'Go Hum Chu'

July 16th, 1877

West of Maddock Seui-Kei Ting Yun

An enclosed space of about fifteen-by-fifteen feet, the courtyard is small, with room for perhaps a small gathering to mull in. Flat stones pave the entire space with rustic efficiency, their dark grey color a contrast against the white plaster walls east and west, and polished wood panels north and south. An overhang created by the house's Chinese-style roof provides considerable shade, and a walkway of sorts is created all around, leading to four doors in the cardinal directions. Lengthening autumn deep night circles without clouds in the sky.
In the center of the courtyard, standing tall and slim, is a single Western serviceberry tree, planted in an exposed spot in the earth where the stones create a ring for it. Devoid of its berries, the tree is an ornamental one, still lush with changing leaves.
A planet hangs low on the eastern horizon, it's light steady and pale as twinkling stars glitter brightly in the cooler autumn skies. 

Randy jumps down from the roof and looks around. "Well now look at this tree, this is perfect for a hanging."

Harry comes around from back, huffing and puffing. No way in hell, they'll let this guy climb anything. He squints at the tree. "Why, shore is. I think we need to find us a Choo to string up." He grunts and grins, "And mebbe a purty lady or two to enjoy."

Randy reaches in his large canvas bag and pulls out the straw dummy he created earlier. He moves to try and swing a rope over the tree but it fails short. "Christ!" Then realizes he shouldn't yell. "Can you swing this over that limb?"

Harry grunts his agreement, then he takes the rope and with a couple of twirls it's up and over. He pulls it down on the other side, "Here, gimme that thing," one meaty paw reaching for the scarecrow.

Randy hands it over, trailing loose straw along the ground. He reaches into his bag and pulls out a jar of red tomato paste. "Lessee, how about we put this right over here on the plaster." He begins to write on in large letters, painting with his hands. "GO HUM CHU"

Harry grins, "That's a good one, Randy." He goes about making sure the noose is good and tight. He frowns at the words, as if he might recognize something's not quite right, but not enough to verbalize it.

Randy flicks his hand away, splattering red paste all over the place as he tries to shake it clean. "Well, I don't know about you, but he's obviously forgotten his place." He watches the hanging dummy and just laughs. "Think maybe we should set it on fire?"

Harry sniffs, "Shore is right. Living with white women, like he's equal to us, an' all." He hoists the dummy higher, then ties it off to the tree trunk. He breaks into a wide grin, revealing yellowed and broken teeth. "Yeah! Randy, let's set it on fire. Right at the toes!"

Randy nods, "Oh! Yeah!" He reaches for a match and strikes it against his leather belt, "This little choo ran a market..." He lights the other foot, "This little choo did laundry..."

Harry haw-haws at this, a great big belly laugh. If they were supposed to be sneaky, well, he's forgotten, "Do one about the railroad, c'mon Randy," he says eagerly.

Kei arrives from the eastern door.

Barron arrives from the eastern door.

Damien follows along behind Kei, slipping loose the thong that holds his gun in his holster. These days it doesn't hurt to be safe.

Barron follows Kei through to the courtyard. Only pausing to take two steps to his horse and yank out the carbine, he follows the man closely behind, tilting his cowboy hat slightly as he paces along.

Harry is staring up at a straw dummy which has in tomato paste on the chest, "GO HUM CHU", while Randy is lighting the toes up.

A butterfly sword, on of Kei's treasures, is held in the Doctor's hands when he arrives in the courtyard. His eyes widen at the sight of the effigy, however crude it is, and the message that is written on it. No doubt the Chinaman is having flashbacks from his days in California. His hand grips the sword tightly. His spoken reaction is decidedly...chilly. "Oh look. Two gentlemen who can't spell to save their miserable lives."

Randy turns at the arrival of the three men. He blinks, "Christ Randy! He's got a damn army out here." He turns to try and escape, the straw dummy bursting into flames easily as it hangs from the tree. One choo he can take, but the saloon owner AND the sheriff. Dumb luck timing.

Damien shakes his head slightly looking at the dummy. His eyes slide to the sheriff, waiting to see what the man does.

Harry stares, agape at the sudden appearance of the three men. Well, shit, so much for going after the girls. So, he'll skip trying to fight and attempt to go barreling, almost literally through the house and out.

Caitlin arrives from the eastern door.

Barron brings the carbine up to his shoulder and appears to have it braced at Randy. "You can't outrun a bullet, you best stop right there," he shouts. He throws the lever on the carbine - a loud ratcheting sound, chambering a round and aiming at the man.

Kei isn't going to depend on Damien or the Sheriff to deal with these rascals. Not when they've come into house, to bother him or the people who live here. That's just too much. Seeing the men starting to run, Kei bolts to the only exit door to the east and prepares to stand then down, sword in hand. He sees the gun go up, and exhales, hoping Barron doesn't have to fire it.

And boy, does Kei look pissed.

Ah, but there are 4 doors out of this courtyard and Randy's eyeing each one like it might be a haven. Still, the sound of the carbine lever causes him to pause. He scuffs his booted foot against the ground and turns, not looking about to move anywhere. "C'mon Sheriff, you mean to tell me you're going to kill me for playing a little prank?" 

The flames from the dummy begin to lick at the tree branch.

Curiosity and concern finally get the better of fear, and Caitlin opens up the door from the office enough to see what's going on. And what a sight - Kei dashing over with a sword practically right in front of her. She gasps, and watches with widened eyes from the doorway.

And as it happens, Harry has chosen door number three, where Caitlin was. Well, he wanted to find the women, out of sheer dumb luck, he did, except she moved. Heh. Stupid he may be, but he's not choosing the door with the guy with the sword. He's not that dumb. Just dumb enough to get up in the house so they can corner him. Yay.

No one's threatening Damien at the moment so rather than draw his revolver he reaches down to his boot to draw the knife there and circles around towards the tree, making a point to stay away from Randy and Harry and out of the sheriff's line of fire if at all possible.

Barron calls to Randy, "You best git yer ass down on the ground and get those hands where ah can see 'em." A brief glance at Damien as he crosses by and the sheriff nods, apparently he's approving of the action.

Kei stands at the door out, stony in his stance. He lifts his chin, and looks almost amused when he watches the two men scatter. Glances at the tree, the effigy hanging on it, and considers. "Cailtin," he murmurs, "You may watch if you wish, but I warn you that I would offend your senses if I find I have my way with these gentlemen." He says calmly, "Someone needs to put out the fire. I happen to like my serviceberry tree."

He says nothing about the man who bolted, only flicks a look at the door he chose. Good thing Matilda's not home.

Randy drops to the ground like a man ducking mortar fire. He's just here to play a prank on a choo, but get his ass shot off by an angry Texan wielding a rifle. Still, he's all talk as he does so. "Man, this is just crap. Ain't don't nothing wrong at all."

Caitlin's eyes are drawn toward Damien when she sees the glint of the knife, trying to assess who's side he's on since she doesn't really know him that well. Oh, goody, he's the sheriff's side. Three against two - Caitlin likes those odds. She glances toward Kei, "Yes, Doctor," she says timidly, but continues to watch despite his warning.

The good thing about being Harry's size is that when he's running, short of a strongly fortified wall, there isn't much that slows him down. Heck, he doesn't even have to worry about whether doors are open or not, just boom, boom, boom.

Seeing as one man is down on the ground and the other is running for it, Damien moves over to the tree and starts working on cutting the dummy down.

Barron keeps his rifle aimed, taking several steps towards the man on the ground. "Aww, jes shut yer hole." he barks. "Ya tried to burn down a man's tree, maybe his house. Shaddup."

The rope is thick, but easily cut. Damien saved the tree. Maybe got a burned finger tip or two.

