Chapter 510

🦠🦠🦠🦠

Reltney McFee, many thanks for this one!

Three brothers inherited a mining claim and decided that their fortune would be found making it a working mine. One was a smooth talker, and he was assigned assembling the appropriate workforce, including engineers. The second was bright and had a keen eye for detail, and so was assigned the task of assembling the required permits, licenses, easements, and marketing the mine’s output.

The third was, well, had a speech impediment as well as being not overly bright. The first brother developed a checklist of that which would be required to make the mine work, and so brother number three was in charge of supplies.

Periodically, the three would meet. The first brother would outline the progress made in assembling the workforce, as well as ongoing reports from the engineers. The second brother recounted the permits, licenses, easements, and merchandising he was making happen, and detailed the pending arrangements. The third brother, asked how the supply situation was progressing, blandly assured his brothers, “Supplies? No problem!”

This progressed for many months. Finally, the Big! Day! was nearing. Brother number one informed his brothers that he had everybody lined up, trained up, and all the personnel were ready to go once the lights were turned on. Brother number two ticked off all the permits, licenses, easements, and other regulatory hoops that he had successfully cleared.

All eyes turned to the third brother. He, again, reassured his brothers, “Supplies, no problem!”

They wanted to inspect his efforts, themselves. Brother number three told them, “Okay, but let me run on ahead, meet me in the mine in ten minutes!”

That sounded odd, but, whatever, off Brother number three went. Ten minutes later, the other two brothers wandered into the mine. Curiously, none of the lights worked, so they stumbled along in the dark for a couple of minutes, until they came to a corner. Abruptly, on came the lights, out leapt brother number three, who yelled, “SUPPLIES!”

🦠🦠🦠🦠