"Every town needs a newspaper."
"I understand the man's up for Mayor, gettin' to be a crowded, field it is. Be interesting as hell once they start campaigning. Never did see a respectable campaign where the mud wasn't slung hot 'n heavy as it wore on." McVay observed, and he'd seen a few.
"A might early to start interviewing, but maybe you can tell me how long the gents been in town. This won't be for print, Ralph, maybe use how long he's been in town later on, but I won't wake the devil by starting something in print about just the one."
"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
Amos looked at her somewhat skeptically, "Ya don't say?" The followed her eyes down the bar to McVay. Now, he'd read a paper or two, and liked the mans style. "Hard ta figger anyone'd try an' say such like in print?" He shook his head.
"Oh, you know, the modern sensationalist press and all that!" informed Arabella sagely, parroting the phrase she'd heard someone in town say.
"Oh, and if your little Alice needs anyone to play the piana or organ at the weddin' .... I'm your girl!" she smiled "You can have a sample in a minute, I'm Miss Mundee's accompanist. Let me know if you've got any requests."
"I'll let her know, I surely will, Miss." He'd not caught her name but it was clear she did not like McVay.
Arabella picked up on the question mark. "Oh, we ain't been socially introduced, I'm Arabella, Arabella Sumter Mudd, Miss, of the Virginia Mudds, but no relation to that doctor Mudd what helped John Wilkes Booth, of course. Except my Mama reckoned we was related, but I reckon that was just all in her head because she was red hot sessesh and there was streak of insanity on her side of the family anyhow." she had to keep the introduction short, as she wold be needed at the piano any second.
"Say, come on." she added "Tell me your favourite song and I'll get Miss Mundee to sing it for yuh!"
"Uhhh, faver't song? Don't 'spose Dixie'd be one folks'd wanna hear. Maybe 'Ol' Suszannah, would be okay, Miss Mudd." Amos suggested, "Pleased ta meetcha." He had polished off the first beer, and was looking at the second one, the free one. He was never one to push his drinking. In his former line of work, drinking was a liability if done in excess.
He had actually known a couple of Mudd's from the war, one was from the Carolina's, the other up from Florida. He doubted they were any immediate relation to the young lady, yet he was aware that one never knew. Folks roamed til they found a likely spot and settled. Just the nature of things, it was a big country in all directions.
"I understand the man's up for Mayor, gettin' to be a crowded, field it is. Be interesting as hell once they start campaigning. Never did see a respectable campaign where the mud wasn't slung hot 'n heavy as it wore on." McVay observed.
"That he is," Ralph nodded and left it at that.
"A might early to start interviewing, but maybe you can tell me how long the gents been in town. This won't be for print, Ralph, maybe use how long he's been in town later on, but I won't wake the devil by starting something in print about just the one."
"I'm not sure, I didn't mark nothin' on the calendar but he showed up same day as our new owner, Mr. Fortner. You could ask him. Or for the that matter, you could always ask the man himself," Ralph replied.
"Every town needs a newspaper."
"Well, I might do that, like I said, the campaignin' hasn't started yet, a mite early, but maybe not. Seems the longer it goes before voting, the worse it gets. But I repeat myself. Just needed a bit of history on the feller, personal curiosity I guess." He took a long swallow of the sarsaparilla.
"New owner you say, can't say as I'd heard that, don't recall my putting that in the paper. Fortner, you say? Well what happened to Miss Devereau? Hadn't figured her to sell out. Liked the woman's style. Well, seems there's a great deal of news I've missed. Ought to stop by more often."
"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
"Uhhh, faver't song? Don't 'spose Dixie'd be one folks'd wanna hear. Maybe 'Ol' Suszannah, would be okay, Miss Mudd." Amos suggested, "Pleased ta meetcha." He had polished off the first beer, and was looking at the second one, the free one. He was never one to push his drinking. In his former line of work, drinking was a liability if done in excess.
"You had me at Dixie!" Arabella beamed "Caroline won't sing it for you, she's a Yankee, but I will!!" She ran over to the piano pre-emptively shouting "It's a customer request!!" to Ralph because playing Dixie, amongst some other tunes, was one of the many things she'd had be banned from doing in the saloon, because it often sparked a fight between ex-soldiers in the place, especially when they were well-oiled.
She was also banned from temperance work, playing hymns, doing handstands and, after one bizarre incident that got out of hand one evening, impersonating animals.
She threw herself onto the piano stool and started to pound out the anthem singing along lustily. She did put one twist on the tune though, she always sang the verses back to front:
🎵Oh...Dar’s... buckwheat cakes an Injun batter,
Makes your fat a little fatter;
Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land.
Then hoe it down and scratch your gravel,
To Dixie’s Land I’m bound to travel.
Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land.
I wish I was in Dixie, Hooray! Hooray!
In Dixie’s Land I’ll take my stand
to live and die in Dixie.
