Rimfire Bride

by Sara Luck

  The first person who passed by the store didn’t even glance toward the window, but the next person was an elderly man who was shuffling along leaning on a cane. When he came to Jana’s window, he stopped. Then he began to rap on the window, trying to get her attention, but she stood as still as she could. Within a minute, he was joined by a small crowd of men.

  Standing across the street, leaning casually against a post, Jana saw Drew Malone. He was grinning the way she imagined the Cheshire cat grinned in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, a book she had read to her students. Although she had not acknowledged any other gentleman who had stood in front of the window, she met his gaze directly and smiled discreetly as she nodded her head in his direction. In response, he tipped his hat and walked away.

  For the rest of the day, Jana changed outfits every hour and got back in the window for ten minutes, before coming back into the store as a salesclerk. The crowds grew larger both outside and in the store. Also, and this was important, women began to be a part of the crowd.

  Before the end of the day, Jana had sold eleven dresses, ranging in price from $3.50 all the way up to one gown that cost $14. The store brought in $96 that day, which was more than Watson had made for the entire week, up until this date. “This is wonderful,” Mr. Watson said. “I’ve never had anything that created so much attention. But don’t expect sales to be this brisk tomorrow.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because today is Election Day and all the folks will be caught up in that frenzy. No, I’m afraid tomorrow will be a dead day for sales.”

  “We’ll just have to choose some of your most spectacular dresses to entice customers to come in tomorrow,” Jana said.

  “I tell you, they won’t be up this way. Everybody will be hanging around the courthouse tonight, waiting to see if this Citizens’ Ticket Colonel Lounsberry is pushing is going to win. They’ll all be tuckered out tomorrow.”

  Jana was quiet for a moment, then said, “What if the dresses went to where the people are? Rather than standing in the window for ten minutes, why couldn’t I walk down to the courthouse and mingle with the people who are there?”

  “That would be fine, but how would they know the dresses were from the Emporium?”

  “Promotion, Mr. Watson. Promotion. Everybody loves a sale. We could offer a discount for any dress sold between Wednesday and Saturday of this week. Have some cards printed up that would have to be brought to the store to get the ten percent off or whatever amount you choose to give. Maybe we could even have a jar with lots of cards in it and one would be as high as fifty percent off. That way people could draw their own discount. I know I would want to come to your store if I thought there was a chance I could get a new Christmas dress at half price.”

  Mr. Watson was smiling broadly. “Remind me to buy a big steak dinner for Drew Malone. You, my dear, are a born merchandiser. Take care of the store while I run down to the Tribune office to have some cards printed up. When I come back, you can start wandering around, but I expect you’ll do the most good tonight, when they start posting the returns.”

  “What time do you think the biggest crowd will be there?”

  “Around ten o’clock I would say. By then most of the vote counting will be done.”

  “Will you be at the courthouse?”

  “Of course, everybody will be there.”

  “You know, I’m looking forward to this. It sounds exciting,” Jana said.

  “Oh, it is.” Watson picked out another dress and held it out for her to see. “And this is the dress I want you to wear tonight.”

  “I couldn’t wear that one. It’s too beautiful. If there’s a big crowd, what if someone spilled something on the dress? Then we wouldn’t be able to sell it.”

  “Jana, I don’t intend to sell the dress you’ll wear tonight. It’s yours.”

  “Mine?” Jana asked, as if not sure she had heard him correctly.

  “Yes. You’ve done such a good job, you’ve earned it.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Tears glistened in Jana’s eyes.

  “Did you vote?” Clement Lounsberry called to Drew as he passed by the Tribune office.

  “Of course I voted. It looks like we had a big turnout, thanks to all the hard work you’ve done. Tell me, Clem, do you think the Citizens’ Ticket has a chance of winning? I mean, you are going up against the establishment.”

  “Yes, I do. And it’ll be thanks to the registry law you drew up. A riverboat landed down at the river this morning—all her passengers thought they were going to get to vote, just like the last time. You remember two years ago when the crew of the Butte voted at the landing and then some of them voted in all three wards?”

