Hannibal Heyes lay in bed on his back, naked. He crossed his arms behind his head and stretched luxuriously as rays of sunlight streamed through the thin calico curtains and played across him. The former outlaw lazily enjoyed the bright morning as Beth busied herself preparing for their first day in their new home.
"My, don't you look lovely!" He exclaimed to his wife. She was facing away from her husband and wearing nothing but slippers as she washed her face in a flowered china basin on a stand near the window.
"Why, thank you," said Beth, giggling at the particularly curvaceous aspect her husband had wickedly chosen to praise. She splashed herself with water from the pitcher to get off the last of the soap. Beth pulled her hair back from her face and turned to look at her husband. "You ain't so bad, yourself. You seem pretty tickled to be back in the West, in fact."
Heyes smiled evenly more broadly. "Yeah. With you. With no murderers on my tail." He climbed out of bed and put his arms around his wife.
Beth kissed him and said playfully, "Don't start that again, lover, or we'll never get breakfast. I don't know about you, but I could eat a bear. I feel like I'm eating for half a dozen instead of just two."
Heyes paused, with arms still around Beth, and sniffed. "Well, maybe I couldn't go for a bear. They're pretty tough. But bacon and biscuits sound good to me. And smell good. And coffee does, too. And you." He leaned forward to kiss his wife again.
Beth yipped, "Ouch! Prickle puss, I don't think you've shaved properly since we left New York. You look like a bum. An attractive bum, but not exactly ready for company."
Her husband felt his face. "You're right. But, you try raking a cut-throat razor over your face on a moving train without doing violence to yourself. I'll try again, now that the floor isn't moving. I just need some hot water."
As if on cue, there was a knock on the door.
"Just a second!" Cried Heyes as he and Beth both hastily donned robes.
The former grad student found Charlie Homer at the door carrying an enameled basin full of steaming water. "Good morning. Here you go, Joshua," he said brightly. "The Kid had the fill before mine. Your turn."
"Thanks, Charlie," said Heyes, taking the basin in his arms and hauling it over to the wash stand. He spoke over his shoulder. "Pretty morning, isn't it?"
"Sure is!" His former teacher agreed. "I was watching the sunrise turn the mountains purple before I fell asleep again. It's fine to be on vacation. Your partner's got a nice spot here."
Heyes smiled. "Yeah. I hope Beth and I can have a place of our own this nice one day. Now I better get to that razor and mirror before the water cools off."
When both Heyes were dressed, they followed their noses to find breakfast in the Curry's spotless new dining room. The sun blazed in the windows. Jed and Charlie were already at the table as Cat poured coffee.
"Good morning, Prof, bosses," said Heyes.
"Now cut that out, Heyes," griped Jed.
The former gang was surprisingly cheerful. "Well, it's what you are. I don't mind. Gotta face facts. By the way, what's my salary gonna be?"
Cat turned the question back on him. "So, manager, what do you think it ought to be? What can we afford and what are you worth?"
Heyes looked surprised as he glanced questioningly between the two Currys. "You'll give me those decisions?"
The Kid didn't hesitate. "Sure, partner. Though it'd be nice if you'd let us know before you spend too much of our money. And, speaking of money, um, we were thinking, I don't want to cause you problems if things go south, but . . ."
"Spit it out, Kid!" Urged Heyes impatiently.
Cat took over, knowing her husband would never be able to say it all. "With all the advice you've given us, all the managing, the book keeping. Heyes, it isn't right how we've done by you. We wouldn't be doing so well if we hadn't had you managing us, showing us how to put our money in the right places. We haven't given you more than train tickets and room and board. But you really have been a partner, all along. Now we can afford to treat you right. Jed and I were thinking, along with your salary, how'd you like an interest in the new hotel? Say a fifth, until you want to buy in for more?"
Beth's hands flew to her mouth. How would her husband feel about this unexpected offer?
Cat was ready for Heyes to object, but he didn't. The former outlaw gave his partner a calculating look. "With a fifth of the profits – or losses - and expenses?"
"Yeah," said Jed, also unsure of how his plan was being received, "You can help us work out the details. It's only fair you get a good share of profits. But we wouldn't want to ruin you if things go south on the new place, no fault of yours. Do you think it's fair?"
"Fair? If we don't fail – a fifth plus salary for managing - that'd be great. I guess I better do all I can to make sure we stay above water, huh?" Heyes winked and his eyes fairly shone.
