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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 2814880" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter Seven, “The Cattleman’s Association ”, Wednesday, May 24th, 1882, 6:15 P.M. Jake sees the ranchers walking together by the intersection of Fremont and South, with them then turning west onto South Street. By the time Jake reaches that intersection they have already walked by the Promise City Hotel & Cafe and are continuing westward on the street. Jake calls to them, "Mr. Shaw, Mr. Morand, hold on a moment!" They stop at the intersection of South and Allan and wait for Jake to catch up with them. "Walk with us Mr. Cook," Emery Shaw states as he and his companion continue walking westward. Jake nods and follows them, "I wanted to ask you gentlemen about your plans regarding Promise City. If you do not mind me saying so, I rather respect your opinions and judgment. We may not always see eye to eye, but I would rather have you two involved in the running of Promise City than," Jake coughs, "ahem, let us just say a number of others." They continue on until the pass Condon’s Bank, stopping in front of the former Indian Head Saloon. Emery Shaw gets out a key and unlocks the door, gesturing for the others to go inside. "Welcome Mr. Cook to the new Cattleman's Association," he states. "You want to know our plans for Promise City, we plan to be an active part of this new community." Jake grins broadly, "That is good news. I hope the association headquarters is a dry location, I would much rather have you celebrating you successes after the meetings at the Lucky Lady.” Forest Morand says, "I'm sorry to say that it probably will be, since our third partner is Anse King." Emery says, "Yes, it was high time that the Lazy-S, Bar-W and Rocking-H joined forces. If we had done this previously we might have been able to stop with Cowboy Gang on our own instead of having to wait for Wyatt Earp to come to our rescue." “After all we do have the golden voice of Ruby West." Jake chuckles. "There's that too," Emery laughs, "Quite a looker that Ruby. If you hadn't snatched her up first I would have." "If she turns out to be the death of me then you can have you chance, but short of that I guess I am a lucky fellow." Jake rubs his beard, "Anse King, huh, seems like you men have your work cut out for you. Any chance of someone making trouble or making it difficult for the ranches, mines or other outlying folks to join up or not? Do you expect any problems in this first part of drawing the map?" Morand says, "Anse isn't so bad, a lot more reasonable than that wife of his. He's concerned mostly about just running his ranch and finding enough things to keep that son of his busy." Shaw says, "Just so he leaves my daughters alone, something about that boy never sat right with me." Morand says, "I'll have to talk to my brother and Seawell about the mine, but I imagine we'll want to be part of the town too. As for the Cattlemen's association, we'll be happy to let the smaller legitimate ones join up. There are a few however that we suspect were just fronts for the Cowboy Gang to pass off their rustled cattle. Those we won't want anything to do with." Jake continues to rub his beard, "You had an rustler problems of late?" "Not since you put Johnny Ringo into the grave," Morand states. Jakes says, "All in all I would say the climate is promising. Let me know if I can be of any service, Mr. Shaw, I feel like I owe you one. I have to get to work now, I'm dealing tonight. I hope to see you gentlemen at the Lady sometime soon." Emery Shaw says, "I'll stop by later tonight. Jake departs, leaving the two ranchers alone to discuss the future. At the Lucky Lady Nanuet tells Minerva, "I am proud that you held you temper. I know it is a monumental struggle for you to hold your tongue on certain occasions. Sounds like things will remain interesting around these parts one way or another. It will be interesting to hear what the others have to say about this. I figure Ruby won't care one way or another, Jake will be figuring out the scenario that benefits his interests best and Kate will be looking to fight the good fight, make sure that everyone who deserves a say has one. She helped me see that point awhile back when we were buying the property for the ranch.” She smiles and he says with a wink, “Let me get you that drink. The wine is back at the house, that will have to wait for later for a more intimate moment" as he walks back to the bar. It is still early on the Wednesday night. Job Kane is around this evening. He usually heads up to Wilcox to visit with his lady friend on Wednesday and Thursdays but has stuck around this week for some unknown reason. He and Niles are seated together over at one of the table sharing together a supper made by Maria while Niles updates Job as to what transpired at the meeting. When her Indian companion returns Minerva states, “I do believe that some of your endless patience is rubbing off on me, Darling," she grins broadly. "See what a good influence you have upon me? Perhaps you would be willing to continue to influence me later on this evening?" she giggles, running her fingers up his arm. "But for now I think that that a little socializing is in order. I would like to hear what opinions others hold about this incorporation. It is prudent to know who our allies are, who remains to be swayed and whom we must oppose." He says, “Ok, socializing for you, work for me. And yes, we'll save some more influencing for later on." Thom wanders downstairs. "I'll catch up with you later, let me know if you find out anything good with your socializing. I am going to go see what Thom is up to." Nanuet makes his way over to the giant man. "Hey there Thom, everything OK? You seem lost." Thom smiles his innocent smile. "No, Thom's not