Chapter 5: The White Knight

I sent flyers to every newspaper in the west announcing my new venture. Along with every flyer I sent ten dollars, that should give me several weeks of advertising in their newspapers. While waiting on someone to contact me for help we continued to enjoy each other, we made love often with just the four of us, including the Sutherland’s much of the time.

The house was coming along fine, the girls were busy ordering furnishings and fixtures for it. All the new innovations in plumbing and cookware were being incorporated into our new house. Cast iron tubs and sinks with hot and cold running water. An indoor toilet that was called a water closet. A huge cast iron stove that burned kerosene rather than wood. But wood or coal could be used if kerosene was not available. Each bedroom would have a full bathroom off to the side shared by one other bedroom. The bedrooms were all large fifteen by fifteen feet or the equivalent in square feet. Each of the ten bedrooms would get large beds that would sleep four adults comfortably. Each bedroom would have a fireplace or a Franklin cast iron stove or both.

One day the Chinese girl that spoke English paid us a visit. She had left her previous occupation and had used some of the money she had been given to open a laundry and bathhouse for both men and women. She employed the other girls as bath girls. When you went in to take your bath, a girl would attend to you. She would help you take off your clothes, then she would bathe you while both were naked. This applied to both men and women. Anything else that happened was between the two people in the tub.

When I opened our door I found that she had a Chinese man with her. She introduced herself as Mai Ling and the man as Hue Dun Wang.

“Mr. Picket, my name is Mai Ling and this man is Hue Don Wang! Mr. Hue is a martial arts instructor. I heard that you have started a new company called White Knight Investigations. I believe that your intent is to save towns from people like McCreary. Is that correct sir?

“Miss Mai, that would be an apt description of what I hope to accomplish!”

“Good! I have brought Mr. Hue so that you might employ him as your martial arts teacher. I believe you and your associates need to learn this style of fighting!”

“What kind of fighting are you talking about?

“It is a Chinese martial art of Kung Fu known as Wing Chun. But it is easier to watch than to explain! Can we go outside with you, preferably in the back of the hotel’s stable?”

I agreed and told Jenny where we were going, Gail and Nan tagged along. We walked out the back of our hotel and then through the barn. After clearing away some road apples, the Chinese man invited me to hit him! This was interpreted by Miss Mai.

I squared off with the man who was at least eight inches shorter than me and fifty pounds lighter. He motioned with his left hand for me to hit him. I didn’t rare back and try to throw a haymaker punch, I just jabbed at his chin as quickly as I could. He deflected my fist and pulled on my wrist causing me to become off balance. He pulled his punches or I’m sure the two punches into my rib cage would have resulted in broken ribs!

For the next ten minutes I tried every trick in fighting my dad taught me! I have never been so embarrassed in my life! Not once did any of my punches, kicks, and grasps connect with his body. Every one of his did! I gave up! I hired both of them to teach us how to fight like that. Us was myself, Gail, and Nan.

For months we were subjected to a strict regime of training that turned us into weapons. All our movements were quicker and more deliberate. Our eyes could pick up movement and determine its trajectory without watching it. At the end of six months Mr. Hue pronounced us to be fully trained. He left to go back to San Francisco. By that time Mai Ling had become part of the family. She shared our beds and our hearts. She had taken the training with us and had agreed to join our endeavor to bring justice to oppressed people in the west.

I had sent out another batch of flyers requesting that newspapers print them in their papers, once again enclosing ten dollar bills to cover the cost. This time I sent Pinkerton Detectives to deliver them to newspaper editors, rather than mailing them. Each of the newspapers were directed to send a copy of the advertisement they published back to us for verification that they had published it.

Three weeks later we received a telegram from a group of homesteaders in Montana Territory. They had homesteaded an area in a valley. Each farm was one hundred and sixty acres, about the extent a man could plow, seed, and harvest in a year with a mule and a plow. They had paid their registration fees and the land had been surveyed by government surveyors. They cleared the land of trees, built wood fences, houses and barns.

