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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 2875668" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter Forty, “Arrival of the Nephew”, Sunday, May 28th, 1882, 12:00 P.M.Nakomo is happy to see Minerva has returned. He indicates that he is hungry and also that he is worried about what is going to happen to him. "You involved yourself with some very bad men, Nakomo. I am doing what I can to save you from sharing their fate. You must cooperate with the law if I am to be successful. Tell me what part you played in all of this?"Nakomo says to Minerva, "I just took chickens, you got most of them back, we only ate two, we were hungry." He pauses and says, "And I already told you about Prescott, I ran instead of bringing the weapons into the room with Pakesso."  She replies, "It is good that you did, If you had not you would surly find yourself hanging at the end of a rope. Will you cooperate when the time comes?"  He replies, "Yes....Nanuet is all that I have left. My mother is dead and my human father is in prison."Minerva replies, "I am sorry. I know what it is like to be alone." She says more brightly, "but you are no longer alone. You have Nanuet and you have me. Can I trust you, Nakomo? Do I have your word as a Yavapai that you will stand and be brave?"  Nakomo replies, "Yes Priestess, I will not try to leave."She looks at him closely to determine his sincerity. "We will not handcuff you when we are home, but it is imperative that you do not leave the house or go near the windows. There are men out there" she motions to the street beyond the window "Who want you dead. If they should find out that you are here.." she leaves the rest of the thought to hang in the air between them. Nanuet will not be here much of the day. The owners of the saloon that he works at are out of town and their partner was murdered yesterday defending the prisoners. I will stay with you for now but I must go to the wake tonight. Perhaps if we can disguise you, you can help me plant my garden in the back yard. Would you like that?"  He replies, "No, I will stay inside. I told Nanuet that I would. I will keep my word to him and not go outside."Minerva gives Nakomo a few simple household chores to complete she leaves the windows open to the back yard and goes outside to continue planting the seedlings that she will use for medicinal purposes.After the church services Ginnie pulls together the kids that she has been using as an information net. "I need someone to check out the wake and service for the man that died that is going to be over at the palace. We need to keep our ears open and I need to know whatever you hear there is no way I'm going to let us get caught in a crossfire war between adults who don't know better than to see people for what they are. I need you to do what we do best stay invisible to the adults keep them thinking they are speaking over our heads and let them talk. Keep me updated on whatever you hear or see."Ginnie notices the Morand Cartage Stagecoach from Wilcox arrive. Lately Job Kane has made it a point to be out to greet those on it and invite them to have a drink at the Lucky Lady, but with Niles Hoover's death and with Ruby and Jake both out of town he is busy managing the saloon instead. Five people exit the stage. There first two are a middle-aged married couple, a plump man and skinny woman. The style and pattern of the woman's attire resembles clothing traditionally associated with Eastern Europe, perhaps Poland, Prussia or Slovakia. Next is a young male human rancher who is little more than a teenager himself. He has a rusty gun in a holster on his belt and is wearing brand new leather chaps over old torn blue jeans. His shirt is also old and worn while the white cowboy hat atop his head looks to be brand new as well. The final two are an older man and a boy. The man looks to be in his early to mid forties. His dark brown hair is beginning to show steaks of gray. He has blue eyes and a mustache. Most of his clothing is black. He has a pair of revolvers on his belt. The boy looks to be maybe seven or eight and bears no resemblance to the man. He is standing behind the man and clearly apprehensive about being here. He has a chubby face with his dark hair parted to the side. His clothing are plain but presentable and his shoes have been polished recently.Ginnie heads over to the stage and smiles and curtsey to the people coming off the stage. Making eye contact with the man in black first she looks at each person smiling at the young boy behind him. "Welcome to Promise City I hope you enjoy your stays. If it is food or drink you seek you may wish to head to the Lucky Lady a respectable establishment that would fit your needs. My name is Ginnie if I can be of any assistance please let me know." She repeats the message in Greek in hopes that the woman who is in the polish dress may know some of that from attending church services.The man with the woman says to Ginnie in a heavy accent "Hotel?" The younger man says in a thick Wyoming drawl "You say I can get a drink at this Lucky Lady?"   The older man speaks with a Texas accent and says, "Actually, the Lucky Lady is just where I want to go. Lead on little lady."   "Follow me please" then she looks at the people with the accent "I will bring you to a good hotel after I bring them to the Lucky Lady"They walk a block south on Fremont from Morand Cartage and turn right onto Main heading towards the Lucky Lady.  