"Seven Outlaws in Search of a Bank" Sidewinder Recoiled - Game 5

[Silver Moon]

Chapter Eight, “No Honor Among Thieves“, Sunday, June 4th , 1882, 7:00 A.M.

Flying Arrow heads over to Pinto and kicks him in the head to wake him up. “Hey, I’m getting up,” he exclaims. She replies, “You’ve been robbed!” He says, “Robbed! There’s nobody here but dew.” Mae checks her things and says, “I haven’t been robbed.” Deadeye echoes the same. “Hey, where’d my bag go?” Pinto asks. He then looks around and says, “Where did Mongo and Pamela go?” Deadeye shakes his head and comments “Probably the last we’ve seen of them.”

Pinto says, “We’ll track them down. They stole my money!” Deadeye asks, “You can track?” Pinto replies, “Flying Arrow can. They can’t have gone that far. It’s only been a few hours since we went off watch.” Deadeye says, “Don’t we have enough money between the five of us?” Pinto says, “They have MY money.” Pinto now realizes that most of his personal possessions are also gone, as they had been inside of his saddlebags. He yells out “They have my extra flask of whiskey.” “Those bastards!” Deadeye exclaims.

Pinto says, “They’ve got the rest of the dynamite too.” Sally says, “You had more dynamite?” Pinto replies, “Well yes, just in case.” Mae says, “We didn’t even know you still had any dynamite.” “Well I don’t now, so it doesn‘t matter.” Pinto states. Deadeye says, “Well, maybe Mongo will mistake them for cigars.” Pinto states, “Damn, my cigars were in there too.” Mae states, “Well, if we hear any loud explosions in the distance we’ll know that Mongo mistook them.”

They discuss how Pamela had been flirting with Mongo for several days and since he already had a crush on her it would not have taken much for him to fall under her influence, that she had him wrapped around her little finger. Shotgun Sally states, “Mongo is simple minded and easy to manipulate, Pinto and I have been manipulating him for years.” “We’ve got to find them.” Deadeye says, “How the heck did Mongo didn’t convince her to leave?” She he even keep a straight face when saying that and bursts out laughing. Pinto says, “I think it is safe to say that she was the brains behind that pair. I knew taking her along was a bad idea.”

Deadeye points out that Pamela and Mongo were aware of the direction that they were planning to go next, so could potentially alert the authorities. Sally wants to track them down and take away off all their money as punishment for betrayal. Pinto wants to find and execute the pair as punishment. Mae suggests that they could just move on and switch directions from what they had planned. Pinto exclaims “But they stole from us!”

Deadeye points out that Mongo and Pamela know where Mae owns a house under an assumed name in Boulder so they had better not go back that way. Deadeye comments, “I reckon we have enough money now for her to buy another house.” Flying Arrow states, “We have to change course. We can’t go on anywhere that we ever discussed going.” Deadeye looks at the map and says, “The closest community looks to be Glenwood Springs. We should go there to reposition ourselves, since Mongo had most of our food supplies.” A quick check reveals some oatmeal and hardtack left, which they then consume for breakfast.

They decide that lacking food for the horses they have little choice but to continue to the northwest in order to stick with the grasslands. They discuss staying on the forest’s edge along the Roaring Creek River parallel the grasslands, in order to continue to have access to both water and food for the horses. The map shows that they are on the Roaring Creek River around ten miles before it intersects with the Frying Pan River (where the town of Woody Creek is today). From that fork the Roaring Fork River flows fifteen miles later into the Colorado River at Glenwood Springs. From the there Colorado River reaches the town of Rifle twenty miles later and the larger community of Grand Junction some forty miles further downriver.

It is pointed out that Pamela and Mongo knew the group’s eventual destination to be Glenwood Springs. Looking at the map Mae says “But we’re still in the middle of nowhere, and since Pamela and Mongo were here just a few hours ago they’re still in the middle of nowhere too. There’s nobody for them to tell unless they head east back to Leadville, but Pamela is smarter than that.”

Flying Arrow makes sure that the others all have enough breakfast to sustain them for a while. Flying Arrow points out that she also knows how to hunt. It would take her time to do so, but that would at least keep them from staving if they don’t reach a community soon. They propose having her do a hunting shift at night rather than taking a watch. They question if the watches should be the same pairings as before given what happened. Shotgun Sally exclaims “None of us ran off.” Pinto mutters softly “None of us thought of it.”

Deadeye suggests “I still say we plan on Glenwood Springs unless we come upon somebody before then.” Mae says, “I think that’s what we have to do.” They discuss going other directions as there are other locations with grasslands for the horses, but feeding the people also takes priority to them. They decide to first check out the upcoming fork, as it would be a natural location for a settlement. Despite being alongside a river the terrain is very rocky and uneven, which takes considerable time to travel over with many detours around natural obstacles along the way.

They reach where the Roaring Fork and Frying Pan Rivers intersect finding nothing there and continue onward. Five miles later they reach the point where the Roaring Fork River intersects with Roaring Creek (now known as the Crystal River, where the town of Carbondale stands today) and do spot a settlement. They see that there is some sort of stockade fortress at that location It is a relatively small fortress, most-likely a trading post, with only a handful of wooden buildings inside of the stockade fence. Smoke is coming from chimneys of the buildings.

The sun is setting as they approach the structure. The first thing that they check is to ensure that there are no telegraph lines going into the structure. They then notice there are also no roads, that the building appears to primarily be an outpost for river travelers. Flying Arrow points out that she was watching the horses during the robbery so nobody even knows that the New Douglas Gang has an Indian with them.

They decide they will need some money for trading at the trading post. They sort through what they have for money in small bills and loose change, keeping the bundled bills separate for the time being. A check of the bundles indicates that most are new bills but they do manage to find some of the twenty-dollar-bill bundles have worn bills that had been circulated.

Mae suggests that they pass themselves off as settlers who got lost and need help finding their way. Shotgun Sally suggests that they put a spin on the story that they bought land from a man in New York but when they got to the destination the farmlands weren’t there nor were they in any condition to be farmed. “So we were cheated? Kind-natured folks who were swindled by some huckster?” Deadeye comments. Mae says, “Yeah, you just can’t trust anybody these days.” “What’s the world coming to!” Sally exclaims.

Attired in their worn traveling clothes they decide to approach the fortress, first heading through the woods so as to be approaching from the river to the southwest rather than the southeast.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter Nine, “The Trading Post“, Sunday, June 4th , 1882, 7:00 P.M.

The wooden gate to outside is currently shut. They see a pair of armed men up on a platform above the gate who look like common folk rather than soldiers. The men are armed. As they approach Pinto exclaims “Howdy!” The men are startled, apparently not anticipating strangers to approach, which Mae and Deadeye both take as a good sign. “How are you doing?” one guard exclaims.

Deadeye changes his voice to a Texas accent and exclaims “I’m Tex Stover.” He then gestures to Mae and says, “My wife Amanda.” He gestures to Sally and Pinto and says, “And our traveling companions Chuck and Barbara.” He then points to Flying Arrow and states, “This is our guide, Fast-as-Stream.” “What are you doing around here?” the guard asks.

He replies, “Traveling through, we got a mite lost. We got held up by a pair of desperados.” “What did they take?” the guard asks. Deadeye replies, “They took a lot of our provisions and our wagon. We found the wagon broken a while back so we left that behind. The desperados were a man and a woman.” He then goes on to describe both Pamela and Mongo in great detail.

The guard asks, “What are you doing this far off the roads?” “We got lost,” is Deadeye’s reply. Pinto exclaims, “He’s not really reliable when it comes to directions.” The guard asks, “You need a place to stay tonight?” “That would sure be appreciated,” is Deadeye’s reply. One guard stays up top while the other heads down to open up the gate. They hear the sound of a wooden bar being moved and the gates then open for them to ride in. Once they are inside the gate is relocked.”

