Escape From Gold Mountain

by Zina Abbott

Bill Callahan continued. “Here’s how it’s going to be, Ah Chin. And don’t try to get you some fancy white lawyer you tongs have in your pockets to come here with some writ of Habeas Corpus. By the time they show up, we should have our man, have already held his trial, and she can be on her way. Until then, don’t you dare spirit her out of Lundy, or I’ll hunt you down and arrest you for interfering with an investigation. That means you’ll spend time in jail with men who don’t much care for you Chinese. Now, you wait outside until I’m done here—across the street where she knows you can’t see or hear her. You got that?”

  Loi watched resentment smolder in Ah Chin’s eyes.

  “I go for now, but I’ll be back for this worthless woman.”

  Bill Callahan stretched to his full height until he towered over Ah Chin. “I mean business, Ah Chin. I need her to stay in town and stay healthy in case she’s needed to testify at a hearing. I aim to visit your place every day—maybe two or three times a day. Every time I come, you better be able to bring her out and show me she’s still in Lundy and she’s still healthy—not beat up or anything like that, you understand? She disappears, or anything bad happens to her, I’ll find you and feed you to the dogs. Now, get on out of here. I’ll send her to you when I’m done questioning her.”

  With one last warning glance in Loi’s direction, Ah Chin scurried out of the door and slammed it behind him.

  Loi slumped in her seat and stared at the tabletop. She knew Ah Chin had never assimilated the self-effacement and acceptance of fate traits that for centuries had been ingrained into the Chinese as part of their culture. He dared not openly challenge this room full of Americans he, like many Chinamen, derisively referred to as white devils. He would take his frustration out on her later.

  Callahan nodded to a man close to the door who evidently understood he was to check to see if Ah Chin did as he was told. After the man cracked the door and nodded, Callahan turned back to Loi. He questioned her about where she was taken and what was said. She explained how she had been kept blindfolded the whole time so she could not see, but she described both her abductors as large men. With some very notable exceptions, including not telling about Tex leaving for several days or about the bear attack, she told what had happened to her. She could tell the lawman felt frustrated with her lack of details.

  Callahan shrugged and mumbled to no one in particular. “Guess you can’t expect more than that from an ignorant Chinawoman kept locked away in a brothel.” He raised his voice and addressed Loi. “One last question. Do you know the names of the men who held you?”

  Loi refused to tell him about Shorty. She did not want to get Tex in trouble, either. Even though he had been gruff with her, rather than leave her to die where no one would find her, he had returned her close enough to Lundy for her to walk back. The man with red-hair like the demon, Horse-Face, him she refused to protect.

  “Man name Boss, maybe Char-Boss.”

  A voice in the crowd muttered. “Char-Boss. You reckon she’s talking about Charles Bosley?

  Another replied. “You know it’s not him. Shush, now, I’m trying to listen.”

  Bill Callahan leaned forward on his forearms and stared intently at Loi as if looking for any sign she might not be telling the truth. “Sounds like a mighty big operation for only one man. You sure there weren’t others helping him—a woman maybe? Tell me about them all, or I’ll assume you’re in cahoots with them.”

  Loi knew she had to give the lawman more. She lowered her gaze. “No woman.” She held up two fingers. “Two men. Char-Boss number one, Tex number two. But he say Tex not real name.”

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  Chapter 30

  ~o0o~

  L oi stared at the ground as Ah Chin dragged her by her elbow along the boardwalk—not to show her submission to him, but as part of her struggle to keep her footing in the darkness. Not willing to allow Ah Chin see how much she hated to be returned to him and the Lundy brothel, she fought back her tears. She knew she had no choice in the matter. It was her fate.

  As angry as she had been with Shorty when he left her in the cabin, Loi tried to take comfort in the one last gift she had been able to give him in gratitude for the week of joy she had experienced with him. She did not hint of his existence or involvement in her abduction. She hoped the Americans would never find out about him. If they did, and searched for him later, she hoped he would be far enough away to never be found.

