“Anvil.”
“I know.”
“You seemed confused.”
“Whose?”
“Yours.”
Noah looked at him.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I’m not taking that.”
“Too late.”
“How much?”
“None of your business.”
“Mr. Boone.”
Silas looked toward Ellen.
She smiled.
Noah turned.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“What is happening?”
Silas pointed at anvil.
“Apprenticeship fund reimbursed part.”
“I paid rest.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Noah’s eyes filled before he could stop them.
He became angry because crying was embarrassing.
“I don't need charity.”
Silas’s face hardened.
“Good.”
“Because this isn't.”
“What is it?”
“Investment.”
“In what?”
“You.”
“That is worse.”
Silas laughed.
Noah wiped his face.
“You can't do this.”
“I just did.”
Ellen walked toward trailer.
“Where do you want it?”
Noah stared.
Then toward old oak blocks.
“The same place.”
Silas shook his head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Those blocks are too wide.”
“You'll ruin your stance.”
He began giving instructions.
Emotion over.
Work.
Exactly what Noah needed.
They built a proper stand from oak.
Set height at knuckles.
Mounted anvil.
That afternoon Silas heated a piece of mild steel.
Handed Noah hammer.
“Show me.”
Noah swung.
Badly.
Silas winced.
“Dear God.”
“What?”
“You sold a historic anvil and still learned nothing.”
Noah laughed.
Then swung again.
Better.
He spent winter training.
Drawing.
Upsetting.
Bending.
Punching.
Twisting.
Tongs.
Hooks.
Gate latches.
Nothing beautiful.
Useful.
Silas believed useful came first.
Noah learned hammer control until right forearm ached.
Learned forge welding and failed.
Failed again.
Then succeeded on tiny chain link and acted as though he had invented steel.
He started repairing farm parts.
Not safety-critical ones.
Silas was strict.
“You do not experiment on something whose failure puts tractor tire over a person.”
So Noah began with simple brackets.
Handles.
Hooks.
Chain repairs.
Garden tools.
Word spread.
By fifteen he earned back his original fifty-five dollars many times.
That amused Ellen.
“You finally made your money back.”
“I made it back the day we sold.”
“No.”
“That money paid debt.”
“Your forge paid you.”
Noah understood distinction.
The museum money changed farm.
They paid equipment note.
Operating line.
Replaced greenhouse heater.
Fixed barn roof.
Ellen set aside twenty-five thousand for Noah’s education.
He protested.
She ignored him.
The rest stayed reserve.
No new truck.
No fancy tractor.