The Mystery of Ruby Lode E-Book

Scotty Cade

• Herausgeber: Dreamspinner Press
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 324

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

After six months of research, adventure seekers Bowen McAlister, Cyrus Curran, Duff Gentry, and Lockhart Dawson make their way to Boulder, Colorado, to explore the abandoned gold mine Ruby Lode. But when they arrive, Duff, a born psychic, senses something isn't quite right—and the closer they get, the more his unease grows. Something long buried in the deep shafts and drifts of Ruby Lode makes its presence known by exposing dark, guarded secrets. Preying on the adventurers' weaknesses and insecurities, Ruby Lode's own destructive secret threatens their sanity, friendship, and ultimately their lives. Bo, Cy, Duff, and Lockey must work together to unravel the century-old mystery before they become another footnote in the mine's history.

Leseprobe

Readers Love SCOTTY CADE

An Unconventional Courtship

“This is probably one of the sweetest stories that I have read in a long time.”

—Guilty Indulgence Book Club

“A win-win all around.”

—Literary Nymphs Reviews

Wings of Love

“…a story that you will never forget.”

—Fallen Angel Reviews

“…a heartfelt and very sweet romance that I couldn’t put down once I started.”

—Night Owl Reviews Top Pick

Final Encore

“Mr. Cade certainly knows how to write an enchanting tale with a storyline and characters that are enjoyable to read.”

—Long and Short Reviews

By SCOTTY CADE

NOVELS

LOVE SERIES

Bounty of Love

Foundation of Love

Treasure of Love

Wings of Love

Final Encore

The Mystery of Ruby Lode

An Unconventional Courtship

An Unconventional Union

Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Copyright

Published by

Dreamspinner Press

5032 Capital Circle SWSte 2, PMB# 279Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886

USA

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

The Mystery of Ruby Lode

Copyright © 2013 by Scotty Cade

Cover Art by Catt Ford

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Ste 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

ISBN: 978-1-62380-563-0

Digital ISBN: 978-1-62380-564-7

Printed in the United States of America

Second Edition

April 2013

First Edition published by Silver Publishing, June 2012

Dedication

As always, to Kell. Without your continued love and support, I would never allow myself the time you allow me to dedicate to chasing my dreams. I love you!

And… thanks to Ben and Jutta Counter and Michael and Tanya Trahan for mentioning their ownership in the Ruby Lode Mine over dinner and planting this entire crazy idea in my head. I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to scan and send me all your turn-of-the-century documents and for filling my overloaded brain with as much information as you could gather. Your valuable input allowed me to be as accurate as possible when writing about Ruby Lode and its surroundings in this very fictional novel about a very real gold mine. You truly are the best and Kell and I love you all.

Part 1

Boulder County, Colorado

Tax Auction

Spring 1914

Chapter 1

“SETTLEdown, folks! Settle down.”

The lanky auctioneer slammed a gavel on the podium, demanding silence.

When the room was again quiet, the auctioneer looked up from his perch.

“Our next piece of property is the Ruby Lode Mining Claim, designated by the surveyor general as survey number one-nine-four-five-three. The claim embraces a portion of section six, in township two North, Range seventy-one West of the sixth Principal Meridian in the Mining District and bounded and described as more particularly set forth in the patent from the United States to O.E. Jasper of record in Boulder County, Colorado. Records; said survey number one-nine-four-five-three extending one thousand five hundred feet in length along the Ruby vein or lode; the premises herein granted containing five and fifteen hundredth acres along the South St. Vrain River. The tax lien is one hundred dollars.

“Do I hear an opening bid of one hundred dollars?”

You could hear a pin drop in the sparsely filled town hall.

“Do I hear an opening bid of seventy-five?”

From three rows back, Frink Davis fidgeted as he and his best friend, Counter Stephens, scanned the room for any signs of activity. A hand going up, a wink, a nod, even a cough could indicate a bid. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Frink saw movement, and Counter must have seen the same movement because they both turned quickly in that direction. Seated in the front row, a rugged middle-aged man wearing a brown cowboy hat leaned over and whispered something to an exceptionally broad-shouldered man wearing all black sitting right next to him. They nodded in agreement and the man wearing the brown hat brushed his hand across the brim. Counter elbowed Frink in excitement.