  Shorty never made her feel like a prisoner. He protected her from not only the bear, but from both Tex and Boss. Unlike the days she had worked as a prostitute under Ah Chin, and the men in Dai Fow before him, he saw to her comfort. She would forever be grateful he understood her need for rice and tea—staples to which her body was accustomed—rather than the strange American food Tex expected her to eat.

  Although Loi knew it might be her fate to work as a prostitute until she died, she still hoped for a time she might be sold to a husband willing to pay the tong the bride price they demanded. Even if a man with a wife in China wished her for a concubine to give him sons were to buy her, she would be content. She would show gratitude—but not love. There had been some considerate Chinese men among her customers, but none she had ever desired for a husband. The only man she had ever yearned for was Shorty.

  The question entered Loi’s mind, could a marriage to a white man still provide her cong leong, a return to the way of decency? She did not know. It did not matter. She had learned in Chinatown the American laws forbade marriage between a white American and a Chinese.

  Like most Americans, Shorty was blind about the Chinese and their ways. In spite of her telling him about her life, he believed, as long as she escaped Char-Boss and Tex and returned to the Chinese in Lundy, she would be safe. If only Shorty had understood the truth and helped her get away.

  Loi slightly turned her head as her gaze caught sight of the dark silhouette of a man standing in the shadows behind a tree next to a house that belonged to an American family. He looked so familiar. Shorty? Like he promised, had Shorty followed and now knew she returned to Lundy? Did he change is mind and come for her?

  Loi then realized that was an unrealistic hope. Even if he took her away, the On Yick boo how doy, hatchet men, would find them. She would be worse off than she was now, and Shorty would be dead.

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  Chapter 31

  ~o0o~

  L uke sat on his haunches outside the window of the Arcade saloon where the deputy sheriff interrogated Loi. Coming into town, he had been forced to move carefully and stay in the shadows to avoid being seen by the crowd of men escorting Loi.

  As soon as Luke realized Tex planned to follow Mill Creek up to Lundy, he managed to get ahead of him. He rode up the road beyond the town. Considering the time of day and the weather, hardly anyone had been outside to notice his passing. He had found a small, secluded meadow and hobbled his horse to graze while he doubled-back across the top of the mountains bordering the canyon on the north. Because of the mud, he could not afford to have his footsteps beside hers on the road. Taking care to stay below the skyline, he had watched over Loi’s progress—sometimes more by sound than sight—as she made her way towards Lundy.

  Luke did not catch every word spoken inside the saloon. Fortunately, Bill Callahan had a healthy boom to his voice, so Luke heard his questions.

  Luke suffered a moment of trepidation and turned his head aside as the quick steps of the Chinaman approached and he entered the saloon. However, the man focused on reclaiming his prostitute to the point he failed to notice Luke. Luke guessed he was Ah Chin, the Chinese pimp Loi had told him about.

  When the deputy sheriff ordered Ah Chin outside, Luke quickly stepped around the corner of the building. If the Chinaman intended to wait across the street until they let Loi go, he did not want the man to remember him being there.

  Luke discovered a door on the side of
the building. By pressing his ear to the crack in the doorjamb, he realized he could still hear the conversation inside. The billiard table remained quiet and no cards snapped and rustled as everyone in the room intently listened to Loi’s story. Callahan often repeated Loi’s answers in his loud voice, which allowed Luke to know what was said.

  Luke could tell Loi shared her story of the past week and a half with one large omission. She said nothing about him being there. In the end, when the deputy sheriff asked about the men who had captured and held her, she told him two—and only two—names.

  Luke heard a dog trot up to him before he felt a curious nose sniffing at his clothes. Luke once more dropped to his haunches and rubbed the animal’s ears. He next reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a strip of bear jerky. He bit off a piece and offered the rest to the dog. “That what you’re after, boy?”

  The voice of a young man called out from behind the saloon. “Buddy? Where are you, Buddy?”