lost. I was just looking for the doggies, but I think Thom should be working now. I like working for Mr. Jake and Ruby they are so much nicer than Mr. Greely was. I miss all the pretty girls who worked for Mr. Greely though, they were always nice to Thom too." Nanuet smiles at the simple man and nods in agreement. "Well Thom you behave and don't do things to make people mad and the nice people will be nice to you. You can't trust everybody, but most people around here are good people. I like working for Jake and Ruby too. They treat me well. Why don't you see if Maria needs more wood for the stove." Thom nods and does as he is told. The short walk back to the El Parador passed quickly and Kate went inside looking for Ginnie and dinner. Before she sat down to eat, Kate found Pedro and took him aside for a moment. "What did you think of that meeting?" she asked. Pedro replies "What is to think? Even if Deputy Barker does convince the men to allow women to vote they will never allow non-humans to. Right now I am considered an equal with those in the Merchant's Association. After next Monday I will lose my voice." "Not if I have anything to say about it," Kate said embraced him. "I'm not sure if that's much comfort, but I intend to fight for the right of every person in this town to make their voice heard, human, elf, dwarf, halfling, half-orc or ogre. We have minds to think with and hearts to feel with, what does the package matter?" Pedro replies to Kate, "I know that is how you feel. That is one of many reasons why Dorita and I consider you family." She replies, "How did I get so lucky as to land here that day in January? Just don't give up hope. We can't let them win that easily. Now I need to eat something, and ask Dorita if Conrad's been in yet. Is there anything I can do for you?" Pedro says, "Try these". He hands her a bowl of a baked corn chip snack and a small bowl of salsa to dip them in. He says, "Conrad has not been around since this morning. Dorita tells me that your family will be here the day after tomorrow. Are you planning to go to Tombstone to meet them?" "Mmm," Kate held up her hand as she finished the bite of the snack she'd just eaten. "That's very good. I hadn't thought to go get them, the telegram says they'll take the stage with General Pleasants and Mr. Caudell's family. Did you need something from Tombstone? I have a day to decide if I want to go meet them." Pedro replies, "Oh no, I never go near there. Elves have never been treated all that well there, if I ever do need something I send Grant to get it." Kate laid her hand on Pedro's arm and was silent for a moment. "I've not been treated well there either. Let us both stay here and make this town one where we're welcome. I think I'll go upstairs and take dinner with Mr. Gonzales. I'll be sure to let you know any tidbits that come my way." She turned and went up the stairs to her teacher's public room. It was only a few steps to the spot on the wall where she spoke a few words and made a gesture that revealed the door to his real residence. "Grandpere, are you here?" Kate notices that the Great Hall of the mansion has now been remodeled, with the pool and fountain now considerably larger and filled with fish of various sizes and colors. Gonzales comes out of the library holding a book in his hand, "Hello Katherine, how nice to see you my little sandpiper. How are you today?" "I'm well," she said and kissed him on the cheek. She got out the telegram and handed it to him. "I've been busy making arrangements for everyone's arrival, and then there was a meeting about the incorporation of the town. I'll have a very busy time trying to sway people to my way of thinking. After you tell me all about how you are, perhaps we could have a lesson? Lately I feel as if... well, as if the spells I learn for one day don't fill me up. If that makes any sense." Gonzales replies, "You and Ginnie appear to have that in common, the lessons never appear to be long enough for her. I am so glad we made that trip to Boston three weeks back, she's been so much happier ever since then." Kate sat down on the edge of the now larger fountain. "This is lovely. She does seem happier. I'm afraid I didn't get to spend the time with her in Boston I'd have liked too, but I think she feels more part of our family now. I don't want the rest of this year to be a hard time for her, constantly doubting her place. And no lesson is ever long enough. But what I'm trying to say is, I think I'm ready for slightly more powerful spells. The first ones you taught me, even if I exhaust every spell I have for a day, I feel as if I had more energy, where as before I felt exhausted." He says, "Well, I'm really not up to doing a lesson right now. I was working with Morgana for much of the morning and that about wore me out. Why don't we just sit and chat for a while." "Of course." Kate took one of her favorite spots sitting on the floor next to her teacher's chair. Another half-hour passes as Kate fills him in on the details of the Town Hall meeting. She concludes "I know I'll have allies when it comes to women being able to vote. I'm more worried about being a lone voice in support of all races voting. And I'm not sure how much influence I have or how far I can push it." He replies, “The lone voice? It strikes me that the main voice in town these days is the Promise City Mirror, edited by the halfling Chumbley and published by the half-elf Morgana. You may be less lonely than you think." She says, "I hope so. I'll have to stop by and see Mr. Chumbley in the next couple days and see what we can come up with. I've never met Morgana." She stopped and laughed. "Janet Fly was trying to get me to come to dinner at the boarding house soon to meet her gentlemen boarders who 'would be sure to take an interest when I'm ready to be courted.'" He states, "Well, that was