BOB GURST a true story

 

This True Story will be shared at “Tell Me a True Story.” 

My Continued story will resume soon.

 

 

It was around 1955 when I became acquainted with Bob Gurst. He was a big, strong black man who worked doing stream cleaning on automobiles.

He also detailed and polished cars. He did a lot of work for car dealers making their cars look as good as possible.  He had a lot of stories to tell especially about WW2, and his time working at the shipyard.

One story was about another black man who worked with him; this man partied and spent his money as fast as he made it all during the war.

Bob would chide him, and urge him to save his money for the future.

The man would say, “You never have any fun; you don't know what money is for; it is to enjoy and that is what I am doing.”

Bob would say, “These good jobs won't last forever,” to which the man's answer was, "This war is going to last a long time."

Some time passed and the Atomic Bomb brought the war to an end and the shipyards laid most everybody off the next day. With the wars end guys had to scramble to get any kind of employment and Bob ended up working for himself.

Three years later Bob was washing his car when the man came walking down the side walk, and when he saw Bob he said, "I know you, we used to work together.”

Bob hardly recognized him but they talked over old times in the ship yard.

The man said whose car is that you are washing and Bob said, “It's mine and it's paid for.” The man stared down for a minute he asked, “Where do you live?” Bob answered; “I live here in my house which is paid for.”

The man stared down for a minute and said, ‘Could you let me have a couple of dollars.”  Bob gave it to him and the man walked on shaking his head.

It was then Bob thought of the words the man had said to him when he was trying to get the man to save his money, "This war is going to last a long time."

Bob went back to washing his car as the man disappeared down the street.

This post is shared at “Tell Me a True Story.”

 

 

The Fourth Man - Chapter 26

 

Opportunities for Cherri

Cherri Leng had made a good impression on several of the young men and their families although they didn’t want her married into their family tree.

There were two young men who were willing to go against their family wishes but Cherri refused their offer of marriage.

Caroline was somewhat mystified by her refusals for she thought it would be a great move up for her.

James had been observing her spending so much time with Tom that he just came out with it and said; “Are you trying to land Tom?”

She couldn’t help but smile when she said; “Tom will land himself when he is ready.”

James said, “You didn’t answer me.”

She said, “Why don’t you ask Tom if he has any interest in me and his answer will tell you what you want to know.”

James could see he wasn’t going to get an answer from her so he said, “Okay, I will.”

Tom was gone again so James had to wait until he returned. When he got back James cornered him and said, “What’s this you spending so much time with Cherri Leng.  You ain’t doing something you shouldn’t be doing are you?”

Tom smiled and said, “That never occurred to me but since you mention it… I’ll think about it.”

James said, “You had better behave yourself for if Les catches you doing that he will send you packing.”

Tom said, “Well you know it was you who brought it up not me.”

James went his way saying, Do what you want to do I don’t care.”

Cherri heard the conversation between Tom and James and said to Tom, “You two were doing a lot of talking about me.”

Tom said, “Yes but it was mostly James.”

She said, “We have gotten to know each other pretty good and have spent a lot of time together.”

He began to squirm a bit for he had never heard her speak with this tone in her voice.

She went on and said, “I guess I could live on what you make if I was careful with our money. I could have married a rich man instead of someone poor like you.”

Tom said, “Who said I was poor?  I have been teaching because I like it but not as a life’s occupation.

He continued, “No one knows it but my folks are rich and so am I.  Not only that but I will soon be a lot richer.  Ever since I have been here I have been buying the mineral rights to land for miles around here and in another year or two we will start drilling for oil. Renee’s has hired another teacher to take my place and if you want to marry me then let’s do it.”

Cherri said, “Okay let’s tell my folk’s and let the news spread around.”

Cherri and Tom found Chen and Mai and Chen said; “You like pretty China girl?”

 Tom said, ‘Yes very much.”

Mai said, “You no touch till you marry Cherri Leng.”

Tom said, “Okay, no touch.”

Occidental plus Oriental equals Eurasian

Tom and Cherri were married and Sarah insisted it be a grand occurrence.

Cherri was much loved and a lot of people showed up that neither of them knew.

Caroline and her husband and baby were there and seemed to be happy. She told Cherri how happy she was for her and that Tom was a good man. She said, “Maybe he could get a better job someday and would be better able to take care of her.”

