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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 3121172" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter 180, “You haven't told Pierre?”, Sunday, March 26th, 1882, 7:00 PM Ruby answers, "Ah yes, it is time for us to begin our new construction and we need lots of lumber! But I think I heard you had a rush on it not too long ago so I hope you have what we need," she smiles. "But it IS Sunday night and I am sure you don't want to discuss this now. Would you like us to stop by your store instead?"  He replies, "Sure, that's fine. I'll be turning in soon anyway, just thought I'd stop by to pay you back from before. Some day you'll have to tell me what that was all about."Ruby laughs. "I think I'll leave that to Jake. He loves to tell stories. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll leave you two to chat and start my next set."  Ruby heads back to the stage, singing two more sets for the nights, although shorter than usual.   Jake joins them and chats some, but let's Ruby handle the discussion about the building material.  Jake has a relaxing evening hanging about the saloon. Besides listening to Ruby he helps with the security and gives Harry a break at the piano. During the evening when he can get a few uninterrupted minutes with him, Jake talks to Niles. "Your place was right near the Trail Dust, I have been meaning to ask you about what you saw going on there. It seems we learn every day how much more the Yeats were involved in the cowboy gang. Did you have any dealings with the gang back then or notice any folks that seemed to be close to the Yeats that have been identified as gang members? Don't be holding anything back partner, our saloon could be a target and I want to make sure we are doing everything we can to protect it."Niles replies, "My contact was with Dudley Yeats not his customers, since he got his liquor from me but I also had a bar so he didn't want them coming into my place. I heard that he had some of the highest drink prices in town, which kept most folks away, but he seemed to have a fairly regular crowd of rowdies. The beverages that I sold to him were mostly the ordinary stuff, local beers, ales and whiskeys. Ordered an odd brand of Mexican Tequila for him from time to time. He once had me order a fancy French wine too. Come to think of it, since his place has closed I've ordered that same Tequila brand twice for the Indian Head Saloon."Jake asks, "What brand would that be?"  He keeps looking for Chester to come closer to him,  needing to ask him what he is going to do about the information Nanuet gave him.  He replies, "The Orendian Family brand, produced at their plantation outside Tequila, Mexico."  Ruby schmooze with the customers who are there, spending a good amount of time with them, talking about the festival and local gossip.   In the midst of this socializing she approaches a trio of men who arrived during her final set who she had not seen at the Lucky Lady before. One is a short, fat man balding in his mid-thirties, another is a brown haired man with a long brown and red beard who appears to be in his late twenties, the third is tall and thin, looking to be maybe late teens or early twenties with prematurely white hair worn in a crew cut. All three men are poorly dressed and order beer to drink.Ruby gets their beers herself. On return she gives each of them a smile as she passes them their order. "So, I haven't seen you all around here before. New to town or just the saloon?" she asks cheerily. "Or did you come just to hear me sing?"  The balding man speaks to her in a thick Southern accent "Well Ma'am, we've heard some mighty fine things about your singing so we thought we'd wander over her to check it out. Name's Riff, my friends here are Ambrose" as he points to the bearded one, "...and Roy", gesturing to the younger man. We've been ranching over in Texas and decided to head further west. Heard there were some good ranches in these parts who might be looking for some help.""Ruby West," she says, as she extends her hand to each of them. "Well, I am flattered that you came to OUR saloon then. We do have some of the best ranches around, that is certain. Where are you staying, if I'm not being too nosy? I might have some leads on jobs for you but would have to check with the owners first."  The men exchange glances. Riff says, "We're camped outside of town."She replies, "It's ok. I'm sure I'll see you around in here and if I hear anything I'll pass it on to you here. I know a few owners of local ranches.  