"Revenge, Renewal and the Promise of a New Year" (Boot Hill/D&D)

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 99 “A Chat with Maggie”, January 10th , 1882, 11:30 PM

"Goodnight Tom, Mr. Whipple," Kate said politely and followed Nanuet and Sonoma out the door. The two kept a proper distance apart, aware of Sonoma's altered appearance. Kate allowed herself to fall a few steps back, feeling like a third wheel. It was a short walk back to the El Parador, and Kate looked for Maggie as soon as they entered. There were still a few patrons in the Cantina, but it was fairly quiet. "She's in the kitchen," Dorita said as she saw Kate looking around. "Thank you, Dorita. For everything." Kate smiled and went back into the kitchen.

"Well Maggie, we had a very busy night. If you're ready, I'll walk you home and you can tell me about your night." Maggie rushes up to Kate, gives her a big hug and says "Thank you Katherine. You were right about this place. I was too quick to judge before." Maggie heads out into the main room and thanks Dorita as well, finishing with "I'll see you tomorrow." Dorita replies "And remember your promise, no hiding out in the kitchen this time. My patrons deserve to hear what you can do with this" as she gestures to the piano.

Katherine and Maggie head out and Maggie says "I'm dying of curiosity. What did father think of Tom's management skills? Did Sonoma, I mean Louise, do all right? Did she hold her tongue with father? And was there any trouble tonight? I had such a hard time keeping myself away, I wanted to sneak back for a peek more than once but Dorita would not let me. What a forceful woman she is!" Katherine laughed. "She sent me to bed once. We had been going since early morning, and she heard me saying I was going back out somewhere. Dorita thought I needed a nap, so a nap I had."

Sonoma smiles as she hears Maggie's comment about her mother realizing that Maggie has barely scratched the surface of the women in this cantina She looks over to Nanuet "give me a minute to change then you can tell me what actually happened while you were roaming the countryside dealing with all of the local villains"

Kate took Maggie's arm and they began the walk back to the Lone Star. "Let's see. Sonoma did beautifully. She made sure your father had everything he needed all night, and even though there were upwards of 50 people in the saloon sometimes, no one had to wait. As far as I could tell, your father was impressed with Tom. Everything ran very smoothly, and Neil Cassidy had a good night at Job's table, so he was in a good mood for the negotiations.

Maggie says, "Good, maybe Tom will be less angry at Jake now. He was furious about Jake winning big last night at the expense of both Cassidy and Travis Calhoun who owns the brickyard. He needed both men in happy winning moods for buying those building supplies at the best price. Tom salvaged the situation with Calhoun, getting him to win at Tony's table last night after Jake's game was over. Sounds like Job took care of Cassidy tonight.

I told Tom not to be angry with Jake. It took your friend a week of loosing to actually finally win and Tom shouldn't hold it against Jake that he ran an honest game. Tom doesn't consider it cheating if the dealer cheats to lose instead of trying to win. I've told him that Jake wouldn't consider any form of cheating to be wrong, he's an honest man."

Kate says, “We did have a bit of trouble. Evan Adair isn't giving up. Early in the night when no one was in the kitchen, someone snuck in the back and started a fire. Ruby heard something, and Sonoma was on her way to the kitchen, so we found it right away. You lost a set of curtains, but that's it. No other damage. After that Jeff stayed in the kitchen with the shotgun. A little while later he caught Adair's bodyguard trying to open the back door. Ruby hit him with a frying pan and Jeff and our friend Mr. Martin dumped him in a pigsty." Maggie burst out laughing. "Bob Skull in a pigsty! You could have sold tickets to that." Kate says, "I would have liked to have seen it myself. We were trying to think of how to get him out of there, so I suggested they take him out to where trash goes."

Katherine stopped on the Lone Star's porch. "In the evening when we're all here I'm sure we can handle anything Adair tries. But I'm worried about your safety after we leave for the night. I doubt that Adair will limit his activities to business hours." The ladies went inside the now quiet Saloon. Kate leaned over and whispered to Maggie, "I'm not sure anyone got a chance to tell Tom about Skull, I know I didn't. I imagine Jeff did. Your father doesn't know about any of the trouble."

Kate gave Maggie a long hug. "Why don't you come early tomorrow night and we can talk all about your evening? I should get back to the El Parador." Kate returns to the El Parador and turns it, it having been a long night. Sonoma returns having "changed" back into her former self. She and Nanuet take a walk and have a long talk. They return later that night.

Chester joins his new friends after the Lone Star closes for some more drinks over at the Trail Dust Saloon, where they note that they are the only customers. They swap war stories until half past midnight. The saloonkeeper, Mrs. Yeats, thanks them for the business. The three older men head back to the Promise City Hotel while Chester heads back to the El Parador.

Everyone sleeps in the following morning, as none of them have anywhere they have to be for a change. The sun was actually above the horizon before Kate rose in the morning.
She knew that Jake would not be getting up early, considering how late he and Ruby must have gotten in. She was thankful for that, as she had not had the chance to go to the land office yesterday afternoon. She was certain she could go there and still be ready for their lessons before Jake was ready.

Katherine came downstairs dressed in a simple dark brown dress. She had a quick breakfast and asked if Nanuet had yet been seen this morning. Nanuet comes out of his reverie early. He prays to his ancestors and then plays with Maska for a bit. He stops by Cassidy's Lumberyard and they tell him the lumber won't be ready until later in the afternoon. While he is there he makes an order for fence posts and supplies for Flint. He pays in cash from his own pocket, reminding himself that he needs to get paid back from the proceeds of the wagon which still needs to be sold. He heads over to the El Parador. While there he has breakfast and waits for Kate.

"Good morning Miss Kate. Ready to go to the land office?" "Yes, quite ready," Kate replies. Sonoma looks to her mother then asks Kate "Would you mind if I came with you to the land office? I'd like to see what might be available for a place of my own someday maybe start to buy some land soon if I can get the money up. I don't want to wait another 150 years to run this place and we seem to be getting into enough... interesting situations that add money to my pocket that I might be able to afford a some land sooner than I was originally planning.” Kate answers, "You're more than welcome. Let's go see what we can find."

The next morning, as the light comes in the window, Ruby slowly opens her eyes. Instead of being alone Jake is laying there next to her, lightly snoring, sleeping peacefully. She can see the start of a bruise forming on his jaw where he took the punch the night before. She reaches out her hand and gently strokes his beard until he stops snoring. She smiles, snuggles closer and goes back to sleep.

A few hours later there is a knock at the door. Ruby wakes first. She groggily gets out of bed, dragging the blankets with her, leaving Jake with none. She opens the door a crack and talks softly. Jake wakes to a familiar smell and a cool breeze and when he opens his eyes Ruby is standing there in the sheets, hair all over the place and sleepy eyes, with a char broiled rib eye steak in one hand and the remainder of the first bottle of bourbon in the other. She puts them on the nightstand and climbs back into bed. “Good morning,” she says with a soft smile, as she starts to get comfortable again. “That’s for you. Now you got everything you were looking for, well except a clean shirt, I don’t do shirts.” Ruby pauses then continues quietly, playing with her hair, “So, how does it feel? To get everything you wanted?”

"It feels mighty good." He reaches out and pulls her under the covers, "But the steak and bourbon are better second thing in the morning."

When Jake and Ruby finish with the “first thing in the morning” they collapse back on the bed, sweaty and content. Ruby lays in Jake's arms with her hand on his chest, making small circles with her finger. Jake can tell she is hesitant to say something. When she finally speaks it is slow and deliberate. “You know,” she whispers, “I’m a very jealous kind of girl, Jake. Now that you are a part owner of the mine, you’re going to become a popular guy. That makes me think…” She notices the confused look on Jake’s face. She decides to be as direct as she can. “I want to be in your bed every night. And I want to be the only girl in your bed. I don't want to share you.”

"Ahhhh." He says when he finally understands what she is saying. "So now that I own part of a silver mine you want me for yourself." Ruby starts to sputter but he puts his hand over her mouth, rolls over on top of her and laughs loudly. "Ok, don't shoot me, I'm only teasin' you."

When she stops punching him he changes the expression on his face. "OK, cards on the table time. This question from the girl who almost left town just a few days ago because someone offered her a job with room and board. I was not sure you were coming back, maybe you thought I was. I was hoping you were." Ruby starts to speak but he says, "Wait, I'm not done. So poor shy Silver Jake Cook waits for beautiful Ruby West to ask him to bed. You wanna know why you did the askin'? I was afraid after we shared this that you were gonna run away, for real. I figured I would stretch it out as long as I could. I was pretty certain after we did, it was only a matter of a little time." He stops her from speaking again with his fingers on her lips. "So don't go making promises you can't keep, and don't be saying things to make me feel good. I'm not looking for any other women and you can come and go as it pleases you." He smiles at her. "Heh, and as a matter of fact I still do feel mighty good." He slowly removes his fingers.

Ruby lays still under Jake looking up at him with wide eyes. Jake could see many different emotions on Ruby’s face, but mostly confusion. She starts biting her lip and looking away, unsure of what to say. Suddenly, she closes her eyes tight and when she opens them they are clear. She whispers, “I’m not going to make any promises I can’t keep and I’m not going to say things to make you feel good, at least not anything that isn’t true.”

“Are you in the business of pleasing me, Mr. Cook? Because you are very good at it. You're willing to give me just what I want without asking anything in return...” She puts her hands on his neck and pulls him in for a long kiss. “I’m here now and I don’t think I’m going anywhere anytime soon. I’m glad to know you would have missed me if I left as much as I would have missed you if I didn’t come back.”

Ruby turns serious for a moment. “But… the truth? I don’t want to get hurt. The one time I ever let someone have my heart he broke it awfully. He taught me almost every bad habit that I have and he used it for his own gain. And it ended as badly as you can imagine, with him dead by my hand and me almost dead from his. There is a story there but not for telling now. I was young and stupid then but I’m not anymore. I don’t trust anyone and won’t let myself get taken advantage of if I can help it. It’s easier to leave somewhere,” she pauses then continues slowly, “or someone, then get yourself in that situation, you understand? I took my heart, locked it away and don’t intend on taking it out for anyone, friend or lover.”

“And that is more truth than I ever told anyone. If you’re ok with all that then we can continue making each other happy. And I hope you are ok with that because I’ve been more happy then I can remember in a really long time and I’m having fun hopefully making you happy too. And,” she continues playfully, reaching for his beard, “I would miss celebrating with you and playing cards with you and drinking with you and getting shot at with you and kissing you and laying with you…"

Jake puts his fingers back on her lips to stop her. "I'm happy. I've got a lucky hat, most of what I've been looking for, and a promise." He removes his hand and lays next to her looking at the ceiling. "Hades, I can pay to have my shirts done," He laughs. "and I still don't think it's the hat." They lay quietly for a while.

“What are your plans for today? Anything besides teaching Kate how to use that gun of hers?"

"She's gonna' trade me for a lesson on horse ridin'. I can sorely use it." He rolls over and looks at her. "More business around town with the lawyer and with Morand Cartage. Check on the first ore shipment, it should be being processed right now." Jake gives a little shiver. "Gods it's good to sleep in."

Ruby turns on her side to face Jake and lays her head on her arm. “Boy, you are busy. If you quit that damn job at the bank then you… I mean we… can sleep in more often,” Ruby smiles, “although I actually gave them some of my money yesterday so you’d better keep a good eye out while you are there.” Ruby pauses in thought. “You don’t need to meet Kate just yet do you?” she says with her smile growing bigger. She throws her leg over Jake and moves closer to him. “I’m not done sleeping in yet.”

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 100, “Kate’s Dream Come True”, January 11th, 1882

Before they leave Nanuet leaves a note for Jake. The three walk over to the land office and step inside. The County Claims Office is a 20x25 foot brick building on the west side of Fremont street right after the Marshall's Office. It is physically attached to the adjacent Promise City Town Hall and Courthouse, which is still under construction at the corner of Main and Freemont.

The building currently looks like a cyclone hit it. Maps and notebooks are everyone, covering every desk and table of the building. Dozens more maps are tacked up on the wall. A balding man wearing wire-framed glasses is frantically working on several of them at one. He has a pencil behind one ear and a red wax pen behind the other. Sticking from his pocket are a ruler and a protractor. A sign on the wall reads "Dennis Winston, Deputy County Recorder".

"Good morning Mr. Winston, I'm Mrs. Katherine Kale, and this is Miss Sonoma Figueres and Nanuet. We'd like to inquire about a particular plot of land.” He bellows “"Of course you would. Can't you see I'm busy! Nobody's been in here for almost three weeks and then yesterday I wind up selling over 800 acres. It will take me at least two more days to record all of those transactions so you may have to wait until I can get to you. I can't be sure where on these maps is still for sale until I finish marking and recording all of the new sales."

Ignoring his tirade, she says, “A little more than a mile out of town, between the land of a Dwarf named Flint Greymountain and the Chiricahua Mountains. We'd like to know if it is available, and if not, who owns it." Sonoma interjects “Actually I'd like to see maps of any area that is still available, just so I know what might be out there if it isn't too much trouble that is.”

That gets his attention. "Chiricahua Mountains, not the Dos Cabezas? Well, that's a whole different matter. Nobody's bought any land there in over a year, so it won't be affected by these new purchases. Give me a minute to locate those maps. Where specifically were you looking?"

Katherine describes the location of Flint's plot a little over a mine to the southeast alongside a stream. Winston checks in a logbook and then goes to the back where a tall, long and deep cabinet is located. He pulls out the fifth of eleven drawers and then thumbs through several maps, pulling out three of them. He brings them over to a table, putting them atop the maps already on it. The maps detail contour lines showing different elevations.

Using the stream as a reference point they are able to locate the twenty-acre plot that is Flint's Hill circled in red. The hill has numerical notations on it marked in red with the date 03/16/80 and some other notes in blue including the date of 07/05/81. None of the land within a quarter mile of it have any marks, although a hill to the northeast, one to the southeast, another to the south and another to the southwest, each from a quarter to half mile from Flint's, all show similar red circles and red notations with the date 03/16/80.

He looks back in another book, checking those dates and says. "Here it is. Ownership of that plot was transferred last July to a Flint Greymountain and a Peter K. Grammer. That must be the one you wanted."
Sonoma says, “From the look of your maps it is only the mountains that are purchased what about the land between them is that still free or am I reading the map incorrectly? Sonoma looks at the maps all over the room. She whispers, "This man is in a panic and needs a good assistant" she thinks to herself "that would actually be something that I think Kate would enjoy maybe I'll talk to her later about it either that or maybe as Louise a part-time cash pickup humm..."

He replies to her, "Yeah, the only land that I've sold to the southeast thus far are the hills and small mountains, considered the best place to look for silver. All the lands between them are relatively flat, good for farming but that's about it. There may be silver deep down but it would probably be far too expensive to dig that deep to check."

Sonoma follows the path of the stream from the mountain that Flint owns to the next place where a red circle lies. " how much is the land on both sides of the stream cost per acre and how much of it is there?" Kate adds, “"Farmland is what I'm interested in. What I'd like is a little more than a quarter section, perhaps 180 or 200 acres, adjacent to Flint Greymountain's land. On the side between his claim and the Chiricahua Mountains if the stream flows that way."

While he checks Sonoma pulls Kate aside and whispers, "If it's too much per acre we can try by starting with both sides of the stream. That way we have the water rights and since it looks like the water originates from Flints' Mountain then we wouldn't have to worry about someone else upstream shutting off the supply. If we need to we could even fence it in and that way charge for not only passage but water rights from others in the area" Kate replies, "That sounds like a good strategy. Then we use those proceeds to buy more land as we need it. Thank goodness the rush wasn't in this area. I'm glad you came, I think I'd have been a bit overwhelmed here."

The Claims manager points out that the stream flows from the Mountains not to them so the flow is from east to west. However the plot of land they are looking at would not be significantly affected by the water flow from Fisk's hill to the east, as the steam itself is actually not on Fisk's property. A small tributary from that hill does flow into it, as does one from Flint's hill, but the majority of the stream's flow originates in the higher mountains further to the east.

Winston tells the women "Looks like you could go in any direction from that claim for your farm. Unfortunately land here in Cochise County is pretty expensive. It will cost you five dollars an acre." Sonoma asks, "Sir, Could you please tell us who owns the next hill?" He looks up the notation in his books and says "That hill is owned by Hamilton Fisk. He's a lawyer here in Promise City."

She then says in a whisper "Kate I think I could buy the area on either side of the stream to the next landowner from money I have acquired, but I would only have about 400 feet on each side. It's enough to lay claim to the water rights but hard to keep people you didn't want out of. How much money were you thinking of putting into this adventure?" Nanuet overhears Sonoma ask Kate the question. He whispers, "Miss Sonoma, don't forget I am also willing to buy some land. I am willing to spend about $550. I am hoping to work on the ranch once it is settled."

"I didn't forget you" Sonoma smiles and blushes slightly. “It's just that we're going to need start up cash too along with money to purchase stock. And although we can build adobe we're still going to need fencing and supplies and other things, so I don't want to invest all of our cash in land. If we did that we’d just be able to look at it and not do anything with it. Although it's not like I'm in a huge rush but I think buying land is about to become the thing to do around here"

Nanuet replies, "Miss Sonoma, again I say you are very wise. You are right that we shouldn't be in a huge rush. If the land is most in demand now we should get it before it is gone and we can work on some of the other things later. But I am not good in ways of business so I will leave my investment up to you." Kate says, "I can also add another $500, although I'd like to keep it a little smaller if I can. Between just Nanuet and I, we could get the 200 acres we need."

Kate was quiet for a moment, thinking of Maggie's problem at the Lone Star. She couldn't come up with the money on her own to help Maggie, but Jake had suggested there were other ways. "Yes, I think if we want this land, we need to buy it now. The rush doesn't seem to be quite here yet, but it may come. Sonoma, I know you were thinking of buying land of your own, but you're welcome to pitch in with us if you want. Split evenly between all of us, it would be about $335 each. We could split it differently if necessary. Flint may also be willing to pick up some of the cost, but I think we should let him reimburse us if he wants to. What do you think?"

