Chapter 10

We skipped our exercises and practice for the second day in a row, in the interest of leaving town early in the morning before anyone else was awake. I’d paid for the room and stables for four weeks the day after we’d checked in. We still had two days of the four weeks left, so there was no issue with just leaving. After one last check of the room, we walked downstairs carrying the saddlebags and scabbards and slipped out the back door to the stables where we saddled the horses, added the scabbards and saddlebags, and loaded up the mules with their pack frames and panniers. We didn’t see a single person from the time we left the suite and rode out of Santa Fe.

The first hint of dawn was just a tinge on the horizon as we rode west, letting the horses set the pace in the dark. By the time it was light enough to see we were near my normal camping spot north of Santa Fe. A few minutes later we were in the trees and changing into our travel cammies one at a time while the other watched the road.

I made a small fire, so Anna could make coffee and we ate a breakfast of sausage dogs washed down with coffee. Although there was traffic on the road we didn’t see anyone who was obvious about looking for us. After a two hour break we took the opportunity of a break in the traffic to cross the road and start our large circle to the south passing well to the west of Santa Fe.

During our entire trip south, we stayed well away from the Camino Real. We pushed the animals, hoping to make twenty-five to thirty miles a day over the rough terrain. We saw no one during our trip, and arrived at the bowl camp in the Caballo Mountains at mid-afternoon, twelve days after leaving Santa Fe.

Anna was excited to be back in the bowl, but she wasn’t looking forward to the digging work. After almost three years out here by myself I could relate to her opinion, and agreed with her. We spent the afternoon unpacking our supplies and setting up camp. After supper, we talked about the gold mining we had to do with the same goal for this visit as the previous time. Anna mentioned that the longer hours of daylight would help us mine more gold during the day, but I cautioned her that it also meant less hours of melting in the evenings.

We spent the next three and half weeks, following the same routine we’d established on our previous stay. Since we were in a hurry to finish up, there were no half days off to explore. At the end of the three and half weeks, we had 5,120 bars of gold, and an extra seven or eight pounds of nuggets we could melt back at the Hacienda and store in the cave. The night before we left the bowl and started our trip to El Paso, Anna asked if we were going to do this again next year.

I smiled at her. “We’ll do it as often as we can my love. It will get harder of course, the bigger the Estancia becomes. It will be harder still, once we start having kids. Which reminds me, have you had any problems finding the right herbs to stop us from making babies, or are you having second thoughts about waiting until you are twenty-one to start having babies?”

“No, Pablo,” she said with a smile. “Getting the right herbs hasn’t been a problem and I haven’t changed my mind about waiting for babies. It’s going to take us at least that long to get established. Be warned, though! I’m not going to wait beyond then, regardless of how established the Estancia is or isn’t.”

The trip to El Paso was long and circuitous. The heavily loaded mules and horses meant we took our time. The closer we got to the Hacienda the more careful we were to make sure we weren’t seen. We skirted the base of the Doña Ana Mountains in the half light of early morning, getting to the road leading to San Augustine pass over the Organ Mountains just after noon.

We didn’t see any evidence of beef on the Estancia which meant Hector hadn’t made it back yet, and that concerned me a little. Anna and I both decided that was a worry for another day. What we did see, and got really excited about, was the progress that had been made along the upper half mile of the river land we owned. Granted, it was only the west side of the river, and it was still in the rough construction phase, but it was tangible proof that progress was being made.

We continued along the base of the Organ Mountains, until we were past Mesilla. Then we moved closer to the Camino Real, paralleling it for as long as we could before the landscape forced us onto the road for the final portion of the trip. The final night we stopped and set up camp in a deep arroyo, about five miles outside El Paso. I was a little worried about flash floods this time of the year but there wasn’t much we could do about it if we wanted to stay hidden until after we’d delivered the gold to Levi at the bank.

