Where Fortune Lies

by James Short

  So the girl who could not sit without busying her hands, who could not stand without doing at least three different chores, who played all her pieces on the spinet presto, had to wait, and worse, had to struggle with the hundred questions that only Franklin could answer. Still, there seemed no other course of deliverance than to follow Franklin’s instructions and at the right moment step into his role, pray God took pity and cured her blindness for a minute so she could open the door and see whatever else was necessary to do. Could it be simpler? Or harder? And if she failed? She set about sewing a stiletto into her nightgown just in case. Kurtz’s wedding night with her would his or her last night.

  She heard Tom ride up and enter the house at four. A half eternity later, the clock chimed five, then after three quarters of an eternity, six. It was time. Penelope stood. Immediately, her mind went blank, and a wave of panic swept over her. She fought off dizziness as she weaved towards the door of her room, and with difficulty, located its handle. Penny hung there panting.

  “How can I possibly do this?” she whispered to herself. “I can’t even find my door.” She straightened and mastered her balance. As Penny turned the handle, the thought occurred to her that this is what it must feel like to go into battle.

  “Miss, you’re not to leave!” She had forgotten a guard was posted outside her room.

  “If your boss tells me to return to my boudoir, then I will, but remember before you dare touch me tomorrow I will become Conrad’s wife.”

  Although this sounded like a bluff, it wasn’t. She was convinced she could have killed him with her bare hands or any of Kurtz’s underlings who stood in her way, being merely weak pale versions of their master.

  Tom Plays for High Stakes

  Jacinto drove Tom up to the Boller mansion at the appointed hour.

  Kurtz greeted him at the door saying “You’re more of a fool than I expected. Instead of making a run for it, you choose to eat cold dirt? Because of a girl! Some pleasure can be got from the exercise of breaking her in, but you’ve already done that. If she didn’t belong to you, I wouldn’t give a fingernail for her.”

  Tom lifted the bulging saddlebag with five thousand in cash. The gold had been left at Jacinto’s.

  Kurtz opened one of the saddlebags. “Don’t look near enough to me.”

  “Twenty-five grand is a lot to collect on such short notice. I’m arranging a loan. It should be ready in an hour or two. Instead of waiting, we might as well start.”

  “A loan?” Kurtz shook his head. “I wouldn’t call you creditworthy at the present, however since you’re a fool enough to suggest our game, have it your way.”

  A round mahogany table was set up in the large ballroom. Madeleine Boller occupied a rocking chair in the corner, the serene expression on her face showing that she had recently imbibed her glass of sherry with its tincture of laudanum. One of Kurtz’s thugs sat slumped on a stool, his legs pressed together, obviously bored, but too intimidated by the presence of his boss to try to amuse himself. Franklin wasn’t present. Tom assumed he was keeping out of sight until the time came.

  The plan called for Jacinto to wait outside in his wagon. Two more coffins had been added, making four coffins lying crosswise covered by a tarp. It was meant to appear suspicious, and Jacinto’s explanation that he intended to drop them off at a farm on the way back was meant not to ring true. The guards cautiously inspected the coffins, three of which were empty, the fourth still occupied by the tramp whose sickly sweet emanation had been slightly lessened by a fresh sprinkling of sage and ammonia salts, although not enough that the guards wouldn’t form an aversion to lifting the tarp.

  If Kurtz decided to make an issue of the lack of funds, Tom would send Jacinto to collect a portion of the gold so they could begin. It was important not all of the money be at the table to start. In any event, Tom intended to lose purposely and, seemingly, in a last-ditch effort to save himself, send Jacinto a second time to fetch the remaining gold.

  Meanwhile, Penelope would come down to the lower level and sit near the entrance of the parlor. When Jacinto returned from collecting the gold, three of the Flats’ best men would be hiding between the coffins underneath the tarp. Tom carefully chose the three— cool rogues formidable in a fight because they enjoyed it so much. At the same time, a dozen men—a second desperado contingent of the Flats’ people with a few adventurous Anglos from the town proper—would be creeping up the slope along a trench. In the dimming light and thickening fog, they would be able to get within a hundred feet of the house.

