Escape From Gold Mountain

by Zina Abbott

  Jim Toy nodded in understanding. “Good Chinese food make American wish to try good Chinese woman. American law now make it very hard to get Chinese women in America, only allow few wives of wealthy Chinese men who already live in America to come. Other women come, but tongs sneak in to be wives to a hundred men so Chinese men can have their pleasure. Lundy have few Chinese women, they prostitutes.”

  “Where do they keep these wives to a hundred men? Are they only for Chinese men, or can other men spend time with them, too?”

  Once again Jim Toy’s eyes gleamed with comprehension. “Sometimes other men. Boss of Chinese women in Lundy, he not care if money come from Chinese or others. You go big house two floors tall on Clark Street, one block west, ask for Ah Chin.”

  Luke nodded and repeated the name. He did not reveal he was well aware of Ah Chin.

  “You smart man, you no talk to Ah Chin about tongs or Chinatown. He Lundy boss On Yick tong. He have two women for pleasure, but not happy he must keep third woman for trial, woman Tex Wilson steal from stagecoach.”

  Luke offered a lop-sided smile. “What does he do with the third woman? Not enough business for three? I thought you Chinese were short on women.”

  “Ah Chin punish her. She lose all money, Tex Wilson take. Ah Chin use her, treat her like lowest slave, no let other men visit her. She get no gifts from special customers. He give her old room to new woman. She sleep in kitchen on floor. Ah Chin make her work for him and two singsong girls. Ah Chin knows On Yick tong big boss very angry she lose money, not come Chinatown.” The Chinaman offered a knowing smile. “New woman good, but some say not good like Ling Loi.”

  Luke raised his eyebrows and shrugged, hoping his expression did not betray he recognized Loi’s name. “Since I assume he gets a big cut off anything these women make, seems to me he’s losing out on business. But, not my concern.”

  Jim Toy bowed as Luke rose to leave the restaurant. Then he stood up straight and looked Luke in the eye. “If you go see Chinese woman, you smart you say nothing. You ask Ah Chin about On Yick, he decide you trouble for him. He make trouble go away, never come back.”

  Luke studied the Chinaman’s face for a few seconds before he spoke. “Thank you, Mr. Toy. If I visit one of the Chinese women, I’ll keep your warning in mind.”

  Luke now knew more about Loi’s situation. As much as he wished to see her, he knew from what Jim Toy told him it was pointless for him to visit the Chinese whorehouse as a customer and request time with her. Although still in town, she remained Ah Chin’s prisoner until she could be sent to Chinatown.

  His quest next focused on the whereabouts of Charley Jardine.

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  Chapter 36

  ~o0o~

  L uke came to the conclusion the men in Lundy remained strongly divided in their support of Tex Wilson and the proper outcome of the upcoming preliminary court examination. Some favored stringing him up and saving the county the cost of a trial. Others maintained his innocence.

  After several fruitless nights of searching for Charley, Luke sat at a table close to the bar in the Pioneer Saloon, the same building he had sat in front of to witness Loi being put on the stagecoach. He overheard two miners opine how Tex and his cohorts—Charley Jardine, Jardine’s brother, James, and the bartender, George Lee—had terrorized Lundy long enough. The talk strengthened his conviction of Charley’s depth of depravity.

  Luke no longer contained his curiosity. He spoke to the two who sat less than ten feet from him. “I’m surprised there’s this much support for punishing the man who stole the Chinese woman. Most people don’t much care what happens to the Chinese.”

  Both men turned and studied Luke.

  One of them spat on the floor before he responded. “Don’t nobody care about what happened to the Chinese whore. What we’re not about to tolerate is having our stagecoach held up. Next time, maybe a decent woman or one of us will get took off and robbed or worse. Drivers might start thinking it’s not worth risking their lives to come up to Lundy. We lose our stagecoach, there goes our mail.”

  Luke nodded. “Makes sense.” He looked away, halfway turning his back to the pair to leave the conversation.

  Luke learned there were others, apparently led by a man named Kirkus Steves, who believed Charley Jardine had orchestrated the whole incident. Steves believed Charley had used Tex as his tool, and he was sure Charley was the one who contacted the Chinese about the ransom.

