Free The Seventh Mountain by Gene Curtis Page A

grandfather.
It sure came in handy during the depression. What do you reckon
you’re going to do with that property?”
    Steve started, “I don’t know yet. We just
found the deed a few days ago. That’s why we were in Albuquerque.
We’re still checking things out. We don’t know much about it.
That’s why we came here. The papers that we found said that your
family was supposed to have been taking care of it for more than a
hundred years now.”
    Mr. Newsom looked at Steve quizzically and
paused. “Well, I don’t know about taking care of it. Your
granddaddy back before the turn of the century made a deal with my
granddaddy. As I understand it, the deal was that he and his
descendants were to keep squatters from claiming it until a young
man with his staff came to claim it. Well, like you said, it’s been
more than a hundred years now. I used to think that it would never
happen.”
    Mr. Newsom stood up and went over to a
picture frame hanging on the wall. He took it down and walked over
to Mark. “Sure looks like the same staff to me. That’s your
granddaddy there.” He handed the picture to Mark.
    Mark took the picture and examined it. The
rest of the family leaned over to look, too. Mark handed the
picture to his mother. After looking a little longer at it, she
handed it back to Mr. Newsom.
    Mr. Newsom took the picture and opened up
the back of the frame. “Strange thing about us being in
Albuquerque, too. I haven’t been on any other vacation in my life.
I have always wanted to go to Florida though, but I never did.
Couple of months ago, I started having this dream. It was so real.
I was in Albuquerque watching the balloons. I kept having the
dream. I figured that I was meant to go. So I did.” He removed the
paper in the back of the frame and handed it to Mark.
    Mark saw that it was a copy of the lease.
“We have a copy of this, too. It was with the deed.” Mark handed
the copy of the lease to his father.
    Mr. Newsom said, “Hold on a minute, son.
That’s yours, not your dad’s or anybody else’s.”
    Mark was taken aback a little bit by Mr.
Newsome’s abruptness. “I know. It just doesn’t seem real.”
    “You’re the one with the staff. It was part
of your destiny to find that. In Albuquerque I had a dream about
you. You’re the one, not your dad, not your mom, not your brother.
You.” Mr. Newsom squatted to come eye to eye with Mark.
    “That was some storm. That horse was trying
to kill you by killing your mother. And, I have it on good
authority that the best people are born in stables.”
    Shirley gasped. “How could you know
that?”
    Mark knew that Mr. Newsom was right.
    Mr. Newsome stood and faced Shirley. “You
might think that all of this is a load of hooey. Coincidence piled
high, like hay. But, I’m going to tell you what’s the truth. What
you might call supernatural is very real. Powerful, dark forces are
at work. They don’t want him to have that staff. They can’t take it
directly, but they’ll try anything and everything to get him to
give it up. Best keep your guard up.”
    Mr. Newsome turned back to Mark. “I have to
ask you something about the property. I already have a letter of
intent signed to have the timber harvested this fall. Do you want
me to cancel the deal or is it okay for me to harvest the
timber?”
    Mark turned to his dad and asked, “What do
you think?”
    Steve thought for a moment and said, “You
have to make that decision, son.”
    “I know, Dad. I just want to know what you
think.”
    “Well, Mr. Newsom has kept his end of the
deal.”
    “You can harvest the timber, Mr. Newsom. Out
of curiosity, how much to you think that you’ll make?”
    Steve said, “That’s not a proper thing to
ask, son.”
    “That’s okay, Mr. Young. There is some
pretty timber in there. A lot of clear oak, really big pine and not
much trash wood. I would guess upwards of six hundred and fifty
thousand. Maybe more, maybe less.”
    Mark’s mouth dropped open in