"April Fools" – Chapter Two
Fort Kearny, actually the second location to bear that name, was more of a town than a 'fort.' It was three miles, more or less, from a group of islands on the Platte river, three hundred and seventy miles west of Independence, Missouri, where various trails westward converged. It had been built as an actual fort, a square of buildings surrounding a parade ground, but the company it housed was small. It was mainly used as a way-station for travelers, and many small businesses had sprung up within and without its walls, catering to the needs of the westward-bound travelers. Many people passed through Fort Kearney, and not all of them were honest. Occasionally, outlaws watched the people, and supplies, that passed through Fort Kearny, in search of an easy mark.
Hearing rumors of a shipment of rifles, a small band of three men who preferred to try and find their fortunes the "easy" way gathered outside freight office. The leader's name was Johnson. The two others knew each other only by their first names: Jake and Hank. There were others in the group, awaiting their return, also first-namers: Bobby, Joe, Nate, and Frank. They were hard men, comfortable with whatever impulse came upon them, comfortable with murder.
Jake turned away from the window, his peering covered by the backs of his fellows. "The rifles are in there, all right. I can smell 'em."
"Why can't we just bust in an' take 'em?" Hank asked.
"Too many witnesses," Johnson the leader said. "Too many chances somethin' could go wrong."
"Then let's wait 'til dark," Hank said.
"No," Johnson said, "it's better to wait until they move 'em."
"What am I gonna tell the others?" Jake asked.
Johnson nodded, to himself. "Tell 'em we're just gonna sit tight for a while until the time is right.
(break)
Lou and Jimmy pulled up to the freight office. Lou jumped off the wagon to look at the "Closed" sign in the window. She squinted into the dirty glass, reached into her pocket for glasses and put them on, and looked again. Towards the back of the office, she could see some crates marked "BIBLES".
"Guess the office is closed 'til mornin'," Lou said. "Seems early, though."
"Well, I for one won't mind a hot supper and a warm bed. Tell you what, there's a restaurant up the street. I'll take the team to the livery while you go save us a table."
"Fine," Lou said. She started walking up the street, her attention momentarily distracted by Jimmy driving up, and didn't see the large man coming towards her, who deliberately veered into her path until he collided into her.
"Watch where you're goin'," Jake said.
"Sorry," Lou mumbled, deepening her voice as she did when she was in public. She went on her way, then paused as she saw the building with a cross and bell, marking it as a church. She hesitated, then went up to it and opened the door and looked inside. She recognized the interior instantly as Catholic. There was a confessional, with a few travelers waiting in line. She watched them for a few minutes, a kind of longing in her eyes, then turned to go.
Jimmy was there, at her shoulder. Apparently, all he'd had to do was hand the reins over to an attendant. "What's goin' on in there?" Jimmy asked.
Lou glanced at him, then nodded at the people in line. "Looks like confessional."
"What's that?"
"It's where you confess your sins to the priest." She turned away. Jimmy followed her.
"Well, you're Catholic, ain't ya?" Jimmy said.
"Was raiased to be one, anyway," Lou replied.
"Whyn't you go on in? I'll wait."
Lou continued walking away. "It's been almost six years since ah've been to confessional."
Jimmy studied her, grinning. "You mean to tell me you ain't committed a single sin in all that time?"
"No," Lou said. "Ah'm sayin' ah got no business in there, that's all."
(Break)
Lou and Jimmy were having dinner. Jimmy was obviously enjoying himself much more than Lou was, and ate with gusto, ordering seconds.
"Let me get this straight," Jimmy said. "I can go out an' commit any sin I want, go into this confess-it-all, tell the priest what I done, he resolves me—"
"Ab-solves you," Lou corrected.
"Whatever. I say a few "Hail Mary's." And then I can get into Heaven."
Lou inhaled deeply and raised her eyebrows in exhasperation. "Something like that," she said dryly.
Jimmy grinned. "Sounds like my kind o' religion."
"There's just one catch," Lou informed him.
"Oh, what's 'at?"
"Ya gotta be sorry for what ya done."
(Break)
After they ate, they strolled over to the hotel. The desk clerk waited on them, and they told him what they wanted.
"Well, you're in luck," the clerk said. "I have exactly two rooms left—unless, of course, you want to share."
Jimmy glanced at her teasingly. "How 'bout it, Lou?"
Lou ignored Jimmy. "We'll take 'em both," she said to the clerk.
The clerk dipped his pen into the inkwell and poised his pen over his book. "Names?"
"Jimmy Hickok and Lou McCloud," Jimmy told him.
The clerk dutifully wrote the names in. As he wrote, he chatted amiably. "With this dance tonight, everybody's takin' up all my rooms."
Jimmy glanced at Lou again. "Dance?"
The clerk looked up. "April Fool's dance. Sort of a tradition around here."
When he looked back down at his book, Lou looked at Jimmy and said under her breath, "No."
"Just about everybody turns out for it," the clerk went on. "Nice way to meet some pretty girls."
Jimmy looked at Lou again.
She returned the look and mouthed "No," in repetition. To the clerk she said, "Could you set me up a hot bath in mah room? Lots o' towels."