Have you heard we're having a festival next weekend? It's going to be fun for everyone. You won't want to miss it."  The bearded man says in a Texas accent "No, haven't heard anything about that. What is the occasion?"  She says, "Oh it's a festival to honor the gods, especially Dionysus. But to tell you the truth," she leans in closer to him, "It's just another reason to have a party and get drunk," she giggles before standing up again.Jake makes mental note of the three ranchers talking to Ruby. The fat bald man and the bearded one are doing all of the talking. The tall man with the white crew cut however keeps looking towards the staircase up to the second floor.  Chester recognizes the man with the crew cut, but keeps the smile on his face.Ruby approaches Chester and Clarisse, "Good evening Chester. Hope all is well. If you're hungry, why don't you ask Maria for a plate?"  He says, "It is. Isn't that right, Clarisse?"   Clarisse says, "Oh yes. I'm just very nervous about the costume ball."  He says, "Stop by our table later." Chester recognizes the man with the crew cut, but keeps the smile on his face.Chester and Clarisse take an empty table. He goes to the kitchen door to ask for dinner for two.  "Why are you nervous about the Costume Ball?" Ruby asks Clarisse before they walk away.  Clarisse says, "The Priestess had put me in charge but now she doesn't like my ideas for it. I was thinking that it should be held outside on Main Streets, along the two blocks between Fremont and Front. It would run for half the night, with events tied to all eight restaurants and saloons adjacent. Then to be fair to the other saloons, other events would be held there for the rest of the night. But she wants everything to be held everywhere simultaneously. Don't you think that will be confusing?"Ruby replies, "Well, yes, I had the same conversation with her. I thought the ball would be outside too, in one area. Any other way is silly really. Perhaps we can have it outside and every saloon can set up a tent or something. How can you have dancing all over? Then it's not a ball it's dancing at saloons. Maybe if each saloon has different events then people will want to go to each saloon in turn. Oh, also, I want to include some Mexican dancing. Definitely Mexican music. Have you planned any dance contests or anything like that?"Clarisse says, "Oh no, I'm afraid I don't know much about dancing. Mrs. Beatrice Shultze was totally against the practice, she said that it could lead to improper fraternization with the opposite gender."  "Clarisse, what do you think a ball is all about?" Ruby smiles at her, laying her hand on Clarisse's arm, "And you don't believe that anymore do you?"Clarisse replies, "No, of course not. With proper and appropriate supervision people can be expected to keep any improper thoughts that they might have under control. The importance will be for the local authorities to make sure that no excessive drinking occurs, as that could lead to uninhibited behavior."  Ruby exclaims, "Uninhibited behavior? Clarisse you live in a town of miners filled with saloons. You're not going to stop people from drinking and you really have no right to think you can." When Jake is finished talking, Chester waves him over. "Jake, I saw the guy with the white hair before. He was at the Palace with Foote."   Jake asks Chester to come with him and take a look at something, "We'll leave the Ball planning to the beautiful ladies here."  Jake takes him outside and pretends to point at the roof of the saloon and scratch his head. "I guess we'll try to find out there names. Not sure what Berg wants us to do though. We'll think of something. What did you think of what Nanuet told you? What place do you think they are going to hit for the weapons? Have you told Berg?"Chester replies, "Ruby was talking to them when I entered. Maybe she found out something? When we were at the Indian Head, Berg talked to some guy named Watson. He said that Watson rode with Curly Bill Brocious. As far as the weapons, the best bet would be the gun shop. We should warn Pierre. They might be thinking of the Marshall's office, but that would be very risky for them."Jake stops looking at the roof and looks at Chester. "You haven't told Pierre? Nanuet did talk to you didn't he? Mierda! I don't know who else has enough weapons besides Pierre. Look somebody has to talk to Pierre or Al Brower. I need to get back inside, I don't like the way one of them was looking at the stairs going up inside the Lucky Lady. Figure out what you want to do and then let me know. Chet, I can't believe nobody has talked to Pierre or Al!" Jake shakes his head and leave Chester standing outside the door. Jake wanders over to the three men that Ruby were talking to and sits down with them. "Good evening gentlemen, anybody here like some good poker? If so come on back any night this week. We have some pretty good players here, and the games are always interesting." Jake waves Harry over. "Set these men up on me, what are you drinking?"  "Beer" the man with the balding southern drawl replies."Where are you men staying," Jake asks the man with the sparse vocabulary. "Do you think you like to come back for some poker?"   "We're camped outside of town," the balding man say. Jake pinpoints the man's accent as that of somebody from Mobile. The eyes of the man with the crew cut continue to glance towards the stairs although he now keeps his head facing in Jake's direction. Jake's eyes bulge slightly, “Your camping outside of town!? You folks are brave indeed. Haven't you heard the stories about Wyatt Earp?"   Ruby looks at Clarisse. "I think this discussion should wait until we don't have customers here, Clarisse." With that she turns from her back to her new "friends".  She hears the man with the beard say to Jake, "Thanks for the friendly gesture sir. I can assure you that my friends and I will definitely make it a point to return to this saloon."    "Oh, isn't that a nice thing to say!" Ruby exclaims. She very quickly glances at Jake while rubbing her wrist. "I'm going to get a snack in the kitchen, I'll be right back." Ruby makes her way to the kitchen and looks around. Maria is not there, the whole kitchen is empty. She gathers together a plate of cheese and breads and places it on the counter. She quickly mutters an incantation as quietly as she can. She continues to concentrate but picks up the plate and heads back to the table, just as Jake is telling his story.  She doesn't interrupt him, she just places the plate on the table and sits.Jake lowers his voice, leans towards them and speaks conspiratorially. "That Earp has only one thing on his mind, kill everyone who has had anything to do with the cowboy gang. Now, I'm not saying you folks are part of the gang, but if anyone you are camping with has been associated with the gang at any time... well let's just say the whole camp is in danger." Jake looks around quickly to make sure no one is listening in. "I'm hearing it said that since his brother was murdered he made a deal. A deal with a power that is better of left unnamed. That deal lets him move as silent as death. That deal keeps any bullet forged by mortal hands from harming him. I'm hearing it said that he has been showing up suddenly and quietly. He has been killing without worrying about getting himself shot. When he is finished killing those outside of town... well then he'll start coming into town." Jake looks around again to make sure no one is listening and then laughs a nervous laugh. Ruby had difficulty at first with the Detect Thoughts spell, picking up some prominent and lewd thoughts about her from both Tony Lucky and one of his players, a man whose last name appropriately was Wolfe. She also detects thoughts from Clarisse which consist of self-chastisement for having improper thoughts regarding Chester that she wishes to suppress due to their inappropriateness.  She then concentrates on the three men, finding the minds of both the balding and bearded men are closed to her but the young man with the white crew cut is an open book.Jake sits back up straight again. "I'm sure those are just crazy stories, right? I'll just be staying in town until the law gets him locked up either way. I did hear from a more reliable source that some of the gang members joined up with Earp and that he spared them. I know Wyatt Earp, and I wouldn't cross that man. I wouldn't say I'm a friend of his, don't know if that man has any friends. At least I know that I can talk to him, and not likely to get shot first and asked questions second. If I had the unfortunate luck to have a friend that was a known gang member I would be going out of my way to make sure the Earps knew I was not involved. Well, like I said that is all crazy talk." Jake stretches his arms and laughs again. "You keep us in mind, we'll be looking out for you. We'll take care of you here like no place else in town." Jake gives the men a broad smile and a nod of his head as he get's up. "Enjoy your drinks gentlemen."    "Oh!" Ruby exclaims, "I forgot to tell Jeff about that thing we were discussing earlier, Jake." Ruby stands from the table and heads to Jeff, standing at the door. She stands very close to him and speaks in a low voice. "Close and lock the front door. No one gets out. There is BIG trouble from those guys and someone upstairs. We have to alert Chester and cover the back door. I need to get upstairs right now. These guys DO NOT get out, you understand?" Jeff nods his head yes. Ruby sees the puppies out of the corner of her eye. "How did you little trouble makers get out from upstairs? Come on, up you go..." She has a smile on her face as she leads the pups to the stairs. She stops at the bottom. "Hey baby, don't forget you made that bet with me, the one I won with the queen of diamonds? Time to pay up when I get back..." She makes sure that Jake sees her tug on her ear then follows the pups upstairs. As soon as she is out of sight she pulls her gun off her thigh and readies it. She lets the pups get to the top of the stairs first. She stops at the top, listening and looking at the room with the liquor in it, and waits to see if the dogs respond.The door to the room at the top of the stairs where Niles Hoover keeps his liquor is currently shut. Listening at the door she does not hear anything inside. She does not have a key, Niles and Harry having the only keys to that particular room.   Ruby sticks her gun in the front of her dress but within quick reach. She uses her quick and silent fingers to try the door knob. The door is locked. She reaches up and pulls a small metal pick out of her hairclip. Glancing back and forth down the hallway and still seeing no one, she continues to use her nimble fingers as she inserts the pick into the lock.  Chester goes back inside the Lucky Lady. "Clarisse, let's go to the Comique. We haven't been there in a while." On their way there, Chester says, "Sorry about this. I need to talk to Mr. Brower or Mr. Jacquet. I don't like the looks of the three Jake and Ruby were talking to earlier." Clarisse pouts. "You're always doing things for other people. Why can't you concentrate on me for once?"  "Because those men are with the Cowboy Gang. They're up to no good. I need to warn Brower or Jacquet. OK? I'll make this up to you." "Fine. Let's get this over with." They get to the Comique and Chester looks for Al or Pierre.Back at the Lucky Lady, Ruby has to fiddle with the lock a little but soon hears the distinct "click" sound of the locking mechanism moving and door unlocking.  "There we go," Ruby says out loud, "That door always sticks! Come on pups, let's go find that wine Mr. Hoover was looking for." Before she enters she tucks her gun into the back of her skirt, for faster grabbing. Ruby starts singing out loud as she walks in the room, the pups prancing around her feet. She shuts the door, leaving only about two inches open behind her, just enough for the pups to get out if necessary. Her singing masks the casting of a sleep spell.   Both puppies curl up and fall asleep. She doesn't hear any other sounds in the room.  She keeps her eyes and ears pealed as she enters the room.Ruby laughs. "You lazy pups! Get up!" She pushes each of them gently with her toe. She makes sure to keep an eye on the door and the window, looking for any movement. She also glances at the floor for any kind of footprints.   She starts looking around at the liquor bottles. "Now, where could that wine be?" She pretends like she is looking for a bottle of wine while really searching for dynamite or any traces of a setup.Jake makes his way to Harry. He leans in and whispers, "Pretend you are going to the outhouse and get Chester Martin. He just left for the Comique. Go now."  Jake then wanders over to Niles and says softly. "See those three men at the table I was talking with? If I have to run up the stairs you get the shot gun and don't let them follow. Something is up, something bad." Then Jake goes over to stand behind and a few feet away from the three of them.Ruby looks around the room and does not see anything amiss. There is no dynamite in sight as to the best of her knowledge the boxes, crates and kegs are lined up on the selves along the walls, although it has been a while since she last looked into this room so can't swear to the quantities or placement of specific items. She manages to locate a wine rack that Niles has arranged along the far wall . Both windows in the room look to still be boarded up. The puppies awaken from her nudging.She walks over to the wine rack and pretends to be looking it over, while keeping her eye on the rest of the room. She keeps one eye on the puppies to see if they act unusual. She picks up a bottle of wine, "Is this it? Hmmm...." Ruby lets it drop from her hands, trying to influence it's fall in such a way to spread the contents over a large portion of the floor. "Whoops!"  