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

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 135 ,“Paths to Future Things”, Sunday, January 15th, 1882, 5:00 A.M.:

Nanuet awakens. It is still dark outside and the sound of the rain can be hard. The fire has died out although a faint bit of red light comes from some of the coals. He looks over and makes out with his infravision the sleeping Sonoma and a short while further back the sleeping Gonzales. He then senses that he is not alone, even though Maska gave no indication of anyone else present. Nanuet looks towards the cave mouth and sees a figure standing there, the height and weight of an Apache.

Nanuet wipes his eyes. He checks again to be sure he is not seeing things. Surely the animals would have noticed someone approaching. He stands and says in Apache "Who comes to this place in the middle of the night? Who do you seek?" "It is I" his mentor Kajika states. Nanuet then notices Maska standing a few feet further back. Kajika motions for Nanuet to join him over by the mouth of the cave, where the sound of the rain will keep the others from hearing. Kajika says "I sense that you are troubled. How can I help?"

"Kajika, please come and join me, come out of the rain." Nanuet thinks about that statement. "Yes, I am troubled. I can't find where I belong in life right now. I have always known the life of a Ranger, animals have been my companion, not people. Now I have found friends, and possibly a companion." he says, looking back over his shoulder at the sleeping Sonoma. "Being who I am I am torn. Torn between a settled life in a town where I am only welcomed by few, and a life that I have always known, always alone and always moving, never settled, the life of a Ranger."

"Also, I was given this today" he says holding out the dark liquid. "I was given this and told that I have something to do with the path of the world. Hearing those words is a weight I am having trouble bearing. I have many questions and few answers. My reverie has revealed little. My wisdom has failed me." Nanuet offers Kajika a seat. "You were told that you were part of the world's path? Were you told that by one of these people?" He gestures to the still sleeping Gonzales and Sonoma.

"No, by a druid woman, Jiminez is her name. Sonoma," he points to her "is her student." After a long pause Kajika states "I am familiar with who she is. She is the most powerful of the druidic rites within a thousand miles of this place. If she felt the need to tell you that then it is probably so. What else did she say to you?"
He answers, "She explained that I was to take the liquid. I think she called it Ihuaivulu from the Andes Mountains, and mix it with the sand and put it on our weapons. She said to be careful not to touch it ourselves or put it on anything that we wanted to keep though. She also said that the Ihuaivulu did not belong here, but that it was here now.

Then when I asked her more questions about the liquid she told me that she was one of the Earth's Guardians. She said that there was going to be a changing of one of the ten earth spirits, and that the path that the world was going to take was directly dependent on me. Then she went into a trance of sorts and would no longer speak. I found out from the priest at the grove, that Sonoma was her student. She really had no other information. Does any of this mean anything to you?"

Kajika replies, "I do not think that she meant that she was one of the earth spirits, as I am familiar with the concepts of the ten earth spirits. It is said that one spirit inhabits each of the largest landmasses and oceans of the world. Some of these spirits are for good, others for evil, some for law, and some for chaos and some to maintain a balance. Even those seeking the balance may take on opposite perspectives, some seeking to maintain neutrality though the inclusion of all else and others seeking only neutrality with the exclusion of good, evil, chaos and law.

While these spirits are mortals, each living up to five hundred turns of the season. It is said that before one moves on from this realm, either from natural or from man-caused circumstances, then another will arrive take its place. What path and how you play a role in this I do not know, but I have sensed that this unnatural weather is foreshadowing of something greater." Nanuet says "No, I did not believe her to be one of the ten Earth Spirits either. Does this have anything to do with the visions that Riley is having perhaps? And how exactly is a spirit mortal, that just doesn't seem right."

Kajika answers, “The spirits each live and die although they are linked to the earth itself. While they do not directly influence the lives of the native peoples of each land they have an indirect impact. For example, the spirit of the great ocean to the east was hospitable to the Vikings, allowing them to use it safely. The creature that followed it was inhospitable to travelers, keeping people from voyaging across the oceans for its lifetime. The spirit that followed it took a different approach and the humans were permitted to travel freely across it. Whether each of those was a good, evil, lawful or chaotic act depends upon your perspective.

Another example would be the continent of Africa. It is clear that a truly evil spirit that deeply hates the native population has been in that land for many centuries, otherwise the ogres would not have become enslaved and then later colonized by the humans.”

Nanuet listens intently to his mentor's words. He thinks for a while and then speaks: "And one of these spirits is leaving now and another one is taking its place. Kajika I must apologize for my ignorance but I must ask you more questions. Is there any way we can find out which of the 10 spirits is being replaced?" "I still don't understand how I have anything to do with this or the fate of the world or if there is any connection with the visions that Riley was having?"

Kajika replies "I do not know either but I know of one who would. There is a very old shaman who is an expert on the earth spirits. He is Navajo. Fourteen years ago the United States moved their tribe to a reservation further north of here along the Arizona and New Mexico borders. He is there, so it will take me a few days to go to him and return. But when I come back I should have the answers that you seek."

Nanuet is relieved to hear that he may get some answers. "Kajika, do you wish me to travel with you? With the strange weather and all it may not be safe. I know you are a wise shaman, but maybe I can help?" Kajika answers, "Your place is here. But I agree that I should not travel alone. There is a man in the town named Peck. His wife is a Navajo woman named Cornflower. They would be helpful to see that I get there safely and back. They live in a cabin in the north part of town It will be dawn soon. If when you return you could check and see if they would be willing to accompany me that would be helpful. Tell her what you know and that I must speak with Great Antelope. I plan to leave mid-morning and can meet them on the north road out of town."

Nanuet agrees and seems somewhat relieved to not be leaving town just yet. He bids Kajika farewell and begins packing his meager belongings. He rekindles the fire from the still glowing embers and then fetches some water to boil for tea. He makes a quick breakfast and when it is ready he wakes Sonoma gently. "I have made you some breakfast. I have something I must attend to this morning. I will see you back in town sometime later." With that Nanuet mounts his horse and heads back to town, specifically looking for a cabin in the northern section of Promise City.

In the early hours of the morning, shortly after dawn, Nanuet arrives back in Promise City. It is still raining although it is finally beginning to let up. There are people out and about at the northwest end of town, as Pine Creek has overflowed its banks and flooded out half-dozen buildings. Among these are Mathias Danboy's chicken coop and Elza Hooten's pig pen, and both are busy moving their livestock to higher ground. Nanuet is able to get directions from them to the Peck residence, two blocks east between Front and Allen Streets.

Jeremiah Peck lets him in without much delay. Also inside the building is Peck's wife Native American Cornflower. "What can we help you with?" Cornflower asks. Nanuet greets them warmly. "Greetings, I am Nanuet and my mentor is Kajika, I believe you know him. He is traveling to have a meeting with the shaman Great Antelope. He has requested that you and your husband join him if you can."

Nanuet explains to Peck and Cornflower all about the Druidess and the earth spirits. He is very detailed and tries to give them all the information he can. "Kajika says that he will be on the road north of town at mid-morning if you are willing to journey with him." Cornflower insists upon going. She says that as an Apache, Kajika would face danger in Navajo territory without a Navajo present to translate. She feels that this quest is vital. Her husband Jeremiah says "Well, you ain't going without me. The only problem is I don't want to lose my job. Mr. Nanuet, would you be willing to fill in for me until I get back?"

"What does your job entail Mr. Peck? I would sure be willing to give it a try if you are going to help Kajika." "I work for Travis and Jem Calhoun over at the Gunsight Brickyard. But we're not working there right now. We've been loaned out on a building job, putting another floor onto the Lone Star Dance Hall and Saloon. If you could show up there tomorrow morning in my place that would work. They just need laborers, the foreman Jeff Mills will show you what to do."

Nanuet breathes a sigh of relief when he hears what the job entails. "I know Mr. Mills. Should be no problem for me to fill in for you. Thanks for heading out with Kajika. Hopefully he can get to the bottom of some things for me." Nanuet spends some time engaged in small talk with the couple, mostly discussing the odd weather. "Well, I am sure you have some preparations to make before you head out today. I am going to be going now. Thanks again." With that Nanuet realizes that even though he may have made some breakfast for Sonoma he himself had eaten nothing. He heads towards the El Parador day dreaming about Dorita's cooking.

Jake wakes up early, he and Ruby still lightly entangled. Slowly his mind comes to focus and awareness. He runs through the events of yesterday in his mind. I bought a saloon, put a man on my to kill list, and possibly found an old friend. Oh, and I became a deputy. Even with his eyes closed and half asleep he frowns. What to do today? Maggie should be leaving, maybe even now. Somebody ought to make sure she gets off without trouble. Heh, I'm sure somebody will. The Whipple men will be outraged.

He cracks his eyelids open. The lack of morning sun and the faint sound of the rain make the bed seem even more inviting. It would be a shame to wake Ruby up. Hades, it would be a shame to get up. Jake smiles ever so faintly, closes his eyes, and nestles back in to the comfort of the bed and his companion. Sleep returns quickly, welcomed like an old familiar friend.

Katherine woke with a chill still settled in her bones from spending a large part of yesterday wet. She'd never really gotten warm again after they returned from the Marshall's office. But after she saw Maggie off she could go have a hot soak at the bathhouse and steep the chill out.

She dressed plainly in her simplest brown dress and braided her hair, letting the braid fall down her back instead of pinning it up. She put another dress and a small bag and picked up her umbrella and coat. Downstairs she asked the time. She was only a little bit early, so she had a quick cup of tea and waited for the time to be right.

The time goes by slowing until the clock says 8:00 AM. Kate then hurries off, making her way to the Lone Star through a roundabout path and arrives at the back door. At the very first rap Maggie opens the door and ushers Kate in out of the rain. She leads the two of them upstairs to her room. A tan and maroon suitcase with a floral print pattern is spread out upon the bed and Maggie has already begun packing. She says "I took your advice and withdrew $100 from the cashbox. I left Tom the rest, along with my key to it."

Kate replies, "I think it's a reasonable amount. I'm sure Tom will be upset anyway, but after he calms down he should see the sense." Kate started folding some of Maggie's dresses carefully. She had just done this for herself, so she called on the tricks she had learned packing for the trip to Arizona to get as much as possible into Maggie's case. "Is there anything you won't be able to fit that you're going to want? Perhaps Mr. Gonzales could bring it to Tucson for you, or we could have it sent to Los Angeles." Maggie replies, "Only you, but I guess that isn't possible. Perhaps he could bring you for a visit sometime."

Kate paused for a minutes. "Oh, I almost forgot!" She reached into her own bag and pulled out the bustle pillow Maggie had lent her. "I was to keep this as long as I worked for you, and as I no longer do...." She sighed quietly. "I'm going to miss you a great deal, you know." She answers, "And I'll miss you. But I am glad to know that Jake and Ruby got my half of the Lone Star. Tom's decided now not to even ask them, even though he said that he would. He thinks that he's found an investor for the other $ 3,000."

"Well, that ought to be interesting. I don't suppose he gave you any idea who?” She replies, “Niles Hoover, the man whose liquor store burnt down last night. Tom has agreed to store Mr. Hoover's merchandise at the Lone Star until he can rebuild. His liquor store was also a saloon so Tom figures he can talk him into buying into the Lone Star rather than rebuilding. He hasn't spoken to him yet though and probably won't until mid-afternoon, so there's ample time for Jake to buy the remaining $ 1,000 interest before Hoover hears the offer."

Kate says, “I should make sure they step over then and make sure Tom knows they already own half before he sells the saloon twice. I think Mr. Gonzales will be able to bring me to visit now and then, you can't get rid of me that easily," Kate teased, leaning over to hug Maggie. "And I can be very persuasive when I want to be."

Meanwhile, over at the El Parador, Jake awakens again, this time to the sound of knocking at the door. Jake rubs his eye and mutters a curse before climbing out of bed and covering whatever of Ruby that is visible with the blanket. "Hold on", he says with a low voice while pulling on his pants and stumbling to the door. Just before opening it he hides a derringer in his palm. One more rub of his eyes and he cracks the door open.

Warren Earp is standing in the hallway. "You said you had something you wanted me to check for you in Tombstone? Better tell me now, I'm leaving on the Wells Fargo Stage in twenty minutes." "Tombstone?" Jake looks at him oddly before recognition sets in. "Right. The serial numbers of the $20 bills. Go on downstairs I'll run right down."

Jake pulls on a shirt, puts the derringer in the back holster, and grabs his wallet. He goes down stairs and explains to Warren one more time about the money. He makes a list of the serial numbers and explains that the local bankers suspected it might be from a Tombstone bank. "It might lead to who paid Weems to stop the miners, which lead to your brother Morgan's shooting." Earp thanks him and then hurries off to catch the stagecoach. Jake heads back up to his room and locks the door. Ruby seems to not have stirred so he gets undressed again and climbs back into bed. He doesn't sleep this time, but just rests and watches Ruby sleep.

Over at the Lone Star, Maggie and Kate have finished her packing. Maggie says "I should probably leave then a note. Kate, what should I say?" Kate answers, "Best to keep it short, I think. Just tell them that you've accepted a business opportunity out of the Arizona Territory. That you've sold your share of the Lone Star and taken only the hundred for your own expenses. Tell them that you'll contact them in a month or two but don't tell them where you've gone. And when you do write them, don't put a return address on the letters. It's up to you whether or not you tell them who you sold your share to. Either way, you'd best hurry, 9:00 is coming up fast."

Maggie quickly jots down the note as Kate suggested, not mentioning the names of who she sold her half of the business too, and leaves it in center of her neatly made bed. She and Kate then pick up the suitcase and a smaller travel bag and head downstairs. They exit by way of the back doors and take the back alleyways behind Main Street to get to the Wells Fargo Office.

Maggie has Kate wait outside while she goes into the office to purchase her one-way ticket to Tombstone from Kris Wagner. Kate hears her tell Wagner a well-rehearsed speech about how she is leaving her husband Tom due to his womanizing ways.

She exits the office and the two head over to the stagecoach. Chuck Nevers helps secure the larger bag to the rack on top of the coach, where a large trunk and another large suitcase are already sitting. He then opens the door for her. There are already three people in side, two of whom are familiar to Kate namely, the halfling newspaperman Chumbley and the rotund figure of the gambler Cornelius Van Horne. Before entering Maggie turns to Kate to give her a warm goodbye hug and tears begin to stream down her face.

Nevers comments "Hurry it up, here comes our escort." They see a mounted rider who Kate recognizes as Warren Earp riding down the street in the direction of the stagecoach. "You're doing the right thing," Kate said as she returned Maggie's hug. "And we'll see each other again, I'm sure of it. You're going to do so well," she smiled as she pulled back and wiped her own eyes. Kate held the small travel bag while Maggie climbed inside, then handed it to her. "Good luck, Maggie." "Thank you, Katherine," Maggie said, smiling despite her tears.

Kate nodded. "Good morning Mr. Chumbley, Mr. Van Horne," she said politely. Kate waited a moment for the men's reply and then stepped back. "Good morning, Marshall," she said as Warren Earp rode up. "You, uh, going on a trip Mrs. Kale?" "No, just seeing off a friend." Earp spent a few moments talking to Mr. Nevers before the stage driver climbed up. A few moments later the stage started forward. Maggie waved as the stage pulled away, and Katherine waved back until the stage turned a corner out of sight.

Kate picked up her own small bag and went over to Gilson's bathhouse. She spent nearly an hour in the hot, scented water, soaking the deep chill out of her bones. It didn't seem to help the sneeze she'd developed, however. She dressed in the brown again, not wanting to drag another hem through the mud. It was just a bit after ten when she got back to the El Parador.

Some time passes before Ruby starts to stir. Slowly and with great effort she gets her eyes open. She sees Jake staring at her and just looks back at him. Finally she smiles and while stretching into him whispers, “I don’t want to get up today…” "Yet or today?" Jake asks her. "And if not at all today, why?"

"It's still raining and I'm too comfortable," she says yawning. Then with a sigh and a more serious face, "Plus there's the Whipples and the Lone Star business and then there's the Kate business..." Ruby voice trails off. "Every day here is so busy and full of things to do. I want to just stay here for a while and not think about it." She pauses then looks up at Jake, "What? You don't like staying here with me too?"

"What's not to like? I'm here." He strokes her hair. "There is no rush. But we have to get up eventually." "I know," Ruby sighs again. "But not right now!" she continues quickly then gives him a long kiss. "So," she smiles again, "You started two new careers yesterday. Right now I'm more concerned about the one I'm involved in. We have to make lots of plans now, well, after we finish the deal today I guess. Are we, I guess I should say you, are you going to move into the Lone Star?"

Jake replies, "Makes sense to move in. Saves some money and keeps me close to all my investments there." He pokes her under the covers as he says that. "It will be hectic getting started I'm sure, but once we get it going it shouldn't be too bad. I hope." He rolls over on his back and looks at the ceiling. "At first we'll try and keep things like they are until we figure out what needs changing. See if we can get the third floor finished. We're gonna need a manager though, I don't think you, me or Job wants to do that for long."

Ruby giggles and rolls over onto Jake, sitting on his lap. "Oh, is that what I am to you... just an investment...?" She is smiling and trying to adjust his shirt which is hanging off her. "I'd better make sure I don't slack on my job then so I don't get in trouble with the boss. Have to keep him happy, right?" She laughs as she gives up with the shirt. "As for a manager, we need to hire one, that's all. We can ask around or put an ad in the paper, maybe have interviews or something.' Ruby shrugs, "I don't know, never ran a saloon before."

"As for moving in I'm going to make myself a really nice room, I want lots of windows and a big bed and maybe even paint it something different. I haven't had a room that wasn't in a hotel in a looonnng time. I'm most excited about that I think. Oh and maybe the puppy..." She laughs again. "I guess we will be getting started pretty soon, just need to finish the deal with Tom Whipple."

He says, "If you are still feeling lazy take your time. Why don't you tell me some more about what you want to do to the Lone Star? I want to clean up the guns from yesterday practice and all that rain before we head down for breakfast anyway." Jake sits up and wraps his arms around her from behind and gives her a kiss on the neck before climbing out of bed. He struggles for the second time this morning with pulling on his trousers before selecting a shirt from a mostly neat stack. "Somebody cleaned my shirts." He turns and looks at Ruby with a silly grin on his face. "Couldn't be you, you don't do shirts." he says while putting it on.

Ruby puts her hands in Jake’s hair while he is kissing her neck. “I like when you do that Jake,” she pauses briefly, "But I guess you know that by now..." “How could it be me, the shirts? I don’t even have one piece of clean clothing myself,” she grins back. “I hope Dorita got to cleaning my stuff yesterday. Otherwise I’m going to have to walk around in your shirt all day. That might get some looks. And I’m sure Kate won’t approve,” she laughs.

“As for the Lone Star, I have to be honest. I didn’t really think we were going to get it so I didn’t want to think about it too much, you know, get my hopes up.” She ponders for a moment then smiles wider, “But we did so I guess I’d better think about it now, huh?”

“Besides getting a manager? We should paint it and fix it up nicer, definitely. We need someone who can cook. And we should offer Kate, Nanuet, and Chester rooms, and even Sonoma, although we know she won’t take one. And maybe Nanuet and Chester might like to be bouncers or something. And oh, I don’t want to have to sing 6 nights a week. That is a lot! Maybe we could find another singer for the other couple nights. Oh yeah, we should have dancing too! Then when we want to celebrate we don’t have to go far. And one more thing… we keep the Kentucky Bourbon for ourselves,” she says playfully.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 136 ,“Lunch and Unpleasant Truths”, Sunday, January 15th, 1882,

Jake finishes cleaning and oiling his and Ruby's weapons while they are talking about the Lone Star and everything else imaginable. "You hungry? Do you have anything clean to wear?" While he's talking Jake puts on the usual before going over to pickup the badge. He holds it in his hand for what seems like a long time before he realizes that Ruby is watching him. "Heh." is all he says and pins it to his shirt.

"I'm starving!" Ruby hops out of bed and adjusts Jake's badge. "No, I told you I don't have anything clean. I'll go find out if Dorita had a chance to clean my clothes yet." Ruby gets to the door, opens it and starts walking out. "What?" she says in response to Jake's expression. She shrugs and goes downstairs to find Dorita.

After Ruby saunters out of his room only wearing one of Jake's shirts Silver Jake Cook grabs the bottle of bourbon off the night stand and takes a swig. With an audible "Ahhh" he puts it back, grabs his hat off the floor, and heads down to breakfast. As he's walking down the hall he says out loud, "I'm gonna have to get that woman a maid servant too."

Ruby gets downstairs and sees her walking with a tray. She walks over to her. "Morning," she says with a smile. "Any chance you got to those clothes?" Dorita says "Get to clothes! You think I have all time in world? I cook, clean and fix El Parador! And I cook at Lone Star! And I wait on most of 100 dwarves! And I watch after men here, they be lost without me! And I keep eye on Indian who after Sanoma! And I train Maggie to run Mexican kitchen! And you think I have time to do Laundry too!"

She replies, "I only know that you are the best at what you do and just thought it was possible that you may have gotten to it is all. I'm sorry." Ruby takes her dressed only in a shirt self over to a table and takes a seat, waiting for Jake to come down to eat breakfast.

Dorita goes into the kitchen and comes out a second later carrying a basket with Ruby's laundry, all washed and folded. She sets it down on the table and says "You right, I am best at what I do." And with a smile the Mexican woman then turns to head back to the kitchen. Ruby jumps up and follows her into the kitchen, giving her a big hug and kiss before returning to the table.

Manuel Gonzales comes over and sits down next to Ruby. He smiles and says "She was just kidding you. It's just her way of telling you that she is no longer terrified of my 'golden eagle'." "I don't know why would be scared of me. I would never hurt her. And after all, your nickname is just words." Ruby smiles at him but it's only half hearted. "I think you stayed out at the ranch last night. What did you think?" He replies "It was fine, I like the outdoors and the smell of animals. It reminds me of Texas. Sanoma and I just got back a few minutes ago."

"Any grand plans for today? After I eat and get dressed Jake and I are going to buy the rest of the Lone Star." She stops to make sure the shirt is covering her in front of Mr. Gonzales. Looking up at him ,"Oh I think it's time for some more lessons. I've been having some thoughts about it lately." He says "I'd be happy to spend some time with you today. I don't have any real plans until either tomorrow or Tuesday when I head over to Tucson to meet up with Maggie. If you'd like me to have 'Mr. Austin' be in or near the Lone Star prior to your announcement, just in case he might be needed."

"Today, well, today isn't so good. After we do the Lone Star stuff I have to talk to Kate about something important. Actually," she looks around the room, "Kate might be needing you after I talk to her. Have you heard any rumors about her husband, Tom?"

Jake comes down the stairs to see Ruby sitting at a table with Senor Gonzalez and a basket full of laundry. He scratches his beard as he approaches the table, "Buenes diaz, Senor Gonzalez. You haven't taken up laun... uh, nevermind." He looks up and down at Ruby sitting there in his shirt which exposes most of her shapely legs a long moment and says, "I'm not sure if I wish I was taller or shorter." and then takes a seat. "Will you be joining us for breakfast Senor?" She turns to Jake, "What do you think, should Mr. Austin come with us today?" Jake has a puzzled look on his face as he turns from Ruby to Senor Gonzalez. "Mr. Austin?" "I think I can find him upstairs" Gonzales replies with a smile on his face.

Ruby leans in very close to Jake, giving him a good look down his own shirt. "I'll explain about Mr. Austin later, let's just say it might be helpful to have him around." Ruby turns back to Mr. Gonzales. "So you didn't answer my question, about Tom Kale... " Gonzales replies "I am not one for rumors. Facts are enough to deal with. I will go check on Mr. Austin." "Uh, Ok." Jake says slightly distracted. "Any friend of yours is welcome help. I think." Jake takes off his hat, scratches his head, and waves to Dorita. "Might as well be confused on a full stomach. Can we get some breakfast Senora, por favor?" "It's not the rumors I'm worried about," she says quietly as he walks away.

She turns to Jake, leans near him again and whispers. "Mr. Gonzales can make himself look like someone else. He came the other night to hear me sing and see Kate play and you didn't even know he was there. It might be helpful for him to be there if we think the Whipples might give us trouble." Ruby thinks for a moment. "Kinda like you were saying about your friend Red being Van Horne." Ruby looks at Jake confused. "Since when can you speak Spanish?"

Jake has a quick look of concern on his face but it quickly disappears. He leans in close to Ruby to say, "I don't know who he is hiding from, so don't tell anyone, please. I really don't know who else I can trust." He leans back in his chair before continuing. "The whole gang here" he waves his arm around, "at the El Parador has been teaching me. Mostly I am annoying the heck out of them. But I can understand quite a bit, and speak some. I'm getting better all the time."

"I didn't tell anyone and I won't tell anyone, I told you that. You can trust me... " Jake was just too close to resist the temptation so Ruby finishes the distance and gives him a long kiss. "I promise you can trust me." She smiles, "And as for the Spanish, I like it. Come up with something to say to me, even if I don't know what it means, something that sounds nice."

