"I know, I heard you when I came in: I think you're terrific!" Sally said enthusiastically, "Must be wonderful to have a talent like that."
"Umm, thanks for the compliments but I should be good at it, I been doin' this since I was thirteen," Caroline admitted.
She asked where the girl was from. Ahhh, a military brat as they were called not that it made them brats at all. But it usually did make them well traveled alright.
"Texan huh, nope, you don't sound like it," Caroline remarked, "As fer me, I come from Chicago originally. Born and raised in a saloon there. It's in my blood you might say."
"We got us a fort just outside town. I know the lieutenant there, Lt. Greene," she did a bit of name-dropping though she had not mentioned coming from that outpost.
"This place sure looks like an exciting place to work!" the new girl said positively, looking around.
"Oh it can be at times, sure. If a customer ever starts making trouble, just clear back and stay out of it. I'll take care of it or if I can't one of the menfolk will. No sense you riskin' yer life now," Caroline advised.
"Who's the tall, stern lookin' feller behind the bar?" Sally asked, her doe eyes drawn toward the bartender.
"That's Ralph. Me n' him are good friends. He knows what he's doin' and is real good at it too. When he's not busy with customers, I'll introduce ya. He's easy to get along with," Caroline answered.
"Oh and in the kitchen is Messalina. You already met our esteemed boss, Mr. Fortner," there might have been a hint of sarcasm in that last part of hers.
Sally listened with head-tipped interest to Caroline's description of her youth and then looked even more interested when she mentioned the mascot of the men at the fort.
"We got us a fort just outside town."
"Sure, that's where I been workin', Fort Somers." Sally chimed in.
"I know the lieutenant there, Lt. Greene," she did a bit of name-dropping though she had not mentioned coming from that outpost.
The new girl's jaw dropped "You know Mighty Joe Young?!" she asked incredulously "He he, that's what an Indian scout called him once when he first arrived, and it caught on. Oh he's just darlin'!! You know, all the sojers used to make fun of him, what with him being so young and fresh out of military school and all. 'Lieutenant Greenhorn' and all that. But after he got wounded and fought so brave when he rescued that girl from the redskins, why he's just their favourite officer now. I mean they respect 'Brickwall' Barlow, o' course, but he's so stern, Greenie's kind to the men as well as brave..." she gushed on. Then she caught something in Caroline's expression or, who knows what, but a woman just knows, you know. A flood of realization lit up Sally's face and a delighted smile decorated her lips.
"Heyyyy... you are the girl he rescued! And he's stationed in town right now... and...OH! I reckon I'd better turn my sights off the dashin' Lieutenant Greene, huh?" she laughed. Well, if ever a couple were made for each other it was the beautiful Miss Mundee and the handsome Lieutenant. "Tell him 'Soap Sud Sal' says 'hello' though, huh?"
They talked then a little about the saloon, and Sally had another question.
"Who's the tall, stern lookin' feller behind the bar?" Sally asked, her doe eyes drawn toward the bartender.
"That's Ralph. Me n' him are good friends. He knows what he's doin' and is real good at it too. When he's not busy with customers, I'll introduce ya. He's easy to get along with," Caroline answered.
Miss Cutts looked admiringly at the man. 'knows what he's doin' and real good at it too' eh? Well, there was an interesting thought!
"Oh and in the kitchen is Messalina. You already met our esteemed boss, Mr. Fortner," there might have been a hint of sarcasm in that last part of hers.
"Oh yeah, I met Cookie, she sent me out here to collect glasses. Who's that old coot I bumped into in back? The one who high-tailed it when the feller with the 'tash moseyed in?" she asked inquiringly.
Ah so the young miss had been at the fort. Made sense. And suddenly Caroline learned a bit more about Joseph or Lt. Greenhorn as Sally claimed he was known by the troops. Well, he did have a baby face and looked younger than his age but she had no doubt about his soldierly qualities. He had risked his life for her and even got wounded doing it. She listened in silence though as some of it became much more positive. Kind to his men as well as brave, now that was better!
Suddenly Sally gushed, "Heyyyy... you are the girl he rescued! And he's stationed in town right now... and...OH! I reckon I'd better turn my sights off the dashin' Lieutenant Greene, huh?"
"Yep, it was me and Addy, the stage coach driver," Caroline nodded.
"You can set yer sights on Lt. Greene if ya want but I think I already got that battle won........no offense," Caroline radiated confidence.
Talk switched to who else was about in the saloon.
"Oh yeah, I met Cookie, she sent me out here to collect glasses. Who's that old coot I bumped into in back? The one who high-tailed it when the feller with the 'tash moseyed in?" Sally asked inquiringly.
"That's Priest....believe me his last name is nothin' like him. Or it would be more likely 'Snake'. He's an old friend of Fortner. If you want some good advice from one who knows, be careful of both of 'em. Don't trust 'em."
She figured she'd better leave it at that but remembered something else, "Oh almost forgot. We got us a new piano player. He's also the town barber too. Nice fella. Calls himself Chubby...cuz he is. I call him Ivanhoe, it's a name from a book."
"You can set yer sights on Lt. Greene if ya want but I think I already got that battle won........no offense," Caroline radiated confidence.
Sally gave a gurgling laugh "Hur hur, like I'd have a chance against a beautiful woman like you!" She seemed truly amused at the idea: the gorgeous saloon singer in the red dress versus Soap Sud Sally? Snort!
After wheeling through the other employees of the Saloon, Miss Mundee finally landed on the second newest, after Sal herself.
