In reply to Cole Trayne (msg # 956):

Moving the double bunk will not be easy, based on Cole's initial assessment. The wood structure is old, cumbersome and rickety--especially the upper bunk. If the wrangler put his back into it, he figures he could drag it closer to the gate. The likely drawback: Cole might damage the thing in the move only to gain him a few feet. He could pull the rancid straw mattress off and sit on that instead of the floor.

He sees Kate moving to the edge of her cell, where joins with Cole's. "Ain't worth the trouble. At least this place has a wood floor." She sits cross-legged.

In reply to E.N.S. Ringgenberg (msg # 955) and Jake Richardson (msg #957):

As Bennington continued to pull cards from the box, the Faro game became more interesting. The healthy conversation of the earlier turns had transmuted into small talk, mostly about the game itself.

With only a few turns remaining, Jake and ENS make their final bets before retiring from the table. The hunter from the 11th continues to play, as do three other men. Bennington's turn reveals that Jake is the sole winner. Two of the men push, but ENS and the man from the 11th lose their bets.

"A fair shake, Professor," says the dealer and proprietor. "Come to play again sometime," he adds. Then, glancing to the man from Wells Fargo, he says, "I hope to see you at Jameson's field, with your Ghost."

OOC: The Judge is posting as if the last bet came near the end of the full deck, to align PC timing before advancing. Everytthing stated is fine, the timing is simply expanded for our ten Gamble checks to be more like twenty turns at the table. Jake and ENS may post a reply to Bennington or otherwise converse as desired. This thread will be closed in the next RL day or two.

EDIT: color for speech
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:16, Fri 14 Feb 2014.

JEB had remained at the bar for some time since speaking to Travis Sunday on the upper floor of the Beehive Saloon. Glancing at the remaining stories in the newspaper, watching other patrons, or staring into his whiskey glass, he remained pre-occupied. Other patrons, having their own concerns, left him alone. Ruby Easterling stopped near from time-to-time to serve if needed.

He had also caught glimpses of the Faro game where his two new pards sat. After more than a hour of contemplating the whiskey glass, JEB sees them joining him at the bar. Jake and ENS find a place to stand with him;  the Hive had become crowded, so JEB's having carved out the place to stand at the bar turned out to be helpful now as the three men congregated.

Some ten minutes later, Travis Sunday appears at the stairway, descending and moving to join his pards.

Men with fob watches know that the time is ten minutes before 8 pm. By now, Randy's show at the Frontier House is underway.

OOC: PCs may continue to converse if desired. Soon, I will close this thread and move to the next, picking up as appropriate to the PC next moves. The men could wait at the Beehive--or somewhere else--for another hour-ish to rejoin with Randy, or use that hour in some particular way, or we could advance all the way to the next morning if the PCs desire. Please make in-game or OOC posts within the next 24 hours that help to determine the use of that hour/rest of the evening and then the Judge will advance to the appropriate time for the PCs to move forward.

In reply to Indian Kate (msg # 958):

Cole sighs and braves the floor.

Reckon so.

He proceeds to read the entire paper aloud. He will pause after each story in order to give Kate an opportunity to ask any questions or make any related requests.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:43, Sat 15 Feb 2014.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 960):

ENS nods to Mr. Bennington and collects his remaining winnings, stands and moves to join JEB with Jake.

Once over with JEB, he orders a whiskey for himself and Jake and turns to JEB.

Any news sheriff?

In reply to E.N.S. Ringgenberg (msg # 962):

JEB swallows the whiskey shot, pushes the paper aside and drinks the beer, "None worth the paper it's printed on."

In reply to Cole Trayne (msg # 961):

Kate listens intently to the stories on the front page. She allows Cole to read the first two stories without interruption. At the end of the column in which she is named, she shrugs.

"I reckon that is the whole kit and caboodle." Indian Kate nods as if for Cole to continue. When the wrangler completes the third column, she has her eyes raised to him.