A human man comes downstairs who Ruby recognizes as Mr. Austin. Jake takes a good look at him. The man looks to be between sixty and seventy years of age, with long white beard, bushy sideburns, busy eyebrows and baldhead. 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. One look into his eyes and Jake immediately knows who he really is.

Kate is back in her room upstairs. She pulls out a burgundy dress from her trunk and hung it from the closet door. It was cut as a dinner dress, not as formal as the one she had worn to lunch yesterday, but still a notch above her everyday clothes. Katherine had seen the inside of the Long Branch, and while she was sure she'd be a bit overdressed, the idea was to attract players. And after yesterday she'd found she missed dressing up now and then. She brushed her hair out loose to give it a chance to dry and went back downstairs. Jake and Ruby were sitting with a familiar figure at one of the tables. "Aren't you cold, Ruby?" she asked as she sat down. "Mr. Austin, to what do we owe the pleasure of seeing you today?"

Ruby asks, "So, how'd it go with Maggie?" Kate replies, "Very well. She's on her way without a hitch. Tom and William are going to be very upset though. She left most of the cash in the cashbox, but she took $100 for expenses. But those men think she doesn't have a right to any of it. The gamblers in town will be breathing a sigh of relief, though. Cornelius Van Horne was on the stage. Poor Maggie, Chumbley was there too."

"Van Horne left huh? Strange..." Ruby quickly changes the subject. "Well, I'm glad she is off safely. I should have said goodbye I guess. In case you haven't guessed I'm not very good at them. Anyway, did she tell Tom that she sold her half to us?" Then to herself, "No, I guess that would have given her away, stupid question. Well, I guess we have to tell them then?" Jake glances surreptitiously at Ruby. "Crap. Should have figured that runt would be on the stage this morning." But that was not what he was thinking.

Jake asks, "How will the Whipple men find out Maggie has fled?" Kate answers, "She left them a note on her bed. She said she'd sold her half, but not to who. All she told them was that she'd left the territory to pursue a business opportunity, but not where. They should have a lot of trouble finding her, if they bother to look. She told them she wasn't feeling well, so if they bother to check on her when they get back from services, they should know about noon."

Ruby furrowed her brow. "Why didn't she tell them who she sold it to?" Kate answers, "I'm not sure why. I almost got the feeling she wanted everything to come at them as out of the blue as possible." "Well, I guess it shouldn't be too bad, Tom knows we are buying the place." Ruby puts her hand on Jake's. "So, what do you want to do?"

"When do you think they'll find the note?" Jake says to Katherine, and then idly with a grin "I wonder what they prayed for in church." Kate answers, "Whatever they prayed for, I don't think they're getting it. If they bother to check on her at all, they'll find it around noon when they get back. Otherwise, they should find it when she doesn't come down to run the saloon for the night."

Jake turns back to Ruby, "Let's just relax here for a few hours then, let's see if they find the note. No sense in us having to go out in the rain, perhaps it will continue to clear. We can enjoy our friends company. We can enjoy Dorita's fine food." Jake's eyes become unfocused for a second and then back to that razor sharp look. "I think I'd like to have lunch with Mr. Booth today." "Why Mr. Booth?" Ruby asks Jake. She pulls up her legs onto the chair and continues to eat. He says, "Because he is a good listener. I'm hoping he'd share what he knows." Jake gets up to follow Ruby. "Katherine, I'll be back down in a little while."

More patrons arrive, most noticing Ruby’s peculiar attire. "Oh it's getting busy, I'd better get dressed." Ruby stands up and grabs her laundry basket with a smile. "Jake, can you walk me up? Oh Kate, I, um, need to talk to you about something... after I get dressed..." "Of course Ruby. Just let me know when you need me. I'll probably go back up to my own room soon."

Ruby brings Jake back to her room. As she is getting dressed she talks. With a sigh, "I didn't know Kate had plans tonight. I have to tell her now though, about Tom. What do you think? You won't need me for a while right?" Ruby can tell Jake isn't paying 100% attention to her talking, so she grabs his face and makes him look her in the eyes, "You don't need me now do you?"

"Buenas dias, Senorita. Como esta? Bien, muy bien. Tu es hermosa." Jake smiles smugly. "It means good morning, miss. How are you. Good, very good. You are beautiful." His smile gets crooked. "At least I think it does." He puts his hands over her hands. "There is a fine line between need and desire don't you think?" He kisses her hands and says, "We can take this up later, technically I don't need you now."

Another hour or so passes. Estaban arrives and starts to play some Spanish guitar music for the Sunday brunch crowd. Some of the dwarves who had spent the night begin to stagger downstairs, most wanting coffee but a few wanting whiskey. Sanoma joins Estaban on the stage playing and singing quietly enough to cause background music but not bother dwarfs with hangovers

Conrad Booth arrives at around 11:30. His face lights up when he sees Kate and he asks her "Are you still planning to join me this evening?" "Of course, I always keep my word," she laughed. "Especially when keeping my word promises to be so pleasant." Booth heads over towards his usual table and Dorita brings him out a plate of food. Pedro comes over with a drink for Kate then goes over and takes Booth's drink order. She took a sip of her drink. "So, what time shall I expect you? You are going to escort me this evening, aren't you?"

He replies "It would be my honor. I've spoken to both Kate Higgins and Dooley Wilson and they are both fine with letting you have a crack at their piano. So after I bring you there I'd suggest that you start off with something very impressive and then you can join me at my table." "I hadn't really expected to play tonight. I'll be glad to, I enjoy it, but I'm not sure of the need to impress them. Now, how should I dress this evening? I have a dinner dress from Boston that I had planned to wear, but from what I've seen here, even that will be probably the fanciest dress in town."

He replies, "The fanciest dress it town would be wonderful. I plan to dress in my best suit. I'm hoping that having a classy lady at my table will help to improve the class of patrons at my game. I also want to show some of the...ladies, that work the Long Branch that there are other types of beauty." Kate asks, "You have a problem with the ladies at the Long Branch?" He states, "I find their antics distracting while I am trying to run a card game."

Kate says, "You're not the first gambler I've heard say that. I'm not sure my appearance there will change anything, so I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you. They have a very different profession than I do, and I doubt my ways would benefit them much."

Upstairs, Jake has his smug smile back. "I should go back downstairs soon to talk to Booth." And I should go talk to Kate. But Jake, you have a way of distracting me. All that Spanish talk is very sexy..." Ruby sits on his lap, half dressed and kisses him. A bit of time goes by before she stops. "Ok, ok, I'm going," as she slowly pulls herself away and gets off his lap. "Yes there is a fine line between need and desire, we will go over that later, I promise." Ruby gives him a mischievous grin and continues to get dressed.

"But listen, this is serious. I don't know how Kate will take this news. So please keep an eye out for her, ok? Don't let her go running off if you can help it. And when you need me, come to her room and get me."
Ruby is finished getting dressed and can stall no longer. She walks back downstairs with Jake and finds that Kate is sitting with Conrad having lunch.

Katherine saw Jake and Ruby coming back down the stairs a few moments later. "Here's Jake now. I think he wanted to talk to you, and Ruby wanted to talk to me about something. I'll let him keep you company for a while and see you this evening, around seven o'clock?"

Jake greets Conrad Booth warmly, offering his hand before sitting down. "How are you today Conrad?"
Booth replies, "Just fine Mr. Cook, or should I say Deputy Cooke based upon that badge you are wearing?"
"Heh, Jake please, if you don't mind me calling you by your first name. I notice you are an excellent observer, and seem to be keenly aware of many things here in town. I was wondering if you would care to share some of that with me? I'm buying." Jake smiles openly and gestures for another round. Booth answers, "Not sure what you're talking about sir. If it is in reference to last night's explosion, I was engaged in a card game at the Long Branch at the time so did not see anything. But I certainly heard it."

Jake says, "No I wasn't talking about anything in particular or implying anything. Just wondering if I could benefit from your knowledge. If I was in need of buying or selling jewelry, where would one get a good deal? Either here in town, or in Tombstone or even Tucson." Booth thinks for a minute then says, "Tucson would be your best bet. San Francisco would be even better. Not much call for jewelry among miners and prospectors."

Jake says, "It can't be much of a secret anymore, no matter what Tom Whipple believes, but if you aren't already aware Miss West and I are buying into the Lone Star. We are going to be needing a manager with some saloon useful skills. Do you have any recommendations?" Jake adds with a nod, "And as a respected professional, any thoughts on improving the place?" Booth replies, "I hadn't heard that but I'm not altogether surprised. The best manager in town would be Dorita, but I think she's already got a place to run right here and I wouldn't want to go anywhere else for my meals each day.

I believe that Mr. Hoover has already made arrangements with Mr. Whipple to temporarily operate out of the Lone Star what since his liquor distribution burned down. His operation was also a saloon so I'm sure either he or his partner Mr. Rote would be happy to help you out, at least until they rebuild."

"I'm curious, what are people saying about Silver Jake Cook and the others." Jake takes a sip of whiskey. "What else is interesting in town." Booth states, "Only what they read in the papers. As for what else is interesting, Buffalo Bill Cody arrived in town last night. Make a big fuss at the Long Branch. Loved making a big spectacle of himself. I think he got offended by the dynamite explosion stealing the attention away from him."

Jake asks, "I don't know how you feel about Evan Adair, but he seems to have decided he doesn't like us." Jake makes a frown and rubs his beard. "That dislike has taken a rather dangerous turn. I'm concerned about the welfare of the women. What can you tell me about him that might prove useful to me in putting a stop to his nonsense." He looks around to make sure no one is listening "I won't be shy here, any dirt will do. How he got the Palace, who are his enemies, and who does he count as allies? Whatever you can tell me."

Booth answers, "He got the Palace in a high stakes card game. It was before I came to town so I can't give you much for details. I don't particularly like him and have had no interest in playing there, not that he'd even take me after the false rumor that the Comique spread about me. As for enemies, I'd say every competitor of his in town falls into that category. Allies, besides Baxter and Fisk, I'd say he doesn't have many."

"Conrad, I appreciate your help. You are a generous man." Jake looks seriously at him. "I won't beat around the bush. I see how you look at Mrs. Kale. I just want you to know she has friends. Those friends will think very highly of someone who treats her right. On the other hand if someone where to take advantage of her, well..." Jake’s eyes take on that steely look. "... we'd rip their heart out. Now, my gut tells me you have her interests at heart and I hope you aren't offended by my bluntness. That woman certainly deserves a turn at some happiness with all she's been through." And going to go through thinks Jake.

Booth replies, "Mr. Cook, I won't lie to you and say that I'm not attracted to the woman. But she is in mourning and I fully intend to respect that. For the time being all I am seeking to be to her is a friend and occasional companion. If she decides at some time in the future that she would like more of a relationship than that it will be her decision. I appreciate that you are looking out for your friend, but you also need to allow her to live her own life." "I'm not trying to influence her decisions, she's a grown woman and probably wiser than me. I'm not trying to scare you off, she's a fine lady and makes a fine friend." Jake raises his glass to Booth. "Tener suerte, Salud!"* <<Jake's broken Spanish for 'to be lucky, cheers!'>>

Kate had stayed at the table a few minutes. Jake was still talking with Mr. Booth when Kate excused herself and went up to her room. Ruby walks over to the bar. “Dorita, I need two bottles of whiskey please.” Ruby sees the look on her face and sighs. “Believe me, I wish I didn’t need them.” Dorita doesn’t look like she is going to give them to Ruby so she leans way over the bar and grabs the two bottles herself. Ruby takes a very deep breath and heads up the stairs to Kate’s room. She knocks on the door. “Kate, are you here?” At that moment Ruby almost hoped she wasn’t that she had run out to do some errand.

"Come in, Ruby dear," Kate calls out from inside the room. As Ruby comes in she is brushing down a burgundy dress hanging from the closet door. With its lower neckline and sleeves cut to expose the shoulders, it's obvious this dress is meant for something other than everyday. Kate is wrapped in a soft blue robe, and her hair is still hanging loose and slightly damp from her bath earlier that day. She is humming a bit under her breath. "You wouldn't believe how much dust gets inside my trunk," she said before she turned around and saw Ruby standing with two bottles of whiskey. "Are we celebrating something?" she asked.

Ruby had made her way over to Kate’s dresser where she kept her guns. She glances at Kate, who is very busy with the dress. Ruby silently slides the drawer open a crack and slips both guns out and into her pocket. She closes the drawer with Kate none the wiser. “I wish we were Kate, more than anything. You are going to think this is strange but you have to have a drink with me now without asking questions.” Ruby moves into Kate’s room and goes to her table. She opens one bottle and pours two generous glasses. “You will know why I am asking in a bit. Please just do this for me.” Kate has noticed a look on Ruby’s face she has never seen before. Absolute dread. Ruby reaches out and hands the drink to Kate. “Drink. You’ll thank me later.” Ruby knows it’s true but she won’t be receiving any thanks after this conversation was over.

"I really shouldn't," Kate began. She looked at Ruby's face and drank about half the glass without protestation. "What's wrong, Ruby? Are you alright?" “No, Kate I’m not alright but it’s not me you should be thinking of. Please sit.” Ruby guides Kate over to her bed and sits her down. Ruby takes a seat next to her and takes her hands. With a big breath in Ruby starts, “It’s about Tom…” Katherine nodded. "I meant to ask you about this. Wyatt Earp said you had been asking questions about how Tom died.” Ruby answers, “Yes, I have been asking questions. You know I made a couple of trips to Tombstone. I wasn’t going to buy bourbon. I was going to see if any of the rumors were true. Kate there is no easy or nice way to say this, so I’m just going to say it. Tom did not die from an illness.” Ruby waits to see how Katherine will react before continuing.

She closes her eyes for a moment. "Of course he did. The marshal said you were looking into some rumors that had been going around Tombstone. But his brother did an investigation, and determined there was no foul play." She took a deep breath, looking down at her hands in Ruby's. "I knew I shouldn't have let him come out here alone. But he was so determined, so tired of sitting around like an invalid. He wanted to get started again. But it was too soon. He worked himself too hard. Maybe if I'd been here I could have taken better care of him. Mr. Tucker was a good friend to him. He told me himself how Tom fell ill. Who told you otherwise?"

“Kate you have to understand something. I have no reason to lie to you about this. I didn’t even want to tell you, but that would have been a lie too.” Ruby puts one hand on Kate’s face and turns her head towards hers to look her in the eye. “Tom was murdered. Many people covered it up, Colby Tucker included. He confirmed to me what I am pretty sure is true, although I can’t be 100% positive. Tom was found with a knife in his back.” Ruby shut her eyes, not wanting to see the reaction on Kate’s face but knows she needs to be there for her friend so she opens them again and waits for the news to sink in.

Kate is quiet for a long moment as her eyes move away from Ruby's face to stare off into space. Her voice sounds hollow as she speaks. "That can't be right, Ruby. I don't know why anyone would tell you such a monstrous lie. Why would the Earp's lie to me?" As Kate sits silent for a moment Ruby can see tears gathering in her eyes. "It didn't seem right," she says in a voice barely more than a whisper. "It wasn't the kind of illness that kills in days. But why...." Her eyes come back to Ruby's. "Who told you? How do you know you can believe them?"

”Of course the Earps are going to protect themselves and not tell the truth about what happened.” Ruby grasped her friend’s hand again tightly and sighed. “Try to remember that all Tom wanted was to see you again, Kate. He was very happy you were coming. And I guess he drank a little too much, made some people mad. Can you think of anyone who has been acting strange around you Kate? I know you can.”
Images flashed before Kate's eyes. An odd refusal to let her see a friend, pools of coffee spilled over a desktop, the startled eyes of a man who had nearly died but pleadingly apologized before sinking into unconsciousness. "How did they find him?" Kate asked in a deceptively calm voice.

“I told you already,” Ruby said quietly, “They found him with a knife in his back in an alley. Morgan Earp’s knife to be exact. The Earp’s covered it all up. No one wants to talk about it, they are all afraid of the Earps. It’s part of what Jake and I were fighting about on Thursday, you know that big fight we had? Jake’s afraid if they find out I’ve been getting information about this they’ll come after me, maybe try to kill me too. He’s probably right.” Ruby glanced over to Kate. Kate was obviously in shock, the realization of what Ruby was telling her barely setting in. “Kate I’m going to tell you what I know. But before I do you have to promise me you won’t go see Morgan Earp. PROMISE ME.”

Kate blurted out something under her breath. It sounded like a good enough promise to Ruby. Ruby pours them both another round of drinks. She tells Kate everything she knows about the card game that ended with Johnny Ringo and Morgan Earp getting mad, Tucker finding Tom, the newspaper men hiding it and the decision to not “hurt” Kate with the truth. All the while she is pouring drinks for her and Kate and the first bottle is almost gone by the time she is done with her story. “Kate both Jake and I thought you had a right to know what happened. I am SO sorry to have to tell you this and that any of it happened at all.”

Kate wandered over to the window, glass in hand. "He must have been so cold," she said rubbing her arm. "Bleeding to death in a dark alley." It was hard to breathe. The glass shattered, shards mixing with whiskey and blood in her hand. Katherine stared numbly as tears fell into the mess on the floor.

As Kate walked to the window Ruby quickly stuffed Kate’s guns in between the mattress and bed frame. She would never find them there. She looks up right as Kate’s glass breaks in her hand. “Oh Kate,” Ruby said while jumping off the bed and moving to her friend. She steps over the glass and guides Kate back to the bed. Ruby takes a look at her hand and sees it’s not a serious wound but it is still bleeding so Ruby quietly sings a few lines of a song, healing Kate’s hand in the process. She whispers, “I can’t imagine what you are feeling and I wish things could have been different for you and for Tom.” Ruby was feeling pretty lost herself. She didn’t know what to say to make things better or what to do to help Kate. With that Ruby did the only thing she could think of. She pulls Kate to her, wrapping her arms around her in a tight and hopefully comforting hug.

Katherine clung to Ruby, her breath coming in sharp gasps. The wetness of tears quickly soaked through Ruby's dress as Kate wrapped her arms around her friend. Kate's tears went on for longer than Ruby could have imagined.

All Ruby could do was sit there and let Kate cry it out. Ruby guessed she would be crying all day too, hell, she felt like crying herself, although that wasn’t something that she let herself do. When she got a chance she reached for the bottle of whiskey and took some big gulps. She passed it to Kate, who took a few small sips in between sobs, but really wasn’t interested in drowning her sorrows. After a while her arms started to hurt so rather than let go she lay back on the bed, taking Kate with her. Kate continued to cry and Ruby just lay there quietly, stroking Kate’s hair, listening to her cry. This was one of the hardest things Ruby had ever done. It was well into the afternoon by the time Kate had exhausted herself and fallen asleep in Ruby's arms and eventually Ruby’s eyes got heavy and shut and she fell fast asleep too.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 137 ,“Not a very nice way to start a business relationship”, Sunday, January 15th, 1882,

A short while after Ruby and Kate had headed upstairs Chester Martin enters the El Parador, having just come from the four-hour long Greek/Roman worship service. He heads over towards where Kate is sitting and joins her at the table where Dorita has just brought out a pot hot lamb stew and a plate of freshly baked corn bread. Sitting a few tables over is Mr. Austin, reading a book while picking at some food.

Nanuet had spent the rest of the morning surveying the damage from the previous night's explosion and fire, offering a hand to anyone who seemed to be still working on cleaning it up. The fire had totally leveled the dynamite shed and Slade's Hardware beside it. Sam Slade was going through the debris seeing if anything could be salvaged and was thankful that he lived in a house 100 feet south rather than in the same building as the store.

Also completely destroyed was the Feed and Grain store run by Randall Mason and his wife Helga. They too were thankful to have lived elsewhere, a house right on Sierra Street, and plan to convert the first floor of that into a new store rather than rebuild. Their loss was primarily the building as they hadn't brought in the spring planting seed yet. The exterior frame and most of the wall along the South Street were all that remained of Hoover's Wholesale Liquor and Saloon. Nanuet presumed that the building will need to be torn down and rebuilt.

The other eight buildings in the city block bordered by Main, Allen, South and Front Streets, namely Hamilton Fisk's Law Office, The Arizona Billiard Hall, the Rio Grand Hotel and Cafe, the Long Branch Saloon, Johnson's Barber Shop & Baths, the Deputy Sheriff's Office, Condon's Bank and the former Trial Dust Saloon are all made of brick and survived the explosion although each shows some damage to windows, doors and roofs. The explosion also damaged buildings further away. Nanuet realizes that the heavy rains, which had saturated all of the buildings in the 12 hours prior to the explosion as well as afterwards, were responsible for keeping half the town from burning up.

During this time Nanuet tried to hear all the theories and ideas about what exactly happened. After that he changes the hay in his horses’ stall, then washes down and brushes the steed. He examines the shoes and figured that they will need to be changed soon, wondering if the smithy would be open on Sunday. After leaving the stables Nanuet looks to the sky and sees that the brightest area of the clouds was just about straight above, it must be about mid-day. He was wet and needed to get out of the weather for a bit. Nanuet decides to wander into the El Parador and see what was being served for lunch. When Nanuet enters he sees Chester and joins him for lunch.

Jake hangs around downstairs for a while relaxing and putting the conversation that must be going on between the women out of his mind. Some time passes and he starts to become impatient and worry. Eventually deciding that he needs to go see the Whipples and find out how Katherine has taken the facts as Ruby and Jake have discovered them. He climbs the stairs, somewhat methodically and raps gently on Katherine’s door.

Ruby hears a knock at the door and gets up slowly to answer it. She hoped it was Conrad Booth so she could tell him to go away. Kate had been looking forward to seeing him but Ruby didn't trust him at all and now was no time for that anyway. She peeks out the door and sees Jake. She puts her finger to her lips and nods her head towards Kate. She gives Kate one final look and slips out the door. She takes Jake back to her room and tells him what happened. She finishes, "She was upset, but I'm more worried about what will happen when it really sets in."

"I don't know what else we can do for her right now." Jake takes off his hat and holds it in both hands. "Let's see if we can close on the Lone Star business while she's sleeping. I'll ask Pedro and Dorita to send someone for us if she leaves the Cantina. I'll get my coat and the paperwork and head down stairs." "Alright, I'll meet you downstairs." Ruby got her long jacket out and pinned her hat on. Poor Kate was all she could think. She shook her head as she made her way downstairs. Yes, she was definitely going to have to get drunk tonight.

And as the night sky darkens at around 6:00 PM the rain finally stops. All of the streets in town are not just muddy, they are now flooded with a couple inches of water, as Pine Creek had overflowed its banks. Most of the buildings in town were built a step up and with wooden floors, but the handful of poorer homes with dirt floors are also flooded. The majority of these were along East Street and the southeastern corner of town. They thankfully were furthest from the creek and on slightly higher ground but still managed to each get an inch or two of water on the floor.

In an attempt to get to somewhere dry these residents, the wood elves, orcs and half-orcs of the town, headed to the only establishment that would allow them in, the El Parador. Dorita and Pedro were glad that the dwarves had all left, as the these extra rooms would now be needed again, and once more would be five to six people to a room.

Jake goes back to his room and puts on the duster but doesn't button it. He grabs their copy of the contract, rolls it up and stuffs it in his pocket. He looks at his other revolver and says to himself, "It's only the Whipples, I won't need two pistols." But just stands over it. He reaches down and takes it out of the holster and puts it in a pocket of the duster. "You are paranoid Silver Jake Cook." he says to his reflection in the mirror, "Yes but with good reason." He taps his hat and heads down stairs.

He locates Pedro and without giving him any details simply makes him promise to keep an eye out for Katherine, and if she leaves to have someone follow her and someone go and get him at the Lone Star. Pedro shakes his head, "Trust me Amigo, you are better off not knowing." Jake goes back to the common room and finds Ruby with Mr. Austin. Ruby stands as she sees Jake approaching. "Can you believe this mob in here? We picked the most popular place in town," she says to Jake, smiling at Mr. Austin as guests squeezing in everywhere jostle her. "Ready?" Mr. Austin approaches Ruby and says "I'll head over there first so it doesn't look like we came together." He puts on a rubber rain slicker and heads out the door.

"Ready." Jake adjusts the location of the badge so that it is clearly visible through his unbuttoned duster. "Let's go visit the Whipples. What in Hades is up with this rabble?" Ruby shrugs. "I have no idea." Ruby takes Jake's hand and they try to squeeze past the extra guests. As they past a frantic looking Dorita Ruby calls out to her, "What is going on? Oh I can see you're busy, tell us later. Why don't you have Pedro put my stuff in Jake's room? I live in there anyway and it looks like you can use the room." She turns to Jake, "You don't mind right?"

Dorita says "Thank you, that help a lot. Sonoma, Pedro and I be giving up our rooms too, all be spending night with Grandfather." Jake smiles, "If all goes well we'll be moving out soon anyway. I wasn't going to let you sleep anywhere else tonight." They slosh their way over to the Lone Star, keeping to wooden sidewalks and planks whereever possible.

