Chapter 75
Silas and Cody stood outside the last cave an hour before Jack, Sam, and that other guy was to arrive. They were greatly intrigued by the four crates that were in the cave. However, they were scared to walk into the cave. They remembered what Jack had told them about what was waiting for the person who entered more than a few feet into the cave.
"Do you really think…?"
"I'm not sure, Cody. That third guy said anyone walked more than ten feet into that cave wouldn't walk out."
"Yeah…something about New Orleans. I wonder what happened there?"
"I'm not sure, but I'm also not sure if I believe this story or not. That third guy seemed like a flunky or something."
"He did. I don't even remember his name."
"Yeah…Rodgers or something."
The two men turned their attention back to the cave entrance. They could easily see the dollar signs inside the cave. If they could get the crates to themselves, they would have all the money. They wouldn't just be getting a small cut. The two crates of the Canadian rifles would bring a good bit of money, but it was the two crates from the states that intrigued them the most. Those two crates would more than easily double the money they could get.
Cody turned his head to his brother. "Do you think Rodgers did it correctly?"
"I'm not sure. He didn't seem too bright, nor did they seem to like him very much. Even his brother didn't seem to like him, but I'm not too sure." His voice trailed off.
"Maybe we should go in cautiously."
"Go ahead Cody. If you're willing to take that chance, I say go for it."
"I don't think so."
"Then I say we go with our original plan. We take that Rodgers guy out on the way to Medicine Hat. Then we take the crates, and all that money, for ourselves."
"What if we don't do that?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Instead of a one time payout, why don't we just use them? We could consistently ship these crates for them. Instead of getting one payday, we can have multiple paydays."
"True…it's easy money. All we are doing is shipping their crates. We are already shipping our crates. We don't have to risk stealing the guns to begin with. We just ship the stuff. This gets the Toronto Six extra money. You always said if we wanted to move up that we need to bring in extra money. This is perfect."
"True…we don't have the risk those guys do. We just pick up their product here and move it up the road to Medicine Hat and turn it over to our guy."
"Easy money. Since they are only dealing with us, we can turn in ten percent they are paying us."
"And we can keep the other five percent for us."
"Exactly."
"Perfect."
…
"What are you thinking Jack?"
Jack leaned back in his chair. He tapped his right leg with his finger. "Roy, what did you see yesterday? All of it."
Roy thought back on the time in the woods. The two whiskey runners completely forgot about his presence. He was able to observe everything without the fear of being noticed. That portion of the plan was perfect in planning and execution. It played in their favor.
He quickly ran through everything he saw. He covered the whole time in detail. "Wait…" He searched his memory. "…Cody…he had his sidearm on his right side, but I don't think he is right handed."
"Why would you say that?"
"He worked his horse with his left hand and mostly with his left leg. His index and middle finger on his left hand was crooked. He must have had some type of accident or something."
"So, he shoots right handed out of necessity." Jack whispered.
"Yes…I think so."
"Anything else?"
"No." Roy shook his head.
"Jack." Littleton stated slowly.
"What?"
"Silas, he asks a lot of questions."
"He does."
"I think he is naturally inquisitive, maybe nosey too, but he is someone who wants to know. I think he is the type of guy that covers himself well. At least from what I can see that far away."
Jack raised his hand to his chin and began to rub it in deep thought. Littleton is right. Silas does ask a lot of questions. Jack used that as a way of keeping tension in the conversation by claiming Silas was a mountie. What if Littleton is right? Silas would keep himself out of things just enough to not be captured.
"We all saw the greed that was in their eyes."
"That's true Jack." Littleton stated as everyone nodded their heads in agreement. He took a moment to gather his words correctly. He wanted to say it right. "Silas' plan in shipping the crates is really genius. Once he gets his crates with all the other building crates, they just blend in like all the other shipments. No one would question a building guy shipping twenty, thirty, forty crates. No agent wants to look through every one of those crates. I believe that may be Silas' plan or at least part of it. I don't think he's a dumb man."
Everyone around the desk sat quietly for a long moment. They were each digesting everything Littleton stated. Everything he stated made sense.
"Collins, what do you think?"
