Silver Moon
Adventurer
Chapter 155, “Going Home” , Saturday, January 21st, 1882, 10:00 A.M.
Once the visitors and earth sprit have departed Chester, Katherine, Nanuet, Sonoma and Ruby get their horses ready and plan to depart the mountain, situated three miles northwest of the town of Dos Cabezas. Kate checked one last time to make sure the magical disks were packed away as well, then pulled herself onto Meribel's back.
"I am definitely ready to get back," Ruby quickly replies. She takes one last look around to make sure she didn't forget anything then follows Kate down the rope. She gets onto her horse and waits for everyone else. When they are all down and ready she asks "Everyone all set?" and she starts off. Chester checks his gear for the third time. "I'm ready when you are. Be on the lookout for the Cowboy gang. If Gamble was right, they're in the area." "I had forgotten about them," Kate said, and shifted Tom's pistol in her pocket for easier drawing.
As they prepare to ride off there is a sudden twenty degree drop in the temperature and a wind picks up. Kate looked around the mountain, thinking a sudden storm was blowing up. "What's going on?" "Um, is it me, or does anyone else feel a chill?" Ruby looks around quickly to check the area. "Maybe we should hurry and get into the trees..."
"Um, is it me, or does anyone else feel a chill?" Ruby looks around quickly to check the area. "Maybe we should hurry and get into the trees..." "Snow? Does it snow in Arizona? This mountain isn't that high...." Kate looked around her. "We should move quickly. If this gets bad we might wish we'd never left the cave." Ruby replies, "No, it doesn't snow in Arizona. This must be because of the passing of the spirit. Oh I hope it doesn't get much worse." Ruby pulls up the collar on her jacket and continues to ride on.
Chester comments, “I think we should try to get to Dos Cabezas. We're not ready for snow.” They ride on for another half hour in the snow. Once they get below the highest elevations the temperature is slightly warmer, with the precipitation changing to freezing rain, which they conclude is worse.
Kate looked back at Chester through the freezing rain that was quickly soaking her. "We have to get down the mountain no matter what. It may be better when we get to the bottom. We can always turn for Dos Cabezas when we get to the bottom if we have to." "Good point,” adds Chester. "Let's try to hurry, ok?" Ruby says through chattering teeth. She picks up her pace and continues to ride on. She starts singing a song about the warm summer winds as she tries to get herself warmer.
They ride on for another half hour. Once at the base of the mountain the precipitation ends as does the wind. The temperature is back to the mid-sixties and the sun is now shining down. They estimate that they could either travel a miles south from here to the town or continue to the southeast for around two miles to reach the road that goes back to Promise City.
Ruby exclaims, "Oh I am so glad that crazy weather stopped. Let's get back home so we can get into our own beds and get some rest." Chester asks, “So, ladies. Should we visit the town or head back to home? Kate states, "Well, what do you think? Do we need to go to Dos Cabezos for anything? I'd like to get back to Promise City myself." Chester comments, "I think we can dry off in the town. I don't fancy riding back to Promise City in wet clothes." Kate stopped Meribel for a moment and said a short incantation. Chester's clothes dried. "There, all dry," she said, before repeating the process for herself.
"Home it is!" Ruby said with a smile and guided her horse towards Promise City. Chester is a bit surprised by the magic, "Oh. OK, then. That's a handy spell, Katherine. Thanks. Let's go home." Ruby nods her head to Chester and they all continue to Promise City.
After a short while they reach the road. They continue on for several more miles until they come upon a three way intersection, the other two directions being the road that the Wells Fargo Stage travels on between Promise City and Tombstone. On the east side of the road is a sign that all except Chester have seen before. It has an arrow pointing northwest that reads “Dos Cabezas 6 Miles” and another arrow pointing southeast that reads “Promise City 14 Miles” and below that “Galeyville 26 Miles”.
As they turned down the road toward Promise City, Kate looked back down the road that she knew went toward Tombstone. She sighed and looked forward again. Promise City first. The ride for the next fourteen miles goes by peacefully, which for this group is a welcomed change. The only people that they encountered along the way are a patrol of six human soldiers who they have not seen before. They eye both Sonoma and Nanuet with suspicion but do not prevent them from passing.
It is shortly before noon when the five ride back into town, the road coming in from the northeast side of town near the east side of Sierra Street and not far from the Gila Belle Mine. Ruby finds it far more preferable to come into town on this road this way rather than on a runaway horseless stagecoach as she and Jake had eleven days earlier.