Katherine woke with a dull ache in her head and a queasy stomach. From the state of the bed, Ruby must have stayed with her long enough to decide she wasn't going to wake anytime soon. The sun was low in the sky as Kate pushed herself off the bed and stumbled over to the wash basin to retch. She stood still for a moment after she was done, her head throbbing. After she rinsed her mouth with a glass of water, she poured a glass of whiskey and took a sip, waiting to see if it would stay down before she finished it.

Tom's picture had gotten knocked over. Kate picked it up and looked at it. It should have be different. Everything else was different. She wandered around the room, sharp shards ground into her foot as she unthinkingly stepped in the broken glass. The little stabs of pain with each step began to seep into her consciousness, and her open eyes began to actually see. Furniture, carpeting, bed, dress hanging on the closet door. Smells of sickness and whiskey, feelings of pain in her foot. She limped over to the bed, pulled out a long sliver, and watched the blood flow out.

Blood. Like would have seeped out around the blade of Morgan Earp's knife. Like what was pouring from his body when she kept him from falling beneath the wheels of the stagecoach. She had saved the man's life, and he had destroyed hers. "I didn't know," she whispered to the picture. "Do I know? What do I know? I know Ruby wouldn't lie to me, but I don't know if others lied to her. I know something is wrong. I know Morgan Earp finds me disturbing. I know that Tom is dead and Morgan Earp isn't. Yet." She looked down at the picture in her hand. That was her husband. He would never had killed anyone, what would he think if she....Tombstone. She had to talk to Colby Tucker herself. Where Earp was. Two men to tell her the truth.

The rain pattered against the window glass. It wasn't time yet. There were still things to do, people that were counting on her. Tombstone could be a place she never came back from, and Ruby would surely be watching her. So she would go on for now. Out with Conrad tonight, out to the ranch, to her lessons. To protect whatever they were supposed to protect. Once that was over...... She picked up the brush and went back to cleaning her dress. It would be time to go soon.

Kate tied the black ribbon around her throat to finish the ensemble. The dress fit a little looser than it had in the past, but no one else would notice. She looked in the mirror and saw the deep wine color, the elaborate hairstyle created by the magical clip, her own colorless face. Yet it seemed like there was no reflection at all. She picked up her wrap and the matching purse and left her room, locking the door behind her. Katherine paused at the top of the stairs and looked down into the crowded Cantina. Like butterflies, or moths, flitting around a flame. She made her way down into the crowd.

Kate saw that every chair at every table was full and it looked like several people had brought in their own chairs when the others ran out. Mr. Booth is sitting on a barstool at the bar drinking a cup of tea. Katherine put a smile on her face and made her way carefully over. "It's nice to see a gambler not drinking whiskey," she teased. He laughs "A drunk gambler is a fool. I usually just have water with my supper but with this rainy chill in the air decided that a hot beverage is in order. At the table I'll order a glass of whiskey but that's just for appearances, I'll spend the whole night nursing it and will only finish it when the game is done."

She says, "Sounds smart to me. I'm sure the house encourages the players to drink, though. But I think you must have had at least one. You haven't told me how wonderful I look yet." Booth replies, "My words would not do justice to describing the vision of beauty that is before me. Plus I wouldn't want you to get the wrong impression about my intentions." She replies, "Intentions? I wouldn't dream of thinking your intentions went beyond enticing players to your table this evening. But a lady likes a compliment, honestly offered now and then. I'm ready whenever you are." Booth takes Kate's arm and escorts her outside.

The Lone Star has a dozen people in it including the Whipples, but that is typical of a Sunday night. Tom Whipple is behind the bar and William Whipple is playing "Yellow Rose of Texas" on the piano. Being a Sunday, Job Kane has the night off. Tony Lucky has a card game going with three people including two of his regulars. Teddy Whipple is dealing Faro at another table with Alexsis and three other people playing, one of whom Jake recognizes as the Brickyard owner Travis Calhoun. Jeff Mills is not present. The door to the darkened kitchen is propped open with a brick.

Jake and Ruby head over to the bar. Ruby quietly stands behind Jake keeping an eye out on the room, especially for the older Whipple. "Good evening Tom. Is this a good time to talk about finishing our business tomorrow?" Jake casually positions himself so Tom can't miss the badge on his shirt. Tom says, "I'm sorry Mr. Cook, but I'm afraid that you're too late. I got tired of waiting for you to make up your mind and found another buyer." "I'm more than a little confused Tom." Jake scratches his beard. "I told each of you yes, and even did half the sale the way Maggie asked. What in Hades are you talking about?"

"A half sale with Maggie? What are you talking about?" Tom raises his voice as he says that and William stops playing the piano and walks over towards the bar. "You don't know?" Jake looks at him incredulously. "Maggie insisted yesterday that she didn't want the stress of being tested anymore and just wanted to sell her half. She said you wanted to sell your half Monday. If I didn't know you all better I'd think someone was trying to pull a fast one on me. Where is she, ask her yourself." Jake pulls out the contract and unrolls it. "All done up properly by Berg."

William Whipple yells over the Faro table "Alexsis, get your butt upstairs and wake Maggie. We need her down here RIGHT NOW!" Jake and Ruby would swear that the singer is wearing magical shoes given the speed at which she bounds up the stairs upon the orders of her employer. "Mr. Whipple, there really is no reason to be yelling is there?" Ruby says sweetly. Alexsis quickly hurries back down the stairs and hands Mr. Whipple a note. He hastily reads it and hands it to Tom.

William Whipple then glares at Ruby and angrily says "And you're telling me you don't know where Maggie is?" "No, I don’t know where Maggie is," she says truthfully. At this moment, she thinks. Jake says, "Mr. Whipple, are you suggesting that we just completed a business transaction involving $2,000 and I should be worried about where Maggie is?" Jake eyes him suspiciously. "This is highly irregular."

William Whipple turns to Tom and says "That Kale bitch will know! I'll be right back." He then takes two steps in the direction of the door. Ruby steps in front of Mr. Whipple. "Kate has nothing to do with this and you will not bother her tonight." Whipple raises his hands up to shove Ruby out of his way. Jake grabs at William Whipple to pull him back. "I'll arrest you if you try that. Tom, talk some sense into your father please." Ruby says, "You have no right to be mad at us because you mistreat your daughter." She turns to Tom. "We are only trying to finish a business transaction that you started."

William Whipple says "Take your hand off me Cook.....Tom!" “As a deputized Marshall sir," Jake says with an edge, "If you resist me you'll either spend the night in jail or boot hill." Ruby sees Tom reach under the bar for something. She exclaims "Tom, I hope you're not thinking of pulling a gun on Jake. He does have the badge and you'll all end up in jail." Tom pulls a revolver out from under the bar and cocks it, stating "Let him go Cook. I don't care what's on your shirt, this is still my Saloon and I have a right to protect my customers."

Jake is facing William Whipple rather than Tom but Ruby notes that while Tom is holding the gun he is still pointing it downward towards the floor and not at Jake. "Actually, it's half our Saloon too, not a very nice way to start a business relationship." Jake heard Ruby warn about the gun and heard the familiar cocking of a hammer.

Ruby turns to Mr. Whipple. "Listen, you might as well accept that you are not going after Kate. Maggie seems to be gone, for good I'm guessing?. Let's just figure out what to do from here, ok?" Ruby is trying to use a calming voice although Jake can tell her temper is rising. Whipple exclaims, "Ah, so you DO know something about where Maggie went! Where is she?"

Jake lets go of William Whipple’s arm. "Tom, the only gun drawn right now is yours and you've drawn it against a lawman." Jake does not turn it around. "If you put it away right now so we can talk, Flossie does not have to visit you in jail." Or Boot Hill he thinks as he lowers his right arm within reach of his Colt.
Once Jake releases Whipple around and steps right to where his face is within inches of Jake's. "ARE YOU TELLING ME YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT WHERE MAGGIE WENT!" William Whipple exclaims.

Jake smiles at William Whipple. "I don't know where Maggie is. I don't know anything about Maggie leaving or not, I thought she was resigned to go back to Denver with you. Could you ask your son to put his gun away before someone gets hurt?" "Look," Ruby says raising her voice, "It's not our fault you can't control your daughter. We told you we don't know where she is! Now calm yourself down before you go too far."

One of the men at Teddy's Faro table approaches and says "Excuse me, but could I be of some assistance here?" Jake and Ruby do not know who this man is. They do note that Mr. Austin has now moved over to a table near the front doorway. "And you are?" Ruby says to the new man. Before hearing his reply she turns back to the Whipples. "No matter where Maggie is we have the paperwork, done by the lawyer Mitchell Berg, saying that we now own half of the Lone Star. Tom, we were under the impression that you were selling us the Lone Star along with Job. And now we own one half so can we just figure this out like adults? She is trying very hard to be diplomatic but does give the elder Whipple a dirty look when she says that.

The man says, "I’m Niles Hoover, the town's liquor distributor. I was the one who had made an offer to Tom Whipple to purchase part of this establishment. If there has been some sort of a change then perhaps we should go somewhere more private to discuss it." Ruby says, "That sounds like a good idea to me. Boys, do you agree?" Jake turns away from William Whipple and faces Tom. "Please put the revolver away." Jake's eyes are cold and he has cleared the duster from his right side holster. "I'd be happy to sit and discuss this like gentlemen."

Tom says "I put the gun down once you leave my father alone." He then says to his father "I think Mr. Hoover has a good idea, let's go upstairs and discuss this." William Whipple yells across the room "Teddy, quit your game and come take over." William then marches towards the stairs. Jake scoops up the contract and waits for Teddy to come over to the bar. He gets two glass of whiskey, hands one to Ruby and then escorts her up the stairs. Ruby looks to Tom. "I know you weren't going to hurt Jake. Let's go figure this out, ok?" Ruby gives Tom a smile, takes the whiskey from Jake and walks up the stairs.

They arrive upstairs. The hallway is filled with cases of liquor bottles that are stacked from floor to ceiling. They enter one of the rooms that has a bed and five liquor kegs lined around it. William Whipple sits on the bed and Niles Hoover uses one of the kegs as a chair. Tom Whipple remains standing after he shuts the door once Jake and Ruby enter. Niles begins by saying "Exactly what is this all about? Tom offered me a 75% share in this establishment."

Jake offers the contract to Niles. "Tom offered us the same. And we gave Maggie $2,000 yesterday for her half." Niles says "This looks to be valid. Tom, I suppose you could petition Judge Isby tomorrow to try to have this invalidated, but I've never known him to question a document prepared by Mitchell Berg. So I guess the only issue at hand is who will purchase Tom's remaining interest in this place. Tom, you seem to have offered it to too many people, including Mr. Kane who is not present at the moment."

Tom says "I don't give a damn. You work it out." He then storms out of the room and slams the door behind him. William says "Perhaps we could have our own private auction for it?" Jake replies, "Not a penny over $2,000 for the balance. Niles, Job and Ruby contribute to the value. Don't mess with that. You let us buy the rest as stated and we'll make a separate deal. I have an idea if you'd care to hear it. It will meet all of our needs."

Hoover says "And what are you suggesting Mr. Cook?" Jake answers, "Rather than invest your money in just buying the Lone Star let's look at whether we can make more space for customers. Ruby and the tables pack them in, but there is only so much room. I wonder if there isn't a way to store your wholesale goods AND make a little more room for customers?" Jake looks him in the eye. "I don't know what you thought you were going to be able to do as the primary owner, but we own half of this place now. If you decide to walk away from the sale tonight, I'll keep to an arrangement so your goods aren't out in the street. If you want in tonight, let's go find Job Kane and make a deal. We only paid $2,000 for our half, shame if you paid more."

Hoover says "Let's see if I have this right. You're suggesting that I pay the same as Kane, and we each then own 25%, with each of you two owing 25%. So basically, four equal partnerships." Jake answers, "Ruby and I were originally going to purchase 75% between us with Job buying the other 25%. We had planned on hiring a manager. We ought to talk some more about it all and make sure it all makes sense. Seems like you have the skills to run the bar and kitchen, plus you have the benefit of the wholesale business." Jake looks over at Ruby. "Don't know how you feel about it, having an additional partner. You interested in the general management Niles?"

Niles says "Sure, but only if I'm a part owner. No incentive otherwise." William says "Let me go talk to my son." He leaves the room but keeps the door open. Ruby hears William and Tom talking in one of the other rooms, she can't make out what they are saying other than William loudly saying "Don't toy with me, I'm in no mood." A short while later William returns and says "Mr. Cook, my son would like a word with you down the hall." Jake shrugs his shoulders at Ruby and meets Tom in the hallway.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 138 ,“Change in Ownership”, Sunday, January 15th, 1882:

Booth takes Kate's arm and escorts her outside. When they both see the condition of the street he suggests that the stick close to the boardwalk. He lets go of her arm and says "Perhaps you'd best lift up the bottom of your dress a little otherwise it will get soaked and make you uncomfortable all evening." "I'm going to have to lift it up quite a bit, I think." Katherine pulled up the hem of her dress to give it a few inches clearance over the water. Thankfully she wasn't exposing much more than the tops of her shoes. "Let's go."

Katherine and Conrad arrive at the front door of the Long Branch Saloon. It appears to be a quiet evening, with around fifteen people inside including the bartender and two saloon girls. Two men are seated at one of the card tables that Booth gestures to and take's her arm again to escort her to it. Kate continued to hold her skirt up for a few steps until they got over the puddles near the door. She looked around the room as if she were looking at a painting. Standing outside the scene and observing. "I'm afraid the wet will keep most people away. Did you still want me to play?"

Booth replies, "Oh yes, Mrs. Kale. I anticipate that others will soon flock to this site when they see you sitting here." He calls over the bartender Ray Singer and says "Please get Mrs. Kale whatever she would like to drink, and I'll have my usual." "I have to wonder how you can be so sure," Kate said, shaking her head. "You wouldn't happen to have any brandy would you? I'd certainly appreciate it." Kate took the chair that Mr. Booth was holding out for her. "Good evening, gentlemen," she said pleasantly to the others at the table.

The two men both greet her back. Booth introduces her them and them as "Richard Hammer, the town's jeweler and watchmaker and Reverend Anson Haggler, a priest of the Greek and Roman Church who led the services in town this morning." "A pleasure." Ray Singer brought over a whiskey for Mr. Booth and a brandy for Kate. She lifted it and sipped. Much, much better than whiskey. "Thank you." The warmth of the alcohol began to spread from her stomach outward, as if trying to wake her up.

Kate comments, "I trust you gentlemen are having a good day. Is it always this quiet here on Sundays?" Hammer says "Things were rather lively this morning at Mr. Haggler's worship service. It is too bad that both of you missed it." Booth says "Yes indeed, I will have to make a point to have my housekeeper wake me earlier the next time you are in town. I've heard nothing but good things about your services."

"Yes, a great shame to have missed it," Kate said with an absolutely straight face. She thinks to herself, Tom was up early and dressed for church. They were having their usual Sunday argument, but she would win. She always did. "It's shameful," he said finally. "It's only shameful if you go there and pretend. And I won't do that. Go to church, Tom. I'll be here when you get back." And he sighed and walked out of the room. Kate picked up something off the table. "You forgot this," she said holding out the bloodied knife. "How can you get to the afterlife without it?"

Kate shook her head and lifted her hand to her forehead for a moment. "Ah, Reverend, did something particular happen today, or do you always give a lively sermon?" The Reverend replies "My sermons are always exciting, but today's was one of my better ones. Today I spoke of Bellerophon, son of King Glaucus. He was a great hero who rode pegasus to slay the chimerae. The funny thing is, that wasn't what I had prepared for today. I had planned to preach about Zues and Hera, but something about the weather inspired me to change it."

She comments, "This weather is unusual isn't it? I haven't been here long, but I'd always understood it to be quite dry here." They had already known that something unnatural was coming. Mr. Gonzales had said so, and Nanuet had recieved a visit from that strange woman, telling him that he was a pivotal part of the direction the world would take. Were he Greek and Roman gods another force that would take a hand? Or maybe she was just paranoid, seeing plots behind every coincidence. But she filed it away to tell her teacher anyway.

As the men continued to talk Kate let her mind drift. Chester had gone to the service this morning, he should be able to tell them more about it. The voices kept chattering away. Nods and smiles came from her body, her eyes moving to each face as the lips moved. She pulled her mind back to where she could understand the words. She had a promise to keep, and being miles away wouldn't do it. When there was a lull in the conversation she said, "Well, I hope you gentlemen won't mind a novice at the table. But before we play cards I believe Mr. Booth requested I play the piano. Shall I do that now, or would you rather I played later?" she asked Mr. Booth. Conrad says "By all means, show this establishment you talents."

Kate stood and walked over to the piano. For a moment she just let her fingers feel the keys. She released an enormous breath. The keys under her fingers were home. She didn't have to think about what she was playing; the Mozart flowed from her fingers along with her anger, fear, and the feeling of separation that had plagued her since she had woken that afternoon. She had no idea what the others in the room were hearing, and right now she didn't care. She couldn't seem to find where the music stopped and she began.

The piece came to it's crescendo, and Katherine sat back, breathing hard. She had never played like that before, but she felt lighter. She had left a big part of her grief in Ruby's arms that afternoon, replaced by anger and shock. Now the shock was wearing off, and the anger had been given an outlet in the music, along with the other passions roiling inside. Kate's fingers finally stilled, and the last notes shimmered away through the air. She didn't hear anything, so she turned to look at Conrad Booth, questioning. He smiles back at her.

Back at the Lone Star, Jake arrives in the room where Tom is and Tom then shuts the door. Tom says, "Look Cook, truth be told, I don't give a rat's ass about what happens to this place. Burn it to the ground for all I care. Up until a few minutes ago all I cared about was my future with Flossie. Now I'm worried sick about my sister too, and I'm torn. Part of me wants to leave with father but I think I'd better go find and bring Maggie back instead. She's so innocent and the world is not a safe place for her to be out there alone. Father seems to have written her off, but I haven't. You want the place, fine, but if you know where my sister is I want to know!"

Jake takes off his hat and rubs the back of his neck. "Look, I don't know where Maggie is. My understanding is that she is fine and will be partnering with some influencial people who don't think she is helpless. As a matter of fact they want her for her demonstrated ability to manage a place. Right now she doesn't want to be found, by you or your father." Jake leans against the wall and thinks about Virginia. "I think she's worried about you. Write her a letter tonight, I'll find a way to get it to her in the next few days. She'll have to decide if she wants to answer it."

Tom replies, "Ah, so Katherine does know where to find her." He then says, "Well Cook, I still have one more problem. I'll be straight with you. My father's deal was to take me and Flossie to Denver with him the price to buy into his business is $ 5,000. When Maggie left she not only sold you half this place but she took some of our savings, not much, but enough to sour father's deal. With the $ 2,000 from the sale of the place, the $ 1,800 left in the cash box and $ 900 that Flossie saved up that comes to $ 4,700. I'm still $ 300 short. I just spoke to Father and he won't budge. You may have noticed that he has a stubborn streak. So unless I can come up with another $ 300 I won't be going anywhere, so there'd be no point in my selling."

"Well you'll be very happy with Ruby and I as partners then." Jake just shakes his head. "What in Hades do you want from me? Your own father is crushing his children like bugs and you accept that? What are you going to tell Flossie? You are going to give up now?" Jake looks him in the eye. "Do you have something else worth more than $300?"

Tom looks up and says "Hold on. What exactly did she sell you? The building or the building and it's contents?" Jake replies with an edge of anger in his voice, "I thought I bought the business, which should include the contents. But we can go look at the contract." Jake gets a nasty look on his face. "Tom you offered to sell us this business for $4,000 and we agreed and have tried to be fair. If you are going to start playing dirty here, you may regret it."

Tom replies in a voice showing frustration, "I was counting on having the $ 4000 too! Not having half of that walk away along with some of the hard earned savings. If you're not willing to help me out then I guess I'll have not choice but to go find Maggie and get it back from here. And I'm not asking for the $ 2,000, only a lowsy $ 300 bucks!"

Down the hall, Ruby says "So, Mr. Niles. Do you have much experience with saloons? I understand yours just got burned in the fire last night, such a shame," as she shakes her head and pulls her hair over her shoulder. He answers, "Not that much. I basically just put in the bar and barstools so that people could sample what I had to sell. But I am a good business manager so if you want somebody with good business sense then I'm your guy."

She asks, "You are willing to have Jake and I as partners? As Jake said we are looking for someone to do the day to day stuff." Ruby gives him her special smile. He laughs and replies, He laughs "Oh, I'm willing to take a chance with most anybody. If you ask around you'll find that I'm part owner of over a dozen worthless claims from prospectors who hoped to strike it rich. One of these days an investment of mine will pay off, maybe this will be it. But in the meanwhile, having control of all liqour flowing into this town will keep me from ever being poor. That nice Mr. Martin arranged for me to store my goods here in the short term so I guess that's my most immediate concern."

Ruby stops to think for a moment, then laughs. "That could be to all our advantages, the liquor situation. Yes, Mr. Martin is a friend of ours and a very nice gentleman. Let's see what Jake has to say when he gets back." "What are they doing?" Ruby says outloud with only Mr. Niles to hear. Not that Jake couldn't take care of himself but she was worried about William Whipples's temper. She sits on one of the kegs and shakes her head. "I need another drink."

Down the hallway, an exhasperated Jake says, "Tom I'm a business man not a charity. Ask the others if they want to pay more. Ask your father for a better deal, tell him his Denver place won't be worth so much if folks find out you and Maggie weren't married. Then your $4,700 covers a bigger percentage. A minute ago you were worried about your sister and didn't care if I burned the place down. Now you are going to hunt her down and take her money. I don't get you." Jake leaves the room to rejoin Ruby.

When Jake enters the room Ruby breaths a sigh of relief as she stands to greet him. "You took a while I was worried." She sees a look of annoyance on Jake's face. "Everything ok?" Jake explains Tom's predicament and most of the discussion with an angry look on his face. "Perhaps one of you can overcome this hurdle before I resort to less pleasant methods."

'Well, Mr. Hoover, I suppose this falls to you and the remaining partner. Would you be willing to pay $1,150 for your share? Believe me, with the way we are going to spruce this place up and with me on the stage, by the way, have you heard me sing? Anyway, you'll get your money back in no time at all..." Niles agrees to the plan.

Ruby turns and whispers to Jake, "Do you think I should talk to William? Maybe I can get him to take the less money on a loan or something." Jake replies, "They are both angry and irrational, and I'm getting the same. I don't know what will work at this time. You are welcome to try anything." Jake crosses his arms and sits. Oh, it's ok honey," Ruby says in a soothing voice," "Just calm down." She walks over to Jake and gives him a kiss. "I'm sure you tried, these Whipple men just have no sense in them." Ruby turns to Mr. Hoover, "You are a smart man, you'll get your money back I'm sure. Now let's go find Job and make sure he still wants in and get this over with."

Jake gets up stretches his arms a bit and takes a deep breath. "I'll go talk to Job, tell him that the price went up and convince him to come over tonight. Niles why don't you sell Ruby and I some $1,000 or so of your warehouse stock at cost tonight. We have the cash and that way you and Job can buy your stakes from Tom today. You go get Berg and bring him back here to cut the deal right now. Tom Whipple signs the papers selling you and Job 25% each, we give him one night free in our Lone Star and he leaves with the clothes on his back and his family in tow. Tomorrow you go to the bank, get your money and buy the warehouse stock back from us." He winks at Ruby, "what do you think? You convince the Whipple men to take the money and run, or at least vacate the Lone Star in the morning."

“I knew you would come up with something. I’ll go talk to the Whipples.” Ruby turns on her heel and walks out the door, then suddenly hurries back in. “I forgot something…” She kisses Jake then walks back out again, winking over her shoulder. Niles gives Jake a funny look and Jake just shrugs and laughs. "Redheads." Niles leaves to get Berg while Jake heads out to find Job.

She finds the Whipples downstairs whispering at a table in the corner. “Gentlemen,” she nods as she approaches them and then sits, “Tom, you’ll have your money tonight. Berg will be over to sign the papers with Mr. Hoover and Mr. Kane. You will sign over everything in this place to be sure and you’ll get your extra $300. Tomorrow you will take yourselves and your family and get on the 9:00 A.M. stagecoach out of here, to start your new lives, so we can start ours. Agreed?”

William Whipple starts to speak up and Ruby cuts him off. “Listen, if we must we will sour the deal with Mr. Kane and Mr. Hoover and then it won’t get done at all. Do you think you could get all your money from selling half this place to someone else? No I didn’t think so. Or what are you going to do? Stay here Tom, with Flossie and have Jake and I as partners? I'm not so sure you would like that, I think you're learning. So just accept that is the way it is going to be and take our well wishes for your new life instead of something not as pleasant.” Ruby smiles pleasantly at them while trying not to laugh at the look on their faces. “She extends her hand to them. “Agreed?” They reluctantly shake hands with her, realizing they have no other options. “Good. Let’s have a drink then, shall we?” Ruby heads to the bar and grabs a bottle of whiskey returning with two glasses. “It’s on you, Tom,” she smiles before heading outside to get some air and wait for all rest of the players to get back.

