Post by sandymarek on Mar 30, 2013 20:19:33 GMT -4
Part 424
“Will you tell us what happened?” Hank says.
“Very well,” Davy and Chad go on to inform them about what transpired inside of Alfredo’s from the beginning as the guy Bert made his way to greet them, to the men seated around the two tables one pretending to play cards as well as the bartender all watching them very closely as they approached the bar.
“It was what occurred” Chad says “At the bar that everything sprung into life.”
“Tell us,” Willard replies, “We want to hear.”
“Approaching the bar” Chad says “Davy at first was looking about and that made Bert and Joe, the bartender a little antsy and wanted to know what he was looking for.”
“What were you looking for?” Barrett asks.
“I told them,” Davy replies, “I was looking for a coin but I was really looking to see if they had one of those movable floors that I heard so much about.”
“Did they?” Alan asks.
“No,” Davy replies.
“Then what happened?” Mike asks.
“Then,” Chad says, “They were trying to offer us a drink, but Davy did something unusual and caught them off guard by asking them for a glass of milk.”
Doing a double-take, “You asked them for a glass of milk?” Pete asks.
“I did,” Davy answers with a huge smirk on his face.
“I could see how that,” Pete notes, “Would throw them for a loop.”
“Oh, it did,” Davy admits, “But if I was that naïve and wasn’t aware of what goes on in those saloons then perhaps they could’ve gotten away with it. However, seeing I do then by knowing what I know I stayed one step ahead of them.”
“Smart thinking,” Hank states.
“Yes,” Mike says.
“Which is why I asked for the milk,” Davy mentions.
“Then” Chad says “In between them trying to convince Davy to accept a drink of whiskey, they kept trying to ask us of where we came from and what we were doing here.”
“The usual questions,” Pete states, “One would ask someone if you’re new to them or the area.”
“Right,” Chad replies “They then starting asking if we were interested in some employment.”
“When,” Davy says, “We told them we weren’t interested and as we tried to leave is when everything began to explode. The men at the tables got up and at first; the two men at the stairwell blocked us from leaving.”
“They,” Chad continues, “Tried to make us drink the tainted drinks they had poured for us at the bar.”
“They also” Davy mentions “Had us remove our guns and place them on the counter.”
“They then ordered us,” Chad says, “To start drinking.”
“And as we proceeded to do so,” Davy replies, “Chad and I both quickly reacted and then went into action.”
Chad says, “We first threw the drinks at them.”
“And then,” Davy continues, “We quickly took advantage of the moment and managed to break free of them.”
“And as they did,” Chris says, “Is when we came through the door.”
“Us,” Sam states, “Then Austin and Oscar.”
“Once we broke free from them” Chad says “We managed to disarm them and then we were wondering what to do with them.”
“What did you end up doing with them?” Willard wanted to know.
“At first,” Davy says, “After rounding them all up and to be certain they weren’t in any way a threat to any of us we decided to tie their hands up.”
“Smart thinking,” Spot notes.
“Then thinking what to do with them,” Chad says, “Davy came up with the idea of placing them downstairs.”
“Is that what you did with them?” Joe wanted to know.
“We did yes,” Davy replies, “But before doing so I went downstairs to see where we could go put them and stumbling up on a locked room we came to learn they had 14 other men already detained inside just below the bar.”
Alan says, “Fourteen?”
“Yes,” Davy replies, “They managed to gather up 14 men.”
“If we didn’t break free when we did,” Chad notes, “We would’ve or could’ve very well been, let’s say, 15 and 16, waiting our turn to be shanghaied.”
“Wow!” comes from Alan.
“Did they lure them in,” Vinnie asks, “The same way they lured you both inside?”
“With the music?” Davy asks.
“Yes,” Vinnie replies.
“They did, yes” Davy says “That is how they managed to capture their men. They would have that man in black stand outside as lookout and whenever they saw a possible candidate like they did with us they would swoon them inside and offer them a drink like they did us and once they had them knocked out from the drug they put into the glass they would place them inside the locked cell to wait for a ship to come in.”
“That is probably,” Alan brings up, “What they had in mind for those men in there the ones that were being held with Mrs. Barkley.”
“Probably,” Oscar notes, “And I think I heard one of them say that if I am not mistakened.”
“Interesting” Vinnie notes.
“Very interesting indeed” Browne states.
“Yes,” Chad retorts, “Isn’t it?”
Returning to his story “And so,” Davy says, “After freeing the 14 men, I decided to put the men we had upstairs in there instead.”
“Is that where they are now?” Browne wanted to know.
“Unless they found a way to free themselves” Davy notes “I imagine they are still right where we left them. Not only did I leave them tied up but I left them in that room where they had the 14 men and decided to lock the main door just outside of the bar.”
“Very clever,” Jack replies.
“Not bad, Davy” Browne states “Not bad at all.”
“As soon as the Barkleys awaken from their sleep,” Davy says, “I will inform them about the men and see what they want to do with them.”
“Good idea,” Hank replies.
“What about the rest of you,” Chad asks, “What time did you all get back?”
“We got back a couple hours ago,” comes from Don.
“We got back just a few minutes ago” Browne mentions “The children were showing us around the two ranches.”
“They did that with us too,” Mike announces, “Did you see Jarrod’s train?”
“We sure did,” Willard mentions, “And I can’t get over it.”
“Neither could we,” Sam says, “In all my days I never thought Jarrod Barkley would be interested in something like that.”
“Nor did we,” Alan admits.
“A train” Chad mimics, “Did you say a train?”
“Yes,” Browne notes, “Jarrod has a train in the far back of his ranch. It’s just one car, but it is very interesting. You need to go and see it.”
“After lunch,” Chad says, “Maybe I will.”
“Me too,” Davy replies, “I’d like to see it.”
“I think you’ll be in awe,” Mike notes, “Once you do.”
Over at Jarrod’s
Uncle Jim, upon hearing a knock at the door quickly opens it. Seeing a young delivery boy standing there with a telegram he pulls out a couple of coins and after paying him he closes the door behind him and begins reading what it says.
As he is walking into the living room “Who’s it from?” Ed lying on the sofa asks “What does it say?”
“It’s from my son Jack,” Uncle Jim informs him “He’s on his way and should be arriving close to 3.”
“Is he bringing some more men with him?” Ed asks.
“Doesn’t say” Uncle Jim says “Maybe he was in a hurry and just didn’t mention it.”
“Could be,” Ed answers.
“I better get a wagon ready” Uncle Jim says “Just in case” moving to the doorway “And while I’m at it I better make a trip over to Ray’s. If the men are coming they will be needing a place to stay.”
“True,” Ed replies.
The Dentons
Meanwhile, Sherry and the girls as well as Noah are preparing lunch for the children, while the rest of the family and men folk are all still sound asleep in their beds from being out all night long. Hearing a knock at the door Sherry leaves the children with continuing working on the lunch while she goes to find out who it is. Opening the door she catches sight of Uncle Jim standing there and motions him inside.
Informing her “I can’t stay,” Uncle Jim quickly fills her in on the wire that came and his other son Jack on the way there with some of the other men.
“I’ll go see what I could arrange,” Sherry informs him.
“Thank you,” Uncle Jim tells her.
“No problem,” Sherry replies.
As Uncle Jim quickly leaves Sherry returns to the kitchen.
“Who was that?” Audra wanted to know.
“Your uncle,” Sherry mentions, “He is on his way to town to pick up your cousin Jack and the men that will be accompanying him.”
“Where are they going to be staying?” Diane asks.
“I’ll have to make room for them,” Sherry states, “It may be a little tight I realize that but it’s the best we could do. We never had so many that had to be put up for any length of time and in such short notice.”
“Inside the cabin,” Audra asks.
“Yes,” Sherry replies.
“Do you want me to go take care of it?” Diane offers.
“No,” Sherry says, “After lunch we could work on it. Maybe by then the men who are in there now asleep will be awake.”
While they continue working on getting their lunches ready, Jim goes out to the barn where he gets a wagon hitched up. Once he’s in the driver’s box he grabs the reins and upon steering the team he heads for town.
Jarrod’s House
As it is reaching 2:30 pm Ed while lying down on the couch is greeted by Victoria who is the first to awaken, “Where is everyone?” she then asks.
“Audra,” Ed mentions, “Is next door assisting the Dentons with getting lunch ready for everyone and Jim went into town to pick up his son Jack and the men he requested him to bring with him.”
“Jack is coming?” Victoria wanted to know.
“Yes,” Ed replies, “Jim sent him a wire earlier and he just received one back stating he will be arriving at 3.”
“I better head over,” Victoria says, “And see if I could be of assistance. When the rest of the family wakes up, tell them where I went.”
“I will,” Ed vows and while he remains on the couch Victoria quickly goes out the door and heads up to the Dentons front door where she is met and greeted by Sherry who welcomes her in.
Inside the log cabin, the five men have awakened and at first when they come out into the big room they are met and greeted by Hank who then brings them around to introduce them to everyone that is there.
In town, Uncle Jim pulls up alongside of the train station and waits patiently for it to come in.