Riding back into Promise City was strange. Kate breathed a sigh of relief as she realized that she was home. She clucked Meribel into a trot forward toward the El Parador. Chester comments, "Ah, home sweet home. I'm hungry. Who's ready for lunch?" Ruby states, "Let's drop of our horses. I'm starving and tired, so lunch and then a nap sound great. But oh, I want to drop off my stuff at the Lone Star first and check on things..." "What I'm ready for is a bath," Kate said. She added, "Sometimes I think you're a walking stomach, Chester." He shrugs. "I need to keep my energy up. Protecting spirits is hard work."
Ruby exclaims, "A bath sounds nice too. Ok then, lunch then a bath then a nap.. but first.. I will get to the Lone Star. Sonoma, you'd better get inside." Ruby nods her head towards the door. At this point everyone can tell Ruby is impatient to get back to the Lone Star. Ruby is convinced to put the horses away first. Grant Keebler is pleased to see them, as they have now been gone for nearly three days. He offers to help with the horses, telling Sonoma "Better hurry inside little lady, your mother has been worried about you." "I'll meet you all back here for lunch," Ruby says and she starts walking away.
"It's nice to see you, Mr. Keebler," Kate said as she made Meribel comfortable. "You rest a few days girl," she said softly to the mare. "You've earned it." She picked up her belongings and went into the Cantina. Dorita welcomes them back. She says “Things in town have been relatively quiet for the past three days.” Chester winks at her. "I bet. Most of the troublemakers were out of town. It's good to be back."
Dorita adds, “The only excitement at all was earlier that morning, when Army Lieutenant Gamble rode into town with three wounded soldiers after a clash with the Apache up in the mountains.”
Kate exclaims, "The fool. Isn't there an agreement with the Apache to stay out of their mountains? And if I know about it he certainly should." Chester states, “We saw him while we were away. I hope he doesn't convince the brass to go looking for them."
Chester takes the case containing the hand cannon up to his room. I'll have to take that to the gunsmith later. He washes his hands and face, then walks back down the stairs. Kate asks, "Dorita, is your grandfather back?" She replies "No, not yet. I was hoping that he had joined up with you. So should I start worrying about him now." "I'm sure he's just helping Maggie get settled," she said quietly and she hoped convincingly. "No need to worry, I'm sure."
Kate took her bags up to her room and tucked her things away. She put a clean dress in a travel bag to take with her to the bathouse. Instead of going straight over, she went into Mr. Gonzales' rooms and then into his mansion. "Mr. Gonzales?" she called out, not really hoping for an answer. She moved through the rooms, hoping for a note perhaps.
After a few moments she wandered into the Library and stood staring at the spellbooks. It was tempting to try the location spell he had used to find President de Sucre, but Mr. Gonzales had warned against trying what was beyond her. But her fingers still itched.
Ruby takes her stuff and hurries back to the Lone Star. She gets inside and sees Niles behind the bar. "Hello Mr. Hoover, how are things?" She doesn't let him answer before continuing quickly, "Is Jake back?" Hoover replies "No Ma'am, I assumed that you had joined him where ever he went off to. Place has been running pretty well the last three nights. I must say, that new singer you found is working out pretty well."
Ruby face drops and she looks away. "Why isn't he back yet?" she says no to one in particular. She is noticeably upset. She furrows her brow and looks back to Hoover. "What new singer?" Hoover replies, "Why Clarisse Townsend of course. We went without any singer Thursday night, then the Tombstone Epitaph came out on Friday with an ad for this place. Your friend Madge Duprey brought Clarisse over here on Friday to sing until you got back. She did a fine job last night. You mean you didn't hire her?"
"Oh right, it had slipped my mind. Of course. I'm glad she worked out and you approve." Ruby sighs. "I'm going to drop off my stuff, have lunch and a bath, then I'll be back, if you need me."
Ruby heads back up to her room, and it was just the way she left it. She takes the letter she had written to Jake and throws it on the table with a huff. She sits on the bed for a few moments looking around at the mess before slowly getting up. She takes a few gulps of a bottle of bourbon they had left before placing it back on the table. She gathers some clean clothes together and heads back to the El Parador, looking to join the others for lunch.
Chester waves to Ruby from the table where he is sitting with Sonoma and Nanuet. "Want to join us?" "Sure Chester, thanks." Ruby takes a seat and quietly eats her lunch. After a while, Chester asks, "I take it Jake isn't back yet?“ She just nods.
Kate turned herself around and got herself out of Mr. Gonzales' rooms before the temptation became overwhelming. When she arrived downstairs the others were nearly finished eating. She took a seat between Ruby and Chester. Kate states, "I'm ready to soak. Anyone else?" Chester says, "Sure. I'm pretty dirty now after three days in the mountains." "Sure, I'm ready. Let's go." Without saying anything else Ruby gets up, grabs her bag and heads for the door.