We spent the next day resting and letting the four mules recover a little from the journey. Anna and I were dressed in city clothes; although no matter how Anna was dressed, there was no doubting she was all woman and of good breeding. We road into El Paso just after 5PM and headed straight to the bank’s back door in the alley. The streets had been strangely quiet as we rode in and we were both beginning to get a little concerned.

Anna nervously guarded the horses and mules while I walked around to the front of the bank, where I discovered the bank was closed. As I looked around wondering what was going on, it dawned on me that it was Sunday evening. Cussing under my breath, I went back to Anna and told her what I’d just realized.

She relaxed slightly at the explanation, gave me a tender smile, and asked what we should do now. I’d thought about the options on my walk back to Anna, and told her I’d come up with four options.

The first option was to go back to the camp and wait until tomorrow night. I wasn’t really happy with that option, as the potential for flash floods got more real every day. The second option was to check into the hotel, stable the animals and gold-filled panniers, and be at the bank when it opened in the morning. I didn’t like this option, either. Even if we slept in the stable, the potential for curious stable hands was too great.

The third option was to go to the elder Greenburg’s and ask for their help in locating Levi. I knew Levi didn’t live with his parents, but was sure they knew where he lived and would gladly give us directions if nothing else. The problem with this option, was inquisitive neighbors and the additional traipsing around we would need to do.

The fourth option, which I was in favor of, was to spend the night at Raul’s stable where we would be assured of getting a warm reception, good food, and a soft bed, without worrying about curious stable hands. Anna listened to me, took a few moments to process the options and concerns, then agreed that staying at Raul’s was the best option.

We left the alley leading the mules, and arrived at Raul’s twenty minutes later. As we rode into the stable yard, a young boy was coming out of the closest stable building. Seeing us, he ran back into the stable, coming back out a few moments later, leading Raul.

Raul broke into a big grin at the sight of Anna and welcomed both of us. Anna took the lead, smiling at Raul and telling him we were beat and needed a place to stay overnight, for both us and the animals. Raul nodded agreeably, and told us our timing was perfect. Supper was going to be ready soon, and we were welcome to stay the night.

Anna regaled everyone over supper with stories of our adventures over the last five months. Without actually lying, she left everyone with the impression that we’d spent a lot of time north of Santa Fe before coming back south. She told the table we had some business at the bank we needed to take care of, and collecting some things we’d ordered before we were married, that we needed to pick up before finally getting back to the Estancia for the first time in five months. I did ask Raul about Hector, but he hadn’t heard anything yet, either.

Anna mentioned that it looked like the stables had fewer animals and asked Raul why. Raul grinned at her.

“Giuseppe’s shown up every month for the last few months with a team of five men, buying anywhere from six to sixteen mules each trip.” Raul’s smile turned to a grimace as he continued. “The town’s growing so fast that the land prices are going up. My land is wanted by numerous business men and groups, while at the same time the neighbors are pressing us to reduce the size of horse and mule herds to limit the smell and noise.” With a sad shake of his head he said, “It won’t be long before we’re going to have to either move further outside of town, or close the business down altogether.”

“Have you talked about this with grandfather?” Anna asked.

“I’ve exchanged some letters with your grandfather on the subject,” Raul admitted. “But there just aren’t enough people in Mesilla and Las Cruces to support another large stable. Jose did say in his last letter that there may be another option, but he needed to investigate it a little further before he could say anything else. As it stands right now, if I’m forced to sell, we’re going to lose whatever money we gain from selling the land on the lower prices I’ll get from selling the herd.”

I had a suspicion on what Mr. Mendoza was talking about, and the investigation he needed to do involved talking to Anna and me. Anna gave me a glance with a quick little nod. She knew, too.

“Would you rather work with draft animals or cow horses?” I asked.

Raul let out a deep belly laugh. “There isn’t much difference between them as animals. The real difference is in the training, and I can do both.”

“I might know of something if you’re interested?” I said evenly.

His eyes lit up with hope. “I’m always willing to listen.”

“The Estancia is in the process of building a very large stable operation to support our needs,” I said without elaborating.

Now he was intrigued. “How many head are you talking about?”

