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

[Silver Moon]

Chapter Twenty-nine, “The Gamblers Talk”, January 6th, 1882:

Jake heads east down Sierra street, shaking his head in wonder. We he reaches Main Street he turns south onto Fremont. He reaches the intersection of Main Street, waiting for a wagon filled with ore to go by, and then continues south towards the El Parador. He is then approaching the intersection of South Street, with the Promise City Marshall's Office and Jail now to his right.

Jake enters the Marshall's office and asks if he can visit with Job Kane. Morgan Earp is in the office. Job calls out to him “Hey Morgan, I’d like to chat with my friend. Would you mind letting him into the cell so we don’t have to shout through the bars?” The Deputy Marshall shrugs his shoulders and says, “Sure, just have him leave his weapons on the desk.”

After Jake takes off his gunbelt Earp unlocks the cell and lets Jake in, then locks it behind him. Earp goes back to the desk and back to reading a book. Keach appears to be asleep in the other cell. Job waves him over to the far corner and says "Thanks for stopping by." He then adds "Keep your voice low, I don't believe for one minute that they're not paying attention to us. No point in letting them hear our conversation."

Quietly, Jake asks "Is everything OK with you? Do you need anything? Is there something we should be doing to make sure the judge puts the right man in Jail?" Job laughs and says "Nah, I'm not worried about any of that, seems like a pretty open-and-shut case. I'm just concerned about what happens to my players when I'm locked up here. The crowds last night scared away my regular players. Most of my Friday night regulars will probably show up tonight but with me away some may not stay. There's one in particular who I wish would move on, but I don't want my other players to get comfortable somewhere else.

Then there's also the issue of you. My inclination here is to help you out. You had my back covered during the trouble at the Saloon. Tony Lucky would never have charged up the stairs to assist me. Heck, even Jeff Mills stayed down on the first floor, and he’s supposed to be the bouncer. I’ll feel a lot safer knowing that there’s somebody nearby that I can count on. Plus if you move on then Ruby might too, and I’m growing accustomed to her singing."

Jake replies "Hey look Job, you played me straight up. And were only helping out a friend, I figured it was only right to back you up. Besides that son of a whore put a hole in the deck." Jake snorts a laugh. "I'll just keep your table warm for you until you get out. Let those regulars know you're coming back. I'd be happy for now playing backup for a dealer at the Lone Star when they're not able to show."

Job replies "Up until now we’ve only had enough steady customers for two regular poker tables but if last night is any indication that’s probably going to soon change. Friday and Saturday nights are usually the two busiest nights of the week so you’ll have a real good opportunity to prove your worth to Tom Whipple.

Tom gets twenty-percent of each dealer’s winnings at the end of the night. Tony’s nightly winnings average around fifty to seventy-five dollars, which in turn earns Tom ten to fifteen dollars. Tony also loses around a third of the time so Tom gets nothing from him on those nights. My winnings tend to average around twice that of Tony. About one night in five I make nothing, but on those nights I tell Tom I made fifty and hand him a ten-spot. I’d suggest you do the same and I can’t see him ever kicking you out.”

Jake slowly rubs his chin. "Let me know who you want to move on, maybe something will come up." Job replies "I’m expecting six players to show up for my table tonight. You’ve met three of them when you played at my table earlier this week.

You may recall the tall clean-shaven man with the big ears, his name is Al Brower. He co-owns the Gunshop and Hardware store two doors down from the Lone Star. He eats his supper at the Saloon every night and usually plays poker afterwards. He is co-owner of one of our main competitors, the Comique Variety Hall and Saloon three doors down the street, but says that gambling there would be a conflict-of-interest since he’d make money from the dealer even if he lost.

You played against him Monday through Wednesday nights. He is a very good player and if memory serves you lost several hands to him on Tuesday night. The key to beating him is to try to keep him at the table, as he tends to get tired around ten O’clock and his playing deteriorates after that. I would imagine that he’ll decide to join you at my table, but he occasionally will play with Tony Lucky depending upon who else is there.

Another one you’ll remember is the fat man with the scruffy beard. He was at the table both Tuesday and Wednesday nights, where he lost big both times. His name is Henry Weller and he’s Promise City’s blacksmith. Being the only blacksmith in town he gets lots of business but he chooses to live simply and doesn’t believe in saving any of his money.” Job then laughs and says “Not that I’m complaining. The tip to playing against Weller is that he raises his eyebrows whenever he gets dealt a really good hand.

The other guy who you’ve played before was Neil Cassidy. He has blond hair and a bushy mustaches. He plays at my table on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights. Cassidy is the owner of the lumberyard over at the corner of Main and Federal streets. He’s an above average player with a great poker face and I occasionally lose to him.

My other Friday night regulars include a prospector named Ned Walters. He works a claim several miles away and comes to town for the weekends. Every Friday he arrives in town, hits the Assay office to get paid for his ore, deposits half his money in the bank and then blows the other half at the Lone Star over the course of the weekend. From Friday night to Monday morning he always rents out the room that floozy was in last night.” Job then pauses and comments “I hope Tom got around to patching up those bullet holes in the floor and bed. Can’t go upsetting regular customers.”

Kane continues “Ned is a pretty good card player and comes out ahead every few weekends, but that’s partially due to him only playing at my table of Fridays and with Tony on Saturday and Sunday nights. If we get you as a third dealer I imagine he’ll do a different night with each of us, so you may want to pay extra attention to how he plays. However, I don’t think I’ll give you any specific tips since we may soon be competing to see which of us can acquire his funds each weekend.

Another Friday night regular is Phil Rogers. He works over at the Lucky Deuce mine, where he’s their explosives expert. People in that line of work tend to live for the moment, and he’s a fairly reckless gambler. He gets his weekly pay on Friday and then spends it at the Lone Star, alternating games between my table and Tony’s. He’s an awful player but I make sure that he comes out ahead every three or four games so that he keeps coming back.

My last regular is a distinguished Southern gentleman named Cornelius Van Horne. He once owned a plantation down in Georgia but lost it during the war. He’s a professional gambler and has been in town for a couple of months. Rents a room over at the Palace Saloon and spends each night of the week gambling at a different Saloon in town. Friday is his Lone Star night. I told you I tend to lose one night in five, well since he showed up that loosing night has been Friday. I’m sure he’s cheating, but I haven’t been able to figure out how.

He finishes with a sly grin. "So tell me the particulars of your table and house rules. Like how you'd like me to handle cheaters if it comes up. Now, I'm no novice to this and have handle cheaters before," Jake stops him before Job can speak,"but it's your table and I'll honor your rules."

"House rules are whatever you want to make them, it's your table, you set the tone of the game. As for cheaters, that's what Jeff Mills is there for. If you catch somebody cheating you alert Jeff, he gets into position, and then you call them on it. Jeff will keep them from going for any weapons and eject them from the saloon.

If someone accuses you of cheating that's another matter. Don't handle that yourself. Just stop the game and have Tom and Jeff both come over and mediate the situation."

"Thanks for the insight on the players, it was more than I expected. If that's all for now, I'll be heading back. It has been a...." Jake searches for the right word, "...an unusual day, and I need to make sure Katherine and Ruby are gonna be alright for tonight." Jake gets up. "Send word if you need anything else. I'll send someone over with a deck cards." He finishes by patting Job Kane on the shoulder.

Job replies "Think nothing of it, you helped save my life, it's the least I can do." Jake signals the Marshall to help him out. He collects his gun and heads back to the cantina, arriving there at around 6:00 PM. The place is crowded but there is an open stool at the bar. Neither lady appears to be around at the moment.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter Thirty, “The Elderly Wood Elf”, January 6th, 1882:

Kate decided that she was absolutely not letting that girl Ruby out of her sight. They went down the stairs together and Kate pulled Ruby's arm through hers. "Come with me to see Dorita's Grandfather, dear. He's a lovely gentleman and I'm sure he'd be glad to meet you." Once they got downstairs Kate searched the room for Gomez and made sure to steer Ruby clear of him on their way to visit the elderly elf. Oh I don't think I've met him yet, that would be just lovely." Ruby smiles and waves at everyone she passes.

Manuel Gonzales hears the knock on the door and open it up, inviting the ladies inside. His room is decorated with brightly colored hand-woven Mexican rugs on the floor and a colorful blanket of varying patterns fastened to the wall. All of the furnishings in the room are made of simple wood, the one exception being a solid metal truck that has both a combination lock and a padlock holding it shut.

He gestures to two chairs in the room and asks the women to sit. He says to Katherine "As I stated earlier, I would like to repay your kindness. I have something special in mind for you, but before I can offer it I have three questions that I need you to answer. First, what is your opinion of magic use? Second, what is your opinion of wood elves? And lastly, what are your feelings towards Texas and human Texans?"

What in the world could he want to giver her that would require such questions? She had thought perhaps a special book, but perhaps not.

"Well, as for magic, I know very little about it. I have seen it used to great effect in the last few days, however. It seems to me to be a great deal like any other thing people do, neutral in and of itself. The intent comes from the one who wields it. As to whether its clerical or arcane? I have no problem with either, especially since each can be used to accomplish different things. In fact, my father tells me that we have both wizards and clerics among our ancestors. "I suspected as much" he replies.

"Now, as to wood elves," Kate smiled at the old man, "I've met some lovely ones so far. I will admit I was afraid when I first moved here. We hear such stories in the East. But they are stories. I have found since I moved here that it's best to judge individuals, not whole races. He smiles upon hearing that but makes no further comment.

She continues, "Texans I know nothing about, I'm sorry to say. Human or otherwise. He states, "A lack of knowledge is fine, it is prejudices I was curious about."

She then says, “There is no repayment needed, you know. It's always a pleasure to share books. It gives you someone to discuss the book with afterward." "I agree, and anticipate that we will have many conversations about books. But I also feel the need to repay someone as kind as you."

He then turns to Ruby and waits for her to respond to his questions. Ruby looks surprised. “Oh were you talking to me? I was just admiring your exquisite hanging. It’s just stunning!”

“As for your questions, I try not to hold anything against anybody. I have met many wood elves in my travels, more kind goodly ones than bad and I can mostly say that about any race.”

“I don’t have anything against magic either. I know some people are suspicious of it but again, I have seen more good done with it than bad. Healing people can never been a bad thing. I even saw Mr. Valdez today myself and now I feel great! I’m going to have to thank Jake for that...” Ruby pauses. “I haven’t seen much arcane magic though.”

“I’m going to have to agree with Kate about Texas. I don’t really know anything about it.”

Gonzalas says "I am from Texas. I lived there up until this past year. Texas is an ancient land of the Wood Elf. We lived there for thousands of years before the wizards and armies of Spain invaded and enslaved the people. In the 17th and 18th century Spanish rule collapsed and the land became a disorganized place ruled by various warlords.

Around forty years ago one of these warlords, a wood elf by the name of Antonio López de Santa Anna became the land's military leader of Mexico, which included the land of Texas. The humans from the United States had been moving into the lands for several decades at that point. Santa Anna decided to rid the land of these invaders and organized his army, which was comprised of soldiers and mages.

In March of 1836 a group of nearly 200 humans decided to take a stand at the fortress known as the Alamo in the Texas town of San Antonio. Santa Anna's forces besieged the fortress, which eventually ended in a great battle where the wood elves were victorious. That event caused the humans to then unite against the Mexican Wood Elves and led to the Mexican-American war that ended with Texas as part of the United States.

The phrase "Remember the Alamo" is used as a rallying cry by the humans of Texas to repress the wood elf. That is why I have always kept my own involvement at the Alamo a secret. When that secret was discovered last year I had to flee Texas and move here with my granddaughter in order to save my life."

"I'm so sorry. It's a terrible thing to leave a place you love.

Sadly, the war between the states ended slavery, but not repression. And from what I have seen here, the law isn't terribly concerned about making sure everyone is treated justly. Just in keeping the streets quiet.

I will keep your confidence, of course. In the East many humans talk as if the land in the West is empty and waiting for them. They don't seem to realize that it already belongs to others."

He replies "Thank you. My involvement at the Alamo was as one of Santa Anna's wizards. In fact, I was the second highest ranked wizard among the General's troops, holding the rank of Colonel. It was my Lightning Bolts that broke down the walls to allow the foot solders to enter the fortress.

