Chapter 230 – Wyatt's Invention
Elizabeth looked it over and then looked at Wyatt.
"How does it … work?" Elizabeth asked. "Better question is what is it?"
Elizabeth could see that it was a fan of some sort with pulley driven flywheel, but she wasn't exactly sure what she was looking at. Elizabeth wasn't mechanically inclined, but she recognized a few pieces. Wyatt looked at Elizabeth, turned a screw and some of the gears started turning, which turned the belt on the flywheel which in turn turned the blades on the fan. The fan itself was sitting at what looked like the front of a small barrel with a stove pipe out the back side.
"Oh, my goodness." Elizabeth said when the blades started turning.
As the blades continued to turn, Wyatt had a huge smile on his face.
"Oh!" Elizabeth said. "It's wonderful! Where did you get this?"
Wyatt clicked the fan off.
"I made it." Wyatt said.
"You did?" Elizabeth said with surprise.
"Between talking to Lucas." Wyatt said. "Then helping my brothers with their science projects. I got thinking then I saw something in one of your physics books, and the phonograph that is at the saloon. I just started playing with things and this is what I came up with."
Elizabeth looked at him in wonder.
"If I could create a bigger version." Wyatt said. "It could help circulate the air in the mine, and help people breathe better. Maybe even prevent another disaster by venting gas and dust. Yes, I know what happened here before. Everyone knows. I also know that at times it is hard to breath down in the mines and this would help with that as well. I know that the mines already have vents, but they are just a pipe, there is nothing to push the gas and dust out."
Elizabeth looked at Wyatt.
"The blades are made out of wood." Wyatt said. "So that there is no risk for a spark, so it is safe for the mine. I was thinking if I could show this to Mr Yeager and we build a bigger version of it, we could use it. I just don't know how to go about it. I know it will work if it was given a chance, but I don't know how to go about getting it made, a full size one. Or who I even would talk to. I don't even know if Mr Yeager could help me. I thought with you being a teacher, you might know how to help me."
"This is amazing." Elizabeth said. "This is extraordinary. Have you shown this to anyone?"
"Just my mother." Wyatt said.
Elizabeth smiled. She had met Wyatt's mother and liked her.
"Made her cry." Wyatt said.
"She was upset?" Elizabeth asked.
"No, happy." Wyatt said. "Does that make sense?"
Elizabeth smiled knowingly.
"Oh." Elizabeth said. "Sometimes we women cry when we're happy, sometimes we cry when we are sad and sometimes for no reason at all."
"Crying can be good, bad or for no reason?" Wyatt asked.
"Exactly." Elizabeth said.
"I may understand math and science, but I don't think I will ever understand women." Wyatt said.
"I think that most men would agree with you." Elizabeth said with a laugh.
Wyatt just sat there confused.
"I know that you have a plan for potentially more schooling." Elizabeth said. "And I understand that you feel that your family needs you."
"Thank you ma'am." Wyatt said.
"In that case." Elizabeth said. "How about this? With your permission, I would like to contact my uncle's patent attorney about your fan. If you'd like to leave it here, I will get one of the constables to take some photographs. Maybe you could also get with Constable Delaney or Constable McGinty and help them make a drawing of it in more detail. I would suggest talking to Mountie Jack, but he is still recovering at home."
"That would be great." Wyatt said. "Is Mountie Jack doing better? I met him a few times when he came by the settlement when I was there. We were all so glad that he went after little Maggie."
"Yes." Elizabeth said. "He is feeling better and is hoping to be back in the office for a few hours a day starting next week. We will just have to see about that."
"In that case, I will take this with me." Wyatt said. "I have my mother's wagon outside. I will check the office to see if I can find Constable Delaney and see if he can help me."
"He would also know how to get ahold of my uncle to get in touch with the patent attorney." Elizabeth said.
"Then I will see about finding him this morning." Wyatt said.
"That sounds wonderful." Elizabeth said. "I will send that wire after school and let him know that more detail will be coming. You can look for Constable Delaney if you want. He should be at the mayor's office working. Or at the jail where they are. He can send a wire as well, but I have something else that I need to contact my uncle about so either way, I will send a wire after school."
"Thank you again, ma'am." Wyatt said. "I will talk to Constable Delaney and let him know. I know that they will help me. Maybe I can leave this at the jail if they want to take pictures."
Just then the children started coming in and fifteen year old Gem Walker saw Wyatt and smiled shyly. Elizabeth watched the two and then leaned toward Wyatt a little.
"A smile always means something good." Elizabeth said softly.
Wyatt gave Elizabeth a huge smile. He picked his fan up and headed out the side door to avoid the children that were coming in. Elizabeth hadn't realized that it was that time already, but she had been glad that Wyatt had stopped by. She hoped that her cousin and uncle would be able to help Wyatt with his fan. She thought it sounded like a wonderful idea. Elizabeth didn't have time to think more about that at the moment. She picked up her bell and walked to the back of the classroom to ring the bell and let the parents know that she was there.