Ginnie starts small talking the group trying to keep the new rancher from dominating the conversation and trying to establish not only a rapport with the adults but seeing if she can get the boy to trust her also  The older man is quiet as is the boy. The plump man says, "Is hotel far? this hot day." As anticipated, the young man does try to dominate the conversation. He indicates that his name is Sam Perkins and that he's been punching cattle up in Wyoming since he was twelve.Ginnie watches the way the man and boy move trying to pick up clues from their dress and the cut of the clothing she checks the tooling on the leather to see if she recognizes either makers names or specific designs.  From the telltale clues she can tell that he is used to riding horses. His clothing gives no real signs. She then notes the well worn emblem CSA on the man's backpack, the acronym for the Confederate States of America.Ginnie states, “The hotel is not far but we need to go to the Lucky Lady first tell me about where you come from your accent is different than many I have heard before.”  He says, "We are from Cochise, it great industrial place. I engineer, make great steel. Cochise great city, greatest in region beyond Budapest." It sounds like you really loved the city you came from why did you decide to leave and head out here? I know that they have some major building and the ore here is good are you coming to establish yourself here?   "I am here for a job. Count von Zeppelin offer me position at his new balloon factory. Have you heard of it?" She looks directly at the quiet man "Are you looking for a particular person..." in a near whisper so only he can hear "soldier?"  He replies, "Yes, an old friend. Just show us to the saloon little lady."  Ginnie continues to walk the group to the Lucky Lady on the way she spots one of the kids and signals them to run ahead to let Job know the group is coming. She says, "I have heard of the possibility that there is some building going on and if that doesn't work out for you there are plenty of mines that can always use a good engineer for figuring out shoring up the places. So what should I call you and your missus?”   She indicates to Ginnie that her name is Helene....Helene Should. They arrive at the doors of the Lucky Lady. Ginnie gives a nod to Job and waits for just a minute to see if the solider is going to cause trouble.   The men enter. Job Kane obviously knows the young man when he calls out "Sam, great to see you." Thom stops the older man to take his weapons. She looks at the couple "Do you have any problems with non-humans?" I need to know before I figure out where the best place might be for me to bring you"   Ginnie turns her attention back to the couple and he says, "No, no problem. I work with many dwarves before."  She replies, “Ah then I have the perfect place to bring you just a warning though with the fire in Tombstone there really has been a stretch to find rooms available but I'll so my best to get you in and the food at the El Parador is the best you'll find in town. Ginnie has gotten no more than twenty feet away with the couple when the normally calm but now very panic-stricken Job Kane charges out into the street to stop her. He exclaims, "Ginnie, quick, go find Kate or Minerva or somebody, I need some help..."   Ginnie stops in her tracks and runs back into the saloon "What do you need?" she scans the floor looking for someone who has been hurtHe stops her from running too far and says, "Nobody is hurt, I just don't know what to say to these people. That man, he's looking for his friend Niles Hoover. He says the boy is Nile's nephew, come to spend the summer with him."Ginnie states, "Oh crap, okay settle the man down with a drink some food and start talking war stories, he's quiet but he was in the confederate army, you have something to start him with that. Get the kid a soda and some food he'll down whatever you put in front of him cause he's a little overwhelmed. I'll go try to grab Minerva Ma'am Kate is out on the ranch. “Sir, Ma'am I really need to get the local priestess however I can bring you to the El Parador as soon as I return.” With that she sprints towards Minerva's house where she finds her in the back yard.   “Minerva, we have a problem. The stage that just showed up brought in Niles Hoover's nephew and the kid doesn't know his uncle is dead yet he's suppose to spend the summer with him and Job is beside himself trying to figure out what to tell them. Ma'am Kate is at the ranch so your up good luck. This is the kind of thing you preacher types do right? Tell family the person is dead?”Minerva stands and sighs. "Oh, the poor chicko." She brushes at the dirt on the knees of her gown. "Si Ginnie, that is indeed the kind of thing that us preacher types do. I must say though, This is not my favorite part of the job" How old is the boy? Is he traveling alone?"Ginnie replies, “He's seven maybe eight and seems a little overwhelmed by the trip itself real quiet and so was the man who was with him a Confederate solider used to riding horses from the look of his clothing. Looked to me like the kid was being made to make an impression you don't usually shine shoes to meet an uncle unless there is an issue and between the quiet and the shoes I'd say that someone was planning on dumping the kid here for at least a while if not permanentlyMinerva says, "Gracias Ginnie. You are quite perceptive. Come let us go and see what we can do to give comfort."    Ginnie says, "Sorry, can't, I'm bringing some folks over to the El Parador to get settled in. Good luck." She then scurries off.   