Chapter Twelve
The Jarvis meeting was being held at the bank and when Spring arrived, most of the chairs in the room were filled with ranchers and other landowners. She nodded greetings to those she knew before finding a place in the back to stand. A few minutes later Odell entered and joined her. Jarvis made his entrance shortly after, along with Matt, Hazel, and Swan. Spring watched Swan set up an easel and a large map of the area on it. He then withdrew a stack of papers from a leather bag and set them on the table nearby. While he attended to that, Hazel sat silent and Spring again wondered what these people were really up to. Jarvis spent a few moments speaking with Arnold Cale, Matt, and Randolph Nelson before turning to assess the crowd.
Banker Cale started the meeting. “Evening. Thanks for coming. Many of you have seen Mr. Jarvis here around. He and his lovely daughter are visiting from back East where he’s a very important man. He’s called us all together because he has a few proposals he thinks we might be interested in.”
Jarvis glanced around the room. He didn’t say anything at first, making Spring wonder if he’d expected applause to greet his introduction.
He finally began. “As Banker Cale stated I’m Avery Jarvis from New York City.”
Silence greeted that also.
He cleared his throat. “I met Matt Ketchum here a few months back and he told me what a fine community this was. He also told me about the acres and acres of lumber here, something those of us back East are in dire need of. I’m a lawyer and also a member of a group of investors who’d like to tap into those resources and offer you an opportunity to access what we’re sure will be a promising enterprise.”
The audience waited.
“First, I’d like to build a new mill to replace the one lost in the fire. It would be more cost effective to cut the trees into board length and ship the wood east than paying the freight forheavy uncut trees. A new mill would also give you access to a local business as opposed to having to patronize one that’s not. My investor friends and I see this new enterprise as a partnership, and we’d match the funds that you raise.”
Odell bluntly asked, “Who’d own it?”
“My people, and those who choose to invest. Now, the second opportunity I’d like to discuss is the planned railroad line that will run from Paradise to Cheyenne—” and he used a pointer to trace the proposed route on the big map resting on the easel, adding “—which is good news to the ranchers wanting to ship their beef, and to those who partner with our mill. In order to make this come about, the railroad needs to buy up the land along the route.”
“How much are they paying?” someone asked.
Jarvis appeared thrown off by the interruption. “I’ll get to that in a moment.”
“Must be pennies if he’s not telling.”
A few people laughed.
Another voice responded sarcastically, “Okay, Jarvis, feed us more line. Let’s see if we’ll swallow the hook on this, too.”
Spring wondered what Matt had shared with Jarvis that led him to believe this land buy would be an easy sell. Everyone acknowledgedthe benefits the railroads offered, but the companies were wholly hated. The trains killed livestock, the coal ash fouled streams, and more than a few landowners had been forced into foreclosure by the railroads’ shady practices of selling bonds that weren’t worth the paper they were printed on. She didn’t see this going well for Jarvis if he couldn’t prove this was an offer to be trusted.
Randolph Nelson asked, “So what are you selling, Mr. Jarvis?”
“Bonds in exchange for the land. The more profit the railroad makes, the higher the return on your bonds. You can cash them in once that profit is on the ledgers. I have brochures here that further explain the details.”
Spring shook her head in response. Back when the railroad first began laying tracks, people were willing to offer up their farmland and everything else they owned for a shot at the promised profits. Now, after numerous scandals tied to fraud, government waste, and outright theft, people were now less gullible.
Nelson stood and said, “Thank you, Mr. Jarvis. Not interested.” He started to the door. A few others followed. Spring watched Jarvis’s eyes widen in shock and fright.
“Wait! Where are you going?”
“Home,” Nelson replied.
“But I’m offering you the opportunity to reap a grand profit.”
“Fleecing is for sheep and that’s what this is going to be.”
Jarvis said angrily, “What I’m offering is better than what you’ll get if I sue you for the theft of Ketchum land. Once I’m done, you’ll have nothing.”
Nelson turned back. “What did you say?”
“Matt Ketchum is retaining my services to have the sale of his family acreage declared illegal and the land returned to him.”
By then, every eye in the place was trained on Matt, who said defiantly, “My pa’s land was stolen—”
“Wait one damn minute!” Arnold Cale interrupted angrily. “I conducted that sale. It was legal in every way. I did my best to get word to you when the land reverted to the bank, but you were nowhere to be found.”