by Jake Logan
Tess cried out. Her knees rose and then she thrust her legs out on either side of Slocum’s head. He continued to lick and stroke with his tongue like a cat lapping up cream until she was moaning incoherently with pleasure.
When she climaxed, she clamped strong thighs onto his head. For a moment Slocum was deliciously blind and deaf. He never stopped his oral assault. His fingers found the little pink nub at the top of her sex lips and pressed down. Another loud cry of release escaped her lips. She tensed all over and then relaxed, her legs draped over his shoulders.
“My turn,” he said. Slocum moved deliberately, letting her legs slide along his shoulders until her ankles rested atop them. He rose above her. Together they managed to get his gun belt off and his jeans popped free. With a sigh of relief, his erection was released from its cloth prison. She reached around and steered him inward, but her legs prevented her from doing too much. That didn’t matter. Slocum knew where he wanted to go. And he did.
With a smooth, slow thrust, he sank balls-deep within her. Bent double, ankles on his shoulders, Tess experienced a new sensation. For Slocum it was even more intense. It felt as if she crushed him flat.
He hesitated once he was fully within her, then drew back. His ache grew and his desires threatened to consume him. He began thrusting with more and more speed until there was no turning back. With a surge he shared the release Tess had experienced. He sank down and shrugged his shoulders. Her legs dropped to the bed. She stared up at him and smiled.
“I wish Sir William wasn’t coming back anytime now.”
“Oh? What if he wasn’t?”
“There’s another bed in the back room,” she said suggestively.
Slocum turned slightly and listened. He heard movement out in the museum’s main room. Tess heard it, too.
“Sir William!”
“Get decent,” Slocum said, jumping off the bed. He hitched up his pants and grabbed for his six-shooter. The sounds out in the museum might not be caused by Sir William. Slocum had never caught sight of whoever had trailed him from the docks.
He slung his gun belt and moved silently. He relaxed when he saw that Tess had been right. Sir William stood in the room, looking around.
“I say, there you are, my good man.”
“Did you see anyone lurking around outside?” Slocum asked.
“Why, yes, I believe so. There was a Chinese chap.” Sir William sobered. “They are after you?” Then the explorer brightened. “You found it! They’re after you because you found the crown!”
“Reckon you’re right on both counts,” Slocum said. His mind raced. He had a plan but it required so much to be done—right now.
“I came to be sure Miss Lawrence was all right,” Sir William said.
“I am,” Tess said, coming from the back room. Her hair was mussed and her dress was slightly askew. Sir William frowned when he saw her. His eyes darted to Slocum and then back.
With some disapproval he said, “I wanted to tell you that Captain Johnson has launched a raid on the Sum Yop headquarters in an attempt to end the tong war.” Sir William chewed a moment on his lower lip and finally spat out, “What have you been doing, Miss Lawrence?”
Tess’s eyes widened in surprise. “You remember my name.”
“Of course I do, dear—Miss Lawrence.”
“I told her to hide while I looked for the hatchet man trailing me,” Slocum said.
“That’s right,” she hastily confirmed. “Mr. Slocum feared an attack since he has the jade crown.”
“The crown,” Sir William said, distracted once more. “I must see it!”
“Show him,” Slocum said to Tess. “I’ll see if there are more than the tong killers after me.”
Neither Sir William nor Tess asked who else might be tracking him. Slocum knew that the chance was good one of Little Pete’s boo how doy was on his trail, but it could also be one of Lai Choi San’s crew. She had let him go too easily and had not believed him.
He went to the front door and dropped to his belly before looking out. He waited several minutes before seeing movement in the bushes at the edge of the museum property near the road. Try as he might, though, Slocum could do nothing more than find where the man hid. Who had sent this spy, Slocum could not tell.
Closing the door, he got to his feet and went back into the museum where Sir William and Tess stared at the crown.
The explorer looked up, his face lit with enthusiasm once more.
“You are a man among men, dear chap. You found it! Tell me all about the hunt and—”
“There’s no time,” Slocum said. “If the marines are attacking the tong strongholds, you’ve got to get out of town right away. There’s a train leaving in less than a half hour. We just have time to get you on it.”
“We can take the crown. It’s not as good as showing the entire collection in Boston, but the jade crown will still be quite a draw.”
“You got your belongings packed?” Slocum looked straight at Tess. A moment passed, then she nodded slowly. They both realized what he was asking—and what they both were agreeing to.
“I’ll never let this out of my sight,” Sir William said, hands on the crown.
“Get it packed up,” Slocum said, watching Sir William go about the chore. He tried to take it, but the explorer refused to let it go.
“Check the back of the museum while Tess gets her valise,” Slocum said. “I won’t let anything happen to it. I promise.”
Sir William looked around, then reluctantly hurried off. Tess disappeared into the curator’s office to get what she needed for a long trip across the country. And Slocum set about doing what was needed.
He spun, his six-shooter coming out of his holster in time to get off a shot at the Celestial coming through the front door. The Chinaman ducked back.
“What happened?” Sir William rushed up.
“We need to get out of here right now. I didn’t even wing him.”