Minerva goes into the house and explains the situation to Nakomo. She changes her cloths and tells Nakomo that because she gave her word to the Marshall she will have to handcuff him until she returns. She does so and then makes her way to the Lucky Lady in search of a quiet eight year old boy with shiny shoes.Nanuet had still felt uneasy after the previous days events. He woke early and snuck out to the grove, awaiting the sunrise and said many prayers to the symbol of his people as she made the climb above the horizon. He is stirred by the church bells calling people to worship but decides it is best to stay away this day. He works in the grove, regaining his strength from the earth, plants and creatures of the grove. Eventually hunger gets the best of him and he decides to head back to Minerva's cottage. Once there he notices that Minerva must have been working outside in the garden but left in a hurry.  He enters the cottage and unlocks the handcuffs on Nakomo. "How are you today cousin? Where did Minerva go?"  He replies, "A girl talked to her out in the garden, she asked her to go to the Lucky Lady."Nanuet says, "And how are you doing? I am sure yesterday's events have frightened you. The best thing to do is be brave and tell the truth when asked. Have you thought about what you would like to do after the judge decides your fate? Hoping of course that your sentence is minimal."Minerva arrives at the Lucky Lady. She finds the older man seated at the table with the boy. The man introduces himself as George Kilgore, an old friend of Niles. The boy is introduced as Niles' nephew Burt.   "Buena Dias Senor Kilgore. and Howdy to you to Senor Burt!" Minerva smiles disarmingly and hold out her hand for the boy to shake. She bends at the knee's to put herself at his level.  "I am Senorita Minerva. I am a friend of your Uncle's. So Senor Bert tell me, where do you hail from and to what do we owe the honor of your visit to our fine town?"The boy looks up a the Priestess but does not speak. George Kilgore says, "He's from West Branch, Iowa. His father settled there and his father and one uncle stayed but Niles wanted to go on to bigger and better things. Burt's father Jessie died two years back. Each of the three kids is off spending the summer with a different Uncle while their mother is away at school, learning to become a Priestess."Minerva continues to keep the conversation light. "So you have come to be a cowboy, have you? I have a friend who has a ranch outside of town. Would you like to visit it while you are here? Perhaps she will teach you how to lasso cattle. She may even have a horse that you could ride. She is a very good teacher." Not wanting to stay at the Lucky Lady overly long for fear that someone might mention the demise of Niles Hoover, she looks up at Senor Kilgore.  "Senor, It is important that I speak with you privately. Let us walk over to my house and get Senor Burt here a bite to eat so that we can talk," she says ruffling the boys hair. She brings them to her house, making light conversation about the various buildings in town along the way and settles the boy in the kitchen with some of Stanley Barker's famous cookies and a glass of milk before taking Nanuet aside to explain what is going on. "Could you entertain the boy while I explain the situation to his uncle?" Getting no reply from Nakomo, Nanuet is glad to see Minerva return to break the awkward silence.   "It would be a pleasure to spend some time with the young man." Nanuet says. He heads back into the kitchen snagging a cookie for himself and asking the boy to accompany him outside where he spends a few minutes showing him the various signs of flora and fauna in the garden area.      The boy looks up at Nanuet and says, "That is very interesting Sir. Are you native to this region?"  "My people do live fairly close by yes." Nanuet replies to the curious boy. She takes Senor Kilgore into her office, closes the door and motions for him to sit. She looks at him compassionately "There is no easy way to say what must be said Senor Kilgore so I will be direct. There was a gunfight yesterday. A lynching mob attempted to take the law into their own hands. The Marshall tried to reason with the crowd but he was unable to calm them. There was gunfire and I am sorry to say that Senor Hoover was fatally wounded trying to defend the prisoners."Kilgore looks shocked at the news. He mutters, "That...that's awful. Poor Burt, first his father and now his favorite Uncle."   Minerva sits behind her desk, a look of dismay on her face "His favorite Uncle? "Madeira." she mutters under her breath. "It is a terrible thing that a boy of is tender years should suffer two such great loses. Are you close to Burt?"   Kilgore replies, "No I'm not, just met him last week. I knew Niles and his brother Jesse. Niles asked me to bring him here, felt Burt was too you to travel alone."  She asks, "Would you like to use my office to tell him?"  He replies, "Hell no, let's tell him together. Having a woman along might help."   She says, "Senor Hoover was a very good and brave man. There will be many who feel his lose. We are having a service this evening. Will you bring Burt?"   Kilgore says, "Yes, we will both be there. Can you tell us where a good place to stay in this town would be? He obviously won't be staying with Niles as planned." Minerva thinks for a moment. "How long do you plan to stay? There may be a room available at the Comstock house. Bea is a very sweet lady. Very nurturing. It may be what the boy needs right now.. Or you could probably stay in Senor Hoover's room, but the other owners are away and I do not know how they would feel about that and a saloon is not a very wholesome place for a young boy. With the current political tensions it may not be a safe place either. she pauses. "Perhaps, Nanuet will know the best course of action. Why don't we speak to Burt first, and then we can discuss your accommodations." She leads him to the kitchen and hears the voices of Nanuet and the boy drifting through the back window. She looks out and is pleasantly surprised to see that they have their heads together and are deep in conversation. They are kneeling on the ground and the boy is avidly listening as Nanuet discusses the properties of a certain plant. "he will make a good papa someday" she thinks and smiles as her love for him momentary overwhelms her.   