“Seventy-five dollars,” said the auctioneer. “Do I hear eighty?”

Frink nervously watched as Counter studied the two men. Then he scanned the room again, looking for other bidders before turning to Counter and smiling. Counter raised his hand and the auctioneer nodded.

“Eighty, I have eighty dollars. Do I hear eighty-five?”

The two men in the front row turned around with surprised looks on their faces to see where the next bid had come from.

This time, the man in black shouted, “Ninety dollars.”

“Ninety dollars, I have ninety dollars. Do I hear ninety-five?”

Frink’s hands were beginning to shake uncontrollably, and he felt as if sweat was pouring out of each of his palms, but he held his emotions together as he prayed his best friend could make this happen.

Wait for it, Count, wait for it, wait…. But the excitement must have gotten the best of Counter because he jumped to his feet and yelled, “One hundred dollars,” glaring at the men in the front row.

Frink couldn’t believe his ears, and he glared at Counter, shaking his head from side to side. He leaned in and hissed, “Ninety-five, you idiot, not one hundred.”

“One hundred dollars, I have one hundred dollars,” the auctioneer yelled. “Do I hear one-ten?”

Counter smacked himself in the head. “Fuck! Did I just say…? Did I say one hundred dollars? I meant to say ninety-five.” Silence again filled the hot, stuffy town hall. Frink couldn’t think. In his head he kept hearing Counter’s voice over and over again: one hundred dollars, one hundred dollars. He put his head between his legs and did his best not to pass out.

“Going once.”

More silence….

“Going twice.”

Again, the two men in the front row slowly turned around and glared at them, then turned back and stared straight ahead.

But still more silence….

“Sold!” The auctioneer yelled as the gavel hit the top of the podium. “Ruby Lode sold to the gentleman in the third row.”

Frink would have sworn his heart was going to leap out of his chest. Just then Counter threw his calloused hands in the air and shouted, “Hot dog, Frink, we just bought ourselves a mine.”

Frink stood up with a concerned look on his face. “Count, I sure hope there’s gold in that there mine, ’cause if there’s not, my paw and everybody I borrowed money from to buy it is going to hang me from a tall tree with a short rope.”

Frink felt Counter’s hands on both of his shoulders, and his heart began to race.

“Relax, Frink, there’s gold. I can just feel it. We’ll find gold in Ruby Lode, or we’ll die tryin’.”

Frink’s bottom lip quivered. “That’s what I’m afraid of, and I sure hope it’s not the latter.”

Frink had never been able to deny his best friend anything, no matter how big or how small. All through school, Counter had gotten him into so many tight jams he’d lost track. And he’d lost count of the number of times he went home from school with bruised knuckles because he’d taken the blame for something Counter had done. The schoolmaster had vowed to break Counter’s bad ways and all the while, Frink kept on covering for him.

He felt Counter’s comfortable hands patting his back, and he started to calm just a little. But as quickly as those hands were there, they moved, and Frink suddenly found himself being dragged to the front of the town hall, he assumed to pay for their new gold mine. Midway to the cashier, the two rugged men from the front row stepped into the aisle and blocked their way.

“Howdy and congratulations, son,” one of the men said to Counter.

Counter stood up straight and smiled. “Much obliged.”

“The name’s Thomas, Hepp Thomas,” the man said with a slight smile while sticking his hand out in an offer of introduction. “And this here’s Shull Johnson”—pointing to his friend.

“I’m Counter Stephens,” Counter said as he looked hesitantly at Frink.

“And I’m Frink Davis.”

Frink watched Counter accept the stranger’s hand and shake; then he did the same. But the stranger held on to Frink’s hand a little longer than normal protocol, looking directly into his eyes. The stranger then released him and turned to Counter.

“Good to meet you, boys,” Hepp offered.

