Chapter 16

In church on Sunday, Harold gave a good sermon to an attentive gathering. The group I sat with had grown, since Gene, the cable engineer, was now sitting with us. It was funny to see Ben and Ezra sitting together, but something new was Mom sitting with Ezra, and acting like she liked being there. That would take some watching. Sitting around us had to be at least twenty various Latinos with all their kids, all sitting attentively and singing hymns with everyone else. Every time I heard a kid whisper something in Spanish to an adult, the adult would answer them in broken English, but it showed their desire to fit in.

We hosted Ezra for dinner after church that day. Ben and Ezra entertained us with the old stories and rumors about Mystery Mountain once again. Ben told us, "When I bought my property, everyone told me I was nuts to buy up on Mystery Mountain. They said I would probably have bad luck and wouldn't be able to do any farming or to raise any animals. My wife and I lived off game for the first couple of years, until the sheep and pigs became more plentiful. I began farming using a mule and did right well growing enough grain and cutting enough grass for hay. As you can see, the mountain has been good to me. The other two neighbors lower down, Teddy and the widow, haven't had any real problems, but they are almost on flat land. Teddy has some slopes to his fields, but the little fields the Widow Fletcher has are all fairly rolling and level."

I left the two older men watching TV while I finished cutting the high grass in the orchard at the old Jorgenson place. Weeds were already sprouting in the small field of sweet corn, so I came back up to the equipment shed, hooked the cultivator up, and went back down to cultivate that field. I noticed that the oats in the two small upper fields were making a good start and should do well this year.

The blackberries were ripening and would need picking throughout this coming week. Doing something repetitious, like cultivating, gives you time to daydream, and I was thinking that I could use one of those neat four wheel drive ATVs like the cable company had. I wondered what one cost. It could get around to all of my fields really fast, and I'm sure it would be easier than taking the truck. I would keep my eyes open. It seemed like there was always at least one for sale on market day.

I checked with Ezra on Monday morning to make sure he was doing well. He thought they should be at least halfway by week's end and would finish up the following week as the terrain would be easier on the second half of the path.

Gene was working at the distribution building directing a cable crew on the first path we cleared. They didn't seem to be moving very fast. When I told Gene about my interest in an ATV, he said he would check with his company to see if they had any they were taking out of service. He told me, "They only use them for two years and get rid of them. I don't think they put a hundred hours on any of them. I know that the one I bought to use for hunting only had about thirty hours. I'll check for you."

I noticed the big truck and trailer was gone and headed toward the equipment yard. I didn't need to go that far, since I saw the truck parked at one of the gravel county roads, and I could see one of the graders and the small backhoe working farther down. After parking and walking down to see what and how they were doing, I could see they were attempting to grade around a wash that had taken part of the road out.

The two men got down and asked if I had experience with washes and I explained about how I had actually started using the bulldozer on that type of problem. I told Jimmy, "If the other bulldozer is working OK, bring it, or else go get Jet and that dozer. We also need a couple of men with saws, so have Ezra bring a couple of men with his big truck. I'll stay with John and mark some trees that will have to come down."

I walked back to my truck and got another spray can of orange paint and came back to show John Howard, the other man that Jimmy had brought in, what they were going to do to fix the problem. We had to move the equipment because a couple of vehicles had to get by. It was neat the way everyone waved, touched their cap bill, or stopped to say good morning.

With all of the trees marked and enough rock to make a couple of little dams, I had John use the backhoe to begin making some wide holes or ponds that would be in front of the rock dams we would build. I marked enough tall slim trees to use as posts to hold the logs that would provide additional protection from future washing.

By noon, the trees had been cut, root balls relocated, the little dams constructed, and the log wall was in place. Jet and John were able to come up with enough dirt and rock to use with the root balls to pack the road and widen it at that point. This road bordered a very swift stream for a couple of miles, but this was the only place that washed out because of a curve in the road and stream.

We sent the tree cutting crew back to Ezra, with his or actually, my, big truck, taking with them a few big black walnut trees and a black oak. Not bad payment for doing road work.

Jimmy said they were going to finish grading this road, as there were a few big rocks that had moved onto the road during the winter and thaw, and that would get this almost twenty mile long road back in shape.

I went back to the house to see if Raul and Jose needed anything. They had dug the footings and were now constructing the forms to pour. Raul advised, "I ordered concrete for tomorrow morning. Mr. Cummings thanked you and me for his first order and said a truck would be here about nine. He was very excited that you were using him for your buildings."

The rest of the roads in the district still needed looking at, but I also needed to run into Lexington to look at equipment. I was concerned that I might not have enough money and might have to go to the bank for a loan. Thinking of having to borrow money to take over the whole county, made me think some very angry thoughts at the former road commissioners who were at that meeting.