I am still a wizard of great power, but have been very careful to keep that fact hidden while in Promise City. One of my greatest pleasures is passing my knowledge on to others. I sense from you Katherine, and perhaps from you as well Ruby, an aptitude for using your natural gifts to also tap into arcane magics.

My gift to you would be to teach you some simple magics that may come of some assistance to you. I could begin with something simple, which would probably take no more than an hour to teach.

If you discover that this is something you wish to continue I could provide more detailed study in the future."

Ruby says, "Rest assured I will not betray your confidence in me either."

Ruby's eyes open wide. "You can teach us magic?" She seems very interested but then backs off a little. "Oh, but I'm not smart like Katherine is. I'm not sure I could learn."

He smiles at Ruby and says "You have been staying at the Cantina for the past five days, during which time I have been watching your entire group. What I have seen from you is that you are as astute as the golden eagle, letting nothing of importance pass your gaze. So trust me little bird, you are indeed smart. True intelligence is nothing more than obtaining knowledge and then using that knowledge. You are like my Great-Granddaughter Sanoma, you have a thirst for life that must be quenched." Ruby smiles and blushes. "Thank you, then I would be honored to learn from you." For once Ruby felt a compliment that was given to her was sincere and heartfelt.

"As would I. Sadly we must leave for work now, and we have plans very early in the morning. If we return early enough, however, we might be able to visit you in the afternoon. Would that be convenient?"

He says "That would be just fine. Sanoma is busy now but has also been anxious to learn from me, so tomorrow afternoon would work even better as I can teach something to the three of you simultaneously."

Once they have settled their plans Katherine thanks Mr. Gonzales and takes Ruby's arm again. Hopefully Jake was ready and she could stop trying to keep Juan Gomez away from Ruby.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter Thirty-one, “Evening Preparations”, January 6th, 1882:

The elf Nanuet had asked the pretty wood elf Sanoma “Do you know where else a man of my sorts can find a room around Promise City?" Sanoma says, "I would suggest that you try the Celtic church, the only other place might be the barn out back. I may be able to convince my father to allow you to sleep in the loft for some small coins. The town does not have a friendly face for the native people, there has been too much trouble between the whites and others." Nanuet smiles widely at the beautiful wood elf. "Thank you for your kindness. If you would speak to your father about the loft I would gladly pay a few coins for the space. Otherwise I will head over to the church. Please let me know."

After a long while, since the place is fairly busy and she has work to attend to Sonoma returns and lets Nanuet know that the loft is available. He kindly pays the "small coins" and works his way there to sleep, planning to rise before the sun and be ready to ride to the rustler's hideout.

Jake has been sitting at at the bar. He takes a deep breath and gives a heavy sigh. He motions to the bartender. "What I could really use is a double shot of fine Kentucky Bourbon. But if you don't have that, I'll take a whiskey."

Pedro calls over his hired hand Grant Keebler, gives him a handful of coins and tells him "Get over to Hoover's Wholesale Liquor and get me that bottle of Kentucky Bourbon that he had for sale." Keebler takes off and Pedro then pours a fairly small glass of whiskey and says, "You can have this one on the house until the other arrives."

Looking at nothing in particular, he lets the tension of the day drain away. He smiles a faint smile and says to himself, should be good poker tonight. And everything will be just fine. He relaxes and enjoys his drink for a short while before getting up to change into a freshly pressed shirt before going over to the Lone Star.

After changing his shirt he returns to the bar. Pedro apologizes, saying that the liquor distributor had already sold the bottle to somebody else. He gives Jake another whiskey free-of-charge.

Jake takes a sip of the whiskey and gives Pedro a nod. Jake raises his glass to Pedro and says "Sir, you are fine gentleman, and your cantina is obviously one of the finest in all the territory. I will recommend it to all my friends in Philadelphia. Here is to your health."

Pedro pours him another one, which Jake takes his time drinking it and wondering what was keeping the ladies. An hour later he is still waiting, although he has been enjoying listening to Sanoma sing and play guitar.

Ruby and Katherine both head downstairs. It is now around 7:30 PM. They see Jake is sitting alone at the bar, wearing a fresh shirt. He comments "I was wondering what was keeping you two." Katherine replies "I'm sorry, it was my fault. We got a bit, umm, distracted, and I had a visit I needed to pay before we left. We should hurry, otherwise we'll be late."

Jake says, "But now that I see you both it was worth the wait." He says with a wide smile. "Ruby, I see that your infectious cheerful mood has been caught by Katherine as well. It is a welcome change." He says to Katherine gaily and yet feels a tinge of remorse, knowing that there may yet be some dark reminder of the legacy of her husband’s death to deal with. "May I escort you both to the Lone Star?" he says with an exaggerated bow and a laugh. "Everyone man in Promise city will be jealous of me tonight."

Jake's comment looks to be prophetic, as a number of heads turn in their direction as the trio enter the Lone Star Dance Hall and Saloon. Tom Whipple leaves Jeff Mills to tend bar and makes his way across the room to greet them.

Lone Star it is crowded, but not nearly as much as the night before. There are about thirty people present in the room. The barstools are all full, as are most of the tables. A quick glance around the room shows that there are at least a dozen men who had visited the night before.

Tom Whipple says to Katherine "My, you look breathtaking in that dress." He then turns and calls over to Maggie "She'll be needing to take you up on that suggestion of yours." Maggie asks Katherine "Would you mind giving me a hand with something upstairs?" "Of course," Katherine answers, following Maggie toward the stairs. "I'm not sure I understand what all the fuss is about," she said chuckling. "It's just an afternoon dress. I know it's not the style here, but I must wear the clothes I have." Maggie replies "Oh, it's far more than that. You look wonderful, and I like what you've done with your hair too. You and Ruby are both so beautiful, makes me wish that I wasn't such a ugly duckling." Katherine replies,"There's more than one kind of beauty, Maggie. Like the kind that gives a job to a stranger who needs help and makes her feel as welcome as if she'd always been here."

Maggie gets out a key and unlocks a room, inviting Katherine inside. The room has a small post bed inside and several pieces of furniture. Everything in the room appears to be of a feminine nature. Maggie opens the closet and takes out a wooden box on the floor. "This belonged to my mother. She waitressed at my father's Saloon in Denver. I got my looks from him, she was beautiful, which is why this was needed." She takes what appears to be a small oval pillow, ten inches wide, six inches high and two inches deep. It has a cloth belt running along the top of it with a small blue gem clasp holding the pillow to the belt. Kate laughed softly. "Is this what I think it is? To umm," she looked for a delicate way to say it, "to go under my bustle?"

Maggie replies "Close, it goes over the bustle. My mother bought it from a French dancehall girl from New Orleans. Once you get it in place just touch the blue stone to turn it on. It's magical! Anyone who touches you on the pillow will get a slight jolt, not enough to hurt them. That is, unless they are stupid enough to let their hand linger." "Oh, that's marvelous. I have to admit I was a bit sore this morning." Kate swallowed. "Thank you, Maggie. Not just for this, but for taking care of me. I appreciate it so much. I'll bring it back to you at the end of the night."

Maggie replies "Oh no, you keep it for as long as you're working here. Otherwise it will just be sitting in the closet. I don't need it, the men leave me alone. And speaking of alone, I'll give you some privacy to put it on." Maggie leaves the room. Before putting it in place Katherine performs a test turning on the item, being glad she did as activating the gem requires more than just touching it, the stone needing to be turned clockwise for ninety degree. She practices turning it on and off, then puts the item in place.

While doing this she looks around the room, being bothered by what she sees. This room clearly belongs to Maggie, and only Maggie. There is an adjoining door to the next room, but that door is bolted shut from this side. Katherine had previously gotten the impression that the Whipples had a happy marriage. They certainly acted comfortable and happy when they were around each other, even to the point of occasionally finishing each other's sentences. Katherine had known other couples who maintained separate bedrooms. But that was back east, not out here where living space was at a premium and renting out another room could make money.

Downstairs, Tony Lucky has five players at his table and has already started his first game of poker. Jake recognizes two of the five as Tony’s regular players, two are unknown and the last one is Al Brower, one of Job’s Friday night regulars.

Oh wow, I knew it was gonna be a good night," Ruby says looking around. She leans over the bar peering behind it. "Are you prepared tonight Tom? Your going to need lots of bottles..." He gestures to several bottles, including one of Kentucky Bourbon, and says "All set. I picked up a whole new bunch this afternoon." Ruby is actually serious for a moment. "Do you think you can trust this crowd? Last night was a bit wild..." Ruby stops and laughs. "Forget it, I know it'll be fine." Ruby starts walking around, laughing and saying hi to everyone, flirting all the while.

There are four men currently seated at Job’s table. Jake recognizes two of them as Henry Weller and Neil Cassidy. He does not know the other two, but one is dressed like a prospector so Jake assumes him to be Ned Walters. The last man is dressed in clean white cotton shirt and a rumpled brown wool suit with a necktie stuffed into the coat pocket. A gold pocket-watch is on the table in front of him alongside a gold money clip that looks to be filled with fresh twenty-dollar bills. He’s drinking from a large glass filled with a clear liquid and cubes of ice, which in and of itself is curious since Maggie and Tom serve their drinks with ice chipped off from a large block.

Jake stands next to the table and says,"Welcome gentlemen. Job Kane asked me to run his table for him tonight as he is unable to do so himself. I trust you will all enjoy yourselves. Ruby looks to be in fine spirits tonight, so try not to get distracted." Jake smiles a faint smile around the table. "I know Mr. Weller and Mr. Cassidy. And you sir are Mr. Walters?" He asks pointing at the prospector. "A'Yup, That I am. Heard of me?" the man replies.

"And you sir" Jake continues looking at the man with the gold watch, "I apologize but I don't believe I have had the pleasure of meeting your before." "Evan Adair" the man states, offering nothing further. Jake says, "If you give me but a moment more, I'll get some fresh cards and we'll get started." Jake goes over to Tom and asks for some cards, "preferable two decks with different back designs." I have a feeling I may need them tonight." Tom replies "Watch out for Adair. He's really good. He owns and manages the Palace Saloon, the fanciest place in town. Actually won the place in a poker game around a year ago."

Jake leaves his hat behind the bar and comes back to the table, shuffles, offers the cut to his left and without much further comment begins the game. He pays special attention to Adair, making certain the man is not palming cards.

At his first chance when Katherine is out serving the tables he whispers in her ear, "If I give you a silver dollar during the evening, it is because I need Jeff Mills. Hopefully I won't but if I do, please be very discrete."

The first two hours of poker had gone by rather quickly. Both Henry Weller and Ned Walters lost rather large sums of money without acting at all concerned. Neil Cassidy only played a single hand during all this time, folding the remainder. A few others had gathered around the table to watch, but none made any attempt to sit and join in. The real battle that they were observing was between Jake and Adair. Jake has been holding his own and was actually slightly ahead, but he sensed that Adair has merely been humoring him and trying to size up his playing style. Jake considered that only fair, since he was doing the same with Adair.

While this has been going on Ruby had already sung two short sets. At Maggie's insistence she was now only allowed so sing a maximum of thirty-minutes an hour, being told to rest her voice the remainder. "Can't have you ruining that pretty voice now can we. It's what's bringing the money in. And besides, these people seem to drink more while they are waiting" she said.

Katherine and Maggie were taking turns alternating between waitressing and piano playing. During one of Ruby's long breaks Katherine dared to attempt a Mozart piece, which the audience was surprisingly receptive to. She had also received several compliments about her appearance, and no man had attempted to pat her bottom more than once.

The only thing that was bothering her was Tom Whipple. All week long he had kept a constant eye on everything that was going on inside the saloon which she equated with him being an attentive owner. But tonight he seemed to be particularly interested in watching her. She suspected at first that it was because of the change in dress and hairstyle, but now she was concerned that his attention might have something more to it.

Katherine tried to stay focused on her work. It was easier when she sat at the piano and she could float away with the music and enjoy listening to Ruby. She had dared the Mozart partly to ease her mind and was pleasantly surprised at how well it was received.