Cherri never told Caroline that Tom was well off and just said, “I hope so.”

Tom set up an office in town and built them a nice house on the outskirts.

Then a few weeks later Chen showed up with Mai, Chen Tu, and May Leng in tow.

Cherri's Mom and Dad

Tom was surprised to see them and said, “Welcome Honorable father-in-law.”

Chen said, “You’re welcome too nice son-in-law.”

Chen spoke to Cherri in Chinese for a while and she looked at Tom with an uncertain look on her face. For the next half hour they conversed with Tom completely left out of the conversation.

Mai had went in the kitchen and made a pot of tea and said, “Everyone sit down for tea.”

Cherri wasn’t sure how to tell Tom what was happening but started by saying, “Honorable family has come to stay with first daughter and nice husband.”

Tom said, “That is alright they can sleep in the spare rooms while they are here.”

Cherri said, “You don’t understand, they have quit working for Les and Sarah and are moving in here with us. They are going to cook and clean like they did for the Riley’s.  They will need some rooms of their own so we will have to add on to the house.”

Tom was speechless but finally said, “The property next door is for sale. I will buy it and they can live there.”

Cherri said, “I will try to explain this to them but they have their mind set on living with us.”

Tom said, “I’m going back to the office for a while and give you time to sort it out for I will say the wrong thing not fully understanding their culture.”

The Chen’s agree (after Cherri tells them how it’s going to be)

When Tom returned home Cherri said, “It is all settled, go down tomorrow and buy the next door property and they will live there.”

Tom could feel a little tension in the air but better that than the alternative.

The Chen’s insisted on cleaning and cooking for Tom and Cherri, so Tom turned that situation over to Cherri.  In fact he let her handle most all of the things that related to the Chen’s.

After she got the one big issue pertaining to them  settled, (which was walking into their bedroom at an inappropriate time) the rest were easier to deal with.

With the privacy issue taken care of, Tom was at ease with his new family and assumed the head of the family position.

He wanted the Chen children to get a good education so he and Cherri taught them at home.  Later they would go to a private school where there they would mix with the future important people in the nation.

Tom said, “The name Chen Tu needs to be changed. He said Charles would be more proper for him. At home Chen Tu would be fine but when he mingled with money society he needed a name like Charles. He said Maybelline would be better for May to be known as but May or Mabel for friends to call her.

Cherri responds to social snubs

While trying to join the society circle in town Cherri was treated with disrespect.

This didn’t set well with Tom. He let it be known that his wife was to be treated with the same respect as the rest of the women in the upper circles.

Since he dealt with the men the wives still treated Cherri very badly.

One day the bank president was notified that the bank had been sold and that he no longer would be in charge of the bank.

As it turned out Tom’s family had added the bank to their holdings and Tom was the new bank president. When he took over he advised the old president that he could remain with the bank and work under Tom’s supervision.  At first he was offended but realized that he needed a job so he accepted Tom’s offer.

Tom had Cherri to make a list of all the women who had treated her badly and checked the bank records to see if they owed the bank any money.

As it turned out most were heavily in debt to the bank with loans that could be called at any time. It seemed that the society dames were big spenders and they were living on the edge financially.

Tom was still steaming and had Cherri come in and start calling the loans in. She was to face the people who had treated her very badly and make them pay for their disrespect.

Tom wasn’t satisfied until every penny had been paid with most of the elitist out on the street.  A few managed to sell enough goods to keep their dwelling.

Tom went into competition with them and eventually drove them out of business.

After he was satisfied, he was heard to say; “No one disrespects my wife for she is one fine lady.”

Cherri saw the lengths Tom would go to when someone didn’t give her the courtesy due her and she loved him much more than she had before.

It was shortly after this that Cherri told Tom to get ready for he was going to be a father.  Tom said he couldn’t believe it. Have you told your folks? She said mother knows and tonight I will tell father, May and Chen Tu.

Tom said I can hardly believe this; I wonder what our child will look like. She said it will be Eurasian and I believe our descendants will be the best of both worlds.

To be Continued

 

The Fourth Man - Chapter 25



Who is Next?

The girls go East

Cherri Leng and Caroline headed to finishing school in Boston. They experienced the usual culture shock but quickly got over it.

