The Night of the Mardi Gras
Chapter 2
The Road to Laredo
When Artie woke up he was unsure of his surroundings for s split second and, as always, nowadays, his first thought was of Jim and his loss. He groaned and then heard a loud crash as a something smashed on the floor not far from him and Sweetie said, "Well, it's goodbye to that. Ah, you're awake," she added. "Good, I'm just about to dish up lunch. You'd better come and sit at the table."
Before Artie could move, Lance Kirby entered the kitchen. "Not another plate." he said.
"Yes, I'm afraid so, but don't worry, Artie and Jim were kind enough to give us enough crockery to last a lifetime. There are plenty left."
Artie couldn't help remembering the conversation Jim and he had had over the wedding gift. Artie was against buying Sweetie anything breakable but Jim persuaded him that if they gave her ten times the usual amount of crockery she would always have enough left, no matter how clumsy she was. How like Jim to have such a good idea, and one that had pleased Sweetie because she was well aware of the thoughtfulness behind the extravagant gift.
"Hello Mr Gordon," Lance said, turning to Artie. "It's good to see you."
"And you, Dr Kirby."
"What's all this?" Sweetie interrupted. "Enough of this Kirby and Gordon nonsense; it's Lance and Artie between the two of you," she said.
"She's right, of course," Lance said, "if you don't mind."
"Not at all," Artie agreed.
Sweetie smiled in satisfaction. "Now sit down the pair of you before the food gets cold."
Lunch turned out to be fried chicken, mashed potatoes and corn. There was rice pudding, topped with peaches, for dessert, the same dish that Artie remembered Sweetie feeding him when he was a prisoner of Dr Loveless. It tasted even better now than it had back then.
Sweetie was keeping a protective eye on her guest. When she had first seen Artie earlier, he had seemed to her to have lost weight. She put this down to a mixture of grief over Jim and the fact that he had probably only been eating food that was available to him on the trail. She watched him, to make sure he ate everything she placed before him, determined that he would leave her house with something substantial inside him.
Sweetie was a good cook and Artie found himself eating with pleasure for the first time since...even in his mind he wouldn't acknowledge the event that had taken his best friend and almost-brother away from him.
During the meal Lance had taken time to offer his condolences and said nothing further on the matter, knowing that his wife would already have expressed all the consolation and comfort possible.
After lunch, Artie reluctantly took his leave of them, saying goodbye with tears in his eyes that were mirrored in Sweetie's.
"Take care of yourself and make sure you eat properly," she shouted to him as he mounted his horse and rode away from the couple and their charming house. He would have liked to stay longer but he was still on a mission and he couldn't delay indefinitely. If he was successful he would reward himself with a further visit to the Kirby household, on his way back to Washington.
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Before leaving Beaumont, Artie stopped in at the jail to have a word with the sheriff, the one who had helped him and Jim bring in Senora Diaz and her Son. He found him sitting at his desk with a cup of coffee in front of him and he was forking food into his mouth from a plate of gravy and grits.
"Hi, Sheriff," Artie greeted him.
"Why, if it isn't Artemus Gordon," the Sheriff said, wiping his lips on a napkin before standing up to shake hands with his old acquaintance. "What brings you to Beaumont?"
Artie explained his sad mission and the sheriff was very sympathetic. "I've lost many a good deputy, keeping law and order around here," he said. "We're in a dangerous business, Mr Gordon."
Artie acknowledged the truthfulness of that statement and then continued with the reason for his visit.
"I've been tracking the two men responsible for Jim's death and the last person who saw them claimed they were headed for Laredo. Before I head down there I was hoping you might have some information for me. For instance, have you seen any strangers pass through here lately?"
"Now I come to think of it I did come upon a makeshift campsite in the woods just outside of town. Must have been three or four days ago. There were two men and a woman and they had a sick child with them, all wrapped up in a blanket, in a wagon. They were heading south, or so they said. Could that be them?"
