by J M Bannon
"Brilliant, quite remarkable. Rose, you are seeing this?" said Dolly.
Rose walked over and looked at the rifle. "The boss here figures he is a bit of a gunfighter,"
"I carry a Colt Navy revolver," admitted Dolly as he held open his Jacket to show his shoulder holster under his left armpit.
"I was wondering what you had tucked under there,"
"You should head over to Pritchard's before we leave and look at the newest pistols that use these all in one cartridge.”
"I will, however, I am partial to the ball and paper cartridge. Constable Caldwell here has made up special bullets that are useful if I should run into any of these otherworldly nasties, but I must say this rifle is cracking," said Dolly in admiration of this new firearm technology.
"There is a slide on the side to breach - load a cartridge, but the tube holds sixteen in the magazine, with one in the chamber you have seventeen shots."
"You action the hammer and load a cartridge by moving the trigger guard forward," instructed Elmore.
As Dolly pulled the oblong finger guard forward, a rod drove out from the rifle housing pushing back the hammer. "Careful now, that rifle is loaded," cautioned Wattsy.
Dolly handed the Henry rifle to Elmore. "Here you go," Elmore took the weapon from Dolly and used his thumb to lower the hammer without the gun firing. He then racked the rifle and put the lock back in place.
"Do they sell those at this Prichard's?" asked Dolly with a gleam in his eye.
"They do. Well, it's a similar model, a fancy one instead of this brass body, it has an engraved silver housing. These things are expensive and rare, so Pritchard only carries the top of the line model," finished Elmore.
"I know what my souvenir from America will be," Dolly said to Rose.
"Now, I brought you all here to show you what is in my office," said Elmore.
Dolly, Rose, Lorelei, and Reidun followed Elmore through the door into his office. This room was slightly larger, but similar in its Spartan appointment. The obvious point of attraction was an old tarp over some equipment just in front of the desk.
He threw off the oilcloth tarp unveiling an odd contraption sitting on four short legs. A solid brass base with wood inlaid panels centered underneath a protective cage housing a blood - red crystal, naturally formed within a glass dome. A black smoke swirled around inside the dome, appeared to be comprised of hundreds of small tendrils.
Rose reached to her neck and grabbed her scrying goggles and settled them up over her eyes. Elmore watched as she twisted the lenses and adjusted the focus moving closer to the device.
"We found this contraption just outside of the town in fact, near a wagon that had slid off the trail into a creek wash," offered Elmore.
"And you have no insight into this device?" asked Dolly.
"Nope, the driver of the team was dead. Interesting thing, he was the only one we found that wasn't decrepit,"
"This thing is loaded with life energy," said Rose. She took out a roll of tools and opened it up then stopped. "Marshal, you mind if I open this up to see if I can determine more about its origin and purpose?"
"Be my guest, that is, as long as you think it's safe?"
Rose crouched down and removed screws and lifted off one of the curved wooden panels. She looked closely at the panel before setting it on the floor. Inside she was able to see the ampules, tubes gears, and cogs that drove the device in a slow, sustained movement. She switched from scrying lenses to magnification and peered closely inside, "Could you bring that oil lamp over to shed some light in here?"
Lorelei grabbed the oil lamp and moved to cast illumination, careful not to get in Rose's way. "It's Necronist technology," said Lorelei.
"What makes you say that? Rose has been trying to connect them to this case since we first stepped onboard the Zeus Colonial," Dolly surmised in eagerness.
Rose scowled.
"The yellowish - green ampules in the device. The alchemical gas appears to be Thanatalic Mystaficatos a Thanatalic Quintessence derivative that the Guild distills for the Necronists," offered Lorelei.
"And you can determine that from looking at that little vial in there?" challenged Dolly.
