Chapter 35

I saw the very best thing that could happen was happening when I made it back into the kitchen. Kala was cooking again and all was right with my world, especially since the stable was squared away and ready for Tom's return when he was up to it.

Kala told me food would be on the table as soon as the others started showing up, so I took a seat to wait. Bill's wives showed up in a few minutes and the line of kids was right behind them. Carlita smiled at me and came to give me a kiss on the cheek and then she headed towards Bill's office, but he met her in the door headed our way. We were all seated in minutes and food started making the rounds.

After we'd finished the meal I asked Bill if he could come to the office to talk for a few minutes. He said yes and soon enough we were in there with the door closed.

"Bill, I've put Conroe in charge of keeping the peace around our business ventures, and they now include the whorehouse. The madam there is going to stay on and take care of it and I'd like for you to go check on her every week or so to make sure she don't need nothing. Send a man up there every morning or so to gather up anything she barters for and pay her cash for it. Just go ahead and pay what she asks for at first, but if she starts asking too much I'll have a talk with her when I come back again.

"I also want the carpenters to go up there and take care of any maintenance she needs. Oh yeh, we need a big sign for the place. The Hero's Whorehouse is what I want it to say. Have the letters painted as red as you can find the paint for."

"You've done a good thing there. The town needs a good whorehouse to keep lonely men from bothering the normal women."

"Well, it may come up some of the women get pregnant, it's just an occupational hazard. I want any kids to have the best of care. I want the working girls to have good doctoring too. If the madam can't provide it I want you to make sure it's done. If I need to make up any money for it just let me know."

"I don't think it will come to that. My wives are all pretty handy with common doctoring now. I'll just have the girls make a trip down here once a week or so and let my wives check them out. George built us a nice big carriage and I can send it up to bring them down here."

"That sounds mighty good to me. I 'spect you're gonna be elected mayor again, so things should settle back down." I said.

"I'd have never been voted out if he hadn't brought so many men in with him to vote in the first place."

"Well, that's not gonna happen again. The first rule I want you to put in place when you're elected again is a residence requirement for voting. Nobody gets to vote unless they've lived here for two years. If you have any trouble getting it passed I'll encourage the town council to take care of it when I come back through."

"I don't think we'll have any trouble. I'll just make sure everyone who works for us comes to the meeting this next time. Most of the folks in town didn't appreciate the way the last mayor ran things anyway. I expect them to be more careful with their votes from now on."

"We'll just see. I've got to go get some sleep because Terri and I have one hell of a ride ahead of us.

When I went upstairs I'd forgotten Mary now occupied my former room, but she and Terri were waiting for me in front of another one. They hustled me inside it and out of my clothes pretty quickly.

"Tom is already a lot better and you need to get in the bed so I can start thanking you."

"Damned straight he needs to, and this grease is for your ass this time, Mary. I'm a Hero Companion now and it's my official duty to fuck his brains out on this trip," Terri said, and giggled a little.

"That's fine with me. I can take it up the ass any time," Mary said, and I'll admit she had a fine Junoesque ass to look forward to.

I trumped all their cards though and did them both up the backdoor and then turned them around to do them right, kinda.

I was downstairs bothering Kala for some breakfast early the next morning and she fixed me right up. Terri was down right behind me and, while she didn't eat as much as me, she did do her part.

"What's got you up so early this morning?" I asked her, after we finished eating.

"I had a little talk with George yesterday and he said he had some good metal already to make a sword for me, a big long dagger, and two well-balanced throwing knives. I want to go and check on his work. I need to go by and try out the harness the men in the leather shop are making for the throwing knives too," she said.

"I'll bet they're anxious to fit you for it."

"You know they are, but they'll only get to look while I try it on. I'm saving all the playing with them for you," she said.

"Well, I think it's still early for Red to have any riding-sized horses on the ground, but I want to look at his colts and fillies anyway. We might as well get to it."