Still, it seemed she could feel eyes boring into her back. She remembered the argument Tom and Maggie were having the night before. Ruby had covered the noise with her singing, but after the incident with the harlot last night Kate was sure Suzie had been the subject of the argument. The woman's presence made Maggie furious. Katherine had thought it was only the idea of Suzie setting up shop in Maggie's establishment, but now it took on a deeper meaning. They had been led to believe that Tom Whipple didn't know Suzie was a strumpet, but perhaps he had known. Kate hated to think that he might have rented to her specifically to take advantage of her services.

She wished she could talk to Ruby or Jake. But in her current mood Ruby would be likely to ask him right out thinking it was just a misunderstanding. And saying anything to Jake would disrupt his concentration, which he needed very much just now.

Kate sighed. For now she would just keep her eyes open and hope she was mistaken. She laughed at herself for a moment. 'Only a few hours out of black and already thinking every man is looking at you. Shame on you.' But she wasn't fooling herself, and the feeling of being watched continued to crawl up and down her spine.

Before beginning her next set of songs Ruby looked around the Saloon. She checked to make sure the windows were open, which they were. She hoped Judge Lacey was still awake and that he would be able to hear her sing. He had been so nice to her today giving her the book and it meant something that someone could get such enjoyment from her singing. She started off by singing “My Dearest Heart”, his song of choice.

She continued with all happy songs, adding some more rowdy ones in towards the end. She looked over to Maggie who didn’t seem to mind too much. The patrons bought more spirits when they had drinking songs to drink to.

She watched Katherine from the stage. Kate looked a bit preoccupied and maybe even worried. She hoped she wasn’t regretting wearing the green dress. She thought about it for a moment then decided it was time to liven things up a bit for both of them. She started talking from the stage.

“So, I’m having a wonderful day, I hope you are too. It feels like nothing can go wrong today! Now I have this friend, Kate, your lovely waitress for the evening… give us a wave Kate…and she hasn’t been having the great day I’ve been having so I thought I’d help her out a bit. I’m sure somewhere in this room must be a nice, respectable, intelligent man to buy our lovely Kate a drink… anyone?” There are lots of hoots and hollers in response. “Now I said respectable and intelligent! Come on now, no lying! And don’t worry; anyone who doesn’t fit the bill can buy me a drink!”

Ruby walks off the stage and over to Kate. “Come on Katie, we’re going to loosen you up a bit tonight. It’s just one night so don’t get too worried.” Ruby gives Katherine a knowing smile walks her over to the bar with her arm over Kate’s shoulder. She hoped Tom was right about those bottles…

Katherine shrugged Ruby's arm off her shoulder and yanked off her apron. Her face was crimson and her hands shaking. Tom Whipple was bad enough, but all these men shouting as if she were for sale. "Ruby, I'm mortified! Why in the world would you...." Her voice dropped off. She couldn't come up with the words and Ruby wouldn't understand it if she did.

She tossed the apron on the bar. "I'll be back in a little while, I need some fresh air," she said as Maggie arrived. Kate didn't wait for the answer. She walked quickly out the door and ran back toward the El Parador. Once out of sight of the Lone Star she slowed down. If she could do as she wished, she'd never set foot in the place again. But she must work, and she truly liked Maggie and hated to disappoint her. Instead of going inside the Cantina (that horrible Juan Gomez was probably inside) she went into the stables

Ruby was concerned about Kate for about 2 seconds. "Maybe she was mad?" she thought. "Why would she be mad about someone buying her a drink?" She said out loud, "I'm sure she just needed some air. It is getting very hot in here. You can just leave these drinks on the counter waiting for her."

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter Thirty-two, “Jake’s Big Hand”, January 6th, 1882:

The poker game had continued and Ned Walters had dropped out, commenting that he needed the rest of his money for the remainder of the weekend. Jake estimated that Walters had lost close to $200, rather evenly split between him and Adair. One observer decided to take Walters place but lasted only around half-an-hour until he was broke. Cassidy continued to take his cards every hand and then fold, clearly intimidated by Adair's presence at the table. The blacksmith Weller got lucky and won a hand, after which he actually started playing more cautiously.

Adair didn't talk very much while he played. Whenever somebody who he recognized came near the table he would call to them by name and chat for a few sentences, but that was the extent of his conversation. For the second time this evening a woman dressed as a harlot with a very low-cut dress came into bring Adair a fresh glass of ice water. He would tell her "Thank you Kitty" and then she would leave again.

Each time she arrived Maggie would give her a look that would kill. Jake wasn't sure if her anger was due to the momentary presence of the loose woman or because Adair wouldn't drink anything of the Lone Star's, even water.

The final cards were dealt in this hand. Adair called and then raised a full $ 40.00, the most he had raised so far this evening. Weller folded. Cassidy surprisingly stayed in, and raised another $ 20.00. Jake estimated that due to Walters bad luck he still had around $ 80.00 at this point in time. He looked down at his own hand, a full-house comprised of three 8's and two Kings.

He then had a momentary reprieve from deciding how to proceed when Ruby climbed onto the stage and made an announcement suggesting that people buy drinks for her and Katherine.

Ruby didn't have time to think beyond that as the bar became crowded with over a dozen men all wanting to buy her a drink. Tom Whipple calmed them somewhat and told them they would have to each wait their turn, but to feel free to get themselves one. As such, he and Mills were going to be busy for the next half-hour.

Back at the El Parador, Katherine picked up a grooming brush and walked over to Meribel. Her breathing calmed as she brushed the mare with long, slow strokes. Meribel nickered softly. "That's my good girl," Kate said softly and kept brushing. She would go back to the Lone Star in a few minutes. She knew she'd embarrassed herself by leaving, but staying had not been an option. Her nerves and anger were too close to the surface. With each stroke she let a little bit of it go.

Ruby had a few drinks before she noticed the crowd gathering around Jake's table. She excuses herself from the bar for a moment and in response to the moans says, "I'll be right back! Just stay here and keep Tom company, you won't regret it." She walks over to the table and squeezes in behind Jake. She starts off chipperly, "Hi Jake what's going on..." her voice trails off. "Oh sorry, big hand..."

Adair looks like the professional no nonsense type so Ruby decides not to try to distract him, well not on purpose anyway. She stands behind Jake and puts her gaze on Adair. She studies him intently. Tony Lucky's table had finished up their hand and decided to take a break to watch what had turned into a high-stakes hand at Jake's table. Tony slides over behind Jake, sees what he is holding, and whispers into his ear "If you're short on cash I can spot you." I may need that Lucky", Jake whispers back. Without any expression he says to the table, "I'll pay to see those cards gentlemen, I call."

Adair shows his hand to also be a full house, three sevens and a pair of tens. Cassidy then lays down his hand consisting of four queens and an ace. The lumberyard owner says, "Thank you gentlemen. I believe that I"ll quit while I'm ahead." "Well Mr. Cassidy, it appears that the ladies in the deck are smiling on you tonight. We'll look forward to seeing you another evening." I think it is time for extended break folks. Thank you all for a fine game." To the room. "We are running a little short of players here, if we can fill up the table again we'll start in a half an hour, otherwise the game starts again tomorrow night."

“My favorite card!” chirps Ruby from right behind Jake. When he startles because she is standing right over him she laughs. Jake is looking at her like she’s crazy so she explains, “The queen. It’s my favorite card.” She pauses and says slowly, ‘Although I guess it’s not my favorite card when it’s played against me…” She starts pondering then decides to not worry about it. “I’d better get back to the bar before there is a riot.” Ruby squeezes Jake’s arm. “You did a great job Jake, maybe Tom and Maggie will hire you. They have an empty table anyway and the crowds have been bigger. Then we don’t have to worry about you working at the bank.”

Dumbfounded, Jake watches Ruby promenade back to the bar. He just shakes his head. And they are worried about me? He stretches and scans the room, and notices Katherine is not there. He looks back at the poker table and his departing players to make certain no one is waiting for him or disgruntled, before he goes off looking for Katherine.

Adair intercepts Jake before he gets far from the table. The man quietly makes the comment "Your girl has quite a voice and a body to match. Tell her that when Mrs. Whipple's prudish ideas get to be too much for her there will be a job waiting over at the Palace Saloon." He then gathers up his belongings and departs. Cassidy pockets his winnings and asks Jake "Are you running Job's table again tomorrow?" Jake just nods to Adair without answering. He turns to Cassidy and responds. "I expect I'll be running his table tomorrow evening, I don't think Job will be back by then. I look forward to seeing you again." Cassidy says, "Glad to hear it. I normally only come here three nights a week but I think I'll make an exception."

Jake looks into the kitchen and then out front for Katherine. Although it looks like Jeff has things in hand with Ruby's antics Jake does not want to be too far away. If he does not see her around he'll ask Tom if he knows where she has gone. Ruby is back at the bar. Two cowboys and a prospector almost break out in a fistfight trying to see who will get to sit next to her. Mills growls at them and they stop, the prospector winning out and buying her a drink.

Jake does not see Maggie anywhere around either and goes over to the bar to ask Tom. While there he sees a prospector and a cowboy both trying to get Ruby's attention. There is an empty glass on the counter in front of her and she then downs a second one. Tom waves Jake over behind the bar and says to him "I hate to have to ask you this after a bad night at the table, but would you mind taking a turn at the piano? Maggie and Katherine both seem to have disappeared and if we don't get Ruby back on stage soon for everybody to share in her attentions I think there's going to be trouble."

Jake nods his agreement to Tom, especially after seeing that Ruby is heading for her second drunk of the day. He quickly sits down at the keyboard and plinks a few keys and then starts into a common drinking song that has many different renditions figuring that Ruby knows at least one of them. "Ruby darling", he says loudly, "don't make these poor thirsty folks listen to my shabby piano playing, why don't you jump on stage and save me?" "Of course, Jake anything for you." Ruby gets back on stage and sings along to every song Jake plays.

Jake beings to play for her when he now notices that the glass for tips atop the piano, and the other one at the edge of the stage, are both empty. On previous nights Ruby had been very good about making sure to take those whenever she left the stage, but tonight she hadn't been at all concerned about it. Jake realizes that it is entirely possible that Katherine emptied them both before she left. He also considers that a pair of men who he had seen earlier seated near the stage, that left the Saloon no more than a minute earlier, may have helped themselves while everyone else was distracted at the bar and poker table.

After about fifteen minutes of grooming her horse Katherine decided that it was time to head back to the Lone Star. Nanuet had been up in the loft sleeping lightly, as he always does. He heard someone enter the stables below and crept forward to see who it was, more out of curiosity than anything else. He was surprised to see Katherine, not dressed in her normal garb. She looked upset and frustrated. He watched her as she brushed her mare. He thought about the strength that she must have, to come out here by herself, an easterner and a woman. He gathered his things and was just about to call out to her when she turned and left. Nanuet climbed down from the loft and hurried after the woman.

When Katherine turned the corner of Main and Fremont she nearly collided with Maggie Whipple. "Oh, I was just coming to check on you," the woman exclaimed. "Are you all right?" Kate replies, “Yes, I'm alright. I just needed to get out of there for a few minutes. I was furious and I didn't want to take it out on anyone. Apparently Jake took Ruby to someone named Mr. Valdez this afternoon, he said he'd explain why but he hasn't yet. Whatever the man did there, it seemed to knock all the sense out of the girl's head. I didn't want to yell at her, it's not her fault. She's just so happy she can't seem to conceive that anything could be unpleasant." Maggie exclaims "Valdez is the Celtic and Mexican priest. Why would he have taken her to him?"

Katherine has some difficulty hearing what Maggie said, as the sounds coming from the Comique Variety Hall and Saloon on the corner have now gotten louder, changing from just piano music to a loud deep woman's voice. Much to Katherine's surprise, she recognizes the piece as being from one of Wagner's operas.

In response to Maggie’s question Katherine says, "I don't know, I'm hoping to get a chance to ask Jake soon." Katherine raised her voice to be heard and put her hand on Maggie's arm to stop her. "It's been a long time since I heard something like that," she said, moving to peek in the door. She lingered a few moments listening and letting the music soothe her. "Wagner. Always a good choice." She smiled at Maggie. "We should go, I suppose." Maggie says, "I agree. We should go into the Comique until you calm down a bit more. Don't worry about the Lone Star, your friend Ruby is keeping half the place busy and Jake has the other half enthralled with his game. They won't be needing any waitresses or piano players for at least another ten minutes." The two ladies enter the Comique.