"You do that, manager, you just better," fussed Cat jokingly, waving a finger at Heyes, "And keep those books honestly, you old con man!"
"Well, I might be able to manage that." The elder partner said with a straight face, but then he grinned and laughed along with his friends.
Cat said, "We've been thinking about your idea of promoting the new hotel as kind of a western adventure with the comfort and class of the East – run by Heyes and Curry." Heyes grinned wider at having his name come first. "But we'll need a good new name and a bunch of new paint and decorations. We'll need your ideas, Heyes, and your guidance – like we always have."
Immediately, the new business partner ran a hand through his dark hair and was into planning mode. "I'll have to think about the name. I was thinking The Colt and Safe, like a British pub. But folks might not get the joke."
Cat and Jed exchanged a quizzical glance. They didn't get it, either. Neither one of them had read nearly as much English literature as Heyes and Beth had. So the comedy of stating new American ideas in old fashioned British form didn't strike them at all.
"I was thinking maybe the Hideout – like it's an exclusive place not everybody can get to," Curry suggested almost sheepishly. "But maybe add another word to it? Something classy?"
The new manager considered this. "Hm. The Hideout. Or the Hideaway, maybe? The Mountain Hideout. The Western Hideout. Let's think about it. It's not like it's out in the mountains, but to those folks from the East, maybe. We need to keep the comfort and class thing strong, but with some new décor we can change how folks see it. We can add western color with that horn chair you bought when we did those pictures, and see what we can get hold of around town. Old guns, ropes, old saddles. I think it's worth a bit of investment to get the décor right, but I know we don't any of us have much cash right now."
The Kid's eye's sparkled as he caught his partner's enthusiasm. "Pawn shop is probably gonna be the best place to look. They know me. They'll cut me deals. I saw a great old Spanish bridle in there the other day – no good to ride with, but good on the wall. And a rusty old Winchester we could polish up and hang over the fireplace in the dining room. I ain't gonna hang my real rifle on the wall."
"Yeah," his partner agreed. "Those photographs you had done will be great. Get em reprinted with the new address."
"Uh-huh. Maybe we can get hold of our old wanted posters, or somebody else's. When we open, we can both dress in chaps, our old hats, you can wear that embroidered vest of yours," added Jed.
Heyes nodded. "Yeah, good. But I wear my suit in the office. Got to have authority. We can keep the old sign on the front for a few days while we convert over, then unveil the new deal – make it a thing for the papers."
"Maybe I can get Theron Wiseman to come down and do a reading of his cowboy poetry for the opening," suggested Charlie Homer. "I know he's written something about you guys, after you said he could."
"Great!" said the Kid and Cat almost simultaneously and Heyes nodded.
Beth had been quiet thus far, trying not to get in the way of her husband's happiness. But she couldn't help inquiring, "But did you ask the governors if you can profit like that from your names – your old crimes?"
The Kid nodded. "Yeah, we asked. Sheriff Wilde and Senator Warren helped us put it across. Long as we promote going straight more than holding up trains, they got no problem with it. Well, Hogg put up a fuss, but the others shouted him down with a bunch of telegrams. Saw that it could be good for western tourism. Might even see if we can do talks and camping trips for wayward boys or that kinda thing."
The darker partner was nodding. "Fine with me, Kid. Fits with my teaching. You can teach gun safety. Did you ask Wyoming about Marvin? Is this gonna be something I can do while Beth and I foster him?"
The Kid shook his head. "Sorry, partner. I didn't think of it."
Heyes wasn't annoyed. "I'll ask the Wyoming authorities about Marvin. I need to update them about our situation, anyhow. So we'll need to wait for me to hear back from them before we open, or before I accept the partner offer. That'll give us time to get ideas together, get the staff straightened out, gather some decorating stuff, have the new signs made, menus printed – that kinda thing."
Beth said, carefully, "You don't think the university of Colorado would mind your involvement, do you? You aren't going to give up on volunteering and later teaching, are you, sweetie?"
Heyes waved the idea away with his hand. "Of course I won't give up on teaching! I hope UC wouldn't have a problem with it. I'll ask 'em when I'm over there talking about volunteering."
But he was immediately back to planning, "So, partner, are you up to riding into town or do you want me to hitch up the wagon?"
"You hitch up. I'll drive in and leave Blackie here so Charlie can ride him," said the Kid. "He's been getting fat while I couldn't ride – he could use some work."
