10 Pound Bag Ch. 131-135

**** Chapter 131 -- Finally Relaxing ****

By: Emmeran, 7 May 2021

Edited: nnpdad 10 May 2021

First Published: 8 May 2021

A cold ale, a nice shot, and a cigarette; let's just start with that. Such was my thought to get into a relaxed mood, enjoy some light dining and drink, and then a good night's sleep. Amos caught me on the way and related that he was taking our belongings to Mrs. Langdon's house, as she had instructed. Well, that stopped me in my tracks. I had given Mrs. Langdon no such leave - to order my belongings moved. The good news was Amos had finished with the Gretzky's, meaning they had some sort of reliable story to tell. The bad news was that Grace Langdon was already overstepping her bounds.

I decided just to roll with it; I wanted to have fun and not get all worked up. It was really time to take off the businessman's mask and put on my adventurer's hat. Indiana Jones ain't got nothing on me. With introductions fully made and a round of drinks ordered, we sat down and started chatting. Safe topics revolved around travels and the wonders of the foreign lands.

We even got into education for a while, which startled me. USC in Los Angeles had become a university in Constantinople and Stanford University had a new name and was located in Geneva, of all places. Those respective languages were spoken along with English and the cities had been visited, so sites and stories somewhat made sense. Names were an entire discussion. They gave complicated African tribal names but he decided he liked Sheriff. She was to be called Lucinda. It wasn't unusual to have new names when one came to America.

I led the conversation about traveling with harrowing tales of travel by ship and overland through desert and other inhospitable climes. Mrs. Langdon related amusing stories of her trip out west and the horrors of a Philadelphia girl in frontier St. Louis. It was culture shock that the other three of us could definitely related to.

We ate small dishes of light summer food for supper as the drink continued to flow. Everyone was getting a little tipsy and much laughter filled the room. We even spoke of sports and the half-drunk explanations of what basketball and volleyball were, had the room in tears. Golf and tennis were well understood and got more attention than I felt necessary, but we managed to avoid arts and entertainment. Those were off-limits topics for time twitchers such as us.

Music was interesting since vast cultural differences were assumed and newer music wasn't such a problem when introduced as something from a far-off, exotic land. Food was another fun one. Modern dishes were simply viewed as more exotic items from unknown worlds. I spoke of the many disparate people we had in Rulo and listed the exotic foods that came with them. This was a somewhat cruel humor but it was fun to watch Sheriff and Lucinda drool over burritos, sushi, and chili-dogs. Once we got into pastas, they tried to order more food, but the kitchen was closed and it was time for us to go.

Amos was waiting for us as we said our good byes to the Byrnes and staggered out the back door. The spare horses were tied to the back of the rig and a teenaged girl about Amos's age was standing holding the team. Well, that was new. Mrs. Langdon gave Amos directions, 'half a mile on the main road, stone gate entry on the right.' Langdon House was waiting up for herand lamps should be lit for our arrival.

With the four of us being tipsy, even climbing into the carriage was an adventure. The carriage was definitely designed for people much smaller than Sheriff and I; we barely fit. Grace commented that this carriage normally only saw use during funerals. It was elegantly appointed, though, and well-lit if you so desired. It was a quick trip, so conversation didn't get much further than that before we had arrived and Grace's manservant was helping us out of the cramped carriage. Grace deposited the visiting couple in the sitting room and showed them the attached water closet. She then guided me out to the stable to help put everything up.

The stable was little used, with only one horse in residence. We quickly filled the rest of the stalls, using up all of her bedding and half of her remaining feed in the process. I asked Amos to remember to have the loft and feed bins refilled tomorrow and to organize it with Mrs. Langdon's man. We'd tell Clara the amount and cost. I'd need a local accountant and soon. I wanted to stay in the clear with the state and Feds at all times. Render unto Caesar and all that.

With the animals and carriage safely stowed, we closed up the stable and headed to the house. Grace's man, Phillipe, took Amos and the girl to the servant's quarters and I followed along out of curiosity. Each servant actually had a nicely set up small room with a central area for eating and relaxing. They even had a water closet and a bath. Everything was attached to the main house near the kitchen and laundry. It was a nice setup. I didn't stay long, just had a look around and then left them their privacy.