  Luke recalled the time back at the cabin when Charley complained that someone in Lundy kept dogging his steps. Luke made a point to stay clear of Kirkus Steves, but he watched him from afar in case he eventually led him to Charley.

  The next night, prompted by the news Mr. Charles A. Schuman, a local Lundy attorney, had agreed to take Tex’s case, the fervor over Tex Wilson’s trial spiked. Tex was still in the jail being held chains. Bill Callahan, who refused to relinquish control of his prisoner to anyone else, took responsibility for seeing the man got fed and his slop bucket emptied. The times he chose to take Tex to one of the eateries for supper always drew a crowd. Luke studied those who inevitably gathered and followed the entourage more than he watched the deputy sheriff with his prisoner. He knew Tex’s whereabouts; he hoped Tex’s appearances would lure Charley into the open.

  Luke knew if he spent much time along Clark Street, the Chinese would notice him. However, he could not resist disappearing into the foliage and rocks bordering the rear of the Clark Street houses to sneak to the back of the Chinese brothel. Except one small opening to the side of a door, he saw no windows on the ground floor. He noted four windows on the second floor, but all were small and set under the eaves. He noticed that the corners the roof were built in the upturned Chinese style designed to ward off evil spirits. At night he saw a few shadows flicker across those windows, but no silhouettes of people.

  Luke’s prey finally appeared. Like tracking an elusive mountain lion, after waiting over the course of a few days, he watched Loi exit the back of the brothel. She gingerly carried a chamber pot in an effort to not drop or spill it. Over light-colored trousers, she wore an unbleached cotton smock made in the Chinese style. Based on her bulky appearance, Luke suspected she still wore her black quilted jacket underneath. She balanced carefully on her feet as she walked to the necessary. Once there, she entered and emptied the container.

  Luke prepared to walk towards her. Before he betrayed his hiding place, he glanced up and saw Ah Chin step outside and close the door behind him. The Chinese pimp stood with his feet wide apart and his arms folded. He buried his hands in the flowing sleeves of his blouse where he could easily reach the weapons he kept strapped to his forearms. Luke never would have guessed they were there if Loi had not warned him. Luke froze in place as he watched Loi return to the back door and rinse out the pot with water taken from a nearby barrel.

  Ah Chin stepped aside for Loi to enter. She made two more trips carrying and emptying chamber pots while Ah Chin looked on. Luke suspected he enjoyed witnessing her humiliation. When she brought the fourth pot to the necessary, after Loi emptied it, she set it outside and entered, closing the door behind her. Ah Chin returned inside the brothel rather than wait for her to return, but Luke saw him peer out the window.

  Luke dared not put Loi at risk by attempting to approach the necessary in the daylight. Although Loi looked unkempt and her face appeared thinner than before, to Luke, she did not appear to be mistreated.

  Luke watched for several days and soon knew the routine. Loi emptied chamber pots mid-morning, probably shortly after the occupants woke and finished their morning ablations, and again after dark. At night, she used the light of the window to see her way to the necessary. Often at night, Ah Chin stuck his head in the window, diminishing the light, as he checked on her.

  Luke had learned earlier that day the circuit judge would arrive in Lundy and hold court on Thursday to determine if Tex should be bound over for trial. Luke knew
Callahan planned on bringing in Loi to testify.

  Until he left Lundy for good, Luke dared not to draw attention his direction. As much as he wished to attend the hearing, Luke knew better than to show his face in the courtroom. Considering he had deserted her to Ah Chin, Luke hoped she would not decide to betray him. He knew she owed him nothing. He still wondered, if Loi saw him, would she point him out and identify him? Depending on how things went at the hearing, Luke planned to wait behind the necessary that night to talk to Loi.

  Would Charley Jardine turn up in town for the examination? Even if Tex declined to finger his partner in crime, would Loi recognize him and point him out to the courts?

  Part of the answer revealed itself to Luke that Wednesday night.

