Chapter 10

"You sniveling four-flusher. You were cheating last night, and I know it! I want my money back. You give it to me or I'll beat you to within an inch of your life. I know your were cheating cause no one draws to an inside royal flush. It just isn't done. No tinhorn gambler is going to cheat me. Whar's my dough?" he shouted.

"M-M-Mister, I ain't got your dough, and I ain't a cheat. You were drunk and could hardly hold your cards. Plus, I wasn't even dealing. You can't blame me if you can't play cards."

The barber was standing behind him nodding his head in agreement. He had been in the game, too.

He didn't get any further. The big guy whacked him in the jaw with his gun. Waite noticed it was a Patterson and it wasn't even cocked. He slowly took the towel off his face, palmed his left side Colt and silently cocked the hammer back. There was an ever so slight click as the hammer seated in the sear. Waite swiveled his chair and that caught the man's attention.

"Hold it right there, Mister," the man shouted, "You just hold on. I ain't got no quarrel with you, but I could have. You just stay put."

He turned back to the gambler. He was bleeding from the hit he'd taken. He again insisted the man give him his money back. The man again swore he wasn't cheating, and he could check with Hal, the barber. He was there too. The brute's gun hand was on the other side of his body as he drew back to pistol whip the smaller man.

Just as he started his downward lunge, Waite called out, "Hey!"

That was enough distraction that the man pointed his gun at Waite. That made everything else legal. The man was pointing a loaded gun at Waite. He had a right to defend himself. Waite fired before the man had a chance to cock the Patterson. With the offhand shot, Waite went for the center of mass. He wasn't too far off, but double-tapped the man just to be sure. The man fell over with a surprised look on his face. He was dead before he hit the floor.

The barber hurried to help the man in the first chair. He grabbed a towel and placed it over the cut on the man's face. Waite's barber clapped him on the back, and said he'd be right back. He hurried into the back room and came out with a rug that he threw over the dead man.

Two more things happened about that time. Patty burst her way into the parlor and ran to Waite. She grabbed him fiercely. She was shivering. She was calling out his name and crying at the same time. The other thing was the town Marshal came in with guns drawn.

The barber and the gambler told the Marshal the story and pointed Waite out. He nodded as he listened. Then he removed the rug from the big man's face. A curious look came over him. He told everyone to wait there, that he'd be right back. He returned with a flyer in his hand not two minutes later. He compared the picture to the man on the floor. Then he stepped over the body and came up to Waite.

"Sir, my name is Horatio Kane, town Marshal. I want to thank you for saving old Parley's life, and I have to tell you that you've saved the State of Tennessee the expense of hanging that man. He's Jacob Johnson, and he's wanted for bank robbery and murder. There is a thousand dollar reward on his hide, dead or alive. I'll give you a voucher and you can take it over to the State Attorney General's office for validation, then you can go to the Clerk of the Court's office and receive your payment. You should be able to collect your reward this afternoon. You also can strip the body of valuables and keep the man's horse. It's probably the one on the hitching post outside."

"Tha's right. I seen him tie it up thar," a grizzled old man by the door said.

"Thanks, Bill, I figured you spotted him. Here's a dollar, you must be thirsty," the Marshal patronizingly said, as he tossed the silver coin to the old guy. He deftly caught the coin and was gone. The Marshal just smiled. Waite told him he was going to finish getting his shave and could be found here, in the mercantile, or back at the hotel. The Marshal said he'd get the paperwork done and be back here in about ten minutes or so. They shook hands, and Waite turned back to Patty.

"Why don't you go back to the store now, Sweetheart? Everything is all right as you can see. I want to get pretty for you, just like you did for me last night."

He patted her butt, much to her chagrin, and gently pushed her towards the door. The men in the door politely parted to make way for her out of respect for the woman and the man inside. Waite asked the bootblack to search the man's body as she returned to the store. He came up with a fist full of double eagles. The man had a hideout derringer and a money belt.

The bootblack brought the loot over to Waite, and he tipped the mulatto boy a gold half-eagle from the loot. The boy was surprised, but pleased. He got his box and started on Waite's boots. The barber had adjusted the bib and replaced the hot towel. He shortly started the shave. He got a nice lather on the sides of Waite's beard and neck. He could hear the barber as he used the leather strop on the razor. The barber began to remove the unwanted hair when he was satisfied with the blade's sharpness.

Once finished, a dapper Waite paid the man a half eagle, which included a very generous tip for the fifty cents worth of services. He gave the boy fifty cents, for the ten-cent shine. His boots gleamed with the shine. He thanked the barber and went next door to the mercantile. Patty was over at the end of the counter furthest from the door, chatting with Mrs. Elizabeth Montgomery, the proprietress of the store. Her husband had died in a smallpox outbreak last year. She had made the transition, and the town now accepted her as owner and operator of the best mercantile store in Nashville. It was as if she had the magic touch. She was prosperous and happy.

Patty had been shopping and the stuff she wanted was piled high on the counter. It was mostly baby stuff. Diapers topped the list. Then there was clothing for the triplets, shoes, and other things. There were three small teddy bears on the stack.