Grace was waiting for me in the main hallway when returned from the servants quarters. She greeted me with a smoldering kiss. This was a surprising development, but her body against mine felt heavenly and her kiss was ferocious. It took me almost a full minute to disengage her before we embarrassed the staff.

We headed back to the sitting room, where warm drinks and aperitifs were available. Conversation didn't last long before we went on a tour and were shown our rooms for the night. All of the rooms were large and nicely appointed. And each had an adjoining water closet. It was a very large house and overly spacious for the period, not that I was complaining.

Sheriff and Lucinda were installed in their own room and I was taken to mine. My belongings were all there and unpacked. All I had to do was undress and roll into the soft, large bed. Long, busy days and an evening of drinking collapsed down on me. I was asleep within moments.

**** Chapter 132 -- Wheeling and Dealing ****

By: Emmeran, 7 May 2021

Edited: nnpdad 10 May 2021

First Published: 9 May 2021

Monday morning found me at the servants table. Everyone else was still asleep and a sleepy cook brought me breakfast after Amos roused her to feed us. I had given up on the dining room and was eating with Amos, when a sleepy Sheriff eventually found us.

I was up early because time wasn't on my side and I wasn't waiting around for the sleepyheads to get with the program, Amos was up early because he was just that good. We were just finishing stuffing our gullets with bacon, eggs, and grits, when Sheriff finally showed. I mopped up quickly with a last bit of toasted bread, slammed my coffee, and took Amos to tour the grounds. I mostly ignored Sheriff's apologies with a gruff, "Hurry up," before heading to the stable. I wasn't harsh to the poor guy but it was early morning, Amos and I usually operated silently together in the early mornings.

It was a quick inspection and evaluation. I didn't want to waste too much of my busy day on this particular property opportunity. We toured the estate's agriculture compound and I ran through my mental list: the flocks looked to be in decent shape; they seemed to have enough birds to provide eggs for 10 people a day; the small herds had plenty of pasture for the milk cows. Surprisingly, they even had a few sheep which was good because I liked lamb. The barn needed some work but was fairly sound. The tool shed contained mostly light and yard tools but they all seemed fairly well-kept. The wood pile however was mostly empty, which indeed pointed to hard times. I was sure all of the feed bins would show the same need.

Amos and I discussed all this as we rode along in the morning sun. We also talked about the possible needs on a yearly basis and what we might need to add. We slowly made our way back to the main house after about an hour, where, on foot, we toured the back garden and exterior of the house. I really didn't have time to get into the wells and septic, I simply assumed they would need maintenance soon as well. All that was actually enough information to make my decision so I headed in for a cup of coffee and hopefully to work an agreement with Mrs. Langdon.

Sheriff was there to greet us with a guilty smile. Naturally we chided him but I full well understood his decision not to hurry behind us. This was probably the first decent morning he had experienced since he time-twitched into a Louisiana swamp. My arrival had been a cakewalk by comparison. We joined the ladies in the sitting room for coffee while Amos went to look after his lady friend. I was curious about that situation, yet I knew he'd share about it when it was time. I did decide that she would remain here with the ladies today and begin to learn manners. We'd want to see that she would also be properly dressed.

Over coffee, I learned that the dressmaker would visit that morning. I took care to remind her that we were leaving very soon, so we would immediately take whatever was available and could be made to fit. We would call in the future for there to be made dresses. They could be stored at our warehouse awaiting the next boat run. I asked for a short private conversation, so we excused ourselves and she led me to the study. There I advised her that I would be meeting with the bank today and that I would set up an account for the house to make drafts upon. I would advise her of the details when I returned for supper. With that being accomplished, I took my leave and hurried to complete the busy day. We were scheduled to leave on Wednesday and I wasn't eager to stay any longer than was necessary.

