Post by sandymarek on Mar 30, 2013 20:23:17 GMT -4
Part 431
“We do know now,” Jim Sr says, “That when they do come in they do their deliveries very early in the morning but it certainly would help if we knew exactly when the Grizzly Bear is due in.”
“Yes,” Ray replies, “It would.”
“Kyle,” Sarah quietly tells him, “Say something.”
As he ponders his thoughts and upon looking over at Sarah and then at Melanie who also says, “Kyle, let them know.”
Exhaling heavily, “Mr. Barkley,” Kyle then says.
“Yes,” comes from Jarrod as well as Uncle Jim.
“Maybe I could be of some help,” Kyle says.
“How?” Nick asks.
“Are you really serious,” Kyle inquires, “About helping with rescuing my father?”
“I am yes,” Jarrod replies, “But I also said that is if he is on board there still. We won’t know until it docks and we are able to go on board to find out. It’s also a very dangerous situation because of what will be involved to get to it. But we will do our best that is the best I could give you right now.”
“His father,” The governor wanted to know, “Is on board the Grizzly Bear?”
“From what he’s told us,” Jarrod says, “Yes.”
“He is,” Kyle answers, “He was captured and taken there several years back.”
“That’s why,” Sherry mentions, “They’ve been staying with us at the moment at our house next door. They don’t have anywhere else to go.”
“You don’t have any parents,” Benton asks.
“No,” Kyle answers.
“Our mothers,” Sue Ann blurts out, “Were killed.”
“Our?” Benton inquires.
“They’re from two different families,” Sherry states.
“And,” Jarrod says, “If Kyle’s father is on board the Grizzly Bear as he said we want to do what we can to rescue him so they could be reunited and be a family once again.”
“It never occurred to me” The Governor replies “I am so sorry” sympathetically.
“Just imagine,” Ray Denton says, “How many other families are just like them out there without one parent or both?”
“I hate to think about it,” the governor states.
“Well for now,” Ed suggests, “Let’s concentrate on our mission at hand and the rest we could work on later.”
“Agreed” Jarrod says “Kyle” he turns to address “Would you please fill us in on what you know of when it’s due in?”
Still pondering his thoughts and upon glancing about the room he looks at each of the Barkleys gathered, the Sempleworths, the Commissioner, his son Alan, Mr. Benton, Mr. Jenkins and then finally to the governor when he replies, “The Grizzly Bear will be coming in on Saturday night.”
“How do you know that?” Mr. Benton asks.
“I have my sources,” Kyle answers.
“And you’re sure it’s coming in,” Ray asks, “On Saturday night.”
“Yes,” Kyle says.
“Seeing that today is Tuesday,” Jarrod notes, “That gives us four days to come up with some kind of plan of action.”
“Heath, Jack” Victoria says, “I believe you had some ideas of what we could do.”
“I do yes,” Heath answers.
“Let’s hear them,” Victoria says.
“If this ship is coming in on Saturday night,” Heath mentions, “Somehow we will have to be able to get to it to do any good.”
“That much we do know,” Nick retorts.
“But” Heath adds “To get to it we would first want to somehow find a way to have the pier cleared as much as possible to lessen as much of the traffic or activity on there as we could.”
“That is not something that will be easy to do,” The commissioner points out.
“Perhaps not,” Heath replies.
Gene starts to say, “I have an idea.”
Ignoring him “True” Jarrod replies to the Commissioner “But Heath is right somehow we do need to find a way to get that cleared.”
Bill says, “Some do their fishing at that hour of the night.”
“Yes, they do,” Ray mentions.
“Not to mention the other ships that may be coming in,” Ed says, “At that time of the night as well.”
“Right,” Ray replies.
“You also,” Alan says, “Have to keep in mind that whenever these ships do pull in whoever is connected to them will be bringing in wagonloads of men to meet with them and there could be captains, crimps, whistle-blowers and whoever else is on hand waiting for the meeting exchange to take place.”
“Waiting there,” Todd mentions, “With guns and batons and whatever else.”
“Exactly,” Alan replies, “Making sure nothing interferes with their transactions.”
“If we are going to get to this Grizzly Bear” Nick states bitterly “And seeing there is a great amount of traffic that will be occurring at the same time we won’t have time to know who is and who isn’t on our side and one shout from any one of them at any given moment could become a problem for any of the rest of us.”
“I do have an idea,” Ed brings up.
“What’s that?” Jarrod asks.
“It’s a long shot,” Ed says.
“Let’s hear it,” Victoria says.
“How about A.J?” Ed inquires.
“A.J” Jarrod says “That is an idea and maybe if we inform him of what we are about to be doing he could somehow talk and relay the information to the others that he will be seeing and he could spread the word out somehow to keep the pier as free of much traffic as he could possibly get it to be for the one night.”
“There is also,” Ray brings up, “Artie.”
“Yes,” Jarrod notes, “He too may be of some help.”
“But what do we do about the others,” Jack says, “As Nick pointed out, we won’t have time to know who is on whose side and we won’t be able to know everyone that is out there. It’s going to be chaotic as it is.”
“True,” Jarrod replies.
“There aren’t enough of us,” Jim Jr notes.
“We do know,” Heath brings up, “That we do need to take out any of the captains that will be there knowing where they stand with all this.”
“Not to mention,” Alan adds, “The men who will be delivering the wagonload of men to these ships.”
“And,” Jenkins brings up, “Getting to the Grizzly Bear isn’t going to be easy to do. We will be having one huge fight on our hands.”
“No question about it,” Uncle Jim replies.
“I’ve got an idea,” Gene tries again.
“Not now Gene,” Nick says.
Ignoring Gene, Ed brings up “Don’t forget about the many prisoners who will be caught in the middle of all this as the exchanges take place. They won’t have any time to know what is going on and we certainly don’t want to do anything in way of jeopardizing their lives if we could possibly avoid it.”
“No” Nick says “But once again we won’t know how we will be able to do all this with everything that will be out there.”
As Gene continues to sulk, Ray brings up, “That is what we need to figure out and work on.”
“I may have an idea,” Jack joins in.
“Let’s hear it,” Jim Sr suggests.
“First,” Jack says, “We do need to know how many we will be having that we know of on our side to be taking out any of the others.”
“We do have my men,” Nick mentions.
“And mine,” John Jenkins acknowledges.
“And,” Nick adds, “We have most of us here.”
“Aren’t,” Ed asks, “There anybody in your police department that will be of some help?”
“There are,” The Commissioner admits, “But not that many I’m afraid.”
“How many are there that we could count on?” Bill asks.
“Ten” Alan answers.
“Ten,” Ed mimics, “Ten out of all of what you have inside your department to run this entire city?”
“Ten,” Alan reiterates, “That we could be sure of to count on to help with this what ever we will be getting into. Most of the police as it was stated do look the other way and seeing they get paid for looking the other way they will also act as a whistle blower and could turn someone in that they see meddling in their affairs.”
“And those who do meddle,” The Commissioner says, “Could find themselves sacrificing their lives.”
“Which we don’t want,” Victoria reiterates.
“Exactly,” The Commissioner says.
“So” Nick replies “With my men, Jenkins men and whatever police we could count on and us” as he looks around the room “That gives us 75 men to work with” excluding Heath, Ed and Jim Jr as he gives them each a denial look.
“Seventy-five,” Ray mumbles, “Against all of what will be out there. That doesn’t give us a good odd.”
“No,” Nick says, “But right now is all we could count on from the looks of it.”
“Somehow,” Bill brings up, “We need to find a way to intercept the wagons if possible before they are to reach the pier or any of the awaiting ships.”
“Another tall order,” Ed retorts.
“Maybe,” Jim Jr brings up, “Some of the prisoners that will be moving to the ships will pick up on what we are doing and lend us a hand.”
“That is a big maybe,” Bill says.
“It is,” Jarrod replies, “But for now it’s going to have to do.”
“Until Saturday,” Ray says, “We’re going to have to do something about the businesses that are empty; if any one of these business associates finds them empty they may wonder what is going on.”
“Not to mention,” Ed notes, “The men that are locked in the cellar of Alfredo’s Saloon.”
“How many businesses,” Jack asks, “Are empty?”
“I believe,” Jarrod replies, “Three if we include Alfredo’s.”
“That is correct,” Benton says, “But seeing the Wards’ House and the Missionary are without anyone and the Parker House was next door and more than likely they saw and heard everything of what was going on this morning, so whatever you plan to do you need to do something about them.”
“Now that we know what we’re up against,” Nick brings up, “How do we proceed?”
“I have an idea,” Heath brings up, “Of what we could do with them.”
“I have an idea,” Jack states, “Of what we could do with the empty businesses.”
“Let’s hear them,” Uncle Jim informs them both.
Glancing over at Jarrod, “Jarrod,” Heath says, “You said we have a private car that could at anytime hook up to the train that comes in.”
“We do yes,” Jarrod replies.
“What do you want with the private car?” Nick asks.
“I have an idea of what we could do with the men that are in the cellar of Alfredo’s Saloon,” Heath says.
“What do you have in mind Heath?” Victoria asks.
“If we wired Echo Lake,” Heath says, “And if we could get Marshall Sawyer and Warren to come here they could somehow take the men that are down in the cellar back with them using the private car. That way, they could be away from here and at the same time guarded so they don’t go anyplace.”
“Where would they take them?” Ed asks.
“No one is at the Wheelers’ ranch at the moment,” Heath notes, “And it is all fenced in.”
“That it is,” Governor Haight notes.
“And,” Jarrod says, “That is a thought.”
“A very good thought indeed,” Victoria replies.
“Isn’t,” The Commissioner asks, “Warren in the jail there?”
“He is,” Heath replies, “But the Marshall could get him out if needed.”
“And right now,” Victoria notes, “They are both needed.”
“I,” Uncle Jim adds, “Quite agree.”
“Any objections Commissioner?” Nick asks as he looks over at him.
“No,” The commissioner replies, “Right now what you are planning does seem to be the logical alternative solution to it all at the moment, so I say go with it.”
“I’m glad,” Nick says, “You’re seeing things our way.”
“I’m with you on this,” The commissioner assures him, “That’s why I am here.”
“Correction,” Alan joins in with, “That is why we’re both here. We’re both with you on this” as he gives his father a side-look “We both want this to stop and we both realize what it is at stake in order for this to succeed.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Nick replies.
“Okay,” Jarrod asks, “What’s next?”
“We will need to do something with the occupants of the Parker House,” Bill notes.
Part 432
“What do you suggest?” Victoria asks.
“Maybe” Bill explains “If you are able to get the marshall and the sheriff to come here then perhaps we could quietly do something with those in the Parker House as well.”
“Like remove them and quietly have them go with the Marshall as well,” Jim Jr says.
“Yes,” Bill replies.
“That is a thought too” Uncle Jim then says “Jack, you said you have an idea as well?”
“Yes,” Jack replies, “Once again it is a long shot.”
“Let’s hear it,” Victoria suggests.
“If Heath is able to get,” Jack brings up, “The Marshall here to bring back the men from down in the cellar of Alfredo’s Saloon and the Parker House then that would mean there would be no one occupying any of these businesses.”
