July 8-9, 1889
While neither Kid Curry nor Hannibal would want to admit it, their lives had a certain amount of mundane routine, especially those days that they splurged on the luxury of a hotel room. The routine was simple, get a room, order a bath, eat supper, enjoy the pleasures of the local saloon that evening, fall into bed, get up and dressed, and have breakfast. This, the 8h day of July, 1889 was just such a day of routine.
But on the morning of July 9th, the routine abruptly ended.
"Let's try the cafe instead of the hotel dining room," Kid suggested to his partner as they descended the hotel stairs and crossed the lobby.
"Any special reason, Kid?"
Kid grinned. "I saw a pretty little waitress going to work there this morning.
"Excuse me, gentlemen," the hotel clerk called to them.' Heyes stopped and looked at the clerk. "Us?" he asked pointing to his chest.
The clerk nodded nervously. "A telegram came for you, at least I think it's for you," he said, reaching into a little cubbyhole and retrieving the paper. "It's a bit odd... It's addressed to Joshua Jones."
"Well, they got it half right for both of us," Kid said.
Heyes took the telegram. "It's from the Governor," he said.
"Well then it don't surprise me how it's addressed," Kid lamented.
"Come on," Heyes said and walked outside to the boardwalk.
Kid stood close to his partner. "What's it say, Heyes?" Kid asked.
Heyes unfolded the paper and read it allowed.
"Expect you both in Cheyenne 17 July, 1889, Governor's Office 12 noon. It's signed Governor Moonlight."
"You mean the Governor's name really is Moonlight?"
Heyes nodded.
"What do you suppose he wants with us?... Heyes, you don't think...?"
"I don't know, Kid. I'm not sure what to think. Would there be any other reason he'd want to see us in person?"
"Only other reason I can think of involves twenty years in the Wyoming State Prison," Kid replied.
The two men stood dumbfounded, just looking at each other. Then, almost simultaneously, they broke into huge smiles.
"Heyes?"
"I... I don't know, Kid... I think so."
Kid let out a whoop so loud people stared. He didn't care.
Heyes grabbed hold of Kid's shoulder. "Maybe we could send a telegram to Lom, to see if he can tell us more than this telegram."
Kid nodded. "Heyes, hold on to that telegram. If it's true, we're gonna want to frame it."
They went first to the telegraph office and sent Lom Trevers a brief telegram, simply asking why the Governor would want to see them July 17 at noon in the Governor's office. They next went to the cafe and ate breakfast, then returned to the telegraph office. Lom had indeed sent a reply.
"It's what you think. If you can get to Porterville by the 14th, I'll fill you in on details."
"I guess we're leaving for Porterville, Kid."
JULY 13, 1889
"I figured you'd get here as early as you could," Lom said when Heyes and Curry walked into his office late in the afternoon.
"Lom, we're really getting amnesty?" Kid asked eagerly.
Lom nodded his head. "You're really getting amnesty."
Heyes studied Lom's face. "But what's the catch?" Heyes asked dubiously.
"No catch. Honest. But there are some...details you boys will have to contend with."
"What kind of details?" Heyes asked.
"Why don't you two sit down. There's a lot to tell you."
"I don't like the sound of this, Lom," Kid said.
"No, really, there's not a catch. There's nothing bad about it. The amnesty is one hundred percent free and clear."
"Okay, we believe you, Lom. Now let's have it," Heyes said, leaning forward in his chair and resting both arms on the arms of the chair.
"Well, you two know you have always been some sort of celebrities among folks in Wyoming for robbing from the rich and never shooting anybody, never getting caught. Hell, even the amnesty ain't no secret anymore"
Heyes nodded and looked first at Kid and then back to Lom. "Go on."
"Well, you know how politician's are..."
"Not really," Kid replied.
"Politicians don't spit without taking credit for the extra moister in the ground. The Governor is a typical politician. He knows what folks think of the both of you. So, he got the bright idea of making your amnesty a big day of celebration with a parade and a public ceremony."
"We can put up with that, Lom."
"Except it's escalated."
"Escalated how?" Kid asked.
Lom sighed. "It's gonna be a week long event. There's going to be a parade, several galas."
"What's a gala, Heyes?" Kid asked.
