Diana and the Three Behrs

by Fleeta Cunningham

  “Diana, you look as excited as Elizabeth did when I bought her that new dress this morning. I take it Pete was able to provide some interesting material.”

  Impulsively Diana clasped Papa Behr’s hand. “You have no idea how exciting this is. Dr. Elmsford has a special interest in Butch Cassidy and what the Wild Bunch was doing in Fort Worth just before the gang broke up and Butch Cassidy went to South America. It’s Dr. El’s theory there was a special reason he came, and in fact, my imaginative history professor believes the gang came more than once.” Seeing she’d caught Behr’s interest, she sat back in her chair. “Let me tell you about a man we tracked down in Fort Worth. He’s really the reason I wound up here.”

  Papa Behr signaled the buxom Bindler waitress. “I think a pitcher of lemonade, Hilde, and a plate of your mama’s pfeffernuesse. We will be sitting here a while, I think.”

  Chapter 13

  Diana was relieved that Erlich Behr wasn’t outraged to hear the circumstances that brought her to his quiet town. She’d suspected Adler hadn’t given his father the complete picture and feared he’d held back the information to keep the older man from worrying about possible consequences of befriending Diana and the men who employed her. Rather than the indignation she’d feared, Papa Behr had handed her another cookie and gripped her hand in reassurance.

  “It was right that Adler’s friend sent you here and right that Adler brought you himself. You needed to be in a place where you would be safe. My son was also right when he said nothing happens here without everyone knowing it. If strangers, men who might have a mind to create trouble, came, I believe we’d hear of their arrival.”

  “I wouldn’t want to bring trouble to you or Adler or anyone in town.” Absently she munched another of the spicy cookies. “If there’s even a remote chance to find answers to Dr. El’s questions, he’s going to be more than rewarded for having made a side trip to Pfeiffer. I already feel compensated because I’ve had the chance to see a part of the country I never would have seen otherwise. Or made friends with such kind people—you, Frau Hepple and her cat, and your precious Elizabeth.” She dusted crumbs from her fingers. “Did Adler tell you that two of your bank employees are anxious to learn to use the typewriting machines you bought? He’s asked me to teach them. I’m excited to start. Usually I teach young women, girls eighteen to twenty-five or so, and this is my first attempt at instructing men.”

  “He told me. It’s a good thing, this typewriting machine? It makes the work better?”

  “It’s faster than handwriting, and every letter is always the same, so you don’t struggle with someone’s handwriting, like…” She stopped before she uttered what was in her mind.

  Erlich Behr knew anyway. “Handwriting like my son’s?” He gave a soundless chuckle. “Diana, liebchen, don’t you think I’m aware of exactly how badly the boy handles pen and ink? He can’t write three sentences without crossing out at least half the words and leaving blobs of ink as big as quarters. Struggling with his notes while he was away brought me to purchase those typewriting machines in the first place. Having you here to instruct our people is a blessing we didn’t expect. It saved me from looking foolish when no one could manage the things. Salesman who sold them to me said they were so simple a schoolchild could operate them.”

  “They are, if someone teaches the schoolchild how.”

  “You’re going to be in the bank, teaching this typewriting, interviewing anyone with a story to tell, and generally making life more interesting in our little town. No matter what circumstances brought you here, I believe Pfeiffer is better for your presence, Diana.”

  “I am certain I’m better being here than dodging hoodlums in Fort Worth, Papa. Thank you.”

  ****

  Diana found Adler had been true to his promise when she arrived at the bank the next morning. The small meeting room at the back of the bank had its own entrance. A sturdy table held the two typewriters, some reams of foolscap, and was flanked by three straight-backed chairs. A neat box of stationery held down a far less tidy pile of Adler’s trademark scribbled correspondence.

  “I won’t be too idle or too bored.” She skimmed through the pages and decided a more studied examination was going to be necessary. The pages she’d copied for him before were samples of elegance compared to what she held in her hand. He’d obviously come in late the evening before or early in the morning to take care of immediate business and rushed to finish what he felt was pressing.

