Chapter Fifty-One
Standing on the boardwalk, Adam waited for a black coach to pass before he stepped down into the street. He had already observed that the sleepy little, out-of-the-way town had suddenly become very busy. Those who thought they couldn't afford to wait out the storm to get to Sacramento or San Francisco had resorted to the only other route available; the old stagecoach route before Kingsbury Grade had opened. Only Grizzly Flat was still a little off the beaten path. The stagecoaches had never stopped here. He chuckled to himself when he remembered that he was one of those who couldn't wait out the storm.
Once again, he stomped his feet before he stepped into the telegraph office, thankful the door was still unlocked.
"What can I do for you?" asked the clerk.
"I need to get a telegram to Virginia City."
"Lines are down. Nothing going from here to Virginia City until this storm blows itself out and the lines can be repaired."
"I was told your lines west are still working."
"That's true, but relaying a message back is mighty costly." The clerk gave Adam a sidelong look. "Most folks can't afford it."
Lifting his chin, Adam replied. "I'd like to use the relay, if you don't mind."
Furrowing his brows, the clerk passed Adam a piece of paper and a pencil which Adam accepted without comment.
Shiloh Cartwright, Ponderosa Ranch
Johnson's Pass impassable. Took Hope Valley. Stopping at Grizzly Flat.
Adam stopped writing and chuckled, and with a smile, he continued writing.
Buster sends love. As do I. Adam.
Shoving the piece of paper over the counter to the clerk, Adam said, "I don't expect an answer."
The clerk added the words up on his fingers, then moved his eyes up to the ceiling to figure the extra. "That'll be two dollars even." Adam arched an eyebrow. "I told you it would be costly."
The clerk had no clue that Adam's eyebrow raised at what seemed to be a trend so far in Grizzly Flat. Everything cost two dollars. Maybe dinner would prove different.
"Where can I get a hot meal?"
As the clerk moved behind his desk and sat, preparing to send the telegram, he answered, "There's only one restaurant in town. We ain't got a delivery in a week, so Mamie might be running short just about now with all you folks coming through. You're a little early for dinner. If you go now, you might be one of the lucky ones."
Adam nodded with a tight-lipped smile. "And just where would I go?"
"Take a left out the door. Three doors down."
Tipping his hat, Adam pulled the door open, and seeing a wave of people heading his way from the hotel, he hurried down to Mamie's. Once inside, he breathed a sigh of relief. There were only three other couples seated. Removing his hat, he walked to a table and was almost immediately offered a hot cup of coffee. He chose hot beef stew with bread over a steak, and then gave the woman a warning. "You're going to have a crowd in here any minute. They were on their way when I left the telegraph office."
Mamie was a buxom older woman who Adam thought had probably been beautiful in her younger years. Her eyes were bright as was her smile, and her voice sounded much younger than she looked. "Well, I won't be able to make anymore stew. Don't have any more carrots or onions in the root cellar, but I can serve beef and potatoes until the cows come home. We've had some frozen cattle in this storm, so I've made a deal with the ranchers. They'll butcher 'em and sell me what they can at half price."
"Are you serving breakfast tomorrow morning?"
"Honey, there's nothing wrong with my chickens. And I'll save some bacon and coffee just for you," she said, winking. "Where you from?"
"Near Virginia City."
Mamie sat down and propped her elbows on the table resting her chin in her hands. "You got a wife?"
Adam's nostrils flared as he suppressed a chuckle. "Mm hm."
"I figured," she said, straightening up. "All the handsome ones do." The door flew open and a crowd of people came in. "I'll have your food to you in a few minutes, Mr..."
"Cartwright."
"All right, Mr. Cartwright. You just sit tight." As she walked away from his table, she gave the entering crowd a wary look. She was expecting to close early tonight, but it seemed she was going to have to call in reinforcements.
Mamie turned out to be a loud woman, yelling orders across the room to the two young girls she recruited to help her, though she really wasn't that much louder than the crowd. There were people waiting to sit down, so Adam invited a man and woman to join him at his table. Mamie herself saw to them to make sure their food was served at the same time as Adam's. She was aware of the Cartwright name and of the Ponderosa and hoped that Adam would be generous when paying his bill tonight.
The man and his wife were from San Francisco. He worked in the mayor's office and was also familiar with the Cartwright name. "You wouldn't happen to be the same Cartwright who's the architect for the new courthouse, would you?"
Adam smiled as he finished chewing a piece of bread. "I am. I'm on my way to San Francisco for an inspection."
"Really. I thought you lived in the city."
"No. I live near Virginia City. My family has a ranch there. My wife's family has a ranch there as well. What brings you to the Sierra?"
"I'm looking for a woman who sells a particular breed of horse. They are as black as obsidian, very large and, as I understand it, very beautiful."