“That is correct,” Ed replies.
“So,” Jack brings up, “What we need to do is somehow get those businesses open and running for business so that if any body goes into them they don’t see them being vacant for too long otherwise there could be a huge problem.”
“That much we do know,” Benton replies.
“But the question is,” Alan says, “What can we do about it?”
“The only thing I could think of is somehow,” Jack suggests, “Occupying them with those who know how to run a business. That way, the businesses could still be operational and if anyone should go inside them they won’t see anything out of the ordinary and think everything is running smoothly.”
“That is a thought,” Uncle Jim says.
“Who knows how to run a business like that?” The Commissioner asks.
“I could do it,” Jack mentions.
“We could,” Bill answers.
“Just what I was thinking,” Victoria says.
“And” Jack brings up “Seeing we will be needing numbers, maybe we could have the rest of the family from the ranch come down here and we could give them a quick rundown of what we are about to do and from there we could take over the businesses and get everything all set until Saturday night when the ships pull in to do their transactions.”
“That’s a good idea,” Victoria notes.
“And” Jim Jr adds “Having us run the businesses is the logical solution.”
“Yes,” Victoria replies, “It is.”
“How’s that?” Benton and Alan ask simultaneously.
“We’re not from here” Jim Jr mentions “So if we were to run the three businesses no one will suspect anything and seeing at the moment we have the upper hand and do know what we are heading into we will be one step ahead of all the others.”
“Four,” Bill mentions.
“Oh, sorry,” Jim reiterates, “Four.”
“Yes,” Jarrod replies, “We will.”
“Seeing that you could be using more help” Jenkins says “I’d like to help too.”
“Thanks John,” both Jarrod and Victoria reply.
“We too,” Ferdinand informs them, “Would like to be of some help.”
“Thank you,” Victoria replies.
“Before you go,” Gene says, “I have something to say.”
Slightly irritated Nick asks “What Gene?”
“When the ship comes in on Saturday night,” Gene mentions, “You will be having a fight on your hands.”
“We know that,” Nick answers.
“And,” Gene says, “You will have just maybe 75 against many. There could be thousands that you may find yourselves up against.”
“We know that too,” Nick then asks, “What are you getting at?”
“First,” Gene brings up, “If you could somehow intercept the wagons before they enter the pier or before they are to reach any of the ships there is a way we could somehow use them to our advantage.”
With his brow furrowed in confusion, “I don’t follow you,” Nick replies.
“If we could unarm the men delivering the wagons to the ships,” Gene says, “And maybe remove them from there maybe we could find a way to seize the wagons while at the same time freeing the prisoners on them.”
“And what are we going to do with them?” Heath asks.
“Use them ourselves,” Gene answers.
“You’re not going out there,” Nick says directly.
“No,” Gene replies, “But I know all of you here will be.”
“And,” Nick says.
“Instead of delivering prisoners to these ships,” Gene reiterates, “Maybe substitute them with…”
“With what Gene” Jarrod asks.
Gene replies, “I know it’s going to be dangerous but with some of you.”
“Some of us?” Heath asks.
“Yes,” Gene replies, “You said you wanted to take out the captains.”
“We do,” Nick informs him.
“So,” Gene says, “If you were to arm yourselves with as much as you could possibly put on…”
“We will be armed,” Nick informs him.
“Yes,” Gene replies, “But you may have a better chance if you had more on you than what you will be having on you already.”
“And,” Nick says, “What do you suggest? What do you recommend?”
Licking his lips “Arming yourselves” Gene explains “With grenades and smaller types of guns and knives” as he talks each of the children become wide eyed and quickly exchange glances with each other “And instead of using the real prisoners somehow maybe you could take their place. And when you reach the wharf you could use the grenades and toss them at the captains or at the ship.”
“Gene” Nick followed by Jarrod asks “Where would we get grenades and knives?”
“From” Gene answers “Their hideout’s secret stash” pointing to the gathered children.
Baffled, Nick mimics “Their hideout’s secret stash?”
“Yes,” Gene says, “Kyle has been stockpiling. He may have enough for anyone going out there to be extra protected and if you’re close enough to the ship you could use the grenades or whatever you have on you in a quick moment.”
“He’s right,” Heath replies, “They have enough to supply every one of us with all we may find ourselves needing.”
“I’ve seen them too,” Billy mentions.
“So have I,” Audra says, “They have grenades, guns of all kinds, knives.”
“And,” Heath adds, “Gun powder, barrels of it.”
“You’ve seen them?” Gene asks.
“When I came looking for you,” Heath mentions.
“Could we see them?” Jarrod asks as he looks over to Kyle who at first is quiet.
Nick then says “Look Kyle, if you want us to help you with getting your father off of that ship alive and you do have these things then show them to us.”
“Nick’s right Kyle,” Jarrod says, “If you want us to help you then you gotta help us.”
As Kyle continues to be closed mouth about it “Kyle” The governor says “If you’re concerned about us” talking for him the commissioner and his son Alan “Don’t be. We’re with you on this.”
“Aren’t you the governor?” Kyle asks.
“I am” Governor Haight says “But at the moment I am here alongside the rest of you. We know what is at stake, we also know what everyone here is about to do is going to be a very rough and dangerous mission and if it’s going to succeed we all have to be in this together and if you have the means of what we could use that could very well help the situation I am all for it. We don’t want to be jeopardizing anyone’s life and if you’re able to help us with that then I say let’s use it and get everyone out of there alive.”
“So do I Kyle,” The commissioner adding his voice to the governor says, “I know we have a huge problem in this city and want it to come to an end. I am right here alongside of the rest of you and if what we plan on doing works hopefully we will be able to rescue your father if he is on board the Grizzly Bear when it comes in.”
“Well Kyle?” Jarrod asks, “What do you say?”
“Kyle,” Bill adds, “Will you please help us and let us see what you have in way of your secret stash?”
As he glances about the room and looks at each of them who in turn have their attention on him exhales heavily and then replies, “Very well. I just hope you keep your word.”
“We will Kyle,” The Commissioner informs him, “I give you my word.”
“So do I,” Jarrod answers.
“I have a question,” Audra says.
“What’s that honey?” Jarrod asks.
“Who’s going to be running the businesses?” Audra brings up.
“That is a good question,” Jarrod replies, “And how about if we go into that once we return?”
“That will be a good idea,” Victoria says.
“Would you mind if I came along?” The Governor asks, “I’m curious to see.”
“Not at all,” Jarrod replies.
“I’d like to come along,” Ray mentions.
“Sure thing,” Jarrod says, “Come on.”
“Could I come along?” Gene asks.
“Sure,” Jarrod answers, “Come on.”
“Could I come also?” Billy asks.
“Come on,” Ray tells him.
Nick brings up “While we’re gone,” to Heath, “How about if you stay here and work on a few ideas of what we could do with everything we just discussed?”
“What about the wire” Heath asks “To get the marshall here?”
“I could send it,” Uncle Jim suggests.
“How about,” John Jenkins offers, “If I come with you?” to Uncle Jim.
“I could use the company,” Uncle Jim says, “Come on.”
“We shouldn’t be too long,” Nick mentions.
Grabbing a pad of paper and a pen “Heath; here!” Jarrod handing it to him says.
“What’s this?” Heath asks.
“While we’re gone,” Jarrod suggests, “How about if you write down what you could come up with and when we return we could go over it and see what you have. You could also work on sketching the two men on what they look like so everyone here knows who we’re looking for in case we should run into them and we get separated.”
“Alright,” Heath says, “I could do that.”
“And while you’re gone,” Victoria replies, “I’ll feed everyone.”
“Come on Kyle,” Jarrod says as he places his hand on the back of his neck, “Let’s go see what you have,” and as they go out the door, “Be back as soon as we could,” Jarrod mentions.
After the door closes “Audra,” Victoria says, “Will you please give me a hand?”
“Sure,” Audra replies.
“Would you like some more help?” Sherry offers.
“Sure,” Victoria replies, “Come on.”
“Heath,” Victoria says, “While we’re in the kitchen try working on the sketch.”
Taking a seat on the sofa Heath begins working on sketching the first of the two men Mr. Mackenzie while Victoria, Sherry, Diane and Audra head into the kitchen leaving the rest of the family and guests gathered in the living room.
Going in the kitchen “Want us to make coffee” Audra asks.
“Go ahead,” Victoria replies and while she and Sherry start getting out the dishes Audra and Diane work on preparing the coffee.
As the ten of them are gathered outside in the yard, “Jarrod,” Nick says, “I’ll be along shortly.”
“Where you headed?” Jarrod asks.
“To see if Davy or Chad,” Nick answers, “Are at the cabin. We could use them to show us where Alfredo’s is.”
“Good idea,” Jarrod mentions, “We’ll meet you at the gate.”
After replying “Okay,” Nick walks away.
While Nick heads for the cabin and the others are headed for the barn Ray informs Jarrod, “After we go to their hideout I will go and talk with Artie.”
“Not a bad idea,” Jarrod replies, “And while you talk with Artie I’ll go see A.J.”
Inside the house Victoria, Sherry, Audra and Diane work on serving everyone gathered in the living room the sandwiches and other foods they prepared for their visit while Heath is seated on the sofa finishing his sketch of Mr. Mackenzie.
As he is drawing the head with short brown hair on both sides of his ears and a moustache, “Heath,” Jack asks, “Who is this one?” as he looks over his shoulders.
“Mr. Mackenzie,” Heath replies.
Handing him the sketch Jack then hands it to the commissioner, “This is very good Heath,” he announces very impressed.
The Commissioner taking it from him adds, “Yes, you do this quite well.”
“It’s a gift,” Heath states.
Letting off a chuckle “Guess so,” The commissioner remarks as he passes it off to Dean and while the rest of the gathered guests take turns looking at the completed sketch Heath begins working on Mr. Hornsby for everyone to see.
1/23/13
Part 433
Going inside the log cabin and upon running into the men who all greet him as he walks in quickly goes over to Davy and Chad who are in the midst of a chess game, “I hate to break this up,” Nick says, “But I need your assistance.”
“Sure,” Chad replies.
“What do you need?” Davy asks.
“I need you to take me to where Alfredo’s is,” Nick says.
Replying “Certainly,” Davy and Chad immediately go with Nick out the door.
While waiting for Nick to arrive Jarrod writes the telegram to be sent to Echo Lake, ‘Marshall Sawyer…Your presence is needed urgently…See if you could bring Warren with you…Will explain when you get here…Please come as quickly as you could. Jarrod Barkley!’
Upon handing the paper to Uncle Jim Nick is coming down the walk with Chad and Davy in tow, “Perfect timing,” Jarrod tells him.
“Before we go,” Nick says, “Let me go back inside the house. I will be right back.”
“What do you need?” Jarrod asks.
“Those men in Alfredo’s may be downstairs,” Nick points out, “For a little while longer and until we do something with them they may be down there without anything to eat or drink.”
“Good thinking,” Jarrod says.
“I didn’t think you cared Nick,” Gene brings up.
“I don’t,” Nick admits, “But I am also not that heartless. Excuse me,” and quickly heads for the front door.
“Here” Jarrod says “I’ll come with you. Gene” glancing over at him adds “Stay here.”