  Taking care of the easier task first, Diana fed a fresh sheet of plain paper into her machine, turned to the pages of notes she’d made during her visit with Pete, the aging cowboy, and wrote up the interesting hints he had about Butch Cassidy.

  Shortly before lunch, Fred and Otto came by. Both were anxious to begin learning the new machine and what it could do. They assured Diana they would be able to remain at the bank after closing every day, spending three afternoons with her for instruction and taking three days for practice on their own. Fred even suggested, since the bank closed early on Saturday, he’d be able to put in some extra hours then.

  Diana’s days filled rapidly the next week. Adler left her enough correspondence every day to take up the mornings. She prepared materials for Fred and Otto in the afternoons, if she wasn’t interrupted by one or two old-timers Papa Behr sent along to reminisce or tell tall tales. She wasn’t always sure how much wishful thinking, or colorful embroidery, went into the stories they shared. By the time she’d given her new “students” an hour of instruction on the typewriting machines and supervised a half hour of practice, she was more than ready to return to Frau Hepple’s tasty dinner and a quiet spell on the porch with her landlady and the placid Katje.

  The file of papers she accumulated from her afternoons with former cowboys and their stories had become quite thick she noticed as she filed away the latest tale of long nights on the trail and herding cattle through a driving sandstorm. Dr. El and the others would have a substantial amount of work before them by the time they arrived. At this rate, they’d need more than the ten days or two weeks they’d planned to stay in the little German settlement.

  Wonder how Pam is managing with my wooly owls? And Trey? Is she still carrying the torch, or did daily exposure put it out? She shivered in the warm room at another thought. Is there any chance Tommy Gunn’s men traced us? Could they have found Pam or the fellows? I’m feeling pretty safe here, but I can’t be too certain they are.

  The arrival of her enthusiastic apprentices stopped that line of thought, and she turned to the day’s exercise. The men had been conscientious in their practice, and today she was letting them make their first attempt at copying text. She’d written out the exercise, one that used every character, and put it before them. Fred read over it and grinned. He really did enjoy the challenge. Otto was a little more hesitant as he began to copy, but as he gained confidence, he relaxed. Neither had the smooth rhythm that would build speed, but she could see the progress.

  “You look pleased with something, Diana. Are your students doing you credit?” Papa Behr entered the meeting room and took one of the chairs.

  “They’re both doing very well, sir. I think Adler will be very happy with their work.”

  “Excellent. The work for Dr. Elmsford and those professors of yours? How is it going?”

  Diana pointed at the thick stack of pages in the file box beside her. “They’re going to have more here to examine than they expected. The men you’ve sent over have been a gold mine of information.”

  “Nothing more on your quest for Butch Cassidy, I suppose.”

  She held up both hands in resignation. “I’m afraid not. If Pete’s friend doesn’t come along soon, I may not have anything more to give Dr. El for his pet theory. I’d hate to be so close but not able to make the connection he’s sure is out there.”

  Papa Behr patted his pockets. “That reminds me, I had a letter for you. Probably from your professors. At least it came from a hotel in San Antonio. Maybe your
friends have learned something there.” He located the long envelope and passed it over.

  Diana didn’t recognize the name of the hotel printed on the envelope, but she was certain it was from Pamina. She’d be more likely to write than the others. Diana tore the end of the envelope and shook the single sheet free.

  Dear Di,

  Just wanted to let you know we have changed hotels twice. One time because strange men were asking at the desk about us, or at least it seemed like they meant us. The second time, I was certain I saw a man from TG’s place in the shop across from the hotel.

  We may be jumping at shadows, but we decided not to take the risk. I don’t think you are likely to have visitors but felt you should know of the possibility. Plan to see you soon. Missed you like crazy. Trey sends his best.

  Love,

  Pam

  Diana read through the letter twice, her heart pounding in her throat. Tommy Gunn’s men? Pam could be wrong. It might have been someone who just looked like…but then again, it might not be. And somebody was asking questions at the hotel.