"I can. I have an eye for color and density, so I would wager it is the molecule I stated. Now would I say that I am certain? Not until we can test the gas, I wouldn't be able to give you the exact breakdown of the alchemy. I expect the nearest provisioning to do so is in my lab at Gilchrist Manor, of course traveling to Königsberg would provide the best equipment," asserted the Doctor.
"Marshal, would you allow us to transport this apparatus up to the Peregrine where I can inspect it thoroughly in my laboratory?" asked Rose.
"Well, that's why you’re here, Ma'am to figure out what the hell happened and who's to blame, but there is more. That wasn't the only thing I found. This fella, the dead one, who didn't die like the others, he had this on him." Elmore pulled out the fancy pocket watch that had the two times on it, "and this," he added as he pulled out an exquisite table clock from a drawer and set it on his desk. "Now the thing I noticed is, that the time on the clock is the exact same as the one on the small face of the watch. They are not set to local time, but the larger face of the pocket watch is, finished Elmore.
"And he had these in the wagon?" asked Dolly.
"Yes, but not with that contraption. They were mixed in with his personal effects, the watch on his waistcoat and the clock was located in a satchel he had on him. Most folks in these parts don't give a hoot about what day it is, let alone the time, and then to have two timepieces. It's strange," concluded Elmore.
"Do you think the man might be a thief?" replied Dolly.
"Maybe, but I am more inclined to not suppose and investigate further, and that means we all go out to Harpsichord and have a look around,” said the Marshal.
Dolly followed up, "Is everything intact, no muddling of evidence?"
"Well, I have left several deputies in the town to keep things in place until you folks can take a look. Then there is the question of the Indian fella we found at the scene. He’s a guest of the Sheriff's office, we’ve detained him for further questioning," explained Marshal Quentin.
"Marshal, I would perform an extensive scrying of the town. I have developed a procedure whereby, I will fumigate the town with alchemical fog and then use a metaphysical apparatus to search for traces of the supernatural. In the case of the Zeus Colonial we captured photographs using a similar process that allowed us to view an event where the individuals aboard were stripped of their spirits in unison," explained Rose.
"The whole place was full of wrinkled frozen people?" Elmore blurted out in fascinated horror, “sounds a lot like Harpsichord.”
"That is indeed is one way of putting it," Rose looked at Elmore, "I suggest we get a move on."
"It's a day's ride at least, forty miles approximately,” the Marshal replied, watching Rose look to Reidun. It was if they were communicating through thought.
"Depending on winds, two to three hours. All I require is to identify the location on a map and I can plot the course," replied the blonde-haired Captain.
"How about dinner in Harpsichord, Marshal?" asked Rose with a grin.
"Absolutely not," said Dolly. "I was promised a beefsteak and I'm shopping for one of those repeating rifles. We can leave in the morning."
13
Wednesday the 20th of March
Hawkin’s House 8:00 a.m.
The front garden was getting a spring clean-up. Enzo was planting tulip bulbs as Pāora raked up the small yard drawing up the old clippings and mulch. The garden was a small and inconsequential outdoor space. The upkeep had not been a priority for anyone in the household until Enzo moved in, then he made it his hobby to pick and preen it into shape.
A stocky bloke with a mustache and a few days growth turned up at the gate. He sported a threadbare suit and carried a box with a ribbon around it. He reached over to unlock the gate and received a shock when Pāora, t
uned in to the noise of the gate, nimbly approached the intruder at the entrance.
"May I help you?” inquired the Māori.
"Mate, you're like a bloody gargoyle you are. Sure, can you advise Miss. Violet Caldwell that Darren Higgins is here to visit."
Pāora stood and took one stride to reach the gate barring the man's entrance. He peered into Darren's eyes attempting to glimpse into his character and intent, "On what business?"
"You're the bloody help right, so go inform the girl that her beau Darren is here, and I wish to see my sweet little daughter,"
Pāora looked at his neck and how exposed it was in that dingy collar almost narrow enough for him to get one hand around, but he was more impelled to punch him in the esophagus. Then he felt the diminutive monk's hand on his forearm. Enzo's touch soothed his warrior rage.
