Lyla's room was small with walls of bare wood giving it a cabin-like appearance. Apart from the kerosene lamp which she now lit, the only source of light came from a grimy window hung with drapes made from a red, heavy velvet, edged somewhat incongruously with a delicate lace frill. As far as furniture went there was a clothes press and a wash stand topped by a dull silvery mirror, together with a large bed which is where Jed now sat, leaning stiffly back against a jumble of thin feather pillows and faded satin cushions.
"Make yourself right at home, sugar," Lyla said huskily, bending over to plump up a cushion or two while affording Jed a close-up of her generous cleavage. She pulled a handful of tattered dime novels from the nightstand drawer. "I've got a few Beadle books here if you want somethin' to look at."
Lyla guessed that Jed's baby-faced appearance belied his actual age, but from the flush in his cheeks and the manner in which he was ogling her revealing dress he was also too young to have lain with a woman yet. He was cute. Maybe, in a year or two... Pausing in the open doorway she couldn't resist blowing him a parting kiss from her full, carmine-coloured lips before returning downstairs to the bar.
After watching her depart Jed spread the Beadles out on the bed next to him and chose one called Kent - The Ranger. Propping it up against his bent knees he soon became so engrossed in the story it told that he didn't hear the door open.
"Want something to eat?" Han indicated the large plate he was carrying.
"Sure would!"
Carefully setting the plate down on the coverlet Han noted Jed's unconcealed excitement at the amount of food heaped on it, so he added by way of clarification, "This ain't all for you, y' know. C'mon, Billy, tuck in."
While the three munched their way through fried chicken and thick slices of freshly baked cornbread, Han picked up the dime novel his cousin had cast aside.
"You reading this?"
"Yeah," Jed answered while crunching noisily at a lone pickle he had discovered under the rest of the food. "There's some powerful long words in it though. I don't understand why the people who write these things can't use words that ordinary folk know," he added, resentfully.
Han chuckled. "Which words?"
Having wiped his pickle juice covered fingers on his clean shirt front Jed picked up the publication and pointed. "There's one."
"Did you sound it out?"
"Yep."
"So what's it say?"
"Ree-muu-ner-ay-tee-on," Jed said, "but soundin' it out don't tell me what it means."
"Remuneration..." Han's brow creased as he considered this. "I think it means a payment, like wages and such." Suddenly recalling his pledge to Silky that he would make sure both boys improved their reading he said, "How 'bout you, Billy? Can you read any of this?"
Billy peered at the page then shook his head. "Does this mean I hafta go back to Missouri now?"
"No, 'course it don't," replied Han. "I'll give you reading and writing lessons every day after supper. Maybe even fit in some math once a week to improve your numbers."
"I don't have to do it too, do I?" queried Jed.
"Yes, you do. You don't read as good as you should. Shouldha paid more attention to Sister Mary Aloysius back at the Home, instead of staring out the window all the time."
Jed groaned. "But her lessons were boring!"
Although he was trying to make a point Han couldn't help but smile. His cousin was right. All the lessons at the Home had been very boring, and in truth, he would probably have needed extra tuition too if he hadn't been two years ahead of Jed to begin with.
ooooo-OOO-ooooo
True to his word, Han drew up a schedule and began spending his evenings with the two boys working on their letters. However, it soon became clear that Billy had received very little schooling and therefore needed to go right back to basics. Han hadn't realised just how time consuming teaching someone to read from scratch could be, but luckily he found a supportive ally in Maisie Conlon who took it upon herself to help Jed, thereby leaving him time to focus all his efforts on Billy.
While Jed read Maisie's chosen book out loud and rested his ribs by doing nothing more than lounge about on a cot in the Tremont Place kitchen all day, Han worked long hours at the saloon honing his card skills at the blackjack table under Jenny's expert tutelage or spending time with Silky, totalling the daily receipts and making entries into the ledgers. This was when he wasn't moving crates of bottles from the cellar to the bar, or observing how the roulette wheel and faro tables were run. His hectic schedule meant that by the end of each day Han frequently found himself both physically and mentally exhausted. Never in his wildest imaginings would he have thought the saloon business could be so taxing.
Although Jenny would happily have had young Billy Black sit alongside her all day, Silky put him to work in the kitchen. He was good at following orders, something the cook, Irma, was grateful for. It also turned out that the boy caught on to numbers faster than he did letters, especially when it came to measuring ingredients. This was not a permanent arrangement, but Silky was not prepared for anyone in his employ, except for the ill or infirm, to sit around all day doing nothing. Billy would be allocated a more fitting job once Jed was up and about again.
In no time at all the day arrived when Doctor Coleman pulled his buckboard to a halt outside the house to check on Jed's recovery. After making his assessment, he declared that the strapping should stay in place in place for a further week, although it could be loosened a little, and so long as Jed didn't lift anything heavy he was now fit enough to accompany the others to the saloon each day.
Having decided that they could all do with smarter, better-fitting clothes to go with their new jobs, Han had used his first week's wages to go shopping, and now all three were dressed in calico shirts, canvas britches, and on their feet they wore stiff, brown leather boots. After all the hours spent in the warm kitchen, Jed was especially appreciative of the new woollen coat Han had bought for him.
