Chapter 2 - The Fox Meets the Wolfer

Ma' Smolly's Boarding House - Dodge City, Kansas. 1875:

The Woman running the boarding house looked to be in late Middle age. When though Dodge City was a simple wood frame town for the most part she dressed in an elegant city proprietress style. In striped dresses. True to her ways she was quite willing to help the lost family that the first trail drive of the season brought in. In fact Ma' Smolly admired the Tyrolean Tuscan garb the Old men and the two boys wore. There however was the matter of the anthropomorphic cricket but he spent most of his time safely unseen under Pinocchio's various hats during their rather strange travels by the of the Wishing Star. It was especially important that he stay hidden in this time, six years before any of these peoples' stories began.

"Here are your rooms," Ma' Smolly said. "Hope you enjoy your stay in Dodge. By the way where are you headed?" her question was directed at Pinocchio.

"We really don't know yet." Pinocchio said not wanting to tell a lie and revealing his growing nose for the truth was that they really didn't know why the Blue Fairy was continuing their mission against the Coachman now that he was locked in a place in space and time where he would never turn boys into donkeys again and was sure to "swing" for some other type of capital felony within a months time because of his nature.

"A secretive little one, huh" Ma Smolly said to Pinocchio. "Can you at least give your name little fellow."

"That I can do," Pinocchio returned. "It's Pinocchio."

"And I'm Romeo," Lampwick Interrupted. "But most people call me Lampwick or Lampy because I'm tall and skinny like the wick of an oil lamp."

"And you?" Ma' Smolly's next question was directed at Geppetto.

"Gepetto," Geppetto returned. "You might say I'm the adoptive father of these two boys."

"Fine." Ma' Smolly returned. "I'll leave you alone now."

Once Ma' Smolly left Pinocchio removed his hat and took out the matchbox that he had hidden in it from the moment the groups journeys across the Wishing Star began and opened it to reveal the anthropomorphic cricket inside. "Jiminy?," Pinocchio asked. "What do you think the reason for this latest trip is?"

"I've been thinking on that." Jiminy answered "And it does seem that I remember something very important about the summer of 1875 back in Collodi and in our original timeline. It was the time that Monstro came to the waters off Tuscany and the boys started disappearing. I hate to say it but we may be here to deal with an old enemy a RED STAR armed Coachman again."

"You mean to say the red star is coming Dodge City in this timeline and not to Collodi in the original timeline!" Pinocchio asked both excitedly and fearfully.

"Looks like it, Ponoke." Jiminy returned. "That thing seems attracted to the Coachman in some way. Therefore when Magica De Spell Loses control of it in the Duckburg world of the 1950s and it drops back to 1875 it will be coming to wherever the Coachman is and that is the Dodge City of Marshal Matt Dillon now."

"But if it is the red star again then how are we to stop him?" Pinocchio asked. "We couldn't stop him with the entirety of the Junior Woodchucks organization in 1955, He escaped down that barrel ride into James Bond's timeline in 1971."

"I don't know but I think that the best place to do so would be the Dodge City Jail."

"And how do we get him there?" Pinocchio asked.

"I already think we know the way to make that happen too." Jiminy said. "If the Coachman really is dealing Faro at the Bull's Head then he learned the game from that "Honest John Worthington Fowlfellow and if he did he is sure to cheat. You just get me near to the Bull's Head and I'll slip in and see just how "Honest" the Coachman is at the game. Once he is caught cheating one of us can get the word to Chester Goode or Marshal Dillon if he has returned and then we will have the Coachman right where we want him.

The Long Branch Saloon, Dodge City, Kansas, 1875:

As a general rule Kitty Russel was not crazy about Faro banks, especially when they dealt for the competition. However the one talking to the wolfer, Festus Haggen was a little too much for her to handle and his story of a fox that killed a person and stile his clothes was a little too much to be believed. She was about the same age as Ma Smolly but still had a strong aura of outer beauty about her. She tended to wear the same loud dresses as her saloon girls did but they were more covering than the saloon girl's dresses were. Mostly she and Doc Adams just watched the Faro bank only known to them as Mr. Coachman like a hawk from the Long Branch's bar.

