"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
"Yes, the one good thing that came out of that dreadful incident. Here you go," Clara set the tray down and placed the appropriate drinks in front of each of the trio.
Arabella looked at the glass of water she got and the nice coffee that Alice and Speed got.
"Thanks" she said, in a lack lustre voice.
"Father is truly humbled by the support he is being given by the community," she addressed the marshal and his bride to be.
For her part, suddenly feeling ashamed that she wasn't doing her bit, Arabella turned in her seat and reached out and squeezed Clara's hand, even though the homesteader's daughter didn't usually like that sort of thing. "Oh, Clara-Ann, your Daddy was so kind to me when I got squished by that house in Whitefish, taking me in and letting me sleep in your bed and everything, I'm going to ask Miss Hardy if I can take the day off rehearsals so I can come along and help too, if you really want me to!" she offered.
To Alice and Guyer she added "It is an awfully big ask, though - I mean, I'm virtually carrying the whole play."
"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
"You know Cara this is the first we've heard of it, but you can certainly count on us being there to help any way we can with that barn-raising. He needs to get that in the Union so those who may not know about it will find out." Speed said, considering those folks in the outlying areas.
"Oh, certainly. I'd bet that Mister McVay would publish it at no cost." Alice chimed in. "How these things continue to plague this county is just a mystery to me. The army is here but seems powerless to intervene, the Territorial Marshals were pulled out for other situations that were deemed more in need of their services." She looked at Speed, "You know what Mister Guyer, we need to go to Helena and have a visit with Mister Dutton Peabody and see what can be done."
He looked at Alice. "Who lit a fire under you?" He asked.
"The man's name is Steelgrave, either one of them!" She stated, "Sorry Arabella, I'm sure you would be welcomed at the barn raising."
Turned out Guyer hadn't been aware of the attack and the barn burning, it didn't speak well for the state of law keeping in this community was Clara's first thought. But it wouldn't have mattered who was in town that night, an experienced lawman or young Charlie (who even a biased Clara had to admit was trying his best in the job), the whole incident was over by the time anyone from Kalispell could have arrived to the rescue.
So Clara kept her jaded opinion to herself and addressed the barn raising.
"I do believe Mr.McVay will be publishing some sort of notice or article at least. After all it was......is local news in this community," opined Clara, "And one should not charge the individuals involved for the news."
Miss Fletcher had the right of it though. This Clara would echo her opinion.
"Both Father and I are positive it was men from the Evergreen ranch but as for recognizing faces and putting names to them. Sadly we can not. Father is confident he hit one in the back as they retreated and he uses a Sharp's carbine so that makes quite an impact as you are no doubt aware. But not like they will bring the man into town for a funeral if he did die. Not sure if they would risk asking our town doctor to treat him either should he have survived," Clara surmised.
She did not wish to neglect Ara either, "Kind of you to offer. You are certainly most welcome but I understand the oft demanding responsibilities of one's job. If you cannot make it, I will not think the less of you. I value our friendship."
"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
She did not wish to neglect Ara either, "Kind of you to offer. You are certainly most welcome but I understand the oft demanding responsibilities of one's job. If you cannot make it, I will not think the less of you. I value our friendship."
Arabella gave Clara a simpering smile, then suddenly got that cross-eyed look she always had when she had one of her 'Great Ideas'.
"Hey, I know! I'll do like them fellers used to do in the war and hire a substitute!" she chirped. She looked at Alice Fletcher, for some reason assuming she wouldn't know much about this subject. "That's what some rich men used to do when they were too busy to go off and fight for their state themselves, and nobody ever thought any the worse of them for it..." Well, that was debatable!
"... they'd pay some poor boy to go and get his head blown off in their place: that's how my cousin Buford ended up in the Louisiana Tigers. They were a Zouave Regiment like Mr Flandry at the saloon was in, except the Louisiana Tigers were on our side, I mean the right side, I mean The Confederate Side! You know what I mean. Anyhow, he got his head blown right off at First Manassas... Cousin Buford, that is, not Mr Flandry."
Well, good job she made that clear.
"And I know just the person to send! She can come along and..." Arabella frowned and looked at all three of them "... say, what the dickens do the ladies do at a barn raising anyhow? We're far too delicate to lift big heavy timbers and bang in nails aren't we? Well, unless it's Jemima Wigfall, of course."
@[Flip]
Alice had just raised her mug to her lips when Arabella said; "... say, what the dickens do the ladies do at a barn raising anyhow? We're far too delicate to lift big heavy timbers and bang in nails aren't we? Well, unless it's Jemima Wigfall, of course."
"Why Arabella, at a barn raising most women bring food for the men, or drink, though I'm sure there is water on the Redmond farm. And, women can lend a hand with things such as handing tools, nails, and the like to the men as needed. And then there's the serving of the food. There is actually no end to the things that women can do at a barn raising." Alice replied, it really was not an unfair question to be asked.
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Speed listened, knowing there was not a lot that he or anyone could do. He needed to know if his temporary ability to enforce county laws was still in effect. A simple telegram would answer that, unless of course he was requested to make the trip to Helena for whatever reason. He would see to the telegram on Monday.
Information on the attackers was scarce, and that was not helpful at all. A positive identification of any one of the riders, or even the brand on a horse would be most helpful. At the moment, Speed had nothing to go on.