“Wing him,” said Sir William, chuckling. “That’s one of their surnames, you know. Did you wing Wing?” Sir William laughed aloud.
“I’m glad you appreciate your own joke. Is the back way clear?”
“Oh, quite.” Sir William reached out with both hands and pulled hard. “Let me have the crown.”
Slocum released the package. Sir William clutched it to his body like a mother with a newborn.
Tess, Sir William and Slocum went out the back door. Two streets away Slocum hailed a passing cab and bundled them into it.
“John, you’re not coming with us?” Tess looked upset but the moment of decision had passed back in the museum. Both knew the answer.
“You and Sir William go to Boston. I have business here.”
“With the Sum Yop?” asked Sir William. “It cannot be a secret the way you look whenever they are mentioned.”
“If I hurry, I can get something Little Pete has stolen,” Slocum said.
“Captain Johnson will be on the attack by now. Good luck, old chap.” Sir William transferred the crown to his left arm and shook Slocum’s hand briskly. Tess reached out and lightly touched his hand.
“Train station,” Slocum called to the driver.
“Be quick about it, my good man,” Sir William added. He was pushed back into the carriage by the sudden start. Sir William did not look back. Tess did.
Slocum heaved a sigh and knew her departure was for the best. He returned to the museum. He had to get to Little Pete before the marines raided his headquarters and destroyed everything in it.
26
“There’s no need to cry, my dear,” Sir William said. He clutched the box holding the precious jade crown tightly but managed to reach over and pat Tess’s arm. “He will be just fine. Mr. Slocum is a very resourceful man.”
“I know. It’s just that so…so much has happened,” Tess said, dabbing at her eyes. She looked at Sir William, who favored her with a bright smile. He had no idea what she really meant.
“Things will work out swimmi
ngly from here on. It’s best to leave this terrible frontier city for a more refined metropolis.”
“Boston,” Tess said, dabbing ineffectually at her tears with her handkerchief.
“You will find that you have left nothing of any real importance behind, my dear,” Sir William said. “Everything bright and wonderful lies in front of you. Such a stellar future! All of high society will flock to see the crown—and us!”
“What do you mean?” She finished mopping the tears and turned slightly on the hard bench seat to look at him.
“The exhibition will be talked about for years.” He stroked the box as if it were a pet. “We will be the toast of the town. We can go to Europe. Dazzle the crowned heads of all the better countries. England, of course, but also Austria and Italy. You will love Italy. The opera!”
“You’d take me along?”
“I’ll need an…assistant,” he said lamely. Sir William swallowed hard, trying to find the right words. He hinted broadly that he wanted more from Miss Lawrence than services as an assistant, but she seemed obtuse to what he was suggesting. Damn her!
“Oh,” she said. Tess leaned back and stared straight ahead. What she had wanted before no longer seemed important. Sir William had been so bold and daring—until she compared him with John Slocum.
The train rattled and clanked as the engine began to grind away, moving the imponderable tons of steel along the rails. An unexpectedly loud steam whistle made Sir William cringe for a moment. He recovered immediately. It would not do to show any kind of consternation at this moment. Not when he was trying to woo a lovely young lady.
“The entire of Europe will be ours—yours,” he said, sidling into a more definitive question. She had been loyal and had shown nothing but attention to detail. She was not uncomely, and it was high time he find a wife. That would be expected of him as he dazzled the crowned heads of Europe. A wife was a definite asset at dinner parties and the like.
And settling down. Sir William swallowed hard again. That would be difficult. Of course, there was always the chance of a short adventure in Africa or somewhere near England. What wife could possibly deny him that? Until she was with child, she might even come along on his grand quests. Miss Lawrence took meticulous notes that would be perfect for his memoirs, after all.
“I’m not sure what to say, Sir William,” she began.
His eyes left her face and darted to the rear of the passenger car.
“Stop that man!” Sir William leaped to his feet and pointed at the Chinaman. “He’s a killer!”
The boo hoy doy drew a hatchet and brandished it, then opened the door connecting the two passenger cars and ran off. The door slammed behind him.
“Here, don’t let this out of your sight,” Sir William said, thrusting the box with the crown into Tess’s hands. She looked up in surprise.
“What’s going on?”
“They’ve come aboard to steal the crown, I fear. I must stop them now or we’ll be plagued with the yellow vermin all the way across the country.”
“Sir William!” She reached out and put her hand on his arm. He had drawn his small pistol.
“I’ll be careful, my dear,” he said, then pushed past her into the aisle and made his way to the rear of the car. The other passengers looked at him curiously. More than one of the men moved coattails back to expose their own six-shooters. Sir William ignored them and ran to the rear of the car. He peered out onto the small platform between cars and then threw open the door. As he took a step out, he froze. Something was not right.
He spun about in time to see two more Chinese beside Tess. One threatened her with a knife and the other wrestled with her for the box she held tightly.
“Stop, I say! Blighters!” Sir William fired. The first shot missed. The second frightened Tess into releasing the box holding the jade crown. One Celestial shoved her back into the seat and drew a pistol of his own, returning fire. Sir William ran forward, shooting as he went. The train lurched and sent him sprawling. By the time he got to his feet, both Celestials were gone.