"Darren, was it? You claim you're the beau of Violet Caldwell and here regarding betrothal?" asked Enzo.
"Well, you added the bit about the betrothal. I said I was her beau and I'm certain she'd be delighted to receive me."
"Oh, I was just encouraged to see you here to make an honest woman of her and as a member of the Priesthood I could officiate the marriage at once," said Enzo.
The second-floor window flew open, it was Violet. She wailed out in Māori. The pronunciation was appalling, the phrase incorrect, but Pāora knew what she was attempting to convey and let out a hearty belly laugh.
"What did she say that's so amusing?" asked Darren.
"Well mate, what she said was 'there will be a party of whales at the bottom of the ocean'," translated Pāora.
"I don't understand, what's she on about?" Darren said with the same puzzled expression as Enzo.
"Why that's funny is I have been teaching Miss Violet how to humiliate her foes in my language," Pāora jumped and landed in a challenging stance slapping his breast and yelled at Darren in Maori while making his most frightful war face. He suddenly stopped and chuckled anew.
"You're fucking bonkers," said Darren after jumping back and putting his fists up.
"See that is how you insult and intimidate a foe," He continued to laugh and wrapping his big arm around Enzo's shoulder, "Miss Violet was trying to tell him he was lower than the whale shit at the bottom of the ocean. Get it?"
Enzo laughed. "That's good, nothing lower than that, is there?"
Pāora got serious again, "Darren was it? I think what Miss Violet is struggling to express is that she is not in the mood to receive you right now. How about you give me any messages you have, and I will pass it on to her?"
"Well, let me share my whereabouts so she can contact me," said Darren as he passed the Māori the carton with the bow on it.
"I know exactly where you will be. When you arrive tomorrow, you will sort through our rubbish bin and if you see this package in it, you know to leave. If you don't see, it come around to the front door to call."
* * *
8:40 a.m. The Town of Harpsichord
"You didn't mention that Harpsichord was on a rail line," said Dolly looking through a spyglass on the upper observation deck.
"Yes, a spur that comes off the Chicago, Burlington and Quincey line. They move cattle, bison, and pelts through Omaha then East, why do you mention it?"
"Because of the locomotive parked on the siding," said Dolly.
"Let me see. Shit fire, hell, and brimstone!” announced the Marshal as he grabbed the telescopic viewer and adjusted the focus.
"That's a mouthful," replied Dolly.
"Do you have a more powerful looking glass?" asked Elmore. The Marshal had joined the British party on their airship, they were closing in on Harpsichord, too far out to make out the details but close enough to see the silhouette of a steam locomotive just beyond the small town.
"This means railroad men," Elmore grimaced and pulled off his hat to rub his head in thought.
"Railroad men. Would you care to share your concerns, Marshal?" asked Dolly.
"Let's get down to the bridge and chat with the Captain and the Constable," suggested Elmore as he walked to the stairwell. The two clunked down the stairs to the flying bridge, Elmore contemplated the situation as they walked. Unsure of what it meant, it could be just a regularly scheduled train or the railroad company out to investigate on their own. Either way, now the railroad owners would be aware of the situation in Harpsichord and want to have their nose in the investigation.
As Dolly and Elmore made their way to the wheelhouse, they passed the laboratory; Rose and Lorelei were tinkering with a maze of glasswork distilling some bizarre concoction. The contraption with the black wisps inside was set aside on an adjacent table. "Ladies, you mind joining the Detective and me on the bridge?" asked Elmore.
They all assembled at the window and took turns looking through spyglasses at the town trying to get a feel for the situation.
"That's not a freight train. It's a private passenger train; you see it only has three cars and they are passenger cars," reported Elmore. "Would you mind just circling the town, so we can take a gander, captain?"
"Pilot, adjust course and circle the town," ordered Reidun.
