Chapter 2: An Interesting Story

Here's chapter 2! Tell me what y'all think :)

Chapter 2 An Interesting Story

'Where are we going Chad? Asked Andi.

"Well I am going to show Jem around the ranch and if we go quickly we may stop at the creek for a drink and to let the horses rest." Chad replied.

Andi had been glancing curiously at Jem ever since they started their ride.

"I suppose you are wondering who Jem is?" It was more a statement then a question.

Andi nodded sheepishly.

"Well remember that picture you found in the attic of me when I was 12?"

Andi nodded.

"Well that was right about the time when Jem and I met. Father was a part owner in a mine and there had been some disturbance about the mine being played out meaning there was no more gold. There had been talk about there being another strain of gold found but to get to it there needed to be another air shaft added.”

“But why did father and you have to go down and help make the decision? Couldn't he just tell them what he wanted?" Andi asked.

Wait, wait I am getting there!" Chad exclaimed. "So, the problem was to build the new air shaft we would've had to tunnel up through a small mine that was being used by some of the chinese citizen's of the town. Jem's father was the sheriff of Goldtown, which was the name of the town. There was some legal problem about them having a claim on the mine but I was to young to really care about the legal stuff. Now had Justin been there he would have remembered every detail! Jem and met...,. or should I say I startled him. He had been down at the creek panning for gold but he had stopped for the moment and was..... Chad turned to Jem "What were you doing?” he asked “I can't remember."

Jem grinned "I was getting my prospector friend, Strike, a cup his so-called coffee. I tell you that stuff was disgusting! I don't understand how anyone could drink it!"

"So then what happened?" Andi asked impatiently. "Did you find any gold, Chad?"

"Well, after Jem and I got antiquated he took me down by the creek and showed me how to pan for gold. And boy was I excited when I had what I thought was gold in my pan just a few minutes later."

"You thought it was gold? But it wasn't? What was it?" asked Andi.

Chad turned to his sister "If you don't quit your interrupting I'll never be able to finish the story!"

"It was fool's gold" Jem said. "It looks like gold, but it isn't. When I saw the disappointed look on your brothers face I slipped one of the tiny gold nuggets I had found out of my small sack and close to where your brother was panning."

Chad turned to Jem astonished. "You did? That was your gold? I never knew that!"

Jem laughed. "You weren't supposed to!"

"So, what else did you do together?" Andi asked

"Oh let's see." said Chad. "we got into plenty of trouble that's for sure! I thought I was old enough to show them how to brand some of their calves. I hadn't remembered how angry the mother cow gets when separated from her calf. I had Elllie doing the branding while Jem, Jem's cousin Nathan and I held down the calf. Ellie saw the mother cow charging and got so scared she dropped the branding iron. It dropped square on Jem's arm. Then there was the time we got ourselves shut up in a cave in with Ellie, Nathan and Will, one of Jem's friends."

"What happened?" asked Andi wide eyed. She had never heard any of these stories! Who would have thought that bossy old Chad could have actually had some adventures himself?

"Well I'll have to tell you some other time." Chad replied. "because here we are at the creek now."