The Bent Spoon

Chapter One The young man looked out the window of the geology lab as if he was looking for something far away. He was a tall striking figure with jet black hair. His lean chiseled features suggested that he was Native American. His fists were clenched and suddenly he slammed them on the windowsill, startling his companion who was working at the lab table. “Tom, you scared the heck out of me!” “Sorry Barry, I was thinking about that girl we just saw in the hall––the one who called me an ‘injun.’ I guess she thought it was funny. I know I shouldn’t let that kind of stuff bother me, but I guess it still does.” “You’ve got to stop letting people get to you. After all, getting mad doesn’t help. The best thing you can do is prove all those people wrong about Indians. And after all, you’ve already proved yourself just by being here at Pacific.” “Yeah, you’re right,” he said, sheepishly. “I’ve just got to learn to control my temper.” “Besides, I’ve got a sort of a personal problem that I need you to help me with.” Tom looked at him quizzically, “What kind of personal problem do you have? Is a girl giving you a bad time? Are you sick?” “No, nothing like that. Of all the people I know, I think you’re the most likely one to help me figure something out. But right now I’ve got to finish this lab. Can we meet someplace this evening, at the library maybe?” “Wouldn’t it be easier to get together at our rooming house?” “Well, I’ll be on campus until this evening. It’s kind of confidential so I’d rather we meet in a quiet place at the library.” “Sure, how about seven o’clock?” said Tom. “Are you sure this is something you want to discuss with me?” “I’m sure. This is something important and I think it’s probably something good. I need to share a turn of events in my life with someone I can trust.” “Okay. I’ll see you at the library at seven.” “I’ll be upstairs in the reading room.” “I’ll see you there.” That evening, Tom stepped out of the rooming house into a spring breeze. It felt like rain was in the offing. Some of the trees around the campus were anticipating the season by budding out. As he made his way toward the library, he wondered about Barry’s cryptic remarks, but he couldn’t come up with any inkling of what was in the wind. “I guess I’ll find out,” he thought to himself as he opened the door to the library. Barry was sitting alone at a table along a wall off to one side. Closing his book, he said, “Glad you came. I was afraid I might have scared you off.” “No way! You’ve got me so intrigued I’ve gotta know what’s going on.” “Sit down and I’ll tell you all about it.” He sat down across the table from him. “I’m all ears.” Barry looked around the room. Very few students were there and no one else was studying at the tables close by. Reaching inside his coat, he took out a large envelope. He pulled out a document several pages long with a letter attached. Handing the papers to Tom, he said, “These papers pretty much say it all. Go ahead and read them.” The letter on top of the papers bore the name and address of a law firm in Anchorage, Alaska. Tom looked at him quizzically. He nodded, “They’re handling my father’s estate.” Without looking at the papers, Tom read the letter. It indicated that Barry’s father had willed his son a gold claim in Alaska. After glancing around, he whispered, “Is this for real?” He whispered, “It’s for real—lock, stock and barrel. Remember last year when I told you that my father had died?” “I sure do. I sure felt bad for you.” “Like I told you, dad was a pilot up in Alaska. He had a small airport and a couple of planes that he used to ferry passengers up and down the coast and elsewhere. He had to work long and hard for his money, so he was hardly ever around. In a way, I feel like I never really knew him very well. Even though I knew he was working hard so we could get by, I guess I kind of resented him not being there when I was growing up.” Tom looked at him with concern, but Barry took a deep breath and shook his head. “Anyway, somewhere along the line he ended up with this gold claim—I think it was given him to settle a debt. I didn’t even know he had it.” “Was this claim paying out? Is there any gold in it?” “Apparently there’s gold there, but it takes work to get it out. Dad wasn’t into mining much so he was paying someone to keep the claim active. I’ve been corresponding with the lawyer, who said that the claim might have potential if it was handled right. But over time trespassers might make a mess of it and someone should be there to look out for it. So I think it’s legitimate. My mom got their house in Juneau and all dad’s personal belongings, but she’s struggling to get by. My brother Dan inherited the flying end of the estate and I got the claim. Dan can’t really help me out on this; he’s pretty busy with the airport and the planes. It’s settled as far as he’s concerned. That’s okay by me, because I don’t like to fly that much and okay by my brother because he isn’t interested in mucking around in the wilds.” They spent some time talking about Barry’s family and Alaska. Tom was interested in hearing more about the territory. Finally he asked, “Where do I come into the picture?” “From what the lawyers are saying, I need to get up there and take the time to do something with the claim, but I didn’t get any cash out of the estate. What little there was went to my mom so she could keep the house and to my brother who needs all the help he can get to keep his air service going. So here I sit with a gold claim in Alaska and no way to get up there to explore it. And even if I could get up to it, I don’t have any funds to do anything with it.” He sat in silence listening to what he was saying, “How can I help?” Barry said, “I’ve given this a lot of thought and I keep coming back to you. I have no idea what your financial situation is but I’m hoping to give some reliable person a half interest in the claim for giving me the financial aid that I need to get it started. Right now, there’s only one person that I know of that I can trust with such an offer, and that’s you.” “Me?” “Yes, you. You’ve got brains and you’re sharp as a tack. I have no reason to think that you’re anything but an honorable person and I don’t care that you’re part Indian. You’re a good guy and I’d be honored to work with you as a partner. We’re both going to be geologists. Unfortunately, were not going to be mining engineers, but our geology background could come in handy. Between the two of us, is there some way we can finance this venture? Start small and go from there, or something. One person can’t work it by himself.” “You’re proposing that if I can find a way to help come up with funds for this venture, you’d give me half interest in the claim?” “I know it sounds like a fishy deal, but that’s what I want to do. If I can’t get the funds, I’ll just have to let it go. I can’t see any other way, can you? And I really don’t know anyone else to ask. I don’t have any other close friends down here and I don’t know anyone in Juneau that would have the money.” “You’ve just sprung a good one on me. I’m not saying no, but at the moment I haven’t got a dime to help you. Let me think—my dad’s not in a position to lend me the money, but I have an aunt and uncle who might consider it, depending on the amount. Have you figured out how much you’ll need to get started?” “Not really. This hit me pretty fast. But I don’t think it would be a lot.” “If I can make a suggestion, why don’t you sit down and do some figuring—run some figures for various options.” \