Chapter 52: Caution - Morning Frosts / Black Ice

I was left in a strange frame of mind once we’d unloaded the dead animals and left them with the vet, I suppose I had been keyed up for a battle and instead we had heard about a tragedy. That left me relieved, but let down at the same time and for some reason I was still annoyed, but that was probably because I didn’t feel I knew exactly what had happened or was happening. Somehow the situation wasn’t fully resolved and it felt unfinished. I wanted some answers, but didn’t think I was going to get them for some time. Since Constable Davis was in the midst of an investigation, and I knew better than to ask him any questions about an ongoing investigation, but Cyrus might know more than he’d said. So I invited him to have a coffee at the local Chinese café and to my surprise he agreed, then suggested Sandy, Dad and Wil should come with us.

Once we were all seated in the café I suggested I’d buy lunch and after we’d all ordered, I looked at Cyrus. “Okay, Cyrus, since you probably guessed we had questions, but were still willing to come here and even suggested Sandy, Dad and Wil come along with us, I take it you have something more to say, right?”

He nodded slightly, then drew a deep breath. “In the last while I’ve spoken to Miss Deloitte’s brother quite extensively and discovered that she was quite a problem for her family. I had another short conversation with Mr. Deloitte this morning and he gave me permission to pass on a few details. Miss Deloitte has never been what most of us would call fully stable and amongst other things, he felt she had a love-hate relationship with her dog. She was dependant on the dog for protection, but at the same time she distrusted the animal and Mr. Deloitte stated that he knew from personal experience that on occasion she had a mean side. Unfortunately he thought she teased the dog at times and may have even beaten it on occasion. His thought is that she might well have caused the dog extreme pain and it retaliated in the only way it knew how, then since it was no longer under her control, it reverted to a feral existance.”

“Oh shit, that’d explain it,” Wil murmured.

“At the moment, Mr. Deloitte is quite remorseful and exceptionally angry. As he said, he will assume responsibility for the dog’s deprivations since it was probably his sister’s treatment of the animal which initially caused the problem. At the same time though, he feels her doctor failed Miss Deloitte and that she should not have been living in the situation which she was forced to confront. Mr. Deloitte now believes that she should have been institutionalized, but he was not made aware that her mental state had deteriorated to the extent it had. For some reason he had not been able to have contact with Miss Deloitte for two years, possibly at her insistence. In truth, his only contact with her seems to have been through the doctor, whom he now believes was remiss in her treatment, as well as in reporting her deteriorating condition.”

“I don’t understand why he didn’t contact his sister,” Sandy frowned. “Was it something like us and Uncle Bill, so he couldn’t legally contact her?”

“I’m uncertain of the exact legal situation and I refuse to speculate on it at this time,” Cyrus shook his head slowly. “Actually, other than passing on Mr. Deloitte’s sincere apologies for the trouble you have been caused by the situation, there is little more that he has authorized me to say at this time.”

“Well, thanks for clearing up a few points for us,” I smiled, trying to ease the mood. “Have you any news of our other involvement with the law enforcement folks, in particular I’m thinking of the delinquents, Ray Smithies and Sid Parker?”

“Ah, those two,” he shook his head and had a sip of coffee. “I am afraid those two young men will be some time longer before they achieve their freedom. It seems that while they were awaiting trial during the summer, they committed another robbery or two, one in Innisfail and another in Red Deer. It took some time for the proof of their involvement to be established, but they will be coming to trial on those charges even prior to being released from their present sentences.”

As far as I was concerned that was all I needed to know about local problems, so I was glad to have Dad ask a question about one of the local bylaws. That managed to completely change the subject and we were on safe ground again as far as I was concerned. I was still slightly curious about the Marjory Deloitte situation, but I felt I knew enough to walk away from the subject and let the details filter through later.

After we’d eaten lunch, Sandy and I dropped up to see Grampa Bender for a few moments, but didn’t spend long at the care home. He’d recently developed the habit of taking a nap shortly after lunch and since he was resting we didn’t want to disturb him. After that we headed home, and we finally managed to have a chance to relax for a while.

The next few days were rather forgettable. Both Sandy and I spent some time working on that new correspondence course about business management, but as well as that I did some work out at the workshop. To be honest I was quite dissatisfied with several of the tools that I had been loaned since they were quite old and quite badly worn. So by Friday night I was feeling somewhat hopeful that I’d find much better tools at the auction we were heading for the next day.

I was up early on Saturday and Sandy came with me when I drove down to Uncle Tom’s. She was going to spend the day with Mom and Aunt Alice while all the men around the place went to the auction. We didn’t arrive at the auction for the majority of the sale of heavy tractors and trucks, but we did arrive in time for me to see an old 2 ton truck that really interested me. It was the next item for sale, a 1949 Ford F135 truck with a grain box and removable stock racks, but it also had a big sign on the grill – ‘Parts only, motor dying.’ Tom and I looked at one another, then I raced off to register as a bidder in the auction, but I got back in time to hear the auctioneer start into his spiel about the old truck.

