The Coachman Comes to Dodge
The Wishing Star / Wormhole saga continues.
Chapter 1 - The Landing
Outside Dodge City, Kansas, USA, 1875:
With several shots of whiskey in him Louie Pheeters lived in a world of his own. In fact he had been doing so for several years now. So what he saw was no surprise to him anymore. It was a wheeless pointed carriage like contrivance hat just seemed to slide along the prairie grass until it came to a stop. Out of it came a rather large man dressed in a red British style overcoat and a short crowned top hat which was normal. Louie however blamed the whiskey for the other two "people" to come out of the contrivance. Though both were clothed, stood upright and had hands like a man one was obviously a fox and the other obviously a cat. After seeing that Louie made what made his hundredth swearing off of drink. It would probably last a maximum of three day just like all the others.
However what Louie Pheeters saw this time was not just another of his drunken visions. It was the Coachman, John Worthington Fowlfellow and Gideon newly emerged from the wormhole created by the residual magic of SPECTRE/Pleasure Island mixing with the explosion that put SPECTRE's island stronghold out of comission.
"This is about the farthest from Pleasure Island or at least something like it in all these trips so far." Fowlfellow said. "Where do you think we are."
"From the looks of things I would say somewhere in the American state of Kansas at some time during the 1870s." The Coachman returned.
"Then maybe we can turn some Indian and Poineer boys into donkeys here." Fowlfellow said. "They are a saleable item in this place and time to farmers, gold prospectors, traveling carnivals, medicine shows and such."
"And just how do you propose to do this. The last way I had of making donkeys from boys blue up with the SPECTRE stronghold. No, we will have to come up with another creative way of making a living."
"There is always dealing Faro," Fowlfellow returned. "It was the most popular gamble in America at this time and place."
"You," the Coachman returned. "Dealing Faro in saloons in a true human ONLY world like this. SPECTRE was somewhat odd in and of its self and was willing to put up with anthropomorphic animals in their reality but I doubt the American Westerners of this era will. They are most likely to cage you for an animal act, shoot you for your pelt or just plain "swing" you as an product of witchcraft.
"Witchcraft," Flowlfellow said, "that may just be the solution."
"What do you mean? Fowlfellow." The Coachman asked intrigued."
"What if you had some kind of residual magic in you." Fowlfellow returned. "Not mind you enough to make a red star yourself but enough to attract Magica De Spell's to you when she lost control of it. Well I just remembered that 1875 was the year she lost control of that star and it went back in time of 1875."
"Yes, in Collodi, not here."
"Yes, but if my theory is right it will be attracted to you, not a particular location. That means when it comes back to 1875 it will be coming here to Kansas and not Collodi because the magical "magnet" it was attracted to, you Coachman is now here in Kansas in 1875. In the meantime I can teach you to deal Faro because you are a trul human and can go into the saloons here. We can make a pretty good living from that until the red star arrives and we have control of its wormholes and can turn boys into donkeys again with the red star having a whole new clean history.
"You are forgetting one thing," The Coachman said. "That blue fairy probably knows where we are and will bring that half pint former puppet and his father here to hunt us down and they won't be looking too nicely on us after their donkey boy friend was killed in the destruction of the SPECTRE stronghold."
"You handle the Faro. I'll handle the former puppet when he comes." Fowlfellow returned. "Violent death even of small children was a common aspect of life in Kansas cowtowns in 1875. In the meantime my guess is that the red star will land in a place as much like Pleasure Island as possible as well as being attracted to you. In this time and place the closes thing to Pleasure Island would be either a traveling carnival or a cowtown saloon. There appears to be a road to the west of us that might lead to just such a town."
"No, we don't need to be shooting kids, especially THAT one." the coachman returned.
"Who said anything about shooting." Fowlfellow said. "You forget that even though I walk like talk like and have the intelligence of a human I'm still a fox, completely capable of killing Pinocchio and Geppetto and making it look like a simple animal attack common to this time and place."
"Yes, and have every wolfer in this state coming after the hide of the man killing talking fox." the Coachman said. "And Fowlfellow you still don't seem to get it concerning Pinocchio. If a way to do it is coming to us again I what the half pint pain in the you know where ALIVE to turn into a DONKEY!, got it now?"