“How many meters out do you want me to stay?" asked Reidun.
Elmore gave the Captain a confused look, “Meter?”
"Just think of a meter as about a yard," she told him.
"Well why not just say yards," he replied.
"I am operating a precise vessel and regardless of your thoughts on Emperor Napoleon, he has brought standardization to the continent. I believe the crew is best served using his standardized metric measurement system, rather than a combination of nautical and farm measurements," instructed the Reidun.
"Got it, a meter is a yard," Elmore looked to Dolly making a face.
“No closer than two hundred meters," said Elmore.
"Maintain an altitude of fifty meters and no closer than two hundred meters," confirmed the Captain to the pilot.
"I see at least ten men moving about the town," observed Dolly.
Elmore looked closer and saw a bunch of men standing in the dirt that made up the one main street of Harpsichord. Adjusting the focus, he got a picture of the party, a motley bunch and from the location of where they stood, he could only assume they were outside the Sheriff's office. Shit, Shit, Shit on a stick from the bottom of my shoe…
"All right, by the power vested in me as the US Marshal of the Territory of Colorado, I deputize you, Detective Inspector Adolphus Williamson and Constable Rose Marie Caldwell as deputy Marshals of the United States Territory of Colorado. Do you swear to uphold the law and carry out these duties as directed?"
"Excuse me, Marshal, we are law officers of the Crown. I am unsure what you are up to, or what you expect of us but deputizing foreign citizens can't be protocol," contested Dolly.
"Detective, you're in a United States Federal Territory, in a country made up of foreigners. By the time we land there will be another score of immigrants hopping in wagons traveling out here seeking their fortune. I see a problem down below, in that Sheriff's office are three greenhorn Deputies holding the only live lead I have, who happens to be an Indian. In these parts, the Law can be taken into the hands of an unruly few. I'm responsible for applying justice equally. Now, I don't want to spook you folks but if a conflict arises and you feel the need to defend yourselves or more to the point defend me, I want you to have the protection of the law. The Deputies in Harpsichord are to keep an eye on things, so I don't expect trouble," offered Elmore pointing at the locomotive. "Here is the thing you need to understand about the rail. Our new President, most Congressmen, and Senators all have an interest in these railroads. Mr. Lincoln would never have received a second look as a presidential candidate if it weren't for all the legal work he performed for the national railroads. In some parts of the new territories, they are the Law. One thing I have to deal with is what we call the checkerboard. In 1862 the Federal government granted land to the railroads to encourage expansion all throughout the West.
So there are spots where these railroad companies have more rights than anyone else 'cause they own the land," shared Elmore.
"Are you saying that this railroad owns the town?"
"No sir, they don't but they go around acting like they own just about everything and everybody," Elmore explained.
"I hope you can understand that I am not looking to be front and center to an international incident. Our group is a circus on a good day and heretical on most. If it weren't for my government's experience with metaphysical threats, there would be no Special Branch for the Paranormal. I can't have us in the newspapers over some cowboy shootout," implored Dolly.
"Gents, why don't we proceed down there and determine what they are up to before they wear away any spiritual traces," Rose interceded between the two lawmen. "I think if we come into town on the runabout that should give them pause and you time to assert your authority over the situation," finished Rose. "Point taken Miss, let's get down there and help those fellas in the office. I expect they are a little jumpy right now and we will be a welcome sight."
* * *
3:40 p.m. Whites Gentlemen’s Club, London
Strathmore sat leisurely in White's Club waiting for his appointment with Augustus De Morgan. He had arrived in London on business after touring the continent with a stop in Rome, Lago d'Orta, and Amsterdam. He served both of his masters on this trip conducting business for his Investment Bank and attending to Doctor Caiaphas. At times like this, he enjoyed his idle solitude, with no task but to drink rum and smoke a fine cigar. He watched as the club clerk brought the visitor to where he was seated so comfortably in the member's lounge.