Sonoma says "Not now, mother needs to see. It does sound like a tempting idea though. I'll probably get one later." She heads off into the kitchen. Kate comments, "All right, Sonoma. We'll see you later." Kate and Chester then quickly followed Ruby out the door. They walked quietly for a bit before Kate said, "Mr. Gonzales isn't back yet. Dorita said she'd hoped he'd joined us. He must be helping Maggie. I don't know what else could be holding him up. Perhaps he didn't mean to travel with her the way he usually travels."
"Jake's not back either," Ruby replied flatly. Kate comments, "Well, they did leave together. I would imagine they'd come back together as well. I hope they haven't run in to any problems." Chester comments, You shouldn't worry. He's a grown man. He can take care of himself." Ruby answers, "I know he can take care of himself, but if he was coming back he should have been back by now. But let's not talk about it, ok?" Ruby walks a little faster and makes her way into Gilsons.
Laurie Gilson has no problem getting Ruby and Kate into a room but Chester is told that he'll have to wait as all of the rooms are currently occupied. Apparently Saturday afternoon is her busiest time of the week. He eventually get in, having to share a room with the other tub occupied by a human prospector named Drew Gallagher. The girls take much longer baths than he does, so they all finish up at around the same time.
Ruby takes her bath in silence. She examines the huge yellow and green bruise the covers her right thigh front to back with disgust. She finishes and gets dressed quietly before meeting up with Chester and Kate. "I’m heading back to the Lone Star to take a nap. I'll see you two later?" She doesn't wait for the answer before walking away.
Kate felt better after bath and watched Ruby walk away sadly. They were no longer in the same place. The El Parador would be lonely without Ruby and Jake there. She was certain the same worry that was gnawing the back of her mind was bothering Ruby as well. She walked back to the El Parador with Chester. "It seems strange to have nothing to do until it's time to go to the Lone Star for the night. I think I might follow Ruby's example and sleep. What will you do?"
Chester replies, "Not much, I'll brush own my horse then go to the gunsmith. That hand cannon took a bad fall. It's a shame about Riley that he didn't see the results of his dreams." Kate replies, "Yes, it was a shame. And worse that there was no way we could do anything for him, even a proper burial." Kate sighed. Chester says, "I guess we'll need to tell his friend, the shaman. Nanuet probably knows how to get in touch with him."
He pauses, then continues, "Ruby's really worried about Jake, isn't she? Do you know what he left for?" Kate answers, "Ruby is worried, and so am I. I don't know where he went, or what for. Ruby didn't tell me, and I wasn't really... well, let's just say I don't remember Jake telling me." He asks, "Couldn't your magic find him?"
She replies, "I'm not that advanced. I just started learning, and spells to locate people are more complex than I know how to perform right now. I wish I could. There are several people I would look for." They arrived back at the El Parador. "I think I'll go lie down, I'll see you this evening." "Have a good rest. I'll see you later."
Chester sticks his head into the kitchen. "Dorita, can I have a carrot, please? I want to give my horse a treat." Dorita says, "You can have carrot, if you help me clean the kitchen. I'm not a grocer." "OK, OK. I'll do it. Now can I have the carrot?" She hands him the vegetable and shoos him out.
Chester goes back out to the stable to check on his horse. He feeds it the carrot. The horse eats the offered treat eagerly. As Chester brushes the animal, he says, "Bet you weren't expecting to see a dragon and the Chimera in the same day, huh. Me, neither." Once he's done, Chester goes back to the kitchen, where he sweeps and scrubs for an hour or so.
Chester walks back up to his room and picks up the hand cannon case. "Now to take care of you." He goes to the gunsmith only to find out it's closed. "Drat, I forgot it's Saturday. I'll have to find some time later." He spends the rest of the day cleaning his rifle and pistol and sharpening his sword. If it had come to it, could I have fought the beast with this? I'd probably end up like poor Riley. He shakes his head. "Ow. That lump still hurts. I'd better take it easy."
Kate spent most of the afternoon in a fitful sleep. Her worry about Mr. Gonzales and Jake disturbed her rest, as well as the nightmares that had plagued her for the last week.
Ruby gets back to the Lone Star and walks up the stairs without saying a word to Hoover. She gets to her room, drops her dress and climbs into bed. It takes her a while to fall asleep but when she does she sleeps deeply.
It is late afternoon before she wakes. She lays in bed staring at the ceiling for a while before getting up. She takes her time getting dressed and slowly brushes she still wet hair, almost mindlessly. She finally snaps out of it, finishes up and make her way downstairs, looking for Job and Niles.