“Giuseppe works for the Estancia,” I responded. “All the animals he’s bought from you are for the Estancia. The mules are being used to pull the new wagons we’ve been buying, and will eventually pull both plows and farm wagons. I also hired Hector, in case no one’s told you, who’s bringing somewhere around eighty vaqueros and their families with him. They, with their remuda, are expected to arrive anytime now. By the time we are fully up and operational, I expect we’ll have around five hundred horses and two hundred mules. To the best of my knowledge the Estancia is still looking for a stable and wagon yard operations manager. Although Tom could have found someone while we were gone, I don’t think it’s likely. However, I do have to check first.”

By the time I was done talking, the whole table was staring at me in wonder. Anna gave a little giggle and said, “That’s the usual reaction the first time people got a glimmer of the extent of the Estancia operations.”

Raul’s oldest son, Rafael, asked, “Do you have a blacksmith yet?”

“We haven’t been home since the wedding, so we don’t know for sure. I suspect Tom’s still looking for one or more blacksmiths.”

“I’m the blacksmith for Dad’s business, as well as for most of the surrounding farmers and ranchers,” Rafael said. “I’d certainly be interested in working for an operation like the Estancia.”

For the next two hours we were peppered with all kinds of questions about the Estancia. The farm operations, the ranch operations, and the village of Dos Santos that was being built were all subjects of interest. Anna invited both Raul and Rafael to come and see for themselves what we were building, and where we were in the process if they were interested.

Raul and Rafael looked thoughtfully at one another and then at their wives before Raul said, “We need to talk about this. When are you going back to the Estancia?”

Anna told him we were going back the day after tomorrow, but they were welcome to come visit, anytime. We broke up shortly thereafter, with everyone heading to their beds. Anna told me she was sure there was going to be discussions well into the night instead of sleep.

We skipped our normal morning routine as the soft beds were just too comfortable! We ended up sleeping in. Once we were up and had eaten breakfast, we thanked Raul for his hospitality and invited him, his wife, along with Rafael and his wife to supper at the hotel. He accepted for all of them and Anna and I saddled the horses and packed up the mules before riding to the bank.

We rode into the alley behind the bank, where I left Anna guarding the gold and the animals. Levi was in his office and waved me inside when he saw me walking in the front door. I sat down at his gesture, and he leaned back in his chair asking what he could do for me today.

“Do you remember our original conversation about deposits and the different sizes you could expect?” I asked with a smile.

He looked thoughtful for a minute and then nodded. “Yes, I remember that conversation quite vividly.”

“The time has come for a large deposit. If you’ll open the back door, we can bring it in.”

He quickly sat upright looking to see if I was joking with him or if I was serious. When he saw I was serious he asked, “How large a deposit are we talking about?”

“Why don’t we go open the back door and see?” I responded with a grin.

Now he was really flustered and asked again if I was serious. I stood up and beckoned him to lead the way out of the office. On the way down the hallway to the back door, he gestured for one of the guards to join him. He opened the back door and I walked out to find Anna still guarding the animals.

Levi, Anna, and I started hauling burlaps bags of gold bars into the weighing room. When we were done, Levi’s eyes almost bugged out of his head as he gazed at the stack of burlap bags on the floor.

Anna and I sat down in chairs and watched as he went through the process of emptying the bags and weighing all the gold. When he was done he calculated the total, telling us that we’d brought in 25,600 ounces worth a total of $307,200 at $12 an ounce. We both nodded our concurrence with his figures.

“How do you want the money?” he asked, now fully back in his banker’s role.

“Put $30,000 in the Estancia account, and the remainder in our personal account,” I replied.

He nodded and asked if we were going to take any with us and I told him there was no need this trip. As we were leaving the bank he asked us what our plans were, and I told him we were going to check into the hotel, get a bath and spruce up a bit, see his father about some jewelry, and arrange for a few supplies, so we could start the return trip home in the morning.

We took the animals to the hotel livery stable and walked into the hotel carrying our saddlebags and scabbards along with a burlap bag each of clean clothes. I registered, asking for a suite for the night, and two hot baths in the room immediately.

