My reaction to the demonstration was one of complete amazement, and my many sputtering declarations and questions pleased Warm to no end. He soon fell to explaining his plans for the liquid, which are as follows. To dam a secluded section of river and under cover of night, fill the waters with the formula—in greater quantity, obviously—and then, once it has taken hold, to wade the river and remove the gold at his leisure. The glowing, he explained, lasted only precious minutes, but in that time he might cull what would take him weeks were he to use the traditional methods of extraction. Once he had played out a particular segment of river he would move to another, then another, this repeated until he made his pile, and then he would sell the formula’s secret ingredients for a million and spend the rest of his days in what he called the ‘silken arms of glad success.’ By this point I was fairly reeling. All told, it was the most singularly impressive invention I had ever heard of. My only remaining question was slow in coming. I did not want to offend the man or undo the high feelings in the room but it was something that needed addressing, and so I simply came out with it. ‘Why is it you are being so candid with me?’ I asked. ‘How do you know I will not betray your confidences?’ ‘I have already explained my reasons for engaging you,’ Warm replied. ‘I need another man to see this plan through, and I believe you are that man.’ ‘But I am currently receiving a wage to keep watch over you, that you might be killed!’ I exclaimed. ‘Yes, that’s a fact, but let me ask you this. What did the Commodore give as his reason for wanting me dead?’ ‘He says you are a thief.’ ‘And what is it I have stolen?’ ‘This he did not mention.’ Warm spoke emphatically. ‘He could not say, because it is a bald lie. He wants me dead for the reason that I would not give over the ingredients of my gold-finding liquid. Six months back I approached him in Oregon City, requesting funding for a trip to California. I gave a demonstration similar to the one you have just seen and made him an offer I thought was most generous. He would underwrite an expedition, and in return would receive half of the profit. At first he agreed, and promised me full cooperation and support. But when I would not share the recipe he became enraged, and pointed a pistol at my face. He was drunken, and could not focus. When he swayed I snatched a paperweight from his desk and threw it at him. A lucky shot, knocked him dead in the forehead and brought the great man to his knees. As I beat my hasty exit, taking those carpeted steps three at a time, I heard his voice come booming after me. “You are not free of me, Warm. My men will take your formula by force and cut you down to size!” I believed him. And I was not surprised when you arrived, Mr. Morris. What surprised me, and what surprises me still, is that a gentleman such as yourself would elect to spend his lifetime abetting a killer and bully.’
The story rang true, all the more so when I remembered the Commodore’s bandaged head wound from six months past. Warm’s words gave me pause, then, and I paced the room awhile, taking stock of things and pondering the possibilities. At last I asked him, not a little desperately, ‘But what do you actually expect of me in all this? What can you possibly hope I’ll accomplish for you?’ ‘It is clear, to my mind,’ he said. ‘I would like for you to go into business with me as a fifty-fifty partner. You will invest whatever money you have toward our maiden expedition, for the cost of food alone would eradicate my small savings. I will need to borrow your quarters to prepare the formula in bulk, and you will assist me in preparing it. Also you will assist me in the actual physical labor once we have set up camp at the river. But most important, you will become the face and voice of the operation, for you have a gift of communication that has proven elusive to me. You will deal with patents and lawyers and contracts and every horrible manner of man-made entanglement—just the type of thing I would bumble terrifically. That will all come later, though. For now, we would enter the wilderness together and see how the formula actually works.’ ‘And what do you think the Commodore would make of my newfound allegiance?’ I wondered. ‘Do you understand fully what you are asking of me?’ At this, he approached and laid his hands on my shoulders. ‘You are no errand runner for a tyrant, Mr. Morris. You are a better man than this. Come with me into the world and reclaim your independence. You stand to gain so much, and riches are the least of it.’ My heart became heavy at these words, and Warm, understanding my need to dissect the matter, left me to my thoughts, and said he would return in the morning for my answer. I sat forlornly upon the bed, the box still resting on the table, its glowing light growing ever dimmer, and then disappearing entirely.
* It is hours later, and I am still sitting here. The answer lies before me, it is plain to see it, but it is so bold as to be unfathomable. I have no one to turn to in this, and will have to answer the call on my own. I am extremely uneasy.