Ruby sees that Job and Niles are not currently busy. “You two have a moment? I want to make some business decisions.” She sees both of their reactions on their faces, nearly identical. “Yes, I know you have been speaking with Jake, but he is not here right now and I will speak for him. Let’s go sit.” She heads over to the corner and takes a seat waiting for them to follow.
Ruby begins “I will start by saying the easiest and most profitable for everyone would be if we split the profits evenly, 25% each after expenses are taken out.” She turns and looks at Job. “If you continue to put in your 20%, we would be splitting it and you would get 5% of that back, so in actuality you would only be putting in 15%. Imagine, on nights you do poorly you will still be taking some money home with you. Jake will also put in 20% of his winnings when he plays. What do you think of that idea?”
Job replies "Let's hold off on finalizing that until Jake comes back. I have a hunch that he might not agree to that. That deal works best unless you happen to be the best dealer in the place. If you can make more than the other two combined then you're better off keeping your own winnings instead of just getting a share."
The words "What if Jake doesn't come back" start coming out of her mouth but she holds it in. She didn't think she was going to get much respect being just a singer and a female one at that. "Ok, Job, I'll let you work that out with Jake, although he has already agreed that was the easiest plan."
She quickly turns to Hoover and says, "Niles, you have the liquor. I know you are willing to sell to us at cost. We are open all day now for you to sell. What kind of agreement do you expect in regards to the liquor? We store them here and you get the space to sell it for nothing. Are you happy with adding in those profits and splitting them 25%? And are you comfortable being the manager here on a daily basis? Would you like to add your assistant to the payroll and what can he do?”
He says "I'm pretty open to whatever you think is fair. I appreciate having a place to work out of after loosing my other shop. And the folks who come here seem to be pretty nice. I also appreciate that we've managed to keep my assistant employed too."
Ruby smiles at him and continues, “Here are some ideas that we have been kicking around. First, the third floor. I think all the employees should move up to the third floor when it is finished. That would be Jake and I, you two and Jeff Mills. That leaves the second floor rooms open. I am thinking we can use them for private card games, parties, and business transactions that our customers might want to conduct after hours. We can cater them food and offer liquor and if they pay enough even some personal singing lessons,” she winks. “We can maybe also set them up in case some of our more important and trustworthy customers need a place to sleep. I’m not suggesting we become a hotel, but it might be nice to have a room or two available.”
Job says "Actually, I've been thinking of getting my own place in town. I've been living out of a saloon for almost a year now and would actually like some privacy. I don't have the money at the moment to buy something but I figure I will in a few weeks."
"Whatever you like, Job. But I'm guessing then that neither of you mind our second floor plans?"
Job says "Sounds like a good idea to me. I also like your plans of checking weapons at the door, it will let me concentrate more on my card games without having to worry as much about what everyone else is doing at the time."
Ruby says “We will need to hire a new cook, and someone to clean. I would like to have our food be a good choice for lunch and dinner, and not just something people get because they are here and hungry. I have asked Dorita from the El Parador to find someone for us. I know she will find someone to fill our needs. I will go speak to her later and find out if she has found anyone she recommends yet."
“Niles, Jake and I have been discussing some options. You currently own a prime empty lot on Main Street. Maybe we could offer it to Mr. Lacey next door? If he agrees to move and you own the land we could plan on expanding the Lone Star. We would, of course, work out some kind of deal to compensate you for the purchase made in our behalf. We could build a secure shed to store the liquor in out back. I think us considering expanding is in all of our interests. The bigger the place is the more customers we can fit in here. We can add some faro tables, maybe craps tables too. I want to have real space for dancing and I plan to make sure my singing is something people just can’t miss.” She stops to look at both men, giving them each a smile.
Hoover says "Mills suggested that to me a few days back. Nobody's made any inquiries about my lot yet. Lacey's current store is actually bigger than the lot I own but we might be able to also get the lot that the Feed and Grain store was on, which would actually give Lacey more space. Mills says that the way Lacey's store is build it could be disassembled and reassembled elsewhere, so he wouldn't even need a new building, and it would be a better location for his store."
"Let's work on that then. I'm sure Mr. Lacey can be persuaded." Ruby says, “We also need to decide how much profit to put aside for regular operating expenses. This is one area I have no idea about. Niles, you would know best I think.”
Hoover says "You folks are too trusting. Didn't I mention that I'm one for wild get-rich-quick schemes?" Job laughs and says "You must be, if you decided to go into the saloon business with a pair of gamblers and a singer." Ruby forces a smile on her face. "You are too funny. Alright, gentlemen let's have a good Saturday night, shall we?"