Sonoma says, “Right now I don't need the money I have a place to stay free and a job at the cantina for as long as I like.” Sonoma starts talking almost to herself, "We could start with fencing and build with adobe and put almost all our money into land. I think I know where we could get some sheep to start with and they don't take near as much work as cattle. They are not as much profit though but we should be able to sell most of what we needed to right here in town to break even. That and music lessons should put us into a profit provided we're careful and work hard making sure we don't lose the stock.”

Kate interjects, "Plus, with all the land being bought, this city might be about to grow quite a bit bigger. I think we can do well. I'm willing to buy the land now. 100 acres on each side of the stream, split three ways between the three of us, with Flint having an option to reimburse for a larger share. Sonoma, if you can show us how to build with adobe we can take your advice and start with sheep. Are we all agreed?" "Mr. Winston, where would we make payment? I don't imagine you keep large amounts of money here."

If they wish to purchase a full 200 acres that would allow them to get a plot of land the 4/10's of a mile to the next hill and 3/4's of a mile wide with the stream in the center. He says the total cost of that plot would be $ 1,000 and that they would have to leave him 10% now as a deposit for it to which they would received a receipt and exclusive option to buy. The balance would then be due to be deposited in the Arizona Territory's account at the Promise City National Bank within two business days. Once the full payment is confirmed they would receive the deed to the property, although he says that might take him a bit longer due to all the work he has to still finalize from the prior day's transactions.

Sonoma comments, “I think the land and a deed are a far better investment than putting the money in the bank around here. what with the amount of robberies that happen on a regular basis. She gives Kate a knowing look "and I know of the perfect place to keep the deed safe. If we come into more money we can always expand towards the water source I can't see people wanting to buy closer to the mountains unless they have an unusually good relationship with the Indians in the area. And I don't know of anyone who fits that bill, she looks at Nanuet and smiles. "If Flint is willing to go into it with us and stay on the land while we get started we should do Ok I say go for it but I have no other bills or things to worry about. Nanuet I think this may be the best investment for your money at the moment unless you want to become a silver miner and most of the good easy mines seem to be locked up. Kate it's your dream but it will be a lot of work what do you think, are we ready for this?”

Kate says, "I've never been afraid of work, and I don't think we're going to be more ready than we are now. Something to work for will be....well, it will be good for me." Instead of reaching into her purse Katherine lifted one of the pieces of draped fabric on her dress. She carefully worked open a pin attached to the underside and pulled off a slim, paper-wrapped packet. From inside she counted out five twenty-dollar bills and handed them to Mr. Winston. "You have a sale, sir. The deposit will be made today."

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 101, “Target and Riding Practice”, January 11th, 1882

Sonoma goes over the maps with the clerk making sure that the land that they are looking for is what that will be outlined on the deed including as much of the water rights as possible. As they are leaving the shop Sonoma turns to Mr. Winston "If you find that you need an assistant in the next few days please let me know. Your filing system is well thought out and I believe that it is doing what you need for it to do however you seem a little overwhelmed by the shear amount of work that you have at the moment. If rumors hold true you are looking to be dealing with an expansion in people looking for land not just for mining but for farming also in the near future and I believe that this town will be growing by leaps and bounds I would be happy to clerk for you for a small fee at your convenience."

Sonoma looks at both Nanuet and Kate " I didn't want to say anything before but the cave that Flint is staying in is perfect for a small herd of sheep in the back. I have been asked to negotiate with a wood elf family that has some land another person wants. They are sheep farmers and one of the things that I stipulated is that they be guaranteed sales for their crop. The person really wants the land, he agreed to ensure that but doesn't want the sheep.

I should be able to coordinate our purchase with his deal and buy us a starter flock of good animals very cheaply. With plenty of grazing land and a cave we can begin farming and still be on the lookout for unbranded calves as the cattlemen start driving. We can also enact a crossing fee for the first year to the water. We can take payment in cattle. We have the time and patience. All we need is mud and straw and we have adobe brick. we should be all set to become farmers.”

"You've been busy, haven't you Sonoma?" Kate laughed. "I'm afraid we're going to depend on you a great deal while we learn what we're doing. If you both don't mind, I'd like to go make the deposit right away. I'm going out to Flint's with Jake this morning, and I can fill him in on everything, but I'd like to have it all settled before I leave."

The three returned to the El Parador and collected their money. A few minutes later they were arriving at the Promise City National Bank making a sizable deposit into the Arizona Territory's account. Afterwards Kate returned to the Cantina, changed into her riding clothes, and went downstairs to wait for Jake. Manuel walks into the main room and heads to the table where Kate is sitting " So my little bird has decided to create her own nest and take my granddaughter under her wing at the same time"

She replies, "Word travels fast. I would say rather Sonoma is taking us under her wing. This is what Tom and I wanted, and if I can't..... Well, I can still have a place to raise horses on someday." Kate dropped her voice, remembering what Conrad Booth had said. "But you needn't worry. It will be a long while before we leave the El Parador, if we do at all." He interjects, “My great-granddaughter is much like her mother no? this will always be your home for as long as you wish it and I will be here for a long time to come yet so tell me your plans little bird what are your dreams?”

Kate's eyes went distant. "I don't know. I stopped dreaming for a while. But I think ranching will be good for me. The smell of hay and horses keeps him close to me in a way that doesn't make me want to hide myself away. And I will keep learning, of course. My mind seems to be waking up. It wants sustenance." He answers, “Because you are ready and because you choose to continue. There are many things I can teach you that will help you both to build your dream and start to live again. As time goes on we lose those we love but need to continue until our time has past you still have much to your future my little bird it is time that you begin living life again and start dreaming again.”

"It's odd. He's been gone only three months, but it's been six since I saw him last, and six more since he was in any kind of real health. Sometimes I feel as if I've been a widow much longer, and sometimes as if it happened yesterday. But I will continue on, and I will keep learning. And I will see you this afternoon. There are some things we should discuss, but this is not the place. Oh, and we have an important visitor today, don't we?" They talked for a few more minutes as Mr. Gonzales had his breakfast and then he went back up to his room. Kate again settled in to wait for Jake. It was getting late, and she hoped he would be down soon.

The visit to the land office was a bit overwhelming for Nanuet. Dealing with money and owning land was a foreign concept for him. Once again Sonoma showed that she is full of surprises handling herself very well and showing her unlimited potential and knowledge in many areas. "She would make an excellent wife" he thinks to himself, "but may not want to settle down. Although she was talking about getting her own land and building a home." Thought swirled through Nanuet's head and he tried to take stock of everything going on right now.

Sonoma scurries from the kitchen with a platter of food for her great grandfather and places a large plate of finger foods before Nanuet as she sits down at the table with him "Are you ok with the way the land deal went? I know you told me to go ahead but it is your money and I don't want you to feel trapped into something you don't want to do. I just though that by having you as an owner of the ranch we can ensure that the total place is safe from Indians as you have a very good relationship with the local tribe.

By having Kate as the visual front of the ranch we should not have as many problems from the humans and I think I can deal with the other peoples that are around. it should also be a good place for your wolf she will be well fed and safe from hunters looking for wolf fur to send back east. But if I went to far or did something your not comfortable with please tell me I don't want you disappointed in what I did.”

As Sonoma begins talking Nanuet is shaken from his thoughts. He listens to her talk but can't help but to let his eyes wander over her. "Sonoma, slow down. Slow down." He stands up and grabs both of her hands tightly in his, pulls her up from her chair and looks into her eyes. "I am very pleased with what has happened. I am even more pleased that you have joined us in this deal. I have not been settled into anything in a long time and the last few days have been very busy. It seems I have so much to do, but I never want to leave your side. Also, it has been dangerous around here, being shot at twice in the same day, people starting fires, and I am sure there are many things I have missed."

He takes a deep breath then continues. "This is a big step in life for all of us. I didn't have the intentions of settling down here when I came to this town. I have met some companions and now you and everything is going so fast. Sonoma, I think" he stammers "uh, I think I had better go take care of some things." Nanuet is blushing and stuttering now. "I need to get some supplies for the Apache and some things for myself as well. I want to meet you for a private conversation later, maybe before or after dinner or your work at the Lone Star. I plan on going to visit the Apache tomorrow if things work out, I would like you to come with me if you are able."

With that Nanuet grabs some food from the platter that Sonoma brought out and then turns to leave. He stops, turns back around and reaches for Sonoma again, pulls her close to him and then kisses her before rushing out the door. Jake eventually gets out of bed and wanders downstairs to get a quick breakfast. He is given the note from Nanuet, read's it and scribbles on it leaving it for him. He heads back up stairs to get ready to go out with Katherine.

Sonoma stands speechless and frozen in the middle of the room watching as Nanuet bolts from the cantina she hears her great-grandfather chuckling as he climbs the stairs to his room. As she looks at the mostly empty plate on the table a smile begins to creep across her face which is turning a deep crimson. she gathers the dirty dishes from the table and heads for the kitchen.

Jake gathers his pile of weapons, extra ammo, and his torn clothing that both he and Ruby have accumulated. He leaves the leather duster folded up for Ruby. He acquires from Dorita some lunch to travel and goes looking for Katherine. "You look lovely this morning." Jake greets her in the main room of the Cantina. "I have some lunch packed. And I have all the guns and ammo we'll likely need, though you should bring your own guns. I'm ready when you are."

“Smart man, complementing an armed woman early in the morning; but I look like I do any other day we go out riding,” She pushed her dark braid back behind her shoulder. “I have Tom’s pistol and the Derringer. I think I’m going to need a holster at some point though. The Derringer fits just fine here,” she patted her chest, “But having the pistol in my pocket is clumsy.” Jake follows her out to the horses. "I'm sure that is a lovely spot for the derringer, but a bad spot to draw it with nobody noticing. At least I would notice you putting your hand down the front of your dress."

“If I need the derringer that badly, I’m not terribly concerned about who notices me pulling it out.” Jake climbs a tad clumsily into the saddle. "And you DO look lovely any day you go out riding." He kicks his horse mostly forward and manages to miss hitting his head on the way out. “We’ll need to see Flint while we’re out there, I need to let him know what I found out at the land office. What are these other resources you mentioned yesterday? The other things that came out of the caves?” Kate asked as they left Promise City.

"Yes, that's what I meant." Jake gives her a friendly smile. "I know you think they don't belong to us. You have a big heart and want to help your friends and don't quite have all the money you'd like to do so. You need to make some priority decisions. In my experience sometimes doing the proper thing isn't the right thing." Jake shrugs his shoulders and doesn't pursue the matter further. He meant the box of jewels. Jake didn't know that the owner would be here today. It was something he should have back; she had no right to pilfer it for herself. Kate had thought they had pulled something else out, something Jake hadn't told her about. She sighed quietly.

The day is warming nicely, the sky is blue and the winds are mild. The ride out is leisurely, and Jake seems to take special pleasure in the low rolling landscape covered with scrub brush, low cactus, mesquite trees and the sporadic saguaro cactus in it's familiar man-waving form. Almost like he is seeing them for the first time. Kate watched Jake as they rode out toward Flint’s ranch. His expression was one she hadn’t seen before. Relaxation. His eyes were always busy, pulling in and processing information, always looking for the next danger. “You should stop and look more often, there’s great deal of beauty to be seen if you stop searching for the ugly.”

Jake nods and smiles back, holding back a snide remark. 'It's not the ugly I'm searching for' he thinks, 'If you lived like I live Katherine Kale perhaps you'd understand'. “I've been watching you." Katherine raised her eyebrow at him. "Ride. I've been watching you ride." Gods she is sensitive, or at least pretends to be thinks Jake. "I can sit on a horse and get where I'm going, but I need to be able to really RIDE this thing. I'm a city boy at heart, and you didn't need to be able to gallop a horse, jump over prickly pear and shoot over your shoulder in downtown Philadelphia." He takes a cursory glance around them as they travel. "I've been trying some of the things you do, not very successfully. So show me what I’m doing wrong."

“Well, first let me say I’m glad to not see spurs on you. And if I ever do, I’ll shoot you myself.” Kate laughed at the surprised look on Jake’s face. “Well, we both know I can’t hit but it would probably be a nervous day for you.” “Now, riding isn’t a passive activity. You can’t just ‘sit on the horse and get where you’re going.’” She laughed. “You sir, bounce. There’s no avoiding going up and down when you ride, so you have to control it. You flex the muscles in your legs and rear and move yourself up and down with the rhythm of the horse.”

They went through several different exercises until Jake sat more confidently in the saddle. “The horses training makes a big difference too. So we’ll have to train your mount while we train you.” For the next two hours she put him through galloping, trotting, running, and walking exercises until he and the horse had gotten to know each other. “It’s not good to work the horse for too long, we should switch for a while.”

Jake’s carefree demeanor fades when they stop for weapons lessons. "There is a world of difference between target shooting and defending yourself with a gun. But the more you shoot your gun the less likely you'll mess up when defending yourself. Keep your weapons cleaned and oiled, many a body is in boot hill because their weapons jammed.” “You’ll have to show me how to do that, I never learned. Of course, I never had occasion to.”

Jake nodded and went on. “No fancy shooting, when you point your gun at a man it is because you intend to kill him. No trick shots, no taking out an arm or a leg, no trying to shoot their gun outta their hands. Aim at the torso, shoot to kill. That pistol of yours is double action, if you have the time on the first shot pull the hammer back first and steady the gun with both hands or lean it on something. The full trigger pull on a double action moves the weapon a bit in your hands. The most important part is how you move the trigger. You don't PULL the trigger that will jerk the gun in your hand. If you'll pardon the analogy, you squeeze the trigger like a lover."

“I understand,” she nodded, and tried squeezing a couple times. “You know, a lover’s a lot more fun.” "I won't argue you that one." Jake takes some of the old torn clothes and places them around a man shaped saguaro cactus. He shows her how to properly fire her pistol and derringer. There is an awkward moment when she is still holding the pistol incorrectly. Jake comes up behind her, stoops a bit and puts his arms around her correcting her grip. He feels her tense, but he just shakes her arms a bit and whispers 'loosen up' into her ear. When she has it right he removes his arms and says nothing more about it. He also has her fire the shotgun and rifle. He has her reload the weapons and fire them again and again. He practices with his Colt from the draw, alternating targets between a saguaro wearing a torn shirt and a small block of wood balance in mesquite branch.

During lunch Jake says to her, "I know you don't like guns, and are having trouble with shooting a man. I hope it never is easy for you. But you MUST be as good as you can at it." “That’s why I asked you to show me, Jake. We didn’t have to be here very long before I realized then even if I minded my own business absolutely, chances are I would need to defend myself at some point. And we both know I can’t mind my own business.”

Jake wisely chooses to shut his mouth. Kate hesitated a moment and looked at Jake. Just as she had in the rustler’s cave, she again decided to trust him. “Can I talk with you seriously for a minute?” He looks up from his lunch and looks her in the eyes. There is no expression on his face as he is quiet for a moment. "Sure." His eyes never waver from hers. “You and the others, we’ve only known one another for two weeks. But the woman you’ve met isn’t really me. She’s just a shadow. And she walks around wrapped in propriety and keeping as busy as she can to avoid falling apart completely.”

"Nearly every incident that has made me upset was more about how it reminded me of..." She paused and took a breath. “Tom Whipple’s interest upset me not because he was looking, but because I believed he was a married man, and more so, because it made me think of MY Tom. Earlier when you were correcting my stance and I stiffened up…being touched by any man makes me think of him.”

“Anyway, I just want you to know that I’m not a delicate little child shocked by everything she sees. I know prostitution, killing, lying, all sorts of things go on. And I’ve lied in my life, I’ve flirted and played and broken a heart or two. I’m not pretending I have the kind of experiences you and Ruby have. Just don’t assume from what you’ve seen in two weeks that I’m so proper you need to walk on eggshells, I just might surprise you.” “Sorry, I’ve just been beginning to feel trapped in this role with all of you. I don’t want you all to be shocked when you start to see the pieces of me you don’t expect,” she laughed.

While Katherine talks Jake can't help marveling at the resemblance. He had put it aside before, but it is more than looks. "Like the swagger n' strut of the woman who was part of Deadeye's gang back in the cave?" A little bit of a smile sneaks on to his lips. "I can understand missing somebody." Jake looks out across the landscape to the mountains that rise up suddenly and starkly from the low rolling hills. "I think bits of Katherine stand out quite clearly from shadow. And by the number of people you seem to attract I mustn't be the only one who thinks so. " A small lizard climbs up on a nearby rock. Jake smoothly reaches down and picks up a small pebble and quickly throws it. It only misses by an inch but the creature is gone as soon as the pebble strikes. "I'm looking forward to meeting the rest of you." He laughs. Don't ask me why I feel so protective of you he thinks.

“I attract people? I think you’re forgetting that Ruby is standing next to me most of the time." She paused and laughed. "Swagger. I rather enjoyed that, in a terrified kind of way." “Anyway, thanks for listening. Sometimes it’s nice to talk to someone who isn’t going to try to fix things, or make me feel better. Sometimes you just need to be able to say things to let them go.” She was quiet for a moment. “You know, sometimes you remind me of my brother Henry, he’s a smart-ass too,” she grinned. Jake gets up and brushes the scraps of lunch of his legs. "I'd probably like him." He offers her a hand up. "Let's go."

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 102, “Welcome to our Ranch”, January 11th, 1882

Chester wakes up mid-morning with a hangover. Haven't had one of those in a while. Now I remember why. He clears his head and dresses. Chester walks out to the stable. He checks on his horse, a Morgan by the looks of him. "Well, I guess I'm going to have to give you a name. I can't think of one right now, but we'll see if any come to mind. Let's see if your former owner took good care of you." Chester looks over the horse, checking over everything and brushing the animal. "The most important thing to a cavalryman is his horse, so ya better take care of it, if ya don't want to walk," Chester says in his best imitation of his training sergeant in St. Louis.

"Well, you look to be in fairly good health, but your shoes are worn. What say we get you some new ones?" The horse just looks at the ex-soldier. "I can see, we're going to need to work on our communication skills." He chuckles as he leads the Morgan up to Weller's Blacksmithing. "Hi there," Chester says to the blacksmith. "Do you do horseshoes." Henry Weller replies, "Yep. Been doing that for years. Do you need it done today?" "Yes, sir, if you have time. My horse's shoes are getting worn."

