Chapter 5: Recovering, Re-covering, and Recovery
Still fighting off the aftereffects of the blow he'd taken, Brisco climbed up on Comet and let the horse take them away. The noise from the shattered door was sure to draw attention and, after all he'd gone through to escape, Brisco didn't want to hang around for another round. He felt sick at his stomach and his head ached, as did everything in between.
He clung to the saddle horn leaving Comet to find his own way as they slipped out of the tent city. By taking their time, Brisco looked more like a drunk haphazardly making his way home than someone intent on escaping.
The ride back to camp was a slow, swaying affair, reminding Brisco of his Harvard days in his sailboat around Boston and trips down the coast to the Cape. There was always a picnic basket packed with food and usually a couple of bottles of wine and a female companion with whom to share it. The gentle rocking of the waves would set the mood—
But not now! With the sickness finally coming to a head, he leaned out and threw up. Comet stopped and looked back, giving him a Comety frown.
"Sorry, boy," said Brisco quickly, before another round of nausea overtook him. When he was finished, he felt a little better but added, "And no more thinking of sailboats tonight."
~ABCJ~
The rest of the ride back to camp was a blur. When he awoke, it was almost noon the next day.
At least Brisco hoped it was only the next day.
After a visit to a nearby stream to clean up, the bounty hunter felt reasonably human again and he focused his thoughts on how to rescue Dixie, capture Laney, and foil the man's nefarious plan, whatever it was. Unfortunately, not knowing the last part meant that the plan itself had to be discovered before the others could be accomplished since Dixie's information indicated that Laney wasn't in the scheme alone. Capturing Laney would probably leave the other man to pull the heist alone and keep all the proceeds to himself. Since no one knew who the man was, bringing him to justice and recovering the loot would be a very long shot unless he made a mistake in the process of the robbery.
Brisco stood up a little while later and said, "Comet, new plan. Dad told me about a lawman friend of his who would sometimes dress up as an old prospector to keep from being recognized. They're going to be on the lookout for me in Lon's Valleys so a little disguise like that may be in order."
Comet wobbled his head, giving a skeptical look, but Brisco continued. "We may need to make a quick exit when I figure this out and rescue Dixie, so I'll need your help, too." Picking up a stick, Brisco started drawing in the dirt as he explained the plan. Comet's skepticism only seemed to get worse as it went along, but when Brisco mentioned needing a few strands of hair from Comet's tail...
~ABCJ~
The sun was setting behind the mountains to the west when someone called, "Hey, old man! Why are you comin' here?"
The old prospector with the stringy beard looked up at the guard who'd stepped out from behind a tree at the edge of Lon's Valleys. "Whad'ju say, sonny?" he called in a croaking voice as he cupped a hand to his ear.
The guard approached. "There ain't no entry into town tonight, Pops."
"Town? You mean this-here tent village? I come in last night fer a drink and no one stopped me, so I'm back fer a bottle tonight. You ain't gonna' deny an old man his drink now, are ya'?"
The old man looked harmless and wasn't wearing a gun, so the guard nodded. "Okay, old timer, but I didn't see ya' and you didn't see me, okay?
"Deal, sonny!" agreed the old prospector with a nod.
"Say, stay out of the main tent. They're holding another round of the poker tourney in there tonight. I wouldn't want the boss to see ya'."
Brisco doffed his dusty hat to the guard, thinking as he did that he'd never be able to get the hat clean and back into something resembling the right shape.
Minutes later, he'd found a spot where Comet could hide in plain sight with the other horses. His horse seemed to appreciate the thought even though he didn't appear to be particularly fond of the company. Brisco put a single finger to his lips and Comet responded with a annoyed shake of his head.
Brisco entered the back of the hotel as if he belonged there, and was half surprised when no one challenged him. He suspected that the clapping, shouts, and loud groans coming from the main tent was the reason. Players would be being eliminated as the evening progressed and there would be many side bets on who would be gone and who would continue on to the next round.
Unfortunately, when he reached the top floor, Brisco peeked over the top stair to see an armed man—one of the pistol packing hulks from the night before, if he wasn't mistaken—standing outside what he suspected was Laney's personal quarters for the event. Withdrawing back down the steps, the bounty hunter was about to take a moment to consider his options when he saw a sign on a door.
~ABCJ~
On the stage, Dixie was attempting to stay as far away from Laney as she could since getting close to him would bring on another round of uncontrollable sneezing. Lon Laney wasn't cooperating, though, trying to keep his female captive as close to him as possible for all of the attention she drew from the crowd.
Dixie's attention, however, was focused primarily on the stout, bald man who was sitting at the table just in front of the stage. His girth strained the buttons on his gold vest as he smoked a stogie while holding a glass of scotch in his right hand. Like about half of the crowd, the man's eyes were fixed on her rather than the card game that was currently underway on the stage. While she was used to and could deal with the lecherous looks she often received from certain members of her audiences, the stare the man was giving her chilled her to the bone. Unlike the usual lechers, he was, she was quite sure, one who would not take no for an answer.
