The Two Sams

by F. M. Worden

  “What will I call you? Ha!” She said, “I’ll call you the handsome gringo.”

  Sam pushed and shoved her out the door, saying, “Good night.”

  He opened the patio doors, undressed, washed and went to bed the first night in his new room.

  Chapter 13

  Shooting of the Greek, Dance

  When he woke up, he dressed and opened the door to his room. He could hear people talking in the eating room. He hurried down the hall and into the eating room. Most of the boarders were already eating. He slipped into a chair next to Louise. She greeted him with, “Good morning Sam, sleep well in your new room?”

  “Too well, I overslept, I do that when I’m tired. A train ride makes me tired.”

  Louise asked, “What’s on your docket for today?”

  “I have to go to the depot and get my trunk. Do you know where I can rent a rig?”

  Rosa spoke up, “Manuel’s corrals are just down the street by the river, he rents rigs.”

  Louise got up and said, “I have to get to the office, people will be waiting, they always are in the mornings.” She hurried to her room.

  Rosa said, “I’ll go to Manuel’s with you, Sam.”

  “I’ll go get my things,” he told her. He hurried to his room, returned with his hat, gun belt and coat.

  Rosa took the coat from his arm saying, “It’s too hot for a coat.” She hurriedly returned it to his room.

  The two went out the front door. Louise came out behind them carrying a parasol. Sam turned to her saying, “How beautiful you look in that blue dress and matching hat. The blue parasol sets it all off.”

  “Yes it’s new.” She turned away and strutted up the street toward Broadway.

  Sam and Rosa watched her go, they turned and walked south down a slight hill toward Manuel’s corrals.

  As Sam and Rosa approached the corrals he could see a large adobe barn with a tin roof. It had large openings in the front and back with many mesquite pole corrals on each side of the barn. He could see several large corrals in the back. They almost reached the bank of the Rio Santa Cruz River.

  As the two entered the barn, a stout Mexican man who looked to be six feet tall with a heavy mustache, came from the harness and saddle room. He greeted them saying, “Buenos dias.”

  Rosa told Sam, “This is Manuel, the owner here.” To Manuel she said, “This is Momma’s new boarder.” She spoke to him in Spanish. “He’s the new U.S. Marshal.”

  Manuel in perfect English, “Welcome amigo to my stable. We need a good law man in this town.”

  Sam asked, “Do you board horses? I have two coming from Texas soon.”

  “For you Senor Marshal, no problem.”

  Sam asked if he could rent a rig to go to the depot to get a trunk.

  “Si,” Manuel replied. “I have a rig already harnessed to go.” He yelled, “Hector bring the mule and the wagon.”

  A young Mexican boy came leading a grey mule and a buckboard. Rosa sounded her displeasure, “Not that old grey mule.”

  “Hush Rosa, we’re just going to the depot she’ll do fine,” Manuel said. “That old girl is a good worker, I go and get mesquite poles to make corrals with her all the time, she’s a good one.”

  “She’ll do fine.” Sam wanted no arguments.

  Rosa climbed on to the seat and took the reins. Sam moved up beside her. When he reached for the reins, she jerked them away saying, “I will drive, I can drive!”

  Sam saw it was no use arguing with this girl. They drove upon the road to Meyer street and north to Congress, turned west down to the depot, she turned the buck board to the left between the tracks and the depot platform, pulling up by the baggage room. Sam jumped on to the platform. He asked a railroad man standing there if he could get his trunk from the baggage room.

  “Yes, you shore can.” He yelled to two young Mexican boys to bring out the big trunk. When the boys tried, Sam could see they were having a bad time dragging the trunk, he went to help.

  Just then a man came running from the waiting room yelling, “There’s a man in there with a shot gun, saying he’s gonna kill everybody, he wants to kill them all, he’s yelling he’s been cheated.”

  Sam rushed to the waiting room door. Looking in, what he saw made his blood run cold. A short man with a long black beard was swinging a sawed off shot gun around pointing it here and there. All the people had their hands in the air, backs to the walls, big eyed and some were shaking uncontrollably.

