Flames of Silver by Jackson Lowry & Ralph Compton

Author:Jackson Lowry & Ralph Compton [Lowry, Jackson & Compton, Ralph]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2021-05-25T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Morgan Mason rode along slowly, occasionally studying the telegraph wires swaying above his head. Getting out of Virginia City revived his senses and made him feel better about his decision to come to the Comstock Lode. He had expected to use his skills as a chemist, but if this was an option, he’d accept it. The day was perfect, the wind gentle and even soothing, and the sun bright and warm on his face.

“There’s a spot that looks like trouble in the making, Victoria,” he said, tugging on the reins to slow the horse’s already leisurely walk. A battered pole showed some storm damage, but what caught his eye was how the wire swung to and fro in an uneven arc. How it was fastened to an insulator warned him of a potential break.

He dropped to the ground, dug out his tools and cut off a foot of wire before staking his mare near a patch of fresh grass. Victoria began nibbling daintily, then fell to dining with a will. Mason whipped a leather strap around the pole and began inching upward. He moved carefully, not wanting to slip and fall the distance down to the ground. Held on to the pole by the strap, such a tumble would scrape the skin off his chest and belly. The climb was more difficult than he anticipated. He sweated like a pig by the time he reached the wires.

“Got to get better at climbing,” he said to himself. After a few weeks of practice, he was certain he would. With deft fingers, he pushed and prodded the connection and saw how it had come close to failing. A section of wire had worked back and forth in the wind, flexing the copper to the breaking point.

He set to work, peeling insulation and considering how best to make the splice. As a chemist he had scant experience with electrical equipment, but Mason had watched others closely and remembered how they repaired their equipment. More than this, he had been friends with a telegrapher in San Francisco and offered some help with the lead-acid batteries the man used.

Mason wound the new copper wire around the post before doing what he could to bypass the almost-broken wire. He wondered if he ought to leave the old wire in place. The new wire was sturdy and carried the current, but having two wires fastened onto one post seemed wrong. He started to snip the weak connection when something toward town distracted him. He hesitated, looked over his shoulder and tried to figure what troubled him. After all, he was hanging fifteen feet above the world, enjoying superb weather.

Then he saw it.

Across most of Virginia City, smoke rose from cooking fires and other ordinary pursuits. But one tall plume of black smoke was different. Mason pulled down his bowler to shield his eyes and got a better look.

“A new fire.” He jerked about and almost fell. He caught himself. Repositioning the strap allowed him more stability.

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