It's not a question of who's right. It's a question of what's right.
Posted July 27, 2018
Taking his seat outside the front entrance of the hotel he now owned, Matt Wentworth settled down to watch the parade of locals making their way to church. He had learned that there were two churches in town - one Catholic and the other Protestant.
The plan was to watch and learn more about those who lived in this town for another day or so. Having worked as an agent for the Treasury Department's Secret Service for almost ten years, he knew that making a low-key entrance was a better way of finding out what was what and who was who. It didn't hurt that the previous owner of the hotel had been very anxious to get rid of it, making it a perfect opportunity for Matt to get into town without any trouble.
When he arrived three days ago, he first took time to check how his hotel was running. Having owned a few hotels in the past, gave him the knowledge of how one should be run, and he could see that there were problems with this one. Maybe the previous owner, had other concerns, especially about the person who had been planning to buy the hotel - Elias Steelgrave.
Elias Steelgrave had caught the attention of the Treasury Department a long time ago. Steelgrave and his family had all been accused of one thing or another, but no-one could provide any evidence to arrest any of them. Most of those who had attempted to bring charges had either gone quiet or disappeared altogether. With Steelgrave, spending more time at his ranch outside Whitefish, the Service had finally decided to send someone in to keep an eye on them and to gather what information they could to bring about a conviction.
Knowing, that Matt had the necessary experience for an assignment like this, the Service chose him. Part of the job would also be to serve a contact for any other agents in the area and owning a hotel would allow him to meet any strangers coming to town without raising any suspicions. The hotel was legally his so that if Steelgrave or anybody else for that matter decided to check things out they would not find a connection to his government job.
Settling into the chair, Matt wondered how those who were caught up in yesterday's brawl were fairing. Some of them had manage to make it to the dance that was held last night after the fair. The fair itself had been very enjoyable and he had gone to the dance for a short while before retiring for the night.
A man shouting at his children to hurry up, reminded Matt that he would have to introduce himself to the pastor of the Protestant church before joining them next Sunday. Today, he was content to spend the morning finding out more about this town he would be probably calling home for some time to come.
Posted July 28, 2018
Matilda was out on the boardwalk that ran past the saloon, HER saloon now, and was busy sweeping it clean with a broom. Her partner, Ralph, was inside the building, doing some work behind the bar, familiarizing himself with the liquor bottles on the shelves and where everything like glasses, beer mugs, extra towels, etc were for the grand opening on Monday. Of course the woman couldn't help but take note of the various comings and goings of what seemed to be a sizeable portion of the town. Some were walking, riding in wagons or carriages to the north, heading for a small whitewashed church there. Others were going the exact opposite way down what passed for Main Street. She remembered seeing what she believed to be a Catholic church on the outskirts of town upon their first arrival. It all made sense, it was a Sunday, the Lord's day, for those who believed in such things. Matilda was not religious. Besides she had little illusion that a goodly percentage of the church goers would look their noses down on her once they found out she was part of a saloon. She didn't care, bunch of damn hypocrites!
Pausing in her sweeping, she noticed a well dressed man seated in front of the hotel, seemingly watching the same thing she was, the parade of church goers passing the hotel to and fro. She wondered if he could be the owner of that establishment? Although he just as easily could simply be a guest up in the morning and enjoying the weather. It would be a smart business move to know the owner of that place, she figured. If they got along, each might send customers to the other. Mutual profit. Pondering on it for a moment, she decided to take a chance that man was either the owner or at least manager of the business. Setting the broom aside, he called out thru the batwing doors.
"Ralph, I'm gonna go across the street, be back in a few minutes."
From behind the bar came his familiar voice, "Fine, don't get yerself trampled by the devout."
With a chuckle, Matilda turned and then headed straight across the wide Main street, pausing once to allow a carriage to go by, then right up to the man at the hotel front.
"Good morning! Fine day out is it not?"
It's not a question of who's right. It's a question of what's right.
Posted July 29, 2018
Matt raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. Most well-respected women wouldn't come up and start a conversation without a proper introduction but then again, this woman had come from the saloon across the road so maybe she was used to approaching strangers. He had seen her sweeping out front and surmised that she probably wasn't one of the saloon girls. He smiled, besides most of them would still be in bed at this time of day. Maybe she was just someone down on her luck and had to take whatever she could get to put a meal on the table. Jobs for respectable women in towns like Kalispell were few and far between.
Nodding, he answered "It is. Too good of a morning to spend sweeping floors."