  Sam with his right hand pulled his Schofield from its holster and dropped it by his right leg out of sight. He entered the station waiting room, he said in a loud clear voice, “WHAT’S THE TROUBLE HERE?”

  The little man with the shot gun spun around, pointed the shotgun at Sam, saying in a loud broken English voice, “I’ll kill you, you son- a-bitch.” He said it again, only not as loud, “I’ll kill em all, you sons-a-bitches.”

  Sam said slow and loud as he could, “You don’t want to hurt anyone, put the gun down! Do it now! You can’t shoot that gun no how, it’s not cocked! Cock it and I’ll kill ya!” He said it slower and louder so all could hear. “Touch those hammers, I’ll kill ya.”

  The little man said, almost yelling, “You can’t cheat me, nobody gonna cheat me.” His thumb touched the hammers. In a flash Sam’s Schofield spoke, fire and lead, the bullet hit the man in the right shoulder spinning him around, he fell face down to the floor. Quick as a cat Sam scooped up the shotgun, broke it open spilling the shells on to the floor.

  As he kneeled down to see if the man was dead or alive. A man came thru the front door yelling loudly, “What the hell is the shooting about?”

  Sam could see this big man was with the law. The star on his vest told him this must be the town marshal. A colt pistol hung at his side. “I did the shoot-n,” Sam said as he rolled the little man over. “This man needs a doctor.”

  “Is he dead?” asked the law man.

  “No,” Sam replied. “The bullet went clean thru his shoulder”

  When Sam straightened up, the town marshal said, “You must be the new U.S. marshal?” He saw the badge on Sam’s vest. Sam shook his head yes. “I’m the town Marshal, Tom Henry. Who’s the wounded man?”

  Sam shook his head. “I don’t know, he was threatnin to kill the people here.”

  The marshal took a long look. “Hell, it’s that damn Greek, he’s been shoot-en his mouth off all over town. Didn’t think the little bastard was dangerous.” Sam handed him the shot gun.

  The marshal said, “He must have stolen it from one of the casinos, he’s been gambling and hanging out in most of them for the last few weeks.”

  Sam told the Marshal, “He needs a doctor bad.”

  “I’ve got my buggy at the hotel,” the Marshal said. He asked one of the men there to go get it and bring it over. As soon as the buggy arrived, Sam and some of the men carried the wounded man out and put him in the buggy.

  As the Marshal drove off he asked Sam to come to his office and make a shooting report. Sam said he would and he returned to loading his trunk.

  Rosa and Sam drove to the Martinez house, he drove this time. The girl babbled all the way about the shooting, he felt like telling her to shut up but he didn’t. At the house he managed to unload the trunk and put it by the front door, he told Rosa to stay and watch it. “I’ll take the rig back to Manuel.”

  As he drove into the stable Manuel met him. “How much do I owe you?”

  “Nada.”

  “I’m more than willing to pay.” Sam tried to insist.

  Manuel shook his head and repeated, “Nada.”

  “Okay.”

  He walked back up the hill to the house. Rosa was sitting on the trunk.

  “What do you have in this thing?” she asked. “It’s too heavy for me to move.”

  Two Mexican boys appeared with Dolores. “They will help you take it to your room.”

  Sam helped and they got it to his room, Sam tried to pay them.

  Dolor
es said, “No! I use them all the time. I will give them something to eat, they like that the best.” She herded them into the kitchen.

  He unlocked and started to remove his belongings from the trunk. Rosa stood watching and wanted to help.

  “I’ll do it!” Sam insisted.

  From it he took a heavy coat, shirts, colored and white, a black suit with a vest, several pair of boots, several pairs of long johns and lots of miscellaneous clothing. He laid it all on the bed. He removed a twelve gauge sawed off shot gun wrapped in oil cloth, a Winchester rifle in a leather saddle scabbard, two double barrel derringers, a Smith and Wesson Schofield 44 pistol with a gun belt, many boxes of 44 cartridges, boxes of buckshot and more clothing.

  Rosa tried to help. Sam pushed her away. He took a leather fringed shirt from the trunk. Rosa asked to feel it. He handed it to her. She rubbed it against her cheek saying how good it felt. “It’s so smooth, where did you get it?” she asked.