Meanwhile the conversation at the table where the Faro bank and the wolfer sat was finally getting to the point. The bottom line was the Coachman finally had enough of John Worthington Fowlfellow's services and was going to terminate his employment eternally using the wolfer's services.

Festus Haggen, the wolfer was pretty much always dressed for his job all the time in rather loose fitting pants with a dirty white shirt tucked into them and a leather vest. His face was that of an unshaven man in his late twenties topped with a tall campaign style hat without the "Montana peak" dimples in it. At his side was a well used Colt 45 Peacemaker revolver holstered in an equally used gun belt and holster set. His pants were tucked into rather old pointed toed boots which appeared to be the footware style for men of this time and place.

"How would like to make some REAL money, bloke." The Coachman asked Festus. He also dropped a rather substantial bag of gold now processed into fake nuggets so that they would look like the findings of a prospector onto the table so it would open wide."

"And just what animal do you want me to kill for that, old skudder." Festus returned. "The fabled white buffalo."

"No." the Coachman returned. "Your target will be that most unusual fox I was telling Miss Kitty about."

"You mean to tell me that you want me to waste my good old time chasing after a fox wearing clothes!" Festus snapped. "You must be as whiskeyed up as Louie Pheeters if you believe a story like that."

"If you don't believe me then just be at the back door of the Bull's Head tonight." the Coachman said. "And bring your wolf gun. The fox in question skulks around the rear of the Bull's Head for some reason at night. Perhaps to find some other unfortunate to kill. In addition to my money I can guarantee that he will produce a most unusual pelt for sale."

"Well," Festus returned. "I'll just try to meet your strange fox behind the Bull's Head tonight. And While I'm at it I will just see exactly how honest your "Bucking the Tiger" game is." Festus continued using the traditional cowtown and mining camp name for the game of Faro."

"Good." The Coachman returned. Then he got up and made straight for the swinging doors of the Long Branch.

As the Coachman left he continued talking to him self. "No more Hi Diddle De De, tis this and that for me while I pour money down the transcendental idiot rathole that keeps singing that song. He made a beeline straight to the Bull's Head to begin another Faro session.

"I wonder what he meant by that remark." Dick Adams said.

"Who knows," Kitty Russel returned. "I just know that man gives me the creeps and is probably a cheat. I'm going to have the Marshal look in on him when he comes back."

Between the General Store and the Bull's Head Saloon, Dodge City Kansas, 1875:

Pinocchio got as close as to dared to any of the Saloons. The places just reminded him too much of Pleasure Island had he felt sure he was going to turn into a donkey if he got any closer to the Bull's Head with the red star on the way. However this was the best place to let Jiminy go so he could be a cricket on the wall in the Bull's Head. After letting Jiminy out of his matchbox Pinocchio returned to the general store and made a pretense of window shopping at the toys in the windows. None of them were of the quality his father produced but all seemed to be the product of mass manufacturing processes.

Jiminy took the opportunity of Pinocchio's "window shopping" to hop in long distance cricket hops to the Bull's Head entrance. He crept in observing the mammoth to him swinging doors above to make sure their opening didn't announce the entering or leaving of a patron. A few more concealed hops later brought him to the Coachman's faro table where he hid himself amongst the betting checks. The table was occupied by four rugged drovers from the trail drive that brought Pinocchio's family into Dodge in addition to the Case Keeper. The Case Keeper was a Bull's Head saloon girl who kept track of the cards played in the game in an abacus like device of the same name.

Jiminy did not know the game but he did know that any cheating would probably involve the dealing box, the cards or both. He watched the play very carefully as the Coachman announced the winning and losing cards and placed them in their respective piles.

"Nine loses, queen wins." He heard the Coachman say. Jiminy knew that there would be a bet settling period before the next turn and its announcement.

