Wanted: Gravedigger Read online

  Dawson recognized Brawny from New Hope. His entire family had worked for the Woodson’s for years, but he was still surprised to see him present at the meeting.

  “We are just waiting on Dr. Childs, and then we can get started.” Jeremiah cleared his throat. “I am glad you are taking the job, Dawson. And call me Jeremiah. I understand you were a Pinkerton. What would make you want to take a job like this?”

  “My family is here, Jeremiah. My wife is expecting our first child, and I want to make sure that I’m here when that baby comes. I’ve not cut all my ties to the agency, I’m just not working on any cases for the foreseeable future.”

  “Congratulations!” Brawny said. “Give Tess my regards. I’m sure she is happy as can be.”

  Dawson smiled. “Yes, she is. I will convey your regards.”

  The door opened, and Dr. Chelsea Tory walked in. Dr. Tory was a doctor from Hattie’s alma mater back East. Hattie sent for her right after the earthquakes, and she arrived to help. She was a tall woman with a mane of bright red hair tied up in a haphazard chignon. Curls fell around her face and she pushed them back as she took a seat. “I apologize for being late. I’m Dr. Tory. Dr. Childs was going to come but it appears there is a rash of morning sickness in town today. Hattie gave me all her notes and I’ve done this before, so they thought it would be best to send me in her stead.”

  She turned and noticed Brawny sitting at the table and her mouth formed a little “o.” Dawson saw him wink at her before looking back down at the papers in front of him.

  “Okay, let’s get started. We are here to discuss the opening of the mine and what that entails. My goal is to have the mine open by next summer. We are going to start digging tomorrow and Dr. Tory, here, is going to go over the safety precautions before we start exhuming bodies, and Marshall Sewell is here to make sure we operate inside of the law and the town remains safe. Paul is leading the team for bringing the wood that will reinforce the mine. Ian is my crew chief and will be overseeing my workers. Dawson is in charge of digging the graves for the bodies we exhume. We don’t want any looters around the site, so security, safety and speed are the three main concerns.”

  Nathan pointed to Dr. Tory. “What do we need to know?”

  “We will be using quicklime on the bodies. It is very caustic and can burn skin on contact. It will be very important that you do not touch the quicklime or any of the bodies once the quicklime has been applied and they have been covered.”

  “Why are you using that?” Brawny piped up.

  “It helps sterilize and dehydrate whatever remaining tissue is on the remains. These are the bodies of the loved ones from town. We want to make them as unattractive as possible to insects and scavengers. Tess Daniels, I mean Elliot, is leading the effort to make the bags that the remains will be transported and buried it. It is important that the bodies are put in the bags immediately upon being exhumed."

  “That is where Dawson’s team comes in. They will dig the mass burial plots and coordinate the move of the remains from the mine site to wherever the grave site will be.”

  “How many men do you currently have?” Dawson asked. “I need to figure out how quickly the bodies will start being exhumed.”

  Nathan spoke up. “Right now, about 60. That includes laborers to reinforce the mine with wood once that starts arriving. Right now, we just want to make sure we can break ground before it freezes.”

  “Do I need to find the workers to dig the graves?”

  “It would be preferred,” Jeremiah said. “That way your team reports directly to you.”

  “You have what? Three shifts?”

  “That’s correct,” Nate said.

  “Okay, it is going to go pretty fast. My team, my people. Who will be paying their wages?”

  “The town has a fund to give each person digging a stipend. It should cover what they need,” Alexzander said. “And the mining company is putting money in the kitty as well, to make sure they meet their deadlines of opening the mine.”

  Dawson nodded. “I don’t work with slave labor, let me make that clear right now.”

  “I agree,” Jeremiah said, “There is a hard labor prison camp not too far, and they are willing to send over prisoners to work.”

  Dawson thought for a moment. “Prison workers are in the same category as slave labor. Do you really want those types of men right outside the town? What if one of them escapes? You are putting sharp tools in their hands. It puts our women at risk. They could break their locks, or even worse, hurt someone. I’ve chased several of those men before and I wouldn’t want to risk anything harming my family or the townsfolk.”

  “What other choice do we have?”

  “I suggest that we send word to New Harbor and New Hope and see who else we can round up. There is a whole fleet of workers from the Orient that are looking for jobs. Honest, hardworking people. We’ll create a tent village, so it would give them a place to stay with their families if they have any. We’ll need supplies as well. Pickaxes. Shovels. Thick sheeting.”

  “We can give you some of the tools,” Ian said. “We have a few extras, but I suggest you get some more while you are down in New Harbor. They are fairly cheap if buying them from the docks.”

  Jeremiah and Nathan nodded their agreement. Dawson repeated back what he understood the task to be and when he received the final agreement, he stood.

  “If you don’t need me, I’d like to get a head start on heading down to New Harbor. I’ll send a telegram to New Hope.”

  “I’m headed back there tonight. I can follow up and see who I can find,” Brawny offered.

  Dawson nodded and took his leave. He had to find Marty since they would need at least two wagons to bring back some of the supplies necessary to start digging.

  It was going to be a long night.