* I did not sleep hardly at all last night, and when Warm returned this morning I formally agreed to take part in his expedition to the River of Light. I am convinced now of his genius, and though I am loath to abandon my post I have elected to follow my heart and do just this. What am I living for, after all? I look upon my past with disgrace. I was herded and instructed. But I will be herded and instructed no more. Today I am born anew, and my life will become my own again. It will be different ever after.
Chapter 38
There was a concentrated silence as Charlie and I sat digesting this remarkable story. I approached the dining table and dragged a finger across its surface. There was a dusting of soil resting upon it; when I showed my trembling hand to Charlie he tossed the journal aside and said, ‘I believe it. I believe it all. The Commodore’s instruction was explicit on one point: Prior to killing Warm I was to obtain by whatever manner of violence necessary what was described to me only as “the formula.” When I asked him what the formula was, he said it was none of my affair, but that Warm would know what I meant, and that once I had it I was to guard it with my life.’
‘Why didn’t you speak to me about this before?’
‘I was told not to. And anyway, what could it have meant to you? It was so vague, I myself hardly gave it a thought. There is always some cryptic obscurity present in the Commodore’s orders. Do you remember the job before last, where I first blinded the man before killing him?’
‘The Commodore said to do that?’
Charlie nodded. ‘He said the man would understand it, and that I should let him “sit awhile in the dark” before putting my bullets in him. This formula business seemed to be more of the same, so far as I could see.’ He stood away from the bed and moved to the window, clasping his hands at the small of his back and peering up the hill. He was silent a minute or more, and when he finally spoke his voice was solemn and soft: ‘I have never minded cutting down the Commodore’s enemies much, brother. It always happens that they are repellent in one way or the other. Lesser villains, men without mercy or grace. But I do not like the idea of killing a man because of his own ingenuity.’
‘I don’t, either. And I’m very glad to hear you say it.’
He exhaled through his nostrils. ‘What do you think we should do?’
‘What do you think we should do?’
But neither of us knew what to do.
Chapter 39
The Black Skull was just as Morris had described it, a lean-to fabricated of scrap wood and tin, situated in a slim alley between two much larger brick buildings, giving it the appearance of being slowly crushed. The interior was similarly unimpressive or negatively impressive: Mismatched chairs and tables were scattered about the room, and a stovepipe leaked acrid smoke from what looked to be a most disorganized and ill-fated kitchen. We entered unhungry and remained so, the smell of horse meat being thick on the air. The checkered eye patch man from the diary was standing in the corner with a tall and picturesque woman, incongruously well dressed in a bright green sleeveless silken gown. These two were engaged in some manner of entertainment and did not notice us as we took up our position at their side.
The woman was a stunning picture, and the gown was the least of it. Her arms were s
o very beautiful and fine I found myself wanting instantly to put my hands on them; her face, too, was uncommonly lovely, with a handsome Indian profile and a pair of green eyes that when she set them upon me made me jerk my head away, for it was as though she were looking through my body to a point across the room, and when she did this I felt my core doused in ice-cold water. The proprietor glanced at us automatically and nodded before returning to their sport, which I will now describe:
The woman held her palms out. In her right hand was a small piece of fabric, the same that her dress was made of, its edges sewn with a length of heavy golden thread. I do not know why but there was something magnetic about that bit of cloth; I found it pleasing to gaze upon, and a smile appeared on my face. I noticed the proprietor was also staring and smiling. Charlie was staring but his face remained in its typical unfriendly countenance.
‘Are you ready?’ the woman asked the proprietor.
He focused his eyes steadfastly on the fabric and his entire being became stiff. He nodded and said, ‘Ready.’
Just as soon as he uttered the word, the woman began passing the cloth back and forth, snaking it through her fingers and across the knuckles, working with such speed and cunning that the fabric was lost to the naked eye. Now she balled her hands to fists and held them before the proprietor, addressing him in a low and monotone voice: ‘Pick.’
‘Left,’ he said.
The woman opened her left hand: No cloth. She opened the right to reveal the green and gold square; it had been bunched in her grip but was unfolding itself to lay flat. ‘Right,’ she said.
The proprietor handed the woman a dollar and said, ‘Again.’
The woman held out her hands, palms facing up. ‘Are you ready?’
He said that he was. They played another round and this time I focused more intently. The proprietor must have noticed this, for when the woman brought up her fists, he invited me to choose. I believed I knew where the cloth was and gladly joined in. ‘It is there,’ I said. ‘The right hand.’ The woman opened her fist and it was empty. ‘Left,’ she said. I dug into my pocket for a dollar, that I might take a turn.
