?” James said. “How do you even pick something like that up, let alone move it anyplace?”

  “You don’t,” John said. “You cut it into manageable lengths, say twenty feet. Whatever two strong men can carry a short distance. Lay the pieces end to end, bolt them together with plates and you got a rail. Lay another line of track exactly four feet eight inches away, and you got railroad tracks.”

  “What about a railroad bed? Don’t you need gravel to make sure the rails don’t move? What about railroad ties or something to hold them in place?”

  “You lay the track down an old asphalt road. They’re plenty strong enough for what we need. You can drive spikes right into asphalt, if you heat it first.”

  James head was spinning.

  This would certainly be a challenge, James thought.

  “One more question. Why pick me to build your railroad?” James asked.

  “Well that’s where it might get a little sticky,” John said. “The freighters are all controlled by the brothers Carl and Mike Evans. They are not going to be too happy when they find out we’re planning to get our own coal. The freighters are a pretty tough crowd and we might get some push back from them. Things might get a little rough and we all know you can handle anything that might come up.”

  “You proved yourself with the whole temple business, James. You’re a natural leader, and people respect you. You’re the man for the job and we trust you,” Seth added.

  “Let me think about,” James said. I’ll take a ride out to the old railroad line and take a look at what we got to do. Can I take one of the smiths from the foundry with me? I want to see how tough it is to cut one of those rails.”