Chapter 3

Several people had seen Joe's clash with the two thugs and began to laugh when the parson took off. Uh-oh, that could mean a lot of trouble for a lot of people. He was certain not to forget who had laughed at him. Shit, what could go wrong next?

Joe wandered around some more, getting familiar with the layout of the town, though, by edict, it was not allowed to be called that. Only those places specifically chartered by the hierarchy could be called a town; otherwise, they were just unincorporated communities.

The first thing Joe did when he got back to the tavern was to look up John Horn, the owner, and recommend that the shed under his room be torn down. John agreed to do it, but, first, he needed to find a place to store all of that firewood. Joe didn't argue, but he did point out that the Indians could come back at any time, and he might not wake up in time on that occasion. That was enough to wake up John Horn. "HEY, COOKIE, COME IN HERE A MINUTE!"

The cook came in and said, "What can I do for you, Master John?"

"Cookie, is your brother still looking for work?" At the cooks nod, John said, "Go find him for me, if you please. I want to hire him to take down a shed and rebuild it in another place. Master Joseph will show him where. When the shed is rebuilt, I want him to move all of the firewood from where it is to the rebuilt shed. I'll pay him five copper pennies if he does a good job and finishes the whole job in five working days."

"Five copper pennies? Praise the Lord! That will feed his family for a month. Bless you, Master John!" The cook left at a near dead run to find his brother and tell him the great news.

"Well, Master Joseph, I hope that satisfies your need for haste."

"Yes, Sir, Master John. That will do nicely. Do you have any idea where you want the new shed, or shall I pick out a place that adds to our defense?"

"I leave that matter in your capable hands, Master Joseph. Is there anything else that needs doing?"

"I don't think so. Whoever designed and build this tavern did a masterful job. I don't see how anything less than a cannon ball could broach these walls, and it would have to be a big one to do it. I do have a question, though. What would we do for an emergency water supply?"

John smiled and laid a finger beside his nose. "Ah, and that's my secret, but I will show it to you. Come with me to the kitchen." In the kitchen, John and Joe wrestled a work table to one side, and John fumbled around for a moment at the floor. Suddenly, he raised a trapdoor about three feet square. "Look down there, Master Joseph, and tell me what you see."

Joe looked down and saw at about 25 feet down, a pool of water. The water surface was disturbed as if there was a flow of the water. Joe whistled and John laughed. "Yes, my friend, that is a stream of running water that nobody but you and I know about. It can supply all of the water we would need if we were cut off from outside sources. I keep it a secret, partly to make sure that the help always use the outside well, and partly for my own amusement. There is no real reason to keep it a secret that I know of, but I enjoy doing so."

"Don't worry, Master John, I will keep your secret until we have to use it because of enemy attack, and I hope that never happens."

"Now, Master Joseph, I have another request of you. My daughter needs to make a trip to the general store, and she is frightened to make the trip alone. She has asked if you would be so kind at to escort her there and back."

"I would be delighted to take on that little job! When and where shall I meet Mistress Mary?"

"Don't tell her that I said so, but she has been on pins and needles all day hoping that you would agree to the chore. She is ready to leave any time you are. Come with me, and I will call her."

They went back to the main room and John said in a voice which carried, but was not really a shout, "Daughter, are you ready to go to the store? Master Joseph is ready to escort you as soon as you are ready."

A voice was heard, "Thank you, Father. I am on my way." In only a few seconds, Mary Horn appeared at the door, ready to go outside. Joe noted that she was as lovely as ever. He held out his arm, and Mary rested her hand on it as she held a shopping basket on her other arm.

"Mistress Mary, I am delighted for the opportunity to escort you wherever you would like to go."

Mary blushed at that, and bowed her head. Such courteous words were rare in a town filled with country bumpkins. Joe was thankful that his mother had insisted that he learn courtly manners, though, at the time, he hated the wasted time.

Their first stop was at the store where Mary selected some items such as a new sewing needle for her mother and some yarn for herself. She planned to knit a new shawl for her mother as a gift. The next stop was at the tailor for Joe to get an estimate on the cost of some clothes. Of course, he had no money at the moment, so he was window shopping. However, he did need some idea of what a set of clothes would cost. The man originally asked for two silver shillings, but Mary gasped when she heard that price quoted. Joe took the hint and offered one shilling. That was when the hard bargaining started. Joe got the price down to one shilling and 12 copper pennies, and the two men shook hands on the deal. Joe promised to stop by to be measured when he had the money.

That chore completed, Mary asked Joe to walk with her around the town so that she could get out of the house for an hour or so. Since "ladies" never showed up in public without a male escort, this was Mary's first chance in some time to relax and enjoy just being human. During the walk, they talked about many things, but most of them were related to John's Crossroads. Joe felt that he needed to know as much as possible about his new home if he was going to do an adequate job of defending it.

In the process of the walk, they stopped to talk to several of the townsfolk, and Joe got to meet some new faces. By this time, all of them had heard of Joe's run in with the parson, and every one but one was on Joe's side. The one decenter, a very elderly woman of 45, was worried about a reaction from the Church hierarchy. Joe assured her that he would leave town if it came to that.

Mary was a bit upset at Joe's closing remark about leaving, but he said that the remark was said only to calm the poor woman's fears of being sentenced to hell in a guilt by association. Mary relaxed at that, and the pleasant walk continued. By the time they returned to the tavern, Mary was convinced that she had never met a nicer man than Joe.

When Sunday came, Joe was barred from the church which did no upset him in the least, but sorely troubled John and Mary. Parson Jacobs ranted on for much longer than usual about how the proper respect should be paid to the men of God, but none of the congregation paid much attention to his discourse.

By Tuesday, the community seemed to be back to normal with everybody going about his business. The work had started on getting the shed moved, so that was a problem that Joe was able to set aside. Joe was sitting in the common room talking to John, Martha, and Mary not long after breakfast when a boy of about 13 came bursting into the room.

"Master Joseph, please, you must help me! While I was in the next community last night, the foul heathens attacked my home and killed my father, my mother, and my sister! I think they stole my baby sister, at least she is nowhere to be found!"

John said, "Please calm down, Edward. Nothing can be done while you are so agitated. Let us hear what Master Joseph has to say."

"Well, Edward, I shall most certainly help you if I can. Let me get my weapons and I will have you lead me to the site of the attack." Joe got his knife and tomahawk, he always kept his stick with him. They jogged to Edward's house, which was at the extreme edge of town. The house was somewhat removed from their nearest neighbor, so it is not surprising that nobody heard the attack while it was going on.