Chapter 3 - City of 10,000 Guns

[Grognardsw]

Paladin yawned and clambered down from the top of the coal car.

He woke up Doos and Andreas. Over breakfast he said: “No luck with our trap last night. I have to ride into town for an 8:00 meeting with Cummins. Keep a guard on the tent. See if you can discover anything new today. Maybe watch that China man who started it all.”

Paladin checked in with the camp guards before he left, asking if there was anything unusual last night. He mentioned to keep a watch on the bait tent (not calling it that though.)

Then he rode into Austin for the meeting.

[ateno]

"Alright Mr. Paladin, Andrea and I will split it. I suspect they are making plans, maybe something will happen tonight. Andreas , if you don't mind, we could eat together then I will walk around during breakfast and look at people and see if I see anyone acting suspicious. While you watch the item? I might get into a conversation with someone and mention how important the item is soon."

Observation [1d20]=18

The tide has turned...

Doos

[cybersavant]

Andreas Larson Dat sounds like good plan. I vhill vatch, from different spots dis time. Do like i learn de camp routine."

[Grognardsw]

Paladin rode to Austin as the morning sun warmed up the landscape.



The gunslinger sang a ditty along the way.

"I've got spurs that jingle, jangle, jingle
As I go riding merrily along
And they sing, oh, ain't you glad you're single?
And that song ain't so very far from wrong

Oh, Lillie Belle, oh, Lillie Belle
Though I may have done some fooling
This is why I never fell

Oh, Sally Jane, oh, Sally Jane
Though I'd loved to stay forever
This is why I can't remain

I've got spurs that jingle, jangle, jingle
As I go riding merrily along"

[jemmus]

The guards respond to Paladin's questions, saying that the night was just an ordinary one like any other. One says, I don't know about these accidents and what have ya.
And these Irishmen buttin heads with the Chinamans. Ar real job is to watch out fer Comanches. Cause if they git loose in the camp, ever one of use won't be wearin no hair.
And those boys don't like the railroad disturbin their buffalo huntin. And this one is headed west, closer to their huntin grounds.

Paladin arrives at Cummins's office at 8:00 AM. The magnate is with a Chinese man in a business suit. Not an expensive one, but a suit nonetheless. Mr. Paladin, Cummins says, This is Mr. Gao, up from one of our Houston offices. He'll go with you to the construct site today to interpret. He'll need to be on the train to Houston tomorrow morning, so you only have his services for today. Gao nods to Paladin politely. Cummins says, So, what have you learned at the camp? A full report, please. I need every detail, so I can draw my own conclusions. But as briefly and concisely as possible. I only have 15 minutes, 20 at most.

[jemmus]

Meanwhile, at the camp, half of the crew have been working on building a temporary footbridge across the gully. It seems that the managers have decided that it's better to spend the time spanning it than to have men trying to keep their footing while team-porting ties and rails down and up loose dirt slopes. The other half of the crew have been hauling crossties to this side of it.

Andreas and Doos take turns keeping an eye on the bait crate and its tent. Doos tours the camp, on the watch for anything notable or exceptional. He sees that in the assistant manager Behrens's tent is a wooden crate with the words Spencer Repeating Rifle Co. stenciled on the lid, and the nails have been pulled out of it. He's seen this kind of crate before. During the War, and after with the Army in Texas. He knows the .52 caliber Spencer is a good rifle, a lever-action repeater with the first-ever metallic cartridge for a mass-produced military firearm. Spencers have kind of fallen out of favor due to the more modern and reliable Winchester. There are two smaller cubicle crates beside it, also stenciled with Spencer Repeating Rifle Co. on the lids. Doos has seen these before as well. They're ammunition crates. Or maybe some of them contain replacement parts-- of that he can only speculate.

Otherwise, he sees nothing much of interest around the camp. There's a fiddle case in one of the workers' tents, and in the cook tent there's a rectangular tin around six inches high with Chinese characters on it. In that tent there's also a wooden box with an iron lock, which is probably a sugar cellar. The cook is chopping onions and his assistant is toting in a bucket of water. They seem to have what might be the best jobs in the camp. Mostly in the shade, nothing heavier than a two-gallon bucket of water to lift, no injuries but for finger burns or cuts, and no worries except for the men's complaints about the food. And any of those can be responded to by blaming The Railroad. Most of the time, legitimately.

Doos sees no one approach the bait tent during his turns watching it.

Andreas nonchalantly keeps an eye on the tent during his turns at it. He has plenty of time to hone his hunting knife, blue the barrel of his Winchester Model 1872 lever action rifle, peer through its breech and along the rifling. A little dust every few inches along the wall of the tube. Not bad, but time for a little cleaning when in a clean and not windy place. He oils the wooden stock of the weapon and wipes is down. But as for the tent he's been watching while not watching-- nothing.