Collins looked in Jack's direction. "I think he's right. From my perspective, Silas was in control. You two shook him up a little bit more than a few occasions, but he rebounded and still got what he wanted. He wasn't in control, but he knew what he wanted. I don't think he's the dumbest of the Toronto Six."
"Roy, from your perspective, what do you think? You were close enough to hear everything but far enough away to see the whole picture." Jack asked.
I'm not sure if I completely agree with everything, but I do think Littleton and Collins are onto something here."
Jack nodded his head. He turned his attention to Sam. "Sam?"
"I mostly agree. I do think I was a little too close to the action to see the whole picture. I couldn't concentrate on the little things like they could. We were up front in the first row. Our focus was laser focused. But Jack, These three are good mounties. I think…"
Jack cut him off. "I think they are correct too." Jack grinned. "I do believe they are onto something. We need to change things around a little to throw them off."
"What are you thinking?"
"Instead of sending Roy with them and the crates, we move the crates with them only. Roy stays here or he goes to Medicine Hat separately. We won't ship the firing pins with the weapons."
"Great idea." Sam stated. "Why don't we send the firing pins to British Columbia to a guy. Those weapons are heavy paper weights without those firing pins. They can't sell them out from under us."
"Then we can wire the mountie headquarters. They can place an undercover mountie to ride along on the train. By the time that train and all those crates get to British Columbia, we would have a couple of days to form a plan on the arrest of them all. Plus, with Silas and Cody coming back from Medicine Hat with whatever they pick up and bring back east, we would have that on them too." Jack spoke to the group.
"Excellent plan." Littleton stated.
"They're expecting me to ride with them. They won't expect this change." Roy stated.
"And that throws them off their game. Plus, they wanted you two to trust them. You can spin this as a way for you to begin to trust them if they come through." Collins stated.
"Sam, you think we can spin this?"
"I do, Jack. I believe it's a great step. It brings in the trusting thing but also throws them off. They don't handle curve balls very well. It keeps Roy safe and allows us to push along the plan more."
…
Lee quickly looked up when his office door flung open. Rosemary came through the opening like a windstorm in late summer. He could easily tell that she had something on her mind.
"Rosey. How are you?"
"Oh Lee…I don't know how to answer that question."
He stood from his desk chair and walked around the desk and stood in front of his frantic fiancé. He placed his hands on her upper biceps to gain her attention.
"What is it?"
"We can't get married this Saturday!" She spoke fast but with a bit of a whimpering tone.
"And why not? I thought you said the dress will be ready?"
"It is ready. It's not the dress."
"Ok. Help me out. What's the problem?"
"The flowers…" Her voice trailed off. She covered her mouth with her right hand.
"The flowers?"
"Yes…the flowers cannot be delivered in time.
"Why don't we use wildflowers around town. The fields are beautiful with them and there are plenty to choose from."
"Lee! I have always dreamed of being surrounded by Chrysanthemums of varies colors. I can't get married without a bouquet of Chrysanthemums!" Her voice was high pitched. She couldn't believe Lee wasn't more understanding of her problem. She was a little taken back by his unconcerned expression. "Leland Coulter…you should know that!"
"You're telling me that you don't want to marry me this Saturday because the florist can't deliver a certain flower?"
"Chrysanthemums…not a certain flower."
"Rosey…you need to think about this. Marrying me is not as important as a Chrysanthemum?" The challenge in his voice was crystal clear.
Rosemary huffed for just a moment. The tone of Lee's voice and his words were beginning to settle her frantic attitude. Of course he was right. Lee was more important than a flower, even a flower she has wanted at her wedding since she was a young girl dreaming of her wedding day.
"There are other flowers along with the wildflowers that you can use. They are all beautiful. Plus, you will be the one decorating with them. Everything you do is beautiful."
She melted at his kind words. "Thank you." She sighed and laid her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and held her. "After your accident, the wedding is the most important thing, not a flower."
"Why don't we put some Chrysanthemums in the flower box when they come in? Maybe that will help you having them close."
"Perfect." She squeezed her hug a little tighter. She was appreciative that he could handle her outbursts so well. She may not like it at times, but she was grateful for it.
…
"What are you planning?"
"Mrs. P, I think Elizabeth is going to drive me crazy with making plans for JJ's birthday party." She laughed as she shook her head. "She stops by here every afternoon talking about the plans."
