Chapter 36
Schmitt
“Miss Foster, we just can’t thank you enough for your contribution to the women’s league. We’ve never had a contribution of this size before. You’re most generous,” announced the Chairwoman of the society. “Let us all rise and greet our newest board member with a proper welcome.”
“Ladies, I cannot give enough of myself in the quest to clean up the sins of man. Why, I know I’m new in your beautiful town. From what I can see you all have been doing such a splendid job pushing out as much riffraff as you can. I do believe with my backing we can clean every inch of this town within a very short time!” promised Samantha as she stood at the head of the table next to the chairwoman.
“Madam Chairwoman, may I have the floor?” asked one of the members at the right side of the table.
“Why, yes of course, I recognize Phyllis Snyder, Phyllis you have the floor. Now quiet down ladies, Phyllis is going to say something.”
“I am only going to say what I think all of us have been thinking. Let’s elect Miss Samantha Foster to be the chairman of the committee!” announced Phyllis to a hearty chanted affirmative.
The chairwoman was a little taken back by her quick dismissal. She had only been the chairwoman for a month, but had enjoyed the attention. Samantha moved in front of the chairwoman. Pushing her back from the table, Samantha quickly accepted the nomination, “Thank you so much for your vote of confidence, Ladies! I will do all I can to fulfill my promises. Now if you will excuse me I have some pressing business to attend to. Remember, we don’t want any sin in our city. If you see or hear of anyone living in sin, or contributing to such, they should be listed here at this committee to be dealt with.” And with that Samantha turned from the table and marched out the door to a steady applause, except from one.
Samantha walked out the front of the Bella Union where the meeting was being held and walked across the plaza to a building on the other side. Climbing a set of stairs she entered a side door to an office. On the placket hanging over the door was written, “James E. Usher, Esq., Attorney at Law.”
“Miss Foster, so glad you were able to free up some time to sign these papers. Once signed you’ll be a very big landowner in this town,” announced Usher.
“Yes, Yes, Yes, where are the papers?” waved Samantha.
Usher laid out the different forms and showed her where to sign. As she signed she once again warned Usher, “You do remember our agreement that no one, but no one, is to know that I am the owner of these properties? That is the only stipulation I made in this purchase. I’m paying top dollar for your anonymity. If this transaction gets out the deal is off and a lot of people stand to lose a great deal of money. Including yourself, Mr. Usher. Do I make myself clear?” finished Samantha looking up from the papers long enough to glare into the attorney’s eyes.
Usher suddenly wished he hadn’t gotten involved with this woman but the money was just too good to pass up, “Oh, yes of course, Miss Foster. This office never releases personal information about any of our clients.”
“Well, let’s both hope that doesn’t change for your sake. There, I’ve finished signing. You know what to do next?”
“Yes, Ma’am, I have contacted the firm in San Francisco as you requested and hired the two gentlemen. They should be here sometime tomorrow to take over your saloon and the other properties.”
“You mean the whore house?” spoke Samantha bluntly.
“Yes Ma’am, the… House,” stuttered the attorney.
“Very good, I don’t want the business to miss a beat and draw attention to the fact they are under new management. Nobody gets fired, yet. Nothing changes, understand?”
“Yes, Miss Foster, as you say,” bowed Attorney Usher.
As Samantha turned for the door Usher rose and ran around his desk to open the door for her, “Good day, Miss Foster.”
“Good day Mr. Usher, and please do not bow to me again.”
“No Ma’am, I mean yes Ma’am,” said the attorney as he closed the door behind her. Quickly he went to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a much needed drink.
-CKS-
At sunrise, John and Larry went down to the river to take a bath. Ray soon joined them and the water felt great. Wanting to be a little more careful than John and Larry had been Ray asked one of the men from their train to stand guard. The last thing he wanted was to have some females come stumbling upon them stark naked in the water. Actually, he wouldn’t have minded that, but he knew the ladies of the train would.
“Ray!” called Quincy from the shoreline, “did you see that no account bastard around my train yet, tryin’ to buy livestock?”
“No I haven’t,” Ray called back as he took a face full of water from Larry.
“You know, now that you mention it Quincy, I did see him yesterday talking to a couple families, I’m pretty sure they sent him away empty handed,” hollered John.
“Shit, I knew it. What families was he talkin’ to?” asked Quincy.
“Well, I guess the Millers, Johnsons, and I think the Potts,” answered John. “Why is somethin’ wrong?”
“I don’t know for sure but you boys better get dressed and saddled. We might have some trouble on our hands, hurry up now!” ordered Quincy as he turned and headed for his mount.
“Well boys, I guess the funs over for now,” said Larry as he marched out of the water.
After a short time the three of them rode up to Quincy’s wagon where he sat in his saddle waiting for them.
“Okay, Quincy, we’re here, what’s goin’ on?” asked John.
“Hopefully nothin’, but John, you said that Schmitt was talking to three wagons and one of them was the Potts?”
“That’s right,” nodded John.
“The Potts broke camp this mornin’ to travel onto Oregon. I fear maybe Schmitt found that out and will be tryin’ one of his old tricks. If he can’t buy their livestock in camp, then he’ll try to steal ‘em out on the trail. Boys I think we need to take a little ride.”
“Potts you don’t mean Ida’s parents, do you?” Ray asked
“I’m afraid I do,” said Quincy with a distressed look on his face.
“Damn it! How long ago did they pull out, Quincy?”
“Ray, they left about three hours ago,” answered Quincy.
“Then they couldn’t of gotten too far. Come on we can still cut this off before it happens!” Ray yelled as he turned his mount towards the trail to Oregon and took off in a full gallop with John, Larry, and Quincy right behind him.