“How about we meet you back here?” Uncle Jim says to Jarrod.
“Go ahead,” Jarrod says and while Uncle Jim and John Jenkins go their separate ways Jarrod goes with Nick back to the house and Gene remains with the horses, the governor, Benton, Kyle, Billy, Chad and Davy.
Back at the house while drawing the face of Mr. Hornsby Heath is quickly taken back when he sees Nick walk in and says, “That was fast.”
“I have to get something,” Nick replies, “Excuse me,” and quickly heads towards the kitchen.
Just then as Jarrod walks in, “Did you forget something?” Heath then asks.
“In a way,” Jarrod replies, “How’s it going?”
“Good,” Heath answers.
“Heath,” Jack mentions, “Draws really well.”
“Yes, he does,” Jarrod states, “Excuse me,” and quickly follows Nick into the kitchen.
As Heath continues sketching Mr. Hornsby’s chin, “Is that Mr. Hornsby?” Jim Jr asks.
“It is,” Heath replies and upon passing him the sketch which now shows Mr. Hornsby with somewhat of wavy hair and a long indented chin, Jim takes a closer look at it.
As Alan takes his turn in looking at the now finished drawing, “I think I’ve seen him a couple times down near the pier.”
“I’m sure you have,” Ed mentions, “He’s probably been down this way numerous of times.”
“No question about it,” Jim Jr adds, “And if he’s anything like Mr. Wheeler he’s probably been down this way at least 20 times or more.”
“Most definitely,” Dean replies.
In the kitchen Nick fills Victoria in on the men not having anything to eat and quickly she and the others pack him up several sandwiches to take along with them. After thanking her Nick and Jarrod quickly go back out into the front room with Nick asking of Heath as Jarrod is reaching for the doorknob, “How’s it going?”
“Going well,” Heath answers, “Just finished sketching the two men.”
“Good,” Nick says, “See you in a little bit,” as he quickly darts out the door with Jarrod in tow.
After placing the sandwiches safely on the horses and immediately mounting up Nick barks, “Let’s move.”
“Kyle,” Jarrod then says, “Take us to your hideout,” and quickly leading the way he takes them down to the end of the road and upon reaching the corner heads towards his right which leads them in the direction of Pier 9.
After serving everyone the children all are seated at the table in the kitchen eating while the men, Victoria and Sherry are gathered in the living room occupying whatever seat they see available and while eating, “Let’s see what we could come up with,” Victoria announces.
“First,” Jim Jr suggests, “We need to work on who will occupy the four businesses once everything is in place.”
“We also,” Heath brings up, “Need to come up with something that will help everyone know who is working with us. The pier is a very big area and once everyone is out there fighting not everyone will be knowing who is who and we don’t want to accidentally shoot or kill anyone that is working with us by mistake.”
“So true,” Victoria says, “Do you have any ideas?”
“Not exactly,” Heath replies, “But it is something that we do need to figure out.”
“No question about it,” Alan says, “The pier can be one crazy and hectic place; something you definitely don’t want to go there blindly into.”
“Indeed no,” Vernon replies.
“If Jarrod and” Ed brings up “Ray Denton are successful in talking with A.J. and Artie and are able to get the pier free for the night then it will be a lot easier to figure out who we are going after and who we are not.”
“True” Heath says “And if they are successful it will make our job so much easier out there. We would only have to be concerned with the prisoners being delivered to the ships and the men who will be responsible for delivering them to these ships.”
“And,” Dean mentions, “The captains and his crew on board these ships that will be waiting for the deliveries to arrive.”
“Right,” Bill replies, “So when we are out there we could try sparing those that do want to live and if they cooperate we could maybe place them in one of the 4 businesses’ cellars we will be occupying for the time being.”
“And the rest,” Ed says, “Unfortunately we won’t have any other choice but to take them out.”
“True,” Victoria replies.
“I do have an idea,” Audra mentions.
“What’s that dear,” Victoria says.
“It’s a strange idea,” Audra replies, “But it would help minimize with recognizing who will be working with us.”
“What do you have in mind?” Victoria asks.
“Not sure,” Audra replies, “But whether Jarrod and Mr. Denton are successful or not they will still be having one huge fight on their hands that they are going to be so busy and out numbered and as Nick said they won’t have time to know who is on who’s side and if they were to catch sight of something that will draw their attention they will know enough not to do that.”
“The question is what?” Sherry brings up.
“Maybe” Audra replies “I don’t know…but it has to be visible…” stopping quickly thinking of what she wants to say “Something that will catch or draw their attention.”
As Diane looks over at the commissioner “Like” she suggests “A shield of some kind.”
“Not everyone,” Melanie brings up, “Is going to be able to have a shield.”
“No,” Diane replies, “But maybe if it’s something like that and everyone that will be out there fighting they will catch sight of it and know enough not to do anything to them.”
“I have an idea,” Noah says.
“What?” Sherry asks.
“Fish?” Noah replies.
“How is fish going to help?” Sherry wanted to know.
Shrugging his shoulder, “I don’t know,” Noah replies.
“Like” Victoria brings up “Stitch a fish design onto something that will catch their attention?”
“Maybe,” Audra suggests, “Onto a particular fabric?”
“That just may work,” Victoria replies.
“How about a train,” Penny calls out.
“How about an anchor?” Paul suggests.
“What about,” Kimmy suggests, “A tree?”
“How about,” Neil suggests, “A gold nugget.”
“I think” Sherry says “I like the idea of using either the anchor or the tree.”
“But what do we sew it onto,” Melanie brings up.
“That’s what we have to figure out,” Victoria replies.
Heath says, “How about on a hat?”
“What if the hat,” Alan brings up, “Falls off the person?”
“How about a vest?” Sue Ann suggests.
“No,” Audra replies, “I don’t think that will work either.”
“What about,” Neil calls out, “Something on a sleeve?”
“Like perhaps,” Sarah says, “On the arm?”
“An armband,” Dean says.
“Hey,” Sherry mimics, “An armband.”
“Okay,” Victoria says, “We’ll go with the armband.”
“What color should we use?” Sherry asks.
“How about we think about that afterwards” Victoria suggests “And continue on with the other topics?”
“Very well,” Sherry replies.
“Going back to the businesses,” Jack brings up, “And seeing there are four of them if Father is successful in bringing the rest of the family down here I and Linda could work out of one of them.”
“I,” Jim Jr says, “And Mo could work out of one of the other three.”
“I don’t think that will be a good idea,” Ed brings up.
“Why?” Jim Jr asks.
“You look too much like Jarrod,” Ed explains, “And anyone living around here may think you are him and know something’s up. If Jean comes we could work in one of them.”
“How about if” Bill offers “I work with Maureen in one of them then; that is if there aren’t any objections from you Jim?”
“No,” Jim Jr replies.
“We’d,” Ferdinand offers, “Like to help.”
“I could run one of them,” Heath suggests.
“You’re supposed to be taking it easy Heath,” Victoria tells him.
“It won’t be too hard for me,” Heath answers, “All I will be doing is greeting customers that will be coming in and offering them a room or a drink if that is what they want. And I know what it is to work inside of both a hotel and a saloon seeing I’ve been in both.”
“What if someone,” Bill says, “Comes in looking for trouble?” to Heath, “You’re not exactly up to a fight at the moment.”
“I’ll be alright,” Heath informs him, “I could handle myself very well.”
“Maybe” Victoria says “A couple of you” looking over at the 5 men “Terry, Vernon, if you won’t mind maybe you could work with Heath.”
“Not at all,” they both respond.
“You may want to do something about any of the watchers,” Melanie suggests, “That may be out there watching you.”
“You,” Sarah brings up, “May want to learn a little more about the crimps that operate down this way.”
“Like what?” Victoria asks.
“Would you be able to recognize,” Sarah brings up, “Or spot a crimp if you saw one?”
“Not sure,” Victoria then asks, “What would we be looking for?”
“The men mostly,” Sarah replies “But they can very well be women too and they are usually well dressed. They could be your typical business men that may be in town to attend a meeting, so to speak. Sometimes they may come inside one of the saloons looking to have a drink or occupy a room at the boarding house for a couple days depending how long they will be staying and waiting for the ship they are working with is coming in.”
“They,” Sue Ann adds, “Also may want to see what you have down in the cellars and how many.”
“You also need to be careful of any scout or watcher that just” Todd says, “May come by at any given moment. They may come in for small talk or they may just come in asking various questions.”
“They,” Neil brings up, “May be on the outside observing your every move and you won’t even know it.”
“If,” Melanie adds, “They don’t recognize you which they probably won’t; they may question you about where their regulars are. You may need to think quickly of what you want to tell them.”
“All the crimps,” Sarah says, “Know when ships they are working with are due in and if they suspect something not right they will pick up on that too.”
“Sometimes,” Neil brings up, “They may have new prisoners with them that they want to add to what you have. Sometimes they may be coming in looking for payment if they delivered anyone and didn’t get paid.”
“Like,” Todd mentions, “Vic when he went inside the Wards’ House.”
“We could assist you with as much as we can,” The Commissioner offers, “I could have a couple of my men that I know could be trusted to be nearby and offer some protection. But you do have to watch yourself and be extremely cautious on how we proceed with all this. If any thing goes wrong and the wrong ones get word of it they will alert the others and it could become a very dangerous situation and circumstance to find all ourselves in.”
“That is where,” Todd says, “We could come in. We know the area. We know what to watch out for.”
“How?” Victoria asks.
“If we should see something,” Todd says, “We could immediately come by and alert you.”
“We know how to hide,” Neil says, “And spot anyone that we think is trouble.”
“It’s much too dangerous,” Victoria mentions, “For you boys to be out there.”
“Mrs. Barkley,” Todd says, “We know the area better than anyone here and we’ve been doing this kind of thing for quite sometime. We know how to handle ourselves out there and do know what to look out for.”
“I won’t dispute you on that,” Victoria replies.
Part 434
“Some of this,” Heath brings up, “Will have to wait until Jarrod and Nick come back but maybe just maybe we could work on assigning some of the hands to be of assistance. Maybe have some them become watchers and relay any information they may receive at any given moment to any one of us.”
“Maybe,” Ed says, “A few of the hands could patrol the pier where they could also watch for any thing to come along and as they catch sight of anything there they could pass that along too.”
“Just what I was thinking,” Heath says.
“You will need,” Alan notes, “To be sure they don’t look too conspicuous.”
With his brow furrowed in confusion “Conspicuous” Heath mimics.
“Too obvious Heath,” Victoria informs him.
“They won’t” Heath replies “They will be very good at what they do out there. They are already aware of what goes on down here and know what to look for. They knew even before coming here and Nick does have the best team of men working for us.”
“That he does,” Bill mentions.
“Yes,” Ed adds, “He definitely does.”
“Have we left anything out?” Victoria asks.
“Don’t think so,” Jim Jr replies, “I think we just about covered everything.”
“We should,” Jack says, “Take a trip down to the pier and see what we will be up against in way of these ships coming in and how far we have to travel to get there when they do. We’ll also need to see what we could use in way of hiding places to keep ourselves concealed without anyone out there spotting us.”