"Have they changed?"
"Absolutely not. We discuss the same plans every day. It's so cute that she is so adamant about making it perfect."
"I know what you mean. I think I can explain the plans backwards."
"Yeah."
Mrs. P smiled at the thought of her Bethie being a mom. "Elizabeth always wanted to be a teacher. Even from a small child, you could easily see it. She would line up her dolls and stuffed animals on the desk in her room and teach them how to read and write. She was so adorable."
"I bet. It's easy to see her teaching our children here."
"When she was in secondary school, she would tutor the younger children. She was so at ease doing it. All the children wanted her to tutor them. She was naturally good at it. I always thought she would be a good mother, but she never really talked about being a parent."
"Why is that?"
"I think she was so wrapped up in becoming a teacher. She just wasn't interested in courting. If there was a school dance or social event, Charles always stepped in easily enough."
"I think that was part of her problem with him and her relationship with Jack. She never learned the social aspect of adulthood. She never had created the boundaries in a friendship with a guy."
"I agree. She was just consumed with studies and her books."
"Mrs. P, may I ask you a question?"
"Sure Abagail."
"Do you think there ever was something between Elizabeth and Charles?"
"Through their friendship, it seemed like it. I honestly don't think she had any romantic feelings for him as a suitor. I do know she loved him as a friend. The problem was she never thought of that type of stuff. If it wasn't studies or books, then she didn't think about it very much."
Abagail nodded her head. There were times she wondered if Elizabeth did or not. The whole situation was confusing to her.
"I love seeing Bethie as a mother. She loves JJ with all of her heart."
"It happened within five minutes of them meeting for the first time in my cafe."
"I can see that. The way she looks at that little boy. It's pure love in her eyes. I think JJ opened that area of her heart that she filled with her students."
"I think you might be right. It's so easy to see."
"This little baby will be so loved."
"JJ says that he is getting a sister. He's pretty adamant about it."
"Oh…he's told me almost as much as Elizabeth has told me about the birthday plans. Those two are becoming more alike every day."
Abagail smiled. "I told that to Jack just the other day. That little boy acts like both Jack and Elizabeth. It's easy to see Jack and Elizabth in him."
"That boy is just special."
"I agree, Mrs. P." Both ladies smiled at the thought of JJ. "Can you imagine how the baby will be?"
"I do think that little one will be better than anything I could imagine."
"I agree. So, how is your portion of the planning going?"
Abagail chuckled. "How hard is it for me to plan a meal? She looked around her café.
…
Jack, Sam, and Roy approached the area. Collins and Littleton had left earlier. They wanted to be in position before everyone showed up. Jack glanced to his left just before the first patch of trees. He noticed Collins sitting on his horse under a tree. He thought it was odd. He wasn't close to where he was supposed to be, nowhere close. He made eye contact with the mountie, Collins shook his head.
"Something is wrong." Jack stated just loud enough for the two other riders to hear him.
"What?" Sam asked until he looked in the direction where Jack was looking. "Oh…" He stated as he noticed Collins in the trees. "This isn't good…"
"No. This isn't good." Roy stated. He immediately turned to his right to see if he could see Littleton. He didn't see him. "Littleton isn't around." He stated looking around.
"Heads up guys." Jack warned them. "Unlatch your holsters and rifles. Be ready." Sam and Roy nodded their heads as they prepared their weapons for quick and easy access. While they may have been alert before, they were even more now. Their heads were on a swivel trying to notice anything that was different or odd. At about a hundred yards from the entrance of their cave, Sam noticed Littleton behind some brushes. He was a good seventy five yards from where he should have been. He was set to be much closer. At this distance, if things went badly, he would be so far away that he wouldn't be of any help.
The three seasoned mounties didn't have to say anything. Their looks at each other said everything. Roy nodded his head. Then he slowed his horse so he would fall in line behind Jack and Sam.
"Jack…did you speak to Faith?"
"I did. I spoke to her yesterday. She knows to be ready for the next few days."
Sam nodded his head in understanding. They didn't have to explain the unspoken statement.
"Have you spoken to her?" Jack asked his head on a swivel looking around the area.