Frink looked at Counter and then the waiting cashier. “Ain’t aimin’ to be rude, gentlemen, but we got a little business to take care of.”

“Uh, call me Hepp, and about that—before you pay the cashier, can we talk some business?”

Frink saw another cautious look fill Counter’s eyes.

“What kind of business might that be?” Counter asked suspiciously.

“How would you like a couple of partners in Ruby Lode?”

Frink threw Counter a questioning glance. “Partners?”

“Yep,” Hepp replied. “We came here to buy Ruby Lode, but we only had ninety dollars between the two of us.”

Frink rubbed his head. Boy, I know what that feels like.

“I don’t think so,” Frink heard Counter tell the stranger.

He jammed his finger in Counter’s side and Counter yelped. “What’s that for?”

He shushed him with a wave of his hand. “Counter, can I have a word with you?”

Counter stared at Frink and waited for him to speak.

“In private,” Frink ground out through clenched teeth. “Please give us a minute, gentlemen.” Frink grabbed Counter’s arm and escorted him outside.

When they reached the porch of the town hall, he stood with his hands on his hips. “What in tarnation do you think you’re doing?”

“What do you mean, what am I doing?” Counter snapped. “I’m protecting our investment and keeping us from going into business with two thugs we just met.”

“But Count, that’s fifty dollars,” he whined. “I could give some of the money back that I borrowed, and we could still have the mine. Come on, if that mine is half as full of gold as you say it is, there’s more than enough for all of us.”

“You’ve got a point, Frink, but we don’t even know these guys. How do we know they’re not going to shoot us, bury our bodies, and take our deed?”

“The mine will be in our names, and if and when we hit gold, we’ll put half the mine in their name. If he doesn’t agree, we try something else, but I don’t want to pass up that money.” Frink studied the all-too-familiar look on Counter’s face that appeared when he was ciphering on something. He finally used what worked every time: his pleading eyes.

“Oh, okay, fine,” Counter snapped. “But I’m not gonna give it to them too easily. And if they double cross us, I’m the one who’s gonna hang you from a tall tree with a short rope.” Counter gave him a warning look. “Right after I plant my boot in your ass.”

Counter turned and stormed back into the town hall without waiting for his response, and Frink hurried to catch up. Hepp and Shull remained where they’d left them.

“I’m sorry, gentlemen, but—”

“What if I sweeten the pot?” Hepp quickly interjected.

“I’m listening.”

Frink cleared his throat and gave Counter a stern look.

“I mean, we’re listening.”

Frink folded his arms. “That’s better.”

“Shut up and let the man talk, Frink.”

“What do you have for equipment?”

“We’ve got what we need,” Counter snapped defensively.

“Is that so?” Hepp asked. “Do you have poppet heads and winches?”

“Uh no, not yet, but—”

“Do you have rails, ore carts, picks, cold chisels, and lanterns?” Shull interrupted.

Counter’s eyes got big as saucers, and Frink did his best to hide his shock. He wasn’t about to give away how completely unprepared they were. They had little more than a few picks and some worn chisels.

“Shull and I have all the tools we’ll ever need to break this mine,” Hepp informed them. “This is not our first time at the rodeo. We’re experienced miners.”

Frink glanced at Counter. “Under one condition,” he said.

Looking a little distrustful, Hepp said, “Okay, we’re listening.”

“The mine stays in our name until we hit a vein and strike it big. Then we put the mine in all our names.”

Shull looked back and forth between Counter and Frink. “No deal,” he said, and then turned to his partner. “Hepp, I told you this was a stupid idea. Let’s go.” Shull headed for the door. He looked over his shoulder and added, “These boys are amateurs and we don’t have time for amateurs.”

“Sorry to have wasted your time, boys,” Hepp said, tipping his hat in their direction. “Good luck with Ruby Lode.”

Hepp turned and walked away. It was Counter’s turn to poke Frink in the ribs. “We need those tools, Frink. Stop him. I think they’re on the up-and-up.”

Frink rolled his eyes and sighed, “I sure hope you’re right. Hepp, wait.”

Hepp stopped and turned around.