  Luke rose to his feet. He preferred to not be discovered by the dog’s owner. He gave the canine one last pat on the neck and nudged it in the direction of the voice. The dog bounded away to join its master.

  Luke heard the front door of the saloon open. The sound of multiple boots clomping across the wooden floor of the saloon and the boardwalk told him several men left. Luke waited until the building grew quiet. Next, he walked north and crossed Clark Street behind the Arcade Saloon. He melted into the shadow of the shrubbery next to a house with windows still dark, its occupants oblivious to the drama that took place mere yards away.

  Luke watched with gritted teeth as Ah Chin, practically dragging Loi by her elbow, rounded the corner within twenty feet of where he stood. After they passed, he turned west and followed at a distance. Luke soon realized this was the street where most of the Lundy Chinese lived and worked.

  Luke suppressed the urge to snatch her away from the Chinaman. From what he had heard, and now witnessed, he suspected the man wished to deal violently with Loi. However, any action on his part would raise too many questions and probably get him arrested. He followed at a distance, barely close enough to see which building the two entered, before he struck out into the darkness and circled the town to return to his horse. He hoped the Chinaman took Deputy Sheriff Callahan’s warning seriously and did not hurt Loi or spirit her out of Lundy any time soon.

  A guilty conscience ate at Luke. He struggled to figure out why returning Loi to the safety of her people did not leave him feeling at peace. Only after he and his horse were halfway down the canyon road headed towards Mono Lake did Loi’s words spoken days before strike him with the force of the sledgehammer.

  “Chinese prostitute never safe.”

  What a fool he was. He had not returned Loi to safety; he had returned her to the misery and hopelessness of a Chinese prostitute’s life. He had listened from his perspective as an Ojibwa who had lived in the white American world. The whole time he stayed with her, he listened to his conscience that told him to keep her safe from Charley and Tex until she could be returned to her own people. He had done his best to ignore his heart. In spite of what she had told him of her life, he had not put it all together.

  Luke now realized, if he really cared for her safety—cared for her—he needed to get her away from Ah Chin and the hoodlum tong that owned her.

  Frustration shot through Luke. He wanted to capture Loi once more and take her away. He wanted to give her a new and better life—a life with him, he realized. However, he had little to offer her. He barely had enough money to take care of himself and his horse for the next few months or so, assuming he could pick up odd jobs before winter passed and the weather warmed. Charley still could set the law on his tail. If he tried to take Loi with him now, he would condemn her to starvation, and possibly death, even if they escaped a posse or the Chinese hatchet men.

  The deputy sheriff would not hold Loi in Lundy forever. Then she would disappear into the bowels of San Francisco’s Chinatown. If Luke wished to save her, he must act soon.

  In Luke’s mind, the importance of finding Charley Jardine and his money stash escalated. Luke needed the balance of what he had coming to him. He needed much more than that, but he would figure the rest out later.

  First, find Charley.

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  Chapter 32

  ~o0o~

  I t was not until the next day that Kirkus Steves heard of the sensational event that took place after most of Lundy had already crawled into their beds for the night. He narrowed his eyes and muttered. “Bet one of them that stole her was Charley Jardine. I figured that louse was mixed up in this mess from the start. He probably was the one up here nosing around the Chinese looking for ransom money. I’d put money on the other being Tex Wilson.”

  Kirk started up Main Street, asking if anyone had seen Bill Callahan. Finally, someone directed him to the eatery inside the Arcade Saloon.

  ~o0o~

  At the sound of the door being thrown open, Bill Callahan glanced up from his breakfast of German pancakes and fried bacon prepared by Gus Herschel’s Chop Shop inside the saloon. As soon as he saw it was Kirk Steves, he returned to his meal. He grimaced as he heard the man’s hurried footsteps approach.

  “Callahan, I’m surprised to find you here enjoying a leisurely breakfast. I just heard the Chinawoman is back. Why aren’t you out doing your job by looking for whoever dropped her off?”