[Grognardsw]

Paladin sat down with Cummins.

"A lot has happened in the last 24 hours. I have two colleagues helping me, one who is a lawyer; visited with Marlon Smith and got a briefing on the situation; toured the camp; learned about the tensions among the different worker groups; the piledriver and water situation; and arranged a saboteur "trap" with a crate of important equipment that I hope will draw out the saboteur(s)."

Paladin handed over receipts as he reviewed the details.

Regarding the equipment:
"The piledriver was drained of water, which it needs to run. They need water fast. A water tank rail car would be fastest - do you know where that is now? The other option is bring water tanks on wagon by horses, pump from a nearby lake, and bring to the camp. If the latter, you need to arrange for that asap or give me the funds to do so. Besides tanks, wagons, strong horses, they'll need three pumps, the extra in case the of sabotage."

Paladin described the gallons needed, how much a wagon and horses could pull, the pump logistics, etc.

"Do the cost analysis on everyday lost to the cost of getting the water there to get the bridge done. Now they are continuing the rail beyond the gorge, but it's harder given transporting everything down and up that gorge."

Regarding Marlon Smith:
"I have a good instinct for people, and I think Smith is holding something back. It could be nervousness over his job, or me, but an experienced foreman would have more confidence. What do you know of him? He gave me this letter to give to you." Paladin handed it to Cummins. "Yes, I read it, because I need to know all of what's going on."

"In your current business model, the foremen could get punished, which likely meant they weren’t the saboteurs (unless one was a spy saboteur for Caine or Etienne.) I was troubled by Marlon’s reaction to discussion of the two competing rail barons. At the mention of Caine and Etienne, Smith seemed troubled and afraid for a moment, before he pulls himself up."

Paladin mentioned that his friend Judge Doos got a similar impression from Smith.

"Anyway, when I get back to camp I'll be confronting him in a more direct manner, and see if that pressure yields more truth."

"My recommendations:
- While Smith can apply the stick, you need the carrot too. Do you realize the workers are not given performance-based bonuses? With workers not getting penalized for missing deadlines, that meant at best they don't care about delays, and at worst could be causing them. More days on the job meant more pay. With incentive bonuses, they'd work better as a team and each try to stop sabotaging if they have an upside."

"- Fix the water situation, or accept a slower construction schedule."

"Among the funds needed for today:

- The $20 you gave me yesterday wasn't enough get all the items I needed and to hire those three additional gunmen yesterday, so I'll need funds to do that today."

"For items purchased yesterday with my own money, $11.25 - the crate, single wagon transport, etc. per the receipts."

"My pay today of $4, my two colleagues at $3 a day, and three gunmen at $2 a day, with $1 performance pay, and $2 for Dunston the bartender's fee."

"- Your endorsement letter updated for today."

Regarding next steps:
"The next steps are with the additional men expand monitoring the camp and workmen; guard key equipment; apply pressure on Smith as I mentioned earlier; get the water to the piledriver; watch the bait tent; question other work group leaders and workman known to have influence; hopefully tell the camp the news about performance bonuses; and get inside information from Mr. Gao's translations."

At that Paladin looked at the Chinaman and reached out his hand to shake the translator's hand.

"Hello Mr. Gao, your translation services will be most helpful. I'd like to have you dress as a cook's assistant or camp cleaner, so you can move among the worker's as one of them and not raise suspicion. Get them talking, see what your fellow countrymen know or think about the sabotage."

[ateno]

Doos will report to Andreas what he saw and relax a bit before lunch. After lunch he will walk out towards the work and look to see if there is anything interesting happening out there.

Doos

[jemmus]

Cummins listens to Paladin's report. When it reaches the part about the locomotive and piledriver needing water, he grows agitated. In fact, it seems like he's about to blow his stack. But he doesn't. He professionally sees to priorities first. He takes takes Paladin's receipts, examines them, and signs each. You could have found a better deal on the tent. Be sure to leave it at the construction site. It's the purchased property of the Waco and Northwest Railroad. He hands the receipts back to Paladin. Please see the bookkeeper in the front room about your $11.25 reimbursement. As for the $1 per man for performance pay, we'll see about that after they've actually performed some assigned duties. The total comes to $12 for the day's pay. Please get a receipt from each man. The bookkeeper can pre-prepare them for you. He unlocks and opens the drawer where he keeps his cash box and takes out a 10, a five, and three singles. Then decides to add three more singles. $15, Mr. Paladin. A $3 reserve for operating funds, to be used only on an as-needed basis. He writes on railroad letterhead, June 10, 1873 $21.00 received, $3.00 in excess of the day's expenses. Said excess to be returned if not needed for expenses. Paladin Please sign, Mr. Paladin. When Paladin signs, he signs the company representative pass for another day. Again authorizing Paladin until 8:00 AM the next day.