certainly nice of her. Seeing as how you and she are next-door neighbors you may want to take her up on that. I'm sure that you and the half-orc Coolie Fagan would make a wonderful couple." Kate kept laughing with the easy laugh that had only returned to her over the last few weeks. "Mr. Fagan is a gentleman, and probably more suited to me than many of the other men in town." Her voice became more serious as she went on. "I intend to take her up on it. She said today too that now that I have a respectable job I would stop being forced to associate with certain people. Since I want to get along with my neighbors, I think I'll just have to make them love me so much that when the little one makes himself known they just can't get on without me no matter how much they disapprove. I don't intend to change for them at any rate." Gonzales says, "That is wise. It is always good to get along well with your neighbors. I believe that the Condon Brothers could probably use a reminder of that. Two years ago they were close friends with us and all of the other elves who live on this side of town. Their house was right next-door, where your Mr. Booth now lives and they dined here every evening. But as the town grew up they've gravitated towards the more human and their prejudices." "I don't know them well, but after what happened with Jake and Chester..." She shook her head. "They seem to blow along wherever the wind pushes them, ingratiating themselves where it seems to make their lives easiest. But perhaps inside them they remember their friends. I might have to remind them." Gonzales comments that he hasn't eaten anything since breakfast so should probably head down to the Cantina. She replies, "I'm hungry, as usual. Come have dinner with me before I run off for work tonight." The two left the fine rooms and went downstairs into the busy Cantina for one of Dorita's good dinners. After the meal Gonzales says that he needs to go take a nap, that the last few days have been long ones for him and that it is starting to catch up with him. Kate said good night to her teacher, then peeked in the kitchen where she'd thought she'd seen Ginnie once or twice during dinner. She was indeed there, and Dorita was glad to let her take the question-some girl with her over to the Lucky Lady. Following her dinner with the Judge Ruby takes her time walking over to the Lucky Lady. She kept running though their conversations over and over in her mind. She was going to have to speak with Jake to really make sure he was still ok with her seeing the Judge. She enters the Lucky Lady where her puppies greet her at the door. She stops to play with them for a few moments before heading to the bar for a drink. As she is slowly enjoying her whiskey, lost in her thoughts, a particular thought pops to the front. "Oh!" she says out loud to no one then looks around for Niles. "I quite forgot Mr. Blake was coming back around dinner time. Did he?" Niles says, "No, but the announcements by the Judge seem to have distracted most of the folks in town. I'm guessing that he'll drop by later." Ruby says, "I know what you mean about being distracted. I guess it's not all that important for the moment. We still haven't even asked Jeff if he's interested. But we should get prepared, I bet we'll be busy tonight. What do you think about all this election stuff?" He states, "Too soon to say, but incorporation might be a good idea. I was talking Dave Melany over at the Western Union office. He's getting sick and tired of having to have telegrams travel back and forth to Tombstone by stagecoach. He says that it now takes longer to get word from here to Tombstone than from Tombstone Arizona to Paris France. According to Melany there's a Territorial Law that all incorporated towns have to be able to send telegrams to the capital in Prescott. So if this thing passes then the Territory will be required to finally finish putting in the telegraph lines." Ruby replies, "That's very interesting. Well, I guess it is very interesting to those who would get telegraphs. Eventually progress even has to make it's way here to little ol' Promise City. Did they start bringing the telegraph here already?" Niles says "Oh, they started to do that a year-and-a-half ago, when they started laying railroad tracks. The telegraph lines were going in parallel the rails. But the tracks only made it five miles east of Tombstone when the railroad changed their mind and stopped. Western Union had already set up their office here under the assumption that the line would soon be finished, Melany's basically been stranded here ever since with only about an hour's worth of work to do each day, passing out the telegrams that the stagecoach delivers here. Spends the rest of his time helping out Steve Lord at the Alhambra. "Poor guy, getting stuck like that. Well, maybe now they'll finish it, like you said." Ruby takes another sip of her whiskey. "Hey, do you know why Job is here tonight? Isn't he usually up in Wilcox with his girl on Wednesdays?" Niles replies, "Yeah he is. I asked and he said that he doesn't want to talk about it. I assume that they had some sort of a fight. Ah, young love." He smiles at two of Tony Lucky's players who have just walked in and sit down at the usual table. He turns back to Ruby and asks, "How many spare rooms do we have available at the moment? My nephew Bert will be here any day now, I could have him share my room with him if necessary. My friend George Kilgore will need a place too, but I suppose I can ask the Milfords to let him stay at the Double Eagle." She answers, “Well Niles, I think we have at least three. One on the third floor, the one your liquor was in, and my old room. Maybe you want to move in there? We had that space we used for an office, that little separate room, but it would be perfect for your nephew. That way you could be