Page 21 of A Joyful Ring
“May I help, Miss Hoffman?” Gunder asked, carrying over his dishes and leaning around her to set them in the sink.
The sharp breath she inhaled caused him to turn his head at the same moment she shifted to look at him. With her lips looking as ripe as the cherries they’d just eaten, everything in him wanted to lean forward and press a kiss to them.
He might have found it impossible to resist the temptation if Lars hadn’t returned inside carrying a pot of water Risa had left heating on the grate to wash the dishes.
“Come on, Gunder. I’ll show you the horses and pigs before the light is completely gone,” Lars said, already halfway out the door.
Gunder gave Risa a parting look, then followed her father outside. His emotions roiled in turmoil as he tried to work through the notion that he’d just met the woman he wanted to marry one day.
Chapter Five
October
“You made good time coming back, Birke,” Mr. Goodwin said as he walked over to where Gunder was helping unload the wagon of mining supplies he’d hauled back from Baker City. Thankfully, this trip didn’t include any explosives. He rolled a big spool of cable to the back of the wagon, where two other mine employees hefted it off and rolled it toward the supply shed.
“I got an earlier start than planned and didn’t have any trouble along the way. Is there anything else you’d like me to see to today, sir?” Gunder asked as he rolled the last spool to the end of the wagon.
Goodwin motioned for him to hop down, so Gunder did, then helped lift outthe heavy spool. When it was on the ground, Goodwin gave it a nudge toward the supply shed, then turned to Gunder.
“You did your job, so you’re finished for the day.” Goodwin grinned at him. “Are you still working on your silver experiments?”
“I am, sir.” A few weeks after he’d begun working at the mine, Gunder had inquired with Mr. Goodwin if he could scoop up the remnants of silver that fell through the bed when they loaded the wagon. The man had laughed and slapped him on the back.
“You’re one of those hoping to make it rich, are you? Well, if you find anything worth salvaging in the tiny fragments, you can keep it,” Goodwin had said.
At first, Gunder had tried wetting down the spot so he could scoop up shovels full of mud, then carefully rinsed everything away except the silver and other minerals. It hadn’t been easy, but he’d managed to clean a handful of fragments and put these in an old tin peach can over the fire to melt down the silver.
When the can had melted, he’d had to wait for the fire to go out and the coals to cool to fish out the mineral pieces and start all over again.
Of course, several of the miners had stopped to laugh at him. A few had mentioned having the same disastrous results when they’d attempted to melt the silver in a tin can.
Jed had stopped by the small fire pit Gunder had dug between his tent and the road out of town heading toward Baker City. He’d given Gundersome helpful information, like he needed a stronger container for melting the silver, and a much hotter fire.
Gunder had been saving every penny he could, but he’d purchased a heavy cast-iron pot with a lid and a few other tools necessary for the work he hoped to do. Although everyone in the mining camp seemed to think he had his mind set on refining silver to make it rich, it wasn’t his plan. He wanted silver to work into something beautiful. It was part of his heritage, and he missed working on pieces with his family.
Mr. Goodwin thumped him on his shoulder, bringing him back to the moment. “Well, good luck to you, son. Just put the mules away, and you can call it a day.”
“Thank you, sir.” Gunder climbed back on the wagon seat and drove the team over to the barn where the animals were kept. After seeing them settled, Gunder strode through the camp to his tent where he got out his cast-iron pot and lid, and then set about building a hot fire in the small pit he’d dug and lined with rocks that helped hold in the heat. He’d stacked rocks in a circle around the pit more than a foot high just to be sure the flames were contained. Dried pieces of sagebrush made a starting point for the fire, then he added wood scraps he’d picked up in Baker City. When the fire was blazing, he poured a handful of the tiny mineral pieces he’d already cleaned into the pot, set the lid on it, and carried it out to the fire. He set the pot in the middle of the fire, then used his shovel to pile hot coals on the lid.
He retrieved a length of thick metal pipe and a set of bellows Silas Evans at the livery had helped him make in trade for Gunder helping him shoe a cantankerous horse.
Gunder glanced at the watch he kept in his pocket and knew he’d have an hour before Jed served supper. By the time the meal ended, it would be too dark to work.
At least the weather was pleasant. He didn’t look forward to these experiments when it was blowing snow in his face and too cold to sit on the ground. Gunder sat cross-legged several feet away from the fire, placed one end of the pipe into the coals, then set the tip of the bellows into the other end of the pipe. From that distance, he could keep the fire hot without getting overheated. Lars was the one who suggested using bellows instead of facing the danger of scorching his eyebrows.
Gunder smiled, thinking how much he’d come to appreciate Lars. The man treated him like a favorite nephew and doled out advice, but only if Gunder sought it.
Despite Gunder’s best efforts to keep his distance from beautiful Risa, it was impossible. For one thing, he saw her every Sunday morning at church and at any social function in town. Then there was the matter of Lars insisting he join them for supper on Saturday evenings. They both were back in Lovely by the time the workday ended on Saturday, and Gunder had come to look forward to those meals with the Hoffmans.
Lars always had a joke or a funny story to tell. Risa always prepared somethingdelicious. But the reason Gunder most enjoyed that time with them was primarily because it reminded him of his family and home. It didn’t hurt that Risa was as glorious as any woman had a right to be. He could sit at the table, basking in the light that shined from her heart, even if he was careful not to let his attraction to her show.
He had no idea what Lars would do if he found out how much Gunder cared for Risa. Besides, Gunder had an idea the easy friendship he and Risa had worked to build would become awkward and uncertain if she realized he was falling for her.
Because he dearly valued both of them, he chose to ignore his growing feelings for Risa and instead focused his energy on finding a successful method to melt the silver. He’d been close the past two times he’d tried, but Jed had told him he needed a hotter fire.
Before he’d gone to Mrs. Franklin’s boardinghouse last night, Gunder had walked over to the lumberyard and asked for an education in the types of woods and the heat each could generate. Upon discovering oak was one of the hottest burning woods, Gunder asked if he could purchase some pieces to burn. The lumberyard manager asked what he wanted them for, and ended up giving him a box of scrap oak pieces they couldn’t use for anything. His only requirement was that Gunder report back on the success of his project.
Carefully pumping the bellows to keep the fire blazing, he hoped this would be the time it actually worked.
