** Lost Gold At The Dead Man's Mine ** A Miners Journal **

[Old Miner Don]

24 minutes ago, GhostMiner said:

When we stopped for lunch Jacob was gone. His truck was not at camp but all his gear was still in the camper.

You mean Conor?

[GhostMiner]

44 minutes ago, Bedrocker said:

You mean Conor?

I corrected it. 

[GhostMiner]

  August 16   2002     Part Two     

 

   After supper Jacob wanted to go looking for Conor who still hadn’t returned. We left Bill to watch our camp and I drove Jacob into town in my truck. We figured we might know where he was - the infamous tavern that the 1936 crew had frequented on occasion. The place where all the trouble makers in the area hung out. 

   The old tavern had gone through several owners since then but not much had changed. It was not a place to bring a family. It was a destination for misfits and troublemakers. It was also a tie to Conor’s father Jed.

   Sure enough Conor’s truck was sitting in the parking lot. Jacob shook his head in disgust and said we better get him out of there. I was thinking to myself that I didn’t need all this crap but Jacob was my friend and I would back him in any situation. He needed me now and I was there for him.

   It was beginning to get dark outside and when we walked in through the front door it was hard to see. The place was packed with all kinds of rif raf and smoke hung heavy in the air. Jacob said the place hadn’t changed much over the years. This was the bar where they had all kinds of pictures hanging on the back wall behind the bar including one of the 1936 mining crew.

   Sitting all alone at a corner table was Conor. Sitting might not have been the word for it. He was slouched over a glass of whisky and drunk as all getup. Jacob and I slowly walked over to the table and took a seat. Conor kind of looked up at us and gave us a blank stare. His eyes were all bloodshot and his face was badly bruised from yesterday’s fight. He looked across the table at us and said he was no good. I couldn’t disagree with that. He’d been in here all afternoon and into the early evening and was hammered. He told Jacob that there was a picture of the old mining crew with his dad hanging on the wall behind the bar. He was slurring his words and then he started to cry.

   TO BE CONTINUED ......................

[GhostMiner]

 

[GhostMiner]

5 minutes ago, GhostMiner said:

 

 

[GhostMiner]

  August 16   2002     Part Three     Cryin’ Time For The Lonely

 

   Jacob and I took a seat and the bartender came over and asked us for our order. Before I could say anything Jacob ordered me and him a double shot of whisky with two beer chasers. Conor still had a glass of whisky in front of him.  The drinks came around and Conor tried to sit up in his chair. Jacob told him he needed to get whatever was ailing him off his chest or it would kill him. Conor was an absolute drunken mess. He blubbered on about his wife leaving him and how he couldn’t take it. Then he started on about his father who he never knew.

   Conor asked us if we’d seen the picture behind the bar. I said yes we had. I told him his father was a legend in these parts and he needed to get himself together so his father would be proud. Jacob agreed and told him he needed to face up to the way things were and get his life back together. Then he reached across the table and grabbed him by the front of his shirt and set him upright in his chair. He told him to buck up and if he wanted to be a part of our crew he needed to get a whole bunch tougher. Conor just broke down again and was crying like a baby. 

   About this time there were three guys at a table next to us that had been taking notice of Conor. The jukebox was blasting out some old Country songs and they hollered over the music at us. One of them said we needed to get Conor a nurse maid. Jacob looked over at them and told them to mind their own business. One of the other ones called Jacob Gramps and told him it was past his bedtime. Jacob’s eyes looked like blue steel. Then I saw his right hand slip down to where he carried his buck knife. In my mind I was cursing myself for coming into this place and was preparing for a fight. Jacob stood up with his buck knife in his right hand and told them he was going to cut them up and hang them on the bar room wall. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ................