The sharp ding of a bell drew her eye as Lon Laney raised the arm of the winner of the current game. "And William 'Brilliant Bill' Nelbon advances to our Suite of Sixteen! Let's have a big hand for him!"
Brilliant Bill raised his hands and waggled his fingers, allowing the light to reflect off the diamond rings worn on all eight of them, before taking a bow as Laney stepped back to the forefront.
"And now, our own Miss Dixie Cousins will sing a song and keep you entertained for a few minutes while we clear the table and set up for our next match between local fan-favorite Carlton "Carson City" Klondyke and the ever-dapper 'Gentleman Jack' Darby. Miss Dixie Cousins!"
Despite her apprehensions, Dixie stepped out to the front of the stage and started to sing. As she did, she searched the crowd, hoping to catch sight of Brisco, who, according to what she'd heard from her guards, had escaped during the night. She hoped that was really the truth and that he'd actually gotten away safely, even if it meant Laney would get away with all the money in every bank in San Francisco.
A sideways glance caught Lon Laney giving her a perturbed look, so she forced a smile as she faced the crowd and picked up the tempo on her song. Strutting across the stage, she spun her boa and blew a few kisses to bring the audience to its feet. Laney's smile had returned as she did a 180 and started back the way she'd come. When she did, she couldn't help but see that the bald man's eyes never left her.
~ABCJ~
The guard outside Laney's door perked up when the bellhop arrived carrying a fresh stack of linens on his left hand.
"Mr. Laney said he wanted the sheets changed. Again," griped the bellhop, stopping just a couple of feet from the guard.
"Didn't tell me about it," replied the guard, his hand drifting to his Colt.
"No problem," agreed the bellhop. "It must be nice to be in the know with the boss; I've never been so lucky. So, what was your name?"
"Uh, Chet?"
Brisco, wearing the uncomfortable bellhop outfit since he couldn't find anything else that would fit, struggled to keep from rolling his eyes. The guard clearly wasn't connecting the dots on why he needed it, so he filled him in. "Just want to make sure Mr. L. knows that it wasn't me that didn't do it, it was one of his associates that countermanded his order. Have a—"
The guard, finally understanding, said, "Wait! Here, go on in and do it. But no funny business, you hear? I'm keeping the door open to watch."
"Hey, I understand," agreed Brisco, wondering why, for once, things couldn't be easy.
He glanced around the room and was surprised to see his Colt .45 holstered and lying atop the desk near Laney's bed. His eyes quickly scanned the rest of the room for any incriminating evidence while he removed and folded the bedclothes, but he was disappointed but unsurprised when he saw nothing of interest but the Persian cat nestled on an oversized pillow on the settee. The cat was watching his movements with an intensity equal to that of the guard, Brisco said, "Nice kitty," and paid it no further attention.
When he was done, he set the bedspread and blanket on the chair in front of the desk. Then, he started stripping the sheets.
"Oh! No wonder he wanted this changed!" He rolled the sheets into a loose ball and pitched them on the desk before starting to put on the new set. When they were in place, he retrieved the blanket and spread and put them back on, too.
"There! All done. That wasn't so hard," he said out loud, but glancing back at the guard out of the corner of his eye. Brisco quickly scooped up the dirty sheets from atop the desk and headed out the door, glancing at the white Persian, whose eyes tracked him out the door.
As it clicked closed, Brisco turned to the guard and said, "Chet, it's all changed and all clean. You have a nice evening."
"Hmmm" was Chet's only response, but he seemed to relax at least somewhat as Brisco left the room and started toward the stairs. On seeing that, Brisco breathed a slow sigh of relief as he went down the stairs, thankful he hadn't had to draw his Colt from under the jumble of sheets. He could imagine the hammer snagging on the fabric, and, in the event that he had to fire, that everyone in Lon's Valleys would show up to take him prisoner again.
Stepping back into the Housekeeping room, Brisco quickly changed from the uncomfortable uniform back into his own clothes and then removed the makeup and the stringy beard. With his six-gun back in place, he made his way to the back of the main tent where he slipped inside to look for Dixie, Lon Laney, Laney's mysterious foreign partner, and, as unlikely as it was that he would be successful in finding it, anything he could discover about their planned criminal enterprise.
Author's Notes:
Dear readers, approximately two chapters remain, though it could stretch to three. Thanks so much for reading. Unfortunately, I haven't received any feedback on this story at all, so your reviews, comments, follows, favorites, or constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated.
The old prospector was the most common alternate persona assumed by the Lone Ranger, who just might have been a contemporary of Marshal Brisco County, Senior. Similarly, 'Gentleman Jack' Darby just might be a somewhat older version of the character (John 'Gentleman Jack' Darby) portrayed by Richard Long in several episodes of "Maverick."