  Sam took it away, folded it and put it in a drawer. Next came a pair of beaded moccasins.

  “They’re beautiful.” Rosa was impressed. “Where did these things come from?” she asked again.

  “A young woman made them for me a long time ago, you weren’t even born yet,” Sam replied.

  “Was she as pretty as me?” Rosa asked.

  “Yes, she was very pretty.” Sam turned away and said again in a low tone, “She was very pretty.”

  When he turned back, Rosa could see tears in his eyes. He said to her, “Get yourself outa here, I’ll finish this up, I need to take a nap, okay?”

  Rosa smiled and left, shutting the door easy.

  Sam called after her, “Call me when supper is ready.”

  He finished and lay down and slept until he heard Rosa knocking on the door and calling, “Supper’s ready.”

  After supper Dolores had coffee on the patio. Sam sat and smoked his pipe. The boarders asked many questions. Rosa was telling about the shooting at the depot. Sam shushed her. “I’m not proud of the things I have to do.”

  He passed most of the questions off and asked about the town. He didn’t get much information about the town. The people sat very quiet. They all watched the moon rise over the patio wall and spread its silver light onto their faces. Soon he asked to be excused, went into his room, washed up and went to bed, soon fast asleep.

  Saturday morning when he opened his eyes the bright sun was streaming into his room over the back wall. He got out of bed, went to the dresser and looked at his watch, it read six thirty. He quickly washed his face and hands, dressed and opened the double doors and went onto the patio.

  He stretched and as he looked around he saw Louise in a tub chair with her feet on another, sound asleep wrapped in a colorful sarape. She looked so beautiful, her long auburn hair laying over her right shoulder and down to her waist. He went closer. She opened her eyes, looked at Sam and said, “You need a shave.”

  “Today Louise, sorry I woke you.”

  “It was so hot in my room I came out here about midnight. I’ve been awake off and on all night, I don’t work today so it doesn’t matter, please help me up?”

  He pulled her to him and said softly, “What you need is a good morning kiss.”

  “I know but not by you.” She turned away, saying, “I’m hungry, let’s go eat breakfast.”

  They entered the eating room, Rosa was setting food on the table. “Good morning you two,” she said with a smile. “I’m so happy we’re going dancing tonight.” She played like she was dancing and danced into the kitchen.

  Louise remarked, “I wish I had her energy.”

  “She’s quite a girl.” Sam was smiling.

  Louise asked, “What are you doin today?”

  Sam answered, “Shave and a hair cut.” He laughed. “Gotta look good if I go to that dance tonight, how about you?”

  “I’m resting all day, the dance you know,” Louise said with a smile.

  Sam said, “I better get on my way.” He picked her hand up and kissed the back of it. “See you later.” He took his leave.

  Louise said to Dolores, “That man thinks he’s a real lady killer.”

  “He looks good to me,” Dolores said with a big grin.

  As Sam left the house a train whistle sounded, he checked his watch, Eight fifteen. “She’s right on time,” he said to himself. “I wonder how the trains manage to run on time most of the time?”

  He walked on up Meyer Street across Broadway to Congress and turned east to go up town. He walked on past Stone, past Scott St. The people he met were all friendly and smiling. He saw the barber pole a few stores ahead, he could read the sign above the door, Shave fifteen cents, hair cut twenty-five cents, shampoo twenty- five cents, hot bath with soap, fifty-cents.

  A man in a white apron leaned against the door and said looking at the Badge on Sam’s vest, “You must be the new U.S. Marshal. Everyone in town is talking about you.”

  Sam shook his head yes.

  “Come on in, shave or hair cut?”

  Sam pointed to the sign, “I want it all.”

  The barber laughed and said, “My business is picking up, my name is Bob White, also know as the barber man of the Old Pueblo.

  Sam hung his hat on a coat rack and sat in the chair. He pulled the Schofield and laid it on his lap.

  As Bob put on the barbers sheet, he was looking at the pistol and remarked, “You don’t take chances I see.”

  “Force of habit.”

  “You want a bath too?”

  “Sure do.”

