Chapter 15

Pip led Quinn to the station house to meet Rachel and her friend, Lou. As they walked they talked.

"Why did you agree to represent Biff?" she asked miffed.

"He needed a lawyer." he replied.

"Pro bono though?" she shook her head. "You are not even charging him."

"I'm making enough off Floyd to cover both anyways." he shrugged. He looked around, "You actually rode all the way out here on horseback?"

She nodded, "Yup!"

He wondered, "What's it like on the trail? Is it like the stories in the dime novels?"

"Nope," she shook her head, "it's hard work, dirty and tiring."

He grinned, "Sounds like fun."

She gave him a look, "You're not still thinking of leaving Sid's law firm and moving West."

"Wide open spaces," he motioned around them. "No smoke stacks, no smog, no kids playing chicken with the trolley car on the street. Look at it out here. There is so much untouched land. You can do anything out here. You can be anything out here. You don't have to be what your father was. You can be a gunslinger or lawman…like your father." He then admitted, "Your father is so much neater than my father."

"How so?" she wondered.

"He's a U.S. Marshal! He sees adventure every day. I bet he's shot more than one man in his life time." he figured.

"He survived the Alamo." she reminded him. "He fought in a war."

He admitted, "I kind of hope war does come."

She asked surprised, "Why?"

"I can go fight in it." he figured. "If war comes they will draw up the state militias. I will be drafted to fight."

"Sid will prevent you from going off." she shook her head. "He will send someone else for you."

"I won't let him do that." he concluded. It was apparent that Quinn wasn't happy being a highly paid lawyer. He wanted adventure; to see the world and experience hardship for himself. He hated being a lawyer. He was tired of the servants, the boring lavish life style he grew up in. He wanted adventure like the adventures he read about in dime novels. "You got to come all the way out here and ride for the Pony Express. Father will let you go anywhere you want but me…" he rolled his head back frustrated, "there has to be a reason…"

"Well," she got an idea, "Maybe Teaspoon will let you take a ride with one of the riders."

"I don't need a guided tour." he complained. He cocked an eyebrow, "You think he might let me actually go on a ride for the Pony Express?"

She shrugged, "Maybe you can say you need to see the route that Floyd tried to steal."

He perked up, "That could work. Usually, I would just use a map but to see it myself…" he tailed off in thought. How he wanted to go on his own adventure and see the Wild West from himself. He was so close. He was in Rock Creek and far away from the big city.

Pip wondered, "Did you ever submit that manuscript you wrote for publish?"

"It was rejected." he sadly replied.

She scoffed, "But that was a good story you wrote."

"It wasn't a Wild Bill Hickok story." he brushed it off. "They only want gunfighter stories like that new Wild Bill Hickok series."

"You know just met the real Wild Bill Hickok today." she grinned at him.

He came to a halt and squinted in thought, "Who? Kid?" he recalled the pair that assisted Pip with the trunk.

"Other one…Jimmy. Wild Bill Hickok's real name is James Butler Hickok and you met him today." She cheered.

"The man with the two Colts!" he recalled. "That was him?" He waved his arms, "I met Wild Bill Hickok and you didn't tell me."

"I didn't know you were that much of a fanatic." she replied amused. She then added, "He's taking me to a church dance this weekend. You should come to the dance."

"If he's taking you than whom will I take?" he scoffed at the idea as they approached the house. On the front porch gathered Rachel and the riders. All eyes fell on the new lawyer in town.

Quinn looked upon the young faces. His eyes settled on the tall beauty with blonde hair and crisp blue eyes. Her features seemed perfect. He never expected to find such an attractive housekeeper and cook working for the Pony Express. He gave her a soft smile.

Pip spoke up, "Everyone…This is Quinn. He's my nearly adopted brother. His father is Sidney Sohur, the lawyer I was telling you all about."

Rachel smiled at the handsome man, "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Sohur."

"Pleasure is mine," he assured her with a gentle offer of his hand.

She smiled back rather impressed by the offer.

Jimmy leaned against the porch post and sized the man up. He wondered if Quinn thought of Pip as a sister or more. Jealously began to take hold as he doubted he could compete with a wealthy lawyer from the big city.