He stopped as another woman met her on the street. He slowed down and approached the women trying not to startle either one of them. Before he could reach them they walked off and entered a building. He couldn't read the sign, but strange music was coming from inside. He hemmed and hawed about whether or not to go inside. He thought to himself, "she did seem pretty upset, and she should be working, something must be going on."

The Comique is half filled with dwarven prospectors who seem to be enjoying the Norse opera. Katherine decides that the woman standing on stage certainly has the voice for opera. Maggie tells Katherine "That's Flossie McKenna, the famous Denver showgirl. She performed regularly at my father's Saloon there. She originally came here with me and Tom almost two years ago but we didn't have enough business back then to keep her employed and the Comique stole her from us. Well, I guess stole is a bit harsh, more like borrowed. But with you here now I don't see us ever needed to borrow her back."

"You meant Ruby, of course, not me." Katherine said, with half her attention of Flossie. "I can certainly see why you'd be sad to loose her, she's wonderful." Maggie replies "Well, I guess I meant a collective you. I see you, Ruby and Jake as a trio. That was how Flossie, Tom and I were when we arrived here. She was my best friend, then she and Tom and a falling out and things haven't been the same between her and I since." Katherine sighs and comments "It's nice to get to hear her voice again but I suppose we should be getting back." They turn and head out.

Nanuet straightened his clothes and hair. He wasn't sure how he would be received in a place like this, but he stuck his head in and saw Katherine and the other woman talking near the door. "Katherine, are you OK? I heard you in the stables. I thought you were supposed to be working?" Maggie acts surprised when an Indian intercepts Katherine at the doorway and begins talking to her. "Will you excuse me for a moment, Maggie?"

Kate moved just a few feet away to talk to Nanuet. "I'm fine, I just needed to get out of the Lone Star for a few minutes. Mr. Whipple, Maggie's husband and the owner of the Lone Star...Well, I felt like he was watching me. And then Ruby, trying to 'loosen me up" made an open invitation to the men in the bar to buy me drinks. I'm really not ready for that kind of attention, especially from my employer. I've always found it soothing to be around horses, so I came back to the El Parador for a few minutes. "I appreciate your concern though," she said and smiled. "We're just on our way back to the Lone Star. Come in if you like and I'll buy you a drink."

Maggie seemed a little surprised at her inviting an Indian over for a drink, but doesn't argue. Nanuet says, "If you think I will be welcome there and won't cause any more trouble for you then I will gladly accept. I hear Ms. Ruby has a voice worth listening to, and although I would like to I feel I won't get much sleep tonight. Your friend looks a little alarmed there, maybe you want to tell her I don't mean any harm."

The three head out of the Comique and start back up the street to the Lone Star, three doors down on the right. A pair of men who had been seated near the piano listening to Ruby for most of the night exit the Lone Star and turn left. As they near the trio one tips his hat towards Katherine and says, "Evening Ma'am, that was some mighty nice piano must you played tonight." Thank you, sir." Kate smiled. That was one kind of attention she didn't mind receiving.

"I've forgotten my manners," Kate said as they two men passed them. Mrs. Maggie Whipple, this is my friend Nanuet. He is also staying at the El Parador and has been very kind to me. He noticed me in the stables and came to make sure everything was alright. That's a kindness that deserves a drink, don't you think?" Nanuet follows Katherine and Maggie back to the Lone Star.

As he walks in he takes in the scene and responds under his breath to Katherine "And they call my people savages." Katherine tells him "To be fair, Ruby has been encouraging them. That announcement I mentioned, she made it for herself as well. Looks like they took her up on it. Really, it's usually much quieter here."

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter Thirty-three, “The Tip Thieves”, January 6th, 1882:

"Welcome back Katherine & Maggie." Jake says quickly "Did either of you empty the tip cups before you left?" When they say no Jake says "quick one of you ladies take the piano" to Nanuet, "You there, they tell me you are a friend of Ruby & Katherine’s, if so follow me and stay out of sight. Just scare the crap out of a couple of two-bit thieves if I get into trouble, OK?" Jake smiles and doesn't wait for an answer and is out the door. Katherine offers to take the piano, grateful to avoid returning to waiting tables for a few more minutes. She wasn't terribly worried about the tip cups. Ruby had probably emptied them, pleased with whatever amount was there.

Jake quickly looks left and right, locating what he thinks are the two men a distance away in the dark. Jake doesn't see them. Nanuet asks "Who are you looking for." Jake replies "Two petty thieves. They just left here." Nanuet remembers the men that he and the ladies had just passed out on the street and replies "Two humans, one six-foot tall with long mustache with jeans, black shirt and brown leather vest, the other a few inches shorter with beard, jeans with chaps, white shirt and red bandana?" Jake says "That's them." Nanuet points east down main street and replies "They went that-a-way".

"Can you find them in the dark?" Jake asks as he is moving in the direction Nanuet pointed. Nanuet says "Should be able to." Both men hurry down to the corner of Fremont and Main and look in both directions. Jake sees a pair of men up a block north at the next intersection, partially illuminated by light coming from the windows of the Palace Saloon on the opposite corner. "Is that them?" he asks. "I think so," Nanuet replies. The men then turn right onto Sierra Street behind the Papago Cash Store and Corral. The corral currently has around twenty horse in and the men he remembers were definitely wearing riding clothes.

In between songs Ruby talks to Kate. "Did you enjoy some fresh air? I bet it's nice out tonight. Was that Nanuet that walked in with you? I invited him here but he said he wanted to get to bed early tonight, something about tomorrow morning? And why did Jake go running out of here? It looked like Nanuet followed him." Kate replies,"Yes, it was Nanuet. I believe he was getting ready for sleep when we met. I don't think he'll be staying long. And I told you all about tomorrow morning, remember? We're going to help the Cartwright's get their cattle back. I asked you and Jake to come along. Oh yes. Jake seemed worried that the tips cups were empty. He seemed to think someone stole out of them and went to bring them back."

Two blocks away, Jake bolts towards the corral hoping to get close to them before they see him. Jake and Nanuet both run across Fremont street and run by the front of Fly's Boarding House and then pass Bauer's Union Market. Peering around the southwest corner of the Union Market they see the corral. The corral itself is shaped like a large "L" the inside of the L being the Papago Cash Store. They then see both of the men they are looking for opening up the gate to the northeast corner of the corral.

Nanuet and Jake bend down and hurry across to the corral fence and follow it the fifty-feet back, mostly covered from view by the fence and horses in the corral. The two men walk through the corral and over to the back door of the store where they ring a bell. The door opens up and a man with a key ring comes outside. Next to the door is a table with saddles on top and below. The storekeeper collects a coin from each man then unlocks two padlocks that each have a saddle chained to metal hooks on the table. The man goes back inside and shuts the door as the two men each pick up their saddles and start to make their way over to some horses in the center of the corral. Nanuet whispers to Jake "How do you want to handle this? Meet them at the gate to the corral or get them before they get that far?"

Jake replies "Up front and honorable won't work with these scum. Nanuet, try and get behind them just in case." With that Jake is off. He gets through the corral fence and gets as close to the men as he can without them seeing him, trying to stay in shadow, but before they can put down their saddles.

"Gentlemen, there were a few good folks watching you wondering where is your contribution to the tip cups at the Lone Star. If you catch my meaning. Those talented and pretty ladies deserve better than that don't you think? Now I'm sure that it was just an honest mistake on your part and we don't need to get the Marshall involved, do we? You can come on back and put it in yourselves or we can bring it back for you." Nanuet slips inside the coral fence and also moves as quietly and in the shadows as he can. He works his way behind the two men but keeps himself where he will be able to cut them off if they head towards the coral gate.

The man closest to Jake is caught off guard, standing beside his horse and still holding the saddle in both of his hands. The other one is a bit further back, where Jake cannot see him due to the horse in the way. "Who are you? What are you talking about?" the man exclaims. Jake answers "If you think there is some mistake we can all walk over to the saloon nice and friendly like and let the witnesses say whether they just saw you two leaving the Lone Star or not and tell their story."

That man looks around, apparently doesn't see anybody, and slowly bends over towards the ground to set down his saddle. Nanuet is around ten feet away from the man. There was a horse between them but the animal is now starting to wander back and out of the way. "Hold on. Give me a second to put down the saddle," the man states.

Sir, you wouldn't be thinking of putting down that saddle and going for your gun I hope. I'm a peacable man, but if your hand moves to your gun belt you'll be fillin' a box in boot hill tomorrow morning”. Jake then yells off to the side "Jeff, I think you ought to leave the others here and go get the Marshall, I'm not feelin' too good about them being civilized." At the sound of the name "Jeff" the man in front frantically turns his head from side to side, trying to see where Jake's partner is.

Meanwhile, the other man has put down the saddle. He remains low and crouched down, still blocked from Jake's field of vision by his friend's house. The horse between this man and Nanuet has wandered off leaving Nanuet nine feet behind the man's left side. The elvan Indian's infravision then sees the man reaching for his gun.

Nanuet had pulled out his knife and quietly attempted to sneak towards the man with the gun. His Indian tracking skills were good and what little sound he made was muffled by the sounds of the horses in the corral. So he was nearly upon the man when Jake made a reference to "Jeff", alerting both met that he was not along.

The man with the gun extended his gun arm in the direction of Jake's voice and began to stand. Nanuet charged forward. There wasn't time to try to get the gun away from the man, so he instead grabbed the gun arm and pointed it straight up into the air as the shot was fired. Nanuet continued to hold the arm upward with his right arm while pulling out his knife with the other and holding the blade up to the man's throat. "Drop the weapon" he commanded and the man complied. Meanwhile, the other man dropped the saddle and raised both of his hands up above his head saying, "Don't shoot! I give up!"

Jake figured at this point it would be a good idea to have his gun out, so he drew and cocked his faithful Colt and stepped forward. "Now there is a nice sensible man." Jake looks the two over and says, "OK, who's got the money you stole. Or do we wait for Jeff to get back with the Marshall? I think we have attempted murder to add to petty larceny. And you over there, it would be a good idea to drop that gun, my friend with the knife is going to get nervous and his hand has a goodly shake when he does."

"What the Sam Hill is Going On Out Here!" a voice bellows from the back doorway of the Papago Cash Store. Jake, Nanuet and the other petty thieves look up to see the owner of the store standing in the doorway and pointing a double-barreled shotgun in their direction. Jake also realizes what this must look like to the store owner, an armed stranger and an Indian trying to rob two of the man's paying customers.

"Crap." says Jake under his breath. Then loudly, "You are just in time sir, these two snatched some money at the Lone Star and I was just asking them to bring it back when one of 'em took a shot at me." Jake thinks for a moment reflecting on the inherent selfish nature of most mankind and comes up with an idea, albeit a poor one.

"I don't think they were going to steal anything from you, but who can tell with thieves. We were just trying to solve this without a lot of fuss... you know explaining to the Marshall, court time, bad feelings and retribution later..." Jake pauses, where the heck am I going with this. "want to help us, I'm sure it won't take much of your valuable time." Then in a lower voice. "It's getting harder here for you two to just do the right thing, better offer to give us the money back quick before the Marshall gets here..." Jake thinks to himself, this seemed like a good idea at the time.

"Just get the hell off my property!" the man yells back. Nanuet and Jake assist the two gentlemen, along with their horses and saddles, out of the Papago and shut up the corral behind them. The store is near the northeastern edge of town and it only takes a few minutes to get over the nearest hill and out of sight. Along the way Jake talks to Nanuet about how deadly and ruthless Marshall Wyatt Earp is and of how many men he's killed for minor infractions.

They then stop and Jake tells the men "What's your decision. Return the money to us or do we go see the Marshall." The man in the chaps removes a leather pouch from his pocket and hands it Jake. He looks inside, seeing it filled mostly with coins but a few bills. "Where's the rest of it?" Jake comments.

