back to civilization

[Lucky Irish Tom]

Cyrus caught the movement of a curtain out of the corner of his eye.  Some one in that room oer the Saloon was interested in what he was doing.  He doubted that it was either of the men he was looking for, lou would have acted worried if he had been hiding them in the Saloon itself.  It was probably the stranger he had seen at the bar earlier, he would have to see what he could find out about this man before he left town.

He continued to move cautiously down the old wooden walkway, avoiding spots where the boards looked weak.  He came to the alley between two of the boarded up buildings where he had briefly seen someones shadow disappear.  He slowly eased down the alley at a crouch, easing the loop of the hammer of his pistol just in case.  The alley ran for about 50 feet and was blocked by a fence across the back half, it was clogged with old wooden packing cases and assorted junk.  Almost at the back of the alley Cyrus found Arthur Trent, once the owner of the town's Tonsorial Palace, nowadays his references ran more to town drunk.

"What are you running from Artie, you know I'm not after you?"

"I don't want any trouble Marshal."

"I don't want any trouble either Artie, I'm just doing my job."  Cyrus pulled out the two posters and handed them to Arty, "Seen either of these fellows?"

Arty took the posters with trembling hands and said, "No!" without really looking at them.  "I told you I don't want any trouble."

Cyrus pulled a bottle of liquor out of his other saddlebag and offered it to Arty.  "You can keep it if you have any information."

Artie licked his dry lips and and looked longingly at the bottle in Cyrus' hand.  He glanced down the alley, and then looked at the two posters in his hands.  In a croacking voice he said, "They visited Lou's place two days ago, and they are staying somewhere nearby.  They bought a couple of bottles of whiskey and said they would be back for more.  One of em caused a ruckus with one a Lou's girls."  As he finished he dropped the posters and snatched the bottle out Cyrus' hand.

He took a long pull on the bottle and slid a little deeper into the shadow of the alley.  Cyrus picked up the posters and placed them back in his saddlebag.  He had the information he needed now, he just had to figure out how capture the two men he sought.  It was unlikely that anyone in town would assist him in bringing these two to justice, in fact most would warn the men he hunted and might even help them to take him down.  He would have to find a way to surprise the two, and disarm them if he hoped to bring them back alive, and if he couldn't surprise might be the only way he would survive the confrontation.

Cyrus visited the remaining businesses in the town, and a few of the shacks that were inhabited by those still working the mine.  No one provided ay information or professed to having seen either of the men, or any strangers around town recently.  As he went back to the Saloon a plan began to form in his mind.  If Artie had been right then these men would be paying a visit to Lou within a day or two, he would have to be waiting when they returned.  He stopped at what still passed for a General store and bought some supplies.  Then went back to the Saloon and saw Lou again. "Well Lou no one in town has seen these fellows so I guess I'll head out and try to pick up their trail, I'll stop back through in a week if I don't find them to see if anyone has any new information."  Lou didn't even respond, he just gave Cyrus a look that said he would be glad to see him gone.

Cyrus exited the Saloon and went around back he got his horse, tacked him up and slowly rode out of town so curious eyes would note his departure.  The plan was fairly simple, he would make his way back to the run down barn he had seen outside of town.  He would make sure there was enough grass and water and then would hide his horse inside.  Under cover of darkness he would sneak back into town and take up station in one of the deserted buildings across from the Saloon.  If needed he could return to feed and water his horse again, but if things went right it wouldn't be more than a day before his quarry returned.

[Lily Lockwood]

     After cleaning him up, Lily knew not to ask too many questions of the injured man in her bed.  She figured he would tell what he wanted in what he felt would be the right time.   However a bit of information was needed about his deepest wounds so she could give the correct treatment.  Lily treaded very lightly.

     Leonard informed her that the bullet that lay in his hip had been there about seven months since late September when he had began his journey west.  The skin had already healed over while the infection was full blown deep down inside.  "Sugar, you're gonna just have to trust me, now you just go on and take a big swig while I get started, and just you relax and let  Lil take good care of you."  So he did just that and handed the bottle back so she could sterilize the tools and the skin before cutting into his hip.  Leonard promptly passed out.

     Lily had seen quite a number of injured men at this point but none of the surgeries she had performed were comparable to this.  First she tended to his lesser wounds like a burn with a hole in the middle of it in the palm of his hand, among many other similar injuries.  Then to the hard job, the one that looked as if it was well on the way to killing him or at least, crippling him.