  “Yes, of course I remember.”

  Lounsberry chuckled. “Well, that didn’t work for them this time. I think both the Democrats and the Republicans are going to be in for a rude awakening come tomorrow morning when they’re all out of a job.”

  “I hope you’re right, Colonel, but a lot of money has changed hands. It just depends on how fed up the citizens of Bismarck are with all the chicanery that’s been going on around here.”

  “Will you be at the courthouse watching the returns tonight?” Lounsberry asked.

  “If I can get the boys settled down and in bed in time, I’ll be there.”

  “I thought you hired Mrs. Considine to take care of those boys.”

  “I did, and she’s doing a pretty good job with them, but I try to spend as much time as I can with them. You know Sam’s in school now, and I try to listen to him read every night.”

  “Is young Sam doing all right? I mean, everybody was so worried about him after . . .”

  “He’s doing his best. He’s talking again, and that’s good.”

  “Frank’s right you know. You need to find—”

  “Oh, no, not you, too.” Drew chuckled.

  “It never hurts to look. That’s all I have to say. I’ll see you tonight.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  Drew usually walked all the way down Main Street, turning over on Eighth Street to get to his home on Thayer, thus avoiding the spot where Addie had been killed, but tonight for some reason he went up Fifth, then turned down Meiggs, the street that passed by the Custer Hotel.

  He smiled as he passed the hotel, and his mind wandered to Jana Hartmann. It pleased him that she had broken her pose for him when he had watched her tableau in the window this morning. When he met her in the Sheridan House, he had thought she was an attractive woman, but seeing her dressed in the latest fashions with her hair artfully arranged, he had thought she was more than attractive. She was beautiful.

  A goodly number of his fellow citizens apparently agreed with him. Several times throughout the day he had looked down the street toward Watson’s Emporium, and every time he looked, he had seen a crowd gathered in front of the window, fully as many men as women.

  And why not? The beautiful and stylish dresses, Drew had to admit, were somewhat daring. Watching her bravery and good humor today, he had felt a strong attraction toward her, but he didn’t know what to think about that attraction. It seemed sexual, as if to a wanton woman. But was he being unfair?

  No, it wasn’t just her physical appearance that drew him to her. She was a spunky lady; she’d showed him that in the way she’d reacted to Jason Richards’s attempt to buy her vote at the Sheridan yesterday at lunch. She also had a good sense of humor; he could see that today, by the way she was reacting to the people who had gathered around Watson’s store window.

  Many people would be intimidated when they were the center of attention, but Jana’s smiles, body posture, facial expressions, and eye movements showed her to be at ease with herself. That was a most admirable trait.

  As Drew approached the Custer, he slowed his pace and looked into the lobby. He didn’t see Jana, or anyone else, not even Tom McGowan. At just that moment, two gentlemen left the bar and came out onto the street.

  “I don’t know how Tom
can make money doin’ that, but I’ll be coming back tomorrow, sure thing,” one man said.

  “Good eats at the Custer—and for free—that’ll bring more people to the bar.”

  “That stew was right tasty, and that little ole gal they got cookin’, why she’s a sweetheart, don’t ya know. A pretty little thing, too.”

  The two men, who were not in any way drunk, crossed the street and Drew could no longer hear their conversation. He wondered who the “little ole gal” was, but he had a pretty good guess. Maybe he would have to stop by the Custer some evening and sample the free food.

  Shaking his head at his own folly, he hurried on home to spend some time with the boys before he put them to bed.

  Returning to the hotel that evening, Jana took Mr. Watson’s package up to the room, then changed into a plain skirt and waist, before going down to the saloon to check on Greta. When she walked in, Greta was standing behind a table, ladling out dippers of stew from a black kettle. Just then, Tom McGowan came from the little kitchen carrying another kettle.

  “Hi, Jana, have you tasted your sister’s stew yet?”