Seeing them now locked in Deadeye asks, “Is there a problem here?” The guard replies, “Still Indians around, you can’t be too careful. The Arapaho are pretty peaceful but you never can tell what other tribes might wander into the area.” “Do you get many visitors here?” Sally asks. He replies, “Not on foot or horseback, haven’t got any roads, almost everybody coming here arrives by boat.”

They are shown around. There is a nice stable for the horses and an available bunkhouse where they are shown bunks for the night. As they go to secure the horses he says “We have a blacksmith and ferrier at the stable if you need anything done with your horses.” They see that most of the blacksmith’s work appears to be making nails and spikes for building construction and sharp knives. Looking at the knives Pinto admires the workmanship. The man replies, “Those are for trade, we’re a trading post. We supply trappers with knives and other provisions in exchange for furs, which we then trade to furriers upriver for a profit.”

The man gives the history of the stockade, which has actually be here at the fork of the river for over one-hundred years having originally been built by the French who came down from Canada to use as a fortress. Deadeye asks, “You get mostly small boats here?” The man explains that around once a month a pram-style barge will come down to pick up a load of furs, but otherwise is it primarily trappers on canoes who visit. “You expecting a pram soon?” Pinto asks. He replies, “Not for another week or so, and it’s been a good couple of weeks for the trappers so they’d be too full up with furs to have room for you and your horses.”

In the course of the tour the group concludes that there are around three-dozen people living there, most of whom are leatherworkers preparing the hides for maximum trade value. The bunkhouse is large enough for the five of them to stay at, the group finding out that it is used primarily by the folks who come in monthly for the furs. Some people give Flying Arrow odd looks.

One the men tells Deadeye “We usually don’t allow Indians to stay overnight in the fortress.” Deadeye replies, “I can vouch for her, she’s harmless, and none of her tribe are anywhere within 500 miles of here.” They do require that all weapons be taken away from her. The group leaves the saddles in the tack room but keep the saddlebags with them. The bunkhouse has five bunks two high. The man says “Well, you’re welcome to stay here.”
Deadeye tells the man “My only regret is that we hadn’t been here earlier today to go to church.”

After the man leaves the group comments how “They didn’t ask for any payment.” Mae points out that the men who showed them in were just the guys on guard duty, they may not be the ones in charge. Since the group is all tired they quickly fall asleep.

Monday, June 5th begins with a rooster crowing at dawn. The group discusses the merit of maybe acquiring some livestock from the fortress but decide against it as other animals would not be able to move as quickly as the horses. There is a knock at the door and the group are invited to join the rest of the community for breakfast. The group discusses what to do with the saddlebags. Deadeye decides that he can sleep in and keep an eye on the saddlebags. Some of the others are hesitant but eventually agree.

They soon arrive at a larger meeting room with some long tables and several dozen people having their morning meal. The meal consists of rabbit stew, eggs and flapjacks with fresh butter. Deadeye leaves the various saddlebags alone and decides to sleep some more until Mae returns with his breakfast. The head of the trading post introduces himself as Calvin Plains, originally from western Pennsylvania.

Mae discusses acquiring some provisions, primarily food for themselves and the horses. He replies that they don’t get many horses here so don’t have much in the line of lightweight horse rations, but that they have lots of hay for their cow so will make sure that the horses are fully fed on hay before they go. They say they could spare a small amount of oats and grain.. He suggests that they head upriver to the next town for a wider selection. He says that at that town they could hire a ferry barge to take them downriver to their named destination of Utah.

They also make arrangements to buy some hard-boiled eggs, cheese, some hardtack, rabbit meat jerky as well as some fresh meat from the icehouse. Sally asks about whiskey finding none available but that the post brews its own beers and ales so she agrees to buy a few bottles of that. Pinto talks to the blacksmith about purchasing a hand-axe as well as sharpening up his Bowie knife. He also buys some hand-made cigars and another saddlebag.

They attempt to also buy some extra ammunition for their weapons but the trading post won’t part with any, saying that they never know when they might need it. Flying Arrow suspects that their real reason for not selling ammunition has to do with her presence. They pay for the items with some remaining loose bills and change that each of them have on their person, still leaving the cash bundles alone.

They leave the trading post, heading north alongside the river, that direction chosen because Deadeye is “Getting tired of being in the wilderness.” They decide that their next destination is a town of Rifle alongside the Colorado River, around twenty miles away. They decide to ride hard to try to get there by nightfall.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter Ten, “Rifle“, Monday, June 5th , 1882, 6:00 P.M.

They approach the distant town alongside the Colorado River, looping around to approach from the west rather than east. They see boat docks with a number of barges and steam-powered boats. They see a mule trail alongside both sides of the river to haul the barges. The town itself has around forty buildings, with two saloons, one of which has an attached hotel.

In the four days since the robbery they have covered a distance of approximately 120 miles. Mae points out how the absence of the other two should help them, as Mongo’s size made him the most identifiable while Pamela as the stagecoach driver had been the most visible in Leadville.

They head to the hotel and inquire about staying the night, paying for the horses to be boarded which a young man takes care of, bringing the horses to an adjacent barn. The man shows some hesitation regarding Flying Arrow. Deadeye explains that she is an Indian guide who they hired to take them to Utah. They get three rooms, signing in as Mr. And Mrs. Smith and Mr. and Mrs. Jones. Each couple taking a room and another for Flying Arrow. While paying for the rooms Mae notices a folded up Denver, Colorado newspaper lying on a table behind the registration desk with a top headline of “Douglas Gang Still at Large.”

They sit down and have a nice supper before heading up to the rooms. They quietly discuss the newspaper over dinner and whether they should ask the man to borrow it. They eventually decide against it, not wanting to show too much curiosity about it or draw the man’s attention to the top story again. They then head up to their respective rooms, with Pinto taking along with him the remainder of the whiskey bottle that they had with supper. Each one brings their own saddle bags up with them. Pinto and Sally finish the bottle of whiskey followed by recreational activities.

Deadeye and Mae plan and plot their next move, concluding that they really do need to see what the newspaper says as it might give some indication of where the searchers are, thus indicating where the searchers are absent by omission. They wait until close to Midnight before Deadeye and Mae go to sneak down the stairs. Mae stays alert as lookout near the top step as Deadeye quietly descends. With a minimum of noise he makes his way down and across the room. As he lifts up the counter shelf it lets off what seems to them to be a loud creak, although in reality it is now louder than the cracking wood burning within the wood stove in the room.

Deadeye retrieves the paper. Deciding it is too risky to bring it upstairs and then having to make another trip to return it later he instead heads over to the woodstove, opening up the stove door to cast light from the fire into the room to read the main story by. He reads it through twice, first for content and then the second time to memorize details. He then closes the stove door, returns the newspaper to exactly as it was before and makes his way back up the stairs.

After he and Mae are back in their rooms he gives her a big hug and kiss. “What did it say?” she impatiently asks. He replies, “It says that our take from the Leadville bank was over one-million-six -hundred-thousand dollars!” She pauses to absorb that and says, “When we sorted I put the higher denomination bills into our two saddlebags. So even without those of Pamela, Mongo and Pinto’s we probably have over a million dollars.” Deadeye says, “Okay, then let’s plan on not counting out the money together as a group and letting Pinto and Sally go off with whatever she has.” The two turn in for the night.

While the group is sleeping a steamboat docks at Rifle at around 2:00 A.M. The boat’s passengers are a dozen United States Army soldiers and their mounts. They have spent the previous four days traveling up and down the Colorado River in search of the New Douglas Gang. Their search had been fruitless until this afternoon, when they had gone down a tributary from the river and reached the Carbondale Trading Post where they were told of some visitors the previous night who headed off north.
Upon arrival in Rifle the Lieutenant in charge has two enlisted men join him while the others stay on the boat and they head to the town’s only hotel. The owner is awakened and confirms that the people answering the Lieutenant’s description are upstairs. The Lieutenant and one his men remain with the hotel owner while the other soldier is sent back to the boat for the other soldiers.