       As soon as she cut him open, the stench of the infection about knocked her over, she cut and drained the wound searching for the path of the bullet until she reached all the way to the hip bone.  She tried to pry it out but it was just too deep.  Like in a stubborn, hard, old oak tree the lead had embedded itself, it wasn't going anywhere, no matter what, she worked harder to get it out than anything she had ever put her mind to.  It made her feel terrible not being able to give Leonard good news when he woke up. 

     Lily pulled the stitches tightly which woke her patient in extreme pain.  Softly, with that beautiful Georgian drawl, she said to Leonard " It's alright darling, if you need to yell, I'll hand you my pillow to muffle the sound so as no one will hear you."  He took one look at his angel and remembered where he was and realized that the hard part was over.  "you'll just have to lie still for quite a while but rest assured I'll make sure you are comfortable and very well taken care of. until you are well enough to do for yourself.  I figure it will be least five days or up to a week, we'll just have to see how quickly you heal."

     At that moment Leonard might have been in pain but it didn't matter, after all he hadn't felt a decent bed, enjoyed a hot meal or spoken to a pretty lady since before the war began so this time he would enjoy no matter what.  As long as he remained a secret stranger to anyone else in town but Lily, he had to trust her, his life depended upon it.  For the next few days Leonard and Lily spent every minute together getting to know each other in every way, intimately, as they were falling in love.  They told each other stories of their lives and travels as well as details about themselves that they had never shared  with anyone before.

      Every time he would sleep she would be by his side, night or day.  The only time she left the room was to visit the privy or gather food, water or supplies.  She slept once she new everything would be safe for him but until that moment she would lay with him just looking at him.  Everything she had dreamed about in a man she saw in him.  He was tall  with a strong muscular build, dark hair, with green sultry eyes.  But this young man had had a rough time of it, you could tell that his body had aged quickly in the last few years.   As she noticed every scar, bullet wound, and burn she wondered about each and every story of each and every wound and hoped she had many years to spend hearing all of these stories from him.

      Eventually Lily told him about the man who tried to come into her room the night before Leonard had showed up and how disrespectful and mean he was, that he had tried to hurt her and she had to forcibly make him leave.  Leonard quietly became very angry when he heard this and knew the man was still around.  He didn't let on to her what he was planning to do but he had to make sure the crude man got what he deserved for hurting his sweet southern angel.  He kept his plan to himself and enjoyed the rest of the evening with his new love.

[Lucky Irish Tom]

Cyrus had been waiting for 5 days and there had been no sign of the two men, perhaps Artie had lied to get the whiskey, or maybe the two had somehow gotten word he had been here and took off.  He had moved his horse to another structure closer in on the second night so he could better care for him.  He would give it two more days and then he would have to head out and try to pick up their trail.

At dusk on the sixth evening they rode up to the Saloon.  Cyrus watched as they walked inside and he slowly crossed the street as the shadows lengthened, cocking his rifle as he moved.  One of the outlaws had gathered Lou, Langley, two patrons, and one of Lou's girls over at a corner table.  He had guns in both hands and he was watching them, the other was heading up the stairs.  There was no way Cyrus could take the one with his guns on the group without alerting the man that had gone upstairs. Any thoughts of trying to rush the man were ended when he cocked the hammers of both the guns he was holding and asked Lou where he kept the cash.  Cyrus trained his rifle on the man and prepared to fire, if luck was with him, the other man would think it was his partner's shot and it might draw him back downstairs, if not, God help anyone the other came into contact with.

[Leo Tanner]

Leonard had laid in that woman's bed for what seemed like an eternity.  In his waking hours they would talk, and he learned many things about her.  She told him of a strange day in which she had inadvertently run into an older Confederate officer who was very kind to her.  She found that he had known her family and held a deep regard for her mother.   He had taken her to buy a new hat and shoes, and then to eat.  Then he had given her every penny he had.  He had done all of this in a fatherly fashion and clearly wanted nothing in return other than a sense that Lily would be alright.  She asked him why, and he had only replied that the war was all around them and that it was his duty to see victory.  Lunch with a pretty young gal would make him remember what he was fighting for.

     She also told Leonard (she was addressing him as Leo now) about the man who had treated her poorly the night before he had arrived.  This did not set well with him.  It was time to get back on his feet and come back to reality.  His Mama had always said that God suits every man with a purpose, and so far as he could tell he was good at making people die.

     Lily had taken his pistol while he slept a day or two before and used it to shoot bottles in the alley out back.  He had heard the gunfire and had jumped up reaching for his old friend and found it missing.  His legs had worked fine.  She was down there outside the window giggling as she found her aim.  He wanted to be angry but just couldn't, the sight of her killing old whiskey bottles made him smile ear to ear.  And she had placed the gun back in it's proper position when she was done.