Back at the Log Cabin
Minutes later, Victoria with the smaller children in tow carry lunch into the cabin for the five men who are still being introduced to the men who have just came in. After greeting them and finding out how they are making out she informs them about having lunch for them and as she deposits it on the table behind them, she informs them about the governor coming by at 5 pm and if they would like to participate with what is going to be brought up they are more than welcomed to attend the meeting.
Ferdinand speaking up thanks her for the lunch that she brought for them and then for the gracious invitation with the other four seconding their thoughts to his.
Before she leaves they ask where they could go to get cleaned up in which Hank volunteers to show them. While Victoria and the children leave the cabin, Hank brings the five men out back to the out-building and after leaving them to tend to their needs tells them not to hesitate to ask for anything else.
As the men are left alone “These people sure are nice people” Vern brings up, “Aren’t they?”
“They sure are” Paul responds as he is first to use one of the two water closets while Terry uses the second one and the other three stand about waiting their turn.
In Town
As the train is pulling into the station, “Looks like we’re here,” Jack announces.
“We are,” John Jenkins answers and as he looks about, “There’s your father,” pointing to where he is waiting in front of the wagon.
“I see him,” Jack mentions.
As the train is coming to a complete stop Jack and Mr. Jenkins grab their belongings and as they exit the train Jack calls out, “Father!” to Jim who quickly is there to welcome him with open arms and as they exchange tight hugs, “Jack,” Jim says again, “Jack! It’s so good to see you.”
“It’s so good to see you Father,” Jack replies, “I came as fast as the train taking us would get here.”
“Glad you could make it,” Jim tells him.
“Father,” Jack mentions, “I brought along Mr. Jenkins with me.”
Extending his right hand out, “I insisted on coming,” John Jenkins says.
“Oh?” Jim asks.
“Father,” Jack clarifies, “He knows all about what is going on, in fact while coming here, he filled me in on quite a bit of what I wasn’t even aware of.”
“I see,” Jim replies.
Jack says “I did bring some of the men with me. I hope I was able to bring enough” indicating the ten he has with him “We were running out of men to bring along.”
“I brought some men with me as well” John Jenkins informs him “I’m afraid you just might need them” indicating the twelve he brought with him as well as Josh and Billy.
Nodding his head, “You are right,” Jim admits, “How about if we start heading back and while we’re on the way we could do some catching up?”
“Good idea,” Jack replies “And I think we could use it.”
“Indeed we could,” Jim notes.
Walking over to the wagon, the men along with their belongings all pile into the back and after Jim and Jack climb into the driver’s box, Jim grabs hold of the reins and steers the wagon around and heads for Jarrod’s ranch.
Back at the house while waiting for the men folk to awaken and Uncle Jim to return from the train station with Jack and the other men requested to arrive, the five men begin eating the lunch they have there all prepared for them.
Part 425
Over at Jarrod’s, each of the men begin waking up starting with Jarrod. Once he finishes washing up and changing into some clean threads he goes downstairs and is welcomed and greeted by Ed who is lying there on the couch. Asking where everyone is Ed informs him about them being next door and as for the brothers they haven’t come down as yet.
Meanwhile upstairs, Nick and Heath are next to awaken and as they come out of their rooms simultaneously, “Great minds think alike,” Heath quips with Nick replying, “That they do. How you feel?”
“Much better,” Heath tells him, “I think I needed the sleep.”
“We all did” Nick then asks “How’s the arm?” as he touches the left arm gently Heath flinches slightly “Sore?”
“Just a tad,” Heath replies, “Maybe.”
“Do you need any help with anything?” Nick offers.
“No,” Heath answers, “I will be alright.”
“Then,” Nick says, “How about if you go first and I will wait out here for you?”
“If it’ll make you feel better,” Heath replies.
“It will” Nick says and then playfully slapping Heath on the shoulder “Go on” and after Heath nods his head he goes in the bathroom and shuts the door behind him.
Nick waiting patiently for him to come out stands there with his arms folded.
Minutes later Heath comes out, “You okay?” Nick asks again.
“I’m okay” Heath replies and while Nick takes his turn Heath goes down the hall to the room he is occupying and gets dressed. Shortly thereafter Gene, followed by Bill and then Jim Jr. all get up, one behind the other and after greeting one another they take their turn using the bathroom and once they’ve finished changing into clean clothing they go down the stairs.
Jim Jr. being last to come down with his left arm in a sling asks Ed “How you feel?”
“I’m doing alright,” Ed answers, “What about you?”
“I can’t complain,” Jim Jr states.
“If you want to know where everybody is,” Ed says, “They all went over to the Dentons. I was to wait for you to get up so we could head on over there together.”
“Are you up to it?” Jim Jr, concerned asks.
“I am,” Ed answers, “If I take it slow.”
“Then” Jim Jr says “We’ll head over slow” and as Ed gets off the couch he and Jim Jr. slowly go out the front door and make their way to the end of Jarrod’s road where they meet up with Jim Sr coming up the road “Need a lift?” Jim Sr asks.
Running his hand along his midsection “Sure could” Ed smiling comments.
“What happened to you?” Jack asks of Jim Jr who responds, “Had a bullet removed.”
“Mmm, hmm,” Jack retorts, “Do you need some help?”
“No,” Jim Jr replies, “I could do it.”
“Here,” Jack says, “Let me help you anyway,” and quickly jumping down he helps Jim Jr into the back of the wagon while Mr. Jenkins and the men assist Ed into the back.
As the girls are now setting the table for everyone who will be joining them, the men and boys are in the family room amusing themselves either with having a drink or indulged in either conversation or playing games of checkers, chess and cards.
Hearing the sound of horses coming up the road Audra looking out the window of the dining room calls out, “Mother,” with Gene looking out the window of the family room and says, “Mother, they’re here!”
Wiping her hands on her apron she replies “Oh good” as she comes out of the kitchen.
“Mother,” Audra mentions, “Jack is with them and so is Mr. Jenkins.”
“They brought some of the men,” Gene announces, “With them as well.”
Getting up out of his seat, “I better go see to them,” Nick says.
“Mother,” Audra brings up, “Mother I think we have more men than what we made room for.”
Glancing out the window “I think you’re right” Victoria says, “But somehow we’ll find a way to accommodate them all. Excuse me” as she heads for the doorway to meet and greet them.
“I better,” Sherry offers, “Make more sandwiches.”
“Good thinking,” Victoria replies and while Sherry goes back into the kitchen Victoria goes out the door.
As the men begin piling out of the back of the wagon Nick and John Jenkins followed by Victoria and Jack exchange a quick hello and then after assisting Jim Jr and Ed out of the wagon Nick says “Come with me” to the men and while he escorts them to the log cabin, Victoria escorts Jim Jr, Jack and Ed inside the Dentons’ house and Jim Sr takes care of the wagon.
After walking inside the log cabin he is met and greeted by the men.
While everyone inside are either getting acquainted or reacquainted Billy is over talking with Johnny who fills him in on what took place with Jim and Davy and Chad are over with Nick filling him on what transpired at Alfredo’s Saloon including them placing the men down in the cellar where they are at the moment.
Going up to Jim, “What happened?” Billy asks as he is grabbing hold of his arm, “Had a little run in with a window,” Jim replies, “I take it Johnny told you.”
As he flinches “He did” Billy concerned asks “Are you alright?” Jim replies “I am.”
After Davy and Chad finish telling Nick what occurred “Do you want us to go back” Davy inquires “And see if they were able to free themselves?”
“No, I’ll take care of it” Nick replies “For now; let them stay where they are. When the governor gets here let him decide what to do with them; he should be coming by at 5, so when he arrives I will inform him and let him go do whatever he needs to do with them. This is afterall his mess that he allowed to happen here. Let him take care of it.”
After he finishes talking with Davy and Chad, Nick exits the cabin. Minutes later, Victoria walks in with the three smaller children carrying lunch for the men who just arrived including John Jenkins.
After placing the food on the table and informing him about the governor arriving at 5 pm Victoria leave. While the men who just arrived start eating, the younger children remain behind to show the five men around the two properties.
Meanwhile back at the house the three families move to the dining room and once everyone is situated around the table with Ray Denton sitting at the head of the table with his wife Sherry sitting alongside of him, Diane sitting on the other side of Sherry, Billy sitting on the other side of Ray, Audra is seated next to Diane with Gene sitting next to Billy; Kyle is sitting next to Gene with Neil and Todd next to him; Heath is seated next to Gene, Nick is on the other side of Heath, Jarrod is on the other side of Nick, Victoria is at the other head of the table with Jim Sr to the left of her, Jack next to him, Jim Jr next to him with Ed on the side of Jim Jr and Bill between Ed and Todd.
With the exception of the boys, Audra and Diane, all the children have eaten their lunch earlier. Sue Ann, Sarah and Melanie have agreed to be on hand to serve everyone what is needed and after they finish placing the sandwiches in the middle of the table along with the salad, cole slaw and all the condiments needed Victoria says “Before we start, I think right now is a good time for us to take a moment and say a silent prayer to think about everything that took place leading up to this moment” and as everyone around the table with Sarah, Sue Ann and Melanie standing behind them all stop what they are doing bow their heads, they quietly think and reflect on everything that has occurred leading up to this moment.