  She handed the letter to Papa Behr. “She could be wrong. This has been awfully hard on my sister, and she’s kind of dramatic anyway. She might just be jumping at shadows.”

  Papa Behr passed the letter back to her. “Or she could be right and those men, the ones you ran from, may have located your friends. Either way, it was right she let you know. Now I think we have to tell Adler so he can be even more watchful. I think he would take it badly if we failed to inform him and your sister’s warning went unheeded.”

  Diana, much as she hated to turn to Adler again, realized the elder Behr was right. This was their town. If anything might disrupt the pleasant flow of life here, Adler and his father would be in the frontline, ready to avert crisis.

  “I know. I’ll tell him in the morning when he comes in.”

  Erlich Behr shook his white head. “No, I believe he should know now, as soon as we can reach him.” He stood and put a hand on her shoulder. “If you want, I’ll tell him. I was about to walk home anyway. Elizabeth will be up from her nap and ready for an adventure shortly. I might have a few minutes alone with him if I hurry.”

  “Papa Behr, the problem stems from my presence in Pfeiffer. I should be the one to tell Adler. If he thinks there might be trouble, I’ll leave. I can go back to Fort Worth, or meet up with Pam and the others in San Antonio, or…I don’t know. I’ll go someplace where I won’t bring trouble to people I care about.”

  Papa Behr folded his arms, his face suddenly as stern as his son’s. “You think we’d rather see you go and not know if you’re safe? No, I will insist you stay here, where we know who comes and goes. If I know that son of mine, he’ll be adamant. No running away to save us trouble. Now, get your things, and we’ll go tell him and see if I’m right.”

  Adler might agree, at least say he agreed, with his father, but Diana wasn’t certain he’d mean it. One way and another, he’d been put to no small inconvenience since she appeared in his life. Yes, she’d helped him out at the bank, and the two men she was training for him would be an asset. She just wasn’t sure her assistance offset the interruptions she made in his orderly world.

  The walk from downtown to the neat house three streets over was pleasant beneath heavily laden pecan trees and peach trees scattered along the way. Diana, in her daily walk from Frau Hepple’s to the bank, had noticed tiny houses tucked into small lots among larger family homes. They looked almost like doll houses, too small to live in but obviously cared for and tended.

  “I see you looking over our Sunday houses. That one”—he pointed to one with a wide blue porch and shutters—“that one was my papa’s. I lived there for a while, before I married my Elizabeth, the little one’s grandmother.”

  Diana looked at the quaint little place. “Sunday house?” She’d never heard that term.

  He nodded. “Not so much now, but when I was a boy, and we lived out on the farm several miles from town, we only came in on the weekends. Whole family, early Saturday morning, we’d pile in the wagon and come to town. Mama and the girls would get over to the general store to pick up what they needed for the house. Papa and the boys would go over to the blacksmith or the livery stable or maybe a horse auction. Family would come back to Bindler’s, or whoever had the meeting hall then, for dinner. In the summer there’d be a dance over on the town square, or in the winter it would be a barn dance. By the time we’d worn out our shoes dancing, it was too late for anybody to go home; most families had a Sunday house. Just a little place, one room with a place to cook breakfast or make coffee, maybe one bed. And a sleeping loft for the youngsters. We’d stay the night, get up early for church the next day, and most times have a big dinner on the grounds after. If it was too cold, we’d go back to the meeting hall for our meal. Visiting went on till Papa stood up, took a look at the sky, and said we’d better get back, the livestock would be looking for us. We’d load up the wagon, close up the Sunday house, and head home, looking forward to the next weekend when we’d do it all again. Sunday house, Diana. That’s what these little places are, and a good many families still use them.” He looked back at the wide blue porch. “I sold ours after Elizabeth and I got married. It was good for a man alone but too small for a couple to live in all time. Rented a little place down toward the mill at first, then built us a house right here in town so I could be close to the bank.” A small smile touched his lips. “Sometimes I sorta wish I hadn’t sold it. Elizabeth and me, we did most of our courting right there on that porch.”