“Okay. You get twenty-five percent ownership right now and the other twenty-five percent when we strike it big.”

Hepp turned around again and started for the door.

“Okay, okay, you win,” Frink conceded. “Fifty percent right now for fifty dollars in cash.”

Hepp smiled genuinely. “I’m not interested in winning. I’m interested in what’s fair.” Hepp went out to the porch and joined Shull. Frink and Counter followed, the four men shook hands, and just like that, they were in business together.

After paying for their new gold mine, the four new Ruby Lode mine owners walked down to the local watering hole to seal the deal. They shared a bottle of whiskey and started to get to know one another. Frink and Counter explained they shared a room over the post office in Boulder, and they’d saved every penny they could, borrowing the rest from family to buy Ruby Lode. Hepp and Shull, both single men, explained they owned a farm together in Lyons, just seven miles outside of town in the opposite direction, and they’d had moderate success mining both gold and silver over the years.

With the whiskey slowly loosening tongues, Frink listened with interest as Hepp confessed he and Shull had met an old drunk at this very saloon who had told them his family owned Ruby Lode up until the state seized the mine for back property taxes owed. Hepp told the story of how he and Shull had pumped the old guy full of whiskey, and over the course of a few hours, the guy admitted he and his grandfather had first started mining the lode in 1906. When they dug the first shaft into the mine, they had seen gold in Ruby Lode. The old cuss also explained they hadn’t been able to afford the equipment needed to dig and stabilize the first shaft properly, but they had kept digging as best they could, resulting in a dangerously unstable shaft at a pretty steep thirty-degree angle. Mining the shaft was difficult and risky, but they knew there was gold so they kept going. At one point they hit what they assumed was the tip of a major vein and pulled enough gold out of the shaft to buy the equipment they needed to dig and properly shore a second shaft, hoping to hit the gold midvein. Unfortunately, they never hit that vein, but that old man swore the gold is there. Before he could find the vein, his grandfather passed away, and his family lost the mine to the state. He never told anyone about the gold, hoping one day he’d find a way to get the mine back, but he never did.

Frink watched Counter’s eyes grow wide with excitement while listening to Hepp and Shull’s story. When they were finished, Frink confessed he and Counter had first become interested in the mine after hearing the identical tale from the same old man.

“That old man gets around,” Frink chuckled. “Wonder how many more people he’s told his story to?”

“Doesn’t really matter none.” Hepp raised his glass in salute before taking a sip. “The mine belongs to us now.”

“Let’s just hope the old guy is right about the gold.” Shull shook his head. “We’re all betting on it.”

Suddenly the table got quiet, and their moods took a somber turn. Probably a combination of the whiskey and the shared admission that they’d each spent their last penny based on the ramblings of an old drunk bellied up to this very bar.

Counter downed his last shot of whiskey and closed his eyes as he enjoyed the slight burn. “Well, if he’s not right, we’re all doomed.”

With the getting-to-know-you phase clearly out of the way and the celebratory mood over, the realization of what they’d just done began to set in. Frink’s right knee started to bounce, and goose bumps ran up and down his spine. He was suddenly very anxious about the days ahead and ready to get started. The four men quickly made plans to meet the next morning at Hepp and Shull’s farm to get the needed equipment. They’d take the equipment up to Ruby Lode and at the same time, survey the shafts for safety and stability. After saying his goodnights, each man left looking forward to getting to work on the mine.

The next morning, following the directions given to them, Frink and Counter rode the seven miles or so to Hepp and Shull’s farm, and together they loaded what equipment they could fit into Hepp’s wagon and departed for the two- to three-hour ride to Ruby Lode. When they arrived, the four men stood at the base of the mountain and looked up at an almost vertical peak. There stood the capped entrance to their new mine. The capping was a ten foot by twenty foot platform with a shed roof built over the mine’s opening.

Frink looked up the mountain in disbelief. “How in the hell are we going to get the equipment up there?”

Shull gave him a knowing glance and a jab to the ribs. “The same way we’d get ore, or in our case, gold, out of the mine: by pulley system.”