He replies, "Give me a few hours. I'm fixing some picks from the Lucky Deuce, right now. But I can take a break by shoeing your horse. Just leave him here and come back." "OK. How much will this cost?" Weller states his cost. "That'll be fine. I'll be back later." Chester stomach rumbles, so he goes back to the El Parador for breakfast.

After his meal, he heads up to his room to clean his rifle and six-gun. Having taken care of his horse and himself, Chester buys a rifle sheath for the saddle and a new horse blanket from Frye's Harness Shop and ammunition from Kelly's Dry Goods. Seeing he has some time, he makes the rounds of the saloons to see if he can find anyone interested in becoming a mine guard. If anyone is, Chester leaves his name and address and gets the applicant's. Once his horse is ready, Chester rides out south until he finds an open area. He thinks to himself, “I need to practice shooting with my left. I can't hit a thing on horseback.”

Nanuet spends the rest of the late morning and early afternoon about town doing some shopping. He buys himself some more bullets from his rifle and supplies to properly clean it as well as a piece of buckskin so that he can make himself a new pair of shoes. He is aware of the looks that he gets in some of the stores but tries to ignore them and be as business like as possible.

He also gathers the supplies that the Apache has asked for and keeps that bill separate to be paid for out of the bounty money from Curly Bill. The lumber is still not ready and there seems to be a brisk business going on at the lumberyard with lots of folks placing orders to be brought to new claims that were recently purchased. Nanuet feels a little weary from the long previous day so he heads back to the Druid's grove across from the El Parador for a couple hours of rest before handling the lumber.

Ruby finally drags herself out of Jake’s bed, with a smile she can’t get rid of. She wanders back to her room and distractedly gets dressed and fixes her hair. The thought occurred to her to head to Tombstone but she instead decides to see Nanuet. She was too happy to ruin her day with the business of Tom Kale. She grabs an apple on the way out of the Cantina.

Ruby walks over to the grove. She wanders around a bit, as she has never been there before. She looks down and sees Maska, Nanuet’s wolf, staring at her. She drops to her knees slowly and sits on her feet. She stretches out her hands for the wolf to smell. The wolf comes towards her slowly, then smells her and Ruby can see the wolf relax a bit. She reaches out and pets the wolf under her head, on her neck. “My you are beautiful, aren’t you?” she says out loud. “How do you say ‘You are beautiful’ in your language Nanuet?” Ruby says smiling. The elf had been standing behind her and she knew it, although she wasn’t sure if he had been trying to be quiet or not.

”Emo'onahe” Nanuet replies in a heavy accent. It had been a long time since he had spoken in his native language to another person. Recently it had been reserved for his prayers and communicating with Maska.
Ruby tries to repeat Nanuet’s words but mangles them badly, laughing as she does. “Oh well, I hope she gets the idea.” Ruby stands and faces the elf. “I was wondering if you could help me with something. I think you Indians have some pretty exotic mating rituals, no? Something a bit on the wild side maybe?” Ruby tries to keep her laugh in as Nanuet turns scarlet.

Nanuet’s embarrassment is obvious. A look of shock crosses his face and he takes a step back. “I am not sure what you are talking about Miss Ruby. Exotic uh… mating rituals?” “I was just kidding, silly, you know, a joke?” She pats him on the arm. “I know you have been able to help heal people, I mean, you helped heal me that day in the caves. I would like to know more about healing, for when you aren’t around. Maybe you could teach me some things?” “Oh, of course I knew you were kidding!” Nanuet laughs nervously and then clears his throat. “I would be glad to teach you about healing. I actually have someone over here that is need of our help. Follow me.”

Nanuet leads Ruby through the grove until the two are standing in front of a small bed made of woven branches and filled with grasses and leaves. Inside is a young bird. The bird gets excited at Ruby’s approach and it is obvious that its wing is damaged as it thrashes about. “He'kotoo'êstse” Nanuet says in a calming voice and he crouches down closer to the injured animal. The bird immediately calms down and settles into the bed. “Our little friend here has a broken wing.” He says turning to Ruby. “Together we will mend it using what the earth provides, herbs and other natural medicines. Also, if you are committed we can use spiritual energy to assist and help the bird heal.”

Ruby sits on her feet next to the bird. “Poor little thing. What can we do to help it? I don’t think I have any spiritual energy to help, although I wish I did.” “Ruby your spirit is very strong. You need to learn how to focus it, and that may be where your problem lies.” Nanuet chuckles as various thoughts of Ruby’s antics go through his head. “We will work on both ways of healing together. Come with me, we will go for another walk.”

The two walk through the grove and stop at a small flowering plant growing in little bunches close to the ground. The flowers are purple in color and grow in a pattern that would remind one of a brush used to clean bottles. “Here, we need a small amount of this plant. It will help the bird to rest peacefully.”

As the two pick the plants Nanuet smiles peacefully. “This is where I find my nanomonestôtse or peace, here with the earth, and among plants and animals. Miss Ruby, where do you find your peace? Do you have religion?” “Religion? I swear to the gods that’s about it,” she smiles. “As for peace I don’t think on it much. I guess I don’t have any.” Ruby looks at the flowers in her hand. “I just go along day to day Nanuet, I don’t think about the future or things bigger than I am. I just try to get to another day.” She pauses, “But maybe finding some peace would be a good thing. What does this peace of yours feel like?”

“A very interesting question Miss Ruby. I am not sure I have ever stopped to ask what peace feels like. I would say it feels unique, unlike anything else, that is certain. It is the moment where everything comes together and you can stop thinking about your troubles, even if just for a moment. When your head is clear and everything is just right. You will find your peace Miss Ruby, I am certain of it.” Ruby smiles to herself. She had found some of what Nanuet described, earlier that morning, even if only for a few moments. She only hoped she could find more of it.

They make their way back to the bird and Nanuet starts showing Ruby how to prepare the herbs and lay them in the birds bed so that the oils and scents will calm the little creature and allow it to rest. Ruby is only half-paying attention. All she can do is watch the little bird flutter around helplessly, with nothing she can do to help herself. Ruby slowly outstretches her hand to the bird and starts singing a lullaby, the first calming song that comes to mind. She touches the bird and closes her eyes, trying her best to calm and settle it. She goes through her whole song, wishing that the bird could get better. She finishes the song and slowly opens her eyes. As she does the little bird suddenly flies up and lands on her still outstretched hand. Ruby is speechless with surprise.

Nanuet watches, apprehensive at first, especially when Ruby reaches out to touch the floundering animal, but then he relaxes. He feels the energy as it flows from her to the injured bird, mending the wing perfectly.

“I think you have found your nanomonestôtse.” Nanuet says smiling. “I know I have found some peace in that special voice of yours. There is something in your voice, something magical. I almost found myself captivated by it.” Nanuet stands gracefully and offers his hand to Ruby pulling her to her feet. “You have done well; just remember how you felt when you healed the bird. Practice and it will come to you more naturally over time. I can show you more plants and their healing properties another time.”

Ruby smiles at Nanuet. He was a kind man even after the terrible things he had been though. Then again, they all had terrible things they had lived through. Oh well, no need to dwell on it she thinks. She touches Nanuet’s face. “Thank you, Nanuet, you have shown me something special today. Sonoma is very lucky to have you.” She ignores his blush and gives him a small kiss. “See you later!” as she turns on her heel and heads back to the El Parador.

After spending the time with Ruby, Nanuet feels a little more refreshed. He heads back to the lumberyard only to find out that the goods were already being delivered. He jogs over to the Lone Star hoping to beat the lumber there. He arrives about the same time and begins looking for Tom so that he can get to work. Tom Whipple and Jeff Mills come out to help. William Whipple also comes outside but makes no attempt to assist. Teddy Whipple was also in the tavern but quickly found other things to do with his time.

Three employees of the lumberyard, humans Neman Sanders and Roy Ryder and wood elf Juan Tolucca all assist. Despite the six men working on it takes over two hours to unload, as Tom insists on having it all be brought up on the roof. His concern is that if it is left around outside it will disappear given the towns new demand for timber. Sanders agrees with his reasoning, stating that they are now posting a night guard at the lumberyard for the same reason.

Using ladders to get up to the roof and some heavy-duty winches, pulleys and platforms borrowed from Calhoun's brickyard, they manage to get all of the wood hauled up to the roof. Once up top, Jeff Mills takes charge directing which timbers should be placed where. Once the work is completed Tom invites all of the men inside for a complimentary mug of beer and a platter of fried chicken. During the snack Sanders comments to Tom "It's a good thing you locked in the price for this order last night. Both Zack Morand and a miner named Elliott came in with the large orders for timber this morning. Neil's been able to double his prices as a result."

Jeff hands Nanuet three $1 bill ands says "Thank you very much. Please come by tomorrow morning too if you can, that's when the first load of bricks will be delivered. " Nanuet thanks him for the pay and the food and drink although he passes on the chicken. He says "I can work the morning for you, but I have some things to attend to in the afternoon. I will see you bright and early." Nanuet gathers all of things and rushes back to the El Parador to find Sonoma.

When Ruby got back to the El Parador, she grabbed the leather duster and headed to Mr. Gonzales room. She knocked and he answered the door. "Good afternoon, Mr. Gonzales. I was hoping you'd have some time for me today. I brought this back," she thrusts the duster at him, "black, he'd like black. And have you figured out those other items?

He replies, "I have had a chance to examine and test both the piccolo and the bell. The piccolo is magical and has the ability to cast songs. Five specific songs are imprinted into it. It could be used by any spellcaster, however its full potential can only be realized when in the hands of a bard. However, to be able to use the magic one must be proficient with this type of instrument, which I am not, nor do I believe any of my other little birds are at the moment. In the meanwhile, it is still a highly crafted musical instrument that is impervious to most type of damage, so might still be of use to you.

"Magical, huh? I know just who should get this piccolo but I'll have to talk it over with Kate and Jake first." She glances at Mr. Gonzales and laughs. "Oh don't worry, they'll see my logic well enough." He continues, “The other item is a Bell of Interruption. When sounded it sends forth a sound that resonates for a full three minutes, during which any spellcaster within the immediate radius of the sound it is hindered from casting any spells.”

“Thank you. Oh and I am hoping you can help me, you know, with my reading," she says blushing. She slows down and sighs. "Kate is out today with Jake so I thought we could spend some time together.” They spend the next three hours with him instructing her in both reading and also how to detect if an item is magical. She finds that one he has given her a minimum of direction in this that seeing the magical aura around items becomes second nature provided that she focuses her concentration upon the item.

She says, “Thanks for the help with my reading. As you can tell I never really felt the need to study much in school. I figured I had other, um, talents to fall back on and I wasn't really wrong. But it's not a bad thing to know, right?" Mr. Gonzales smiles and Ruby and shakes his head. "When do you think the jacket will be done? So I can give it to Jake. He needs it," she laughs again. He replies, "Maybe a day, maybe two if I encounter difficulty. I've got a few ideas about how to change it. I'll try the easier way first, but if the item is especially resistant to spells I'll have to try something else. Don't worry, I enjoy a good challenge." She answers, “I bet you do. It must get so boring sitting up here all the time. I would go crazy." With that Ruby gives him a smile and walks out. She returns to her room and falls asleep with many thoughts in her head.

Meanwhile, Katherine and Jake rode toward Flint's cave to make her visit before they went back to Promise City. "Flint, we're here!" Kate called out. She looked over at Jake and his bruise. "What happened to your face anyway?" Jake gingerly touches the bruise. "Heh, I was a little slow to duck." He gives her that boyish that's all you need to know grin. "Alright, keep your secret." Kate shook her head.

A moment later Flint came out of the mouth of the cave. "Good afternoon," Kate said swinging down from Meribel's back. "I've got plenty of news for you. As of this morning, Nanuet, Sonoma, and I own 200 acres stretching from your claim over to Hamilton Fisk's hill. 100 acres on each side of the stream. It's about three-quarters of a mile across all told." Katherine looked over at Jake and winked. She could keep a secret now and then herself.

"The land cost five dollars an acre.” He replies, "Five an acre! Prices sure have dropped since last year. And you say that Arizona Land Agent Fisk went and bought himself that next hill over?" She replies, "From the papers at the land office, I thought I understood Fisk to have owned that hill since March of 1880. But yes, he owns the hill in the generally eastern direction." Flint replies, "I think you're confused. Fisk is the land office guy. This was unclaimed land that Pete bought from the Arizona Territory last summer.

"Flint, Mr. Dennis Winston is the land office man. The Deputy County Recorder. When we looked over the maps to find the plot of land next to your claim, he had notes that ownership of your land was transferred to you. It was previously claimed by Fisk in March of 1880, same as the other hill. There was a second mark for July fifth, 1881. The day owner ship was transferred to you and your partner. I thought one hundred dollars an acre sounded horribly inflated, even for land where silver might be found. Flint, Hamilton Fisk cheated you."

WHAT! HE'S A DEAD MAN! Where did I put my dynamite?" He exclaims. She says, "I appreciate your anger, but how will getting arrested and rotting in jail for the rest of your life help? It's got to be illegal to pose as the land officer. Do you have any paperwork that names Fisk as the land officer? Any records of the sale at all?" She caught Jake's eye. "Don't let him go running off," she mouthed.

Jake says, "If you have some hard evidence, we can take it to the lawyer Berg and see if you have a case against Fisk. He's pretty slippery though. And weasel like him won't be easy to blow up." Jake turns to Katherine. "If Fisk has been involved with any of this, I'd gather up all the paperwork and have Berg check it out. Including your deal. And you should have the border markers on the land between him and you triple checked." He says, “Pete negotiated the deal. The only paperwork I have is the deed.” She says, "Well, let's have a look at the deed, at least."

He goes back into the cave and unlocks the truck, finding the paper inside of a old cigar box. He hands the entire box to Katherine. Also in the box is a copy of a map that looks identical to that in the Claims office, with the dimensions of the twenty acres clearly plotted out. The only other item in the box is a photograph of Pete standing beside a young man and a young woman with a horse behind them. The man is wearing a Sheriff's badge. The woman is also wearing rancher's clothing.

It deed is a standard document issued by the Arizona Territory. Rather than being just a transfer of land on the original deed Fisk apparently paid Dennis Winston to reissue a new deed with the names of Peter K. Grammer and Flint Greymountain prominently listed. The deed is signed by Winston with Deputy County Recorder listed after his name. A second line has been added below Winston's with the words "witnessed by" in very small type and the Fisk's signature boldly written followed by his lawyer credentials.

She comments, "We could talk to Mr. Berg, but the deed at least seems to be in order. Unusual, but in order. Usually the original deed would just be transferred. Mr. Winston might remember Fisk asking him to draw up this new deed, I'll speak to him as well. Do you know who the people are in the picture?" He replies, "Not family, Pete didn't have any. Those are some old friends of Pete's from back in the late 50's and early 60's. Pete used to talk about their adventures together. Don't know their last names but the lawman's first name was Woody and the girl is their friend Jessie."

Kate handed the papers to Jake. "What do you think?" "I think Fisk is a weasel. and I'd still have Berg look at this if I was you. I guess it will stand up in court given any questions, but it does look funny." Jake hands it back. Kate says, "I don't like the idea of you not having this in hand Flint, but I don't like the idea of no one here to keep an eye on the cattle and horses either. Would you like me to take that in and have Mr. Berg take a look at it?"

Kate then comments, "Fisk has nothing to do with the land we bought today. It was unclaimed. He's nothing more than our neighbor. I will get the boundaries checked, however. I don't know why he'd want to interfere with us but you can never tell." She then says, "Do me a favor Flint, and keep your dynamite in your pocket for now. Let's see if we can hit Fisk where it hurts. His reputation and his pocketbook."

Kate then attempts to change the subject back to that of the ranch saying, “So we bought the land. It's up to you how much money you want to put toward that cost, or if you want to put any in at all. Sonoma knows a great deal more than any of us what to do. She suggests we build with adobe, and knows where she can get a good flock of sheep to get things started. I know we hadn't planned on sheep, but we must do something while we work toward building a cattle herd and a good horse stable. What do you think?" He says, “I don't know a damned thing about any of this, so I'll let you guys take the lead on all of this. Sheep, cows, horses, I don't know anything about any of them so six of one and half-dozen of the other as far as I'm concerned. As long as it works I'm all for it."

"Alright Flint. We should have the deed in hand in a couple of days, we've already paid. Someone should be out tomorrow or the next day to give you an update, and hopefully get the lumber for fencing. With so much land being bought, I'm afraid the cost of lumber will go up as well, but we'll do the best we can. We won't need to fence off everything right away." Kate walked up to Flint and shook his hand. "Seems we're in business, partner. I'll see you in a couple days. Ready Jake?" She swung up on Meribel's back. "We'll have a home, dear," she whispered to the horse. Meribel pranced, picking up on Kate's excitement. "Welcome to our ranch," she grinned to Jake.

Flint sees them getting onto their horses and yells out "Hold on just one minute there. You ain't going nowhere without that that body over there in the cave!"

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 103, “Grandfatherly Advice”, January 11th, 1882

"Oh damn, I'd forgotten about that." Kate turned Meribel back. "Flint, how am I supposed to carry that body out of here? And then, where am I going to put him? Get him a room at the El Parador?" She turned to Jake. "There's a bounty hunter staying at the Long Branch. Do you think there's any chance he would pay us 75% of the bounty and take him to Texas for us? Is it worth losing the 25% to avoid making the trip?"

Jake replies, "Bounties are something I've never dealt with. Do we even reliably know how much the bounty is and where in Texas?" She says, "As far as I know, the only way to find out is to go to Texas, and if we have to do that we might as well take him ourselves." Jake says, "I've got a few business items to clear up in town, we ought to be heading back." Jake mentions to Katherine. "It wasn't my idea about Curly Bill, your other friends dragged him out. One of us can go try and make a deal tonight I suppose."