"I don't know," Artie said. "I wouldn't expect a woman to be with them and certainly not a child, sick or otherwise. Oh well, there's nothing to do but head south to Laredo and see if I can pick up their trail."
"Can I offer you a cup of coffee before you go?" the Sheriff asked.
"No thanks, I've had my morning's quota already," Artie replied. "Be seeing you," he added, tipping his hat in the Sheriff's direction prior to leaving the jail.
The Sheriff went back to eating his breakfast.
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Artie was a matter of half a mile outside of Beaumont when he was attacked. Something small and furry launched itself from the bushes, as if being chased, and landed in front of him, causing the chestnut horse to rear up. Artie steadied his mount, just managing to avoid trampling the small creature to death. He rapidly got down from his horse and grabbed hold of the now-cowering creature, which turned out to be the dog that had been at Sweetie's house earlier. It was trembling and whining in Artie's arms and Artie proceeded to stroke its head and tweak its ears, using calming motions.
"Hey, little fella, it's all right; you're safe now. What are you doing this far from town? You got no home to go to, eh? I guess we're both on our own. Maybe we should team up together, what do you say?"
The dog looked up at him expectantly, with a cute expression.
"I'll take that as a yes," Artie said, lifting the dog up onto his horse and getting up behind it.
"Now what am I going to call you? I know, Jasper," he said, remembering the dog that had bitten him after being accidentally mistreated by Sweetie. "Then you'll remind me of my friend, Sweetie, and I won't feel so lonesome."
Jasper, now totally unlike the dog who had wrestled Sweetie for her pantaloons, turned his head and licked Artie's face.
"Now that's enough of that," Artie said, settling the animal between him and the pommel. He liked the feel of its soft fur against his hands as he made sure it was comfortable. It was in this fashion that Artie and Jasper set off on their long journey to the Mexican border.
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On the way to Austin, Artie came across many old campsites and guessed that one or more had been used by the men he was looking for. Were they on horseback or did they have a wagon?
After a few days, Artie and Jasper arrived in Austin and the train was already waiting just outside of town.
Once on board Artie tried to take more interest in what he ate and spent time in the galley, concocting some of the same delicious dishes that he used to serve up for Jim and himself. He had always thought that good food was wasted on his partner, who was just as happy eating beef jerky or a cold chicken leg.
Artie hadn't set foot in Jim's stateroom since returning from New Orleans, feeling unable to enter the space which had known Jim's presence for so long. It helped him to keep up the illusion that his friend was alive and well, behind the closed door, and could appear at any moment, that look of amusement on his face.
During the journey, Artie started to blame Jim for what had happened. ' It was his fault for going off with that woman. Why hadn't he stayed with Artie? Why had he allowed himself to be dragged onto that boat? Why did Jim have to be such a damned womaniser?'
Artie banged his fist on the table and Jasper jumped.
He continued to ponder these questions, fuelling his anger. Meanwhile, Jasper proved to be a good companion, happy to eat the morsels of cooked meat that his master gave him. He would lie obediently at Artie's feet while he sat on the sofa in the evening, drinking whisky while bleak thoughts and old memories assailed him. At night, the dog slept at the end of Artie's bed.
By the time the Wanderer reached the outskirts of Laredo, Artie had calmed down and had reached a much more balanced view of the past. He accepted that it was the men he was following who were responsible for Jim's death and he was once again able to mourn his friend without recriminations.
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Once Artie left the train, he rode into town and stopped at a small cantina called La Rosa Polenta. He went inside looking for a drink and some information.
It was early evening and the place was busy, serving dinner. Artie ended up ordering fajitas with his drink. Jasper was with him and the dog was lying at his feet, under the table.
Eventually a young woman came over with a bone in her hand, and bent down to offer it to Jasper. Jasper was obviously pleased with the gift as Artie could hear his tail thumping on the wooden floor. The woman stood up and said, "I hope you didn't mind me giving your dog a bone, senor."
Artie got the shock of his life. "Carla?" he rasped, feeling his mind spin.
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