  “No, but I’d love to.”

  “You’d better get a bowl quick. I thought Greta was making way too much, but it’s going like hotcakes. When this pot’s gone, it’s gone,” Tom said.

  “It’s that good?”

  “It is now.” Tom smiled. “Carl and me, why, we talked her into putting in a lot more black pepper than she was using, and this pot’s got a whole bottle of red-pepper sauce. It’s dang good, if I do say so myself.”

  Jana laughed. “You’re scaring me, Tom. I’m not sure I want to taste this stuff.”

  Just then, Greta saw Jana, and a wide smile crossed her face. Jana thought she had never seen her sister look happier.

  “Why don’t you two go on back to the kitchen and sit a spell? I’ll do the serving,” Tom said.

  “All right, thank you, Tom,” Greta said. “Come on, Jana, I haven’t eaten yet either.” Greta ladled two bowls from the pot, and the sisters went to the little room behind the bar.

  “I’m so tired, but it’s a good tired,” Greta said when she almost fell into a chair sitting beside a small table.

  “You’re sure this work isn’t too hard for you?” Jana sat down beside her sister. She lifted a spoonful of the stew to her mouth and blew on it gently as Greta eagerly awaited her reaction. “Greta, this is good! I knew you could cook, but I didn’t know you could cook this well.”

  “I didn’t know it either,” Greta replied with a big, proud smile. “But I can, and, oh, Jana, I actually enjoy it.”

  After the last of the stew was served to the saloon patrons, Jana helped Greta tidy up the kitchen. After the sisters washed and dried the bowls and spoons, Jana practically dragged Greta to their room.

  “I’ve got to go get dressed,” Jana said.

  “Get dressed? For what?”

  “I’m going down to the courthouse tonight for my job. Why don’t you come with me? Mr. Watson says everyone will be there watching the election returns, and I’m going to be passing out discount cards to get customers to come to the store.”

  “He’s making you work that late?”

  “Oh, no, it’s not him. This was my idea. I want him to think his store can’t get along without me.”

  Jana untied the package Mr. Watson had given her and removed a beautiful outfit.

  “This is absolutely gorgeous,” Greta said as she picked up the dress. “Wouldn’t you love to have a dress like this?”

  “It is mine, can you believe it? Mr. Watson gave it to me.”

  “He gave it to you?”

  “Yes, he did, so you can wear it, too. But right now, I need you to help me get into it.” Jana removed her clothing.

  The dress was an orange-tinted satin with a plush green velvet collar. The bodice had insets of silk folds that were embroidered with gold lace and green chenille. Contrasting with the tinted satin were shaped panels of the green velvet in both the sleeves and the skirt. Then in the back, Greta carefully arranged the heavy drapery so that the orange satin foot plaiting still showed.

  “You certainly won’t need a coat tonight,” Greta said as she placed a green-lace-and-feather hat on Jana’s head. “Mama could make three dresses out of the material that’s in this one dress.”

  “I know. And to think that today I’ve had on seven outfits that are just as fine as this one.”

  “Seven! What do you do at that store?”

  “Let me show you what I do. I stand in the window, and I do this.” Jana began striking poses, making each new pose more extreme than the one before until she had Greta laughing so hard that tears were coming. But soon the laughter turned to wheezing and coughing spasms.

  “Oh, Greta, I’m sorry.” Jana got a cool cloth from the washbasin and began to wipe Greta’s brow. “This is the first time I’ve heard you cough since we’ve come to Dakota.”

  “I think you’re right. It must be the climate.” Greta began to take deep breaths and the coughing began to subside. “It was worth it, though, because it was so good to laugh. But I think I’ll lie down for a while. You go on to the courthouse and I’ll stay here and rest.”

  “All right, but I’m going to tell Tom that you aren’t feeling well, so he can check in on you.”

  “Please don’t tell him. If he thinks I’m sick, he may not want me to be cooking.”