“Here we go folks, this was a good old truck in its day and it’s got fair rubber, but just look at the prime condition of the body and the box, even the stock racks are in great shape. Who will give me 500 to start?”

“Make it five bucks,” Tom hollered, while standing twenty feet away from me. “We’d probably have to tow it home.”

“Does the motor even run?” George hollered from the other side.

“Fifty bucks,” I bid, just as I came up behind Dad.

“Seventy Five,” I heard from behind me, but off to one side.

“We have 75, who’ll give me 100, I’m bid 75 and...

I pulled out my wallet and made a show of checking it as the auctioneer began his rapid patter, but just as he’d announced the word ‘Going’ for the second time I held up my card.

“Eighty bucks.”

In the long run I didn’t get the truck for eighty bucks, I paid two hundred and fifty, but the killer of any more bids was the auctioneer’s fault. Some heckler asked if the engine even ran, so the auctioneer had a helper start the engine to prove it did. Then he had take a moment and walk away from the truck through a cloud of smoke from the engine’s exhaust while he coughed and spluttered.

Right after winning the bid for the truck I went looking for Tom and George. I warned them that if they got caught farting around with the bidding process we could all be kicked out of the auction. They started to argue that my bidding was just as bad, but calmed down after Dad and Uncle Tom came over and gave them the warning that they’d send the two of them home if they screwed up again.

The only other item they sold right then that held my interest were the fuel tanks and the lubrication supplies. I’d twigged on the idea of having bulk diesel fuel and gasoline available on the ranch. So I entered the bidding on the two smallest fuel tanks and stands since they were empty and easily moveable. In short order I’d bought those, then I also got a case of 40 weight oil, thinking I might need oil for the truck on the drive home.

The actual farming equipment and other machinery came up right after the tractors, trucks and fuel tanks, but I felt I had almost everything I needed in that line. The only other equipment I might want were a newer baler and a hay conditioner, but both of them would be a lot more expensive than I wanted to pay right then. Besides, this auction was an estate sale of a retired grain farmer and he had no haying equipment, but Dad, Uncle Tom and Will were interested in grain farming equipment. I left them following the machinery auctioneer and headed for the farmer’s workshop, followed by Tom and George who were being very quiet then.

The rumours had been true. The farmer who had lived on that place must have been a mechanic and perhaps would have rated as a craftsman. His workshop was divided into three sections and it showed his skills. The first section had two lathes, a milling machine, a mill/drill and things of that sort. The second section had equipment for his welding and repair work, so it was much bigger and had almost all his hand tools and wrenches. The third section was meant for woodworking and had a table saw, cut-off saw and several smaller power tools. Then out behind the main workshop was a brick building with a forge and a big anvil, as well as dozens of sledges, hammers and farrier tools.

That whole setup seemed like seventh heaven for me. I was wandering around in a semi-dazed state when a different auctioneer and a large section of the crowd came in. In moments the auctioneer started what was billed as the tool auction. I don’t recall much of the auction itself, the only thing I clearly remember is looking down often and checking the numbers on a pad of paper where I’d written two sums before leaving home. Every time I made a purchase, I added that amount to my total, then I checked the two numbers I’d written previously. At the end of the day I hadn’t spent the maximum I’d felt I could afford, in fact I hadn’t spent as much as I expected, but those were the two numbers I had been checking all day long.

I was almost wasted, but I knew there was a further section to the sale and I wanted to check it out as well. There was one more building that we had to look at, but the crowd was thinning rapidly and the auctioneer decided to sell items in batches. Just then Dad and Uncle Tom came up to me and warned me they were heading home, but told me they’d loaded the two empty fuel tanks and stands on the old truck, and had put the case of heavy oil in the cab, so I just nodded and thanked them. I did ask Dad if he’d tell Sandy I wouldn’t be too late, so I’d do the chores when I got home. Wil, Tom and George were staying behind to load all my other purchases, then they’d follow me home while I drove the old truck. I wished Dad and Uncle Tom a good trip home, then turned my attention back to the auction, intent on buying a few more items that I thought would be useful.

I still have the final detailed bill which lists everything I bought that day and those items have paid for themselves many times over. In fact I’ve used virtually every item I purchased, most of them at least once a month and some of them almost every day. I’ll admit that some of the items, like the farrier tools only get used on the odd occasion, such as when a horse needs shoeing and since we don’t ride any horse all that much, that isn’t often. Others like the incubator sit idle most of the time, but even that is used by Sandy every spring as she culls out the older hens, then sets eggs for the next year’s crop of chicks.