Jake locates Job Kane and explains the situation to him, including the benefits of having Hoover as manager and a source of liquor. After a bit of cajoling Kane reluctantly agrees to pay the extra money Tom is asking for. "I'll get Ruby to sing a little more enthusiastically to help make up the difference." Jake kids with Kane. The two gamblers drag themselves through the mud back to the Lone Star and find Ruby waiting outside. After a few more minutes Hoover arrives with Berg who comments, "You sure keep strange business hours."

Berg does his task well as always, leading the group through all the details. Having been briefed by Jake both Hoover and Kane make sure Berg leaves no wiggle room regarding anything the new partners might need. As far as Jake is concerned father and son Whipple take turns continuing to be pains in the asses during the whole final contract, but Berg seems unperturbed. Ruby keeps distracting Jake whenever she notices his fingers start flexing. After what seems like an eternity, the contact is signed. Ruby gushes and wishes them well, Jake nods and smiles a forced smile.

Jake lets them know he and Ruby will be spending the night in Maggie's old room tonight. Ruby is startled but smiles. William Whipple begins to protest but Jake cuts him off, "You have all the beds you can sleep in, I'm tired of listening to your complaints. You don't own the place any more." Berg unnecessarily points out that Jake is correct. Jake takes Job aside and asks him to locate Jeff Mills. "Tell Jeff to show up for work bright and early, or his new employers will have something to say about that. He needs to make sure only personal possessions leave with the Whipples."

Jake also chats with Hoover and asks where he is staying, and suggests he might try and find a place to sleep here tonight. Hoover replies "I'm paid up until the end of the week at the Double Eagle Boarding House. I'll stay there for now." Jake says, "I need to take care of a friend, looks like you are running the place tonight Niles. We'll be back later to help close."

After Berg excuses himself Jake takes Ruby aside, "Let's go check on Katherine. This took much longer than I thought it would." She agrees and they head back to the El Parador. As they arrive Jakes says 'hola' to Pedro, who's eyes quickly take on a guilty look. He explains that Katherine left with the gambler Booth, and that he meant to send someone over to tell Jake but with the all the people here tonight it just slipped his mind. "I suppose she's OK with Booth." Jake says to Ruby "Why don't you go up and start packing while I go over and peek in on Katherine?"

"You really think that is necessary?" Ruby asks. "No. I don't know. I'll just feel better. I won't stay." Jake shrugs again and leaves the Cantina. Jake drags himself through the mud again on his way to the Long Branch Saloon. "Damn mud." He says several times on the way. He tries taking some deep breaths on the way over to relax but it isn't working, he's been on edge since he heard the familiar hammer click of Tom's revolver. "I have half a mind to go back and shoot one of them just because." He mutters to himself.

As he approaches the Long Branch he swings wide. He doesn't walk up to the door, but rather walks past the door like he's avoiding a mud puddle, his hat pulled low and his body slightly averted. As he does he quickly glances into the saloon. Fortunately it is not crowded and her slight form is easily recognizable. She is sitting up straight and formal, dressed finely with her hair done up. That is all he can see in the quick pass. He also notices Booth is there. Satisfied and not wanting to intrude, he heads back to the El Parador.

"You walked all the way in the mud to just walk by the door? How is she doing?" Ruby makes that funny face she always does whenever she can't figure out why Jake did something. He says, "I don't know how she is doing. I just know she is there. Which means she isn't at the Marshall's office or doing some other crazy thing." Jake starts collecting up his things. He stops when he notices that Ruby is just staring at him shaking her head. "Oh, stop that. I don't have to make sense all the time."

Ruby and Jake pack up all their belongings and head down stairs. "Dorita, if you get someone to help us carry this over to the Lone Star you can have another room for this crowd." She looks at Jake questioningly but he only says, "I'll tell you later, you're busy now." He gives her some money to catch up with his bill and they head over to their new home.

Ruby and Jake bring their things up to Maggie's old room and unceremoniously drop them in piles on the floor. They look at each other and laugh. "You stay here with Niles and keep things under control, I'll talk to Tony and let him know we can keep things the same for now and then I'm going out for a bit." He looks down at his feet before looking back up at Ruby. "I'm going to go back to the El Parador and wait for Katherine. I don't know what I'm going to say. I need to say something. And I'll tell her where we are."

Ruby swallows and says, "This was supposed to be a celebration night." "Heh." Jake gently runs his hand across her cheek and grins. "Have the bourbon ready when I get back." They go down stairs, where it has gotten nearly empty. Jake has a few words with Tony, and Tony seems satisfied. Jake waves at Ruby and heads quickly out the door and back to the El Parador.

The night at the Long Branch goes well for Kate. Booth does a good job of walking the line between showering her with attention and embarrasing her. He insists on her playing and stakes her $ 100 which she promptly manages to lose in short order, much to the satisfaction of the other players, who then spend a while longer before they lose it to Booth. Kate is surprised how aggressive a gambler the good Reverend is and is also surprised by the amount of profanity he uses when he loses with no attempts at apologizing afterwards. Two other players join the game after a bit but she only catches their first names Fritz and Horace.

She didn't put in any of her own money after she ran through Mr. Booth's. Her turn at the piano seemed to have cleared her mind somewhat, and the need to concentrate on playing poker and the liberal consumption of brandy had kept it there. She did the best she could to be pleasant company, although she couldn't see her presence having much affect on Mr. Booth's table.

Kate was tired by the time the game broke up and Mr. Booth escorted her back to the El Parador. The water was still high in the street, so she held her skirts up again. Mr. Booth talked on the way back, but Kate was settling back into the quiet that had fallen on her when she'd woken this afternoon. They stopped at the door to the cantina and Kate turned to Mr. Booth. "Thank you. I don't know if I helped you at all, but it was a nice evening." Through the door Kate can hear Dorita and Pedro cleaning up inside over the hushed voices of the few townsfolk crowding the inn who are still awake. "I'm tired. I should go inside."

He says, "You were perfect. I expect to have a crowd of men at my table next Sunday night waiting for you to walk in the door." Katherine smiled weakly. "Perhaps." She toyed with the wrap around her shoulders. It was chilly outside in the still damp air. It would be warm and quiet up in her room, but her feet seemed rooted to the porch. Conrad's voice began to penetrate her mind "....alright? Mrs. Kale?" He paused. "Katherine?" She says, "Uh, yes. Alright. Ah, fine. I should go to bed. Good night, Mr. Booth."

Kate steps inside the Cantina, glad to let the plastered on smile slip off her face. She has no idea whether she had fooled anyone or not. It doesn't matter anyway. Her word was kept. She sees Jake sitting at the back of the Cantina. He is sitting alone holding a nearly empty whiskey glass. He has obviously been watching the door. He nods to her and beckons when they lock eyes. "Hi." He says in a low voice. "Ruby and I are going to be staying at the Lone Star tonight, all the papers are signed and we don't trust the Whipple men." Jake nervously plays with his glass. "Can we go upstairs and talk?"

She nods and continues on past him and up to her room where she unlocks the door and lets Jake in before closing it behind him. Kate pours herself a drink from the whiskey bottle Ruby had brought up and sits down in the chair by the window. "Katherine..." Jake begins but he stops. "Look, Katherine....." He stops again. "It was hard for us to not tell you, and hard for us to tell you." He holds his hat uncomfortably in his two hands. "When you can, if you want, we'll tell you all we really know. Which is not a lot." He squirms a bit more before he says, "I didn't know what I was going to say when I came over, and I still don't."

She lifts the glass, drains it, and pours another before she answers. "Ruby already told me everything. That's what she said." Her voice comes out flat and hollow, and her eyes stare straight ahead. He answers, "I know there is really nothing I can say to make you feel better. Just let us know if we can do anything for you." Jake puts his hat on his head. "It's a hard thing to learn, hard to swallow. I..." He doesn't finish the thought. "Good night Katherine."

She finally turns her head toward him, but doesn't really seem to be looking. "No. Nothing to say." She wondered why he kept standing there looking at her. She drained the glass again. "Good night." Jake stands there looking at her a moment longer. His mouth opens a couple of times to speak but nothing comes out. He looks down, turns and quietly closes the door.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 139,“Promise City Departures”, Sunday, January 15th, 1882,

Things continue to be calm over at the Lone Star. After all of the paperwork had been signed Mitchell Berg handed Tom the copy of Maggie's divorce papers for his signature, saying that they would be filed with the Judge the next day. Tom signed then and then told Berg "We'll be leaving before they are filed. Once the judge approves just mail my copy to the Lone Star Dance Hall and Saloon in Denver."

All of the Whipples head upstairs to pack then head over to the Comique for the remainder of the evening. Tony Lucky and Niles Hoover have no difficulty managing the six to eight customers there for the rest of the night. Word gets around town about the antics of Buffalo Bill Cody, spending the night at the Palace Saloon where he makes himself the center of attention. Billy Comstock and his friends avoid that place like the Plague, spending the night at the Gay Lady where they ask Chester to join them for a strategy session regarding their hunting trip into the mountains.

Jake walks quietly back to the Lone Star. He arrives in time to help with the cleanup, much to his dismay.
"So, how did it go. How is she?" Ruby corners him. He answers, "I might as well have not even been there. She's going through the motions, and I mostly stood with my mouth hanging open." He sighs. "I don't know what I was thinking. At least I know she's in her room." He shrugs.

"You were thinking that you are worried about her. You can admit it. And she thinks you are a good man for a reason, even if you don't believe it." Ruby smiles and shrugs. "But we believe it." Jake can tell Ruby is thinking because she is twirling her hair around her finger. "Do you think I should go and check on her tonight? Or think she'll be ok until the morning? I am worried too but I didn't see her reaction. She just fell asleep crying. I am sure she is shocked but I more worried about when that shock wears off. Doesn't sound like it has yet. What was she thinking going with Booth tonight?" Ruby says shaking her head.

"I don't know what you can do for her tonight if she isn't talking." He frowns. "Go if you want, but we can't watch her every hour of every day. Yes I know, I just checked up on her. You don't have to throw that in my face."

Ruby sighs. “I know I can’t keep watch over her all the time. And neither you or I can make it better.” Ruby looks around the now cleaned up bar. It looked very different with no one in it. Niles and Job bid them good night and go on their way, leaving Jake and Ruby standing alone in the dark bar. Ruby looks to Jake. “I guess we actually did it, huh? We must be crazy.” Jake smiles at Ruby, “Maybe crazy. Maybe not. Either way it’s no big deal, if we change our mind…” Ruby doesn’t let him finish his thought. “I’m not changing my mind Jake Cook! Let’s go upstairs and have a drink and go to bed. I’m not in the mood for celebrating anymore. We can do it another night.” Ruby takes Jake’s hand and they head to Maggie’s old room.

With a few extra rooms now available Dorita and Pedro are able to find places for all of the people who were displaced from their homes, and the place is quiet by 10PM. Sonoma and Manuel spend the night in beds inside of his castle while Pedro and Dorita take Manuel's room.

A short while later Jake heads over to the Marshall's office for a conversation with Wyatt Earp sometime Monday night after dinner. He strikes up a conversation out of earshot of the people in the jail. He once again reviews the facts about Weems being the person who hired the outlaws who shot Morgan. And then he tells him about the encounter with Adair, how Adair drew on him and then finally fired without provocation only to have his hand knocked aside by Van Horne. "We were seriously outnumbered, and even if I had killed them all I'm not sure Isby would have seen it my way the first hour on the job." Jake waits for Wyatt Earp's response before asking to be briefed on the job duties.

Jake also makes sure that Wyatt knows he is part owner of the mine and the saloon, just so there is no misunderstandings. Wyatt will tell Jake "Don't get ahead of yourself. I'm meeting with the Merchant's Association tomorrow to see if they'll approve you as my deputy. Until then, please try to not kill anybody."
"I think it was more the other way around, I was trying not to get killed." Jake laughs "I'll just relax, don't worry."

After Jake had left Kate spent the night finishing off the bottle of whiskey. She didn't sleep. Many hours later daylight crept over the horizon and she was still in the chair, finely dressed and still as a statue, staring into space.

Ruby wakes and can tell its late morning and then remembers she is in the Lone Star. Her Lone Star. She turns to look at Jake before untangling herself from him. He is staring at her, and he smiles faintly when she turns, "Morning." He runs his finger along her check and chin, "Still want to do shooting today?"

“Morning,” she whispers back. Ruby sleepily smiles at Jake. “How else will I be able to save your life if I don’t learn how to shoot the right way? Besides I need to blow off some steam today.” Ruby’s face gets serious for a moment. “But really we have been shot at way too often lately for me to not know what I am doing. Lucky will only get you so far…” as the smile comes back to her face, “Unless you have a lucky hat, of course…” Ruby gives a little sigh and nestles closer to Jake. “I really don’t want to get up though.” She lays still for a few moments before finally dragging herself out of bed. She moves slowly as she throws on Jake’s shirt and not bothering to button it she walks around the room.

Jake gets out of bed, pulls on some trousers and says, “I’ll be back in a minute.” She smiles at Jake over her shoulder as he slips out. Half asleep she claws through her pile of clothes in the room to get dressed. She grabs her leather pants and a white button shirt, just long enough to cover her but short enough to not need to be tucked in. With a sigh she also grabs the riding corset that came with her riding outfit. “So much for being able to move,” she thinks. She grumbles to herself about the injustice of corsets as she gets dressed. She slips her riding boots on under her pants. She grabs the new unused holster and her pistol and her new leather jacket just as Jake returns to the room. She plops back down on the bed and watches Jake prepare.

Once again Jake gathers up the extra ammo and some ruined clothing that he has accumulated to use for target practice. He dons the leather duster and his hat. "I like those leather pants, not like I like the green dress, but variety is nice, eh? I have some guns and all the ammo we'll likely need. What are you bringing, besides that pistol? What else do you own?"

“Yes variety is nice, at least when it comes to most things. And I will admit, the green dress is especially,” a knowing smile crosses her face, “Tempting. Now, what am I bringing? I only have my pistol and my derringer. What else should I bring? You want me to get some lunch or something? He says, "No that's good. You have a shotgun too, it's here with mine. We'll go over to the El Parador and grab something from Dorita on the way out. If it's leftovers, I hope all the dwarven delicacies are gone by now." He wrinkles his nose. “I have a shotgun?” Ruby says surprised. Jake just smiles. “Ok I do. But I want one of those nice rifles that shoots really far… I agree about the dwarven stuff by the way. Eewww.”

Jake checks with Jeff Mills and Niles Hoover to confirm that the Whipples all left on the morning's stagecoach.
On the way over to the El Parador and Ruby keeps turning and looking at the Lone Star with a gleam in her eye. They grab some food from Dorita; bread, fruit and cheese. They go out and prepare their horses for the day.

They ride out slowly and again Jake seems to take special pleasure in the landscape. The scrub brush, cactus and mesquite trees all seem to be greening up from the rain. Ruby notices Jake admiring the landscape. “What are you looking at? It’s just some trees and grass.” Jake just smiles and doesn't answer. Ruby continues to look around trying to figure out what Jake is looking at but gives up after not too long.

They get to a good spot and hobble the horses. "Let me see that pistol." Jake holds out his hand. "Double action, good choice for single handed shooting. This thing needs cleaning. I'll teach you how to clean it, or I'll do it. Either way that's no way to treat a gun you depend on to save your life." He shakes his head and gives her a serious look. Ruby puts on a little pout like a child who has been scolded. “Well, how am I supposed to know how to clean it if no one ever showed me! You can clean it. You do such a good job cleaning yours. I would think that gun of yours means more to you than anything else.”

Jake raises an eyebrow. "Not hardly. Treat her right, she'll be there for you." He hands her back her revolver and then whirls, lightening fast, draws his own and shoots a cactus in the midsection. He drops it back in the holster before saying, "When somebody else is reaching for their holster you get less than a second to beat them to the shot. If yours jams or misfires, well... usually the first shot wins." Jake's face turns from serious back to his smile. She says, “I guess you are right about that. But I can’t do what you just did so I hope I don’t ever get into that situation. Ok, I will try to keep the thing clean. Now show me how to use it.”

"Seems to me I've done this recently." He says to himself. "Now listen up. No fancy shooting, when you point it is because you intend to kill. No trick shots, no taking out an arm or a leg, no trying to shoot their weapon out of a hand. Aim at the chest, shoot to kill. Your pistol is double action, pull the hammer back on the first shot if you can. Steady this baby with both hands or lean it on something when you have the opportunity. The full trigger pull on a double action moves the weapon a bit in your hands." Jake gets a little grin. "The most important part is how you move the trigger. You don't PULL the trigger that will jerk the gun. You squeeze the trigger like your lover. Like this,” and he takes a short break from the lesson.

Ruby gives a little laughing squeal at her squeezing lesson. “So, is this is same lesson you gave Kate?” Ruby asks with a mischievous grin. He says, "Oh, yes. I look forward to this part of the lesson with all the ladies. It's a dangerous job with so many guns about though..." Jake rolls his eyes. “Are you saying that I am exaggerating your standing with the ladies?” she smiles. “No matter, I like this part of the lesson best, so far anyway…” She leans in and gives him another kiss.

Some time goes by and Jake talks some about weapon ranges and shooting characteristics. He then watches her shoot a bit before he offers any more help. "You have a damn fine natural ability, we just need to fix a couple of things." He moves her legs for better balance and adjusts the way she grips the rifle and shows her how to steady it with her other hand. Ruby takes in Jake’s instructions. She cocks her head and closes one eye and tries to focus on a faraway cactus. She unknowing starts swinging her hips back and forth to help get a better position. She lets the shot go but it does not hit its target. This puzzles ruby so she tries again, using the same technique. She hears Jake standing right behind her snickering and she tries to ignore him but can’t. “What is so funny, Mr. Cooke?” she says while still trying to concentrate on the shot.

"I like the show, but it isn't good for shooting." He moves up to her and adjusts the rifle. "Plant the feet and don't move. Just before squeezing the trigger take a short breath and hold it. Even the rise and fall of your chest while breathing will throw your shot off." “What show?” Ruby has a quizzical look on her face. “I’m not moving. But I will try holding my breath. I want to be good at this.” She tries the shot again. "Your not moving sure has a lot of interesting wiggle in the posterior," Jake tells her with an amused tone.

Ruby narrows her eyes at Jake and tries to looks over her shoulder at her butt. “Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about. But I’m going to keep practicing this shot until I get it.” Ruby keeps taking shots, getting closer to her target with each one. She continues to practice until she is satisfied, although she never quite stops the wiggling. They spend some time with the derringer and then Jake says, "Where do you keep that derringer? Show me how you get it." Ruby laughs at him. “You know where I keep it,” she says reaching down her shirt and into her corset. “And when I need it I just grab it.”

"The derringer is a close up weapon and you don't get many shots with it. If you can arrange it, shoot within twenty feet, but ten is better. The best way to do that is to not have them know you have it." Jake opens his right hand and turns towards her, moving his hand towards his boot. He looks up and stops, standing straight and revealing the derringer in his left hand. "Now, you're as good as me at that, maybe better. But it has to be in a place that will allow you to do that." Jake shows her his derringer holster that he keeps attached to the inside back of his trousers. "Reaching your arm down the front of your dress is... well... not exactly drawing attention away from you." He finishes with his palms up and shrugs.

“Yes but if I need it I don’t normally care who sees me get it,” Ruby responds. “Where else can I keep it? Oh, my leather jacket has lots of nifty spots for stuff, including the derringer. But I won’t be wearing that most of the time.” Ruby pauses and sighs. “I’m not used to having to know this stuff, Jake. I’m used to avoiding it. And I can usually talk my way out of anything. But having friends and people to care about, well, you want to make sure you can protect them too if you can, right?” "I agree, talking first, shooting very last." Jake gives her a weak smile. "I hope having folks to care about doesn't mean more shooting." “Me too,” Ruby replies with a shrug. “But it’s not looking that way so far.”

After practicing for a long while Ruby walks over to a shady tree. “I’m taking a break!” She plops down on the grass. Jake grabs some water for them and wanders over to sit with her. “So, are you ready to start running the Lone Star? I wonder what we are getting ourselves into…” "I'm generally not ready for anything I start." He says matter of factly. "Why should this be any different?" He takes a long drink of water.

She smiles at him. “Good sound business plan. I can live with that.” Jake leans himself up against the tree and Ruby sits in front of him, leaning back on him. “So, you asked me what I wanted to do with the Lone Star. What do you want to do with the Lone Star or what do you want to get out of it?” Ruby keeps her head against Jake’s chest but looks up at him curiously.

Jake looks down and smirks at her. "To me it's just a place to stow my gear, play some poker and keep Ruby West content for a while. I kinda like having her around." He looks off at the mountains in the distance that leap up sharply from the flat terrain. "Sure, I'll figure out how to make a buck there, and maybe even come to like it. Truth is I don't give a rat's tail about the Lone Star." He starts to look a little uncomfortable. "Now don't start on me, and start fretting about whether I'm happy or not. If you are going to start that bull crap I'll stop telling you the truth. You gave me what I asked for, so why can't I make happen what you want? Besides I figure I'll still get my ribeye, bourbon and other benefits." He looks back down and the smirk is back, but his eyes tell a more serious story. "Ok?"

Ruby turns half way to face Jake, putting her hands on his face. “I will never complain about you giving me what I want. Ever. And I don’t need to fret, I know you are happy, you told me so just the beginning of this week. And I know you like me Jake, just like I like you.” She turns fully and sits on Jake lap, facing him. “But I hope you’ll always tell me the truth. I don’t always tell the truth but I always tell the truth to you and I would hate to think you weren’t giving me the same courtesy.”

"Truth is you looked awful sexy sitting in my shirt during breakfast yesterday." Jake is grinning ear to ear. "Damn. I should have made you put clothes on, but I was enjoying the view too much." “You know how to get my clothes off, Jake, I’m not sure you know how to make me get them on,” Ruby laughs. “I’m glad you enjoy the view. I would consider giving it to you now but I’m sure you are busy and just have to get back to town, one of those important business appointments or something like that…” Ruby cocks her head and gives Jake his smile while reaching for a button on her shirt. “Well?”

"No, I understand Promise City closes on Monday. Well it ought to anyway. It is as far as I'm concerned." Jake rubs his hands on her legs. "Watch the cactus." “Cactus? Maybe I’d better stay right here,” she smiles mischievously and leans in to Jake, while throwing her shirt off, revealing the corset she cursed over earlier. She was glad she had it now to tease Jake with. “We wouldn’t want to mess with the cactus, would we?” She doesn’t give him the chance to answer before kissing him…

Later as they are riding out to see Flint, Ruby comments with a smile, “I like my lessons, we’ll have to do that more often, what do you think?” "I always pleased to oblige." Jake says happily. "I just hope I can still find something you don't know." Ruby flips her head and her hair, “Oh, I’ll always be able to use some practice with those guns of yours. Can never be good enough, right?” Jake nods slowly and laughs.

They arrive at the ranch and find Sonoma there and doing work towards having it ready. Jake says a quick hello and leaves Ruby and Sonoma to talk. Jake gets his saddlebags, finds Flint and walks back to his cave with him. The women see them talking, Flint looks serious but then laughs heartily at something Jake says.

Jake gives Flint the $300 from his share of the wagon before the two of them go into the cave where Flint gives Jake the six sticks of dynamite he requested plus fuse material. Jake reviews the proper igniting procedure with him again and promises to describe in great detail any time where he finds a use for it and the resulting carnage. I like this guy, thinks Jake not for the first time. Jake carefully stows the sticks and fuse in his saddlebags. The three of them bid Flint good day and head off.

They ride back to Promise City and the El Parador barn to put away their horses. Ruby and Jake make a swing by the Lone Star to drop off the weapons from practice. While there, they see Nanuet working on the third floor. Jake takes a few minutes to give him his $300 from the wagon. After that Ruby and Jake do a little shopping. First they get what they can at Reston's and then finishing at Lacey's. They Pick up miscellaneous supplies like candles, matches, twine, rope, a lantern, oil, blankets, leather water bottles, hammer, iron spikes, grapple hook, a shovel and a couple of back packs. Ruby makes sure to catch Judge Lacey's attention, giving the man a even mix between flirtation and guilt over the way he treated her last.

Lastly before heading back to the Lone Star they stop and see Senor Valdez. Jake gives him a $20 donation to help the poor, and thanks him formally for his assistance when Ruby was 'ill'. He tells the story of how it didn't go quite that well, and they all laugh. At least Jake does, Ruby and Senor Valdez seem a little uncomfortable at different portions of the story. Jake then inquires about healing from the gods that might be purchased and used by those without the special calling like Senor Valdez (e.g. non clerics). Jake is especially interested in something, whether it be salve, drink, bandage or whatever, that would be powerful enough to keep a fatally wounded person from dying. It wouldn't need to make them as good as new, but strong enough to remove a bullet and stabilize. Does such a thing exist and would Senor Valdez have one, or be able to make one? And would he sell to Jake and at what cost?