Posted July 29, 2018
"Well, if I don't do it, I have to pay someone else to do it then, won't I? I have got enough expenses right now. Besides, what else is there to do on a Sunday? Not everyone is a churchgoer," she shrugged narrow shoulders.
"So....pardon the interruption but would you happen to be the owner or manager of this establishment? Or...be able to point me to him?"
She had almost forgot an introduction but quickly corrected that, "Sorry, I should introduce myself. I am Matilda Devereau, co-owner of that saloon across the street and new in town."
It's not a question of who's right. It's a question of what's right.
Posted July 29, 2018
Matt smiled, "I'm new myself. Arrived the day before yesterday. As for nothing to do on a Sunday, it depends on how you see it. As a business woman, I am sure you have plenty to do but sometimes you need to take the time to find out what else life has to offer."
Looking up and down the street, he pointed towards the Marshal's office "Take that fellow hitching his horse. I suppose he has something to do on Sunday. Now what do you think he could be up to? Is he there to get a friend out who had too much to drink last night? Is he there to make a complaint? Or is there to court the Deputy Marshal? It doesn't really matter. My point is that you can be optimistic or a pessimistic about what a day can bring. I, myself am an optimist and open to all possibilities including inviting you sit with me and asking you to tell more me about how you ended up running a saloon."
Posted July 31, 2018
Ahhh, so another newcomer. Well, she supposed that was truly a positive as it was yet another sign the town was growing fast, that could only be good for business. She'd already met a few other newcomers already in her short stay. The man went on to point out someone hitching a horse then something about the fellow's options. But he did finally get around to his point, inviting her to join him and tell him more about herself. He was a confident one might say cocky sort. What he wasn't though was forthcoming with information, having not answered her question nor introduced himself.
"Well well, while you certainly can wax lyrical on this fine morning, I noticed my question hangs there....unanswered. And I am not in the habit of sitting down and joining a complete stranger in conversation, one who has apparently forgotten his manners. Like returning my introduction...Mister....?" she flashed him a smile but there was a barb to the tone.
It's not a question of who's right. It's a question of what's right.
Posted August 1, 2018
"My apologies, Miss Devereau. The name's Matt Wentworth."
Noting the tone of her voice, he continued, "I'm usually not so forthright with strangers myself but you seem to be interested in knowing whether or not I am the owner or if I know of his whereabouts. From what the desk clerk tells me is that the hotel is currently for sale and that he expects a man called Elias Steelgrave to buy the place any day now."
Posted August 2, 2018
She acknowledged his introduction with a nod, "Mr. Wentworth then."
Now the man was forthcoming with some useful information regarding the hotel and it's owner. Apparently it was about to have a new one?
"Now that is interesting indeed. Thank you for the information, I appreciate it. So it seems then I need to wait for a bit and make an appointment with this....Elias Steelgrave then?"
The name stuck in her memory...........ahh, from the town festival. The Steelgraves owned one of the biggest spreads in Montana it sounded like. And now it seemed they wanted to branch out into owning a business in town. Steelgate might be a useful man to know.
"Unless there is more than one Steelgate, I believe him to be a rancher, a big rich one too," she gave him some info then.
It's not a question of who's right. It's a question of what's right.
Posted August 3, 2018
Matt paused briefly before replying. She seemed to be satisfied at his answer about the hotel ownership. He could have told her that he was the new owner but somehow it wouldn't be right to tell others before he informed the hotel employees that they had a new boss. It also wouldn't fit in his plans of keeping a low profile for another day or two so that he could find out about the town some more.
"From what I gather there is more than one of them. I believe some of them were involved in the fight yesterday afternoon. Elias is the head of the family and the one who pulls all the strings. If I decide to stay here and invest in any local properties or businesses, then I have no doubt that I will run into him at some point."
Posted August 3, 2018
"Ahh yes, the talk of the dance actually - that brawl. I did not witness it but I heard that a couple of the Steelgate hands were confronted by a farm girl. She was 13, 14, something like that and accused them of stealing from her. Apparently one of them then punched the girl in the face. That started up the whole thing, quite a few men got involved," Matilda was willing to engage in some local gossip. Why not, the lifeblood of a small town afterall.
"Being a saloon owner, I've seen more than my share of fights and have on a rare occasion took a punch too so I was more than content to miss that brawl," she smiled, "Of course my partner, Ralph, is the one who then is expected to handle such things. And he does too. Trust me, Mr. Wentworth, you do not ever want to get into a fight with Ralph Flandry."