“You could,” Melanie suggests, “Always use our hide out as a place to conceal yourselves. It has an excellent view of the wharf and you could see who is coming and who is going and they won’t even notice you.”
“Also,” Sarah says, “It will also be late when the ship does come in so that too will help with keeping yourselves hidden from sight; waiting to strike.”
“How about we stop,” Victoria suggests, “And resume this once Jarrod and Nick get back so we could go over what we missed and then take it from there.”
“Agreed,” Heath replies.
While Victoria and Sherry get up out of her seat to bring in dessert and coffee in for those who want it, Jim Sr. and John Jenkins arrive outside the telegraph office.
3/1/13
Reaching the telegraph office front door Jim Sr and John Jenkins go inside and upon asking the clerk to send out the wires; two to Stockton and one to Echo Lake they quickly pay him and then leave.
As Kyle followed by Gene and Billy are leading the others through the wooded stretch, they first pass by a cluster of undergrowth that takes them through some neglected weeds which borders a small creek. Traveling through it “This is where it is” Gene announces.
“Lead the way,” Jarrod tells him.
Dismounting and continuing the rest of the way on foot Kyle takes them through the wooded stretch until he reaches the small shack-like building.
As Kyle is reaching for the doorknob “Wait til you see it” Gene mentions “You won’t believe it.”
As it opens and Kyle immediately puts the lantern on; the room lights up.
Jarrod followed by Nick, Ray Denton, the governor, Benton, Davy and Chad are all in awe as they get a first look at the arsenal bestowed before them.
3/5/13
“Oh my,” comes first from Ray with Nick mumbling, “Well, I’ll be,” and as they start walking in, “Where did you get all these?” Jarrod quickly asks.
“From various places,” Kyle mentions.
“See,” Gene says, “I told you.”
“Yes,” Nick replies, “You sure did.”
Separating and walking about they see racks upon racks of different kinds of weapons displayed all around the room.
As Benton goes over to the barrel of gunpowder “Is this what I think it is?” he asks of Kyle who replies “It is” and quickly removing the lid he looks inside it.
“There is no telling what you will be up against out there” Gene says “But if you were to arm yourselves with these” showing them “You will be able to protect yourself a whole lot better.”
“There isn’t any disputing you on this Gene,” Jarrod mentions.
“I never seen so many,” Chad says.
“If you look over here,” Billy mentions, “These are the grenades and if you were to carry them on you and if you find yourself needing them at any given moment all you have to do is remove this cap here,” showing them, “And toss it at anyone you see that may be coming towards you.”
“Isn’t this a beaut,” Davy calls out as he picks up a gun and looks at it, “Is there any ammunition for it?” he then wanted to know.
“There is,” Kyle answers as he retrieves it and hands it to him.
“If you look over here,” Gene bringing them over to the rack that has the swords, knives, stilettos, shivs etc says, “You could do what Heath does,” demonstrating as he extracts a black sheath containing a small-sized pocket-knife, “And insert this underneath your pants if you find the need for them you will have them on you.”
“Could I ask,” The governor brings up, “Where you managed to get all these?”
“From different places” Kyle explains “Some came from the wharfs whenever we would see one unattended or someone loses one and didn’t realize they dropped it we would go over to it, grab it and bring it back here. Sometimes, we would get them off the dead men that were there, same goes for the ammunition that goes with them.”
“What about these barrels of gunpowder?” Chad inquires.
“We,” Kyle mentions, “Managed to get them when we saw them and noticed that no one was looking or were too pre-occupied with what was happening down at the pier that we carefully moved them away from there and when we were sure the coast was cleared we took them and brought them back here.”
“Very clever,” The Governor says.
“So,” Gene inquires, “What do you think?”
“Very impressive Gene,” Jarrod replies.
“Yes,” Nick adds, “Very impressive indeed. I think we definitely have that extra firepower we may be needing to help us. We could also use this place as where we could come to, to arm ourselves on Saturday night.”
“I think this shed will definitely be an excellent spot to use” Jarrod comments, “When it’s time to.”
“Agreed,” Ray replies.
“Come with me,” Kyle suggests.
“Where are we going?” Nick asks.
“You are gearing up for a fight, are you not?” Kyle says “Wouldn’t you want to see what else you have to your advantage?”
“We would,” Nick replies.
“Come with me then,” Kyle insists.
“Lead the way,” Jarrod tells him.
Just before they exit the shack, “Oh,” Kyle says, “Here” and quickly grabbing a periscope, “You may want to use this.”
Upon taking it from him, “What else do you have here?” Nick asks before they walk out.
“We have these,” Kyle showing him field glasses, “And these,” showing them communicating devices.
“How,” Billy asks, “Do you use these?”
“You take them,” Kyle explains, “And place them over your neck,” demonstrating at the same time, “And if you have one and Gene has one, let’s say, you could communicate with each other by,” once again showing them, “By flashing this in your direction or his direction. And if you see it, you will know where it is coming from and what it means.”
“Sort of like a code,” The Governor brings up.
“Yes,” Kyle replies.
“How many,” Ray asks, “Do you have here?”
“Unfortunately,” Kyle answers, “We don’t have that many. We have 18. So if you were to use them or whoever is to use them, you’ll have to use them sparingly.”
“Somehow,” Jarrod says, “We could do that. We’ll figure out the best way we could utilize them to our advantage when we’re ready on Saturday night.”
“Good idea,” Kyle insists.
Glancing about, “What is this?” Gene asks as he retrieves it from the shelf.
“That is,” Kyle answers, “Some kind of horn.”
“If I am not mistaken,” Davy replies, “That is a fog horn.”
“It is a foghorn,” Chad confirms.
“Where did you get it?” Davy asks.
“From the wharf,” Kyle mentions.
“What is it’s purpose?” Gene wanted to know.
“Not sure,” Kyle says, “However when you blow into it, it makes a large noise.”
“It’s,” Chad explains, “Mostly used by the ships in the water to alert others when they are out there and are dealing with very foggy conditions.”
As Gene tests it out, “That is loud,” Billy mentions.
“Do you have plans on using it?” Davy wanted to know.
“I do,” Kyle replies, “When the Grizzly Bear comes in.”
“As a distraction, a diversion” Benton wanted to know “A decoy?”
“Something like that” Kyle responds.
Billy catching sight of a whistle grabs it off the shelf and blows on it.
“Wow!” Gene announces, “That is pretty loud too.”
Kyle then says, “We better go.”
As Billy and Gene return the horn and whistle back on the shelf where they got them from, Kyle immediately extinguishes the lamp saying, “We wouldn’t want anything in here to accidentally burn down by being careless” as they exit the shack and he closes the door behind them.
“You’re definitely,” The governor mentions, “Wiser beyond your years.”
“It’s a gift,” Kyle says.
Raising an eyebrow, “I guess so” the governor letting out a chuckle replies.
Walking out and once again passing through the wooded stretch and then moving through clusters of undergrowth they find themselves situated between the corner of Drumm and Clay Street as well as the entrance to the pier and the strip to The Embarcadero.
Taking a position between a layer of rocks and the undergrowth “See here” Kyle directs “If you all keep yourselves low enough like so” demonstrating as he talks “You could see everything you want from this advantage point here and Mr. Barkley” addressing Nick “If you use that periscope you could see anything and everything that occurs from one end of the wharf where the ships come in to the other.”
“Yes,” Nick acknowledges, “It does have an excellent range,” catching sight of three men going towards the water “I could see the fishermen” noticing them
loading up their caught fish onto their boats, “I could see some buildings to my right” noticing two men going towards them he glances over at Kyle and asks “What are their purpose?”
“They” Kyle mentions “Sometimes have awaiting prisoners inside, waiting to be delivered to the ships when they come in. Some of them have supplies inside that they may need for their ships.”
“Can’t,” Billy asks, “We do something for them?”
“Not yet,” Ray answers, “I’m afraid. We have to wait it out.”
Kyle continues “And if you notice here” referring to the corner of Clay and Drumm “This is the entrance to Pier 9 and anything coming or going from this particular pier we could see clearly, which is why we call and use this as our secret passage.”
“You sure have thought of everything,” Benton notes.
“One,” Kyle remarks, “Can’t afford to make any mistakes.”
“So true,” Ray says.
“You,” Gene brings up, “Could also see how the ocean goes on forever.”
“That we definitely could, Gene,” Jarrod admits.
Observing everything from their hidden position, “Is this how you managed to rescue Bill from them?” Ray wanted to know.
“Yes,” Kyle replies, “The night that happened both Neil and Todd were out on patrol and when they saw him being led to the water, they quickly came back to get me and we managed to rescue him from them. He was very lucky, most of the time they don’t make it out of their clutches alive. They had plans on tossing him out into the water.”
“For being nosy?” Ray inquires.
“Yes,” Kyle replies, “These businesses don’t like it when some stranger comes by snooping about. They are usually dealt with by losing their heads if not immediately then sometimes they take the easier way out by tossing them out into the open water hoping that they drown or the sharks or whatever is out there will do them in without putting the bloodshed into their own hands.”
“Kyle,” Nick says, “I want to thank you for what you did. Bill is a very good friend of mine and I would be terribly upset if he ended up the way you just described.”
“Your welcome Mr. Barkley, but I think” Kyle notes “Bill has also learned a very valuable lesson and won’t be doing anymore snooping around without first being more careful of his surroundings.”
“I think he did too,” Nick replies, “I think we all have learned a very valuable lesson here.”
“Yes,” Davy brings up, “To watch your backs at all costs and make sure you know who and what is in front of you and who is not.”
“Yes,” Chad retorts, “Indeed we sure did find that out ourselves, the hard way.”
“Speaking of which,” Jarrod says, “Why don’t we break this up and how about we,” referring to him and Ray, “Go to see A.J. and Artie.”
“And,” Nick continues, “While you are doing that, we will go and take a look at Alfredo’s.”
“When we get back to the house,” Jarrod says, “We could inform the others about what we found here and how we plan on using this as our headquarters.”
“Good idea,” Nick replies.
Glancing down at Gene, “Um,” Jarrod brings up, “Governor, could you do us a favor and see that the boys gets back to my place?”
“Certainly,” The Governor replies.
Intro to Part 435
As everyone gets up and heads back in the direction they came Nick grabs hold of Gene’s arm and pulling him aside, “Gene,” he says, “I want to apologize to you.”
“For what?” Gene asks.
“For a lot,” Nick says, “I know I’ve been very hard on you for a very long time but I do want you to know that I am truly grateful for what you told us about this place and I am sorry for not trying to listen to you. When we finish here and get back to the ranch, somehow I want us to work on clearing the air. I want us to get to know each other as brothers.”
Smiling, “I’d like that,” Gene replies.
“So would I,” Nick then says, “Come on,” and quickly going to catch up with the others they first make a stop at the shack to return the periscope and then reaching their horses they all mount up and as they exit the wooded area they begin going their separate ways.
Jarrod and Ray head down to the pier to go see A.J. and Artie, Nick goes with Chad and Davy to Alfredo’s and the governor and Mr. Benton escort the boys back to Jarrod’s.
3/28/13
The end of A Plan of Action now moving onto the next story subtitled “The Set-Up!”