     Now, as he lay here the sounds of  footsteps on the stairs brought him out of his drifting, recent memories.  Well, it was a brothel after all.  In the time Leonard had spent here there had been several men walking up those stairs, but something felt wrong this time.  The foot falls Had a hesitant, rather than eagar sound.

     Leonard grabbed his old friend and began checking the loads. 

[Lucky Irish Tom]

Time seemed to hang suspended in the air as Cyrus sighted down the barrel of the rifle.

Suddenly there was the sound of a door being kicked open upstairs and everything began to accelerate in rapid fire succession.

At the sound of the door breaking Lou started to stand up, crying out "Lily!"  This move proved fatal as the gunman fired in that instance at Lou's sudden movement. In the next few heartbeats Cyrus fired as Langley moved and the outlaw fired his second pistol.

Lou dropped back into his chair with a large red stain spreading across his shirt.  The gunman collapsed onto the table which broke under his weight as Langley staggered backwards, clutching his stomach, coming to rest against one of the timbers supporting the stairs.

Cyrus stepped quickly through the batwings drawing his pistol as he moved. Before he could cross to the table a pair of gunshots cracked from upstairs.

[Lily Lockwood]

As Lily noticed Leo quickly reaching for his pistol and checking the loads while at the same time hearing someone coming up the stairs, she felt that something was a little off.   Slowly stepping back away from the bed to check the window was the first thing that came to her mind.  Suddenly,  there was the loud abrupt sound of someone breaking the door down to her right and at the same moment she could hear Lou yelling "Lily look out!"  Instantly she dropped to the ground, all she heard was two shots being fired from right over her head and a loud thud as the man at the door fell to the ground.  It all seemed to be in slow motion.

     When she realized what was happening, Leo was jumping up from on top of her where his instincts put him as her protector, and went running for the door and down the hallway.

     She could hear more gunfire, yelling and banging sounds coming from downstairs before Leo was even out of the door.  All she knew was that something very bad was happening everywhere around her and her first thoughts were to her new love, God wouldn't play such a cruel joke on her and take this man from her life so soon!

     

[Lucky Irish Tom]

Cyrus crossed the space to the table, Lou was dead and from the looks of his wound Langley wouldn't last out the night. One of the girls was holding a cloth pressed over the wound and blood trickled from Langley's mouth as he tried to talk to her.

Cyrus had heard the two shots from upstairs and now could hear the sound of boots in the hallway.  He quickly told the bewildered men and the girls to get behind the bar for safety as he trained his pistol on the stairs, the one girl refused to leave Langley's side. Cyrus listened as the footfalls stoppped at the top of the landing as whoever was coming switched to a more cautious approach to come down the stairs.

Shouting and the sound of people running came from outside. Suddenly half a dozen armed men crowded through the batwing doors of the Saloon. Their apparent leader trained his gun on Cyrus and said, "Looks like this Tin Star has shot Lou and Langley, let's show im what we think of outside lawmen messing in our town."

Cyrus turned to face the new threat remaining calm while realizing that his days were numbered, he couldn't watch the stairs and these new threats at the same time. 

[Leo Tanner]

    For Leonard everything happened quickly, as it always did just like on the battlefield.  He saw Lily jump up anxiously and go to the window.  There was a shout from the lower floor and the door crashed in.  He had fired and then rolled atop the lady while firing again.  One of the shots had hit it's mark.
      "Why does it always have to be this way" he wondered.  He got up and proceeded to the stairs quickly.  A stitch in his hip popped as he made a long stride over the body of the intruder.  It hurt like hell, but his instincts had taken over.  The girl was safe, and he was going to insure things remained that way.
       Leonard bolted down the hallway, then got a hold of himself at the top of the stairs.
     "Time to move easy" he thought to himself.  He walked slowly down the stairs as his eyes darted  back and forth surveying the situation.  Two men obviously ready to ride the handsome, and another who looked to be on his way.  One of the dead men was the sheriff he had seen upon his entrance.  Strange thing was that the federal man who had been with him that day was surrounded by several men bearing arms. 
     All eyes went to the foyer and looked upon the man with the drawn six gun.  It was then that he remembered an old trick that came in handy when being outgunned. 
     Leonard spoke, "everybody's gotta die some time, question is who's it gonna be?"  He exchanged a glance with the marshal, who in one look pervayed the message that he was in a fix and had no intention of doing anything other than getting this settled.  The townsmen shuffled nervously, after all when a man thinks he may die, he reorganizes his thoughts.
     A young fellow, who looked to be all of 16, showed no fear and kept his gun fixed on the marshal.  He was looking forward to seeing his first hanging.  His eyes moved back and forth between the lawman and the stranger.
     Suddenly Leonard heard the double click of a shotgun being hammered  back behind him.  "End of the line" he thought.  "Had ta come sooner er later".       Then he heard the voice.  This time it was commanding and direct, but the sweet accent's undertones were unmistakable.  "Ya'all  wanna join these other poor souls this evening, I think it can be arranged".  It was Lily, and she meant business.
     Leonard smiled and waited for the outcome.     

