Chapter Five

The moment Fred and Mr. Stone had stepped into the back office and shut the door, Jarrod took advantage of being left alone and sent off a telegraphhimself, but not before taking out some money and laying it on Mr. Stone's desk...By the time Fred and Mr. Stone came out of the back office, Jarrod had left the building.

It was close to noon as forty-nine-year-old Charles Alan Baker Sr. sat behind his large and sturdy mahogany desk. Most of the time the salt-and-peppered haired gentleman didn't feel a day over thirty-other days he was sure Father Time was out to get him. It had already been a long day. He glanced at his desk. Various papers, a number of legal documents being among them, were laid out in front of him. Though, he'd had to be careful when spreading the paperwork out. That might not have been the case only, unlike the majority of his colleagues, he kept a small inkwell on his desk, along with a quill pen. He'd had people ask him many times. 'Haven't you ever heardof something called a pen-or even a pencil?' Charles would simply laugh and reply with something along the lines of 'I'll die with the quill in my hand.'

Mr. Baker then looked around his office. The east and south walls both held built-in bookshelves which were chock full of books. He was sure if he tried to add even the thinnest of books, the other books would protest- and the shelves would cry out in pain. When it came to the west wall, a fireplace was right in the center of it -though no fire currently burned within it. Also, more than one certificate could be seen, along with a couple of pictures on the same wall. All had been hung very methodically by his wife. There was also a safe that sat in the corner of the same light in the room entered through the large windows on the north side of the room-directly behind him.

He would have loved to simply take off on a vacation and forget all about his work and the myriads of people he saw roaming around Merced. However, the telegram his wife had handed him a few moments before had both surprised and puzzled him. He had not heard from Jarrod Barkley for quite a while. 'So much for a vacation, telegrams from Jarrod usually wind up meaning a lot of foot work on my part' Charles thought as he opened the telegram that was in his hands. Before he even began reading, he thought 'this is rather long for a telegram, must have cost Jarrod a mint'. However, he stiffened in shock as he read the message his friend had sent.

Paperwork filed at Merced Courthouse STOP Papers say that Nick and one Mariah are married STOP Nick only knows about the bull a friend of Adam's and Adam are delivering STOP Would you find out who filed the papers STOP Would you find out who this Mariah is STOP Jarrod Barkley

"What?" Charles said out loud even as he recalled sitting close enough to Nick's and the Snooks' table to hear their conversation. He also had had no problem hearing what had been said by Adam Mitchell, along with seeing his son, Charles Alan Baker Jr. hand Nick Barkley the paper to sign. Later, Mr. Baker had talked with his son, Charles Jr. 'Jarrod's brother had a few drinks, but he didn't act or talk as if he were drunk. Were my son and I wrong about that?' Charles Sr. thought as he stood up, retrieved his suit jacket from the coat rack that stood next to his office door and left the room.

Judith, his faithful brownish-gray haired wife slash secretary of thirty years, was sitting behind her desk in the lobby when her husband shut his office door behind him. Due to the troubled look she saw in his eyes, she asked cautiously, "Are you alright, dear?"

"I'll be fine." He gave her a kindly smile. "However, I am going to Stockton; I won't be gone any longer than three days. Please, reschedule any appointments for the next few days." He would have asked her to come along only she'd made it crystal clear when they first married-and restated it more than once- if he wasn't going to be gone more than three days, she had no interest in doing anything but staying home. "If something prevents me from returning as planned, I'll send for you."

Judith grinned. "You better."

Once he'd kissed his wife, Mr. Baker hurried to their home to pack a bag, send a short reply to Jarrod and then wasted no time heading to the train station to *catch a train near Merced that would take him into Stockton. However, just as he arrived at the train station, he bumped into Adam Mitchell and shocked the man by telling him about Nick and what the rancher was expecting from Adam and Charles Jr.

Adam looked as if he was going to drop to the ground. "What?"

"See for yourself." Mr. Baker handed him the telegram. He silently laughed at the comical shocked look that again appeared on Adam's face as the man read Jarrod's message.

"I thought he knew what we were talking about! I mean, he took the paper and signed it without half looking at it!" Adam exclaimed as he handed the paper back to his acquaintance's father.

Recalling what he'd heard Nick and the other two men talking about as his son and Adam walked up to their table, Charles Sr. couldn't help but start laughing as he realized what had happened. "They were talking about cattle! He made an assumption! Someone should tell that man never to assume anything and to always carefully read anything you intend to sign!" He then forced himself to stop laughing-and asked if Adam and one of his brothers were in a position to deliver the bull Nick was thinking about. "I might as well pay you to do it; it will be my wedding gift. That is, my paying you will free Nick's money up for other things."

Adam shook his head-even as he grinned from ear to ear. "My brothers and I have to go that way anyway. When it comes to paying me, just give me enough to cover any food I need to take with me. Anything above that you can give to Nick-tell him it's my gift to him! Though, I know my brothers, they'll want all their money. Though, I don't see why you don't simply go to the telegraph office and send a reply back."

"I have other business I can take care of as well; I wired Jarrod and told him I was traveling to Stockton and would talk to him there." The Merced attorney smiled even as his eyes danced.

"And you want to see Nick's reaction when he is told what happened!" Adam, who wished he could be a fly on the wall, started laughing-even as he knew he best be ready to run when he and his brothers delivered Nick's bull. His loud laughter turned into quiet chuckling as Mr. Baker quickly wrote a note for the bank instructing them to give Adam *fifteen dollars out of the Bakers' business account

."Now, I need to catch a train." Charles Sr. started grinning wider as he hurried to do just that, leaving Adam still chuckling as he went in search of his brothers.

A/N According to my research on the internet, Southern Pacific Central Valley's main line in Stockton served ranches in the east valley and re-connected near Merced. Exactly when that stopped, it didn't say-only that it was eventually abandoned.

A/N I don't know how much one would have been paid to move any amount of cattle back then, only the internet claims a typical cowboy made $25 to $ 40 a month. Since it wouldn't take a whole month to take one bull from Merced to Stockton…they get $15.

A/N Thanks for the laugh I got when I read the reviews about not signing anything before you read it. That fact...and 'never assume anything', along with Vol lady's post in The Study on another site, are what has brought this story about.