The soldiers soon arrive on foot, the mounts still back at the boat. Flying Arrow is a light sleeping and the sound of multiple hushed voices awaken her. She goes to the window, seeing a half-dozen soldiers below. She quietly makes her way over to Deadeye’s door and lightly knocks. “What is it?” he asks from the other side. She whispers “Soldiers. I saw six but I think there are more.” Mae looks to Deadeye and says, “Six? Where?”

They open the door to let Flying Arrow in. She says “Soldiers. I saw six at the front door. The hotel owner was letting them inside.” Deadeye says, “If you saw six there are probably twelve.” Mae tells Flying Arrow “Go wake Pinto and Sally.” The Indian heads down to their room. There is only one staircase up from the first floor. Pinto and Sally soon join the others in Deadeye’s room. They conclude that going out the windows is probably their only option for escape.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter Eleven, “Gun Battle at Rifle“, Tuesday, June 6th , 1882, 3:00 A.M.

Sally and Pinto get dressed when they hear the sound of horses. They look out the window to see a pair of mounted riders each with a pair of saddled horses in tow riding up to the hotel entrance. Two more soldiers exit the hotel and approach them, each of these men on foot taking the reins of a pair of rider-less mounts. The two mounted men remain on horseback.

Across the hallway Flying Arrow retrieves her saddlebag from her own room and then rejoins Deadeye and Mae in their room. Mae looks out the back window, not seeing anybody below and comments “It‘s only a one-story drop, we should be able to get down.” There is a back door to the Tavern below but it hasn’t opened and the two first-floor windows along the back have shut curtains over them. She states, “The coast looks clear.”

Sally and Pinto go to make their way across the hallway to Deadeye and Mae’s room when they hear sounds on the staircase. Sally makes it into the other room without being seen but Pinto is still standing in the hallway when a pair of soldiers reach the top of the staircase. Pinto runs into the room and slams the door behind him as the soldiers charge down the hallway in that direction. “I think they know we’re in here,” Pinto exclaims to the others. A despondent Flying Arrow states “We’re all dead.” Deadeye “Not yet, we just lost the element of surprise.” Flying Arrow begins a tribal chant to grant them luck.

The window looks like the only way to go and Mae wastes no time in dropping her saddlebag out and then letting Deadeye lower her down as far as he can. She safely drops the remaining distance, not seeing anybody out the back way. She scoops up her saddlebag and begins to hurry towards the side door to the stable. Sally isn’t far behind Mae, copying her actions, and reaches the stable door shortly after Mae opens it. Mae gets her and Deadeye’s horses and quickly saddles them while Sally does the same for her and Pinto’s horses.

Deadeye and Pinto have locked the door then moved the bed and dresser over against the door to prevent the soldiers from entering. They first knock on the door, then hear the sound of a key unlocking it. The soldiers try to push the door open but the furniture helps to prevent that with Pinto braced to prevent them from budging. Flying Arrow is the next out the window and makes her way to the stable.

Pinto decides to go next, and having fallen from horses many a time is skilled in drop-and-roll techniques so manages to get safely onto the ground. Without Pinto bracing the furniture it begins to shift and with panic on his face Deadeye tosses his saddlebag and swan dives out the window. The saddlebag just misses landing on Pinto, with Deadeye himself then crashing down on top of his ally. Pinto lets out a choice explicative.

The men get up and charge in the direction of the stable. Assuming that more soldiers will soon be exiting the back door Deadeye fires a shot into each of the back windows in hopes of confusing whoever might be inside. As luck would have it one of these shots strikes one of them two soldiers still on the first floor and he falls, with his companion rushing over to assist him rather than exiting. As a further distraction Deadeye then yells out “Get the dynamite.”

Out front, the two mounted men respond to the gunshots behind the inn by kicking their horses to move to circumnavigate around the building towards the disturbance, telling the other two men holding the remaining horses to remain there and guard the front. Upstairs, the pair of soldiers finally manage to push the furniture aside and enter the room.

Deadeye and Pinto enter the stable to see that the women now have the five horses ready to ride. The men lock the side door behind them and move towards their horses. The stable has a pair of closed and bolted double doors in both the front and back. They quickly argue about whether to go out the front or back doors. Mae and Deadeye ride up to the front doors and Mae unlatches the door while Deadeye reloads his gun for the two spent shells. [The DM has the players each put their miniatures on a six-sided dice to indicate the horse. Deadeye’s player decides to name the horse Polyhedron.]

Pinto, Sally and Flying Arrow remain further back. Deadeye tells them “If we get separated I’ll see you in Carson City.” Sally replies, “Okay”, uncertain of when they decided to head to western Nevada. Flying Arrow considers using her bow and arrow but decides to ready her rifle instead. Deadeye gets ready to fire as Mae pushes the doors open, revealing two soldiers with four horses. One of the soldiers out front has climbed up onto his horse and at the sight of the doors moving the soldiers out front fires his gun into the barn while the other moves behind one of the three horses he is holding for cover. At the sound of gunfire and a bullet flying in Flying Arrow yells out “Close the door.”

The bullet hits Deadeye for a minor wound which is enough to convince Pinto and Sally to ride to the back doors instead. Pinto unlatches the back door and Sally pushes it open. Pinto sees two soldiers riding around back and fires on the first one but misses. Both riders charge towards the back door and draw their revolvers.

Deadeye at the man who shot at him and hits for a non-fatal wound. Flying Arrow shoots from still inside the barn at the soldier atop the horse, hitting him, and causing him to fall badly wounded from his horse and onto the ground. Mae fires at the other man who has now climbed up onto his horse, hitting him in the side. She then coaxes her horse forward. Deadeye and Mae are now outside making themselves the more visible targets so from the darkness of inside the barn Flying Arrow takes another shot, hitting the other soldier. Mae is closer takes another shot, causing him to slump in the saddle.

Out back, Sally rides forward and fires a shot from her revolver, missing the soldier she fired at. The soldiers both close on Sally. Pinto momentarily considers whether to come to her rescue or to turn around and join the others, also weighing the fact that most of the stolen money from the two of them is now in his saddlebags rather than hers. He picks the stupid but romantic option of following Sally.

Sally and Pinto continue forward, Sally firing on and hitting the already wounded one who is hurt but still in the fight. They both move to try to block Pinto from exiting. His riding skills are quite good however so he is able to get by them. However, by this point in time the two soldiers in the upstairs bedroom are looking out the window at what is going on, and drawn their guns as well at Pinto.

Out front both soldiers are down and Mae suggests that they grab the soldier’s horses to prevent them from riding after them. Flying arrow grabs up reigns of the four horses and knots them together, the three heading off. Because of the Colorado River with no easy way to cross the possible destinations are limited to east, southeast, south or southwest. Deadeye starts to ride to the southwest as it is the closest exit from the sparsely populated town.

Pinto and Sally both shoot at the two mounted men before them, missing, while Pinto gets shot by both of the soldiers from the upstairs window. Not knowing exactly who else is shooting at them he spurs his horse to ride off at maximum gallop with Sally trying to keep up. The soldiers each take another shot at them before they can ride behind the nearest building, with Sally getting shot for a non-lethal wound. They continue to ride onward, the two wounded soldiers on horseback still behind them. Pinto and Sally continue in the direction of the mountains to the south.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter Twelve, “Escape Attempt“, Tuesday, June 6th , 1882, 3:30 A.M.

Sally and Pinto continue to ride at full speed in a southward direction with mounted soldiers a distant back in pursuit. Pinto suggests to Sally that they ride straight into the mountains to lose them.

A quarter-mile to the east Deadeye, Mae and Flying Arrow are riding to the southwest when they spot Sally and Pinto riding off in the southward direction. That pair do not appear to be looking back and haven’t spotted the other two. Flying Arrow suggests that they go away from those two rather than rejoining them. Deadeye says, “I have nothing against them, but it makes a lot more sense to be hiding three people instead of five. And to be totally honest, they’re sloppy stupid people.”

They then spot soldiers after Pinto and Sally, which confirms to the three that regrouping is not a good option. They three stop and hide behind some shelter until the soldiers are out of sight after the other two and then proceed westward. They consult the map, seeing some mountains which Flying Arrow can help them over. The trio decide to ride all night long, alternating horses between their own and the ones stolen from the soldiers in order to make for the best time without overtiring the mounts.