"Thanks for the loan of your horse, Jed," said Charlie. "I won't go far, with nobody else here to watch the girls."
"Good, Charlie. I still need to buy a couple of things for the house. Well, more than a couple. I bet you folks might like to pick up a few things from town, so we'll need the wagon for all that. We don't have much food out here yet."
Cat sad, "Beth and I will have some moving in and straightening up to do before we bring in more things. And we won't really know what more we need until we have a good look at what's here. Jed, can you send the wagon back for us in a couple of hours?"
"Sure," said the sheriff. "I can send Bruce with it."
"Good," replied Cat.
"I'll make up a list," said Beth. "Anything special you want, Joshua?"
Heyes hadn't been thinking about groceries. "Gosh, I don't know. The food's up to you. For me, pencil, pens and ink, I guess. I'll need 'em. I need to meet with Ross's old manager so I can figure things out – like my own salary. I think we'd better pay him for a week or maybe ten days for helping with the change-over. But I'll wait on that till I meet him and see what he's like. I assume he's competent, or the place wouldn't have been doing so well the past few years."
"Oh, yeah. He seems good," said Curry. "The staff likes him."
The new manager paused. "Good. Um, partner, you mind if I get out to Boulder this afternoon to put in a word with the university of Colorado folks? It's mighty late in August and I don't want to wait too late for them to plan on having me there for the fall semester."
"Sure, Heyes," said the Kid, glancing at his wife to make certain that she agreed. Cat nodded. "You set your own hours. You're a partner. Long as the work gets done, you can be gone when you need to. I know you'll want to get out to Cable's mine soon, too. It's more than ten miles off. Just don't leave us for too long right now, with so much stuff going on, alright?"
"You got it, Kid," said Heyes. He finished his mug of coffee, and grimaced at how cold it had grown during all this talk. But it didn't slow him down. "How far is it from your place out here to the University, anyhow?"
Curry scratched his golden curls. "Hm. About six or seven miles, I guess. An easy ride."
Heyes nodded. "Good. I'll go get into a suit – want to look good for the first time I meet the hotel folks and the faculty at the University. Got another con to put over." He winked at his wife, then got up from the table and walked rapidly down the hall, whistling tunelessly to himself.
The three left in the dining room laughed happily. "What a great idea!" Beth exclaimed. "You hit on exactly the right thing to do."
"Well, it's all true," said Cat. "We wouldn't be making money hand over fist with Christy's, and side investments, without Heyes. It was slower while we were gone, but business is good, now. A fifth really isn't enough of a share, but it's safer for you folks in the uncertain early stages."
Beth nodded. "It's perfect, I think. Thank you so much! It's not just the money, of course. You've taken a big load of worry off of Heyes and given him something he's going to enjoy doing. And be good at. I hope it makes you, and us, more money than ever. You know, Marvin is going to be coming to join us before long, if the Governor of Wyoming approves. I don't know why he wouldn't. I'm so glad Marvin will get to start with his new father at his best – and his happiest."
While Charlie washed dishes and the girls moved things to their places in the house, Heyes and the Kid sat side by side on the wagon seat. Heyes' claybank dun horse, Clay, was saddled and tied up behind.
Jed said, "Giddup, girls," and slapped the matched bays with the reins. "Sure is nice not to have to look over our shoulders every minute. Or not about the Teasdales, anyhow. I know there's other guys gunning for me. Always will be."
Heyes, too, felt naturally paranoid about the situation. "And me. It's weird to have somebody else take out the Teasdales. We've always had to take care of little things like that ourselves. The law was there to make things hard for us, not easy."
Jed paused a moment, then said slowly, almost as if he explaining to himself, "Well, that's before we got amnesty. When you're law abiding, the law is there to help you."
"Huh. Maybe. I got a hard time believing the law has finally done us a favor without demanding their pound of flesh," said his partner.
"Say, what?" Jed Curry was baffled by the gruesome metaphor.
"Sorry - it's from Shakespeare – The Merchant of Venice," explained the man with the Master's Degree. "I mean they aren't asking some awful thing from us in return for the favor."
"Favor, nothing," said the man wearing a star. "The law never wanted us the way they wanted the Teasdales. We never murdered. The Teasdales murdered a lawman. Maybe two, if the other guy doesn't make it. And you know what they did to Lom. No, the law was gonna get the Teasdales, come Hell or high water. We watch out for our own."
