Finish the Western II, or Return to Anderson's Gulch

Cafe Society
21

Tony MacGregor, the new desk clerk, rushed over to lend a hand. “Mr. Slim? What happened?”

“That stranger from the saloon must have jumped him. And stop calling me ‘mister’.” Slim started heading one end of Bill toward the hotel couch near the fireplace and Tony followed with the other end. “His feet are going to hang over the end but it’s the best we can do. Now let’s get that duster off.”

Tony produced a white handkerchief and handed it to Slim. “Here, this should help with the bleeding.” Bill let out a groan. “Sounds like he’s coming around.”

“Ohh, my head,” Bill moaned. “What happened?”

Slim replied, “Must’ve been that Connor fellow from the saloon. If that’s his real name. And the will is missing.” Bill smiled a bit at that. “What?”

“It’s a fake.”

“It’s a what?!”

“That will is a fake.”

“You expected this?”

Bill nodded. “From an Anderson.”

Meanwhile, in Solace, Mose Doubletree was assessing the situation. “Caroline’s having trouble with the baby?”

“Yeah, and I don’t think Doc MacCaulley can handle it alone. Let’s go!”

“Now you hold on, we’ll get lost out there! We should wait until first light.” Charlie reluctantly agreed.

22

Doc pinched Caroline’s nose shut and poured the laudanum down her throat. Caroline stopped thrashing and lay still. Doc laid a hand on her belly.

Sally was in an agony of cleaning, trying to both stay out of the way and bring Belle and Doc what they needed before they asked for it.

“What do we do?” Belle said.

Doc shook his head. “I’ve only cut into two women in my entire career. I saved both babies, but the mothers died,” Doc whispered, keeping an eye on Sally as she scrubbed under the stove. “Caroline is strong. I’ve got to see if I can get that baby turned before she delivers.”

“How long is that going to take?” Belle asked, frantic.

“She’s relaxed now, with the laudanum. I’ll try massaging her belly.”

The door banged open and Jesse came in, shaking snow off his hat. “Can we bunk down here tonight?” he said. “It’s a blizzard out there. I can’t see a foot in front of my face.” He looked confused when he didn’t see Charlie.

Sally sat back on her heels by the stove, looking at her unconscious mother, and the empty chair where her father usually sat, and burst into tears.

23

Slim was puzzled. “What do you mean, Anderson? That guy said his name was Connor. But now that I come to think of it, he did pronounce it kind of funny, when he got into the poker game.”

Bill moved to try and sit up a little, then lay back down with a grunt of pain. “Sometime I’m going to have to learn to fight. Folks think that just because I’m a big guy I’m good with my fists too. Thing is, not too many try to take me, so I don’t always keep my guard up. Ow!”

Tony, still intriguied by Bill’s earlier words, pressed the question again. “That wasn’t one of the Andersons. We all know them, Will and Paul are both in town here.”

The lawyer chuckled a little, but it ended with a hiss of pain again. “Didn’t say he was an Anderson. But there’s something you don’t know about those brothers, and folks with a grudge tend to find each other.” He turned his head to look at Slim. “What did you mean, he pronounced his name funny?”

24

“When he introduced himself, he stumbled over his last name. I thought that was a little odd,” Slim said. “What do you mean, the will was fake?”

Bill looked at Slim. “Look, I’ve just come back to the Gulch after being gone for two years. My first night back I lose a bunch of money at poker and get bashed in the head and robbed. Forgive me if I don’t feel quite up to sharing my secrets with you yet.”

Slim nodded. “As you wish.”

“I can vouch for Slim,” Tony protested, then subsided as Slim raised his hand.

“No, he’s right. Let’s get him up to his room and we’ll sort this out with the Sheriff in the morning.”

25

When dawn came the next morning it didn’t exactly get “light” like Mose had mentioned. There was a foot of snow on the ground already, with more coming down, huge flakes that covered the world in white. But the wind seemed to have died down, so Charley and Mose were packed and ready for the ride to the ranch, willing to take the risk to save two lives, maybe. Charley spoke to Mose just before they mounted their horses.