That taken care of, Cummins returns to being agitated. He paces back and forth on the patterned rug behind his oaken desk. This seems to make Mr. Gao seem rather uneasy. It seems that he'd suddenly like to become as unnoticeable as possible, even invisible. Outside, there’s the sound of an approaching outfit of trail cowboys riding, hollering, and shooting guns in the air. Mr. Gao appears to go from rather uneasy to visibly alarmed. Perhaps it’s been a while since any cowboys have shot up the air over Houston. Cummins breaks pace, pulls a curtain back long enough to take a look, and resumes his pacing. A little farther away from the windows, though. He stops and turns to Paladin.

Mr. Paladin. You are not a railroad man, that I know of. So I don’t expect you to know this-- though you could have done some research before taking the job. When a locomotive is disabled in the field, you simply send a locomotive to tow it back to the yard. Train of cars and all. In this case, you tow the locomotive to the nearest track side water tower and fill it. Done, and operations continue. You’re not a railroad man-- but Smith is. An experienced one. Either he’s gone completely daft, or he’s deliberately sabotaging the project. I mentioned before the rumors of him having some kind of family trouble. Illness, finances, or both. Whatever the reasons for Smith’s behavior, he must be removed.

So, Mr. Paladin, here are your instructions. You will accompany a Waco & Northwest Railroad locomotive from the Austin yard to the construction site. I want you to closely observe Smith’s reaction when the locomotive arrives. And I want Smith on the train towed back to Austin. Please accompany him and make sure he reports to this office. Under no circumstance are you to lose site of him until he’s in this office. Tell him I need a quick discussion with him while the disabled locomotive is being filled. The towing locomotive should leave the yard within the hour. I expect that you’ll be back in Austin with Smith by the late afternoon, if not sooner.

Mr. Gao waits a moment, then clears his throat. Ahem. Mr Paladin, I didn’t have any workman’s or cook’s clothing packed. Cummins says, There’s a use for a part of your excess $3.00 in funding, Mr. Paladin.

[Grognardsw]

“Well I’m glad my presence exposed his corruption,” Paladin said of Smith. “That could account for his nervousness.”

Paladin accepted the money and letter.

“I’ll bring him in.”

Paladin assumed Cummins avoidance of worker performance pay meant that was not on the table. Though that would be moot if Smith really was the saboteur. Paladin’s doubts about the man were well placed.

“Let’s go Mr. Gao.”

Paladin stopped at the accounting office for his reimbursement, then to the provision store for Mr. Gao’s work clothes.

“Whereabouts in China are you from?” Paladin asked Mr. Gao while they were walking.

Paladin paid for the clothes amd had Mr. Gao change there. Then they went to the Silver Bullet saloon to hire the three gunmen.

“Come with me, we’ll take a train out to the camp.” Paladin explained the day’s job, watching the workers and guarding the equipment.

Paladin, the gunmen and Mr. Gao went to the W&N rail yard. He relayed the instructions for the locomotive to tow the spur locomotive. Then they got on board.

Paladin made small talk with the gunmen, asking where they’re from, recent jobs, what brought them to Austin. Trying to seem relatable and friendly one gun fighter to another, as he assessed their intelligence and honesty.

[jemmus]

I’m from Hong Kong, Mr. Gao says with an English accent and only a hint of a Chinese accent. It’s a colony of Britain, as I'm sure you know. He has the bearing of a businessman, and says, I work in one of Mr. Cummins’s offices in Houston. He refrains from volunteering any details about that.

Gao's hat, clothing and shoes are much too good for a worker or a cook. The prices in the provisions store are:
Shirt $1 Trousers $2 Cheap Straw Hat $.50 Shoes $3.

At the railyard, a crew is getting up a head of steam on a locomotive. A coal car and a cattle car are coupled to it. A boy of around 18 years old in a suit hustles over. Mr. Paladin, Mr. Gao. That's yer train. There's a car for yer horse, Mr. Paladin. Unfortunately there isn't a coach, so we'll have to ride in the car. Mr. Cummins sent me with ya. The train gets underway, running in reverse down the track, cattle car in front, locomotive behind. In half an hour the locomotive is applying its brakes to decelerate well before reaching the end of the tracks. It's steam whistle blows loud with a blast of hot compressed steam.

The last five minutes of the ride it's moving at the pace of a slow walk. It finally comes to stop with the cattle car around 10 feet from the dead train's rear flatbed. The boy slides the cattle car's wooden door open for the passengers and the horse to deboard.