On the way up to the room Anna sighed. “I’m really looking forward to getting home and not having to think twice about a hot shower or a bath.”

I laughed and reminded her that I’d said as much before we even started the trip. We entered the room followed by the expected progression of hotel maids hauling the tubs and hot water. While the baths were being set up in the outer room Anna and I unpacked in the bedroom. Anna managed to wait until I was closing the door behind the last of the maids before removing her clothes and getting into her bath.

I quickly followed her example and got into my bath. For the next thirty minutes we luxuriated in hot water and soap before the water cooled to a tepid warm brown mess. We dried off using the thick towels provided by the hotel.

As we were getting dressed Anna kept stopping and staring at the clothes she was putting on. She was still amazed at how nice the clothes looked, even after being packed in the bottom of the panniers for weeks.

As we walked to Mr. Greenburg’s we discussed the type and style of jewelry Anna wanted to have made. She finally settled on a matching set of earrings, bracelet, necklace, and ring.

Mr. Greenburg met us in the foyer a moment after we entered, and smiled at the sight of Anna. I was really starting to get an inferiority complex with everyone smiling at Anna. Shrugging it off, I returned his greeting just after Anna’s. He escorted us to his showroom before disappearing into the back. When he returned a minute later, he was carrying the usual black cloth bundle in one hand.

Setting the bundle on the counter, he opened it revealing ten gleaming pendants, bearing the same seal as our rings. Anna was entranced with the artistry but curious as I hadn’t told her about them. I gave her a small shake of my head, letting her know we’d talk about it later, before telling Mr. Greenburg they looked wonderful.

He smiled, pleased with the compliment, and pulled out ten small wooden boxes from underneath the glass display cases. Each of the boxes contained a silver chain and Mr. Greenburg carefully threaded a pendant on the chain before putting it in a box and moving on to the next one.

When he was done, he asked if there was anything else he could do for us. Anna nodded her head, and laid her bar of gold on the counter. Mr. Greenburg stared at the gold bar for a moment before raising a questioning eyebrow.

“I’d like you to make me a matching set of jewelry from the gold bar,” Anna relied in answer.

He asked her specifically what she wanted made, and she responded without hesitation.

“I’d like ear rings, a bracelet, necklace, and a ring. I don’t have a specific design in mind, but I want them to be elegant while making a statement.”

He nodded, hefted the bar in his hand, and then said, “This is a good amount of gold, but it isn’t going to be enough for what you want. I’ll have to order about an equal amount of gold.”

“Oh, no, that won’t do,” Anna said. “That gold I gave you is special to us.”

She started to turn my way when I put the gold bar I’d been carrying on the counter, and slid it towards him. He added the bar to the one in his hands and nodded his head.

“Just so that there’s no confusion, you want the jewelry made only from the gold in these two bars, and nothing else.”

Anna was starting to nod her head then stopped. “The only gold I want in the jewelry is what you’re holding in your hand. I want something I can wear without worrying about it getting bent or mangled just from wearing it. You use whatever is normally used to temper it so it’s stronger and will hold up longer.”

Mr. Greenburg smiled in understanding at Anna before pulling out his paper and pencil. I lost track of the specifics they were discussing, as I was busy looking at the pendants. Each one had the same clarity of design as our rings and was truly a work of art in its own right. When I finally focused back in on what the two were saying, Mr. Greenburg was asking if Anna was sure she didn’t want any stones set on the jewelry.

“Perhaps matching emeralds in all the pieces, my love? They would certainly look good on you.”

She looked at me with a stunned expression. “That’s too much for simple jewelry. It would be gaudy with emeralds wouldn’t it?”

“You said you wanted it to make a statement,” I said with a grin. “The emeralds would certainly add to the effect. And no, I don’t think Mr. Greenburg is capable of making gaudy jewelry.”