  Andrew Waltze, the driver of the stagecoach the day Tex abducted Loi, arrived in Lundy to testify. Some offered him a friendly greeting and thanked him for being there. However, before the night was over, a ruckus arose in front of the Arcade Saloon where Waltze had gone to eat his dinner and wile away some time. As he returned to the Kelly Hotel the next block over, loud shouting erupted. That caught Luke’s attention. Luke hunkered down in the shadows of the side doorway of the Arcade Saloon facing Third Street when he recognized a very loud, very drunk Charley Jardine—waving a pistol in one hand and gripping the neck of a whiskey bottle a third full in the other—who followed Andrew Waltze as he crossed the street.

  Luke’s patience had paid off. Charley did return to Lundy, no doubt drawn by the impending preliminary hearing for Tex. he probably came to make sure Tex said nothing to implicate him.

  Luke crossed the street but kept to the shadows, grateful the sliver of moon cast little light. He followed close enough to still hear and see what took place.

  Charley raised his pistol to the sky and shot off a round. “You’ve no business here, Andrew Waltze. You need to go back where you came from rather than cause trouble where you’re not wanted.”

  The man turned around and faced Charley. “I’m here because I was subpoenaed and no other reason. I know Ernest Marks from Bodie is a friend of yours, and he’s convinced you to scare me off from testifying. As reluctant as I am to be here, I’m not going anywhere until I do my civic duty.”

  Jeers of support for Tex Wilson offset others calling out for justice and for Jardine to back away and let their stagecoach driver be. Over it all, Charley continued his litany of threats.

  “You’re drunk, Mr. Jardine. You need to go somewhere and sleep it off. Now, leave me alone.” With that, Andrew Waltze walked backwards a few steps before he inhaled and stiffened his spine. He turned his back on Charley and hurried towards the door to his hotel, no doubt hoping not even Charley Jardine would shoot a man in the back.

  Charley hesitated, then charged forward, only to be met by a crowd of men who stepped into his path with warnings of a lynching for both him and Tex Wilson if he refused to stop his threats and leave.

  After several minutes of arguing between the men from both camps for and against getting rid of Andrew Waltze, a third group in favor of breaking up the trouble raised their voices. They managed to quell the fervor of both groups. Charley agreed to return to the Magnolia Saloon to have one more drink with his friend and fellow sympathizer, bartender George Lee.

  After the mob broke up, Luke waited for several minutes. He stepped onto the boardwalk and looked towards Lundy Lake, the direction in which Charley and his supporters had headed. Although a few men who had not yet found their beds for the night roamed the street, Luke could not see anyone he could identify as Charley.

  Luke walked north to Clark Street near the rear of the Arcade Saloon. Although he had made friends with the dog he had encountered his first night in Lundy, he preferred to not come across the dog’s owner, a young man who walked with a crutch and was a friendly sort who liked to talk.

  Luke studied the back of the line of buildings in the next block to the east to determine which housed the Magnolia Saloon. While they were still at the cabin, he recalled hearing that Charley kept a room in the Magnolia. He stayed there when he was in Lundy.

  After Luke identified the location of that particular saloon, he circled around to Main Street. Staying clear of the light cast through the front window, he peered in and spotted Charley. Evidently, the man had settled down somewhat, although he continued to drink without benefit of a glass. Another man Luke did not know, with his arm around Charley’s shoulder, stood next to him at the bar. He resembled Charley enough for Luke to guess it was Charley’s brother, James Jardine. After several minutes, the stranger helped Charley towards the stairs leading to a second story. Charley waved the man off before he staggered up the steps. The stranger turned and left the saloon.

  Luke once again stepped back into the shadows between the two buildings and watched the man walk away. If Luke ended up confronting Charley, the brother was a man to be wary of. Otherwise, Luke saw no reason to have dealings with him. As much as he had heard about the two Jardine brothers getting into scrapes together, the brother had not been involved with Charley and Tex during the time Loi had been abducted and held for ransom.

  Luke no sooner walked to the back of the Magnolia Saloon once more when the back door opened. A man stepped outside long enough to grab an armful of firewood. He returned inside and slammed the door. The light that filtered out while the door had been open illuminated a ladder leaning against a shed behind the building. Luke moved to the side of the shed while he studied the back of the Magnolia, particularly the second floor. Closed drapes prevented all but the smallest slivers of light from shining out of one window. Luke guessed the room might belong to Charley, but he wanted to know for sure.