Frink eyed the heavy equipment with uncertainty. “Hope you have some mighty strong rope,” he commented with a shrug.

Hepp suggested he and Counter unload the equipment while Frink and Shull climbed up to the mine’s entrance with ropes and pulleys over their shoulders. The climb was slow going, but the last hundred yards were the toughest. Frink and Shull crawled up the almost vertical peak on all fours, mostly holding on to vegetation to keep them from sliding back down the mountain. When they reached the mine’s entrance, Frink watched as Shull secured the pulleys to a large rock covered by the old wooden structure protecting the mine’s opening. He slipped ropes through each one and told Frink to stay put.

“I’m going to lower myself back down the mountainside with the ends of the ropes. No sense both of us risking our lives,” Shull teased and winked.

Frink sat on the large rock and stretched his legs out. “Be my guest. I’ll gladly sit right here and watch ya work.”

Frink gasped when Shull lost his footing and started sliding down the mountain before digging his boots in and stopping his descent downward. He let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding when Shull gave him a weak smile and thumbs up before continuing down the mountain. He watched anxiously until Shull finally reached the bottom. Shull, Counter, and Hepp secured item after item to the ropes and hoisted the equipment slowly but surely to Frink’s awaiting arms. He stacked and organized the equipment as it came up, and just as the sun dipped over the mountain, the full wagon of equipment had been completely hoisted up and organized. Frink stretched his overworked back before heading down to join the others.

HEPPstood and wiped the sweat from his brow with his red work handkerchief. “One more load tomorrow and that should do it.” He shoved the handkerchief into his back pocket. “No need for you boys to ride the fifteen miles back home when you can just follow us and stay at our place. It’s nothing special, but it’s clean. Shull can cook up a mess of something and y’all can spend the night. That way we can get an early start in the morning.”

Frink looked at Counter, and he nodded his head in agreement. The sooner he filled his belly and laid his head down for the night, the better.

“That’d be mighty fine, Hepp,” Frink said appreciatively. “Much obliged.”

When they again reached Shull and Hepp’s farm, Hepp, Frink, and Counter tended to the horses while Shull went into the house and rustled up something for them to eat. Soon, all four men were cleaned up and sitting down to a dinner of hearty beef stew and warm bread.

Frink took a bite of warm buttered bread. “This is awful good.”

“I’ll say,” Counter added. “Where’d you learn to cook like this, Shull?”

“I was born back east, and my momma died when I was thirteen. I had two younger brothers and my daddy had to work, so that left only me to take care of the young’uns,” Shull explained. “You do what you gotta do to get by, so I had no choice but to learn.”

Counter and Frink watched as Hepp gave Shull a warm smile in an almost proud but loving way.

“Wow, Shull,” Counter added. “That couldn’t have been easy.”

“’Tweren’t easy. But nothing worth nothing in life is—easy, I mean,” Shull admitted. “I did what I had to do to give my brothers the best chance I could give them. Hell, I was their maw and paw all rolled up into one most of the time. Especially the youngest. He was only a year old when Maw died.”

Counter had a confused look on his face. “How did you know how to take care of a young’n?”

“I’d watched my Maw with both babies and did mostly what she did. Pretty soon I learned if you keep them fed and clean, most of time they’re pretty happy, unless they’re sick or something.”

Hepp cleared the dishes and they all pitched in until everything in the tiny kitchen was clean and organized.

Frink stretched and yawned. “Where do you want us to sleep?”

Hepp looked at Shull with a questioning look and Shull nodded.

“There’s an extra bedroom upstairs next to ours if you boys don’t mind sharin’.”

It was Counter and Frink’s turn to look at each other.

Frink’s eyes widened. “You men sleep together?”

“Yep, for the last twelve years,” Shull confessed. “You got a problem with that?”

“I… I guess not,” Frink stammered uneasily. “You boys sodomites?”

“That’s not a term we like to use,” Hepp said with distaste. “But yep, I guess so.”

