章 18: Chapter 18: Another Mill Wouldn’t Hurt
After the return to the estate, William remained visibly on edge for another day or so until he began to relax on Wednesday. Over the next few days, many visitors were coming to the manor. Businessmen, influential men, and politicians came from the surrounding states.
On top of these visits, a mountain of mail came to the house starting a few weeks after the speech. Letters from Boston, Charlestown, Richmond, New York, and all the other large cities and sizeable towns across the 13 colonies and a few from the Canadian territories. Many letters from Quebec and Nova Scotia were sent regarding increased business ties with the other British lands in North America to resist British taxes in what John assumed was not an attempt to join closer with the other lands but simply to spite the royal government.
John had also received a few letters mainly from the city but notably, his grandfather made sure to go through his mail rather thoroughly before he handed it off to him. His grandfather stilled and seemed jittery whenever he looked through the letters.
'It is most likely to get rid of letters from royalists and more radical members of anti-crown organizations.' John thought to himself as he watched his grandfather take a large letter from his pile and set it on the desk before handing him a smaller letter. 'Eh, I trust him, plus I got more important things to do.' he thought as he saw the address.
"Grandpa," John said, not getting a response from the older man, "Grandpa," he said again getting the same response, "GRANDPA," he said for a third time in a low shout finally getting Willam's attention.
"Oh," he said snapping back to reality, "do you need something?" he asked seeming to get focused again.
"Can I head out later today to the Everson smithy?" he asks showing the letter from the homestead.
"Oh, sure, you can take a horse out," he said dismissively as he continued to look through the letters.
Not willing to miss out on an opportunity while Grandpa is distracted John rushed to his room, put on his tailcoat, and headed outside. While walking to the stable he saw Eli practicing swordsmanship on a tree hitting it with a stick in repetitive but fluid motions. After years of training, John admitted that Eli was the superior swordsman but when it came to tactics they were on par with each other. Walking up to the tree the markings from where he hit it are quite visible as chunks are missing from the sides.
"Eli," John called out getting the other boy's attention, "want to ride to the smith to check out a new invention I ordered built."
While Eli did love practicing he always did enjoy seeing what John came up with so he put his stick on the ground. The two boys then headed over to the stables where they hopped on a pair of horses and rode off.
Eli was taught to raise horses by Alois as a part of their training. They practiced with sabers on horseback for hours as a punishment for using sharp swords outside of practice.
Rising for around three hours the boys joked and talked the whole way there until they saw the distinctive plume of black smoke coming out of a smithy appear over the tree line. Riding up the unmistakable clang of hammers on steel rings through the surrounding area.
Hopping off their saddles and tying up the horses the two of them walk up toward the entrance and look into the smithy. While he has been here before it was rather dark the first time he visited and could not get a good look at the workshop.
There are tools, bits of unfinished works, half-completed whittling projects, and scraps of metal. In one corner there is a large pile of what seemed to be failed attempts at making a rocking chair. Looking over John sees Eli staring with his eyes open, while the other boy had seen a blacksmith's store it was nothing like this, where unlike the smithy he usually says that just made nails, repaired tools, and did the occasional commission this was a tinkerer paradise.
Seeing a large man hunched over an anvil banging away on what seemed to be a scythe blade John knocked on the side of the building to get his attention.
The new noise alerted the man to the visitors and turned around after placing his tools down.
The man was almost identical to the male twin, Miles, just older with a well-trimmed beard on his face. The green eyes, curly blond hair, and sharp facial features imminently made John realize he was talking to the master blacksmith.
"Who are you," the man asks in a gentle but firm voice as his eyes travel up and down the two strangers.
"My name is John Carpenter, and this is my friend Eli," pointing to himself and Eli as they make small bows, "I commissioned your children to make an invention for me."
Snapping his fingers he smiles, "Ah yes, their new project. They have been working on it nonstop ever since you showed it to them. They are probably experimenting with it just a shot while north of the house."
"Thank you, sir"
As the two boys trekked up past the house they saw a small clearing with two silhouettes huddling around a table of sorts.
"So John, what did they build," Eli asked, he hadn't inquired much about the invention only that it was mechanical.
"A new type of saw, one that never stops spinning," he said doing his best to convey an air of mystery to his friend. John relished in showing off inventions and seeing people's reactions, 'a healthy form of productive narcissism' is what he told himself it was.
Reaching the clearing the twins noticed them and were standing in front of the invention bouncing in place slightly.
"Mr Carpenter," Matilda says, "We are proud to present, A Miles," he says "and Matilda invention" She follows it up.
Both of them take a deep breath, "The Circular Saw."
Clapping lightly John has a smile reminiscent of his grandfather, "Well then, let's not wait for any more, start it up."
Getting a good look at the table it has a large circular saw coming out of a slip in the center of construction. On the side, there is a group of four gears that get bigger as they go away from the central axis of the device with the biggest gear having a handle on it.
Miles goes to the largest gear and begins to turn it, the saw starts spinning very fast, blurring as one rotation of the large gear causes the blade to spin several dozen times per rotation.
Matilda picks up a piece of firewood that had been cut in half and places it on the table. Slowly she pushes it into the saw and wood shavings fly up into the air as the blade makes contact. It slices through the wood leaving a smooth cut as the blade exits the other side and Miles slowly stops the spinning.
John walks over and picks up the wood from the end of the table and eyes the clean cut. "This is fantastic, have the prototype sent to the estate with the next batch of tools. If my grandfather sees the value in this, and I know he will, then you two have just reinvented the lumber industry."
The clearing is filled with smiling faces as they all bask in what has just been accomplished.
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