Victoria first thinks about Robert and how he sacrificed his own life while managing to be there to save hers. Next she thinks about the five other men who are now freed and at the moment being shown around by the three smallest children, who happen to be the sisters and brother to the six children that are gathered around the table, who have lost both of their mothers and the father of one of them while the other has been shanghaied and from what she learned by talking to them is on a ship called the Grizzly Bear which is due to come in anytime now.
The Barkleys and Ed as a whole all think about their families back in Stockton.
While Victoria thinks about Silas who is now starting to get around after recovering from being shot weeks ago prior to them coming to San Francisco, Jim Sr. thinks of his wife Carol and his daughter Tina, Ed thinks of Jean and his little daughter Chrissy, Jim Jr. thinks about his wife Linda, and Jack thinks about his wife Maureen as well as their children who are all back at the ranch waiting for them to return.
As Heath thinks about all the events leading up to this moment and after looking over at Nick and then at Jarrod, he quietly says “Thank you” for rescuing him as well as Bobby and Ron from his Uncle Matt when he came to the ranch with intentions of bringing the three of them down to San Francisco to be shanghaied.
Nick thinks about Duke and wonders how he is making out being short handed; he also thinks about Ciego who is now slowly getting on his feet after he was injured by Heath’s uncle as well and while he is busy making dinner for the men inside the bunkhouse he then moves onto Silas who is also taking it easy and assisting the womenfolk in the kitchen with making dinner for the family.
Jarrod while thinking about everything back home as well, then looks to Nick followed by Heath and then as he shifts his glance around the table he looks to Ed and then to Bill and is grateful that they are all doing as well under the circumstances, he then looks to Audra and Gene and then over at Victoria and wonders if the situation were turned would she be sitting there at this very moment because thanks to Gene being there he managed to lead them to her whereabouts with the help of the other boys around the table and even though he isn’t happy about how he came to be there he is pleased that everything turned out for the best and as he shakes his head he quietly mumbles “Thank you.”
As the Dentons each take a moment to reflect on this moment they are just grateful they are all together as a family and pleased to see the Barkley family back together again.
As Audra looks about the table she first thinks of her day out with the girls that she had and as much as she enjoyed it she now looks over at Gene and wonders what is going on inside his mind who in turn looks over at her and then as he thinks about the night he had when he went out with the boys to find their mother and thinks about what he saw at the various houses as he passed by not to mention the pier and finally what occurred down the alleys when they stumbled upon the guy Vic being murdered and how they almost got themselves killed in the process but quietly says thank you for being able to return alive and safe.
Then turning their attention to each of the six kids around the table starting with Kyle who looks to each of the Barkleys and the Dentons and even though he is somewhat envious of how close they are he is also rather grateful at the same time and while he does feel somewhat guilty for meeting with Jack and Barbara at the Parker House he looks to each of his brothers and sisters and wonders what is going on inside their heads who in turn do the same thing and as they ponder the same question they think along the same line and wonder if they should inform the Barkleys or the Dentons about the Grizzly Bear’s arrival or about their secret arsenal knowing full well that Audra, Gene, Diane and Billy already know about it and wonder if they don’t say anything would any one of them do it first. But for now they just keep silent and quietly say a thank you that they are there together having a good dinner with a nice family.
Bill then looks over at his brother Ed and while he is equally thankful that they both managed to return safely after what happened to them he then turns his attention and thoughts over to Nick and then at Heath and as he looks to each of them he thinks back to that very first day of them meeting one another and how much has changed between them now with Nick finally accepting Heath and even though it took a lot of work they have indeed become the best of friends and even though Bill and Nick grew up together he is very pleased and grateful at the same time that their relationship has grown stronger over the past three months.
Then while Nick looks over at Bill followed by Ed, he goes down the line to the rest of the family around the table, with each of the Barkleys doing the same and as he starts off with Audra and thinks how much alike she is to him and even though she is a girl she can very well hold her own at times while other times could be sassy and bossy when she wants to be and could very well give him a run for his money he is just thankful that she is such a sweet spunky loving sister and he wouldn’t have her any other way.
Next looking over at Gene and while thinking back to the conversation he had with Jarrod of how he gets short with him at times, Nick realizing it now feels ashamed and as he quietly thanks Jarrod for waking him up to the fact that he mistakenly overlooked plans on making amends with him once they get back to the ranch.
Turning his attention to Heath Nick tries to wonder what is going on inside his head and even though no words are exchanged he quietly says thank you for how well he is holding up considering the circumstances with everything that has occurred over the past several weeks leading up to this moment.
Then turning to his mother Nick being thankful that she is now safe and back with them realizes they still have one more important issue to contend with but is interrupted of his thoughts when she breaks the moment of silence by saying “Shall we say grace now?” with Ray replying “I’ll do it.”
As she says “Go ahead” everyone keeps their heads bowed and hands folded while Ray recites “Blessed the Lord in these our gifts which we are about to receive from my bounty through Christ our Lord” he then adds “And thank you Lord for making it possible that we could all be here now. Amen.”
Responding “Amen” in unison everyone around the table begins serving themselves and then starts eating. The girls go back into the kitchen to bring back beverages for everyone.
“Let’s not take too long,” Victoria insists, “The Governor will be arriving in a little bit and we do need to be ready for his visit.”
“What time will he be here,” Audra asks.
“5:00,” Jarrod answers.
As the family starts eating Gene asks, “What time did everyone get back?”
“We got back sometime,” Nick answers, “Close to 9.”
“What did I miss out on?” Gene wanted to know.
“How about” Nick suggests “If we save all that for when we are back at the ranch?”
“I think that might be best,” Victoria insists.
As both Gene and Nick’s eyes lock onto one another, “Very well,” Gene replies.
“Gene,” Jarrod then says, “When the governor comes he is going to want to talk with you and the other boys here.”
“He is?” Gene asks.
“He is going to talk with all of us?” Neil asks.
“Yes,” Jarrod replies, “About what you’ve witnessed.”
“Does,” Todd asks, “That include what we seen on the piers?”
“Yes,” Jarrod replies, “Anything and everything you’ve seen will be very helpful.”
“Who else will be attending?” Gene wanted to know.
“Mr. Benton will be coming with him,” Jarrod replies.
“Who is Mr. Benton?” Gene asks.
“He is his body guard,” Jarrod explains.
“Who else is coming?” Audra wanted to know.
“Not sure exactly,” Jarrod says, “Hopefully the Police Commissioner will be accompanying him. He was supposed to meet with him so we will see.”
“The men,” Victoria brings up, “That came back with me will be and so will Mr. Jenkins.”
“Is that why he’s here?” Gene wanted to know.
“Yes,” Victoria replies.
Part 426
“Would you like us,” Sarah offers, “To prepare something for their visit?”
“If we had more time,” Audra brings up, “I could try making my apple cobbler that Heath taught me how to make.”
“If we had more time,” Victoria says, “We have less than 2 hours to get everything ready for their visit. How about after we finish here we all go back to the house and prepare something for our guests?”
“Okay,” Sarah responds.
“Heath,” Nick asks, “You alright?”
Nodding his head, “I’m fine,” Heath replies, “Just doing a lot of thinking.”
“About the governor coming?” Nick asks.
“Yeah,” Heath says, “This will be my first time meeting him.”
“Mine too,” Gene admits.
“Gene,” Victoria mentions, “You’ve met him before, you just probably don’t remember. You were rather small when he visited and Audra you were too.”
“Yeah,” Audra replies, “I don’t either.”
“I only met him briefly myself,” Nick notes, “Prior to today as well. I think he only came by for one possibly two visits.”
“That is correct,” Victoria says, “He is a very busy man.”
Raising an eyebrow, “I guess so,” Nick retorts.
“Heath,” Jarrod says, “The governor is going to want to talk with you about everything that you may know as well.”
“How could I be of any help?” Heath wanted to know.
“You already have a lot of information,” Jarrod says, “He may want to learn about your experiences that you had to deal with when you were up at the Wheelers as well as the role your uncle played in all this.”
“If it’ll do any good,” Heath brings up.
“Heath,” Jarrod mentions, “You may not realize it but you probably have more information than anyone. You also had to live with quite a bit of it and by what we are doing by what you bring up just may do some justice for you as well as the many before you. We can’t very well bring back all those that had to sacrifice their lives but we could very well do something about the future making sure it doesn’t ever happen again.”
“That’s something,” Heath replies.
“And Heath,” Nick says, “If it should become too sticky or too uncomfortable at any given moment I will be there to put a stop to it. Also I too have a few things I plan on throwing at both the governor and the Police Commissioner.”
“Heath,” Uncle Jim mentions, “I too will be on hand. We will make sure everything stays as calm as could be.”