Kei nods to Damien very politely when the other gentleman is kind enough to cut the effigy down. Gesturing to Caitlin to make her way to the right of the door towards her room...the Doctor decide to leave the eastern exit door for now. He steps forward to the man on the ground, and standing over him, asks politely, "May I ask you a couple of questions? If you are intelligent enough to get into my house, I think you can answer what I am going to ask you." The exit door remainsin view, and easily accessible in the small courtyard.

Well lighting the dummy's toes seemed like a real good (dumb) idea at the time. Randy doesn't move, but he does turn his head as Harry crashes against the door. "Go Harry! Go!" Maybe everyone'll give chase and Harry can get away, ayup. He doesn't answer Kei, in fact acts like the man never addressed him. No way he's talking to him.

Caitlin ducks back into the office for a moment, returning with a blanket to smother the fire. She seems hesitant to venture into the courtyard, though, despite Kei's urgings. Too many weapons being waved around in there, and that other fellow's still loose. She stays where she is, for now.

Boom. Crash. Much noise as Harry makes his way through the house, looking for a way out. Heck, even a rat would have figured this maze out before now. He bursts through the door, back into the entry way, with a chug. He registers people, but tries to keep moving. Problem is with someone his size, hauling around that much mass can tire a fellow out, and he's starting to huff and puff.

Sucking on his finger tips, Damien returns the knife to his boot. He looks at Barron and Kei. If they aren't going to chase the man, he's certainly not. It's not his house and, as Barron was pointing out outside, he's not the Law. Still, when Harry makes another appearance his hand instinctively drops to his gun butt though he doesn't draw.

Barron glances over his shoulder as Harry bursts free and glances down at Randy, putting his foot lightly on the man's back to keep him in place. "You, fat man!" he shouts at Harry, his rifle still loosely at his shoulder. "Git yer ass on the ground 'fore ya trip an' fall an' hurt yerself."

That fat man is destroying Matilda's rope-bed. Maybe a chest or two. What would be the point of suing them for damages, the poor man probably doesn't have anything anyway. That's the bored kind of look Kei is beginning to develop. Being a stupid opponent give Kei time to think. He looks down, and with the tip of his foot, flicks a pebble on the ground towards the chubby Harry's face, while Randy is still on the ground, Kei standing over him next to Barron. "If you won't talk with me," he says politely, "then I will be more than happy to talk to you. Here is the...deal, so to speak. I am the only doctor in town. There are many, many people in Maddock, and they need a doctor. When a white doctor comes into town, by all means, you and I can start a race war, if you like. I can defend myself. But until then, it would be better for the residents of Maddock to wait. That and if you touch anyone who lives in my house in a way she or I don't like, then I will less polite the next time I see you. You have a choice to answer if I am clear." He says this loud enough for the fatty to hear as well.

"Abuse! Abuse!" Randy shouts loudly at the foot on his shoulder. "Git yer foot off my back!" At the flicked pebble that bounces off his face, Randy answers. He lugs a nice wad of spit which lands at the ground near Kei's foot.

NEAR Kei's foot, so the Doctor refrains from kicking his head in.

Still watching from the doorway, Caitlin clutches the blanket and listens appreciatively to Kei dressing down the thug on the ground.

Blah blah blah, Doctor. Harry's not listening. He can't listen and run, jog, er, stride really fast and listen at the same time. Still, no one's shot him yet, so he keeps going towards the door out. All he has to do is get to his horse.

Damien shakes his head with an amused chuckle. Abuse? The man is lucky the sheriff hasn't pistol whipped him yet. Lots of lawmen would have by this point. He watches Harry run as he steps away from the heat of the burning dummy.

Barron tells Damien, "Do me a favor an' tie up this loudmouth jackass?" Indicating the man prone on the ground. He turns away and makes his way across the lawn towards here Harry is, shaking his head and sighing. "Ah hate it when the run," he tells Kei as he steps away, "Ah'll be right back." he tells those assembled, making his way at a lazy walk towards where Harry is barreling towards, his rifle still held loosely from his right hand.

Big white man is slow. Little Chinaman is not. Chinaman is also not patient with thugs, hostage-takers, effigy-burners, policemen who accuse him of being a pimp (San Francisco sucks for a Chinese noble), and Federal Marshals who call his mother a bitch. Oh that's right, Harry's a thug /and/ an effigy-burner. "Halt," he says politely, takes casual aim and hurls his butterfly /past/ Harry's face as the fat man tries to run. The sword plants into the door. Maybe Harry gets a shave -- Kei's not /that/ good to say that he does -- but Barron is out of the Doctor's chosen trajectory. Unless of course, the Sheriff got to the door that quickly.

Oh no, now the big fellow is barreling toward her. And then there's a sword flying through the air, thunking into the door she's hiding behind. It's not close enough to really threaten her, but enough to scare her half to death. With a startled yelp, Caitlin ducks down and slides to the side of the doorway.

You see, the sword thing, it only serves as inspiration to Harry. There's a burst of speed, mercifully short, but enough to shove his way through the door and out. And look! A woman! Shame he won't be able to have any fun. Life just isn't fair.

Damien nods to the sheriff, skinning his revolver and cocking it with his thumb as he moves towards Randy. He misses the whole thrown knife thing as he bends to relieve Randy of his hunting knife while he keeps the man covered with his gun. Straightening back up he glances at the rope still tied to the burning dummy. Nah, the sheriff might get a little peeved with him. "Ma'am," he calls, "do you have something in there I could tie this man up with?"

Barron has lost his patience, now. No one that's ever heard a Texan curse out loud gets an education as the lanky man lifts the carbine up to his shoulder and aims carefully. "Ah said," he shouts as he pulls the trigger and the boom fills the open air, the round aimed to impact a good fifteen feet in front of the running large man, away from anyone else. "Stop!" he adds.

Kei gasps when the gun goes off. Caitlin is behind the door. Not sure where the gunshot was intended to go, the Doctor runs after the larger man, and shows him what speed really means. The shot is not in his direction, but Kei ducks down anyway. "Kooi-Mai-dau !" he screeches, and tries to catch the large man before he gets to the door. "Cait move--" and he leaps, trying to grab him before he gets to his apprentice.

Caitlin is a little too preoccupied to answer Damien right at this moment. There's a big fellow charging through the door she's crouching next to. She gasps, and scrambles away from the doorway, stumbling as the gunshot startles her once more. "Doctor!" she shouts fearfully.

Now see, people shooting at him, that gets Harry's attention. So at that round, he pulls to a stop. Heck, it gives him time to take gulping, panting breaths. So he stands there, his hands over his head, his chest heaving. Though, he notices Kei jumping on him about as much as a horse notices a fly. He shrugs his shoulders once to get the irritating pest off of him.

Recognizing that he's not going to get anything suited to tying Randy up just yet, Damien kneels beside the man and presses the tip of Randy's hunting knife lightly against the small of the man's back. He wants to impale himself trying to get up, that's not Damien's problem.

Barron grunts at the insane Chinaman, and lowers his rifle some. "Git on the ground," he advises the large man inn a shout, "Ah seen him take a man apart with his hands and feet, yer likely ta git hurt if'n you resist." He seems amused, actually.

This man is *big*. The Doctor has lept at men before to try to grapple them down, and he rarely gets flicked off. He is surprised when he stumbles after leaping, is caught off-balance, and has to take the time to stand up again, whirling his arms frantically to make sure he doesn't fall on his face. Well, he stopped, at least. Kei will have to practice the Sun Under the Mountain's Shadow Leap again, because apparently, it doesn't work on the burly and stupid. "Aiyah," he mutters. He lifts into a defensive stance /behind/ Harry, just in case the man tries to either run or hit him. Kei /knows/ a boot to the head will take a man down. It just hurts a lot more before the lights go out.

Caitlin's relief is clearly visible as Harry stops and Kei comes rushing in. She rushes over behind one of the tables in the office, keeping it between her and the door.

Harry sighs heavily as he gets down on his knees, which isn't much lower than before. Then it's down properly, on his stomach.

