Escape From Gold Mountain

by Zina Abbott

  Sheriff McKinney next pointed his pistol at Charles Schuman. “Back away, Mr. Schuman.” He then linked his left arm with that of Tex Wilson and pointed the pistol at Tex’s temple. “Deputies Callahan and Steves, I need you here with pistols drawn. Backs to me and Mr. Wilson, gentlemen. I will not have my prisoner stolen from me. I want this crowd dispersed.” The sheriff pointed his pistol towards the sky as he surveyed the onlookers.

  As soon as Callahan and Steves hurried to do his bidding, McKinney once again turned his attention to Charles Schuman, who, by this time, stood several paces in front of the sheriff. The expression on Schuman’s face no longer appeared as confident. “Mr. Schuman, you and the rest of this crowd will leave this area immediately. Anyone who remains within fifty feet of my prisoner ten seconds from now will be arrested and brought up on charges. Do I make myself clear?”

  The crowd, unsure of what to do, remained quiet, but few made any move to leave.

  The sheriff once again pointed his pistol at Charles Schuman. “You, sir, go crawl back into whatever hole you came out of. I’m serious when I say I want you gone—now! If you refuse, I will throw you in cuffs and let you be a guest of the Mono County jail on the same side of the bars as your client.”

  With a look of bitter resignation, Charles Schuman turned to walk away. He twisted back and raised his finger to make a point. “You haven’t heard the last of me, Sheriff. I’ll see you in court.”

  Sheriff McKinney mumbled his response. “You do that.” He turned and looked directly into the eyes of the men who remained. “The same goes for all of you. I will not tolerate a miscarriage of justice while I’m in Lundy. You have five seconds before my deputies and I will start arresting those who remain and shooting those who give us any trouble.”

  Tense with awareness of the volatility of the situation they faced, the three lawmen watched as the sullen crowd shuffled away. As the block emptied except for the four—the sheriff, the two deputies and Tex Wilson—McKinney made his decision. It was time to get his prisoner out of Lundy and into the two-foot-thick stone jail in Bridgeport where he would have better control over him.

  McKinney lowered his gun, signaling to the other two the worst of the crisis was over. “Deputies Callahan and Steves, I need a posse of six men—you two and four others—to accompany me and the prisoner to Bridgeport. I’d like to leave within the hour. Can you find four other trustworthy men and all of you be ready in that time?”

  Kirk Steves stepped around to face the sheriff. “You know we can’t make it there until well after dark. It’s been a new moon. We might need to stop for the night.”

  McKinney sighed at the prospect. It had already snowed twice this autumn and the night air was decidedly cold. He would have preferred to spend the night in the comfort of a hotel room bed and leave at first light. However, he refused to chance losing his prisoner to the schemes of Tex Wilson’s supporters in Lundy. “It is not my first choice, gentlemen, but I think, under the circumstances, it’s the best way to proceed. Instruct the men you recruit to dress warmly and bring an extra thick bedroll.”

  By the murderous looks he had witnessed Kirk Steves give Tex Wilson, McKinney decided he did not dare leave his prisoner alone in his custody for the exact opposite reason he feared to stay in town with so many roughs who supported the accused. “Deputy Sheriff Steves, I will ask you to confer with Deputy Sheriff Callahan on who you think would be best suited for the posse. Then start chasing these men down to get their agreement and issue them their instructions. Tell them they will need food for at least three days on the trail. Deputy Sheriff Callahan, to prevent further trouble, I will ask you to help escort the prisoner to where you have been securing him. I will keep watch while you prepare your horse and his and finish gathering the posse. Grab something quick to eat before we leave. I’m sorry about the dinner, gentlemen. I will make it up to you after we secure the prisoner in Bridgeport.”

  McKinney turned to gaze with longing at the front of May Lundy Hotel. He had been looking forward to a good meal. He spotted the head and half of the body of one of the restaurant employees who, now it was quieter, had braved sticking his head out to see if his diners were still coming.