In order to get Cherri enrolled Les had to go to Boston in person. He finally had to bribe the dean in order to get her enrolled along with Caroline. The school didn’t want to accept Chinese and it took Les another couple of days the get the teachers adjusted to the idea of a Chinese girl in their class.

It would have been a lot easier to enroll an Indian girl than Cherri Leng but Les wouldn’t be denied.  Before long, Les realized the staff had been threatened by the Irish and Italian families who wanted their offspring in the school.

He stayed a few days after they were in their classes to make sure that no one was going to try to be superior to or bully the girls.

Before he left he made one more stop at the dean’s office and told him which students would try to trouble his girls and said when they do my girls will straighten them out and I don’t want you to come down on them for standing up for themselves.

Les said goodbye to Cherri and Caroline and headed home to Sarah.

Trouble comes and leaves

As soon as Les had headed home some of the seniors began to hassle Cherri. They wanted to show the younger girls how to make the new girls miserable.

Cherri had Caroline watch the door to the showers and she snatched the hair of the nearest girl and dragged her out of the shower cubicle naked. She held her down until she cried and then released her.

She looked around and said, “Who’s next?” and started after another one.

She slammed this one down and said, “These are the new rules. There will be no attempts to bully me and Caroline and no gossip concerning us or else.”

All the Girls Wanted to be Friends with China Doll

 

From that time on there were no more whispering about them.  Within a short time all the girls wanted to be friends with the girls.

Cherri laughed and said to Caroline; “I guess we know how to make friends with this crowd.  I should have told them the chicken hawk story for there is something magical about it.”

After the first year they came home for the summer and Les observing them said, “I think they have ruined my girls.”

Sarah said, “Don’t you see they have made real ladies out of them.”

During the summer James warned the girls not to tease the younger cowhands for they would take things too serious and it would just cause trouble for Les or one of the brothers.

He encouraged them to enjoy the dances they held once a month but let that be it.

Young May Leng was in the middle of everything the girls did. She wanted to know all about their dating and what the boys in the academy did to attract girls.

Cherri would only tell her that she was too young to think about boys but when she was older she would tell her everything.

She allowed May Leng to read what she was writing to some boys she knew and one in particular named Herman or Hermie as she called him.

May wanted to know of Cherri was interested enough to marry him.  She said if Cherri didn’t want him then she would take him.

Cherri said, ‘You better not let Mai hear you talk like that for she would give you a spanking.

It was about then that Cherri realized her little sister was growing up and was interested in the opposite sex.

She sat May down and told her some facts of life that Mai hadn’t bothered to tell her.

Caroline and Tom

As soon as Tom the teacher, met Caroline he was attracted to her. He went and told Les how he felt about her. Les told him to slow down for she was going to complete her schooling before she would be considering getting wed.

Tom said he understood but he wanted to make his feelings known so she could be thinking about him during the next semester. He spent as much time with Caroline and Cherri as possible until they left for school for this next year.

Caroline was friendly albeit a bit standoffish whereas Cherri was open and friendly. By the time for them to head back to school Tom had made quite a lot of headway with Caroline (or so he thought).  He did manage to extract a promise from her to write him at least once a week.

There were a couple of girls who decided to stay in school longer than they might have since Tom was the teacher. They knew he was interested in Caroline but at this point they hadn’t given up on him yet. They were enamored by his dimples when he smiled.

He had dealt with young girls while he was taking his teachers classes and knew how to not hurt their feelings when they got too carried away.

Caroline didn’t follow through with her promise to write every week. She would write every other week and the notes were short and not romantic at all.

Cherri wrote him quite often and there was warmth that was missing in Caroline’s letters.

Just before graduation Sarah received a letter from Caroline saying she was engaged to a man just finishing law school.

 

He was going to join his father’s firm and eventually expected to make a lot of money. His family was well off and had strong societal connections.

When the wedding date arrived Sarah managed to get Les to travel to Chicago for the nuptials.

Cherri came home with Sarah and Les and James picked them up when they arrived. 

Tom let down for a while

Renee’s did some tutoring of kids who missed quite a bit of school due to having to work on either a ranch or farm.

With school being out Tom was gone quite a bit.

