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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 3079262" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter 172, “Festival Organizing“, Sunday, March 26th, 1882, 12:00 PM It is noon when Minerva arrives at the Gay Lady. Sunday is the slowest day of the week for the town's saloons and this saloon hasn't officially opened for business yet. Minerva sees a table with nine men and two woman waiting for her. She knows most of the people at the table. Niles Hoover of the Lucky Lady Dance Hall and Saloon and also Hoover's Liquors, Al Brower and Pierre Jaquet of the Comique Variety Hall and Saloon and Haywood Smith of the Silver Dollar Saloon had all attended her morning worship service. She has previously met Steve Lord of the Alhambra Saloon , Burton Lumley of the Gay Lady Variety Hall and Saloon, Kate Higgins of the Long Branch Saloon and Evan Adair of the Palace Saloon. She is introduced to Darla Peacock of Peacock's Saloon, Austin Blake of Drover's and Porter Norris of the Indian Head Saloon. She notes that every drinking establishment in town is represented at this table except for the El Parador Cantina. "Thank you for coming," Lumley states.  "Buenas Dias, Senors, Senora, “She says nodding her head in welcome. "I see that we are having an impromptu meeting." She looks around the table and counts heads. "I also see that I am not the last to arrive."  "This is all of us," Lumley states. Al Brower interjects "I stopped by the El Parador but Pedro wasn't around and Dorita said she was busy cooking." Adair says, "And Hoover her can represent his saloon."She states, "Well then, We can begin, although it would be better if Senora Gilson were here as she and Senor Lacy are in charge of co-coordinating everything. Well I do not have time to find them now so, Who would like to start?" She says taking a seat and looking from one to the other expectantly.  Steve Lord says, "Priestess, that's part of the problem, Lacey and Gilson that is." Adair interjects "You've been double-dealing us from the start on this Festival stuff, why else would you put a couple of tea-totelers in charge of it." Lumley says, "What my colleague is staying is that the idea of a Festival for Dionysus sounded like a lucrative venture for us but is now looking otherwise. Mr. Lacey is a fine man but will not set foot in an establishment that serves alcohol, Mrs. Gilson does not drink either. They are planning a number of events that do not include our establishments at all, nothing to take place in any saloons until after dark." Al Brower says, "And at today's service you spoke against people drinking to excess, which ties in with what my singer Clarisse had said to me last night. She said that you put her in charge of all evening events. Well she's friends with the Vigilance Committee and they've talked her into limiting drinks at the festival to only two per individual." Adair interjects "Yeah, I told you guys this was all just a Vigilance Committee sham from the get go. This Priestess is thick as thieves with those high-and-mighty moral busybodies."Minerva turns to Adair with a steely look in her eyes. "Senor Adair, When I came to Promise City you accused me of being a prostitute "a peace offering to you" is how I believe that you put it, and now you insist that I am a straight laced prig from the Vigilance Committee. You Senor are a fickle man who's words cannot be trusted! Did I not come to your saloon when I had been in town barely three days to discuss the festival and what it would mean to your business? Yet you made it clear that I was not welcome there. I told you then that I would not waste my time on you and I do not intend to do so now.. However these gentlemen and lady" she says nodding to the others "have legitimate concerns which I will clarify for their benefit, If they can persuade you to keep your mouth shut." "Senors and Senora," she says turning her back to Adair, "Given the information that you have acquired, I can certainly understand your concerns. Let me put your minds at ease. First of all Senor Lacey and Senora Gilson are in charge of the 'co-coordinating' of the events. They are not in charge or have authority over the events themselves. The Festival is to be divided up into different parts. baking contests, marksmanship contest, children's games, nightly entertainment etc..Now, some of these parts are family oriented and it would not be safe have children involved in activities that encouraged alcohol since some might unwisely overindulge in a nectar that they know little about. As for the saloons participation in the festival, it was my understanding that Senor Cook was to speak to the various saloon owners to make sure that the saloons had friendly competitions and various activities which would entice people to come through their doors. Perhaps he has not had the opportunity to do so, but it is still the responsibility of each saloon to make sure that they are included in such a way that turns them a profit. Now that you do know what to do you can work out a plan amongst yourselves. As for wine, Senor Hoover assured me that there would be an ample supply on hand. She turns to Senor Lumley, "I did not warn people of drinking to excess, Senor. I warned