I called Benson, "I'm going to be on my way to Lexington to buy equipment. Is there any reason to talk to the other men about theirs before I go?"

Benson told me, "You gotta do what you gotta do. I haven't heard from them since yesterday. I talked to them again, but they were not very agreeable and thought they could get big bucks at the equipment auction in Lexington. I guess they will have to learn the hard way."

There was a pause before Benson said, "I heard that you took care of that big washout over on Gulch Road. That was one Ralph said was going to take a month or more to do. Are you sure you've never done this before?"

I laughed, "I'm a farm boy, Benson. My daddy taught me all this stuff from the time I was about eight. He was a good teacher, but the real reason is the two men I had working on the problem. I think I'm going to be able to handle this. Sure would like to take over the whole county. Seems that would be the way to make a buck and keep men working."

"Hope the rest of the bad road conditions you have are as easy to fix. Call me if you need help up in Lexington."

Millie, Summer, or Mom didn't want to ride up to Lexington with me, so I broke a few speed laws and used some extra fuel getting up to the heavy equipment dealers. There were four of them all next to each other, and each one seemed to specialize in a single type of equipment.

I pulled into the big lot where there were rows of graders, rollers, and salt trucks with blades. A tall man with heavy sideburns, but an almost bald head, came out to show me around. We looked at graders first and I was impressed with the condition they were in. I really didn't need another roller, but I would need another blade and bucket vehicle like a backhoe, however I thought this one should be rubber tired instead of tracked.

We started a lot of vehicles and operated the hydraulics on them. I checked all of the lines and fittings after each of the tests to make sure they weren't leaking anywhere.

The tough problem was going to be the salt trucks with blades. What he had were all rusty from not being cleaned. The dealer even apologized for the condition the equipment was in. He told me, "If you can weld, you could put these back in sort of a decent shape, but it will cost over a thousand in steel and paint for each of them. I'll give you a real deal on them if you want at least two."

It was tempting, but I held up a carrot, "Depends on what kind of deal I can make on the two graders I liked and that combination backhoe and front loader over there."

The man waved me toward the office building in the middle of the lot. When we were at his desk he asked, "You picked all Caterpillar, any reason why not John Deere or Komatsu?"

"I figured it would be easier to get parts on the Caterpillars, and I really didn't see any John Deere or that other brand. The two I liked are older but both seemed to run well, although the air doesn't work on any of the three pieces. The heat seemed to want to work though."

The man looked at me a while before he asked, "Are you a small time road commissioner out in the boonies? What kind of budget do you have?"

"I'm taking over for a guy, and it looks like I can have the whole county if I can buy equipment cheap enough. The two graders seem like they are in decent condition; old, but not worn out yet. Both started easily and neither showed a ton of hours. That backhoe with the front loader would be very handy for a lot of jobs, so I'm interested there too. Make me an offer I can't refuse, then we'll dicker."

The man laughed, "You're going to get in my jeans, aren't you?"

"Gonna try, but you aren't wearing jeans. Give me a number to work with."

The guy was scribbling on a yellow pad and looked up some information in his log book. I thought it would be a good time to make him think about his offer. "I don't see a lot of customers on your lot today, and it doesn't look like any of this equipment has moved an inch the last month or so. Let me get you making deals and you'll be overrun with business. Come on; sharpen that pencil for a little guy."

He asked, "Are you some kind of live off the land guy wearing those fatigues?"

"No Sir, I'm just used to them after wearing them for twenty years. They are tough clothes and wear well. These are getting worn, so I'll have to start replacing them soon. I just prefer to not have to worry about choosing what I'm going to wear for the day."

"Darn, that's the best explanation why a guy wears fatigues or camouflage clothes I've ever heard. It's usually some guy who thinks he's Rambo or a big woodsman. You wear them to work in because you're used to them."

"Look," I said, "I need to get back to Stanton this evening, so let's get on with dealing or I'll have to come back, maybe even go all the way to Cincinnati to check out what they have available. Let's talk some numbers."

The man flipped his yellow pad around and said as he wrote, "The two graders are older models, but in good condition. I should be able to get around twenty-five for each of them. I'm thinking you might buy if I was to sell them for around seventeen each."

The man had written seventeen thousand on two lines one under the other.

"The Caterpillar backhoe/front loader combo is an expensive piece of equipment, and isn't that old. You saw the hours on it, so you know it has a lot of life left. Retail on that has got to be near a hundred or more, but as a package deal, I'll sell that to you for seventy-seven."

He wrote that number below the two lines of seventeen thousand.

"We can do business today for a hundred eleven thousand total. You have to believe that's a good deal."