The former safe cracker stared at his partner in amazement. "Kid, I never thought I'd hear you call the law 'Our own.' You've changed."
Jed laughed. "And you ain't, professor?"
The long-time partners laughed at themselves they rode bouncing along the road in the morning sunshine.
00000000000000000000000
Harold Chase sat at his desk at the Ross Hotel, making what he knew were some of the last entries he would ever make in the hotel's ledger book. His work was as meticulous as ever, despite his uncertainty about his future. He hoped he would be able to sign on with a bigger place that would pay better. But he would miss managing this pleasant, clean, well-run hotel not far from his home town.
There was a knock at the door. Would it be another employee, come to say an awkward good-bye, or one of the new people who had already begun to arrive from Christy's Place?
When Chase got up and answered the door, who found a pleasant looking man in a well-cut grey suit and wire-rimmed glasses. He was carrying a stained leather briefcase. "Good morning, Mr. Chase," said the stranger, "I hope you can give me some benefit of your expertise and experience. I'll be following you as manager."
"Oh, yes. Mr. Curry said you were coming by train. It's good to meet you, Mr. ?" Chase, seeing the scarred cheek of the new manager, suspected he knew what the name would be.
"Heyes," said the new manager, reaching out a hand. He watched the current manager's reaction.
The slender, bespectacled man seemed unfazed. "Ah. Mr. Curry did say he had worked with you for many years. I'll be glad to show you the ledgers and explain my management systems to you." He showed Heyes to his desk and together they bent over a big, red leather-bound book. "It's standard double-entry book-keeping. Do you have book-keeping experience, Mr. Heyes?"
"Oh, yes."
The outgoing manager gave his successor a surprised look.
"Sure. I started the book-keeping system for Christy's Place six years ago and I've audited it twice a year ever since. And before that, I kept books for another bar for a little while and for, um, our business, for seven years."
"You mean your gang?" Asked Chase, fascinated by the insight. "An outlaw gang kept books? I would like to know more about that."
Heyes laughed, "Gosh, yes. A successful gang needs good records and correct calculation. Or I always thought it did. You might steal from everybody else, but you have to split the take fairly or you won't keep your men for long. Or your life."
Chase grimaced. This was a kind of risk he had never faced. Heyes treated it casually enough. He continued, "It's more complex than you might think. Our take – what we stole - could include cash, bonds, silverware, gold nuggets, jewelry. And each guy got a different share of the take - it's almost never evenly split. Every guy needed different skills, took different chances, had different time with the gang, and different authority. And there was overhead to manage – horses, ammunition, powder, explosives, medical care. And then I needed to calculate risks versus opportunities on jobs, what route was most efficient, and all kinds of other things. Other gangs might do it by guess and by golly, but I did the math."
Chase was intrigued. "And so you succeeded, sensationally. Goodness, I never realized what all was involved. Seniority in a gang – it wouldn't have occurred to me. It sounds really very similar to a legitimate commercial concern. You must have had good schooling to be able to handle it."
Heyes shook his head. "No. I always liked math, and was good at it. But I didn't have decent schooling until the last few years. Now I have two degrees in mathematics from Columbia University. That included an accounting class. I wanted to teach college math, but it's tough to convince anyone to trust me." He looked at the previous manager, expecting skepticism.
Instead, Chase spoke with respect. "Except your partner, who knows you best. If Mr. Curry and Columbia University have confidence in you, they must have good reason."
Heyes inclined his head with graceful gratitude.
"Obviously, accounting isn't really your specialty," said Chase admiringly. "What is?"
"Trigonometry and ballistics is my area." Heyes reached into his briefcase for his business card and the journal where he had published. "I've got an article in a scholarly journal already, so I am trying to establish myself."
Chase looked at the title page of the article and whistled. "Impressive. But, much as I'd like to just talk math, we have business to attend to."
"We do. Show me some details," Heyes and his predecessor bent over the ledger book together and went over all the names and numbers. The former outlaw had plenty of questions, all of which Chase answered easily.
Finally, Heyes stood up straight, nodded and said, "So. You have a good, clear system. I see no reason to change it. Can you stay a few days to help me with the transition, Mr. Chase? Say, until Friday after this coming? We'll pay you twice your regular salary for those days. I hope it will help you bridge the gap to a new position. I'll be just moving in and getting starting with a couple of other activities, so I'll need your help."
