|
Excerpts from The Saga
Excerpt from "The New Hand"
Ben, Hoss and Joe were at their wits end
trying to do with three men what had been difficult with four and with the new stock and the added work five would have been
better. Patrick was put to work with Joe and Hoss exercising horses and helping to do the more menial
chores. Ben’s day to day business affairs were falling by the wayside and finally after dinner one
evening he sighed wearily and turned to Adam.
“Will you do
me a favor tomorrow when you’re in town? Place this advertisement in the Enterprise for me?”
He
handed Adam a sheet of foolscap on which was written: “BOOKKEEPER WANTED:
Multi-faceted ranch operation seeks steadfast, loyal and capable bookkeeper/secretary. Correspondence,
double-entry bookkeeping skills, and some knowledge of real estate law of help. Inquire Benjamin Cartwright,
Ponderosa, Virginia City, Nevada.”
Hoss nodded toward the sheet of paper now in Adam’s
hand. “What’s ‘at Pa?”
“An advertisement
for a secretary,” sighed Ben. “There’s just too much to do around here! I
need someone to keep things organized and keep track of delivery dates and all the threads of the different operations in
play. With Adam so involved in the lumber and the mining, I need help.”
Patrick was finishing a good-sized piece of piece and listening
with interest. “What’s a sec – a seckerterry?” he mumbled, his mouth full of pastry
and fruit.
“Don’t speak with your mouth full,” said Adam absently as he read, making Ben almost smile a little.
Adam was getting the hang of admonitions at regular intervals.
“Yes, sir,” the boy sighed and subsided.
“A secretary is someone who handles my letters and
correspondence, Pat,” answered Ben with a smile as he sipped his coffee. “Someone to do the
accounts, set up the payroll, look over contracts and draw them up… you know, just doing the paperwork that needs doing
to keep the ranch going.”
“Oh,”
nodded the boy, making a face. He’d hate a job like that!
Joe got up and
glanced over his older brother’s shoulder. “It’s a long way from town and I doubt any
of the ranches have anyone they can spare. You gonna offer ‘em a place in the bunkhouse with the
regular hands as part of the deal? A guy doing book work is likely to get a lot of joshing from the men.”
Hoss sighed. “He’s got a point, Pa. ‘Member how Logan up’n
left after bein’ teased so bad by the hands? ‘An he was jes’ keepin’ track of the
horses in the stud book.”
Adam folded the paper folded the paper and put it in his pocket. “We could always offer him a room in the house,
I suppose or maybe fix up Hank and Abigail’s cabin. Since Hank died and Abigail moved back to town it’s been looking
run down. It would be a good reason to fix it up a bit.”
Ben nodded. “Now that’s a good idea. I kind of like the idea of a
somewhat elevated position that could imply, too. Because make no mistake about it, if I do this,
I want someone I can trust and someone who is going to carry quite a bit of weight at the banks and law offices.
We have to be sure we pick the right man, very sure.”
Adam looked at his
father. “I’ll put it in the Enterprise and ask Dandy if he has any other ideas, maybe put it
in the Carson paper too, but you might have to go to Sacramento or San Francisco to get the right man. I
want someone who knows what they’re doing and who we can trust not to spy for our competitors. The
mine assay reports and such are pretty hot stuff and some of the other owners would pay dearly to get a look at them.”
|