Up to this point, Counter hadn’t said anything. Frink watched as he rocked from one foot to the other, nervously looking back and forth from Frink to Hepp to Shull.

“Counter?” Shull asked. “You have anything to say?”

“Uh, no, sir, just shocked is all. Never met a real sodomite before.”

“Sure you have, son, you just don’t know it. This is not something we talk about with many folks. Our ways are not popular with most people, so we keep to ourselves.”

“But you guys don’t seem like sodomites,” Frink said curiously. “I mean, you’re big, strong, and manly. Everyone thinks sodomites wear dresses and have pretty hair and act like girls.”

Hepp and Shull both laughed at that one. “How old are you boys?” Hepp asked.

“I’m nineteen.”

“And I’m twenty,” Counter added.

“The way you describe what we are is what most people think when they think of sodomites, so no one ever suspects us,” Hepp said. “We’ve lived here for going on eight years and no one we know has ever questioned our manhood. We don’t rub our lifestyle in folks’ faces and everyone leaves us alone.”

“Are you afraid of burning in Hell?” Counter blurted.

Hepp looked at Shull before turning a questioning look toward Counter. “Why do you think we’re going to burn in Hell?”

“When I was a kid, I remember our preacher in church preaching about Sodom and Gomorrah and how all sodomites would eventually burn in Hell for their sins. He said sodomy ain’t natural and is against God.”

“Son, faith is faith, and Hepp and me, we live good, clean lives. We ain’t done nothing against God. Besides, if he sends us to Hell for loving one another, then his Heaven is not a place we want to be anyway.”

Hepp continued before Frink or Counter could respond. “You boys are going to believe what you want to believe, so filling your head with our beliefs won’t do anyone any good.”

“Look,” Shull interrupted. “The only reason we said anything at all is because we felt that if we were going to be in business together, we wanted to be honest with you. That’s all.”

“Much obliged,” Frink said. “I don’t personally believe all that fire and brimstone talk, and I don’t really know where sodomites go when they die, but faith aside, it’s not for me to say what two people do behind closed doors.” Frink looked at Counter, hoping he wouldn’t continue down his current line of questioning.

“Yeah, what he said,” Counter agreed with a curt nod.

“Then that settles it,” Hepp said. “No need to bring it up ever again.”

“Let me show you boys to your room,” Shull motioned towards the stairs. “We need to be loaded and ready to go at first light.”

FRINKand Counter stripped and crawled into bed like old habit. They slept in the same bed every night in their little room above the post office and had shared a bed many times before that as kids during their twelve years of friendship. Frink thought about the many times they’d had relations in the quiet of the night, starting out exploring like boys do when they were kids, but continuing on well into their young adult life. Counter had never once spoken of what they’d done, nor had he ever acknowledged the feelings Frink knew hung between them, but after both tossed and turned for quite some time, Frink was the first to speak. “Count, you awake?”

“Yep, I’m up.”

“I know we’ve slept together hundreds of times since we were kids, but lying next to you feels different to me tonight.”

“I know what you mean,” Counter admitted. “Maybe it’s because we’re sleeping so close to sodomites.”

Frink hesitated and then asked the question that had been plaguing him for so many years. “Do you think we’re sodomites?”

Counter sat up in bed. “Why in tarnation would you ask that?”

“Well, because we’ve… uh, slept together so many times.”

“That doesn’t make us sodomites.”

“Doesn’t it?” Frink suggested.

“Heck no! You’ve got to do stuff,” Counter insisted.

There was silence for a few minutes. “Count?”

“Yeah?”

Frink opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it. “Uh… never mind. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Frink.”

“WELL, that went pretty well,” Shull said as he snuggled against Hepp’s broad chest.

“I guess so, but Counter didn’t seem as okay with us as Frink seemed to be.”

“Yeah, I picked up on that too.”

“Shull, have you ever noticed the way Frink looks at Counter?”

“Yeah, I have. Like the sun rises and sets just to shine on him. Just like the way I look at you,” Shull admitted.

“You think…?”

“Who knows, but those boys have known each other since they were kids, and we all know what kids do when they reach puberty.”