Chase was startled by the generous severance terms. "Thank you, Mr. Heyes. I appreciate that. I'm sure it will help."
"Good. Well, let's go meet the hotel staff." Heyes moved carefully away from the personal inquires and back to business. They went to meet the real people whose names Heyes had just seen as financial entries. First they went to the supply room where the clean sheets, blankets, curtains, and towels were neatly folded and stacked on shelves.
"So it's Hannibal Heyes you are, the highwayman himself?" Asked the Mary O'Hara, the senior maid, in her thick Irish brogue. "How do we know you and your notorious partner won't cut our throats and steal all we have?'
The former outlaw glanced questioningly at Chase, his gaze silently asking "Is she serious?"
Chase looked back cautiously and slanted his head slightly. Heyes gathered that the head maid was exaggerating, but the lady might have real fears.
Chase took the lead in comforting his long-time colleague "Now, now, Mrs. O'Hara. Mr. Heyes and his partner are perfectly law-abiding and have been for many years. They have always been known for not hurting people."
"And you expect me to trust an outlaw?" The portly lady put her hands on her massive hips and gave her future boss a very critical stare.
Heyes held his hat in his hand and spoke as modestly as he could. "Ma'am, I assure you, my partner and I are totally committed to living honest lives, now. We have amnesty and pardons from four governors, a senator, and the president of the United States."
"Do you, indeed?" The lady did not sound convinced. "And what do you know about the hotel business?"
Heyes kept his face serious, with an effort. "Well, you know I've helped to run Christy's Place for the last six years. It's not as fine as your place, of course, but it does good business. I've kept the books and managed the saloon in the summers. For many years my partner and I have stayed in a lot of places across this country. We know what the bad ones did wrong. We've also stayed in some fine places – like the Plaza in New York City. We spoke to management and asked them about how they ran things. We paid close attention."
Mrs. O'Hara was listening. "The Plaza, you say?"
"Indeed," said Chase, "And Mr. Heyes has studied accounting in college, in New York City. He has worked very hard. Now he has two college degrees in mathematics – he is very serious about living an honest life."
"Well, now, you don't say," said the lady. "We will see. I'll continue at my work, doing my best, like always."
Heyes nodded gratefully to her. "And I'll give you and your girls all the support I can in every way I know how. And I'll look to you, Mrs. O'Hara, to give me hints on the things I don't know yet."
That made the hard-working lady beam. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Heyes. Well, we still have rooms to make up, so I will be off to my work."
As Chase led the new manager to meet more employees, he winked at Heyes. "In other words, she'll give you a chance," the former manager whispered. "Which means most of the others will, too."
"Good! I won't let them down, you know. I'll work my hardest to earn their trust. I care about this place and this town. And I have a family to support and my partner counts on me," said Heyes earnestly. "With your help, we'll get the new version of the hotel started right, and keep it up that way."
Chase smiled warmly. "Excellent! Let's go back and see the kitchen and the pantries."
The rest of the morning was spent going through the former Ross's Hotel seeing every detail of the operation from the wine cellar to the storage in the attic, and out to the stable and coach house. They met with every maid, waiter, clerk, cook, stable boy, and dish washer. Most memorably, there was the weather-beaten maintenance man, Mrs. O'Hara's husband. They met up in the stable. "So, lad, you're that famous thief? Just don't teach the stable boys to steal horses, that's all I ask," he said with a twinkle in his blue Irish eyes. At that, Heyes only laughed.
As they got back to the manager's office, Chase wiped his brow with his handkerchief. "There, you've seen and met the lot. Sounds like you have ideas about everything. I look forward to working with you. I just wish . . . Well, you are being generous enough with me. I shouldn't ask for more."
"I really do feel bad about forcing you out, Mr. Chase," said Heyes. "I wish there was work here for us both. Do you have a family?"
Chase said, awkwardly, "Only my old mother. We're from around here. I'll find work. Folks know me. I understand you married recently?"
Heyes didn't mind telling Chase about his family. He hoped that knowing him better would help people here to like him better. "Yes. Beth – Mrs. Heyes – was my tutor at the clinic where I learned to speak and write again after a posse shot me in the head six years ago. We're expecting a baby in the new year."