She says, “Why don't you head back then, if you have things to do. As you said, this isn't your problem." Kate tied the reins to one of the posts near the cave entrance. "Flint, you must have some tunnels you and Pete dug that we can stuff him in until I can get him moved. It's almost three hundred miles to El Paso, I can't see having time to make the trip. I'll talk to the bounty hunter tonight and see what I can get for him."

Jake takes off his hat and runs a hand through his hair. "Perhaps I deserved that for my insensitivity." He takes a moment to put the hat back on his head. "So before my bluntness does any more damage today, can I say that I am worried to let you ride back by yourself. We seemed to be swimming in folks shooting at us." He looks around the ranch imagining it's potential and fails.

She says, "I doubt anyone's actually shooting at me. I'm not much of a threat. " She put her hands in front of her face and rubbed her forehead for a moment. "Listen, I'm sorry. Let's just get this guy moved so he can stop fouling up Flint's cave and get back to town, okay?"

The three of them manage to move Curly Bill's body into a tunnel and roll a large stone in front of the entrance to keep any animals out. Once that was done, Kate took the deed from Flint. Kate says, "I'll have Mr. Berg look at this, and I'll be back tomorrow to either get rid of Curly Bill or bury him. I'll see you then." Kate untied Meribel and swung up. "I'm ready, let's go." Flint thanks them for their help and welcomes them to the neighborhood.

As they head back into town they ride for a bit without speaking. After a short while Jake breaks the silence. "You know, maybe you are right about not being shot at. It's probably me. You ought to consider that seriously." Before Katherine can respond Jake continues, "I need to go see Berg when I get back, If you'd like I can drop it off and ask him to look it over. You're certainly welcome to see him yourself, whatever you think is best."

She says, "Thank you, I'd appreciate that. I'm sorry I snapped you. I'm just, well, a little overwhelmed. There's a lot going on and I don't seem to know what's what anymore. But at least I'm tired enough that I don't have to get drunk to fall asleep anymore," she said in a failed attempt at humor. You'll be fine." Jake smiles at her reassuringly. "You just needed to get active again."

They get back to town and they figure they have about an hour and a half before meeting the others for dinner. They split up, Jake heading over to the lawyer Berg's office. Jake stops in to see Mitchell Berg. "Thanks for all your help, you did good. I have a deed here from Flint the prospector outside of town. We were talking and, well take a look yourself. It seems that Mr. Fisk helped him out. Can you look it over and see if he has any legal recourse over the slippery deal that was done to him, and of course does he really have ownership of that property. Katherine Kale or I will come back tomorrow to find out what you advise."

"Secondly, I need a boiler plate contract for transportation between myself and Morand." Jake explains the details and where to leave it open for the final negotiations and pricing. He replies "Easy enough, since I've just written up the same thing for the Fisk-Seawell Gold Mining Company." Jake says, "Oh and I have a small bit of personal business you can do for me. I figure that if I have a will giving my mine rights to someone in case of my demise I would be less of a target for someone looking to cash in on confusion in that unlikely occurrence." He replies "Makes sense. That was the one thing that surprised me about Fisk's deeds with the miners, although I'm sure he did that just to keep them from killing each other."

Jake gives him a wry smile. Jake and the lawyer sit down to assemble the necessary document. "Beneficiary's last name is Cooke." Mitchell says as he passes the document to Jake for signature. "I assume she is related?" "Yes, it would stand up in court." Jake signs the document and asks for a copy to be made that he can put in a lock box and for Berg to keep the other. Jake shakes Berg's hand, thanks him and is on his way. Jake looks to find Seawell to arrange that meeting with the miners and Morand to arrange a time to discuss the contract for hauling the ore. Morand suggests that they meet later that evening at the Drover's Hotel and Saloon.

Katherine slipped through the quiet Cantina and up to her room, thankful no one tried to speak to her. Tomorrow morning she would return to the land office and visit Mr. Berg. Today there was still the arrival of President de Sucre and the box of jewels to worry about. Jake was right that she felt they didn't belong to them, but as something that came out of the caves, she didn't have the only say.

The matter of the bounty hunter was more troubling. In the back of her mind was the thought that once he had the body in hand, he might just take it. But a trip to Texas with a decaying corpse was out of the question. If she at least had any idea what the bounty should be she could cover the cost of the Apache's supplies herself and just bury the man. She could talk to Conrad Booth at dinner and see if he could give her any advice. He already knew one of her secrets, she might as well share another. Kate sat down in the rocker by the window to think things over, but before she got far she had fallen asleep in the chair.

Ruby wake ups after her nap still feeling good. She walks over to Kelly's Dry Goods at 5:00 so they would still be open. She tries on her dresses and Mary makes a few adjustments on the spot. Ruby thanks her and makes her way back to the El Parador. She puts her dresses away and goes back to the main room for a drink and then dinner. Once dusk arrives, Chester rides back to town, and checks at the front desk of the El Parador for messages. He sees Ruby in the common room. "Evening, Ruby. Can I join you for dinner?"

"Mr. Martin, you don't even need to ask. Please have a seat." Ruby smiles at him as he sits. "It's about time we had a chance to talk. Have you found a job yet?" He replies, "Thank you. Please, call me Chester or Chet if you want. I've got a couple things I could do. One is being a guard at the same bank as Mr. Cook. The other is doing security work for his mine. From what I've seen so far, he needs the help protecting those miners. The bank actually has been a quieter job, if you can believe that. How have you been? You seemed upset yesterday, even before Mr. Cook and Nanuet went looking for the guys who shot at us."

Nanuet reaches the El Parador and before entering composes himself. He remembers how he left things and wonders nervously about the reception he will receive. When he enters he notices Ruby and Chester having a conversation. He realizes he must be filthy after the lumber work so he washes up before asking Ruby if she has seen Sonoma lately or if she knows of her plans for the evening. "Will she be working at the Lone Star again tonight?"

Ruby says, "Well, Chet, sounds like Mr. Cook is keeping you busy. You might want to be careful what you get yourself into with him, that is if you want to stay out of trouble," she says with a wink. "Yes, I think you'd make a good security guard." She looks him over for a second, "You have a trustworthy look about you." She pauses to flip her hair over her shoulder, "and from what I've seen you're a good shot." He replies, "Why, thank you very much. I haven't been able to avoid trouble, so I might as well share it."

Ruby says, "As for being upset, yesterday wasn't a very good day for me. Besides starting my day on a runaway stagecoach, that Mr. Adair really seems to have it out for me now that I turned down working at his Saloon. That and we have probably been taking business away from the Palace. Him spreading nasty lies was just the start of it I'm afraid. I have been trying to think of a solution to the problem so the Lone Star doesn't get burnt to the ground. I have an idea but it's not the best and I think it may be too late for it anyway."

"What's your idea? It can't be any worse than knocking a fella out and dumping him in a pigsty." Chester grins, then gets a serious look on his face. "Can't the Marshall do something?" Ruby raises her eyebrows. "My idea is nothing for you to get involved in, believe me." She pauses, then adds with a smile, "I like you too much. I doubt the Marshall would do anything, even if we had some concrete proof." Ruby gets lost in thought for a moment. "But, let's just say that my day ended much better than it began," she says with a knowing smile. She waves Dorita over to make their order. "So what did you do before you came to Promise City?"

"Well right before I came down to the Territory, I was doing odd jobs in Dodge City, Kansas. But it was getting boring so I thought I could come down here. Little did I know how much excitement waited in Promise City." At that moment Nanuet approaches them.

She smiles up at Nanuet. "No, I haven't seen her recently. To answer your question, I do believe that Sonoma will be working again at the Lone Star tonight. Why don't you join Chester and I for dinner while you wait for her? He was just going to entertain me with stories about what he did before coming to Promise City to meet us."

"OK, I can join you for dinner, and I can always listen to a good tale. I am sure she will show up sooner or later. I just sort of created a situation before that I need to talk to her about sometime, but I have to be honest and say that I am not exactly in a rush." As his faces reddens slightly Nanuet pulls a chair over and sits himself at the table with the saloon girl and ex-soldier and says "So what's on the menu this evening?" Sonoma comes up behind Nanuet "Rabbit stew, fresh flat bread, cornmeal stuffing and mixed greens"

Nanuet's face turns even redder. He stands and spins around to see the young wood elf. "Hi Sonoma. We need to uh, talk." He smiles as he remembers what the kiss from earlier in the day felt like. "Do you have time before you go to the Lone Star tonight?" She replies, “A little what do you want to talk about? let me get us all something to eat and we can talk are you hungry? everybody want plates?”

Ruby raises her eyebrow at the exchange between Nanuet and Sonoma. Nanuet was on the spot now, she thinks as she tries to hold in a laugh. "Sonoma, can you join us for dinner too? I believe we'll all have plates. This is turning out to be a very nice dinner!" Sonoma heads towards the kitchen after dropping a pitcher of beer at the table. Ruby notices Mr. Gonzalas sitting at a table watching the interchange at the table he lifts a glass to her as he catches her eye and winks.

Nanuet says, "Hmmm, I had kinda thought about us talking in private, but then again there should be no secrets among friends. Get the food and we can all talk." Sonoma heads towards the kitchen after dropping a pitcher of beer at the table. Sonoma stepped away, but was back in a flash with all of the items she has mentioned before from the menu. There were plates for everyone and everything looked delicious. The companions were eager to eat and talk. Nanuet helped her clean up the spilled beer and then spoke.

"Well, I said I wanted to talk so I guess I will start. Sonoma, I just wanted to talk about us. As you know, I have grown very fond of you lately and before anyone's feelings get hurt I want to know how you feel. I also want to be sure your family is OK with... well with us. I am a bit older than you, not that it should matter, but you are close with your family and they are kind people. I don't want to upset them." Nanuet scanned the room and found all the eyes were on him even people who had been in the kitchen or out in the yard or behind the bar, as well as his friends, especially Sonoma's. He pauses for only a moment and then continues. "Tomorrow I plan on riding to see the Apache again, I need to see my mentor. When I do, I want to seek his blessing on the matter of pursuing you further in courtship. How do you feel about that?"

Before Sonoma can even open her mouth Mr. Gonzalas clears his throat and in a voice that covers the distance from his table to the group's table. In a clear booming voice, strong enough for every person in the cantina to hear he says, "I see that you have taken an interest in one of my little birds. You will now come to talk with me" at that he stands up and begins to head to his room with a quick stride not looking back.

Sonoma pulls Nanuet up and pushes him in the direction that her great grandfather went "Well go! And quick he doesn't like to wait in matters like this. Move!" She then sits back down at the table staring straight into her stew bowl a smile and blush on her face. Ruby glances at Chester while waiting for Sonoma’s reply. Chester looks confusedly from Ruby to Sonoma to the slowly moving Nanuet. "Is there something I should know about?" He takes a bite of the stew, "Mmm. This is very good."

Nanuet looks startled and a little bit confused, especially when being pushed in Mr. Gonzalez's direction. He continues to walk in that direction, looking back at Sonoma briefly and then hurrying his strides and following the man up the stairs. Manuel Gonzales leads Nanuet to his room. Once inside the door shuts and locks even though neither man is near it. Gonzales says to him "I have been watching you and my great-granddaughter. Every indication that I have been given about you is that you are an honorable man, one who is compassionate, intelligent and loyal to your friends. Those are fine characteristics.”

He pauses and then continues, “However, you should know that Sonoma is very young. Just a few years back she celebrated one-century of earth-rotations, which for a wood elf would make her the human equivalent of around sixteen. Her mother has always been very protective of her and has shielded her from many of the evils of the world. But in this time and place, and with her having physically developed into a beautiful young woman, it was unlikely that such innocence would be retained for much longer.

I do not oppose you seeking a relationship with her, but you are both from very different worlds. You need to be sensitive of that fact. That is all that I wanted to say to you." He opens the door for Nanuet to leave. Just as the Nanuet is about is about to depart the older wood elf says "Oh, and one last thing. If you hurt her you will live to regret it.....but not for long."

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 104, “Catfight”, January 11th, 1882

Jake finally shows up at the Cantina. He sees Ruby, Sonoma, & Chester having dinner with four place settings. "I'll be right back down after I clean up." He quickly drops off all but his normal weapons in his room, comes down to cleanup and joins the others at the table. "Did I miss anything important?" Ruby has Sonoma bring Jake out a plate while he is cleaning up. Ruby tries not to laugh as she glances at Sonoma. "Yeah, Nanuet is upstairs asking Mr. Gonzales permission to court Sonoma." She pauses, " And Nanuet gave me a lesson today, it was the most amazing thing!" She glances around the room, "But I guess I should tell you about that later. Oh and I got some information about the er, stuff, I should tell you about that later too. She pauses again. "But I did get my new dresses today, that I can tell you," she says with a smile."

Chester says, "Evening, Mr. Cook. Glad to see you made it back alright. We were worried about you and Nanuet, when you didn't left for the hills. Did you find out who was shooting at us?" Jake answers, "More of those outlaws from this morning. We brought back one that was one wounded from this morning to the Marshall." Jake has a bite of food and doesn't look up. "We made arrangements with a couple others so they won't be bothering us any more." He then looks up and says, "I think that half of those that attacked us this morning met their maker. We did manage to find out that the guy that hired these men over in Galeyville was an hombre named Pinto Joe Weems. We don't know who put him up to it. I expect that he is still out there somewhere."

Chester replies, "Do you think this Weems fella will stop gunning for us now? Have you heard of him before?" Jake says, "I've not heard of him before. But then again, I'm not from around here." Jake has another bite of food. "I don't know if he is still gunning for us." Jake stops eating and looks at Chester. "I'm not inclined to let folks think that they can throw a little money around and intimidate me. We've got ten of the $20 bills he paid out, I'd like to get the other ten or so and then make Weems regret the day he messed with Silver Jake Cook." Jake releases eye contact and has another mouthful of supper. He swallows, has a drink and smiles.

Chester says, "Well, I never did like people shooting at me. If you want my help, you can have it." “That's mighty brave of you Chester." Jake says with a mysterious little smile. "I'd like your expertise later. We acquired a small cannon, but it is impractical to use because it has no stand or support. I was wondering if you'd care to have a look and perhaps figure out a way to make it useful." Ruby asks, "How did your lessons go?" He says, "Lessons were fine. Apparently there is hope for me and horse riding."

"Oh, and before I forget, there are a couple of things you ought to know about the bank." Jake looks at Ruby and Sonoma and says in a lowered voice. "Please keep this confidential." Then in a lower voice to Chester. "I'm going to be quitting the bank job soon. Maybe tomorrow morning, depends how Condon takes it. I need to stay on good terms with him, but I don't need the employment. So if he's happy with you, the job's yours. The handy man that works there, Jones, is not to be trusted. I knew him some time ago and he me. Apparently he recommended me to Condon thinking I would help him... let's just say get access to things he shouldn't have."

Jake pauses to let Chester absorb what he is saying. "I told Jones I didn't want any part of it, but he has been persistent. So here is my quandary, it would be awkward to go to Condon and tell him the guy who recommended me is not to be trusted. And Jones could have some information on me that might tarnish my reputation in town." Again a pause. "So I can't do anything about Jones. But you should watch him. Make sure he doesn't get close to Condon and steal his keys, and make sure he isn't observing the combination. Even better you should catch him doing something and look good to your new employer. And perhaps get the Condon brothers to better secure their keys on their person. They are frightfully easy to take." Chester and Sonoma look at Jake. "I've only seen it done before." He answers with a smile. Ruby just smiles back at his comment.

Sonoma looks at Jake with a "you really believe I'd believe that" look smiles at him and head to the bar to refill the drinks she makes sure she has a good strong one for Nanuet when he returns as she thinks he'll need it. Upstairs, Nanuet stands outside the door with a look of shock on his face. He says "Thanks... I think" the last part at lower volume. He returns slowly to the table downstairs and notices Jake has now entered. He smiles at Sonoma and says "Well, that is done. How about an answer to my questions?" He pulls up another chair and squeezes in at the table with the others "And if you don't mind, I need a drink. A strong one."

Ruby asks, “Jake, where is Kate?" He answers, “We rode back to town together. I thought she came back here a couple of hours ago." Chester, Jake, Nanuet and Ruby continue to enjoy their meal while Sonoma hands Nanuet the drink that was already at the table. The quiet conversation is then interrupted by the arrival of the teenage girl seen before, again carrying a large stack of newspapers. She holds one up and yells "Promise City Herald, five cents." They look over and see in large bold type the front-page headline reading "Catfight at the Comique"

Ruby gets up and walks over to the girl, taking a dollar out of her bodice. She hands the girl the dollar and grabs the paper, stands right there and reads it. Jake walks over to the pregnant girl, takes another paper and says "She doesn't need change. I wouldn't keep standing here if I were you." He smiles and pushes her along. He returns to the table and hands it to Sonoma. Chester sees the headline and wonders how Ruby will take it.

The paper reads:
Things got really nasty at the trial of Job Kane and Marvin Keach, but it wasn’t the defendants that caused it. Observers at the trial instead were treated to a no-holds-barred verbal catfight between entertainers at the Palace Saloon and Lone Star Dance Hall and Saloon.

The trouble began when Miss. Suzanne Foreman of Joliet, Illinois took the stand. She described how she arrived in town seeking employment in the oldest profession and found Tom Whipple of the Lone Star happy to hire her in that role. Tom Whipple then interrupted the court proceedings and had to be threatened by the judge to calm down. It should be noted that Whipple was seated beside his wife, whose objections to prostitution are well known and she obviously unaware that he had hired Miss Foreman in that capacity. Whipple was quick to accuse her of lying but when he was later given a chance to speak again under oath he opted not to.

Miss Foreman recounted the events of that evening and how one of the gamblers, Job Kane interrupted her and her customer, Keach. It was confusing why a gambler dealt with a potential problem rather than the Lone Star’s bouncer, Jeff Mills, until Ruby West explained it to her. Apparently when Whipple hired West to provide upstairs entertainment for customers she felt it was an exclusive arrangement and saw Miss Foreman as competition. To rectify the situation she manipulated Kane into going upstairs and causing the interruption.