[Lucky Irish Tom]

"This here Marshal killed Lou, and that stranger from the looks of it Miss Lily!", said one of the older men.

"Yea, it looks like he got Langley and he's in pretty bad shape too, I say we hang im.", replied the young man who looked ready to shoot.

Several others in the crowd drew strength from the young man and said, " Yea, hang im."

"The man face down on the collapsed table shot Lou and Langley, I shot him to prevent him from killing the others.", said Cyrus

"A likely story.", said the anxious boy, "You're just trying to cover your butt."

Hearing familiar voices the two townies stood up from behind the bar along with one of Lou's girls, Lily noticed them first, and then saw Clara, the other girl cradling Langley.

Lily looked at Clara and the others and started to speak.

[Lily Lockwood]

     "Everyone jus settle down right now so I can get hold of this and don't nobody move a muscle!  Johnny, you need to put down that gun so as no one else gets hurt."  Then Lily, still holding her shotgun steady at Cyrus and the crowd, with Leo right beside her, she looks down and to her left at the girl and Langley.   "Clara, you need to take a deep breath and quickly tell us exactly what happened.  And Joe, you run and get the doc right quick for Langly."

     Clara did take that deep breath, just as Miss Lily had instructed, and began.  "Lily it was som'in awful allright, that there dead man and his friend came to rob us. This one here," as she pointed to the man lying lifeless on the floor, "well he put his gun at us and made us go over to the table and wait while he told his friend to go get the money.  But instead the other one went up the stairs to'rds your room and thats when we herd the rucus.  When Lou yelled out for you, this man shot him and then Langley.  That's when this here marshall busted through the door and took him down.  He saved the rest of us, "looking back at he crowd she yelled, "Let him go!"
     
     "Lily where's the other one?"   Clara began to cry.  Lily put down her gun, looked at Leo who was still holding his pistol and then back to Cyrus and said, "I believe the other one yer lookin fer is in my doorway upstairs."

[Leo Tanner]

     At hearing Lily's words, the townsmen lowered their weapons and began to mill out of the Grey Goose.  The young one looked disappointed and had grudgingly followed suit.  The only guns that remained drawn were those of Leonard and the tin star.  They studied each other closely, Leonard checked for any signs of recognition in the law man's eyes and saw none.  This relaxed him considerably.
     "I had to protect the girl" he said.  "I don't want any more trouble".  The pain in his hip was flaring again.  He spoke, "the barkeep seems to be having some trouble with his gut, guess that makes it self-serve" and motioned to the bar.  "Let's put these away and have a drink."
     The marshal regarded him and felt no immediate danger from the man with the limp.  He could tell from the gunner's eyes there was something to hide (years of experience had made him proficient at this), but tonight was not the time to investigate.  After all, the man and the prostitute had saved his life.  "That's an awful cold thing ta say", Cyrus said as he holstered his pistol and looked over at Langley.
     "Mister, I seen lots of men die.  It's always horrible an it's always cold.  He's gut shot, you and me both know there's nothing ta be done fer him.  Fella upstairs got it in the head, so I'm sure his worries are over, at least in this life.  I could use a drink, and I'm sure your nerves could use a little relaxing too."  Leonard tucked his pistol into the waist band of his long pants and walked behind the bar, grabbing a decent bottle of whiskey.  He poured two shots while the lady called Clara wailed in the background and Lily looked over Langley's wound.  "Decent thing ta do would be ta just put him out of his misery, but I guess we're all a little too civilized ta do it."  Leonard handed the marshal a shot glass then held his own up and said, "what kind of idiot shoots the bartender?" 

[Lucky Irish Tom]

Cyrus tossed down the whiskey and spoke, "That face down idiot over there.  His name is Samuel Hopkins, his partner was Dave Hopkins.  The two brothers started out as bullies when they were younger and found that life was easier when they forced other people to submit to their will."