It happened in the very next turn that Jiminy observed. Jiminy saw the Coachman push a hidden button on the dealing box as he pulled a card and announced the turn result.

"Jack loses, jack wins, split." was the Coachman's announcement. Jiminy could see that there was a rather large bet on the Jack that the Coachman would get half of in a split. Indeed producing false splits through "brace" or cheating capable dealing boxes as a way to boost the house percentage was a common way of cheating in the game of Faro on the part of the "bank" or dealer. Jiminy had all he needed and prepared to leave when he was seen by one of the drovers, a tall young man of twenty but apparently just as a normal cricket and not an anthropomorphic one. What Jiminy didn't know was that that his inadvertent appearance was going to achieve the entire result that He and Pinocchio wanted/

"Hay," The young drover said to the Coachman. "You've got bugs on your table, for distractions no doubt."

"And just what do you mean by that." The coachman returned.

"I mean I think you cheat." The drover returned. "I think you let the bugs jump all over the place to distract us while you push a button to make splits on that "brace" box of yours."

"Just sit down and play." The Coachman said. "The bug if you saw one was just a bug. It had nothing to do with me."

"The drover pulled a well used Colt Peacemaker revolver form his holster. "Now I'll tell you what you are going to do fat man." First you're going to let me look at those cards and that dealing box of yours and If I find what I think I'm going to find you get to give us our money back or get an extra belly button GOT IT!"

Suddenly a shot did ring out but not from the drover. It came form a colt peacemaker with a full cavalry length barrel and perfect staghorn grips in the hand of a tall athletic brown haired clean shaven man wearing the usual pointed toed boots with tan pants and a red shirt with a darker tan vest covering a red shirt. On that shirt was the Badge of a U S Marshal. His outfit was topped with an off white toward the tan broad brimmed hat. Mat Dillon had returned to Dodge.

"Now put that away and tell me what is going on here." Mat told the drover in a very demanding tone.

"This new Faro dealer cheats." was the drover's return in an equally snappy voice. "He lets bugs loose on his table to distract us while he sets something in that "brace" box of his."

Marshal Dillon did not take cheating lightly. He went Immediately to the Faro table and inspected the equipment and found the drover was telling the truth, the dealing box was braced to produce "splits" and raise the house percentages of games using it.

"What's your name, Mister." Marshal Dillon demanded.

"You can just call me Coachman," the Coachman returned. "And if you put me in Jail you are going to be the first one to regret it even before those two half pint Italian boys and their father that followed me here if they did."

Matt Dillon who was on friendly terms with Native American and Black people did not take kindly to the bigotry if the eastern city people, nor did he take kindly to threats on his own person. "It will be a LONG time before you can do anything to me or a couple of innocent children that just happen to be from another country when in fact you seem to be a British Citizen yourself. Now Move," were the last words he gave in his demanding voice.

Behind the Bull's head Saloon, Dodge City, Kansas, 1875:

John Worthington Fowlfellow wondered what was going on. He always met the Coachman at sun down at the back door to the Bull's Head Saloon in order to discuss future plans for when the red star returned for him, but the Coachman was not there. Soon he heard the footsteps of someone but they were considerably Lighter than the obese coachman's. Soon the man arrived. He was dressed in loose prairie hunter's clothing with a tallish broad brimmed hat. Instead of his handgun which he kept holstered he carried a Winchester 1873 rifle with the forestalk removed to make it lighter and even more maneuverable. Fowlfellow had heard of this man before when listening in secret to saloon gossip. He was Festus Haggen, the wolfer.

Festus manipulated the lever on his rifle which cocked its hammer and introduced a .44/40 round into its firing chamber. "So that Coachman fellow was correct." Festus said. "You are for real, not only wearing clothes but even standing upright like a man. Yes, your pelt will fetch a good price in addition to the gold Mr. Coachman is going to give me for this shot."