Once the visitors and earth sprit have departed Chester, Katherine, Nanuet, Sonoma and Ruby get their horses ready and plan to depart the mountain, situated three miles northwest of the town of Dos Cabezas. Kate checked one last time to make sure the magical disks were packed away as well, then pulled herself onto Meribel's back.
"I am definitely ready to get back," Ruby quickly replies. She takes one last look around to make sure she didn't forget anything then follows Kate down the rope. She gets onto her horse and waits for everyone else. When they are all down and ready she asks "Everyone all set?" and she starts off. Chester checks his gear for the third time. "I'm ready when you are. Be on the lookout for the Cowboy gang. If Gamble was right, they're in the area." "I had forgotten about them," Kate said, and shifted Tom's pistol in her pocket for easier drawing.
As they prepare to ride off there is a sudden twenty degree drop in the temperature and a wind picks up. Kate looked around the mountain, thinking a sudden storm was blowing up. "What's going on?" "Um, is it me, or does anyone else feel a chill?" Ruby looks around quickly to check the area. "Maybe we should hurry and get into the trees..."
"Um, is it me, or does anyone else feel a chill?" Ruby looks around quickly to check the area. "Maybe we should hurry and get into the trees..." "Snow? Does it snow in Arizona? This mountain isn't that high...." Kate looked around her. "We should move quickly. If this gets bad we might wish we'd never left the cave." Ruby replies, "No, it doesn't snow in Arizona. This must be because of the passing of the spirit. Oh I hope it doesn't get much worse." Ruby pulls up the collar on her jacket and continues to ride on.
Chester comments, “I think we should try to get to Dos Cabezas. We're not ready for snow.” They ride on for another half hour in the snow. Once they get below the highest elevations the temperature is slightly warmer, with the precipitation changing to freezing rain, which they conclude is worse.
Kate looked back at Chester through the freezing rain that was quickly soaking her. "We have to get down the mountain no matter what. It may be better when we get to the bottom. We can always turn for Dos Cabezas when we get to the bottom if we have to." "Good point,” adds Chester. "Let's try to hurry, ok?" Ruby says through chattering teeth. She picks up her pace and continues to ride on. She starts singing a song about the warm summer winds as she tries to get herself warmer.
They ride on for another half hour. Once at the base of the mountain the precipitation ends as does the wind. The temperature is back to the mid-sixties and the sun is now shining down. They estimate that they could either travel a miles south from here to the town or continue to the southeast for around two miles to reach the road that goes back to Promise City.
Ruby exclaims, "Oh I am so glad that crazy weather stopped. Let's get back home so we can get into our own beds and get some rest." Chester asks, “So, ladies. Should we visit the town or head back to home? Kate states, "Well, what do you think? Do we need to go to Dos Cabezos for anything? I'd like to get back to Promise City myself." Chester comments, "I think we can dry off in the town. I don't fancy riding back to Promise City in wet clothes." Kate stopped Meribel for a moment and said a short incantation. Chester's clothes dried. "There, all dry," she said, before repeating the process for herself.
"Home it is!" Ruby said with a smile and guided her horse towards Promise City. Chester is a bit surprised by the magic, "Oh. OK, then. That's a handy spell, Katherine. Thanks. Let's go home." Ruby nods her head to Chester and they all continue to Promise City.
After a short while they reach the road. They continue on for several more miles until they come upon a three way intersection, the other two directions being the road that the Wells Fargo Stage travels on between Promise City and Tombstone. On the east side of the road is a sign that all except Chester have seen before. It has an arrow pointing northwest that reads “Dos Cabezas 6 Miles” and another arrow pointing southeast that reads “Promise City 14 Miles” and below that “Galeyville 26 Miles”.
As they turned down the road toward Promise City, Kate looked back down the road that she knew went toward Tombstone. She sighed and looked forward again. Promise City first. The ride for the next fourteen miles goes by peacefully, which for this group is a welcomed change. The only people that they encountered along the way are a patrol of six human soldiers who they have not seen before. They eye both Sonoma and Nanuet with suspicion but do not prevent them from passing.
It is shortly before noon when the five ride back into town, the road coming in from the northeast side of town near the east side of Sierra Street and not far from the Gila Belle Mine. Ruby finds it far more preferable to come into town on this road this way rather than on a runaway horseless stagecoach as she and Jake had eleven days earlier.