Ruby watches the contents spread across the floor and flow under the shelves and around the kegs. She does not see anything interfere with or deflect the flow of the liquid."Mr. Hoover is going to be SO mad at us!" She looks down at the puppies with a smile. "Oh look, here is the bottle!" Ruby reaches for a bottle and takes it in her hand. "Let's go little ones..." Ruby takes the bottle and exits the room, leaving the door open a tiny crack.  She exits the room then starts down the stairs. She stops at the top, out of sight of the room with the liquor in it. She slides into the shadows the best she can, flattening herself against the wall. She waits there, listening for any noise in the room.Harry loops around the back of the Lucky Lady and catches Chester as he enters the Comique. Breathing heavily, he says, "Chester... you got... to get back... to the Lucky Lady. There's going to be some trouble and they need you."  "What? OK. Hold on. Harry, could you take Miss Townsend back to the Double Eagle?" He turns to Clarisse. "I have to go. Please stay home for now. This could be bad and I don't want you caught up in it. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you." She pleads, "Don't go Chet. The others can take care of this. Why do you have to always have to do it?"  He replies, "Because they're my friends and it's my duty to protect them and everyone else in town. I'll be careful. Now go." He kisses her, mindful of Harry's presence. Harry and Clarisse leave for the Boarding House.  Chester comes back into the Lucky Lady. "I'm back. Clarisse took ill so I took her home to rest."When Chester arrives Jake walks to the bar and looks over the top of it. "Hey Jeff, come here a minute. We need some scotch." Jake also waves Chester over to the bar.  Then in a very quiet voice Jake says, "Jeff, she's been gone too long. What did she tell you? I think you should get up there with her. Chester and I can watch these three. Whatever we do Chet, don't let them get away."  Chester asks, "What's going on? I was on my way to warn Al and Pierre when Harry caught me. He'll be back in a bit. I asked him to take Clarisse home. She wasn't happy about it."Ruby has been watching the hallway and door for some time now when Jeff Mills comes heading up the stairs from the first floor.  She puts her fingers to her lips indicating quiet. "There is someone invisible in the liquor room," she says as quiet as she can, "But I didn't hear or see anything. I might have put him to sleep. I'm not sure what to do besides bust in there."  Jeff replies, "You could let me bust in there instead. You shouldn't be putting yourself in danger Ruby, I'm the bouncer around here."Ruby sighs, "Alright. I'll stay out here in case he gets out. The windows are boarded up so he can't get out that way." She puts her hand on his arm, "Be careful Jeff. He could shoot you and you would never know it was coming."   She pulls her gun out and readies it again, then nods to Jeff.   Jeff opens the door and enters. He takes a step into the darkened room. His second step reaches the section of floor saturated with wine and the heel of his foot slips on the liquid. He starts to fall and reaches out to grab the shelving, which due to his strength begin to tilt inward. He sees this and releases the shelves, falling to the ground, with a case of beer falling from the top shelf towards him. He manages to deflect the case with his right arm, five of the twelve bottles spilling out and breaking.  Downstairs, the occupants of the main room hear the "thump" of Jeff hitting the floor followed by the distinctive sound of breaking glass.  Chester looks at the stairs. "What was that?" He whispers to Jake, "It'd be better if you take a look rather than me since you're an owner. I can keep a watch on those three."  Jake heads upstairs. The three at the table start to look nervous and decide to leave. The balding one drop a few dollar coin on the table and they stand up to leave.Chester walks over to their table. He puts his hands on the shoulders of the balding man. "Going so soon, gentlemen? The night is young. Please, have another round on me." He waves at Harry, who has just returned from the Double Eagle. "Harry, another round for my friends."  "Mighty neighborly of you Lawman," the balding man says. The three sit back down as the one with the beard scoops up and pockets the dollar that had been dropped onto the table. "Jeff!" Ruby runs into the storage room, not knowing what happened. She quickly surveys the scene and kneels next to Jeff. "Are you ok?" She looks him in the eyes, "I forgot to tell you I got the bottle of wine already..."   