[GhostMiner]

 

[GhostMiner]

55 minutes ago, GhostMiner said:

  August 16   2002     Part Three     Cryin’ Time For The Lonely

 

   Jacob and I took a seat and the bartender came over and asked us for our order. Before I could say anything Jacob ordered me and him a double shot of whisky with two beer chasers. Conor still had a glass of whisky in front of him.  The drinks came around and Conor tried to sit up in his chair. Jacob told him he needed to get whatever was ailing him off his chest or it would kill him. Conor was an absolute drunken mess. He blubbered on about his wife leaving him and how he couldn’t take it. Then he started on about his father who he never knew.

   Conor asked us if we’d seen the picture behind the bar. I said yes we had. I told him his father was a legend in these parts and he needed to get himself together so his father would be proud. Jacob agreed and told him he needed to face up to the way things were and get his life back together. Then he reached across the table and grabbed him by the front of his shirt and set him upright in his chair. He told him to buck up and if he wanted to be a part of our crew he needed to get a whole bunch tougher. Conor just broke down again and was crying like a baby. 

   About this time there were three guys at a table next to us that had been taking notice of Conor. The jukebox was blasting out some old Country songs and they hollered over the music at us. One of them said we needed to get Conor a nurse maid. Jacob looked over at them and told them to mind their own business. One of the other ones called Jacob Gramps and told him it was past his bedtime. Jacob’s eyes looked like blue steel. Then I saw his right hand slip down to where he carried his buck knife. In my mind I was cursing myself for coming into this place and was preparing for a fight. Jacob stood up with his buck knife in his right hand and told them he was going to cut them up and hang them on the bar room wall. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ................

Never mess with an old outlaw. 

[GhostMiner]

   August 16   2002     Part Four     In The Midst Of A Celebrity

 

   Conor attempted to stand up but fell back into his chair. I got up quickly and jumped in between Jacob and the three men. I told Jacob to hold up and let's get this straightened out without trouble. One of the three men exclaimed that Jacob was crazy. I told them he was a living legend and part of the 1936 mining crew whose picture hung on the barroom wall. They were taken aback. Everyone in town knew that picture.

   I took them over to the wall  and pointed out Jacob in the photo. Then they went back to Jacob who was still standing there with his buck knife in hand. They apologized and told him they had heard many stories about that crew. They said all three of them had done lots of prospecting and they seemed to be in awe of Jacob. 

   They asked if they could pull their chairs up to our table and buy us some drinks. Jacob put the knife away. They ordered more drinks and even Conor started to pull himself together. For the next two hours they asked Jacob questions about the old days and he was more than happy to tell story after story. It went on until closing time. Everyone was pretty drunk as Conor, Jacob, and I headed for our trucks. We decided to leave Conor’s truck at the bar and I drove them back to the mine. What had started out to be a horrible night ended up being a one of a kind experience. 

   TO BE CONTINUED .............

[GhostMiner]

   August 17   2002     Part One

 

   None of us were up until nearly 10:00 AM. When we got back last night Bill was still sitting in a chair near a campfire that was nearly out and an empty bottle of whisky was lying on the ground near him. Evidently he had passed out at some point after we went into town looking for Conor. When I got up he was still sleeping in his chair. He hadn’t moved at all. 

   I went over to wake him and he started coming around. The first thing he did was reach for the empty bottle. I made coffee and spiked it with whisky. I had learned this from Jacob and it helped some with a bad hangover. The four of us were a sorry sight. Sitting in a circle around a propane cook stove drinking Irish Coffee and too sick to eat. 

   Jacob seemed to be in a little better shape compared to the rest of us and started scrambling up some eggs. He was chowing down but no one else ate anything. Around noon we all started perking up just a bit and started talking about last night. Conor said he didn’t remember too much of what had happened after we got there but did apologize for heading into town like he did. He said the time had come for him to change his ways and move forward with his life. I told him that cutting back on the whisky might be a good place to start. He agreed and said he wanted to prove himself and become a real member of the crew. There was nothing left in his life to return home for. I was the first to shake his hand and told him we needed to make a fresh start. He looked me in the eye and told me how sorry he was for the way he had acted and for threatening me with a gun. I told him it was all behind us now. Jacob smiled and so did Bill. Then Jacob told everyone we just might make a mining crew yet.  

   TO BE CONTINUED ............