"That's all from the tip cup," that one says. Nanuet has his hand on the other one's shoulder and applies some pressure. The man pulls out his wallet and empties it of four one-dollar bills, handing them back to the elf. "That's it, we're broke," the first one exclaims. Jake takes both of the men’s firearms and puts them into the saddlebag on one of the horses and latches it shut. "Now go. Don't let me ever see your faces at the Lone Star again," he exclaims. Both men hastily ride out of town.

Back at the Saloon things were winding down for the evening. After Jake had called for a break his players had all left, and Tony Lucky's table decided to call it a night as well. Several people stuck around for Ruby's final set of songs, but now that it was over they began to finish up their drinks and head out as well. It was now around 11:30 PM and only a dozen or patrons were still at the tables or bar.

Jake and Nanuet still hadn't returned and Katherine was starting to worry. Kate goes looking for Maggie and finds her cleaning a now empty table. "Maggie, would you mind if I stepped out for just a minute? Jake and Nanuet aren't back yet, and I'd like to check on them. I'll come back to help you tidy up." She wondered if she should bring Ruby, and decided against it. "Could you keep an eye on Ruby? I shouldn't be gone long."

Katherine heads outside and is surprised to find Judge Lacey standing just a few feet from the Saloon doors. He is wearing a starched white shirt, dark bow tie, and what looks to be a brand new tailored suit of the current style popular in the East, that she remembers having seen earlier that day on a hanger in his store. His shoes have such a shine that the light from the Saloon reflects off of them. Since this morning he has gotten a haircut and his mustache is neatly trimmed. She thinks that she also smells cologne.

He is holding a bouquet of cut flowers in his hand and he says "Good evening Mrs. Kale Would you please be so kinds as to ask Miss Ruby to come up to the door. Her singing this evening was exquisite and I would like to give her these to show my appreciation." "Of course," Kate smiled, holding back a slight laugh.

Ruby had been thinking to herself about tomorrow. Sure, some patron of the bar was still talking to her but she learned to be good at doing two things at once and was only paying half attention to the man, a prospector she thought. Her thoughts were really centered on one thing. She had nothing appropriate to wear the next day, not to go riding out into the desert or mountains for sure. No store would be open early enough to get something and she had no money anyway. Katherine only had one outfit she had just bought and being a Native American Sonoma was a lot smaller and well, less curvy, then Ruby. She wasn’t that worried about it but something told her it would be important. Then the sound of Katherine’s voice interrupted her train of thought.

Katherine called for Ruby. "There's a gentleman here who would like to speak to you. Can you step out for a minute please?" Katherine took a couple steps back in and said quietly to Maggie. "He really is a gentleman, but keep an eye on her anyway." She stepped back outside. "Ruby should be out in just a moment, Judge Lacey. I'm sure she'll love the flowers. I hope you'll excuse me?" She smiled again and hurried down the street.

Ruby wondered who it was as she excused herself and bounced out the door. She saw Judge Lacey standing there, all spiffy, flowers in hand. “Judge Lacey, what are you doing here, and all dressed up none the less? I figured you would be home this late.”

Mr. Lacey replies "Um...err....well.....ah.......these are for you." and thrusts the flowers forwards. Ruby takes the flowers from him. He stops fidgeting and rather abruptly stands up straight and at attention. He then states in a fast direct voice a short speech he appears to have rehearsed "Your singing this evening was the most beautiful music that I have ever heard. I wanted to give you these as a token of my appreciation."

He then waits for a response from Ruby. She smiles. His body then finally relaxes somewhat and he says "I...well......thank you for bringing some joy back into my life. I was wondering if you might be available on Sunday to join me for a mid-day meal at a cafe in town?"

Meanwhile, two blocks away, Jake and Nanuet return to Fremont Street and head south to return to the Saloon. Just as they are nearing Main Street they see Katherine rushing out towards them.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter Thirty-four, “Wrapping up the Day”, January 6th, 1882:

At the doorway of the Lone Star Ruby smiles and take a long smell of the flowers from Judge Lacey. That was twice in one day she got flowers! “These are just lovely Mr. Lacey and it was special of you to come here so late to give them to me.”

Ruby pondered the thought of having lunch with Mr. Lacey. He was a nice man, even if he was a lot older then she. Normally she would do it to figure out what the best way to take advantage of him was but she wasn’t doing that anymore she reminded herself. She had such a pleasant day today she figured what harm could it do to keep a lonely man company, out of the goodness of her heart and all. Besides he really was trying to impress her and the effort was noticeable.

Ruby brushes some hair off her face and says, “Of course I’ll meet you for lunch Mr. Lacey, it sounds wonderful. You know I was thinking of you today. You were so kind to give me that book. I was wondering...probably a stupid question... are you really a Judge or is that your name?" He smiles like a schoolboy and says "If I go and tell you all of my secrets now what will there be to talk about during lunch? I'll come by here at noon on Sunday to get you and escort you to the dining establishment." He departs and Ruby heads back into Lone Star.

Down the street, "Thank goodness," Kate said, a little out of breath. "You were gone so long, I was beginning to worry. Did you find those men?" She listened as Jake explained what happened, and that they had recovered the money with no one getting hurt. "Do you think Nanuet could give Maggie the money?" She asked. "She seemed a little uncomfortable about him, and it might help. Especially if you play up his covering your back?" "Oh, and Jake, you still need to tell me what in the world happened to Ruby."

Nanuet says, "But I thought the money belonged to you ladies and Jake, for your singing and piano playing? If you want me to try and look good for Maggie, I don't mind if you don't, but I want you to get the money that you earned. Besides, it is getting late and the sun rises early. Lets get this settled."

Jake replies, "I don't care who gives back the money, those two snakes-in-the-grass just got to me I guess. No, it wasn't my money." Jake says shaking his head. "If Katherine thinks it is a good idea, Why don't you just give it to Maggie and say it was stolen from Ruby and Katherine and you helped retrieve it." Jake shrugs his shoulders. "Katherine and I can just hang out here on the front porch if you need us." Jake pauses and scratches his head, "And Indian," he looks down and then back at Nanuet, "that was probably a bonehead move on my part. But thanks."

Nanuet smiles at Jake and holds out his hand. Jake grasps it firmly and they shake hands. "Nothing I wouldn't do for a friend." Nanuet takes the money and walks into the Lone Star.

When Nanuet goes into the Lone Star, Jake turns to Katherine but keeps an eye on the indian through the door. "So I get off work at the bank and go looking for you and Ruby. I find Ruby at the cantina sitting with; what was his name, Gomez; and drunk nearly to the point of falling over. I'm still not sure what lead to that. Well I rescue her from him, and there was little chance of her being sober enough to sing in a few hours. So I brought her to Valdez, and he removed the ill effects of the alcohol from her. Well apparently, he also removed any worries, bad feelings and a good deal of common sense. She's been little miss happy daisy since then. For a while it was cute and funny. For a while anyway... I had the impression this was temporary and will wear off. If she's like this in the morning maybe we ought to go talk to him about it."

"It stopped being cute and funny when she called out for the men in the saloon to buy me drinks. It was so humiliating being offered up like a filly at auction. And worse..." Kate looked around and moved Jake a bit farther away from the doors. "Did you notice something odd about Tom Whipple tonight?" She hoped the night was hiding her blush. "I felt like he was watching me. I was upstairs earlier with Maggie and it's obvious they keep separate rooms. And after last night, the incident with the floozy, I think he might have known exactly to whom he was renting that room. Maybe I'm imagining things.

As far as Ruby goes, I hope it's better in the morning. I doubt Mr. Valdez will be up at sunrise, and we have an early start. You hadn't forgotten had you, about helping the Cartwrights get their cattle? Unless you didn't want to come, of course." Jake answers, "I've been meaning to ask you about that, but we haven't talked since you road into town earlier." He scuffs he boot across the boards that make up the porch to the saloon. "So Nanuet here meets Flint day before yesterday, and you three go riding out into the desert to see where his partner was murdered. And you run into four guys who you saw in the Marshall's office the day before. And all of you happily ride into the mountains together looking for a bunch of murderous cattle rustlers.

Now after narrowly avoiding becoming the Indians’ sacrificial offering want to continue on your quest for saving a few dozen head of cattle of these guys you hardly know; and to bring to justice the alleged murderer of this other guy your barely know. And you want to bring the poker player along just in case a game breaks out?" He pauses to take a breath. "Now, I'm not saying I won't help, but I am the only one that thinks this is a little weird?"

The corner of Kate’s mouth twitched. "Well, I didn't have anything better to do, and I'm sure you learned more in your days as a young hooligan than card playing. Really, the whole thing started with just going out to look at the claim, it escalated from there, and Al is the one who knows where the cave they're holed up in is. You're right, none of us really have a stake in this, but I would hope someday if I need help people wouldn't just turn their backs on me. I would be a hypocrite to do it to someone else."

Jake answers, "Oh, Katherine, there you go being the conscience that this poor old hooligan never had." Jake tries to suppress his laughter but can't. "Hooligan, ha. Look if you, Ruby and Nanuet are determined to go, I won't let you go alone. But I wonder if you know what you are getting into?"

Jake looks at her serious for a moment. "How will you know which ones are cattle rustlers and which ones are murderers? Do you care? All of these guys are facing a rope one way or another if we bring them back, what exactly to you have in mind here. Are you riding with the intention of killing these men? I’m not particular to shedding of blood myself. But I can if that is what needs to be done. Have you really thought about what you are doing tomorrow? Not to mention they will probably not come along quietly." Jakes looks around into the cool night air before continuing. "Aww, hades. I was just thinking that I've been shot at two days in a row now, and it looks like tomorrow will make three." He pushes back his hat, leans against the railing and gives her a big smile.

Inside, Nanuet says to Mrs. Whipple, "Ms. Maggie? We have retrieved some money that a couple rascals took from the tip cups of Ms. Ruby and Ms. Katherine. I helped Jake retrieve it and I wanted to give it to you so that you could get it to the proper people." Nanuet puts the money on a nearby table and takes a step back. He smiles and says "Have a nice night." before walking out back to his companions. He opens the door to the Lone Star after hearing the tail end of Jake and Katherine’s conversation.

The Indian says,"Jake, you have no part in this and I ask nothing of you. I promised Flint I would help him find out who murdered his friend, and I will help see this killer brought to justice. As far as the Cartwrights are concerned, they seem like good people although getting their cattle back is secondary to me. They did help me out with Geronimo, so I at least owe them a try.

Look, it is getting later as I stand here. Like I said, you are not involved in this situation and if you want to stay out you may be the only wise one among us. I have made a promise to help someone in need. I have life debts to repay to those in need and this seemed like a good place to start." With that Nanuet walks away back towards the stables of the El Parador looking to catch a few more hours of sleep before dawn. With his adrenaline up from the confrontation in the corral, that seems unlikely.

Katherine and Jake head back into the Lone Star. It's a quarter-of-midnight and the last two patrons are paying their bartabs and then leave. Maggie asks the employees to have a seat at the round table in the corner. They sit down and Tom puts the "closed" sign on the door as Maggie comes over with a bottle and six small glasses. Maggie says "That Indian friend of yours returned all of the stolen money." Jeff Mills comments "Hard to imagine, an honest Injun." This earns the burly roughneck a nasty look from Katherine.

Tom asks Jake to run through an account of what happened, which Jake then supplies, giving ample credit to Nanuet. Tom looks Tony and comments "Well, how did you guys do tonight?" Tony says "I had a really good night, took in $ 160. He then hands over $32 to Tom. Tom then turns to Jake and says "You didn't seem to do so well, but at least you lost spectacularly to the right guy. It would have killed me if Adair had won the pot. Cassidy plays here often enough and I'll be hitting him up for a favor next week, so his being in a really good mood about winning over $ 200 won't hurt."

Jake raises his glass and says, "Here's hopin' I get a chance to get some of that money back from Cassidy. Of course after you get your favor." He finishes with a wink. He hands Tom a ten spot and says, "I kinda lost track of where exactly I ended up with the excitement in and out of the saloon. But this ought to cover it. Next time it will be more." Jake says matter of fact and sips his drink.

Tom seems surprised but pleased. He says "Well, what we're celebrating tonight is that with what we've made so far this week I'll be able to move up my plans to build a third floor onto this place. I figured I wouldn't have the money until spring, but thanks to Ruby here this place can now afford it. I'll send a telegram to my Father and Cousin Teddy up in Denver to come down as soon as they can to help me and Jeff build it. Only took the four of us around a month to put on the second floor last year. Say, how does that Indian friend of yours feel about doing manual labor? Another hand would speed things along even faster.