"I hope everything goes well for you and your new family, Mr. Heyes," said the slender former manager. He gathered his courage to say, "It sounds like you went through a lot to get where you are now. What I really wish – Mr. Heyes I never had a chance to get the schooling you've had. I just apprenticed with a shop bookkeeper after I finished high school in a local schoolhouse. I wish you would teach me some more advanced mathematics. I can pay you. Not much, but something."
Heyes looked at Chase in happy surprise. "Really? You'd like that?"
"More than anything!" Chase responded, fervently.
Heyes smiled. "I'd be happy to teach you, when I can. I can see you have good basic skills. But scheduling could be tough. Along with managing here, I may be advising on engineering for a coal mine and doing some tutoring for the University of Colorado – if they want me. And being a husband and a daddy. I can tutor you gratis, when I can fit it in, and when you can get to it in between stint of whatever new job you get."
"You don't have to do it for free. I can pay," said Chase, embarrassed.
But Heyes argued, "No, really, it would be so irregular. I'm not sure what value we could put on a bit here and there. You just take me to lunch now and then, and tell people I'm a good, trustworthy teacher – which I am – and we'll call it square. It would be my pleasure. We math guys have to stick together! And call me Joshua – no need to be so formal."
"Thank you, Joshua!" Said Chase, putting his hand shyly on his new friend's shoulder. "My name is Harold. Call me Hal. We can start right now with lunch in the dining room here, if you have time. The food is very good and you need to know it. I recommend the prime rib."
Heyes was delighted. "Terrific, Hal! I could eat a horse, but prime rib sounds a lot better."
As the pair sat down in the dining room, where their fellow diners included the mayor and Mr. Long along the banker, be sheriff came in with his new cane. "Hello, Heyes, Chase. How's it going?" He asked.
Heyes gladly greeted his partner. "Fine. Chase has the place running like a Swiss watch. He's agreed to stay on and help until Friday next week on double salary. I plan to make him earn every penny."
"Sit down, Mr. Curry," said Chase, standing to shake Curry's hand. "You ought to try the best food, so you know what you've bought."
"Thank you kindly, Mr. Chase," said the sheriff dropping into an upholstered chair. "I'll miss getting to see my wife at lunch times, but this looks pretty good." He grinned. He knew well how fine the food was at his new hotel – the mayor and some local businessmen had treated him here more than once in the past weeks. It was, indeed, a delicious and pleasant lunch, as the waiter and the cook went all out to impress the new bosses.
"So, are you pleased with the cooking?" Asked Chase leadingly as the waiter hovered idly nearby, listening.
Curry grinned. "It's great! If the kitchen can keep this up, we'll get folks in from all over the state."
"Kid," said Heyes as they put down their utensils and wiped their chins, "we are gonna have to watch ourselves with this fine food or we'll get fat."
"And eat up all our profits," agreed his partner, getting to his feet. "See you later, Chase. I got to get back to work. Thanks for staying on a while to help."
"It's my pleasure," said the outgoing manager.
"I'll be going, too," said the new manager. "I'm heading over to the university to talk to whoever I can find in his office this time of year."
"Why don't you use the hotel phone and give them a call before you go?" asked Chase. "You might avoid wasting a trip if no one is there."
"No, thanks. I'd have to talk my way past some secretary," said Heyes. "It'll work better in person."
The Kid nodded. He knew how his partner's charm could work. "See you later, Chase, Heyes," said Curry and went out the door.
The new manager added a few practical directions about things he wanted done with the paperwork and the personnel before he would be back the next morning. Chase nodded and made studious notes. "Well, you didn't get to teach me any advanced math."
"No. Sorry. Would have bored the Kid out of his mind. We can't afford to do that. He's my partner, but also my boss. We'll get to some math tomorrow, if we get a moment. Thanks for everything. See you in the morning!" Heyes went out the hotel's grand front door.
He noticed the Curry's wagon with the two matched bay mares hitched in front of the dry goods store just down the street. So before he left town for the day, Heyes went over the store. He wasn't surprised to find his wife and Cat there, speaking to the proprietress.
"Heyes! How did it go this morning?" asked Beth, going immediately to her husband.
Heyes took his wife's hand. "Fine. I think it's all going to work out pretty smoothly, if we can get the public to give us a chance. How's the shopping for the new house going?"
"Expensive. Sorry, Charlotte, but you know what I mean," said Cat, nodding to her friend the store keeper. "Outfitting a new place can't be cheap, if you go for good quality."