I hoped to meet Timmons, Jeb, and Patrick for lunch. I still had a dinner appointment with the blacksmith and his wife, along with a meeting with the bank board after dinner. Our first stop of the morning was with our new tailor friend, to get Sheriff somewhat properly outfitted for the next few days. He needed some boots, too. We left Sheriff where the tailor was trying to organize packing his family and sorting something respectable out for this huge person who had just been dumped on him I was glad to be away from that chaos. I had my own to deal with.

We stopped by the livery and arranged for the grain bins and lofts to be filled at Langford House. They didn't attend to such items personally, but they would arrange for it as a favor to his new best customer. That took a while, but new business relationships always did. It was worth it for now. I also hit the two general stores and purchased all the weapons, powder, and ammo that was on hand. We'd arrange for later pickup.

A detailed accounting was required, with a receipt that would be available at time of pickup. With that out of the way, I headed over to Byrne's back door to meet up with rest of team for a quick lunch. Clara and Peter were supposed to meet me there. There would be a quick team meeting and we'd head off our different ways to progress in getting this journey underway.

Poor Commodore Timmons was there and he looked completely frazzled. I wasn't surprised. He didn't appear to have found an assistant and was trying to manage everything regarding the cargo and boats himself. I knew I had to step in here and wracked my brain to find him a competent warehouse manager, I went to John Byrne and found an answer. He had a guy we could hire and John was willing to manage him. Apparently Mrs. Byrne was taking over more and more of the day-to-day public house operations. It was something that had begun when he started working on his brewing and distilling operations. I realized that I was slowly building a conglomerate and wondered briefly if I should hate myself.

Mrs. Byrne had brought out a plate of sandwiches and some coffee for us. We ate as we briefed each other and tried to get our situation in order. I hated the idea of delaying the journey, but I was starting to wonder if it just might be a wise idea. If Timmons was unsure of his boat captains and crews, we might be in for big trouble. I decided to invite the captains out for supper tonight. I needed to further assess the situation.

I came out of lunch realizing that I needed a permanent setup either here or in St. Charles. And, damn, I had to decide immediately.

**** Chapter 133 -- Bankers and Blacksmiths ****

By: Emmeran, 8 May 2021

Contributing Muse: Tarasandia, 8 May 2021

Editor: nnpdad 10 May 2021

First Published: 10 May 2021

The rest of the day fit my personal idea of hell: rushing back and forth, dealing with a steady succession of people on a range of topics far too broad to address any of them well. Definitely not my preferred mode of operation. Next trip, I'd be holding all my meetings in whatever office we managed to set up here in town. In this staggering economy, a tail like me could afford to wag the dog a little bit. I had the feeling that, somewhere in my future, I would be summoning people to Rulo instead of me going to find them.

I used the short period left between lunch and my dinner meetings to ride back over to the tailor's and check on progress. My new suit was ready and Sheriff had been well outfitted in a very nice suit of his own, including a decent pair of boots. He now completely looked the part of a young travelling aristocrat. The upshot was turned out to be that one of my suits under construction had been repurposed to fit him, though Sheriff assured me that it would never have come close to fitting before his recent unfortunate adventure. At least it didn't hang off of him, regardless of the jibes bandied about. They went on for hours.

I took a moment to equip him with several items Amos had scavenged from our auction loot pile, as well as my .22 auto. I would simply shoulder carry the M1911 under my suit coat. The weapons hiding was more than just technology security, it was good manners as well. No true gentleman ever wore his weapon exposed, even in the wild west. That was just a Hollywood fabrication for visual effect and drama. Here in the actual frontier, there was plenty enough drama, thank you very much, without every Tom, Dick and Harry going around flashing iron. Even the famous Bat Masterson simply carried his revolver in his pants pocket, and Wild Bill hid his in a sash underneath his suit coat. There is a cold hard truth behind the saying, "Manners maketh the man."

