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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 3043070" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter 162, "Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting", Saturday, March 25th, 1882, 8:00 PM She sweeps down the stairs with a smile Jake hasn't seen before. It's not genuine, although looks that way, but manipulative, focused, and angry. She does not look his way instead she greets a few customers warmly before heading out to the porch.Ruby bums a cigarette off a customer who is coming inside the Lucky Lady. She smokes it calmly while looking at the stars, a relief to have something in her control, something she desperately wanted and needed. She chats with more customers as she smokes, a couple of men join her. After her cigarette she enters the Lucky Lady and without even glancing at Jake she strides towards the stage for her set.Kate had heard a little of the argument on the porch as they had arrived, and seeing Ruby ignore Jake, it was obvious she was still angry about Helen Barker's presence. Kate removed her apron and hurried over to play for Ruby.  Jake's table this night includes regulars Alfredo Garcia and Don Wainright, semi-regulars Zachary Morand and Carl Berman, and a fresh face who introduces himself as Wilbur Korman.Just like the previous two Saturdays, the building clears out once the boxing at the Palace begins. One difference this week is that Tony's game also breaks up shortly thereafter, with most of his players deciding to go see the fight. Tony shrugs his shoulders, closes up his game, and leaves to go see what the excitement is all about. At this point the patrons of the Lucky Lady consist of the players at the two poker tables plus another five people seated at two tables near the stage who have been present on all previous nights of Stanley Barker's performances. Nanuet has casually made his way over to the Palace Saloon. He slips into the shadows and keeps his eyes and ears open for mentions of Rudy Foote.Bea and Russell are talking in the parlor of the Comstock House when Minerva returns. She stops in to let them know that she will be away for a day or two. She is evasive just saying that she has business of a religious nature out of town and not to worry as she will not be traveling alone. Before they can ask more questions she politely excuses herself and climbs the stairs to her room to begin packing. She assumes that she will be sleeping out of doors and so packs appropriately. She cleans her weapons and inventories her ammunition, being sure to pack the magic bullets that Chester gave her for her rifle and pistol. She reviews her sermon for the morning and cuts out several sections, thus shortening the service by about an hour, and then tucking her derringer in her gown and grabbing the parasol which hides her rapier, she turns to Luna, and asks her to fly over to where the boxing is being held and keep an eye on Nanuet. "If it appears that he may be in any danger, come and find me at the Lucky Lady. Gracias, Luna"  Minerva's thoughts are interrupted by a knock on the door. She hears Bea's voice sound out "Priestess, you have a visitor waiting for you downstairs."Minerva descends the stairs to see who could possibly be looking for her at this hour.  A young man is waiting for her in the common room. He is a handsome man dressed in a well-tailored three-piece suit with a white silk shirt and European-style tie. She does not recognize him at first until he looks in her direction and smiles his Cheshire-cat grin. It has been over a week since she last saw Ashley King, out on the trail after the fight with the Cowboy Gang when he and his ranch hands helped with the herd of cattle. At that time his attention was focused upon Tricia Shaw and he appeared to barely notice the Priestess. That no longer seems to the case, as he stands and smiles at her. She notices that he has brought a bottle of wine with him.Minerva pastes an easy smile on her face and placing her parasol and flute case on the chair extends her hand. "Buenas Tardes Senor King. How may I assist you?" while she thinks "What on earth could Mrs. King's son want with me at this hour? I hope this doesn't take too long"  She does not offer him a seat but continues to stand waiting for him to state his business.He replies, "Buenas Tardes Senorita. I apologize for disturbing you so late in the evening but I just arrived in town. I came to attend your worship service tomorrow but wanted to speak to you first.   I also apologize for not realizing who you were last week when we first met. I am glad to see that you made it safely back to town. The next time you are that close to our ranch you really must come for a visit.   The main reason that I wanted to see you was to let you know that my mother has convinced the Vigilance Committee to help promote your festival. To that end, she has asked me to spend the next week in town doing anything that I can to help you with the event."Minerva's eyes grow momentarily wary but she continues to smile politely. "That is very gracious of your mother, Senor King. Senora Gilson will be very grateful for your assistance as she is in charge of the overall organizing of the festival. I will introduce you to her after services tomorrow. I do not want to appear rude but it is growing late and I am meeting someone.”  