  Luke stepped forward, only to freeze in his tracks. The curtains were thrown aside, Backlit by the light behind him, the silhouette of a hatless man stood in the center of the window. Luke watched as Charley Jardine tugged on the bottom pane of glass and slid it up the frame. Worried Charley might have spotted him, Luke’s gut clenched as he watched Charley stick his head out in the cold autumn air and inhale deeply several times. Charley drew his head back inside, slammed the window shut, and yanked the curtains back in place.

  Luke waited several breaths before he picked up the ladder and eased it against the wall to one side of the window. He climbed as high as he dared.

  Luke angled his head to peer through the cracks at the edges of the curtains. Charley stood close to the wall on the other side of the window and on the far side of his bed. Luke watched as Charley dragged the steel frame of his bedstead partway across the floor. Luke lost sight of him when Charley hunkered down to the floor. Luke listened to scratching noises echo along wall that supported the ladder. Next, all went silent. Soon, the sound of Charley beating the wall with his fist caused the outside wall to vibrate. Luke watched as Charley rose to his feet, several bills clutched in one hand.

  Charley staggered across the room and located a leather wallet in an inside pocket of his jacket. He haphazardly shoved the money inside. Charley next dragged the bed frame to its original position. Through the window, Luke faintly heard the springs squeak in protest as a fully-clothed Charley Jardine collapsed on the mattress.

  A smug smile spread across Luke’s face as he descended. He now knew where Charley kept his cash. Suspecting he might need it again soon, he carefully returned the ladder to its place.

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  Chapter 37

  ~o0o~

  L uke watched as Mono County Sheriff C. F. McKinney, well-built and appearing confident with his dark hair and moustache impeccably groomed, personally escorted the circuit judge to the Lundy courtroom for the examination of the evidence to see if Tex Wilson should be bound over for trial. Word quickly spread that the sheriff intended to continue to hold the prisoner regardless of the outcome of the trial. Kern County also had a warrant out for Tex Wilson, and Sheriff McKinney intended to send him there no matter the outcome of today’s hearing. Luke assumed i
t was a matter of pride for the lawman that Tex’s case be handled properly.

  Although the court session was held on a weekday, Luke wondered at the number of people who entered the courtroom. Even more milled around outside. Luke suspected many of the men did not have jobs and were numbered among the roughs that caused trouble in town.

  Not wanting to be recognized should Charley show up at the hearing, Luke dressed like a Paiute. He knew several half-blood Paiutes lived in the county and occasionally came to Lundy to sell fish they caught in Mono Lake. White men did not tend to look beyond the Paiute-made fur coat and moccasins he now wore. Luke had also latched onto a beat-up derby with a puncture tear in the crown he found along one of the back trails in the canyon. He wrapped a scarf around the hat and his neck, thus covering part of his face. The tomahawk which he knew Charley would recognize, he left with his horse. He squatted by the wall next to one of the rear side windows and waited as Sheriff McKinney, holding one of Tex’s arms and Deputy Sheriff Bill Callahan holding the other, escorted a shackled Tex Wilson inside the court building.

  The hearing started. Luke peered through the windows like any curious person. His eyes surveyed the crowd. No Charley. Then again, Luke did not expect to see him, especially once the clerk called Andrew Waltze to the stand to be sworn in and examined.

  Mr. Waltze clenched his jaw in anger at the taunting questions Tex’s lawyer fired at him, but he held his ground. He had seen Tex’s horse and identified it as the one the abductor rode. He identified Tex. Even though Tex wore a mask when he stopped the stagecoach, he still wore the same clothes in the courtroom as on the day of the incident.

  The judge called a break so Callahan could bring in his next witness, Ling Loi. Luke casually turned and walked to the back of the building. He turned west as if going to Jim Toy’s restaurant. Hidden in shadows, from a half block away, he watched Ah Chin grip Loi’s elbow as the pair walked behind Callahan.