Chapter 15

“¡Juan! ¡El hombre malo!” I yelled as Tom and I walked into his office the next morning.

“¡Dios Mio!” he exclaimed. “You startled me,” he said shaking his finger at us before reaching for a towel to clean up the small amount of ink he’d spilled on the countertop. “It’s good to see both of you again. Let me put these books up and we can talk.”

Tom and I busied ourselves getting coffee before sitting down at the small table. Juan grabbed his coffee off the counter and joined us.

“So, my friend,” he started. “I don’t know what brings you into Las Cruces, but it saves me having to send a note to the Hacienda.” Taking a sip of his coffee, he looked up and noticed my eyebrows arched in question. “As hard as it is for me to believe, we’ve finally run out of family and friends we trust. Those who wanted to come are all here and there aren’t enough of them to get everything done. As it is, I’ve got the teams spread too thin. Without more masons, adobe bricklayers, and road crews, it’s going to take another year, at a minimum, to finish the four train depot areas and lay the railroad.”

I took a sip of coffee, thinking about all the work going on, and our need for more people. “Juan, we always knew we were going to have to get outside help. Frankly, I’ve been surprised at the number of people you’ve been able to attract up here.”

“Why don’t we just consolidate the workers and focus on one area at a time?” Tom asked.

“Go on,” I said, interested in where he was going with this thought.

“Well, concentrate the masons and adobe bricklayers on one depot area at a time. The road crews have been making good progress, despite their low numbers. It’s going to get harder now that they’re out of the valley and, if we’re willing to accept that it’s going to take longer then there’s no need to add more of them. I’d suggest taking the masons and bricklayers from here and moving them up to Socorro. Once they’re done with Socorro, they go up to Albuquerque.

“The masons and bricklayers from the iron processing building can move here and finish the depot area here once they’re done up at the mine. We don’t know how the folks up in Santa Fe are doing, but unless they’re having problems, we just leave them alone for now.”

“I like it,” I said after thinking on it for a few moments. “We can always send some of Heinrich’s crew down here to work on the depot area, as soon as they finish Tomas’ house that is. Giuseppe and George aren’t really in any hurry to move out of the Hacienda and I think they’ll support the delay.”

Juan looked back and forth between Tom and me a few times before nodding his head. “I’ll move all the depot workers from here to Socorro beginning next week then. We can add a few more unskilled workers from Socorro to begin learning the various jobs. Who knows, by the time we’re done there and move to Albuquerque, we might have even more experienced crews.”

We spent another hour talking about the various jobs Juan was doing for us before leaving to go in search of Mick Johnson and the Railroad Security Forces. Pulling the wagon into the depot area, we looked around curiously. The amount of work that had been done in four months was amazing to me, but it was far from being anywhere near done. I hated to think about abandoning a partially completed work site, even if it was just for a short while.

Standing up in the wagon bed, Tom scanned the area around the depot complex for a few moments before sitting back down next to me.

“There’s a group of horsemen about a mile away, over towards the Organ Mountains,” he said pointing the way.

The horsemen turned out to be Paddy McDonell’s company. He greeted us with a smile and pointed further east when we asked where we could find Mick. I sighed, thinking about all the riding we were doing in a wagon. My backside was not happy from all the jouncing we’d taken to this point and it would be afternoon before we found Mick. Luckily, the plan was to leave the wagon with Mick and return to the restaurant riding our horses, which were tied to the back of the wagon.

We finally found Mick near the entrance to San Augustin Pass a few hours later. He too greeted us with smiles.

“We weren’t expecting you until next week,” he said as we pulled up into the makeshift camp Eric’s company had set up for lunch. “Coffee?” he asked, pointing towards the pot. “There’s also some lunch leftover by the fire if you haven’t eaten yet.”

“Thanks, Mick, both will hit the spot. It’s been a long ride searching for you,” I said, slowly climbing down out of the wagon.

Mick gave us an update on how the training was progressing as Tom and I ate a quick lunch of sausage and beans washed down with coffee.

“It sounds like you’re doing well, and you’re pleased with the way things are going,” I said around my coffee cup.

“That I am. The men in both companies are finally starting to think and respond as part of a squad, platoon, and company instead of as individuals. Another week and they’ll be where I want them to be.”

I nodded. “Tom and I came up here for three reasons. First, we’ll be on a trip to El Paso next week, so we brought your payroll,” I said pointing to the iron box in the wagon bed and handing him the key. “Second, in the wagon bed are some toys for you. Third, we’ll be on a trip up near Pinos Altos when you all arrive at the Estancia. Just ride up to the Hacienda and ask for George or Miguel. They’ll be expecting you although they may not be at the Hacienda when you get there.”

