Charlie scrambled to help Teresa with morning household chores, so as to hurry her along. She took her saved-up money along
when they left the ranch, and, once they'd left the horses at the stable in comfort, they walked to the jail office.
"We can take the material right over to the millinery shop," Charlie was telling Teresa. "Once he decides, I mean."
"I know you're excited, but try not to force things," Teresa warned. "And, you know he already said no once before, about selling
any of it. Let's hope he's changed his mind."
The door opened, just as the girls reached it, and Charlie collided with Val, who was coming out.
"Hey now," Val said, reaching out to steady Charlie by the shoulders. "Good morning, you two."
"Good morning," Teresa said, and Charlie smiled at him.
"Good morning, Mr. Val!"
"To what do I owe the honor of your visit?" Val said, expansively, and Charlie grinned.
"We came to see Burl," Teresa said, and Charlie jumped in.
"How is he today?"
"He's alright. He ate a hearty breakfast," Val said.
"Oh, that's good," Charlie said, happily.
"Is he still confused?" Teresa asked.
"Yeah. He is. Seems to come and go," Val said.
"That's the way it always is," Charlie said, knowingly. "He'll come around in a little while, and be fine."
She made to go inside the jail, and didn't see the look that Val and Teresa exchanged over the top of her head.
Burl was sitting on one of the chairs, whittling at a piece of wood. It didn't look like much right now to Charlie, but she knew
he was capable of creating something beautiful from wood, since he'd given her that carved horse.
She forced herself to speak slowly, and quietly.
"Good morning, Burl."
The old man kept at his whittling, not responding. That wasn't so unusual, so Charlie pulled up another chair to sit nearby.
After a few silent minutes of them all just mostly sitting, Teresa said, "I think I'll go over to the shop, and ask how much
she might be able to purchase of the brocade. Then, at least we'll know."
"Okay," Charlie said, without looking up from watching Burl's fingers carve.
Once Teresa was gone, and a few more minutes had passed, Val got up to refill his coffee cup, and then sat down
again behind his desk, and began to sift thru paperwork.
Charlie got up, too, and went over to sit on the corner of his desk.
"Teresa and I are going to get lunches and bring over here," Charlie informed him. "We'll get one for you, too."
Val looked up and gave her a grin. "Well, that is just darn nice of you, J.C."
In a quieter tone, Charlie asked, "Did he sleep well last night?"
"There wasn't much sleeping time left last night, by the time we got him back here. He slept till seven or 'round there, this morning."
"We're going to help him sell some of his things. Then he can get a better house."
"Hmm," Val said.
"That old shack is about to fall down anyway."
When Val kept on sorting his papers, Charlie went on, "But I still think it's mean of that man-that Mr. Blaine, to throw Burl out like he did."
"The man's entitled to do what he wants with his own property," Val said.
"It's just an old shack," Charlie said, in derision.
"It's his old shack, Charlie," Val reminded her, looking up. "You seem to keep forgetting that part of it."
"I'm not forgetting it," Charlie protested. "But Burl didn't do it any harm."
Val flicked a glance at Burl, who was taking no notice, it seemed, and then said, low, "The old fellow was staying
there all this time without paying a penny in rent to Blaine."
"Oh." Charlie paused to consider that. "Well, I wish he didn't have to sleep here. It's not right he has to sleep in a cell, like
he's a criminal or something."
"The door to the cell is open, Charlie. He can come and go as he pleases. The only reason I'm keeping him here right now is
so Doc can have another look at him, later on."
Burl stood up from his chair, and began to shuffle towards the door. Val stood up and went after him.
"Where are you off to, old timer?" he asked.
Burl stopped, and looked up at Val. "Need to feed my dogs," he said.
"Your dogs are fine, sir. They're at a friend of mine's house," Val said. "You can see them later on, if you want."
Charlie had gotten up, and gone to stand nearby. "The puppies are at my house," she told Burl.
When the old man's eyes turned to take her in, they seemed to recognize her, as well.
"Ah, it's you, lass," he said.
"Yes," Charlie said, smiling at him.
After that, for the next hour or so, Charlie sat and watched Burl carve more, while he talked and told stories. She tried to
bring him around to the mysterious Lettie, and what his relationship to her had been. But, by the time Teresa returned, she
hadn't been very successful.
The girls went over to the café to get four lunch specials. It was considerable more than what Charlie had, by way of money, but
Teresa paid quietly, saying, "Murdoch gave me some money."
Alice herself was the one who brought them the trays, double-stacking them on the girl's arms.
"I hear Val has that old man over at the jail," she said.
"That's right," Teresa said. "The doctor's going to be taking a look at him."
"Shouldn't take long to say what's ailing him," Alice said, dropping some coins into Teresa's fingers.
"It's not whiskey that's ailing him," Charlie said, stoutly.