"Mrs. Glover, this is my husband," said Beth. "Joshua, Mrs. Glover keeps the best dry goods store in town."
"So I've heard. I'm pleased to meet you, Mrs. Glover," said Heyes. "I'm sure we'll give you a lot of custom, both for the hotel and our families"
"Thank you, Mr. Heyes. Welcome to Louisville! I mean, to living here. I know you've visited often." Mrs. Glover spoke a bit awkwardly and blushed slightly. The middle-aged business woman, it seemed to Beth, might possibly have a bit of a crush on her husband. Or perhaps she was just nervous with celebrities. Mrs. Glover had already mentioned admiring Heyes and Curry when she had seen them posing for photographs in the street weeks earlier.
"Mrs. Glover has been awfully helpful and friendly to me," said Cat, politely ignoring her friend's blush.
"Well, the sheriff stopped a robbery of the store a few weeks ago," said Mrs. Glover. "Those awful men wanted to hold my employees and me hostage, but Mr. Curry and his deputies got us all out safely. He was very brave. I couldn't scarcely be rude to Mrs. Curry. And besides, we're fellow business women in a town where there aren't many of us." The store keeper smiled at Cat. She had gotten over her nervousness.
"I just wanted to see if there was anything I could do – loading the wagon, or whatever you might need," said Heyes. "I'm about to head over to Boulder. I'll ride home from there."
"Oh, my man can do what's necessary, Mr. Heyes," said Mrs. Glover. "The order isn't all ready yet. There's no need for you to delay your trip."
"And I'll help," said Charlie, coming down from a ladder with a bolt of fabric from a high shelf under one arm. "It's nice to shop with ladies. Been a while." The vacationing professor looked sad for a moment, remembering his late wife, Marie, who had been gone only a few months.
"Nice to meet you, ma'am." Heyes tipped his hat. "See you tonight, Beth, Cat, and Charlie."
The former outlaw went around to the alley and walked back to the Ross's Hotel stable. He found Clay in fine fettle. The stable boys under Mr. O'Hara's charge had curried and brushed him until his coat shone.
"They treat you well here, don't they, old boy?" he asked, as he fondly rubbed the gelding behind the ears. "Well, I'm going to make you do some work for your supper today."
Heyes found the tack room and was about to carry his saddle into the aisle when Mr. O'Hara beat him to it. "There, now, Mr. Heyes, you don't want to get dust on your clean suit. Is it off to the University you're headed now?"
"Yes, thank you," said Heyes, already impressed by the gossip network at this hotel. Word of his plans had gotten around quickly.
O'Hara expertly tacked up Heyes' tall horse. He tightened the cinch with one last tug, gave Clay a companionable pat on the rump, and led the horse into the stable yard. "There you go, sir. Have a good trip. See you tomorrow, and your fine steed, too."
"Thank you, Mr. O'Hara," said Heyes respectfully. "You handle Clay better than I do, myself. He's going to get spoiled with all this special attention. Before he got to Louisville, he was used to short-commons and hard work. Now, it's the other way around."
The handyman waved as Heyes expertly turned his horse and headed down the alley. Soon Clay was loping up the road to Boulder. Once they were out of town, the aspiring professor let his mount drop into a long-strided walk. As he went up the road across the golden fields and toward the Flatiron Mountains, Heyes thought a bit uneasily how well things seemed to be turning out. The troubles he had feared were melting away, one by one. Was it something about being back in the West with his partner?
"Having things go well makes me nervous. It really does, Clay. The Kid was right about that," he said to himself more than to his horse. Clay was the only living being who was close enough to hear Heyes' voice, other than the butterflies and bees that hovered over the wild-flower-spangled fields in the blazing sun. The mountains loomed blue-grey in the distance, softened by a humid summer haze. Heyes swatted away a fly that threatened to land on Clay's twitching neck.
Things had gone badly enough for Heyes at Curry at times, before the amnesty. But now, other than Heyes' not getting a teaching post, everything was turning their way. Or it seemed to be. Could the University of Colorado possibly welcome the help of a former outlaw, or would they be as shy of Heyes as all the other schools had proven to be? Only time would tell.
"Come on, boy. Let's stretch out a bit," said Heyes, urging his mount into a gallop along the smooth, pounded dirt road. As the horse extended and quickened his stride, if felt almost as if they were flying. Heyes darted a gaze behind them. No one was following. He pushed his glasses back up his nose and laughed.