"He had been talking about finding work," Kate said, remembering with a smile how Nanuet had 'lost' his job. "A little short-term work would be agreeable, I think. I'm not certain if his plans include a long-term stay here, so work that he knows has a definite ending might just fit the bill for now. I'll talk to him tomorrow." Kate shifted her eyes away from Tom Whipple, still uncomfortable with him. Instead she smiled over at Maggie and lifted her glass. "To the Lone Star and the continued success of friends."

The Whipples state say unison "To the Lone Star", they then glance at each other with a freindly smile and simultaneously laugh, then tap each other's glasses together for the toast. "And to our continued success" Tony adds, to which the Whipples and Jeff agree. The evening ends and Katherine, Jake and Ruby leave the Lone Star to head back to the El Parador.

 

[Silver Moon]

Silver Moon's Son visits Promise City

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter Thirty-five, “Arrival at Rustler’s Mountain”, January 7th , 1882:

Al, Flint, Katherine, Nanuet and Ruby gather out front of the El Parador shortly after 6:00 AM knowing that it will be another half-hour until the first light of dawn will be coming over the horizon. The town itself is quiet on this cool Saturday morning. All six are dressed in riding clothes even Ruby, attired in some ill-fitting clothing borrowed that morning from the Hotel’s handiman Grant Keeber.

Bleary eyed Jake is up in the morning shortly after the others and quietly eats a bit of breakfast and then takes something for the ride. On the way to the horses he says "Do we have any extra rifles and shotguns? I can shoot anything, but don't own any rifles. And though I love my Colt, it is not much good at a distance. Be handy to have extras just in case, for anyone who knows how to shoot one." And "They might be hiding in the caves, Flint you bringing any dynamite?" He pats the saddlebag over his shoulder and says "Eighteen sticks"

Ruby shows him the horse which he doesn't inspect, he just puts the extra breakfast and a bottle in a saddlebag, rubs the horses nose a few times while saying something into her ear and mounts up. They hear the sound of horses in the distance, as five mounted men ride forward. They recognize the three Cartwright brothers. Adam introduces the other two as his brothers-in-law Nick and Heath Barkley. They have an extra horse with them, explaining that it is for Flint as his mule would slow them down too much. The dwarf starts to complain about that until Katherine reminds him that they are all doing this as a favor for him. Everyone mounts up and the eleven ride off to the southeast along the main road to Galeyville.

Katherine hadn't had the chance to resize the riding clothes she'd bought the day before, so instead she wore her equestrian clothes from the East. She felt rather out of place, and a bit out of sorts. Jake's comments the night before had haunted her sleep. What did they intend to do when they found these men?

Their intent was to take them to the County Sheriff. But she'd seen enough already to know that unless they caught them completely unaware, they'd fight. They'd rather die from a bullet than a rope. Tom's pistol felt heavy and unfamiliar tucked in the pocket of her jacket. She looked at Jake and Ruby. She had brought them here; what if something happened to them? But what if's were dangerous. Kate took a firmer hold on the reins and sat up straight, the pistol pulling her jacket down on one side. She would use it if she had to.

“What the hell am I doing out here?” thought Ruby sleepily. She was not a morning person by any stretch and this hour was just ungodly. She was tired from the day before. It had been a long, strange day. Sure she had felt great but when she thought back to some of the things that happened or that she agreed to she wondered what she had been thinking. And true it was great that the Whipples felt they could rely on her to bring in money for the Lone Star but they were making it harder and harder for her to just leave if she wanted to. She was already starting to feel tied down.

Most of her thoughts centered on now though. Her borrowed clothes were falling off and she wasn’t even sure what she could do to help out. Her specialty was avoiding altercations such as the one they were riding right into. It didn’t help that she was still practically asleep.

They had been riding for a little over an hour. The first light of dawn had crept over the mountains to the east but the sun hadn't showed itself yet. They reached the turn in the road that the Apache had spoken of and turned east. They cross an area rich in vegetation, with a variety of plants and trees. They soon reach the field with the large sycamore tree and ride up to it. The Apache had done as they asked and placed stones to represent the cave's occupants. "Good thing we brought so many of us," Flint comments as they count out twenty-six stones. “What the heck did that mean? Ruby thought. “Is there some sort of plan here or what?” she asked to no one in particular.

"Care to elaborate on that Flint?" Says Jake apparently coming out of his half asleep state, stretching and rubbing his eyes. "And I wouldn't mind if someone answers Miss West's question either." He looks around the vast lands around him thinking that there are plenty of places for a man with a gun to hide. Adam Cartwright answers the first question stating "The Apache said they would leave one stone here for each rustler hiding out in the caves. I count twenty-six stones."

Flint interjects "Plan's simple. We sneak up on the caves, toss in the lit sticks of dynamite, and shoot anyone still alive in the caves afterwards." Kate exclaims "If that's the plan, I'm turning around and going back to Promise City. I didn't come out here to kill people. At least, not as anything but a last resort."

Jake smiles and shakes his head a couple of times. "I'm glad we are all in agreement then." Katherine gives him one of her looks and he clears his throat and looks away. "Except for the implications on my standings in the afterlife, I like Flint's plan. But I don't think we'll get that chance. I don't know how far away we are from the caves, but if I had 26 people I think I'd have a few of them out as scouts or spotters. Whenever we are in range of some kind of signal we should be on the look out for them. And for the signal. Some kind of reflection from the sun might work for them depending on time of day and direction. It is quiet, quick and leaves no trace."

Nanuet comments, "Flint, if there is anything I have learned in my life it is that vengeance does not pay. You will do your partner's memory no good by killing all of these men in his name." The image of a certain innocent centaur lying dead behind a boarding house overwhelms Nanuet for a moment. He looks at a blue wampum bead in his hand for a second, swallows hard.

Jake whispers to the dwarf "Hey Flint, how about you show me the finer points of working with that dynamite, you know, just in case we need some rubble or something cleared..." He then looks at Al. "You've been to the caves, any thoughts?"

She replies "There were a series of caves that appeared to have been recently inhabited. One large cave included some bunks, a woodstove that was vented through a pipe in the roof to the outside, cooking gear, and a trunk with food and beverages. A larger adjacent cave had a forge and various branding equipment, shovels and a wheelbarrow filled with manure. We concluded that this was recently used as a hideout for cattle rustlers. There were also another group of caves higher up the mountain above the mouth of that set of caves but we didn't investigate those since it would have been hard for the horse to climb. I doubt they would have been able to get the cattle up there. That larger cave was big enough that you could have fit over 100 cattle if you packed them in tightly.

Nanuet continues, "As we approach the caves, I will scout ahead and see what they have as far as guards. Then we will take strategic positions to cover the cave and call out Harvey Knowles. We will let them know that we have their position covered, not giving up our numbers and try and take them peacefully. I know it is an unlikely scenario, but I feel we must try. Once we find out who Knowles is we must try to not kill him, I must bring him to Geronimo. Very basic I know, and I am open to suggestions."

"Well, I have to agree we need to understand what we are up against. So your scouting ahead seems like the best idea to me." Jake says to Nanuet. "Though you should have someone not too far behind to help cover you just in case. I don't know who is best skilled to do that in this group. I'm a city boy and don't know anything about moving quietly and hiding out here, but if there is no one better I'll cover you."

"But I don't think calling them out to surrender will work. We lose surprise just to offer them an appointment with a noose. If we don't have anything better to offer, why would they come out? I'm hoping that your scouting gives us some new ideas. What do you all think?" He finishes looking around. "I'm good at being quiet, I can sneak up there too." says Ruby.

Nanuet states, "Well my intentions were always to capture and turn them into the proper authorities, not murder. Then again, I am doing this to assist Flint and the Cartwrights. I don't have a badge myself and I don't have anything to gain except maybe a favor in return. If we are not here to have them surrender to us, then I am not sure why we are here. " Nanuet scratches his head for a moment then says 'Maybe we should try and capture the scouts first, if there are any, and go from there?'

The Cartwrights like that idea as well. The do agree with Jake about not blowing the element of surprise, as they see that as the only way to survive an encounter where they are outnumbered more than two-to-one and the other side has the advantage of defendable high ground.

Al leads the group onward for the next half-hour as the sun finally shows itself over the mountains. When they are on the far side of the hill immediately in front of the mountain with the caves she suggests that they tie up the horse and proceed from here on foot.

From there they circumnavigate the hills to come up on the mountain with the caves from the side where the sun could be reflected using a mirror. The Cartwrights and Barkleys agree to hold position there with Flint and Katherine. Flint makes sure that Jake has six sticks of dynamite and instructions as to how to light them. Nanuet, Ruby and Jake move on.

As the others moved silently away Kate leaned back against a large rock jutting up from the ground. She knew she would be no help to the others, but she still hated sending them off on their own; especially since it was she who had asked Jake and Ruby to come. Suddenly she felt very lonely.

She pushed her long braid back over her shoulder and bushed some dirt off her pants. Not long after they'd been married Tom insisted that if she was going to continue riding that she dress sensibly. Riding side-saddle in a dress was a good way to break your neck, he'd insisted. So pants it was. Her Father nearly had a fit, but Tom eventually won him over. She still got a secret little thrill each time she slipped into her riding clothes.

'I should write home,' she thought suddenly. It had been 2 months since she'd done so, and they were probably worried. Well, if she got out of this intact she'd make sure to do it. She tipped her hat back in an unconcious imitation of Jake and smiled at the others.

The trio makes their way up a small ledge on the side of the mountain leading to the caves that Al spoke of. Ruby's keen observation skills spot a thin wire across the road before Nanuet can trip it. Jake traces the wire over and up, finding it connecting to a trap on the trail just above them designed to release a pile of rocks onto the heads of travelers on the ledge while simultaneously triggering two cowbells tied to it. Jake carefully cuts the wire and reties both ends on both sides of the trail to possibly prevent his allies behind from triggering it.

Now that they are alerted to that type of trap they keep their eyes open, finding two more similar traps which they likewise deactivate. They continue forward and begin to round a bend. Nanuet stops and peers around, seeing the mouth of the first cave on the other side. The narrow ledge continues for fifty feet right up to a larger ledge at the cave mouth. Unfortunately there are at three guards armed with both rifles and handguns waiting there and possibly more inside the cave. None of the guards were looking in Nanuet's direction, one looking down to the valley below while the other two were talking to each other.

Ruby reflects on the description that Nanuet just gave them. She takes a deep breath in before speaking. "We have two choices that I can see. One, walk right up and tell them Geronimo sent us to find Knowles. That might not be the best idea but worth a shot. They might not want to piss off the Indians if you know what I mean. Or two, get these guys away from the cave and sweet talk them a bit into giving us more information about what is going on. I guess we have to knock them out unless we have a way to shut them up.

Ruby pauses. "I vote choice number two. We throw some rocks or something and draw them away from the cave a bit. I know I can sneak up behind them but I can't take all three of them." Jake says "Choice one could only be Nanuet walking up, and if that one didn't work and they take him in our already poor odds get worse." Jake adds with dissapointment in his voice, "And that would rule out throwing dynamite in the hole. Choice two would only work it all three of those men wanted to come check something out. And that would only work if it was something each wanted but didn't want the others to get." He adds, "Human nature being as generous as it is." He shrugs his shoulders and says apologetically. "I'm outta ideas."

Nanuet put hides his knife behind his back and under his shirt, givng Jake his other weapons. He walks out alone behind the bend holding his hands up in the air and saying something in the Apache language. This catches the attention of all three guards, one of whom points his rifle while the others draw their revolvers.

"Geronimo wants to speak to Harvey Knowles," the elf says. Two guards relax but the one with the rifle remains tense and continues to point his weapon "Who?" that guard states. One of the other guards comes up to him and gestures with his hand to lower the rifle, telling the man "Harvey's the guy who talks to the Injuns. This red-skin don't mean no harm, calm down."