Valdez says that such items do exist but he himself is not powerful enough to create them. he says that he has connections in Mexico who might be able to locate such items but that the cost would probably be quite high." It's been a long day, Ruby and Jake head back to the Lone Star to clean up and drop off their supplies. They decide that they will meet up their friends at the El Parador for dinner.

Prior to the close of business that day Jake stops in at the post office to give his change of address, and to apologize for his rudeness the other day. He offers the Post Master a free drink the next time he visits the Lone Star. The Postmaster Eddie Palmer says "I'm glad you stopped in Mr. Cooke. A letter for you came in for you on today's stagecoach." He hands the letter to Jake. Jake realizes that it is far too soon for him to be getting back a response to either of the letters he sent and that nobody else would know he was here. Well, not quite nobody.....
He steps away from the counter. Ruby asks "Who is it from?" He replies "No return address." He opens the envelope and removes the letter. It consists of just a single sentence followed by a name:

Please meet me at the Water Hole Saloon in Tucson at your earliest convenience. Red

Ruby and Jake step outside the Post Office and he shows her the letter. "I guess I was right. Manuel Gonzalez is going to Tucson to meet with Maggie, remember?" Ruby tugs on his arm. She whispers, "He's probably not going to take the stage." Jake pales for a moment. "How... Nevermind. Am I never going to be finished with these Whipples?" He takes Ruby's arm and starts to escort he to the El Parador. "I need to go, and soon, to find out what is going on."

Ruby says, "Well, Maggie isn't that bad, not like her father and brother. And I'm sure going with Mr. Gonzales will be quite safe and quick. But Jake, I don't want you to go to Tucson at least, not without me. How will I know you are coming back?" "I'm coming back, don't you worry. What you think I'm gonna run off with Maggie and do social work?" He makes an ugly face. "One night a couple of weeks ago you wanted to know why I was in Promise City and I told you and Katherine it was because I’m not somewhere else.” He laughs. "Well I have reasons to be here now. You just make sure those reasons stay here while I'm gone."

"Well, how do I know you won't get there and find something better?" Jake can see that Ruby is genuinely concerned. "Oh forget it," she continues quickly. "I guess we'd better get you to Mr. Gonzales before he leaves so you can make your plans." Ruby and Jake head back to the El Parador and they go up to Mr. Gonzales room. He answers the door and lets them in.

"Hello my Golden Eagle, it is so nice to see you again. So Mr. Cooke, things seemed to have gone well last night at the Lone Star. Nobody ended up dead or in jail and you enabled a dozen people to have somewhere warm and dry to spend the night. So tell me Mr. Cooke, do you like the improvements to the jacket?"

"Folks may believe otherwise, but I don't really like to shoot people." Jake laughs. "If by improvements you mean the change of color and style, I do. Thank you very much, you do fine work and I do appreciate your assistance." Jake gives a little shiver. "This whole thing about," he says the next word quietly, "enchantments" followed by another slight quiver, "is a bit spooky. I am a practical guy though, so a tool is a tool."

Ruby gets right to the point, "So, Mr. Gonzales, Jake needs to go to Tucson, Can you take him with you? I figure if he goes with you he gets there and back quicker." Gonzalez replies "Well, I was planning to leave for there in a little more than an hour from now, to find and help Maggie Whipple. Two of us could travel as easily as one. Why don't you pack up whatever you might need and come back in about an hour."

Jake and Ruby head downstairs and head back to the Lone Star for him to pack. When he arrives Wyatt Earp is sitting there waiting for him. Wyatt stands and approaches him. "Mr. Cooke, I'm sorry to have to tell you this but I'm going to have to ask for that badge back." Jake gives it back to him readily. "I can't say that I'm surprised." And relieved he thinks. "Who doesn't like me?"

Wyatt says "The three leaders of the Promise City Vigilance Committee, Dr. Eaton, Great Western Boarding House owner Bill Watkins and Silverbell Mining company owner Elton Hubbard were opposed to someone with your reputation getting a badge. Two saloon owners, Burton Lumley of the Gay Lady and Evan Adair of the Palace were also strongly opposed. Parker Baxter added a few negative words as well. Then Hamiliton Fisk made an impassioned plea to reject you and most others gave in. But if it makes you feel any better Zack Morand, Al Brower, Mitchell Berg and Morgan Condon all had good things to say about you."

After Earp leaves Jake hurries upstairs and puts together a change of clothing, his long barreled revolver, and the gold box with the foreign money all into a travel bag. Everything else stays in the pile on the floor. He dons his duster and hat, grabs the travel bag and looks at Ruby. "I'll take the jewels and see if I can sell them in Tucson. Anything else we need there? Otherwise I guess I am ready." He puts an arm around her, "I would rather he was leaving in the morning, but I suppose tag-a-longs can't be choosy."

She says, "I can't think of anything we need there. But please try to be careful. You can't be sure that guy is really Red, can you? And yes, it will be hard to sleep alone after having someone warm to cuddle with all week." She smiles at him. "But hopefully you'll be back soon and we won't have to worry about that anymore." Ruby takes Jake's hand and they walk back to the El Parador to send Jake on his way.

Jake and Ruby head back to the El Parador. They head back upstairs to Manuel's room. Ruby notices that Manuel has moved his brazier and other spell paraphernalia needed for the teleport spell out into his regular room, apparently not willing yet to show Jake his mansion. Gonzales looks towards Ruby and says "Do not worry my golden eagle, I will keep him out of trouble, if that is possible."

Jake says, "Heh. Not impossible, just unlikely. Senor Gonzalez could I trouble you for the box of jewelry? I'm going to see if I can get a good price for it in Tucson. Minus the one item which is, you know, um... special." Gonzales replies "You may have most of the jewels, but the magical ring is not for you to sell." He asks for Jake to step back out into the hallway while he gets them from safekeeping. "You two spend this time to say goodbye. It might be several days until we return."

Ruby and Jake stand out in the hallway, waiting for Mr. Gonzales. Ruby doesn't say much, just stands around looking at her feet. She hears Mr. Gonzales finishing up, getting closer to the door. "Have a good trip, Jake. I hope you find what you are looking for." She gives him a smile and stands a little closer. "I'll miss you, so hurry home." She puts her hands on his face and gives him a long passionate kiss, so no matter what he encounters he'll want to come home.

"Mmmmm." Jake smiles when they finish. "Have one of those ready when I get back." Manuel interrupts the moment with "I am ready." and gives him the loose jewelry, which Jake awkwardly stows in a pocket, not having come prepared for them not being in the box. Jake gives Ruby one last quick kiss, "I'll be as quick as I can." "You do that," Ruby whispers as Jake walks back into Manuel's room. She barely hears the words of a spell then all is quiet. She goes off to find Kate.

 

[Silver Moon]

DM's Note: You may notice a different style to the next several chapters, as all of the players (except for Jake's) were able to get together for two days of gaming at a table rather than as a play-by-post. So instead of each person's dialogue being what they themselves posted I have transcribed the audio tapes from the games.


Chapter 140, "Arrival of the Hunters" Monday, January 16th, 5:00 P.M.

At Dorita’s insistence Sonoma and Ruby bring food up to Kate and force her to eat it. Kate is still in a near comatose state, just staring at the wall. She looks disheveled, having made no attempt to wash up or fix her hair. Ruby realizes that Kate probably won’t be in any shape to help out at the Lone Star this evening but they also don’t want to leave her alone. They decide to go talk to the others, finding Chester downstairs following his day of working at the bank.

Nanuet arrives accompanied by Jeff Mills, Jim Calhoun, Stuart Bald and Codie Jarret, the five men having spent the day working on the construction of the third floor of the Lone Star. Dorita brings out food for the hungry men. Sonoma asks Nanuet “Have you been learning how to be a bricklayer?” “No, but I’ve come an expert in mixing mortar,” is his reply.

“Should we go get Jake?” Chester asks. Ruby announces to the others that Jake has left and won’t be back for several days. This leads to some speculation as to where he went to and what he is doing. Sonoma asks if she is ready to manage the Lone Star. Ruby replies “Me? I’m not the one who will be running the place. I don’t want the responsibilities of making decisions for the saloon.”

It is pointed out to her that of her three partners, Niles Hoover just wants a place to sell his liquor, Job Kane just wants a place to play cards and Jake Cook who ran off to Tucson so she’s it. She says, “I believe Jake convinced Hoover to handle the daily operations.” She then points out that one advantage of the partnership with Hoover is that it sets up a ready source for bringing in Kentucky Bourbon, which Ruby decides they are no longer selling to the public but keeping it all for private use. The partnership also enables them to get all alcohol at cost.

Ruby says that before she heads over to the saloon tonight she needs a bath and that she should also “clean up Kate.” Dorita comments, “Clean up Kate hard, you may need some help.” Ruby replies, “No, I can clean up Kate, don’t worry about that. We’ll just meet up with you men over at the Lone Star.” Dorita comes over and hands Ruby something saying “Here, really good soap. You will need this.”

Sonoma insists on helping. They go to Kate’s room, get her dressed, pick out a change of clothing and help her over to Gilson’s Bath House. When they finish they head back to the El Parador where the men are still eating. Ruby asks the workers how the construction is going. Jeff replies “Come over and see for yourself, after all, you’re an owner now.” Jeff suggests, “You may want to change back into your pants. We haven’t built the staircase from the second to third floor yet so you have to climb up a ladder.” “Dorita mutters “He thinks she modest? She sit around here this morning in just a shirt!”

Ruby says, “I can handle a ladder in a dress.” Dorita tells Sonoma, “You make sure Ruby be presentable.” Sonoma replies, “I am not making sure she keep skirts down.” Ruby decides not to bring Kate up with them since “She may try to jump off.”

They head over to the Lone Star and Jeff leads her up to the roof. When the 2nd floor had been constructed they had planned for a third floor. The second floor roof had therefore been constructed with thick very solid beams to put a future layer of floorboards on top of. The construction thus far has been on the exterior wall, with the bricks now between two and three feet high around the exterior, running the 25 by 30 feet six of the building. They have also placed brick support columns above where similar columns are on the lower two levels.

She also see the tarp trap with loose bricks on it that Jeff has rigged up above the back door in case any more unwanted visitors show up there. Ruby is pleased that none of the interior third floor walls have been set yet, as she has some of her own design ideas as to those rooms. She asks, “How long do you think it will take to finish?” He replies “The plan with William Whipple had us finishing it in a month.”

Jeff says they should also decide if they want to stop with three floors or plan for future upward expansion, as that will make a difference as to whether they plan the hallway for another staircase up as well as the type of roof they will put above. It is noted that the third floor will make the Lone Star the tallest building in town, none of the others being more than two stories. “Do we need it any taller?” she asks. Jeff replies, “Whipple wanted to be able to keep going up. But he’s from Denver, where they have skyscrapers seven stories high, about as high as a building ought to go.”

Jeff Mills thanks Ruby for her and Jake getting him his job back. He adds that he particularly enjoyed getting to act as ‘security’ while the Whipples packed, making sure that they only took personal possesions with them rather than anything belonging to the Lone Star. Since William Whipple had gone and fired him that was poetic justice.

Ruby begins to scheme about how the affiliation with the town’s only liquor distributor will give her some degree of control over the other saloons in town. She discusses this with Nanuet and Chester who agree. Ruby asks Jeff to continue to work as the bouncer and bartender. She asks Chester and Nanuet to alternate guard duty out in the kitchen in the event of more unwanted visitors.

Two of the fourteen saloons in the town have gone out of business in the last week, with the Trail Dust Saloon having been confiscated from Pamela Yeats by the Arizona Territory and with Hoover’s liquor and saloon having been burnt down. This in turn will increase the business for all other saloons in town including the Lone Star.

Ruby tries to determine what the Lone Star now has for employees. Loosing Tom Whipple is seen by her as no real loss but with Maggie gone they are down a combination Manager, Cook, Waitress and Pianist. However, they now have Niles Hoover as manager and he also brought along his assistant Harry Rote, who is a capable bartender. And with them there all of their former customers will also now go to the Lone Star.

Monday night is not that busy a night and both Job Kane and Tony Lucky soon get their poker tables running. Sanoma decides that “Louise has gone back to Tombstone” but agrees to work at the Lone Star as herself, which Ruby finds acceptable. Kate agrees to play the piano this evening provided that she picks the songs she feels like playing. Ruby decides to let Somoma play that night too so that there will also be some happy songs.

Sonoma then presses Ruby for how much she will be paid. Ruby says “You’ll have to talk to Jake about that. I’m leaving all of the business decisions requiring negotiation to him.” Somana indicates that the pay will be better than what she receives from the El Parador, which is nothing. She says “I will have my own kitchen and not have to share it!. You will all stay out of my kitchen!” Ruby says “You won’t have to ask me twice.” It is pointed out that of all the current employees of the Lone Star the only one who could cook to save his life is Jeff Mills and it is not something that he enjoys doing.”

A man comes to the door. Ruby recognizes him but can’t place from where and asks to speak with her. He tells her in a French accent “Hello madamoiselle. I am Pepe Diderot, the pianist at the Gay Lady. Madge Duprey would like to speak with you. She is the main singer at the Gay Lady.” “Right now?” Ruby exclaims. He answers “Oui, at your earliest convenience.” She says, “I need to sing right now. I can speak to her at my first break.” “That would be fine,” he states. He then departs. Somoma whispers into her ear “Sounds like she wants a job. You make the terms with her, this is your saloon.” Ruby acts annoyed at Sonoma sticking her nose into the business affairs.

Madge Duprey comes by shortly and waits for Ruby to finish the next set. She asks to speak with her privately. They head upstairs. Once the door is closed Madge says “We have a mutual friend, Mr. Gonzales. He has given me considerable training.” Ruby reflects upon this, remembering that Gonzales cannot sign and also noting that Madge is of French descent and from New Orleans, a city known for wizardry.

“What kind of training if you don’t mind me asking?” Ruby states. Madge replies, “He has certain skills that I believe you are familiar with. Skills that are common where I am from but not too many people around here utilize. He indicated that he needed to leave this week on an errand and that you might need some further training. I have some talents that he does not so he thought that I might be a good instructor for you.”

Ruby answers, “Well, if Mr. Gonzales has suggested it then I would be happy to work with you.” Madge says that tonight would not be possible as they both have to work at their respective saloons but that she will reserve some time for training in the morning. “Not too early,” Ruby comments. Madge replies “Early for me is ten-thirty to eleven.” Ruby replies, “Make it closer to eleven. I think we’ll get along just fine. Madge says that she will stop by there the next morning.

The evening itself is fairly uneventful for a change. Sanoma spends the night inventorying the kitchen and determining what she needs to buy. At the end of the night the women have collectively made $6.44 in tips, Hoover has made a profit of $ 10.90 on liquor sales, Tony has made $ 69 at his poker table from which he gives the house $ 14. Job suggests that as a part owner he just keep his share and not take any of the other money. Ruby says that he will have to work that out with Jake but for the moment he should continue with contributing 20% of his take for an even share of the house profits. Job has made $120 at his table so gives the house $ 24.

Ruby asks Kate “Do you want me to stay with you at the El Parador or do you want to stay here?’ Kate takes her up on the offer to go with her back to the El Parador. With the Whipples gone both Job Kane and Jeff Mills have their own rooms back, albiet half filled with liquor cases, so will stay at the Lone Star and help protect it.


Tuesday, January 17th, 1882:

Sanoma gets up early, does some shopping for the Lone Star kitchen. In the course of her shopping she finds out that the town butcher has a small fire in his smokehouse the previous day, which enables her to get some slightly-cooked meat for a lower than usual price.

She then gets her horse and rides out to Pete’s Ranch. Nanuet decides to accompany her after first getting permission from Jeff to take time off from the construction, not wanting for Jeremiah Peck to lose his job. They decide to also bring Kate with them, hoping that the ranch will help to improve her mood.

Kate agrees to go but then goes into a panic when she cannot find her guns. She wakes up a sleepy Ruby who asks, “What are you doing?” Kate exclaims “Tom’s gun. I can’t find Tom’s gun!” Kate looks into the trunk and says “I always put it here!” Ruby says “Are you sure? You’ve been in a kind of a dazed state this past day.” Ruby suggests that she go on without it. Kate exclaims “I need this gun. It was my husband’s. I don’t need to shoot anyone but I need to have his gun.”

Ruby agrees to help her look and sneaks the pistol out from under the bed but leaves the derringer. She removes all of the bullets from the weapon. She then exclaims “It’s right here Kate” and returns the pistol to Kate, who is very relieved to have it back.

Ruby prepares to go off for her training but first makes sure that Dorita will see to it that Kate gets something to eat. “Here, you eat, put taco in mouth!” Dorita exclaims. “Maybe she’s sick?” Chester states. “She sick from not eating! Eat!” Dorita again exclaims.

Before heading over to the Lone Star she stops off at the gunsmith’s shop where Jake has instructed her to pick up two rifles, to replace the ones that got bent stopping the stagecoach, as well as a sawed off shotgun. She buys some of the less expensive models available, an older model army rifle and a six-shot repeating rifle.

Ruby heads over to the Lone Star and Madge Duprey shows up at around 10:45 A.M. They head upstairs to one of the rooms and spend the morning working on singing instruction, with Madge teaching Ruby how to use the bard abilities to influence individuals through singing. They work until early afternoon when Madge calls for a lunch break.

Madge asks if Ruby owns a horse, which she says that she does, that it is stabled over at the El Parador. Madge agrees to meet Ruby there in forty-five minutes for a short ride out to a location for further training.

Madge arrives at the El Parador stable and joins Ruby. Ruby notes that Madge’s saddlebags are rather full. They ride for a mile-and-a-half outside of town to a farm where Madge pays the farmer a couple of dollars for the temporary use of the barn. She then spends the next several hours teaching Ruby some more flamboyant spells requiring more space than the smaller room at the Lone Star allowed as well as using the cavernous size of the barn for its greater acoustics. She also teaches Ruby how to cast Detect Thoughts and Hold Person spells. They ride back to town as it gets towards evening.

Madge wishes her luck and says that they will probably work together again at some point. She then adds “And please don’t start any more fights at the Gay Lady.” Ruby replies, “We didn’t start that fight. You must know what it’s like, having men fight over you.” Madge replies “Yes, I’ve had lots of experience with that.”

Chester continues to have another dull and eventful day as a guard at Condon’s Bank. Chester notices that Danby Jones keeps asking Frank Condon questions about the robbery and the money taken from the vault and bank drawers. Frank is evasive in his answers to Danby’s questions.

Sonoma spends much of the day casting fertility spells onto the ewes of the sheep flock. At Kate’s request she also casts this spell onto the mares. Sonoma notes that “We will be very busy in five months for the sheep and in a year for the horses.” Sonoma then shows Kate how to mix together mud, water and hay to make adobe bricks, which are then stacked using more mud as a mortar.

Sonoma asks, “How do you want to break up this land?” Sonoma suggests rotational pastures lined with trees and to use her druidic magics to accelerate the growth of the trees to act as fencing and also provide for lumber. Kate suggests that they focus on sheep and cattle and not too many horses, as horses require a lot of resources and upkeep. Sonoma adds, “And you can’t eat them.” Kate says “We do need to raise some though, horses could be sold for a good price as there is high demand for them, plus it is what I know how to do.”

They discuss maybe allocating some land for crops. “I thought we were ranchers,” Nanuet exclaims. “I don’t know anything about farming,” Kate adds. Sonoma explains the advantages of rotating the fields between sheep and cows as the cattle pound down the soil with their hooves but the sheep then aerate it and make it useable again after which it could be used for a season for hay or corn, to feed to the livestock, before bringing back the cattle.

Sonoma suggests planting together the ‘three sisters’ of corn, beans and pumpkins stating that the corn grows the stalk, the beans climb the stalk and the pumpkin vines and leaves then protect the stalk. They plan out where to place the fields in relation to the stream in order to be able to irrigate the land and have a water source for the livestock. Sonoma suggests that they build the house first and then the barn. Sonoma explains how she wants to maximize the use of the land.

Sonoma announces that she plans to move out to the land instead of staying with her parents’ back in town. “Looks like we’ll need to make some more bricks” Nanuet states. Sonoma points out the best location for each of the houses, stating that they should probably each have their own. Kate says, “This is all new to me. My house was already built when I moved into it.” “Then how did you learn how to make it? How could you design it to be best run by you if somebody else made it?” Sonoma asks.

Kate replies “I didn’t have to do much.” “Houses don’t run themselves,” the young wood elf states. “That’s why you hire people,” Kate replies. “I do not understand?” Sonoma states. Nanuet explains “White man pays other man to run the house for them.” “So what do they do if they don’t run their own house?” Sonoma asks. Nanuet says, “They go to banks and stores.” “And learn to play the piano,” Kate adds. Sonoma replies “I learned to play the piano and also run my own house.”

Flint points out “You also live for hundreds of years. These short-lived humans don’t have time to learn how to do everything themselves. They have to get other people to help them to fit everything in.” “They need to fix that,” Sonoma exclaims.

Kate replies “I don’t think there is much I can do about that. If I’m lucky I’ll live to be eighty years old, and even at that age I’ll be gray, wrinkled and tired, very tired. If you’re human you are lucky to live that long.” “I’m sorry,” Sonoma replies. She then adds “I have a lot to teach you between now and when you get wrinkled.” “But not nearly as much time as you thought,” Kate answers. “Just learn what you can in the time you have,” Sonoma says. “There’s never enough time,” Kate replies. “There’s never enough time for anyone,” Sonoma answers.

Kate looks over the horses and concludes that most of them were well taken care of, which she decides would make good breeding stock. She makes sure that the male horses have at least one stallion rather than geldings.

Chester and Nanuet pay a visit to Rixton’s Furniture store, next door to the El Parador to have him make a custom cabinet for them to use to be able to check guns at the door of the Lone Star. They explain what they are looking for in a design and he says that he will have it ready for them in a few days.

The group all return to the El Parador for supper. The news around town is that Doc Eaton has closed and quarantined Fly’s Boarding House on Fremont Street due to the outbreak of a contagious illness. The Doctor would not specify the exact nature of the illness. One of the residents, a Mr. Edsel Trask, has died of this disease and the other residents are not permitted to leave the premises until the quarantine is lifted.

Roger and Janet Fly own the boarding house and adjacent photo studio. Edsel Trask was one of four tenants staying there. He was a gambler at the Long Branch Saloon. Kate begins to panic, having played there two nights ago, until she hears that he hadn’t been there since the previous Friday night due to the illness. Fly’s is considered the fanciest boarding house in town, charging their residents $ 9 a week and they want a certain class of clientele. Surprisingly, race however is not an issue as long as you pass the Fly’s standards of respectability.

Two of the other boarding house residents, Newman Sanders and Roy Ryder, are two of the three employees of Cassidy Lumber. The other is the half-orc Coolie Fagan who works as the clerk at the Wells Fargo Office.

Kate is still concerned and decides that they should go talk to the priest Valdez. Valdez says that Trask should have come to him, that Eaton is a competent surgeon by knows nothing about curing diseases, prescribing useless elixirs as a supposed cure. Valdez then states “Most of his elixirs are just alcohol with flavoring, very few have any herbal healing powers. Eaton doesn’t know how to throw a spell and is afraid of clerical magic, which is the best way to cure a disease.” They ask if Valdez knows what disease killed Trask. He states that he doesn’t “How old was Trask?” Nanuet asks. Valdez replies “twenty.” “Not good,” is Kate’s response.

The group prepares to head over to the Lone Star. Sonoma points out that they need to watchful of any patrons who normally go to the Long Branch as they may be carrying the disease. They discuss whether they want to talk to Conrad Booth and find out more about this Edsel Trask since Booth gambles at the Long Branch. “And he eats his meals at the El Parador, if this thing is contagious we may already be affected. The threads are already there,” Kate states. Sonoma points out that people at the El Parador are smart enough to wash their hands and fix themselves when they get sick.

Kate decides to talk to Booth as he arrives for dinner. She says, “Did you hear about what happened to Edsel Trask?” Booth replies, “Yes, he past on. I might be able to pick up several of his players.” Booth then catches the shocked look on Kate’s face from his insensitive comment and she says, “That’s so cold.” He attempts to salvage the situation by saying “Trask was not a nice man. Few will miss him.”

Conrad mentions that Trask’s girlfriend a half-elf named Rita Lopez who also works at the Long Branch also had the illness. She went to Valdez for a cure where Trask did not trust the priest so went to the doctor instead. “And look where it got him,” Sonoma comments. Conrad says that he is unaware of anyone else having come down with the illness.

Kate asks about Rita Lopez’s condition and Booth replies, “She seems to be better and she was sick before he was.” Booth speculates that her condition was improving before the weather got bad but that the rain exacerbated the disease in Trask. Kate expresses her concern about how contagious the disease might be. Booth says that of all the people at the Lone Stone only Lopez and Trask appeared to be sick, and that they had intimate contact with each other.