She steps out onto the porch and meets his eye. "Nanuet, could you bring Burt into the house. It is time to talk."Nanuet hears Minerva's voice calling them into the kitchen and escorts the boy there. He looks Minerva directly in the eye trying to judge the outcome of her talk with the older man. He turns back to the young boy and says, "You should probably have a seat."   Burt stays close to Nanuet. He does not sit at the table until Nanuet does and then chooses the seat closest to the Indian. The boy's guardian sits on the opposite side of the table, signaling that he would like the Priestess to take charge of the situation.  Minerva sits in the chair on the other side of the boy and faces him. She notes the warily look in his eyes and prays inwardly. Children are often more accepting of death than adults. Please goddess Minerva let it be so now. She takes a deep breath and in her gentlest manner says. "I have some sad news to tell you, Burt." she pauses. "I know that you were looking forward to spending the summer with your Uncle Niles, but you will be unable to stay with him. He is no longer here. The gods have called him home to Olympus." She sits quietly waiting for his response.  The round-faced boy looks up. With a quivering lip he stutters out "He...he's dead?"Minerva replies, "Si, I am sorry."  The boy lowers his head and stares at the table. He doesn't cry although his face does take on an expression of sadness. Burt then says, "He was a good man."  Minerva says, "Si, he was a very good man... and a very brave man. He died defending what is right. We must be brave now too." she says and squeezes the boy's shoulder. "But that does not mean that we cannot be sad that he is no longer with us." She looks to Nanuet, her eyes pleading for help.Nanuet eyes widen for an instant then he blinks several times. "Yes" he says putting his arm on the boy's back "Mr. Niles has moved on to the next great adventure. We will miss him, and for now it is OK to be sad that he is gone. Take comfort that he still watches over you."   Burt says, "Thank you, I think that....." He pauses in mid-sentence and then says, "I think I just saw somebody in the next room." Minerva and Nanuet both realize that is the room that Nakomo is in.  Nanuet says, "Yes, my cousin is there. There is no trouble."Minerva excuses herself and walks into the next room. She motions for Nakomo to follow her into the bedroom. She whispers, "It would be best that you stay out of sight. Your life may be in jeopardy if word gets around that you are here. Please stay in here until they leave." She leaves the room and shuts the door behind her. She walks into the pantry and prepares a snack for her guests before returning to the table.Minerva turns to the boys escort who so far has not uttered a single word. "So Senor Kilgore, What are your plans for Burt?"    Kilgore replies, "My plans for Burt? I don't have any, I was just supposed to bring him here. I'm not a family man Miss Florencia and this is more responsibility than I am prepared for. By now his mother would have already left for her church school. He does have two other Uncles but they are already burdened for the summer, each with one of his siblings. Damn, I don't know how to deal with this."Minerva places her hand on his wrist. "I apologize Senor. Now is not the time to worry about such matters. Let us find a place for you to stay while you are here in Promise City and get though the funeral. We can discuss this at a later date. If you would like me to I could speak to Bea and inquire whether or not my old room is available. Would you like Nanuet and I to accompany you to the wake this evening?"  He just nods. Nanuet looks at Minerva quizzically. "I think he already answered your question my dear. I am sure they have a lot to think about. I believe it is time for us to get ready for the wake at the Lucky Lady. I wonder when Jake and Ruby are coming back? I think someone was going to try and inform them of what happened, I am sure they would want to be here."Kilgore and Burt head over to the Comstock house and there are two adjacent rooms for Kilgore and young Burt to check into. The two change clothes, have supper at the Comstock House and then wait for Minerva to accompany them to the wake.Nanuet waits for Minerva to finish getting ready. He is unsure of how to present himself, this being his first time at a public event of this nature. He smoothes out his hair and clears his throat again, waiting for the priestess. "Minerva my love, we should really get going, I am sure they are expecting you there."Minerva comes out of the bedroom, dressed in the traditional black, with a lace scarf upon her head. "We should pick up Burt and Sr. Kilgore on the way." she crosses the room and wraps her arms around him "You were wonderful with the boy this afternoon. He is quite taken with you. Perhaps you could spend some time with him while he is here. Maybe take him out to Katherine's ranch? It is a sad thing to lose a parent and then to lose an Uncle... It is just sooo sad. " she says tears glistening in her eyes.Nanuet hugs Minerva gently, stroking her hair with a light touch. "It is sad, but death is part of life, it cannot be changed. I would enjoy spending time with him, it would give me an excuse to play as though I were young again. Now" he says straightening his arms to create some space between them so he can look into Minerva's eyes "time to dry your eyes and be the priestess. "   Nanuet leads Minerva to the Lucky Lady, stopping to pick up whomever they need to on the way.</blockquote>

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