  Dawson and Marty rode down to New Harbor and checked in with Mr. Cooley, his contact at the hotel. Mr. Cooley directed them to talk to a Li Wei in the market. It was still early enough that they decided to see if they could make contact.

  They made the quick walk to the market, but when they arrived it was a sea of men all dressed the same mixed with customers. Dawson checked his pocket watch. The market would be closing within the hour. They needed to find Mr. Li Wei. The only question was, how?

  He approached a group of men that spoke broken English. When Dawson asked for Li Wei, they laughed and three of them raised their hands. “That most common name in China,” one of them said. How would he find the correct Li Wei? The marketplace could be filled with them.

  Dawson stood, thinking of a way he could divide and conquer the market. Finally, one of the Li Wei’s said, “Tell us what you need and maybe we can help.”

  “I was told that Li Wei could help me find workers willing to come back to my town and dig.” He made the motion of digging with his hands. The men laughed again.

  “You need the elder.” He pointed towards a group of elderly men sitting under umbrellas. “There is only one Li Wei over there.”

  Dawson gave a sigh of relief. “Let’s go, Marty.”

  He approached the elderly men that were smoking. He gave a slight bow. “Good afternoon gentlemen. I am looking for the elder Li Wei.” The men looked at him for a moment.

  “Please, sit down, young man.” One of the elders said, pointing to an empty barrel. “Tell me what a ghost person would want with Li Wei?”

  He sat on the barrel and the sweet smell of burning flowers assaulted his nostrils. Opium. They were smoking Opium. Better not say anything and get right to business.

  “I’m looking for workers to come help me dig a mass grave in Silverpines.”

  “Silverpines?”

  “The town up in the mountain. The mine and timber were destroyed in the earthquake.”

  “Ah…. Doctor Hattie.” All the men smiled.

  “Yes!” Marty said, “Doc Hattie lives there.”

  “What do you need?”

  “Men. Tools. Pickaxes. Shovels. Bags.�
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  “Oh, and linens,” Marty added. When Dawson looked at him, he shrugged. “What? Your wife asked for them.”

  “And lime if you have it. Caustic lime, not the other stuff. You know, for decomposing the bodies when we bury them again.”

  “You come back tomorrow morning, ghost. I’ll be here, and we talk then.

  They headed back to the market the following morning. And the men were seated in the exact same place they left them the night before. This time they were drinking tea instead of smoking.

  Approximately 30 men sat on grass mats in front of the elders. The men were dressed all in black with white trim on their outfits. They wore white socks and black shoes. On their heads were black beanie type hats. Some had their hair short, others had long braids down the back.

  It appeared as if the elders were telling them a story the way they listened with attention. When Li Wei saw Dawson, he beckoned him closer.

  “Good morning, ghost. You come back.”

  “Yes, sir. As I mentioned last night, I’m looking for workers to come with me to Silverpines.”

  Li Wei gestured to the men in front of him. “These men. These men will work for you.”

  How did that happen? “I’m flabbergasted that you found that many so quickly. Do they realize what is involved?”

  “You said digging. They dig. They dig all the way to China if need be.” The old man laughed at his joke. “These good men that need work. They give you a good day’s labor. You tell them what you need. They go get.”

  Dawson put them to work immediately securing the supplies and food they would need for the next few weeks. He also had them find tents as they were going to need to build the tent village first so these men, and their families, had a place to live. He sent three with Marty to secure the barrels of lime they needed, and the rest scattered to collect the supplies he mentioned.

  It wasn’t long before they arrived, with wheelbarrows full of items, to the livery where the wagons were stored. Men pushed wheelbarrows full of tools, food and even linens. Li Wei came up to Dawson with a box made from cypress wood. “You give this to Doc Hattie. Tell her it from Li Wei. Herbal medicine for Indian doctor.”

  “I will,” he replied, taking the box and storing it under the front seat. He would secure it before the ride home.

  “Let’s start loading up,” Dawson called. He helped form a human chain that moved supplies from the wheelbarrows to the front of the wagon, stacking the items into every space available.

  Marty returned with the second wagon, the three men riding in the back. They hopped out and started loading the supplies as well. They packed as much as they could around the barrels in his wagon, securing them in place.

  A third wagon appeared, with boxes of produce and dry goods. Behind it were 6 more wagons with tents for the tent village and bolts of linen, which Dawson knew was for Tess to start making bags. He was expecting only having two wagons to take the supplies home, but Li Wei secured seven more, so they didn’t have to make multiple trips.

  “How did it go?” Dawson asked, referring to the barrels of lime in the back of Marty’s wagon. “I thought they’d be bigger.”

  “I could only get two barrels right now, but they said to come back in a few days and they will have more.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll head back and pick it up later. We need to get home and get started digging.” He called out to the men that were finishing stacking the supplies, “One hour until departure.” Several of the men started repeating the commands in Chinese, and everyone scattered to go gather their belongings.

  Chapter 5

  It was such a display that most of Silverpines came out to view the parade of Chinese workers walking into town. Many had never seen a Chinaman, and certainly not in these numbers. There were approximately 100 men, women and children following the wagons.

