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Two new men had shown up. Tyrel had watched them closely and was quite sure there was more to them than they let on. He puzzled over it while he worked, and when the whistle blew, gladly trudged out of the mine. Hopefully Samuel would have some answers.
The men all stopped when they left the mine. Tyrel, always the last out, tapped the shoulder of the man in front of him. “What’s going on?”
“Dunno. There’s two strangers standing out there and one of ’em is talkin’ to Seneca.”
Tyrel pushed forward and saw the two men from earlier. Seneca did not look happy.
A minute later, the man talking to Seneca stepped forward and Seneca stormed off.
“Thank you all for waiting,” the talkative man said. “Are all the miners here?”
Tyrel looked around. “I believe so.”
“Good,” the man said. “I am Otis Miller, the grandson of the man who owned this mine. I am now the owner and am going to work with all of you to make this mine safer and more productive. The first thing to get us on that track was firing Seneca.”
A collective gasp rippled through the men, and Mr. Miller held up his hand. “The second thing I am doing is giving you the rest of the week, and maybe more, off. I would like to talk to each of you individually before I hire a new man as foreman. I am also a fully trained doctor and would be more than willing to check any current or past injuries of you or your family free of charge.”
Murmurs and mutterings surrounded Tyrel, and he took a few steps closer to Otis until he was close enough to shake hands. “Thank you, Mr. Miller.”
“Please, it’s Otis.”
Tyrel smiled. “Thank you, Otis.”
“You’re Tyrel Colton, right?”
“Yes, I am. How’d you know that?”
“Seneca pointed you out as the man in charge when he wasn’t around. Did you happen to live in Fort Wayne a while ago?”
Tyrel flinched. “Yes, I did. Why?”
Otis smirked. “I think I danced with your sister at my friend’s wedding last year.”
He chuckled. “Small world. Was her name Mabel?”
Otis nodded. “Yep.”
“If it’s the same dance, she met her fiancé there,” Tyrel said. “She wrote me a letter about the dance and mentioned you in it. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, though.” He shook his head. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Can I come by early in the morning?”
“Sure. How early is early for you?”
“An hour after sunrise if I have the day off.”
Otis gave a quick nod. “I’ll see you then.”
“Do you want me to work out a scheduled time for each of the men to come?”
“No. Now that people know I’m a doctor, I expect to be very busy. As long as the men understand there could be a long wait, it will be fine.”
“I’m sure they’ll understand that. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And thank you.”
***
The next morning, Tyrel woke up with the sun, read his Bible, and wrote a letter to Mabel. In it, he told her about Otis Miller coming to town and everything he had done so far.
He stopped by the general store before going to Otis’s office. “Howdy, Samuel!”
“Hello, Tyrel. You’re here early this morning.”
He chuckled. “I have some time off until Mr. Miller opens the mine again. That’s why I’m here, actually. I’m supposed to meet with him this morning and forgot to ask him where.”
“Next door,” Samuel said.
“He bought that place?” Tyrel asked.
Samuel quirked an eyebrow. “Yes. Why?”
“No particular reason. I’d kind of had thoughts of making it into a church, but it would make a better doctor’s office. Thanks, Samuel. See ya around.”
“Have a good talk. He seems real nice.”
“Yes, he does.” Tyrel stepped out into the bright sunlight and walked the five steps to the new doctor’s office. There was no sign up yet, but Otis probably wasn’t ready for that much work.
He knocked on the door and almost instantly, a muffled voice said, “Come on in.”
The front area had already been transformed. There was a desk where a doctor or nurse could sit to greet patients; the double French doors were slid open all the way, and in that room you could see the beginnings of a doctor’s office and exam room.
“Good morning, Tyrel!” Otis’s beaming face emerged from the kitchen. “Sorry about the mess. Robert and I have been doing a lot of rearranging and cleaning since yesterday.”
“It looks nice,” Tyrel said. “A lot nicer than it has for a few years.”
Otis took a deep breath and let it out. “Well, there’s a couple of chairs and a little less mess in the kitchen. Shall we meet there?”
“Sure.” He followed Otis to the kitchen and sat down.
“Do you need anything? Water? Coffee?” Otis asked.
“No, thank you.” The kitchen did look nice. “Who is this Robert you mentioned?”
“Ah. Yes, I forgot to introduce him last night. He’s a friend who is hoping to have a job at the mine, but I’m letting the new foreman decide that for sure since he’ll know how many men are needed.”
Tyrel smiled. “Good. Now, what all did you want to talk about?”
“Seneca said you usually took charge when he wasn’t there. Why did you do that?”
Tyrel leaned back and let out a long breath. “Well, I suppose that happened when Seneca didn’t show up for a couple of days, and I started giving the orders. No one questioned it, and I’ve done it a few times since.”
Otis stared at him for a while. “I’ve talked to a lot of people in town and they seem to think you are a really good man. Why is that? What makes you so special?”
Tyrel’s muscles relaxed. “I can’t say for sure why everyone says I’m a good man. I certainly try to be kind and fair to everyone. I’m a Christian and God tells His followers to be kind and tenderhearted to one another. As a Christian, I try to treat everyone that way. Even men like Seneca who don’t seem to be able to be kind to anyone.”
Otis smiled. “I was also told you preach every other Sunday. I can see why. You have a passion some preachers don’t have.”
Tyrel ducked his head. “I teach, yes. I wouldn’t call it preaching.”
“Why not?”
“I have no training.”
Otis shrugged. “So? I was called a doctor before I got training at a medical school. The doctor back home never went to be trained either.”
“But you both learned from a doctor.”
“And you learn from the best Preacher in the world: the Holy Spirit.”
Tyrel chuckled. “You have a fair point.”
“Would you consider becoming the new foreman for the mine?”
Tyrel froze. “Me? Why?”
“You have experience, the men follow you, you genuinely care about them, and my grandfather trusted you.”
“I... I’ll consider it. When do you want an answer?”
“By the end of the week if possible.”
“I’ll let you know by then. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome and thank you.” He paused. “Would you like an exam for any reason?”
Tyrel smiled and shook his head. “No, thank you. The Lord has protected me recently. Any injuries I sustained were taken care of by Mrs. McKee.”
Otis’s eyes narrowed. “You are the second person to mention her. Who is she?”
“She’s the widow of a miner. Her father was a doctor, so she knows a few things about caring for people.”
“I’ll have to see if I can talk to her sometime.”
Tyrel stretched his legs under the table. “If you don’t need anything else—”
“Actually, I do have one more question. Do you have any ideas on how to make the mining process safer?”
“Yep. I’ll bring them over sometime so we can talk about ’em.”
“That would be helpful. Thank you.”
Tyrel stood. “You’re welcome. Thank you for coming. It was getting to the point where I was going to suggest we all quit and warn anyone Seneca tried to hire.”
Otis frowned. “I’m sorry it was so bad. If I’d known, I would have come sooner.”
“‘All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.’”
Otis stood and shook Tyrel’s hand. “Very true and a good reminder. Thank you. Bring those ideas over whenever you have a chance.”
“I will. See you around, Otis.”
“Goodbye for now.”
Tyrel left, a grin on his face and feeling truly happy for the first time in a long time.