Farm Auction, Jan 1970
1-1949 Ford F135 Truck w/Hyd Dump, Grain Box & Stock Racks
2-300gal Fuel Tanks & Stands w/Hoses & Nozzles
1-Case of 40W Oil
1-Old Metal Lathe w/48” bed, 8” swing
1 box - Lathe Tools & Accessories
1-Pedestal Milling Machine/Cross Drill
1-Pedestal Drill Press
1-2hp Bench Grinder & Floor Stand
1-Power Hack Saw
2-Acetylene Torches, Gauges, & Cart
1-220V 40/225Amp Electric Welder
3-Welding Helmets
1 box-Welding Supplies
1-Welding Apron & Gauntlets - Leather
2-Bench Vise
3 boxes - 3/8”, 1/2” & 3/4” Drive - Metric & Imperial Socket Sets
2 boxes - Lg Quantity of Wrenches (Open and Box End)
1-6 Drawer Toolbox w/Rolling Cabinet
2 boxes - Tap & Die Sets - Metric & Imperial
1-20Gal. Air Compressor w/2hp Motor, Fittings & Hoses 6-Air Chisels
1-Air Rachet Wrench & Socket Set
1-Air Impact Wrench
1-Air Hose Reel & Hose
2-Bolt Cutters
4-Jack Stands
2-Shop Lights & Stand
1-Jointer Planer
1-Table Saw
1-Radial Arm Saw
1-Carpenter’s Toolbox & Chest c/w Tools
3-Saw Horses
1-3 tray Shop Trolley
1-Forge & Tools
1 box - Farrier Tools
1-Large Anvil
3-Great West Stock Saddles
1-Assort. of Bridles, Halters, Pads
1-Electric Fencer & wire
1-Electric Egg Incubator
1-Transit & Surveyor’s Rule
1-Lg Quantity & Assortment of Ham Radio Equipment & Parts

I don’t feel I went ‘auction crazy’ like Tom implied, but some of the things I bought made other people scratch their heads. Most farm workshops at that time didn’t have things like metal lathes and milling machines, but I knew I needed to fix the track rollers on my old D4 Cat. With an electric welder and a lathe I could ‘hard surface’ weld them, then machine them to fit and my cost would be about a quarter of the price of new rollers. I’d save the amount I’d paid for that lathe and perhaps even the welder just on the job of repairing that old crawler. Everything else I’d bought would pay for itself in one way or another as well. The only possible exception of that might be the ham radio gear, but those old radios were one way in which I might be able to indulge my passion for electronics while living on the ranch.

After I had written a check for the full sum of my ‘auction binge’ and had a bill of sale, it was time to pack up and leave. Somehow the four of us guys managed to wedge everything I had purchased that day into the old grain truck I’d bought and the two pickups we’d come in. Unfortunately most of the things I’d bought couldn’t be exposed to the weather, so besides the fuel tanks and stands there wasn’t a lot we could load on the old grain truck. Thankfully Wil’s truck had a canopy which was fairly high, and it was loaded with the lathe, milling machine, electric welder and pedestal drill before anything else was added. As well, he’d thought ahead and had brought along several old horse blankets which we could use as packing. So his truck was loaded first and it was packed. Next we loaded Tom’s pickup and filled the box to the brim so we could hardly close the pop-top cover. All we had left to pack was the ham radio equipment, so it went into the jump seat areas of the two extended cab pickups. However, before we left we wandered around the site and double checked that we’d loaded everything I’d bought.

Finally though everything was loaded and it was time to leave so I headed for the old truck, but I warned the guys I wouldn’t be speeding. I was surprised to find that the gas tank of the truck was full, the engine oil was topped up and it even had antifreeze in the radiator. I started the engine to warm it up and then headed for home, but noticed after a few minutes of steady running that it smoked much less. Once I was on the road I realised that the engine had very little power, so even as lightly loaded as the truck was it had a hard time on any grade. About half way home I pulled over and shut off the engine for a few minutes while I went back and talked to the guys, then I checked the oil level. It was only down about half a quart, so the engine was in nowhere near as bad shape as I had expected. When I told Tom that, but mentioned that it was gutless, he just broke into laughter.

“It probably only needs rings and maybe a valve job,” he snorted. “You’ve virtually been given another vehicle for next to nothing. I mean, who buys a working two-ton truck for two-hundred bucks?”

I wasn’t in the mood to discuss it, so I just threw up my hands and headed back to the truck, then drove the rest of the way home. When I got to the ranch, Sandy was already there and so was my pickup. She’d helped both Mom and Aunt Alice to do most of the chores on both of the lower farms, then had come home and done ours. She was happy that our cow was dry right then and that Mom and Aunt Alice left the milk cows for the men, so she hadn’t had to do any milking. As it was, she told me she’d call Mom and Aunt Alice to let them know the guys were home, then she’d make something for us to eat while we unloaded the trucks, so we followed her orders. I even had the guys load a lot of the borrowed tools into their trucks, tools which I’d been loaned just weeks ago, only now I needed the space for my own things.