together but still have some privacy. If your friend George is going to help with Jeff's job he should stay here anyway. Of course, the addition will be done soon and then we'll have plenty of rooms." "Which reminds me, have you thought of anyone who might be good for us to add to our staff, someone who has some idea how to run a hotel?" she laughs. "Plus I've been looking for a faro dealer, have you heard anyone who can deal?" Niles says, "The only one I know of is Mad Dog Mike Moore, but I don't think I'd trust the guy. He used to deal over at the Indian Head, which got shut down for being housing those guys who robbed the gun shop." She answers, "Well, have to keep our eyes and ears open, we would want someone trustworthy. But we can look, especially now since Jake got that beautiful table for his birthday. At some point I want to go over the schedule for the play. I would like to do more than one performance. I was thinking at least three, maybe Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. The evenings could be at 7:00 P.M. so it won't take away too much card time. Maybe the profits from the Sunday show could help benefit the school or something. Don't say anything about that yet though, I'm not sure." Kate arrives at the Lucky Lady, surprised to see Job Kane there, but it was an odd day all around. She stepped over to the bar. "Good evening, Ruby. Mr. Hoover. I think we're a little early tonight." Ruby gets a little guilty look on her face and her eyes widen slightly at Niles. She turns to her friend and says, "Evening Kate. How did the rest of the house work go?" Kate replies, "No trouble. It was just little things, mostly. Finishing the wallpapering will have to wait for another day. If I wait until my brothers get here I can probably get them to do it for me. I saw you at the meeting. I was surprised, I didn't think you were interested." Ruby laughs, "Depends on what you're saying I am interested in. If you meant seeing fireworks... that I'm interested in. As long as I'm not the target anyhow. If you mean the completely boring and utterly useless idea of the election then you're right." Kate says, "We're just going to have to agree to disagree there. But I bet you wish they'd let Helen Barker draw her gun then. There weren't too many fireworks today. Those will come later. Pedro's feeling discouraged. He has a voice in the Merchant's Association and he doesn't want to lose that." Ruby replies, "Agree to disagree on what? As for Pedro, I bet he feels pretty helpless. We already know how a very vocal part of the community feels about non-humans. I don’t' know how possible it would be for him to get a vote." Kate responds, "Disagree on the uselessness of elections. I'm not sure either, but I'm going to do my best to make it happen. Judge Isby said he was actually glad Bill Watkins opened his mouth today. It will help those less vocal people get motivated to make sure him and people who share his views don't run amok." Ruby says, "Well Kate, how are you going to feel if you do all that work to fight for what is right and Hamilton Fisk gets into office because he has more money than anyone else?" Kate answers, "Like running him down on my horse. But this is happening whether we like it or not. Ignoring it won't change the outcome. Taking action might. I'll take might over won't any day." Ruby replies, "I'm not ignoring anything Kate. I just don't care. I've had too much of back stabbing lying politics in my life and come to realize that the rich just get their way, no matter what it says on paper. My experience has never been different so why should I think this one would be?" She then adds, "That being said, I had dinner with the Judge. Actually, I want to talk to you about that but I don't know now is the right time." She glances around the Saloon looking for Jake. "I think I'll have the opportunity to help you in some way with the play. Or at least Jake seems to think so." Kate says, "Just let me know when and I'll be glad to listen," Kate said, a bit confused. "Don't compromise your play though, I know how important it is to you. You're going to have so much fun with that play. I hope you'll let me know if there's any way I can help you with it when I'm not teaching." Ruby answers, "Of course I will! But I know you are really busy these days so I expect you won't have much time to participate. But we have a musical director now so soon she'll be casting the little orchestra, if you want to play the piano. Of course, you can always give me your opinions on costumes too, although I know we have different tastes in dresses," she says laughing while looking over Kate then looking over herself. "The other thing, well, it's about seeing the Judge and I don't want to talk about it if Jake is here, you know? I don't know where he is." Kate says, "Well, these dinners with the Judge are more along the lines of business meetings, aren't they? Why would that bother Jake? Now costumes, that depends on whether you want to be faithful to the time period the story happens in, or if you want to go beyond those boundaries some. Remember Juliet is fourteen and the protected daughter of a wealthy family. Her dresses wouldn't look like yours," Kate laughed. "The dinners... well... they were supposed to be and now I'm not so sure about the Judge... and if Jake is being honest about him not caring. I mean, I know I have to ask him. I just...let's just wait to talk about it. As for the costumes, I mean, they should be close to the time period, right? And suitable for family audiences. i know something about how Juliet feels being all protected and such. I can't stand high necks and all that crap. I have to show off some of my best assets, right?" she smiles innocently. "After all, some customers are coming to see me."</blockquote>

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