As the dust of their departure began to settle, Richard and Laurie trotted up on horseback, “Hey, anyone know why they’re headin’ off in such a hurry?” asked Richard to a group of people standing around a fire.
“Yeah I do,” said one of the many preachers heading West to save the lost. “They said the Potts family might be in danger of being attacked by road agents, I think.”
“Laurie, you stay here, I’m goin’ to catch up with the boys and see if I can help.”
“There’s no damn way I’m staying behind. There’s a woman out there that might need another woman if something awful should happen!” yelled Laurie as she kicked her horse into a full gallop.
“Hold up there, wagon!” came a call from five riders approaching the rear of the Potts wagon.
“Who is it Pa?” asked Mrs. Potts from the back of the wagon where she was securing some of the load that had fallen over.
“I think it’s that fellow who wanted to buy our stock back in Sacramento,” answered Mr. Potts.
“You ain’t gonna stop out here for them are you?”
“Can’t do much more than that Mother, we can’t out run ‘em. I’ll see what they want. HOOOO, horses,” called Mr. Potts as he pulled back on the reins and set the brake.
The five riders came around to the front side of the wagon.
“What can I do for ya fellas?” asked Mr. Potts.
“Well, I’m still interested in yo
ur livestock Potts. And I was wondering if you’d changed your mind?” smiled Schmitt.
“Look here, fella, I told you yesterday that we need our livestock to start our farm up in Oregon. Now why would we sell what we’re needin’ so badly?” said Potts as he shook his head.
“Well, I thought I’d give you a chance to change your mind, to be reasonable like,” spoke Schmitt with a tone of larceny in his voice.
“Now you look here. You’ll not scare us out of our livestock. You might as well just be ridin’ on sir,” ordered Mr. Potts.
“Well how do you like that, boys?” asked Schmitt of the scum that rode with him.
“Boss, I think this here Easterner needs some learnin’,” said the tall toothless man on the opposite side of the wagon as he pulled his rifle from its scabbard, striking Mr. Potts in the side of his head. Mr. Potts slumped over and fell from the wagon box down onto the ground.
“Pa!” cried Mrs. Potts from inside the wagon.
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head over him, he’ll be just fine. Now what do you say we have a little party back there?” said the toothless man as he climbed from his horse into the wagon. Mrs. Potts struck him several times in the face but he was too strong for her. Another man joined in, grabbing her dress and trying to tear it.
Outside the wagon Mr. Potts was slowly rising to his feet as the other three dismounted and walked around him. Mr. Potts pulled his revolver. Schmitt kicked it from his hand, causing a round to fire off into the air.
“Why are you doin’ this? We didn’t do you any harm,” questioned Mr. Potts as he was kicked in the chest by one of the men.
Mr. Potts fell over onto his side in pain when a barrage of boot kicks plowed into his ribs and midsection, but he still tried to rise. A boot heel made contact with his head. The impact dazed him and dropped him to the ground where the men began to kick him to death. Mr. Potts could hear Schmitt shouting something about “next time you’ll sell when I make an offer.”
After an hour of hard riding Richard and Laurie joined the boys.
“Glad we were able to catch up with you. I figured you could use all the help…” Richard was interrupted by the sound of gunfire.
“Oh no, the Potts: they’re in trouble. Ride hard, please ride hard!” cried Laurie. On a dead run they flew over the top of a small rise directly into the attack. Ray spotted Mrs. Potts trying to fight off two men in the back of her wagon. Mr. Potts was on the ground with Schmitt and two other pieces of scum trying to kick him to death and laughing in the process.
As Ray rode hard onto the scene he could hear Schmitt yelling at Mr. Potts “Next time you’ll sell when I make an offer.”
Ray rode Horse right up the back of the scum to the left of Mr. Potts. Both men were launched into the air and fell hard to the ground. As he turned for a second run he spotted Richard, John, and Larry, throwing the other two men out from the back of the wagon. Laurie was climbing up into the wagon to comfort Mrs. Potts. Schmitt had taken off running toward his tied mount on the side of the wagon. Quincy rode in front of him and cut him off. Schmitt turned like a cornered rat and ran back to the center of the camp. “It ain’t no good you tryin’ to run away, you piece of crap,” called Quincy.
Schmitt knew there would be a noose waiting for him back in Sacramento if he was captured. He figured that was not the way he wanted to go out. If he was going to die he was going to take as many with him as he could. Schmitt smiled as he pulled iron and brought his gun to bear on his closest target, Quincy. A sudden roar of gunfire filled the air. As one, they all pulled their .44’s from their holsters to save Quincy’s life. The rounds hit Schmitt hard in the midsection, tearing off large chunks of flesh from his body. Being hit from five different directions, Schmitt wasn’t knocked down but actually held erect; finally collapsing into a pool of his own blood. Seeing the carnage, the rest of his gang quickly threw up their hands, with no more fight left in them.
Other than the horrible scare, the Potts were not severely harmed. With help Mr. Potts drew himself up into the wagon box. He released the brake and was ready to continue on to Oregon.
“Mr. Potts, I know you’re wantin’ to be on your way to Oregon, but there are several other wagons headin’ north that could really use your help,” suggested Ray.
“Well I don’t know,” started Mr. Potts.
“Maybe we should consider taking Ray’s advice,” asked Mrs. Potts.
“Well, for you dear, let’s rejoin the train,” smiled Mr. Potts.
Mister and Misses Potts both looked at each other as he turned the wagon around. They smiled at each other, relieved that they found a way to save face and have others with them on the trail for safety.
Schmitt’s gang returned to Sacramento but didn’t last the week before they were stretching a rope. Justice in the West was quick and final.
Revenge Requires Two Graves Page 36