Next morning the boys took their time walking to The Row. Silky was not with them — he had stayed the night at the saloon which was something he was inclined to do if the evening trade was better than usual. Exuding a credible façade of bonhomie, he would partake of several drinks with his regulars and at the same time keep a watchful eye on the action at the gaming tables. This allowed Alonzo and the additional evening barman, Monty Bramer, to concentrate their efforts on serving drinks while making sure that the increasingly intoxicated clientele didn't get out of hand.
The Row was no less busy than it had been the first time Jed had seen it. The horses and carts still appeared to be jostling for space; what was different, as they walked toward the Velvet Slipper, was the presence of several boys keeping pace with them on the opposite boardwalk.
"What they doin' that for?" he asked.
Han's eyes followed his gaze. "Don't take no notice. They do that every morning."
"Why?"
"I dunno."
Jed's eyes narrowed. "Don't you wanna know why?"
"Not particularly. And neither do you." Han stopped and seized Jed by the shoulders, staring him straight in the eye. "Look, we've got a chance at a good life here, so we're gonna keep our heads down and stay outta trouble, y' hear." From past experience he knew his cousin could be easily riled by the slightest provocative remark so, when he didn't receive an affirmative response, he persisted, "Y' hear me, Jed? Stay away from them!"
"I hear ya," mumbled the younger boy grudgingly.
"Good. Oh, look, Alonzo's opening up."
"Saludos, muchachos!" Alonzo spread his arms wide in greeting. "An' Señor Keed, he ees back!"
Han grinned at the barkeep's pronunciation of Jed's preferred name. "Is the boss around?"
"In hees room, but..."
Han didn't wait to hear the rest. He led the way upstairs and along the hallway. At the last door on the left he rapped his knuckles on the dark wood. When there was no answer he tried again, louder this time.
Suddenly, the door was wrenched open by a bleary-eyed, dishevelled Silky holding tightly onto the door frame for support; a loosely tied, floral, silk robe hanging off one shoulder. It had obviously been a long and eventful night.
"What!"
"We're just reporting for work Mister O'Sullivan," explained Han, "and I didn't know what you wanted Jed to do."
"Kid," corrected Jed, sourly. "How come Alonzo can remember, but you can't?"
Dark eyes flashed at the rebuke. "Could have something to do with me calling you Jed all my life, I expect."
"But if other folk can get it right, why—?"
"ENOUGH!" Silky dragged a trembling hand across his throbbing forehead. "Go... get some breakfast." The door slammed shut.
Jed immediately headed for the stairs. "You heard what he said."
"In case you forgot, Miz Conlon gave us breakfast less than an hour ago," Han reminded him.
"I ain't forgot, but another won't hurt," grinned Jed.
ooooo-OOO-ooooo
Later that same morning two blond heads touched as together Jed and Billy pored over a large map spread out on the desk of a slightly more sociable Silky O'Sullivan. The map was of the city of Denver, the most up to date copy Silky could find, and showed all the streets as well as the course and various crossings of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek. Several important landmarks were also labelled, such as the railroad depot, the United States Assay Office (later to become the Denver Mint), St Mary's Academy for Girls, and the St James Hotel on Curtis Street. Silky, however, was in the process of adding a few more details which he considered to be of much greater importance.
A newly-sharpened pencil tapped at a large cross on the map. "This is where we are. And right there..." Silky drew an arrow, "... is the Denver Pike Tavern. I want you boys to learn every possible route there and back."
"Sure, Mister O'Sullivan," said Jed. "We can do that, can't we Billy?"
Billy nodded. Even though he couldn't yet read all the street names properly he knew he would be able to memorize the map well enough.
"Good." Silky marked out a large square on the map then he opened the drawer of his desk and pulled out a blank piece of paper. Placing it on the table and handing Jed the pencil, he said, "Copy the area in this square onto this piece of paper, then go out and spend the rest of the day walkin' the streets you've drawn on it. Take the pencil with you. You'll need it to mark every alley in between; they aren't shown on here, but as runners you'll need to use them most of the time. They're real important."
Chewing thoughtfully on the end of the pencil Jed recalled how, shortly after they had absconded from the Valparaiso School for Waywards, he and Han had exploited a similar maze of alleyways. Neither of them had eaten for two days and after hours of unsuccessful begging, Han had concluded that in order to avoid starvation they had no alternative but to steal some food. Having selected what they thought to be the best stocked mercantile in town they hid in the shadow of the building opposite, watching. As soon as they were sure that no customers remained within the store they chanced a quick dash inside where they grabbed two loaves of bread, a handful of jerky, and a bag of candy from the display on the counter, adding an apple each from a barrel near the door on the way out. The irate shopkeeper had given chase, but they had made use of several interconnecting passageways and easily shaken off their pursuer.
Unfortunately, the last time they had felt desperate enough to steal from a store was the first time they had ended up in jail. Although no actual charges were brought against them and their incarceration was short-lived, Jed hadn't liked being behind bars.
With this in mind he asked, tentatively, "Mister O'Sullivan, sir, are we gonna steal stuff for you?"
Silky was a little taken aback by the boy's directness. "What makes you ask that?"
"'Cause me and Han always used alleys when we stole stuff."
Silky smiled to himself. "Oh, you won't be stealing anything," he assured Jed. "But staying out of sight will be a big part of your job."
Jed was relieved. He wasn't as adept at stealing as his cousin and didn't want to mess things up. Han had made it perfectly clear that he wanted to stay here.
"Get working on that map, then get out on the street and start walkin'," Silky ordered. You've got a week to learn every route."