"Well then, we will see what can be done. Without the ability to point out at least one of the men, that really does tie our hands. Though I would agree that the Steelgraves, either one, are prime suspects in this matter, at the moment it would appear that there is little we can do." He knew it was not the answer she wanted to hear.
"Yes indeed, Arabella, Miss Fletcher has the right of it," nodded Clara, "We do not expect you to saw lumber or pound nails, that is for the menfolk. Simply assist those ladies there in what she listed. And when the barn is up, everyone then can join in on a fine community supper and there will be some music and dancing. I am sure you will enjoy yourself, being the social butterfly that you are."
The marshal was back to the actual incident itself, "Well then, we will see what can be done. Without the ability to point out at least one of the men, that really does tie our hands. Though I would agree that the Steelgraves, either one, are prime suspects in this matter, at the moment it would appear that there is little we can do."
"Father understands, he is not being critical of the law. I believe that my younger brother, Wyatt, probably did get the closest looks at a few of them as he was on the ground whilst they milled about shooting. But he would not know names and - to be blunt - neither Father nor myself wish to see him dragged any further into this. God only knows what the Evergreen cabal might do to any witness against them if it came to a trial," Clara added.
"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
Arabella listened to all this talk of the Steelgraves with disquiet. She'd lived here now for ten months or so, and in that time she had heard a lot of bad things about the Father, the son and their hired hands. There had been the odd scuffle in the saloon while she had worked there, and Brendan had become mixed up in some trouble when he had briefly been a Steelgrave man and ended up killing the first and last boy she ever had any kind of sexual experimentation with, Billy.
His name would live on: whenever Arabella was asked in interviews, even as late as a 1937 wireless broadcast, why she had never married, she would always trot out the lie that she had fallen in love with a boy called Billy in the Spring of 18 and 76, that she had sworn to be true to him forever, and that when he had been killed in a gunfight a few weeks later, she had sworn to keep her vow.
It made a picturesque story and a convenient excuse when she was besieged by offers of marriage and love affairs in later years.
But, back to the present, things seemed to be really escalating. The great ranch feud was starting to impinge upon her safe little world of Kalispell: first the shooting in the back of the brave man who sat before her, and now the attack on the family in the little house on the prairie that had offered her shelter and succour when she had been at her lowest ebb, and nearer to death than she cared to remember.
She immediately forgot all ideas of sending a substitute.
"I'll be there" she said quietly.
"NOW!" she yelped suddenly "Back to this wedding, Miss Fletcher. Who's doin' your hair?! Cause I know someone who can give you the latest style right here in Kalispell. Look" she primped her own complicated coiffure "Who d'ya think did this?"
"I think perhaps we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves here," Alice said good-naturedly. "We have yet to set a date, but set it we will, and I think we'll be doing that as soon as he catches up, And no, we won't be going on a honeymoon anywhere near as long as the Pikes, not that I wouldn't mind such a trip. But He needs to be back in both offices, and we need to get ourselves caught up everywhere."
"Alice has a point, and the last thing I'd want to do is squeeze in the ceremony between my job for the town where I've been gone from long enough, and the mining interests both ours and Woods and Guyer's." Speed said, "and if I may, I should have Pronto back ion the next few days as I heard he was back, and we'll ride out to your father's farm and have a look around. And Cara, we will not drag your brother into this business any more than he has already been.
"Oh yes, Barnabas and Emeline, it will be so good to see them again, and really, we could not even consider having a wedding without them being here for it." Alice inserted into the conversation about the destruction at the Redmond farm. "Oh, and when will this barn raising take place so we are sure not to miss it?"
"
Arabella solemnly stated then, "I'll be there."
Clara nodded, "Thank you, you are a good friend. Wyatt will be happy to see you again too."
"But perhaps, Ara, you should not rush these two into their wedding? Let them proceed at their decided pace," she tried a helpful suggestion.
Speed promised that the law would not drag her little brother into the investigation on the attack which was good to hear, that was her biggest fear. Wyatt was growing up fast but he was still too young for this sort of thing.
"Thank you, marshal."
As for the barn raising, she answered, "We have not set any final date yet. First we need to gather all the necessary construction materials and then pick a suitable day for the volunteers to assemble and put it up. Weather might enter into it too. We would hardly try to do it in a rainstorm or some such. And to be honest, my Father has never done anything like this before so it is all rather new to him."
"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
Miss Fletcher and the Marshal weren’t keen to talk about wedding dates and plans: they were both being very, very grown up and sensible about it all. To Arabella, that seemed quite the opposite of how weddings should be. In her world, everyone would get married on the spur of the moment, like Jacob and Clara.
Alice inserted into the conversation about the destruction at the Redmond farm. "Oh, and when will this barn raising take place so we are sure not to miss it?"
Arabella was glad to hear that Alice would be there and, more importantly, Mr Guyer, to make sure there was no more trouble with the Steelgrave henchmen.
"We have not set any final date yet. First we need to gather all the necessary construction materials and then pick a suitable day for the volunteers to assemble and put it up. Weather might enter into it too. We would hardly try to do it in a rainstorm or some such. And to be honest, my Father has never done anything like this before so it is all rather new to him."
“Well, he needs to make sure he asks advice from someone who really knows what they’re doing. Believe me, there’s a hundred and one self-declared experts on everything and anything in this town – but none of them knows diddly-squat when it comes down to it.” Opined Arabella, who was a self-declared expert on such things.
“Your Papa needs to ask someone who’s actually got a barn they raised themselves, and which hasn’t fallen down on their heads… lately!”