Shots were exchanged between Kane and Keach, with Keach becoming injured. Keach later confirmed the events were as Miss Foreman had stated. West had an opportunity to speak in her defense. She supported the story told by her employer Whipple, however since she perjured herself in her opening statement the rest of her testimony was likewise also untrue. She had begun by stating her name as Constance Grace West with no mention of her legal last name of Cookie. The most interesting testimony however was from Jake Cookie, as he was vague about what happened and did not make any attempt to defend his wife’s honor. Then again, what kind of husband permits his wife to engage in prostitution.

One side note to the story. This reporter attempted to locate Mr. and Mrs. Cookie last night for their side of the story, but the couple was too busy initiating a bar brawl at the Gay Lady Variety Hall and Saloon.

Ruby throws the paper on the floor and stomps out of the Cantina. "Is it just me or is anyone else thinking that is a bad sign," Jake asks around at the table. Chester replies, "Yes. The question is, should we follow her?" Jake leisurely gets up and picks up the paper. He reads the article and then examines the paper for the major advertisers. Jake notices that the back page of the newspaper features a full-page advertisement for the Palace Saloon.

Ruby frantically paces back and forth on the porch of the Cantina, trying to cool off. Finally she takes out her dagger and jabs it violently into the wood of the railing and then sits, head in hand. After he's read the article and enjoyed the ads, he folds up the paper and strolls outside onto the porch. Chester thinks, “Better him than me. She's less likely to kill him."

Seeing Ruby sitting there Jake goes over and sits down next to her. He looks at her and says with a straight face, "Bastard spelled my name wrong." "Is that supposed to be funny?" Actually when she thinks about it, it is and she laughs a little. She says, "Ok, so explain to me then what kind of husband doesn't defend his wife's honor and lets her perjure herself and be a prostitute and can't even remember her name..."

Jake answers, "Unless an unusual opportunity presents itself, killing Baxter or Adair will only get you the rope, and Chumbley will just print a story saying you are a murderer too." Jake stares across the street without looking at her. "There are other options however. But they take time, some patience, and some planning. Money doesn't hurt either. Interested?" "I'm listening." Ruby states. Jake whispers to Ruby, "We start by putting them both out of business."

Katherine woke with a stiff neck from sleeping in the chair. She got up and stretched, then changed back into the simple brown dress she'd worn that morning to the land office. She took the braid out of her hair, brushed it, and left it to hang loose behind her back. Then she collected the box of jewels and went to see Mr. Gonzales.

He came out the room with the books a few moments after she called out. "Mr. Gonzales, I hope you can help me. I don't know what to do." "And how can I assist you my little sandpiper?" he asks. Kate took a seat, set the box on the table and opened it.

"I was out with Jake today, and he said some things that made me think. I made a decision on my own that really should have been made by all of us who went to the rustlers’ caves. It's not only my choice what happens to this box and it's contents. It is wrong to essentially take this wealth from the others, especially when I shared in the valuables that they found. But it is also wrong to not return this to it's proper owner. By that logic we should also return the books, although I can't imagine how he could carry them away.

Maggie Whipple needs someone to buy into her business, and these jewels could allow me to do that and help her. It seems there is no right choice to be made here, and I don't know what to do anymore. I know you can't tell me what to do, but I'd like to hear what you think." Manuel says "What I think is that you are getting ahead of yourself here. We know that the man coming here is in one of the photographs. We do not know that he is the rightful owner of the items. Let things take their proper course."

Kate nodded and closed the box. "There's something else as well. I was speaking to Mr. Booth last night, I'm sure you know him. He told me he knew a secret of mine, and when I asked what, he said to you and I were, umm, 'having a relationship.' He was teasing of course, but he knew that you were teaching me magic, and cautioned me. He said if others observed 'the way we looked at one another' they would likely think we were involved, and that could cause trouble. He suggested we be more discreet." She shook her head. "As if we've been doing anything indiscreet."

The elderly wood elf lets out a loud belly laugh. "Ah, the imaginations that some have." He regains his composure and says, "I wouldn't worry too much. You have nothing to fear from Mr. Booth. While I would not suggest playing at his card table I feel that he can be trusted otherwise. I am not surprised that he has deduced who and what I am, although if there has been any indiscretion it was probably from me and not you. I have such a comfort level around my family that I sometimes say or do things that others might notice.”

She replies, "Oh, I have no fears of Mr. Booth. He was perfectly kind, but he did think such a rumor would be one Evan Adair would enjoy spreading. And I can understand being comfortable around your family, I have been comfortable with them from the first day I stayed here."

Kate paused a moment. "You came here from Texas, and sometime in the last two years, yes? Maybe you can help me with something else. It's unlikely, but would you happen to know what the bounty on Curly Bill was? The Apache dug his body out from the caves and want us to collect the it and purchase some supplies. I don't mind doing it, but we just can't travel to Texas now. There's a bounty hunter in town, and I thought I might be able to make arrangements with him, but I can't start any negotiation if I don't know what the bounty is."

He replies, “I wouldn't know, but I do know that he had a reputation for Cattle Rustling prior to coming here to Arizona. I believe he was also arrested for attempting to rob a stagecoach and that he later escaped.” She says, "I have some misgiving about approaching a bounty hunter. I had thought to ask him for 75% of the bounty and then take him to the body and he could take it to Texas and make a profit on the bounty there. But I'm afraid once he knows where the body is he'll decide it's easier to just take it. Maybe I should consider going. There might be a train from Tombstone. What is the trip to Texas like?"

He replies "I think that Texas is wonderful, but I'm biased. It would probably be a very long trip. El Paso Texas isn't far from here, but if the Governor was the one who posted the bounty you would have to go all the way to the Capital of Austin, in southeastern Texas. That would be nearly 900 miles from here.

She says, "I can't be gone that long, I'm needed at the Lone Star. How am I going to move a corpse 900 miles? I wish I knew what the bounty was. If it's small enough I'd just go ahead and cover it myself and bury him." Kate looked over at Mr. Gonzales just a bit desperately. "I have far too much to do, and no idea how to do it." He answers, "Well you can begin by having your friends help you. I would take you to Austin myself except that it wouldn't be very safe for me. If it were I wouldn't be here in Arizona. And I also don't think you'd like the consequences of my getting killed on your behalf.”

She says, "Indeed I wouldn't. There's no need for you to endanger yourself for this. As for getting help... Usually I would but it was brought to my attention today that my problems are not everyone else's problems. I suppose I have been something of a burden," she finished quietly. He laughs again. "A burden? You're the mortar that has been holding your friends together. Without you they would all be lost." "I think perhaps they prefer to be. I'm the only one who doesn't like being lost," she answers.

She walked over and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for listening. I'd like to leave the box here for safekeeping if you don't mind. I should go put on a new dress and get ready for work. It's not every day you might meet a President, and I'd say that's an occasion to dress for, wouldn't you?" "Oh indeed. Although you don't need an occasion to look beautiful."

He says "Not just the dress though, hold still." He casts and incantation and she can feel her hair moving around. He then lifts up a mirror that wasn't in his hand a moment before and she sees her reflection. Her hair has been rearranged in long curly strands, some of which drape down and others that move up onto the top of her head and fastened with a silver and diamond band. The hair also now has auburn highlights to the darker color. She hasn't seen anything quite like this style it outside of portraits of 18th century French Queens. Gonzales stokes his chin with his other hand and says "I'm not sure? What do you think?"

Kate turned her head, holding her breath. "Fit for a Queen. It's so lovely, professeur aimé. But maybe not fit for a waitress in a Saloon." "Perhaps you're right." He snaps his fingers and her hair instantly rearranges itself back close to its original style and color, although she notes in the mirror that the silver and gold band remains, holding together the hair in the back in a ponytail. He says "They aren't real diamonds but you'd have to be very close to notice."

"I should go, Maggie will be here soon, and I still need a dress worthy of this. This will be two days without a lesson. I'll make sure to come up tomorrow." Kate kissed his cheek again. "Thank you." She left Mr. Gonzales rooms and went back to her own. She unpacked a lovely plum colored dress, a bit too dressy for the Lone Star perhaps, but she wanted to feel pretty. Her mother had always said, the worse you felt on the inside, the more important it was to decorate the outside.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 105 “Three Saloons Revisited,” January 11th, 1882

Ruby and Jake see Maggie Whipple half a block away coming down Fremont Street in the direction of the El Parador. Ruby comments to Jake, "I don't think I can take her right now, Jake. Because I really do want to kill somebody." He gets up, takes a few steps forward and greets Maggie. She says, "Well hello Jake, hello Ruby. Kate asked me to come over here a little early tonight, is she around?" "I haven't seen her in a little while, but I know she's here somewhere." Jake points over his shoulder with his thumb. "Go on in."

Ruby doesn't even look up as Maggie walks past her. "You know Jake this town was supposed to be different and the only thing different so far is you..." "I don't know about this town being different. Perhaps we can make it different. And if not, well let's just take enough cash out of here so it doesn't matter."

Jake opens the paper again. "Who else advertises in this rag. Let's hit Baxter in the wallet, shall we? Perhaps those advertisers can be convinced to move over to Chumbley's paper, hmmm? It would get awfully expensive for a saloon that's not making money to be the only source of advertising for a low circulation rag like this." Jake continues to thumb through the paper. "Besides suffering from the competition maybe folks might hear about the other troubles at the Palace. You know, the watered down whiskeys, the cheatin' at the gambling tables, and that Suzie woman with the clap." Jake flips another page. "It's a tough world out there." "Jake," Ruby smiles, "You are just wicked. I guess that is why I like you," she says squeezing his arm.

Jake looks at the two page interior spread of the paper, the front page consisting only of the headline and story and the back page being the ad for the Palace. Of the two interior pages, there are five stories, which collectively take around a page interspersed with seven ads of various sizes. The largest ad, taking around one-third of a page, is for the Gay Lady Variety Hall and Saloon; there is a quarter page ad for Frye's Harness Shop and Bootmaking; three one-eighth page size ads for Cook's General Store, Drover's Livery and the Promise City Cooper Shop; and lastly two very small three-line classifieds for the Breakheart mine looking for mine workers and Lester's Funeral Parlor looking for casket makers/grave diggers.

Ruby interrupts, "Let me tell you about my day. I was going to wait for Kate but who knows where she has run off to." Ruby tells him quickly about healing the bird, but mostly about the magical items that Mr. Gonzales identified for them. "Your duster will be ready tomorrow. I think Sonoma should have the piccolo. Mr. Gonzales said it would be best in the hands of someone like her or myself and I'm certainly not taking the time to learn how to play that thing. I HATE studying. And the chime could be handy if we want to carry it around. Course, we could always try to sell it."

"You certainly are learning some astounding things." Jake says with some admiration. "I think I got my fair share of loot already. I'm happy to let them decide about the others. Think you can go back inside." "I'm not sure I'm learning as much as stumbling. I think I should be worried about what I stumble on at the least opportune time." Ruby pulls her dagger out of the porch. "Heh," she says embarrassed as she puts it back. "Yes we can go back inside. We'll let Kate and Nanuet decide about the other items. I think it's time to get ready. I really don't feel like singing though." She stands up and offers Jake a hand. "At least I got a new dress to wear," she smiles.

Meanwhile, Chester is thinking, “I hope everything's OK out there. I'd better go out and check. With that Chester walks outside to the porch. "How are you feeling, Ruby?" She answers, "Oh I'm a bit rattled but I'll be ok. I guess I just forget the paper was coming out today." She tries to change the subject, "Are you coming to the Lone Star tonight?" He replies, "That's good to hear. I can come to the Lone Star tonight. Will you be singing?" "I suppose so, even though I'm just not in the mood,” she answers.

As Ruby, Jake and Chester come back inside Maggie approaches them, holding the floor-stomped paper in her hand. "Oh Ruby, I was hoping to catch you before you saw that awful rag! What dreadful lies, that Parker Baxter knows no shame. Don't let it bother you, Jeff Mills has already told Angela Young not to try to sell any of that trash in or near the Lone Star and Al Brower is doing the same at the Comique. And if anyone tries to bring a copy inside Tom wants the staff to confiscate it and refund the person their nickel." She turns to Maggie. "Thanks," she says quickly and walks away.

Jake says, "Maggie, if any of these businesses that advertise in this rag are friends of you or Tom's get them to move their ads to the Tombstone paper. You need to let Baxter feel the pain of his lies everywhere you can." She takes a look at the interior advertisers and says "Helen Cook over at Cook's General Store is a friend of mine, so I can talk to her about it. Cook, hmm, are you at all related to her husband Zeb?" "I doubt it but who knows." Jake replies hoping he has no relatives here.

Jake catches up with Ruby and brings her to a corner of the Cantina. He speaks quietly to her. "You want to hurt Adair? Do it a dollar at a time. Every dollar at the Lone Star doesn't go to the Palace. You go up on stage all depressed and let some customers slip away, he wins. I know you are not going to let that happen." Jake pushes her chin up gently. "Hmmm?" "Now, if you decide to act on any of the suggestions I made, remember to leave no trace. Get others to do the dirty work, unknowingly is better. Don't leave any track back to you. Ok? And those ideas are just round one. There's more." Jake gives her an evil smile.

"I guess I'd better be nice to you then so I can hear them," Ruby smiles back and kisses Jake before heading upstairs. Ruby leaves her friends behind to go get ready for the night. She figures to get to the Lone Star early so she can have a few drinks. She wonders where Kate is but knows she won't be late for work. She takes out her new green dress and puts it on. It is a bit more revealing than some of her other dresses but she laughs to herself as she thinks that it certainly won’t hurt business. She takes a deep breath, takes Jake's advice by putting a smile back on her face and sweeps back downstairs.

Jake whistles when he sees Ruby come down the stairs. "Green. I knew green would be right." He walks around looking her over. "You make it hard for a boy to get any business done. I have to meet some folks, but I'll make it over to see you later this evening. I may even get some of that other business done." He says with a grin and turns to Chester. "Take good care of my girl, OK soldier?" He pats him on the shoulder. Chester turns, relieved that Jake has changed the subject. "Sure, Mr. Cook. But I don't think she needs taking care of. Do you, Ruby?"

"I'm so glad you approve," Ruby says twirling around for Jake and Chester. "Now go get your business done and make sure to make it so I can sing you a song." She hooks her arm though Chester's and smiles at him. "Let's go." Jake exits and heads over to Drover's Saloon. She turns to Chester and says, "I'd like to get a drink when we get there." Chester comments, "You look very nice. Let's go. You don't want to keep your fans waiting." "My fans, huh.. are you one of them Chet?" she asks while pushing her hair back. He stammers, "Er. I haven't heard you sing yet. Um, what I mean is..."

Attempting to change the subject, he asks, "Think this Adair will try anything tonight?" "Didn't you hear me sing last night? Oh I guess you did take a walk, didn't you?" she laughs. "I won't put anything past Adair, he is a sleazy fellow." "And Chester, a girl ALWAYS likes to be taken care of.." she says while squeezing his arm a bit. Chester grins, "Charmed, Miss. This'll start tongues wagging. You'll do fine, just put that newspaper business out of your mind."

Chester escorts Ruby to the Lone Star. He bows grandly and says, "Break a leg." Ruby and Chester make enter the Lone Star. When they get there Ruby gets behind the bar and pours them two whiskeys. "Care to make a toast?" "Ahem. To Miss Ruby West: May all your dreams come true." He sips at his whiskey. "Well isn't that sweet. I'll drink to that," she says raising her glass and drinking it down. "I hope you'll keep an eye out for any suspicious activity. Jake used to do that for us but now he is just too busy.. to keep his eye out that is, for me and Kate." Chester replies, "I'll try. Speaking of Mrs. Kale, do you know where she is?"

Teddy Whipple and his fiancée Alexsis come down from upstairs and the Lone Star. Tom and William Whipple both say "Goodnight" to the two with the senior Whipple adding "Try to stay out of trouble." Teddy and his girl then depart out the front door. Tony Lucky has four people at his table and starts up his poker game. There are around fifteen customers in the bar at this point. Tom Whipple comes over to the table with Ruby and Chester and says "Miss West, would you know if that Indian friend of yours might be around tonight to help out? After what happened last night I don't want to leave the kitchen unguarded at any point and Jeff and I can alternate in there, but there might be times when we're both needed out here."

Ruby turns to Tom. "I'm sure Nanuet would be interested, especially since Sano... well, he would be interested. Chester would you be a sweetheart and run back to the Lone Star and ask him? And to answer your question, "she turns to Chester, " I don't know where Kate is and she is getting late, so maybe you can check for her too while you are there?" Chester interrupts and looks to Tom and says, "Excuse me, I could help out. My name's Chester. I helped Jeff with the uninvited guest last night, so I'm involved already."

"Oh, you're the soldier Jeff told me about. Sorry that I missed that, I was rather busy out here. Sure, you'd be fine instead of the Indian, I just think an extra guard may be in order. We may not have any trouble though, after what you guys did to Bob Skull I imagine Adair may think twice about direct confrontations. He'll probably try more indirect stuff like he did in court as well as that trashy rag of a paper that came out today." Ruby exclaims, "Oh now why didn't I think of that! Of course, Chester would be a great addition to the Lone Star, if even for a night. But maybe with the recent trouble you could use them both? I know I would feel more comfortable."

Tom replies, "I don't know that I could pay for both. I'm already paying for one more employee than usual with Louise. That plus one guard is an extra eight dollars out of my profits, I don't think I could afford twelve, not with all of the construction expenses." She answers, "Well then it is up to you. Chester is here already and he can more than handle the job but we can get Nanuet if you'd like. Just remember that you are going to have more and more people coming to see the show and eventually you will need to hire more people." Chester asks, “Wouldn't the money from the extra patrons be enough to cover for both me and Nanuet? Anyway, he isn't here yet, so where should I be?" Tom replies "Jeff is in the kitchen right now. Go see him and he'll show you where the weapons are kept."