“Mose, I sure appreciate you coming with me. It’s going to be tough. And, well, you know how Caroline feels about the sort of “medicine” you practise.”

“Charley, it’s what family is for. We share blood, even if it isn’t close.”

“It’s just that I saw what you could do when I was just a kid. You were already learning from my grandmother…”

“Let’s not waste any more time. I have a feeling we are needed.” And so the two men took off into the snow.

When they finally arrived it was mid-morning. Caroline was becoming aware again, and her labor, which had been relieved by the laudanum, was once again intensifying. But when her husband came through the door she had enough strength to screech at him “Don’t you come near me! You’re never touching me again. You left me, you coward!” As Belle and Sally looked on, Dr. McCaulley tried to sooth her. “Caroline, you know you don’t mean that, you’re just hurting!”

Then Caroline saw who had come through the door with Charley.

26

Bill woke up with a splitting headache and a torn duster coat. The rooms at the Silverlode had recently undergone renovations as a result of the Gulch’s new prosperity, and he lay back in the feather bed, watching the fat snowflakes drift down outside his window.

First things first. He would stop by Hastings to pick up a new coat, grab a bite to eat at Bertha’s, then hunt up Paul Anderson.

He needed to be warned that the fake will was missing. And they had to figure out where the real one was before the fake one surfaced.

Down the hall, Jim Connor puzzled over the will he had stolen from the lawyer fella. It didn’t seem to make any sense. Why would Old Man Gus leave everything to his brothers? Especially after he had promised!

Frowning, he quickly dressed and strapped on his holster. He needed to find Andersons’ brothers and figure out what was going on.

Bill stepped into the hall just as Jim closed his door. The two men turned and stared at each other from across the hall.

27

The beanpole of a lawyer must have been hit harder than anyone suspected for him to forget what had been planned in the offices of Morgan, Tidd & Patterson.

In the last few years of his life, especially since the discovery of phosphate and uranium near town, Gus only trusted a select few, primarily Hank, Will, Paul, and his lawyers. After Anderson’s Gulch started growing again, Gus’s distrust extended to his remaining family away from town as well as anyone named Connell. He hadn’t personally supervised any cattle drive in a long time but a few months before he passed on, he used a cattle drive to the meatpacking plants in Kansas City as an excuse to visit his lawyers. It was Patterson’s idea to make up some fake wills, each one slightly different, in case someone tried to alter them prior to the reading and the four agreed. With the fakes printed, the real will was hid without the knowledge of Will or Paul and in a place where hardly anyone would think to look.

There was one sure way to identify the real will; one which only Gus and the lawyers knew.

28

Interesting twist there, Jeff!. I’ll stand back and watch what you do with it. Meanwhile…
“Morning, there, Bill,” Jim said cautiously. Bill nodded at him.

“I’ve got some errands to run. Can I stand you to a coffee and some eggs at Bertha’s in a bit?”

Jim slowly exhaled. Bill didn’t know who had ambushed him last night! He was in the clear.

“That sounds right good. I need to look up some old friends of mine afterward.” The two men shook hands and agreed to meet at Bertha’s in half an hour or so.

29

Darn you, ivylass! I went to lunch today, all set to write a post where Tidd and Connor went at it hammer and tongs, and then I read your stuff. Grumble, grumble. :stuck_out_tongue: So I spent the rest of the afternoon thinking of something else. That’s the beauty of a story like this, the twisty little things that happen!

“Oh, Charley,” moaned Caroline, “you know I want an up to date doctor, not any hocus pocus stuff.”

Charley’s first look at his wife had shocked him. She seemed so very much more tired and haggard, and his fear for her safety made him speak harshly.

“Caroline! Do you think I’d do anything that could harm you or the baby?” Somewhat abashed she shook her head. “Well, then, I think he can help Dr. McCaulley out, if the doc will have him,” and he glanced questioningly at the tired, worried physician.

“Mr. Mose, is it? As an uppity young doctor I learned the hard way I wasn’t God, or even Asklepios. What do you want to try?” As the two men conferred softly Charley shooed Sally off to her own room, to get some rest. He turned to Belle and Jesse, and asked the latter, “do you mind seeing to my stock in the barn?” I can’t let them out in this weather." Jesse was kind of glad to go, as he was nervous around Caroline’s plight. “Belle” Charley asked “I know you must be right tired too, but could you stay with Caroline and me? She might want another woman’s face about now.”