While waiting for the bullet Fowlfellow thought back to the closest thing to a friendship he had ever developed with the little puppet boy Pinocchio back in Collodi. Yes, at the time Pinocchio was just another "mark" to sell to a Gypsy puppet master and have turned into a donkey by the very creep that hired this wolfer to kill him now, but he never lost Pinocchio's friendship despite those bad things. Suddenly a brightly colored flash came, but not from Festus's rifle. It was a boy in brightly colored Tyrolean Tuscan clothing pushing the rifle barrel so the muzzle pointed away from Fowlfellow when it fired. Even though he was a real boy now he was still recognizable to Fowlfellow as Pinocchio.

"Now what did you do that for young 'un?" Festus asked Pinocchio.

"No, Pinocchio." Fowlfellow said." Absolutely astonishing Festus who had never seen or heard of an anthropomorphic animal in his life.

"That critter can actually talk," Festus said absolutely flabbergasted. He now realized why Pinocchio deflected his shot even at risk to himself as guns were always dangerous at the barrel end. This boy and this talking fox had some kind of relationship with one another in parts unknown.

"Let Mr. Haggen take his shot." Fowlfellow said. "It's probably the best thing considering those bad things I've done to you."

"I'm just as responsible for those bad things as you are." Pinocchio returned. "When the time actually came I WANTED to be an actor rather than go to school and I WANTED to do those bad things on Pleasure Island. You may have led me to those paths but I was the one who went down them."

"But I'll probably always be a crook. If I survive this moment."

"Not necessarily," Pinocchio returned. "You remember Lampwick don't you? He was another very bad boy that you led to the same coach to Pleasure Island I was on. He fully reformed and even sacrificed himself on SPECTRE Island while You were making the escape that brought you here. He was a donkey then but he is a real boy again now."

"Even if it is possible for me to reform than how do I go about it?" Fowfellow asked.

"First drop your last name." Pinocchio answered. "Stay Honest John and more importantly be HONEST John.

"Yes." Honest John said. "I've shown too much of how low Honest John will stoop in my life. Now it is time to show how high Honest John can RISE! If that Coachman can have interesting talks about me with this wolfer, I can have some interesting talks about him with THE MARSHAL!"

"You seem to have known the REAL answer to your question before it was given, Honest John." It was not Pinocchio or Festus that spoke this time. The voice came from a blue light that became the Blue Fairy. With a wave of her wand Honest John was decked out in a new suit and top hat to replace his old ragged ones. Gideon the mute anthropomorphic cat who was hiding behind a barrel while all of this was going on also received a magical clothing makeover.

"What's going on here," Gideon said then suddenly realized he could say it. "Hay! I can talk, I'm no longer mute!"

"Festus was completely flabbergasted about this whole thing." In his own mind he was having a genuine Louie Pheeters drunken vision without having touched a drop.

"Just like with the boys I've given you tow a new lease on life." The fairy said to Honest John and Gideon. "You just have to actually live by the name you have always used with people, HONEST John by being brave truthful and unselfish. Now it is time to reveal yourselves to the Marshal."

The blue fairy then addressed Pinocchio "Jiminy was right on you reason for being here Pinocchio. The red star will be re united with the Coachman in less than a week. He must be stopped this time or the red star will have a new history and this journey will have to start all over again."

"Well, you heard the lady!" Honest John said. "There is no time to waste, ON TO THE MARSHALS OFFICE!"

All of the people and anthropomorphic animals were singing with Honest John during the march to the Marshal's office with the exception of Festus who was still flabbergasted and confused about the whole thing.

Hi Diddle Dee Dee!

It's a new life for me!

Coming by way of the bright blue light!

That's getting rid of the long black night!

Hi Diddle Dee Dee!

It's a new life for me!

Once I was bound but now I'm free!

From my old ways of dishonesty!

So you'll be surprised at what you see!

Its an New Life for me!

Next - Pinnochio and Lampwick have to overcome their Pleasure Island related fear of at least one saloon when they are put in the care of Kitty Russel, the owner of the Long Branch when the Coachman is released.