  Bob went to a curtain in the back and told someone to fill a tub. He came back and laid Sam back in the chair and put a hot wet towel on his face and started mixing soap in a mug. “How you like our town Marshal?”

  Sam hesitated.

  “You can tell me, I’ve lived here for years, nothing you can say will offend me.”

  “Well,” Sam said slowly, “too much horse shit in the streets, they ought to pick them dead dogs and burros up once in a while, makes the whole damn place smell awful bad.”

  “Where you come from they do better?”

  “San Antonio, they have an old fella pushes a cart and picks up the shit and all the trash in the morning and evening. He works at it all the time, makes it smell a little better.”

  Bob took off and put another hot towel and started mixing the soap again.

  Sam could hear two men come in and sit down. He sat up a little to get a view of them. There were howdies all around. Bob was strapping his razor and talking at the same time. “Got the new marshal in the chair here, he’ll want to meet you boys.”

  He took the towel off and shaved Sam’s face, toweled his face off and patted some good smelling wet stuff on his face. Then started to cut his hair with scissors. With the scissors, he pointed to the man in a grey suit. A well built older man with a well groomed moustache. “This is Mr. Ronstadt, he owns a buggy and wagon factory around the corner. The other handsome gentlemen is Mr. Steinfield, he owns a dry goods store up the street, both on the city council.”

  Steinfield a smaller man had a well groomed grey beard and a ready smile. Both men got up and shook Sam’s hand. “We’re sure glad to have you here, we need one good law man in Tucson.”

  Mr. Ronstadt showed his enthusiasm to have a new marshal in town.

  Bob said, “Maybe not, he says our town smells like horse shit.” He told them what Sam said about San Antonio.

  Steinfield said, “We better call a council meeting, we want to try to make this man happy.”

  Sam laughed saying, “Since you feel that way, do you reckon I could get a white shirt and some under drawers from you Mr. Steinfield?”

  “Please call me Al, all my friends call me Al.”

  Sam asked again. Al walked to the door and called to a young Mexican boy playing in the street. Talked to him for several minutes in Spanish and came back, sat down and said, “Shirt and drawers coming up.”

  Bob took the sheet off of Sam and he stood up, he retur
ned the Schofield to its scabbard. “Maybe the shampoo should wait, these men may be in a hurry?”

  Both men shook their heads no and both said they were not in any hurry.

  “These men are regulars, I hope you will be too Marshal.”

  “I sure will.”

  Bob started the shampoo. The conversation turned to horses. Sam told them he had horses coming by rail. Bob asked what they were. Sam told them he had an old gelding and a black stallion.

  “I used to race the stallion in Texas.”

  “Good, we need more horses to match, we race on the other side of the Santa Cruz river just below Centennial Peak every Sunday in the winter time. Getting too hot now, we’ll only have a few more races before we quit for the summer.” Proudly he said, “I’m the starter.”

  “I’m sure I’ll see you there, nothing I like better than a good horse race.”

  Bob finished and rinsed Sam’s head. Sam seeing the dirty water said, “Damn that water’s dirty.”

  Bob said, “Traveling by train everybody gets dirty.” Then he told Sam, “Your bath is ready.”

  He led Sam to a room in the back. There a wooden tub three feet deep and four foot across was filled with steaming hot water. He showed Sam where soap and a towel was on a shelf. “You can put your clothes on them hooks,” pointing to the wall. “I’ll send the shirt and drawers soon as they come.”

  He pulled the curtain and left. Sam sat in a chair, pulled his boots off and undressed as fast as he could and climbed into the tub and sat on the bottom.

  It was wonderful. He stood up, soaped all over and sat back down. He set there quite awhile enjoying his bath. Bob pushed a package thru the curtain, it dropped to the floor. Sam got out of the tub and dried off. He dressed and went into the shop and asked Al how much he owed him.

  “Seventy cents, how do they fit?”

  “Great.” He fished a silver dollar from his pocket and gave it to Al.

  Al returned the dollar, saying, “This one’s on me.”

  Sam tried to give the dollar to Bob. He put his hands up said, “The first one’s on me.”

  Sam shook his is head and said, “You boys sure know how to make a man feel at home. I thank you all.”