Les would ask him where he had been but couldn’t get much information out of him.

When he was home he and Cherri spent time together and she would tell him the news about Caroline.  She told him Caroline was going to have a baby and that caused Tom to have a strange feeling about things as they had played out.

He had hoped he would have been the one to father her children, but it wasn’t to be.

When the baby was born Cherri told Tom and from that time on he had very few thoughts about Caroline.

 

It seemed that the birth of her child ended his interest in her.

As he examined his feelings he couldn’t explain what happened to him.

It was as if a death had occurred and she no longer had control of his feelings.

Cherri told him it wasn’t about you for Caroline had a strong feeling for you but she couldn’t bring herself to marry someone who made such a small salary.

Town people didn’t hold teachers in high esteem, because were considered to be far down on the list of importance.

To Be Continued

 

The Fourth Man - Chapter 24

Yes I am the New Teacher

 

A new school teacher

Rene’e was pregnant again and with caring for her first baby, teaching was getting to be too much for her.

She contacted her old professor and asked for recommendations for a new teacher. She explained to him the conditions they would be working under and she wanted someone who had graduated from college.  One other thing she told him was the new teacher would be paid more than they could make elsewhere.

He inquired if she wanted a man or woman and she responded; it doesn’t matter as long as the teaching skills satisfy me for I will be watching whoever it is.

Two weeks later a man showed up at Rene’s and said, “My name is Tom and I’m your new teacher.”

Rene’s was taken aback by this sudden arrival.  He handed her his resume with his diplomas and she was impressed.

She sat him down and asked a lot of questions about his past whether he had any trouble with the law. It appeared he had the yes and no’s in the right place and she was satisfied so far.

She said he could stay with her and Slim until they were finished with the school house additions which included living quarters for the teacher.

There was one more step that was needed and that was to go and talk to Les and Sarah.  While Billy and James handled most of the legal and financial ends of the business Les was still the main man and everyone respected him as such.

When Tom met Les he was nervous appearing before such an austere person. Les with his guns strapped to his waist was imposing to say the least.

They met outside by the porch and before they started to talk Les whipped out one of his guns in an instant and cut some feathers off of a chicken hawk flying above.

He said I got a speck of dust in my eye and that was that was why I missed. The fact was he could still draw as fast as either Billy or James.

The hawk circled and was setting up to make a dive on one of the layer hens and Les pulled his gun and shot the hawk out of the air and the dog ran off with it.

Les said, ‘So you’re Tom the teacher.”

Tom said, “Yes that is what they told me when I graduated from teachers college.”

“You know Rene’s is still in charge of running the school and will be assisting you with some of the kids.”

Tom said. “I didn’t know that but I have no problem working with her for she is a smart lady.”

Les said, “In a couple of weeks the construction on the school will be done and you can move into your quarters. You can go to town and buy or order whatever you need such as a bed and whatever.  We have a stove so you won’t have to buy one of them.  The school stuff has arrived and is stored in the barn waiting to be moved into the school. You can stay at Rene’s place till you move into you’re new quarters.

That pretty well takes care of the living but now we need to address the teaching. Until Rene’s has her baby Caroline and Cherri Leng can help you with the small children.  There are some other girls their age you can use if they don’t work out for you.  

There is one other thing that is very important for you to know and that is there are several of the older girls who are almost grown and are getting to be feisty if you know what I mean. The one thing I want you to keep in mind - - is that chicken hawk. That hawk was doing something I didn’t like and he paid the price for it. The same will go for you if you mess with any of the young girls of any age.

Now we both know there will be one or more flirting with you from time to time and you are not to respond to any of them.  They will test their power of female wiles on you and you are not to respond to them. Even though some of them look like full grown women they still need to grow and mature some more.

In other words don’t go getting familiar with the students or you will have to pay the price for it. If any of them get too frisky just tell Rene’ and she will handle it.”

Tom said, “I understand the rules and they are the same all over.”

Les said, ‘There is one difference and that is the punishment… just remember the chicken hawk.”  He went on and said, “If you have an overcoming urge you can sneak off to the house where the cowhands go and be relieved there or in town there are several good looking gals your age that are looking for a husband and you could do a lot worse than them.”

Tom said, “I think I will live solo for the time being. I had to deal with several hungry females while in school and I know some of them can be pretty persistent at times.  