Alice looked instantly furious. "Your tongue needs tamed, young one," she told Charlie.
It was on the tip of Charlie's tongue. The words were ready to come out. 'So does yours' she wanted to reply to the café owner.
Teresa turned and gave her a push in the back with the trays in her arms. "Let's go," she said, and Charlie obediently turned
to walk out and across the street.
"You're going to get yourself into trouble," Teresa said, as they crossed the street.
"She's a horrible woman," Charlie said.
"I'm not saying that I disagree with that. But, you can't always say just what you think to people. Do what I do, when I feel like
telling somebody that I think they're despicable."
"What?" Charlie asked, coming to a halt there on the sidewalk outside of Val's office.
"Well," Teresa said, coming to a stop as well. "I think of somebody like Alice, in their nightgown, or petticoats, being chased
into a lake or pond by a billy goat, or a bear or something."
Charlie giggled. "And that works?"
"Well, sometimes it keeps me from saying something that I shouldn't," Teresa said.
L
They ate their lunches in companionable company, and then Teresa volunteered to take the trays back over to the café, a fact which
suited Charlie.
When Burl wandered to the back of the jail hall, towards the cells, Charlie followed him. He went into the cell, the one he'd apparently slept
in the night before, and sat down on the bunk. He was rubbing at his fingers, as if they were paining him.
Thinking this was a good time, Charlie began to open one of the trunks, sitting to the side in one corner. Then, thinking better of it,
she went back to the outer office, where Val was again, sitting at his desk, writing.
"Do you think we could look thru the trunks now, Mr. Val?" she asked.
Val looked up at her. He was a bit surprised at her request for permission, but pleased about it.
"You can ask Burl. If he says it's alright, then you can go ahead on," Val said.
Charlie nodded, and disappeared to the back again. She approached Burl and said, quietly, "Could I look in your trunk at some
things?"
Burl waved his hand toward the trunk. "Surely."
Charlie eagerly knelt down and unclasped the trunk. By the time Teresa came back, Charlie had begun to uncover things she
was sure could fund Burl's future.
L
Charlie took the emerald ring from the jewelry box, and went to sit beside Burl on the cot.
"Tell me about this ring," she said.
Burl's watery eyes took in the ring that Charlie was holding out to him.
He seemed to not understand for a moment, and then he shook his head.
Charlie looked at Teresa and Teresa shook her head just very slightly, to tell Charlie to stop asking questions.
As Charlie prepared to stand up, Burl's knarled hand reached out to catch at Charlie's arm. "Let me take a look at it, girl."
Charlie held out the ring again, and Burl took it from her.
He said nothing, though, only held the ring and kept looking at it. Charlie looked at Teresa, who shrugged.
The two girls went thru the trunk, taking out some of the brocade, and Teresa went to sit beside Burl on the
cot. "Burl, this is beautiful material," she said.
Burl touched the vibrant blue on the top and said, "It was a pure joy to sew with."
"You have a lot of it," Teresa continued, gently.
"I brought it all on the boat when we came here," Burl said, still stroking the fabric.
"Did you?" Teresa asked, and Burl launched into a story of what the long boat trip from Ireland was like. The weather, the food
they ate, all of those things. Normally, Charlie loved to hear his stories, but now she was impatient. She wanted Teresa to
get to the point. That point being, all this material needed to be sold so that Burl could find a place to live.
Charlie burrowed thru the trunk, closer to the bottom. Past the material and the jewelry box. There were books in the bottom that
she hadn't seen before.
Looking thru them, Charlie found she couldn't read some of the words.
"Burl, what sort of words are these?" she asked, holding the book out.
"That is Gaelic," Burl said.
"Is this how they talk and write in Ireland?" Charlie asked him.
"Sometimes."
After that, Burl looked at some of the books with Charlie, until he said his eyes were starting to ache.
Teresa smoothly took up the talk of the material again. "Would you think of selling some of this, Burl?"
"Some of what?"
"Some of the brocade?" Teresa said.
"Well, why in tarnation would I want to do that?" Burl asked, looking perplexed.
"So that you could have some funds, some money," Teresa said.
"I got all I need."
Teresa and Charlie exchanged a glance and then Teresa continued, gently, "Well, that's good. But, you might need some
money, to get a new place to live."
"Got me a place to live," Burl said, as Val appeared to lean against the wall near the cell to listen.
"You do?" Teresa asked, thinking that Burl might have found a house sometime between yesterday and today. She looked to Val,
and Val shook his head, to indicate that it was not so.
Charlie was puzzled, and she looked from Teresa to Burl, and then to Val. Why was Burl saying that he had a place to live, and
Val saying that he did not?
"Where's your house?" Charlie asked.
"Charlie-" Teresa said, in a warning to be still.
