"Don't worry Miss," Shintaro responded, wiping his blade clean before sheathing it. It was clear the miner was too busy being over dramatic over a minor flesh wound to cause any further trouble. Shintaro was skilled enough with a blade ensure his cut wasn't deep and as long as the man tended to it properly it wouldn't prove life threatening. "I saw enough of that man's attack on you to know he was completely at fault and not you."
"Yes, sir." Taking a breath, Tully nodded. "I don't know why they won't just leave me alone." She knew she was different, sort of wild and unkempt -- Mr. McVey was working on that -- and she just wanted to fade into the background and be invisible -- he was working on that, too!
Then it occurred to her that the man here might be in the same situation. He was certainly different, and she knew that people ogled him, heck, even she had. But he held himself with confidence, and he was, after all, a man, so he could handle himself.
"Didn't never see no one usin' a sword like that," she mumbled, just as something to say, but it was true, swords were for veterans of the War Between the States to wear in parades, not use to actually fight!
While gunfire wasn't particularly unusual in town, it still was something to be concerned about in the middle of the day, especially when it was mid- payday for the cowboys and the miners. And as much as Jonah wanted to write the shots he'd heard off as drunken frivolity, he knew he had to go check it out.
Excusing himself from the mercantile, and asking the clerk to hold his items, he stepped warily onto the boardwalk, looking around for the source of trouble and quickly spotting it. He recognized Speed and Mr. Wentworth, and once they seemed relaxed, he started over that way. There were apparently some injuries, as there were bodies in the dirt, he just hoped it wasn't anything bad.
"Gentlemen." He nodded to the men still standing, giving the oddly-dressed man a quick look-over, then noticed Tully. "And lady. Is anyone in need of my services?"
"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
"Jonah, Glad you're here, this is Mister Shintaro Takahashi, my newest Deputy. he is Japanese, and well, new to these parts." Speed introduced, "Now I'm sure one of these trouble makers will appreciate your attention, and maybe Phin, who got a knot on his head before he did something stupid." Speed explained, by way of an introduction.
"I was not about to do anything stupid. I was going to put a forty-four ball through the numbskull's empty head, try and have his way with Miss Tully Nevada, not on your life! Phin growled. Something needs to be done about Fortner and Priest's miners. Damned streets wouldn't be safe for women to walk before too long!"
"I intend to head over there and have a discussion on this very issue, Phin. We can't have this town devolve into some rowdy, lawless mining camp. It'll get bad enough with the coming railroad!" Speed stated. "We need to get a lid on this before it does get out of hand, not that Fortner or Priest care."
Shintaro looked over as somebody else approached, immediately recognizing he wasn't a threat. Giving the conversation between Jonah and the Marshal he realized the man must be the town doctor. He gave a slight incline of his head in respect of the man's profession. Doctors were held in higher regard than most other non-samurai professions in Japan. Western medicine was quite different than Japanese medicine in many ways but Shintaro wasn't convinced it was overall superior. Both the west and east did benefit from sharing their medical knowledge, that much he had picked up on during his journey to America.
"Samurai lived and died by the sword for thousands of years," Shintaro said, turning his attention back to Tully. "Unfortunately the age of the Samurai has ended in Japan with the arrival of teppo and the black ships of the West."
"As for you, eta," Shintaro pulled out a pair of handcuffs as he approached Cecil," You're under arrest for assaulting a member of the law, you and all your surviving friends. It would be in your best interest not to resist."
"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
Speed smiled; it was clear that Shintaro was going to work out just fine, and that folks would soon get past the differences, like the ever-present Samurai Sword he carried. Yes, it had been a great hire. For him and for the town. He would blend well with Charlie Wentworth and with his other new hire, Valentin Caine,
The shape of the office was changing, and it would give Speed more time to be away from the office to where he could comfortably step away, something he had been considering for some time. He could devote more time and energy to his own mines and to his mining business.
"Deputy Takahashi, I'll leave you to your prisoners, unless you'd like me to assist with getting these boys over to the jail." He said. "Goioid work."