“Tess, are you all right?”
“Yes, Sir William. I’m shaken up. They stole the crown!”
Sir William looked at her for an instant, impulsively bent, kissed her cheek and then ran after the two thieves. He flung open the door between cars in time to see the second Chinaman jump to the ground. Sir William never hesitated. He jumped, too, hitting the ground hard enough to rattle his teeth. His legs buckled and he rolled until he came to a halt some yards away from the train.
He sat up and saw the conductor on the back platform with a lantern, as if hunting for his lost passengers. Then the train rounded a curve and disappeared from sight.
Sir William got to his feet and went hunting for the two thieves. They had decoyed him away with the first hit, then had attacked and stolen the crown with the other two who had been lying in wait.
“Bloody sneaky thieves!” Sir William began hiking back to the spot where the Chinamen would have landed.
He found the second one on the ground, his head canted at an unnatural angle. The man had not made his exit from the train too well, and had slipped and fallen, breaking his neck. Sir William knelt and examined the man, then stood.
“By damn, that chop tattooed on his arm makes him a Sum Yop!” He had thought they were tong members because they had brandished hatchets. But the distinctive mark identified the exact tong responsible for the theft.
“Little Pete!” The name escaped his lips like a curse.
He began hiking along the tracks, heading back into San Francisco. He had a tong leader to find.
It was nearing sundown when he trooped back to the railroad depot. Sir William had not walked this far since his guide and most of his expedition had been killed in a freak lightning storm in Borneo. The exercise invigorated him and made him feel more alive than he had in months. Chasing after the society doyennes for money to finance future expeditions wore down on him. He was a physical man who enjoyed adventure, although some of the society matrons had provided some things more adventurous for him than being hounded by cannibals.
He hopped into a carriage and ordered, “To Chinatown. Right away, my good man!”
The driver turned and squinted at him.
“Ain’t ya heard? You jist git in?”
“Heard what?”
“The marines’re cleanin’ out the dens of them filthy yellow bastards. ’Bout time, I say. It ain’t safe to go nowhere near Chinatown or the docks ’til they’re done with the exterminatin’.”
“As close as you think safe, then,” Sir William said. He knew better than to argue with a man looking out only for his own safety. Even money would not win over this recalcitrant individual.
“Yer money, yer scalp,” the driver said. Sir William sat back and fumed as the swaybacked horse clopped along at a pace hardly better than walking.
“Here we go,” the driver called when they halted more than half a dozen blocks away from the main street running through Chinatown. Sir William heard gunfire and smelled the sharp tang of gunpowder in the air wafting from the east. He stood and saw orange flashes—muzzle flashes. “That’ll be six bits.”
Sir William handed him a dollar bill.
“Thank ye kindly, mister. Don’t go gettin’ too near the fightin’ till they’s done. Then you kin go see what a mountain of dead chinks looks like.”
Sir William almost grabbed the money back and gave the man a thrashing. He instead ignored the driver and directed his attention toward the furious bursts of gunfire. He barely had gone a block when a marine stepped into the street and barred his way with a lowered rifle, bayonet affixed.
“Can’t go down there,” the marine said. “Not till the fightin’s done, sir.”
“They are fighting the tongs?”
“Reckon that’s right.”
“There doesn’t seem to be any fighting here at the moment. What of Chinatown?”
“When we clean out the vermin along the docks
, then we’ll move there. My orders are to keep citizens away, so don’t think of goin’ there ’less you want to get yourself kilt dead.”
“Far from it, my good chap, far from it. Thank you for the warning.” Sir William backed away from the marine, went a few blocks west, changed back northward and cut across to Dupont Gai as fast as he could. Up the hills behind the marine guard and into the heart of Chinatown he went until he sweat in spite of the cold wind blowing off the bay. The deeper into the heart of the Chinese quarter he went, the fewer people he saw. Ghosts flitting through would have been easier to find. Usually Sir William noted furtive glances from half-shuttered windows or saw store proprietors watching resentfully. Not this evening. The dearth of population meant the tong war had become a serious concern for all.
“Where are you, you thieving, conniving bastard?” Sir William muttered to himself as he made his way through the maze of streets to find the Sum Yop headquarters. He was certain Little Pete’s henchmen had stolen the jade crown. If he wanted it back, he had to be cagey and go against great odds, but then he usually did. That was how he had gotten the jade crown away from the imperial guard so many months ago. They had been arrogantly neglectful, thinking no one would dare spirit away the emperor’s crown. He had been too clever for them and had won the most important possession of the emperor’s court.
His heart leaped into his throat when he saw the tiny tendrils of oily black smoke leaking from cracks in the brick walls of the old building housing the Sum Yop tong. No obvious fire worked to consume the decrepit structure, but something inside was seriously amiss.
He kicked in the side door and choked at the blast of smoke billowing outward. Sir William turned his face and waited for the smoke to clear enough for him to go into the building.
“Little Pete!” His shout was swallowed by the vast, empty building. Sir William went deeper into the building, following the path of destruction that marked the solution to the maze and finally found a small room. He stepped forward, hoping against hope he would find what was not likely here.