"For a few minutes last night. She was busy, but we're planning to meet up tonight for dinner."
"A date?"
"Not really a date." Sam's face turned a little red.
"Good for you. Faith is an intelligent and nice woman. If you feel comfortable, I wouldn't hesitate to follow through with her if she is open to it. You would be blessed to have her attention." Jack stated. He looked in front of them. "There." He nodded in front of them.
They all looked up and saw Silas and Cody in front of the cave. Their horses were tied up to a small tree that was about ten feet from the opening.
"They're here early." Sam stated.
"Yeah, that's why Littleton and Collins are further back. They didn't want to risk being seen."
"Smart." Sam whispered.
"Yeah, but they're further away and will take longer to get to us."
"Let's make sure nothing goes south." Roy whispered from behind them. "I've got you two covered."
"We're going to ignore you. Maybe, they will ignore you as well." Sam nodded at Jack's statement.
…
"Emily, would you please come and see me for a moment."
"Yes, Mrs. Thornton." She stood to walk toward her desk.
"Class, please continue to work on your spelling. Write each word five times. Then close your eyes and write it in your mind."
"Yes, Mrs. Thornton."
Elizabeth smiled at her class as they all concentrated on the blackboard and the words she had written on it before school began.
"Emily, thank you for coming and talking with me."
"Yes ma'am. Anything is better than spelling." Emily gave her teacher a nervous smile.
"I just wanted to tell you how proud of you I am. Your work in arithmetic is really impressive. You have come a long way since last year."
"Thank you, Mrs. Thornton."
"Keep up the good work, Emily."
"Yes ma'am." She gave her teacher a smile before turning around to walk back to her desk.
"Congratulations." JJ whispered as Emily took her seat beside him.
"Thanks."
They both looked up when Elizabeth cleared her throat. She barely shook her head. JJ and Emily knew what she meant. They shook their heads in understanding then they turned their attention back to the words on the blackboard.
…
"What has you two out so early?"
"We need to get the day going." Silas stated with a slight smile. It didn't go unnoticed by anyone.
"You didn't go in the cave, did you?" Roy asked. Neither Jack nor Sam turned to look in his direction nor did they answer him. Silas and Cody only looked in his direction for a split second and then turned their attention back to Jack and Sam. If they didn't pay attention to him, then they didn't need to either.
"You didn't step into the cave, did you?" Jack asked after a few long seconds of silence.
"No, you said not to. So, we didn't." Cody stated as he quickly looked at his brother.
"Good. We'll need to disarm it before anyone goes in there." Jack stated.
"Really?" Silas asked.
"If you don't believe us, go ahead." Sam stated nodding in the direction of the cave's entrance. He chuckled when neither brother made a move to the cave.
"Hey Roy. Go and do what you do." Sam stated without taking his eyes off the two men.
Roy quickly jumped off his horse and tied him up. He walked into the cave and found the small piece of sewing thread he had tied between two rocks. It wasn't broken. So, he knew no one walked past this section of the cave. He glanced up and saw the four crates were still stacked where he left them several yards away.
He waited a few more minutes to buy time. He did this to make the two men think he really did set something up.
"If he comes out without a body, then we can go forward."
"Sounds great. He can ride with us as we go to Medicine Hat. Once there, he is on his own." Silas stated.
"If things in there are what they should be, we will be shipping those crates with you. Roy will stay with us. I will ship the firing pins to our guy in B. C."
"Wait…that's not the plan!" Silas stated.
"It is now." Sam stated. "Jack's right, if things are the way it should be, we'll ship the crates with you and Roy will stay here."
"I don't think so." Cody stated.
"And why not?" Jack stated.
"That's not what we worked out. We have to stick with the plan."
"Why? You'll ship the crates like we talked about. The only difference is that Roy isn't going with you. We will ship the firing pins to our guy."
"We must follow through what we already agreed on." Silas demanded.
"No." Jack turned to Silas as he spoke. Jack raised his eyebrows. "You're still going to get your cut. What's the problem?"
"We just can't…"
Jack raised his eyebrows at the balking of this man. Something wasn't adding up. These whiskey runners were all about making money. Why would they care if they were paid?