“Sure, Charley, I’ll stay as long as you need me…” Their eyes snapped around as Caroline began groaning deeply again. Mose and the doctor were sitting at her side. Mose gave Caroling a sip from a little bottle he’d brought in his gear, then he began speaking softly, in a rhythmic cadence, holding her gaze.

30

(I thought it would increase the suspense if Bill was unaware of who had stolen the will. I’m waiting to see what Jeff has in store.)
Mose laid some leaves on Caroline’s belly, along with a flower. Belle frowned. A flower, in the middle of winter? The incantations continued as Mose stoked rhythmic circles on Caroline’s chest and belly.

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room changed. Instead of despair, there was a gathering of purpose, as Caroline’s stopped her fruitless struggles and began to focus. Instead of screaming, she began breathing heavily, struggling to sit up.

Charlie quickly slipped an arm behind her back as she tilted forward. Doc gently parted her knees and smiled.

“Come on, Caroline, you know what to do,” Mose said. “NOW!”

With a sudden grunt, Caroline pushed with all her might. Doc jumped as the slippery baby shot into his arms. Caroline lay back as Doc rubbed the baby with the towels Belle handed him. A fretful cry filled the room.

“Congratulations,” Doc said, laying the baby on Caroline’s now-deflated belly. “You have a son.”

31

Some time after Gus returned from the cattle drive, a package from Kansas City arrived for him. Inside were four envelopes, one containing the real will and fakes in the other three. Gus put one envelope in his office safe and gave the others to Will, Paul, and Hank with the instructions that they be put in a safe place, unopened, until his laywer arrived. To Hank Poole, there was no place safer than an old boarded over dead end in his Excelsior mine.

32

In spite of the storm the late morning trade at Bertha’s was brisk. Some folks just didn’t want to get caught out in the work camps and miss a weekend of gambling and drinking, so they’d come in before the snow got too bad. And what with all the cooking, the cafe was warmer than a lot of cabins and rented rooms. As long as you kept something on the table, and she didn’t have to turn anyone away, Bertha didn’t mind how long you sat there. She just wanted to make money, like everyone else, and this place she’d “taken over” from the previous owner, a Chinaman, was doing that just fine. To her credit, Bertha didn’t mind hard work.

Three bundled up figures came through the door one after another, shaking the snow from their boots, coats, and hats. Sheriff Wilson and Will Santini, the schoolmaster-to-be, had been together, but when Slim McLeod saw the sheriff he asked if he could join them.

Glancing at the crowded tables, Wilson replied “Guess you better. It doesn’t look like anyone’s going to get a table to themselves in here. Got something on your mind?”

In a low voice Slim replied, “Sure do Sheriff” With a gambler’s eye for detail he began the tale of what he’d observed at the Tumbleweed the night before, what happened after, and Bill Tiddd’s assault.

“There’s just something wrong with that Connor fellow” he concluded, “but I can’t put my finger on it, and not actually any proof he was involved.”

Now Sanitini spoke up “Just a minute, did this guy just get into town? When the doctor was fixing me up there was a lady, a Mrs. Parker(Will was formal in the matter of people’s names), who was worried about a mean looking stranger like that at a funeral she’d been to. But I never saw the gentleman, don’t know if it was the same one.”

As Santini finished, and the sheriff was thinking what a really rotten weekend it was going to be, Slim grabbed his arm in a viselike grip. The sheriff just had time to think that Slim was stronger than he looked, as that gentleman nodded towards the door, as two more men came in.

33

“A son,” Caroline said in words of wonder. She put the baby to her breast and gasped as his strong mouth clamped down on her nipple with fierce determination.

Charlie came closer, tears running down his bronzed face. “A boy? We have a boy?”

Belle saw Sally poking her head out through her door, and motioned to her. “Come see your brother.” She stepped aside as Doc finished packing towels between Caroline’s legs and the family gathered around to meet its newest member.

“It never fails,” Doc whispered.