Hepp chuckled. “I know what you mean, but I guess time will tell about those two. The more we work together and get to know each other better, maybe they’ll get used to us and relax and just accept us.”

“I sure hope so, ’cause I like them both. They’re good boys.”

“Me too. ’Night, Shull.”

“’Night, Hepp. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Chapter 2

FIRSTlight found them loaded and ready to get moving. Frink was a little preoccupied and didn’t really feel like talking, but Counter was all business. With Hepp and Shull on the wagon and he and Counter on their horses, they started the journey along the St. Vrain River to the base of the mountain. Once there, for the second day, they would unload their equipment and hoist everything up to the waiting mine. Not wanting to leave the previous day’s equipment easily accessible, they’d removed the pulleys and ropes and therefore would need to set everything up again. As they’d done the day before, Frink and Shull climbed the side of the steep mountain to the waiting platform. However, unlike the day before, Frink didn’t feel like talking. When they reached the entrance to Ruby Lode, they again set up the pulley system, and Frink fed the ropes as they’d done the previous day.

“You okay?” Shull asked. “You seem awfully quiet.”

“Just got a lot on my mind, I guess.”

“Does it have anything to do with Hepp and me telling you about our… uh… being together?”

Frink didn’t answer right away, and suddenly he thought the silence was deafening.

“We’re sorry for just coming out of the blue with it. We just felt like we wanted to be honest with you boys.”

Frink started fidgeting and looked off into the distance. His palms were starting to sweat, and his heart started pounding in his chest. Why am I so darn nervous?

“You’re starting to worry me, son,” Shull admitted. “You’re white as a ghost.”

All Frink could do was nod, his throat suddenly dry. His heartbeat was running rapid but started to return to normal when Shull didn’t push the subject any further and started getting ready to make his descent. As Shull threw his legs off the platform, unable to hold it back any longer, Frink finally spoke. “Shull, wait,” he squeaked out.

Shull stopped dead in his tracks and their eyes met.

“Can I ask you something? I mean, just between us.”

“Sure,” he said as he climbed back up, sat next to Frink on the platform, and waited for him to get up the nerve to speak.

“How did you know?”

“How did I know what?”

“Uh… well, you know….” Frink wrung his hands nervously and whispered, “I mean about being a sodomite and all.”

Shull took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “I guess I always knew. You know, kids do stuff when they’re young, and some grow out of it and some don’t. I was one of the ones that didn’t grow out of it.”

Frink hung on Shull’s every word as he continued. “Before I met Hepp, I didn’t act on any of my desires. Got real good at hiding it.” Shull shrugged and a warm smile crossed his rugged face. “But the minute I first laid eyes on Hepp, I knew there was no way I’d be hiding my attraction, but I tried.”

“How… uh, did you two meet?” Frink asked.

“Hepp and I met in our early twenties when I went to work for a family that owned and operated several gold mines in the mining district. My first day on the job, Hepp and I happened to be assigned to the same mine shaft and worked closely together for a few days. We found we worked well together and had a comfort level one only finds occasionally. On the fourth day, we were working a large section of the mine when the entrance collapsed, and we were trapped alone together.”

Frink felt his eyes widen at the thought of being trapped in a mine shaft.

“For twenty-two hours, we didn’t know if we were going to live or die or even if they were trying to find us or dig us out. With each passing hour, our hope diminished, and we figured that our lives were going to end right there in that mine. Hepp sensed my giving up and tried to comfort me as best he could. By the flicker of our lantern, we sat in a corner nearest the entrance and waited for our time to come. I didn’t want to die without a human touch, so I rested my hand on Hepp’s leg and he rested his hand on mine. The next thing we knew, we were in the heat of passion, and that passion has not failed us to this day.”

“Obviously, you were rescued.” Frink chuckled.

“Yeah, several hours later they broke through and we were pulled to safety.” Shull paused. “Frink, why are you asking me all these questions?”

Frink again started to fidget. He wasn’t ready to admit he had the same kind of desires for Counter that Shull had for Hepp, at least to anyone but himself.