Roy stood at the entrance of the cave completely forgotten about. He had his hand on his weapon ready to pull it at any moment. He felt the conversation was intense and full of contention. He noticed Sam wouldn't take his eyes off Cody while Jack was intently looking at Silas. Their focus was intense.
Littleton and Collins were too far away to hear the conversation. They wanted to get closer for better support, but they didn't want to risk giving away their position. They were leaning against the tree with their horses loosely tied to a nearby tree limb. They had their weapons up and aimed at the foreheads of the two whiskey runners. Even for them, things seemed off. Littleton was focused on Silas who was on the right. Collins was focused on Cody who was on the left. They were controlling their breathing with their fingers on the triggers. With one wrong flinch by any of the whiskey runners, they would pull the trigger to protect their brothers.
"Why?" Sam asked. He squeezed his weapon a little tighter. He could feel the tension rising.
"I've already told you. We can't change things this late in the game. Now, we will do what we have already talked about and agree upon." He emphasized the word 'we'.
"We have changed it." Jack did the same and nodded toward Sam. "It's this or nothing. It's our product."
"And we are moving it."
"We can find another guy with a wagon. You can't find another crate with these types of weapons. We hold the cards here. Not you." Jack's voice was firm.
"We'll see." Spate Silas.
Before Silas or Cody could react, Jack and Sam had pulled their weapons. Their sidearms were pointed at the two men's chests. They each took a step to close the distance between them. It was a total show of force. Littleton and Collins intensified their focus and zeroed in on their targets even more than before. Roy had his weapon pulled and zeroed in on the back of Silas' head. He was closest to him. He also took a step to his right. He wanted Jack out of his line of sight. If he had to fire his weapon, he didn't want to accidentally shoot Jack.
Silas and Cody only saw the end of the barrels of Jack's and Sam's weapons. They didn't even see them pull their weapons. They had pulled them so quickly that the two whiskey runners didn't have time to react. Their hands involuntary raised to about shoulder height in surrender. They knew they couldn't pull their weapons before it was too late.
"I don't know who you think is in charge here, but it isn't you!" Jack snarled.
Sam took a few more steps to stand about four feet away from Cody. His weapon was still aimed at Cody's chest. Cody could see that the hammer on Sam's revolver was already pulled back ready to fire. "Do we have an issue?"
"No issues here." Cody stated with some fear in his voice. "We're good…right Silas?"
"Right." Silas squeaked out just loud enough to be heard.
Jack and Sam stared down the two men for a few more moments. "Good." Jack and Sam stated at the same time. They slowly lowered their weapons. Never breaking eye contact with the men. Roy followed suit and placed his weapon back in his holster before the two bad guys noticed him.
"You challenge either one of us again, and this will end very badly for you."
"Don't try me on this." Added Sam. "This is getting very old with you two."
"Fine." Silas stated with a little more confidence than he did before when the weapon was aimed at his chest.
…
"Pastor Hogan…may I have a moment of your time?"
"Oh…" Frank mumbled under his breath. He knew he was about to get fussed at. "Mr. McMahan. It's great to see you. How are you?"
"Huh…humm." Mr. McMahan shook his head. "I noticed there are several large logs by my woodshed."
"Yes, sir. Mrs. McMahan told me to drop the logs off there for the field day. She said that all of your wood chopping tools are there, and it would just be easier in case we need anything."
"I suppose." He questioningly asked.
"Mr. McMahan, I have a problem I think you can help me with."
"How so?"
"I have a gift for someone. It's a good gift, but the receiver of the gift isn't going to be so happy about it. He's been a guy his whole life. He's provided for his family and has been very helpful to his community. Someone has a gift for them that is helpful but won't be accepted too well."
"Well…is the gift given in true humility?"
"It is."
"Is the gift truly needed?"
"It is."
"Then the receiver shouldn't rob the giver of the blessing."
Frank smiled. He knew Mr. McMahan wouldn't be too happy, but he had him with his own words. When Mr. McMahan saw Frank's little smirk, he knew he had been had.
"Oh…that's sneaky Pastor." He shook his finger at Frank.
"Maybe, but I needed all the help I could get."
"I suppose you did."
"Mr. McMahan, this isn't charity. You could do the work yourself. However, you and your wife have been such a blessing to this community. We wanted to show you how much we appreciated all you have done for us."