  Leaving Tex in Callahan’s keeping, McKinney walked over to the man. He pulled some money from his wallet. “Regrettably, we will not be dining here today. What I would like is two plates brought to the jail as soon as possible. Whatever is available, although I am partial to a good roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy if you have it. I assume this will cover it.”

  Sheriff McKinney walked to the Lundy jail and relieved Callahan to get ready for the ride to Bridgeport. The two plates of food arrived, and he handed Tex his to eat the best he could wearing handcuffs. With a sigh of resignation, McKinney leaned against the outside wall and ate his meal.

  One thought kept running through McKinney’s mind. The Chinese woman’s testimony confirmed to him that, regarding the abduction and ransom attempt, Charley Jardine was Tex Wilson’s partner in crime. It was common knowledge the two, along with Charley’s brother and George Lee, had been cahoots for years. Based on his knowledge of the criminal activities of many residents in his county, he knew Charley Jardine was the Char-Boss of the Chinese woman’s testimony.

  Unfortunately, Charley had quickly come under suspicion for the affair, and a hearing had already been held for him in Bridgeport. That happened before McKinney knew about Ling Loi’s description of the other man. In spite of those who testified that Charley had been seen in Lundy just before the abduction and for several days while the woman was gone, there were several others, like Ernest Marks, who testified he was in Bodie the entire time. Without sufficient compelling evidence, Judge Briggs determined they did not have enough proof to bind Charley Jardine over for trial.

  McKinney fought back the discouragement he felt over the failure of the court hearing to accomplish all the goals he, Bill Callahan, and the circuit judge had hoped for.

  First, they hoped Charley Jardine would be brash enough to attend the court hearing in support of Tex. Having a gut feeling Tex and Charley Jardine committed the crime together, and having an eyewitness identify him in a public forum were two different matters. Just having the residents know the truth would have gone a long way toward convincing others to come forward with information and a willingness to testify regarding Jardine’s movements during that time. It would have increased their chances of getting an arrest and conviction.

  Then there was the matter of the unsolved cattle rustling crime from a month back. Plenty of gossip had floated around the county indicating Tex and Charley, along with a third man no one recognized, rustled the missing cattle. Unfortunately, none of his officers had been able to pin anyone down. No one agreed to give a written statement of facts to affirm the identity of the rustlers. The crime went unsolved and unpunished.

  While discussing this situation, several of his deputy sheriffs had speculated that, if it was Tex and Jardine, and the pair was also responsible for the stagecoach affair, they perhaps also involved the mystery cattle rustling accomplice in the abduction and ransom scheme. The other reason McKinney had persuaded the judge to bring the Chinawoman into court was the possibility of convincing her to identify the third man, perhaps point him out in the crowd, if he attended.

  Unless the third man turned out to be a hardened criminal, McKinney had no interest in forcing him into years of prison time. He sought solid evidence against Tex Wilson and Charley Jardine. He was more than willing to offer the mystery accomplice a reduced sentence in exchange for his confession and compelling testimony. That would allow him to get the pair of hoodlums that had been causing him trouble for years convicted of their crimes, sentenced to San Quentin, and out of his county—hopefully on a permanent basis.

  Either the Chinese woman did not understand the question, or there was no third man involved. The other possibility was, in spite of their efforts to appear friendly, treat her with respect, rid her of the intimidating pres
ence of Ah Chin, stress the importance of speaking the truth after saying an oath while her hand rested on the Bible, and pose the question in a non-threatening manner to encourage her to tell about a third accomplice, she chose to keep what they wanted to know to herself. One never knew with those wily Chinese. They were not prone to tell the truth about much of anything, not unless doing so benefitted them.

  McKinney shook his head in disgust. He felt good about the prospects of getting a conviction for Tex. As for Charley Jardine, now the scheme that involved bringing the Chinawoman into court had failed, he must find another way to charge and convict him so he would pay for his crimes.