When I didn't jump up and dance around real quick, he moved around in his seat. "I'll make you an offer of cost on parts and tires for the next year. That would also be for all of any other equipment that you must have now. That should help you make up your mind."

I was tapping my right forefinger on the hundred and eleven thousand and finally said, "Sounds like a reasonable deal. I would like another concession that isn't a deal buster, but it would be a bonus to me. How about throwing in a couple of those rusty salt trucks in on the deal, and delivering everything to me down in Stanton?"

A smile appeared across the man's face. "How are you going to pay me?"

It was my turn to laugh, "I didn't dicker hard enough, did I? You're too willing. Well, I think it's a decent deal, so I'll write you a business check that you can clear before you deliver."

The man whipped out a sales order form and began writing up the equipment. When he listed the salt trucks, he put down four and looked at me. "I'll send four down there and you can use a couple for parts. They all run decent, but the beds won't last another winter. I'll give you the number of a sheet metal dealer up here where you can buy what you need. You should be able to get three or four years out of those trucks if you put them in any kind of condition." I was thinking that if I covered the salt hoppers with RhinoLiner after I replaced the sheet metal they might last even longer than that.

When he finished writing up the order, he put one hundred and eleven thousand down on the bottom line, after sales tax. "I'll figure out the regular retail price so that you don't have to pay more to the state. Is Wednesday a good day for us to deliver?"

"Well, since this is for the county, isn't this a tax free sale anyway, even though I'm fronting the purchase? Wednesday will be a good day. Now I need to go tell the county I'll take all of the roads. I think I know where to get more equipment if I need it. I might need a tire or two for some of the other equipment, but my guys are putting the rest back together very nicely."

The man said, "Hey! You're right about the tax. More profit for me, then. Thanks for your business. If you need more equipment, you know where to come. Funny you should be from Stanton. A couple of men came by with some equipment that isn't in as good of a condition as what you bought, and wanted some ridiculous prices for it. I sent them on their way. I'm glad you didn't do business with them instead of me."

That made me smile with happy thoughts on my trip back home. I drove up to the house at six and was greeted by the dogs, but no humans came out to meet me. Both Ezra's and Ben's trucks were in the yard, so I figured on a full house.

When I walked into the house, Mom, Millie, Summer, and Ezra were all sitting at the table with long faces. Mom looked up at me, "Ben had a major heart attack, and they don't think he'll make it. He's hanging on, and they might move him to Lexington. The doc doesn't think he's going to make it either. Ben comes and goes, but he wants to talk to you. We should have called you, but I wanted to tell you in person."

"Well, let's go see our friend. We all know he's old and hasn't been in the best health."

All of us drove to the clinic and hospital in town. The doc met us at the door and told me, "Ben's still with us, but he wants to talk to you. I'm coming in with you, as he's acting like talking to you is going to be the last thing he does."

The female physician looked at the women, "You can come along, but Ben may not want to talk in front of you. Try to act in good spirits; he doesn't want a bunch of crying going on."

The three women looked at each other and all nodded their understanding. Ezra said he would stay in the waiting room.

We walked into a room where Ben was lying on a bed, hooked up to a bunch of machines and tubes. When I lay my hand on his shoulder, Ben's eyes opened and he smiled at me. He glanced at the women at the foot of the bed and softly said in a raspy voice, "I see you've brought my fan club, Mike. You folks have given me the best family a man could want since you've come, Mike. But now I think I'm like my old mule. I'm so tired."

Ben shifted his glance to the doctor and said in a fairly strong but still raspy voice, "You listen to what I say okay? It's important."

He looked back at me, and in almost a whisper, said, "Mike, you know I don't write and really can't read, so I never wrote down how to deal with what I have. I want you to have everything of mine from the goats to the mailbox. I done paid the taxes for this year with the butter and egg money you gave me. All of my stuff is yours, Mike. Take care of your family with it. I really care for all of you."

Ben was smiling as he closed his eyes, then opened them again. "Don't all you folks have other things to do rather than stand in a room with an old guy?"

"I'll be staying with you, Ben. You need me with you." I had taken his hand and felt him squeeze it.

Summer came to his other side and hugged the man before leaning over and kissing his forehead. "I'm with you too, Ben. You've been a good teacher to me for learning how to be a farmer's wife one of these days. You have a lot more to teach me."

Ben grinned and looked at me. "Give this girl my old truck. You saved that truck and brought it back to life. I guess you did it just so Summer will have something to drive."

Ben's eyes got big all of a sudden, then he relaxed. He whispered, "I'm going to join my woman and all those ghosts on our mountain, and watch over all of you."

The smile on Ben's face broadened as he said, "She's calling me." His last words were, "I'm coming, Honey."