Another location outside Dodge City, Kansas, USA, 1875:
The Blue fairy landed her transport bubble on the Western Cattle Trail. The most famous entry into Dodge city. Pinocchio was dressed now in the same Tuscan Tyrolean style that he wore as a puppet, Lampwick and Geppeto were also restored to a Tuscan Tyrolean style clothing. The idea of the return to that style of clothing was to explain them as a simple Immigrant family attempting to get to Dodge after having gotten lost. The idea that they were living Pinocchio Characters or actors playing rolls of such characters would not be valid for a time and place that was at least five and a half years before even the first glimmer of the fairy tale based on their lives was known to the man who made their home town his pen name.
Ever since he first heard the word America was an exciting place to Pinocchio and one of the reasons for this was coming from due south. It took the form of riders on horses, not donkeys, with broad brimmed hats and revolvers in holsters hanging at their hips with leather chaps over their pants and leather vests over their shirts and pointed toed boots. Behind them were the first of a large herd of cattle with horns that stretched out of the sides of their heads even longer than Pinocchio's nose when he lied. The famous Texas Longhorns on which the summer Dodge City economy thrived.
"That's a trail drive." Pinocchio announced excitedly but quietly. "A real American trail drive."
"Well whatever they are they would appear to be our way into town. Lampwick said. "Remember Pinokey, a lot about places like Dodge City is exactly like Pleasure Island so we have to avoid those temptations as much as possible."
"The riders who were the outfits trail boss and his immediate associates were only too glad to help the apparent immigrant family and made arrangements for them to ride with the trail cook in the chuck wagon into Dodge city.
From the first site of it Dodge was an amazing place. Unlike Collodi which was built nearly entirely from brick this entire town seemed to be made out of wood frame constriction. Only the jail was of all brick construction. The businesses represented were highlighted by five four well known saloons which were the places Lampwick was warning Pinocchio about. Of these the Long Branch was the most elaborate and appeared to have a Woman owner. In addition to the saloons there was a bank, a freight office, a dress shop,
a more family oriented eatery called Del Monico's, a general store, a blacksmith's shop, a doctors office,
A billiard hall (another place to stay from), and the jail. In front of the jail a man in gray pants with suspenders and a white shirt with one leg in a normal sitting position and the other leg straight out in front of him for some reason was in a chair with his broad brimmed hat over his face, apparently sleeping. Geppetto immediately assumed that the man could not be Marshal Dillon because his straight leg was either lamed or a peg leg from an amputation. Pinocchio, Geppetto and Lampwick approached the man very cautiously as it seemed that revolvers were very ubiquitous in this community. Without surprise his Geppetto's percussion blunderbuss would be useless against these more advanced firearms as Geppeto learned in the 1971 timeline he had come to this time line from. However when it was seen that the man in the chair did not wear a gun belt Geppetto took the gamble to approach him in conversation.
"Stranger," Geppetto said. "We are looking for Marshal Dillon."
The man lifted his hat to see three people dressed in Tuscan Tyrolean clothing, something very unusual for dodge. Gypsies had passed through from time to time but these were the first Tuscans he had ever seen.
"Matt won't be back until tomorrow." the man said. "But maybe I can help you, My name is Chester Goode and I'm in charge of the office when Matt is out of town.
"Well maybe you can help, Chester." Pinocchio said. "We are looking for somebody else new to your town.
He is a rather large man with a British accent and a long red coat with a short crowned top hat."
"You must mean Mr. Coachman." The new Faro dealer at the Bull's Head Saloon. "However I would advise either of you boys not to go near that place and wait for him until his shift ends."
"Don't worry, Chester." Lampwick said. "We are both WELL AWARE of the hazards to kids our age of smoking and drinking. All we really want to know is if he is here and that question has been answered."
Chester was shocked that kids would know about the effects of smoking and drinking, especially that smaller younger one. He would be really shocked however if he knew the FULL effect it had on Lampwick on Pleasure Island, an effect that was headed for Dodge City.
"Now we must concern ourselves with a place to stay while we are here." Geppetto said to Chester.
"There are two, the Dodge House and Ma' Smolly's" Chester returned. "And for You I would suggest Ma's. That Faro dealer Mr. Coachman is staying at the Dodge House and I really don't think you two should meet since the two of you do appear to have some antagonism for each other. Anyway Ma's is the cheaper of the two places and you folks don't look like you have very much money.
Next - The Fox meets the Wolfer - John Worthington Fowlfellow REFORMS after a heroic deed by Pinocchio when Fowlfellow is at the mercy the Wolfer, Festus Haggen.