"Good idea," the clerk said. "Get cleaned up for the ladies."
"There's only one lady ah want to get cleaned up for," Lou commented dryly.
"That's two dollars for each room, extra fifty cents for the bath."
Lou handed over the money for her room, looked at the room number on her key, flung her pack over her shoulder, and headed up the stairs before Jimmy could finish paying for his room. Jimmy added an extra fifty cents and ordered up a bath for himself, as well, then caught up to her easily.
"Aw, c'mon, Lou. Whyn't you wanna go?"
"For one thing," she told him, "ah didn't bring the appropriate clothing with me."
"There's gotta be somethin' open. Want me to pick somethin' out for ya?"
"No."
"Well…pick somethin' out for yourself, then.
"Ah ain't goin', Jimmy."
"C'mon, Lou, it'll be fun."
"Go without me, if you want. But ah ain't puttin' on a dress an' goin' out there."
"Why not?"
"'Cause somethin' always happens when ah wear a dress. Remember the last dance we went to?"
"No misunderstandin's. I promise."
"Forget it," Lou said. She put the key into her door, turned the lock, and looked at Jimmy.
"What?" Jimmy said.
"This is mah room," she reminded him.
"Oh," Jimmy said. He went across the hall to his own room as Lou went into hers.
A short time later found Jimmy lying on his rented bed, bored almost to death. Finally he got up, grabbed his coat, and headed out the door.
He was looking for a dress shop. He found one, but as he started towards it, a mousy-looking man across the street caught his attention. The man stopped in front of the freight office, looked up and down the street as if fearful of something, then unlocked the door, disappeared inside, and closed the door again. Jimmy abandoned his goal for the time being, and went across the street to the freight office. He pounded on the door until the man came back to the door. Jimmy gave him the password, and was it relief Jimmy saw in the man's eyes as he opened the door?
(Break)
Jimmy was pounding on Lou's door. He was holding a package under one arm. "Lou, open up!" Jimmy yelled.
Lou opened the door. She was still covered in trail-dirt. Her feet were bare, her partially unbuttoned shirt was not tucked in, and she was obviously annoyed. "Can't ah even take a bath in peace?"
Jimmy took her by the arm and went with her back into the room. "We got a problem," he told her. He sat her down on the bed, put a finger on his lips to warn her to keep her reaction quiet, and gave her the bad news.
"Rifles!" she hissed.
"That's our freight."
"Nobody said nothin' about rifles!"
"Now, just relax, Lou, 'cause I got an idea."
Lou sighed. "So much for mah bath. Give me a couple minutes to get mah stuff together, an ah'll meet you over there."
"Hold it, Lou. We go haluin' stuff outta there this time of day—especially right before a big celebration—everybody's gonna know what we're up to. But with my plan, we drive outta here safe an' sound, with no one the wiser."
(Break)
Lou and Jimmy walked down the street together, as man and woman. Lou was wearing the dress Jimmy had bought for her, and Jimmy was wearing the 'Sunday' clothes he bought for himself. There were other couples on the street, as well, and the mood seemed festive. Jimmy noted how the men seemed to be escorting the women, and took her hand to pull it through his arm.
Lou shook her head and said quietly, "If this is all just some elaborate scheme of yours to get me to go to this dance—"
Jimmy replied just as quietly. "Lou, there are some things I kid around about, but haulin' rifles ain't one of them. Now smile, an' look like you're havin' a good time."
Lou gave an obviously fake smile. "How's this?"
"Well, it's a start, I suppose," Jimmy replied.
They followed the flow of the foot traffic into the interior of the square of buildings that was the fort. There was music playing, and many of the couples were already dancing. "Shall we?" Jimmy asked.
"Do ah gotta?"
"We got appearances to keep up."
She let him lead her through the dance.
(Break)
Jake and Bobby, two of the first-namers of the gang, were standing around, watching the dancers. "Nice o' these good people to throw us a party, ain't it?"
Jake smiled, revealing a few missing teeth and a general lack of oral hygiene. "I don't know about you, but I'm startin to feel all romantic inside."
"Johnson told us to lay low," Bobby reminded him.
"Hell, we gotta do everything Johnson tells us? Jake asked, slapping Bobby on the arm with the back of his hand.
(Break)
The music finished. Jimmy twirled Lou out, and she laughed.
"Careful," he warned her. "You're startin' to have a good time."
"An' what if ah am?" she retorted.
"No need to get defensive about it. Just pointin' out that my company ain't all that bad."
"Just remember your promise."
"How could you let me forget it?"
The music ended, and the band leader announced that the next dance would be a mixer. "Now remember," the band leader said, yelling to be heard over the small conversations, "when the music stops, partner up with the pretty little thing standin' in front of you."
Lou laughed as she was snatched by a woman in the line of women dancers. The women made a circle inside a circle made by the men. Jimmy joined the men's line. The women formed a circle facing outward and sashé'd counter-clockwise, and the men formed an outer circle facing inward and sashé'd clockwise. Lou kept an eye out for Jimmy. She passed him twice and was coming up on the third time when the music stopped. She smiled, thinking she would get him as her partner, but suddenly her hand was grabbed by a scruffy, gap-toothed man she'd have preferred not to get. "Howdy, ma'am. Looks like you an' me are partners," he said.