“I’ll also be there Heath,” Jarrod joins in with, “I won’t let it get out of hand I will be sure to cut it short if need be, but overall I think you’ll be able to handle it all. Just take it as it goes alright?”
“I’ll try,” Heath responds.
“That is all you could do,” Victoria states.
“And Heath” Jarrod then says “The governor already has a slight inkling of what took place. He saw a little of the mess that occurred. By his bringing the Police Commissioner here with him is only to help make them more aware of what is going on and for them to find a solution to stopping it. Now, I don’t expect it to stop just like that” snapping the fingers on his right hand “But by what we are providing them with is helping to give them a starting point. The rest will be up to them to figure out how they want to proceed in dealing with all this.”
“Jarrod’s right Heath,” Nick joins in with, “And right now we are only interested in the ship that will be coming in.”
“The Grizzly Bear?” Audra asks.
“Yes,” Nick starts to say.
“You know of it?” Gene wanted to know.
“Some,” Audra replies, “I know that it’s coming in.”
“That it is,” Jarrod says.
“And” Nick adds “Once we have it dealt with and it’s out of commission permanently we will be returning to the ranch. The rest will be up to the governor to deal with.”
“And even though” Jarrod mentions “There are two ships we are interested in right now we are only concerned with the Grizzly Bear because that’s the one due in.”
“Kyle’s father,” Gene mentions, “Is on board the Grizzly Bear,” glancing over at him, “Or should be.”
“Yes I know,” Jarrod says, “And we will work on something to rescue him without jeopardizing anyone’s life that we don’t need to.”
“You,” Kyle asks, “Mean you really will be helping with rescuing him?”
“Yes” Jarrod replies “But I will tell you Kyle that rescuing him won’t be easy, that is if he is still on board there. However, assuming that he is” looking over at Kyle “First we need to get past the captain and his crew and then find out exactly where on board the ship they have him which won’t exactly be an easy task either. Now, there’s a lot involved, a lot we have to sort out before it does arrive. When the Governor and the Police commissioner comes we could all work out some kind of plan to deal with it” glancing over at Nick “As Nick just said. But for now, let’s just finish here and wait until they come.”
“Agreed,” Victoria responds.
8/22/2012
The family then continues eating silently and then thinking of something, “I was just thinking,” Audra says.
“What’s that dear?” Victoria asks.
“We still have to get the cabin ready for the men that just arrived,” Audra says.
“Yes we do,” Victoria replies.
“Mother,” Nick offers, “How about if we do that for you? We’ll have a few minutes yet until they are due to arrive.”
“Thank you Nick,” Victoria says, “It will be really appreciated.”
As the family continues eating their lunch they go on to other small topics such as Audra and Gene’s birthday coming up to which Sue Ann asks, “When is your birthday?”
“Mine’s,” Audra announces, “April 20th.”
“Mine,” Gene mentions, “Is April 25th.”
“Your birthdays are really close together,” Melanie notes.
“That they are,” Victoria says.
While they continue finishing their lunch back at the ranch in Stockton the children are assisting Silas in the kitchen with making a chocolate cream pie for dinner and Ciego is inside the bunkhouse preparing a nice hot stew for the men’s dinner filled with beef cubes, carrots, potatoes and tomato sauce. Alongside of him Bobby is assisting with making dinner rolls while Ron is working on cooking butterscotch pudding for everyone’s dessert.
In San Francisco over at the Dentons’ after everyone has finished eating their lunch Uncle Jim and Ray who have volunteered are in the kitchen working together in the clean up while Jarrod, Nick, Jack, Bill as well as the boys enter the log cabin and upon glancing about, “What we going to do?” Jack asks.
“What do you want to do?” Bill asks.
Exhaling heavily, “Not much we can do,” Nick answers, “We have more men and not enough beds.”
“Let’s go take a trip into town quickly,” Jarrod insists, “And see about picking up a few items.”
“That might be best,” Bill answers.
“Are we going to have to have enough time?” Jack asks.
“It’s going to have to be, Jack,” Jarrod says.
“Could we come along?” Gene asks.
“I suppose,” Jarrod answers with Nick replying, “I don’t see why not,” and Jarrod adding, “Go let Mother know where we’re going and that you’re coming with us.”
Answering “Right away” Gene quickly runs out of the cabin with Todd, Neil and Kyle in tow.
As Jarrod, Nick, Jack and Bill go inside the barn the three smaller children seeing them follow them in and as they see them working together in getting a wagon hitched up, “Going somewhere?” Noah asks.
“We are yes,” Jarrod answers.
“Where you going” Penny asks, “Mr. Barkley?”
“Into town,” Jarrod explains, “To pick up a few items.”
“Could we come with you?” Noah asks.
“Yeah,” Kimmy asks, “Can we?”
“Please?” Penny asks.
“I don’t see why not,” Jarrod says, “Go in the house let them know, so they won’t worry about where you are.”
Exclaiming, “Yippee,” simultaneously and as they clap and jump up and down they quickly run off to the house, “That sure made them happy” Bill brings up.
“If all our problems were as simple as that,” Jack notes.
“Agreed,” Jarrod answers.
As they exit the barn with the wagon hitched up they are met by the children, “Well?” Nick says.
“Mother said,” Gene mentions, “Not to stay out too long.”
“Then climb up,” Jarrod replies, “We haven’t much time.”
As the boys begin climbing into the back, “Here,” Bill says, “Let me help you up,” grabbing Kimmy he helps her up while Jack assists Penny up.
After everyone has settled in the back and Jarrod and Jack climb into the driver’s box, Jarrod grabs hold of the reins and as he begins steering, “Sure glad you know where you’re going,” Jack mentions as they exit the ranch.
“I better,” Jarrod retorts, “I lived here long enough.”
“If he doesn’t by now” Nick quips “Then something sure must be wrong with him.”
“Indeed yes,” Bill retorts.
Reaching the store that is adjacent to the pier that is outside the pier reading the sign, ‘Colman’s Fish, Tackle and Supplies’ comes out of Neil’s mouth.
As Jarrod brings the wagon to a full stop “We’re going in here?” Gene asks.
“Yes,” Jarrod replies “Climb out.”
After climbing out of the wagon and upon walking inside the building they are met and greeted by a middle aged woman with curly light brown hair and after exchanging ‘Good afternoons’ the woman asks, “May I help you?”
“Yes,” Jarrod replies, “We’re in rather a hurry.”
“What could I get you?” The woman asks.
Glancing about and catching sight of various fishing equipment, “Bed rolls,” Jarrod answers.
“How many?” the woman asks.
“Not sure,” Jarrod states.
“About thirty five,” Nick answers.
“Thirty five?” she says, “That’s quite a number.”
“It is,” Nick replies, “But we do need that many.”
“Are you going out on a trip?” she wanted to know.
“Not quite,” Jack answers.
“Do you have that many available?” Jarrod asks.
“We should,” The woman answers, “Come with me.”
As they go with her to the back of the store “If you don’t,” Jarrod says, “We’ll take what you have and then see about going somewhere else.”
“Let’s see how many I have here first” the woman insists, “And then we’ll take it from there” as she begins going through her inventory of what she has on hand.
“Good enough,” Jarrod replies and while they wait to see how many she has available back at the ranch the womenfolk are at Jarrod’s working on preparing something for the guests that are due to arrive at 5 pm and inside the living room taking it easy are Heath, Jim Jr and Ed who while getting to know one another better are engaged in a card game.
After playing a couple rounds and observing Heath as he wins another hand, “Boy,” Ed announces, “The stories I’ve heard about you are true.”
“Heath,” Jim Jr asks, “How often do you lose?”
“I lose,” Heath replies, “Never really paid much attention to it though.”
“But you do win more often than lose?” Jim Jr asks.
“Never thought about it,” Heath replies.
“Do you ever cheat?” Ed asks.
“No,” Heath replies “That I don’t do.”
“Could I ask,” Ed says, “How is it that you’re that good? Was it your secret?”
Shrugging his shoulders, “Don’t know,” Heath answers, “There isn’t any.”
“But there must be something,” Ed says, “That makes you as good as you are.”
“The only thing I do,” Heath replies, “Is I watch the cards and pay attention to each of the players.”
“You mean,” Jim Jr asks, “Like body language?”
“I guess you could call it that,” Heath says, “When cards are dealt out, I could tell by the eyes mostly of how good of a hand you may have, sometimes it could be the way you move your hand or your shoulders but more often than not the eyes give it a way.”
“Interesting” Ed replies.
“Yes,” Jim Jr says, “Very interesting indeed and you want to know something Heath?”
“What?” Heath asks.
“Jack,” Jim Jr replies, “Jack could play cards just as well too and his system is somewhat like yours. Perhaps one day you and he should play against each other just to find out who the better winner is or who could win the most hands.”
“I bet it would be a draw,” Ed says.
With a smile, “Quite possibly,” Jim Jr replies, “But it still would be interesting to see and find out.”
“That it would be,” Ed says.
“Are you game?” Jim Jr asks.
“I don’t know,” Heath replies, “How about let’s see if we get time to do that and then we could decide on that?”