Quinn spoke to Jimmy, "So you are Wild Bill Hickok." He was about to pull out a dime novel from his pocket and ask for a signature when Jimmy scoffed.

"Can't believe everything you read." he sneered.

Pip gave a sour look, "Now you all met Ambrose last year. He was a fan of those novels. Did you treat him that way too?"

Jimmy felt like he was hit in the gut as she brought back the memory of the dead accountant. He replied, "No, I'm sorry."

Quinn removed his dime novel from his coat pocket and glanced at Pip as he showed it to her and he wondered if he should approach Jimmy with it. She took it from his hands and walked it up the steps to Jimmy. She handed him the book, "You should get used to giving autographs, Jimmy. You are a celebrity back in New York. You should come. You could be an actor."

He took the book and noticed it looked well read.

Bill Cody asked, "An actor? Like on a stage."

"Exactly," she nodded. She then looked to Jimmy and handed him a pen that she dug out of her pocket. "Use ink! It won't erase like pencil." She then held a small bottle of ink before him and removed the cork. She carried the ink and pen in her pocket much like one would carry a small tool.

He took the pen, dipped the tip in the ink and signed the booklet on the inside cover fearing folks would know he signed a book so he figured he could hide the signing inside the booklet.

Pip retrieved the book and blew on the ink to make sure it was dry before handing it back to Quinn. She told him, "See that wasn't so hard."

Young Wyatt Earp sat on the top of the trunk that sitting on the porch. He wondered, "What's ya got in the trunk, Pip?"

"My things." she told him as she motioned for him to get off.

The boy rose to his feet and Pip unlocked the trunk with her key. She opened the box before Rachel and the riders. She dug inside for the dress she wanted to give to Lou. She soon found a pretty yellow silk dress that was just the right size. She held it up, "Here Lou! This is for you." She turned and handed her the fancy dress.

Lou began to look the dress over rather surprised. She gasped, "This is silk, Pip. This is an expensive dress."

Quinn agreed, "Father bought it for her for Easter a few years back. He paid ten dollars for it."

Lou stood flabbergasted, "I might ruin it on ya, Pip. What if I get a stain on it? You can't let me borrow this dress."

"I'm giving it to you." she told her. "It's your dress now."

Lou's mouth dropped, "Oh my…I can't take something this expensive…"

"Sure ya can," Pip smirked at her. "I got more silk dresses."

Quinn found Lou's reaction amusing and warming at the same time for most of the ladies he knew were rather use to getting expensive dresses every year. It was nearly a given for the wealthy ladies to have a number silk dresses. For Lou it was the only silk dress she ever held in her hands and she knew she could never afford it on her own.

Lou was nearly in tears, "Gosh, thank you Agnes. I can never repay you."

She reminded her, "It's a gift. You don't have to pay me."

"Thank you," she leaned in and hugged her friend.

Rachel asked Quinn, "Did your father buy Pip all those silk dresses?"

"He did," he nodded.

Rachel gave a peeved look to Pip, "I thought you said you got nothing but hand-me-downs from the boys."

Quinn answered, "She got all our old clothes to play in. Of course, she wore trousers everywhere…" he recalled. He then grinned, "She even got herself a job as a paperboy and passed herself off as boy to get the job." He then looked to Pip, "Come to think of it, you hardly ever wear a dress."

"I will for special occasions." she reminded him.

Rachel rubbed the side of her head, "You have a trunk full of very expensive silk dresses and you don't wear them?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "Trousers are more comfortable."

Lou stood still holding the silk dress. She asked, "Did those newsies know you are a girl?"

She confessed, "No."

"So, you've done this before." she figured.

Quinn laughed, "She tried to get accepted into medical school pretending to be a boy."

"I damn near got in too." she miffed annoyed for she wanted to go to the school but was denied when her true gender was discovered. "I passed the entrance exam." She declared, "I could be a doctor. I would make a good doctor."

Rachel reminded her, "I thought you wanted to be an engineer?"

"I do," she agreed.

Quinn announced, "She still doesn't know what she wants to do with her life."

She stated confidently, "I could be a lawyer like you and Sid."

"Father wants you to be a lawyer." he reminded her. "He even offered to pay your tuition."

"At a women's law school," she complained. "I want to go to Harvard."

"Harvard doesn't accept women." he stated.

She agreed, "Which is wrong."