“We do know now,” Jim Sr says, “That when they do come in they do their deliveries very early in the morning but it certainly would help if we knew exactly when the Grizzly Bear is due in.”
“Yes,” Ray replies, “It would.”
“Kyle,” Sarah quietly tells him, “Say something.”
As he ponders his thoughts and upon looking over at Sarah and then at Melanie who also says, “Kyle, let them know.”
Exhaling heavily, “Mr. Barkley,” Kyle then says.
“Yes,” comes from Jarrod as well as Uncle Jim.
“Maybe I could be of some help,” Kyle says.
“How?” Nick asks.
“Are you really serious,” Kyle inquires, “About helping with rescuing my father?”
“I am yes,” Jarrod replies, “But I also said that is if he is on board there still. We won’t know until it docks and we are able to go on board to find out. It’s also a very dangerous situation because of what will be involved to get to it. But we will do our best that is the best I could give you right now.”
“His father,” The governor wanted to know, “Is on board the Grizzly Bear?”
“From what he’s told us,” Jarrod says, “Yes.”
“He is,” Kyle answers, “He was captured and taken there several years back.”
“That’s why,” Sherry mentions, “They’ve been staying with us at the moment at our house next door. They don’t have anywhere else to go.”
“You don’t have any parents,” Benton asks.
“No,” Kyle answers.
“Our mothers,” Sue Ann blurts out, “Were killed.”
“Our?” Benton inquires.
“They’re from two different families,” Sherry states.
“And,” Jarrod says, “If Kyle’s father is on board the Grizzly Bear as he said we want to do what we can to rescue him so they could be reunited and be a family once again.”
“It never occurred to me” The Governor replies “I am so sorry” sympathetically.
“Just imagine,” Ray Denton says, “How many other families are just like them out there without one parent or both?”
“I hate to think about it,” the governor states.
“Well for now,” Ed suggests, “Let’s concentrate on our mission at hand and the rest we could work on later.”
“Agreed” Jarrod says “Kyle” he turns to address “Would you please fill us in on what you know of when it’s due in?”
Still pondering his thoughts and upon glancing about the room he looks at each of the Barkleys gathered, the Sempleworths, the Commissioner, his son Alan, Mr. Benton, Mr. Jenkins and then finally to the governor when he replies, “The Grizzly Bear will be coming in on Saturday night.”
“How do you know that?” Mr. Benton asks.
“I have my sources,” Kyle answers.
“And you’re sure it’s coming in,” Ray asks, “On Saturday night.”
“Yes,” Kyle says.
“Seeing that today is Tuesday,” Jarrod notes, “That gives us four days to come up with some kind of plan of action.”
“Heath, Jack” Victoria says, “I believe you had some ideas of what we could do.”
“I do yes,” Heath answers.
“Let’s hear them,” Victoria says.
“If this ship is coming in on Saturday night,” Heath mentions, “Somehow we will have to be able to get to it to do any good.”
“That much we do know,” Nick retorts.
“But” Heath adds “To get to it we would first want to somehow find a way to have the pier cleared as much as possible to lessen as much of the traffic or activity on there as we could.”
“That is not something that will be easy to do,” The commissioner points out.
“Perhaps not,” Heath replies.
Gene starts to say, “I have an idea.”
Ignoring him “True” Jarrod replies to the Commissioner “But Heath is right somehow we do need to find a way to get that cleared.”
Bill says, “Some do their fishing at that hour of the night.”
“Yes, they do,” Ray mentions.
“Not to mention the other ships that may be coming in,” Ed says, “At that time of the night as well.”
“Right,” Ray replies.
“You also,” Alan says, “Have to keep in mind that whenever these ships do pull in whoever is connected to them will be bringing in wagonloads of men to meet with them and there could be captains, crimps, whistle-blowers and whoever else is on hand waiting for the meeting exchange to take place.”
“Waiting there,” Todd mentions, “With guns and batons and whatever else.”
“Exactly,” Alan replies, “Making sure nothing interferes with their transactions.”
“If we are going to get to this Grizzly Bear” Nick states bitterly “And seeing there is a great amount of traffic that will be occurring at the same time we won’t have time to know who is and who isn’t on our side and one shout from any one of them at any given moment could become a problem for any of the rest of us.”
“I do have an idea,” Ed brings up.
“What’s that?” Jarrod asks.
“It’s a long shot,” Ed says.
“Let’s hear it,” Victoria says.
“How about A.J?” Ed inquires.
“A.J” Jarrod says “That is an idea and maybe if we inform him of what we are about to be doing he could somehow talk and relay the information to the others that he will be seeing and he could spread the word out somehow to keep the pier as free of much traffic as he could possibly get it to be for the one night.”
“There is also,” Ray brings up, “Artie.”
“Yes,” Jarrod notes, “He too may be of some help.”
“But what do we do about the others,” Jack says, “As Nick pointed out, we won’t have time to know who is on whose side and we won’t be able to know everyone that is out there. It’s going to be chaotic as it is.”
“True,” Jarrod replies.
“There aren’t enough of us,” Jim Jr notes.
“We do know,” Heath brings up, “That we do need to take out any of the captains that will be there knowing where they stand with all this.”
“Not to mention,” Alan adds, “The men who will be delivering the wagonload of men to these ships.”
“And,” Jenkins brings up, “Getting to the Grizzly Bear isn’t going to be easy to do. We will be having one huge fight on our hands.”
“No question about it,” Uncle Jim replies.
“I’ve got an idea,” Gene tries again.
“Not now Gene,” Nick says.
Ignoring Gene, Ed brings up “Don’t forget about the many prisoners who will be caught in the middle of all this as the exchanges take place. They won’t have any time to know what is going on and we certainly don’t want to do anything in way of jeopardizing their lives if we could possibly avoid it.”
“No” Nick says “But once again we won’t know how we will be able to do all this with everything that will be out there.”
As Gene continues to sulk, Ray brings up, “That is what we need to figure out and work on.”
“I may have an idea,” Jack joins in.
“Let’s hear it,” Jim Sr suggests.
“First,” Jack says, “We do need to know how many we will be having that we know of on our side to be taking out any of the others.”
“We do have my men,” Nick mentions.
“And mine,” John Jenkins acknowledges.
“And,” Nick adds, “We have most of us here.”
“Aren’t,” Ed asks, “There anybody in your police department that will be of some help?”
“There are,” The Commissioner admits, “But not that many I’m afraid.”
“How many are there that we could count on?” Bill asks.
“Ten” Alan answers.
“Ten,” Ed mimics, “Ten out of all of what you have inside your department to run this entire city?”
“Ten,” Alan reiterates, “That we could be sure of to count on to help with this what ever we will be getting into. Most of the police as it was stated do look the other way and seeing they get paid for looking the other way they will also act as a whistle blower and could turn someone in that they see meddling in their affairs.”
“And those who do meddle,” The Commissioner says, “Could find themselves sacrificing their lives.”
“Which we don’t want,” Victoria reiterates.
“Exactly,” The Commissioner says.
“So” Nick replies “With my men, Jenkins men and whatever police we could count on and us” as he looks around the room “That gives us 75 men to work with” excluding Heath, Ed and Jim Jr as he gives them each a denial look.
“Seventy-five,” Ray mumbles, “Against all of what will be out there. That doesn’t give us a good odd.”
“No,” Nick says, “But right now is all we could count on from the looks of it.”
“Somehow,” Bill brings up, “We need to find a way to intercept the wagons if possible before they are to reach the pier or any of the awaiting ships.”
“Another tall order,” Ed retorts.
“Maybe,” Jim Jr brings up, “Some of the prisoners that will be moving to the ships will pick up on what we are doing and lend us a hand.”
“That is a big maybe,” Bill says.
“It is,” Jarrod replies, “But for now it’s going to have to do.”
“Until Saturday,” Ray says, “We’re going to have to do something about the businesses that are empty; if any one of these business associates finds them empty they may wonder what is going on.”
“Not to mention,” Ed notes, “The men that are locked in the cellar of Alfredo’s Saloon.”
“How many businesses,” Jack asks, “Are empty?”
“I believe,” Jarrod replies, “Three if we include Alfredo’s.”
“That is correct,” Benton says, “But seeing the Wards’ House and the Missionary are without anyone and the Parker House was next door and more than likely they saw and heard everything of what was going on this morning, so whatever you plan to do you need to do something about them.”
“Now that we know what we’re up against,” Nick brings up, “How do we proceed?”
“I have an idea,” Heath brings up, “Of what we could do with them.”
“I have an idea,” Jack states, “Of what we could do with the empty businesses.”
“Let’s hear them,” Uncle Jim informs them both.
Glancing over at Jarrod, “Jarrod,” Heath says, “You said we have a private car that could at anytime hook up to the train that comes in.”
“We do yes,” Jarrod replies.
“What do you want with the private car?” Nick asks.
“I have an idea of what we could do with the men that are in the cellar of Alfredo’s Saloon,” Heath says.
“What do you have in mind Heath?” Victoria asks.
“If we wired Echo Lake,” Heath says, “And if we could get Marshall Sawyer and Warren to come here they could somehow take the men that are down in the cellar back with them using the private car. That way, they could be away from here and at the same time guarded so they don’t go anyplace.”
“Where would they take them?” Ed asks.
“No one is at the Wheelers’ ranch at the moment,” Heath notes, “And it is all fenced in.”
“That it is,” Governor Haight notes.
“And,” Jarrod says, “That is a thought.”
“A very good thought indeed,” Victoria replies.
“Isn’t,” The Commissioner asks, “Warren in the jail there?”
“He is,” Heath replies, “But the Marshall could get him out if needed.”
“And right now,” Victoria notes, “They are both needed.”
“I,” Uncle Jim adds, “Quite agree.”
“Any objections Commissioner?” Nick asks as he looks over at him.
“No,” The commissioner replies, “Right now what you are planning does seem to be the logical alternative solution to it all at the moment, so I say go with it.”
“I’m glad,” Nick says, “You’re seeing things our way.”
“I’m with you on this,” The commissioner assures him, “That’s why I am here.”
“Correction,” Alan joins in with, “That is why we’re both here. We’re both with you on this” as he gives his father a side-look “We both want this to stop and we both realize what it is at stake in order for this to succeed.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Nick replies.
“Okay,” Jarrod asks, “What’s next?”
“We will need to do something with the occupants of the Parker House,” Bill notes.
Part 432
“What do you suggest?” Victoria asks.
“Maybe” Bill explains “If you are able to get the marshall and the sheriff to come here then perhaps we could quietly do something with those in the Parker House as well.”
“Like remove them and quietly have them go with the Marshall as well,” Jim Jr says.
“Yes,” Bill replies.
“That is a thought too” Uncle Jim then says “Jack, you said you have an idea as well?”
“Yes,” Jack replies, “Once again it is a long shot.”
“Let’s hear it,” Victoria suggests.
“If Heath is able to get,” Jack brings up, “The Marshall here to bring back the men from down in the cellar of Alfredo’s Saloon and the Parker House then that would mean there would be no one occupying any of these businesses.”
“That is correct,” Ed replies.