Riding back into Promise City was strange. Kate breathed a sigh of relief as she realized that she was home. She clucked Meribel into a trot forward toward the El Parador. Chester comments, "Ah, home sweet home. I'm hungry. Who's ready for lunch?" Ruby states, "Let's drop of our horses. I'm starving and tired, so lunch and then a nap sound great. But oh, I want to drop off my stuff at the Lone Star first and check on things..." "What I'm ready for is a bath," Kate said. She added, "Sometimes I think you're a walking stomach, Chester." He shrugs. "I need to keep my energy up. Protecting spirits is hard work."
Ruby exclaims, "A bath sounds nice too. Ok then, lunch then a bath then a nap.. but first.. I will get to the Lone Star. Sonoma, you'd better get inside." Ruby nods her head towards the door. At this point everyone can tell Ruby is impatient to get back to the Lone Star. Ruby is convinced to put the horses away first. Grant Keebler is pleased to see them, as they have now been gone for nearly three days. He offers to help with the horses, telling Sonoma "Better hurry inside little lady, your mother has been worried about you." "I'll meet you all back here for lunch," Ruby says and she starts walking away.
"It's nice to see you, Mr. Keebler," Kate said as she made Meribel comfortable. "You rest a few days girl," she said softly to the mare. "You've earned it." She picked up her belongings and went into the Cantina. Dorita welcomes them back. She says “Things in town have been relatively quiet for the past three days.” Chester winks at her. "I bet. Most of the troublemakers were out of town. It's good to be back."
Dorita adds, “The only excitement at all was earlier that morning, when Army Lieutenant Gamble rode into town with three wounded soldiers after a clash with the Apache up in the mountains.”
Kate exclaims, "The fool. Isn't there an agreement with the Apache to stay out of their mountains? And if I know about it he certainly should." Chester states, “We saw him while we were away. I hope he doesn't convince the brass to go looking for them."
Chester takes the case containing the hand cannon up to his room. I'll have to take that to the gunsmith later. He washes his hands and face, then walks back down the stairs. Kate asks, "Dorita, is your grandfather back?" She replies "No, not yet. I was hoping that he had joined up with you. So should I start worrying about him now." "I'm sure he's just helping Maggie get settled," she said quietly and she hoped convincingly. "No need to worry, I'm sure."
Kate took her bags up to her room and tucked her things away. She put a clean dress in a travel bag to take with her to the bathouse. Instead of going straight over, she went into Mr. Gonzales' rooms and then into his mansion. "Mr. Gonzales?" she called out, not really hoping for an answer. She moved through the rooms, hoping for a note perhaps.
After a few moments she wandered into the Library and stood staring at the spellbooks. It was tempting to try the location spell he had used to find President de Sucre, but Mr. Gonzales had warned against trying what was beyond her. But her fingers still itched.
Ruby takes her stuff and hurries back to the Lone Star. She gets inside and sees Niles behind the bar. "Hello Mr. Hoover, how are things?" She doesn't let him answer before continuing quickly, "Is Jake back?" Hoover replies "No Ma'am, I assumed that you had joined him where ever he went off to. Place has been running pretty well the last three nights. I must say, that new singer you found is working out pretty well."
Ruby face drops and she looks away. "Why isn't he back yet?" she says no to one in particular. She is noticeably upset. She furrows her brow and looks back to Hoover. "What new singer?" Hoover replies, "Why Clarisse Townsend of course. We went without any singer Thursday night, then the Tombstone Epitaph came out on Friday with an ad for this place. Your friend Madge Duprey brought Clarisse over here on Friday to sing until you got back. She did a fine job last night. You mean you didn't hire her?"
"Oh right, it had slipped my mind. Of course. I'm glad she worked out and you approve." Ruby sighs. "I'm going to drop off my stuff, have lunch and a bath, then I'll be back, if you need me."
Ruby heads back up to her room, and it was just the way she left it. She takes the letter she had written to Jake and throws it on the table with a huff. She sits on the bed for a few moments looking around at the mess before slowly getting up. She takes a few gulps of a bottle of bourbon they had left before placing it back on the table. She gathers some clean clothes together and heads back to the El Parador, looking to join the others for lunch.
Chester waves to Ruby from the table where he is sitting with Sonoma and Nanuet. "Want to join us?" "Sure Chester, thanks." Ruby takes a seat and quietly eats her lunch. After a while, Chester asks, "I take it Jake isn't back yet?“ She just nods.
Kate turned herself around and got herself out of Mr. Gonzales' rooms before the temptation became overwhelming. When she arrived downstairs the others were nearly finished eating. She took a seat between Ruby and Chester. Kate states, "I'm ready to soak. Anyone else?" Chester says, "Sure. I'm pretty dirty now after three days in the mountains." "Sure, I'm ready. Let's go." Without saying anything else Ruby gets up, grabs her bag and heads for the door.