Meanwhile, the wounded Pinto and Sally ride hard and by the time they reach the mountains they have been riding for two hours. Looking back, they see a dozen mounted soldiers a short distance back. They head up into the mountain, trying to stay out of sight using the trees and rocks for cover. Unfortunately the more rugged terrain makes the travel slower and the soldiers begin to catch up. Pinto decides that they should stop and set up an ambush. He helps to rebind his and Sally’s wounds.

They find an area where some good-sized boulders and trees will shield the horses from below and will also provide good cover for Pinto and Sally to shoot from. They don’t have to wait long until a quartet of soldiers arrive. The men are on foot but are leading their horses. Pinto determines which is the leader, a man wearing sergeant stripes, and fires a shot into the man striking his side. The soldiers all pull back, one private assisting his wounded leader. Pinto fires a second shot at the sergeant but misses. The soldiers then move out of sight. Sally had refrained from shooting as they were out of shotgun range.

Pinto and the soldiers continue to exchange fire for the next five minutes even though neither can see the other due to cover. Sally suggests “They’re probably expecting us to use up all our ammunition.” “We’ve got plenty,” Pinto replies. Another five minutes pass with another shot every fifteen to twenty seconds from the direction of the soldiers, with Pinto returning fire for every two or three shots.

At the fifteen minute point from when the shooting started the sergeant yells out “Throw your guns down and surrender, we have you surrounded.” Pinto and Sally do not see anyone and quickly head over towards their horses. As soon as they reach their mounts four shots fire from different directions a little higher up the mountain. Two shots strike Pinto’s horse and it falls dead. Another hits Sally’s horse, wounding it but it could still be ridden.

The sergeants voice yells out “Throw down your guns and surrender. This is your last chance.” Sally says, “What should we do?” Pinto replies, “We’re beat. Let’s do as they say. Deadeye busted me out of jail twice before, he’ll do so again.” They throw down their weapons and the soldiers come forward to take them into custody. A total of $ 434,000 of the stolen money is found between the two of them.

Meanwhile, the others have continued westward towards the next set of hills. They’ve ridden a couple of miles when Flying Arrow hears the very distant sound of gunfire. She comments “Sounds like the soldiers caught them.” Deadeye replies, “Not Pinto and Sally, they’ll go down fighting before they ever let themselves get captured.”

They way to go next. Mae asks Deadeye “What was that you said to Pinto about Carson City?” Deadeye replies, “Misdirection. That’s to the west, so let’s plan on going either north or south.” Mae points out that since Federal soldiers were shot that anywhere in the United States would not be safe, so either north to Canada or south to Mexico.” Deadeye says, “You know where is nice this time of year…..England. If we’re going to live like kings maybe we should think about going to a country with a monarchy.”

The others find that idea amenable to them. As Canada and England are both parts of Great Britain they decide to go Canada, and going north would still require crossing the Colorado River at some point. They decide that any Colorado communities along the river will be on alert for them, so they should probably head west into Utah and cross there.

They spend the next six days traveling south and then west, staying clear of the Colorado communities of Mesa and Grand Junction. They live off the land and alternate between the seven horses and find the safest places possible to ford the Gunnison and Delores Rivers. At one point they stop and finally count the stolen money, discovering that between the three of them they have $ 737,000 in bundled bills. Mae comments “Gee, that was about what we had originally anticipated the total haul to be.” They use this time in the mountains to find natural dyes to change their hair color and Deadeye grows out his beard and mustache. They set the four horses with United States cavalry markings loose in the mountains.

On the morning of Monday, June 12th Mae Clark approaches the ferry boat across the Colorado river at the town of Moab, Utah. Her hair is dyed black and she is attired in Flying Arrow’s buckskin clothing, giving the outward appearance of a poor half-breed woman. She asks in broken English about the fare and is told fifty-cents, at which time she pays using a number of small coins. There are soldiers near the ferry but none pay her any attention. Once across she finds a place to wait in safety for the next ferry.

Deadeye and Flying Arrow approach for the next ferry ride across. She is attired in Mae’s most plain outfit and has dyed her hair lighter with white and gray strands to appear as older half-breed. Deadeye has shaved the top of his head to make him appear bald and considerably older and both are wearing matching steel wedding bands. They have all three horses, the two that they ride up on and the third pulling a stick and rope tripod with a blanket of supplies lashed to it (including the third saddle). One soldier questions Deadeye who replies in a Minnesota accent that he is Torvald Jorgensen from Minneapolis and that he and his wife Running Stream are moving to Provo, Utah. The soldier accepts their story.

Four days later they arrive in Salt Lake City Utah. They are still in the same disguises and have intentionally avoided bathing to add to the disguises. They purchase a newspaper with a story about the New Douglas Gang, discovering that Mongo and Pamela have also been captured and are now in the same Colorado Prison as Pinto Joe and Sally, awaiting trial. At Salt Lake City they sell their horses, using the proceeds from that sale to purchase train passage north to Butte, Montana. From Montana they take a train east to Bismarck, North Dakota and from there travel by train north to Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Once they have crossed into Canada they finally start to relax. In Winnipeg they purchase new clothes, and spend a day cleaning up and changing their disguises yet again, looking now like none of their prior outward appearances. They then get on an eastbound train. At Thunder Bay, Ontario they board a steamship which takes them across the Great Lakes and up the Saint Lawrence River. A train then takes them from the port of Matinee, Quebec down to Halifax, Nova Scotia where they then board a ship to England.

 

[Steve Jung]

Chapter Twelve, “Escape Attempt“, Tuesday, June 6th , 1882, 3:30 A.M.

At the fifteen minute point from when the shooting started the sergeant yells out “Throw your guns down and surrender, we have you surrounded.” Pinto and Sally do not see anyone and quickly head over towards their horses. As soon as they reach their mounts four shots fire from different directions a little higher up the mountain. Two shots strike Pinto’s horse and it falls dead. Another hits Sally’s horse, wounding it but it could still be ridden.

I never considered the possibility of getting surrounded. D'oh!

 

[Silver Moon]

Game Four - “Jailbreak” Played June 17th 2006

Game Four- Previously Played Characters

Shotgun Sally Fox – Fast Hero (3), Rustler (3) played by Joy Healinghand
Pinto Joe Weems - Tough Hero (3), Desperado (3) (non-ENWorld player)
Pamela Yeats – Dedicated Hero (3), Sawbones (3) - Played by played by Quartermoon*
Mongo Bailey – Strong Hero (3), Tough Hero (3) - N.P.C.

Game Four – New Characters
Shamus O’Sullivan – Strong Hero (3), Pugilist (3) played by Spyscribe
Henry Buckskin Bennett – Dedicated Hero (3), Mountain Man (3) played by Mythago
Black Angus MacTavish – Tough Hero (3), Bounty Hunter (3) played by Plane Sailing
Eugene Rex Rogers - Fast Hero (3), Pony Soldier (3) played by Cerebral Paladin


*Quartermoon also played Mae Clarke in the initial game of this campaign.


Chapter Thirteen, “New Cellmates”, June 11, 1882 – Canon City Colorado

The Colorado Territorial Jail had been established in the community of Canon City, around a day’s ride west of Pueblo. As the Territory grew into Statehood so too the prison expanded, growing to three large cell blocks by the summer of 1882. It was here that Pinto Joe Weems and Shotgun Sally Fox were brought, awaiting a trial and sentencing. Pinto is placed alone in the center of three cells at the back end of the second floor. The cell to his left have two prisoners awaiting sentencing the first being Shamus O’Sullivan, a professional boxer who killed a man in a bar fight and the other being Henry ‘Buckskin’ Bennett, a hunter and tracker who lives in the mountains that is also facing a murder change.

