CHAPTER SEVEN – LIFE DOES GO ON
It was nearly two months since Johnny's bout with the fever that hit the San Joaquin Valley like a firestorm. He was better, much better, but still not feeling himself. He'd put in a day, an easy day such as driving the supply wagon, and then fall asleep at the supper table. Johnny knew he should be grateful to be alive, but found himself frustrated with his recovery. It seemed to be taking so much longer than anyone else's.
The family, along with everybody else on the ranch, kept trying to convince him that Johnny had been sicker than most others. He found that hard to believe since Scott was as sick as a man can be, a man that lives to tell about it, and Johnny couldn't have been sicker than his brother. In the end, it wasn't worth arguing over since Scott was better, back to a full workload, but Johnny still had good, and really bad, days and was only three-quarters back, at best.
As was his habit, Johnny pushed his hat off and let it hang down his back. Even though the early summer's heat was shimmering all around him, he loved to feel the sun on his face for a few minutes each day. Somehow, the rays seemed to make him feel better; knowing the danger the heat in this part of the world brought with it, he never left his hat off for more than a quarter of an hour, or so.
Pulling the wagon up into the yard, he looked longingly over toward the beautiful horses in the coral and outside the barn, including his own. Johnny would dearly love to be able to ride alone but, until he truly felt better, he'd go along with Murdoch's dictate that he drive the wagon or not leave the ranch alone at all. He thanked the hand that came and offered to take care of the team and wagon, then went inside to find Scott.
"Hey, Little Brother. Glad you're back from Modesto early; it's is a scorcher out there."
"Train was on time so I didn't have to wait for our supplies."
"Good."
Scott was where Johnny had hoped to find him and offered a sincere smile when he entered the room from the veranda. He was sitting at the big desk in the great room going over the ranch's 'end of the month' books. They were scheduled to have the monthly family discussion about the ranch the following day and Scott always came prepared with tons of numbers, facts and figures to that meeting.
"How's it looking, Scott?"
"Not bad. We took a second month of larger expenses than I had expected because of the spring weather and spending funds to help the community get back on its feet after the fever swept through the Valley."
Johnny fumbled with the hat in hands and stood in front of the desk waiting for Scott to finish the thoughts he had been writing down. He wanted his complete attention for a few minutes.
"You need something, Johnny?"
He returned Scott's smile and suddenly felt nervous.
"I was wondering …" Johnny swallowed hard, asking, "Do I have very much money?"
"Well," Scott's eyebrow rose as it did whenever he was being extra careful picking out his words, "we all have lots of money on paper because of the value of Lancer."
"How about real money? Do I have much real money?"
He smiled; knowing Johnny's general lack of interest in money was one of the traits he loved about his little brother and it helped keep Scott grounded. Sometimes, Scott fell into old habits and thought about their money, and making more of it, too much. Johnny, who was happy with a five dollar bill in his pocket on payday for the ranch hands, always brought Scott back to remembering the money a man had wasn't' really that important. It was the man that was important to Johnny and, more than ever before, Scott, too.
"You mean beside the five dollar allowance you draw on paydays around here?"
"Besides that; yes, other than that, do I have any money?"
"Well," Scott opened one of the checkbooks he kept in the top drawer of the desk, "our account at the bank in Modesto always has ten thousand or a bit more in it. The rest of the money, the bonds and so forth, is safer in the bank we use in San Francisco. You're worth a third of the total which is currently …"
Johnny watched Scott start to add up numbers. He chuckled and leaned in to pull the pen from his brother's hand.
"Are you saying I've got three thousand dollars sitting in the bank in Modesto?"
"Yes, your entire share would be more than that actually."
Scott watched as Johnny dropped his head and seemed relieved about something.
"May I know why you're asking about our money? Normally, you don't listen when I'm trying to tell you about our finances."
"I know," he shrugged his shoulders, "and I'm sorry about that, Scott. You're good with all these figures, books and things and I do appreciate your taking care of this stuff. Murdoch likes it, too; don't think the figuring was ever his favorite part of ranching."
"I agree. He was thrilled when I offered to take over the bookkeeping."
"How do I get it?"
"What?"
"My money?"
Scott was truly getting curious about what was going on, but knew not to push his brother.
"How soon do you need it?"
"Sooner the better." He smiled as memories of his past flew across his mind, chuckling as he revealed, "I used to win big at poker on a highly regular basis. Rode around with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars in my saddlebags and it never once occurred to me to put the money in a bank. Suppose I knew too many men set upon robbing those things to put any trust in them. Plus, I never planned on the money lasting; gave it away in chunks, lost it, won it back and so forth."
"And now?"
"I could surely use four hundred dollars and just wondered …"
"Four hundred," Scott sat back and opened the credenza behind the desk, "we have more than that in our petty cash account."
He counted out the money and handed it to Johnny. Scott still wasn't certain why his brother needed the money, but the smile that appeared on Johnny's face made it clear he was truly happy to see it.
"Thanks, Scott," he headed back toward the door, "I'll pay you back."
"Wait …" He stood up and walked around the desk, explaining, "You don't have to pay me back, Johnny. It's your money to use as you want."
Johnny didn't hear Scott ask him to wait. He was across the yard and riding off on one of the saddled horses waiting along the rail outside the barn before his brother made it out onto the veranda. Murdoch met Scott on the veranda and they watched together as a rider quickly rode out of Lancer's front gate.