Smith comes walking up with a grim look on his face. The assistant manager Behrens lopes up on a horse from across the gully, a big smile on his face. Marlon! They finally got a tow engine fer us! Smith's grim expression only changes to a stern and determined one. Behren's expression quickly goes from joyful, to bewildered, to puzzled, to quizzical. And finally, to contemplative. Smith walks up to the engine's cabin and looks up at the engineer and coal dust covered fireman. He touches fingers to hat brim. He says, kind of slowly, sadly and gently, Morning, Charley, Floyd. Y'all bring them things for the mess tent the cook's been askin for? Any mail, newspapers or drank fer the men?

The prices are from the rulebook, except for the cheaper version of the $2 Hat item.

[ateno]

Hearing the train coming and knowing what that will mean Doos will be at the edges of the leadership in hopes he can overhear anything they say to themselves.

Doos

[jemmus]

Paladin paid Andreas and Doos $3 each for yesterday's work.
Please update your sheets.

[Grognardsw]

Earlier...

"I’m from Hong Kong," Mr. Gao says with an English accent and only a hint of a Chinese accent. "It’s a colony of Britain, as I'm sure you know."

"We use to be a colony of Britain too," replied Paladin. "But we got over it."

At the provision shop, Paladin realized the work clothes came to $6.50, more than the $3 Cummins provided.

"Go ahead and pay for the difference Mr. Gao," said Paladin. "Cummins will cover it. Keep your receipt and submit for reimbursement."

Paladin loaded his horse onto the train then settled into the locomotive car, observing its operation.

Paladin talked with the three hired gunmen, who were named Moe, Larry and Curley, and decided Larry seemed most capable. "Don't let your eye off the foreman, Marlon Smith," Paladin said to Larry.

Now...

As the train pulled in Paladin jumped down to greet Marlon Smith.

"Marlon - the iron horses have arrived!" He watched closely Marlon's reaction.

Paladin nodded at Doos and Andreas.

"You don't look as happy Marlon as I thought you would."

While Marlon talked with Charley and Flloyd, Paladin spoke discretely with Doos and Andreas. "I have to escort Marlon back to Austin to see Cummins. While I'm gone, go through Marlon's tent to see if you find any incriminating evidence. You're in charge of the three gunmen I brought. Here's yesterday and today's pay - $6 for each of you."

Paladin kept an eye on Marlon. When the foreman was done with the train matters, Paladin engaged him. "I gave your letter to Mr. Cummins. He wants to see you about it and asked that both of us take the train back."

Paladin introduced Moe, Larry and Curley to Doos and Andreas. "In my absence, Doos is in charge."

[ateno]

While Marlon talked with Charley and Flloyd, Paladin spoke discretely with Doos and Andreas. "I have to escort Marlon back to Austin to see Cummins. While I'm gone, go through Marlon's tent to see if you find any incriminating evidence. You're in charge of the three gunmen I brought. Here's yesterday and today's pay - $6 for each of you."

"Thank you, I will take that as a order from you via Marlon, as we are in charge of finding out problems, that way its covered by law. We will keep anything quiet."

Paladin introduced Moe, Larry and Curley to Doos and Andreas. "In my absence, Doos is in charge."

"Gentlemen, find you bunk and geat a meal, meet me by that secret gear in about a hour and a half, if anyone askes your here as extra guards."

Pause

"Mr Andreas could I see you privately?"

"we need to go to Marlons tent asap to search it and I think you might be better at that, lets mosey that way and see if its watched and if we can sneak our way in.

Doos

[cybersavant]

Andreas Larson "Ah, scouting ist nicht de same as skulking, but i see your point." Andreas leads the way, in a round-about manner to Marlon's tent, coming up on it from behind to see if anyone is watching it. He appears casual as they walk, engaging in nonsense small talk while paying attention to those they pass in camp.

observation 9, scouting 9, stealth 15 : :

[jemmus]

Marlon Smith oversees coupling the locomotive with the dead train. While he's occupied, Andreas slips into his tent. It's a combination office and sleeping quarters. There's a simple table with no drawers. On it are papers, pencils, erasers, an ink pen and inkpot, what might be a logbook, drafting instruments, and a slide rule. Beside it is a galvanized steel bucket with several rolled papers that might be maps. There's a short wooden cabinet with three drawer near a wall of the tent.

On the other side of the tent are a cot with blankets and pillow and a trunk. A lever action rifle leans against the trunk.

Andreas can clearly hears the trains operations that are going on outside. From the sound of the voices, it seems to be a simple, routine action that everyone has done dozens or hundreds of times. He knows that he only has a couple of a few before they'll be done.

[cybersavant]

Andreas Larson slips back out of the tent and circles around to where the cabinet sits.

[ateno]

Doos will stand guard, walking around enjoying the sun, like he belongs here..

which he does.

Doos

[Grognardsw]

“Ready to go Marlon?” said Paladin, who had been keeping an eye on the foreman. He noted Larry had been doing the same.