That man walks to the end of the larger ledge, where is is now around fifteen feet from Nanuet, and says "He's in the upper cave with Curley Bill and Frank." gesturing to the caves higher up which the group had seen earlier but actually can't be seen from this ledge. "I'll let them know you're coming." The man then heads over to the cave entrance and puts on a pair of leather gloves. He then lifts two thin wires that had be lying against the cliff wall, giving a tug down on one and a pull up on the other. "Go on up," he tells Nanuet.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter Thirty-six, “Mistaken Identity”, January 7th , 1882:

Nanuet heads back to the other two since the steeper incline up to that higher cave was a few hundred feet back. When they get to that section of the trail Heath Barkely and Kate are waiting for them. Heath says "Adam moved back a bit and spotted some more guards at that cave higher up. We came up to warn you, now wanting you to get caught on this ledge in a crossfire." Jake replies "Thanks, but we already know them. In fact they're expecting Nanuet here walk right up to them all peaceful like. Why don't you head back down and bring the others up to this point, we'll keep Kate with us."

Jake says, "So now what, Nanuet? Do we do the same thing up above and take Knowles out?" Jake says pointing up the hill. "I wonder how many there are up there? And don't those names sound familiar?" Nanuet replies "The names do sound familiar don't they?" Nanuet takes a deep breath and clinches his jaw. "I will go to the upper caves and speak with Knowles. I will tell him that Geronimo has sent me to bring him back for a pow wow. I hope he will come, and when he does I will lead him here and we can subdue him, then get more information from him." Before anyone can say anything to stop him, Nanuet turns and begins walking up to the upper caves.

Jakes looks at Ruby & Katherine, then shrugs his shoulders. "I don't want him too far away where we can't help him. I'm for following at a distance and stopping at a good hiding spot." He looks questioningly around. Ruby exclaims "Well I'm going with you." She gives Jake the you-can't stop-me look while she pushes her hair up into her hat. Katherine states, "I don't like him going alone either, but if we move to a different hiding spot, won't he be just as surprised as Knowles when we come flying out? I don't think that's a particularly good thing." Unfortunatley for her by the time Katherine makes that comment Jake is already on his way after Nanuet with Ruby right behind him. Katherine shrugs and follows.

When Nanuet glances back he sees the others climbing up the path as well. Kate met his eyes and shrugged again, indicating the others. "They wanted to find a better hiding place, a little closer in case you need some help." Jake continues to follow Nanuet at a distance, letting Ruby and Katherine catch up. "How in Hades are we going to subdue this guy? I'm thinking we just stick a couple of guns in his back and march him back to the folks down below. Any good ideas?" And seeing the look on Katherine's face he adds, "and yes I did hear you before, and no I don't ignore all your ideas." He finishes apologetically.

She looked down at the rocks at her feet. "I don't know anything about this sort of thing, anyway," she said quietly. Kate felt rather lost up here, picking her way up a mountain trail toward two dozen armed men. 'I must be insane,' she thought to herself.

The four proceed upward for a few minutes longer. They then hear a voice from immediately ahead of them say “Hold on, you don’t want to step there.” A man dressed in cowboy clothing steps out from a crevice in rock. The four notice that the crevice was not visible before this minute due to the way the sun happened to have been shining down, making it nearly invisible up to that point. He has a gun holstered in his belt but no other weapons out and is not acting in a threatening manner. He then reaches back into the crevice.

The man pulls out an eight-foot long wooden plank in his hand, which he places on the rocky rail immediately before them. "Come on it's safe now" he says. Nanuet walks across the plank, which sags in the middle, a four-foot wide section of the ledge apparently being some type of magical illusion. The man tells the others “Come along, they’re expecting you.” "So much for us surprising them," Ruby whispers. "I guess we'd better go." She looks at Jake and Katherine and proceeds to lightly walk across the plank. "Damn", Is all Jake can muster. And he walks across.

The four continue on, the man not following them. They soon arrive at the end of the trail, at a rough shelf approximately twenty feet wide and fifty-feet long. There are two caves near the back of each side of the shelf. They can see into the one closest to them, which looks to go around twenty feet deep before ending in a thirty-foot round chamber. The walls to the chamber look to be damp. Three rusty metal army-issue bunks are inside the chamber along with a few wooden trunks and a pile of empty bottles.

There are currently two men on the shelf, one with a rifle near the far cave and the other in the center of this shelf. The closer man has a holstered gun on his belt. He approaches the four. The man walks right up to Jake and extends him hand in greeting, a broad smile on his face and exclaims, “Glad you managed to find the place Deadeye, we weren’t expecting you for another day or two.” Ruby raises an eyebrow at Jake. "Friends of yours?" Jake shakes the man’s hand firmly, "Glad to get out of the sun. Quite a place you got here." He replies "It's gets pretty noisy down in the cave below, especially when we change the brands on the cattle." He then takes a good long look at both Katherine then at Ruby and says “And I see you brought Curley Bill some presents.”

"Nothin's for free you know, we'll work out some deal he and I", Jake laughs and looks at Ruby and Katherine and gives them a wink. Ruby whispers "Excuse me? Jake what is going on?" "Brandy," Jake says firmly, while looking at Ruby, "Keep Jenny quiet for a minute will you?" Jake hardly needed to suggest they keep quiet. Kate was too shocked to anything else. Obviously Jake knew these people. Had he known they were here, even as he suggested they rethink coming out here. She hated suspecting him of anything, she'd grown rather fond of Jake.

And what was all this about "presents" for the boss? There was only so far she was willing to play along, and being a gift was very close to the line. She reached forward and took hold of Ruby's hand. Katherine whispers to Ruby "I know that man from Tombstone. He occasionally made meat deliveries to the boarding house where I stayed. His name is Billy, I don't know his last name. He didn't seem to recognize me, but I am dressed rather differently."

Turning back to the man who had he had been talking to Jake says, "There's some I don't know here, who are they?" The man doing the talking says "These guys all work for Curley Bill, most of them are local. Toby said you ain't never been to the Arizona or New Mexico Territories before Deadeye, so I'd be surprised if ya knew any of them. Don't worry none, they can all be trusted. Been working with most of them for years."

Ruby takes a step in front of Kate. She has suddenly become suspicious of Jake and his involvement in this. She looks around and tries to figure the best way off the cliff. Any possible exit back the way they came abruptly ends when the man who had assisted with the plank come up on the trail behind them. The man who Katherine recognized as Billy tells him “Dell, You stay guard out here with Jack, I’ll take Deadeye and his, err, friends to go meet the boss.” Kate took a deep breath. The shelf suddenly seemed a lot smaller.

Jake turns towards Dell so he isn't facing the way that 'billy' wants to walk. Stalling. To Billy, "So is the other caves that saw coming up here yours too, the ones over there." He points. He gestures to the first cave with the three rusty bunks and says "What you see is all there is to that one, just for me, Dell and Jack sleep when we ain't on guard duty. The boss has the good cave" gesturing to the far one.

Jake adds, "Oh, and this Injun has a message from Geronimo to Harvey Knowles is he with the boss and Toby?" The man replies “Knowles is in with the boss since he's the only one who speaks local Injun. Toby's down in the big cave below with the cows. He doesn't rate with the big guns like you do. Willing to be he's hopes you'll help get him elevated up here to the easier work." The man then says to Jake "Oh, sorry Deadeye. I should have introduced myself. I'm Billy Claibourne. You ready to come meet the boss?"

"Well I want to make sure the boss," Jake laughs, "likes what he sees. I want to get full value." With that Jake walks over to Ruby, fluffs up her hair, leans in close and whispers "We ARE in deep crap. When I say let's go, you get the drop on Dell" while he unbuttons a couple of buttons on her shirt. Then he spins her around "What do you think Dell?"

“Crap is right,” Ruby thinks. “How the heck did we think we were going to do this? We are totally unprepared.” Ruby still wasn’t sure about Jake. Either he was involved in this or he was a great liar. Either way she realizes she shouldn’t have trusted him. Ruby is about to clock Jake in the head for unbuttoning her shirt when she realizes that this is the best plan, well the only plan they have. She decides to go with it, but Jake is going to get holy hell over this she thinks.

There was something in his eyes as he unbuttoned her shirt that told her he was enjoying himself in this crazy situation. And something that gave her chills. It had been a long time since she had let a man unbutton her shirt. “Oh he’s a scoundrel all right, just the kind who always gets you in trouble. And you're already not paying attention you dumb girl.”

He lets her go, as he turns he catches Nanuets eye and tries to indicate that he move towards Jack. He moves over to Katherine and puts his left arm around her waist "this one is mine" and nuzzles her neck and whispers "I'm trying to get us out alive. When I say Let's go, you pull your gun on the guy I've been talking to." He looks up at 'Billy' and smiles. "Alright, enough fun for now. Let's go."

Like lightening Jake draws his pistol, lets go of Katherine, his left hand cocking the colt as it comes up to chest level of Billy, and prays to Hermes that the women trust him more than he deserves and exclaims "Freeze." Billy just laughs and says "Good one Deadeye. Like any of us would be fool enough to draw on Deadeye Douglas."

The name Deadeye Douglas means nothing to Nanuet. Ruby has only has a vague recollection of having heard it before, believing him to be some type of outlaw. Jake and Katherine however both recognize it from several different newspaper stories that they’ve read in the last few years. Deadeye Douglas was a member of the Douglas Gang, a group comprised of four brothers and a few other criminals. They were known for robbing banks and trains in California, Nevada and Utah. Unlike the Dalton or James Gangs, the Douglas Gang usually attempted to hit their targets when there would be a minimum of people around and they only used guns only as a last resort.

Around a year earlier ago Federal Agents lured the Douglas Gang into a trap. A gunfight broke out and ‘Pig Eye’ Douglas was killed while his brothers, ‘Eagle Eye’ and ‘Bullseye” Douglas were captured along with gang member Jake Krain. Deadeye Douglas had managed to escape with two other gang members, a roughneck named Toby Harris and an attractive female safecracker from back east named Mae Clarke. The only other details that Jake can recall now about the Douglas Gang are that ‘Bullseye’ Douglas was the Gang’s leader and that ‘Eagle Eye’ Douglas was only a half-brother, his mother having been an elvan Indian.

It was almost as if an electric shock ran through Kate when Jake slipped his arm around her waist. Only one man had ever touched her in such an intimate way, and even though it had been months her body remembered. She was very aware of his breath on her neck as he whispered his instructions. She may not have been sure who she could trust here, but she was absolutely sure "Billy" was someone she could not. Kate slipped her hand into her pocket while Jake's body shielded her movements. Suddenly he moved and the cue came. The pistol slipped smoothly from her pocket and pointed at Billy, the butt cupped in her left hand and her right index finger on the trigger.

After Jake says "let's go" and while Dell is still busy staring at what's underneath her now partially unbuttoned shirt Ruby quickly palms her pistol and points it right at his head. "How'd you like the view?" she asks with a slight smile. Jake was right about one thing. There was just no way she could stay out of trouble.

Billy Claibourne had found Jake's instant draw to be funny at first but when the two ladies had him and Dell in their gunsights just seconds later his mood ochanged. Billy then glanced over to his other backup, only to see that the Indian had used managed to disarm Jack.

Billy looks back to Jake and says in a more serious voice, "Okay Douglas, you've made your point. I jumped to the wrong conclusion regarding your women." He then glances at Katherine and Ruby and says "My apologies ladies. I'll be sure to let the boss know that your are both members of Deadeye's new gang, with many hidden talents." He then takes a longer look at Katherine in her fancy riding clothes and smiles. "Jenny, huh? You must be that Mae Clarke that Toby talked so much about. Glad to have you on board."

Kate nodded and held Tom's pistol steady. Oddly, she wasn't afraid. Now that something was actually happening she felt calm, as if she had somehow stepped out of the way. "I can handle it," she said casually. "Let's stick with Jenny for now," she said to Billy. "Mae's rather well known, after all." The pistol was still pointing steadily at him, but she relaxed her hips, letting one jut forward in a cocky fashion as she grinned.

