However, after stopping to eat a bite of lunch and water their horses on the bank of a swift running creek, King seemed to find more to say, “I thought we’d rent a room in the boarding house at Scholz Garten. Hopefully, we won’t have to stay more than two nights.”
“I know the place. It’s not far from the capital building.” Reno held the reins loosely as they hit the trail again, following the narrow pathway through the thick evergreen forest.
“Right. I hope we’ll get an audience with the governor right off, but we can’t be certain of that. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been considering how we should handle our request.”
“I’ve been thinking about that myself. Obviously, we can’t tell him the truth about how or where I came by the information. What I can tell him is my personal experience with Kinsella and what I heard with my own ears. I also have the last names of two of his cohorts.”
“I agree. And after closely studying what you gave me to read, I realize there’s information we can use to convince the governor about Taylor. The hatred he harbors in his heart for the Indian people is public knowledge, as is the incendiary newspaper he published.”
“That’s right,” Reno spoke with a hopeful tone in his voice. “The vigilante army he raised is also an indisputable, verifiable fact. Their actions can be checked. People can be interviewed.”
“Yes, they can. I’m sure there’ll be an investigation. Governor Pease will probably call in the Rangers on this.”
Reno snorted. “The Texas Rangers, I hope, and not Taylor’s Jacksonville Rangers.”
“The Taylor’s are a powerful family,” King stated, a hint of doubt entering his voice.
“I know.” Reno understood his Captain’s unspoken concern. “That shouldn’t make a difference.”
“No, it shouldn’t.”
“Pease will listen, won’t he? I mean, we can tell him enough to plant doubt in his mind, can’t we?”
“I hope so.” King pushed his hat up on his head and wiped his brow. “God, it’s warm for May.” He looked up at the sun. “So, tell me what’s changed? I mean I saw that photograph of an unrecognizable Austin and the impossible flying machine, but – what else?”
Reno shook his head, a wry laugh on his lips. “Where do I start? What hasn’t changed?” He considered what he might say. “The nation is united, for the most part. Fifty states in all. Texas will return to the union next year. There’ll be more war. Two world wars. War in Asia. War in the Middle East.”
“How about war on this soil?”
“No. At least we seemed to have learned that lesson.”
King appeared to contemplate the matter. “Speaking of land, while we’re in Austin I want to visit the Land Office. I need to make sure those deeds were properly recorded when I transferred acreage into all of your names.”
“I know I said it before, but that was very generous of you, King.” He didn’t comment on his plans, they were still too up in the air to make sense to anybody but him.
“There are more types of currency than money, Reno. Blood and sweat counts for as much in my book.”
They stopped speaking when a flock of wild turkeys took flight from the nearby brush. Both of their mounts sidestepped in place, startled by the spectacle. When the wild flapping died down, King glanced at Reno. “How’s the hunting in the future?”
This question surprised him. “Regulated for the most part. There’s been so much development that land available for hunting is scarce. Much of our area is designated as a game preserve. Deer roam freely into people’s yards and the animals are treated like pets. There are even large tracts of land set aside to protect species that are endangered because of over-hunting in the past, pesticides, or pollution – you name it. There’ve been countless advancements in the future, but we’ve also lost ground with some things.” He pointed to the sky. “Man has walked on the moon. Can you imagine that?”
The notion appealed to King. “I can, actually. I’ve been dreaming of things like that all my life. You see, my father owned a copy of a very rare book entitled The Man in the Moon by Bishop Francis Godwin. The bishop penned the novel in the year 1636. Father wouldn’t let me touch it, but he’d hold me on his lap and read it to me. Soon, he didn’t have to do that, for I memorized most of the book. Let me see if I can still recall…” He began to quote what he could remember. “An explorer builds a spaceship and meets aliens on another world. They are a ‘people most strange,’ these extraterrestrials. They’re twice as tall as humans; they wear clothes spun of a mysterious material, dyed in a color unseen by human eyes; and they speak only in haunting musical tones. Then the explorer returns to Earth.”
“That’s incredible. I’d never heard of such.” He’d been on the verge of telling King about climate change and global warming, but considering his good mood, Reno decided to save that for another day.
Riding just ahead, King pulled out his pocket watch. “We’ll be crossing the Colorado soon. We should arrive in the city around four. I think we’re making good time.”
Reno laughed. “Not really. Just last week, I made the trip in a little over an hour.”
“In a flying machine?”
“No. I was driving a Japanese horseless carriage called a Subaru.”
King scoffed. “Now, you’re just making things up.”
* * *
The next morning, the two men set out for the Governor’s office a little after nine. Since the distance was a short one, they elected to walk, leaving their horses stabled at the boarding house. Reno couldn’t help but notice the