Sonoma says "Not now, mother needs to see. It does sound like a tempting idea though. I'll probably get one later." She heads off into the kitchen. Kate comments, "All right, Sonoma. We'll see you later." Kate and Chester then quickly followed Ruby out the door. They walked quietly for a bit before Kate said, "Mr. Gonzales isn't back yet. Dorita said she'd hoped he'd joined us. He must be helping Maggie. I don't know what else could be holding him up. Perhaps he didn't mean to travel with her the way he usually travels."
"Jake's not back either," Ruby replied flatly. Kate comments, "Well, they did leave together. I would imagine they'd come back together as well. I hope they haven't run in to any problems." Chester comments, You shouldn't worry. He's a grown man. He can take care of himself." Ruby answers, "I know he can take care of himself, but if he was coming back he should have been back by now. But let's not talk about it, ok?" Ruby walks a little faster and makes her way into Gilsons.
Laurie Gilson has no problem getting Ruby and Kate into a room but Chester is told that he'll have to wait as all of the rooms are currently occupied. Apparently Saturday afternoon is her busiest time of the week. He eventually get in, having to share a room with the other tub occupied by a human prospector named Drew Gallagher. The girls take much longer baths than he does, so they all finish up at around the same time.
Ruby takes her bath in silence. She examines the huge yellow and green bruise the covers her right thigh front to back with disgust. She finishes and gets dressed quietly before meeting up with Chester and Kate. "I’m heading back to the Lone Star to take a nap. I'll see you two later?" She doesn't wait for the answer before walking away.
Kate felt better after bath and watched Ruby walk away sadly. They were no longer in the same place. The El Parador would be lonely without Ruby and Jake there. She was certain the same worry that was gnawing the back of her mind was bothering Ruby as well. She walked back to the El Parador with Chester. "It seems strange to have nothing to do until it's time to go to the Lone Star for the night. I think I might follow Ruby's example and sleep. What will you do?"
Chester replies, "Not much, I'll brush own my horse then go to the gunsmith. That hand cannon took a bad fall. It's a shame about Riley that he didn't see the results of his dreams." Kate replies, "Yes, it was a shame. And worse that there was no way we could do anything for him, even a proper burial." Kate sighed. Chester says, "I guess we'll need to tell his friend, the shaman. Nanuet probably knows how to get in touch with him."
He pauses, then continues, "Ruby's really worried about Jake, isn't she? Do you know what he left for?" Kate answers, "Ruby is worried, and so am I. I don't know where he went, or what for. Ruby didn't tell me, and I wasn't really... well, let's just say I don't remember Jake telling me." He asks, "Couldn't your magic find him?"
She replies, "I'm not that advanced. I just started learning, and spells to locate people are more complex than I know how to perform right now. I wish I could. There are several people I would look for." They arrived back at the El Parador. "I think I'll go lie down, I'll see you this evening." "Have a good rest. I'll see you later."
Chester sticks his head into the kitchen. "Dorita, can I have a carrot, please? I want to give my horse a treat." Dorita says, "You can have carrot, if you help me clean the kitchen. I'm not a grocer." "OK, OK. I'll do it. Now can I have the carrot?" She hands him the vegetable and shoos him out.
Chester goes back out to the stable to check on his horse. He feeds it the carrot. The horse eats the offered treat eagerly. As Chester brushes the animal, he says, "Bet you weren't expecting to see a dragon and the Chimera in the same day, huh. Me, neither." Once he's done, Chester goes back to the kitchen, where he sweeps and scrubs for an hour or so.
Chester walks back up to his room and picks up the hand cannon case. "Now to take care of you." He goes to the gunsmith only to find out it's closed. "Drat, I forgot it's Saturday. I'll have to find some time later." He spends the rest of the day cleaning his rifle and pistol and sharpening his sword. If it had come to it, could I have fought the beast with this? I'd probably end up like poor Riley. He shakes his head. "Ow. That lump still hurts. I'd better take it easy."
Kate spent most of the afternoon in a fitful sleep. Her worry about Mr. Gonzales and Jake disturbed her rest, as well as the nightmares that had plagued her for the last week.
Ruby gets back to the Lone Star and walks up the stairs without saying a word to Hoover. She gets to her room, drops her dress and climbs into bed. It takes her a while to fall asleep but when she does she sleeps deeply.
It is late afternoon before she wakes. She lays in bed staring at the ceiling for a while before getting up. She takes her time getting dressed and slowly brushes she still wet hair, almost mindlessly. She finally snaps out of it, finishes up and make her way downstairs, looking for Job and Niles.
