Chapter 19: The Aftermath
Ashes and smoke lingered in the air the following morning after the fire. The Silver Coin was still standing, albeit charred beyond recognition. An inspection of what remained confirmed Brady's worst fear, that the saloon was structurally damaged and would cost a fortune to repair, if not totally rebuild. And that did not even begin to account for the lost merchandise and furnishings that burned to a crisp inside. The once intimidating establishment that caused so much upheaval for the town was now nothing more than burnt wooden posts and a clutter of debris.
Nels and Harriet stood out on the front steps of their store, watching from a distance as men continued to comb the rubble for any valuable items that may have survived the fire. What coincidence the night after Willie tells them that he had been going to the saloon, it burns to the ground.
Harriet was happy to see the structure damaged and its owner pacing around the streets in disbelief. After all the mess and trouble Brady brought to Walnut Grove with building his saloon, she believed he deserved to watch his store burn. "I hope they're not thinking about rebuilding."
Nels glanced over to his wife. He too had hated the saloon when it first opened, but overtime found that it was a nice place to get away, a place where Harriet would never follow him. Of course, that was before he knew his own son went there too. "Who knows? Brady might try to rebuild. He still owns the land after all."
The woman standing beside him sighed. "What are we going to do about Willie?"
"Well, I don't think sending him to stand in the corner would be punishment enough this time." Nels tried to joke, but was nervous that Harriet might begin to ask more questions relating to the saloon and his own nightly whereabouts.
However, she simply rolled her eyes at his comment. "I don't know if you knew this, Nels Oleson, but our son has been doing more behind our backs than just going to the saloon."
"What'd you mean?"
"Willie has been sneaking around with Rachel Brown."
"How did you come to that conclusion?" Nels asked, remembering his own talk with Willie about the girl he had serious feelings for.
"I saw him with her and Nellie has seen them together, too. I know our son has gotten into his fair share of trouble in the past, but all this..."
"Harriet, don't be mad about Willie seeing Rachel."
Harriet whipped her head around to her husband with another surprised look on her face. "So you did know then?"
"Yes, I did." Nels stated. "Willie told me himself that he had been seeing her. He really likes that girl. I think we should be more concerned about him sneaking out to the saloon."
"If you think that I'm going to let him be with that girl after what he did, then you are mistaken." Harriet began to shake her head. "He shouldn't be allowed out of the house for the rest of the year, besides going to school."
"I agree with you on him not being allowed out, but I don't think we should stop Willie from having a relationship with Rachel"
"Stop! I don't want to hear anymore." Harriet picked up her dress and stomped back into the mercantile, with Nels slow to follow her inside.
Across the street, Laura and Nellie were sitting together outside on the front porch of the restaurant. The two longtime rivals, now all grown up, had put old feuds behind them to develop some sort of friendship. They stared down the road at the Silver Coin, as if needing to make sure it would stay dead.
"I'm glad that it's gone." Laura admitted without hesitation. "My pa would get so angry if anyone brought up the saloon if he was around."
Nellie nodded her head. "I'll tell you one thing that I'll miss about that place, all the extra customers the hotel would get when the saloon would hold big poker games. Drunk men are such gracious tippers, especially after they just won a big jackpot."
The younger girl cocked a half grin, but let her eyes slip back to the site of the once proud saloon, still unaware of what had occurred the previous night in regards to her own family. "Well, nice to know Silver Coin had at least one positive trait."
"Laura, can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Well..." Nellie tilted her head, letting a bit of her old, more devilish side shine through. "You knew some of the boys in town would go to the saloon, right?"
Laura sighed, disappointed that she spoke the truth. "I've heard rumors about boys from school sneaking out to go there, but I don't know exactly which ones."
"I know who it was."
"You do?" Laura waited on the edge of her seat for Nellie to respond, but it was like the older girl was purposefully holding something back.
"Of course. I would hear talk over the morning meal about kids gambling and challenging men from out of town to drinking games. I also have seen boys running through town in the dead of night."