“Very well,” Jim Jr says.
tbc
“Will you tell us what happened?” Hank says.
“Very well,” Davy and Chad go on to inform them about what transpired inside of Alfredo’s from the beginning as the guy Bert made his way to greet them, to the men seated around the two tables one pretending to play cards as well as the bartender all watching them very closely as they approached the bar.
“It was what occurred” Chad says “At the bar that everything sprung into life.”
“Tell us,” Willard replies, “We want to hear.”
“Approaching the bar” Chad says “Davy at first was looking about and that made Bert and Joe, the bartender a little antsy and wanted to know what he was looking for.”
“What were you looking for?” Barrett asks.
“I told them,” Davy replies, “I was looking for a coin but I was really looking to see if they had one of those movable floors that I heard so much about.”
“Did they?” Alan asks.
“No,” Davy replies.
“Then what happened?” Mike asks.
“Then,” Chad says, “They were trying to offer us a drink, but Davy did something unusual and caught them off guard by asking them for a glass of milk.”
Doing a double-take, “You asked them for a glass of milk?” Pete asks.
“I did,” Davy answers with a huge smirk on his face.
“I could see how that,” Pete notes, “Would throw them for a loop.”
“Oh, it did,” Davy admits, “But if I was that naïve and wasn’t aware of what goes on in those saloons then perhaps they could’ve gotten away with it. However, seeing I do then by knowing what I know I stayed one step ahead of them.”
“Smart thinking,” Hank states.
“Yes,” Mike says.
“Which is why I asked for the milk,” Davy mentions.
“Then” Chad says “In between them trying to convince Davy to accept a drink of whiskey, they kept trying to ask us of where we came from and what we were doing here.”
“The usual questions,” Pete states, “One would ask someone if you’re new to them or the area.”
“Right,” Chad replies “They then starting asking if we were interested in some employment.”
“When,” Davy says, “We told them we weren’t interested and as we tried to leave is when everything began to explode. The men at the tables got up and at first; the two men at the stairwell blocked us from leaving.”
“They,” Chad continues, “Tried to make us drink the tainted drinks they had poured for us at the bar.”
“They also” Davy mentions “Had us remove our guns and place them on the counter.”
“They then ordered us,” Chad says, “To start drinking.”
“And as we proceeded to do so,” Davy replies, “Chad and I both quickly reacted and then went into action.”
Chad says, “We first threw the drinks at them.”
“And then,” Davy continues, “We quickly took advantage of the moment and managed to break free of them.”
“And as they did,” Chris says, “Is when we came through the door.”
“Us,” Sam states, “Then Austin and Oscar.”
“Once we broke free from them” Chad says “We managed to disarm them and then we were wondering what to do with them.”
“What did you end up doing with them?” Willard wanted to know.
“At first,” Davy says, “After rounding them all up and to be certain they weren’t in any way a threat to any of us we decided to tie their hands up.”
“Smart thinking,” Spot notes.
“Then thinking what to do with them,” Chad says, “Davy came up with the idea of placing them downstairs.”
“Is that what you did with them?” Joe wanted to know.
“We did yes,” Davy replies, “But before doing so I went downstairs to see where we could go put them and stumbling up on a locked room we came to learn they had 14 other men already detained inside just below the bar.”
Alan says, “Fourteen?”
“Yes,” Davy replies, “They managed to gather up 14 men.”
“If we didn’t break free when we did,” Chad notes, “We would’ve or could’ve very well been, let’s say, 15 and 16, waiting our turn to be shanghaied.”
“Wow!” comes from Alan.
“Did they lure them in,” Vinnie asks, “The same way they lured you both inside?”
“With the music?” Davy asks.
“Yes,” Vinnie replies.
“They did, yes” Davy says “That is how they managed to capture their men. They would have that man in black stand outside as lookout and whenever they saw a possible candidate like they did with us they would swoon them inside and offer them a drink like they did us and once they had them knocked out from the drug they put into the glass they would place them inside the locked cell to wait for a ship to come in.”
“That is probably,” Alan brings up, “What they had in mind for those men in there the ones that were being held with Mrs. Barkley.”
“Probably,” Oscar notes, “And I think I heard one of them say that if I am not mistakened.”
“Interesting” Vinnie notes.
“Very interesting indeed” Browne states.
“Yes,” Chad retorts, “Isn’t it?”
Returning to his story “And so,” Davy says, “After freeing the 14 men, I decided to put the men we had upstairs in there instead.”
“Is that where they are now?” Browne wanted to know.
“Unless they found a way to free themselves” Davy notes “I imagine they are still right where we left them. Not only did I leave them tied up but I left them in that room where they had the 14 men and decided to lock the main door just outside of the bar.”
“Very clever,” Jack replies.
“Not bad, Davy” Browne states “Not bad at all.”
“As soon as the Barkleys awaken from their sleep,” Davy says, “I will inform them about the men and see what they want to do with them.”
“Good idea,” Hank replies.
“What about the rest of you,” Chad asks, “What time did you all get back?”
“We got back a couple hours ago,” comes from Don.
“We got back just a few minutes ago” Browne mentions “The children were showing us around the two ranches.”
“They did that with us too,” Mike announces, “Did you see Jarrod’s train?”
“We sure did,” Willard mentions, “And I can’t get over it.”
“Neither could we,” Sam says, “In all my days I never thought Jarrod Barkley would be interested in something like that.”
“Nor did we,” Alan admits.
“A train” Chad mimics, “Did you say a train?”
“Yes,” Browne notes, “Jarrod has a train in the far back of his ranch. It’s just one car, but it is very interesting. You need to go and see it.”
“After lunch,” Chad says, “Maybe I will.”
“Me too,” Davy replies, “I’d like to see it.”
“I think you’ll be in awe,” Mike notes, “Once you do.”
Over at Jarrod’s
Uncle Jim, upon hearing a knock at the door quickly opens it. Seeing a young delivery boy standing there with a telegram he pulls out a couple of coins and after paying him he closes the door behind him and begins reading what it says.
As he is walking into the living room “Who’s it from?” Ed lying on the sofa asks “What does it say?”
“It’s from my son Jack,” Uncle Jim informs him “He’s on his way and should be arriving close to 3.”
“Is he bringing some more men with him?” Ed asks.
“Doesn’t say” Uncle Jim says “Maybe he was in a hurry and just didn’t mention it.”
“Could be,” Ed answers.
“I better get a wagon ready” Uncle Jim says “Just in case” moving to the doorway “And while I’m at it I better make a trip over to Ray’s. If the men are coming they will be needing a place to stay.”
“True,” Ed replies.
The Dentons
Meanwhile, Sherry and the girls as well as Noah are preparing lunch for the children, while the rest of the family and men folk are all still sound asleep in their beds from being out all night long. Hearing a knock at the door Sherry leaves the children with continuing working on the lunch while she goes to find out who it is. Opening the door she catches sight of Uncle Jim standing there and motions him inside.
Informing her “I can’t stay,” Uncle Jim quickly fills her in on the wire that came and his other son Jack on the way there with some of the other men.
“I’ll go see what I could arrange,” Sherry informs him.
“Thank you,” Uncle Jim tells her.
“No problem,” Sherry replies.
As Uncle Jim quickly leaves Sherry returns to the kitchen.
“Who was that?” Audra wanted to know.
“Your uncle,” Sherry mentions, “He is on his way to town to pick up your cousin Jack and the men that will be accompanying him.”
“Where are they going to be staying?” Diane asks.
“I’ll have to make room for them,” Sherry states, “It may be a little tight I realize that but it’s the best we could do. We never had so many that had to be put up for any length of time and in such short notice.”
“Inside the cabin,” Audra asks.
“Yes,” Sherry replies.
“Do you want me to go take care of it?” Diane offers.
“No,” Sherry says, “After lunch we could work on it. Maybe by then the men who are in there now asleep will be awake.”
While they continue working on getting their lunches ready, Jim goes out to the barn where he gets a wagon hitched up. Once he’s in the driver’s box he grabs the reins and upon steering the team he heads for town.
Jarrod’s House
As it is reaching 2:30 pm Ed while lying down on the couch is greeted by Victoria who is the first to awaken, “Where is everyone?” she then asks.
“Audra,” Ed mentions, “Is next door assisting the Dentons with getting lunch ready for everyone and Jim went into town to pick up his son Jack and the men he requested him to bring with him.”
“Jack is coming?” Victoria wanted to know.
“Yes,” Ed replies, “Jim sent him a wire earlier and he just received one back stating he will be arriving at 3.”
“I better head over,” Victoria says, “And see if I could be of assistance. When the rest of the family wakes up, tell them where I went.”
“I will,” Ed vows and while he remains on the couch Victoria quickly goes out the door and heads up to the Dentons front door where she is met and greeted by Sherry who welcomes her in.
Inside the log cabin, the five men have awakened and at first when they come out into the big room they are met and greeted by Hank who then brings them around to introduce them to everyone that is there.
In town, Uncle Jim pulls up alongside of the train station and waits patiently for it to come in.