"Oh almost forgot. We got us a new piano player. He's also the town barber too. Nice fella. Calls himself Chubby...cuz he is. I call him Ivanhoe, it's a name from a book."
"Yeah... 'Ivanhoe." said Sally with a po-face, and then a massive grin broke over her face and she laughed out loud. To be fair, it was a pretty famous book - about the only book a good percentage of the households of the nation possessed, apart from the bible, of course. Even a lunk like Sally had heard of it. In seven years' time Mark Twain would write that Sir Walter Scott's fanciful recreation of the romance and chivalry was in part responsible for the Southern mentality that had lead to the Civil War.
She wondered if Caroline was a reader.
"Have you read The Old Curiosity Shop?" she asked, with a sudden intensity in her gaze: almost becoming glassy eyed in asking the question.
Sally gave a gurgling laugh "Hur hur, like I'd have a chance against a beautiful woman like you!"
"Don't sell yerself short, hon, yer pretty enough. But it ain't always about looks," Caroline hoped that Joseph wasn't just interested in her for that reason alone.
Caroline remembered to bring up the current piano player, a new hire. She had almost forgotten to include the man in their saloon 'family'. First impressions of this Sally were good ones in Caroline's opinion. She liked the gal already.
Sally laughed at Caroline's naming of the man - Ivanhoe. No matter, Caroline liked it and was determined to continue to use it. Chubby didn't seem to mind either but then he seemed the real easy going sort.
"Have you read The Old Curiosity Shop?" Sally asked, with a sudden intensity in her gaze.
Caroline blinked, "Nope, never heard of it. I don't read a lot of books to be honest. Never went to school but was lucky enough my mother taught me to read n' write."
"Did you read it? Any good?" she had her own questions for Sally.
Address me as Hon. Hiram Priest, esq.
To the old man, Cookie cooed "Now Mister Priest, you look like you seen a ghost: how about you come back in the kitchen and have a nice cup of coffee and cookie?"
The old man needed no arm-twisting. "Sure sounds like an mighty fine idea, Cookie," he said. The fact was, he was feeling a little bit faint after seeing one of the most vile men he'd ever encountered, stepping into the Stardust. Questions swirled in his mind: What's he doing here? How long is he going to stay? Does he know that I live in Kalispell? So, when he finally sat at the kitchen table, he wrapped both hands around the tin cup and tried to settle down.
"Thank you, m'Dear," he said sincerely. "You're a credit to your race."
They say my Pa killed over 400 people. I 'spect I got some catchin' up to do.
Back in the saloon, Jacob Murrell made his way to the bar.
Ralph had just removed an empty beer glass from the bar top when he glanced to the latest customer.
"What's man need to do to get a drink in this place?" the newcomer asked Ralph.
Ralph paused but answered dryly, "Well you could start by tellin' me what drink do ya want?" He wasn't a mindreader.
Murrell smiled slowly.
"You got a point, Bartender." He then looked beyond Ralph at the bottles lined up under the large mirror. "Tell you what. How about that high-test whiskey." He pointed to a bottle of Old Forrester that looked unopened. "They tell me that'll burn the knots out of a pine plank."
His voice was conversational and pleasant, but his eyes didn't smile. They never smiled.
While Ralph was busy setting him up, he turned and looked at the women of the place. He'd seen better, but what would one expect in Montana?
"Thank you, m'Dear," he said sincerely. "You're a credit to your race."
A credit to her race, huh? Messalina wasn't sure that the same could be said about 'Judge' Hiram Priest, but the man looked spooked. For the first time since he'd ridden into the saloon on Fortner's coat-tails, with a smug look on his face and some high-end playing cards stuffed up his sleeves, he seemed actually human. She had heard the new girl ask the old man about a feller with a moustache who'd walked in - she decided to broach the subject with him.
"You know, Mr Priest, when I was a slave, my Master had a son who was a holy terror: used to whip us poor darkies and holler at us and, well, did things even worse to some of us girls, I don't think I need to spell it out. If that feller walked into this here saloon, I reckon I'd look as pale and squirrel as you do right now." she started to reminisce.
"You got trouble, Mister Priest? Someone come in here who's like that to you, a bad person from out the past?" she guessed.
While Ralph was busy setting him up, he turned and looked at the women of the place. He'd seen better, but what would one expect in Montana?
Hettie Rosenkrantz sidled up to the newcomer at the bar. There was something incredibly attractive about the man: he looked like he might have money.
"Hello handsome. Say, don't I know you from someplace? The face is familiar, but I can't quite place the name." she frowned. It was one of her set piece conversation starters. She'd know in a second if the feller was up for business or not by the way he reacted.
Sally wasn't surprised Caroline had never read The Old Curiosity Shop, books were few and far between out here in the wild and wooly west.
"Did you read it? Any good?" she had her own questions for Sally.
"Oh! It was so affecting!" Sally cooed, closing her eyes and putting her hands to her heart dramatically. "And guess what? I heard that the Theatre is going to put on a play of it and the part of Little Nell is going to be taken by Miss Arabella Mudd, have you seen her? She is so wonderful." the new spittoon polisher sighed, looking enraptured.
Sally glanced over to the bar.
"Say, there's that feller that made the old man run fer the hills, what's he called? Mr Priest? Hmmm, that jolly lady with the red hair's talking to him. Does she work here, too?" she asked of Mrs Rosenkrantz, who was chatting up the payday with the moustache.