Edward assessed the man Hank had been beating. His eyes were already swelling, and his nose appeared to be broken. Blood covered the front of his shirt. It seemed to be coming from the man’s nose.
“I ain’t finished with him,” Hank said, crossing his arms.
Fred took a step forward. “I say you are. You can either agree or come with me down to the jail.”
Hank’s eyes were cold and unfeeling. Men like Hank didn’t always see the benefit in letting a thing go.
Hank’s gaze bore into Fred’s. The two men seemed momentarily frozen in time. Edward glanced around just to make sure no one was going to cause trouble. It was a lawman’s job to have eyes in the back of his head and have complete surveillance of the entire room.
After what seemed far too long, Hank finally shrugged. “He wasn’t worth the effort anyway.”
Fred nodded. “I figured not. Now, I don’t want to have any more trouble from the two of you. Understand? If I must break up another fight between you and someone else, you’re gonna spend a day out at the army post.” He motioned to the holstered gun on Hank’s hip. “Go check your guns and stay out of trouble.”
Edward relaxed his hand and backed up a pace for Fred to turn. The man had always been good at putting down fights and disagreements between his men. Edward could only hope that Hank would take his words to heart.
He did not.
Fred had no sooner turned to go than Hank picked up an empty bottle and went after him. Edward delivered a hard punch to the man’s back, throwing Hank off-balance. He crashed into one of the few tables where the men were seated and landed on top of their game. They were not happy and tossed Hank aside and onto the floor. Two of the bigger men got to their feet and stared down at Hank, just daring him to rise and cause problems.
Fred shook his head. “Hank Garlow, you don’t know when to stop. Guess you can spend the night at the jail and help the army out tomorrow.”
Edward took hold of Hank as he got to his feet. The man wasn’t happy to be manhandled, but he had the wisdom to cooperate.
After settling him in at the jail, Fred and Edward once again walked the town’s streets. They headed downtown this time. The better saloons and gambling halls were here. The problems were less to deal with because this was the area of town where the city planners might enjoy a game of cards ora few drinks. Often the vigilante members could be found imbibing and discussing the problems of the day.
Appearing here was enough to keep things under control most evenings, Fred had told Edward the day before. But from time to time, there was the occasional mishap. Once while enjoying himself at a game of blackjack, a certain Mr. Smith was confronted by Mrs. Smith, who held a large boning knife. She accused her husband of having stolen her milk-and-egg money. With the knife ominously tucked under his chin, the man pleaded his innocence for several minutes. With each denial, the woman dug the knife into his flesh. Finally, the man had enough and confessed that he had done exactly as she thought. Instead of dropping the knife, however, she plunged it into his neck. One could never tell how the folks of Cheyenne were going to respond. Thankfully, the man lived, and the couple reconciled and moved to Denver.
It was stories like that which left Edward unsure he’d done the right thing in coming to Cheyenne, especially where it concerned Marybeth and Carrie. He worried about them sleeping alone each night and had no idea of what would happen when the snow came with any regularity.
“You’ve been awfully quiet this evening,” Fred said as they left one establishment and entered another.
A piano player offered a soothing classical piece that Edward had heard somewhere before. The man was hardly more than a boy, but he played with such expertise that it was easy to see why he’d been hired.
“That’s Jake Landry’s son Mark. He’s nineteen and has played like that since he was a little guy. ‘Naturally gifted,’ his piano teacher declared. She could play him a tune and he’d pick it right up without any trouble at all.”
Edward noted the young man. “Never heard of such a thing.”
“Nobody here had either. Not that he’s been here long. His folks came in October from Denver. Jake planned to build on the west side, figuring he’d make more money. Then there was a ruckus at one of the local establishments over there, and they burned it to the ground. Took three infantry companies marching in and taking charge to quell the mob that rose up afterward. Landry decided a more respectable part of town would probably serve him better.
“As you can see, the place isn’t bad. They have dinner in the back room, so Landry situated the bar up front along with an area to dance. Wouldn’t surprise me to see him clean up the place even more and get rid of the bar and dance floor. They make good money serving dinner each night, and most of the decent folks in town will make their way here. Since it’s in a location on the edge of respectability, I figure it will do well with most of the town in time.”
They stepped out of the place and started back down the street. For a little while neither said anything, but finally Edward felt he owed Fred an explanation.
“I’m worried about Marybeth and Carrie. I don’t like them being alone at night. Maybe if they were stayin’ in a regular house, it wouldn’t be so bad, but leavin’ them in that tent just worries my mind.”
“I can respect that. Cheyenne’s a big change for anyone, and you’ve seen just how bad things can get in this place. Tell me this, how much money do you have left?”
“We’ve got a fair sum, and I’m adding to it with my salary. We’re doing all right. Marybeth has a house back in Indiana that my brother-in-law is gonna sell for her. When we get that money squared away, I figure we’ll have enough to build.”
“Well, in the meantime, I could make a suggestion. It just came to me and is a way you could help me as well as yourself.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m putting in a shed in my backyard. It’ll be about fifteen by twenty. I have the frame up but had to stop due to a lack of funds. If you have the money to help me finish it off, I’ll let you live there rent free until you can get your own house built. You can fix it up any way you see fit. We’ll find a stove and put that in there, and you can use our outhouse, which will be close by. There’s a pump in the backyard that will be even closer and a clothesline.”
“I’d probably spend more in rent during the next few months than what it would take to finish the place off for you. Are you sure you want to do that?”
“I worry for them too, and you’ll be a whole lot more use to me if your mind isn’t stewin’ over their safety. I figured to build the place for myself to do my woodworking and such, so it’s not like I wouldn’t have a stove in there anyway. We’ll just make it a small cookstove instead of a heating stove. That way you can have all the comforts of home.”