Jeff looks down at his pant legs, which are now coated with red wine and says, "Good, that means that isn't my blood."    Ruby helps him up but continues to look around the room. "What a mess. Hoover is going to be mad! Hope this wasn't for the festival..."   Jake has now reached Ruby and Jeff. Jeff is still lying on his back on the floor.   Ruby gives Jake a "look" as she glances around the room.  She kneels down next to Jeff and looks him over for injuries. "I accidentally dropped some wine and Jeff fell."   Jake helps Jeff up and listens carefully for anything out of place. "I see Lucky and Mischief, where's Princess?" Jake turns and looks at Ruby and says in a loud angry voice. "If that third dog of yours is in one of these rooms upstairs chewing up somebody's good boots there will be hell to pay." "Jeff, go get the sawdust to clean this up and put some in the hallway too. That will keep us from tracking it downstairs. Ruby you keep those other two mutts in the hallway with you while I find the other one. We are going to talk about this when I find her!" Jake gives Ruby a wink.Downstairs, Chester grabs the beer from the bar and brings it to the table. "My pleasure. Mind if I join you?" He sits down at the table. "So, what brings you to Promise City? I like to get to know the townspeople."  The balding man does the talking, "Hello, name's Riff. We're ranchers who got tired of Texas. We heard that southern Arizona was prime grazing land, with a number of ranches, so decided to head over this way to check it out. We hear that there will be a festival next weekend so will probably want to stick around until at least then." His two companions both nod and drink their beer.Chester shakes Riff's hand. "I'm Chester. Nice to meet you. There are a bunch of ranches around. They're always looking for help. The festival to Dionysus is next week. Don't miss it. I hear the saloons might have drink specials."  The men finish their drinks, thank Chester for his hospitality and then stand up to leave.  The deputy exclaims,   "No. Stay. Have another round. I think Miss West is due to perform again. You don't want to miss that." Chester thinks, They better figure out what to do. These guys are itching to leave. It's hard thinking of excuses.The balding man tells Chester, "Nah, it's getting late and we have to ride back at the camp. But you can tell the little lady that we'll be back to see her again real soon." The three men begin heading towards the door.   Jeff heads downstairs to get a burlap bag of sawdust from the kitchen as Jake, Ruby and the puppies remain upstairs in the hallway outside of the liquor room.Jake is trying to figure out exactly what Ruby is telling him. There is someone or something in this room? With all this talk of blowing up the saloon he decides it is better to look for live explosives first.   Having not heard the hiss or smelled the distinctive burn of fuse material in the liquor storage room, Jake moves quickly into the rooms on either side of that room. Each time paying close attention to the wall bordering the liquor storage. He looks with the door open, listens and sniffs the air. He also closes the door with him inside looking for the glow of burning fuse in the dark. All the while muttering things like, "When I catch that mangy cur, I am going to kick her sorry tail."After Jake checks the room for dynamite Ruby reenters. She eyes a bottle of beer, the contents very slowly leaking out the bent cap. She pushes the cap flat with her finger over the hole, then shakes it up the best she can.  She then uses her thumb to release the pressure, the beer sprays all over the room and she makes certain she watches as it falls over the area.As the spray hits near the boarded up windows she sees the liquid deflect off of something invisible, just beneath where the window is on the wall. The object is way too small to be a person, but something is there. She stops and looks closer, now seeing some liquid remaining and dripping down from the floor from something ten inches high and three or four inches in diameter. Calling up her magical detection abilities she attempts to have her mind penetrate through the invisibility, making out four sticks of dynamite fastened together and fastened by a pair of fishing hooks to the window sill. The sticks have fuses that are twisted together with one longer fuse which goes up to the window and out a thin crack between two of the boards.</blockquote>

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