Adam puckered his mouth.
"I understand she's a fine singer as well. You might know her. Isabella Whitney from the Flying W Ranch."
Bowing his head, Adam scratched the back of his neck. It seemed the couple was going to Virginia City, not away from it. He wasn't necessarily happy about someone going to the ranch to talk to Shiloh about her horses while he wasn't there; not that it had anything to do with Shiloh's ability to handle her horse business. He would have preferred she not be disturbed when she was supposed to be resting. "What do you do for the mayor's office?"
"I'm the head stable master for the city. Mayor Coon had seen these horses in San Francisco before he was mayor. He believes the official city carriages should be drawn by equally magnificent animals."
"I hope Mayor Coon isn't too disappointed. She doesn't sell her breeding foundation horses, but she does sell foundation geldings and other impressive stock. I'm not sure you'll be able to see anything. This storm has probably made its way to the other side of Lake Tahoe, so the ranch will be under several feet of snow."
"You evidently know this woman. Perhaps you could let her know we're coming."
"I do know her, and I'd prefer that you didn't ask to see her horses until spring." The man and his wife looked at each other perplexed. "She only uses Isabella Whitney when she sings. Everyone else knows her as Shiloh Cartwright, my wife. And at the moment, she isn't supposed to be doing anything but resting."
"Surely there must be some way to see these horses."
"I'm not even sure you can get to the ranch, and even if you could, she won't allow them out of the stables in this storm. So unless you have other business, there's really no reason for you to continue on to Virginia City."
The man sat back, obviously disappointed. His wife, however made one more attempt. "Mr. Cartwright, we have come this far. Surely it wouldn't hurt for your wife to let us see them in the stables."
"I'm afraid my wife can't go down to the stables at the present. She's expecting our first child, and the doctor has ordered her off her feet."
Sitting back and leaning on her husband's arm, the woman said in a faint voice, "Oh, I see."
Adam studied the two defeated-looking people across the table. Based on their demeanor, he wasn't sure if Mayor Coon would understand their turning back without, at least, talking to someone about the horses. "Look...ah...if it would help, I'd be happy to talk to Mayor Coon. Perhaps we can arrange a time in the spring when you can come and spend a few days at the ranch."
The man's face brightened as he turned to his wife, both nodding. "Yes, Mr. Cartwright, that would be most helpful."
Standing, Adam took out his wallet and laid paper money on the table, then took his hat in hand. "It's settled then. I'm sure the mayor will be at the courthouse when I start the inspection. I'll talk to him then."
From the other side of the room, Mamie saw Adam stand and place money on the table. "Leaving so soon, Mr. Cartwright?"
"I'll be getting an early start tomorrow. The stew was very good. Thank you."
Escorting him to the door, she asked, "Aren't you coming in for breakfast?"
"Probably not. Are you open at first light?"
"Honey, there's nothing open in this town at first light, especially when there's a lack of it."
When they reached the door, he shrugged on his coat and moved his hat to his head wearing a bright, dimpled smile that almost sent her melting to the floor. "Then perhaps I'll ride through again some time," he said in a deep, husky voice. Tipping his hat, he opened the door, letting a cold gust blow in that had the patrons near the door shuddering.
Mamie leaned back against the closed door and lifted her face dreamily toward the ceiling with her eyes closed. "If only I was twenty years younger."
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Kneeling next to the large man on the cell floor, Dr. Freeman strained to roll him onto his back. The man's injury was immediately apparent; two black eyes and crusted blood that ran down his face from a nasty cut on his head. "This man didn't agree to see nobody," said the doctor under his breath. He opened a makeshift medical bag and began to clean the blood away so he could see just how bad this man had been injured.
When the cell door clanged behind him, Dr. Freeman jumped to his feet, stepping over the man on the floor, bowing his head and clasping his hands in front of him.
"Dr. Freeman?"
"Y-yes."
"I'm Dr. Stephenson. I know this man. May I assist you?"
Dr. Freeman was speechless at the invitation. Surely a white doctor had no use for him.
"Please, tell me what you know of his injuries."
"The man been beaten. His eyes is swelled shut, and he got a bad cut on his head. Look like someone opened him up with the butt of a rifle. He need stitches for that, and he shore don't need to be here."
Dr. Stephenson knelt next to Hoss and looked at his face. "I see you've cleaned him up. And I agree, we need to get him out of here, but we can't take him to the hospital at Chestnut Hill. We need to find a place Fletcher won't think to look."
"Dr. Stephenson, I don't want no trouble."
"Doctor Freeman, if that's what you claim to be, you have a duty to help this man. He's done nothing to warrant this treatment other than to challenge Captain Fletcher. He's not a soldier. He's a visitor from the West."
"Well, sir, the first place I can think of is Camp William Penn. Ain't nobody gonna look for a white man there."