  Marty had three children riding next to him on the wagon, and Dawson had two. This gave their mother’s a break from having to carry them. Children were carried on backs or pulled in wagons, surrounded by their family’s belongings.

  Chickens were clucking in cages, and goats followed on leads. There was even a pig. It appeared as if the new residents were here to stay.

  What should have been a four-hour ride, took nearly seven with the number of people walking, so it was just before dark when they arrived at the park at the edge of town.

  Dawson led his workers and their families past the park and around the corner to the church and cemetery. He pulled into the grass on the far side of the cemetery. Looking over, he could still see the graves he dug when he was in Silverpines several months ago. Grass was just starting to cover the dirt mounds.

  It drove home why he was doing this. He was a fixer, and this needed to be done.

  Passing the children down to their mothers, he hopped down and directed the other wagons to pull alongside him. He went over to the first wagon that contained the tents for the tent village. Zhang Yong drove the wagon and was one of the few men that spoke English. Li Wei recommended that Dawson use the young man to coordinate activities with the non-English speaking Chinamen.

  “We will set up the village over here, he said, pointing to the far side of the field. We are going to dig the graves on that side of the cemetery. We will work our way over until everyone is buried.” Zhang nodded and called out to the other drivers to start unloading.

  It didn’t take long to erect temporary shelters for the workers. Tomorrow they would secure the buildings properly and build floors to raise the tents from the earth. Once they were done, Dawson went to deliver the box to Hattie and find his wife.

  It had been three days since Dawson headed down to New Harbor with Marty to gather workers for the project.

  They finished setting up the thick canvas tents for the families and everyone was starting to settle in. It would take a few weeks for them to decide if they wanted to stay in Silverpines on a permanent basis. If that was the case, then the tent village would be replaced with wooden structures.

  Dawson had very few rules for his men. Work hard, be honest and no smoking anything that wasn’t tobacco. Zhang translated for him and all the men nodded their understanding.

  As much as they wanted to finish settling into their new home, the first order of business was digging the mass grave that would be used to bury the bodies once they were uncovered. Dawson didn’t want to leave anything to chance.

  He wanted to make sure that the remains were treated honorably and with the respect they deserved. Storing the bodies was not feasible, in his book. They were already a few days behind the miners, and Dawson was sure they’d be uncovering bodies by the next day at least.

  Marty arrived with the first round of bags. He pulled the wagon up beside Dawson. “Where do you want these?” he asked.

  “Five-minute break,” Dawson yelled to the workers that had already made great strides in digging the first grave. The workers scrambled to get water and a snack before Dawson said their break was over. They sat around on logs and chattered in Chinese. This was the first shift of 10 people, including Dawson.

  Dawson leaned on his shovel and thought about the question. “You should probably take those over to the main mining area. Ask Doc where he wants them.”

  Marty nodded. “When were you thinking of going to get lime?”

  “Two days,” Dawson said. “We’ll need it once we start burying the bodies. Let me know if Doc needs anything when you get over there.”

  Marty tipped his hat and moved the wagon towards the mine entrance where he’d see Doc Childs and Mr. Henderson. Dawson watched him for a minute and then yelled to the crew, “Back to work!”

  Marty rode by again about 30 minutes later and Dawson saw a man sitting on the bench next to him. It wasn’t someone Dawson recognized, but then again, he didn’t know most folks in Silverpines yet.

  “Hey Dawson,” Marty called. “This man wants to speak to you about a job.”

  Dawson laid down his shovel and walked over
to the wagon. He could see that the man was in his early thirties. He looked like he had seen better days. His brown hair was long and slicked back. He had dirt around his neck and his clothes looked like he had been sleeping in them.

  “What’s your name?” Dawson asked him.

  “Will Tuckering.”

  “Mr. Tuckering, I don’t have the need for someone right now. But I appreciate you stopping by all the same.”

  The man tried to not look disappointed. A look flashed across his face and then it was gone. “I understand. Not too many people would hire a drifter.” He hopped down from the wagon and grabbed his knapsack. “Thank you, young man. I appreciate you bringing me down here.”

  Dawson watched him walk away and head towards the newly established Timber Town. “What’s his story?” he asked Marty.

  “Dunno too much. Said he was in New Harbor. Heard there was work this way and was looking for a job. Mentioned being clean for over a year, but I don’t know what that means. He looks awful dirty to me.”

  “It means he was addicted to something but now he’s not. Mr. Tuckering!” Dawson called to him. When the man turned, Dawson waved him back. “Come on back and let’s talk for a few minutes. If I can’t help you out, I might know some people who can.” A grin broke out on the man’s face and he trotted back to Dawson. Marty clucked to the horses and headed back to the apothecary.

  “Thanks, Mister,” he said.

  “Don’t thank me yet. I don’t know if I can help you.”

  When Will arrived back to see Dawson he looked like a completely different person. After speaking, to him for a bit, including asking hard questions about his addiction to laudanum, Dawson decided to take a chance on the man. He appeared very forthcoming about his past addiction and how difficult it was to get a job.

  Dawson scribbled a note on a piece of paper and gave him directions to the bath house, mercantile and Lily Jo’s café. Even though he knew Will would just get dirty again once he started digging, it made a man proud to at least look presentable.