Luke & JJ
by Greg Bowden
Chapter Fourteen
Their
second day in
They had met the other guests at Mr. English's Gentlemen's Hotel in the dining room at supper the night before and found them all to be friendly, interesting men. Conversation at the supper table was especially lively and the others, all substantially older than Luke and J.J., always made sure to include them and to draw them out about their lives and plans.
They had an early breakfast in the dining room with several of the other guests on their last day. Both Luke and J.J. were sorry to be leaving The City—as Mr. English called it, implying that it was the only one in the world—but they were excited to be starting the next-to-last leg of their journey, too.
Mr.
Centel, one of the other guests, shook his head at
their eagerness. "I've been to Devil's Shaft my young friends and, as I
said at the supper table last night, I don't recommend it. Not
at all!" He took another hot biscuit and slathered it with butter
and jam. "That's a mighty rough town, Devil's Shaft, not fit for the likes
of gentle young men like you. Take my advice and stay here in The City. Or go
on down to
"Now,
now, Mr. Centel, it isn't really that bad," said
Mr. Alesandro from the other side of the table. "You're just trying to
scare our young friends here. You know," he said, turning to Luke and
J.J., "I thought a bit about what you said last night, about getting from
"However, if you are not in a great hurry this may be of help." He passed an engraved card across the table. "By way of introduction I have written the name of Mr. Gentry's freight forwarding company on the back. Perhaps he will be able to find employment for you on one of his freight wagons, which will serve to get you to Devil's Shaft at the expense only of your backs." He laughed and winked at them.
"Well, thank you, Mr. Alesandro," Luke said, studying the card. "If it's strong backs he needs, I know we can do the job, right J.J.?"
J.J. nodded with enthusiasm. "Sure we can." He looked across the table. "Thank you Mr. Alesandro. We sure do appreciate your help."
Mr. English bustled in and patted Luke and J.J. on the shoulders. "You lads had best get upstairs and get to your packing."
"When
do you sail for
"The boat leaves at ten-thirty," J.J. said, rising from the table.
"Splendid.
I have ordered a carriage for
Up in their room, J.J. and Luke quickly re-packed what little they had taken out of their valises. When everything was finished they stood for a long moment, looking at each other. "Oh, no, J.J. We mustn't," Luke whispered, recognizing the fire in J.J.'s eyes. He also felt a tightness at his crotch as his own sex began to swell.
"We might not get another chance," J.J. said, taking Luke into his arms. It was the last thing said for a while.
Three quarters of an hour later there was a loud knock on the door. "Come on, Lads, put it away and let's get going. The carriage will be here directly." There was another rap on the door and then they heard Mr. English make his way back down the hall.
He knows, Luke thought to himself as they scrambled back into their clothes. He knows.
To Luke's surprise, Mr. English acted no differently towards them as they took their leave. He shook their hands firmly and told them they were welcome at his establishment anytime. He had even packed a small meal for each of them, so they wouldn't go hungry on the boat.
Luther brought out their trunks and helped the carriage driver load them on the roof. J.J. wondered if he was supposed to give Luther some money, as he had the porter at the station, but Mr. Alesandro took care of it for him, giving the man a dollar. The large amount shocked J.J.
The
carriage took them directly to the Embarcadero where they found their boat, the
Sutter's Mill, tied up at a pier just
west of the
"Well, my young friends, I hope we shall meet again someday. If ever you are down my way I would be most pleased to offer you my hospitality." The Sutter's Mill blew her whistle and the hands began loosening the ropes holding her to the pier. Mr. Alesandro swept each of them into a tight hug and then took his leave, waiving to them from the gangway.
As soon as Mr. Alesandro was safely ashore the gangway was pulled aboard, the ropes released and the Sutter's Mill slowly pulled away from the pier. Luke and J.J. hurried to the back of the boat where they had a good view of the receding city. By the time the Sutter's Mill nosed its way into the bank of fog that cut the bay in half, both had tears in their eyes.
The
journey to
Their
arrival in
"Look J.J.," Luke said, pointing to the largest of the wagons. The sign on its side read Gentry's Fast Freight in large green letters and then, below, in smaller print, Service Since 1876. Sitting with the man in the driver's seat was a very large tan dog. "That's the one Mr. Alesandro talked about, isn't it?"
J.J. took the engraved card from his pocket, where he had put it for safe keeping that morning, and looked at it. "That's the one, Luke."
At that moment the line of wagons began to move, all except for Mr. Gentry's. The driver flicked the reigns and they could see the horses strain but the wagon moved only a few inches, its two front wheels not turning. Jumping down from his seat, the driver bent to inspect the wheel hub. Then, shaking his head, he walked down to the pier and pushed his way into the crowd of loudly talking men. The men made way for him—they could hardly help doing so since the man was over six and a half feet tall and well muscled—as he strode up to the longshoreman who was obviously in charge of the unloading. The driver gestured towards his wagon and said something to the longshoreman. The longshoreman shook his head and said something back which, from the look of him, was said in anger.