Born in Dublin Ireland in 1859, Shamus O’Sullivan was the youngest of nine children. He has a generally positive attitude and enjoys conversation. As a boy his older siblings would continually pick on the boy which caused him to learn how to fight back. At the age of fifteen when food became scarce he left Ireland on a ship bound for America. Settling in Boston, he soon found work in America was also scarce for those of Irish blood. He took a job as a wagon driver, which he was good at, but found the work to be very boring. Putting his fighting skills to work he soon began traveling the boxing circuit, quickly gaining a reputation as a successful fighter. This however, has resulted in a broken nose which seriously maligns Shamus’s once handsome looks although he still has little difficulty finding young women to dance with.

Last year he signed on with a new fight promoter who began to take him on a road tour of the American west, as bare-knuckled fighting was a popular attraction in many of the saloons and barrooms. Shamus’s one main problem however is that his Irish temper keeps catching up to him. That was the case this month in the town of Colorado Springs where a man refused to honor a bet with Shamus that he had made prior to a fight. Shamus decided to teach the man a lesson in being true to your word by beating him up. But the man was physically not up to taking the punishment and died. Shamus is now awaiting trial on the charge of murder.

Shamus’s cellmate, Bennett is a quiet man who has not shared his story with his cellmates. He was born in Canton, Ohio in 1856 where his father worked in a livery stable. Henry grew up around horses and dogs and acquired an affinity towards animals. People, however, he has never much cared for. He dropped out of school after completing the fifth grade, deciding that the rules and regiment of conventional education were not his style. He became a day laborer at the livery and would spend all of his free time out in the wood hunting with his old muzzleloader rifle and pistol.

In the mid-1870’s the United States Army was looking for scouts to help with their Indian campaigns out west. Henry saw this as an opportunity to get away from Ohio and enlisted. But the discipline of Army life was not his style and he became to sympathize with and befriend the Native American population that the Army was trying to regulate. He began to spend his time off duty with the Indians and started to favor native garb over his uniform. He intentionally revealed the Army’s position at one encounter against the Sioux which earned him a courts Marshall, a year in Leavenworth Prison and a dishonorable discharge.

Following that he decided to move to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. He began living in the wilderness with a Sioux Indian companion named Red Eagle Feather. Henry would only occasionally head into the towns for provisions where people began to call him ‘Buckskin’ due to his hand made attire. His favorite game is bear, which he has become an expert in hunting and due to the rarity of them the hide brings an above-average price from the fur traders.

Henry and Eagle became the best of friends and there is nothing that the man wouldn’t do for his companion. He proved that recently when Eagle got into a deadly confrontation in the woods with a French trapper that resulted in the Frenchman’s death. The local Marshall heard the gunshots and came to investigate, finding Henry and Eagle near the body. Henry knew that an Indian would never get a fair trial so he told the Marshall that he was the one who killed the trapper and that it was an act of self-defense. Henry has now been arrested for the murder and is in prison awaiting a trial and sentencing.

The man in the cell to Pinto’s right is Black Angus MacTavish, a resourceful bounty hunter who killed a man in what he claims was an act of self-defense but the local judge ruled was cold-blooded murder. MacTavish has been sentenced to hang the following week. Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1853, MacTavish came to the United States in the mid-1860’s with his father, a ship builder and blacksmith. MacTavish had a knack for machinery and mechanics but also had poor eye-hand coordination so had trouble holding down jobs. At the age of twenty took a job with the Union Pacific railroad as a mechanical engineer. That job also ran into problems due to his inherent clumsiness and he was fired. He decided to build a homestead and settle down, marrying a young woman named Martha Tanner.

Tragedy struck two years later when gambler and killer Luke Hardeman came to town. He got drunk and shot two gamblers, stole a horse, robbed the local bank and rode off leaving the bodies of three more innocent victims in his wake, one of them Angus’s wife Martha who had gone to town to purchase supplies for the farm. MacTavish became “Black Angus” on that day, selling the farm and taking up the life of a bounty hunter, in his search for Hardeman. During the next several years he worked with a number of other bounty hunters, including the ruthless Irby Cole. He helped to bring outlaws Colorado Bill Elliott and Sam Bass to justice. He eventually found Hardeman in 1880, shooting the man dead. His quest was now over but he had found himself good at this line of work so decided to continue.

One Thursday June 1st the New Douglas Gang led by Arthur Douglas and Safecracker Mae Clarke robbed $ 1.6 million from the Leadville, Colorado bank of silver baron Horace Tabor, killing a number of guards and soldiers in the process. Tabor contacted a number of bounty hunters include Irby Cole, Jim Courtright and Black Angus MacTavish to hunt down these outlaws. On Tuesday June 6th two members of the New Douglas Gang were arrested, namely Pinto Joe Weems and Shotgun Sally Fox, who had less than $ 300,000 of the stolen money with them. The pair were to be shipped to the Colorado State Prison in Canon City. But Douglas and Clarke remain at large with over a million of the stolen money.

Tabor and MacTavish concocted a plan which they put into motion with the help of a Denver Judge friend of Tabor’s and an actor friend of MacTavish. MacTavish and the actor got into a fight in a Denver saloon and MacTavish pretended to kill the other man. The Judge brought MacTavish to trial and sentenced him to be hung for murder in two weeks time and shipping him off to the Prison in Canon City, where he arrived the day before Pinto Joe and the two were placed in the adjacent cells.

The plan is for MacTavish to befriend Weems and break them both out of jail using a number of small concealed items that he managed to sneak in with him including lock picks, a straight razor and ten-feet of wire. He hopes that Weems to then lead him to the others as Tabor has promised him a $ 100,000 bounty for Douglas and Clarke plus fifteen-percent of all recovered money. If he is unsuccessful at a jailbreak the Judge will release him prior to the hanging. In order to maintain his cover nobody at the prison was aware that MacTavish wasn’t actually a man on death row.

With no other female prisoners currently at the State Jail, Sally Fox has been placed a cell on the unoccupied third floor of the same cell bock as Joe, essentially the isolated attic level of the prison. She has gotten to know her main guard well, a handsome young man by the name of Eugene “Rex” Rogers. Sally convinced Rex to bring messages back-and-forth between her and Joe. In conversations with Rex she has learned that as teenager the man was a former Pony Express rider and loved that job, becoming disgruntled when the telegraph and railroad made that profession obsolete, and longing for those days of his youth. Other prisoners like Rogers too, as he has different attitude than the other guards, most of whom are sadistic and cruel to the prisoners, while Rogers is actually friendly and pleasant to those behind bars.

A week earlier, Pamela Yeats and Mongo Bailey had put as much distance as possible between them and the other members of the New Douglas Gang, making good time and reaching the mine in Granby, Colorado where they had previously hidden the stagecoach. Pamela hid several of the saddlebags containing $ 324,000 of the stolen money. She and Mongo then returned to Dillon, Colorado where a friend of Mongo’s named Tom Carter agreed to given them sanctuary. A few days later Tom brought them a newspapers telling of Pinto Joe and Sally Fox getting captured following a shootout in the town of Rifle, Colorado. The paper said that only $ 286,000 of the stolen $ 1.6 million was recovered from the pair.

Unfortunately for Pamela and Mongo, the same newspaper also told of the reward for the remaining gang members and Tom’s wife Mildred went to the local Sheriff and turned the pair in. The house was surrounded by soldiers and the two surrendered. They have now been brought to the State Prison in Canon City to await trial. Pamela has told the authorities that Deadeye has the remaining missing money, that all she and Mongo had was the $ 26,500 that was found on them, but she suspects that they do not believe her.

At the prison Mongo and Pamela were separated, with him been brought to somewhere on the second floor with the hardened criminals. She is worried about how her simple-minded friend will be treated by the other prisoners. Pamela is then brought up to the nearly vacant third floor attic which is housing the prison’s only other female prisoner at the moment – Shotgun Sally Fox, who Pamela is put into a cell next to.