“So,” Jack brings up, “What we need to do is somehow get those businesses open and running for business so that if any body goes into them they don’t see them being vacant for too long otherwise there could be a huge problem.”
“That much we do know,” Benton replies.
“But the question is,” Alan says, “What can we do about it?”
“The only thing I could think of is somehow,” Jack suggests, “Occupying them with those who know how to run a business. That way, the businesses could still be operational and if anyone should go inside them they won’t see anything out of the ordinary and think everything is running smoothly.”
“That is a thought,” Uncle Jim says.
“Who knows how to run a business like that?” The Commissioner asks.
“I could do it,” Jack mentions.
“We could,” Bill answers.
“Just what I was thinking,” Victoria says.
“And” Jack brings up “Seeing we will be needing numbers, maybe we could have the rest of the family from the ranch come down here and we could give them a quick rundown of what we are about to do and from there we could take over the businesses and get everything all set until Saturday night when the ships pull in to do their transactions.”
“That’s a good idea,” Victoria notes.
“And” Jim Jr adds “Having us run the businesses is the logical solution.”
“Yes,” Victoria replies, “It is.”
“How’s that?” Benton and Alan ask simultaneously.
“We’re not from here” Jim Jr mentions “So if we were to run the three businesses no one will suspect anything and seeing at the moment we have the upper hand and do know what we are heading into we will be one step ahead of all the others.”
“Four,” Bill mentions.
“Oh, sorry,” Jim reiterates, “Four.”
“Yes,” Jarrod replies, “We will.”
“Seeing that you could be using more help” Jenkins says “I’d like to help too.”
“Thanks John,” both Jarrod and Victoria reply.
“We too,” Ferdinand informs them, “Would like to be of some help.”
“Thank you,” Victoria replies.
“Before you go,” Gene says, “I have something to say.”
Slightly irritated Nick asks “What Gene?”
“When the ship comes in on Saturday night,” Gene mentions, “You will be having a fight on your hands.”
“We know that,” Nick answers.
“And,” Gene says, “You will have just maybe 75 against many. There could be thousands that you may find yourselves up against.”
“We know that too,” Nick then asks, “What are you getting at?”
“First,” Gene brings up, “If you could somehow intercept the wagons before they enter the pier or before they are to reach any of the ships there is a way we could somehow use them to our advantage.”
With his brow furrowed in confusion, “I don’t follow you,” Nick replies.
“If we could unarm the men delivering the wagons to the ships,” Gene says, “And maybe remove them from there maybe we could find a way to seize the wagons while at the same time freeing the prisoners on them.”
“And what are we going to do with them?” Heath asks.
“Use them ourselves,” Gene answers.
“You’re not going out there,” Nick says directly.
“No,” Gene replies, “But I know all of you here will be.”
“And,” Nick says.
“Instead of delivering prisoners to these ships,” Gene reiterates, “Maybe substitute them with…”
“With what Gene” Jarrod asks.
Gene replies, “I know it’s going to be dangerous but with some of you.”
“Some of us?” Heath asks.
“Yes,” Gene replies, “You said you wanted to take out the captains.”
“We do,” Nick informs him.
“So,” Gene says, “If you were to arm yourselves with as much as you could possibly put on…”
“We will be armed,” Nick informs him.
“Yes,” Gene replies, “But you may have a better chance if you had more on you than what you will be having on you already.”
“And,” Nick says, “What do you suggest? What do you recommend?”
Licking his lips “Arming yourselves” Gene explains “With grenades and smaller types of guns and knives” as he talks each of the children become wide eyed and quickly exchange glances with each other “And instead of using the real prisoners somehow maybe you could take their place. And when you reach the wharf you could use the grenades and toss them at the captains or at the ship.”
“Gene” Nick followed by Jarrod asks “Where would we get grenades and knives?”
“From” Gene answers “Their hideout’s secret stash” pointing to the gathered children.
Baffled, Nick mimics “Their hideout’s secret stash?”
“Yes,” Gene says, “Kyle has been stockpiling. He may have enough for anyone going out there to be extra protected and if you’re close enough to the ship you could use the grenades or whatever you have on you in a quick moment.”
“He’s right,” Heath replies, “They have enough to supply every one of us with all we may find ourselves needing.”
“I’ve seen them too,” Billy mentions.
“So have I,” Audra says, “They have grenades, guns of all kinds, knives.”
“And,” Heath adds, “Gun powder, barrels of it.”
“You’ve seen them?” Gene asks.
“When I came looking for you,” Heath mentions.
“Could we see them?” Jarrod asks as he looks over to Kyle who at first is quiet.
Nick then says “Look Kyle, if you want us to help you with getting your father off of that ship alive and you do have these things then show them to us.”
“Nick’s right Kyle,” Jarrod says, “If you want us to help you then you gotta help us.”
As Kyle continues to be closed mouth about it “Kyle” The governor says “If you’re concerned about us” talking for him the commissioner and his son Alan “Don’t be. We’re with you on this.”
“Aren’t you the governor?” Kyle asks.
“I am” Governor Haight says “But at the moment I am here alongside the rest of you. We know what is at stake, we also know what everyone here is about to do is going to be a very rough and dangerous mission and if it’s going to succeed we all have to be in this together and if you have the means of what we could use that could very well help the situation I am all for it. We don’t want to be jeopardizing anyone’s life and if you’re able to help us with that then I say let’s use it and get everyone out of there alive.”
“So do I Kyle,” The commissioner adding his voice to the governor says, “I know we have a huge problem in this city and want it to come to an end. I am right here alongside of the rest of you and if what we plan on doing works hopefully we will be able to rescue your father if he is on board the Grizzly Bear when it comes in.”
“Well Kyle?” Jarrod asks, “What do you say?”
“Kyle,” Bill adds, “Will you please help us and let us see what you have in way of your secret stash?”
As he glances about the room and looks at each of them who in turn have their attention on him exhales heavily and then replies, “Very well. I just hope you keep your word.”
“We will Kyle,” The Commissioner informs him, “I give you my word.”
“So do I,” Jarrod answers.
“I have a question,” Audra says.
“What’s that honey?” Jarrod asks.
“Who’s going to be running the businesses?” Audra brings up.
“That is a good question,” Jarrod replies, “And how about if we go into that once we return?”
“That will be a good idea,” Victoria says.
“Would you mind if I came along?” The Governor asks, “I’m curious to see.”
“Not at all,” Jarrod replies.
“I’d like to come along,” Ray mentions.
“Sure thing,” Jarrod says, “Come on.”
“Could I come along?” Gene asks.
“Sure,” Jarrod answers, “Come on.”
“Could I come also?” Billy asks.
“Come on,” Ray tells him.
Nick brings up “While we’re gone,” to Heath, “How about if you stay here and work on a few ideas of what we could do with everything we just discussed?”
“What about the wire” Heath asks “To get the marshall here?”
“I could send it,” Uncle Jim suggests.
“How about,” John Jenkins offers, “If I come with you?” to Uncle Jim.
“I could use the company,” Uncle Jim says, “Come on.”
“We shouldn’t be too long,” Nick mentions.
Grabbing a pad of paper and a pen “Heath; here!” Jarrod handing it to him says.
“What’s this?” Heath asks.
“While we’re gone,” Jarrod suggests, “How about if you write down what you could come up with and when we return we could go over it and see what you have. You could also work on sketching the two men on what they look like so everyone here knows who we’re looking for in case we should run into them and we get separated.”
“Alright,” Heath says, “I could do that.”
“And while you’re gone,” Victoria replies, “I’ll feed everyone.”
“Come on Kyle,” Jarrod says as he places his hand on the back of his neck, “Let’s go see what you have,” and as they go out the door, “Be back as soon as we could,” Jarrod mentions.
After the door closes “Audra,” Victoria says, “Will you please give me a hand?”
“Sure,” Audra replies.
“Would you like some more help?” Sherry offers.
“Sure,” Victoria replies, “Come on.”
“Heath,” Victoria says, “While we’re in the kitchen try working on the sketch.”
Taking a seat on the sofa Heath begins working on sketching the first of the two men Mr. Mackenzie while Victoria, Sherry, Diane and Audra head into the kitchen leaving the rest of the family and guests gathered in the living room.
Going in the kitchen “Want us to make coffee” Audra asks.
“Go ahead,” Victoria replies and while she and Sherry start getting out the dishes Audra and Diane work on preparing the coffee.
As the ten of them are gathered outside in the yard, “Jarrod,” Nick says, “I’ll be along shortly.”
“Where you headed?” Jarrod asks.
“To see if Davy or Chad,” Nick answers, “Are at the cabin. We could use them to show us where Alfredo’s is.”
“Good idea,” Jarrod mentions, “We’ll meet you at the gate.”
After replying “Okay,” Nick walks away.
While Nick heads for the cabin and the others are headed for the barn Ray informs Jarrod, “After we go to their hideout I will go and talk with Artie.”
“Not a bad idea,” Jarrod replies, “And while you talk with Artie I’ll go see A.J.”
Inside the house Victoria, Sherry, Audra and Diane work on serving everyone gathered in the living room the sandwiches and other foods they prepared for their visit while Heath is seated on the sofa finishing his sketch of Mr. Mackenzie.
As he is drawing the head with short brown hair on both sides of his ears and a moustache, “Heath,” Jack asks, “Who is this one?” as he looks over his shoulders.
“Mr. Mackenzie,” Heath replies.
Handing him the sketch Jack then hands it to the commissioner, “This is very good Heath,” he announces very impressed.
The Commissioner taking it from him adds, “Yes, you do this quite well.”
“It’s a gift,” Heath states.
Letting off a chuckle “Guess so,” The commissioner remarks as he passes it off to Dean and while the rest of the gathered guests take turns looking at the completed sketch Heath begins working on Mr. Hornsby for everyone to see.
1/23/13
Part 433
Going inside the log cabin and upon running into the men who all greet him as he walks in quickly goes over to Davy and Chad who are in the midst of a chess game, “I hate to break this up,” Nick says, “But I need your assistance.”
“Sure,” Chad replies.
“What do you need?” Davy asks.
“I need you to take me to where Alfredo’s is,” Nick says.
Replying “Certainly,” Davy and Chad immediately go with Nick out the door.
While waiting for Nick to arrive Jarrod writes the telegram to be sent to Echo Lake, ‘Marshall Sawyer…Your presence is needed urgently…See if you could bring Warren with you…Will explain when you get here…Please come as quickly as you could. Jarrod Barkley!’
Upon handing the paper to Uncle Jim Nick is coming down the walk with Chad and Davy in tow, “Perfect timing,” Jarrod tells him.
“Before we go,” Nick says, “Let me go back inside the house. I will be right back.”
“What do you need?” Jarrod asks.
“Those men in Alfredo’s may be downstairs,” Nick points out, “For a little while longer and until we do something with them they may be down there without anything to eat or drink.”
“Good thinking,” Jarrod says.
“I didn’t think you cared Nick,” Gene brings up.
“I don’t,” Nick admits, “But I am also not that heartless. Excuse me,” and quickly heads for the front door.
“Here” Jarrod says “I’ll come with you. Gene” glancing over at him adds “Stay here.”