I had tears in my eyes as the tone of the beeper Ben was hooked to went steady. The doctor said, "Let him be in peace. He couldn't make it much longer, anyway. This is better than the pain he would have had from the cancer he had."

The doctor was shutting equipment off as a nurse rushed in and saw what the doctor was doing. The doc walked out of the room with us and told me, "Ben told me he wanted me to witness him willing you what was his. I wrote it all down for him and he put his 'x' on it. He said he didn't remember how to write his name. I'll give the note to Gert to file. I'm sure the judge will honor it. I witnessed his 'x' and wrote his name next to it the way it's always done up here. Your friend died in peace, Mike. You were good for him, and gave him a year of happiness that he wouldn't have had if you didn't befriend him and bring him in before."

Trying to be organized, I asked, "Do I call the undertaker or does the clinic?"

"We'll do it for you. I'm an assistant coroner for the county and in this case I'll sign off on everything for you. If I were you though, I would go out to his place and clean it out before some of the local shine boys hear of his death. A lot of people thought old Ben had a lot of money salted away. I would doubt that, but you know how greedy people think."

Mom took me by the arm, "Come on, let's get some coffee at the Kitchen and decide what we need to do."

When we sat down at the Kitchen, Millie said, "Ben came in the house and said he was really tired. He sat in his chair and wouldn't wake up. Mom, Summer, and me carried Ben out to Mom's car and we brought him in. They sent us away as they didn't think he was going to make it. The doctor called me a little later and said that Ben was awake and wanted to see you."

Mom said, "I called Ezra since we needed a man around until you came home."

"I know Matt Miller, the undertaker," Ezra said. "The man is easy to deal with and handles the cemetery for the city and county. I'll give him a call to let him know to expect Ben. He won't broadcast Ben's death, but you do need to listen to what the doc told you. You would never have to worry about someone breaking in, but if someone who is by himself dies, the bad people think what was there is now free for the taking."

We went home and I took the dogs and walked down to Ben's. His place was the same as mine, without any locks on the doors. I walked through the inside of the house real quick and made sure there wasn't anything obvious lying around. Ben's shotgun and old rifle were above the door, and I didn't mess with them at this time.

Before leaving, I looked at my big male dog, "You stay here tonight. I put a bowl of water out for you. Stay, guard, I'll be here early in the morning."

He acted like he wanted to come with me and the female, but he sat looking at me with a question in his eyes. Dogs feel things, and I'm sure he recognized that this was something I felt was important.

I didn't sleep all that well and was up by five. The women and I went out to do chores, and when I was finished with the heavy stuff, I took the truck down to Ben's with the female dog.

The male was happy to see me and ran out fast to relieve himself. The male and pregnant female romped and sniffed, while I began hauling things from the house to the truck.

There were very few things that people would take, but I took those things that people might think have value. When I checked Ben's bedroom and closet one last time, I thought to look at the place that was obvious and people always joked about, under the mattress. There was Ben's nest egg. There was a lot of money in an old leather satchel, but I didn't have the heart to count it. This was all going to the church Ben had gone to for his last days. I was happy to have found what so many would have torn his house down to find.

I used a piece of notebook paper from the truck, and wrote in large letters, "Nothing left" and pinned it to the door. There was no sense in nailing it shut, as whoever wanted to go in would just break a window or tear the door down.

By the time I was back at the house, the women had already eaten breakfast, but fixed me some eggs to have with the sausage, biscuits, and gravy they had cooked. I told them what I had taken from Ben's, including his old family Bible and a box full of old photos of Ben and his deceased wife. Mom said, "That's who Ben spoke to when he said he was coming. He talked about her a lot since I've been here. He says I reminded him of her in the way I enjoy the farm."

I called the funeral parlor to find out what I needed to do. Matt Miller said that he had Ben and could have him ready for viewing that evening, and we could have the funeral when we wanted. He also said that Ben had a burial plot next to his deceased wife, but did not have any kind of burial plan. I advised him Ben had thought of a way to handle it.

Work still had to be done, so I drove down and checked with Ezra before looking for and finding Jimmy out on a road repair with John. I told Jimmy what I had bought, and he said four graders would be perfect. "We can build a road anywhere with the equipment we have now. All we have to do is keep it running good."

I described the trucks and what would need to be done and he smiled. "How about some Saturday overtime to fix those trucks up? I know a couple of Mexicans who are car body guys and can probably help do the job for us. The rest of us will make sure the trucks run perfectly, and we'll be ready for winter. Do you know that Ralph bought enough salt for the whole county for two years last year? I don't think he could figure it right or he wouldn't have overstocked like that. He said it was because of some state deal that he wanted to take advantage of. Anyway, you don't have to order salt this year."

I went over to Ralph's office and asked him, "Do you want me to prepay you for the concrete for the house? I can do that if you need."