"A party for rich folks, Kid."
"There's more. There are photograph sessions, scheduled interviews with newspaper reporters, and the amnesty presentation tops it all off on the twenty-fourth with an elaborate ceremony on the lawn of the Governor's Mansion. Last I heard there will be at least two hundred and fifty people in attendance. You boys can each invite ten people."
"Oh, that's thoughtful of the Governor, letting Kid and me invite twenty out of two hundred and fifty people. That man's generosity..."
"Heyes," Kid interrupted. "It's amnesty, Heyes. That's the only thing that's important about this."
Heyes nodded. "You're right... Who comprises the other two hundred and thirty people?" Heyes asked.
"Senators, Congressmen, Judges, Newspaper reporters, a couple of authors, professional photographers..."
"What authors?" Kid asked.
"I think Twain is on the list. He's an author and a former journalist."
Kid smiled. "Heyes, you'll get to meet your favorite author," Kid exclaimed.
That idea did appeal to Heyes.
"When you meet with the Governor on the seventeenth, he'll want the names of the people you plan to invite. There's a committee that approves the guests attending the amnesty ceremony. He'll also give each of you an itinerary of the events of each day. You'll be expected to attend everything on the list."
"Lom, how come you didn't have to go through all this when you got amnestied?" Kid asked.
"Cause I was never considered a latter day Robin Hood."
"A who?"
"I'll explain it to you latter, Kid."
The Governor says he has a suite reserved for you two at the Cheyenne Regency Hotel. You can check in on the seventeenth and check on on the twenty-fifth."
"So, once the amnesty is granted, the Governor wants us to make tracks quick?"
"Well, he just don't want to be paying for your keep any more after that."
"So when are you going to Cheyenne, Lom?"
"I'll take the train on Saturday. I can make reservations for all three of us if you want."
Heyes looked at Kid. "No, Lom. I think Kid and me will just ride our horses... spend a few quiet nights before all hell breaks loose. We'll leave in the morning."
"If that's what you want. "I'll meet you at the Regency on Saturday. You fellas can stay at my place tonight. I'll be done here at eight and we can go have supper. In the mean time, why don't you go have a celebration beer.'"
"That's the best idea I've heard since we got here. Come on, Kid, let's go have a nice cold beer."
July 14-16, 1889
They had breakfast with Lom before heading out on a leisurely trip toward Cheyenne.
"Why didn't you want to take the train, Heyes?" Kid asked as they traveled the road toward Cheyenne.
Heyes sighed. "All this rig-a-more-all, Kid. Seems to me, all the Governor wants to do is put you and me on display for a week and take all the credit for all the time we've been working on getting this amnesty. I figured we out to slip in to town quietly and maybe rent a room at a hotel or boarding house for the week that we'll be there. That way we'll have some place to escape if we need to."
"Escape?"
"I don't mean literally. Just a place to get away from all the silly hoopla."
Kid sighed. "Yea, that might be a good idea... I just keep telling myself, Heyes, when this is all over, we got amnesty. Just hold on to that thought.
They made camp that night well off the beaten path. Kid managed to shoot a rabbit for supper and even Heyes' coffee didn't taste quite as bad as usual.
"You thought about who we should invite?" Kid asked.
"Soapy and Silky for sure," Heyes replied.
"Maybe Clem and Georgette," Kid added.
"Diamond Jim, Big Mac..."
"Aw, Heyes, do we have to invite Big Mac?"
Heyes smiled. "No, we don't have to Kid. I just think it's gonna be hard to come up with twenty people, but we don't want the Governor to think we don't have any friends, either."
"Ain't gonna matter to him if we got friends or not, Heyes. For one, our friends ain't high society, and for two, he don't even remember our alias names, Heyes. He ain't gonna remember us after all this is said and done."
Heyes smiled. "You're probably right about that."
"I know I'm right about that...Joshua Jones."
"You know, if we get a room somewhere, we should probably use a new alias. I'm sure Smith and Jones is going to be pretty well known by the end of the week.
They arrived in Cheyenne on Friday afternoon and found a quite little hotel on the west side of town to check into for a week.
"One room, two beds. We'll be renting the room for a week, although we may not be staying in the room every night." Heyes said
"You pay for a room and don't do no damage to it, and I don't care if you stay in it or not," the clerk said. "You both got to sign the register, though.