 

I’m going by the school and then back to Rene’s for supper.

I want to thank you for being so up front and I’ll do my best to stay out of trouble and will remember that chicken hawk.”

How did the meeting go?

Slim saw Tom come up and went to help him unsaddle his horse.  He said, “I understand you met Les today.”

Tom said, ‘Yeah I met him.”

Slim went on and said, “Do you think you and he will get along?”

Tom smiled and said, “I would be a fool not to; as long as I remember the chicken hawk I’ll be alright.”

Slim laughed and said, “Les is a pretty good shot isn’t he?”

Tom said, “Yeah, the best I’ve ever seen.”

Slim said, “Put your horse in the corral and I’ll give him some hay then we can eat for I think supper is almost ready.”

Rene’ asked Tom how the work on the school is coming along and he said he should be able to move in his place in about ten days.

She said, “Between now and then you better get in your supply of wood for winter. I’ll get James to give you a couple of hands to help you just make sure you have enough for it is hard to cut wood with two foot of snow on the ground.”

Tom said, “I never thought of that, I’ll get right on it starting tomorrow.”

The next day he went to James and said he was going to start cutting wood for winter. James gave him the use of a couple of wagons and a couple of hands.

After the first day Tom needed some gloves for he had blisters on his hands. He discovered they needed a lot of wood to get through the winter so it was put your head down and keep pulling the saw through the trees.
 

Then it was time to split it into small enough pieces to get it into the stove. Each evening they loaded the wagons and hauled the fire wood to the school house where it had to be stacked out of the weather.

This took a couple of weeks and by that time the school house and living quarters was finished the wood was cut.

The school house had a storm cellar where canned foodstuffs could be kept.  Also in case of a freeze or a violent storm came up, it was a place where the kids could go there for safety.

Tom got his things moved in along with the furniture that was donated or bought and he was ready to start teaching.

To be Continued

 

The Fourth Man - Chapter 23

Branding the Cattle

 

Long hot summer

The summer looked to be a busy time for the Riley’s with the cowhands rounding up the cattle for branding and castrating the young bulls.  

 

Of course they were dipped for ticks and other parasites and checked for wounds. Then it would be time to cut out the cattle that would be shipped to market after being fattened up.

The horse ranches were doing a similar task along breaking the horses for riding. The mares and stud horses had been busy and there were a good number of colts coming on.

The farms produced a good crop for the first year and by summer there would be a lot of work needing extra hands.  Les had put up a cannery to can several kinds of food stuffs for the coming winter and sold quite a bit to the nearby towns.

 

Several ladies from town came and worked in the canning process and took food for their labor.  

 

One thing followed another and when one task was finished the workers could take over another job.

The cowhands complained the most because they felt other labor was beneath them.

Les told they could either take the jobs that were available or take their pay and leave. Almost all of them stayed on and didn’t have to ride the grub line.

It appeared that buying the land and the machinery had been a good investment.

As winter approached Sam and Alf thoughts turned once again to the young girls, Caroline and Cherri Leng.  

James saw that this could lead to some trouble for the girls were acting up.

He told Alf and Sam to make whatever repairs that were needed on the steam engines and then go visit their family for the winter.  They grumbled about it but in the end they left and went home.

Absence makes the memory grow weaker

Two Brides

Two months later James got word from Alf and Sam that they would be returning in time to get everything ready for the next year’s crops and would be bringing their new wives with them.

 

It hadn’t taken long for the guys to forget about Caroline and Cherri Leng.

There were some farm houses on the farm land James had bought so he wrote back and said they better come early and leave their wives at home.  They needed to fix the houses a bit and the wives could follow in three weeks. Again there was some grumbling this time by the wives but they did it James’s way.

Adjustment time for the wives

When the wives arrived and saw the houses they both said this place needs a lot of fixing up.

After seeing the guys new wives Caroline and Cherri Leng were a little disappointed and relieved at the same time.

James said, “Well if you don’t get the pup you wanted this time there’ll be another litter in a little while.”

The girls finally got what he meant and laughed and I said, “I guess we missed those dogs didn’t we?”

Alf had married a Swedish girl Carin that was very strong, but Ginny the gal Sam married was a bit fragile.  It was soon obvious that the country life was going to be difficult for her.  