Wynn, Dee, Jacobs, David and Andrew had a productive day in the office and got through a lot of paperwork. They were even able to get quite a few answers as more information had come in by rider the evening before. David and Andrew had a pretty good idea of what happened with the town books, especially since the 1907 and 1909 ledgers had been found. 1907 had been labeled wrong and 1909 had been put in the vault at the bank and Mr Jenkins had turned it over. They had also inquired with headquarters about the ledgers that Jack and Dee had found after Christmas and they were copies of the town ledgers for a few years as well as copies of some Pacific Northwest ledgers. The information had been part of what was sent and a few more pieces slid into place as the men put together the pieces of a very large and complicated puzzle. Between what Wynn knew of Pacific Northwest and the information Dee had from working on the task force, they were able to say with reasonable certainty what they thought had happened.
Even better was with David's ability to analyze numbers and see patterns, he was able to pick up on the gambling and when people had gotten "hurt" or had other company payouts. That gave the team much more leverage to go after other people that had been connected to Pacific Northwest and specifically, it helped to remove Herbert Ansvil from Crownsnest Pass. Wynn had already assigned an experienced Mountie to the area to investigate, but it was slow going. The last communication that Dee had from Andy Yeager was that he and his Uncle had also arrived. They were working on trying to make things right, but it was going to take some time. The leadership there had been so surprised when Mr James had arrived with all the paperwork that they didn't know what to do. Because they immediately locked Mr Ansvil and his staff out of the office and had them held pending the investigation, the men hadn't been able to destroy the paper trail that showed everything that they had been up to.
The hard part was either convincing the previous owners of businesses to come back or accept a settlement of some kind. The last thing that either Mr James or Andy Yeager wanted was to own all the businesses in town and have the people that remained think that they were just like Mr Ansvil and the people they had been working for. The mine there had already been transferred to Andy and he was working on finding another man to run it. He had already named a new superintendent, but the man admitted that he couldn't and didn't want to run the office. At least the men were back at work after having a few paid days off. The mine was producing. Mr James knowing that Andy needed to get back to Union City and also to make a trip to Hope Valley to get things moving there, agreed to stay and help sort things out. It was only a short term solution, but at least things would be able to move forward. The two men had spent a lot of money to sort things out and they knew that they would still have to spend a lot more before everything was settled. They had also requested a full safety inspection of the mine, since they didn't trust anything that had been done before.
Both Wynn and Dee were pleased with the progress that had been made in Crownsnest in the short time that they had been there. He just hoped that Mr Yeager and his Uncle continued to work with the Mounties and not take things into their own hands. Wynn trusted the Mountie that was there and he had asked for reports to be copied directly to him as well as filling with the regional headquarters. He wasn't about to let someone drop the ball again. Too much of that had been going on around the Western front of Alberta and Wynn had had enough. It wasn't going to be allowed anymore on his watch. He was set to be named the Sr Deputy Commissioner within the year and that would essentially make him the second in command of the entire force and the man that would be set to take over if anything happened to the current Commissioner. Wynn also knew that man was planning on retiring and Connor was going to be the new Commissioner, but he said that he didn't plan on holding the office for more then five to ten years. So even though it was just 1911, Wynn knew that the year and decade would hold a lot of changes for the Mounted Police.
Personally, Wynn was excited to see where the force went. Their mission and purpose had changed over the years and it was slowly changing again. Wynn also realized that world events that were brewing would also have a significant impact on the force, little did he know exactly how true that thought would be. Little did Wynn know that his own personal life would also have a very profound effect on the future of the force, but that wouldn't be revealed for several years. Not only would those close to Wynn change the force, but those he had trained and worked directly with would be instrumental in those changes. No one knew how much change would happen in the still young decade that they were enjoying.
Overall, Jack had a fairly good day, all things considered. After he recovered from the chloroform used for the morning dressing change, Doug had him do a steam treatment and then insisted that he walk around a bit on the main level of the house. Joe had fashioned a walking stick out of a branch that he had found and dropped it off that morning. Doug insisted that Jack use it and not to lean on him. Doug said he would be there, but he also had dishes and cleaning that he needed to do so Jack needed to start being a bit more independent. They would still help him with the stairs, but otherwise, he needed to use the walking stick to help get around. After five minutes of walking, Jack was starting to really feel the pain in his hip. So Doug let him rest, but again insisted that he sit on the settee and not lay down. Jack wasn't happy as all he wanted to do was lay down and relieve the pain that was radiating from his hip.