  Diana gazed at the cozy, blue-trimmed house, imagining the young families that had filled it over the years. “Didn’t it get terribly hot in the summer, especially up in the sleeping loft?”

  Papa gestured toward the upper level above the porch. “It would, and there would be danger of fire in the winter when we left live coals in the cookstove, too, except for the shutters and awnings upstairs. There’s always a way to open up the loft. Usually a pulley or crank will push the shutters back or raise a flap in the wall. There is an escape in case of fire and cool breeze in the summer.”

  Now that she knew to look, Diana could see the faint outlines where shutters could be moved away from the windows they concealed.

  Papa Behr looked back at the quaint cottage and then turned the corner. “That’s our house, the dark red brick with the ivy. Like I said, it wasn’t our first place. Stayed in the little house till Adler was coming on school age and we were expecting his sister. Elizabeth said we had to have a bigger place for two youngsters. Ordered that one from the Sears Roebuck catalog because she thought it was the prettiest thing she ever saw. Did every bit of it just the way she wanted.” He sighed. “Du lieber, how she loved that house.”

  They were silent the rest of the way up the block. Diana could see how a young mother would love the place. The yard was wide, with ancient oak trees shading it. The porch that spanned the width of the house was bright with boxes of yellow pansies spilling their sunny colors across the afternoon shade. It spoke of welcome and peace to visitors.

  Erlich Behr led her up the short steps to the front door. He turned the knob quietly and held the door open, one finger over his lips.

  “We’ll slip into the parlor as quiet as mice. If Elizabeth is still napping, we don’t want to wake her.” He tiptoed in. “She has ears like a fox, that little one. She can hear a squirrel run across the garden, if she’s listening.”

  Diana slipped in as quietly as he did and followed him into the foyer. They needn’t have worried about waking Elizabeth. She was up and totally engrossed at the moment. Diana stopped and peered in behind Erlich Behr’s shoulder. In the parlor, just beyond the door, small Elizabeth, costumed in an enormous pink feather hat and draped in a matching boa, made a curtsy to her tall partner. Adler, in the cocked and plumed hat of some fraternal organization, bowed with equal seriousness.

  “Milady, may I take you in to tea,” he asked in resonant tones, offering his arm.

&nbs
p; “You may, my lord.” She put her tiny hand on his arm, and they turned slowly, mimicking the solemn steps of a grand march, toward the dining room.

  As Adler stood erect, Diana saw him recognize he and Elizabeth had an audience. Without the least hint of embarrassment, he bent down to his companion. “Milady, I believe we have additional guests for tea. Would you prefer Sir Papa to take you in? I will bring Lady Diana, if you would.”

  The mite in pink stood very tall beneath her finery. “No, my lord, they are very late. They will have to follow us.” She dipped her head in regal style. “But I’ll let them have strawberry cake, even if they are late.”

  “Very well,” he answered, and they made a stately progress into the dining room, leaving Diana and Papa Behr to follow. Adler pulled out the chair, helped Elizabeth onto her built-up throne, and gestured to the others to take their places at the table.

  Diana looked at Adler, so completely at ease with the little girl, so willing to enjoy the game with her, and a soft light seemed to fill the room. A sweetness swept over her. She watched the tall man smiling down at his niece in delight and…Diana fell in love. Her heart all but melted, then overflowed; she was bewitched by the moment. She wanted to hold on to the enchantment and the glow washing over her forever.

  “I believe we are invited to tea, Miss Woods.” Papa Behr offered his arm. “May I take you in, ma’am?”

  She felt a warm flush touch her cheeks. “Honored, sir.” She placed her hand on his arm, the shimmering web of fantasy making her a part of the tableau, as he led the way to the table.

  ****

  Adler looked over the letter again, then put it on the table beside his chair. “I think we should take it as a serious possibility, Diana. I’d rather be cautious and later find out it wasn’t necessary as be wrong about the need. I’m going to ask Fred or Otto, or both, to walk you to the bank every morning. I’ll be there to take you home. Or Papa will.”