“You are too easy on your cowboys. You seem to be suffering higher losses to the rustlers than anyone else. How do you know that your cowboys aren’t the ones who are stealing from you?”
“Because as I mentioned earlier, seven of them have already died defending the ranch. No, we all know who the culprit is here. It is Sam Logan and his band of cutthroats.”
“Well, I can’t deny that,” Teasdale said. “It certainly seems as if the Yellow Kerchief Gang is having their way with the rest of us. The wonder is that the law has made no effort to stop them, or to bring them to justice.”
“The law? Hurrumph!” Frewen said, making a scoffing sound deep in his throat. “There is no law in Johnson County except for whatever law we can provide for ourselves. That is why I hired Matt Jensen, and that is why I assumed the role of judge in the recent court case. Only if we show these brigands that we mean business will we ever have peace here.”
“Well, there is no need for me to reiterate my disagreement with you, so I’ll just let it go at that,” Teasdale said.
Teasdale looked over at young Winston Churchill, who had been following the conversation with concentrated attention.
“I’ll just bet this young man would go after Sam Logan and the Yellow Kerchief Gang all by himself, if you would let him,” Teasdale said.
“Sir, I would like to think that I am not without courage, but neither am I without good sense,” Winnie replied. “I have no wish to encounter these outlaws.”
“A wise decision,” Teasdale said. “But tell me, what does a young man like you do out here, so far away from your own home and friends?”
“I like it here,” Winnie said. “But I would like it even more if I had a horse.”
“A horse?” Jennie said. “Heavens, Winnie, what would you do with a horse?”
“Why, I would ride him, Mama. I would ride him all over Uncle Moreton’s ranch.”
“And what would you do, as you rode all over the ranch?” Frewen asked.
“That is easy. I would punch cattle,” Winnie insisted.
“Punch cattle?” Jennie said.
“Yes, don’t you remember, Mama? Mr. Jensen told us that is what cowboys do.”
“Yes, I do remember. But Winnie, I’m sure your father has a higher and more noble future planned for you than to punch cattle,” Jennie said. “Besides, I would not like to see you on a horse,” Jennie said.
“Why not?” Winnie asked.
“Because, dear, you have never even been on the back of a horse, and I’m afraid you might fall off.”
The others laughed and Winnie, with cheeks burning in embarrassment, looked down at the floor.
“May I be excused now, Mama?” he asked.
“Certainly, dear.”
“What a well-mannered boy,” Lily said. “You must be very proud of him.”
“I am,” Jennie said.
“But you don’t have much confidence in him,” Teasdale said.
“Oh, but I do—within reason. And since he has never ridden a horse before, I do not think it unreasonable for me to be concerned should he suddenly decide to do so.”
“You might have been a bit too harsh on him,” Lily suggested.
Jennie looked toward Lily as if to convey her resentment over Lily commenting about her relationship with her son, but she checked any retort, then ameliorated her expression with a smile.
“Perhaps I was,” she agreed. “But Winnie is such a headstrong boy and almost totally without fear. I feel that I must provide the cautionary restraint that he lacks.”
“So, Miss Langtry, you will be leaving tomorrow?” Teasdale asked.
“Yes, I am going to San Francisco.”
“I would think that you would stay in New York, where there are enough people to make the theater profitable.”
“My tour through the West has been profitable in more ways than money,” Lily said. “And New York has become so cumbersome for me now. If I go for a stroll in the park and stop for a moment to admire the flowers, people run after me in droves. If I venture out for a little shopping it is particularly hazardous, for the instant I enter an establishment to make a purchase, news spreads that I am there. A crowd then gathers by the front door so as to make a normal exit impossible and the proprietor is forced to escort me out the back door.”
“Such is the price of fame,” Frewen said. “But tell me, Lily, would you give it up and become a seamstress or a store clerk?”
“Never in a million years!” Lily replied, and everyone laughed. “I suppose, now that I think about it, there is as much pleasure as there is discomfort in fame.”
Moreton and Clara Frewen took Lily Langtry to the stage depot the next morning to see her off. Clara waited in the carriage as Frewen walked from the carriage to the stage office with Lily. Their driver took Lily’s suitcase to the waiting coach and stood watching as it was loaded into the boot.
“Really, Moreton, if you expect anyone to visit you, you must see to it that a railroad is built closer to Sussex than Medicine Bow. That is such a beastly trip by coach,” Lily said.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Frewen replied.
