The Legend Of Blackjack Boughton And The Lost Treasure Of Brisbee
Chapter Seventeen
Sourdough returned to the parlor carrying Blackjack's journal and held it up for all to see. When they saw the name on the cover Molly gasped and Frenchie sat down, placing her hand to her own gaping mouth. Tracinda giggled and Marsh hooted. Sourdough told them there were some pretty strange things in the book. He hadn't time to read all of it, but he had seen enough to know that Blackjack had been rather cryptic in making some of his notations.They moved into the dining room of the boarding house, gathered around the big oak table, and leaned in very close as they strained to see what was on the pages of the intriguing book. Sourdough turned to a page that had some kind of strange markings, and Marsh put his hand out to stop him. Marsh said he had seen those same marks before.
Sour-Mash recalled how he had been riding by an outcropping on Deadman's Trail once, and his horse had shied and pitched him off. Marsh said as he was getting to his feet, he noticed what looked like some kind of writing on one of the rocks just above his head. The marks didn't hold any meaning for him, but he knew they weren't Indian signs. He had made a cursory search of the area, but didn't find anything else and had continued on his way.
The others were getting excited and already making plans for the riches they expected to find. Sourdough said it wasn't going to be that easy. He said the markings were also used on the map he had hidden, and that they must have some relation to what was on the page in the journal and what Marsh had seen on the rocks. He didn't know if they could do without that map or not! Tracinda spoke up and asked how far it was to the outcropping. Marsh said it was a good two-day ride.
Suddenly, the sound of heavy boots on the porch caught the attention of the rapt group, and Sourdough yanked the book from the table and started looking for a place to hide it. Molly grabbed it from him and turned her back, quickly stuffing the book under the bottom edge of her corset and smoothing her skirt back in place just as the front door opened. Sourdough and Marsh started for the back door, but changed their minds and hid in a closet under the back stairs. Tracinda sat frozen, not knowing what to do.
The boots belonged to the sheriff. Frenchie met him in the front hallway and greeted him with her usual charm, but McAlister was short and to the point. He wanted to talk to Tracinda right away. Frenchie followed as he made his way to the parlor. Molly had seated herself on the settee, next to Tracinda and the two remained seated as Frenchie and the sheriff came into the room.
McAlister began to quiz Tracinda about her ordeal at the hands of Blackjack and his gang. Why had they taken her and what had happened while she was held captive? Tracinda's mind was racing as she tried to think of what to tell the determined sheriff. It dawned on her that she could tell part of the story, the part that didn't have anything to do with the treasure she and the others were after. She wove a tale about the Beale lette,r and how Blackjack was out to get her and Sourdough for the trick they had pulled. McAlister listened, but he knew there was something the young woman wasn't telling him. He pressed her for more, but Tracinda swore that's all there was. McAlister left, but he had resolved to watch the boarding house very carefully for the next few days.
He didn't have to wait long to satisfy his suspicions. As soon as he left, the group inside the Serendipity started making their plans. The women set about digging into an old trunk, looking for the proper attire to wear on a long pack trip and the two men went to work rounding up the necessary equipment they would need to dig for buried gold. They knew this wasn't the way to go about it, but they had no other choice. They didn't have the map .... and now .... they didn't have time to search for the elusive child who had taken it.
Sourdough and Marsh went to the livery stable to make arrangements for some extra horses. McAlister watched as they passed his office. He slipped out the door and ambled along a short distance behind, being careful not to be obvious. He couldn't hear everything they were saying, but he could hear enough to know what they were up to.
They were going after Blackjack Boughton's gold!