Ruby sees that Job and Niles are not currently busy. “You two have a moment? I want to make some business decisions.” She sees both of their reactions on their faces, nearly identical. “Yes, I know you have been speaking with Jake, but he is not here right now and I will speak for him. Let’s go sit.” She heads over to the corner and takes a seat waiting for them to follow.
Ruby begins “I will start by saying the easiest and most profitable for everyone would be if we split the profits evenly, 25% each after expenses are taken out.” She turns and looks at Job. “If you continue to put in your 20%, we would be splitting it and you would get 5% of that back, so in actuality you would only be putting in 15%. Imagine, on nights you do poorly you will still be taking some money home with you. Jake will also put in 20% of his winnings when he plays. What do you think of that idea?”
Job replies "Let's hold off on finalizing that until Jake comes back. I have a hunch that he might not agree to that. That deal works best unless you happen to be the best dealer in the place. If you can make more than the other two combined then you're better off keeping your own winnings instead of just getting a share."
The words "What if Jake doesn't come back" start coming out of her mouth but she holds it in. She didn't think she was going to get much respect being just a singer and a female one at that. "Ok, Job, I'll let you work that out with Jake, although he has already agreed that was the easiest plan."
She quickly turns to Hoover and says, "Niles, you have the liquor. I know you are willing to sell to us at cost. We are open all day now for you to sell. What kind of agreement do you expect in regards to the liquor? We store them here and you get the space to sell it for nothing. Are you happy with adding in those profits and splitting them 25%? And are you comfortable being the manager here on a daily basis? Would you like to add your assistant to the payroll and what can he do?”
He says "I'm pretty open to whatever you think is fair. I appreciate having a place to work out of after loosing my other shop. And the folks who come here seem to be pretty nice. I also appreciate that we've managed to keep my assistant employed too."
Ruby smiles at him and continues, “Here are some ideas that we have been kicking around. First, the third floor. I think all the employees should move up to the third floor when it is finished. That would be Jake and I, you two and Jeff Mills. That leaves the second floor rooms open. I am thinking we can use them for private card games, parties, and business transactions that our customers might want to conduct after hours. We can cater them food and offer liquor and if they pay enough even some personal singing lessons,” she winks. “We can maybe also set them up in case some of our more important and trustworthy customers need a place to sleep. I’m not suggesting we become a hotel, but it might be nice to have a room or two available.”
Job says "Actually, I've been thinking of getting my own place in town. I've been living out of a saloon for almost a year now and would actually like some privacy. I don't have the money at the moment to buy something but I figure I will in a few weeks."
"Whatever you like, Job. But I'm guessing then that neither of you mind our second floor plans?"
Job says "Sounds like a good idea to me. I also like your plans of checking weapons at the door, it will let me concentrate more on my card games without having to worry as much about what everyone else is doing at the time."
Ruby says “We will need to hire a new cook, and someone to clean. I would like to have our food be a good choice for lunch and dinner, and not just something people get because they are here and hungry. I have asked Dorita from the El Parador to find someone for us. I know she will find someone to fill our needs. I will go speak to her later and find out if she has found anyone she recommends yet."
“Niles, Jake and I have been discussing some options. You currently own a prime empty lot on Main Street. Maybe we could offer it to Mr. Lacey next door? If he agrees to move and you own the land we could plan on expanding the Lone Star. We would, of course, work out some kind of deal to compensate you for the purchase made in our behalf. We could build a secure shed to store the liquor in out back. I think us considering expanding is in all of our interests. The bigger the place is the more customers we can fit in here. We can add some faro tables, maybe craps tables too. I want to have real space for dancing and I plan to make sure my singing is something people just can’t miss.” She stops to look at both men, giving them each a smile.
Hoover says "Mills suggested that to me a few days back. Nobody's made any inquiries about my lot yet. Lacey's current store is actually bigger than the lot I own but we might be able to also get the lot that the Feed and Grain store was on, which would actually give Lacey more space. Mills says that the way Lacey's store is build it could be disassembled and reassembled elsewhere, so he wouldn't even need a new building, and it would be a better location for his store."
"Let's work on that then. I'm sure Mr. Lacey can be persuaded." Ruby says, “We also need to decide how much profit to put aside for regular operating expenses. This is one area I have no idea about. Niles, you would know best I think.”
Hoover says "You folks are too trusting. Didn't I mention that I'm one for wild get-rich-quick schemes?" Job laughs and says "You must be, if you decided to go into the saloon business with a pair of gamblers and a singer." Ruby forces a smile on her face. "You are too funny. Alright, gentlemen let's have a good Saturday night, shall we?"