"Joshua! Thaddeus!" hollered the freckle-faced tow-headed boy from the wrap-around porch.
"Hey, Ma!" He yelled through the door of the sprawling Victorian-style boarding house behind him, "Josh and Thad is here!"
Then he cleared all four steps with one leap and raced up to the two visitors, thrilled at their return after an absence of several months.
"Let me get your horses! How long ya staying?"
"Howdy Rafe," said Heyes, handing the eager boy his reins, "How ya been?"
"Rafe," Curry eyed him appraisingly, "you musta growed three inches since we saw you last! What's your ma been feeding you, boy?"
Rafe beamed, holding himself as straight and tall as humanly possible.
"That's the Thaddeus Jones I remember," Mrs. Campbell had appeared on the porch, drying her hands on her apron, "always thinkin' 'bout food."
"Ella!" both men called simultaneously.
They were up the steps in no time, taking turns hugging the short but substantially built landlady.
"You're looking as lovely as ever," teased Joshua, brushing a wisp of flour off her ruddy cheek. She batted his hand away, but smiled in spite of herself.
"Aw, go on with you!" she scolded, voice stern, but face betraying her affection for the two visitors.
"How long you stayin'? I've got your friends in the blue room, but there's plenty space up on the third floor -"
"Only for breakfast, Ella, if you'll have us," interrupted Joshua. "We've got to be getting back to Silver Springs."
"Well, it's great to see you boys, even if it's only for a little while. And I want to thank you for sending me Mrs. Sterling and her nieces. Such lovely young ladies."
She put one plump arm around each narrow waist and walked them into the house.
oooooooooooooooo
"Speaking of Mrs. Sterling, that's the main reason we're here. We need to talk to her," explained Joshua, with a serious look on his face. "About something real important."
Ella Campbell's ruddy face lit up and she clapped her hands together.
"Talk to Mrs. Sterling! About something important!"
She was already planning the double wedding: Joshua with Katy and Thaddeus with Lilly! Oh, what handsome couples they'd make! Or maybe Thaddeus with Katy and Joshua with Lilly …? That might look even nicer, what with the contrasting hair colors…
"Ella," the man she knew as Thaddeus interrupted her reverie, seemingly having read her mind, "it's not what you're thinkin'."
Joshua caught on and protested, "Why, we barely know those girls! I mean, they're real nice girls and all, but that's not what we came here to talk to their aunt about."
Ella looked disappointed.
"I'd already decided what kind of cake I was going to bake," she complained.
"Oh, we won't stop you from baking any cakes," joked Thaddeus.
"Well, you two go get washed up out back and then set yourself down to the table. Everybody'll be joining us for breakfast directly and you can talk to Elizabeth after. We're having all your favorites, Thaddeus, apple flapjacks and bacon, and fresh eggs, sunnyside up. And I got some genu-wine maple syrup from a little old lady who stayed here last month. Brought it all the way from back east. Now where's that Billy? BILLY!" She hollered up the stairs. "He'll be so tickled to see you! Talks about you two all the time. BILLY!"
She bustled around setting two more places at the long dining table and carrying in steaming platters of food.
oooooooo
Breakfast was a joyful, noisy affair, with their hostess introducing the newer boarders to the visitors, Mrs. Sterling, Katy, and Lilly surprised yet pleased to see them here. Miss Tibbetts, a prim elderly lady they knew from their last visit, was falling all over them like they were her long-lost grandsons; Billy was beaming from ear to ear as their guests shook his hand like he was a man grown and teased him about having two such pretty young ladies staying in the house. After everyone had eaten their fill, Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones asked Mrs. Sterling to step into the drawing room.
"What is it?" she asked worriedly. "Why are you here? This isn't merely a social call, is it?"
"Perhaps you should sit down, Mrs. Sterling," Mr. Smith suggested kindly. "You might not want to hear what we've come to tell you."
She sat down primly on the horsehair-stuffed loveseat. Both men settled themselves on nearby chairs, looking over-sized and slightly incongruous in the fussily feminine room, festooned as it was with dainty lace doilies and flowery china vases.
"You've been to Silver Springs, haven't you? You know something about my husband! What is it! Please, tell me," she begged. "Is James alive?"
"We don't rightly know that for sure, ma'am," answered Mr. Jones carefully. "It doesn't look real good, but we aim to find out. Until we do, we want you and your nieces to stay put here in Croton Pass. It ain't safe for you down in Silver Springs."
"He can't be dead! He can't be! I have to go there! I can't stand not knowing!" She stood up. "You can't stop me!"
"Actually, we probably could, ma'am, being bigger and stronger than you and wearing guns and all," Mr. Smith began affably. "But we wouldn't do that," he continued. "It's just that we've grown to like you – and your nieces – and we'd hate to see any harm come to you. We don't yet know what happened to your husband, and it's gonna take us at least a couple days to figure it all out. And my friend here is telling the truth of it. It isn't safe for you in Silver Springs until this gets sorted out. Now you might take a risk yourself, but would you knowingly put Katy Rose and Lilly Anne in danger?"
Elizabeth sat down again, still looking worried but apparently convinced.
"Alright. Ella already said we could stay as long as we wanted. I'll tell her we won't be leaving for another few days."
Your silvery tongue has done it again, Heyes, Curry thought silently to himself. Nice touch using the girls' full names like that.