them of drinking wine to excess! The people of Promise city have little experience with wine as it is not produced in these parts. Wine is not like other liquors. It is a product of a god filled with a god's power and influence! I would be remiss in my duties as preacher if I did not educate people on the possible affects of such a nectar. As for the Costume Ball which I put Senorita Townsend in charge of...It is my understanding that it will take place out of doors and the guests will move freely through the streets and in and out of the various saloons, so I do not see how that could hurt your businesses. I believe that Senorita Townsend has the expertise to make this Ball an elegant success and I have tried to include everyone who WANTS to be included" she says turning a steely eye on Adair. "I must make it clear, I will not accept the exclusion of anyone from participating whether they are saloon owners, Vigilance Committee members or non-humans. This festival is for everyone and so Everyone will have to bend a little and work together. This Festival could be the most profitable event that Promise City has ever seen. It is being advertised in all the neighboring towns and so people will come from all around to attend the Ball as well the more family oriented activities. I might also suggest that someone put up tents outside of town to hold the overflow of people who will attend since All of the hotels will be full."Adair is about to respond to Minerva but Lumley cuts him off and says, "No, Mr. Cook has not had an opportunity to speak to any of us yet about this. He probably wouldn't be the best one anyone for that task, as I know he has had past disagreements with some of us present here. Priestess, all but one of the drinking establishments in town is represented here. Why don't we all sit down right now and spend the next hour or two planning this all out in detail. The sooner we know exactly what is going to take place the easier it will be for us to plan for each of our establishments." Pierre says, "Yes, and Mr. Chumbley has spoken to many of us about placing advertisements with him. He plans to print a mid-week paper with details about the upcoming festival and then produce a special edition for each of the two days of the festival. He's offered a special price for anybody who places ads in all three papers, but to do that we first need to know what to say." The Gay Lady's bartender John Hagan has arrived. Lumley tells him "We're staying closed for a while John." He then hands the man $ 20 and says, "Please head over to the Promise City Hotel and bring back enough a lunch for each of us."Minerva spends the next two hours placating the saloon owners and participating in the planning, making suggestions about food and entertainment. "Senorita West has been approaching various establishments to try and co-ordinate entertainment. You should speak to her regarding this aspect." Inwardly Minerva is fuming, I do not have time for this. Other people are supposed to be dealing with these petty details. I am a priestess of Olympus, not an entertainment director! Before she departs she assures the owners that their fears of a two drink limit are unfounded since 1) Wine is an essential element of the celebration of Dionysus and it would be an insult to the god to limit it. 2) Since it is a religious component of the festival, the Ball coordinator, however benign her intent, does not have the authority to make that decision. 3) Even if she did have that authority, which she doesn't, it would be impossible to impose such a limit. and 3) and if it were possible, which it isn't, Since there would be at least 10 times the people frequenting the saloons at any given time, the Festival of Dionysus, would bring with it a huge increase in Saloon business anyway. She finishes by assuring them that she will straighten out this misunderstanding. Minerva stops at the Lucky Lady to fill Nanuet in on the latest complication. She is quite frustrated by all the extra work that seems to keep preventing their departure. "I relegated the responsibility for every aspect of this Festival, except the religious component, to somebody. I should not have to be smoothing ruffled feathers, but it seems that the saloon owners, do not have someone to lead them. I had thought that Senor Jake and Senor Hoover were going to speak to them, but they have not and the Festival is less than a week away. "I can not leave just yet. I have to find Senorita Townsend and make sure that she understands her role before we depart. Do you know where I might find her?"Nanuet says, "I really don't know, last I saw her was with Chester. I don't really keep tabs on her, but let's go look. Maybe Chester knows where she is. I think she lives in one of the boarding houses, but I can't recall which one."   "Gracias, Nanuet. I know which one she lives in." she says reaching up to kiss him. "I would enjoy your company and when we are done with this business we can be on our way." Minerva and Nanuet walk over to Clarisse’s'. Minerva is still in a rather foul mood as she stands before the door thinking of her wasted morning. She takes a deep breath to clear her mind, reminding herself that perhaps she should have made it clearer to Clarisse what the girl did and did not have the authority to decide on her own. Minerva smoothes her skirt, plasters a cheerful smile on her face and knocks.Hannah Milford comes to the door of the Double Eagle Boarding House. Minerva recognizes her from the three previous worship services. "Oh, please come in Priestess. You are always welcome at the Double Eagle. Are things not working out for you at the Comstock House? I still have one more available room here if you are interested."   