Sam said he needed to get some help for her and he wanted to hire Cherri Leng.

James said, “No that wouldn’t work for she was much too pretty to work for him,” and Sam got his meaning.  

James said, “Betsy and I am going to town in the morning and I’ll take the two wives with us and we’ll find you an older woman to help Ginny.”

The trip to town was a gab fest for Betsy wanted to know all about how their wedding came about.  Betsy had talked to Mai about getting a helper for Ginny and told her they didn’t want someone too young and attractive just a good worker.

Mai said, “I know who you want.  My cousin has only been in America for a year and doesn’t speak English very well but understands everything you tell her. Once you show her what to do she has no trouble doing it the next time.”

Betsy told James, “ I think I have the right woman for Ginny.”

After they interviewed the woman Wu Leng, James said, “She looks good to me but it is up to Ginny to choose.”

Betsy took Ginny aside and said, “This woman fills the bill on the main count and that is she is in her thirties and isn’t pretty so Sam won’t be tempted to… well you know.”

Ginny said, “I well give her a try out and if she does her job then she’s my woman.”

James told the woman that there will be someone here tomorrow to pick you up and bring you to the farm.

After the first week Ginny was convinced the woman completely satisfied her and was going to work out just fine.

Sam felt relieved because he was afraid that Ginny wasn’t going to survive the harsh life on the prairie.

 

 

OH WELL TIMES

This post is shared at “Tell Me a True Story.”

My Continued Story will resume very soon !



Crashed Again?  Oh Well

Around our house we have all kinds of times. There are good times, bad times, so-so times and then we have “oh well” times.   Oh well times will help preserve your sanity.

Good and bad times are relative to your expectations.  What is good times for one family might be just “the run of the mill” for others. The same applies for the bad times.   It is hard to enjoy the fact that your bad times can’t get any worse when they are as bad as they can get.

At our house things are pretty good, so good that we mostly have to look for something bad.  Although when I do, I’m pretty efficient and can come up with something, when I should just enjoy what I do have.

1 Timothy 6:8-9 As long as we have food and clothes, we should be satisfied. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

That is about the last thing some Christians want to hear, for they want more, but it is pretty good advice anyhow.

Now lest we become indolent we must keep in mind:  Proverbs 6:6 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!

I have never heard of an ant being on welfare so they must know something.

There are some other times that I call, “Oh well, times.”  These are the times when I enter the state of futility. These are times when I have seemly done my best to solve my problems and have come to my wits end.  Or if I haven’t really tried hard, to my half wits end.

Kids are helpful in bringing you to this state for they are experts in this field.

How is this; I told those kids not to do that and now they have destroyed the garage door, no matter where I hide the keys they find them and start the car, “Oh well.”

I forgot to pay the credit card bill and now they want 22% interest on everything I owe, “Oh well.”

The husband has just spent $35,000 and bought a new truck he didn’t need, and we don’t have enough money to pay for it, “Oh H….”

The list is quite long and a lot of this is of our own making. I find it hard to pray and ask GOD to get me out of these kinds of problems for I’m afraid I’ll just do it again.

What I need is some wisdom, James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.  Daniel 12:3 tells me the result of it; Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

That wasn’t an ”Oh well” statement it was an AMEN statement.


This post is shared at “Tell Me a True Story.”


 

The Fourth Man - Chapter 22

Harvest Machine

James and his new ideas

James had invited his school friend Alf to come to visit him and Betsy.  Alf was quite taken with her, and told James she is going to be some woman when she grows up.

James said, “I whole heartily agree on that.”

They both laughed about that and then Alf said, “I have all the information you wanted me to bring.”

While at school this last year both Alf and James had been studying steam engines and their uses on the farm.  James had told him there was a lot of land along the river he had his eye on and wasn’t interested in using horses to cultivate it.

They went to look at the land and Alf agreed it had real possibilities. He laid out what machinery they would need and said he would be interested in being a partner with James on the project.

James said he would buy the land during the winter and Alf would buy the machinery. Then in the spring as soon as the ground dried up enough they would be plowing.

The horses will have to go

With the land purchase being finished and the steam engines on its way a horse trader came by and asked, “What is going to happen to all the work horses, for  they won’t be needed anymore?  Maybe we can make a deal and I’ll take them off your hands.”

