Vancouver- Ch.# XXIX "Making a deal with the loggers"

                                            Vancouver- city of adventurers

                                                    Chapter # XXIX

                                             Making a deal with the loggers

 

         The next few days, the brothers continued to make bricks, dry and bake them. They had a store of 500 well finished bricks in their supply.

           “I think we have to have young Selkirk start knocking wooden crates together,” said Jim. “A crate might hold forty to fifty bricks and make it easier for us to transport them.”

            “Good idea,” said Ian. “I will mention it to Laura to insure that the lad comes in to work this Saturday.”

             While they were working, a wagon load of clay, dirt and sand was delivered by the Hudson Bay Company. They sorted out the materials in their work piles and got back to work. They were waiting for a messenger from the Phelan Lumber Company with details for their proposed building up at their logging camp.

           “I think we should be able to offer Hank Phelan a load of finished, fire-baked bricks for $200 and make a profit,” said Jim. “I am also going to offer Hank a deal on building the foundation for his building.”

            “What would that be, Jim?” asked Ian.

             “Well, if everything else goes according to plan and the bricks and materials are all delivered, I figure you and I could ride the ferry up to Nanaimo on Sunday night. We could lay the foundations in bricks and lay the cement floor in for him. I am going to ask him for $75 for our labor, plus the cost of any materials needed.”

 

“That sounds like a lot,” said Ian.

“Maybe,” said Jim. “But it would be cheaper for Phelan than buying bricks in Seattle and having to bar the cost of  shipping them up to his camp. Having some other masons do the work that we can for him would be a tough one. There is already a shortage of workmen hereabouts, due to the gold rush.”

 

As they were talking, a young lad rode up to the camp.

“Mr. Mac Adams?” he called out.

“Aye, that’s us lad. What have you for us?” Jim asked

“Mr. Phelan wanted me to give you these dimensions,” said the lad and handed them to Jim.

Jim opened them up, read them and said to the lad, “How about a cool bottle of beer, lad?”

The boy accepted with alacrity.

“I will be just a few minutes, lad,” said Jim. ”Then, I will have an offer for you to carry back to Mr. Phelan.”

 

Jim and Ian huddled over the dimensions, discussing how many bricks would be needed and what other materials would be required.

“With this size, I figure we would need about 1,000 bricks. That would lay a four-foot brick wall, with a one-foot-deep base concourse in the earthen base,” said Jim.

“We would need about ten fifty-pound bags of cement, five bags of mortar mix and one of lime. We would also need twelve  4” X 8” wooden pillars, about fifteen ft. in length, to serve as corner poles and studs for the building. We would set the posts and the first two courses of bricks, then lay the concrete around them. That way, the frame of the building would harden them all as a unit that would support anything they build on top of it. I think we will need two full days, to erect the base for Mr. Phelan.”

Jim wrote all of this out on white business paper. He included the cost estimates and then gave it to the lad.

“Take this to Mr. Phelan, lad,” said Jim. ”Tell him that I will stop by his office tomorrow morning to see if that bid is acceptable.”

The young lad climbed up on his horse and rode off.

“It looks like we have some work ahead of us Ian,” said Jim. “Let’s run another load of bricks through our factory and set another batch in to dry and bake. We are going to have to have the Phelan bricks ready by Monday morning.”

“That sounds like we can handle that,” said Ian. “Why don’t I start knocking together wooden crates, for the next few days, until Selkirk can come in on Saturday and finish the job.”

“That sounds like a plan, brother Ian,” said Jim. “I will keep the bricks running through the mill and the kiln fired up.” They had a lot of work ahead of them and only a short amount of time to deliver.

On Thursday morning, the brothers skipped the luxury of breakfast at Lowry’s. They rode over to Phelan’s lumber office on the waterfront. Hank, like all business owners, was already at work.

“Good morning, Hank,” said Jim.

“Good morning Jim, Ian,” said Hank Phelan.

“I’ve looked at your proposal. The price seems fair enough. I will be saving the cost of shipping the bricks in from Seattle. What about the construction part of your bid?”

“Well, I figure we can deliver all the bricks we need to your warehouse pier by noon, Wednesday,” said Jim. “If you could have your men pick up the lumber and other supplies, and get the whole lot shipped up to your camp by next weekend, then Ian and I could come up on the Ferry to Nanaimo on Sunday night. We would need two full days to complete what I outlined. I figure $75 is a fair price for our labor.”

“We would also need your men to stake out the building with twine and posts and dig down into the soil to a  12” depth. We will need that much dirt removed, to lay in the first two courses of bricks and the concrete floor,” said Jim. 

Hank Phelan thought about all of the logistics involved and what his men needed to do to make this thing happen.

“Getting the supplies and the bricks shipped up to our camp by next weekend is possible. Are you sure you can deliver everything you mentioned by next Wednesday?” asked Hank Phelan.

“We can,” said Jim. “ We will package the bricks in wooden crates, to make them easier in handling. And Wednesday by noon is a deadline that we can meet. Can you have your camp people ready things for us?”

 

“I can,” said Hank Phelan. “I won’t be back to camp until Tuesday night. But, I will have a man meet you at the Ferry on Sunday to take you to our camp. They will have a tent for you to sleep in and you can eat in our mess tent.”

“Then we have a deal,” said Jim. Both men shook hands on the bargain.

The brothers walked out to their horses. “We better get a move on,” said Jim.  “We have a lot to do, before next Wednesday.”

They stopped first at the Lumber mill and asked for a shipment of white pine planks in specified sizes, to be sent up to their yard tomorrow. They paid  the man and thanked him for his prompt delivery. They also paid extra for it.

The brothers rode up to their yard, unsaddled and tended to their mounts, and then set to work. The machines were making bricks and the kiln was baking them. Both Jim and Ian were knocking together wooden crates for the bricks.

 

“We really have to get all of this right,” said Jim. “It is our first big order. If we do it right, Hank Phelan will tell everyone he knows that we are dependable and have a good quality product.”

“Yes, I know it is important, Jim,” said Ian. “I think we can make the deadline.”

“You will have to square it with Laura that we are off for a few days,” said Jim. “I think we can spare you this Saturday afternoon. Selkirk and I will be busy knocking crates together.”

“Thanks for that, Jim,” said Ian. “Laura will be pleased that I have time to see her on Saturday.”

“Anything to keep the future Mrs. Mac Adams happy,” said Jim with a smile. “And you have earned the time off Ian. I couldn’t do any of this without you.”

The boys cleaned up the machines, removed the finished batch of bricks from the kiln and set another batch onto the drying racks, with a small fire. It would dry the bricks over-night and make it possible to bake two batches tomorrow. They were on deadline now and needed to get the work done.

They were both tired and happy on the ride home. Even the attraction of a few cold beers at Gassy Jack’s couldn’t entice them. They stabled and tended their horses, and then turned in, tired with the day.

                                                                            -30-

                                                                  (1,443 words)

                                                             Joseph Xavier Martin