Chester comments, “Funny that Valdez didn’t mention her.” Kate says, “Well, we didn’t specifically ask. And if you went to a priest for curing you wouldn’t want him to be telling everyone he met.” Ruby says to Chester “If you saw him regarding a social disease you’d want him to keep that to himself.”

Sonoma and Dorita put together an herbal tea to held ward against illness and make sure that everyone drinks it prior to heading over to the Lone Star. Chester comments “I hope this doesn’t have any of that fertility stuff in it.” Everybody laughs at that except Dorita who just yells, “Drink it!”

They discuss getting word out about the Lone Star being under new management. Ruby mentions that she took out an ad in Chumbley’s paper announcing that. It is noted that Chumbley had left for Tombstone the previous day and did not return today, so it won’t be until Wednesday before it paper is back in town to circulate with that news.

The Lone Star is more crowded this evening than usual, due in part to people avoiding the Long Branch due to their employee having died from disease. Nanuet says “We should have put ‘disease free’ in that advertisement.”

The night is quiet until around 9:00 PM when Riley comes charging in with a look of fright on his face and is swearing profusely. Chester rushes up to him and asks, “What’s wrong?” Riley exclaims “They’re here!” “Who’s here?” Chester asks. Riley says, “The giants and furry monsters. The ones who we were guarding the creature from.” “They’re here in town?” Chester asks. Riley exclaims, “Yes.” Chester asks, “Should we block the doors and barricade the windows?” Riley answers, “No, they’re down the street right now at the Silver Dollar Saloon.”

“How many of them are there?” Chester asks. Riley replies “Twelve, two humans and ten monsters.” Chester asks “What kind of monsters.” Riley replies “Big! Really big.”
Ruby says “So, all they are doing is having a drink?” “Yes, the humans and half-ogres are,” Riley answers. When pressed for more details about these monsters Riley says that five are ogres and half-ogres, three are large furry dangerous things and two are giants, three times the size of men.

Chester heads into the kitchen to inform the others. Chester asks about contacting the Marshall. Sonoma states, “Until they do something wrong there is nothing he can do.” “Shouldn’t the Marshall be informed?” Kate asks. Sonoma replies “And tell him what? Big guys drinking in the Silver Dollar? That was not illegal the last time I checked.” Kate says, “Well, it is unusual.” Sonoma replies “And what is usual? Usual seems to be us coming into town and getting shot at every day. If men want to drink I say let them drink.”

Nanuet says, “They are the ones from Riley’s dreams.” Kate says, “The Marshall isn’t going to arrest somebody because one of us dreamed about them.” Since the Silver Dollar is only 100 feet or so up Allen Street they decide it is probably best to keep an eye on these creatures for the time being. Nanuet steps outside and doesn’t see anything odd going on up the street. People continue to walk along Sierra Street but appear to be sticking to the north side of it, the door to the Silver Dollar being on the south side.

Chester has learned some of the Ogrish language while in the army so decides that he would be the best one to find information from this group. He heads off and up the street. He has never seen creatures like these before. The giants look like oversized humans, around fifteen feet in height. They are attired in furs and hold large clubs. The other three are covered in a deep dark fur and stand nine-feet tall. They have oversized heads and wide mouths full of yellowed fangs. Their clothing is a combination of furs and wooden armor chest plates.

Chester attempts to walk past them to go inside and the creatures move to block him from doing so. `He can see that inside are two humans and five ogrish creatures plus the saloon’s bartender. One of the furry creatures growls at Chester and says something to him in a language that he does not understand. He asks, “Is it closed? I do not understand what you are saying?’ It growls at him and raises up its right fist. Chester backs away and walks back to the Lone Star. He asks a few people about this group and finds that they just now arrived in town. The Palace Saloon wouldn’t admit them so they headed over to the Silver Dollar instead.

He gives a report to the others of what he saw. Nanuet asks “Mr. Riley. Are you sure that these were the creatures you saw in your dreams attacking us?” He answers “Yes, we were fighting them in front of a cave. They were trying to get into it.”

Nanuet comments “Well if they destroy the Silver Dollar we’ll probably get even more customers. “Were they wrecking the place?” Kate asks. Chester says, “No, just standing there or drinking.” Chester is still concerned. “What are you suggesting we do?” Nanuet asks. Sonoma says “Chester, if they do something wrong they get put in jail, we don’t have to fight them. If they don’t do anything wrong we do not have to fight them because they did not do anything wrong.”

Kate says, “Well, we might get some customers who would go there now.” Niles Hoover points out that the Silver Dollar is primarily a lunch and dinner place and that they close each night at 9:00 PM, so there wouldn’t be any more customers this evening.” “Odd hours for a saloon” Ruby comments. Hoover says, “Well, they focus on their food.” Kate says, “Ah, they’re a restaurant that serves alcohol.” Hoover replies “Yeah, when Haywood Smith married Alice that was a change she insisted upon.”

Sonoma suggests sending someone over to the El Parador to let Dorita know about this group in case they come by there looking for rooms. Nanuet volunteers to head over and help put up the “No Vacancy” sign.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 141, "Stories, News and Gossip" Tuesday, January 17th, 9:30 PM

Nanuet heads over to the El Parador to tell Dorita about the large humanoids in town. On his way back to the Lone Star Maska intercepts him. “What is it girl, what’s the matter!” Maska bites at his leg and gestures further south. He pops his head back into the El Parador and tells Pedro “I’m going this way if they come looking for me.” Maska leads him to the abandoned minehead where he had previously met Kajika.

Maska acts as though she wants in. Nanuet does not know how to cast the Warp Wood spell yet, so Nanuet pries some of the boards off. Once enough boards have been removed so that he and Maska can enter they go inside. Nobody is inside. Maska charges over to where the shaman had lit the fire. Maska sits and waits.

Nanuet locates some wood to start a fire with. He gets a fair sized fire going and the smoke then swirls around and takes the form of a female centaur. He exclaims “Storm, Maska has led me to you. Do you wish to speak to me?” “Yes” she replies. He asks “Does this have anything to do with the nine-foot-tall furry guys and the giants in the middle of the street?” She replies, “Yes, and the creature you need to protect from them.” He says “So where is this beast?” She says, “In the Dos Cabezas Mountains.”

He asks, “What does this have to do with Mother Jiminez?” She states, “Kajika will return tomorrow from his trip to the Navajo and will be able to tell you more. The hunters are heading into the mountains tomorrow to seek the creature. Kajika has the answers that you seek.”

“Is there anything further?” he asks. She says “Your friends will need you.” “I’m going to need them,” he exclaims. “Indeed, this will be a mutual situation,” she states. He replies, “I hope that they will be obliging to help me defend a monster from other monsters.” She answers “After they hear what Kajika has to say they should be willing to assist.”

Nanuet asks “So, are you troubled in your afterlife?” “I am troubled that I died,” she states. He thanks her for answering his call. She says, “You did not call me, I called you through your animal companion. There are many skills that you have learned. There are many people and things that you have gathered. It is getting better.” She then adds, “Don’t let Ruby shoot you.” The smoke then dissipates. He checks his pouch for the blue wampum bead, finding it to be very warm.

Nanuet and Maska head out. He thanks her and gives her some food scraps, then plays with her for a few minutes. He heads over to Grand Keebler’s shed and borrows a hammer and a few nails then heads back to fix the boards so that it will not be obvious that anyone was in the mine shaft. Nanuet makes a mental note to ask Kajika how to cast the spell.

Nanuet heads back to the Lone Star. Things are continuing peacefully. Tony Lucky’s poker game comes to an early close and Job isn’t doing very well. One problem with the Long Branch being feared of disease is that the better gamblers have relocated to the Lone Star for this night. However, these high rollers are also big tippers so the women get nearly $ 20 in tips and Niles has good night selling liquor. They also have several Comique patrons present, as there is no longer a singer there. Job's game finally ends and he is $ 46 ahead for the night.

Things wind up around 11:15 PM. Hoover suggests that the next day they should consolidate the liquor into two of the upstairs rooms rather than five. Jeff Mills and Job Kane head upstairs to their rooms. Ruby is concerned about Kate being alone for the night but Kate says that she will be okay so Ruby decides to stay at the Lone Star. Chester walks Kate back then heads up to the Silver Dollar, finding it closed.

Wednesday, January 18th,

The water in town has finally receded and the streets are turning back to dirt. The temperatures are back in the low seventies. Lots of people are hauling water from the creek to wash up all of the mud. Most of the party sleeps in since they don’t have anywhere specific that they need to be. Nanuet heads over to the Lone Star to assist with the construction until Kajika arrives back in town. Things are quiet there as the lunch crowd has moved on since Maggie is no longer there to help cook, with the daytime business just being Hoover selling alcohol.

Sonoma and Kate ride out to the ranch. Sonoma instructs her in farming chores. Kate is not opposed to doing the work; she just needs to be shown how, being totally inexperienced in this type of chore. Sonoma has her spend time picking up rocks to clear the field. Sonoma explains how the rocks will be needed to build the rock wall for the lower foundation of the house. Sonoma begins the structure.

Ruby awakens early afternoon and heads downstairs where she finds Chester over at a table sitting and reading the newspaper. “Good afternoon Chester. The weather is so nice, feel like going for a ride and a walk with me today?” Chester stands up and doffs his hat. "Good afternoon, Ruby. I'd love to. Is there any place you'd like to go? Or we could ride around. It'll be nice to get out of town for a while."

She replies, “No where particular. Hasn’t had much chance to explore. Let’s take some lunch with us and if we find nice spot we can enjoy it together. I already took the liberty of getting some ready. I figured you wouldn’t turn me down,” she says with a smile holding up a small basket. Chester smiles back, "You figured right."

Ruby leads Chester out to the horses and they prepare them to ride. Ruby hands Chester the basket and he ties it on the back of his horse. “You don’t mind me wearing my dress, right? I don’t feel like wearing that stuffy riding outfit.” He answers, "No, not at all. You can ride however you want to. Somehow, I think you'd probably do it anyway, even if I did mind." He chuckles. "So, how's life as a saloon owner?"

They get on their horses and start riding out of town. “Well, it hasn’t been all that long. Ask me again in a week,” she smiles. “But it does feel good to have somewhere to call home. I haven’t had that, well, ever really. I don’t normally stay anywhere long enough to even make friends." He says, "Well, that's good that you've found a home. Why don't you stick around long enough to make friends? It looks like you make them easily."

"Yes that is true," Ruby replies, "I can make friends easily if I want to. It's not the making friends that is the hard part, it's the keeping them," she laughs. "Never had a reason to before I guess. You can imagine, most girls are jealous of me, so they don't want to be friends, and the men I've met, well, let's just say they usually want something from me that I don't want to give..." Ruby shrugs then changes the subject. "So, where did you call home before here?” He answers, "Just before I came here to Arizona, I was in Dodge City, Kansas. I did odd jobs there, but I got bored of the place, so I came here."

"Kansas is pretty far from here, what made you decide to come all the way to Arizona? And what kind of odd jobs did you do? Anything exciting?" They continue to ride on as Ruby asks her questions. He says, "I guess I wanted to go someplace warm. The plains can get really cold in the winter. Especially when you're living in a tent, like I did in the cavalry. Brrr." He shivers. "As far as any exciting jobs, no, not really. Definitely not as exciting as I've had here. Just cleaning bars, crop harvesting, that kind of thing. Where did you call home before you came here?"

“Calvary, huh? I didn’t know you really were a soldier,” she laughs. “I thought Jake just made that up. As for your question, I haven’t had a home, well, not ever really, Chet. A long time ago I came from New York, and I lived in a house with my parents but it was never really home. Since then I’ve been all over. No place special,” she shrugs, “The last place was just another place I left.” He says, "That's a shame about you not having had a home. Life on the road must get dreadfully lonely. I know after I left the Army, I had trouble making friends."

They get to a spot with green hills and some groupings of shady trees, with a small river running by. There are wildflowers growing in abundance all around. “This looks good,” Ruby smiles as she jumps off her horse. Chester follows Ruby’s lead and jumps off his horse too, then takes both of them and ties them to a tree. They lay the blanket out and set up lunch. As they start eating Ruby says causally, “So, you believe any of this dream stuff, you know, this Reilly guy and saving the world and all that?”

Chester talks around a mouthful of bread, "I'm not really much for mysticism and magic. So it surprised me to see Kate, Sonoma, and Mr. Gonzales using it so freely. As far as those dreams go, Reilly seems to believe it. But saving the world? Nah. I mean, why us?"

She says, “Why, do you have a problem with magic? He answers, "Well, not really. I guess I never thought about it much. It's spooky, though. Did you know they were magic users?" “Yes, I knew. As a matter of fact.. well… yes I knew,” she smiles knowingly. She decides to save her talents as a surprise for Chester.

“You have to admit, it was strange that Reilly seemed to know all of us before he met us, don’t you think? And he did describe Kate perfectly. I have to agree with you on the saving the world bit. I can’t even save myself.” Ruby rolls her eyes then laughs. "Reilly is a strange bird. He could be a con man. What he wants, I don't know. As far as taking care of yourself, you've done a good job of it so far. Course, I've known you less than a week." He grins.

“So how long you planning on staying in Promise City? It would be a shame to lose one of my new friends too soon.” Ruby smiles at Chester, grabs some bread and rips a small piece off and offers the rest to him. "Thanks, Ruby. You all seem like nice folks, so I'll probably stick around for a while. Mr. Cook will keep me busy, I'm sure. And thanks for calling me a friend. It means a lot."

“Not sure I get called nice too often, beautiful all the time, but not nice, so thanks. I guess that goes along with you only knowing me a week. As for Mr. Cooke I think he’s keeping us all busy. But busy is good right, we stay out of trouble that way.” Ruby realizes how silly it sounds to say Jake was keeping them OUT of trouble and she laughs to herself. “And yes, you have kept our secrets and risked your life with us so I count that as a friend. This friend thing seems to be working out so far so it’s good to hear that you’ll stay. Now, let’s go for that walk.” Ruby stands up and takes Chester’s arm and leads him down to the river.

As they walk near the river, Chester says, "Is there something wrong with Katherine? She's seemed a bit distant the past couple days. Is she worried about this monster we're supposed to protect?" Ruby sighs. "No, actually she isn't. Well, I can't say if she is worried about the monster or not. She has been distant because she has gotten some bad news. Her husband did not die of illness, he was murdered. Jake and I found this out and I told her on Sunday. I know she is still in shock over this and I am worried what will happen when she stops being in shock and starts being angry." She shakes her head.

Chet exclaims, "He was murdered? Who did it?" She answers, “I think he was, I’m fairly certain. I believe that Morgan Earp killed Thomas Kale.” Chester replies, "Morgan? Wasn't he the Marshall who got shot when we were on the stagecoach?" Ruby says, "Yeah, he is. And the worst part is, Kate saved his life. And I’m pretty sure he knows it too."

Chester shakes his head. "So what do we do for her now?" "What she needs is watching over, to make sure she doesn't do something foolish." Ruby pauses then adds with a smile, "And some tender loving care from her friends, so if you have any to give now would be a good time." He says, "Well, OK. I'll try. She's too nice a woman to have something like that happen to her. Do you and Jake have any evidence to bring to the judge?"

“Well, the judge doesn’t like me or Jake so I doubt either of us would go to the judge anyway. What happens now is up to Kate. Tom was found with Earp's knife in his back but unfortunately the other Earp’s did the investigating so they covered it up. Tried to blame it on Johnny Ringo.” Ruby continues to tell Chester the story, finishing with “And I’m only telling you this because I know you are worried about Kate. And that she can trust you.”

He says, "To lose your husband is bad enough, but murder? I can't imagine what she's feeling. Thanks for telling me this, Ruby. You must be really worried about her." Ruby replies, “I am worried about her. She is my best friend and I’m not sure I can really help her with this. Right now she needs time and for us to be there when she is ready for whatever it may be she needs from us. And,” Ruby pauses and squeezes his arm, "You are very sweet to be concerned."

Then continue to walk around for a while not really talking about anything else important. After their walk they head back to their horses and ride back to town. As they are putting their horses away Ruby thanks Chester for the nice afternoon out and adds, “ I hope we can so it again soon,” with her trademark smile. He blushes. "It was my pleasure, Ruby. I look forward to it. It's nice being out in the open, not worrying about being shot at."

During a break from work Nanuet heads over to both the minehead as well as Jeremiah Peck’s cabin to see if Kajika is back. Nanuet also notices that none of the hunters appear to be around anymore, including the South Americans who had stayed at the El Parador. He heads back to the Lone Star to continue with the construction.

Chester and Ruby get back in town and Ruby heads back to the gunsmith shop. Ruby mentions that she and Jake now own the Lone Star. Al Brower says “I know, Tom Whipple ran off with my singer from the Comique.” She says that she had heard that.

As Ruby leaves the shop she sees Angelica Young out selling the latest copy of the Promise City Herald. She purchases a copy. The main story is about Sam Slade’s dynamite shed blowing up and destroying the three buildings. The other story is about the trial of the two bank robbers, Pinto Joe Weams and Pamela Yeats and how Judge Isby has sentenced them both to hang. The group is pleasantly surprised that their names are in neither story. There is a story on page three about Tom and Maggie Whipple getting a divorce and giving up the Lone Star. No mention is made of the new owners, implying that the saloon ran out of business.

The group decides that they need to take out an ad with Chumbley, as he should be back in town this day with his newspaper. They conclude that is why the Herald is being distributed earlier than usual in the day, to get a scoop on their competition.

Out at the ranch, Sonoma discusses the purchase of seed for planting with Nanuet and Kate. Nanuet questions if the feed store burning down will create a problem with getting what they need. Sonoma says that word around town is that the owners of the Feed and Grain store are not planning to rebuild and will instead convert the first floor of their two-story brick home on Sierra Street into the business so will be back in business real soon. They will then sell the lot of land on South Street adjacent to Condon’s Bank.

On the subject of the fire, she has also heard rumors that they have heard are that Sam Slade is planning to rebuild his hardware store although there is now discussion among the Merchant’s Association about having him store his dynamite elsewhere. Since he owns a house in a more remote location south of town he is encouraged to keep it there in the future.

Back in town, Ruby goes looking for Chumbley who has just arrived on the 2:00 PM stage. She finds the halfling and asks Chumbley if Jake Cook came in on the stage as well and is disappointed to hear that he has not. She hears that Warren Earp also rode back from Tombstone, apparently now replacing his brother Morgan as the Promise City Deputy Sheriff.

Chumbley exclaims, “What’s new and exciting!” She offers to get him and drink at the Lone Star and tell him what has been going on in town for the last three days. He agrees, and then makes her help him carry his bundles of newspapers. They aren’t too heavy, this edition only being an eight-pager. The top headline in the paper is about the unusual weather with the torrential downpours the past weekend. He missed the other recent stories due to having left town on Sunday.

She tells him about the quarantine of Fly’s boarding house and Edsel Trask’s death. She tells Chumbley that she has heard rumors that Trask got the disease during a visit to the Palace Saloon and advises him to stay away from the Palace. Next she relates the story of Slade’s Shed blowing up and the fire that then followed. Then she tells him of the strange monsters that came through town, describing the bugbears and giants.

He diligently writes all of this down as she then tells him about Buffalo Bill Cody being in town. Chumbley is real excited to hear that. He had previously gotten the story from Billy Comstock about Cody coming to town but had not printed it yet since his arrival was still unconfirmed. He tells her that with all of this news the next paper will be a dandy, probably another twelve-pager, possibly a sixteen-pager! He mentions how well he has been doing with advertisers, that the current paper has ads for five-and-a-half of its eight pages.

Ruby asks if he has heard about the Whipples? He says that he has not, that Maggie Whipple was on Sunday’s stagecoach to Tombstone with him but that she was quiet the entire ride and he assumed she was just on a supply run. Ruby tells him of the divorce and how they each went off separate way, having sold the Lone Star. Chumbley exclaims, “Oh, oh, they were such a nice couple too. He was an advertiser with me, you know!”

He rattles on an on but does not ask her any further questions. She exclaims, “Are you going to ask me who bought the Lone Star?” He replies, “Well, you said that Niles Hoover’s store burnt down, and I see him standing over behind the bar, so I assume that he did.”

She says, “He’s a part owner, and so is Job Kane, plus Jake and I.” Chumbley congratulates her and says “Jake?” “Jake Cook” she answers. “Ah, the one who the other paper mistakenly printed was your husband.” She says “But he’s not.” Chumbley says “Of course not, I wouldn’t be sitting here and sharing a drink with a married woman.” His face then turns red.

Without even pausing for a breath he then asks her about taking out an advertisement in the paper. She agrees and tells him what she wants it to say. He then tells her his pricing, $ 25 for a full-page ad, $ 15 for a half-page and $ 10 for a quarter-page ad. She comments about those prices being high. He replies “The ads are what makes this a worthwhile business venture for the Tombstone Epitaph. At a nickel-a-paper we don’t even make enough selling them to cover my stagecoach fare.

He then launches back into his sales pitch, telling her that since the Lone Star is a repeat advertiser he will give her a twenty-percent discount on whatever size ad she places. He also offers to add a multi-paper discount of another ten-percent on top of that if she wishes to advertise in more than one edition. She tells him that she will have to think about that. She then discusses where in the paper the ad will be placed.

He says that he will be leaving on the 9:00 AM stage the next day so to get it to him by then. He thanks her for the drink, gathers up his two bundles of newspapers and bounces out the door. Once Chumbley is gone Ruby curses Jake for buying a business and then running off and leaving her to make business decisions.

As it starts to get towards early evening Jeff Mills calls it a day for the construction workers. Nanuet heads downstairs and says “Hello” to Ruby before heading out. He decides to start at the church to get the opinion of the priest Valdez and to ask about Mother Jiminez. He says that he has not see her and that her house has been dark. Nanuet asks his opinion of the recent stormy weather. Valdez tells him “She said that it was supernatural in origin and I have no reason to doubt that.”

Nanuet then asks about Edsel Trask and Rita Lopez. Valdez says, “He should have come here for healing. Nanuet asks about how communicable the disease appears to be and if any of his companions could possibly come down with it. Valdez says that it is possible but unlikely. Next he checks the mine head, finding it as he left it. He then heads back to the one-story log cabin that is the Peck residence, finding that Jeremiah and Cornflower have just returned.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 142, "The Earth Spirits", Wednesday, January 18th:

Jeremiah and Cornflower have just returned and are in the process of tending to their horses. Nanuet comes over to assist. Peck tells Nanuet that Cornflower brought Kajika to Grey Antelope. He says that as a human the Navajo did not let him attend any of the ceremonies.

Nanuet asks where Kajika is now. Peck replies “We left him at a cave in the Dos Cabezas Mountains.” He gives Nanuet detailed directions to the northwest face of Bowie Mountain three-to-four miles north of Promise City. He says, “Kajika wishes to meet with you and your companions there this evening.” Nanuet asks if he had anything else to say. Jeremiah replies “Not to me. He spoke to Cornflower a lot.” Nanuet gets permission from him to speak to her.

Cornflower tells Nanuet that it was nice to get back to Navajo territory although she is displeased with the limited borders of the reservation. She misses the freedom and the sight of vast fields of buffalo and other animals. He presses her for more details and she tells him that she was present for the major ceremonies but not the private conversations between the two shamans. Nanuet thanks them for their time and heads back to the Lone Star.

He tells Ruby “Remember the whole thing with Riley?” She replies “Crazy guy, yeah.” He continues “Well, remember those ogres and giants that were in town last night. Well those were from Riley’s dreams and we have been asked to join my mentor Kajika out in the Dos Cabezas Mountains this evening. “Tonight?” She replies. He says, “Evening, it is evening now, so we could go at any time. It sounds like we will all be needed for this endeavor.” “Will we be back by 8:00 PM?” she asks. “I have no idea,” he replies.

Sonoma is currently in the kitchen of the Lone Star. They tell Sonoma, who precooks much of the food for the evening so that Jeff Mills will just have to warm it up for the customers that evening. They then head back over to the El Parador to get Chester, Kate and Riley. Kate and Riley are both there. Chester is over at the gunsmith shop and is expected back soon. Riley does not anticipate going, but will since Kajika is his blood brother.

The gunsmith Pierre Jacquet examines the custom made case that the hand cannon is in before looking at the weapon and ten pieces of ammunition inside. Pierre is fascinated by the workmanship of the weapon. He tells Chester that he is familiar with the craftsman who made it. It was a custom designed firearm made by the master gunsmith named Bailey and shows him Bailey’s mark.

He tells Chester that Bailey was one of the finest creators of custom firearms in the world. Bailey was a southerner who made guns for the Confederacy during the war. Towards the end of the war when the south’s loss was imminent he fled the country to Mexico for his own safety. Once there he found and married a beautiful wood elf Seniorita who had now given him more children than he has fingers. He now lives a peaceful life along the Mexican coast where he continues to make weapons for select customers.

He tells Chester that it is a rare opportunity to examine a Bailey piece, that the owners of one would never voluntarily part with one. He says that Bailey’s current customers now include the renowned bounty hunter Thomas Luther Price. Chester says, “This one was made for Curly Bill Broncious. He doesn’t need it any longer.