On the floor below, much to Pinto’s surprise he is now assigned a new cellmate – Mongo Bailey! While Mongo happy to see himself being put in same cell with friend Pinto Joe, Pinto is less than enthusiastic at being put with the man who betrayed him.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter Fourteen, “Rex’s Patrol”, June 11, 1882 – Canon City Colorado

These prisoners are all in Cell House #2, which was the original one built, the newly constructed one being Cell House #1. From the windows in the rear of their second floor cells the male characters have a good view of the warden’s residence on the opposite side of the outer wall. The female characters are in the attic floor on the opposite side, where can see the east gate of the prison along First Street.

Up in the attic cells Sally says to Pamela “Fancy seeing you here,”. Pamela is evasive in her responses. Sally becomes un-lady-like and using no small amount of profanity lets Pamela know that she does not appreciate what they had done the previous week, stealing from Pinto and then deserting the others. Sally concludes by saying “Well, you must be happy, we’re here with you regardless!” Pamela replies, “No, I have to admit, I wish that you were on the outside like last time. I was really hoping for another jailbreak.”

There is a similar conversation going on in Mongo and Pinto’s cell which the prisoners in the adjacent cells listening. Pinto berates Mongo for stealing from him with Mongo flatly denying having done so. The more Pinto goes on about them stealing his saddlebag the more Mongo says that they didn’t. Mongo tells Pinto “Deadeye break us out of jail before, he do so again!” Pinto is less certain of that possible outcome (especially since Sally was the one that talked him into last time).

In the next cell O’Sullivan takes an interest in the way the conversation is evolving and asks about the likelihood of Deadeye Douglas arranging a jail break. MacTavish interjects “I don’t know, this is a pretty tough place to try to break somebody out of.”

Cell Block #2 is about half-full, with all of the hardened criminals. The lower-risk prisoners are in the newer and full Cell Block #1, where the warden’s favorites are assigned because it is easier work and smells better. Being newer and not particularly friendly with the warden, Rex Rogers has been assigned to more difficult assignment. Rex Rogers continues his patrol, him assigned to the second a third floors with another guard responsible for the first floor and basement cells.

Upstairs, Rex Rogers comes by to check on how Pamela is getting along, stopping to talk to Sally some as well. He had personally requested this particular assignment, finding Sally very attractive. Rex comments to Sally “It’s a shame what happened to you, what I mean, is a nice lady like you doesn’t deserve to be in a place like this.”

He looks towards Pamela and says, “It’s a shame what happened to you too. You’re a good person, I can see it in your eyes.” Rex then comments about how the life of a prison guard makes him almost as much a prisoner as them. Sally passes on a message for him to tell to Pinto. After he leaves Pamela comments “You seem pretty friendly with that guard.” “He’s a bit of a pest,” is Sally’s reply.

Downstairs, Pinto motions Rex over and asks, “Any word from Sally?” “No,” is his reply. “She okay?” Pinto asks. Rex says, “She’s fine. Pinto prompts “Any messages at all from her?” “Nope,” Rex states as he starts to move on with his patrol. Mongo asks, “If my friend Pamela up there with her?” Rex stops and says, “She is.” “Sally hasn’t killed her yet?” is Pinto’s comment. Rex stares and with a quizzical look states, “No?” “Hope they’re not in the same cell,” is Pinto’s next comment.

Rex stops at Shamus O’Sullivan’s cell and asks, “How are you doing today Shamus?” The boxer replies, “I don’t like being here if that’s what ye mean.” Rex says, “There’s no life for me outside of this place either.” He then turns and heads down the hall for a while he then head back up the stairs.

Sally and Pamela hear the sounds of the Rex approaching. “Hey there Rex,” Sally says in a sweet voice. “Hello there Sally,” is his reply. Pamela asks about meals, Rex replies, “Morning and evening.” Pamela says, “That’s all, no mid-day meal.” Rex says, “Well, I suppose you could save some of your morning meal to have as lunch.” “That’s not very healthy,” Pamela states.

Sally changes the conversation saying, “What did a nice man like you do to deserve this? You sure must and ticked somebody off to be stuck here with us.” Rex says, “Just where I ended up. One thing led to another the Pony Express riding was done. There’s no good life, only the worst life, after the best job ever is done.” Pamela says, “You know, there’s still riding to be done. Plenty of life ahead, plenty of riding to be done.” Sally plays along saying “Plenty of room out there for us.”

Sally stares back to Pamela and adds, “Long as they keep what’s theirs and not what’s others.” Pamela says, “As long as they share and share alike.” Sally says, “Well, I’d say there’s either a whole lot of poetic justice here or not quite so much honor among thieves, I’m not sure just which as of yet.” Pamela says, “So you noticed that, huh? A lack of honor among thieves?” “No, the other part,” Sally says. “Yeah,” Pamela replies.

Rex just looks confused regarding this conversation and interjects “If you were out of here Sally where would you be going?” She pauses then says, “That’s a good question, I suppose that I’d go, that we’d all go to somewhere new and establish new identities.” Pamela interjects “She’d be leading us to a place to renew ourselves and get started again, we’d ride to…I don’t know where, but it would be a chance to start a new life, put our past mistakes behind us.”

Sally says, “There’s so much life to be had instead of sitting around here waiting.” Rex suggests that California would be a good place to go. Pamela asks, “Have you been to California?” “Not in years,” is his reply. Pamela asks, “Did you grow up there?” “No,” he states. Sally interjects “There are lots of mines out in California aren’t there.” Pamela shakes her head in a ‘No’ gesture at Sally, not wanting to lead Rex in that direction of the conversation.

Rex says in a proud voice, “I was in California when I rode with the Express.” Pamela says, “Oh, I see, that is a wild and great life, wasn’t it.” “Was, no more, no longer exists,” Rex replies. Pamela says, “But what if there was more adventure to be found, great work to be had by one of your skills.” Sally picks up on where Pamela is going and says in a sweet voice, “Oh, there would be considerable demand for a man of your talents and abilities.” “Honest work?” Rex answers. “Honesty is sometimes in the eye of the beholder,” is Sally’s reply.

He then says, “You can do better than that Sally.” “He’s so wise Sally,” Pamela states before her companion can answer.” Sally says, “But why would I quit what I’m good at?” Pamela interjects “But you’re good at quite a few things Sally.” Sally says, “True, but how many jobs would let me wear my pants, smoke my cigars and shoot my guns?”

Rex says, “But Sally…” Pamela cuts them off with the statement “Sally, surely you don’t want to do those horrible things, those were just what Pinto Joe got you involved in.” She turns to Rex and says, “Sometimes I think that what Sally needs is somebody to take her in hand and help her out. Sometimes you just really need a really really good friend, isn’t that right Sally?”

Sally nods, stares at Rex, and repeats the phrase “A really really good friend….Yeah?” Pamela mutters under her breath to herself, “I’m so gonna kill this bitch right now if she messes this up.” Rex says “I hope that Sally always knows that she has one friend.” “I think she probably knows that,” is Pamela’s answer. She then stares at Sally, silently pleading for her to play along.

 

[Silver Moon]

DM’s Note: I had recorded the games but this was a difficult chapter to transcribe as the female characters on the prison’s third floor and male characters on the prison’s second floor made maximum use of the game’s four-hour slot by played out their individual conversations simultaneously, so I had to listen to the recording multiple times in order to catch all of the dialogue.


Chapter Fifteen, “Establishing Trust”, June 11, 1882 – Canon City Colorado

After Rex moves on Pamela says, “You could have been a little friendlier to him.” Sally replies, “I know what you were trying to do, I’m not stupid, I may not be as wise as you but I’m not stupid I tell ya.” Pamela says, “Well, quit talking about smoking cigars, you have to act more ladylike, make him think of you like a lady, preferably his lady. That’s what he wants to hear.” Sally replies, “I can’t be what I’m not.” Pamela replies, “Well, would you rather be dead?’

Sally says, “I smoke cigars all the time. I want one. Do you know how long it’s been since I had one.” Pamela says, “Not in here you don’t, you don’t have any, no reason to talk about things that don’t pertain to our present situation.” “Well….maybe,” is Sally’s answer, “But I’m not good at lying.” Pamela says, “So don’t lie, just don’t talk about things he doesn’t want to hear.