Lou covered her disappointment of not getting Jimmy, and courtsied politely. They started dancing, him pulling her a little closer than she really wanted. He was not a very good dancer, and Lou found herself looking for Jimmy, who was dancing with a middle-aged woman.
Her partner stepped on her foot. "Sorry," he said. "Ain't much used to dancin'."
Lou shrugged it off. "That's okay."
"Name's Jake."
"Lou—Louise."
"Would you mind if we just stood an' watched the rest of this one? I'd hate to squash those pretty little feet o' yours again."
Distractedly, Lou said, "Fine."
She let him lead her away from the dancers.
Jake studied her. "Ain't I seen you someplace before?"
Lou looked at him, really noticing him for the first time. With a start she remembered the bump encounter on the street outside the freight office, when she'd been dressed as a boy. She looked away. "No, ah don't think so."
"I'm sure I have," Jake said. He smiled suddenly, and Lou caught a whiff of his foul breath. "I know. You're one o' Miss Nellie's girls, ain't ya?"
"No. Ah ain't."
"Yeah, you are. I know I seen your face somewhere before. What are you doin' here? Tryin' to drum up a little business?"
"Ah told you. Ah ain't one o' 'Miss Nellie's Girls,' whoever she is." She started to leave, but Jake pulled her back.
"What's your hurry? Maybe you an' me could do a little business together."
"Ah ain't interested. 'Scuse me." She tried to leave again, but Jake was still holding onto her. She started to reach for her gun, but of course, it wasn't there. Just skirt fabric.
"Just want to have a little fun, is all, an' make you a little profit in the process."
Lou saw a figure approaching and let out a sigh of relief as she realized it was Jimmy.
"There you are, Lou," Jimmy said. "Oh, 'scuse me. Am I interruptin' somethin'?"
"Oh, no." Lou replied "Ah was just getting' back to the dance." She took his arm.
To Jake, Jimmy said, "My wife, she just loves to dance." He patted Lou's hand. "Don't you, darlin'?"
"Oh, ah just adore dancin'," Lou exaggerated. "'Specially with you, darlin'."
Jimmy held out his hand to Jake. "Oh, 'scuse me. I'm forgettin' my manners. James Butler, Bible salesman. I see you've already met my wife Louise. Pretty thing, ain't she. Well, shall we get back to the dance, Lou?" Jimmy turned their backs to Jake and whispered to her under his breath as they walked away. "Don't you know better than to go off alone with that type?"
"Look who's talkin'," Lou retorted. She paused, then said, "Ah think he saw me when we first came into town."
"Don't worry about it," Jimmy said.
"But what if—"
"Would you relax? He ain't gonna recognize you."
Jake scowled as he rejoined Bobby at the edge of the dance. "Looks like you lost the bet," Bobby said.
"Hell, it ain't over yet," Jake replied.
(Break)
Jimmy and Lou walked up the stairs back to their rooms. Lou was laughing at Jimmy's recounting of an unfortunate—at least for the participants—incident that had happened. "Well, ah don't know about that," Lou said. "But when that other man fell into the horse trough, ah lost it. That was the funniest thing ah'd ever seen."
"Now, ya see, Lou?" Jimmy said. "Ya worse a dress for a whole evenin' an' nothin' happened."
Lou hesitated, then said, "Jimmy…thank you. Ah had a good time."
"Good enough to—" He nodded at the door to Lou's room.
Lou laughed. "No."
With an exaggerated sigh, Jimmy said, "I didn't think so."
"Ah'll see you in the mornin'," Lou said.
"Meet me in front o' the hotel at six-thirty sharp."
"Good night, Jimmy." She closed the door, then leaned against it for a moment, still smiling, before pushing away to get ready for bed.
(Break)
The sun was well on its way to rising. Jimmy hadn't expected there to be people about, but a number of travelers on the Oregon Trail were stirring to get an early start after spending what was probably their last night in a bed before reaching the Rocky Mountains and California.
Jimmy was still dressed in his 'Sunday' clothes, with no holster or visible gun. A worker at the freight office, thankfully more on the burly side than the office manager, loaded a last crate onto the wagon. Every crate had the word "BIBLES" stenciled on at least one side, some on two. Jimmy picked up an unpacked Bible which was laying on the back gate of the wagon before lifting the gate and securing it, and tucked it under one arm. "Good luck," said the helper.
"Thanks," Jimmy replied, and climbed up to the front. He drove off towards the hotel.
Lou was in her dress as she left the hotel. She saw Jimmy further up the street and gave him a little wave, and started walking toward him. Jimmy waved back, then tipped his hat at a man who wanted to cross the street, indicating that he would wait for him.
Lou didn't see Jake lurking in the shadows between two buildings until he grabbed her and pulled her into the alley, his hand over her mouth so she couldn't scream.
Jimmy didn't see Jake, either. All Jimmy knew was that when he looked up the street again, Lou had disappeared.