Mr. Greenburg had a thoughtful look on his face and was nodding in agreement with me. Anna thought for a minute, and then turned to Mr. Greenburg. “Emeralds would be nice, but I want the emeralds to enhance the gold not the other way around as is usually done.”

I could tell that he had a design in mind, and I asked him to show us what he was thinking. Taking his pencil and paper he drew steadily for a few minutes before turning the paper around and showing Anna the design he had come up with. In less than ten seconds Anna was sold on the design, and wouldn’t hear a word about any changes.

I looked at Mr. Greenburg and told him to write it up so we could countersign, and then we’d be on our way. We were out the door five minutes later with Anna holding on to my right arm with both hands still giving me one of her special smiles. I felt ten feet tall as we walked back towards the hotel.

We stopped at the bakery, butcher, and general store along the way, picking up what we’d need for two and a half days on the trail before returning to the hotel for lunch. We let lunch settle for a few minutes before going up to the room and spending our afternoon practicing our neglected katas.

We cuddled, drank coffee, and talked for a while with a kiss or two thrown in from time to time before deciding it was late enough to go down to the restaurant for a glass of wine before supper.

We were both very relaxed, having finished a glass of Anna’s favorite cabernet each and switched to coffee by the time Raul, Rafael, and their wives joined us for supper. Anna ordered wine for everyone, and we all enjoyed a relaxed and well-prepared supper.

As usual, the supper conversations seemed to break into two groups with the ladies holding their own conversations while the men held theirs. Every once in a while, the whole table would become involved in a single conversational topic, before moving back into the gender specific conversational groups.

We were nearing the time to break up the party when Raul told us that he and Rafael would like to visit the Estancia and asked what time we were leaving in the morning. Anna told him that we would leave right after breakfast which we planned on having at seven. He looked at Rafael who nodded and then told us they’d both join us for breakfast in the morning.

Less than twenty minutes later we’d seen them out the door of the restaurant and were entering our suite. Once inside, Anna took my hand and led me into the bedroom telling me we had a few days of exploring possibilities to make up for, since Raul and Rafael would be with us on the way back to the Hacienda. Anna kept amazing me with the sheer number of possibilities she came up with but, like the dutiful husband I was, I never complained.

Anna and I walked downstairs for breakfast the next morning carrying our saddlebags and scabbards a few minutes before seven, to find Raul and Rafael already waiting for us. After a round of greetings we got a table in the restaurant and ordered coffee and breakfast. While we were eating, Rafael asked how long the trip to the Estancia would take.

“It’s a little more than two days if we push hard or three full days if we ride at a more leisurely pace as we plan on doing. We’ll arrive at the Hacienda about supper time on the third day if we time it right,” I said between mouthfuls of eggs.

Raul started to ask more detailed questions about the current status of our plans when Anna stopped him. “Raul, you have to remember it’s been almost five months since we left the Estancia. We know what the plans were when we left but we have no idea as to what the current status is. We trust that Tom, Yolanda, Giuseppe, and Sofia have done their best to manage the plans and work around any unforeseen problems, issues, or circumstances that came up while we were gone.”

Raul and Rafael both raised their eyebrows when Anna included Yolanda and Sofia in her list of names responsible for running things while we were gone.

I laughed at their expression and said, “You’ll soon find that while the two women defer to Anna, they are just as much Doña’s of the Estancia as Anna is when Anna’s gone or unavailable.”

They were clearly unsettled by my use of the term ‘Doña’ for Anna, but I decided to let it pass as they still didn’t quite understand the magnitude of the Estancia and the operations we had planned.

Our horses and mules were ready and waiting for us out in front of the hotel. After adding our saddlebags and scabbards, we mounted up and the four of us started our trip to the Estancia. Anna and I with a feeling of excitement in expectation of returning home. Raul and Rafael with a mixture of trepidation and excitement at starting something new.

Raul and Rafael turned out to be very similar in that both were taciturn by nature and said little during the trip. When we stopped for lunch they started to dismount when Anna did, but she told them to stay in the saddle unless they needed to answer the call of nature as we wouldn’t be here more than a few minutes.