To both Doug and Jack's surprise, Cat Montgomery knocked on the door. She had put together a poultice for Jack's hip and back. It would help with the pain, but not interfere with what Faith and Jacobs were doing. Cat helped Doug get it on Jack's low back and then left instructions on how to make another one as well as how to use them. She then asked the guys if they needed anything else. Doug assured her that they were good, but he wouldn't turn down food if brought over. Cat assured the two that she would be back with a nice hot lunch for the both of them and she would see about setting up something so that the household wouldn't have to worry about meal for a little bit. She said that people were already making meals and dropping them off for Mary Graves.
"It is mostly lunches when it is just the two of us." Jack said. "Elizabeth has been cooking in the evenings and Dee has done plenty of shopping for us."
"I am fairly handy in the kitchen." Doug said. "It is just hard since I am limited in what I can make and also it takes time to get situated in the mornings while taking care of Jack."
"Then, how about I arrange lunches for you until Jack is back in the office." Cat said.
"We would appreciate that." Jack said. "Just remember, it is just the two of us, so simple works. I still don't have much of an appetite, but I am trying."
"Then I think I will make you a nice kettle of soup." Cat said. "I have nice chicken and dumpling soup already on. I can just add more to it and bring you both back enough for lunch."
"Thank you." Doug said. "That sounds lovely."
"Then I will see you in a few hours." Cat said.
With that Cat left and went to increase the amount of soup that she had already made. Jack was feeling a bit guilty that people were fussing over him. He knew that many of them didn't have a lot to spare so making meals for them would be taking away from what little they had. Seeing the dilemma on his friend's face, Doug walked over.
"They love you and want to show that they care." Doug said. "If you are worried, maybe you and Elizabeth can sponsor a huge community picnic this summer to pay everyone back."
"Thank you." Jack said. "I know that many of the people around here have so little and for them to give to us, when Elizabeth and I already have so much, it makes me feel bad. But I do like the idea of the community picnic."
"Maybe if I am close by." Doug said. "I can come back and help you with it."
"I would love that." Jack said. "But now, I really do need to lay down."
"Fine." Doug said, looking at his pocket watch. "You can lay down until Mrs Montgomery is back with lunch."
"I think that is the best." Jack said.
Jack made his way over to the bedroom and Doug came over to make sure he was back to get comfortable. Once Jack closed his eyes to relax, Doug went back to the kitchen and put the last dish away. He then got some paper and sat down to write a letter to his mother and also to his friend in Lethbridge about getting his stuff from his room. He wanted it packed and sent to Hope Valley since he knew that he wasn't going back to the Lethbridge area.
Elizabeth had a good morning at school after the excitement of Wyatt's visit. She had thought about his invention throughout the morning. She had taken a few moments while the students were working to compose the message to her uncle. She also started a letter in the few moments she had to sit down that morning. She had gone over the spelling words and reminded the children that they would have the test right away in the morning before a couple short lessons before they got set up for the science fair. The children were all excited for Elizabeth to see what they had been working on.
Despite going over lots of lessons and assigning work as needed, the children had been full of energy and therefore they were fidgety and talkative. Elizabeth understood that they were excited not only about the science fair, but the weekend and the news that she and Mountie Jack were expecting a baby. She knew that there would be plenty of questions the next day, but she thought she was ready for them. She knew what she was going to share and what she wasn't. She had also seen the looks from the parents in the morning over the week. She knew that people were talking about her and Jack, but at that point she didn't mind. She knew that the gossip would die down, but she just hoped that once they made the other announcements that people would understand about it all. Elizabeth was still unsure that people would be as accepting as Jack thinks that they will be. She has dealt with people looking at her differently all her life because of her family's money. She was so happy when she had been able to fit in here while teaching. Elizabeth was just worried about what people were going to say when they hired full-time security and a nanny. She thought there might be other staff, but for the moment, they were hoping to get away with the minimum amount that they could.
Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief when she released the children for lunch and recess to see Patty and Charlotte out there. Charlotte didn't really look at her, but Elizabeth wasn't going to worry about it any more. She knew that Charlotte was still upset about everything, but she was going to have to learn to deal with things if she wanted to be a part of her life with Jack. Like Jack had said, he wasn't going to allow the Russell girls to be treated any differently than any of their other children and that would be made clear to everyone else as well.
After waving to Patty, Elizabeth went back to her desk and picked up her lunch and opened a sandwich. She then picked up the workbook that she had left off on and tried to grade a few more essays. She was so far behind and felt bad for the children, but she was hoping to catch up over the weekend. Her, along with Patty and Aunt Elizabeth had gotten a lot done the afternoon before, but Elizabeth still wanted to at least read all the essays so she would know if the children asked about them. That was what was taking the longest, they had gotten through all the worksheets that they were behind on as well as the history tests. Elizabeth knew that she only had about five or six essays to finish and she could do so before the science fair the next day. She would have been closer to finishing, but she didn't hold that against Wyatt for stopping by that morning, she had been excited to meet him.
