Then, at nighttime, the grain which I got, I put in a buggy, which I pushed myself, a couple of miles to the mill. The mill was a water mill, and the miller took half for himself, and half he gave back to me in form of flour.
--Arthur Lubinski, 1988
As I write (and in this case, re-write) the book, I try to imagine what the mill and miller were like. I read up a little on water mills, and I found myself totally geeking out about how they worked. And if I geeked out over this ancient technology, then I'm certain my grandfather would have, too.
However as much a I love this scene, it doesn't move the story forward (like at all) so I killed off my darling (an intimidating miller) and his super cool mill. Enjoy.
The Miller's Tale
Very late Saturday night, he loaded the winnowed grain, which now filled the big bucket and was quite heavy, into Mr. Durand’s cart and took it to the miller. The mills were monitored too, but less stringently. Perhaps because flour was more perishable than grain?
Mr. Durand told him that the miller ground the illegal flour at night, and to avoid suspicion, he also regularly ground legal flour at night.
When he got close to the mill — he could hear the river — he left the cart in a small stand of trees and, trying to be surreptitious, approached the mill. The lights were on, and the wheel was turning, though he realized that did not necessarily mean the mill was in use; a gear inside could probably be engaged or disengaged to turn the millstones. He walked in a wide circle, looking for signs of surveillance but saw none. He picked up the bucket, lugged it to the mill door, and knocked.
The miller opened the door. He was a big man, but unlike most Frenchmen, he was merely trim and not skinny. He was dressed plainly, wearing an apron over his work clothing. He looked at Arthur and waited for him to say something. When Arthur did not speak, he finally asked, “You have some grain?”
“Yes.”
“Well, bring it in.”
Arthur carried the heavy bucket inside and set it down. He gazed at the huge stone wheels at the room’s far end. There were two, one stacked on the other, with a metal shaft rising from the stones and into the floor above, and a second, massive wooden shaft stood next to the millstones, extending floor to ceiling.
Before the miller started on Arthur’s grain, he explained the rules. “I take 50% of whatever I grind illegally.”
Arthur stopped looking at the millstones and gave the man his full attention.
The miller went on. “Yes, I use it to keep my family well-fed and comfortable because they are more important to me than anyone else in France, and in these Godforsaken times, I should be well-paid for the risk.”
Arthur was not accustomed to such plain speech about dangerous activities, particularly from a stranger. Having no idea how to respond, Arthur simply nodded at what he hoped were the appropriate times.
“The leftover, however, I give to the very hungriest of people. It is in your best interest to never tell anyone what I am doing for two reasons: One, word gets around, and no one else will grind grain for you, and two, because there will be reprisals. I feed many people, and they will be … disappointed if their flour source disappears. Do I make myself clear?” The miller stepped slightly closer and stared into Arthur’s face.
Arthur was intimidated, which he knew had been the miller’s intent. “Very clear, yes. I have no intention of talking about you to anyone.” Arthur also realized that the man was risking his life, so perhaps his threats were appropriate.
“Good. Nice to meet you.” The miller stuck out his hand.
Arthur realized that the handshake was not just a greeting but a promise, an agreement. He shook the miller’s hand.
After releasing Arthur’s hand, the miller hooked the bucket’s handle to a chain hanging through a trap door in the ceiling and hoisted it up through the opening. He then climbed a ladder to the floor above.
He could hear the miller dump the grain all at once into a hopper, which he guessed was metal from the sound. The miller descended the ladder to the basement, where he apparently engaged a gearing mechanism, and the upper millstone began to turn. “May I come down to see the machinery?” he called.
“Of course!” the miller answered from the floor below.
Arthur climbed down and found the miller affixing a flour sack to the bottom of a chute. Arthur examined the system of gears and grinned. It was ingenious. He knew from his studies that the Romans had designed the apparatus two thousand years ago. Modern engineers had merely improved it.
The miller caught Arthur’s smile. “I see that you admire it.”
“Yes. I am an engineer. We studied the technology a little at University.”
“Then you’ll be interested to know that 20 years ago, I converted it from a breast shot wheel to a backshot, which increased the efficiency from 50 to about 90%.”
“You are an engineer, too?” Arthur asked in surprise.
“No. I studied engineering for a year, though. My father wanted me to finish, but when he got too sick to run the mill, I came home. But, I’m smart enough to know a good idea when I see one.”
Flour started pouring down the chute and into the flour sack. When the grinding was complete and no more flour came out, he disengaged the gears. He carried the flour to a set of big scales and removed half, which he dumped into a barrel. He handed Arthur the sack of flour. “Save the sack for next time. Supplies are limited.”
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