Away, away, away down south in Dixie.
Away, away, away down south in Dixie.🎵
The Little Rebel was as happy as a sandboy; she could only have been happier if Mr Conroy had asked for The Bonny Blue Flag.
"New owner you say, can't say as I'd heard that, don't recall my putting that in the paper," the newspaperman declared.
"Just cuz you didn't put it in yer paper don't mean it didn't happen," Ralph replied dryly.
"Fortner, you say? Well what happened to Miss Devereau? Hadn't figured her to sell out. Liked the woman's style. Well, seems there's a great deal of news I've missed. Ought to stop by more often."
"Frank Fortner, you could always interview him ya know," Ralph pointed out then answered about his old friend and former boss, Matilda.
"Miss Devereau decided to move to San Francisco, she didn't much take to the winter weather here and wanted to start up her own place ...as she said...by the ocean. I coulda went with her, she asked to. But I told her I liked it here and I'd stay. We parted as friends," Ralph explained calmly enough, he was never one to get emotional.
Arabella was singing Dixie, she wasn't supposed to be doing that but hell, under this new boss, who knew what the man thought of it all. The girl also knew that Caroline hated it but Arabella often treated Caroline..........well, badly. Ralph didn't get it but that all was between the two gals, he never did understand women.
"Every town needs a newspaper."
"Just cuz you didn't put it in yer paper don't mean it didn't happen," Ralph replied dryly.
"Don't I know that!" Phin agreed. "there's that that gets missed, or I don't hear of 'till after the fact. Almost like Mister Priest running for Mayor
"Fortner, you say? Well what happened to Miss Devereau? Hadn't figured her to sell out. Liked the woman's style. Well, seems there's a great deal of news I've missed. Ought to stop by more often."
"Frank Fortner, you could always interview him ya know," Ralph pointed out then answered about his old friend and former boss, Matilda.
"Miss Devereau decided to move to San Francisco, she didn't much take to the winter weather here and wanted to start up her own place ...as she said...by the ocean. I coulda went with her, she asked to. But I told her I liked it here and I'd stay. We parted as friends," Ralph explained calmly enough, he was never one to get emotional.
"San Francisco? Now there's a town. And good luck to her there. Plenty of folks there, and prpobably plenty of room for another saloon." Phin offered. "Now, Priest and Fortner, I could do that. Actually, I could do both gentlemen easily enough. I think the folks that don't know would appreciate knowing about the ownership change here, and about it's new owner. Might just increase your business some." Not that a change of ownership always drew in new customers, but one can never count out the curious.
The song, a divisive song in parts of the country, and, to a great number of men who fought for the North, but enjoyable to hear for any son of the South. Amos was a bit too old to worry about what anyone thought of the song, or the South, or the rebel army. No, it mattered not to him.
She did a fair job with it, back to front, it had been a long time since he had heard it done that way, a very long time, and for a moment he was back there, before the war, as a younger man with a wife and daughter. The song brought a certain amount of joy, and a certain amount of sadness for Amos. Much transpired during the campaign. Most of it not good.
It was getting time to head back over to Guyers office, It was an enjoyable visit, and chances were, he would revisit the place now and again. With a nod to The barman and a smile to the little lady, Amos stepped out into the night air, paused for a deep breath ad scanned the all but empty main street. Somewhere he had heard there was talk of giving it a name. Seems folks wanted to name everything anymore.
He stepped off the boardwalk and crossed to the Municipal Buiding. A nice evening.
"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
Arabella liked playing the old favourites, so once she'd finished Dixie she carried on plinking out Oh Suzannah seeing as the old timer had asked for it too. But when she saw that he was heading out, she jumped up and threw her tiny arm around the big feller to see him to the door.
"Oh, it was so nice to meet you Mr Convoy! Especially with you bein' from Dixie just like me, and don't forget to vote for Mister Pettigrew in the elections, he's from the South, too, you know, and he's a Democrat!" she hadn't been banned from electioneering in the saloon, yet, but it was a ticking clock "... and don't forget to to ask your beautiful daughter Alice if she needs me to be her bridesmaid! Now, you all come back soon, y'hear!" she yelped as she guided him through the swing doors.
She walked back in with a big proud smile on her face and looked over at the habitually grumpy looking Ralph, who was talking (or at least listening to) Mr McVey. "See, Mr Flandry, that's the way to treat customers!" To be fair, she didn't have to kick out the ones that got ornery.
It was getting time to head back over to Guyers office, It was an enjoyable visit, and chances were, he would revisit the place now and again. With a nod to The barman and a smile to the little lady, Amos stepped out into the night air, paused for a deep breath ad scanned the all but empty main street. Somewhere he had heard there was talk of giving it a name. Seems folks wanted to name everything anymore.
He stepped off the boardwalk and crossed to the Municipal Building. A nice evening.