  Jacinto would stop his wagon near the front door, which Franklin had already opened. Before the wagon was inspected again, Jacinto was to offer a flask of whiskey to the guards in a loud voice. That was the signal for Franklin to quickly pull Penny into the parlor and for the men on the slope to begin firing, distracting the guards who would take cover and forget the wagon. A second later, Jacinto and the men in the wagon would rush the open door.

  Once the attackers were inside, Franklin would shut and bolt the door and assist them in whatever way he could. Tom’s job was to take care of Kurtz when the shooting began—turn over the table on him, grapple with him, hopefully, wound or kill him, at least keep him occupied until the others came to his aid. Speed, surprise, daring, and luck could carry the day.

  “We have no choice but to be brazen,” Tom had stated. “If we succeed, there will be fifty thousand on the table to share out, and I won’t take a cent.”

  Kurtz pointed to the chair, smiling, and announced, “As the host, and as a man privileged soon to be married to the beautiful daughter of this household, I’m in a generous mood. I give you your choice of games.”

  “Five card draw.”

  “In one way I envy you,” Kurtz broke out two decks with plain backs and square corners as he talked. “I wouldn’t like to do anything half so much on my last night on earth as to play a game of poker.”

  “Unless you cheat, I may win.”

  “Cheat? I never had to cheat. Hardly ever lose either and then mostly to cheaters. Very early on I’ve made them pay the price.” Kurtz said as he shuffled and started to deal out the cards.

  “I doubt you can tell the difference between a cheater and the man who has bested you,” Tom said.

  Kurtz grunted and went on, “Do you wonder why I use these decks instead of the new-fangled fancy back cards? Because it’s easier to spot the work of a cheat with these decks. But let’s talk about this game now. Five card draw, you say. To make for a better game, you need a little hope. I understand that. So I tell you: you may win. You may win and walk out of here with your girl on your arm. And know what? I’ll let you go.” Kurtz laughed as if what he said was the funniest joke he ever heard. “Yes, I will let you go. Yes sirree.”

  Tom didn’t have to fake bad luck. Normally, with his dismal hands, he would have bid light and folded early. At the end of two hours, he had managed to lose four thousand dollars. Shaking his head and heaving a sigh, he asked Kurtz if he could send Jacinto to collect on the loan he was getting together.

  “Beats me why anybody would loan money to a man about to hang. Go ahead. Send your Jacinto. By all means, send him. If he don’t hurry, then I might get impatient after cleaning you out and have to hang you to fill in the time.”

  A few minutes after Jacinto had left, Kurtz said, “Now we both know your man ain’t going to fetch more money. He’s going to fetch some of your friends who are going to shoot up things and get you and your lady away. I wouldn’t have had the gall to pull what you’re trying to pull. But you don’t have no need to worry now. I learned who your friends were and where they lived. I made my displeasure known to them, and they won’t feel comfortable leaving their families without protection.” Kurtz grinned showing his full complement of yellow teeth.

  “We’ll also be keeping our eyes on anybody the beaner tries to pick up. They all understand down your way that we’re on the lookout. And I told a couple of my boys to take care of that nigger who t
hinks he owns this place. Who’s going to care enough about the deed of a dead nigger to contest it? So now that you don’t have to worry about your plan, you can relax, and enjoy the game. Maybe what you were about is cheating, maybe not. For the sake of the game, I won’t count it against you. Deal. Deal, fair and square now. I’m watching.”

  “Is Franklin dead?” Tom asked.

  “He’s either dead or as good as dead soon as my boys run him down. Deal, Deering, deal, and smile because there’s no hope for you: you’re a damned soul waiting at the gates of hell.”

  Tom did smile—it was his habit in difficult situations—and said, “Interesting tale. Raise you a hundred.” He was calculating the odds of the success of his pair of jacks when out of the corner of his eye he saw Penny appearing at the top of the stairs followed by a flustered guard begging forgiveness from Kurtz.