A look of surprise crosses his face. He recovers quickly and says, "Yes, Well I hope that we will have an opportunity to spend some time together in the next few days. My family has considerable resources and could be of great help to your religious efforts."She replies, "The gods always look favorably upon those who are willing to reach out financially to others but I am afraid that I am not the person to speak to in that regard as I am only the temporary preacher until the mistake can be rectified. Perhaps it is Senor Lacey whom you should discuss your Family's wealth with. She says holding her smile in place. "Now if you will excuse me I must be going." She shakes his hand. "I shall see you at services tomorrow, senor?"He says "Of course, and I also brought you this as a present, as a welcome to the community. Given that Dionysus is the subject of the festival I thought this would be appropriate." He hands her the bottle of wine."Minerva's smile warms. "Gracias Senor. How thoughtful." she says accepting the bottle from him. Mrs. King would surely disapprove of such an offering. Perhaps his intentions are honorable,.. even if he was sent by his rattler of a Madre. "It is quite an appropriate gesture for the occasion and it is customary to share such a gift with the giver, but unfortunately the hour grows late and I must be going." Feeling momentarily guilty she impulsively says. "Such a tribute to the gods should not be refused. I will have some free time later in the week. If you are agreeable, I shall save it until then and we can toast Dionysus together. I am on my way to a private gathering at the Lucky Lady but if you are going that way we could walk together and you can tell me what changed your Madre’s mind. Perhaps you can tell me a bit about the others also so that I can work on persuading them as well. I am so new to town I can not keep them all straight in my head. She laughs lightly and picking up her belongings, places her arm through his and leads him towards the door."He smiles and says "Peg Watkins runs a quilting circle for several of the women in town. They discussed the matter and came to the conclusion that the festival would be a good way to bring non-believers to the gods." The two continue to walk through the street and he says, "I think you and the Committee just got off to a bad start. They had been led to expect a married male priest with a family to be sent so your arrival threw them off. I believe that once they get to know you better they will be more accepting.""Well, It is obvious that my appearance was quite a surprise to them, still, they were very vocal about how they felt about my gender, my marital status and my views. But if your Madre is coming around in her thinking than perhaps there is hope for the others. "It would help me to soften them up if I knew who all the Vigilance committee members were and a bit about them, you know like, who they associate with and how conservative they may be. Perhaps you could help me with that. Now I know that Mrs. Fly is one of the quilters as well. Is her husband, what is his name? Buck, on the Committee as well? I know that the lawyer, Senor Fisk is on the committee but I do not know much about him either."He says, "Fisk isn't on the committee, they wouldn't have him. Mrs. Fly's husband is Roger. I think he has a brother called Buck in Tombstone. I have an idea, why don't we meet for lunch or dinner sometime soon and I can tell you more about the group."Back at the Lucky Lady, at around 8:30 two familiar couples arrive, namely Pedro and Dorita Figueres and Kevin and Mary Kelly, none of four having ever been to the Lucky Lady before. They carefully move two of the smaller tables next to each other so that the four can sit together and Pedro goes to the bar to get their drink order from Harry Rote. For the first time this evening a genuine smile crosses Ruby's face and she sings the last three songs of this set with new gusto. The musicians stop for a break at 8:45 PM. Job calls for a break at his poker table as well, so that Stanley can play another piece of music again with Helen's full attention.  Kevin Tomlinson arrives shortly thereafter and joins Job over at the bar for a drink. Job asks, "So what brings you to my saloon?" Tomlinson tells him, "I was supposed to play poker at the Long Branch tonight except that my dealer, Booth, is out sick. I've heard enough about that other dealer, Fisk, to know not to play at his table." Job says, "Well, you're welcome to join my game. But I will warn you though, my players are much better than the Wilcox crowd is."Kate looked up from behind the bar where she was filling a drink order before going to chat with Dorita, Pedro, and the Kelley's. "Mr. Booth is ill? Did they say what was wrong?"  He says, "No, Kate Higgins just said he wouldn't be coming there tonight. They had already given their third gambler Norman Wilkie the night off, since Saturday's aren't as busy as they used to be. I had no intention of playing with Fisk, especially since I knew where Job was and had played with him before up in Wilcox."Ruby sweeps over to Dorita, Pedro and the Kelley's. Surely chatting with them would improve her mood. She was curious as to where Jake went but had decided to let him go without snooping. "Good evening! How was your dinner out? Our dinner at the El Parador was excellent. How did you like my singing? I chose those sings just for you," she says with a smile. "I don't think any of you have heard me sing before!"Dorita replies, "Not true, I hear you sing softly to yourself from time to time, although I not think you know I in earshot. I not hear you perform. You were very good." Pedro says, "Better than just very good. Dinner at Drover's was fine, but the best part was that the Kelly's here joined us. Mary Kelly laughs and says "Yes, is appears that Dorita and I have