I was getting too wrapped up in this story! I needed to get back to trying to find something about the second letter from Beale, and whether Blackjack had ever solved the code. I couldn't understand why he wouldn't have mentioned it in his journal. And why hadn't I seen another reference to the wagon load of gold supposedly buried somewhere near Brisbee? Did he go back for it? What had happened to it? It was time to put aside the Barker manuscript and check Blackjack's journal once more to see if I had missed something.I HAD! Blackjack had numbered the pages, and as I carefully turned each sheet of the fragile paper, I noticed that page 31 was missing! I looked further, thinking that maybe it had been put in the wrong order, but it wasn't to be found. What had happened to it? What was on that page?
Returning to the Barker work I dug deeper, hoping that Sourdough Duke had imparted more information. It's just possible that since they hung out at the Capricorn, ol' Sourdough knew something of the activities of Blackjack and his gang. And, just maybe, he knew something about the gold. I picked up the story where I had stopped reading. It must lead somewhere and I was going to find out where!
When Frenchie and Molly arrived at Sheriff McAlister's, they found him in a bad mood. He wasn't too interested in looking for a missing bar-maid, not even the very fetching Tracinda Burdette. But ... Frenchie McGee and Molly McGuire were two strong-willed ladies you didn't put off, and McAlister knew better than to try.
The three of them headed for the saloon to talk to Susannah Goal, the freewheeling woman who ran the Capricorn. By now it was 11:30 and the rowdiness at the saloon was in full swing. Still, the unusual trio caused quite a stir as they entered the smoke-filled room.
Susannah greeted the sheriff with a smile and nodded at the two women. She told them that Tracinda had started to leave at her usual time, but that a man had stopped her near the door and they had left together. She told them to talk to Sourdough ... maybe he knew something.
With Molly and Frenchie close on his heels, Sheriff McAlister went to find the burly cook. Sourdough told them that the man who had left with Tracinda was Kid Hawpe. This alarmed the two women even more! That name struck fear in most everyone in Brisbee. Why had he left with Tracinda?
The sheriff pressed the cook for more information. After some prodding, Sourdough informed him of the stranger who had approached Tracinda earlier that evening, how she had left for awhile, and that when she returned she was very nervous. He then told the sheriff about a conversation he had overheard at the bar a few days earlier. Blackjack Boughton and his whole gang had been in town; Kid Hawpe, Runaway Lovelace, and Stampede Norman. The four had been discussing a gold shipment. There was also reference made to a letter that Blackjack was waiting for, and Blackjack had written something in a book, then left the saloon. Sourdough told the sheriff that he didn't know anything else.
Molly, Frenchie, and Sheriff McAlister left the saloon, disappointed with what little they had learned. As they started to step down from the plank walkway, Molly spotted a shiny object that she hadn't noticed when she had found Tracinda's gold nugget. Evidently, the horse that was tied to the hitching post had been standing on it before. Molly bent down to retrieve it. It was a tiny brass key.