  “I understand.” Jana stood at the door looking back at her sister, who looked so pale against the white sheet of their bed. “I don’t know when I’ll be back. Mr. Watson said they really don’t know anything until about ten o’clock.”

  “I’m fine. Really. And, Jana, you look beautiful.”

  SEVEN

  When Jana arrived at the courthouse at a little before ten o’clock, a small number of people had already assembled. She searched the crowd looking for Mr. Watson and found him standing on the courthouse steps.

  “There you are. I was beginning to think you might have changed your mind.”

  “Oh, no, I just know we’re going to sell a lot of clothes tonight. How can we not, when they see this beautiful dress?”

  “Well, let’s just see how good of an advertisement it is. There aren’t many people right now, but when the band gets here, the excitement will step up.”

  “There’ll be a band?”

  “Oh, yes, indeed, the band that plays at Whitney’s Opera House will be here soon. So when it does, you just start circulating and passing out those cards.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Oh, I saw you in the window today,” a young woman who introduced herself as Mary Clark said, when Jana approached her. “And I thought what a clever way to advertise new dresses. I talked Mr. Clark into going into the store with me.” Mary laughed. “He said if the dress would look as good on me as it did on you, he would buy it.”

  “Well, I’m sure it would. Did he buy it for you?”

  The woman tittered demurely as she looked down. “Yes, he did.”

  “That’s wonderful, and here is a way to save Mr. Clark some money. If you bring this card in by Saturday, Mr. Watson is giving a sale price on anything you buy.”

  “Oh, how wonderful!” Mary said enthusiastically.

  Several of the other women who were standing nearby heard Jana’s comment, and they asked for cards as well. Many had seen her in the window, and Jana felt a bit like stage actresses must feel when they are greeted by people they don’t know. Although she would never have thought so, she was actually rather enjoying the attention, and the idea that she might even be selling more of Mr. Watson’s dresses.

  “My friends!” a man shouted, climbing up to the top of the steps in front of the courthouse. He stretched his hands out toward the crowd. “My friends!”

  “What are you doing up there, Colonel Lounsberry?” someone called out to him. “It’s a little late for speechifying, ain’t it? The polls has all done closed.”

  The others in the crowd laughed,
but someone shouted, “Let the colonel speak!”

  Jana recognized the latter as Frank Allen, Drew Malone’s law partner.

  “My friends,” Lounsberry began, “not all the results are yet in, but the early indications are that the people of Burleigh County aren’t going to allow claptrap politics any longer. Two or three men didn’t buy the vote this time. Not McLean, not Stoyell, not Griffin, not Richards—nobody but the people, irrespective of nationality or party, have the right to choose who shall serve them, and knowing their rights, they dare maintain them!”

  Lounsberry literally shouted the last few words, and they were met by loud cheers and hurrahs from those gathered.

  “I think we owe a debt of gratitude to Charles Healey and John Foley for the most excellent work they have done at the polls in the interest of the citizens’ cause. They were ever on the alert, working from early this morning until tonight in our cause. They deserve every consideration, and the time may well come when this appreciation will be shown.”

  Again there were cheers.

  “But the evening has just begun. There will be dancing in the streets tonight as the people of Bismarck take back their town—not with violence, but with the ballot box!”

  “Good evening,” Drew Malone said as he stepped up beside Jana, who was standing near the back of the gathering.

  “Drew,” Jana replied with a big smile.

  “I just got here. Has your friend Mr. Richards been defeated yet?”

  Jana chuckled. “I checked his numbers, and so far, it looks bad for him.”

  “Let’s hope the numbers hold up, not only against him, but against all the others who are just as corrupt as he is.”

  Just then the returns for the Galloway Precinct were posted, and a loud cheer went up.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, let the music begin,” a man said as he climbed up beside the slate board and pointed toward a band that had just come up. Immediately, the musicians began playing a rousing polka, and the dancing started.

  Offering his arm to Jana, Drew asked, “May I have this dance with you, madam?”