Back at the Log Cabin
Minutes later, Victoria with the smaller children in tow carry lunch into the cabin for the five men who are still being introduced to the men who have just came in. After greeting them and finding out how they are making out she informs them about having lunch for them and as she deposits it on the table behind them, she informs them about the governor coming by at 5 pm and if they would like to participate with what is going to be brought up they are more than welcomed to attend the meeting.
Ferdinand speaking up thanks her for the lunch that she brought for them and then for the gracious invitation with the other four seconding their thoughts to his.
Before she leaves they ask where they could go to get cleaned up in which Hank volunteers to show them. While Victoria and the children leave the cabin, Hank brings the five men out back to the out-building and after leaving them to tend to their needs tells them not to hesitate to ask for anything else.
As the men are left alone “These people sure are nice people” Vern brings up, “Aren’t they?”
“They sure are” Paul responds as he is first to use one of the two water closets while Terry uses the second one and the other three stand about waiting their turn.
In Town
As the train is pulling into the station, “Looks like we’re here,” Jack announces.
“We are,” John Jenkins answers and as he looks about, “There’s your father,” pointing to where he is waiting in front of the wagon.
“I see him,” Jack mentions.
As the train is coming to a complete stop Jack and Mr. Jenkins grab their belongings and as they exit the train Jack calls out, “Father!” to Jim who quickly is there to welcome him with open arms and as they exchange tight hugs, “Jack,” Jim says again, “Jack! It’s so good to see you.”
“It’s so good to see you Father,” Jack replies, “I came as fast as the train taking us would get here.”
“Glad you could make it,” Jim tells him.
“Father,” Jack mentions, “I brought along Mr. Jenkins with me.”
Extending his right hand out, “I insisted on coming,” John Jenkins says.
“Oh?” Jim asks.
“Father,” Jack clarifies, “He knows all about what is going on, in fact while coming here, he filled me in on quite a bit of what I wasn’t even aware of.”
“I see,” Jim replies.
Jack says “I did bring some of the men with me. I hope I was able to bring enough” indicating the ten he has with him “We were running out of men to bring along.”
“I brought some men with me as well” John Jenkins informs him “I’m afraid you just might need them” indicating the twelve he brought with him as well as Josh and Billy.
Nodding his head, “You are right,” Jim admits, “How about if we start heading back and while we’re on the way we could do some catching up?”
“Good idea,” Jack replies “And I think we could use it.”
“Indeed we could,” Jim notes.
Walking over to the wagon, the men along with their belongings all pile into the back and after Jim and Jack climb into the driver’s box, Jim grabs hold of the reins and steers the wagon around and heads for Jarrod’s ranch.
Back at the house while waiting for the men folk to awaken and Uncle Jim to return from the train station with Jack and the other men requested to arrive, the five men begin eating the lunch they have there all prepared for them.
Part 425
Over at Jarrod’s, each of the men begin waking up starting with Jarrod. Once he finishes washing up and changing into some clean threads he goes downstairs and is welcomed and greeted by Ed who is lying there on the couch. Asking where everyone is Ed informs him about them being next door and as for the brothers they haven’t come down as yet.
Meanwhile upstairs, Nick and Heath are next to awaken and as they come out of their rooms simultaneously, “Great minds think alike,” Heath quips with Nick replying, “That they do. How you feel?”
“Much better,” Heath tells him, “I think I needed the sleep.”
“We all did” Nick then asks “How’s the arm?” as he touches the left arm gently Heath flinches slightly “Sore?”
“Just a tad,” Heath replies, “Maybe.”
“Do you need any help with anything?” Nick offers.
“No,” Heath answers, “I will be alright.”
“Then,” Nick says, “How about if you go first and I will wait out here for you?”
“If it’ll make you feel better,” Heath replies.
“It will” Nick says and then playfully slapping Heath on the shoulder “Go on” and after Heath nods his head he goes in the bathroom and shuts the door behind him.
Nick waiting patiently for him to come out stands there with his arms folded.
Minutes later Heath comes out, “You okay?” Nick asks again.
“I’m okay” Heath replies and while Nick takes his turn Heath goes down the hall to the room he is occupying and gets dressed. Shortly thereafter Gene, followed by Bill and then Jim Jr. all get up, one behind the other and after greeting one another they take their turn using the bathroom and once they’ve finished changing into clean clothing they go down the stairs.
Jim Jr. being last to come down with his left arm in a sling asks Ed “How you feel?”
“I’m doing alright,” Ed answers, “What about you?”
“I can’t complain,” Jim Jr states.
“If you want to know where everybody is,” Ed says, “They all went over to the Dentons. I was to wait for you to get up so we could head on over there together.”
“Are you up to it?” Jim Jr, concerned asks.
“I am,” Ed answers, “If I take it slow.”
“Then” Jim Jr says “We’ll head over slow” and as Ed gets off the couch he and Jim Jr. slowly go out the front door and make their way to the end of Jarrod’s road where they meet up with Jim Sr coming up the road “Need a lift?” Jim Sr asks.
Running his hand along his midsection “Sure could” Ed smiling comments.
“What happened to you?” Jack asks of Jim Jr who responds, “Had a bullet removed.”
“Mmm, hmm,” Jack retorts, “Do you need some help?”
“No,” Jim Jr replies, “I could do it.”
“Here,” Jack says, “Let me help you anyway,” and quickly jumping down he helps Jim Jr into the back of the wagon while Mr. Jenkins and the men assist Ed into the back.
As the girls are now setting the table for everyone who will be joining them, the men and boys are in the family room amusing themselves either with having a drink or indulged in either conversation or playing games of checkers, chess and cards.
Hearing the sound of horses coming up the road Audra looking out the window of the dining room calls out, “Mother,” with Gene looking out the window of the family room and says, “Mother, they’re here!”
Wiping her hands on her apron she replies “Oh good” as she comes out of the kitchen.
“Mother,” Audra mentions, “Jack is with them and so is Mr. Jenkins.”
“They brought some of the men,” Gene announces, “With them as well.”
Getting up out of his seat, “I better go see to them,” Nick says.
“Mother,” Audra brings up, “Mother I think we have more men than what we made room for.”
Glancing out the window “I think you’re right” Victoria says, “But somehow we’ll find a way to accommodate them all. Excuse me” as she heads for the doorway to meet and greet them.
“I better,” Sherry offers, “Make more sandwiches.”
“Good thinking,” Victoria replies and while Sherry goes back into the kitchen Victoria goes out the door.
As the men begin piling out of the back of the wagon Nick and John Jenkins followed by Victoria and Jack exchange a quick hello and then after assisting Jim Jr and Ed out of the wagon Nick says “Come with me” to the men and while he escorts them to the log cabin, Victoria escorts Jim Jr, Jack and Ed inside the Dentons’ house and Jim Sr takes care of the wagon.
After walking inside the log cabin he is met and greeted by the men.
While everyone inside are either getting acquainted or reacquainted Billy is over talking with Johnny who fills him in on what took place with Jim and Davy and Chad are over with Nick filling him on what transpired at Alfredo’s Saloon including them placing the men down in the cellar where they are at the moment.
Going up to Jim, “What happened?” Billy asks as he is grabbing hold of his arm, “Had a little run in with a window,” Jim replies, “I take it Johnny told you.”
As he flinches “He did” Billy concerned asks “Are you alright?” Jim replies “I am.”
After Davy and Chad finish telling Nick what occurred “Do you want us to go back” Davy inquires “And see if they were able to free themselves?”
“No, I’ll take care of it” Nick replies “For now; let them stay where they are. When the governor gets here let him decide what to do with them; he should be coming by at 5, so when he arrives I will inform him and let him go do whatever he needs to do with them. This is afterall his mess that he allowed to happen here. Let him take care of it.”
After he finishes talking with Davy and Chad, Nick exits the cabin. Minutes later, Victoria walks in with the three smaller children carrying lunch for the men who just arrived including John Jenkins.
After placing the food on the table and informing him about the governor arriving at 5 pm Victoria leave. While the men who just arrived start eating, the younger children remain behind to show the five men around the two properties.
Meanwhile back at the house the three families move to the dining room and once everyone is situated around the table with Ray Denton sitting at the head of the table with his wife Sherry sitting alongside of him, Diane sitting on the other side of Sherry, Billy sitting on the other side of Ray, Audra is seated next to Diane with Gene sitting next to Billy; Kyle is sitting next to Gene with Neil and Todd next to him; Heath is seated next to Gene, Nick is on the other side of Heath, Jarrod is on the other side of Nick, Victoria is at the other head of the table with Jim Sr to the left of her, Jack next to him, Jim Jr next to him with Ed on the side of Jim Jr and Bill between Ed and Todd.
With the exception of the boys, Audra and Diane, all the children have eaten their lunch earlier. Sue Ann, Sarah and Melanie have agreed to be on hand to serve everyone what is needed and after they finish placing the sandwiches in the middle of the table along with the salad, cole slaw and all the condiments needed Victoria says “Before we start, I think right now is a good time for us to take a moment and say a silent prayer to think about everything that took place leading up to this moment” and as everyone around the table with Sarah, Sue Ann and Melanie standing behind them all stop what they are doing bow their heads, they quietly think and reflect on everything that has occurred leading up to this moment.