We left the kitchen and I let her wander off to George's hideout while I went to see Ben. He was right out to greet me when I came up and he was raving about Red's get already.

"He ain't been here long enough to get many has he?" I asked.

"He took care of the first twenty mares I put with him in nearly no time, so I put him in with some more. We've already got some of his second year's crop on the ground and they are all excellent. How long are you gonna be able to leave him here?" Ben asked.

"He's yours for the duration. He ain't leaving," I said, and it made me realize Red probably wouldn't get any older on Chaos. Surely he couldn't stay young forever, but Joe Bob and Blacky hadn't aged a bit here. It made me think of buying up some older thoroughbred mares.

"I guess they're all still too young to ride aren't they?"

"As age goes they are, but I'll swear some of them look big enough to start training. I haven't started any of them yet though," Ben said.

"Well, I was hoping, but not too hard. I'm gonna need a few good mounts for Terri and me though. A good packhorse too."

"I can fix you up with some of the best horses anywhere, so far, but I know I could do you a better job next year. When are you gonna want to leave?"

"Tomorrow or the next day probably, as long as nothing else comes up in town."

"I think your troubles in town are over with. Conroe kept four men prowling last night and he left out early this morning with four more. He always did take his job serious, and that's about the best kind of man you can hire."

"Yeh, it's just a shame I had to put all that on his plate this time. I might need a couple of men with me on this trip. I'm not sure, but things might get a little rough."

"We've got two that can go with you besides the ones he took for his job. They were just a little young for his crew, not that they lack any of what it takes. He just thought having older men on the job would stop a lot of arguments before they got started.

"Johnny and Jimmy are better shots than most of the men in the bunch, but they're still young. Why don't you take them along with you? It would do them some good too, getting the experience," Ben said.

"Well, let me talk to them then," I said.

He led me out to the backstop they had set up for practice and there were two young men out there practicing throwing knives. They both had a double setup behind their necks just like mine, and they were doing a damned good job too.

They stopped when I came up and we talked a little. They convinced me they would be assets and when I asked them if they'd like to go along they were ready to leave right now. I looked their swords over and decided I'd be better off having George make them new ones before we left, so I took them up to his hangout and called him over.

George was happy to get the work since I knew he liked making swords a lot better than casting dishes.

"I just finished making a good one for Terri, and a damned good dagger, if I do say so myself," George said.

"Well fix Johnny and Jimmy up with some of the good stuff too," I said.

"I might as well make them a couple of throwing knives each while I'm at it. I've just finished the two for Terri and I've got metal hot to make more of them anyway," he said.

"Go to town on it then."

"Good. I've got two boys I been training to make that bent over on itself steel like you showed me, and they're in good shape to pound on some metal," he said.

"Say, now that I think about it. What's the biggest size milk pipe you make?"

"About this big," he said, showing me about two inches between his thumb and first finger.

"What if I said I needed some this big?" I asked, trying my best to show him four inches.

"I could do it, but I'd have to make some bigger dies, and it would take a hell of a lot of milk to make very much pipe."

"Well, it would be for indoor shitters and we damned sure wouldn't want it to leak. I don't know if you've heard it yet, but the whorehouse in town is now the Hero's Whorehouse. I'm thinking the girls need some indoor plumbing," I said.

"You have some good ideas sometimes and I can see how this would be a good one. I'll get started on the dies and trying to make some big pipe, but you'd better get Ben and Bill involved in looking for more milch cows."

"Don't worry about the mules, George, just load the wagon. I'll get the milk production ramped up," I said, and went off to see about it.

I caught Ben near the front of the barn again and asked him about the milk for plastic. He said they'd have no trouble getting plenty, but it made me wonder. I'd seen the cows they were milking and they looked like normal everyday cows to me. I wondered how a couple of Holstein calves would turn out as hero companions. I'd have to ask Cowboy Jack if he knew where I could get some. It would take some time to get them into production, but more would come quickly once I got them onto Chaos.