“Okay, all of those things I can handle, but what toys did you bring?”

Getting up, I led him over to the wagon, opened one of the crates, pulled out a Henry rifle, and handed it to him. Mick let out a whistle of surprise while Eric just looked slack-jawed at the rifle. While they were looking the rifle over, I reached back into the wagon and took out a handful of cartridges.

Taking the rifle back, I led them over to a small hill, where I showed them the cartridges and how to load them in the rifle. When it was loaded, I brought it to my shoulder and fired off the full magazine, as fast as I could, and still maintain any sense of accuracy. When I was done, I handed the rifle back to Mick.

“Impressive! How many of these do you have for us?” he asked, still looking at the rifle.

“There are twenty-five in the wagon for now, along with two thousand rounds, minus a handful we used to test fire with. Every three months we’ll get fifty more rifles and three thousand more rounds until you and your men all have them. You’ll also be getting revolvers using the same cartridges, but they haven’t started arriving yet.”

“These rifles and the revolvers will go a long way towards making us almost invincible,” Eric exclaimed.

“They will if you keep them clean and use sound strategy and tactics,” I said smiling at his enthusiasm. “The weapons by themselves will help, yes, but not if you’re foolish.”

Eric looked at me thoughtfully for a moment and then smiled. “I guess I let my enthusiasm run away with my mouth.”

He led the laughter as we walked over to the wagon. Tom and I thanked them for the lunch and coffee before mounting our horses and riding for the restaurant.

We arrived just in time to wash up for dinner. Anna took me aside before I entered the dining room to tell me the kids were expecting me to sing tonight as was her grandmother. I smiled at my lovely wife, nodded, and escorted her to her chair.

Thanks to Anna’s earlier warning, I wasn’t surprised when she reached over, picked up the guitar, and handed it to me. I strummed it once to check if it was still in tune, and then immediately launched in to ‘You’re My Best Friend’, followed immediately by ‘Follow that Dream’.

Done, I looked around the room, into the eyes of all the impatient kids around the table, and decided they’d been patient enough. Without a word of warning, I immediately began singing their song. It didn’t catch them off guard at all. They did their part flawlessly.

When the song was over, they all clapped, lined up to say goodnight, and left for their bedrooms in the house across the courtyard. I sang them out with ‘Secret Love’. My musical duties satisfied, I put the guitar back against the wall and joined the table conversation for the rest of the evening.

Tom and I were in the saddle the next morning as the sun began to rise. We hoped to make it to El Paso and back in five days. Riding hard, we found ourselves on a hill overlooking El Paso late the next evening. After a short discussion on whether to ride on in the dark or camp where we were, we opted for comfort and spurred our horses down the road. Splitting up as we neared the center of town, Tom headed for his father’s house while I continued on to the hotel.

I was having breakfast in the hotel dining room the next morning when Levi came in, saw me, and walked toward the table with a big smile on his face.

“Good morning, Paul. When did you get to town?” he asked, taking my wave at a chair as an invitation to join me.

“Morning Levi, I got in late last night. How have things been?”

“Kind of dull and boring after the few months we spent up at your place,” before lowering his voice and adding, “mom and dad are having conniption fits trying to get everything arranged to move the bank up there.” He stopped the conversation as the waitress was walking up. He placed his order and after she’d left, he picked up his previous statement. “Finding a good lot in a good location on Main Street up in Las Cruces took far longer than they imagined it would. Now that they’ve found it, they can’t find any masons to build the building. Seems someone up your way has hired every mason and bricklayer for their own work.” Levi smiled, taking any hint of frustration or anger out of his last statement.

“Well, that’s not quite true Levi,” I replied with a look of concern. “Juan has only hired friends and family that he trusts. There must be other masons and bricklayers looking for work. Have they thought about hiring here for work up in Las Cruces?”

“They’re looking into just that as a possibility, Paul. About the only thing that’s happened in the right time frame was Jorge completing the plans, and those are a thing of beauty, let me tell you.” Again, he quit talking as the waitress delivered his food. “So,” he asked to make conversation while the waitress busied herself with placing the plates and silverware before pouring us fresh coffee. “What brings you to El Paso this early in the fall?”

I looked up from plate to answer his question, only to find Jim Longstreet a few steps away from us, looking even more rumpled in his uniform than ever.

“Hi Jim, join us?” I asked.