Damien nods to himself, watching the other man surrender. Looks like it's over.

Barron lowers his rifle a bit. "Alright. Let's get 'em tied up." he says as he approaches the larger man. "You got any rope, anything like that?" he asks Kei, glancing over to make sure that the first man is still secure.

Kei nods once, and curtly. "Hai," he responds. "Caitlin. Please bring some rope from the chest in the office. I will fetch some from the south wing." Convenient that Kei can see how much damage that stupid man did while he is there. Irving's empty rope-bed should provide more than enough to tie even Harry.

Caitlin manages a nod, and retrieves some rope from the chest. She cautiously walks around Harry, trying to keep out of arm's reach, and tosses the rope to Damien in the courtyard.

Harry lays there until the point where rope is going to be applied, after all, he's gotten his breath back, and well, the sheriff won't dare shoot at him with others around. So he lunges for Caitlin. Even better, a woman.

Damien stands up and moves to where the rope falls, dropping the knife in order to pick it up, keeping Randy covered the whole time with his revolver. Moving back to the man he kneels with one knee in the man's back and finally holsters his gun to roughly pull the man's arms behind his back and start tieing him up.

Barron was expecting this. Rather, he was hoping the man wasn't that stupid, but you can never account for Yankee breeding after all. He takes two long steps forward, and lashes out with his boot. A Texas boot stomp, all hip and leg power, designed to slam the man in the side of the head as hard as he can without intending to kill him. He doesn't say a word, just grunts at the effort.

Kei has the rope in his hands when Harry tries to grab at Caitlin's ankle. He too was not terribly surprised the stupid man would try for her. With a grunt to match Barron's, the Chinaman plants his foot in Harry's back and slings the rope he got over the fat man's head, then yanks, using Harry's own weight for leverage when he pulls. Hard. He's got a strong neck. It shouldn't break. He'll just choke.

Despite her caution, Harry's arms are longer than Caitlin expected. Her back is to Harry, though, and she doesn't notice him reaching for her until Barron and Kei spring into action. She spins and tries to step backward out of the way, but stumbles and ends up flat on her backside with a quiet oof.

Strong, nothing, thick and red, yes. Still, between the choke and the hit in the side of the head, Harry goes limp, and that's a lot of limp. Y'all are going to have a hard time lugging him to his horse so he can be taken in.

At the sound of scuffling Damien shucks his gun again, looking up to see what's going on.

Barron shakes his head and leans down to tug at the rope. "Let go." he tells Kei, as he checks the make sure the man is breathing. "Well goddamn they make 'em big up here, don't they?" he drawls. "Let's get 'em trussed and ah'll get 'em into town."

Kei doesn't. Stop. Pulling. This man he'd tried to reason with, throw a sword at him to stop him, leap after him, run after him, and that still-burning effigy in Kei's courtyard sent the Chinaman just a wee bit over the edge. That fat rat-bastard tried to attack Caitlin, and very likely that didn't help. "Ngoh wooi lei sah!" he mutters with extreme anger and prejudice, and plants his foot in harder to keep strangling him. He's had enough -- someone please stop him before he kills this man, whatever he may have done to Kei Zungji.

Caitlin watches with a stunned expression as Kei doesn't let up. Her Chinese may not be so good, but she hears something in Kei's tone that scares her. "Doctor..." she begins tentatively. But that's obviously not enough. Picking herself up off the ground she steps over and reaches for his arm, intending to tug on it to get his attention. "Doctor! That's enough - you've got him."

Ungh. Grgh. The sounds a choking man makes. Yes, he's turning red, then blue, at the lack of oxygen. Now, while Harry did come to terrorize the Doctor, it is quite another to strangle him when he's already unconscious.

Damien has to stand up a little to see what's going on in the house and then sinks back down, reholstering his gun as he shakes his head with an amused chuckle. "You boys," he says as he finishes tying up Randy, "sure got him riled up."

Barron only gives the doctor a half second, a fraction of that to let go and react to Caitlin's words. If not, he's going to drop the rifle in his right hand and strike. Now, Jack wasn't really trained for fisticuffs. He learned to fight dirty, he learned to strike hard and fast and drop a man as fast as you could, to face another. So his strike will be an looping overhand right, thrown short from his hip. Aimed to impact right over Kei's heart, to stun him into dropping the rope. It's a hard hit, but only at about sixty percent strength. After all he likes the doctor, and doesn't want to really hurt him.

It is rare that Zungji gets that angry. He wasn't even that angry when he beat the snot out of Tucker. That was just a matter of honor. This was a matter of survival. His face has turned a brilliantly enraged red, and the muscles in his strong hands are straining to kill that man. Kill him. Gwailo sah. Make him go away. Erase him from --

The Doctor hears Caitlin, feels her touching his sleeve. "Wha --" he recoils back as the Sheriff's fist him in the chest. Of course he lets go of the rope. He sinks his chest in to absorb the impact better -- Kei's martial arts training taught him that much. Still, he ends up on the ground.

On his butt.

Panting.

Eyes wide.

He blinks. "Oh gods, is he dead?" Kei seems to have made back into himself before he did something extraordinarily violent. He tries to scramble up to tend the very man who'd attacked his house.

"Hey!" Caitlin shouts to Barron when he punches Kei. She doesn't know that the big sheriff wasn't trying to hurt him. "Are you all right?" she asks, more concerned about the doctor than the thug who was planning God-knows-what in their house.

Blue to red to his normal color. If Harry were awake enough, he'd be trying to throttle the Chinaman for touching him. No, he's just unconscious. Heck, he's snoring loud enough to saw trees.

Giving the knots one last tug to make sure of them, Damien stands and walks towards the others. Drawing his gun he carefully eases up the hammer so he can rotate the cylinder until the empty chamber is under the hammer, which he then lets down.

Barron eyes Kei and checks the large man's breathing before he grunts and kneels down. He ignores Caitlin for a moment as he begins to tie to the man's hands behind his back, using plenty of rope, then his ankles as well to be safe. "He was gonna kill 'em." he replies finally.

Barron then raises his eyes to Kei, "You okay amigo? Ah pulled it."

"I'm fine, Caitlin," Kei mumbles weakly as he scrambles over to make sure that he's not caused any permanent damage to his assailant. He is checking the man's pulse when Barron asks his question. "I absorbed the punch," he murmurs. Looking rather shamed, adn gritting his teeth, he also admits, "And yes, I was going to kill him. Thank you for getting my attention."

Although he doesnt' voice it, Kei's expression at the two men lying in his courtyard bespeaks of a sum of his fears: white men coming in to attack him in own home, doing God-knows-what and Kei being helpless to stop him. All the Doctor does is sigh after checking Harry carefully. "He seems to be alright. What...what do you want to do with him? Is it a crime in Montana to attack a Chinaman's house?" He looks to Barron expectantly, or more rightly, expecting the answer to be no. It has never been yes where he's lived before.

"Of course it is," Caitlin says immediately, even though she might be mistaken. If not, it /should/ be - at least in her mind. Once Kei is up, she steps back a few feet, casting a leery glance at Harry even though the man is trussed up.

Snore. Snore. Near three hundred, three hundred fifty pounds of dead weight.

Damien looks around and finds the blanket that Caitlin originally brought to snuff out the fire. Leaving Kei and Barron to figure out how they're going to get the sleeping behemoth out to a horse, he returns to the dummy and starts trying to beat out the flames.

Barron pats down Harry and rises to move over to the other man, patting down him down as well. He reaches for his cigarette, starts to place it between his lips and realizes what he's doing, putting it back in his pocket. "Course it is, friend." he replies to Kei, rubbing his face and moving over to grab his rifle. "A home is a man's castle. Man comes in to hurt it, ya gotta defend what's yer's. Ah'm gonna give 'em a good talkin' to and make sure that they get jailtime for what they did. That'll learn anyone else thinkin' about tryin' to scare off the town doctor." He eyes Harry and sighs heavily. "Damn he's a biggun."