"Any of that true?" she asks, in a way that suggests she wouldn't take offense if Cole told her to mind her own affairs.

In reply to James E. Beauregard (msg # 963):

Travis returns and sits down next to JEB.

So what's the plan?

Cole looks up, his face clearly pensive as he considers all that he has read.

Which part?

In reply to Travis Sunday (msg # 965):

Have you spoken with John Selman yet? If not, let's do it together. It seems our band of brothers is turning into a band of outlaws so we may as well join up with one ... and burn this self-righteous town.

In reply to Cole Trayne (msg # 966):

"The part about you . . . "

In reply to James E. Beauregard (msg # 967):

Jake nodded to Bennington in response to the man's comment about his racing Ghost at Jameson's field. "Mayhaps that'll come to pass, once Ghost is back to his old self."

The ex-Wells Fargo man gathered in his winnings, and rose to his feet. "Thanks for yer hospitality, Mister Bennington. Could be that I'll sit in on some other games, along an' along."

Jake walked with ENS over to the bar near JEB. "Thanks, Perfesser," he remarked when the Easterner ordered and paid for whiskies for the two of them. "Next round's on me."

Nodding to Travis when he came downstairs to join them, Jake listened in on the conversation between his three pards. When JEB gave his opinion that they should join up with John Selman and "burn this self-righteous town," Jake's expression became one of surprise and befuddlement.

He leaned over and glanced down the bar at the lawman. "Say what? Did I jest now hear you aright?"

OOC: The Judge and I have discussed whether or not Jake (IC) would be aware of the fact that JEB is no longer a deputy in The Flat, and have concluded that he would not be.

In reply to Indian Kate (msg # 968):

The wrangler pauses a moment to consider his cellmate's query.

In my experience, few things are as simple as they might seem.  In my case, I decided to protect a defenseless family, the best way I knew how.

In reply to James E. Beauregard (msg # 967):

I have not met with Mr. Selman yet.  Does Cole want to go to San Francisco?  He turned himself in.

In reply to Jake Richardson (msg # 969):

You did. I resigned as deputy. Me and the sheriff, or anyone in this godforsaken town for that matter, don't see eye to eye. It's time for me to move on, but I'm not leaving without Cole.

In reply to Travis Sunday (msg # 971):

Cole turned himself in because he didn't want us putting ourselves at risk for his sake. He sacrificed himself for us. Now it's our turn.

In reply to James E. Beauregard (msg # 973):

Let's figure this out away from company.

The second night of the new performance at the Frontier House goes well on stage. The house is rowdier than normal. It seems Randy's association with the alleged murderer, Travis Sunday, has brought the hunters out. Many were well on the way to inebriation before entering the theatre, while others made a rush on the bar. Truly a boon to the evening's till, the events prove less than pleasant.

The house is packed to standing room only. There are fewer refined patrons this evening. Uncle Billy's call to enter in an orderly fashion is more or less heeded. Soledad Sanchez is quite busy at the bar and has little time to socialize like she normally does. After the fifteen minutes or so in the lobby, the crowd is admitted to the house. The hunters make a bum rush for the first row of benches--some succeed, some don't. The soldiers on the night's leave are more orderly, but refuse to be pushed about. They make their rush for the good seats to get the view of the women in the show.

Just like the night before, the opening skit is one with Randy. He has fun with it. It takes a little time for the hunters to realize the friend of their enemy. They hurl insults at him while he stumbles across the stage. Fortunately for Randy, the noise of the audience mingles with the singing, piano, and other laughter and hoots so as to sound muddled.

Later, the number where Miss Sanchez and Mr. Big'un are onstage together causes the greatest trouble of the night. The loud-mouth hunters start to drown out the dulcet tones of the woman. This, in turn, angers the calvalrymen who hurl their own insults at the detractors. Some from each faction stand and point fingers or lunge toward the others, but nothing more serious than that.