Alf was in favor of getting rid of the horses for he thought the steam engines would be all they needed. James decided to talk it over with Billy and get his opinion.

Out to Pasture

Billy said, “All of the horses will stay right where they are for they have earned their keep over these years.  We will still need many of them to do the tasks the big engines are too cumbersome to do.  The ones who are not needed will be put out to pasture and can live out their lives there.”

Alf didn’t like that idea but wasn’t ready to go up against Billy.  It was proven later that the work horses were needed even more as time went on.

The equipment arrives

It was an exciting day when the two engines arrived with all of the planting and harvesting equipment. The engines were ready to go but the accompanying equipment had to be hauled to the farms and put together.

Both James and Alf had been trained in the repair of all the machines they would be using but they hired a company man to come with all their new gear.

This young man Sam was no older than James and Alf but knew everything about the equipment and how to repair it.  He also knew what parts that usually would fail and have to be replaced.

After everything was setup and ready for the fields they convinced him to stay on and help run everything.  

Alf said, “I didn’t think we could convince him to stay but we did.”

Betsy was nearby and said, “Before you get carried away maybe you should know that Sam has been eyeing Caroline in an amorous way and that is the real reason he decided to stay.

James said, “He better not try to get too close for she isn’t ready for that kind of courting.  He better not let Les catch him messing with her.”

Betsy said I don’t think Caroline is innocent in all this for she is thirteen and I know the feelings a girl gets at this age.

James said, “I think you better have a talk with her and remind her she still has a lot of growing to do before she is ready to make the next step.”

Betsy said, “Okay I’ll try to slow her down but you know several of us girls were married by the age of sixteen or before and she knows it.”

James said, “I’ll talk to Sam and let him know she ain’t ready for what he has in mind.

There is another thing and that is Les has always said that Caroline is the smartest one of all us kids and he wants her to get a real good education. Going to college and all puts a gal on the edge of being a spinster and I know Caroline isn’t going to go for that.”

Alf said, ‘We are ready to begin the plowing and planting and I think the long hours will cool this fledging romance a bit.”

James said, “Yeah, I know what you mean it slows a lot of things down just ask me.”



James called Sam aside and asked; “Do you have designs on Caroline, I mean in a sparking kind a way.”

Sam said, “What do you mean?”

James didn’t say anything; he just stared into Sam’s eyes.

Sam began to redden and stutter as he said well I do think she is stunning to look at.

James said, And…”

Sam went on and said, “And she is desirable.”

James said, “And…”

Sam blurted out, “I want her in the worst way, I mean in the best way… I don’t know what I mean… I just want her.”

James trying to be kind said, “I know that feeling but it is a controllable feeling and I need to tell you that you better keep it under control. We Riley’s can be a harsh bunch and messing with our women can cost you more than you want to pay.”



Pretty Girl

Sam said, “There must be a way to work this out if you help me.”

James said, “I’m going to help you by telling to get the plowing done and after the harvest is in then we will see if any progress has been made but let me remind you that we are dealing with two issues, one is the age factor and the other is education.

It will take time to solve both of these problems. Les has plans for Caroline and if you have a chance with her you will have to find a way to fit into those plans.”

Then James said, “Now there all several fine specimens of womanhood around here perhaps you need to take another look and forget about Caroline.  

 

How about a nice, and I mean very nice China girl.  Cherri Leng is about the same age as Caroline and is attracting some attention already. She would overlook the fact you are “Caucasian."

Sam said, “I never considered marrying someone of another race … no I will stick to admiring Caroline.”

Alf had been thinking about the conversation and said, “I also have never thought of considering a wife of another race either though I know several men that have married Indian women.  

Pretty China Girl

 

I have noticed Cherri Leng and she is very comely and after thinking about it, desirable.”

James said, “Alright you two would be Romeos I don’t want to hear another word about your interest in women until the harvest is over a few months from now.”

Sam said to Alf; “I guess that means we must keep our thoughts to ourselves then.”

Alf said, “That’s okay with me besides I have a lot of work to do and have got to get to it.”  

 

As he walked away he said to James; “If you see Cherri tell her I think she is fine.”

 

To Be Continued