"They have been in and out of jail a dozen times, mostly for fighting, intimidation and strong arm schemes.  They graduated to bank robbery, horse stealing, and beating a man to death about two months ago.  I have been trailing them since that time.  They are suspects in two other robberies that occurred in towns they travelled through."

"I was looking for information on them and to see if they were hiding around here when I arrived almost a week ago.  Artie the town drunk tipped me off that they were in the area and would most likely come back here.  I promised $100 to anyone who  could provide information that would help me apprehend them."

"You've done more than that,and both were wanted dead or alive, if you help me bring them back your share of the reward would be $500. I have the authority to temporarily deputize you to assist me in that task"

Cyrus looked the man over again, "I would be interested in knowing your name, and your story if you've a mind to share it.  It's always good to know something about a man you consider riding with. First though you might might want to have Lily take a look at your hip, it looks like you are bleeding."

[Leo Tanner]

     Leonard looked down at his leg.  "It has a tendency ta do that lately" he said.  He looked over to Lily as she did her best for Langley.  It was obvious at this point that she was doing nothing more than comforting the man.  He was mumbling something to her, but it was inaudible from the bar.

     500 dollars.  That would be enough to get Lily out of here and start a new life.  After the time he had spent with her, he couldn't bear the idea of another man putting his hands on her.  Of course he'd have to leave her to retrieve the reward, but the idea was extremely tempting.  Here he was sharing a drink with a law man who had no idea about Leonard's past.  He had spent so much time avoiding men like him, and now he was considering riding with one.

     "I'm not much on tellin' stories.  Ain't much on listenen' to 'em either", he said in response to the marshal's request.  "You can call me Leo.  I been ta the war, and now I'm here.  I sure could use that money sir"

     At this point, Lily was hugging Langley tightly, but his head was lolling to and fro as she rocked him.  Leonard had seen it before.  The man was lucky, being gut shot could leave you in agony for several hours.  The town doctor came in and relieved the woman from her station by the stairs.

     Leonard thought a moment, and asked his potential new partner, "Where we gotta go?   Some places I just assume not visit.  Old ghosts an all that".  He cracked a smile to portray the idea that his troubles had to do with nothing more than some ill planned romantic interlude with a spoken for woman.  The man he was speaking to was no dummy, but hopefully he'd buy it and let it go.

[Lily Lockwood]

     "Quickly bring me a bottle for Langley, " Lily called out to Clara who was now standing behind the bar.  She tried to comfort her friend as he lay dying, she spoke as sweetly as possible "I've got you sugar an' I aint leavin' ya till the doc comes.  Now, don't you worry about a thing, he'll have ya' fixed up in no time."

      By the time Lily got the bottle to Langley he was glad to have a swig to wet his whistle.  "Gettin' gutshot tends to make a mans mouth rather dry," Langley quietly spoke with a kind of smirky laugh, "Lil you gotta listen to me" he said, "Lou's papers are in the root cellar in a burlap sack behind the taters, you be sure an git em yerself an don't let on to anyone else before ya got em.  Yer the boss now so be watchin' yer back sister."  He winced in pain as he coughed up some blood then went on to say, "It's been my pleasure in knowin' ya, ya take good care of our girls now" and he passed out.  That's when the doc and his men finally showed up and carefully took Langley to his office.

     Lily rushed over to the bar to Leo and asked, "how many stitches do ya think are left?"  Leo replied with " probably one or two if I'm lucky, I may have to aquire yer services once again if'n ya don't mind."  As he poured a shot for her he went on to say, "I'm guessin' ya need this bout as much as we do" and he handed the glass to her bloody but still delicate hand.  She accepted gratefully and said, "you got that right, it's been quite excitin' round here today."

     "Darlin why don't ya let me help you back upstairs before you lose any more blood?"  Lily said with concern.  Leo replied by telling her to go ahead and get cleaned up while he spoke to the marshal for just a bit.  He assured her that he would keep an eye out on the bar until she returned.   First Lily insisted on placing a thick, clean cloth on Leo's ripped stitches and told him to hold it tightly to stop the bleeding until she could tend to him once again.  Then she took him up on his offer to go upstairs to wash up and put on a clean dress, but not before she scooted on down to the cellar to get Lou's papers to take up with her.

