Counterfeit

Chapter 13

Josiah Colter was angrier than he could ever remember being. He had no idea what had just happened until young William Taylor explained that he had seen the man Colter knew as Mr. Weeks, in the Treasury Print Shop in Washington. He knew that Milton Carney had been teaching Weeks all about the process of printing currency and how to identify counterfeit bills.

He was certain he was not mistaken, he thought the man had been brought in to work with the secret service. Taylor was doing his best to curry favor with Colter – after all he hoped to marry that pretty little niece of his.

Thinking of that, he asked where she was. Colter sent one of the house staff to her room to bring her down. He knew she did not like Taylor, and thought she was hiding somewhere. He needed the surly young man to supply him with the paper and inks to run his printing business and the young man wanted Jennifer. He felt a little guilty about it, especially after the bruises he had seen on her neck after Taylor's last visit. Indeed Jennifer had pleaded with him not to make her entertain William again – but business was business and this one was too profitable to abandon. It had taken him a long time to get the system working and find someone who could get the supplies he needed. Now he just looked at it as part of the cost of his operation.

His men had returned and somewhat reluctantly explained that they could not find Weeks. They had finally caught up with the coach, but he was nowhere to be found. They had searched the surrounding woods to no avail.

He needed to know who the man was. He doubted, now, that his real name was John Henry Weeks. He arranged to have telegrams sent to several of his regular byers, offering a substantial reward to anyone who could give him information on the tall man who had been here at his house. He sent a man to check on the printing press and was later told that everything at the little stone house was fine. No evidence of anyone having been there – after all there had been a guard there all night.

Much to Taylors annoyance young Jennifer could not be found – it did not strike Colter till several hours later that somehow she had left with Weeks – or whoever he was. Now it was imperative that the pair be found.

That afternoon he sent the new supply of inks and paper down to the press and told them to start printing – he knew he had a ready market even without Weeks. All went well until one of his men brought a sheet of freshly printed $50.00 bills to him. They were nothing like the real thing and would not fool a town drunk on a dark night.

Then an even worse thought struck him. If that man was from the secret service, he knew far too much. It could lead to him being arrested and tried for a multitude of crimes – and if Weeks had those plates as proof there was no end to the disasters that could follow. The man he knew as Weeks had certainly been a lot smarter than the other agents who had tried to track him down. He had to be found and fast.

Taylor was probably in the best position to help him. He did not like the young man with the surly attitude, but he knew he could hold out the ultimate bribe for him. Jennifer would be his bride if he found the information he needed.

Taylor returned to Washington determined to find the identity of the tall man he had seen in the printing shop. After all he had managed to find out about the other two agents. Mr. Colter sure owed him more than the occasional meeting he had so far been getting with the girl. This time she would be his for keeps.

-XX-

They had stopped to take a short break, sitting with their backs against a tall shade tree. Dillon thought it was reasonably safe. It was now late in the day and they hadn't heard Colter's men since before noon. They had left the wooded area behind them and were in more open terrain now. Matt needed to find a stagecoach line or a railroad or something that could get them away from the immediate area.

"Tell me Jennifer, how did you learn to act like a boy just like that."

"I told you my mother was an actress with a theatrical company that travelled around the big theatres and opera houses of Europe. They performed many of Shakespeare's plays – and in several of those the heroine dresses as a boy to disguise herself – maybe to check on a lover or something. My mother was good at that. Often we would want to go explore a new city when we travelled, and for a mother and daughter that would be dangerous – but for father and son nobody took any notice. She taught me how to think the part, not just act it."

He looked at her. "You are an amazing girl Jennifer."

She met his gaze straight on. "My real name is not Jennifer – any more than yours is Weeks." She laughed at his astonishment.

"It's really is pretty easy to tell, besides which you are not like the other men that my uncle has come to the house."

"So what is your name?" He was intrigued by this young girl who had such an adult grasp on life.

"Genevieve Gitano. It sounded too conspicuous to Mr. Colter so he called me Jennifer, he said it would attract less attention, and he told me to take his last name. Now tell me your name."

He smiled "It might be better if you don't know."

"Well you can't be Mr. Weeks – that is who they will be looking for."

"My name is Matthew, will that do."

"Well then I will be Jimmie Mathews, and you will be my father."

He laughed, "If that's all right with you, it's fine for me. Now we need to get moving."

It was almost dark when they came across a small village, mostly a farming community. Little more than a trading post where people would bring farm produce and buy such things as fabric, sugar and tools they could not make.

Dillon had decided he would go down and investigate, they needed food and a place to stay and if possible a way out of the area.

"Let me go, nobody will look twice at some scruffy boy who comes wandering into town, you'll stand out too much. Don't forget my uncle's men will be looking for a tall man and a young girl, not Jimmie Matthews."

He hated to do it, but it made perfect sense. He gave her some money and told her to come right back if there was any trouble – or just to scream and yell and he would find her.

She was gone for about an hour and he was just getting worried when he saw her coming back up the hill he was sitting on. She had got a canteen of water, some bread and beef jerky. Not a great meal but better than nothing. She had also found out that a tinker's wagon would be passing through tomorrow and maybe they could catch a ride.

The night was not too cold – they could have done with a blanket, but Matt cut some small leafy limbs from nearby bushes and used them to keep the chill out.

Dillon would have enjoyed some hot coffee for breakfast, but made do with the last of the bread and some water from the canteen. They had barely finished when they heard a banging and rattling of pots and pans and saw an old dilapidated wagon headed their way. They followed it into town and watched the driver as he sold some of his wares to the man at the trading post – then he sharpened a few knives for people from the village. As he was about to leave Dillon approached him, trying to find where he was headed. The man was going to Petersburg and would indeed take them along – but he wanted ten dollars each from them. They didn't have a lot of choice and climbed aboard. He said they should be there by evening.

-XX-

Petersburg turned out to be a good destination, several railroads passed through there and they mostly headed west.

Jimmy went to purchase the tickets while Dillon watched. At one time he thought he saw one of Colter's men, and almost went after him – but that would have left a trail, so he did his best to stay out of sight.

It was two hours before the train was due so Matt went to buy some supplies. The train would take two or three days to get to St Louis and they would need to eat. Matt felt that at least they had a chance of making it back to Dodge now.

TBC