She states, "Gracias, Senora, but life at the Comstock house is lovely. Senor and Senora Lee are very kind to me." Minerva and Nanuet explain that they are looking for Clarisse. Hannah tells them which room is hers. They go and knock. Clarisse opens the door. She smiles and says, "Good afternoon, priestess. It's a pleasure to see you. That was a lovely service today. How are preparations for the festival going? The gods will surely be pleased. Where are my manners? Let's go to the sitting room."  Nanuet decides to wait outside the Double Eagle, not wanting to get involved with the politics of the festival. He looks at the sun to determine the time of day.Minerva follows Clarisse into the sitting room. "I am interested to hear what ideas you have come up with so far for the Costume Ball. It is going to be quite an exciting event." Minerva says pleasantly.  Clarisse replies, "Well, I am thinking that it should begin around 8:00 P.M. or so, as costumes would look more mysterious or interesting under the light of lanterns. I am thinking that 8:00 PM would probably also be appropriate as the children's bedtime. We could probably do a children's costume contest in the hour prior to that so that they do not feel left out. Mrs. Kale is planning to open a school, and has a building but it is not furnished yet. I am thinking that the children could spend the night in that building with appropriate adult supervision, that way they would already be acquainted with the building when classes begin, and the parents would not have to worry about their young ones and be able to enjoy the ball. The ball itself would last for two-and-a-half hours. We would mark off two blocks of Main Street for it, from Fremont to Front Streets. Seven of the town's eating drinking establishments are along that two block stretch, the Comique, Gay Lady, Lucky Lady, Peacock, Long Branch, Rio Grande and Alhambra. Food and drink would be available in all of those with each participant purchasing food and beverage tokens redeemable at any of those places. That way we could also limit how much each person drinks, since we would not want anybody to overindulge. The event would include forty-five minutes of socializing followed by an hour of dancing and then forty-five minutes of awards for the best and most interesting costumes and closing speeches. After that the next two-and-a-half hours, from 10:30 PM until 1:00 PM would consist of smaller, more individualized events at the other eating and drinking establishments in town not along Main Street, in order to be fair to everyone."Jake makes a quick side trip to purchase some dynamite. "I'm headed out to see Flint and he needs another dozen sticks for some project. First time I ever saw a rancher go through so much of this stuff, but you know those dwarves!" Jake says humorously. Katherine finds him with his horse ready to go. Shotgun and rifle in their saddle holsters and his duster buttoned up tight. There is some food, water and dynamite stored unseen in the saddle bags. Jake's face is hidden by the midday sun's shadow below his flat brimmed black hat, but Katherine can still see he is smiling. "Fine day for a ride Mrs. Kale. Let us be going.""Indeed it is," Kate answered with a smile warmer than it had been for some time. Her talk with Mother Jaminez seemed to have lifted her spirits, letting her worry less about Conrad and enjoy the day. A ride was a ride after all. Kate began to chatter as they rode out. As Jake answered pleasantly she studied him with a sideways glance. She'd always known he was handsome, it must have been the smile that added the extra something special about him today. "My, it's warm today, isn't it?" she asked and removed the leather duster, followed by the vest. "And it's only early spring. I can't imagine what summer will be like." Kate nudged her horse to ride a little closer to Jake's. They continued on and Kate found her palms growing moist. She wiped them on the leather pants and unbuttoned the high collar of her shirt. Her chest felt tight, like it always used to when... Kate pulled up on Meribel's reins and pulled her a bit away from Jake, keeping her eyes to herself as they arrived at the ranch.Jake and Kate arrive at the ranch. The see that Flint has erected some type of mechanical contraption on top of the hill that seems to be slowly moving in a clockwise location and also has a pipe running down to the stream.   Kate asks, "Flint, what in the world is that?"   He says, "Mechanical prospecting equipment. I still think there are precious metals in that hill!"  