“How about we meet you back here?” Uncle Jim says to Jarrod.
“Go ahead,” Jarrod says and while Uncle Jim and John Jenkins go their separate ways Jarrod goes with Nick back to the house and Gene remains with the horses, the governor, Benton, Kyle, Billy, Chad and Davy.
Back at the house while drawing the face of Mr. Hornsby Heath is quickly taken back when he sees Nick walk in and says, “That was fast.”
“I have to get something,” Nick replies, “Excuse me,” and quickly heads towards the kitchen.
Just then as Jarrod walks in, “Did you forget something?” Heath then asks.
“In a way,” Jarrod replies, “How’s it going?”
“Good,” Heath answers.
“Heath,” Jack mentions, “Draws really well.”
“Yes, he does,” Jarrod states, “Excuse me,” and quickly follows Nick into the kitchen.
As Heath continues sketching Mr. Hornsby’s chin, “Is that Mr. Hornsby?” Jim Jr asks.
“It is,” Heath replies and upon passing him the sketch which now shows Mr. Hornsby with somewhat of wavy hair and a long indented chin, Jim takes a closer look at it.
As Alan takes his turn in looking at the now finished drawing, “I think I’ve seen him a couple times down near the pier.”
“I’m sure you have,” Ed mentions, “He’s probably been down this way numerous of times.”
“No question about it,” Jim Jr adds, “And if he’s anything like Mr. Wheeler he’s probably been down this way at least 20 times or more.”
“Most definitely,” Dean replies.
In the kitchen Nick fills Victoria in on the men not having anything to eat and quickly she and the others pack him up several sandwiches to take along with them. After thanking her Nick and Jarrod quickly go back out into the front room with Nick asking of Heath as Jarrod is reaching for the doorknob, “How’s it going?”
“Going well,” Heath answers, “Just finished sketching the two men.”
“Good,” Nick says, “See you in a little bit,” as he quickly darts out the door with Jarrod in tow.
After placing the sandwiches safely on the horses and immediately mounting up Nick barks, “Let’s move.”
“Kyle,” Jarrod then says, “Take us to your hideout,” and quickly leading the way he takes them down to the end of the road and upon reaching the corner heads towards his right which leads them in the direction of Pier 9.
After serving everyone the children all are seated at the table in the kitchen eating while the men, Victoria and Sherry are gathered in the living room occupying whatever seat they see available and while eating, “Let’s see what we could come up with,” Victoria announces.
“First,” Jim Jr suggests, “We need to work on who will occupy the four businesses once everything is in place.”
“We also,” Heath brings up, “Need to come up with something that will help everyone know who is working with us. The pier is a very big area and once everyone is out there fighting not everyone will be knowing who is who and we don’t want to accidentally shoot or kill anyone that is working with us by mistake.”
“So true,” Victoria says, “Do you have any ideas?”
“Not exactly,” Heath replies, “But it is something that we do need to figure out.”
“No question about it,” Alan says, “The pier can be one crazy and hectic place; something you definitely don’t want to go there blindly into.”
“Indeed no,” Vernon replies.
“If Jarrod and” Ed brings up “Ray Denton are successful in talking with A.J. and Artie and are able to get the pier free for the night then it will be a lot easier to figure out who we are going after and who we are not.”
“True” Heath says “And if they are successful it will make our job so much easier out there. We would only have to be concerned with the prisoners being delivered to the ships and the men who will be responsible for delivering them to these ships.”
“And,” Dean mentions, “The captains and his crew on board these ships that will be waiting for the deliveries to arrive.”
“Right,” Bill replies, “So when we are out there we could try sparing those that do want to live and if they cooperate we could maybe place them in one of the 4 businesses’ cellars we will be occupying for the time being.”
“And the rest,” Ed says, “Unfortunately we won’t have any other choice but to take them out.”
“True,” Victoria replies.
“I do have an idea,” Audra mentions.
“What’s that dear,” Victoria says.
“It’s a strange idea,” Audra replies, “But it would help minimize with recognizing who will be working with us.”
“What do you have in mind?” Victoria asks.
“Not sure,” Audra replies, “But whether Jarrod and Mr. Denton are successful or not they will still be having one huge fight on their hands that they are going to be so busy and out numbered and as Nick said they won’t have time to know who is on who’s side and if they were to catch sight of something that will draw their attention they will know enough not to do that.”
“The question is what?” Sherry brings up.
“Maybe” Audra replies “I don’t know…but it has to be visible…” stopping quickly thinking of what she wants to say “Something that will catch or draw their attention.”
As Diane looks over at the commissioner “Like” she suggests “A shield of some kind.”
“Not everyone,” Melanie brings up, “Is going to be able to have a shield.”
“No,” Diane replies, “But maybe if it’s something like that and everyone that will be out there fighting they will catch sight of it and know enough not to do anything to them.”
“I have an idea,” Noah says.
“What?” Sherry asks.
“Fish?” Noah replies.
“How is fish going to help?” Sherry wanted to know.
Shrugging his shoulder, “I don’t know,” Noah replies.
“Like” Victoria brings up “Stitch a fish design onto something that will catch their attention?”
“Maybe,” Audra suggests, “Onto a particular fabric?”
“That just may work,” Victoria replies.
“How about a train,” Penny calls out.
“How about an anchor?” Paul suggests.
“What about,” Kimmy suggests, “A tree?”
“How about,” Neil suggests, “A gold nugget.”
“I think” Sherry says “I like the idea of using either the anchor or the tree.”
“But what do we sew it onto,” Melanie brings up.
“That’s what we have to figure out,” Victoria replies.
Heath says, “How about on a hat?”
“What if the hat,” Alan brings up, “Falls off the person?”
“How about a vest?” Sue Ann suggests.
“No,” Audra replies, “I don’t think that will work either.”
“What about,” Neil calls out, “Something on a sleeve?”
“Like perhaps,” Sarah says, “On the arm?”
“An armband,” Dean says.
“Hey,” Sherry mimics, “An armband.”
“Okay,” Victoria says, “We’ll go with the armband.”
“What color should we use?” Sherry asks.
“How about we think about that afterwards” Victoria suggests “And continue on with the other topics?”
“Very well,” Sherry replies.
“Going back to the businesses,” Jack brings up, “And seeing there are four of them if Father is successful in bringing the rest of the family down here I and Linda could work out of one of them.”
“I,” Jim Jr says, “And Mo could work out of one of the other three.”
“I don’t think that will be a good idea,” Ed brings up.
“Why?” Jim Jr asks.
“You look too much like Jarrod,” Ed explains, “And anyone living around here may think you are him and know something’s up. If Jean comes we could work in one of them.”
“How about if” Bill offers “I work with Maureen in one of them then; that is if there aren’t any objections from you Jim?”
“No,” Jim Jr replies.
“We’d,” Ferdinand offers, “Like to help.”
“I could run one of them,” Heath suggests.
“You’re supposed to be taking it easy Heath,” Victoria tells him.
“It won’t be too hard for me,” Heath answers, “All I will be doing is greeting customers that will be coming in and offering them a room or a drink if that is what they want. And I know what it is to work inside of both a hotel and a saloon seeing I’ve been in both.”
“What if someone,” Bill says, “Comes in looking for trouble?” to Heath, “You’re not exactly up to a fight at the moment.”
“I’ll be alright,” Heath informs him, “I could handle myself very well.”
“Maybe” Victoria says “A couple of you” looking over at the 5 men “Terry, Vernon, if you won’t mind maybe you could work with Heath.”
“Not at all,” they both respond.
“You may want to do something about any of the watchers,” Melanie suggests, “That may be out there watching you.”
“You,” Sarah brings up, “May want to learn a little more about the crimps that operate down this way.”
“Like what?” Victoria asks.
“Would you be able to recognize,” Sarah brings up, “Or spot a crimp if you saw one?”
“Not sure,” Victoria then asks, “What would we be looking for?”
“The men mostly,” Sarah replies “But they can very well be women too and they are usually well dressed. They could be your typical business men that may be in town to attend a meeting, so to speak. Sometimes they may come inside one of the saloons looking to have a drink or occupy a room at the boarding house for a couple days depending how long they will be staying and waiting for the ship they are working with is coming in.”
“They,” Sue Ann adds, “Also may want to see what you have down in the cellars and how many.”
“You also need to be careful of any scout or watcher that just” Todd says, “May come by at any given moment. They may come in for small talk or they may just come in asking various questions.”
“They,” Neil brings up, “May be on the outside observing your every move and you won’t even know it.”
“If,” Melanie adds, “They don’t recognize you which they probably won’t; they may question you about where their regulars are. You may need to think quickly of what you want to tell them.”
“All the crimps,” Sarah says, “Know when ships they are working with are due in and if they suspect something not right they will pick up on that too.”
“Sometimes,” Neil brings up, “They may have new prisoners with them that they want to add to what you have. Sometimes they may be coming in looking for payment if they delivered anyone and didn’t get paid.”
“Like,” Todd mentions, “Vic when he went inside the Wards’ House.”
“We could assist you with as much as we can,” The Commissioner offers, “I could have a couple of my men that I know could be trusted to be nearby and offer some protection. But you do have to watch yourself and be extremely cautious on how we proceed with all this. If any thing goes wrong and the wrong ones get word of it they will alert the others and it could become a very dangerous situation and circumstance to find all ourselves in.”
“That is where,” Todd says, “We could come in. We know the area. We know what to watch out for.”
“How?” Victoria asks.
“If we should see something,” Todd says, “We could immediately come by and alert you.”
“We know how to hide,” Neil says, “And spot anyone that we think is trouble.”
“It’s much too dangerous,” Victoria mentions, “For you boys to be out there.”
“Mrs. Barkley,” Todd says, “We know the area better than anyone here and we’ve been doing this kind of thing for quite sometime. We know how to handle ourselves out there and do know what to look out for.”
“I won’t dispute you on that,” Victoria replies.
Part 434
“Some of this,” Heath brings up, “Will have to wait until Jarrod and Nick come back but maybe just maybe we could work on assigning some of the hands to be of assistance. Maybe have some them become watchers and relay any information they may receive at any given moment to any one of us.”
“Maybe,” Ed says, “A few of the hands could patrol the pier where they could also watch for any thing to come along and as they catch sight of anything there they could pass that along too.”
“Just what I was thinking,” Heath says.
“You will need,” Alan notes, “To be sure they don’t look too conspicuous.”
With his brow furrowed in confusion “Conspicuous” Heath mimics.
“Too obvious Heath,” Victoria informs him.
“They won’t” Heath replies “They will be very good at what they do out there. They are already aware of what goes on down here and know what to look for. They knew even before coming here and Nick does have the best team of men working for us.”
“That he does,” Bill mentions.
“Yes,” Ed adds, “He definitely does.”
“Have we left anything out?” Victoria asks.
“Don’t think so,” Jim Jr replies, “I think we just about covered everything.”
“We should,” Jack says, “Take a trip down to the pier and see what we will be up against in way of these ships coming in and how far we have to travel to get there when they do. We’ll also need to see what we could use in way of hiding places to keep ourselves concealed without anyone out there spotting us.”