Kei stays there, on his knees, standing next to the big fat evil man. He doesn't really know what to say, it seems, as he has some kind of experiential inertia. He kinda stares at everything -- Damien putting out the flames, Barron patting down the attackers, Caitlin assuring him that he isn't some animal that got kicked around, no harm, no foul. Someone actually bothered to protect him. How strange.

Someone called him the town doctor. He gets up slowly off his knees. His voice cracks when he murmurs, "Oh." Without much ado, he waves Damien over, swallowing and wiping his face with his sleeve. He tries to make it look casual. "If the four of us drag this fellow...will that work? Or do I need to get a lever of some kind and roll him out?"

Caitlin eyes Kei with a worried expression. Partly for the doctor himself - he looks even more stunned than Caitlin herself is - and partly for all of them. Some part of her fears this won't be the last time someone tries to mess with the good doctor. She nods appreciatively to Barron's words, listening quietly.

Harry gnnnhs and shifts, but that's about it. Mostly he looks like a trussed up boar or something. Quick! Someone stick an apple in his mouth!

Barron eyes the large man, "Ah suppose. Lemme go put mah rifle away." he says as he pads his way around the house. He makes his way around to the front where his horse is tethered, sliding his rifle back into the boot and leading the horse around the side to where two attacker's horses are.

Damien drops the now smoldering blanket on the ground away from the remnants of the dummy and stomps on it a few times to make sure it's not on fire before coming back over to the rest of the group. Damn, they still haven't done anything with the big fellow. Looks like he might actually have to do some real work. He shakes his head chuckling softly, amused by something.

Kei swallows. Twice. He's still a little stunned by the things that went on. What he'd be stunned by might surprise the people gathered...but he keeps that business to himself. He looks ay Caitlin, trying to stamp down some of his own worry to deal with hers. "Pack your things," he tells her. "You are going into town now, with the Sheriff, and going to the boarding house. When Matilda comes back, she will join you. Fortunately...Irving has already left. I can't imagine what would have happened if she saw this." He stands up a little straighter. "Too bad we can't get the horses in here, and we just drag this massive fellow off."

Caitlin doesn't entirely ignore Kei, she just ignores part of what he's saying. Maybe if she pretends she didn't hear him he'll forget about the whole packing-up thing. Instead she offers, "We could run the rope out to the horses, through the door."

The massive fellow provides little answer, and would provide little help considering his hands /and/ ankles are tied. He dreams of large women.

"I said," Kei murmurs, "that you are leaving." There is no room for ignoring it, or discussing it. That tone is almost never used by the normally-allowing Doctor. When he uses it, it's because what Caitlin is doing is life-important, like when Kei teaches suturing, or antiseptic use, and he wants to make she understands him.

Barron makes his way around and then back into hte house to rejoin the group. He eyes the man and sighs again. "Ah guess we just drag 'em." he offers, "Two at the front, and two at the back, and git him out onta the horse."

Damien nods, eyeing the big man. "I suppose that's what we'll have to do."

"It seems reasonable." Kei is not looking at Caitlin.

Which is convenient, because Caitlin is not looking at Kei either. She nods to Barron, and moves around to Harry's feet.

Barron nods and reaches down. He sighs again, grabs one of the big man's arms and part of his belt and waits for people to get in place before he begins to tug, trying with the others to get the man through the house with little fuss, and out near the horses.

Damien sighs and supposes there's nothing for it but to go around to the other arm and grab it and a bit of the belt as well, doing his bit to help drag the man out to the horses.

Kei takes a foot, and is surprisingly strong when he starts to drag the man out. "Sheriff," he says politely. "Shall you take Caitlin with you? I assume she is small enough that she can ride on the back of your horse?" If Caitlin continues to ignore his request, he will facilitate her compliance some other way. Better that than to order her around. He hates doing that sort of thing.

There are some grunts and oofs as Harry is dragged out. No enough to wake him though.

Caitlin is not much help, but she's strong for her size - thanks to a lot of farm work - and determined to lend a hand. Once the large fellow is loaded onto the horse, Cait steps back and says tautly, "May I speak with you, Doctor?" She nods her head away from the other two, apparently not wanting to argue in front of the Sheriff and Damien.

Damien looks to the sheriff. "I suppose you and I can handle the other one by ourselves. He's not so big."

Kei intones towards Caitlin, "No. You may not. I will get your things, then deliver them to you when I meet you for tomorrow morning's rounds." Kei gives Caitlin that you-won't-argue-with-me-in-public sort of look. He is quite serious about this, and he has no intention of discussing the matter with his apprentice.

Barron nods, "That'll work enough," he replies as he gets the man to the horse. They'll have to get him on his horse. That'll be a pain and no doubt mean some more cursing and hard work.

Trees, rope, you could lift him into his horse, which actually resembles something more like a draft horse. The man being big, has a need for a big horse.

Caitlin sets her jaw stubbornly. "I am your assistant, Doctor Kei, not your servant," she says in a quiet but pointed tone, "And I would appreciate it if you would refrain from addressing me as one." She's angry, and upset, and Kei is not helping matters any. "Now, I would like to talk to you. Privately."

Barron eyes the tree and the horse and the man, "You said something about rope and hauling him up?" he asks Kei. Apparently he's ignoring the private argument brewing so far. In fact, he'll let Harry rest there and pad back to get the second man who's still conscious and lead him out to secure him to the that guy's horse, tied down.

Damien looks at Harry and shakes his head. Personally he's in favor of just dragging the man back to town since it would mean less work for him and maybe the big man would lose some weight but he supposes the sheriff won't go for that.

Kei gives Caitlin a look that would wither a Ponderosa pine. Rather than blast her in public for disobeying him (he never asks her to obey unless he's really serious) he says calmly to Barron, "I think we can fashion some sort of pulley with extra rope, yes." Time to take more rope out of Irving's old bed. It also gives him a chance to stalk back to the house and calm down before he has to deal with his strong-willed apprentice again.

And sheriffs are elected. Occasionally, even in the west, they do have to pretend to care. Otherwise maybe some of Harry's 'friends' might get upset. Okay, so he only has one or two who might qualify, it could happen!

Barron finishes tying off the second man and eyes the larger one now, commenting to Damien,. "Ah wonder if ah can starve the fat bastard to get 'em to lose some weight without gettin' someone angry at me."

Damien shrugs. "Probably not." He glances back at the house. "At least if we can make some kind of pulley we can use one of the other horses to help get him into the saddle. Where you're going to have trouble is when you get him back to town but maybe he'll be awake by then and can walk into the jail by himself."

Well, Barron, getting in between Harry and food might be like getting between you and food. It can be done, just no one is ever happy at the results.

Caitlin stares right back at Kei, matching his withering look with a stubborn one of her own. She seethes quietly as he stalks off and ignores her, and folds her arms across her chest, fists clenched in frustration. "You could always wait until he wakes up, and have him get on the horse himself," she offers. Maybe dunk him in the river to speed up the process. Cait would enjoy that.

"We could give him smelling salts," Kei calls over as he returns with the rope, and a pulley. The Doctor had been moving trees for the past two weeks to get the garden ready. A pulley was a necessary item. He holds it up. "This pulley was used to upright trees -- I'm sure we can get him onto his horse if we use this and haul him. I would prefer, however, not to waste a good pulley. Waking him is preferable."

Barron considers, "We'll ...hrmmm.' He waves a hand. "Someone wake 'em up. We'll get 'em into the saddle and I'll tie him down as well, and then ah'll let 'em walk his way into jail, ah suppose."

Damien nods, looking to Kei since smelling salts sounds like less work than dragging him down to the river and pushing him in.