Victoria first thinks about Robert and how he sacrificed his own life while managing to be there to save hers. Next she thinks about the five other men who are now freed and at the moment being shown around by the three smallest children, who happen to be the sisters and brother to the six children that are gathered around the table, who have lost both of their mothers and the father of one of them while the other has been shanghaied and from what she learned by talking to them is on a ship called the Grizzly Bear which is due to come in anytime now.
The Barkleys and Ed as a whole all think about their families back in Stockton.
While Victoria thinks about Silas who is now starting to get around after recovering from being shot weeks ago prior to them coming to San Francisco, Jim Sr. thinks of his wife Carol and his daughter Tina, Ed thinks of Jean and his little daughter Chrissy, Jim Jr. thinks about his wife Linda, and Jack thinks about his wife Maureen as well as their children who are all back at the ranch waiting for them to return.
As Heath thinks about all the events leading up to this moment and after looking over at Nick and then at Jarrod, he quietly says “Thank you” for rescuing him as well as Bobby and Ron from his Uncle Matt when he came to the ranch with intentions of bringing the three of them down to San Francisco to be shanghaied.
Nick thinks about Duke and wonders how he is making out being short handed; he also thinks about Ciego who is now slowly getting on his feet after he was injured by Heath’s uncle as well and while he is busy making dinner for the men inside the bunkhouse he then moves onto Silas who is also taking it easy and assisting the womenfolk in the kitchen with making dinner for the family.
Jarrod while thinking about everything back home as well, then looks to Nick followed by Heath and then as he shifts his glance around the table he looks to Ed and then to Bill and is grateful that they are all doing as well under the circumstances, he then looks to Audra and Gene and then over at Victoria and wonders if the situation were turned would she be sitting there at this very moment because thanks to Gene being there he managed to lead them to her whereabouts with the help of the other boys around the table and even though he isn’t happy about how he came to be there he is pleased that everything turned out for the best and as he shakes his head he quietly mumbles “Thank you.”
As the Dentons each take a moment to reflect on this moment they are just grateful they are all together as a family and pleased to see the Barkley family back together again.
As Audra looks about the table she first thinks of her day out with the girls that she had and as much as she enjoyed it she now looks over at Gene and wonders what is going on inside his mind who in turn looks over at her and then as he thinks about the night he had when he went out with the boys to find their mother and thinks about what he saw at the various houses as he passed by not to mention the pier and finally what occurred down the alleys when they stumbled upon the guy Vic being murdered and how they almost got themselves killed in the process but quietly says thank you for being able to return alive and safe.
Then turning their attention to each of the six kids around the table starting with Kyle who looks to each of the Barkleys and the Dentons and even though he is somewhat envious of how close they are he is also rather grateful at the same time and while he does feel somewhat guilty for meeting with Jack and Barbara at the Parker House he looks to each of his brothers and sisters and wonders what is going on inside their heads who in turn do the same thing and as they ponder the same question they think along the same line and wonder if they should inform the Barkleys or the Dentons about the Grizzly Bear’s arrival or about their secret arsenal knowing full well that Audra, Gene, Diane and Billy already know about it and wonder if they don’t say anything would any one of them do it first. But for now they just keep silent and quietly say a thank you that they are there together having a good dinner with a nice family.
Bill then looks over at his brother Ed and while he is equally thankful that they both managed to return safely after what happened to them he then turns his attention and thoughts over to Nick and then at Heath and as he looks to each of them he thinks back to that very first day of them meeting one another and how much has changed between them now with Nick finally accepting Heath and even though it took a lot of work they have indeed become the best of friends and even though Bill and Nick grew up together he is very pleased and grateful at the same time that their relationship has grown stronger over the past three months.
Then while Nick looks over at Bill followed by Ed, he goes down the line to the rest of the family around the table, with each of the Barkleys doing the same and as he starts off with Audra and thinks how much alike she is to him and even though she is a girl she can very well hold her own at times while other times could be sassy and bossy when she wants to be and could very well give him a run for his money he is just thankful that she is such a sweet spunky loving sister and he wouldn’t have her any other way.
Next looking over at Gene and while thinking back to the conversation he had with Jarrod of how he gets short with him at times, Nick realizing it now feels ashamed and as he quietly thanks Jarrod for waking him up to the fact that he mistakenly overlooked plans on making amends with him once they get back to the ranch.
Turning his attention to Heath Nick tries to wonder what is going on inside his head and even though no words are exchanged he quietly says thank you for how well he is holding up considering the circumstances with everything that has occurred over the past several weeks leading up to this moment.
Then turning to his mother Nick being thankful that she is now safe and back with them realizes they still have one more important issue to contend with but is interrupted of his thoughts when she breaks the moment of silence by saying “Shall we say grace now?” with Ray replying “I’ll do it.”
As she says “Go ahead” everyone keeps their heads bowed and hands folded while Ray recites “Blessed the Lord in these our gifts which we are about to receive from my bounty through Christ our Lord” he then adds “And thank you Lord for making it possible that we could all be here now. Amen.”
Responding “Amen” in unison everyone around the table begins serving themselves and then starts eating. The girls go back into the kitchen to bring back beverages for everyone.
“Let’s not take too long,” Victoria insists, “The Governor will be arriving in a little bit and we do need to be ready for his visit.”
“What time will he be here,” Audra asks.
“5:00,” Jarrod answers.
As the family starts eating Gene asks, “What time did everyone get back?”
“We got back sometime,” Nick answers, “Close to 9.”
“What did I miss out on?” Gene wanted to know.
“How about” Nick suggests “If we save all that for when we are back at the ranch?”
“I think that might be best,” Victoria insists.
As both Gene and Nick’s eyes lock onto one another, “Very well,” Gene replies.
“Gene,” Jarrod then says, “When the governor comes he is going to want to talk with you and the other boys here.”
“He is?” Gene asks.
“He is going to talk with all of us?” Neil asks.
“Yes,” Jarrod replies, “About what you’ve witnessed.”
“Does,” Todd asks, “That include what we seen on the piers?”
“Yes,” Jarrod replies, “Anything and everything you’ve seen will be very helpful.”
“Who else will be attending?” Gene wanted to know.
“Mr. Benton will be coming with him,” Jarrod replies.
“Who is Mr. Benton?” Gene asks.
“He is his body guard,” Jarrod explains.
“Who else is coming?” Audra wanted to know.
“Not sure exactly,” Jarrod says, “Hopefully the Police Commissioner will be accompanying him. He was supposed to meet with him so we will see.”
“The men,” Victoria brings up, “That came back with me will be and so will Mr. Jenkins.”
“Is that why he’s here?” Gene wanted to know.
“Yes,” Victoria replies.
Part 426
“Would you like us,” Sarah offers, “To prepare something for their visit?”
“If we had more time,” Audra brings up, “I could try making my apple cobbler that Heath taught me how to make.”
“If we had more time,” Victoria says, “We have less than 2 hours to get everything ready for their visit. How about after we finish here we all go back to the house and prepare something for our guests?”
“Okay,” Sarah responds.
“Heath,” Nick asks, “You alright?”
Nodding his head, “I’m fine,” Heath replies, “Just doing a lot of thinking.”
“About the governor coming?” Nick asks.
“Yeah,” Heath says, “This will be my first time meeting him.”
“Mine too,” Gene admits.
“Gene,” Victoria mentions, “You’ve met him before, you just probably don’t remember. You were rather small when he visited and Audra you were too.”
“Yeah,” Audra replies, “I don’t either.”
“I only met him briefly myself,” Nick notes, “Prior to today as well. I think he only came by for one possibly two visits.”
“That is correct,” Victoria says, “He is a very busy man.”
Raising an eyebrow, “I guess so,” Nick retorts.
“Heath,” Jarrod says, “The governor is going to want to talk with you about everything that you may know as well.”
“How could I be of any help?” Heath wanted to know.
“You already have a lot of information,” Jarrod says, “He may want to learn about your experiences that you had to deal with when you were up at the Wheelers as well as the role your uncle played in all this.”
“If it’ll do any good,” Heath brings up.
“Heath,” Jarrod mentions, “You may not realize it but you probably have more information than anyone. You also had to live with quite a bit of it and by what we are doing by what you bring up just may do some justice for you as well as the many before you. We can’t very well bring back all those that had to sacrifice their lives but we could very well do something about the future making sure it doesn’t ever happen again.”
“That’s something,” Heath replies.
“And Heath,” Nick says, “If it should become too sticky or too uncomfortable at any given moment I will be there to put a stop to it. Also I too have a few things I plan on throwing at both the governor and the Police Commissioner.”
“Heath,” Uncle Jim mentions, “I too will be on hand. We will make sure everything stays as calm as could be.”
“I’ll also be there Heath,” Jarrod joins in with, “I won’t let it get out of hand I will be sure to cut it short if need be, but overall I think you’ll be able to handle it all. Just take it as it goes alright?”