After a thorough cleaning and examination of the weapon Pierre walks Chester through the operation of it. The oversized grip on the weapon requires the use of both hands, with the fingers cupped together around it and the thumbs up to both sides. It is a thumb action weapon, the triggering mechanism pushed by the right thumb. A similar switch on the left side of the weapon ejects the spent shell from the main chamber and simultaneously drops down and loads the second shell from the reserve chamber. The weapon itself is quite heavy, with a thick fifteen-inch long barrel. The reserve chamber is built atop the rear of the main barrel.

Next they look at the ammunition for the gun. Each shell is five inches long and nearly two-inches round. Pierre shows Chester the U.S. markings on four of the shells and explains that it is United States Navy ordinance, used on navy gunships. Chester recalls the previously full case of three-dozen well-packed shells back at the inn (four of which had been taken out and placed by Jake into four empty ammunition slots in the gun case). Jake had scraped off the “Property of the United States Navy” markings on the case.

Pierre examines all ten ammunition shells in the case, noting that six are not United States military issue but apparently custom made for this particular weapon. Three have red markings on the shells and three have blue markings. He says that it is possible that they are magical shells. He will need more time to examine exactly what they are and asks Chester to leave one of each color with him and for him to come back tomorrow.

Chester ponders if it will even be possible to get more ammunition for the weapon. Pierre speculates that Curly Bill probably got the ordinance through illegal means and it is not likely that Chester will be able to persuade the Navy to give any to him. Chester asks, “Do you know what type of damage this type of shell causes?” Pierre has a number of texts and pamphlets about military weapons and ordinance. He finds a reference to this type of shell and says, “It is an explosive shell that activates when the tip makes impact. The explosive capacity of this shell is the equivalent of three sticks of dynamite.”

“That’s some weapon!” Chester states. Pierre says, “Yes, but such a weapon would require someone of great strength to use it. Curly Bill was a giant of a man. If you were to attempt to use this I would suggest that you be well braced against something, otherwise the recoil would probably knock you onto your posterior.”

Everybody mounts up and heads out. The sun has set over the mountains to the west but there is still some light remaining in the sky as they set off. Nanuet guides them using the directions given to him by Jeremiah Peck. The Dos Cabezas Mountains are a wilderness area with elevations ranging between 4,000 and 7,500 feet with a variety of plant and animal life. They pass a number of steep slopes, granite outcroppings and vegetative canyon floors. It is a rugged and remote area. They soon reach Bowie Mountain, which is one of the higher peaks.

As they near the area of the cave Maska picks up Kajika’s scent and leads the group directly there. The find a spot to tie up the horses and enter the cave. Kajika has lit a good-sized fire inside, the smoke flowing up through a small natural chimney in the rocks.

Once they are all inside he makes some hand motions into the smoke and it flows out and billows, forming into the shape of a female centaur, which then transforms from the smoke shape into an opaque and semi-translucent form. Kate, Ruby and Sonoma recognize her as Storm Golden Eye, who none of them have seen since she died and Ruby’s jaw drops as she looks on her in shock. Nanuet is obviously not surprised at seeing her but notes that she has more of a physical form now than the prior times he has spiritually met with her. Chester and Riley are both wide-eyed at seeing this and Riley mutters “The one from the dreams

Nanuet speaks up, telling Kajika, “I have done what you have suggested. My friends are all gathered here.” He says to Storm, “You appear to have a stronger form?” Kajika says, “She bridges between two planes. She is now near the earth spirits. Their presence has helped to bring her back closer to this plane of existence, rooting her more to this plane. Before she was closer to the realms of the afterlife.”

Chester just comments, “Why can I see through the centaur?” Riley tells him “She is a ghost. She’s been haunting my dreams.” He then gestures to Nanuet and says, “I guess she’s a friend of his.” Nanuet says, “When she was alive she was an acquaintance. When I first came to this town on a quest of vengeance and even though she advised me against it when I asked for her assistance she gave it. Unfortunately she wound up a casualty. She has been guiding me ever since.” Riley says, “See, she haunts his dreams too.”

Nanuet continues “She led me first on the path to become a shaman and has now guided me to this point.” Kajika says “Nanuet, what is it that you know right now of the spirits of the Earth?” He answers “I know that there are ten, and that one is leaving and is being replaced.”

“That is correct,” Kajika states, “Each of the major land masses and oceans of this world has its own spirit. Each is a physical creature, a creature that typically lives for four-to-five centuries. During their lifetime they have an influence over the region of the world where they reside. Nanuet says “And I believe they have different forms, and different life philosophies.” Kajika replies “Correct, some a good, some are evil, some are for law, some are for chaos, others are for neutrality. Even those of a neutral nature can have different philosophy, some seeing the need for inclusion of good, evil, law and chaos to create a balance. Others view neutrality as the absences of all other motivation.”

He then cites examples of how the spirits influence the lands. The spirit of the great ocean to the east was hospitable to travelers during the time of the Vikings and allowed them to freely travel. The spirit following it was not and that ocean became impassable to ships. The current spirit has watched over the land since late in the human calendar’s fifteenth century, during which time European explorers have unreservedly voyage to the Americas.

His next example is that of the African continent and of the deep hatred that the spirit who has resided there for the last several centuries shares towards its native inhabitants. Its animosity towards the indigenous peoples has made it possible for the ogres of that land to be enslaved and colonized by the humans.

Storm then speaks “The spirits of the North American and South American land masses are both here now.” “Both?” Kate inquires. She says “Yes, the way that a new spirit is brought into the world is the same as any other living creature brings more of itself into the world. Two of the race, one of each gender, get together and make one more.” The two have joined together here in these mountains to create a new spirit, which will then replace one of its parents.”

She pauses while they take in this information. She then continues, “The North American Spirit has been a friend to the native population. Where it has been prosperity has followed. This prosperity has translated into prosperity to the humans, as the lands where this creature had been have become fertile and have yielded many crops. As the creature has moved on the lands left in its wake have been bountiful. It is a spirit for good.”
“However, the spirit of the South American continent is not. During the last four centuries that land has been a place of unrest. The Spanish conquered the native peoples and violence has followed. Where the Spanish were forced out violent warlords and dictators have taken over. Hundreds of thousands have died. Great and ancient cultures such as that of the Aztec, Inca and Myan have all fallen, their treasured being plundered by the conquerors. This is all due to the influence of this creature.”

While these two creatures have different philosophies they have been drawn together now by the need to mate and create another. The egg was created and it hatched less than a week ago, the arrival of the new spirit being proclaimed by the unusual weather that we all experienced several days ago.”

Nanuet asks, “Does the new Earth spirit always replace one of its parents?” She replies “Yes, always. There are temporarily eleven but that will soon change as one of the others will pass from this earth. It will cease to be and the other will take its place.”

Chester says, “Okay, do I have this right. North and South America just had a baby?” Storm replies, “You could say that.” He then asks “And what does that have to do with us? Why did they come here?”

Kajika explains “The other shaman who I met with is a Way-shepherd, and elvan spellcaster who has power with both earth and wizard magics. There are parts of the world more susceptible to both of these types of magic and this section of the Arizona Territory is one of them. That is why the spirits chose here to create the new spirit.”

Nanuet says, “They probably needed the space too. I imagine that they are large creatures. Kajika says, “They are very large creatures. They have always taken on a variety unique forms. To the sailors who sailed the oceans they saw sea serpents. The knights of medieval times dubbed them dragons.” Ruby says, “I’m afraid.”

Nanuet says, “So it sounds like we are supposed to guard the new spirit?” Chester says, “What do these Earth Spirits look like?” Kajika says, “I have not seen them. I know they are here and why they are here but do not know the specific form that these spirits have taken.” Ruby exclaims, “How can we protect them if we don’t know what it looks like?”

Kajika says, “It is near. Storm will help guide you to where she lies, her and her offspring.” Chester says, “So, we have to look for a baby spirit?’ Storm says, “The child is but a few days old. It is not yet of an age where it can travel. When it is a week old it will be able to travel. You must keep the spirit safe until then.”

Riley says “And which of its parents will it replace?” Storm states “That is up to you and your actions. Either parent could raise the child and pass on its own philosophy. If the mother dies the father will raise the infant, or the opposite could be true. That is the way it has always been.” Kate is mesmerized by all of this.

Riley asks, “How do these spirits feel about that?” Storm replies “The spirits may not directly confront or harm each other, that is not allowed.” Kate looks confused by that comment and says, “Then how did she get pregnant?” Storm says, “They can mate. They cannot fight or kill one another for the child.”

Kate says, “So if the evil South American parent dies.” Storm answers, “Then the North American parent will raise the child with its philosophy towards good and prosperity. It would then bring to South America when it is of sufficient age to do so as it will take the location of the parent that is gone.” Chester says, “So, is the spirit to be replaced not decided yet?”

Storm answers, “It is not decided yet. They all live. As the spirits will not confront each other they will use other. And that has happened here. While the good spirit was helping her egg to hatch the other one, knowing that once the child was born it would no longer have need of the other, has let itself be seen. It has let its presence be known in this area. It has drawn hunters to this region and is intentionally leaving tracks to allow them to locate her, and do its bidding for it.

Once the child is of sufficient size to travel she plans to leave this area. But until then they are vulnerable to the hunters. It is imperative that the hunters do not find and destroy the mother, if that is your choice.” Chester says, “So we have to protect North American from South America.” Kate says, “I think we want to make the South American spirit become good instead of the North American spirit becoming evil. It would be a happier outcome.”

Chester says “So, did North America send you to us?” Ruby exclaims “Yeah, why us?” Storm replies “You are a balance representative of this place. You are a group that has decided to create a peace amongst yourselves. You take different individuals of different backgrounds and hold all equal. And you willingly cooperate. Because of these characteristics you are who she wishes to protect her.” Sonoma comments “We are the yeast, we are the spice, we are the ingredients for her future.”

Storm nods and says, “You are her people. You are willing to learn the ways and to work together. You are also an amalgam of the people who now inhabit this continent, human, high elf and wood elf. You are an amalgam of the skill sets of the people who now inhabit the continent. Who better than you to decide the path that this continent will take.”

“If we survive,” Kate mumbles. Storm looks directly at her and says, “There is always a struggle. All peoples have a struggle. It is expected for growth, it is expected for balance, it is expected for knowledge, it is expected for the future. Your struggles have given you strength, they’ve given you thought, they’ve given you a conscience. Ruby giggles uncomfortably at that last comment.

Chester says, “So, you know where the baby is?” Storm says “Yes, the hunters are nowhere near it at the moment. They have not found a path to it as of yet. They are far from where it now is. The evil spirit is trying to direct them but will not get too close as the hunters do not know that there is more than one spirit here. They are seeking to kill a dragon, whichever dragon they come across. She should be safe for at least another day. From tomorrow at midnight and until the next two days she will need your protection.”

Ruby says, “How can we protect her? We are just piano players and singers. Maybe Chester has soldiering experience but not the rest of us.” Storm says “You are many things but you are not just piano players and singers. And collectively you are all more than your separate selves.”

Kajika says, “Return here tomorrow night and Storm will lead you to her.” Chester asks “What time?” He replies “She will need the protection from midnight on.” Storm adds “It is within these mountains but will take a few hours to reach her from here.”

Kajika says, “This is Storm’s purpose. This is why she has stayed rooted to this world. This is her mission. Will you do this for her?” Storm interrupts “No, they will do it for themselves. It must be their choice, not out of a sense of obligation for anyone else.” Ruby looks at Kajika and says “Don’t argue with her.”

Kate says, “I have accepted that we would be doing this when I first heard of it.” Ruby turns to her and says “Well, you’re nuts.”

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 143, "Red O'Brien", Monday January 16th, 5:00 P.M.

After Ruby left the room Manuel Gonzales began his spell. He gathered together his various components and deposits them in his brazier, which he then lights. He tells Jake "I am going to start an incantation. When I extend my hands outward I want you to grab onto them." He begins to cast the spell, which requires considerable hand gestures and elaborate incantations from which Jake discerns words in Latin, Greek and French. He then thrusts out his hands as a pink colored smoke rises up from the brazier. Jake decides that holding hands with another man is rather awkward but does as instructed. The pink smoke encompasses them and when it dissipates they find themselves standing inside of a stone building.

Within the building several stone vaults that remind Jake of caskets. Gonzales opens the door and sees that a cemetery surrounds the building. Manuel says “A mausoleum is not the most exciting location to be but I had to bring us somewhere in the city where our arrival would not be observed.” They exit the building and the cemetery and head into the city proper.

Manuel begins to tell Jake about the past history of the community stating “Elves had lived in this region for millennia. Then in 1775, Hugo O'Conor established the Tucson Presido, making it the official birthdate of the City of Tucson. By 1804, some 1,000 people lived here, which was still a dusty adobe village. The population was mostly Spanish, Mexicans, and Native Americans who made their living raising crops and livestock. The community had little contact with the outside world.

After the Mexican Revolution of 1821, Tucson became part of Mexico. As trade opened between the East Coast and California, a new brand of Americans - trappers and traders - began traveling through Arizona. After the Gadsden Purchase in 1854, Tucson falls under the jurisdiction of the United States. Arizona becomes an official territory in 1863. In 1867 Tucson became the territorial capitol, which it held for a decade before the capitol moved back to Prescott. In 1880, the Southern Pacific Railroad reaches Tucson. By the end of the year the population reached 8,000. Jubilant townspeople sent out announcements that Tucson was now connected to the rest of the world.”

Jake looks to be bored by the lesson and says “Thanks. I appreciate the ride.” Manuel says “Well, I’m heading over to find Maggie. Would you care to join me?” Jake hesitates for a moment and then says, "Alright, for a short bit. I'll let her know how things went." Gonzales and Jake make their way over to the Plaza Hotel on Elm Street. At the main desk Manuel asks about the room for Mary O'Shea and is told that she is in room 224. They soon find the room and Manuel knocks, identifying himself. Maggie unlocks the door and is surprised to also see Jake standing there.

The two men enter the room. Maggie asks "What happened back at the Lone Star after I left?" Jake gives a mostly honest account of what happened, how her father and brother were less than cooperative but leaving out the fact that Jake nearly drew on Tom. He finishes with them leaving in the morning for Denver. "Here, Tom did leave you a letter. In my opinion he was getting pretty irrational, but he did have some concern about you. Or at least appeared to."

Maggie takes the note and sits down on the bed to read it. Jake watches her facial expression change from sadness to anger to frustration and then to sadness again all in the course of two minutes. She folds up the note and shoves it into the pocket of her dress. She then stands, sighs, and tells Jake "Thank you for bringing it. I guess I had to know."

Gonzales tells Jake "We will be leaving this city soon and I will probably be gone for a few days. Would you like me to stop back here for you or are you going to be heading back to Promise City on your own?" I know my way back, if you don't need me for anything I'll head back on my own. That way you aren't waiting for me and I'm not waiting for you. Have a safe trip you two. Good luck Maggie." Jake says with some sincerity. "Thanks again for the company on the trip out Senor." Jake tips his hat and leaves them to their travels.

It's still early, Jake thinks so he heads out to the Water Hole Saloon in search of a friend. Jake asks about the saloon and receives directions to the northern end of town. The saloon is located on a small side street off of Court Avenue. The saloon doesn't look like much, a single-story wooden clapboard building fifteen feet wide and forty-five feet long. He enters through the main door seeing that the main room goes twenty feet back and consists of only a U-shaped bar and twenty barstools, only three of which are currently occupied. There are two doors in the back of the room leading to the remainder of the building. A bartender wearing a red cotton shirt with a white apron over it stands behind the bar, barely paying any attention to Jake and asks "May I get you something, Sir?"

"Kentucky bourbon if you got it, whiskey if you don't." Jake takes a seat that has the best view of all doors and the least amount of worry behind his back. He looks over the other patrons out of the corner of his eye. The other three patrons look worn out and ragged. The bartender gestures to the door at the back right of the building and says "I believe that there's a bottle waiting for you right through that door."

Jake nods, gets up and flips the man two bits. As he leaves the stool he adjusts his trousers and palms his derringer in his left hand. Silver Jake Cook casually walks to the back right door and raps lightly twice. And the door opens up to a darkened room, although nobody appears to be inside. Jake continues to stand there palming his gun and does not enter. Jake then notices the three patrons at the bar depart out the front door.

The bartender ducks down under the bar and Patrick 'Red' O'Brien immediately rises up from the same spot. "Always the cautious one Jacob, good to know," O'Brien states as he smiles at his former student. Red puts two glasses on the bar and produces a bottle of Kentucky Bourbon and says "Glad to see that ye are still drinking my beverage of choice."

Jake takes a seat in front of him and looks him straight in the eyes. "It IS you. I wondered for a long time if you made it out OK, but in my heart I knew you were too slippery to kill that easy." Jake reholsters the derringer. "I have grown rather fond of it, and I figured if you weren't watching you'd be listening." Jake takes up the glass and looks at Patrick O'Brien again in the eyes. "Damn it's good to see you."

"And it is good to see you too Jacob me boy. I would have contacted you before if I knew where you were. I must say that I was rather surprised when I walked into the Lone Star nine nights ago and saw you sitting there, almost blew me cover. Probably would have if ye hadn't decided to rush out the door just then and become a silver baron."
:
"I have a thousand questions, but that's nothing new is it? Is it safe to talk here? I noticed you cleared the place rather quickly of the others." Jake savors a sip of the bourbon " Red replies, "Sure it's safe. Cornelius Van Horne happens to own this place. It doesn't look like much but it has a few hidden surprises to it."

Jake says, "Don't make me ask all the questions. Tell me what happened and who you are hiding from." He says "Read for yourself" and removes a rolled up piece of yellowed paper from inside of his jacket. Jake unrolls it seeing that it is a wanted poster with an excellent artist's rendition of Red that reads:

Reward $ 2,000
Patrick 'Red' O'Brien

Wanted Dead or Alive
For the Murder of Ezikiel Ogden

Claim reward with the Kansas City Police Department

Jake says, "Nice picture. Not the notoriety you were looking for however." Jake looks up at him. "Who was Ogden? Or did I meet him briefly the last time I saw you?" O'Brien replies "Well, you could say that. You're the one who killed him. At the card table everyone called him Union Zeke but it turns out that his real name was Ezikiel Ogden."

Jake takes his hat off and puts in on the bar. "Sorry about that. He was trying to kill you at the time though. Nearly did so if I recall." Jake makes a clucking sound and takes a bigger swig of the bourbon. "Bastard ambushed you, and you get the wanted poster. It's always the way. So every bounty hunter in the Midwest is looking for this face." Jake hands him back the poster. "Anybody else looking? And how in Hades do you do that, uh, change thing?"

Red replies, "Lots of questions. Yeah, Zeke shot me first, but everyone scattered after that so it was assumed that I was the one who shot him back. I don't blame you for running, Old Man Jackson had gone for his shotgun and wouldn't have been picky about who he used it on.

As for the wanted poster, it turns out that Ezekiel Odgen was well connected. Sure, he was a washed up drunk, but he also happened to be the cousin of Malvina Belle Ogden originally of Cincinnati. You would know her by her married named, Malvina Armour. Yeah, that's right, the wife of Philip Danforth Armour, who is quickly becoming the slaughterhouse and meat packing king of the Midwest. He practically owns Kansas City at this point. Putting up $ 2,000 to make his wife happy was barely a drop in the bucket for him.

As for Van Horne, that my boy was just serendipity, a case of my being in the right place at the right time. It's a long story. Before I get into though why don't you tell me about how you met your wife. She's quite a looker that Ruby. Usually marriage doesn't sit well for people in our profession, you tend to favor either the woman or the job and the other suffers, but in your case this match seems to work."

"She is quite a looker, that IS for sure." Jake chuckles, downs the rest of his glass and holds it out for a refill. "You been reading Baxter's yellow rag, Ruby and Jake aren't married." Jake laughs hard. "Marriage is the only game of chance I know of where both people can lose." When the laughing trails off he starts again, "Ironically, it was Baxter's competition, that half pint walking mouth Chumbley that accidentally introduced us. I pretended to escort Ruby and the Kale widow to get away from his incessant chatter. That and it seemed like a pretty good idea at the time to spend time admiring the women." Jake catches expression in O'Brien's face, "No, that hasn't changed either."

"Well one thing led to another, in no time at all Jake and Ruby are the talk of the town. We only met two and a half weeks ago! That woman has talents you wouldn't believe." Again, Jake catches the grin on O'Brien's face, "Yes the obvious ones, and even more not so obvious. I don't know, it does seem to work. I'm sure not suffering any. Sometimes I worry that Jake and Ruby are like too much oil on really dry tinder." Jake laughs again. "But what a way to go."

O'Brien laughs at that "I should have know you wouldn't have settled down. Although, if you ever did, I'm sure it would be with someone like her. So Jacob me boy, what brought you to Promise City?" Jake answers, "I headed south from Denver, and wore out my welcome along the way. After Santa Fe I cut cards and Arizona Territory won. When I got here to Tucson I heard about all the silver discoveries in Tombstone and Promise City. So off I went to help the miners spend their money." Jake smiles and shrugs. "Nothing more than that. I did not plan and could not predict that I would own a share of a silver mine, a share of a saloon and have more friends and enemies in one town than I have had in most of the last five years." O'Brien cocks his head and raises his eyebrows. "Ok" Jake adds, "there were a couple of times were I had more enemies."

O'Brien says "Well, you made a mistake turning Evan Adair into your enemy. And from what I hear Hamilton Fisk isn't exactly the president of the Jake Cooke fan club. Oh, and don't underestimate Baxter. He's generally a useless drunk, but half the newspapers in the country picked up his James Gang story last summer and his Doc Holiday one again in October. So he has the connections to get things circulated if they are newsworthy enough."

"Patrick me boy" Jake puts on his best Irish accent, "I'm not even bein' sure wot I was doin' that put a burr under that laddy's blanket." Jake drops the accent. "Really. I know that Ruby made him mighty angry and that the Whipples were stealing his business, but what in Hades did I do besides be near them to make him want to shoot me?"

Red replies, "Well, your saying that Ruby made him angry is an understatement. Jacob, she slapped him! According to him every person who has ever taken a hand to him is lying in a grave somewhere, except for her. So that's his challenge. But thanks to Baxter he thinks that you are her husband so to him it's a package deal."

Jake replies, "I was hoping to talk sense to the man up until the time when he pulled the trigger. Kinda puts a damper on my enthusiasm to work out a deal. What's your opinion, anyway to call it off with this man short of racing to see who can put the other in a six foot hole?" Red says, "Jacob, you were a fool. You blew your opportunity to be rid of him. You were wearing a badge and he shot first. Things like that don't come along every day. Jacob, once I had the gun lowered you should have drawn. Why didn't you?"

"Fool. Damn Fool. Great damn fool." Jake shoots the bourbon in his hand. "There were three of them plus Van Horne. At that time, even though you knocked his gun aside, I didn't know it was you. Ruby was quite drunk and I hadn't discovered that until a few minutes earlier. So even if I kill Adair on the first shot, then I have to see if Van Horne is going to draw a weapon, and the other two with Adair already had weapons out. Ruby would have fired I'm sure, but she was in no condition to duck. At that point if Van Horne doesn't draw, Jake and Ruby managed to shoot down the three I still don't know what Van Horne says in court."

Jake shakes his head. "I only had that badge on temporary from Earp to help with Deadeye's gang. I'm not sure that Isby wouldn't have had me hang regardless of the badge. 'Despicable the way he abused that badge for his own revenge' Isby says and the floor drops out." Jake holds out the glass. "I only had a second to decide. Decisions done now. That fool Cook needs another plan."

Red states, "Jacob me boy, I owe you an apology. You did the right thing. You acted correctly in showing restraint in order to protect your woman. It was what a gentleman would have done. But it's not what the reckless gambler who I apprenticed would have done. You really are married my boy, you just haven't finalized it yet." O'Brien pours them each another drink of Kentucky Bourbon and says "I never should have taught you to appreciate this fine beverage. I've had to go without it for the last week, seems that you and your lady bought up every bottle in the Cochise County for yourselves. Good thing I knew that I had another case of it back here in Pima County. "

"Married. You're funny O'Brien." Jake laughs but stops when he looks his face. "You are being funny? We are going to have to do something to improve the supply down in Promise City. I think I know how to do that too. What are your plans? And you aren't getting off the hook telling me about how you do the change thing. I want to know about your outrageous winning streak, that isn't all skill is it?"

O'Brien reaches down his shirt and pulls out a gold chain with some sort of gold silver dollar sized coin attached. In the center of the coin in a green stone that appears to be an emerald. "This my boy is what I have been using, not for the change but for the winnings. Allows me to detect a person's thoughts. Can only be used a maximum of five times a day, and even then it only works around half the time. But it's usually enough of an advantage combined with everything I already know to tip the balance in my favor."