     As quickly as she could, Lily changed and took the papers out of the sack that Langley had told her about and began to look them over.  {Even though she was worried about Leos leg she knew he'd be alright for another few minutes, heck, he and Cyrus had the whole bar in front of them.}

    "These sure look legal enough" she thought to herself, "good ol' Lou, always planning ahead  I guess it's all up to me now, I'm finally gonna be done pleasin' customers and start servin' em instead!"  Lily was up for the challenge, she hated having someone always telling her what to do.  Now she was the boss, the owner.  That's when it all hit her, "I've got a lot to think about, but first I'd better get back downstairs." 

     The men were just finishing up their talk at the bar when she walked down.  Looking over at Sadie, another one of the girls that worked here, Lily asked if she would go and find the bar back Lenny to come and help clean up the blood.  Then she was instructed to come on back for a meeting of all the employees that were left still living after such a brutal day.  Lily then took up her position behind the bar, and wondered how long it would take to hire a new trustworthy bartender.   Leo and Cyrus were very impressed by Lily and how she stayed so calm throughout this ordeal and Leo told her he would stay with her downstairs until everything was settled with the employees.  He didn't want his girl to be hassled by anyone even though he could see how tough this dainty little southern gal really was.

[Lucky Irish Tom]

Cyrus and Leo continued to talk while Lily went upstairs.  " Originally I had planned to take the two men to Fort Whipple."  Something could be seen in Leo's face, it wasn't fear it would take a lot to scare this man, it was worry.  Something about going to a Fort made Leo nervous. The rumors coming from back East seemed to indicate that the war was almost over, and Cyrus hadn't seen a wanted poster on a desserter or renegade in months. Cyrus figured he could pursue that another day. 

"Since both men are dead the command at the Fort would just as soon not deal with it.  The expense of burial and is something they would rather not deal with, and paperwork takes longer to process for reward at the Fort. The Commondant would prefer outlaws he can put on trial, and hang, looks better on his fitness reports.  It would be closer to take the bodies to Prescott, it's the Capital, they have the authority to certify that these are the wanted men, and I would be able to get your reward, in cash, right away if we arrive early enough in the day since the local bank handles the reward accounts."  Leo seemed too be much more at ease with this solution than with the previous suggestion.

"The first thing we need to do is to get you sewed back up and determine how soon you wil be ready to ride."

At this point Lily came downstairs, Cyrus heard her tell one of the girls to get everyone together for a meeting and wondered what was going to happen next.  He poured himself another shot from the bottle on the bar and sat back.

[Leo Tanner]

Lily brushed up against Leonard as she took over at the bar.  She was getting direct to business, and Leonard couldn't recall seeing the likes of anyone like her before.  Leaving her was going to be hard.  He let his mind drift briefly to picture a life wherein he stayed right here, and the two of them ran the place together.  But that wasn't realistic.
     He nodded his head at Cyrus, and said, "Prescott sounds fine.  I have ta go upstairs now an look at somethin'."

     "I'll be with ya once I'm done here" Lily said.  Leonard would have loved to have stuck around to overhear the meeting, but he was starting to have trouble standing.  The whiskey had helped, but the adrenaline rush had worn off.  He felt pale and clammy.   He looked over at Lily and said, "I'm goin' up ta the room now.  The marshal here should listen ta what ya have ta say, he might have some suggestions about how ta make things right around here again". 
     She looked down to where he was holding the cloth.  It was white a moment ago, but now it was red.  "We'll take any help we can get darlin', you go on now.  I'll be quick down here."  Leonard surveyed the room again to be sure all assembled would be safe.  He wasn't too concerned because the federal man was there (part of the reason he put the idea of Cyrus' staying to the others), but it was a habit he had picked up in the Army.  A man can never be too careful. 
     He poured himself another slug, thought better of it, then just headed toward the stairs with the whole bottle in his hand.  Again he asked himself, Why does it always have to be this way.

[Lily Lockwood]

     "Sadie would you please make sure Leo gets up them stairs in one peice for me and give him a clean cloth for his leg, then you come right back down here and join us."  At this time Lily also looked over at Leo and with great affection said, "if'n you don't mind darlin' please let Miss Sadie walk up with you, I want you to be in one piece when I join you.  Oh, and I'll get all the supplies once again to fix you right up."

     After she watched the two head up to her room she leaned over to Cyrus and said, "before e'eryone gets here I want very much for you to take a look at these papers.  You are the only lawman around here now so before theres any trouble about this place I would like Lou's wishes to be known."  Lily poured Cyrus one more shot as he looked over the will, and as he handed them back to her he told her "these all seem to be legal enough, congratulations Miss Lily you've got yerself one heck of a mess with this place."  Lily looked him dead in the eye with all the confidence in the world and said "mister, you have no idea what I am capable of.  You just sit back and watch."