  Callahan took another bite without looking up. “I know my job, Steves. Speaking of jobs, don’t you have a mine to run? Or, has the Eire gone down like the May Lundy?”

  Annoyance seeped into Kirk’s voice. “The Eire’s doing just fine. Wilson Irwin knows what he’s doing. He can run things without me for a little while.”

  “That’s good. Nice to know you’re dispensable.”

  If Bill Callahan had bothered to look up, he would have seen Kirk Steves’ face flush with anger.

  “Look, Callahan, no sense getting disagreeable about this. I heard it was someone named Tex and the second name was Charboss or Chabus. The first is probably Tex Wilson, or whatever his real name is. But, I’d bet money the second man is his crony, Charley Jardine. You know they’ve been spotted rustling cattle along with a third man no one recognized.”

  Callahan looked up, and his gaze met Kirk’s stare. “Witnesses allegedly saw Charley Jardine and Tex Wilson moving some cattle. No one was close enough they could say for sure—at least, no one would give me a statement in writing or swear to anything that would hold up in court.”

  “You know it was them.”

  Bill turned back to his plate and scraped the last bit together for one last forkful. Funny how one man showing up and spewing his venom could sour his stomach and ruin an entire meal. “Maybe, maybe not. Can’t worry about that. I plan to go after whoever dropped off that Chinese woman.”

  Kirk leaned over and slapped one hand on the table. “Look, Bill, if you’re getting up a posse, I want in on it. I want to you deputize me.”

  Bill Callahan leaned back in his chair and stared at Kirk Steves. He had worked with Steves once before when they were both appointed constables in Lundy years back. Bill had stayed on and become a deputy sheriff. Steves had returned to working the Eire Mine with his partner. The man was okay, but had a tendency to try to take over and push people around, which had gotten him on Bill’s bad side more than once. Still, if it turned out he needed a posse, Kirk Steves was an experienced lawman.

  Then again, Callahan knew Kirk Steves and Charley Jardine had been at each other’s throats for months.

  “I’m not ready to call up a posse yet, Kirk. It froze pretty good last night, which means yesterday’s snow is still on the ground. It doesn’t look to be melting away any time soon. I figure I’ll go out and see what I can pick up in the way of tracks. Depending on what I find, I’ll decide then if I should keep going by myself after whoever dumped her off or come back for help. I know where to find you if
I call up a posse.”

  Kirk Steves tapped his knuckles on the tabletop and straightened to his full height. “I’ll be waiting to hear from you, Callahan. Just remember, Charley Jardine was in town the week before the Chinawoman was stolen off the stage. He disappeared several days, but showed up again right after. He laid low for a couple of days before he took off again. All of a sudden, she shows back up. I don’t know what that tells you, but it tells me he’s involved in this mess up to his eyeballs.”

  Bill sighed and rose to take his plate to the bucket Gus kept by the eating area so diners could wash their own plates and forks. “I know you have heartburn real bad about Charley Jardine, Kirk. I don’t much care for him either. But, without proof, just because a man acts like the scourge of the earth, that doesn’t make him guilty of anything. I’ll be working my investigation today, starting by checking on that Chinawoman to be sure that highbinder pimp of hers has treated her right. After that, I’ll see what turns up down the canyon. Let’s hope the few men in town who know about this had the sense to stay off the road leaving town so I have some decent tracks to follow.”

  Bill stopped by the Chinese brothel. In spite of Ah Chin’s arguments about why Ling Loi was unable to see him that day, he persisted with his demands. His annoyance grew while he waited longer than what he knew it should take for the Chinaman to bring the woman to him. Finally, he heard footsteps on the stairs. When she entered the room, he studied her face. It was painted with the white rice powder and bright red rouge on her cheeks the Chinese women wore—or, at least, the Chinese women at the brothel wore. Her makeup could not hide the black eye and bruise on the side of her head. He also noticed she clutched her free hand to her stomach.

  Callahan growled out a threat. “Ah Chin, I warned you last night not to touch her. A blind man can see you or someone beat her up.”