Thanks, Mr. Whipple. Excuse me." Job Kane arrives and heads over to his table. Tom looks at his pocket watch and says "Quarter to eight. I hope Kate and her Louise friend arrive soon." Chester goes to the kitchen and greets Jeff. "Hi, me again. Mr. Whipple wants me to help guard the Lone Star tonight, what with the trouble from Adair. He said you'd show me where the weapons were kept. I have my own revolver on me, so we don't need to be worried about that." Jeff replies, "How's it going, Charlie?" "It's Chester," the ex-soldier replies. Jeff answers, "Oh right, sorry. Let me finish with this, then we can get ready for any problems."

Mills says "Well, in the evening this place has been known for its gambling and drinks. There hasn't been much call for food once the supper crowd leaves, and they've been staying away what with Maggie taking a few days off." Mills shows Chester where he's hidden extra ammunition and where the shotgun is near the door. He also opens the back door and shows Chester a rope attached to the side wall that runs up to the roof. He says "When I was up there earlier I rigged a surprise. If we get any other unwelcome visitors out this door one tug will teach them they're not very welcome around here."

Kate had been careful not to muss her hair when she changed her dress. It had been a hard day, and there was still a night to get through. Maggie should be here soon to tell her about her wonderful night last night, and she was the new owner of a ranch. Things weren't all bad. She took a deep breath and went downstairs.
"Maggie." Kate walked over and hugged her friend. "I'm glad to see you. Let's have some dinner. I want to hear all about your night at the El Parador."

Maggie replies "I think we have a bigger problem." She hands Kate the newspaper and says "Tony had picked up a copy at his boarding house and brought it over. Tom is furious. His father just laughed it off once he saw the full-page ad for the Palace on the back. He says that he's seen similar tactics used against him back in Denver. I hurried over her hoping to arrive before Angela Young came by selling them but was too late. Ruby already saw it and appears to be very upset." Kate took a moment to read Baxter's article. "Anyone with any sense will know that this story is biased and untrue. He even claims Ruby and Jake are married. I've never seen two people less likely to be married."

She turned the paper over. "The Palace, of course. I don't wonder that Ruby's upset. She seems to be able to tolerate many things, but lies about her aren't one of them. But she won't give Adair the satisfaction of letting it affect her. Have a seat with me and tell me about last night, Maggie. Ruby will cool off, and I'll have a talk with her later." Kate sat down with Maggie and kept an eye open for Conrad Booth's arrival.

Maggie tells about the long conversations she had with Dorita, learning how to cook Mexican food, and hearing the lively sounds of the Cantina through the kitchen door. She says that she is amazed at all the things that Dorita and done in her life and the stories of Texas prior to the arrival of the Spanish and other Europeans. She is also amazed at how well read Dorita is despite her rather rudimentary skills with English. "Kate, she can read both Greek and Latin. She doesn't believe in their deities and yet knows all the stories and can hold her own in a debate about the religion."

"This is a most remarkable family, and I'm glad you got the chance to get to know them. Mr. Gonzales, Dorita's Grandfather, is a very educated man. I'm sure he made sure that Dorita and Sonoma received the best education he could provide. Dorita is a very open-minded woman, and very intelligent. We could both learn a lot from her. I have come to care for this family very much. I'm sure you can see why I was reluctant to leave." Kate stays and talks with Maggie for a while, but only picks at her dinner. She is still hoping Conrad Booth will come in, otherwise she will have to run over to the Long Branch to see him.

Across the room, “So are you going to court me or not?” Sonoma says with a big smile to Nanuet. Nanuet smiles at the question from Sonoma, his face reddening but less than usual. The thought of having a female companion seems to be less nerve wracking for Nanuet as time goes by. She says, “I need to umm... change for work then maybe you can meet me after?”

"Ah yes you need to change for work. I need to prepare for my journey tomorrow, and then after that I will be by to see you after work. Be safe until I see you again my emo'onahe monevata vehpôtse (beautiful young flower). With that, Nanuet kisses Sonoma softly and gives her a tender gentle hug. He leaves the El Parador and heads out to the stables. He prepares his and Sonoma’s horses for the next day's journey hoping that she will come with him to see the Apache. After caring for the horses he relaxes at the grove for a while playing with Maska. He also works on turning his piece of buckskin into serviceable moccasins.

Jake goes into Drover's Saloon looking for Morand, Seawell or any of his mining partners. Mitchell Berg, Zack Morand, Tempel Morand, Patrick Seawell, Torvald MacNaulty, Ralph Elliott and Humphrey Lewis are all seated at a table with an eighth chair reserved for Jake. They welcome him to the table as Vera Blake brings him a frosted mug full of beer. "Well this is a treat!" He raises his mug. "To your perseverance and success", and then quietly "Sorry I missed out on this last night, but those two who shot you on the ride in yesterday won't ever be shooting anyone again." Elliott laughs and says "Well, some of us missed it too. We were too busy getting patched up by the Doctor, who wouldn't let us leave afterwards. This is the first chance we've had to all get together." They continue various toasts.

Seawell then stands up and says "Friends, new and old, I wanted this chance to talk to all of you. I don't want there to be any hard feelings with my three former partners so I thought I'd explain to you what I did." He turns to Elliott and says "Ralph, you've been a good leader for our quartet but you made one big mistake. You cut us a bad deal with Fisk from the onset. I knew from the very beginning there was silver way up the mountain but also knew it would be damned costly to get out. For the first four months I kept hoping we'd find an easier way to get at it but that didn't happen. Guys, it's going to be very expensive to get that ore out. I figure it will cost at least 25% of the ore's value, possibly as high as 40%, in which case we'd we working for nothing according to the original deal. By renegotiating with Fisk you three are now guaranteed to make a healthy profit.

As for my deal with Fisk, I played him like a violin. I agree with Morand here, that Fisk was responsible for trying to kill us and decided that the best payback was to hit him in the wallet. The key was the deals with both bank accounts and one account feeding the other. He doesn't realize it yet, but I can now legally keep him from ever seeing a penny of profit from your Fisk Mountain Mine. I can take and use all of his 30% share on the mining expenses for the Fisk-Seawell Gold Mine, as long as trustee Hubbard certifies the expenses as being legit. And they will be, the property I identified does indeed have gold, but getting at it will be more difficult and costly than at your mine. We may never see any profit from it.

That's why I've set up some other mining deals with Zack Morand here. They're a bit riskier, but that's okay." "Why didn't you cut us in on any of that?" MacNaulty asks. Seawell replies, "Family reasons. You all know my family background. My father retired from the Army as a Colonel. Retirement hasn't suited him well, especially since my mother died. I plan to offer him a job as a mine manager, but knew that your personalities wouldn't mesh with his management style. He's career military and believes in strict military discipline whereas you guys are more....carefree. It's best that we separate our business ventures. But guys, I still plan to be friends. I've signed away all profits from your mine but will still be happy to give you free advice whenever you need it. And you Mr. Cook. You've inherited three good but rather eccentric partners and one snake in the grass in Fisk. I wish you luck with all four."

"To a fruitful partnership." Jake offers as another toast. "Did the first batch of ore get processed successfully? And how did the content compare against your expectation?" Seawell says, "Hubbard was shocked. It came out to a full eight percent silver content, highest the Breakheart ever did for a single load. Then again, we had blasted down a good ten tons of rock and only loaded up the ones that look best. Of course the downside to that is that word is already spreading around town about our claim. So the total amount after processing deposited into the bank accounts comes to a little over $ 9,000 worth of silver. That gives us all more than enough cash to get these mines up and running.” Jake says, "Let me know what needs to be done to get rolling, and what gets distributed." He raises his glass again.

Jake says, "I'd like to close on the transportation contract. Let's agree on the pricing without the additional security and I'm agreeable to fund the temporary extra transportation security as a rider. Do you have folks you wish to use for that or are you looking for staff or even a lead for it? If you are that soldier boy who rode with us yesterday morning might be interested. And for a while I am personally going to take continued interest in putting those outlaws that attacked us out of business." "Seemed like a good man, I'm fine with that" Elliott states. Zack Morand agrees to the previously agreed upon price for transportation with Berg taking down the notes of these details.

To the miners. "I'm assuming you now don't need the wagon, since I'm in charge of transportation? Perhaps Morand Cartage is in need of a good wagon to haul ore from Fisk Mountain?" Zack says "With all the business Seawell and I are planning I certainly will. It'll take several weeks to get new ones out here so that wagon will be like a gift from the gods. I took a look at it earlier, the wagon is in great shape but the real treasure there is the horse team. Well worth the $ 1,500 price for the lot.

Jake replies, "Good. We are off to a fine start. I'll arrange to deliver it into your hands tomorrow. Just let me know when we can make the transaction. "Is there anything else we need to do tonight?" Jake asks. "I'll be around town if you need me. I have a few other loose ends to clear up.” Jake finds out where the wagon is currently parked. He gives it a thorough searching for any hidden spots the outlaws may have stored something valuable. Then he heads over to the Long Branch Saloon. If Conrad Booth is between games he'll speak to him. Otherwise he'll inquire about bounty hunters with the bar tender.

Back at the Cantina, after a time Sonoma appeared in her guise as "Louise" and there was no more time to wait. I must have missed Mr. Booth. "It looks like it's time to go. I'll see you later on tonight, Maggie." Katherine had a moment of anxiety about the fancy dress and seemingly valuable clip in her hair, but decided for this night she wouldn't worry. There were more important things to worry about. She gave her friend another hug and then joined Sonoma for the walk over to the Lone Star.

 

[Silver Moon]

DM's note: One of the players noticed that I missed posting a Jake & Ruby segment from earlier in this day. It has now been posted as the final part of Chapter 99.


Chapter 106 “Jave visits the Long Branch Saloon”, January 11th, 1882

It was quieter in the Lone Star than it had been the night before when Katherine and Sonoma arrived, but Kate didn't expect it to stay so for long. Kate smoothed her elaborate skirt and patted her hair. She hurried over to the table where Ruby was sitting and hugged her friend. "I haven't seen you all day, what have you been up to?" Ruby turns to look at Katherine. "Well, look at you! You look especially beautiful this evening, any particular reason?" she says looking up at Kate. "Me? I had a very full day that was proceeded by a very full night," she says with a knowing grin.

"Sit and I will tell you all about it. But first, how did your lessons go?" A shadow passed across Kate's face and disappeared just as quickly. "Quietly. Jake just needs some basic instruction in riding and he'll be fine. And shooting isn't so bad when it's not at people. As for the clothes... That important visitor is supposed to arrive at the El Parador today. I thought someone of his rank was worth dressing for. He wasn't there yet when I left. The hair Mr. Gonzales did. The clip isn't real of course, but it is lovely. Now, tell me about your night."

Ruby replies, "Yes, the clip is lovely. I did forget that the president was coming today. Maybe Mr. Gonzales um, guess, was wrong? But no matter you look great. My night was um, special. And busy, yes it was busy. I had a really great time. Maybe Jake is different, like you said," Ruby says with a distant smile. She tells Kate about the night before but leaves out some of the more private moments. She adds, "But I did get my wish to wake up with him and I really liked it so I'm going to have to get him to quit the bank."

Ruby then proceeds to tell Kate about her day, about healing the bird, having lessons with Mr. Gonzales and the items he identified and picking up her new dresses. When she gets to the part about the newspaper she starts getting agitated again. When she finally calms down she asks, "So what did you do today? You were missing all day!"

"I wasn't missing," Kate laughed. "I went out with Jake and when we got back I was going to go out to take care of a few things, but I fell asleep in my chair. When I woke up I went to see Mr. Gonzales and we talked for a little while. Then I got dressed, had dinner with Maggie, and came here. The best thing though, was the first thing. Nanuet, Sonoma, and I went to the land office this morning. We now own 200 acres right next to Flint. I can hardly believe it." The smile that had disappeared when dealing with the issue of Curly Bill came back. "I never thought it would be so soon."

"Wow," said Ruby slowly. "All my new friends really are settling down here, huh?" she says almost to herself, drifting off. Suddenly, "That is great! We have to celebrate! Tonight at the Cantina after we are through here, we'll invite everyone. I'm going to have two nights of celebrating in a row!" Ruby seems excited for Kate, "You really deserve to have some happiness Kate, you do, and now you'll get it."

Kate says, "There is one thing left though, we still need to get the bounty for Curly Bill, and I don't know how." Ruby says, "As for Curly Bill, we'll go talk to that bounty hunter tomorrow and get him to bring the body where it has to go. Believe me, we'll get it done." "Thank you, Ruby. I wasn't sure how I was going to do that. It was starting to be a bit overwhelming.” “Now, who is this everyone we're going to invite to celebrate with us?" Kate notices the saloon getting busier. "We should get on stage. Tell me on the way over."

"Well, we tell Sonoma and Nanuet, I'm sure they'll want to celebrate too, and Jake of course and me and you and how about Chester? He seems like a nice guy. Who else would you like to invite? Mr. Booth maybe?" Ruby says with a giggle. Kate sat down at the piano and blushed slightly. "Mr. Booth was very kind, I'm sure he'd enjoy a party. We must have Dorita and Pedro and Mr. Gonzales as well." Katherine started the introduction to one of Ruby's favorite songs. "Ready?"

Ruby smiled at her friend. She had been kidding about Mr. Booth but Ruby didn't think Kate would mind his presence at their little party. "Yes, I am ready." Before Ruby starts to sing she reminds herself what Jake said about putting Adair out of business. She smiles at Kate then she starts singing with her usual passion, maybe even a bit more than usual.

"Louise" heads to the kitchen and begins cooking for the evening. She says out loud, “I'll have to talk to Tom about stocking this kitchen tomorrow. There really isn't enough fresh produce or steaks to get through more than tonight and tomorrow. And we could use some other staples too she thinks as she begins to putter around getting her prep work done.” She then looks up and says, “Hi Chester, are you going to be here all night?”

Chester looks at "Louise" quizzically. "Yeah, I am. Do I know you? You seem to know who I am." Louise laughs and whispers in Chester's ear, "It's me, Sonoma. I'm in disguise, so I can help the Whipples out." He replies, "Oh, I see. Sorry I didn't recognize you. I'm helping guard the place, especially after what happened last night." Chester glances back at Mills and in reference to the trap says, "OK, I'll have to remember not to stand too close." Chester takes position by the door.

Jake arrives at the Long Branch Saloon on the south side of Main Street between Allen and Front streets. It is owned by Kate Higgins who greets him as he enters. This 30x30 foot three-story brick building is rather luxurious, with all brass bar fixtures and a crystal chandelier. It has four gambling tables featuring both poker and faro. A piano player is providing entertainment and there are three prostitutes walking around the room. This establishment requires all patrons to check their guns at the bar where Jake goes and leaves his revolver.

Conrad Booth currently has a game going at his table. Hamilton Fisk is playing at another table. In response to Jake's inquiry about a bounty hunter bartender Ray Singer says, "Yeah, Irby Cole is still staying here. He hasn't come downstairs yet but probably will soon. Why don't you stick around and wait."

Jake answers, "Thanks Ray, how about a whiskey while I wait." I need to get the taste of that beer out of my mouth he thinks to himself, I know a frosted mug is a treat out here in the territory, but that doesn't mean I like beer. Jake sips his whiskey and surreptitiously watches Booth and Fisk play expecting full well he'll be playing against them some day. He also watches the dealers trying to gauge how honest these games are.

Fisk notices Jake watching him. Based upon the pile of poker chips he was having a good night until Jake arrived. His concentration now appears to be split between the game and Jake and he starts loosing. Booth seems to be having a good game. Jake recognizes one of the players at his table as an occasional player of Tony Lucky's but doesn't know the man's name. The only other familiar face in the room is that of Wells Fargo Office Manager Kris Wagner, playing Faro at another table.

Jake has been there for around fifteen minutes when the rotund figure of Cornelius Van Horne walks through the Saloon's swinging double-doors. He looks the same as he did the previous Friday, except the three piece suit he has on this night is white rather than ivory, exactly matching the same white silk hat that he wore before. He stands blocking the doorway and quickly surveys the room before turning around and exiting.

Based upon the facial expressions the dealer at Fisk's table appears to be both surprised and pleased by that. Jake wanders down closer to the end of the bar nearest that table to catch the conversation that follows. The dealer announces to several players that had not noticed "Look's like Van Horne decided to skip us tonight. He just came and left." "Then we might get to keep our money for a change," one of the other players comments. Fisk says, "He's not that good. I took him for several hands last Wednesday night."

Fisk tells the dealer "Norm, we may have someone to take Van Horne's place. That's my new business partner Jake Cook," and gestures to Jake. The dealer turns towards Jake and says, "Care to have a seat Mr. Cook?" "That is mighty kind of you to offer." Jake replies with a nod. "I have some business to attend to tonight, some of which to our mutual benefit Mr. Fisk. But if the table is amenable to me departing at the next break, I would be honored to play with you gentlemen."

Jake sits in the only open chair of the eight around the table. The dealer introduces himself to Jake as Norman Wilkie. He introduces the men around the table as Sam Slade, John Mardin, Hamilton Fisk, Charles Gagnon, Owen Webb and Richard Lester. He explains that Wednesday night house rules are that no player can raise more than $ 5 and that nobody can raise once the pot per hand reaches $ 50. Each hand also has a wild card, determined only after the initial five cards are dealt to each player.

After caring for the horses Nanuet relaxes at the grove for a while playing with Maska. He also works on turning his piece of buckskin into serviceable moccasins. At some point he will wander into the church and look for anyone who seems to be "in charge." Nanuet finds the priest, Thomas Valdez, who says "Hello. You're the Indian who stayed in the grove. How can I help you?" Nanuet nods "Yes I am, my wolf and I have enjoyed your lovely grove for a while now. I wanted to make a donation to your church for your hospitality." He offers the man a $20 bill. "I thank you kindly for allowing the use of the grove, it is a lovely and peaceful place." Valdez replies "Why thank you. The trees were planted long ago but many of the flowers were planted by a half-elvan druid that used to live in town just a short while ago.

Nanuet is sitting in the El Parador when four guests arrive. One appears to be a wood elf, two half-elves of wood elvan descent and the other is human. All appear to be young, the human equivalent of twenties or thirties. They approach Pedro and ask about rooms. He inquires as to how long they will be staying to which one of the half-elves, apparently the leader, replies "At least a week." The men ask about stables and request to see the stable hand in charge. Pedro says "He is not currently around but I have somebody who might be able to help you." He walks over to Nanuet and says "Could you show these men to the stable? They will be guests here for the next week and wish to secure their horses."