Jake comments, "You are a mighty fine player, I'll grant you that. Knowing a couple times a game when to run up the pot, plus learning what folks are thinking behind their attempts at poker faces so you can recognize the expressions again later.... impressive." Jake gets a wistful look. "Don't you just want to play straight up sometimes? There is something about an honest game." Red responds, "Jacob my boy, some nights I don't use this thing at all. Gives me enough confidence just knowing I have it. Used it the other night though, that's how I knew that Adair was going to take a shot at you when he did."

He sighs and continues "As for the change, that's another trinket I picked up. He unhooks the chain holding his pocket watch to his vest pocket and slides it across the bar. Jake examines it, noticing that it is the same watch that Red has always had. Jake says "So what? You had this before." O'Brien replies "Not the watch, the magic is in the chain. Projects a different appearance. Very strong magic, hard to detect. I actually have two of those. One for Van Horne, the other for the man you saw standing behind this bar when you walked in a few minutes ago."

"When I first heard about how hard it was to beat Van Horne, I figured it was some enchantment. When I saw that watch chain I almost made a try for it, figuring that was it." Jake laughs "I suppose Van Horne would have slapped my hand, eh? Do you stay here? Is there a spot for me, or would you rather I find another place for the evening to keep things from being too suspicious?"

Red states, "Yes I stay here. Let me show you around. This is the bar, not much to look at but that's intentional. A beat up bar with a generic name is just what I'm looking for. Nobody notices or cares who comes and goes. I employ a half dozen bodyguards of which at least two are on the premises at any time. Those were the three men who were sitting here when you came in. They blend in and look and act like customers except that they only drink from the bottles with the red line at the bottom right hand corner of the label, which are colored water.

He then takes Jake into the first of the two back rooms, the one that the door was opened into. Like the main room it doesn't look like much, just a plain rectangular windowless room with two small beds, a small wooden table, two chairs, a gas lantern, a shelf on the wall with two metal mugs and a book, and a woven Native American style rug on the floor. The only thing in the room that doesn't appear simple are the door locks, which include three top of the line bolt locks and an iron bar with iron hooks on both sides of interior door to hold.

O'Brien says, "This is the safe room. All of the walls, the ceiling and the door are triple thick, with a solid sheet of iron between the two layers of wood. Nothing short of a cannon would be able to penetrate. There are also three well trapped escapes from here, one in the floor, another in the ceiling and the other in the wall to the other back room." He heads to the sidewall and fiddles with the wall, knocking on it in a few select places. He then goes to one of the door bolts and pivots the bolt brace out like a book, revealing a wire in the wall behind it, which he then pulls. He then returns to the side wall, placing both hands on it, and then sliding a three by four foot section to the side.

This opens up to a window slightly smaller than the panel from which O'Brien craws through and gestures for Jake to follow. The other room is also rectangular and windowless. The room is magically lit and opulently furnished, with plush wool carpeting, gold framed paintings on the wall, a large four-posted bed with thick down comforters and goose feather pillows. A fancy oak armoire and matching dresser are along the door where one would expect the door to the saloon to be located.

Jake whistles when he sees the plush room. "Very impressive Mr. O'Brien, very impressive indeed." He walks around examining the paintings and other details. Red says, "The largest of those paintings is actually a Rembrandt. Those other two are by a young French painter named Claude Monet. He's not well known yet but I think he has promise."

He looks back to his old friend with a smug grin. "How many people know who you really are? Or do all your associates know you as either Van Horne or the bar tender?" Before he can answer Jake adds with a widening grin, "So if a lady friend only knows Van Horne, where do you put the chain?"

Red replies, "The men have met all three men but obviously never at the same time and believe that we are each a part owner who each pay part of their salaries. The key is for me to remember which one entered the back room to make sure that the same one leaves. I also pay them well enough to not ask questions. And I'm sorry to say that I've only had a chance to try it twice, but have found that the chain can fit snugly around my ankle if necessary.

And in answer to the earlier question, you can stay here, not in this room mind you, this one is mine, but the other one. It's simple but safe. That's why I wanted you to meet me here rather than in Promise City or Tombstone, too much risk of us being seen together. We'd also better return on different days."

Jake says, "I've slept in far worse. It'll do fine. I can't stay long this time anyway, too much going on back in Promise City. I'm glad you'll still be spending time in Promise City. We'll have to figure out how we can have some fun without jeopardizing your cover." Jake scratches his beard. "Hey, do you know anything about this currency?" Jake hands him one of the 100 denominations that he has in his pocket separate from the rest.

He looks at the bills "Sorry, can't help ye much there." He sits down on the bed and says "About Promise City, there really isn't much more for me to do there other than keep you and your friend Ruby alive. I've played it out for about all that Van Horne can and was about to move on when you showed up. You see, for the last six months I've been using this town and saloon as my base of operations while then hitting the big communities in the region and taking their saloons for all they are worth. I spent two months cleaning out the Pheonix, Scotsdale and Mesa area. Then after a few weeks back here took Casa Grande for all it was worth. Next was Sierra Vista, and then finally Promise City. I figure after another break here I'd then go see what Benson and Bisbee have to offer. I thought about Tombstone but am afraid that Virgil Earp will now be onto me due to his brothers."

Jake says, "I like staying alive, I appreciate any help on that front. I know you need to live your life, and you have pretty much cleaned out the Promise City dealers. They are ducking under tables when you show up." Jake laughs. "I'm open to suggestions. Whatever you decide, do you have a little time tomorrow to share some of your wisdom and skills with a former pupil? That and do you know where I can sell some jewelry? No it's not hot."

Red replies, "Jacob me Boy, it's been rather lonely for me this past year or so. Only had one person who I ran into that I'd call a friend since I left you and that was for far too brief a time. Spending a few days together would we wonderful. I have a few ideas about where to sell jewelry. Don't know what to do about Adair but if we put our heads together I'm sure that we can figure out something."

Jake says, "Red, I think there is enough of that bottle of bourbon left to take us through a few catch up stories. We'll take turns. What do you say you besotted Irishman?" Red hands Jake the remainder of the current bottle and pulls out an unopened bottle from the bar. "I guess it's time to retire to the back room. One minute me boy." He heads back towards the front door. Before opening it he takes out a gold chain and holds in his hand. He mumbles something. He says it softly enough that Jake is not able to deduce the exact words but recognizes the phrase as French. Red then transforms into the non-descript dark haired human man who had been standing behind the bar when Jake entered.

Red then opens the door and removes a "closed" sign hanging there, turning it around to "open" and hanging it on a higher nail in the door. He comes back in and shortly thereafter so do two of the three men that were around earlier. Red gestures towards the bar and one of the them goes behind it and puts on a bartender's apron. Red says "Richard, this is Mr. Jacob, an old associate of mine and Mr. Patrick's. He will be staying with me for a few days. Please treat him as you would one of the owners, he's considering making an investment in our business ventures." Red and Jake then head into the back room with the bottles.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 144, "Teacher and Student", Monday, January 16th, 1882

Jake and Red talk for several more hours. Red indicates that after Kansas City he traveled south and then west, whereas Jake went west and then south. Red doesn't go into any detail as to how he acquired the magical items or make any mention of the friend he alluded to earlier other than a cryptic comment about Abilene, Texas being the 'turning point' in his travels.

Jake racks his brain and to recall anything he might have heard or read about Abilene. He vaguely remembers a story about a Louisiana lawman turned bounty hunter, Jacques something-or-other, being killed there sometime the previous year but does not recall any of the details.

Jake's stories back to Red are less cryptic and more light hearted. He tells about going home with a woman who he thought was a whore only to have her husband come home in the middle of the night. Jake dove out a window before the man could see his face, and came back the next day as a tough looking bounty hunter and paid $10 to get his stuff back as evidence to help track down the outlaw that slept with the man's wife. He also tells the full story of the silver mine, and the humorous parts of the story about Ruby and the glass ball. "I should have known better than to have anybody pretend to repent." He says laughing.

Jake and Red talk well into the night before going to be in their respective rooms. They both sleep well into the next day, it being close to noon when they rise. When Red finally comes out to the less opulant room, Jake asks him "What in Hades is your bartender personna's name? That's who closed up the place, what do I call you in that guise?"

Jake also shows O'Brien the jewelry and gold box that he is going to try and sell. "You know what I really want you to show me is how you manage to move that drunken carcass of yours around without making any noise. I'm thinking that may come in handy with dealing with some folks I won't name back in Promise City."

Red replies, "My bartender name is Martin Allistar, and yes, I borrowed the last name from your middle name. Martin is the name of one of my cousins. Similary, Cornelius Van Horne is a composite of another cousin, Larry Cornelius, and a town in Texas southeast of El Paso named Van Horn where I spent what seemed like a month one evening.

And I can sneak quietly to some degree, but the main reason you didn't hear me that night was that there were also the sounds of a torrential rainstorm, thunder and a crackling fire. I was also invisible up until the moment that I struck Adair with the cane, so that could have been why I surpised you like that."

"Invisible?" Jake's eyes pop open wide. "Hermes, doesn't anybody around here do anything without the help of some blasted enchantment?" He turns and faces O'Brien. "I'm still mighty grateful you were able to smack his gun hand, but how do you do that?" "A simple wrist motion with the cane me boy," Red replies with a grin. Jake states, "OK, funny guy - I mean how do you become invisible?"

"Magic me boy, magic. Just another trinket that I picked up in my travels," is Red's answer. Jake replies, "All this blasted magic is making my skin crawl. Worse than that, everyone but me seems to be loaded with it!" Jake rubs his beard quickly at first and then slows down. "Seems like I need an education in several areas." He stops and his look brightens. "What do you have in mind for today? And who will you be?"

"Well, Mr. Alister was the one who went in here so he should be the one to leave. But Mr. Van Horne would probably have the easiest time selling the jewelry, I just wouldn't want anyone to see him associating with you Mr. Jacob, in case the word gets back to our friend Mr. Adair. I have an idea. I'll take both chains and once we're away from the saloon I can use the Cornelius Van Horne disguise and you can use the Martin Alister one. I'd suggest doing it the other way around but I doubt you can fake the Georgia accent, that's not done with any magic."

Jake says, "Not without practice, I haven't spent enough time with anyone who sounded like that." Jake smiles, "Besides, Mr. Van Horn is almost legend now. I couldn't do him justice. Mr. Alistair is fine. I at least won't fall asleep and act surprised when someone calls me that. I've been Mr. Alistair Jacobson several times before, but he was a Philadelphia lawyer not a saloon owner. Funny, I'm getting to know that role too. So food and then some Jewelry selling. These little baubles really belong to a bunch of us back in Promise City, but anything we could get for them and the box over say $2,000 would be fair compensation for Mr. Van Horn's services. I'm sure we could find some entertainment to spend them on here in Tuscon." Jake's eyes take on a devilish twinkle.

Red uses the chain to transform himself into Mr. Alistar. He puts the "Open" sign up on the door and a few minutes later the guard/bartender who he called Richard enters. Red tells him "Mr. Jacob and I are going to take care of some business so I don't know when we will be back. Mr. Van Horne is also expected today to talk to Mr. Jacob about our investment opportunities." "Very good Mr. Alistar," the man says. "Call me Marty," Red replies.

He and Jake exit via the front door. They walk a few doors down and into a boarding house, heading down the hallway to the room on the first floor which Red opens with a key. Once inside Red states the French incantation and is back to his old self. He hands the chain to Jake and teaches him the incantation "Vous devriez poursuivre votre tailleur en justice" He adds "The mage who helped me with that had a sense of humor, that translates as "You should sue your tailor". Jake does so and immediately takes on the appearance that Red was a few moments ago. He tells Jake "fasten the chain anywhere on your person but be sure that you do not let go of it until it is firmly attached."

Red then takes out the other chain and says "Est-ce difficile trouver une cravate plus odieuse que vous?" He then becomes the man known as Van Horne. He looks to Jake and says "That one translates as "Was it difficult to find a tie more obnoxious than you?" My wizard friend was quite the comedian." The two of them leave the room, Red locking it behind them. They then exit the boarding house from a back doorway.

The jewelry store is on the other side of town, owned by a German named Beck. Van Horne begins a long talk with the owner, talking about the need to purchase something to send to his neice back in Georgia. He decides upon a cameo broach valued at $ 300 and doesn't even attempt to haggle over the price. After the purchase is made they continue to talk for another ten minutes. Only then does he stop to introduce Mr. Alister and inquire about selling the jewelry. Mr. Beck asks to see the items.

Mr. Alistar delicately removes the jewelry from his pocket and lays it out neatly on the counter piece by piece including the 9 x 5 x 3 inch gold box. He finishes by clasping one hand over another in front of him giving Mr. Beck a simple and warm smile. Beck spends the next half hour examining every piece. He puts an magnifying eyeglass on to check the stones. He uses a few other tools to check the precious metals. In a think German accent he asks, "Do you want to sell some or all? I give you $ 1,500 for the lot of jewelry. Have no need for fancy box."

Mr. Alistar/Jake takes the 'fancy' box and puts it back in his pocket. "I see you recognize the fine workmanship and the stones are not local to the area. I believe the workmanship is Bolivian or someone from that general area, but obviously a craftsman. Given the exotic nature of the pieces I expected them to worth a premium. Mr. Van Horn suggested that you above all others would be able to place them into a fine home, if you are as good as your reputation. Please have another look." He finishes with another warm smile.

Beck examines each piece again. He then hands Jake back the gold and diamond tiara. He says "This one is worth the most, at least $ 600 maybe $ 700, but it is not anything my customers would wear. You keep it, I will give you $ 1,000 for the rest." Jake says, "Mr. Beck, I appreciate your candor. I shall recommend you from here forward. Without the tiara then, I would be satisfied for $1,050 for the remaining pieces." Beck says "I will have to give that some thought. You may stop back tomorrow." "As you wish Mr. Beck, a pleasure." Mr. Alister/Jake looks to Mr. Van Horn. "After you sir."

They exit and walk across the street and then walk a block to the west. Jake looks like he is about to say something but Van Horne motions for him to wait. They watch as Beck exits his shop, puts up a 'Closed' sign and then uses key to set three different locks in the door. He then departs, heading east. Van Horne then says in his deep Southern drawl "Well Mr. Alister. What is your assessment of that encounter?"

Jake answers, "I'm no expert in Jewelry, so I can't really tell if the $1,000 is a good price or not. He seemed sincere enough, as far as I can gauge. What troubles me is him locking up just now and heading off. Is he off to tell our next stop what he offered for the tiara? Or does Mr. Beck have a disguise chain too?" Mr. Alister/Jake laughs. "It make no sense to think on the sale unless he has a buyer in mind and is going to visit them. What am I missing?"

A man who had been within earshot has walked off and Red switches back into his normal voice "You're missing a lot me boy. You did get the last part right, he is off to see a potential buyer or buyers of the merchandise. As for him telling our next stop, there isn't one. Tucson only has a population of 8,000 and most of them are laborers. There is not much demand for fine jewelry so there are no more jewelry shops. Jake, the first rule I taught you is to watch the table. You saw my initial encounter with him. No haggling over price with him and lots of small talk before business.

One thing in your favor was that he is a true craftsman. He seldom gets an opportunity to appraise a large lot of unusual items and he savored that for everything it was worth. It also put him in an appraisal mindset rather than a retailer mindset, so his first offer was based on what the items were worth.

You then gave him a chance to change his mindset into what he could actually sell them for instead of what they were truly worth. That's why you lost the tiara. Not many Queens or Princesses her in Tucson. He has a reputation for honesty so I assume the prices he quoted are accurate. Thus, he first offered $ 1,500 then without the tiara actually increased the price offered for the remainder of the lot by $ 100. At that point you had two viable options, taking it or more small talk. You did neither, you haggled, thus angering him. So now instead of guessing if he might be able to sell them he is seeing if he actually can.

Jacob me boy, the rules to good poker apply to other types of negotiations as well. Read the table, read the players, follow the cues, and play accordingly. You haven't lost, he's also a persuasive salesman. If he finds buyers you may very well get the $ 1,050 for the lot. But don't be overly surprised if his offer tomorrow is something different."

"My mistake for not asking you about his reputation and finding out he was the only store in town before going in." Jake shrugs is familar shrug. "Selling them isn't urgent. If I don't get a good price, I'll try elsewhere at some point. You never know when opportunities present them self." Jake gets a sly grin on his face. "Besides, I know a lady that looks mighty fine in a tiara."

"What's next? At some point Jake Cook needs to visit a bank and ask about these notes to see if they have any value, other than that we can do whatever you want." Jake looks himself up and down. "Odd feeling though. I suppose I shouldn't get into too much trouble as Mr. Alister."

"Well Jacob, I could have coached you but that was part of the lesson as well. As I said, you didn't fail but you didn't pass either. Why don't you let Mr. Van Horne handle the banking, I have very good relationships with several banks here in town." They head over to the First National Bank of Tucson and Van Horne is treated like royalty. In fact, the bank President turns the person he is talking to over to a clerk to give Van Horne his undivided attention. They head into the man's office and Van Horne says Mr. Davis, you may remember meeting my business associate Mr. Alistar before?" Davis says "Oh yes, but I did not realize that the two of your were business partners. A pleasure sir."

Van Horne begins by asking about the money wired to New York. Davis unlocks a drawer and takes out a leather folder. He takes out some papers and hands them to Van Horne "We got the telegram an hour ago. Here is your copy sir. $ 8,000 was deposited into your account this morning." Van Horne then hands him the money. The banker suggests that they are foreign currencies and he should probably check with the California Bank over on Congress Street.

The visit to the next bank goes very much like the previous one, the main difference being that the $ 8,000 deposit there was made to a San Francisco Bank. The Banker, a man named MacKurik, says that it will take him a few days to check it out. He confirms that the currency is all South American in origin but that some of the governments that issued it may no longer be in power and back it.

Jake and Red then head back to the Watering Hole after Jake makes a transformation back from Mr. Alistar to Mr. Jacob. Red decides to keep the Van Horne persona. They spend the remainder of the day together working on Jake's skills and both poker and other skills of his. Most of the time is spent with Jake demonstrating what he has learned, with Red agreeing to then instruct him over the next few days in how to improve them.

As the afternoon recedes and Jake and Van Horne relax with a drink Jake brings up Adair again. "Since making a truce with him seems out of the question, I need to start working on other options. I was toying with slowly destroying his loyal following. Turning him against them by creating evidence of their disloyalty to him. Those types trust is pretty thin to begin with so I figured that would be pretty easy. But slow is now out of the question, though I may still undermine his help. Something about a man shooting at me when I'm not even actively threatening him just doesn't sit well."

Jake frowns and shakes his head. "I'm either going to have to kill him or get him put in jail. Sure would be nice to get him and Fisk together. Even better if I could get one to shoot the other and then have the shooter get hung for it. Perhaps a nice setup where they both think they are coming to kill poor Jake Cook." He laughs an evil laugh. "Before I dream too big, what can you tell me about Adair?"

Red says, "Well, this will probably come as a surprise to you, but he's an honest gambler. Doesn't cheat, ever, or use any type of magic at all while he inside of the Palace. He knows that I have a magical disguise and I've told him that a bounty on my head is why. He also knows that I've been using magic at the saloons in town, except for his of course and also the El Parador where you reside, since I almost got caught there.

I've seen the deed that he won giving him the Palace. It is signed G. Evan Adair, not sure what the 'G' is for. I've asked him where he is from and he replied "All over". He's mentioned things before about Mobile, Chicago, Saint Louis and Indianapolis. He's also been over to London, took some classes at Oxford once but didn't earn any kind of a degree.

Likes his women. Kitty Trent seems to be his newest one. Said he was never married. He also indicated that he has killed at least two former lovers of his. He's talked of killing at least three men by his own hands and giving orders for a good dozen more to be killed. Claims that he's not wanted anywhere for anything, that he's always stayed free of the law and that he's managed to weasel out of every one of his killings as being legit.

What else? Well, he's ambidexterous. He doesn't drink alcohol, only ice water. Usually maintains an upper-crust vocabulary but can swear like a sailor and use common slang when he has to. He will not allow women to use profanity in his presence. Getting after his staff will be a tough sell, he's pretty loyal to them. The only one who doesn't seem to care for him is his bouncer and bartender Deacon Prosper McCoy. But Adair seems to have some sort of control over Deacon's wife Bonnie, not sure exactly what that is about, but it keeps him in line.

The only other one there you might be able to get to is Jane "Little Britches" Boag. She started working there last summer along with Fannie Mitchum and Leslie Hutton, the three of them having arrived together from Kansas City. Fannie and Leslie like it there but Jane doesn't seem to. She also seems to be the best singer in the place. As for what to do about Adair, I'm not sure. Let me think about that for the next few days that you're here. I'm sure we'll come up with something."

"As always sir, you have excellent details." Jake muses a moment. "Kill two former lovers, huh. Does Kitty know about that, and for what?" Jake thinks some more. "That deed didn't happen to say who he won it from, did it?" Red replies, "I'm sure it did but I'm afraid I don't remember. It should be easy enough for you to find out though, just talk to someone who has been in town for a while.

We're going to have to plan our return to town to be spaced apart. One thing about Adair, he has a suspicious mind. Before leaving town I gave him $ 1,000 for his hospitality these past two months. That should make him glad to see me again, but we'd still better not return close together. I made a very visible exit on the Wells Fargo Stage on Sunday. I was surprised you made it here so fast though, didn't expect you for a few more days. You must have ridden out of town right after I did to have gotten here by last night. When did you leave and who saw you go?"

Jake gets a sheepish look and says, "Well, that's a funny story. I left last night, and only the wizard who brought me saw me go." Jake scratches the back of his neck. "So they only know I'm gone because they don't see me." Red scratches his head. "Wizard huh, and powerful enough to transport both him and you. You must be talking about the old Mexican guy from where you're staying." Jake says, "I figured you would know who. Now I don't have to lie about not revealing he's a wizard. I'd rather not have to lie to him, something tells me that might be a bad idea."

"I agree. The first and only time I played at the El Parador he took me aside and had a word with me. He told me to walk out the door and never set foot in the building again and he wouldn't expose me to anybody. Seemed like a good deal at the time so I took it. Good man to have made a friend with Jacob me boy."

Red stops and ponders for a while. "Hmmm, if they didn't see you go that could present a problem. I'd better rethink my return. I'd better make it long after you get back otherwise Adair might suspect something. He's a pretty bright guy. Guess I will check out either Bisbee or Benson first then. Think that you and Ruby can manage to keep yourselves alive until then? If you don't go causing any trouble directly he may hold off too. He currently thrilled about his having broken up the Whipple's marriage. Based on what Maggie told me in Tombstone he also forced the Lone Star out of business, so that should keep him happy for a while."

"That's another funny story." Jake goes back to scratching the back of his neck. "What you heard is Maggie's lie that she's using to get away. She and Tom are actually sister and brother. It gets complicated." Jake tells him the story. "He didn't really put the Lone Star out of business you see. There are some new owners, four of them with each 25%; Job Kane, Niles Hoover, uh Ruby West and uh Jake Cook." Again, Jake gives O'Brien the sheepish grin. "Adair may not be as happy with that."

Red says "Well, with Hoover as a partner he should stop directly targeting the place. There's no way he would want to get on the wrong side of his liquor distributor. So he'll have to go after you two directly. With that wizard under foot he'll have more than he bargained for if he tries to harm you at the El Parador. So it's looks like you've covered yourself nicely me boy."

"Serendipity. Bunch of stuff happened when I rolled into town, just trying to tie it all together as best I can." Jake strokes his beard a moment. "While we are talking it strikes me you ought to know a couple of other things. More funny stories..." Jake rolls eyes.

He tells the story about what he knows regarding Katherine Kale and her husbands death. "I don't know which one did it, but he was murdered. She's bound and determined to find the truth. But Hermes protect her, she's not sure what to do with it when she gets it. Makes the Earps mighty jumpy her being around Morgan. Pretty ironic her saving Morgan's life" Jake also tells about their little outing to the rusters cave. "Tried to keep that one quiet, but a few of the Cowboy gang know." After a moments pause, "I seem to have made an odd and complicated bunch of friends and enemies. If you happen to have any stray bits of knowledge around any of that, let me know."

Red states, "Jacob me boy, I can figure you for all of that except the last story. No Jacob Alistar Cook that I ever knew would have risked his life by making a assault on a cave filled with cattle rustlers! What on earth were you thinking? Obviously you weren't. Must have been the woman, had to have been. I was right yesterday, you are married, you just haven't finalized it yet. I tell you Jacob me boy, that girl will be the death of you."

"It wasn't exactly an assault. I did talk our way in." Jake laughs. "She may well be the death of me. It certainly won't be boring on the way. Besides, it's a mighty fine way to go." Jake holds up his glass in a toast. "I do believe I saw Mr Van Horne looking rather fondly at the lass if I am not mistaken." Jake laughs again, a deep hearty laugh. "You have your fine paintings, I have Ruby West." Red laughs, "Care to make a trade? No response Jacob me boy. Well, I guess I'll just have to keep me paintings then." It is late when they finish chatting and they turn in for the night.