Some unruly and drunk hunters go so far as to heckle Uncle Billy as if he were Randy. Two such men are escorted out of the theatre for 'their own safety.' There are still unwarranted verbal attacks on men in the cast who don't even know Mr. Sunday. Uncle Billy and Soledad have to calm them down and explain it's not Randy's fault, or anyone else in the cast, that men in the audience have grievance with someone in town. The fact that Randy knows the man should be no basis for grudges. Many others at the Frontier have met the man, after all.

The show wraps without even so much as a minor scuffle. Randy clears the stage and cleans his face.

Uncle Billy sends for Mr. Big'un to meet him in the lobby.

When Randy joins him, the proprietor says, "I'm happy to see you can keep you mind on your work when the house is misbehaving." He pours a small whiskey and passes it to the actor.

"That's what a pugilist gotta do to." He pushes the whiskey back. "G'night, Uncle Billy."

In reply to Travis Sunday (msg # 974):

ENS was also taken aback at JEB's statement, but Jake beat him to the punch.

Deputy or not, you're still a lawman right? I know you and Travis are frustrated, but surely we can find a way through this without resorting to needless threats?

When Travis makes his suggestion, ENS nods his agreement.

In reply to Travis Sunday (msg # 974):

Lead the way.

In reply to Cole Trayne (msg # 970):

Cole's cell mate shrugs. Her face seems to say "who am I to judge?" but the only words she speaks are to tell Cole to read on.

Cole finishes the first page with the story about the Comanche. Proceeding to the interior pages, he mentions the number of advertisements and notices before reading stories about the Railroad and the Frontier House.

He and Kate make small talk about those topics, noting that Randy Oldman is one of Cole's pards. Next, Cole reads a two-part story that takes the remainder of the space on page 2.

Vickers Charged with Malicious Mischief

  Resulting from an incident on the plains  three night ago, Willard Vickers has been charged with Malicious Mischief.
  While guiding Travis Sunday and his acquaintances to find Circling Hawk's Tonkawa band, Lewis Kirbee attempted to rob the men at gunpoint, according to the sheriff's report. Kirbee was shot dead by the men, in self-defense, and his partner Vickers fled on another man's horse after the gunfight started. Vickers gave up the chase soon thereafter. Although Vickers claims to have never intended to steal the horse, the owner Jake Richardson argued for the punishments associated with horse theft.
  Prosecutor John Caudell said that that Vickers had agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of Malicious Mischief for his role in the affair.

Cholera Victim Taken by Tonkawa

  An Indian woman who was traveling in the company of Travis Sunday was taken by the Tonkawa, in a gesture of goodwill.
  Doc Culver has verified that the woman had cholera, but she had contracted it well before arriving in The Flat. "She must have consumed bad water somewhere out on the plains," Culver said. He has assured authorities that there is no reason for concern in Shackelford County, as no one has exhibited symptoms.
  In full agreement of all parties, Circling Hawk took the woman for care among the local Indians, even though she is said to be Cheyenne. Her current condition is unknown.

In reply to James E. Beauregard (msg # 977):

Jake silently nodded his agreement that they should head somewhere that afforded some privacy in order to discuss their plans. He was troubled by JEB's suggestion, and based upon his comments, it seemed that the Perfesser was, as well.

In reply to Jake Richardson (msg # 979):

Good.  We'll wait for Randy then find a spot where we can't be listened in on.

OOC: Judge may advance per PM unless another player intervenes.

Randy turns his collar to the cold and damp--or what the North-Georgians call "End-of-Days." He heads off toward the Beehive in a direct route. The big man wastes no time in the chill.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 978):

Cole continues to read aloud, being careful to read clearly, yet not too fast. Essentially, he does his best to make it as easy as possible for his cellmate to follow along. In between stories, he pauses a moment to give her a chance to absorb each one, before proceeding to the next.