Grantville Gazette, Volume 70

by Bjorn Hasseler

  "If I may ask…"

  Archie chuckled. "I've nothing fancy. He pulled his duster aside from one side to reveal a Colt Commander in a side holster, then pulled the other side of the duster aside to reveal a second Colt Commander in a shoulder holster.

  "Ah, yes, the Colt model 1911A1. Anse Hatfield carries one."

  "Almost, these are the Commander model," he said pointing to his two pistols in turn. "The 1911 has a five inch barrel, the Commander a four and one-half inch barrel. It's not much shorter but it can make a difference if you have to draw quickly."

  Blumroder walked into the shop where he had an office—a side room from a larger space where his apprentices and journeymen worked small pieces of metal to insure they fit exactly into molds. This was the current method of standardizing parts. It worked well enough and helped keep parts interchangeable, more or less—a new concept introduced by up-timers. Using molds wasn't as precise as using a milling machine but would do until those tools became available.

  After they were seated, Blumroder asked, "What can I do for you, Marshal?"

  "I came, mainly, to introduce myself. Anse Hatfield, whom I've known for years, paid me a visit this morning. He mentioned that you were one of the city leaders. I've found it's best to know the PTBs."

  "Excuse me, Herr Marshal, 'PTBs?' "

  "Powers That Be. Folks like Herr Feld—and you. I keep forgetting few here know all our language foibles."

  Blumroder chuckled. "I'm not in the same category as Herr Feld. I'm just a local craftmaster."

  "Who effectively controls at least a third of the city."

  "Um, uh, well, yes."

  "And is the recently elected member to the SoTF legislature."

  "True, as well."

  "I think that qualifies you as being one of the PTBs, don't you Herr Blumroder?"

  "Anse said you were different, Herr Marshal."

  "Just call me Archie, if you would."

  "Very well …Archie, and please call me Ruben."

  "Thank you, Ruben."

  "Now, what can I do for you, Archie?"

  "Information, really. Anse alluded to some troubles here in Suhl—different from last year. A gang, he said."

  "Yes, Friedrich Achen. He arrived a year or so ago. Married the daughter of Heinrich Buch, one of the city council members. No one seems to know from where he came. He has, as Anse had said, no visible means of support. He hangs out at Der Bulle und Bär, one of our more disreputable inns. He has a gang that extorts money from the shopkeepers, selling 'protection.' The watch, really the city council, hasn't done much to curtail Achen's activities. It's not our, the militia's, responsibility, either. Achen knows better than to bother us."

  "Your militia?"

  "The city's militia. However, we—the gunsmiths and the remaining Jaegers, are the largest contingent of the militia. The Jaegers answer to us …me …for the moment. Patrolling is not a responsibility I—we want. It's been thrust upon us. We ensure our people are safe. That's all we can do."

  "I see. It's not my responsibility, either. But, like you said, sometimes it is thrust upon us."

  "Have you met the council, yet?"

  "I met with Herr Feld this morning. He arrived on my doorstep bright and early. I had some documents for him and the council and gave them to him. The SoTF will be establishing a district court here in Suhl. I'm here to find a suitable building for the court. And a troop of the SoTF Mounted Constabulary will be stationed here in the barracks."

  "I suspect the documents may disappear if he doesn't like their contents."

  "I don't think so. He signed a receipt …and I have copies."

  "I see Herr Feld's reputation has gone before him."

  "Don't know about that. It's just a standard precaution."

  "I wouldn't wait, Archie, to meet the council. I've been told there are workmen dismantling the barracks. If you don't lay claim, there may be no barracks, shortly."

  Archie sat silent for a moment. "Danke, Ruben. I'll get on that."

  "I have a meeting tonight with other gunsmiths and craft masters. If you don't mind, I'll tell them about the new court and the Mounted Constabulary."

  "Feel free. It's no secret."

  "Thank you for coming, Archie, but if you don't mind, I have some apprentices to oversee. Some need to be constantly supervised."

  Archie chuckled. "I understand, Ruben. That is true even up-time. Guten Tag."

  "Guten Tag, Archie."