     She pointed down the street to the sodhouse in the hillside and told the lawman that he could put the two deceased men into the icehouse until Leo was ready to travel in a day or two.  Then she rushed to gather the supplies needed to begin stitching Leo's leg once again and waited for the water to heat on the stove. 

     When all of the girls and Lenny had come back as Lily requested she wasted no time to begin the meeting. 

     drawing in a deep breath Lily asked everyone to have a seat as she began.  "Ya all know what's happened here today and that we have lost Lou.  It looks like Langley is sure to follow and thats a pity cause he was 'bout the best bartender and friend we had round here.  Now, before anyone else should try and cause any trouble I need ya' all to know that Lou left the place to me."  She took another deep breath and continued.  "This here Marshal has already read the will and agreed.  So with that out of the way I need to ask ya'll if you'll be so enclined as to stay on here workin' fer me, I'll give ya'll a dollar raise.  I want you to know I intend on keepin the same rules as Lou about our customers.  How they are treated as well as their discretions are all respected just like before."  At this time, Lily looked very hard at each of her employees one at a time and nodded in a way as they knew what she meant without speakig the words outloud in front of the lawman.  Cyrus noticed but did't say anything, he knew this was a brothel and that they had their own ways of doing business.  If he could try and trust Miss Lily maybe he would have a new connection in these parts.  Maybe he could also earn her trust providing he refrain from asking any questions. 

     Everyone knew that she was no pushover and that Lily was smart, fair and would do right by them so they did whatever she told them to do with all the respect in the world.  She instructed everyone to put out the word that they needed to hire a new bartender and that she was going to be very careful in her selection.  Then she looked a Cyrus and reminded him that Lou was also the sherrif and that she was in no rush to find just anyone to fill the position.   "We need to know who were gettin' and all agree on the candidate.  So don't you come back with someone from Prescott, we'll do our own decidin' If you please, and thank ya kindly."  After instructing each person to go back to work, she asked Lenny if he could tend the bar and he agreed.  As she tipped her head to the marshal Lily gracefully excused herself. 

          Now that the business was being looked after properly, she could put all of her attentions on making sure that her new love was alright and not bleeding to death in her bed.  Luckily, Leo was waiting patietly for her, with a new cloth on his leg he had slowed down most of the bleeding and had been laying there just resting and keeping still.   Lily didn't want to show it but she was exhausted and as soon as she made her way up to her room she joined him on the bed.  He wanted to help relax her.  He was proud and wanted to take care of her for a change. 

[Lucky Irish Tom]

Cyrus was able to get a couple of townsfolk to help him move the bodies of the two men to the location Lily had indicated.  After that he sought out Artie.

"Since you helped me bring these two to justice you deserve the reward I promised for anyone aiding me in apprehending them, so I have a paper good for one hundred dollars."

Artie's eyes got real big at the mention of such a large sum. "What do I need to do to get it Marshal?"

"You need to go to Prescott, or have someone you trust go to Prescott to claim the money.  I have signed it, and it is a bearer paper so they will pay whoever presents it at the bank in Prescott. Don't go waving it around or bragging about it either Artie, men in these parts have been killed for much smaller amounts."

"I don't really like big towns Marshal, but I don't know who I can trust."

"Well the fellow, named Leo, helped me out of a tight spot when we had to kill the Hopkins brothers, and when the town was ready to string me up for it because they thought I had killed Lou in during the fight, he's helping me take the bodies back to Prescott. I am pretty sure he will come back here afterwards, he seems to be taken with Lily. Lily seems to think very highly of him and I know everyone in town respects her opinion, so I think you should ask her if you can trust him to bring you the reward."

"I guess I will talk to her Marshal, when do you leave?"

"Just as soon as Leo can ride, probably in a couple of days. Now if you'll excuse me I need to get back to the bar to attend a meeting that Miss Lily has called." 

"Oh, Artie, thanks for not tipping off the Hopkins brothers that I was looking for them."

Cyrus headed back to the Saloon to see what Lily was going to do, and to find out how his temporary partner was faring.

[Leo Tanner]

     "How'd it go down there?" Leonard asked Lily once she had set down on the bed.
     "Not bad.  Everyone seems ta have there heads on straight" was her reply.