“What?” Belle said.

“How quickly they forget the pain,” Mose said, nodding wisely. “Can you rustle us up some grub, ma’am?”

“I think I can do that,” Belle said, as her stomach gave a tremendous growl. Nobody had eaten since yesterday afternoon, even young Sally, so Belle turned eagerly to the shining stove and began heating up the skillet for ham steaks and eggs. She smiled as Jesse shyly walked in, and greeted him with a kiss.

“I’m going to eat, then see to our house,” he said. “We have chickens to feed and Diablo to get home.”

“It won’t take long to fix breakfast,” Belle said, as Mose began heating the coffeepot and Doc started setting the table. “Then we’ll take a rest and see what Sheriff has found out about the man who took such a dislike to me.”

34

“One has to wonder just what in the blazes is going on” murmured Slim. As the sheriff shot him an inquiring glance Slim inclined his head again at the two men who had just entered. “That tall guy who had to duck to get through the door is supposed to be Gus Anderson’s lawyer. He’s the one I told you about, who got knocked on the head last night. But the guy with him is the one I would have suspected done the deed, as they left the Tumbleweed together.”

Sheriff Wilson heaved a big sigh and prepared to earn his pay. He got up from the table and strolled over to where Tidd and Connor had sat down. In the meantime Slim turned back to Will. “So you’re the new teacher. I think you’re going to have your hands full. Town’s filling up and even some of the camp folk have kids. Hastings is the county school board representative, isn’t he? Seems to me he said you may have upwards of forty students. Did you bring a whip and a chair?”

Santini threw back his head and laughed. “I think I’ll do better than you think. I’ve taught, or at least tutored, kids nearly as tall as I was. You just need to know how to handle them.”

There was a shour from the table Wilson had approached. Jim Connor had risen abruptly to his feet. "What are you trying to say?’’ he yelled. “I didn’t do nuthin’ but ask the barkeep about her! Don’t put words in my mouth, you hear?”

“Alright” said Wilson, “I was just asking” but Connor looked at Tidd and said “I can tell when I’m not welcome. If you’ll excuse me” and he stomped out the door without saying where he was going.

35

“I’m going to head over to the schoolhouse and see if I can give the Hastings a hand,” Will said, swallowing the rest of his coffee. “Do you want to come along?”

Slim shrugged. “I’m pretty handy with a broom and a paintbrush. Sure, why not?”

The Sheriff walked back, shaking his head. “That fella has a hair-trigger temper. I think he’s hiding something, but I’ve got nothing to go on.”

Suddenly, Charlie burst into the restaurant. “I have a son!” he screamed, before running out again. Slim, Will, and the Sheriff looked at each other and started laughing.

“We’re going over to the schoolhouse, Sheriff,” Will said. “Can I buy you a drink later?”

“Sounds good,” Wilson said. “I’m going to see if that Tidd fella remembers anything about last night.”

Slim nodded. “I’ll meet you up at the schoolhouse, Will. I just want to help fill in the blanks in Bill’s memory.” The three walked together to Bill’s table, where he was making a good effort on Bertha’s flapjacks and maple syrup. Will greeted him briefly, then headed out into the cold, bundling his coat around him.

“Slim here says you and Jim left the saloon together last night. Is it possible he’s the one who stole the will?” Sheriff asked.

Bill chewed and swallowed, then slowly laid down his fork and knife. “Come to think of it, he did drop behind me as we got to the Silverlode. Something about a stone in his shoe. I was cold, so I didn’t wait for him. I guess it could have been him.”

“Then we need to get the will back from him,” Wilson said.

“Doesn’t matter,” Bill said, cutting into his pancakes again.

Slim stared. “Doesn’t matter? Why?”

Bill set down his silverware again. “Huh. I don’t know why, but it doesn’t. Isn’t that odd?” He rubbed his head. “I guess that bonk on the head rattled my brains a bit. Say,” he said, pulling a piece of paper out of his wallet. “You know someone named Henry Poole?”

“Hank Poole?” Sheriff said. “Yes, I know him.”

“Know where I can find him?”