Kei shrugs. "Fine, I'll get the smelling salts," he exasperates. "But I will charge this lug for the use of my good drugs. I'm sure he can afford that, since I'm fairly certain he can't afford the damage he did to the south wing." He goes back into the house to get that now. Good, More time for he and Caitlin to seethe. Erm, calm down, rather.

Caitlin starts heading back into the house, but stops short when Kei heads that way as well. She reconsiders, though, and ends up following him through the door. Once inside, she says tightly, "Doctor, we need to talk about this."

Barron watches the man, and Kei. He leans forward, and lightly begins slapping the fat man across the face. Slap, slap, slap, slap. "Wake up." he encourages. Slap, slap slap slap, slap. Light, not enough to hurt but enough to startle.

Damien watches Barron work while waiting for Kei to return with the smelling salts.
Kei gets the smelling salts, and walks back out. Apparently, he must mean to tell Caitlin 'no' again. He's dug on for this fight, and he finds Barron there with the smelling salts. "Is it working, the slapping? If not, try this. It's rather powerful, so don't get too close to it yourself." He exhales, and pops open the little bottle, sticking it in front of the big man's nose.

Caitlin watches Kei walk right past her, gritting her teeth as she is dismissed once again. Arms still folded, she walks back out onto the veranda.

Smack, smack, smack, smack. And WOW is Harry a lot quicker than his girth indicates he might be. On the one of the smacks, he lashes out with his feet, tied as they are, trying to hit someone, even more so when that foul stuff is thrust at his nose.

Kei deftly closes the bottle. "You may speak with him, Sheriff," he says politely. "I will wait here, behind you, to see if we still need that pulley."

Damien leans back against one of the porch posts while he watches the show. Damn but a smoke would be nice now.

Barron gets kicked once and winces as he steps away. "Goddamn it, don't make me pistolwhip yoou," he snaps at the large man. "Ah need ya to git up on the horse. Now, you kin do it or we can haul ya up there. Which way yoou wanna see it done?"

Caitlin paces back and forth on the porch, plotting what she's going to say, if only Kei would stand still and talk to her for five minutes.

Harry smirks and lays where he is, "I figger I'm right comfy where I am, Sheriff." Dignity? Why no? Why do you ask? Why did you have to ask?

Barron shrugs with a smile, "Then you'll walk yer fat ass back to town then," he replies calmly, "While we'll ride. Don't matter to me none, ain't like you couldn't use to drop a bit a' stone there, big man."

Kei is standing on the verandah, watching. His lips are pursed. He offers, "We could tie him to his horse, true, and let it ride a bit." And the fat man could see if he could keep up. Kei seems sure that he would. The Little Chinaman folds his arms, waiting.

Harry reveals those godawful teeth again, "Wrong, sheriff, I ain't walkin' anywhere." Then he spits in Kei's general direction, "Ain't no one talkin' to you, Chink. Just git yer pajama'd ass back inside."

"Just drag him back to town and be done with it," Caitlin mutters sullenly from the porch.

Barron smiles a bit and adds, "Plus ... it would be in yer best interest to play along, ya see. This man.," he jacks a thumb at Kei. "Coulda killed ya, and no one woulda done a thing. Ya know why? Ya ain't known no law ah bet, but lemme teach ya something ah've learned - if ya try to burn down a man's house or destroy it, no law in the land is gonna hurt 'em for protectin' it and killin' ya. Ah saved your life you fat piece of dung, so you best either start walkin', or git up on that horse. And another thing, now that you've been here and tried to assault that woman," a point at wherever Caitlin is, "And try to burn 'em out .. if he or I see ya here, we're both gonna assume yer here to finish the job. And you know what that means? That means he can put ya six feet under and ah'll buy 'em a drink. Now you start walkin' or git set to get up on the horse. We're leavin' and yer gonna go to jail." He turns to Kei to say something, but turns to bury his fist into the large man's stomach in a sudden punch. "That 'chink'," he hisses to Harry. "Is my friend. And saved lives. So you treat 'em with respect even if you don't like his kind, cause you remember you're gonna be in MAH jail. Now you git walkin'."

Damn but he could really, really use a smoke. Damien pipes up with a grin, "We could just shoot the man, dump his body in the river, and sell his horse." It's a simple solution and turns a profit. He likes that even if he knows no one else will go for it.

Harry grunts, his sour breath exhaling, as he's punched. Still he smirks as he remarks, "Can't walk with my feet tied now, can I, sheriff?" And people call him /stupid/.

Kei sighs softly. The insults he is accustomed to. The protection he is not. He offers, as a way of accepting the importance of this, "I would be willing to let him go about his way if he and his friends promise to leave us be." He takes his pajamaed ass over to HArry, and ppers at from from a distance that isn't spittable. "You could hop," he offers helpfully. "That is what I had to do when I arrested. For nothing, I might add, but wearing my 'pajamas' to work." He smiles patiently. "How would you like to handle it?"

Kei adds, kind of off-handedly, "It may be harder to hop at your size. I was lucky, because I am small and healthy. But I'm sure it will work."

That gets Caitlin's attention, and she forgets sulking enough to gasp. "You can't just let him go! They belong in jail!"

Barron eyes Harry. "You kin hop. Ah go to undo yer feet, you'll try to kick us. Ah think yuo kin hop since you wanna be a smartass. And doctor, he ain't goin' free. He needs a few weeks in jail and maybe in the prison camp up north to rethink his ideas." A pause. "God ah need a cigarette and drink. Can we get goin'?" A grin over at Damien, Barron takes it as a joke even if it wasn't. "And you amigo, ah owe you one. Yer a good man. Thank ya."

Damien shrugs. Not like he really did anything at all but he's never one to argue with people who say they owe him.

"They belong in /hell/," Kei corrects Caitlin sharply. "But I am not the one to judge that. Much of me would rather see them move on. He won't change, Barron, Caitlin. His prison time will simply make him hate my kind more." A pause, and he looks at Harry like he might a sad puppy. He murmurs, "The Sheriff will decide what to do with you, because I follow the law. But...were it up to me, you and your friend would simply walk out of here. One man's prank is deserved to be seen as such. I wish you could learn that your hate is an unnecessary thing."

Harry shrugs, "I ain't gonna do shit, Sheriff. You treat us poorly, and trust me, folk 'round here are gonna hear about it, and you won't be able to keep your job." And so he lays there, staring up at the sky.

Caitlin shakes her head in disbelief, scowling at Harry.

Kei stands up and walks away from Harry. "It bodes poorly," he murmurs to Caitlin. "Now are you going to get your things, or am I? I give you one more opportunity to chooe wisely."

Damien glances over at Caitlin. Why are females such contrary creatures?

"That depends," Caitlin replies with a frown, "On whether you're willing to spend five minutes to talk to me." She levels her gaze at Kei, a challenging expression in her eyes. And she's usually such a well-mannered, docile woman! Maybe Doctor Kei has been a bad influence on her. Or maybe she's just never been pushed into a corner like this before.

If females weren't contrary creatures to men, they'd be men. That would be bad for the population. So Kei decides that patience is in order again. He doesnt' seem threatened by Caitlin's stance...just inconvenienced. However, the woman is his colleague. He folds his arms, and says, "Five minutes is five minutes wasted to pack...but so be it." He lifts his chin. She can talk now.

Barron considers, and tilts his head a bit. "Alright." he says finally, eying the large man and his counterpart. "This goes against mah better judgment, but ah'm gonna let ya walk off his land free and clear. Ya hear me now, ya can't come back. You kin have yer own beliefs,. that's fine. But ya try to burn 'em out ag'in and ah won't be so kind.

Harry continues to smirk as he holds his hands up, waiting to be cut loose. "Glad to hear it, sheriff."

Damien shakes his head and offers Randy's hunting knife to Barron. "This belongs to the other one. I suppose you'll be wanting to return it to him as well."