I was personally already haunted by the growing myth and legend surrounding my name. I truly craved anonymity and feared that was never going to be possible again. I had to shake those thoughts aside and get on with business. We needed to get over to the granary and see what was available. Then dinner with the blacksmith, and finally a meeting with the bank's board. I decided I needed Jeb and Aunty at the blacksmith dinner and Sheriff at the bank board. I was fairly sure the man knew how to schmooze, and now he also looked the part: clean, with a fine suit and modern manners, as well as a neatly trimmed beard and haircut, courtesy of Lucinda,. If he could work a room for his masters and PhD, then this should be a cakewalk for him. Clara was politely taking coffee with the ladies while all of this grooming and plotting went on.

I updated everyone. Getting Clara up to speed took the longest, and was significantly extended by the frequent pauses for her to catch the record up. I think she feared meeting Sonya and accounting for my actions correctly. Amos may have inflicted a little juvenile mischief here, or even Jeb or Timmons, for that matter. Whatever the reason, the poor girl was frantic to record everything correctly. I'd had panicked P.A.'s before, but she was at an entirely new level.

In light of the fact that she would need to accompany us, Amos stepped up and hired a four person open carriage for us to use. This was a splurge, but it did show thoughtful initiative on the young man's part. It also further indebted the livery to me, because most of their fleet of wagons and carriages had sat unused since the Panic. We weren't just at the top of the list of their customers, we were basically the only company on the list currently. I was really unable to leverage that further, proving that I still really needed an agent here in town. I just couldn't think of who could even possibly be a candidate.

We took our leave from the tailor's, dressed to the nines in tailored suit with jacket, lacking only top hats and canes to be truly 'Putting on the Ritz.' Actually, I kind of liked that idea, and had a thought that society life might get very interesting in St. Louis in the near future if things went well. Again, I was letting my mind wander away from important things. It was hard to overcome that particular habit, but I had important meetings in front of me, and I needed to focus.

The granary was basically a non-event. My only sticking point was that I demanded barrels rather than bags, but since I was willing to pay the difference, it was resolved without any real hassle. My timing was almost perfect, however, because the spring swell on the river was receding and taking the milling season with it. The mills would run at a quarter power, at best, until the river swelled again. My timing was right, so I spent. I offered to clean them out, then backed way off until the price dropped and my checkbook opened. We'd be selling grain and eating well, all winter. The best part of the deal is that the granary would store it for me, for a rather small fee. Everything was to be stored in barrels and my guards would walk the barrels. I pushed further and had the barrels tarred to prevent any water damage and guarantee that the contents remained undisturbed. Paranoia can be your friend sometimes.

After that complicated exchange I was off to Byrnes with Jeb, Clara and Auntie, where we dined with the blacksmith, Jaques Forgeron, and his family. Dinner was a blessedly uncomplicated affair. They were cheered to have a way out of what they had seen as a bleak future. Their children, all five of them, dined with us in their 'best clothes' that were a bit worn, but clean. The delightful Mrs. Byrne brought the well-behaved children freshly made sugar cakes at the end of the meal, much to the horror of their mother. I felt good about it though. They were the best behaved children I'd seen in years, including my modern time. At any rate, the Forgerons were sold. Their future in Rulo would be promising, and they would be warm and well fed through the coming winter. There was hard work to be done, but their dreams were there for the building.

Dinner was finished by me taking the children out back to run and play. Just to hear their laughter raised my spirits and renewed my sense of purpose. I was working to build a better place, and if I did it right, it would spread beyond my small domain and hopefully infect the rest of the world.

With the laughter of children and smiles of proud parents in my mind, I took my leave and went to prepare Sheriff for the bankers. I met with him in what had become our private dining space. We tidied each other up, girded our loins, and strode out to deal with the moneyed class. Sheriff's nervousness was obvious only to me. The carefree confidence of those children still carried me - I was relaxed; this was but a game, and one I knew we could best them at. They were playing monopoly, while we were playing chess. We knew all of the major future events, and could plan circles around them. Those were the last words I said to Sheriff before we went out. I swear I could see the shift back to his true persona - not a slave, but a successful and knowledgeable free man who knew what the future held. As we walked out with confidence, Sheriff walked like the Prince he purported to be.