“Does this have anything to do with the way you look at Counter?”

Frink jumped up and glared at Shull. “What do you mean, the way I look at Count?”

Shull ignored the venom in Frink’s voice and said confidently, “It’s pretty obvious to Hepp and me that there’s a glimmer in your eye where Counter is concerned. Are you and Counter, you know, involved in some way?”

Looking defeated, Frink again sat down next to Shull and sighed. Then he whispered, “Are my feelings that obvious?”

“They kinda are,” Shull admitted. “To us, anyway.”

“Count’s my best friend, and, dadburnit, I love him. I’d take a bullet for him, and I hope he’d do the same for me.”

Shull rested his hand on Frink’s leg and Frink tensed up. Shull must have sensed his discomfort because he quickly removed his hand and placed it back by his side.

“Do you love him like you love a best friend, or is there something more to it?” Shull asked with an understanding look in his eyes as if he already knew the answer.

Frink gathered up the nerve to speak. He opened his mouth once, then closed it again. Then his bottom lip started to quiver, and a single tear slid down his cheek. He opened his mouth yet again and in the lowest whisper, he said, “I’ve loved Count for as long as I can remember.”

Frink saw Shull’s expression change.

“I can’t imagine what it must be like to love someone, be around them all the time, and not be able to truly have them,” Shull said. “Have you told him how you feel?”

“Nah, I ain’t never gonna tell him. I’ve tried a couple of times, but I always chicken out.”

“Have you and Counter been, uh… together?” Shull asked.

“We’ve done stuff. It started when we were kids, but it didn’t stop when we got older. It’s less frequent now but still happens from time to time. Recently, it’s mostly in the middle of the night when Count pretends to be sleeping, but his hands are very awake. I know he knows what he’s doing, and I know he remembers everything, but we never talk about it, ever.”

“I’m not sure what to tell you, son,” Shull said. “Until you’re ready to tell him how you feel, neither Hepp nor I can really help you.”

“I want to tell him,” Frink admitted. “But Count’s changed over the last year. He’s angrier all the time and goes off at the drop of a hat.”

“Why do you think that is, son?”

“I don’t really know ’cause he won’t talk about it, but I think it has something to do with me or at least with us.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, up until Counter turned twenty years old, we did stuff.” Frink looked at Shull and it was clear to Shull what stuff meant. “A lot. And it was good, real good, between us. Count’s touch was gentle and sweet, and after it was done, we’d hold each other, but that all stopped when Counter turned twenty. It became less and less, and he became sullen. It’s like, now that he’s twenty, we aren’t supposed to do stuff no more. As if when a man turns twenty and sleeps with another man, you’re a real sodomite. No offense, Shull.”

“None taken,” Shull said and smiled.

“And all this is just my take on it, you know, ’cause he won’t talk about it, but I think he’s having a real hard time knowing he wants what we had, but now he can’t have it unless he admits to himself he’s a sodomite. Does that make any sense?”

“Yep, I think it makes perfect sense, and I think you’re wise beyond your years.”

Frink smiled sheepishly. “Thanks.”

“But son, you can’t change him. He’s either going to accept what he is or not, and you can’t do anything about that.”

Defeated, Frink hung his head and whispered, “I know. I was hoping if I was patient, eventually I would see the old Counter again, the one I fell in love with.”

“Give it some time, son. Maybe Counter being around Hepp and me might help him understand himself a little better. But you need to decide what you want and not leave the rest of your life up to Counter.”

“Thanks. I’ll give all this some thought. And… please don’t tell nobody, Shull.”

“I’ll tell no one but Hepp. I’ve never kept a secret from him, and I’m not about to start now.”

“Okay, just Hepp and no one else.”

“Deal,” Shull said as he offered his hand.

They shook hands just as Hepp called up to the mountain, “What in tarnation are you boys doing up there?”

“I’m on my way. I’ll be down in a second,” Shull yelled.

The rest of the day went smoothly—each man pulling his weight—and eventually all the equipment was hoisted up the mountain, secured, and ready to go.