"Oh." Laura quickly shut her mouth, wanting the conversation to end and allow her to keep living in ignorant bliss about what really was going on in Walnut Grove, about who had gotten involved with the saloon.
"Good morning, ladies!" The two girls saw Joe Kagan tipping his hat to them as he walked up to the restaurant's steps.
"Morning, Joe." Laura responded with a friendly smile.
"Did either of you get to see the show last night?" Joe asked, turning his attention down the pathway.
"I did." Nellie answered. "The fire spread pretty fast. Glad no one was hurt."
"Yup." The man nodded his head. "By the look of it, I'd say whatever is left standing will have to be taken down. Too damaged to be rebuilt."
"Do you think they'll rebuild if they have to tear the whole thing down first?" Laura added. No doubt that was a question every citizen was wondering after hearing about the fire.
"I don't know. Suppose only time will tell. But I'm sure a lot of people in town would be glad to see it gone for good." Joe commented.
"Yeah. A place like that never belonged in Walnut Grove."
Back at the little house, it was quiet inside. The Ingalls family was afraid to speak, knowing that the only thing on everyone's minds was what transpired the previous night. But, that silence was soon interrupted by a knock at the front of the home. Caroline went from the kitchen to open the door, not recognizing the man standing outside her home. "Yes?"
When the stranger stepped up, she immediately saw the badge pinned to his jacket. "Is this the Ingalls residence?"
"Yes, it is." She paused, becoming afraid when her gut told her that this man's presence meant things were about to get even worse for her family. "Can I help you, sir?"
"My name is Sheriff Pike from Sleepy Eye. I'm looking for Charles Ingalls."
Charles, who had been listening to the conversation from the bedroom area behind the fireplace, walked up behind his wife. "Yes?"
"Are you Charles Ingalls?"
"Yes, I am."
Pike waited for a moment before beginning to speak. "Sir...I have a warrant here for your arrest."
Charles stepped back in shock. "My arrest?"
"Yes." The sheriff nodded his head and proceeded to step closer into the home. "Charles Ingalls, you are hereby under arrest for first degree arson in relation to the burning of the Silver Coin Saloon, owned by Robert Brady. I have authority to take you into custody until a court date has been decided."
"What!"
"Please step outside, sir."
"No!"
"Step outside, sir or I will have no choice but to forcibly remove you from your home."
"This is a mistake! That place ruined our town!" Charles screamed.
"Step outside or you will be additionally charged with resisting arrest."
"Charles, please." Caroline looked towards her husband with a pleading look in her eyes, not wanting the terrible situation to escalate any further.
Seeing the broken expression on his wife's face and hearing the footsteps of his children, likely wondering what on earth was going on, Charles realized he would only be hurting his family more if he put up a fight. With his pride dropping to the floor and his head hanging low, he stepped outside with the Sheriff and was immediately turned around to be placed into a pair of tight handcuffs.
Back inside the home, Caroline stood motionless in the doorway, while Carrie and little Grace sat scared on their parents bed. Albert had been curled up in his bed all night, reeling of the early effects of his withdrawal, but was able to drag himself up just in time to have seen his pa get taken away. It was then Carrie finally went to her mother.
"Ma." Caroline looked down to see her daughter walking out from behind the fireplace. "What's going on? What's pa doing?"
Caroline knelt down next to her daughter. "Oh, darling...there must be a misunderstanding that we'll have to fix. Why don't you look after Grace?"
"Okay." Carrie walked back around to the bed and sat with her little sister.
"Albert! Stay up in the loft, unless your sisters need something." Caroline ran outside to see Charles being put in the back of a barred wagon. "Sheriff Pike! What's going to happen to my husband?"
Pike sighed, regretting having to perform this part of his job. "He'll be taken to Sleepy Eye and held in the county jail until a court session can be arranged. You may visit him during the daytime. If you happen to know any lawyers, I would suggest getting in contact with 'em. The owner of the establishment is seeking retribution for the damages sustained to his building. I'm sorry, ma'am."
Caroline had no choice but to watch helplessly and cry more than she ever had before as the Sheriff mounted the wagon and began wheeling it away, taking Charles from her.