Heyes picked up a pen and wrote the name Mark Porter. He chose Mark in honor of Mark Twain, and he chose Porter in reference to Porterville where the quest for amnesty began. He handed the pen to Kid who scribbled Red Henley in the register book. Heyes saw the name and chuckled.
"That'll be ten dollars," the clerk said.
Heyes handed him the money and picked up the room key. "Let's go... Red," he said and they walked up the stairs to their room.
The next day, near mid afternoon Heyes and Curry packed their belongings and rode their horses to the train station to await Lom Trever's arrival. Tonight, the three of them would be staying at the Regency. Heyes loaned Lom his sorrel and he and Kid rode double to the hotel. Kid then took the horses to the livery and Heyes and Trevers checked into their respective rooms. An hour later Kid joined his partner.
"Heyes, have you ever seen a fancier hotel room than this?" Kid exclaimed, opening what he assumed was a closet door and discovering a small room with two porcelain bathtubs and running water. "We can take baths anytime day or night." he exclaimed. "Heyes, come here. You gotta see this!"
"What is it?"" Heyes asked, rushing into the room.
"It's... a privy... right here in our room!" Kid walked over and lifted the lid, then pulled the chain and watched the water drain and then slowly refill with clean, clear water. Kid looked at Heyes and smiled with the glee of a child. "I'm gonna enjoy this week, Heyes.
While Heyes knew about indoor plumbing, having read about it in newspapers and having seen advertisements in the Sears Catalog, he was nearly as impressed as his partner.
They both returned to the main room of the suite to further explore. Beside each bed hung a long satin, braided cord with a tassel on the end.
Should we pull it to see what happens?" Kid asked.
"No, Kid. Let me read the little booklet on the table to see if it explains it." Heyes picked up the booklet and scanned the pages until he came to a sketching of the tassel. "You pull that if you want room service."
"What does room service get you?" Kid asked eagerly.
Heyes read the brief description. "If you want clean towels or sheets, or food brought up to your room. There's a list here of how many tugs you give to the cord depending on what you want."
"Let me see," Kid said, snatching the booklet from Heyes' hand. As he read, his smile grew even larger. "Heyes, we can have beer brought up here," Kid exclaimed. "And the Governor's paying the tab!"
Heyes smiled. "We might be taking advantage of some of those amenities, Kid. No sense letting the Governor get off easy considering how long he and the other Governors made us wait."
"I don't want to go back to the other hotel, Heyes."
"Right. Tell me that again in a couple of days, Kid."
There was a knock on the door. "Who is it?" Heyes said.
"Lom."
"It's open."
Lom walked into the room and, seeing the size and luxury of the accommodations, moved slower and slower as he made his way further into the room.
"The Governor's certainly treating you fellows right," Lom said.
"Your room don't have all these...what did you call them, Heyes?"
"Amenities."
"Yea, that?" Kid asked and Lom shook his head.
"Well you need anything, Lom, you just come to this room and will pull one of these cords," Kid told him.
"I understand your meals are covered in the dining room downstairs," Lom said. "But the dining room requires dress attire," Lom said.
"Kid shrugged. "We're dressed."
Heyes shook his head. "He means suits, Kid."
Kid frowned. "Then we'd better find another place to eat. We each only got one suit and it sounds like we're going to be wearing em every day. Gonna get hard keeping em clean."
"The Governor is giving you each a spending account. There's enough to buy a second suit off the rack if you've a mind to," Lom said.
"Our suits are always off the rack, Lom. I don't think either one of us has ever been to a tailor," Heyes said.
"Well, you probably ought to both invest in a black suit. Kid would stand out like a sore thumb in that blue one of his."
"I ain't got a blue one no more, Lom. It's gray now," Kid explained.
"You may be able to get by with that then, Kid. But, Heyes, you still wearing the brown one?"
"What's wrong with my brown suit?"
"Nothing if you don't mind looking like an undertaker."
"I'll think on it," Heyes said indignantly.
"I'm hungry, Heyes. Let's go get some supper and then the three of us can come back up here and order beers."
Heyes looked at Lom. "You know, that really doesn't sound like a bad idea."