“Hi, Paul, Levi. Don’t mind if I do. I’ve already had breakfast, but coffee sounds real good,” he said flagging the waitress over as he sat down.

“A bunch of things Levi,” I said, answering his question as the waitress brought over Jim’s coffee. “Among them seeing how your parents are doing on the new bank, arranging for some more wells to be drilled on the Estancia, and checking on Tom’s father.” Turning back to Jim, I asked, “How’re things going with you, Jim?”

He shrugged while taking a sip of coffee. “Could be better, but it’s not all that horrible. The damn War Department is at it again with their idiotic assignment decisions.”

Pushing my finished plate aside, I said, “Mick and the others you sent us told me some of that. By the way, those surveyors and Mick and his crew are doing extremely well, thanks for that.” He nodded his head in welcome, as taciturn as ever. “So, besides assigning untested officers to command a fort full of green recruits, what else is the War Department up to that’s making your life hard?”

“Besides the Secretary of War and Robert E. ordering us to support some hair-brained scheme to replace horses and mules with camels, you mean?” he asked with a large grin.

I vaguely remembered hearing about the US Camel Corps experiment when I was still in school, but I didn’t realize that Robert E. Lee was involved.

“Robert E.?” I asked.

“Colonel Robert E. Lee, the current commander of the Department of Texas, he’s become enamored with the idea of using camels instead of mules and horses here in the southwest,” Jim clarified.

“I’ve heard of him,” I replied with a straight face. “So, yes, other than that, what has you so upset with the Army?”

“You know Paul, I really hated to send you that letter declining your offer, especially after Louise and I talked about your arguments with misplaced honor,” he said shamefacedly. I couldn’t figure out where he was going with this train of thought, or how it answered my question, but even more worrisome was the fact that I hadn’t received a letter from him.

“Letter?” I asked. “What letter, Jim.”

“I sent you a letter back near the end of summer, two, three months ago, with one of the last batch of men getting out of the Army. A corporal who was disenchanted with being a soldier. A good fighter, smart as a whip. You didn’t get it?”

“No, I didn’t,” I replied, a disturbing thought echoing through my mind. “What this soldier’s name, Jim?”

Jim gave me a name that was meaningless to me, I’d only met a few of the men in Mick’s Railroad Security Force. Shaking my head to indicate I’d never heard of the man.

“Well, damnit!” he exclaimed. “I don’t make that kind of mistake with a man very often, but when I do it’s a doozy. I’m sorry about that, Paul. You might want to check him out if he’s working for you.” At my nod of agreement, he continued. “Anyway, I declined your offer, despite Louise’s agreement with you. Instead, I submitted a request for reassignment as a recruiter back east so the kids could have better schooling. Your school there at the Estancia was eye-opening and got both of us thinking.”

“Ahh,” I said, suddenly understanding where he was going with his answer. “So, they gave you a recruiter assignment?”

“No! Damnit! Three days ago, I was notified they were giving me a six-month leave of absence, starting early next year, to arrange schooling for the kids, and then assigned me to Fort Leavenworth, out in the middle of the plains, as a paymaster. A paymaster of all things!”

“That’s not such a bad job,” Levi said with a grin at Jim’s scowl. “It’s similar to my job but you only have one depositor to worry about.”

“What are you going to do now?” I asked, doing my best to hide a grin of my own.

“What I was going to do was to ride up to see you and talk some more. Since you’re here now, I can tell Louise that we talked. If the job is still open, I’d like to apply for it. And yes, damnit, I’ll give you my word not to leave if war breaks out like you think it will.”

“The job is yours, Jim,” I replied, trying to keep the elation off my face and out of my voice. “I told you that back at the Estancia. How soon can you get out and be up at the Estancia?”

“It’ll be two or three weeks, Paul. Besides all the falderol the Army puts you through, I’ll need to find a wagon and pack everything up,” he replied apologetically.

“A wagon is easy, Jim, I’ll take care of that in a few minutes. You do what you have to do and come up when you’re ready. We’ll look forward to you and the family arriving.”

“You have a wagon available here?” he asked.

“No, but one of the reasons I’m here is to see the wainwright,” I replied and then hurried on, seeing him getting ready to object. “I need to arrange for coal wagons to be built and delivered. He usually has regular wagons for sale, and the Estancia never has enough wagons, so I’ll buy one and you can deliver it for me. That you’ll be using it to deliver your family is just a happy coincidence.”

The three of us talked for a few more minutes, enjoying our coffee, before getting up to leave. Levi headed for the bank while Jim and I walked down to the wainwright where we did, indeed, find a wagon for sale. After arranging for Jim to pick it up when it was ready, Jim left to give Louise the news. I stayed to talk about coal wagons.