Rex continue his patrol, this time passing on Sally’s earlier message. Black Angus MacTavish is astute enough to have picked up the ‘longing’ in Rex’s voice when he mentioned Sally, and after Rex walks off comments to Pinto “Hey Pinto, I think he’s hitting on your girl.” Pinto replies, “Oh no, he wouldn’t do that. Rex is an okay guy compared to these other prison guards. And look, if we’re going to get out of here we may need him. He hates it here, we can use that.”

MacTavish replies, “Yes indeed, so you think he might actually help us?” Pinto replies, “Sure, he’s a sucker, he doesn’t know that I’m going to shoot him once we get out of here. We just need him to help us get to the other sides of the gate, then he becomes a liability. You’re going to be hung next week and it won’t be that much longer until we each see a noose. We need to get out of here any way we can.”

MacTavish says, “You haven’t even been tried yet, how do you know you’ll be found guilty?” Pinto says, “Witnesses saw me killing at least half-a-dozen soldiers, maybe even a dozen, there’s no way they’ll give me anything but a death sentence……Oh, but don’t tell Rex I killed anyone, I told him Deadeye Douglas did all the killings.” MacTavish asks, “I wonder how much a guy makes as a prison guard around here?” Pinto replies, “Probably not much, we can ask him, here he comes.”

As Rex approaches MacTavish asks, “Hey Rex, How much money do you make around here?” “Barely any,” Rex replies. Angus says, “Do you know how much money can be made as a bounty hunter.” Rex says, “I was wondering about that.” Angus says, “A lot, and you help the world in the process.” Rex says, “There are a lot of people out there who deserve justice.” Angus says, “Hundred of them, hundreds. But you can’t just start off doing that type of work, bounty hunting is difficult to get into, you really need a mentor to help you get your way there.”

Pinto interjects to Angus “Who was your mentor?” This earns him an icy state from Angus who turns back towards Rex and says, “My father was my mentor.” Angus lowers his voice and says, “Rex, come over here for a minute.” Rex gets closer.

Angus says, “Laddie, you going to have a choice in front of you. Laddie, you’ve got to take your choices when you’ve got a chance, because if a chance misses you bye, you know what’s gonna happen, you’ll rot your life around here. They treat you like a criminal here even though you’re on the other side of the bars. You don’t need that. You should be right and free, doing justice where it'’ needed.” Rex asks in reply, “Do you know anything about bounty hunting out in California?” Angus says, “Oh yeah, I’ve been out to California loads of times. But bounty hunting is the same all over.” Pinto interjects “Rex, I’ve noticed that you’re different than the other guards. They swear at us, they hate us. You don’t….how do they treat you?” “They treat me alright,” Rex answers insincerely.

Angus looks over to Shamus O’Sullivan and says, “Shamus, you be a prizefighter are ya?” He replies, “Ah, yes, all over.” Angus asks, “Do you win much?” Shamus replies, “Aye, yes, I win much.” Angus asks, “So what did you do to get in here? Shamus replies, “Caught up with a gentleman who wouldn’t keep with his bets. Hit him a little too hard.” Angus says, “Don’t you hate it when they’re weak like that.”

Back upstairs, Pamela tells Sally, “You need to get that Rex guy all sympathetic, talk up the bad things that have happened to you, the folks who have mistreated you, get him to feel sorry for you and want to help.” Sally replies, “What do you mean?” Pamela says, “We can’t be giving him clues that you might not be the person he thinks of you as.” Sally replies, “I am who I am.” Pamela replies, “Which will get you hung, we have an opportunity here. Just be careful what you say, it’s not always easy to get into somebody else’s head.”

Pamela asks, “Do you know of anybody else who are down there with Pinto and Mongo?” Sally says, “I heard that Black Angus is in with them, he’s a former bounty hunter.” Pamela says, “I’ve heard of him, he was a good bounty hunter. Why is he is prison?” “I don’t know exactly, rumor is he shot the wrong person,” Sally answers. Pamela asks, “And you don’t know any of the other ones who are down there?” Sally replies “No.”

After a short pause Sally says, “It wasn’t very nice of you to take advantage of Mongo, just cause he’s not the brightest person.” Pamela says, “Our leaving was to help all of us. All of us staying together was like hanging a target around our necks, and Mongo was the most identifiable one because of his size.” Sally says, “Didn’t do any of us much good, we’re all in prison.”

Pamela says, “Not all, Deadeye, Mae and Flying Arrow aren’t.” “Only because Pinto and I led the soldiers away,” is Sally’s response. Pamela says, “Any chance they’ll try to bust us out, like he did before.” Sally replies, “Not likely, I’m the one who talked him into it both times and I’m not with him.” Pamela says, “Doesn’t sound like he has much gratitude.” “They don’t make them like the used to,” is Sally’s response.

Pamela says, “By the way, you realize that Rex reads those notes you send down to Pinto.” Sally says, “Of course he does, I’m not stupid.” Pamela says, “Well, what exactly do you write to him?” Sally says, “The most recent one? I told Pinto not to be angry with Mongo, that they both probably could use a friend to talk to at this point.”

Pamela says, “I’m worried about Mongo.” Sally says, “Feeling guilty?” Pamela answers, “I’m not feeling guilty, I did what I could to protect him.” “From us?” Sally comments. “From being caught,” Pamela replies. Sally exclaims, “And you were so successful at that.” Pamela says, “That wasn’t our fault, we were betrayed.” “By who?” Sally asks. Pamela says, “The wife of the guy who owned the safe house.” “Doesn’t sound like a very safe house,” Sally states. Pamela says, “The guy who owned the house, he was a nice guy, it was his wife who turned us in for the reward.”

Sally says, “You still shouldn’t have taken advantage of Mongo.” Pamela says, “The guy needs looking after, he’s a big teddy bear.” “You’re so right about that. But he’s a darn useful member of a gang,” Sally states. Pamela says, “You know, I’ve been thinking, the four of us are much better together than apart. There’s no need to fight over what happened before, won’t do us one bit of good now.” Sally replies, “Not sure if I can trust you again.”

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter Sixteen, “Rationalization is a wonderful thing”, Monday, June 12, 1882 – Canon City Colorado

Rex is bringing the women their evening meal. As the women see him approach they begin talking about how great it would be to live in California. Pamela asks, “Rex, tell us more about California.” He says, “Out west you can see the ocean. It’s an amazing sight. Once you cross over the mountaintops you can see it in the distance.”

Sally asks, “Rex, do you know when our trial is going to be? I’m really worried.” Pamela interjects, “Me too, I’m mostly worried about Mongo. He’s such a simple man, he really doesn’t understand all of this.”

Rex says, “You’re saying he was manipulated into crime by the Pinto Joe, like Sally?” Pamela says, “Yeah, something like that. Have you talked to him at all? He’s really a sweet guy.” Sally adds, “He just wants to do what he is told. He doesn’t understand what he should or shouldn’t do.” Pamela says, “It was Mongo’s idea to try to save the lives of the hostages, that’s just the kind of guy he is.”

The conversation continues about what the women enjoy. Rex says, “So you’re saying what you like most about your lives is the freedom, the riding to new places, the sense of adventure.” Sally replies, “Yeah, isn’t that what you miss most?” Rex says, “The life of a bounty hunter would provide that, stopping criminals.” Sally starts to choke upon hearing that comment and Pamela comes over to assist her, handing her some water.

Pamela says to Rex “Bounty hunting huh? We haven’t thought of that before, and we sure have the skills for that job. You’d probably be good at that Sally.” “I suspect I might,” she replies. “You’re petty smart,” Pamela adds. “I wouldn’t know how to get started,” Sally states. “I know somebody who might be able to teach you a thing or two,” Rex replies. “Really? Who?” is her response.