She says, "That I couldn't tell you. But if you find some with that contraption, you'll not only get the silver, you'll might make a fortune selling your invention!" He states, "Nah, too slow for most people. This stream doesn't have the hydro-power to process more than a few hundred pounds of dirt and gravel a day. But it takes me no time, it's almost all automatic. I just have to check and dump out the wire screens an hour or so every day."She states, "It hasn't, oh, I don't know.... moved by itself or anything, has it? I seem to remember Naki-Yai describing this contraption, and one of the children at the El Parador wanted to see it. I told him I'd bring him if it was safe."   He says, "Bring him out, it's safe. Far safer than the contraptions being used out in California. Those contraptions destroy the land, this actually replenishes it! The sifted soil can be blended in with the natural fertilizer that the animals leave behind to make plantable soil for the sandier sections of our land! We've managed to set up a fifty-foot square section already."Kate says, "Flint, you and Sonoma are amazing. I'd love to see it. I'll need a tour, this place changes so fast. When does planting begin? I know we'll need all our hands here when the time comes."Sonoma arrives as Kate asks her question to Flint. She replies "Full fledge planting will be soon I have been waiting for the weather to calm a bit. It has been an unusual year the seedlings for many of the transplantable items were begun shortly after we purchased the land and are in beds along the back of the tunnel and the cellar of the house. I have begun to harden them off but am still slightly afraid of the storm season. Direct seeding for grains and hay can begin right before the full moon at the end of the month. I have only limited planted planned for this year but we should be self-sufficient with enough extra to begin making back the investment provided we do not have a disaster. I plan to expand the cash crops next year. This year I though I would mostly concentrate on the animals as that seemed to be what would be most immediately profitable and interested more of the partners.""Well, horses are where my knowledge is. I had never even thought of crops until you brought it up. It's a very lucky thing you decided to partner. Will you need me to hold off on starting the school so I can help with the planting?"Jake notes that there are considerably more animals present than he expected, far more than just those recently acquired from the Cowboy Gang.  On the ride out, Jake and Katherine chat randomly. Several times he looks over his shoulder back at Promise City. "I wonder if Ruby is all right." When Katherine questions him further he says, "Oh, I know she is fine with the old coot. Just jumpy I guess." Jake chats with Sonoma and Flint for a few minutes, each time the conversation comes around to what Ruby is up to regarding the festival, their trip to tombstone, and the saloon changes she is planning.  "Anything else you need Katherine? I am supposed to meet Ruby soon. We'll look for you, and if we don't see you we will ride out later."  "No, I think I'll be fine for now," Kate said with a warm smile. Standing just a bit closer than was really necessary, Kate laid her hand on his arm for a moment, then pulled it away as if he was on fire. "By the gods," she muttered and grabbed Jake's arm to pull him away. "There is something wrong here," she said, keeping her voice down. "All you can think about is Ruby, more so than usual, and all I can think about is touching you."Jake grins from ear to ear and says, "So what did you think was wrong?" Kate caught herself sliding her hand up his arm and snatched it away. "Jake, I'm not kidding. I have never looked at you this way before today. Considering what we were talking about earlier, don't you think it's strange?"   She started pacing a few short steps back and forth. "I got rid of my pendant, why am I feeling this? Does she have some other way of manipulating me?"Jake frowns a bit and then laughs. "You could have kept that little nugget to yourself." Jake strokes his beard several times and an evil grin comes over his face. He grabs at Katherine and embraces her tightly and gives her a warm kiss on the lips. Before she can react, he pushes her away and leaps into his saddle. Laughing he says, "I'm sure you'll be mad at me later. I think I know why you feel that way, I'm off to see what I can do about it. Sorry for the tease, Katherine Kale. I couldn't help myself, but you need another funny story." As his horse starts away, Jake pulls up and calls out, "I do care for you like a sister though." With that he gallops away laughing like a fool."Jake, you ass!" she shouted after him with a laugh. He really was rather charming, in his own way. She waited a moment until she got her breath again, then went back over to Flint and Sonoma.   Sonoma watched as Jake grabs Kate and kisses her then rides off in a cloud of dust  “You know that is the same look I got from Nanuet when I kissed him what is going on?  I thought Jake was with Ruby""He is with Ruby. I..." Kate looked at Sonoma and remembered Mother Jimenez’s warning. "He was just giving me a hard time... I think. There are all sorts of oddities going on just now. I was hoping I could convince you to ride back into town with me later, Sonoma. Jake doesn't want me riding alone because of the Cowboy Gang. I can get you up to speed about them today."</blockquote>

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