Quinn rubbed the side of his head, "Only you can excel at giving me such a headache, Agnes."

She rolled her eyes annoyed.

Rachel instructed, "The boys can bring your trunk into the station house for safe keeping, Pip. If you want I can give you one of the spare rooms so you don't have to stay in the bunkhouse."

"I'm fine in the bunkhouse." she assured.

Quinn cocked an eyebrow. "You are sleeping in a bunkhouse with a bunch of…" he looked over the riders.

She grinned, "It's just like when we were kids and I would sneak into yours and Johnny's room. Remember, we would be up half the night telling stories."

"I remember," he gave a nod.

Jimmy smirked, "Except none of us are up half the night telling stories."

"Moby Dick," she rebutted.

Jimmy rebutted, "That's just Lou reading."

"She's reading a story." she refuted.

"Not the same," he shook his head.

"If you say so," she sighed.

Later that Evening

Defense Attorney Quinn Sohur found his client in the local saloon after he enjoyed a filling dinner with the riders and Pip. He began to doubt if he should take the case for he saw a conflict of interest with family ties. He walked to the corner table that Floyd sat alone at smiling at the girls who attended to his drink and cigar. Quinn stood before the table and waited for the server to leave. He watched in near disgust how Floyd flirted with the pretty young girl who seemed no more than fifteen to his estimation. He also realized the girl likely had no family and was being groomed to serve as a prostitute in the establishment.

Floyd forced the pretty dark haired girl to kiss him on the lips to receive a small tip. The girl resembled Pip at that young age and seeing her forced to kiss Floyd Hepburn for money sickened the man. It was like watching his sister be forced into servitude. The girl gathered her cents and left to tend another customer.

Floyd watched as she walked away with his eyes settling on her backside. A smile crept across his face. He then looked over at Floyd still standing at the table. "Quinn," he motioned for him to sit.

Quinn took a seat at the table. He took a deep breath. "Mr. Hepburn, my father wasn't aware that Agnes was to be a witness in your trial when he agreed to take your case. That is a conflict of interest."

"How so?" he asked annoyed.

"She's like family to us. My father tried to adopt her. She's like a daughter to him and a sister to me and my brothers." he explained. "She's a witness in your trial. It would be seen as a conflict of interest considering how close she is to my family."

Floyd sat disturbed. He had a plan to get the charges dropped but he needed more time. He had to keep Quinn on as a defense attorney until he could complete his plan. He resorted to a more desperate measure. He leaned closer and kept his voice low, "You and your father are two of the best legal minds in all of New York City. I'm paying damn good money for you to represent me."

Quinn assured, "I will refund your money in full."

He balked, "No…you will do as I say or else."

"Or else what?' he squinted.

"It's the Wild West," he smirked. "Anything can happen to Agnes out here. She could get lost in the wilderness, attacked by a wild animal…Or shot…" he threatened.

His eyes narrowed, "You will hurt Agnes if I don't stay on?"

"She will be far better off if you remain my defense attorney." He sat back in his chair and then grasped his glass of whiskey. He lifted the glass and gently touched it to his lips all while never taking his cold eyes off Quinn.

Quinn stated angry, "The evidence against you is significant. There are multiple eyewitnesses and the fact the Pony Express messengers also found the pouches in your possession. Tampering with those pouches is a federal offense. Need I remind you that the Pony Express is contracted through the US Army? Not to mention kidnapping is also a federal offense and kidnapping a Pony Express messenger is punishable by death."

Floyd stated, "I'm sure you can find a technicality." He placed the whisky down and leaned closer, "For Agnes's sake."

Quinn stated, "I think you are guilty."

"I don't care what you think boy. You were paid to represent me in a court of law. If you blow the case…Agnes won't be very happy. She might not even be on this earth." Floyd then sat back again in his chair and lit his cigar. "That all boy?" he asked him.

Angry Quinn replied, "If something happens to Agnes I will make sure you are sent to the gallows." He stood up and made his way out of the saloon.

Floyd sat thinking of how to speed up his plan. All he had to do was get to the prosecutor and have the charges dropped. It was a simple plan in reality. Then he would position himself to exit his holdings in the Pony Express and wait for the railroad contract to realize his dream of being one of the nation's first millionaires.