Free Web NovelChapter 80: The Three Businessmen Part 2
Smoke drifted upward from the boiler chimney while the giant flywheel continued turning as if the conversation around it didn’t matter.
Thomas stared at it for several more seconds.
Then he looked at Ernest.
"I want one."
"Me too," Sebastian immediately said.
Edgar folded his arms.
"And me."
Silence.
Three different industries.
Three different businessmen.
And all of them wanted the same machine.
Hollen slowly looked from one man to another.
Then toward Ernest.
Then back again.
The forge owner suddenly felt a headache coming.
Because he knew that look on Ernest’s face.
The one that appeared whenever a problem was far more complicated than it seemed.
Ernest finally spoke.
"It won’t be that easy."
The three men frowned.
Sebastian was the first to ask.
"What do you mean?"
Ernest walked toward the flywheel and placed his hand on its iron rim.
"This engine was designed specifically for Helmarte Soap Works."
The flour merchant blinked.
"But it’s a steam engine."
"Yes."
"It makes power."
"Yes."
"Then why can’t you simply build another one?"
The young businessman smiled.
Because that question made perfect sense.
To them, a steam engine was just a machine that made things move.
To an engineer?
It was much more than that.
He grabbed a piece of chalk from a nearby workbench and walked toward a blackboard hanging on the wall.
Then he wrote three words.
Flour.
Timber.
Mining.
The three businessmen exchanged looks.
Ernest pointed toward the first.
"Master Sebastian, what powers your mill?"
"Waterwheel."
"No. I mean what does the waterwheel turn?"
The flour merchant thought for a moment.
"The millstones."
"Exactly."
Ernest drew a large circle.
"Millstones are heavy."
Another circle.
"They require a tremendous amount of turning force."
He underlined the last words.
"Turning force?"
"Torque."
The unfamiliar word caused all three men to blink.
Ernest quickly drew another sketch.
A long lever.
A man pushing one end.
"The longer the lever, the easier it becomes to move something heavy."
The three nodded.
That much they understood.
"Torque is essentially that. Rotational force."
He pointed toward the steam engine.
"Your millstones don’t need high speed."
Then he wrote another word.
Torque.
"They need strength."
Sebastian slowly nodded.
Actually, that made sense.
A millstone didn’t spin quickly.
But getting one moving?
That required effort.
A lot of effort.
Ernest continued.
"Your engine would require large flywheels and gearing arrangements designed to maximize torque."
Silence.
"It would be completely different from this machine."
The flour merchant looked surprised.
He had assumed one engine was the same as another. free𝑤ebnovel.com
Apparently not. ƒrēewebnovel.com
Then Ernest pointed toward Edgar.
"What powers your sawmill?"
"The waterwheel."
"No. What does it move?"
Edgar thought for a moment.
"The saw frames."
"And?"
"The log conveyors."
"And?"
The timber owner frowned.
"Winches."
Ernest nodded.
Then he drew several lines.
Vertical saws.
Logs.
Belts.
Pulleys.
"The problem with timber is that the load constantly changes."
The men looked confused.
He pointed toward an imaginary log.
"A small log is easy to cut."
Then another.
"A large oak trunk is not."
Understanding slowly appeared.
"The resistance changes."
"Exactly."
Ernest smiled.
"Your engine needs to absorb shocks."
Another sketch appeared.
Large flywheel.
Additional gearing.
He underlined the drawing.
"If the flywheel is too small, every large log will cause sudden drops in speed."
Edgar blinked.
That happened all the time.
The saws slowed.
Belts slipped.
Production became inconsistent.
The young businessman continued.
"So your steam engine requires different flywheel sizing and different transmission arrangements."
Then he pointed toward Thomas.
"And your situation is even more complicated."
The mining representative frowned.
"How?"
Ernest began drawing.
A mine shaft.
Water.
A large pump.
A rod moving up and down.
"This."
Thomas stared at the drawing.
"That’s a pump."
"Yes."
"I need pumps."
"Exactly."
Ernest put the chalk down.
"You don’t need rotational power."
The mining representative blinked.
"I don’t?"
"No."
He pointed toward the sketch.
"You need reciprocating motion."
Silence.
The unfamiliar term caused confusion.
Ernest quickly demonstrated by moving his arm.
Back.
Forth.
Back.
Forth.
"Like this."
Thomas’s eyes widened.
The pump rod.
It moved exactly that way.
Up and down.
Not in circles.
The realization hit him immediately.
The young businessman continued.
"A mining engine would likely not even resemble this one."
He pointed toward the factory steam engine.
"This machine was designed to rotate a shaft continuously."
Then toward the sketch.
"Your engine would be designed to drive enormous pumps."
Another drawing appeared.
A large beam.
Pivot point.
Pump rods.
The men watched quietly.
"You could build the engine directly above the mine."
He drew another line.
"The pump rods could descend into the shaft."
Another.
"And the engine could operate continuously, removing water day and night."
Thomas stared at the drawing.
His breathing had slowed.
Because he understood exactly what he was looking at.
Flooded mines.
Abandoned shafts.
Ore deposits that had been unreachable.
The possibilities felt endless.
He slowly looked up.
"You could really build this?"
Ernest nodded.
"Yes."
Silence.
Then the mining representative looked toward the steam engine.
Then toward the drawing.
Then back again.
"These are completely different machines."
"Exactly. Which is why it is going to be difficult to meet your order. It’s going to take time but we are willing so long that you are paying for our services."
Silence filled the engine house.
The flywheel continued its steady rotation.
Hiss.
Clank.
Hiss.
Clank.
The sound seemed louder now.
Because all three men had suddenly realized something.
This machine wasn’t something they could simply buy off a shelf.
It had to be designed, specifically for them.
Thomas was the first to recover.
"How long?"
Ernest thought for several seconds.
"I don’t know."
The mining representative frowned.
"You don’t know?"
"I know how to build it. I don’t know your mine."
Silence.
Ernest walked toward the blackboard again.
"I’ve never seen your flooded shafts. I don’t know how deep they are. I don’t know how much water enters them every day. I don’t know the size of your pumps."
He looked directly at Thomas.
"If I design an engine that’s too small, it won’t drain the mine."
Then another pause.
"If I design one that’s too large, you’ll spend a fortune on a machine you don’t need."
The mining representative slowly nodded.
That was fair.
Very fair.
Then Sebastian spoke.
"What about my flour mills?"
"Same problem."
The stout merchant blinked.
Ernest pointed toward the sketch of the millstones.
"I need to know their diameter. Their weight. How many stones you want operating simultaneously. Whether you plan to expand in five years or ten."
Sebastian scratched his head.
"That sounds... complicated."
"It is."
Then Edgar suddenly laughed.
All eyes turned toward him.
The sawmill owner shook his head.
"You know what I find strange?"
"What?" Hollen asked.
Edgar pointed toward the engine.
"I walked in here thinking I was going to purchase a machine."
Then he pointed toward Ernest.
"Instead, it feels like I’m hiring an engineer."
Silence.
Then everyone laughed.
Because that was exactly what was happening.
Eventually, the laughter died down.
And then, to Hollen’s complete surprise, Thomas spoke.
"I don’t care."
Everyone looked at him.
The mining representative folded his arms.
"I’ll pay."
Silence.
"I’ll pay for surveys. I’ll pay for designs. I’ll pay for engineers. I’ll pay for construction."
He looked directly at Ernest.
"I want that machine."
Ernest smiled. "Very well."