"Good," Caitlin says, marginally placated. She steps further down the porch, expecting Kei to follow. Though it's more for peace of mind that practicality - Damien and probably Barron will be able to overhear. "You really think running from these people is going to solve anything? Letting them chase me away?"

Barron draws his Bowie knife and leans near the other man first, slicing free his feet, then his hands and taking a step back. "Ah got yer word yer not gonna come back and do something stupid ag'in?" he asks. He sheaths his Bowie, takes the knife from Damien with a nod.

Kei doesn't follow Caitlin. He said she could talk. Not that we would move. "I am staying here," he comments to her flatly. To Barron, he says, "If they cause more trouble, I won't be so lenient. You saw what it took to keep this one alive." He vaguely points at the fat one. "I'll be ready for them next time."

"Sure, sure thing." Heh. Harry scrambles to push himself off the ground. He plods his way over to Randy, to make sure the man's all right. He'll leave him tied up though, for now. Then he's pulling himself up on his horse.

Barron gives Randy back his knife, in his sheath before stepping back to watch the men leave quietly.

Caitlin sighs and reluctantly stops her walking when it becomes clear that Kei isn't following. If he insists on having the argument in public, well so be it. "Then there's no reason for us to leave." She takes on a less argumentative tone and says, "I understand that you're upset, and worried, but we both knew that this was a risk when I came here."
'Us' meaning she and Matilda.

Damien takes a few steps away from the porch to watch the river.

Kei is watching the scene, the two men walking away. Something in him is thoughtful. very much so. The events of the day have given him much to think about, most of it totally foreign to everyone standing here. Hs comment to Caitlin is distant. "I am a decent man," he says, without much ado or insistence. He is not being defensive. "Sometimes...being decent means being less generous. Irving taught me that yesterday." He sighs. "This is my house. You need more than it provides. In town...you can get yourself."

Barron walks over to his horse and throws himself into the saddle. He watches the men leave, a thoughtful expression on his lips.

"I don't need anything more," Caitlin insists. "I like it here. I don't want to leave." There's something in her tone, a forlorn note - having lost one dream upon coming to Maddock and now being so close to losing another. She shakes her head sadly, "But it is your house, and if you want me to go, I will."

"I'll still train you," Kei insists. "You sound like a recalcitrant child with that tone, but I will train you. You just can't live here. I will see you on rounds. There is nothing for you here but your training. Living here, you seem to think, is conducive to it. That is incorrect." He looks over to Barron. "What is it, Sheriff?"

Damien glances back curiously upon hearing the doctor address the sheriff.

Barron shakes his head, "He's right," he says to Caitlin. "They'll be back. With more, prolly. And with what's goin' on, yer safer in town. Lotsa folk don't think the way you do, miss. People that will hurt ya to get to him. Ya gotta go in town, where it'll be safer all 'round." To Kei he replies, "Ah got a bad feelin' in mah gut about those two."

Barron says, "They ain't scared, they shoulda been scared of what ah said and did. They weren't. Something's ain't right."

Caitlin wasn't being recalcitrant - her tone was more saddened than anything. She answers Kei, though, and doesn't look at Barron. "All right, I'll get my things." She doesn't respond to what he says about training, and just walks past Kei back into the house.

Damien nods in agreement with Barron. He has no doubt at all that they'll be back.

"That is why I let them go," Kei responds evenly. "I assumed that they may be part of yoularger problem. If they are...I suppose we'll find out, won't we?" His smile is almost predatory. "Since we've little to go on in terms of our larger problem...it seems to be that we'll have to choose a more circumspect way to deal with it. Not a bad start, I should think."

Kei adds off-handedly, "Get your things, Caitlin. I'll send Matilda along shortly."

Barron nods, and watches Caitlin for a moment. "Ah'll make sure ya get a good room in the boarding house," he tells Caitlin when she returns, and eyes Kei. "If'n you need anything, you'll let me know? We'll have to have that talk another day, ah suppose."

Caitlin returns with a small bag of things. Just enough to tide her over. She nods quietly to Barron.

Damien looks at Kei curiously but then shrugs. He doubts the men are related to the attack on Letitia and that's really the only thing he cares about now.

Kei offers quietly, "I think it will be clear when I need something. I can only hope it will be soon enough." He exhales, and looks up at the sky. Pauses. It's terrible to be insecure in your own house. But the Doctor seems to take it in stride. It's still better than California was.

Barron nods to Kei, and grabs the reins on his horse. "You need help gettin' up ma'am?" he asks, reaching down for her bag. "OR kin ya get up fine on yer own?"

"I'll be fine, thank you," Caitlin says, handing her bag up to Barron. She climbs up - a bit inelegantly - behind Barron and settles herself on the horse.

Barron nods to Caitlin and settles the bag onto his lap. "You come inta town tonight and ya can see the body," he tells Kei, "Amigo. Thanks again." he tells Damien, before he directs his horse for the path.

Damien moves over to untie his own horse from the post where he tied it. He nods to Barron and then looks to Kei. "Think you'll take a look at that body tonight then?"

Matilda arrives from the southern door.

Matilda trudges out of her room with two heavy bags in her hands. She is sniffling, but has no way to wipe her nose since her hands are full.

Kei watches Caitlin get up on the horse, and tries to be very stoic about seeing her go. Thierry had *just* told him that something like this might happen. It was just a day or two too soon...he could have spared Caitlin all of this if he hadn't been so naive as to think he should provide. All of this is thought of in the brief pause between Barron and Damiens' questions. He sighs, "Yes. I will look." A pause. "I don't have to cook dinner tonight. I have time." Matilda walks out, and for some reason, Kei scratches into his hand with a fingernail hard enough to cause a tiny wound.

Barron is on his horse and heading out with Caitlin, heading for the trail and back towards town.

Caitlin has studiously avoided looking at Kei since she emerged from the house, and continues to do so, focusing her attention on Barron's back (about all she can see riding behind him). She doesn't look back as the horse carries her away.

Damien nods, swinging up onto his horse. "I'll most likely be by tomorrow then to find out what you learn from it." He looks to Matilda as Barron and Caitlin leave. With a friendly smile he says, "I suppose you'll need a ride in to town?"

"I do not want to go!" Matilda exclaims as she looks up with wet eyes. She's wearing her original clothing again despite its ill fit. Lower lip quivering, the girl drops her bags and looks mournfully at Kei. "Who will look after you, Docteur? Who will cook your meals? You need someone to stay, oui?"

"Me?" Kei says quietly. "I suppose so. Let me go to the office to get my things. Then it's off to work." Paradise Lost means it's time to get Puritanical. Work work work. Matilda is given a stern look. "I lived alone for nine years in this cursed country, Matilda. I consider your stay, your fine cooking, and your company a respite. Now, why dont' you go with Mister D'aray into town." He looks to Damien. "Methinks I will walk. I will take my sword with me."

Damien nods having meant the girl in the first place but not bothering to correct the doctor. He leans over to offer his hand to Matilda. "Come on, the doctor will be okay. Men can survive without a woman to look after them you know. It's for the best."

"Non!" Matilda all but wails. She darts toward Kei, flinging her arms open as if she intends to wrap him up in a ferocious hug. The saddened girl tearfully says a string of mournful French as she throws herself at him. "But I will miss you so!" she adds in English.

Kei holds Matilda, assuming no one is around who will disapprove. He keeps his bleeding hand out from her, so he doesn't stain her clothes. It takes great effort for him to be calm, collected, and firm with his affectionate girl of a maid. "This not a debate. Now go."

Damien shakes his head, still leaning down to await the girl. He'll leave it to Kei to convince her she's got to go.

Matilda releases the Chinese man and fetches her bags with a tearful huff. Her chin trembles as she gathers her resolve. The bulging carpetbags make her arms taut from their weight. Another tear streaks down her face as she picks her way toward Damien.

Kei stays where he is. Normally, he would help Tilly with her bags, as he did when she moved in. But for some reason...he just can't today. Maybe he is tired from that attacker. Looking at his hand, he blinks several times, and turns his face away as he watches Matilda and Damien go.