"Fine." He playfully huffed. "But that's all."
"Well…"
…
Jack quickly glanced at Roy, who was still close to the entrance. Roy slightly nodded his head. Then he moved his stare to Sam. He nodded his head. Jack reciprocated.
"Fine. Let's get these crates loaded." Jack stated.
"Roy, did you get everything ready?"
"Sure is Sam." He stated as the four men turned their attention to him. This was the first time they all looked at him since he walked into the cave several minutes ago.
"Lead the way." Sam stated.
Sam led the way into the cave with Sam, Jack, Silas, with Cody following. As they walked in, Silas and Cody quickly looked around trying to figure out what Roy did to the cave. They couldn't see anything out of the ordinary except for a lot of footprints and scuff marks in the dirt. While they couldn't figure it out, the footprints were troubling. They knew he did something. They walked another twenty yards and they came to the four crates.
Sam and Roy took hold of one crate while Silas and Cody took hold of the next crate. Jack looked on as if he was the boss. That was determined by Sam. Jack was against it, but Sam and the other mounties won that argument.
After loading the last of the crates, Jack pulled on the ropes to make sure the crates were tied down well.
"That's not going anywhere." He stated as he flipped the last rope.
"Good. We'll be in Medicine Hat at the end of the day. We'll turn over our crates and your crates this evening. We'll pick up our items we are bringing back tomorrow morning."
"Fine. When will we see you again?"
"The day after. The crates will be loaded on the train tomorrow and delivered to B. C. early the next morning."
"Then our guy should wire us when he takes possession of the merchandise." Sam spoke. Jack nodded his head in agreement.
"And we will get paid on Monday."
"If we receive the wire tomorrow and we see you the next day, we can give you the money then. That would be Friday."
"Really?" Cody stated with enthusiasm. The greed is easily seen in his eyes.
"Our guy will put the money into our bank account. We can pay your cut then." Jack agreed. He and Sam shared a knowing look. If they could see Silas and Cody with whatever illegal merchandise they were hauling back east, they could add to the charges against them. Plus, with them arrested and the men who were shipping the crates on the train or in B. C., they will have arrested four of the Toronto Six. If they were lucky, any one of the four will turn on the other two.
"Perfect." Silas smiled big.
Jack turned to face Sam. Silas and Cody were behind them. Roy was on the other side of the wagon.
"You good?" Jack asked Sam.
"I am. It's great that we are getting these to B. C. and getting paid."
As Sam spoke, Silas winked at Cody. He had grown extremely tired of being disrespected by these two. Cody was too. They decided last night that they needed to earn respect from these two bullies. Cody nodded his head. His facial expression turned from normal to extremely serious.
Roy caught the wink and change in Cody's expression. He also noticed the change in the two men's body posture. They stiffened and stood a little taller. He knew something was going down. As a predetermined signal, Roy whistled like a bird. As he did, Silas and Cody began reaching for their sidearms.
When Jack and Sam heard the distinct Black-Capped Chickadee sound, they immediately turned and punched the person in front of them without thinking It was a signal they knew well. Jack decked Cody and Sam punched Silas. Cody and Silas immediately fell backwards on their backsides. Their hands immediately went to their faces.
Jack and Sam stepped forward to stand over the two whiskey runners. Anger was easily seen on their faces.
When Jack and Sam punched the two men, Silas and Cody had just reached for their guns. The punch landed just as they were pulling their weapons from the holsters. They let go of their guns and they were now laying on the ground. Jack kicked away Cody's weapon.
"This is your last chance!" Sam hissed.
"You do that again, and I will end you!" Jack spate pointing at Cody. "You will not do anything like that again."
As Jack and Sam were yelling threats at the whiskey runners, Littleton and Collins stepped to the edge of their hiding spots with their sidearms already pulled. They stopped when they noticed Roy shaking his head no. He was letting them know not to come. Everything was under control. Roy moved to the end of the wagon. He was standing behind Jack and Sam.
"Do you understand?"
"Fine." Cody huffed.
When Silas didn't say anything, Sam punched him again to make sure they understood. Silas nodded his head.
"With that understood, I hope we don't have to have this conversation again." Jack hissed.