  ****

  Dieter arrived at the Boar's Head Inn in time to see Archie enter before him. "Archie!" he called. "There's a problem."

  Archie turned at the entrance to their rooms and asked, "The barracks?"

  "Ja. It's being torn down."

  "I know. Ruben Blumroder told me. He's the head of Suhl's gunsmiths. He'd be the master of the gunsmith guild if there was one."

  "I told them to stop but they refused and there were six of them to my one."

  "Get your gear. Let's pay them a visit."

  Dieter disappeared into his room to shortly reappear dressed much like Archie—boots, canvas pants, white shirt and badge, leather vest, gun belt, shotgun on a sling and covering all, his duster. "I'm ready. Let's go."

  They arrived at the barracks a few minutes later. "There they are. That one," Dieter said pointing to a man in a leather coat watching the others, "is the leader." To one side were two other men leaning against a partially dismantled palisade wall.

  Archie walked up to the man in the leather coat. "Are you the boss of these men?"

  "I'm their overseer. So what?"

  "Then I'm ordering you to stop work and leave—immediately."

  "I don't take orders from you."

  "You do now. That's SoTF property, and it's my responsibility. I have my authority here," he said exposing his badge.

  The man turned and shouted to the workers, "Get them!" and drew a large knife from under his coat.

  Archie stepped back, shifted his grip on his cane and swung, knocking the knife from the overseer's hand. He slid his hand down to the other end of the cane, and on the backstroke hit the overseer's forearm with the alloy head breaking both bones. The overseer shrieked at the sudden surge of pain.

  Archie heard a click behind him. Dieter had switched off the safety of his shotgun that had been unseen under his duster. He had it leveled at the rest of the workmen. From the corner of his vision, Archie saw the two leaners running towards him. He turned and punched one in the stomach with the steel foot of his cane. That one bent double from the punch blocking the path of the other before falling to the ground in a huddle. By the time the other attacker had stepped around the first, the cane's alloy head was swinging towards the attacker's jaw. It hit with a crunch and both attackers were out of action and on the ground.

  The fight was over. Two men on the ground. One standing clutching a broken arm and five others with hands up, eyes on the muzzle of Dieter's shotgun. Archie was panting and wheezing. I'm outta shape.

  "Do you happen to know if Suhl has a jail, Dieter?" he asked between pants.

  "No."

  "I don't, either. Let's tie their hands and march 'em to Ruben Blumroder's place. I think he'll have a place to put them or tell us where's the jail."

  Archie only had one pair of steel handcuffs. He and Dieter carried rawhide thongs instead of cuffs. Between the two of them, they had enough for the six men still standing.

  "Archie, I think this one is dead," Dieter said examining the one huddled on the ground.

  "Well, crap."

  Archie checked to two on the ground. The first one, the one he'd punched with the steel foot of his cane was clearly dead. He opened the man's shirt to reveal a purple blotch covering most of his stomach. His cane punch must have ruptured some internal organ and the man had hemorrhaged to death. He checked the second man. He was dead, too. The alloy head of the cane had impacted the hinge of his jaw. His skull had caved in. Hit him too hard. I need to practice with this cane more often.
r />   "Dieter, take the bossman's coat and cover these two. We'll send someone for 'em later."

  ****

  Anse Hatfield was standing in the doorway of Ruben Blumroder's shop when he saw Archie and Dieter approach with their prisoners. "Ruben!" he yelled.

  Blumroder, hearing the urgency in Hatfield's voice, strode quickly to join him.

  "Archie's been busy," Anse said, "Told you so."

  "Ruben, do you have somewhere to stash these folks?" Archie asked when they reached the doorway.

  "I could find a place, a storeroom I suppose."

  "Neither Dieter nor I know if Suhl has a jail. I assume there is one?"

  "Yes, below the council chambers in the rathaus. I don't think it's been used much, not since last year."

  "I don't think that jail would be the best place just now. Can you keep these people out of sight for awhile, until the Mounted Constabulary arrives?"

  "I can do that."

  "Good. Dieter, go with them and get our cuffs back. I think we're going to need them."