“You could,” Melanie suggests, “Always use our hide out as a place to conceal yourselves. It has an excellent view of the wharf and you could see who is coming and who is going and they won’t even notice you.”
“Also,” Sarah says, “It will also be late when the ship does come in so that too will help with keeping yourselves hidden from sight; waiting to strike.”
“How about we stop,” Victoria suggests, “And resume this once Jarrod and Nick get back so we could go over what we missed and then take it from there.”
“Agreed,” Heath replies.
While Victoria and Sherry get up out of her seat to bring in dessert and coffee in for those who want it, Jim Sr. and John Jenkins arrive outside the telegraph office.
3/1/13
Reaching the telegraph office front door Jim Sr and John Jenkins go inside and upon asking the clerk to send out the wires; two to Stockton and one to Echo Lake they quickly pay him and then leave.
As Kyle followed by Gene and Billy are leading the others through the wooded stretch, they first pass by a cluster of undergrowth that takes them through some neglected weeds which borders a small creek. Traveling through it “This is where it is” Gene announces.
“Lead the way,” Jarrod tells him.
Dismounting and continuing the rest of the way on foot Kyle takes them through the wooded stretch until he reaches the small shack-like building.
As Kyle is reaching for the doorknob “Wait til you see it” Gene mentions “You won’t believe it.”
As it opens and Kyle immediately puts the lantern on; the room lights up.
Jarrod followed by Nick, Ray Denton, the governor, Benton, Davy and Chad are all in awe as they get a first look at the arsenal bestowed before them.
3/5/13
“Oh my,” comes first from Ray with Nick mumbling, “Well, I’ll be,” and as they start walking in, “Where did you get all these?” Jarrod quickly asks.
“From various places,” Kyle mentions.
“See,” Gene says, “I told you.”
“Yes,” Nick replies, “You sure did.”
Separating and walking about they see racks upon racks of different kinds of weapons displayed all around the room.
As Benton goes over to the barrel of gunpowder “Is this what I think it is?” he asks of Kyle who replies “It is” and quickly removing the lid he looks inside it.
“There is no telling what you will be up against out there” Gene says “But if you were to arm yourselves with these” showing them “You will be able to protect yourself a whole lot better.”
“There isn’t any disputing you on this Gene,” Jarrod mentions.
“I never seen so many,” Chad says.
“If you look over here,” Billy mentions, “These are the grenades and if you were to carry them on you and if you find yourself needing them at any given moment all you have to do is remove this cap here,” showing them, “And toss it at anyone you see that may be coming towards you.”
“Isn’t this a beaut,” Davy calls out as he picks up a gun and looks at it, “Is there any ammunition for it?” he then wanted to know.
“There is,” Kyle answers as he retrieves it and hands it to him.
“If you look over here,” Gene bringing them over to the rack that has the swords, knives, stilettos, shivs etc says, “You could do what Heath does,” demonstrating as he extracts a black sheath containing a small-sized pocket-knife, “And insert this underneath your pants if you find the need for them you will have them on you.”
“Could I ask,” The governor brings up, “Where you managed to get all these?”
“From different places” Kyle explains “Some came from the wharfs whenever we would see one unattended or someone loses one and didn’t realize they dropped it we would go over to it, grab it and bring it back here. Sometimes, we would get them off the dead men that were there, same goes for the ammunition that goes with them.”
“What about these barrels of gunpowder?” Chad inquires.
“We,” Kyle mentions, “Managed to get them when we saw them and noticed that no one was looking or were too pre-occupied with what was happening down at the pier that we carefully moved them away from there and when we were sure the coast was cleared we took them and brought them back here.”
“Very clever,” The Governor says.
“So,” Gene inquires, “What do you think?”
“Very impressive Gene,” Jarrod replies.
“Yes,” Nick adds, “Very impressive indeed. I think we definitely have that extra firepower we may be needing to help us. We could also use this place as where we could come to, to arm ourselves on Saturday night.”
“I think this shed will definitely be an excellent spot to use” Jarrod comments, “When it’s time to.”
“Agreed,” Ray replies.
“Come with me,” Kyle suggests.
“Where are we going?” Nick asks.
“You are gearing up for a fight, are you not?” Kyle says “Wouldn’t you want to see what else you have to your advantage?”
“We would,” Nick replies.
“Come with me then,” Kyle insists.
“Lead the way,” Jarrod tells him.
Just before they exit the shack, “Oh,” Kyle says, “Here” and quickly grabbing a periscope, “You may want to use this.”
Upon taking it from him, “What else do you have here?” Nick asks before they walk out.
“We have these,” Kyle showing him field glasses, “And these,” showing them communicating devices.
“How,” Billy asks, “Do you use these?”
“You take them,” Kyle explains, “And place them over your neck,” demonstrating at the same time, “And if you have one and Gene has one, let’s say, you could communicate with each other by,” once again showing them, “By flashing this in your direction or his direction. And if you see it, you will know where it is coming from and what it means.”
“Sort of like a code,” The Governor brings up.
“Yes,” Kyle replies.
“How many,” Ray asks, “Do you have here?”
“Unfortunately,” Kyle answers, “We don’t have that many. We have 18. So if you were to use them or whoever is to use them, you’ll have to use them sparingly.”
“Somehow,” Jarrod says, “We could do that. We’ll figure out the best way we could utilize them to our advantage when we’re ready on Saturday night.”
“Good idea,” Kyle insists.
Glancing about, “What is this?” Gene asks as he retrieves it from the shelf.
“That is,” Kyle answers, “Some kind of horn.”
“If I am not mistaken,” Davy replies, “That is a fog horn.”
“It is a foghorn,” Chad confirms.
“Where did you get it?” Davy asks.
“From the wharf,” Kyle mentions.
“What is it’s purpose?” Gene wanted to know.
“Not sure,” Kyle says, “However when you blow into it, it makes a large noise.”
“It’s,” Chad explains, “Mostly used by the ships in the water to alert others when they are out there and are dealing with very foggy conditions.”
As Gene tests it out, “That is loud,” Billy mentions.
“Do you have plans on using it?” Davy wanted to know.
“I do,” Kyle replies, “When the Grizzly Bear comes in.”
“As a distraction, a diversion” Benton wanted to know “A decoy?”
“Something like that” Kyle responds.
Billy catching sight of a whistle grabs it off the shelf and blows on it.
“Wow!” Gene announces, “That is pretty loud too.”
Kyle then says, “We better go.”
As Billy and Gene return the horn and whistle back on the shelf where they got them from, Kyle immediately extinguishes the lamp saying, “We wouldn’t want anything in here to accidentally burn down by being careless” as they exit the shack and he closes the door behind them.
“You’re definitely,” The governor mentions, “Wiser beyond your years.”
“It’s a gift,” Kyle says.
Raising an eyebrow, “I guess so” the governor letting out a chuckle replies.
Walking out and once again passing through the wooded stretch and then moving through clusters of undergrowth they find themselves situated between the corner of Drumm and Clay Street as well as the entrance to the pier and the strip to The Embarcadero.
Taking a position between a layer of rocks and the undergrowth “See here” Kyle directs “If you all keep yourselves low enough like so” demonstrating as he talks “You could see everything you want from this advantage point here and Mr. Barkley” addressing Nick “If you use that periscope you could see anything and everything that occurs from one end of the wharf where the ships come in to the other.”
“Yes,” Nick acknowledges, “It does have an excellent range,” catching sight of three men going towards the water “I could see the fishermen” noticing them
loading up their caught fish onto their boats, “I could see some buildings to my right” noticing two men going towards them he glances over at Kyle and asks “What are their purpose?”
“They” Kyle mentions “Sometimes have awaiting prisoners inside, waiting to be delivered to the ships when they come in. Some of them have supplies inside that they may need for their ships.”
“Can’t,” Billy asks, “We do something for them?”
“Not yet,” Ray answers, “I’m afraid. We have to wait it out.”
Kyle continues “And if you notice here” referring to the corner of Clay and Drumm “This is the entrance to Pier 9 and anything coming or going from this particular pier we could see clearly, which is why we call and use this as our secret passage.”
“You sure have thought of everything,” Benton notes.
“One,” Kyle remarks, “Can’t afford to make any mistakes.”
“So true,” Ray says.
“You,” Gene brings up, “Could also see how the ocean goes on forever.”
“That we definitely could, Gene,” Jarrod admits.
Observing everything from their hidden position, “Is this how you managed to rescue Bill from them?” Ray wanted to know.
“Yes,” Kyle replies, “The night that happened both Neil and Todd were out on patrol and when they saw him being led to the water, they quickly came back to get me and we managed to rescue him from them. He was very lucky, most of the time they don’t make it out of their clutches alive. They had plans on tossing him out into the water.”
“For being nosy?” Ray inquires.
“Yes,” Kyle replies, “These businesses don’t like it when some stranger comes by snooping about. They are usually dealt with by losing their heads if not immediately then sometimes they take the easier way out by tossing them out into the open water hoping that they drown or the sharks or whatever is out there will do them in without putting the bloodshed into their own hands.”
“Kyle,” Nick says, “I want to thank you for what you did. Bill is a very good friend of mine and I would be terribly upset if he ended up the way you just described.”
“Your welcome Mr. Barkley, but I think” Kyle notes “Bill has also learned a very valuable lesson and won’t be doing anymore snooping around without first being more careful of his surroundings.”
“I think he did too,” Nick replies, “I think we all have learned a very valuable lesson here.”
“Yes,” Davy brings up, “To watch your backs at all costs and make sure you know who and what is in front of you and who is not.”
“Yes,” Chad retorts, “Indeed we sure did find that out ourselves, the hard way.”
“Speaking of which,” Jarrod says, “Why don’t we break this up and how about we,” referring to him and Ray, “Go to see A.J. and Artie.”
“And,” Nick continues, “While you are doing that, we will go and take a look at Alfredo’s.”
“When we get back to the house,” Jarrod says, “We could inform the others about what we found here and how we plan on using this as our headquarters.”
“Good idea,” Nick replies.
Glancing down at Gene, “Um,” Jarrod brings up, “Governor, could you do us a favor and see that the boys gets back to my place?”
“Certainly,” The Governor replies.
Intro to Part 435
As everyone gets up and heads back in the direction they came Nick grabs hold of Gene’s arm and pulling him aside, “Gene,” he says, “I want to apologize to you.”
“For what?” Gene asks.
“For a lot,” Nick says, “I know I’ve been very hard on you for a very long time but I do want you to know that I am truly grateful for what you told us about this place and I am sorry for not trying to listen to you. When we finish here and get back to the ranch, somehow I want us to work on clearing the air. I want us to get to know each other as brothers.”
Smiling, “I’d like that,” Gene replies.
“So would I,” Nick then says, “Come on,” and quickly going to catch up with the others they first make a stop at the shack to return the periscope and then reaching their horses they all mount up and as they exit the wooded area they begin going their separate ways.
Jarrod and Ray head down to the pier to go see A.J. and Artie, Nick goes with Chad and Davy to Alfredo’s and the governor and Mr. Benton escort the boys back to Jarrod’s.
3/28/13
The end of A Plan of Action now moving onto the next story subtitled “The Set-Up!”