They had plowed, harrowed, and planted winter wheat. The wheat covered the fields in what to cattle looked like grass. The cattle broke down the fences to get to the nutrient rich grass. The owner of the cattle refused to remove his cattle! He claimed that this was his land! He had been ranching on this land for thirty years and he appreciated them planting all that grass for him! He demanded that they leave his land or he would have his men drive them out forcefully!

Two families had been burned out and others had been shot at on several occasions. They asked for my help! I telegraphed back that I was on my way. Before leaving, I did a lot of research into the legality behind both sides. The most compelling aspect of their claims was that the rancher had done nothing until the wheat was growing, the houses and barns were built. Most legal scholars and judges that I talked to had indicated that that indicated a conspiracy to rob those farmers of their hard work. He had knowingly let them improve what he already considered his own land!

I bought one of the tracts of land from one of the farmers who wanted nothing to do with the danger. We moved in and the girls all did a good job of pretending to be my sisters, mainly because they were my sisters! Mai was our housekeeper and cook. That she also helped warm our bed was a bonus! Jenny had stayed home, she was too far advanced in her pregnancy, David and Gladys would take care of her.

We hadn’t been there twenty four hours when a fusillade of shots ripped through the windows of the front of the house. Thankfully we were in bed and a log wall separating the bedroom from the living room and kitchen stopped the bullets. I put on my holster as I slipped out the back of the house, mounted the horse I had saddled and waiting, then followed the men who had shot up my place. They went into town to the saloon.

“I bet we scared the shit out of those Nestor’s! I’ll bet you fifty fucking dollars they leave that property tomorrow!” One of the men said.

“I’ll take that bet!” I said as I walked through the batwing doors. “In fact I’ll bet the five of you will be leaving town before I do! But most likely you’ll be just leaving by six feet! Before any of you assholes turn around and try to gun me down, you need to ask yourselves how many shells you have left in your guns! I followed you here and I didn’t see any of you idiots reloading. So do you still want to try me?”

The saloon was crowded and quite a few of them had been listening to the bravado these characters had been loudly espousing! As I spoke the crowd separated and left a wide lane between them and myself.

All five of them stood and turned toward me. The taller one spoke up,

“I count my shots, I’ve still got one in the cylinder, that’s all I need for you farmer!”

“I seriously doubt that you are able to count to five! Now that I’ve told the crowd what I thought. It’s fine if you want to try it! Is it just going to be you, or all of you at once?” I asked.

“You would take us all on, Sodbuster?”

“Like I said you’re out of bullets, I’m not in any danger! But if you draw your weapons I have to protect myself just in case I’m wrong, so expect my lead to be coming your way regardless! Of course you boys could just accompany me down to the Sheriff’s office and give yourselves up for attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder! Hell you might only get ten or fifteen years! That’s better than the life sentence you’re going to get if you draw on me!”

“You’re full of shit squatter! I know what I know and I know you’re dead!” The tall one stated. “Spread out a little, boys!”

The tall one drew his gun, the others did too! They weren’t quite as fast as he was, but it didn’t matter, I was faster than all of them. I shot five times, almost fanning the hammer using my left hand. Two of their shots went into the floor, the tall man had been correct, he did have one shell left. Three of them drew empty revolvers.

I checked their pockets! Each of them had a fifty dollar gold piece. I paid for their drinks and bought a round for the entire crowd. The Sheriff showed up, looked at their weapons out, the two bullet holes in the floor and listened to what everyone told him and stated clearly that I had acted in self defense!

I rode home to the farm, and went to bed, naked this time!

The next morning I rode to the head of the valley where the man who paid for his killers lived, his name was easy to remember, almost every building had his name on it and it was also the name of the town, Justice, William F. The road ran under a sign labeled “The William F. Justice Ranch”. It had the brand, a two bar “J”.

I rode under it and continued on toward the house. Two miles later I saw the roof of the two story structure and three barns. As I continued riding a bunkhouse came into view as well as the lower parts of the other structures and fences. The house was a colonial style with four two story tall columns on an expansive front porch with a balcony that extended around its sides.