  Blumroder spoke briefly with one of his journeymen. He and a couple of apprentices armed themselves with pistols and marched the six down the street.

  Archie sighed. "There are two dead men at the barracks, Ruben. Could you send someone to get them?"

  "What happened?"

  "They were waiting for us. The one with the broken arm was the boss of the crew tearing down the barracks. He refused to stop work and drew a knife on me. I have a sneaking suspicion the two deaders may have been a couple of Achen's men. While Dieter and I were taking care of the workmen, those two joined the fight. They rushed me and I got careless. I hit them too hard—with my cane."

  Ruben eyebrows rose. "You killed them with a cane?"

  "Unintentionally. I hit one too hard in the head with this—" He raised the cane to show the molded alloy knob. "—and punched the other too hard with this." He pointed to the steel-capped foot of the cane. "They got too close to me. I had to use what I had. I was rushed."

  Ruben nodded. "I understand."

  "Does Suhl really have a watch? I've been here two days and I haven't seen one yet."

  "They do. I don't know their patrol schedules. They don't come here because we take care of ourselves. The council has not asked the full militia for help. Truthfully, I haven't really paid much attention."

  "I'm thinking the watch should be rebuilt from scratch with a professional wachtmeister who can properly train, organize, and lead the watchmen. The only ones I've seen on watch are your militiamen at the gates."

  "There are some on the walls, too."

  "Guess I didn't look hard enough. While I'm thinking of it, I need someone to help me survey the barracks and see how much damage has been done. I'll need to hire some workmen to fix it up, repair any damages, and ready the place for the constabulary troop."

  "I'll speak with some of the other craft masters. It's about time for our weekly meeting. I'll ask them to send you a man or two—tomorrow?"

  "Good. Tell them we're staying at the Boar's Head Inn. If I'm not there Dieter Issler, my deputy, will be. Feld is arraigning a meeting for me with the council sometime tomorrow."

  ****

  A messenger from the burgermeister arrived early the next morning. The council would meet with Archie later that morning. Archie sent a messenger to Anse Hatfield asking Anse to join him at the meeting. Anse knew, at least by reputation, many of the council members. Archie would have preferred to have Ruben Blumroder there, too. But that would appear to be political favoritism, Ruben being an SoTF official. If he needed a local representative, they would not be surprised to see Anse standing next to Archie. These folk understood family ties. They'd view the two up-timers as kith, if not kin.

  Ruben had been good to his word. A master carpenter arrived early. He and Archie discussed the issue with the barracks. "Herr Heinrich Buch owns the barracks property," the carpenter said. "I heard he bought it from the council. He said he planned to build a warehouse on the site. It is prime property."

  "I'm going to find out about that. It wasn't the council's property to sell. It belongs to the SoTF."

  "I only know what I've been told."

  "Is that going to be a problem with you? Herr Buch claiming it?"

  "Nein. You said you would pay for the survey. It's guilders in my pocket either way."

  "How long will you need for the survey? A day? Less?"

  "Not a day. A couple of hours at least."

  "Would this afternoon be good?"

  "Ja."

  "Have you met my deputy, Dieter Issler?"

  "Ja, when I arrived."

  "Come back this afternoon. I have a meeting later this morning. If I'm not here, Dieter will go with you. He'll keep anyone off your back in case someone objects."

  "I'll be here."

  The carpenter departed. Archie glanced at his watch. It was time to meet Anse at the rathaus.

  Archie was limping slightly when he arrived at the rathaus. He had been more active than usual. He had not been in a fight since he was wounded the previous year. He realized age was creeping up on him.

  Anse Hatfield was waiting when Archie arrived. "Hurtin', Archie?"

  "Some."

  "Feelin' mean and ornery?"

  "Yeah, why?"

  "You'll need that with these folks."

  The rathaus was a three-story building, the only one in Suhl as far as he knew, Anse said. The ground floor was an open space used for large meetings, weddings, and festivals. The city council met in a room on the second floor. The top floor contained offices of city officials and departments.