  For now, McKinney knew he needed to focus on transporting Tex Wilson out of Lundy and securing him in the county jail in Bridgeport. If he failed, Tex’s cronies would find a way to break him free so he could escape.

  In spite of the good people that still lived in this town, roughs had overrun Lundy. The town threatened to become as lawless as Bodie as far as having bad men that ran roughshod over the responsible citizens.

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  Chapter 41

  ~o0o~

  L uke knew he needed to leave Lundy. The longer he stayed, the more he risked people remembering him. As winter approached and the mines prepared to shut down for the season, he overheard conversations about more men planning to leave within the week. Having stayed far from the crowd that surrounded the sheriff and Tex’s attorney during their confrontation, Luke did not learn until later about the posse that left that afternoon to take Tex to the jail in Bridgeport.

  With Tex gone, Luke wondered if Charley remained in Lundy. It might be easier to get at Charley’s stash if the man went to Bridgeport to help his friend. Whether he tried to enter the room from the outside of the building where he might be seen standing on a ladder, or he risked someone seeing him go up the inside stairs to his room, Luke knew getting at the money would be difficult. He needed to act soon, preferably that night. If he waited much longer, either Charley would see him and cause him trouble, or he would get locked into the region by the harsh winter weather.

  Luke stopped by the Arcade Saloon to buy a loaf of bread and some of the meat pies the German cook and his wife sold. The man warned Luke this was his last week. His former cook and her fiancé were due in Lundy that weekend to transport his family to the Caldwell Ranch where they would stay and work over the winter.

  Luke fought down the guilt that washed over him with the awareness the cook planned to stay at the same ranch where he had broken bread, and from whom, no matter how unwillingly, he had been an accomplice to stealing their cattle.

  After Luke paid for his food and left, he began to connect the bits of local knowledge he had gleaned over the past few months. The woman who used to cook for the German, and who was engaged to be married to one of the Caldwell brothers, was the same woman from whom he had, without her knowledge, bought the chicken, eggs, and rice for Loi. Evidently, the woman had been satisfied with the transaction. To his knowledge, she never filed a report with the sheriff in Bridgeport. As small and close-knit as Mono County was, with so many bored men grasping for any sort of gossip to pass along, if there had been an issue made of the missing food, he would have heard. And, just like when Luke had stopped there weeks earlier, this same woman intended to be gone from her home several days in order to help the German cook’s wife and baby make the move.

  A plan formed in Luke’s mind. He knew once he collected Ling Loi, he needed to leave the area quickly. As many supplies as possible needed to be packed and ready to go ahead of time. Not only did the woman with the chicken, eggs and well-stocked pantry she used for cooking meals for the Caldwell Ranch hands have the food he needed for his trip, she had something else on her farm that would be essential to his plan to take Loi with him.

  Luke had yet to decide how to get into Charley’s room to liberate his money from the box hidden in the wall, but he knew it had to be done while the chicken ranch woman was traveling to Lundy. He had to be out of the area before she returned home.

  Luke returned to his camp farther up Mill Creek Canyon in the isolated wilderness on the far side of the beaver dams and wood mills. He took care of his horse before he pried open a can of beans for his dinner. In spite of the convenience of the canned food, they added too much bulk compared to raw beans and rice. He planned to pack only a few cans for those nights he needed to make a cold camp.

  Knowing the sliver of moon made nighttime travel difficult, before it grew completely dark, Luke lead his horse by its reins towards Lundy. By this point, familiar with the path, he made his way behind the houses that lined the north side of Lundy where he hobbled his horse to graze away from any dwellings. Soon he waited in his hiding place behind the Chinese brothel.

  The door opened and Loi walked out carrying a chamber pot. He watched her empty it in the necessary. Ah Chin stood in the doorway. Before she returned, he turned his head, and then he walked away. When Loi went back inside to get the next one, Luke approached the back of the outhouse in silence, thanks to his moccasin-covered feet. The tall, narrow structure completely hid his body from anyone looking outside any of the brothel’s windows. Ignoring the powerful ammonia stench that left him wondering if Ah Chin had ever heard of lime for keeping down odors, he waited for Loi to return.