36

“Haven’t the foggiest,” replied the sheriff. “I don’t think anyone’s seen him since Gus passed, which is odd. He wasn’t even at the funeral.”

Slim said, “I overheard Hank tell Tommy something being out of town for a while. Sounded like he wants to makesome improvements in the saloon.”

"Now why would he want to do that? Hold on a second, are you saying that Hank has a professional interest in the saloon?

“You didn’t know?”

Sheriff laughed a bit and was about to say something when the restaurant door banged open. Slim looked up and took note of the man who had just entered, he bore more than a passing resemblance to the brothers but at the same time was too young to be a brother. He also had the unmistakable air of someone who travels in Slim’s circle. “Looks like one of Gus’s nephews is here,” declared Slim.

37

Jim jumped on his horse and rode hard through the town. He knew where the Anderson ranch was, the Triple A for the three Anderson brothers. It was quite a spread, with cattle and horses and even a few sheep.

The house was big and rambling enough to hold six families, but now, only the two remaining brothers lived there. He’d heard a couple of the sons might also be in residence, but Jim couldn’t remember how many there were.

It was on the north part of town, near the Excelsior mine, which even on this bitterly cold day was swarming with miners. Jim pulled his nag to a halt in some scrub near the ranch. A middle-aged dumpy woman was making her way toward the front door, probably the housekeeper.

He patted his pocket, reassured by the rustle of the will, and hoped the brother he needed to talk to was home. If the other one was…well, his pistol was primed and ready. With this much at stake, even one extra person to share with was almost too much.

38

“Hm?”, hummed the sheriff as he turned toward the door. “Ah, yes, that’s Sam.”

“Sam?”

“Samuel Adam Anderson.”

The name took a few moments to click in Slim’s brain. “Of course!”

“You know him?”

“Only by reputation. Smilin’ Sam, they call him.”

39

Belle and Jesse woke up after a brief nap, had another quick meal, then Jesse hooked up Diablo to the wagon and drove into town.

“I’m going to see if they need help up at the schoolhouse,” Belle said, twisting her fiery red hair up into a bun. “You’ll be at the jail?”

Jesse nodded. “I want to do some more studying, and Sheriff said something about hunting up Fred Johnson and getting him to behave. I’ll see if he wants me to come along.”

“Be careful,” Belle said, hopping off in front of the school. “Do you want to meet at Bertha’s for lunch?”

“Sounds good, honey. I’ll see you later.” Belle waved Jesse off, then smiled as she saw that beautiful Daisy hooked up in front of the school. She hitched up her skirts and stepped into the schoolhouse, smelling the wonderful scent of fresh whitewash and sawdust. The stove was blazing merrily, so she eagerly pulled off her gloves and her coat, smiled at Mr. Hastings and grabbed a broom. Spying Mr. Santini over by his desk, she made her way over through the rest of the Hastings clan, intending to bring up the possibility of breeding his mare.

40

Sam was dressed like a real dude. Shiny shoes, spiffy suit that seemed only a little rumpled after the stage ride. Polished walking stick, smart hat. He looked like a man out to make a good first impression, but Slim noticed that his traveling bag, left near the door, looked quite worn, and not very full. He could also hear tones of stress in the man’s voice, as he spoke to another patron of the cafe, inquiring as to the whereabouts of Paul or Gus Andersen. Hmmm, thought Slim, he doesn’t know Gus is dead. I wonder what he’s after.

The other diner must have told Sam about his uncle, for the man frowned deeply, although he didn’t seem all that grieved. He seemed to snort in disgust, as he turned to leave. Slim spotted the bottom of one of those shiney shoes, and noted that it looked almost worn through. He decided that if he played poker with Sam, he’d be careful. If he was down on his luck he might cheat.

Meanwhile, near the Andersen ranch, the lurking Jim heard a suspicious voice call “Hey! You in that brush! What do you think you’re doing on private property?”

Jim spun around, displeased that he’d let someone sneak up on him. He saw an older man, warmly but roughly dressed. His hat was further back on his head than one might expect, maybe because he seemed to have only one good eye. “Who wants to know?” he snarled, and the other man halted in alarm, his hands up, at the sight of the pistol aimed right at his head.