"Come on, J.J.," Luke said, pulling him along. "Let's go see what's going on."
They reached the dock just in time to hear the longshoreman shout, "... care what your problems are, Gentry. Get your stuff the hell off my dock. Now!"
Luke immediately went to look at the wheel on Mr. Gentry's wagon, stopping first to scratch the tan dog behind the ears and earning a wet kiss for his efforts. The wheel was less anxious to be tended to. The hub was covered with a gritty, brown mud which was quite warm to the touch and beginning to cake up in places.
"Frozen. Won't turn at all. Damn thing." Luke looked up into the face of the driver who was bending over him.
Luke stood and nodded. "J.J.," he yelled, "can you bring some water?" Then he turned to the other man. "Got to get this mud clear to see properly." He squatted and probed at the mud with his finger but drew back quickly. The hub was a lot hotter than he had thought.
J.J. came running up with two red fire buckets, Sutter's Mill painted on their sides. Luke slowly poured the water from one of them over the wheel hub, breaking the mud away with a short stick. When the hub was cleaned of the mud, and cooled, he prized at the bearing lock ring with his stick. The ring came loose and he could see where the gritty mud had gotten under it. The mud had gotten into the bearing, clearing out what grease had been there and then acted like grinding grit, causing the metal to heat up until it grabbed and wouldn't allow the axle to turn.
"You as strong as you look?" Luke asked the driver, taking a stake from the wagon's side. Receiving a nod he indicated the frame of the wagon, just behind the wheel. "Can you lift that? Just an inch or so should do; enough to slip this under it."
With some grunting and wheezing the man managed to lift the wagon just enough for Luke to quickly push the stake under the frame. It bent a little but held. There was an odd noise from the small crowd who had gathered to watch. It sounded like all of them had been holding their breath.
After that it was easy. Luke and the driver pulled the wheel off while J.J. managed to find a man who had a can of grease under the seat of his wagon. Enough grease for the wheel was given, gladly, and the wheel was replaced, not as good as new but at least serviceable. There was general applause as they pulled up to the dock to load their freight.
"Hey, Gentry, don't forget to have your man refill the fire buckets and put them back," the longshoreman called as they began to load the wagon.
J.J. did so, and then he and Luke retrieved their trunks from the passenger's storage room. Mr. Gentry personally lifted the trunks into the wagon.
As they made their way, slowly so as not to strain the wheel bearing, Mr. Gentry asked where they were to stay. On finding out that they had no definite plan he insisted that they stay with him. Later, over a meal of beans and sausages, J.J. showed Mr. Gentry the card Mr. Alesandro had given him.
"Well, what do you know, that ol' son-of-a-dog Alesandro. He said I might be able to find you some work so's you could get to Devil's Shaft? Now why on earth would a couple of young blades like yourselves want to go there?" He shook his head and then laughed. "Well, no matter, I suppose. Sure, I'll get you up there if that's where you want to go. We got a run to make on Sunday." He fed the last of his sausage to the big tan dog who then went and laid her head in J.J.'s lap, staring softly up at him. "With all you did for me today, you got yourself a ride."
The dog was beginning to drool in J.J.'s lap so J.J. gave her the last of his sausage, too. The dog promptly moved on to Luke.
"Here now, we'll have none of that, Ina," Mr. Gentry said to the dog. "You've had your dinner, now let us have ours." Ina looked at him sadly, then sighed and went to lie in front of the doorway.
It
took two days to drive a loaded wagon from
The trip was hard but not without its rewards. They cooled themselves in a mountain stream, the four of them, three men and a dog, swimming in the cold, clear water. They drank dark, heavy ale brewed by an old German who lived by himself at the foot of the mountains and made his living off the travelers headed for the gold fields above. And there were the mountains themselves, unbelievably high, thrusting up from the valley floor and still, in May, capped with the winter's snow.
They spent the night at a way station run by a woman who cooked them beef steak on a grill and served it with fried onions and a salad of bitter greens gathered fresh along the roadside. After supper she played for them on a harp, an instrument neither Luke nor J.J. had ever seen or heard before. The sound was different but pleasant and both of them would long remember it.
The night turned cold and their room was without heat so Mr. Gentry invited them into his bed, to share the warmth. They passed the night, one on each side of him, all of them warm, even the dog who quietly claimed Luke's place on the floor, and his blanket.
In the morning, after a breakfast of beans and ham, eggs and fresh, hot biscuits, they hitched up the horses and began the last leg of their journey.
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To be continued.
Comments, suggestions or criticisms always appreciated and always answered.
Greg Bowden