a lot in common, we both spend our time trying to teach and help that whirlwind of a child known as Ginnie."Ruby laughs, "Yes, that Ginnie is a tough cookie for sure. Smart too. She's even worked here. And Mrs. Kelly's has the finest dresses around!" Ruby exclaims, "She's even doing my costume for the ball." Ruby's mood lightened even more with the compliments of her singing and the presence of Dorita. She was the closest thing Ruby had to a real mother and even if she spent most of her time yelling at her, Ruby knew she cared. "Can I get you anything? Drinks? Tonight it's on the house. And, I should tell Maria you're here, she'd be mad if we didn't. Oh, and if you want to hear anything specific for my next set, let me know!"Dorita rattles off the name of four Spanish songs, only one of which Ruby has actually heard before as Maria often sings it while she cooks. Maria's singing ability is mediocre at best, but well enough that Ruby feels confident with the tune and lyrics. Pedro asks for a bottle of white wine, preferably from the vineyards of California.Ruby runs off behind the bar and consults with Niles as to their best bottle of white wine from California. On her way back to the table she pops her head into the kitchen, informing Maria of their special guests. She returns to the table with the bottle and 4 glasses for the wine. She chats for a few moments with them, then excuses herself. Jake also calls his table for a break. "Fifteen minutes gentlemen. Don't miss the first hand back, I'll throw in a few extra dollars in the ante just to make things interesting." Jake wastes no time and heads over to Jeff and leaves his two gun belts and duster with him. "Take good care of these, I'll be back in fifteen. I need to see what is happening at the Palace." With that, Jake casually walks out the side door like he is headed for the outhouse. Once outside he hustles over to the Palace. Even from the outside the Palace Saloon is crowded and noisy. Without his duster it is readily evident that Jake isn't wearing a side arm but he stops and lets McCoy look him over anyway. McCoy grunts at him and makes a small motion with his head indicating Jake can go in.   Jake quickly attempts to lose himself in the crowd. He locates some group of folks he doesn't know and settles next to them. "How's the entertainment? Is this Finnegan fellow as good as they say?" He then enthusiastically asks, "I heard that if anyone is going to be able to beat him it would be either Rudy Foote or Bill Cleaver. Do you folks know Which ones are those two? You got any money on anyone? What odds did you get?"    "Ain't nobody going to bet against Finnegan," one guy says. Another says, "Only money to be made is beating Finnegan, Adair has put up $ 100 to the first man who does that." A feminine voice says, "Something we can help you with Mr. Cook?" He turns to see Adair's woman Kitty Trent standing beside him in a slinky low-cut black dress, her hands on her hips and looking a bit annoyed.   He smiles and replies, "Now that is mighty neighborly of you Miss Trent, but I do believe I am quite comfortable. Just stopping in for a minute. Any of you gentlemen need anything while Miss Trent is here?" "These men were just saying how impressed they were with Mr. Finnegan. Seems unlikely that anybody is going to earn that $100 Mr. Adair put up.”  She says, "I'm sure that Mr. Adair will be willing to put you in next if you are interested in trying."   Jake answers, "I'm certain that Mr. Adair would be willing to put me in the ring even if I wasn't interested." He replies, “Somebody outside was flapping their lips about a Rudy Foote that was going to take that money, I was just curious which one he was. Do you know Miss Trent or are you not a fan of fisticuffs?"  She says, "Mr. Cook, you are welcome to stay and watch the fight, I believe we have a few more fighters before we get to Foote. However, I should point out that we have a two drink minimum on fight nights and I don't see anything in your hands. What can I get for you?"Well, are you ready?" the Marshall asks. "As ready as ever," Chester replies. The two of walk up the steps to the Palace Saloon's main doorway and enter the building. The doorman notices their badges and does not ask either man for their weapons.  There are at least sixty people inside, probably closer to eighty. That would normally make the building crowded enough if not for the twelve-foot square makeshift boxing ring that has been erected in the center of the room. No boxers are in the ring at the moment. Chester asks, "Are we looking out for anything in particular?" Berg says, "No, just keep your eye out for trouble. Because the Palace is checking weapons, things should be less dangerous. Watch out for pickpockets. They thrive in situations like this." He replies, "Will do, Marshall." Chester then notices Jake Cook is at the Palace, speaking to Adair's girl Kitty.  Chester catches Jake's eye and waves.Jake replies to Miss Trent, "I can't really stay, just a quick friendly visit. Thanks for the special attention, I appreciate being treated with such grace. Perhaps another time." Jake tips his hat to Miss Trent and wanders past Deputy Martin on his way out.  "Chet, I couldn't figure out which one is Foote. Nanuet is outside hiding and waiting to follow him. Get a description and get it to him. I have to go."   