      The woman looked worn down and the man with the freshly opened wound felt a pang in his heart and forgot his pain.  He wanted nothing more than to make her feel better.  Not just now, but forever.  And he would be leaving.  Dragging two carcasses up to the capitol for the money it would take to make sure she could leave this life.   
     "Well you take it easy now", he said.  "I been months on end like this, and a good night of rest fer you ain't gonna kill me.  Let me get ya a drink an' a cold damp towel."                       
     Her first instinct was to object, but one look in the man's eyes told her that would be useless.  What a pair they made.  Both hard as nails and set in their ways.  Now they were here with no other desire than to help one another.

     Lily accepted the drink from the bottle Leonard had brought upstairs and the towel he had dipped in the bowl by the vanity.  She thanked him and said, "We gonna have ta fix that up"
     " Soon enough, I don't need shaky hands workin' on me."  He smiled as he said this and the woman looked down to see that her hands were indeed trembling.  Her nerves were half past shot and this was the first time she had allowed it to show.  "I hate to say it Lil, but when I'm a little better, I have ta go up ta Prescott with that lawman.  I promise you I'm comin' back, and was kind a hopin' you'd wait fer me, if ya know what I mean."  As he said this he shuffled around and had put his eyes down.  He looked at that moment like an eleven year old boy attempting to ask a girl if he could walk her home for the first time.
     "I'll do ma best an try, Sugar.  I'm gonna be plenty busy around here.  Will that do ya well enough?"  Leonard wasn't quite sure what to make of this response, but when she motioned for him to come closer, he let it out of his mind.   

[Lily Lockwood]

     After Lily and Leo relaxed long enough for the tension to be released from the early portion of the day she told him that she needed to go and check on things downstairs.  His leg had stopped bleeding for now and he was doing well for the time being.  So Lil quietly excused herself and said she would be back after a while to sew him up again.

     Walking down the stairs slowly, the new proprietor scanned the room with an eagle eye to get a hold on exactly where her people were, as well as, what exactly the customers were up to.  This was how she needed to be from now on, she thought to herself,  so as no one could get anything over on her.  She knew she had to be on her toes now as there would be plenty of times to come where she would have to prove herself and her abilities to any challenger that might think that she was not up to the task of running a so-called "gentlemen's business".   

     After saying hello to the patrons and making sure the bar was well stocked and the money was coming in Lily gave a trusting subtle glance to the girls.  She walked up to Clara who had always been the most loyal employee she knew and asked her if she would keep an eye on the place at times that she herself could not be present, at least until other arrangements could be made.  Clara happily agreed knowing that Lily was going to be in need of a new manager, if not for the bar then perhaps over the girls.  Little did she know, the new boss would not trust anyone but herself to be in that position at this particular time.  Lily was very fair minded and she knew exactly what changes needed to be made with the way companionship was dealt with around here.  As well as she knew that the wolves were to begin circling for any weakness she may show so she has to be very careful now.

     At this time Artie walked up to her and asked, "Miss Lily, that there new marshal tol me to be askin' you 'bout the stranger".  Lily pulled him aside and said "Sugar, from now on I hope ya don' mind but I would generally  like to discuss business 'n private"  she leaned in a little closer to speak more quietly now, "anytime we speak of a stranger from now on I would indeed appreciate a bit of discretion if'n ya know what I mean" and she gave him a smile and a wink.  Artie, who had a slight crush on Miss Lily shyly smiled back with a half drunken semi-toothless grin and said, "of course Miss Lily anything you say.  But do you suppose I could trust the stranger to collect my reward money when he goes to Prescott?  Cause, I just can't be makin' a trip like that and I ain' got no horse anyhow."  Lily nodded as she said she would ask Leo for him and told Artie to come back first thing in the morning for the answer and told the bartender to give him a drink on the house..

     She spent a while longer in the bar associating with patrons and personnel attempting to put her authority in line at the same time as reminding everyone why they all loved her as a polite lady who gets along with everyone.  She knew that she needed to keep the faith of the townspeople on her side to keep the transition smooth here at the Grey Goose after such a full and tragic day.  Later, after she was completely confident with her progress she made a graceful exit and went back upstairs to her room.

      Although he did get some much needed rest, Leo was very glad to see her.  She got right to business fixing him up one more time so that when she was done they could relax together the rest of the night.  He looked at her adoringly and she knew she was falling in love with him.  She could hardly contain herself and even though he had made it very clear that he wanted her to himself, she tried very hard not to seem to eager.  She could remember her mother telling her that all good things are worth waiting for and that a lady always keeps the man guessing until she is sure he is truly the one she was destined for.  She felt she was sure, but didn't want to let on quite yet.  After dressing Leo's wound once again they stayed awake for hours talking and laughing until they fell asleep in each others arms.