  His patience rewarded him. Soon, footsteps approach the necessary. Luke peered through one of the cracks between the boards to assure himself the silhouette belonged to Loi. The door swung open and Loi emptied the pot into the pit.

  Luke kept his voice low. “Ling Loi, please put the pot down, then step inside and close the door.”

  Luke smiled at the sound of Loi’s surprised gasp. Fortunately, she kept quiet and did as he asked.

  As soon Loi latched the door, Luke sensed she turned towards the back of the necessary. He smiled as he realized she moved one of her eyeballs to a space between the boards as she sought a glimpse of him.

  “Shorty, why you here? It not safe. If Ah Chin find you, he kill you.”

  Luke softly laughed in response. “He might try, Loi. Unless you told him about me, he doesn’t know I exist. Did you say anything about me? I know you didn’t tell the deputy sheriff about me a few weeks ago or say anything to the judge today. For that, I’m very grateful.”

  Loi’s soft denial held a hint of offense. “No. I no tell. You not bad man. You need go far away, no one find you.”

  “Loi, I want to take you with me, far away from here. Will you come?”

  Luke listened to Loi suck in her breath. Next, she moaned with regret.

  “Men who love Chinese prostitute, they run away, hatchet men always find. Men die very bad way. Women forced to come back, punished bad. I not want you to die, Shorty.”

  “I don’t plan to die, Loi. You don’t know they always catch those who run away. Maybe they say that to frighten people so they won’t even try. Besides, most of the men who help Chinese women escape are Chinese, right?”

  “Y…yes.”

  “Outside of the Chinatowns, the Chinese really stick out in a crowd. Most white Americans won’t help them, and any Chinese who see them are too frightened by the hatchet men to hide them. I’m not Chinese.”

  “It not matter. Hatchet men find me, they kill you.”

  Luke shook his head even though he knew Loi could not see him. “Loi, I don’t like leaving you here with Ah Chin. I’ll take you to San Francisco’s Chinatown if that is where you want to go. But I hope you’ll choose to come with me.”

  “Afraid, Shorty. On Yick big boss very angry I stay for American court. If it my fate to go Chinatown, but we go away, and they catch me, very bad.”

  “Going to Chinatown in San Francisco is only your fate if you want it to be, Loi. If you could choose your fate, what do you want it to be?”

  ~o0o~

  Loi clutched her chest to still her pounding heart and heavy breathing. What she wished her fate to be had not ch
anged since Shorty asked the question while on the horseback ride many weeks before, only now she wanted it more than ever. She feared she tempted bad luck for wanting it with him, but she forced out the words. “Cong leong. Return to way of decency. Be good wife to one man, give husband many sons.”

  Silence hung heavy in the air several seconds before Shorty responded. “Do you wish to only marry a Chinese man, or would you be willing to marry me?”

  Yes. You, Shorty. A multitude of thoughts danced across Loi’s mind as she tried to organize them into a truthful answer. She knew in her heart she yearned to be with Shorty. Yet, until she met him weeks earlier, she had never considered marrying a man who was not Chinese.

  Before Loi could speak, Shorty’s words interrupted her thoughts. “I’ve got an idea how to get us far away from Chinatown and the tongs. They’ll never find you.”

  “Americans no like Chinese, Shorty. Hate me.”

  “Whether or not you wish to marry me, let me take you to my people. There will be some people where I’m from who will hate you just as there are those who hate me. There will many who will protect us and say nothing. My family will come to love you.”

  Loi sucked in her breath and pushed one of her petite fingers through a knothole in an effort to reach Luke. Her heart beat faster as his fingers grasped hers. How she desired for Shorty’s words to be true. It did not matter to her whether Shorty was Chinese or white. She wished to have a true marriage with him and no one else. However, Shorty ignored the biggest problem preventing them from being able to marry.

  “Shorty, American law not let white people and Chinese marry.”