"What are you on about, girl?" Burl asked, looking at Charlie thru his watery eyes. "You're talkin' foolish. You've been
to my place more times than I can count." He stood up, on unsteady legs, and Teresa stood up, too.
Val interceded, saying, "I think what the girls mean, Burl, is that your place, where you've been staying, you're not going to be
able to stay there anymore."
"Aw, it needs chocked up a bit, and all," Burl said, with a wave of his hand. "Before the cold winds come again-but your menfolks
will help me with that, won't they?" he asked, patting Teresa's arm.
Teresa gave Val a look of helplessness, and Burl said, "I tell ya what, young lady," to Teresa. "You take some of that there
fabric. You take all you like. You and the little gal can have some nice things made from it."
Then, in another abrupt change, Burl said, to Val, "You play checkers, sheriff?"
"There's a checkerboard on the shelf there," Val told him, and as the old man ambled to the outer office, Charlie and
Teresa both came to stand near Val.
"He doesn't understand anything!" Teresa said, in a whisper. "Thinking that he can go back to that shack!"
"I know," Val said, in a calm tone.
"What's going to happen?" Charlie asked. It felt as though things were getting more and more out of control.
"I'll have a talk with him," Val said, quietly. "See if I can get thru to him." He nodded towards the trunk. "Why don't you two go on ahead and
take some of that material that he offered to you?"
"Why?" Charlie asked, thinking that she and Teresa would never need so much.
But Teresa must have understood what Val meant, because she nodded, and said, "Come on, Charlie." She
went back to the trunk and took out as much of the brocade as she and Charlie could carry comfortably, filling Charlie's outstretched arms,
and then her own.
In the outer office, Burl was setting up the checkerboard, and Teresa said, "Thank you for the lovely gift of this," to him.
"Aw, you're welcome, you two will look like ladies of the ball," Burl said.
"Well, we'll see you soon," Teresa told him.
"We don't have to go yet," Charlie protested.
"Val needs us to go, Charlie, so that he can have that talk with Burl," Teresa said, quietly.
"Oh," Charlie said, looking from Teresa to Val.
"Come on, Charlie," Teresa said, as she and Val exchanged a glance. Charlie thought it must be one of those glances
that adults exchanged where they understood one another perfectly, but it left a kid out, also perfectly.
"Can we come back after awhile?" Charlie asked Val, as she paused at the door, and Teresa went on out to the sidewalk.
"I think you'd better just head on home," Val said, quietly, following the girls to the door.
Val sounded strange, at least to Charlie. She looked up at him. "Where will he stay at tonight?"
"He'll stay here."
"What if he gets upset, when you tell him that he can't go back to the shack?" Charlie asked.
"That's one reason I want you to go on along home," Val said. "Just in case that he does get riled."
Charlie swallowed. Her throat hurt.
Val leaned down so that he was on eye level with Charlie. "The doc's going to come over in a bit. We'll all three get some
supper together, and play a few games of checkers. And then Burl will get a good night's sleep. Alright?"
Charlie nodded, feeling as though she was going to cry.
"Thank you, Val," Teresa said.
"You're welcome," Val told her. He straightened to his full height, and gave Charlie a half-smile.
"Bye," Charlie managed.
"Goodbye, J.C."
Walking along the sidewalk, Charlie did her utmost to get her emotions under control.
"Why are we taking all of this now?" she asked Teresa, indicating the material they were both carrying. "Did the lady want to buy
this much of it?"
"I thought to take it over to the shop, to sell, but-" Teresa hesitated. "I think we should take it home first."
"How come?" Charlie asked, shifting the heavy material in her arms.
"I want to talk to Murdoch about it," Teresa said vaguely. "We can't carry it home on horseback, we can't hold it and besides that, it
would get dirty and ruined." She considered. "We'll rent a surrey from the stable to drive home."
And, so that's what they did. They went to the stable, and Teresa rented, and used Gurth to pull it, and tied Teresa's horse to
the back. The precious brocade was in the seat between them.
Once home, Jelly came to greet them, curious about the borrowed surrey.
"Can you unhitch it, Jelly?" Teresa asked him.
"Spose I can," Jelly grumbled.
The girls carried all the material into the coolness of the house, and Teresa used her foot to close the door.
"Where should we put it?" she asked, looking thoughtful. "Some place where it won't get any dust on it-"
"The trunk was dusty," Charlie reminded her. "And it was in there for a long, long time."
"Let's take it and put it on Murdoch's desk," Teresa said, her mind made up, and ignoring Charlie's reasoning. "I want him to see it, when I talk to him."
After they'd left the brocade piled on Murdoch's desk, and Teresa went off to find something to prepare for supper.
"Don't forget, you said that you'd help me with things," Teresa reminded Charlie.
"I did?" Charlie asked, trying to sound surprised.
"You know you did," Teresa said, turning Charlie in the direction of the kitchen and giving her a gentle push. "Now march."
L