Waite didn't begrudge them anything, and willingly paid. He paid an extra dollar to have it all delivered to the hotel.

Waite told Patty to start ahead as they exited the building, and that he had to follow with the horse. He untied the horse and started leading it up the street. Patty kept looking over to him as they walked. She flirted with him as they walked, and he flirted back. They were just about back to the hotel when a big drunk came out of the saloon. He saw Patty and he reached out for her. Waite had turned his head and didn't see the action.

Patty felt the big hand grab her arm. She stomped the arch of his foot and he bent in half in pain. She quickly brought her knee up into his face, and he was down for the count. She stepped over him without another thought as Waite turned back. He had missed the entire byplay. Patty could take care of herself!

They reached the hotel without further ado. Waite tied the horse to the hitching post and told the doorman to watch it. The desk clerk called him over when they entered the lobby. He said the Marshal had been there and had left a note. The man retrieved the envelope from the cubbyhole and handed it to Waite. He opened the envelope and there was the paper the Marshal promised.

Directions for him to collect the reward were also in the envelope. Waite decided to take care of this chore now. He sent Patty up to the room and left the hotel. He mounted the horse and followed the directions on the paper. It took him directly to the building where the Attorney General's office was located.

He got the required endorsement and went across the street to the Clerk of the Court's office. He handed in the bounty receipt. The clerk looked it over and compared the signatures with the signature card in the office. The man was counting out double eagles five minutes later. He had tried to give paper money first, but Waite pointed out the poster advertised gold. Waite insisted on the gold. Happy with the transaction, he put twenty-five double eagles in each pocket so they wouldn't bulge so much. He made sure he got a receipt from the clerk before he left.

Waite climbed back on the horse. He resolved to take the time to check the saddlebags out back at the hotel. He already knew the saddle scabbard contained a brand new Henry rifle. He was now curious about the saddlebags. They looked like they carried a lot of stuff, hurriedly packed. He held his curiosity in check until he arrived at the hotel.

He gave the bellhop a quarter to take the horse to the stable, and to tell the liveryman to put this horse in the paddock with the rest of his stock. He took the saddlebags and the Henry, and returned to his room unmolested.

He had the key this time, and used it to open the door. Lisa Marie, Annabel Lee, and Carol Ann were seated in the sitting area. Lisa Marie was working on tatting more lace for her dressmaking. Annabel Lee and Carol Ann were both reading books. They had retrieved a couple of the first editions Waite had saved from the judge, and were happily sipping mint juleps and reading.

He found Peggy Sue and Patty playing with the triplets as Patty fed David. David released the nipple he was using and turned his head toward the door when Waite entered the room. He recognized Waite and smiled broadly. Milk drooled out of his mouth and down his chin. Waite saw a stream of milk flow from the nipple of Patty's engorged breast as he wiggled.

He went over and picked David up. He was a happy baby, and gurgled and cooed as Waite held him. Patty sat waiting for his return and didn't replace her breast in her dress. Her nipple was distended from the suction David was placing on it. Waite licked his lips. He was looking forward to his chance to have a taste for himself. He took liberties with Patty as he placed the baby back on her lap, sucking the large nipple into his mouth and tasting the sweet milk. He knew he wanted more.

He straightened up and went back into the sitting room. He sat on the divan and plopped the saddlebags down. He opened the first side and found some jeans on top. He tossed them over by the door. Next was a towel. It was stolen from the Newcastle Hotel. Waite had seen that hotel in his travels and figured he should see if Jacob Johnson had a room there. Anything found in the room belonged to Waite, too. Bundles of money were under the towel. They were US notes, not ones from a private bank. They were 'good as gold', but Waite would take them to the Wells Fargo bank anyway.

Encouraged by the find in the one pouch, Waite spun the bags around and opened the other bag. A shirt was crumpled up on top. There were more bundles of the paper money there. He pulled them out of the bag and stacked them with the other money. The bills were all of large denominations. He counted the bills and found over $25,000 in cash.

The saddlebag was almost empty. The only thing left to examine was in the bottom of this second side. There was a rough leather pouch lying in the bag. It was lumpy and when Waite first saw it he thought that maybe there were some gold nuggets inside. He pulled the large bag out and discarded the now empty saddlebag. He shook it and heard something rattling inside. He opened the bag and poured its contents on the table.

Everyone looked in amazement at the pile of stones on the table. The smallest was about 1/4 inch in diameter and the largest was nearly an inch across. Rainbows of color burst forth from the collection. There were literally hundreds of the stones. Green emeralds, red rubies, yellow topaz, blue sapphires, and clear diamonds shone in the sunlight that beamed in through the windows. All the stones were finely cut and the largest of the stones were diamonds. It was a veritable king's ransom in gemstones.

There was no telling where they came from, so Waite accepted the fact he now possessed all of these fine gems. He decided to see if there was a jeweler in town that could fashion settings for some of these gems. He wanted necklaces or rings for each of his wives. He collected the stones and placed them back in the pouch. He made note of which wife had commented about which stone so that he could match them later when they received their settings.