  Penny descended slowly, sliding her hand down the banister. The only indication that she was blind was her disconcerting habit of looking in the wrong place. She continued her slow pace through twenty feet of open space, felt for the chair in front of her, and sat down. She was dressed simply, as a factory girl might be, in a high-necked white blouse and a long black skirt. Her hair, voluptuously folded in on itself, now shone more amber than blond. The arch in her spine, the lift of her chin showing courage and sensitivity, created a wild desire in Tom to rush over and carry her away.

  She is my heart, he thought, feeling like a man who falls off a ship unnoticed and sees it sail away.

  Jacinto Puts in a Word

  “I was told to wait outside while Tomàs and Kurtz played. I passed the time explaining to the guards the fine points of undertaking. They showed a little interest when I talked about the different methods of covering up wounds, but I made them angry when I opened up the tramp’s coffin to demonstrate my points.

  “‘Why don’t you shut the coffin and shut your trap?’ one of them said. I did for a minute then started in again. I wanted them so sick of my company that they’d be figuring out ways to avoid it. Finally, Tomàs called me in and told me to go for more money. I wasn’t a yard off the Boller property when two of Kurtz’s roughnecks rode up next to me and struck up a conversation.

  “‘We just thought you needed help with the money,’ said a man so skinny you would swear he hadn’t eaten in a month, and yet who I had just seen gobble a whole meat pie. My other companion, part Indian, gave no indication of possessing a tongue.

  “‘I no need help,’ I told my companions.

  “‘Hey, even though you’re a beaner, I think you understand sense,’ the skinny man said. ‘Listen, we are all poor men. How much you getting? God, you’re just doing this as a friend. Bet he wouldn’t return the favor. I think you need to look at this opportunity like the intelligent man I know you are. We could split the money. Why, we could get out of here and be all the way on the road to Frisco or Los Angeles in three hours, and with our lead, they’d never catch us.’

  “‘I no need help,’ I said again.

  “‘Well, maybe you do, and maybe you don’t,’ the skinny man sneered. ‘See, this is the latest news. We already know you’re going down to a place you call the Flats, and you’re going to hide some beaners in your wagon, then drive back up and try to surprise us. Surprise! There ain’t no surprise.

  “’See, our boss pays generously for information he might require. And doesn’t he have a nose for who can be bought? Esteban and Nudo and Cantaron. What sort of mother gives her children those names? Suddenly, they have discovered their families need them nearby. And the others? Well, I imagine they’ve also reconsidered, but we know who they are if they haven’t. So what are you going to do without your friends?

  “’As for your pal beating Mr. K in a game he won’t allow nobody to beat him at, he’s as good as dead. But if there’s really money, I mean just not chickenshit change, then we can forget about our friends and our boss and strike a deal.’

  “‘I know nothing what friends do, and I no need help for to get money,’ I said.

  “‘You don’t have a choice. My orders are to keep you company,’ the skinny man insisted.

  “‘Steal money also orders?’ I asked.

  “‘A poor man has to shift for himself,’ the skinny man replied, patting his stomach.

  “‘You always be poor man,’ I told him.

  “’You’re probably right,’ the skinny man answered. ‘Poor I was born, and poor I’ll die. At least, I’ll be a poor live man tomorrow. I wouldn’t wager on the same for you, less for your friend who can count the breaths he has left in this world.’

  “I drove to my house, still keeping a lookout for the people of the Flats who said they would help. No luck. I could feel the eyes peering through windows and between cracks in the doors, but not a soul dared appear. Kurtz had three pairs of men walking up and down the three muddy paths that crossed the Flats. They would spot anyone who stirred from their house, although the approaching bank of fog might soon make this vigilance difficult.

  “I tied up the horses and told my companions that Tomàs had entrusted me with his money which I was going to fetch. The skinny man snorted as if to say who would believe that. Failing to convince me to betray Tomàs, the pair were now keeping their distance.