“I’ll try,” Heath responds.
“That is all you could do,” Victoria states.
“And Heath” Jarrod then says “The governor already has a slight inkling of what took place. He saw a little of the mess that occurred. By his bringing the Police Commissioner here with him is only to help make them more aware of what is going on and for them to find a solution to stopping it. Now, I don’t expect it to stop just like that” snapping the fingers on his right hand “But by what we are providing them with is helping to give them a starting point. The rest will be up to them to figure out how they want to proceed in dealing with all this.”
“Jarrod’s right Heath,” Nick joins in with, “And right now we are only interested in the ship that will be coming in.”
“The Grizzly Bear?” Audra asks.
“Yes,” Nick starts to say.
“You know of it?” Gene wanted to know.
“Some,” Audra replies, “I know that it’s coming in.”
“That it is,” Jarrod says.
“And” Nick adds “Once we have it dealt with and it’s out of commission permanently we will be returning to the ranch. The rest will be up to the governor to deal with.”
“And even though” Jarrod mentions “There are two ships we are interested in right now we are only concerned with the Grizzly Bear because that’s the one due in.”
“Kyle’s father,” Gene mentions, “Is on board the Grizzly Bear,” glancing over at him, “Or should be.”
“Yes I know,” Jarrod says, “And we will work on something to rescue him without jeopardizing anyone’s life that we don’t need to.”
“You,” Kyle asks, “Mean you really will be helping with rescuing him?”
“Yes” Jarrod replies “But I will tell you Kyle that rescuing him won’t be easy, that is if he is still on board there. However, assuming that he is” looking over at Kyle “First we need to get past the captain and his crew and then find out exactly where on board the ship they have him which won’t exactly be an easy task either. Now, there’s a lot involved, a lot we have to sort out before it does arrive. When the Governor and the Police commissioner comes we could all work out some kind of plan to deal with it” glancing over at Nick “As Nick just said. But for now, let’s just finish here and wait until they come.”
“Agreed,” Victoria responds.
8/22/2012
The family then continues eating silently and then thinking of something, “I was just thinking,” Audra says.
“What’s that dear?” Victoria asks.
“We still have to get the cabin ready for the men that just arrived,” Audra says.
“Yes we do,” Victoria replies.
“Mother,” Nick offers, “How about if we do that for you? We’ll have a few minutes yet until they are due to arrive.”
“Thank you Nick,” Victoria says, “It will be really appreciated.”
As the family continues eating their lunch they go on to other small topics such as Audra and Gene’s birthday coming up to which Sue Ann asks, “When is your birthday?”
“Mine’s,” Audra announces, “April 20th.”
“Mine,” Gene mentions, “Is April 25th.”
“Your birthdays are really close together,” Melanie notes.
“That they are,” Victoria says.
While they continue finishing their lunch back at the ranch in Stockton the children are assisting Silas in the kitchen with making a chocolate cream pie for dinner and Ciego is inside the bunkhouse preparing a nice hot stew for the men’s dinner filled with beef cubes, carrots, potatoes and tomato sauce. Alongside of him Bobby is assisting with making dinner rolls while Ron is working on cooking butterscotch pudding for everyone’s dessert.
In San Francisco over at the Dentons’ after everyone has finished eating their lunch Uncle Jim and Ray who have volunteered are in the kitchen working together in the clean up while Jarrod, Nick, Jack, Bill as well as the boys enter the log cabin and upon glancing about, “What we going to do?” Jack asks.
“What do you want to do?” Bill asks.
Exhaling heavily, “Not much we can do,” Nick answers, “We have more men and not enough beds.”
“Let’s go take a trip into town quickly,” Jarrod insists, “And see about picking up a few items.”
“That might be best,” Bill answers.
“Are we going to have to have enough time?” Jack asks.
“It’s going to have to be, Jack,” Jarrod says.
“Could we come along?” Gene asks.
“I suppose,” Jarrod answers with Nick replying, “I don’t see why not,” and Jarrod adding, “Go let Mother know where we’re going and that you’re coming with us.”
Answering “Right away” Gene quickly runs out of the cabin with Todd, Neil and Kyle in tow.
As Jarrod, Nick, Jack and Bill go inside the barn the three smaller children seeing them follow them in and as they see them working together in getting a wagon hitched up, “Going somewhere?” Noah asks.
“We are yes,” Jarrod answers.
“Where you going” Penny asks, “Mr. Barkley?”
“Into town,” Jarrod explains, “To pick up a few items.”
“Could we come with you?” Noah asks.
“Yeah,” Kimmy asks, “Can we?”
“Please?” Penny asks.
“I don’t see why not,” Jarrod says, “Go in the house let them know, so they won’t worry about where you are.”
Exclaiming, “Yippee,” simultaneously and as they clap and jump up and down they quickly run off to the house, “That sure made them happy” Bill brings up.
“If all our problems were as simple as that,” Jack notes.
“Agreed,” Jarrod answers.
As they exit the barn with the wagon hitched up they are met by the children, “Well?” Nick says.
“Mother said,” Gene mentions, “Not to stay out too long.”
“Then climb up,” Jarrod replies, “We haven’t much time.”
As the boys begin climbing into the back, “Here,” Bill says, “Let me help you up,” grabbing Kimmy he helps her up while Jack assists Penny up.
After everyone has settled in the back and Jarrod and Jack climb into the driver’s box, Jarrod grabs hold of the reins and as he begins steering, “Sure glad you know where you’re going,” Jack mentions as they exit the ranch.
“I better,” Jarrod retorts, “I lived here long enough.”
“If he doesn’t by now” Nick quips “Then something sure must be wrong with him.”
“Indeed yes,” Bill retorts.
Reaching the store that is adjacent to the pier that is outside the pier reading the sign, ‘Colman’s Fish, Tackle and Supplies’ comes out of Neil’s mouth.
As Jarrod brings the wagon to a full stop “We’re going in here?” Gene asks.
“Yes,” Jarrod replies “Climb out.”
After climbing out of the wagon and upon walking inside the building they are met and greeted by a middle aged woman with curly light brown hair and after exchanging ‘Good afternoons’ the woman asks, “May I help you?”
“Yes,” Jarrod replies, “We’re in rather a hurry.”
“What could I get you?” The woman asks.
Glancing about and catching sight of various fishing equipment, “Bed rolls,” Jarrod answers.
“How many?” the woman asks.
“Not sure,” Jarrod states.
“About thirty five,” Nick answers.
“Thirty five?” she says, “That’s quite a number.”
“It is,” Nick replies, “But we do need that many.”
“Are you going out on a trip?” she wanted to know.
“Not quite,” Jack answers.
“Do you have that many available?” Jarrod asks.
“We should,” The woman answers, “Come with me.”
As they go with her to the back of the store “If you don’t,” Jarrod says, “We’ll take what you have and then see about going somewhere else.”
“Let’s see how many I have here first” the woman insists, “And then we’ll take it from there” as she begins going through her inventory of what she has on hand.
“Good enough,” Jarrod replies and while they wait to see how many she has available back at the ranch the womenfolk are at Jarrod’s working on preparing something for the guests that are due to arrive at 5 pm and inside the living room taking it easy are Heath, Jim Jr and Ed who while getting to know one another better are engaged in a card game.
After playing a couple rounds and observing Heath as he wins another hand, “Boy,” Ed announces, “The stories I’ve heard about you are true.”
“Heath,” Jim Jr asks, “How often do you lose?”
“I lose,” Heath replies, “Never really paid much attention to it though.”
“But you do win more often than lose?” Jim Jr asks.
“Never thought about it,” Heath replies.
“Do you ever cheat?” Ed asks.
“No,” Heath replies “That I don’t do.”
“Could I ask,” Ed says, “How is it that you’re that good? Was it your secret?”
Shrugging his shoulders, “Don’t know,” Heath answers, “There isn’t any.”
“But there must be something,” Ed says, “That makes you as good as you are.”
“The only thing I do,” Heath replies, “Is I watch the cards and pay attention to each of the players.”
“You mean,” Jim Jr asks, “Like body language?”
“I guess you could call it that,” Heath says, “When cards are dealt out, I could tell by the eyes mostly of how good of a hand you may have, sometimes it could be the way you move your hand or your shoulders but more often than not the eyes give it a way.”
“Interesting” Ed replies.
“Yes,” Jim Jr says, “Very interesting indeed and you want to know something Heath?”
“What?” Heath asks.
“Jack,” Jim Jr replies, “Jack could play cards just as well too and his system is somewhat like yours. Perhaps one day you and he should play against each other just to find out who the better winner is or who could win the most hands.”
“I bet it would be a draw,” Ed says.
With a smile, “Quite possibly,” Jim Jr replies, “But it still would be interesting to see and find out.”
“That it would be,” Ed says.
“Are you game?” Jim Jr asks.
“I don’t know,” Heath replies, “How about let’s see if we get time to do that and then we could decide on that?”
“Very well,” Jim Jr says.
tbc