  Archie's leg hurt more after climbing the stairs. If he needed to be feeling mean and ornery, he was ready. He and Anse walked into the council room. Herr Feld sat at the head of the table. Six other councilmen sat along both sides leaving Archie and Anse to sit at the end, opposite to Feld.

  "Welcome Marshal, and you, too, Herr Hatfield," he said. Without giving Archie the opportunity to respond, Feld introduced the other six members of the council. Heinrich Buch sat to Feld's right, Archie noticed. Each councilman nodded in turn as he was introduced.

  "We are here at your request, Herr Marshal, " Feld said.

  "I appreciate you acting so swiftly, " Archie began. "I am SoTF Marshal Archie Mitchell," he said speaking to the entire council. "I assume you have read the documents I gave you, Herr Feld. Has the entire council read them?"

  "No, I've not had time to make copies. A couple of the councilmen have read them but not all."

  "By chance, I have a copy with me. I'll read it to the council." Which he proceeded to do.

  Several councilmen interrupted as he read asking for clarification of one point or another. When Archie came to the part about renovating the barracks, Councilman Heinrich Buch interrupted. "That's my property!"

  "No it isn't. It is owned by the government of the State of Thuringia and Franconia."

  "Noelle Murphy transferred ownership to the city council. I bought it from the council!"

  "Noelle Murphy didn't have that authority," Anse replied. "She was very aware of the limits of her authority. No one knew it had been transferred to the SoTF until Marshal Mitchell arrived."

  "I have the document here. Right here! It's proof that she did, whether she had the authority or not. You can't take back what she has done."

  "May I see that document?" Archie asked.

  "No! It is my only proof."

  "It is a transfer of ownership to Suhl, not you, Heinrich," Feld said. "Give it to him."

  Grudgingly, Buch gave the document to the councilman sitting next to him. It was passed, councilman to councilman, until it reached Anse Hatfield.

  Anse glanced at the document and looked up. "It's a forgery."

  "What!" exclaim Heinrich Buch jumping to his feet.

  "Look at it, Archie," Anse said. "Look at the signature."

  "What about it?" Archie asked.

  "Look at it. Is it written by someone who i
s right-handed or left-handed?"

  Archie looked down at the document again. "Right-handed. Why?"

  "Noelle Murphy is left-handed. I carried messages for her whenever I went back to Grantville. Whoever wrote this was right-handed."

  "You're a liar!" Buch shouted.

  "If I am, it can be refuted in a few days. I can send a radio message for samples of Noelle Murphy's signature. They can get here by courier in a couple of days."

  "They'll be fakes! You just want to steal my property."

  "Now why would we want to do that when no one outside Suhl even knew you claimed the barracks?"

  Buch stood white-faced, trembling. Abruptly, he sat. He muttered something to Feld who in turn said, "We await your proof, Herr Hatfield."

  "In the meantime," Archie said, "I'm having the barracks surveyed to determine what is needed for its full restoration. No work will be done until the council has proof the transfer of the barracks to Suhl was fraudulent. I also warn you now that the Court of the State of Thuringia-Franconia will be very interested how this all happened."

  ****

  "…that was the end of the meeting," Archie told Dieter. "I'm very glad Anse was there. Otherwise, we'd be in a mess, a big lawsuit probably. Just the thing to kick off the new court here in Suhl. So how was your afternoon with the carpenter?"

  "Interesting. A stonemason joined us at the barracks. Apparently, the Swedes had built a stone armory for their munitions and a stone outbuilding that could easily be converted to be a jail, guardhouse, whatever you call it. Strong fitted stone walls and floors, and thick iron studded doors. A little dark, no windows, but the stonemason said those could be added if we wanted."

  "I think we'll have to do that. If we make that the holding prison for the court, the prisoners will need access to light and air."

  "He's coming by here tomorrow. I can tell him then. He and the master carpenter will draw up some estimates for us, cost and time to do all the renovation."

  "Good. Now, we have to find a courthouse."

  "I think I found one."

  "Oh? Where?"

  "Right next to the barracks. You remember that building right next to the place where the wall had been torn down?"