As far as that auction went, I thought I had done extremely well and so did all the men in my family, but I’m certain all the women thought I’d gone nuts. I’ll admit I hadn’t gotten everything as cheaply as the items I’d bought in Olds at the farm equipment auction. However if you looked at the combination of the puchases at both auctions I’d almost completely equipped the ranch for most of the work I’d be doing. Not only that, but I’d equipped my workshop so that I could repair most items which might break during normal use. On top of that I had used less funds to acquire two tractors, a truck, tools and equipment than I would have expected to have to pay for the one used tractor and its equipment if it was bought through a dealer.

I know Sandy and Mom caught on to that one day when Dad handed Sandy a copy of one of the local papers with an advert for an almost identical tractor being sold by a local dealer.

“Liz, you checked our accounting figures, how much did Chris spend at those two auctions?” Sandy asked.

“Why, what’s wrong?”

“Look at this? It’s identical to his little tractor, but look at the price.”

“Well, he did tell us what everything was worth, perhaps next time we should listen?”

“Huh, that’ll be the day,” I laughed, then had to duck a wet dish rag Sandy had thrown at me.

Still, from that day on, Sandy and Mom both checked the local papers for auctions of any sort.

During the rest of January I spent a few hours in my workshop, but mostly I devoted my time to working on that small business course that Sandy and I were taking by correspondence. I finished the darn thing, and sent in all of my work, but I was thoroughly dissatisfied with the content of the course and the fact that it had been recommended as what I needed. The whole point of the course had been geared toward providing a rank amateur in the business world with just enough knowledge to open a small retail store in a town or city. Not only that, but many of the methods which were taught were far from the best business practises and some were just plain wrong.

I waited until my results from the course were returned and I had written the final test, so my resulting high marks were published and available. Then I wrote a scathing letter to the school, with a carbon copy to the newspaper, stating that the course had been misrepresented and that I felt it was useless for any person who was involved with agriculture in any way. In my letter I pointed out how weakly most points had been covered and several obvious points which had been sloughed over or completely missed in the course material, then pointed out examples of the errors. I even pointed out several issues regarding the filing of business taxes which the course taught incorrectly. Then I expressed the opinion that almost any child raised on a farm was taught better business practises by the time they were twelve and that the course was a complete waste of time and money. Before I mailed the letter though, I had Cyrus Ambrose, my lawyer, read it over.

“Oh my! Can you prove the various points you make in this letter?” Cyrus frowned.

“I still have the basic course material, so I only used the examples they gave, then compared them to common business practises which I do know work,” I handed him the course material. “You’re welcome to check it if you wish. All I want you to do is check to be certain that those cheating bastards can’t sue me. I’ve already wasted money on their crap and don’t intend to line their pockets any further.”

“Oh, I don’t think they can sue you, but you might well be able to sue them and not just for the cost of the course either. It also took you countless hours to read and complete their course and I see from your final grade that you did extremely well on their test – 96% is not exactly a median score. Could I ask what you got incorrect?”

“That’s easy, I answered one question with the legal way to handle a tax issue, and they marked it wrong.”

“Oh ho,” he chortled, flipping through the final exam, which had been returned along with my marks. “Oh my, I’m no tax accountant, but even I know that you were right and they were wrong, which draws a completely different conclusion to this situation. Since you brought this to me, I would like to handle your complaint, or at least part of your complaint. Unfortunately they are teaching a form of tax evasion and that is definitely against the law. That is a separate issue, and between them and the federal tax department, so all I can do is report that they are teaching illegal methods of filing business taxes.”

“Cyrus, if you want to handle it, go for it. I’ve already wasted time and money on the dang thing, but I really feel someone should speak up about how bad that course really is. That’s why I wrote the letter in the first place.”

“Oh, I fully intend to mail your letters for you,” he chuckled. “Then hopefully when the letter appears in several newspapers, the correspondence school in question might sue in an attempt to save face. If they do, we shall countersue, and I will recommend that you sue for defamation of character. I will ask Frank Dolens to take the witness stand as a personal reference for you and also as an expert witness on business practices. Next I will place John Coulter on the stand as another personal reference and an expert witness on accounting practises. Then I believe I’d call on Constable Davis, or perhaps young Matt McAdam as character witnesses. Last of all I’ll have you get on the stand and will ask you about your last year and a half of revitalizing a nearly defunct cattle ranch. This may be a small town, but you have made some very influential friends in a very short time. If you are sued, I’m fully positive that we will win!”