There is an old Chinese saying: 'A man would shed blood before he'd shed a tear.'

That is why Kei Zungji cut his hand first. It's worth crying when in a sudden flash of hate, your house becomes too damn big.

Damien takes one of the bags from Matilda, switches it to his other hand, and then pulls the girl up behind him on his horse. "I'll make sure she gets to the boarding house safely, doctor. There anything else I can do for you while I'm here?"

Matilda sits awkwardly on the horse, her bare ankles flashing. Riding behind the man that runs the saloon probably isn't going to help her reputation, but she has no idea who he is or what he does. Sadly, she watches Kei.

Kei doesn't say a thing. He just stands there, turned away. One coudl suppose that was his answer.

Damien nods and turns his horse towards the trail, getting it started with a light kick and a click of his tongue.

Matilda calls, "Au revoir, Dr. Kei! It is my hope to see you soon!"

Damien talks as he rides. "So you're Matilda, right? The doctor mentioned you the last time I was here but we didn't meet. I'm Damien D'aray."

Matilda glumly replies, "Oui. I am Matilda." She is silent for a moment as she sits awkwardly on the horse. "It is nice to meet you, Monsieur D'aray," she says with a sad sigh.

Damien nods. "He'll be okay. He handles himself well. If those men come back they'll find they've got more than they can handle."

Matilda quietly mourns, "Mon oncle, he did not see anything wrong with my stay there. He has not yet finished our cabin, so I have nowhere to go, but back to that 'orrid boarding house."

Damien says, "It is a problem. There's just not many places to stay right now."

Matilda falls silent, looking over her tightly stuffed carpetbags. The girl sighs and, without realizing it, leans her head against Damien's back.

Theo and Irving are picnicking. Theo, who is wearing his gun today, studiously watches those who are riding by.

Matilda tearfully rides on the back of Damien's horse, her forehead touched to his back.

Damien nods to the couple as they pass. Somehow he's never seen the hanging tree as a particularly good spot for a picnic but to each their own.

Matilda tearfully rides on the back of Damien's horse, her forehead touched to his back.

Barron replies, "Ah think that she .... ah, there they are," he replies, looking over his shoulders.

Damien nods to the sheriff and Caitlin as they approach. With a grin he says, "Had to come to town anyway."

Thierry seems to be waiting on a response from Kei when he sees Damien and Matilda ride up.

Caitlin shrugs, shaking her head. It's not that she's being difficult, but she just doesn't want to talk about it. "It doesn't matter," she says quietly. Maybe the sheriff will expound on the situation.

From the east side of town, Elise moves over from the boarding house.

Elise strolls over from the east.

Matilda miserably lifts her head, her young face wet with recent tears. Her stubborn chin is set with what little resolve that she can muster at present.

Caitlin shrugs, shaking her head. It's not that she's being difficult, but she just doesn't want to talk about it. "It doesn't matter," she says quietly. Maybe the sheriff will expound on the situation. <repose>

On the saloon porch, Rick strides over from the saloon.

Barron tells Thierry, "Just a bit of a tussle with some hardheaded young men. They wanted to try to scare off the doctor," A shrug. "But, we're bringing the women folk inta town.

And the women folk look none to pleased by that decision.

Thierry nods at this, though he'd warned the doctor this would happen, he didn't think, well, that it'd happen so soon. "That's good, 'bout you bringin' them in." Don't think, womenfolk, that you'll get any support in this corner.

Damien nods in agreement with Barron. "Hopefully they won't have to stay here too long but you never know how long these things will take to resolve."

Barron nods, "If'n you can help me keep an' eye on 'em in the boarding house, ah'd appreciate it," he tells Thierry, "Mr. D'aray has his saloon to run and ah'm runnin' around tryin' to catch some bandits. Ah won't be able to pay as much attention as ah'd like."

Elise comes over from the direction of the boarding house, stopping short when she sees the group in the square. A puzzled frown forms on her lips, the writer arching one eyebrow. She hangs back a bit, simply watching.

Mr. D'aray probably won't be around to run his saloon but then that's why he pays Abner good money.

Matilda looks over the street and takes note of Thierry. "Mon footman!" she tearfully says to him. "Dr. Kei has made me leave him... I am heartbroken! J'adore le Medecin. Il est comme un pere."

Thierry nods, "Yessir, I can do what I can to keep an eye on them," glancing to Caitlin and Matilda. As much as they'll let him, of course, and beyond looking after Theo, Dora, and Irving. Oh lovely. And he needs to work. Hrm. "Ma princesse. I am sorry to hear about this."

Caitlin sighs as Thierry sings his support of the Sheriff's bringing them in. She begins to feel self-conscious sitting up there on Barron's horse. "I'm going to get down now, Sheriff. Thank you," For the ride, that is. She climbs down from the horse about as awkwardly as she went up, and reaches up for Barron to hand her the bag.

Barron hands the bag down to Caitlin, "Ma'am, don't wander around alone after dark," he reminds her. "I'll ride over to the boarding house an' git you two rooms there. You need anything, you come find me, ya hear?"

On the saloon porch, Rick stands by the railing, trying to figure out what's going on before walking down into the midst of it. Something he sees makes him smile slightly, but it doesn't make him approach.

Damien turns slightly in the saddle to offer his hand to the girl behind him. He doesn't remember much of the French his mother made him learn but, "Ma'amselle? I think its time for you to get down and go with Mrs. Lockhart."

Elise gives a slight shake of her head. Oh look, the men are being bossy again. Why does this not surprise the writer? She moves a few steps forward, still staying quite out of the way.

Matilda eases down from Damien's horse, almost losing a shoe in the process. She pauses to tug down her ill-fitting blouse and hopes she didn't show too much leg as she slid to the ground. The girl takes her bags and looks darkly at Damien before bobbing her head to him. At least she can be polite.

Thierry slips off his horse as he asks, "Mrs. Lockhart, my princess, might I escort you to the boarding house- " Then he glances to Barron, Damien, "Has either of you seen my nephew, Theo, and Miss Kissinger?"

Barron jacks his thumb behind him, "South of town, enjoyin' a nice picnic together." he replies as he makes his way east. Stopping in the middle of the road he seems to realize something and he removes a cigarette from his pocket and with a loud sigh he lights it, continuing along his way.

"I can speak with Miss Caroline's niece," Caitlin can't seem to remember her name, but says, "You needn't trouble yourself, Sheriff. I was living there before." She gives Thierry an odd look at the princess bit, but nods, "Yes, thank you."

Damien nods in agreement with Barron. Despite Matilda's glower at him he flashes a smile to her. "I'll let your uncle know where you are." Maybe he'll have better luck fishing if he tries over by the mining camp.

Matilda quickly says toward the Sheriff, "I do not need your charity, Monsieur! Keep your money, oui? I will not stay, if I cannot pay for it!"
unlead

Barron turns his horse around and comes back to the main square. He's smoking his cigarette fiercely - almost like he's hungry for the nicotine rush and he leans down slightly from his horse. 'Miss," he growls at Matilda. "Ah've had a long, long," a sigh. "LONG day. Ah've had more'n enough of stubborn folks today, ya hear me? There's men out there takin' women against their will, hurtin' em. There's men that want that doctor gone or dead or both or worse. Ah don't care if ya don't have money, you'll come to the boarding house and ya'll will stay there or God help me ah'll drag ya in there myself and lock ya in the room. Ya got me?"

Matilda decides, without too much debate, that it might be safer behind Thierry at the moment.

Shooting an indignant look at Barron - dragging and locking up, indeed - Caitlin offers, "We could share a room, if you like, Matilda." They'd already been roommates for awhile at Kei's house.

Caitlin adds, "Lessen the cost, a bit."