"That wasn't Johnny riding off on Teresa's mare was it?"
"Hate to say it, Murdoch, but it was."
Scott stood watching as their father took off after Johnny. His brother wasn't supposed to ride alone; he was still feeling the effects of the fever with an occasional bout of lightheadedness. Johnny had been good about following Murdoch's various rules, up until today. Scott wished he knew what was going on, but figured he'd find out when his brother and father returned for supper later in the day.
XXXXXXXX EARLY FALL AT MODESTO'S TRAIN STATION XXXXXXXX
Murdoch smiled as Johnny shook hands with their newest business associate and Scott before walking over to stand with him. They watched as the railroad workers off-loaded the rest of the equipment, along with the all-important living beings who would be the first building blocks for their new business partnership.
"Never thought you'd be a dairy man, did you, Murdoch?"
He laughed and shook his head, admitting, "No, Johnny, the thought never crossed my mind."
"Sure hope these Jersey cows from that farm Ernst's friends own in Denver don't disappoint. They're supposed to hold up better in the San Joaquin's heat than those Holsteins we read about. He and Frieda have mighty big plans for being the biggest dairy supplier in all of Modesto someday. They even finished digging out another root cellar so Frieda can get busy making cheese. Her cousins, the ones that are cheese making experts from over in Germany, are due to arrive in another week."
He started to laugh and Murdoch chuckled, too, seeing Johnny so tickled by whatever was on his mind.
"What?"
"Who ever would have guessed Scott and Ernst would turn out to be like two peas in a pod. They have this dairy business experiment we're silent partnering written down on charts, graphs, and maps from here until the turn of the century!"
Murdoch laughed and agreed with his younger son's assessment. Scott was truly excited about this new business venture with the Gernhardts. He and Ernst had been planning and organizing ever since the day Johnny offered Ernst and Frieda the money they needed to reinvest in dairy cows to replace the ones they had lost the spring before.
The two men turned and walked back to their horses. Ernst and Scott would see to it that things were finished here at the station and there was plenty of work waiting to be done back on the ranch. After waving to Frieda and the two Gernhardt children watching the proceedings from their wagon, they headed out of town.
"All kidding aside, Johnny," Murdoch smiled over at his boy, "I'm proud of you for getting this whole venture going. I wish I had thought of it and I know its still irking Scott that he didn't think of it first."
They laughed and rode on for a while in silence. Finally, sensing the moment was right, Murdoch brought up something else.
"Great name you and the Gernhardts decided on."
"At least, it's easy to remember and a lot easier to spell than Gernhardt!"
They laughed together, again.
"Mateo would like it, too. Nice way to honor a good friend, "Mateo Dairy Products of Modesto, California."
Johnny turned in his saddle and couldn't hide his shock since Murdoch was implying he knew the name of their new business had something to do with a friend of Johnny's from many, many, years before.
"How did …"
"You were talking to Mateo in the kitchen the night the fever hit last spring."
"I thought that exchange was just a dream."
"No," Murdoch felt certain of his words, "you seemed to really believe Mateo had come to see you, but he left when I entered the room."
"He did visit me; at least, it still feels like Mateo touched my heart in some way."
"How did your experience with an angel end up being the name of our new dairy?"
Johnny offered his father an ear-to-ear smile; he liked how Murdoch summarized his seeing Mateo as his 'experience with an angel.' In his heart, he truly believed he had seen one.
"When we were working on the second root cellar, Frieda, Ernst and I couldn't help talking about their Steffi. Naturally, they're still grieving for that poor little girl of theirs, probably will grieve for the rest of their lives, and for some reason, I decided to tell them about my dream and Mateo. I told them our discussion regarding what happened to him and Mateo's reassuring me that children absolutely go to heaven. He was so certain of himself and easily convinced me. Now, that's not a dream for me. I truly believe what Mateo told me; children go to heaven.
"Later, when the company-naming thing came back up, Frieda suggested using Mateo's name. She said it made her feel better knowing their Steffi wasn't alone in heaven. Frieda said instead of being sad when she thought of Steffi, she was starting to picture her little girl with Mateo, and the other children, smiling, playing and having fun.
"Once, Frieda told us about her new visions of Steffi with Mateo, what could Ernst and I say, but 'yes,' to her idea. Mateo Dairy Products it is and forever more will be!"
The End
by phoenix
Questions, comments and suggestions are welcome.
XXXXXXXXXX Additional Information XXXXXXXXXX
Consumption (Tuberculosis), Cholera, Small Pox and Influenza (IE: The Grip) were among the major infectious diseases people living in the late 19th Century feared most. From the 1800s on, poor hygiene habits, lack of knowledgeable medical care and little understanding of the infectious process coupled with the greatly expanding railroad system to effect mortality patterns across the USA. People were thrilled to be able to travel further, faster, while goods and services came to their communities in record time. Unknowingly, the railroad lines also brought the spread of diseases, such as influenza, as they traveled across the continent through small and large villages, towns and cities. This story is a depiction of how influenza might affect one small community, including the Lancer Ranch.
If you would like more information, try the Internet sites for the USA's Census, Centers for Disease Control and National Institutes of Heath where I started.