Deadly Lode (Trace Brandon Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

’ ll have to see how this plays out. ”
     
     
    After Will and I finished, I called Robert Malott, owner of Chewak Construction Company in Winth ro p.
    “ Bobby, Trace Brandon , down in Ellensburg. ”
    “ Yeah, Trace, long - time no hear. ”
    “ Yep, last time was when you put in some drill pads for me on the Boulder Creek project . ”
    “ I remember, Trace. So, what can I do for you today ? ”
    “ I need to reopen the old Sullivan Mine road , f rom Highway 20 , up Goat Creek , to the confluence of Montana Creek. T hen about a mile up Montana Creek to the Sullivan Mine . And I need t hree drill pads built . ”
    “ I ’ m familiar with the Sullivan , Trace . You have claims in there? ”
    “ Just staked and filed thirty. ”
    “ Who did the staking? ”
    “ Ken Hodg es and Associates , out of Chelan. ”
    “ I know Ken . H e ’ s one of the best. ”
    “ I ’ ll send you maps and a plan of operation. Can you take a look and give me a proposal? ”
    “ I ’ ll need to get on - site and see what we ’ re looking at , work - wise. ”
    “ Okay, Bob, today is Monday . H ow about we meet at your office on Wednesday , and I ’ ll give you the grand tour. I ’ ll bring Will Coffee with me to do the permitting. D o you remember Will ? ”
    “ Ugly as sin, broken - down ex-center for Central , tu r ned law dog? ” Bob replied , with a snicker .
    I laughed . “ Yeah, Bobby, the same center who 's team beat your team ’ s sorry ass four years running. ”
    " Okay, bring him if you must, ” Bobby replied , with a chuckle . “ I guess I can put up with him for a day or two. ”
    “ Thanks , Bob . S ee you at your yard on Wednesday. ”
    *** **
    Will and I rolled into Winthrop about ten Wednesday morning. We met Bobby at his office and then headed out to the claims , dropping Will off at the Forest Service o ffice .
    Bobby and I drove up the rough road along Goat Creek, stopping where I had
park ed the previous trip. Getting out of the Bronco , I noticed beer cans and sandwich wrappers on the ground.
    “ Damn, somebody has been here since my last visit , ” I said , pointing to the beer cans.
    “ You ’ d think they could pick up their damn trash, ” Bob replied, shaking his head in disgust.
    “ Tell you what, Bob, I think we ’ d better check some of our location monuments to be sure no one ’ s messing with our claims. ”
    “ Expecting some kind of trouble, Trace? ”
    “ Do you know who Cyrus McSweeny is? ”
    “ Oh, yeah, I know t he Virus. ”
    “ Well , he c alled me the other day , pumping me for information . He said he ’ d be seeing me. ”
    “ I noticed you ’ re carrying a shooter . ”
    “ Ye p , .357 Smith & Wesson , ” I said, patting my holster , “ l oaded with 230 - grain hollow points. ”
    “ Good . K eep it with you when you ’ re up here, especially if you 're up here alone. ”
    “ Jesus, is Cyrus that dangerous? ”
    “ In his line of work, he ’ s the top of the food chain. Miners I ’ ve worked with say he ’ ll take down or move claim stakes and pay off clerks in the courthouse to pre - date his location notices. Hell, he ’ s the full - meal deal of trouble. D on ’ t underestimate him , or his drones . ”
    “ Don ’ t worry, p ard . I won ’ t . ”
    When we got to the mine, I showed Bobby where I needed the drill pads built . I left him to map out his work plan while I checked the location monuments. I walked down each of the claims, checking the latitude and longitude of each monument with my GPS. All the claim stakes were up and matched the original coordinates.
    Returning to the mine, I dug my hardhat and mine light from my backpack. Looking around , I found a sapling and cut a stout walking stick . O ne mine swim per year is my limit.
    Slowly, I began working my way down the adit. It didn ’ t take long to find what I was looking for : a number of fresh gashes in the roof of the adit. Someone had cut several samples from the exposed vein.