Jake leaves and hustles back to the Lucky Lady. He comes back in the side door and waves to his players. He quickly picks up his stuff from Jeff Mills and gets back to his seat. "I'm ready when you all are," Jake announces and puts a $10 bill in the center of the table. "A little extra ante." He waves to Katherine, makes a hand motion for a drink and gives her a smile.Ruby finds herself out on the porch, looking for Jake. As angry as she was, she was also worried. She guessed that Jake went to the Palace to find out about the Cowboy, but regardless, she knew Adair would be all over him if he saw him. She gazes down the street for a while but after some time she thinks about returning to the stage.    Ruby hears Stanley Barker's piece end. When she steps back inside she sees Kate sitting and chatting with Pedro, Dorita and the Kelly's. Both poker games have resumed, Jake having apparently come in through the back door.Relieved Jake has returned Ruby returns to the stage. She doesn't wait for Kate to start singing, assuming that she wouldn't be able to play Dorita's request. Ruby puts her all into singing the Spanish song, really singing from the heart, trying to impress her friends.  Ruby's singing is spectacular. A few bars into the song Stanley Barker moves to the piano and begins to play the piece, apparently familiar with it, but plays softly so as not to in any way overpower the singing. At the end of the song Dorita and Pedro stand and applaud, while Stanley very discretely slides away from the piano bench before his wife notices him being Ruby's accompanist.Minerva Florencia and Ashley King arrive at the stairs of the Lucky Lady.  She turns to him "I do appreciate your taking the time. I think that knowing more about the people that I must shepherd will be very helpful to me. As I said earlier, I am not available until later in the week but if you check back with me on Wednesday I should have some time available. In the mean time please do visit Senora Gilson. I know that she will appreciate your offer of assistance. "She hold out her hand to shake his. "Gracias, Senor. I shall see you at services tomorrow."  Ashley King smiles and says, "Until we meet again Priestess and may the Gods watch over you." He bows, then turns and walks off down the street.On stage, Ruby curtseys, then nods to Stanley in thanks, making sure Helen is paying attention to her cards and not to them. Kate is stilling chatting, so Ruby continues to sing unaccompanied. Ruby felt there was something freeing about singing alone, you could let yourself wander in whatever direction you chose, faster, slower, giving into your own whims. Ruby didn't mind singing that way at all and she focused on singing mostly Spanish songs before switching to some Irish lullabies, in honor of their guests.Back at the Palace, Chester says to Berg, "I'll be back in a minute. I want to see who's fighting tonight. He goes to the barkeep. "Evening there. Are the boxers around? I want to see them in person, so I can figure out who's going to win."  The bartender points to the ring and says, "There's one. That's Hooper." Rex Hooper is announced as the next fighter. A tall man with a short black beard steps into the ring. He has removed his shoes and shirt and is wearing only cotton trousers and socks. He has the work of a hard laborer, with a series of scars on his side. He is also missing two fingers on his right hand. Flannigan steps into the ring from the other side. He is attired only in a pair of knee-length pants held on with a rope belt. The shirtless man's muscles are very visible. Chester had spent considerable time in the service working alongside half-ogres and ogres who were known as Buffalo Soldier. The muscle tone and body shape on Flannigan are obvious to him, although the skin tone and facial features do not give hint to any parentage rather than human. A short write-up in the newspaper indicated that the pugilist was the son of Irish fighter Paddy "Guts" Finnegan who fought in New York City in the 1850's and early 1860's. Chester surmises from Finnegan's age that it must have been around that time that Paddy met up with a female half-ogre. He finds it amusing that this man is the star of the events at this humans-only tavern, where Chester alone has deduced the fighter's secret.  Chester smiles and thinks, “I bet Adair has no idea. He would never have agreed to have Finnegan is he knew.” Ruby sings for another half hour. As she leaves the stage Stanley Barker walks up to her and says, "Thank you so very much for inviting us back here Miss West. I spoke to Helen about your conversation with me and she said you had discussed it with her as well in Tombstone. You are quite right, it would have been unfair to your customers for us to have stayed away. Please accept this as a token of our appreciation." He hands her a metal tin that is eight inches square and three inches high. She slips off the lid to see that it is filled with his toll house cookies.'Thank you so much, Mr. Barker," Ruby responds with genuine sincerity. She takes a bite of one of the cookies. "These are so good I doubt I'll share them." Smiling, she continues, " And I'm sure our patrons thank you too," she nods to the few customers still remaining. "I would hug you but doubt Mrs. Barker would appreciate that. So instead I'll offer if you have a song you'd like to hear let me know and I'll be glad to sing it."He replies, "Oh yes, that would be wonderful. If you could wait until Mr. Kane's table takes another break to sing it I would appreciate hearing Sir. Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert's song 'Sweethearts'.  "I will be sure to do that," she smiles. Ruby takes her time speaking with the remaining customers before heading to her normal break spot on the porch to look at the stars.</blockquote>

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