Nanuet wraps up his buckskin moccasins that he was working on and sticks them in a pouch on his belt. He smiles kindly and says "Absolutely, I would be glad to help. I assume your mounts are out front, this way please. He leads the foursome outside and helps them secure their mounts in the stables. He brings fresh feed bags and water and makes sure everything is in order. "Can I help with anything else?"

The men are polite to Nanuet. They take great care to assist with the mounts and he surmises that the animals mean a great deal to them. They thank Nanuet and one of them gives him a dollar coin. When the men are finished they carry their overstuffed saddlebags with them into the El Parador. Nanuet counts at least a dozen firearms between the four of them. Nanuet is a little surprised by the number of firearms but his initial sense is that they are more for protection than for starting trouble. He approaches them and quietly asks "I notice you folks are carrying a lot of weapons. I know it is not really my place, but are you in trouble or something?"

The human says "No, the weapons were for our own defense. We traveled here through Mexico, and much of that land is still ruled by warlords and bandits. One such group attempted to stop us but was unsuccessful." Nanuet says, "I thought as much, and forgive me for my prying. I hope you enjoy your stay here." Nanuet goes back inside and continues to work on his moccasins, guessing at what time Sonoma would be getting off of work. As that time approaches Nanuet gathers his things and heads down to the Lone Star.

After Ruby finishes her first set she walks off the stage and nods to Kate. Kate gave Ruby a smile as she stepped down from the stage for her first break. The saloon had filled up while Kate sat at the piano. Sonoma was moving smoothly through the room, and Kate decided she could stay at the piano and play a classical piece to keep the entertainment going. Thankfully, Teddy and Alexsis were not here. If Teddy had been here she would have played all night just keep him from abusing the poor piano.

She kept the piece short and then got up to help Sonoma. Kate carefully covered her dress with an apron and began serving drinks. Ruby walks over to Mr. Whipple and takes a seat next to him. "So, Mr. Whipple," Ruby says pushing her hair off her face, "Have I melted your soul yet with my singing? Or should I be trying harder?" She cocks her head with a smile on her face waiting for the answer.

He laughs "I always appreciate a good singer when I hear one. You're one of the best. My son was luck to find you for his saloon. Dreadful shame those lies the paper told about you. Don't worry none about it though. That reporter's main rationale to discounting your testimony was that you didn't reference your marriage. Since he was wrong about that fact it reverses what you said. Tom knows the man from the other newspaper and will talk to him about printing that instead."

“Well, thank you Mr. Whipple, it’s nice to hear my singing is appreciated, especially coming from someone like you. I mean you have a big Saloon in Denver! You must see lots of singers and dancers.” “Yes, those lies were dreadful. It’s hard not to worry about it when half the town will think things that aren’t true about me now. But believe me, anyone who knows me at all knows that marriage is the last thing on my mind. I know the newspaperman also, and I already talked with him. He assured me only the truth would be printed. I am curious to know what his paper will say. So how do you think Tom and Maggie are doing running the Lone Star?”

"My, you are direct aren't you. Tom's doing a great job. He's done an excellent job in this last year with hiring good employees. I was more than satisfied with last night, which is why I told Teddy and Alex that they could spend tonight and tomorrow checking out the other Faro tables in town. I'm not sure about how well Maggie will do without Tom. He seems to be the driving force around here. I guess I'll find out on Friday night. Don't worry though, if she's in over her head I'll step in and take over. Teddy and Alex are both accustomed to taking direction from me so the three of us will make sure the business doesn't suffer too much that night."

"Yes, I think being direct saves a lot of runaround most of the time. Why would you assume that the Lone Star's success is purely due to Tom and not Maggie? Are you saying a woman can't run a Saloon?" Ruby arches her eyebrows. "I hope that is not what you are saying..." He laughs, "No, I've known several women saloonkeepers in my day. I just know Maggie. Without a strong man to make decisions for her she'd be lost." "Maybe Maggie will surprise you, Mr. Whipple. You never know what could happen."

Ruby walks past Kate to get back on stage. As she passes she whispers, "I think Mr. Whipple is a bit biased against Maggie. He doesn't think she can run the place alone." Sonoma moves over to Ruby and Kate "If Mr. Whipple doesn't think that Maggie can and has run this place in the last year then he is totally wrong. We need to make sure that the cousin Teddy and his girl are no where to be found during Maggie's stint. That way Mr. Whipple has no lackeys to take his direction and that he has no reason to get his male chauvinist tush out of his chair. When you don't respect your own children just because of who they are that's just wrong. This IS Maggie's place always has been and always will be.” Kate replies, "I'd be more than happy to not see Teddy and Alexsis in here. Maggie loves this place, and I know she is more than capable of running it without Tom. He'll see."

Ruby says, "You won't hear me complaining about that, I don't like sharing MY stage with anyone uninvited." With that Sonoma swipes the nearest table with gusto and heads for HER kitchen to cool down before she says something she will regret. Ruby takes a few minute break getting a drink and some air. When she finishes she gets back on stage and continues singing. She does as she always does, keeping an eye on Kate and now "Lousie" too.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 107 “Mr. Austin”, January 11th, 1882

A man walks into the Lone Star Dance Hall and Saloon. He looks to be between sixty and seventy years of age, with long white beard, bushy sideburns, busy eyebrows and bald head. He has a pleasant smile on his face. He is dressed in a blue cotton shirt, tan wool pants, a wide belt and cowboy boots. He has a straw campaign-style hat on his head. A pair of wire-framed eyeglasses magnify his robins-egg blue eyes. He has a sheathed dagger on his belt but no other weapons.

He takes a seat at one of the tables over by the stage and removes a handful of coins from a rabbitskin pouch on his belt. He then stacks the coins on the table before him making a tower, the largest coins on the bottom and smallest on the top. He then takes a small book out of his shirt pocket and begins to read. Sonoma goes over to the table "Can I take your order? Drinks food?" The elderly human smiles up at Sonoma and says, "I believe this is Katherine's table, my little bird." Sonoma gives her great grandfather a smile and heads for the piano.

Kate noticed a new customer sit down close to the stage. "Ruby can you sing acapella for a moment? I'll be right there to play for you." She approached the bald, bearded man and hoped she wouldn't disturb his reading. "Good evening. Can I get you anything?" As she approaches the table he puts down his book and says, "Oh yes, I have heard so many fine things about this place that I wanted to see for myself. If you could find me a glass of wine that would be appreciated, perhaps something in a red, with a sweet flavor it." She answers, "You heard correctly. Miss West will be singing in a few moments and I'm sure you'll be very pleased. I'll see what wines might suit you."

As she starts to depart he says "Oh, and one other thing..." She returns to the table and he adds "The man whose visit you were anticipating has arrived....my little sandpiper." Kate's eyes widened and a smile quirked at the corners of her mouth. "Oh. I wish.... Well, I have work to do still. I'll get your wine." She went back behind the bar and picked what she thought was the best of Tom's limited selection. Wine wasn't exactly the drink of choice at the Lone Star.

From the stage Ruby notices the older man who walked in. She watches both Kate and Sonoma talk to him, which was not unusual. What was unusual was that Ruby noticed the magical aura coming from the man. She hadn't cast any kind of spell, she could just see it. She was more curious than anything about the man so while she sang she kept an eye on him.

Kate returned to the table and set it down. "It's the best we have," Kate said quietly. "What was he like? Did you meet them yet?" He replies "No actually, that could have been problematic. The General was not alone, he had three companions. Have you ever heard of Simon Bolivar? Bolivar was the man who freed much of South America from Spanish rule. In fact, the county of Bolivia is named for him. Well, he is here with the General, which should have been no surprise to me and yet I was not prepared for it.

Back when I was with President Santa Anna's military I once was given the unfortunate task of delivering an unpleasant message to Bolivar. I feared that if he saw me again he would recognize me, which is what prompted me to change my appearance.

One curious thing, neither man signed in, letting a half-elvan companion sign and pay for all four rooms. I have never heard of this Carlos Wyman before and their fourth companion was human rather than elvan." "Surely this Bolivar wouldn't blame the messenger? Even if he did, what would that matter now, in Arizona? He replies, "Oh no, it isn't that. Bolivar is a brave and fair man, I doubt that something that happened four decades ago would be held against me. It's just that he wouldn't be expecting to see me here and now and I was afraid that in his surprise he might address me as my former military or professional title. Doing that could cause problems for Dorita and Pedro."

She comments, “I suppose it is strange, Elves traveling with human companions. I never think of it as such, as I'm sure you realize." Kate smiled at her mentor but kept her voice low. "Do you think we'll get the chance to speak privately with the President?" He answers, "I would imagine so, they will be staying at the El Parador for at least a week."

"I understand. We must make sure when you meet Bolivar again, it is not in the company of others. After all, we can't have you hiding for a week, can we?" He answers, "Well, if my Great Granddaughter can pass for human why shouldn't I?" She looked around at the busy saloon. "I must get back to work. Ruby will be on in a moment, so you won't miss me at all. I'll check back on you later." Kate began to turn away but stopped. "Why the tower of coins?" He says, "Nervous habit. I like to play with and organize things. It's also something distinctively different from my other guise, as I don't need to use money over at the El Parador."

"I have a hard time believing you're ever nervous." Kate smiled and went back to waiting tables as Sonoma played for Ruby. She moved to the piano to take over only after someone requested food. "Louise, I can take over now. The gentlemen over there would like something to eat, and I'm not much of a cook."

Chester hasn't noticed any problems, so he goes out by the back door to have a smoke. Once outside, he takes a long look down the alley both ways. He sees an older man near the northeast corner of the Lone Star leaning against the building. The man appears to be unarmed. Chester drops his cigarette to the ground and grinds it out, then he goes back inside. He says to Jeff, "There's a man standing outside near the Lone Star. I'm going to ask him what his business is."

Chester checks his Remington in the kitchen. He walks up to the man. "Hi, can I help you with something? It's pretty cold out here. You'd be much more comfortable inside." He looks over towards Chester and says "Sorry son, can't do that. Guess I'll be heading back home." The man walks over to the building next door, with the sign "Lacey's General Store", and goes inside. Chester thinks, “That old fella seemed harmless enough. Maybe the others know what his story is. I guess he's Lacey.”

Chester heads back into the kitchen. He calls Sonoma over, "Louise? Can you describe the man who owns the general store, Mr. Lacey?" Sonoma describes Judge Lacey, adding, "Why do you want to know?" He says, "Hmm? Oh, I just saw him leaning against the wall out back. I invited him inside, but he didn't want to come in. Instead he went back to the store. Is there some trouble between him and the Whipples?" "Not that I know of", she replies.

Ruby sang for about forty-five minutes before she wrapped up her set. As she was coming down from the stage, Kate waved her over and spoke quietly. "The balding gentleman at the table up front is a friend of ours. One who likes to call you a golden eagle. The visitor we were waiting for has arrived. It was sweet of him to come down to tell me, wasn't it?" Ruby answers, “Oh yes it was kind of him!"

Ruby happily ran over to the man and gave him a hug. She whispers in his ear, "I could see the magic but I didn't know what it was. I didn't even use a spell!" He whispers back "That was how I wanted it. I could have better masked the magic if I wished to. Well done, you're the only one of you three to pass this test. Tell me this my golden eagle, do you know where the magic is centered?" "Well, I did notice your glasses seemed to be glowing more strongly, like Sonoma’s hair clip. Is that what you mean?"

He says, "It's call a Polymorph Item. The transformation it contained in the item itself and requires just a simple incantation to activate or cancel. It was the quickest way to get Sonoma switched to work here and I figured why should she have all the fun. I started one for Katherine too with her new hair clip, starting small with just a hairstyle and color change, but she didn't like the result so I turned it off."

"Oh that is SO exciting! I didn't know anything like that even existed! If it wasn't for you I still wouldn't know. I am learning so much from you. I was thinking this town was the same as the others but some things have been different for me here in Promise City, some really good things. You and ... well, um...new friends..." Ruby looks away a bit embarrassed, "Anyway I owe you many thanks Mr. ... um, what should we call you when you are, um, dressed like this?"

Kate arrives as he answers "I don't know, all of my names are Spanish. Why don't you girls pick one for me." "How about Mr. Austin?" Ruby says with a smile. "What do you think Kate?" "Very appropriate," Kate laughed. "Whom we both met in Tombstone. I must get back to work or people will begin to wonder."
He then tells Kate that her piano playing is wonderful and that she really needs to play more back at the El Parador. "Perhaps," she said, blushing. "But the stage there belongs to Sonoma and Esteban, I wouldn't wish to intrude." She went back to waiting tables while keeping an eye on Mr. Gonzales' and Ruby.

Ruby stands up straight, "Did you like the show?" He answers, "Very much so, you and Katherine are both quite talented." "Yes, Kate is very talented on the piano. Wait until you hear her play some classical music. Even I can appreciate it. I don't know why you would have to stay hidden, but I will ask Kate about it later. I don't mind your new form, you got to come see us!" Ruby smiles at him. "I'm glad you'll share a drink with us later too."

She waves Kate over to them. "Kate brought some land today, with Sonoma and Nanuet. I'm sure you already heard about it though. We are going to celebrate at the El Parador tonight. I hope you'll join us for a drink." He says, "Yes, although I may need to remain in this form if a certain someone is present. Kate can tell you about that later." Ruby replies, “I don't know why you would have to stay hidden, but I will ask Kate about it later. I don't mind your new form, you got to come see us!" Ruby smiles at him. "I'm glad you'll share a drink with us later too."

Kate had already begun a classical piece when Ruby waved to her. She waved back and mouthed, "I have to play." She turned back to the keyboard and concentrated on her playing. It was comforting to her Mr. Gonzales there, and she wanted him to be pleased by her playing. She felt like a little girl again, playing in her piano recitals and hoping her father would be proud. The piece went on for about five minutes, and she then went over to the table to refresh Mr. Gonzales drink and get back to waiting tables.

"Well, Mr. Austin, I will sit here with you for a while if you don't mind. It's not often when I can just sit and relax and not have to impress anyone." She smiles at him. "Do you need anything?"

At that moment Ruby saw Sonoma hurrying by. As she does she says to her, "We are going to have a little get together at the El Parador tonight, to celebrate your new acquired land. I'm sure you'll be up for it. But you have to actually celebrate with us, not serve us!" She looks around. "We need to tell Nanuet and Chester too. And Jake, of course." Ruby walks back to the stage to do a final set of end the night. She looks a little disappointed that Jake hasn't shown up but puts her smile back on her face before she gets up on stage. She gives a nod to "Mr. Austin" before starting. She sings with her usual passion, even closing her eyes to really get into the songs.

Back at the Long Branch Saloon, by the time the first break is called Jake has played eight hands of cards of which he only won one of them. The big winner was Owen Webb with four hands, the dealer Wilkie with two and Fisk with the other. Jake lost a total of only $ 23 due to the low stakes rules that were in place.

He heads back to the bar and asks Ray Singer "Any idea when Cole will be down?" Singer replies "Came down and left, you missed him. He'll probably be back around midnight if you want to check back then." "Figures." Jake shakes his head. "All right, thanks Ray." He heads outside keeping his eye open for one of the children, not seeing any. Jake reaches the El Parador. He manages to locate young Ricardo Huesca, asks him around back to the stables. "How would you like to earn some money amigo?" Jake asks the boy
"Si, senor!" The boy comes alive.

"Muy bien, muy bien. But first you need to understand a few things." Jake looks at him seriously and the boy nods. "No one should know you are working for me. Except your mother. I don't want anyone who might be mad at me taking it out on you. And I want you to be sneaky. I mean don't let folks know you are gathering information when I ask you to do that. Think you can be sneaky?" "Si, senor." He giggles

"Alright then," Jake hands him four-bits, "I want to know where a man who works for the Harrisburg Safe Company stayed and worked. His name was Zikmund and he was in town a few days ago. One dollar each for the information." Jake then describes the man. "Ok, you understand?" "Si, senor, I am to be sneaky." he giggles again. "When you have something to tell me, look at me and scratch your ear like this," Jake makes the motion, "and we'll arrange to meet out here. Go on now." Jake then heads over to the Lone Star to see his new dress in action.

Nanuet runs into Jake on his way over to the Lone Star. "Mr. Jake, glad to see you! I guess you are headed to the Lone Star too?" He walks with Jake, but is excited and can hardly keep Jake's measured pace. "I think I am starting to like Promise City Mr. Jake... I am starting to like it a lot." "I'm finding it pleasant as well." Jake replies to Nanuet and tries not to laugh as he just about leaps into the Lone Star.

The Lone Star is still pretty lively when they arrive and Nanuet stays out of the way keeping an eye out for "Louise". Some people give an odd look to Nanuet but nobody says anything directly since he is with Jake.
Tom approaches the two and says to Nanuet "Ah, you've come to relive Mr. Martin on guard duty. He's out in the kitchen, right through that door," and gestures to the back corner of the room. Nanuet is puzzled for a second but goes along with Mr. Whipple and heads for the back corner.

He goes through the door and notices Chester. "I guess I am here to relieve you. Anything exciting going on here?" Nanuet walks past him and looks outside the back door to see if anything is going on then he turns back around and tries to spot "Louise" in the kitchen.

Tom then looks to Jake and says "And I'd like a word with you too Mr. Cook if you don't mind." "Sure." Jake forces a pleasant smile on his face. Tom Whipple says "Not here, let's go for a walk," and gestures towards the door. Jake takes a quick look at Ruby up on stage in her new green dress and sighs. "Ok." He follows Tom outside. Whipple leads him across Main Street and south down Allen Street, away from the taverns. When there is nobody within thirty feet of them Tom says, "I'd like to know your intentions."

Jake replies, "That's a funny question Tom. I'm not sure what you want to know." Tom answers, "Well, Maggie spoke to you yesterday about purchasing the Lone Star. She said you indicated that you may be interested but didn't give a firm commitment. I need to know if that is your intention or if I should start looking for somebody else to sell it to? I figure it's worth around $ 4,000."