Thierry steps towards Matilda, reins in hand, "Miss Moreau, please, allow me to escort you and Mrs. Lockhart -" Then blinks as it doesn't seem to be an issue.

Barron mutters something under his breath. "You'll see 'em to the boarding house please?" he tells Thierry. He makes his way east again at a gallop, someting about women and a paddle and stubborn under his breath ebfore he disappears from sight.

Damien doffs his hat in a sweeping bow to the Caitlin and Matilda, "Ladies," and a nod to Thierry, "sir." And he spurs his horse off towards the west.

Elise folds her arms across her chest, tilting her head slightly to one side. She looks almost amused, a wry quirk to her lips. Not that she's not sympathetic, mind you, but she can't help the matter in any way, so why not gain some entertainment from it?

Barron moves off towards the east side of Maddock.

Matilda casts a grateful look to Caitlin and to Thierry as well. "I would like that, Madame Lockhart," the girl says with a timid smile. "It was not so nice in the common room and that is why Jacques d'Oncle agreed to let me go with Dr. Kei." Mention of the Chinese man makes the girl go sad all over again. "I miss him already."

Caitlin reaches out to pat Matilda's shoulder reassuringly, her own expression also saddened. "I know. Come, let's walk over with Mister Marcel."

Thierry offers a hand, "Would you like to give me your bags and I could tie it to the saddle?"

Elise exhales softly, turning to hurry back to her room before the group arrives. If the boarding house has been boring as of late, she has an inkling that its about to change drastically.

Caitlin shakes her head to Thierry, "I'm fine, thank you. It's not that heavy." And it's not that far to the boarding house.

Elise hurries off towards the east side of Maddock.

From the east side of town, Elise strides off towards the boarding house.

Thierry glances to Matilda, "My princess?"

Matilda considers and almost declines, but remembers that Thierry -is- her footman. So, with a happier smile, she offers the bags to him.

Thierry takes the bags and ties them to the saddle, then gestures towards the east, "Please, ladies, this way."

Caitlin strides off towards the east side of Maddock.

From the east side of town, Caitlin hurries over from the west.
Matilda follows Caitlin.

Thierry walks off towards the east side of Maddock.

From the east side of town, Caitlin knows the way, all too well. She trudges dejectedly down the street, then up the steps of the boarding house. She waits for Thierry to dismount before heading inside.

From the east side of town, Matilda's mood isn't much better than Caitlin's. The girl was coming to be as fond of Kei as if he were her father, despite his nationality and his strange ways.

From the east side of town, Thierry didn't mount up to begin with. He'd only tied the bags on, and walked with the pair. He ties the horse to one of the posts, then unties the bags.

From the east side of town, Caitlin hurries off towards the boarding house.

Caitlin stops inside, letting out a sigh. She looks over at Thierry and says, "Thank you for your assistance, Mr Marcel."

Matilda takes one of her bags from Thierry and at hearing Caitlin she reaches for the other one. Looking at the man for a moment, she comes quite close to weeping again.

Theo saunters over from the roadway.
Theo is followed by Irving.

Theo arrives, with Irving and the remains of a picnic the two have shared. As the youth happens to be looking for Thierry, he's pleased to find him right here. Along with the other objects of Theo's curiosity. Theo opens the door for Irving, probably irritating her, and lets her into the room first.

Thierry smiles at Caitlin, "You're welcome, Mrs. Lockhart." Then glancing towards the two newcomers, there's an expression of relief at seeing Theo and Irving.

Caitlin wanders off to look for Mariah, to get them set up with a room.

Irving at least conceals the irritation well, but she steps on inside, leaving her basket nearby the door. And she smiles, huge, for Thierry.

Matilda drags herself toward the stairs, reluctantly looking to Theo, Irving and, of course, Mr. Marcel. The girl's face shows signs of recent weeping and her eyes still shimmer.

"So." Theo blurts out with his usual lack of real tact: "What happened? We saw the Sheriff bringing the ladies into town. Everything going to be OK, Pops?"

Thierry shakes his head, "I don't know. I escorted the ladies here, after the Sheriff requested it."

Matilda places a foot tentatively on the bottom stair. Then, with a sigh, she starts to haul herself and her belongings upward.

Caitlin returns, carrying a key to one of the rooms upstairs. She hears Thierry's comment and offers with a sigh, "Some thugs tried to scare Kei off. So he sent us here." Her voice conveys her disapproval.

A little choked sound leaves Matilda halfway up the stairs at the mention of being sent here.

Theo glances over at Thierry then and raises his brows. Then he looks back at Caitlin, nods with: "I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe Pops and I ought go out there, help out." As in, they were supposed to be out there today, right?

Irving comes to find a place to rest and frown, she practices the frown nw in earnest. Oh, what a world. There's a strong grain of hurt in her eyes from the news.

Thierry shakes his head slightly at Theo, "No- you'll be-" he reconsiders and then asks, "I would like you to stay here. To keep an eye out on things."


Caitlin nods, "It might be good for someone to go check on Doctor Kei. He was very upset."

Theo shakes his head in return to Thierry. "I'm not letting you go out there alone." Theo returns. He appears ready to argue the point, and his chin lifts into a cant of stubbornness.

Irving says, "Is it really so bad out?"

Thierry suggests, "I'll go out there." He steps over to Theo, and peers down at the lad, "Please, Theo, don't. Stay here."

"We're together, remember, Pops? You want me going out there with you, now, or by myself when I've decided that something terrible has happened to you?" Theo's not pulling punches now. That Thierry's taking it this seriously dictates to some extend Theo's own reaction. "If there's trouble, I'll lay low." And cocks will lay eggs.

"Thank you, Mr Marcel," Caitlin says. She eyes the argument between Theo and Thierry, and takes this opportunity to duck out, following Matilda up the stairs.

Now is not the time to go into this, and Theo knows it. Of course, Thierry's the one who brought it up. "Theo- please, do this for me. I don't think -" His lips tighten, "Please." Then he glances towards Caitlin, "Yer welcome, Mrs. Lockhart."

"You don't think what?" challenges Theo. "What?"

"I don't think you understand how I would feel were something to happen to you." Thierry stares at his nephew, with a grim expression.

Irving keeps her silence, for now. She sits back and remains as still as can be. shouldn't like to get in the middle of this, something so tender a bond as family.

"I'm not wild about the idea of something happening to you, either. At least if I'm there, I might be able to do something about it. Two, instead of one. I'm not /that/ helpless." Relative to, say, a squash bug.

Caitlin strolls off towards the upper level.

Thierry closes his eyes for a moment, before opening them again, "Please, Theo, please."

Theo's jaw twitches and those green eyes, so like Thierry's go quite bright, quite brilliant. "You staying out there with him?" Theo's choking on bitterness even his acting abilities aren't quite keeping at bay.

Thierry shakes his head, "Didn't plan on it. But I was gonna go out, see what how he is, what he's going to do."

Irving offers, suddenly, in a butterscotched voice, "I'll stay wit' thee until he comes home."

Theo snaps a look over at Irving that's barely masked in time, and that is only fully modulated in a moment. Theo clears his throat and nods, finally, though sending another look at Thierry that should leave no doubt in the man's mind, of Theo's opinion of the situation. "Fine. I need to go buy a shirt for that Mathison guy anyway."

Irving says, "Undt we can get peppermint sticks, aie?"

Thierry presses his lips together at this idea. He knew he'd have to give in, because it's not as if Theo's actually going to listen. He snaps out, "Fine, but Theo, if something happens, you've got to run back here. Take my horse and /ride/."

"No. You take the horse. You're going four miles. Irving and I will walk out to the trading post. Not a /damn/ thing is going to happen to us on the way there or on the way back. I've got a gun, got my knives," which is the first time Theo's mentioned that particular form of protection -- indeed, the hilt of his boot knife is no longer a dagger, but is now a throwing knife like the two others on his belt. "You ride. You ride back. I hate your damn horse."