A happy molerat

Rhodane "What is this place?"
Chomps Lewis "This is Sloan, a camp for us quarry workers. The actual quarry, Quarry Junction, is up the road north of here. The whole thing is an NCR operation. We make cement for the NCR using the limestone we dig out with dynamite and draglines. Dirty work, but the pay's good. Wish we got paid in caps, though. Not a lot of merchants like taking NCR paper money."
Rhodane "What does the NCR need with the cement?"
Chomps Lewis "It all gets shipped by rail over towards Boulder City and Hoover Dam. The NCR's probably building fortifications with it all."
Rhodane "What's a dragline?"
Chomps Lewis "It's a big machine which moves rocks around, piles at a time. It's Pre-War tech, so you need to thump it once in awhile to keep it running."
Rhodane "You don't get paid in caps?"
Chomps Lewis "Nope. The NCR's been trying to switch over to using paper money, like in the Pre-War days. Trouble is that the exchange rates ain't exactly fair. For example, a hundred bucks in NCR money is valued at roughly half that in caps around here. Seems like a rotten deal for us, but work is work."
Rhodane "I noticed you have a tame molerat."
Chomps Lewis "Yeah, he - or she, I guess - wandered into camp a couple of months back. Seemed friendly enough."
Rhodane "Ugly-looking thing, but the guys like having it around. Good for morale and all that."
Rhodane walks over to Snuffles.
Snuffles "<whuff>"
Rhodane "How's it going?"
Snuffles "<snuffle!>"
Rhodane "Hmmm... your leg appears to be injured."
Snuffles "<whuff>"
Rhodane treats the leg and applies some bandages.
Snuffles "<snuffle!>"
Talking to Chomps Lewis again.
Rhodane "I fixed Snuffles' leg."
Chomps Lewis "I'd noticed Snuffles limping, but I didn't realize the problem was that serious. Thanks - that beast helps keep spirits up around here."