Chapter 14

Sam an' I arrived at the train station an' was met by Buford an' Susan. The relief on Buford's face was evident. Man, was he glad ta be rid of them whores. We showed up at the Diamond H an' was met by 15 happy women an' several dejected cowboys—we was stealing their free nooky. I called a meetin' that afternoon an' explained what was about ta happen.

Tomorrow mornin', we was gonna catch a train ta Austin. All of the women what wanted a job as a whore in the new house would go with us on the train. Those what had changed their mind 'bout the new job was free ta go wherever she liked, but she had ta leave the Diamond H. It was goin' back ta bein' a cattle ranch, an' the whores was no longer welcome there.

We would ride the train all the way ta Austin, an' that meant a night on the train. All the whores was warned that there would be no free lancin' with servicin' customers on the train. Any what did that would not be allowed ta work with us in Austin. Several of the whores was shocked at that announcement, but I explained that it was a test ta see ifen they could take reasonable orders. If not, we couldn't use them.

That evenin', there was a big celebration, an' more than one trip ta the bunkhouse for several of the women an' companion cowboys. Buford an' I just looked at each other over that, but we didn't say anythin', since it would be the last night of that sort of activity.

The next mornin' before sunup, we gathered all of the whores into wagons, an' it was obvious that a few had rather stay where they was. However, they had no choice. They knew that they was leavin' whore heaven on this day, like it or not. We got everybody loaded into the wagons an' rattled off ta the train station in good order. By the time we got there, some of the girls was already speculatin' on what life would be like in Austin.

I bought our tickets, an' we climbed aboard. I had already spoken ta the conductor about what was goin' on, an' told him that I planned ta keep all of the women in the last car with Sam an' me. He was relieved at that, an' looked a little bit happier when the train finally rolled out on time.

I did have a little trouble keepin' order when we stopped fer meals, but I did remind the girls the rule about no free lancin', so most of the women was very careful ta follow that rule. One girl did git approached, but all of the other girls swore that it wasn't her fault. The meetin' never went no farther than the offer of two-bits ta the woman, so I had ta admit that no harm was done.

We got off the train in Austin, an' I was damned happy ta see Alice, Annie, an' Inez there ta meet us. We rode ta the boardin' house fer supper an' ta give the girls a chance ta stretch their legs. They was interested ta meet Alice, Annie, an' Inez, but they didn't attach no importance ta the meetin'. I was dreadin' tomorrow evenin' when the whores got the full story. The whores was assigned rooms in the boardin' house, five ta a room. That was uncomfortable, but they'd had ta put up with worse, so there wasn't too much grumblin'. They knew that it was only fer one night.

The next mornin, we ate breakfast an' piled into the wagons fer the ride ta the new whore house. Alice, Annie, an' Inez had been fixin' it up while Sam an' I was gone ta fetch the whores. They was thrilled ta see that every one of them would have a private room. It was a little hard ta git through ta them that their private room was also where they would be workin'. Some of them figured that they would still be workin' like they had in Mexico.

Anyway, the women got their rooms picked out, an' their few belongin's moved in. A cook had been hired an' was livin' in the house. Four bouncers had been hired, but they lived elsewhere. That made an impression on the women, since they now finally believed that they would not be forced ta give out freebies ta the guards.

We had a lobby set up where the customers would be screened. Two of the heavily armed bouncers stayed in there ta keep an eye on the customers 'til their girls was ready fer them. The two other bouncers was ta roam through the halls ta be nearby ifen a girl needed help with a customer. Sam, Inez, an' I wasn't worried 'bout them last two bein' needed, but Alice figured that they would make the girls feel better, so we didn't argue. Ta start out, the whores would have ta do their own housekeepin', but we planned ta hire a housekeepin' staff ifen the place earned enough money.

That evenin', after supper at the whore house, I stood up ta explain the operatin' plan. I said that Sam or I would be there the whole time that the doors was open fer business fer the first week. After that, we would see. Meanwhile, Inez was gonna be the gatekeeper. I said that she was as good a judge of people as I was, so I trusted her ta protect the whores. The bouncers was there ta back up her decisions.

All of the whores was upset when they heard that Sam an' I was only gonna work the whore house fer the first week, but I told them ta calm down an' give Inez a chance ta prove her worth. Ifen she couldn't cut the mustard, then Sam an' I would take over. That calmed the women down a little bit, but I could tell that most of them was still kinda worried.

The women was kinda nervous about the whole thing, but they settled down when I told them that tomorrow would be a holiday from whorin'. Tomorrow, once the place was cleaned up, they could take the time off ta see the town of Austin. It was the biggest city any of them had ever been in, so we figured that it was worth givin' them a few hours ta look the place over. They would be walkin', so I didn't expect that they would go far.

The next night would be openin' night, an' I expected everyone of them ta take a bath afore the doors opened fer business at 8:00 PM. I got some funny looks, but I told them that we wanted ta make a good impression on our customers on our first night. They could see the sense of that, so they all agreed ta take a bath. Some still was dubious about the dirty customers, but I said that we would keep out those that smelled too bad.

Alice had printed up handbills what was posted all over town. I heard that some had even gotten into rival whore houses, but I was kinda dubious of that. Well, we was a bundle of nerves when the time finally came fer us ta open. The first few men ta come in was a bunch of saddle tramps. They couldn't afford our base price of four-bits, so they was ushered out an' told ta go ta some other place.

Inez was working the reception desk, an' she was dressed ta the nines. Ya wouldn't believe how good she looked, an' she made a real impression on the potential customers as they came in. Ya couldn't see her wheelchair, so she could be easily confused with any other madam in town, except that she looked a hell of a lot better, both prettier an' more refined.