Jake says, "Ah. I understood that Maggie was still going to be one half owner, is that still the case? I am still interested but need more details and said as much to her. And she didn't offer it to just me, actually, she seemed more interested in the ladies with me as a minor partner to help put enough money together."

Tom says, "Just between me and you Mr. Cook, neither me or my father have any intention of leaving Maggie behind when he depart for Denver next week. A town like this would eat her up and spit her out without a strong partner like me. Look, the price is $ 4,000. If you want to co-own it with your lady friends that's entirely up to you. I just want to know if you're interested or not."

Jake says, "I could be interested in a part owner deal, but not the whole thing. So if you need an answer right now, then no. I take it the reason we are standing out here is because you don't want Maggie to know?" Tom answers, "The reason we're out here is because I don't want the town to know I'll be leaving. Maggie has this fool idea that she can run this place without me. Friday and Saturday nights should convince her otherwise. Then Father and I will be able to make her understand that she has no choice but to go with us." Jake says, "Fine by me. Shall we go back then?" Tom states, "Fine. Let me know by tomorrow how much you and your friends are interested in buying into it. I have a few other ideas for potential partners."

Kate had relaxed as Jake and Nanuet came in. Though the night she'd had an underlying tension, waiting for Evan Adair's next move. But nothing had happened so far, and it was getting late. Even if he tried something now, there were enough people here she trusted to take care of it. She noticed Tom Whipple take Jake outside and hoped he wasn't going to give him a hard time about his game the other night. Maggie might want him on Friday, and she didn't want Jake to be in a foul mood about the Lone Star.

She and Ruby finished up the set, and Kate again played a piece after Ruby left the stage. A gentleman approached and asked her to dance when she finished up, but as Louise was in the kitchen at the moment, there was no one to play. Kate was grateful for the excuse to say no, but it was nice to be asked. After that, she went to check on Mr. Gonzales before returning to waiting tables.

Tom and Jake return to the Lone Star. Jake goes to the bar for a drink, and then finds a spot to sit, listen and watch. It is now around 10:30 PM and the Saloon will probably be open another 30 to 60 minutes. Neither poker game show any signs of ending, with the two dealers being the top winners thus far.

Ruby sees Jake from the stage and noticeably perks up. She gives him a little wave and smile and continues her songs about another 30 minutes. She finishes, does a quick curtsey and skips off stage. She stops at Mr. Austin’s table and gives him a peck on the cheek, “I hope you enjoyed my singing!” She doesn’t give him a chance to answer as she skips off towards Jake. She gets to him, and pulling some hair off her face says, “How did your business go?”

He replies, "Good. I closed with the miners and Morand, the silver mine is off to a good start. I did go looking for that bounty hunter, but I missed him. Spent a little time playing poker over at the Long Branch, getting to know Mr. Fisk." He raised his eyebrow briefly, pauses and then lowers his voice. "And finished off with a conversation with Tom Whipple that I'll tell you about later. In private." He gently touches the material of her dress. "Speaking of private. I like you in this, but now that's a problem." "How so Mr. Cook?" Ruby says flipping her head and hair from one side to the other. He answers, "Cause I like you better out of it."

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 108, “A Public Spectacle”, January 11th, 1882:

Ruby sits on Jake’s lap and drapes her arms around his neck. “You are a very naughty boy,” she whispers. “I like that,” she says as she leans in and gives him a long passionate kiss. “But you are going to have to wait a little longer for that. We are going to have some fun tonight at the El Parador celebrating Kate, Nanuet and Sonoma’s recent land purchase. After that we can take off the dress.” She gives him a devilish little smile.

“So I’ve thinking about you all night and I’ve been wondering, earlier you told Chester I was your girl. Is that really true?” she asks. "Did I say that? Hmmm, I guess I did now that you bring it up." Jake plays with her hair a bit. "I do kinda like the sound of it. Is it true? Heh, you let me say it and didn't tear my head off, I take that as a good sign. I'd like it to be true."

Ruby pushes back Jake’s hat to look at his face. She smiles as she runs her fingers across Jake’s lips, “I’ll be your girl Mr. Cook. Now we have a reason to celebrate tonight too. And maybe,” she continues mischievously, “I’ll even dance for you later tonight…if you want me to that is...” Ruby snuggles with Jake and continues kissing him. "Ahhhem" Tom Whipple exclaims, as though clearing his voice in Jake and Ruby's direction. They look towards him and he tips his head slightly, gesturing toward his father, who is standing over by the bar and giving their public display of affection a disapproving look.

"Those Whipples sure know how to spoil a good time." Whispers Jake. "You're right about that. Well, we can stay here and continue to cause trouble, which is always a fun option, or we could just go back to the El Parador and not worry about the Whipples for the rest of the night. I say we do that. It's much more fun to worry about the state of your green dress anyway," Ruby says with a naughty smile. She stands up, takes Jake's hands and pulls him up. She looks around the room. "Everyone ready to go? We'll be waiting outside..." Ruby glances at Tom, who doesn't look very happy, but goes outside with Jake anyway. "No one can tell us we can't kiss out here," Ruby laughs to Jake while they wait for the friends to catch up.

Out in the kitchen, Chester asks, "Ah, Nanuet. Want a smoke? No? OK. It's been pretty boring, like most sentry duty." Chester pauses. He thinks, Well if he doesn't know I'm ex-Army, he will now. "Ahem. I did notice Mr. Lacey hanging around out back. He said something about not wanting to come inside, then he went home. Do you know anything about that?"

Nanuet replies, "Well, I know he likes Miss Ruby's singing. Not sure why he wouldn't come inside though. Maybe he just has a problems with saloons but wants to hear Ruby singing. Hmph. That's odd. As long as he isn't causing trouble, I guess it's not really important.” Ruby's voice penetrates the conversation between Chester and Nanuet stating, ."Everyone ready to go? We'll be waiting outside...".

Nanuet says, "Speaking of Miss Ruby... Chester have you seen Louise? I think it is time to call it a day and head back to the El Parador. Chester says, "Last I saw her, she was in the common room. Did you know she could change her appearance? It seems like magic." Nanuet replies, "Not sure if it is her or someone else, but they have done the same for me when I have needed it.”

Between hugs and swinging Ruby around but before the others come out, Jake says to her "That grumpy old Tom asked me if we were still interested in buying into the Lone Star. I guess Maggie talked to him. I don't know how you feel about it, but I'm not sure it's a good idea. If someone I trusted to make us money were running it I could be convinced to go along at least with a share. Otherwise I'm out. I don't know if Katherine's still interested, I think she spent her money on being a land baron." Jake laughs. "Anyway, grumpy wants to know tomorrow." He throws Ruby up a little ways and mostly catches her. "It is so much easier not having to worry about other folks." He laughs again.

“I agree, it is easier not to worry about other people,” Ruby says while trying not to let Jake drop her. “I don’t know anything about running a saloon. Although I must admit that I am getting a bit jealous of everyone getting involved in business stuff and I only have a crappy paying job. But you know, I am a bit, um,” Ruby pauses to bite on her finger, “well, nervous about putting my money into anything that I can’t get to quick, you know? And I’m not sure that Maggie could properly run this place either, and Maggie and I are two very different kinds of people.” Ruby pauses, furrowing her brow, “Who could we get to run this place? Maybe Sonoma? She’s good at coming in and running things.” Ruby moves closer to Jake, “I’m not any good at this business stuff, I’m much better at this…” as she kisses his neck “and this…” as she kisses his cheek, “And this…” and she kisses his lips…

Inside, Tom Whipple approaches Kate and Sonoma and says "Things are winding down but both poker games are still running so I'll need at least one of you to stick around until closing but the other can leave. Same for the two guards out in the kitchen, one of them should suffice." Kate nodded. "Louise, why don't you go on? Nanuet is in the back, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind escorting you back. I don't mind staying, and I can come back with Mr. Martin."

She leaned over and whispered to Sonoma, "We're going to have a little celebration of our purchase. I think you'll need a little more time to get ready than I will. Besides, I think your Mother would have words for me if I left you here and went back myself." She straightened her apron and headed over to begin refreshing drinks. She slipped past Mr. Gonzales' table and whispered. "Sonoma and Nanuet will be leaving in a moment. I thought you might like to know."

He says "Thank you, I should probably be going as well. Let me reemphasize that your piano playing is wonderful." He gets up and departs, leaving behind the stack of coins which is more than sufficient to cover the cost of his single glass of wine. Kate shook her head and tucked the coins into her apron pocket. As Kate took care of Tony and Job's tables, she tried to pick up on what was happening in the games. She still planned on going to the Long Branch on Sunday, and with Ruby's lessons and a bit of attention during the week, she might be able to at least follow the game and not embarrass Mr. Booth.

Ruby drags herself away from Jake for a moment and sticks her head back inside the Lone Star. "Are you all ready yet??" Kate tells her she is staying and will walk home with Chester, while Sonoma and Nanuet walk come out. Kate enters the kitchen to tell Chester that they'll be staying a while longer. "Uh, sure, Mrs. Kale. Why?" Kate laughs. "So Nanuet can take 'Louise' back to the El Parador. We're all meeting there after work to celebrate a purchase Sonoma, Nanuet, and I made today." He replies, "That's great news. What did you buy?" She says, "Some land outside of town. I guess I'm setting down some roots here." He answers, "Well, congratulations, Mrs. Kale. Good luck." "Thank you. We'll just be here until the poker games finish up. It's quiet otherwise. Jake and Ruby have gone on ahead as well. Shout if you need anything, Mr. Martin. Thank you for staying."

Mr. Gonzales also walks out but chooses to walk ahead of them. When they get back to the El Parador Sonoma runs upstairs to "change" while the rest of them get a table. Jake takes a chair puts his feet up and says, "I don't have to run and be anywhere else tonight. Nobody is expecting me to be anywhere else. I have nothing better to do than sit here and get drunk. Can you believe it?" Ruby gives him that look. "OK, maybe one better thing." He says laughing. Ruby laughs back while she gets up. "You are so cute," as she gives him a kiss on the cheek. She walks over to the bar and asks for a bottle of whiskey and some glasses. She gets back to their table and pours herself, Jake and Nanuet a drink. "I hope Kate and Chester show up soon. Although nothing is stopping us from starting without them," she says with a grin and she drinks her whiskey down.

Nanuet grabs his glass and says, "I'd make a toast but were not all here so now I'll drink for the sake of drinking" and downs his whiskey. He slaps Jake on the back and winks at Ruby and laughs. "Thanks Miss Ruby for planning our little celebration. Besides being shot at on a fairly regular basis things seem to be going well. Like I told Jake earlier tonight, I am starting to like it here." Ruby says, "Well, that is good because we wouldn't want anyone running off, now would we?"

She smiles and gives Jake a knowing glance. Jake winces, and tries not to spill his drink, recovers and toasts, "Here's to ducking!" and drains his glass. Ruby refills their drinks and laughs, "Jake, you aren't very good at ducking, but I'll drink to that anyway!" as she has her next drink. Jake fills the glasses again. "Perseverance!" and returns Rubies smile. Ruby giggles, "We're going to be drunk before Kate and Chester show up!"

Nanuet takes another drink as Jake and Ruby's cheerful mood is contagious. As he does he looks up and see Sonoma, looking as beautiful as ever, coming down the stairs and heading towards them. When she gets to the table, Nanuet comments, "My Sonoma, you were beautiful as Louise, but it is no comparison to the true Sonoma," he finishes with a blush.

The rest of the regular customers leave and Pedro puts the sign of the door reading "Closed" in English, Spanish and Dwarven. He heads off into the kitchen and a few minutes later returns with Dorita and Maggie. Dorita is carrying a large platter filled with samplings of over a dozen freshly cooked Mexican appetizers, "Did somebody say there was to be a celebration?" Dorita exclaims. Ruby jumps out of her chair and hugs Dorita. "You are the best!" Then she looks around the now empty place. "Oh but we wanted to dance too and if no one else is here..."

Back at the Lone Star, Kate went back out and approached Tom Whipple. "Does this happen often, the games running late?" Tom softly says "I asked them not to hurry if they're doing well. I can use my share of the winnings and if Job can earn enough between now and Sunday he'll also buy part of the business." Tony's game breaks up shortly thereafter and the players leave. Tony hands Tom $ 73. The only people left are at Job's table, so Tom tells Katherine "I can handle it from here if you want to go." He then tells Jeff Mills "Why don't you take over in the kitchen and let soldier-boy escort Mrs. Kale home."

"His name is Chester Martin," Kate laughed. "Well, I hope Job does well, then. He'd be an excellent partner for Maggie." She took off her apron and emptied the tip cups, putting the money into her purse. As she was putting on her hat Chester came out of the kitchen. They said their good-nights, and Chester politely offered his arm to escort Katherine back to the El Parador. "Nice night for a walk. Right, Mrs. Kale?" "Yes, quite clear. Although it never seems to rain here."

They walk out into the cool night. He says, "It looks like Adair is holding off on his revenge for last night. I hope we can stop him so no one gets hurt. But moving onto sunnier topics, what are you three going to do with your land? Mine it like Mr. Cook? If you don't mind my saying--with my vast experience in the industry--none of you look much like miners."

She replies, "And you would be right. No, we're going to ranch it. It's what my husband and I had planned to do once we got settled here, and I see no reason not to go on with that plan. We seem to have collected a few loose horses and even cattle, but we're going to start small with sheep. There seems to be a land rush on, and we anticipate Promise City will grow and there should be a market for the meat." He replies, "Wise thinking. It seems all of you are very business-minded. That's very admirable."

They arrived at the El Parador in only a few minutes to the sounds of laughter. "Looks like the party is started. And you're to celebrate with us. I just need to run upstairs, and I'll be right back down," she said as they stepped inside. Chester looks surprised. "Thank you for the invitation. You folks barely know me. That's dreadfully nice." She says, "Mr. Martin. You have protected us, been shot at with us, and spent a very long night in the Lone Star's kitchen. I think you should celebrate with us as well."

Kate!" Ruby exclaimed as she entered the building. Ruby runs over to Kate and gives her a big hug. "I am SO glad you are here now can we really start the party. I hope you don't mind we had a few drinks while we were waiting..." "Of course I don't mind. Give me just a minute to run upstairs and put away my purse. I don't want to lose it." She kissed Ruby's cheek and hurried up the stairs. In her room she tucked away her purse and hat, then ran over to Mr. Gonzales room to ask him if he would please put her hair back up the way he had earlier. "It wasn't appropriate for the saloon. But it was so lovely, I'd like it up for our party here."

Chester stands in the doorway, with a hurt look on his face. "Ahem. Don't I get a welcome, too?" "Oh!" Ruby says blushing, "You are so right! I am sorry Chet," As she comes over to him and gives him and big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Does that make up for my thoughtlessness?" Once Kate and Chester have entered Pedro locks the front door. Sonoma takes a seat at the piano and says "I can play you some dance music." She begins with some Tango-style music. Pedro tells Jake "Follow our lead" and he pulls Dorita out onto the dance floor and demonstrates that a pair of four-century old wood elves* are still young at heart.

Jake does as he is told and pulls Ruby out onto the dance floor. They try to copy the graceful movements of the wood elves but even with their dexterity they can not come close. Later they would blame their failure on all the drinks. Still, they dance around laughing and enjoying themselves.

He tells her "watch my hand" he then makes a gesture holding up his right hand with the thumb and first two fingers extended and then turns the hand in a semi-circle motion. He has her repeat it. He then tells her "Do that again, saying the worlds 'Mai poina'. That's the Hawaiian phrase meaning 'Don't Forget'. "

She does as instructed and feels her hair moving back into place as he had made it earlier even though he is standing on the other side of the room. He tells her "The magic is in the hair clip itself. It is the same magic that Sonoma and I both used earlier to make ourselves appear human. Currently all your clip does is the hair style and color change. We can later modify it to change any other physical feature or clothing that you'd like."

"Thank you. And thank you for coming to the Lone Star tonight. It was nice to have you there, even if you weren't quite yourself." She reached up and touched the clip. "Hopefully I won't have need to disguise myself often and be able to use this only for beauty’s sake. I hope you'll come downstairs for a while, it wouldn't seem right without you. It seems to be only our little circle in the Cantina. I must hurry back down now, Ruby was impatient for me to join them."

She hurried back out of Mr. Gonzales room, then slowed to walk down the stairs. Ruby and Jake were dancing in a poor but lively imitation of Dorita and Pedro. Katherine smiled and took a seat at the table where Dorita and Maggie had set out some food. She hadn't really eaten since lunch, and suddenly she was famished.

Manuel Gonzales arrives just as Sonoma is finishing up the song. He laughs and exclaims "Well done my little bird, but I don't think the youngsters could keep up. Here let me take a hand at that, I think you have someone waiting for you as well." The older man takes a seat at the piano and begins to play a well-known waltz by Johann Strauss. Dorita and Pedro return to the dance floor.

Nanuet waits for Manuel and Sonoma's conversation to finish and then makes his way over to the shapely wood elf. "I have missed you since dinner." he says, "I seem to be missing you whenever we aren't together." He leads Sonoma out to the dance floor and watching Pedro and Dorita attempts to dance with Sonoma. The alcohol has taken affect but he seems to at least keep from stepping on Sonoma's toes.

"This land purchase may be a big step for us. It is our chance at a future. I wanted to say thanks again for handling things at the office. Anyway, enough talk about business..." He pulls Sonoma closer and lifts her off her feet while twirling around. He manages to spin a few times while Sonoma smiles and then his feet get tangled and the two collapse to the ground both howling with laughter. They embrace and kiss deeply.

Kate continues to eat and looks over to her mentor, having not realized that he could play the piano. She then notices that he isn't, he is just moving his hands back and forth in the air above the keys. Kate picked up one of Dorita's appetizers and wandered over to the piano while she nibbled. "You can do almost anything, can't you?" she smiled as she watched the others whirl slowly around the dance floor. "This is one of my favorite pieces." He replies "I know, you played it here a short while ago." He laughs and says "Actually, you're really the one playing it right now. My spell is just duplicating your previous performance. I have no idea how to play a piano."