When Katherine has her gun on Billy, Jake swivels his over to point at Jack and says, "Indian, you take care of this one." Pointing at the man Billy. I need to have a serious conversation with your boss without his hired guns standing behind me. No offense gentlemen. And you know my reputation, no one NEEDS to get hurt if you just do as you are told." "Tie and gag 'em." He says to his friends, and in a whisper to Katherine. "Keep pretending I'm the outlaw Deadeye, they'll be more afraid of him that Jake Cook. And you're some outlaw Jenny, so don't act afraid. Play along!"

The three cattle rustlers are quickly tied, gagged and carried into the side cave and further tied to their rusty bunks. A quick search is made of the trunks in the small cave, with Jake and Ruby pocketing several knives, to ensure that nothing is left behind that the men could possibly use to cut themselves out.

Jake gathers up their weapons and looks to see if there are any that may be helpful. He questions Billy about how to get to where the boss is located, any traps or precautions, and who is in there besides the boss and Knowles. Adding "He won't know you told me and you never know who you'll be working for next."

Billy tells him "No traps, Curley Bill figures anyone who makes it this far will be stopped by the guards. Just stick to the main tunnel and go right when it curves. When you see the light from the chamber ahead there's a trick we have to announcing yourself, but if I tell you he'll know I told you. Just yell out who you are at that point since he's already expecting you."

They head back to the main shelf with Jake talking quietly to Ruby, Katherine & Nanuet. "Let's keep up the charade that I'm Deadeye and you are my gang. Except for the message from Geronimo part Nanuet, so far that plays well. Let's see if we can capture this gang a few at a time." Jake stops and notices the way they are looking at him. "What?"

"You seem to have some experience with this kind of stuff Jake. Something you forgot to mention perhaps? I guess this isn't the time to discuss specifics but I hope you know what you're doing." Ruby pauses while she still ponders her trust in him. "Let's go." She starts walking down the tunnel.

"Oh, thank you Jake, that was quick thinking" He says in a falsetto voice doing a poor imitation of Ruby, then follows her. "Hold up a second." When they all catch up he starts again, "Maybe we can have some plan before we get to the Curly Bill? I don't know if he has ever met Deadeye or not, so if we use that ruse he may know it's a trick when he sees me. We could try the Geronimo message angle, or maybe even take the idea from Billy that Deadeye's brought him a gift, come out and see." He speaks quietly so that it won't carry in the cave. "We need to catch them off guard."

"I think he'd be suspicious of the gift angle," Kate said thoughtfully. "I'd go with the message. It is true, after a fashion, and since we're already up here they shouldn't have reason to believe it's a ruse."

Somewhere in the last few moments, Kate had decided to put her trust in Jake. This was the same young man who had been watching out for them, escorting them, and making sure no one gave them any trouble, after all. He'd had plenty of opportunity already to take advantage of them, and he had not. Her instincts said he was what he'd told them, even if he hadn't told them everything yet. She laid her hand briefly on his arm, looked him in the eye, and gave a slight nod before letting go.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter Thirty-seven, “Reaching the Leader’s Lair”, January 7th , 1882:

A lantern lights the cavern at the beginning of the cave. This initial area is around twenty-foot square and the only thing in it right now is a shotgun propped against the wall near the mouth of the cave with a wooden box of shotgun shells sitting on the floor beside it. The back of the cave has a tunnel approximately five feet wide and seven-feet high that heads deeper into the mountain. The tunnel looks to go for approximately fifty feet before curving downward and to the right. There appear to also be some smaller tunnels branching off to the left from the main tunnel.

Jake looks at his arm and smiles back only for a moment. "Alright, Geronimo's messenger it is." and he pats Nanuet on the shoulder. "Follow Billy's direction and call out to them. Tell 'em that Deadeye's gang is here too if they ask any questions or whatever. Ruby, why don't you go after Nanuet. If things aren't going well, distract them or something. If things start goin' south just hit the floor and I'll start shooting. And Katherine you follow me. If anything bad happens... well, remember I have some dynamite; light it and run like the blazes." Jake stops talking shrugs his shoulders and tries a halfhearted grin. On the way by he takes the shotgun and a couple of pockets full of shells.

The cavern goes for approximately fifty feet before curving downward and to the right. There are some smaller tunnels branching off to the left, but based upon the tracks Nanuet concludes that they are currently not being used. The group continues for another hundred feet reaching a “T” intersection. Nanuet again studies the tracks and determines which one is the most traveled.

Nanuet notices an area just prior to a wide curve in the tunnel where the tracks indicate that some of the people who passed this way stopped and turned to the side. He examines the stone walls at this point and finds a section of wall that looks wrong. Closer examination by him, Ruby and Jake discover that a stone is actually hinged in place to a small metal box imbedded into the wall. The box is opened to reveal a pair of musical instruments inside, namely a metal bell, four inches high with a five-inch handle, and a small metal flute-like instrument.

"I wonder why they would keep these hidden," Katherine said quietly. "Of course, they don't seem like the kind of things cattle rustlers would have anyway. I mean, what are they doing with a piccolo?" She resisted the urge to reach past the others and pull the small flute out. "I'm not the musical instrument expert here" Jake says looking Katherine, "and obviously they did use it for something. Maybe the signal Billy Claibourne mentioned?"

Ruby comments "Probably the signal he was talking about. But let's not leave it here for them to signal each other in case of trouble." Ruby takes a handkerchief out of her pocket and quietly takes the items out of the box. She makes sure they are wrapped up so they won't make noise and closes the box back up. As she places them in her pants she thinks "It's a good thing these clothes don't fit, the pockets are huge!" "We ready to go on?"

Nanuet says, “Yes, the longer we wait here the more can go wrong with men we have tied up outside. I am sure someone will come and check on them soon. They said we should just let them know we are here by yelling out. Jake decides it is a fine time to make sure the shotgun is loaded and then holds the gun vertically in his left hand behind him, blocking it's view.

Nanuet yells further into the cave "I AM A MESSENGER FROM GERONIMO, I NEED TO SPEAK WITH HARVEY KNOWLES" In the moments while they waited for an answer, Kate took a few seconds to settle herself. Jake had asked her to play along, and she was going to do that. She took a deep breath and changed her posture. Her shoulders pushed back and she put her weight on one hip. It was all in the attitude, she decided. She would just follow Jake's lead and bluff her way through this. A voice from around the bend that sounds like it is no more than 50 or 60 feet away yells back to Nanuet "Who are you? And where's Claibourne?"

While Nanuet stops to decide a response the four hear the sound of distant footsteps upon the rocky floor from somewhere up ahead and around the bend. They also hear the distinct sound of a shotgun being closed shut. He yells back “I am Nanuet, I come here with a message for you from Geronimo. I told your men outside the cave that the message was for your ears only. I am unarmed, your men have checked me. I need to speak with you.” The voice yells "Hold on a minute". The four now hear a number of strange sounds that resemble metal machinery moving including some grinding noises and a loud clang. The voice then says "Okay, you can come forward now."

Nanuet does as instructed. He rounds the bend which continues to curve, then sees a metal doorway at the wall thirty feet before him. The door is ajar and there is a chamber on the other side but he cannot see in it. A man holding but not pointing a shotgun is standing in the tunnel beside the door. Nanuet also notices at a point approximately seven to twelve feet before the door there is a five-foot square section of the tunnel floor that looks rather unusual. Across this section is a three-foot wide and five-foot long wooden bridge supported by metal bracing across it. On both sides of the bridge the floor looks normal except for where the bridge is literally going through it. He concludes that this is another false-floor illusion similar to the one back on the ledge trail and that the man had done something to make the bridge move into place. The man nods his head back to the door and says "Knowles is inside Injun. You can go see him."

Jake motions to Ruby and Katherine to come close and whispers "How much time to we give him before we do something? I wonder if Jack or Dell should yell down the hallway that Deadeye is here?" Ruby replies "Not long. I'm not sure what he's going to accomplish in there. Hopefully he can bring Knowles back out and we can ambush him. Otherwise we'd better pray they don't reset whatever machinery they had to adjust to let Nanuet in."

Nanuet moves forward and enters the room. The man follows and shuts the door behind them. Kate, Jake and Ruby hear the sound of the door closing. Nanuet is surprisingly calm as he enters the room. He takes a moment to survey his surroundings and attempts to spot anyone hiding using his keen eyes and infravision.

Outside, Jake comments, "Well, we can temporarily take charging through the open doorway with guns blazing off our list of options." Ruby says nothing but starts moving forward, staying against the wall and moving slowly. She gestures for Jake and Katherine to stay where they are and puts her finger to her lip for them to be quiet.

Ruby reaches the weird floor she stops and examines it. She determines that the "floor" to both sides of the bridge is only an illusion. She lowers her head down through the illusion on the left side of the bridge. Underneath is a deep pit that drops down for as far as she can see. Metal braces coming up from the wall on the rights side of the bridge support the bridge itself. The metal braces all have hinges on them and she concludes that they are mechanical rather than magical in nature, and that some type of device is used to have them raise and lower the bridge. When lowered the braces would fold into themselves like an accordion and lower the wooden bridge to be parallel the right wall.

She reaches the door and peering through the keyhole determines that there is a large chamber on the other side from which she hears at least two male voices, neither of them Nanuet's. She looks to the crack on the side of the door and concludes that it is currently shut but not locked. Ruby goes back to Katherine and Jake and tells them what she found out.

Nanuet has gone through the door into a large irregularly shaped chamber. The man with the shotgun follows him and shuts the door behind them. The room is roughly shaped like a fat letter “X”, with the diagonal side that they can see running for sixty feet and being approximately twenty feet wide. The entrance to the chamber starts at the lower right hand (southeast) corner. There are two men seated at a table in the center of the room at the intersection of the X. He can only see the beginning of both side hallways the other directions.

From the entrance way he can see at the opposite end of the chamber from where they are standing there is a blankets hung across a wooden bar, creating a makeshift doors The blanket is pulled partially to the side and they can see a doorway behind into a darkened room. He can make out that the far room has a large canopy bed inside.

The chamber itself is not what he would have expected from a cave, as it is both well furnished and lit up by magical light. A coat rack with five hats and two coats is in the room near the passageway where they have entered. Mexican-style woven rugs cover the floor. Six high-backed and quality made wooden chairs with red velvet cushions are around an elaborately made wooden table at the intersection of the four hallways. Bookcases filled with books are along the left-hand side of the hallway. Standing in and at the far end by the entrance to the northwestern chamber is a wooden case with glass doors housing several rifles.

Several paintings in gold frames are propped up against all of the walls; most being paintings of desert landscapes and a few are portraits of regal looking wood elves. Unlike the cavern leading to the room, this room does not feel at all damp and is actually somewhat warm at around seventy degrees. A woodstove with a coffeepot is then seen near the table along the side hallway leading to the northeast chamber. He can see that the stove has no vent pipe and has no smoke is coming from it although puffs of steam are coming from the coffeepot. The two men are inside the room seated at the table and drinking from tin cups filled with what appears to be coffee.

"Which one of you is Knowles?" he says in an even tone. One of the men at the table says "I'm Knowles". He stands up and approaches Nanuet, as the one with the shotgun walks past Knowles and back to the table where he picks up a mug. The two of them exchange a few words about Claibourne's incompetence. As Knowles nears Nanuet "You say that Geronimo sent you with a message for me?"

Outside, Ruby says, "We should try to distract those two and get them out here. I think I have a way but how can we quietly subdue them when they get here? I'm thinking we hide on either side of the door and whack them over the head when they come out." Ruby smiles mischievously at Katherine. "You'll see. Now stand over on this side of the door and leave some room for me. Jake you stand on that side of the door and get ready..."

Ruby starts whispering under her breath. Suddenly a group of little tiny glowing lights appears in the middle of the room they are in. They are bouncing around but basically staying in the same spot. Ruby pushes herself up against the wall and slowly pushes the door open, actually hoping that it squeaks. The door opens up a bit, but based upon where they are currently standing Ruby, Kate and Jake cannot see inside. There is no indication that the people in the room have noticed yet and so Ruby pushes the door a bit more, this causing a squeak.

Nanuet then notices the door open up a crack behind him. It then opens wider, and there are some sort of sparkling lights outside. "What?" the man with the shotgun exclaims. Knowles tells his companions "Not sure, some type of Apache light creature I think, probably harmless. Must have come up through the pit. I'll see if I can talk to it." The man opens the door further and steps out into the tunnel.