He says, “Black Angus.” “Isn’t he going to be hung soon?” Sally asks. “He is?” Pamela interjects. Rex says, “Not if justice prevails. He didn’t do anything wrong, shot a man who was reaching for his own gun.” Pamela says, “But if the man was drawing on him wasn’t that self defense?” Rex comments, “I guess the guy must have been friends with someone.” “That’s just not right,” Sally states. Pamela says, “It’s just like I said before, bad things happen to good people and justice is in the eyes of the beholder.”

Sally plays along adding, “Sometimes crime is in the eye of the beholder too.” Rex says with anticipation in his voice “I’m sure that some of the things you got caught up with were just the same types of misunderstand.” An image crosses Sally’s mind of the innocent guards and soldiers that she shot down in cold blood as she replies with all sincerity “Yep, from a certain point of view.” Pamela adds “That’s right, and Mongo too.” Sally says, “Yes, sometimes Mongo can be treated pretty badly.”

Sally says, “We’ve all been treated pretty badly. It will be worse if we get the same kind of justice that Black Angus is getting.” “Get some sleep, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Rex replies. He heads back downstairs. Sally asks Pamela “Well, was that better?” Pamela replies, “Much better, I’m proud of you Sally.” Sally asks, “Do you know when this Black Angus is going to be coming up for trial? We need to convince Rex before then.”

Downstairs, Shamus starts to sing the song “Danny Boy”, which his cellmates are getting tired of hearing at this point. Rex soon arrives with supper for the men as well as collecting and replacing their water and waste buckets. Rex approaches Angus’s cell and gets his attention. “Yes Rex?” Angus asks. Rex says, “In that fight, you would have tried to knock somebody out if they were going for their gun instead of shooting them?” Angus says, “Oh yes, if possible, or shoot to wound. But when people are moving accidents happen.”

Rex asks Angus, “If we were in California, and you were free, would you be willing to teach me the trade of being a bounty hunter?” Angus assures him, “Absolutely my good man, and there is no way that I would involve you in anything illegal. Everything we do would be on the up and up.” “That’s good Angus,” is Rex’s reply. Rex heads off.

A short while later Angus says “Hey, Weams!” “Yeah,” Pinto replies. Angus says, “You’ve been following my conversation with that guard? It this something that you and Mongo want in on?” Pinto replies, “Sure, if he’s stupid enough to unlock our cells you don’t have to tell me twice, we’re in and we’re gone.” Angus says, “I have a few tricks up my sleeve, but I think it would be helpful to have you and the big guy along with me.” Pinto says “That’s fine.”

Angus says “Hold on then, keep your eyes out and let me know if you see anybody coming.” Pinto says, “Hold on, don’t go doing anything yet. We still need to get some information from that Rex guy. We don’t know where they keep the horses. We don’t know where the guards are at. I don’t want to get shot and killed.” “Yeah, true,” Angus replies. Angus shows Pinto his lock picks. Pinto says, “I’m not even going to ask how you smuggled those in.”

Tuesday, June 13th, 1882:

A little after midnight when most of the prisoners in the cellblock have fallen asleep Rex returns. This is rather common, as back when she was alone on the floor he would often sneak up and admire her while she slept. He heads upstairs to the top floor and approaches, Pamela alerting Sally. Pamela continues to pretend to be asleep as Sally sits up and make eye contact as he approaches.

He states, “I’ve been doing some thinking. It isn’t right that people like you should be facing the rope.” Sally asks, “People like who?” Rex says, “You Sally, Mongo because he was just led astray too. Black Angus too, a good honest man. Buckskin and Shamus are also good honest men who had circumstances play against them. I’m don’t know whether I can trust this Pamela but if you say that she’s alright, she’s alright.” Sally states, “Her doctoring skills may come in handy. And Pinto Joe?”

Rex says adamantly “I think that Pinto is the one of the men who has led you astray. I can’t let him keep doing that.” Sally says, “We can’t leave Pinto!” Rex replies, “He can stay behind here in a cell, or he can be shot trying to escape, those are the only options.” Sally says, “But Rex, remember that honor among thieves that I talked about….” Rex interrupts saying, “You’re not going to be a thief anymore. You’re going to be a bounty hunter. Bounty hunters do not let bad men escape. You’ve got to make a clean break here Sally.”

She says, “They don’t let the ones who they are paid to catch escape, you got that part right.” “But they get paid to catch the bad ones,” is his reply. “Yeah, they also don’t leave their friends behind,” she answers. Sally makes the declaration “If Pinto stays I stay.” He replies, “If that’s how you feel Sally there is nothing I can do for you.”

Not liking this turn in the conversation, Pamela decides to ‘wake up’ to and join in the discussion. Pamela interjects “You know Rex, if he is left behind he can tell a lot about what’s been going on in the jail. We should at least see if he’s willing to become a bounty hunter too.” He ignores Pamela’s comment and says to Sally, “I’ll see you tomorrow,” He then walks away dejected.

Once he is gone an irate Pamela exclaims “What the Hell did you say that to him for!” Sally answers loudly “Well what the Hell was I supposed to say!” Pamela yells, “You’ve got to convince him! Pinto and Mongo share the same cell, he’ll have to open it up anyway. He already said he would let Mongo out. All we have to do is convince him to bring Pinto along to help keep you safe until we’re free of the prison, tell him that you and Pinto will go his separate way and leave you with Rex, that’s all Rex really wants.”

Downstairs, the men are awakened by the yelling of the women upstairs. They can only make out drips and drabs of what is being said so Pinto speculates that the women are again fighting about the money that Mongo and Sally had taken from Pinto. Mongo again asserts that they didn’t take Pinto’s money, with Pinto replying “Yes you did.” This escalates into an argument on that floor almost as loud as the one a floor above.

At this point the women are both yelling simultaneously with neither one listening to the other. An angry Pamela eventually says, “Fine, nothing we can do about it now.” Sally says, “He has to come back at some point.”

When Sally has calmed down a little Pamela says, “Whether he likes Pinto or not, it’s up to you to play along with whatever train of through Rex is on, otherwise we’re all stuck behind bars until they take us to be hung. Is that what you want Sally?’ “No,” she reluctantly states. Pamela says, “So lie about Pinto, everything else we’ve been talking to Rex about it a lie, they don't let wanted criminals become bounty hunters!” Sally says, “I know, but he believes it.”

Pamela then says, “You’ll be able to talk him into it, Rex is smitten on you. The real problem that I see now is that he was too eager to let us out, if you had played along he might have done that right now. But we don’t know where to go from here do we? How do we get out of the prison? Which is the best way out? How do we get horses? Where do we get weapons? How do we get away before they sound the alarm? You’d better make sure he knows all that stuff and is all prepared before he goes and does something stupid that will get all of us killed.”

Sally says, “And clothes too, I can’t ride in this damned prison skirt, I need pants! I can’t exactly hike my skirt up to my waist before I jump on that horse!” Pamela says, “Sally Honey, fashion is the least of our worries, I ride with skirts all the time, it’s not that difficult, you just make sure you have an extra saddle blanket on above the saddle. It’s actually quite comfortable. And as for the skirt, you look fine in that, more feminine. Obviously it’s doing something, you have that poor little boy Rex drawling all over you. He’s ready to take up a life of crime to save you from your former life!” The two begin laughing at poor Rex’s expense.

Pamela says, “What will happen to him after we’re out of here?” Sally says, “Us getting out of here is all that matters.” Pamela asks, “But are you planning to be nice to him?” Sally replies, “I’m not going to kill him unless we have to if that’s what you mean.” Pamela says, “But you know that doing this is going to ruin his life too. He won’t be able to go back to honest work after.” “Then he just needs to come with us,” is Sally’s response.

Downstairs Angus manages to calm the other two down before they wake up everybody in the cell block. When things are quieter Angus says, “That guard Rex seemed to be interested in me teaching him to bounty hunt, we may be out of here sooner than you think.” Mongo says, “He take me and Pinto too?” Pinto adds, “I don’t see why not, I’ve been telling him that it was Deadeye Douglas who did all of the killings and not any of the rest of us. What an idiot!” The fighter Shamus and the mountain-man Bennett join in the conversation as well, offering to help with whatever they come up with.