Chapter 4

"That damned marshal in Sacramento must be killed. The longer he lives, the more we are laughed at. We cannot tolerate this continual loss of face!"

"Very well, Master, but what should we do? We have sent in some of our best assassins and they have failed."

"I am too busy to worry about this matter! It is your job as my assistant to solve the small problems while I work on the larger matters at hand. I order you to resolve this worrisome gnat with all possible dispatch!"

"Yes, Master, I will start work on getting rid of Marshal Johnson right away."

"You 12 men are charged with the responsibility of killing Marshal Johnson of Sacramento. I believe that he can be attacked at night when he is at home with his family. You will set fire to his house and kill him as he runs out of the house. Also kill anyone else who is in the house at the time. I believe that you must use guns to kill him. Subtlety is not appropriate for these barbarians, only the brute force of guns is appreciated by them.

A few days later, Eddy received Wang Fu in his office at the jail. "Mr. Wang, it is always a pleasure to see ya, sir! What can I do for ya, today?"

"Eddy, it is my pleasure to see you! However, I come on the gravest of business. The criminals from the Ying Chu organization in San Francisco are back, and it appears as if they have not given up on trying to assassinate you!"

"I thank ya for the warning, Mr. Wang. Is there anything we can do to convince 'em to leave us alone and stay out of Sacramento?"

"I am afraid that the conflict with Ying Chu has escalated beyond the control of mere humans. Only the gods, or a sound defeat, could stop this vendetta against you, and, ultimately, my people. It has now become a matter of face for them and they cannot give up without losing everything they have gained over the years. To Chinese, face is everything! We may even have to carry the conflict to San Francisco, though I hope not."

"I believe whatever you say! What can we do to fight them, this time?"

"Ying Chu has sent 12 men and they are armed with guns, this time. This can only mean that they plan a major assault on your home, since even they are not stupid enough or enraged enough to attack the jail. I will assign more men to watch your home, but I don't know how much good we can do without guns."

"Would you like for me to provide your men with guns. We have enough shotguns for 6 more men, and I can get more if we need them."

"I have 6 men I can rely on to know how to use a shotgun properly without additional training. I am reluctant to train more, as this would raise other problems, some of which are cultural and philosophical."

"Very well, what would be the best way to distribute the shotguns to your men?"

"That would depend on how you wish to organize the defense of your home."

"Would it be acceptable for your men to live in the carriage house and remain on my property for the full 24 hours while they are protecting it? If so, I can give them the guns when they arrive at the carriage house. It has two floors and they can live upstairs, away from the animals, and can use it as a fort."

"That is an excellent solution to our problem. I will have them show up tonight. They can filter in so as not to attract a lot of undue attention."

"Will they bring their own bedding, or do I need to provide sleeping mats?"

"I will send a wagon around this afternoon with enough bedding for 6 men. I am sure that I can more easily provide the type of bedding that they are used to than you can."

"Excellent! What about food? My cook can handle cooking for them if they are willing to eat the traditional food that she likes to prepare for herself. It's a bit more spicy than the food I have eaten at your house."

"Ah, yes, Szechwan. That will be entirely acceptable. The men will find that to be a treat! Well, I must be off if I am to accomplish today everything that needs to be done."

"Goodbye, Mr. Wang. I appreciate everything you are doing for me."

"You are quite welcome, my boy; you are an asset that my community can not afford to lose. Goodbye, Eddy. Please take care of yourself."

After Wang Fu left, Eddy spoke to Zack Wilson, "Zack, keep an eye on things, if you please. I'll be out for a while. Please have everybody present for a meeting at 6:45 this evening. I'll have some news for all of you by then."

"Sure, Eddy, we'll be here."

Eddy went straight home and found Martha in the sitting room with Alice and her Chinese nanny. "Oh, Eddy, ya surprised me! Ya're much too early for lunch. Is sumpthin' wrong?"

"Hello, Daddy. So glad ta see ya!"

Eddy picked up Alice and hugged her and kissed Martha on the cheek (after all, the nanny was in the room!). "Yeah, unfortunately. I'm goin' ta have ta ask ya an' Alice an' Li ta move in with yer ma fer a couple of weeks. Mr. Wang said that the assassins are back an' in enough strength that he expects an attack on the house. He's sendin' 6 extra guards who will live over the stable 'til we settle this, an' I want all of ya to be in a safer place fer a while. Don't do anytin' to attract attention, jus' move quietly an' ya can come back when this is over."

"Oh, Eddy, I want to stay with ya, if ya're in danger."

"I know, honey, but we have to think of Alice's welfare."

"I know that, too, but I don't have ta like it!"

"Ya better start gittin' ready. Ya shore must have a lot ta do. I'm goin' out ta the carriage house ta start gittin' it ready."

Eddy went to the second floor of the stable and looked around. Other than the floor needing sweeping, the area was ready for occupation. Eddy needed to provide a chamber pot, but there was a place for a water barrel and a table to make the room a little more comfortable. The men should find it completely adequate for a couple of weeks' stay.

The room had a window on each of the short sides and two windows on each of the long sides, so it would make an adequate fort if the fight came to that. Eddy didn't expect that to happen, but it was well to be prepared, just in case.

The stable walls were hard wood about an inch thick, so there shouldn't be any problems stopping buckshot or pistol balls, but rifle or musket balls might penetrate. Fire was the only real worry, but the hard wood would be difficult to get started burning. A couple of extra water barrels and buckets would be a good idea in case they did have to fight a fire.

Speaking of fire, there could be trouble if the main house was set on fire. He would get some water barrels and buckets placed around the house in strategic locations just in case there was a fire at the main house. It, too, was made of hard wood and would be difficult to ignite, but there was always that possibility.

He was still looking for things that needed to be done when he was called for lunch. He went in to one of Ti's wonderfully spicy meals, just the kind of food he liked! Eddy thought sadly that this would be the last lunch he would share with Martha and Alice for a while, but it was better to have them safely away from the house for now.

After lunch, he asked the housekeeper for a broom to use to sweep the room over the stable. She found one for him, never realizing that Eddy expected to do the work, himself (she would have been scandalized, had she known).

Thus, Eddy was busy sweeping the floor when one of Wang Fu's men came into the room carrying some bedding. He was absolutely stunned that a boss would be sweeping the sleeping area of his workmen. Oh, well, they had to learn Eddy's secret sometime: Eddy was simply not class-conscious! If a job needed doing, Eddy was perfectly willing to do it. Eddy's aura of sainthood just went up another notch among the Chinese residents of Sacramento!

Eddy greeted the man and asked if there was anything else he thought they needed. Eddy said that he would have some water barrels for fire-fighting delivered that afternoon as well as the shotguns and ammunition. The man did not think of anything else they might want, so Eddy went out to arrange for the water barrels and the shotguns.

He drove his buckboard to the cooper and bought two dozen old barrels that were no longer useful for any other purpose and asked that they be delivered that afternoon. He then went to the jail to meet with his deputies; the night shift would be getting in shortly. He asked Tom Watson to take the 6 spare shotguns and several boxes of ammunition out to his buckboard and deliver the weapons to his carriage house. A Chinaman would be there to take them in.