An hour later, we’d reached agreement on two coal wagons a month, delivered to the Estancia for a price I considered reasonable but was probably highway robbery given my negotiation skills. Tom would have been a big help during the negotiation, but I didn’t know where he was or what he was doing. I wasn’t too concerned as I knew he’d show up by the end of the day.

Retrieving my horse from the hotel stable, I rode down to see John Gillespie about the four wells I was thinking about drilling.

“Paul McAllister, I was hoping I’d see you sometime in the next couple of months. Need more wells drilled up at your place?” he asked hopefully.

“To talk about it, at least,” I replied with a grin. “How have you been, John?”

“Good, Paul, real good. How about you?”

“Keeping busy, as usual,” I replied, completing the standard exchange of greetings before changing topics. “Did you ever have those drill bits you were talking about last year built?”

“I sure did, he replied, enthusiastically. “Bought a couple of steam engines too! Between the two I can drill a well twice as deep as I could before and in only half the time. Those bits are expensive though, so I don’t use them unless I absolutely have to.”

“Well, I need four wells drilled, and you’re going to need those bits and both steam engines.”

“What makes you say that Paul? I’ve lost count of how many wells we’ve drilled up there and none of those wells required either special bits or steam engines.”

“You ever heard of primary water?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“Can’t say as I have,” he answered, rubbing his chin in thought.

For the next half-hour, I gave him what I could of Steven Reiss’ theory of magma under pressure creating steam from rocks which then collected in pockets near the surface, relatively speaking.

“And you think there’s some of this primary water on your spread?” he asked when I was done with my explanation.

“I’m hoping so,” I said with a hint of a grin, “after all, most of the territory was volcanic in the far past. Look at the Kilbourne crater in the territory, just on the other side of those mountains,” I said, pausing to think about adding Picacho Peak, and other areas closer to the Estancia, before deciding there was no need. “Confident enough that it’s there to be willing to pay to have four wells drilled down a thousand feet.”

“Good Lord man! There’s water a lot closer to the surface than that. Besides, there ain’t no pumps that’ll pump more than a hundred feet at best.”

“John, I’m looking for a much more dependable source of water and I believe primary water is the answer. It’s going to be deeper than you usually drill, yes, but that’s what I want to do. As far as pumps go, we both know that pumps get better every year. What I’m really hoping though is that the water is under enough pressure that it will rise up the well shaft on its own. If I’m right, the only thing I’ll need pumps for is to pump it from the wellhead out to where I want to use it.”

“Since you’re paying for it, I have no problem doing the work, but I still think you’re crazy,” he said, shaking his head. “When do you want us up there?” he asked reaching for a calendar.

“How about February, as usual?”

“That works well for me, Paul. It’ll probably take four or five months to drill down that far if everything goes well. Longer if we have any problems. With four wells to drill we’ll be there almost a year drilling two at a time.”

“Good, we’ll see you in February then. Make sure you bring plenty of pipe with you,” I said smiling as I left for the hotel and a late lunch.

Walking into the hotel, I was pleased with how quickly everything had gotten done and that Jim Longstreet was coming to take over management of the railroad. Still smiling, I entered the hotel dining room to find Tom seated with his father, an older woman, and two young ladies about Tom’s age. Tom waved me over to join them. Seeing them all together, I wondered what Tom had gotten himself embroiled in now. I was within a few steps of the table when Tom began introducing me.

“Ladies, this is Paul McAllister. Paul, may I present Doctor Prudence Kennedy and her twin daughters, Hope and Faith.”

Surprisingly to me, Tom was speaking Spanish.

“Mucho Gusto, Doctor y señoritas,” I replied, quickly receiving their mucho gustos, before turning to Tom’s father. “It’s good to see you again sir. I hope you’ve been well.”

“Yes, Paul, I’ve been extremely well. Tom tells me you all made the trip down to check on me. I’m sorry to have been the cause for the trip.”

“Paul, we were just going to order a late lunch, join us, please,” Tom said, a hint of frustration in his voice.

“Don’t mind if I do,” I replied, taking a seat as I wondered what was going on.

“Did you get everything you were looking to take care of done,” Tom asked before I could ask any questions about the ladies.

“I did, indeed, Tom, and something I hadn’t foreseen as well.” Seeing Tom’s eyebrow lift in an unspoken question, I answered. “I ran into Jim Longstreet at breakfast. He’s leaving the Army and will be joining us in a month or so.”