  “I asked them to help remove the coffins. They refused so I kept the coffins on the wagon hoping that the tramp’s odor would relieve me of the skinny man’s palaver. I entered my parlor, snuck out the back door, and filled a saddlebag with gold coins. I noticed that the Great Count was trying to push through the opening in the redwood planking with all of his immense weight. Strangely enough, even though the potato peels and fish entrails, which he so dearly loved, were within his snout’s reach, he was still straining for the gold. I had no time to pay attention to him. My companions looked on with amazement when I returned with the heavy saddlebag, the golden contents clinking audibly as I set it down.

  “’Gosh darn, so there really is money!’ The skinny man slapped his leg in amazement. “‘And you still persist on being a fool of a friend. Just to think we could have robbed you hours ago and nobody would have been the wiser until we were long gone.’

  “I ignored him, slid off two of the empty coffins and lifted the lid of the remaining empty coffin to put the saddlebag in. I tightened the straps holding that coffin down. Then I checked on the tramp. The strong whiff of rotting flesh made the skinny man turn green and the Indian sway in his saddle. They removed themselves several dozen yards away from me.

  “That distance didn’t keep the skinny man from hectoring me nearly all the way on our return. He said enough for me to figure out the plan was spoiled. I wondered if Tomàs knew by now he was trapped. Maybe they were even looping the hanging rope over a branch of the oak in the Boller’s front yard.

  “I needed time to think, make a new plan, but with the skinny man hollering, it was hard to put two thoughts together. As I neared the Boller mansion, I studied the oak closely. I was relieved to see nothing out of place hanging from the branches.

  It then came to my notice that one half of the great double door was open. Wasn’t that a part of the plan the skinny man claimed was completely foiled? It must be a coincidence, I thought, expecting the door to close. Who had opened it? Not Franklin. From the skinny man, I had learned he had been thrown out, and as soon as they had taken care of Tomàs, they were going to hunt him down and skin him and make boots and gloves out of him. I passed the stone post that marked the beginning of the Boller property, and, inexplicably the door didn’t close. My forehead began to itch as if someone was drawing a bead on me.”

  Penelope Appears

  Penelope walked forward with a show of firmness, a blind girl on a blind mission, which she would see through to the end or die in the effort. She compelled herself to have faith in the mission because nothing else remained to have faith in. She counted the steps down the hall. Franklin had told her to count, and she always did what Franklin told her even though it annoyed her. The guard s
hadowed her. Penelope was afraid of not walking perfectly straight and giving away her blindness.

  When Penelope heard Tom’s voice, her heart soared and crashed. The impossibility of succeeding nearly overwhelmed her. Kurtz had easily thwarted their plan, and now would make them submit to his vengeance. Distracted for a moment, Penelope thought she had lost her count, but then remembered the number—twenty-four. She came to the flight of stairs which descended into the ballroom, confirmed by the slight coolness that always hovered around the stairwell. She hesitated, hand on the balustrade, and the conversation below her stopped. Were they all looking at her? She started down the stairs.

  The guard behind her pleaded, “I couldn’t stop her, Mr. K.”

  “You telling me you can’t stop this chit of a girl? What’s the matter? The young miss was too hard for you to handle? God, if I were such a man as you, I’d shoot myself for the pure shame of my uselessness.”

  Penelope arrived at the bottom of the stairs, then turned to the right and thirteen paces later found the chair exactly where Franklin had said it would be.

  “Hello Tom,” Penelope said. “I’m tired of sitting alone.”

  “Daughter, you must do as Mr. Kurtz told you and stay in your room,” her mother shrilly ordered from her chair in the corner.

  “And what does Mr. Kurtz say now?” With effort, she held her voice to a slight quaver.

  “Stay,” Kurtz said. “Why not? After all, you are as much a part of the game as this money on the table.”

  “I demand you to go back, Penelope,” Madeleine Boller insisted.

  “No, mother, this morning you sold me so you can’t demand anything of me. Tom, do you want me to stay?”

  Sounding impossibly distant, Tom replied, “My Penny.” He didn’t seem to be able to articulate another word. She heard cards being dealt.