‘I have not finished my engagement with her,’ said the proprietor.
‘Let me have a single play.’
‘You just have had one.’
‘Let us go one and then the other.’
He grunted. ‘I have engaged her for the time. You may take your turn after I’m through, but for now I need to concentrate completely.’ He turned back to the woman, passing her another dollar. ‘All right,’ he said, and her hands began their slippery movements. Accepting my role of nonparticipant, I paid attention to the woman’s hands just as closely as I was able. I do not think I ever paid such close attention to one particular thing in my life. When her hands came to rest I would have bet every penny I had that the cloth was in her left hand. ‘The left hand,’ said the proprietor, and I twitched in anticipation. Alas, the woman unballed her fist and it was empty, and the proprietor jumped up in anguish. He actually performed a small jump. I hid my feelings as best I could, but inwardly I too was crestfallen. Charlie had been following along with the game; he was partially amused and partially annoyed.
‘What is the purpose of this?’ he asked.
‘To find the bit of cloth,’ said the proprietor innocently.
‘But what is its appeal? How often do you win?’
‘I have never won.’
‘And how many times have you played?’
‘Many, many times.’
‘You are throwing your money away.’
‘So is everyone throwing their money away.’ He regarded us more closely, now. ‘What do you two want, can I ask? Are you here to eat?’
‘We are looking for Warm.’
At the name, the proprietor’s face dropped, and his eyes filled with hurt. ‘Is that a fact? Well, if you find him, you send him my regards!’ This was spoken so bitterly that Charlie was moved to inquire, ‘You have some dispute with him?’
‘I fed him many times over after he dazzled me with his trick of lights and shadows. I should have known he would run out on our bargain.’
‘What was the bargain, exactly?’
‘It is a personal matter.’
I said, ‘You were to escort him to the River of Light, is that it?’
He tensed, and asked, ‘How did you know about that?’
‘We are friends of Warm,’ said Charlie.
‘Warm has no friends besides me.’
‘We have enjoyed a long and healthy friendship with him.’
‘I’m sorry, but I do not believe you.’
‘We are his friends,’ I said, ‘and we know he has others, also. He recently dined here with a Mr. Morris, for example.’
‘What, the dainty little fellow?’
‘They have gone to the river together, is what we have heard.’
‘Warm would never entrust his secrets to a fancy man like that.’ But he pondered this a moment and apparently came to believe it as fact. He sighed. ‘My spirits are low today. I would like to be alone to play this game. You gentlemen have a seat if you want to eat. If not, you will leave me in peace.’
‘Do you have any notion where he was planning on setting up his operation?’
The man did not answer. He and the woman began another round of play. When her fists became still he said, ‘Right hand.’
‘Left,’ said the woman.
He paid out another dollar. ‘Again,’ he said, and the woman’s hands resumed their dancing.
‘We have thought to visit him at his claim,’ I said.
The woman held up her fists and the proprietor exhaled sharply. ‘It is the left.’
‘Right,’ she said.
‘Will you tell us when it was you saw him last then?’ I said.
‘Did you not hear me say I wished for solitude?’ he asked.
Charlie pulled his coat back to reveal his pistols. ‘I want you to tell us everything you know, and right now.’
The proprietor was not surprised or alarmed by this. ‘Hermann spoke of the day you men would come. I did not believe him.’
‘When did you see him last?’ I asked.
‘He came in four or five days ago. He had a new hat to show me. He said he would fetch me the next morning to make for the river. I sat here, in this very room, like an ass, for several hours.’
‘But he never said which river, never gave a clue?’
‘He has always spoken of following his river upstream to the fountainhead.’
‘His river where he had a claim you mean?’
‘That’s what I mean.’
‘Why do you not go there?’
‘Follow after him? And then what? Force myself into their company? No, if he had wanted me to go, he would have come for me. He has made his decision to travel with the other man.’
Charlie found the proprietor’s attitude distasteful. ‘But what of your agreement?’ he asked. ‘What of the gold?’
‘I don’t care about money,’ the proprietor answered. ‘I don’t know why. I should pay more attention to it. No, I was looking forward to an adventure with a friend, is the long and short of it. I had thought Warm and I were close companions.’
These words brought an expression of disgust to my brother’s face. He buttoned his coat and retired to the bar for a drink. I stayed behind to watch the man lose another dollar to the woman, then another.
‘It is hard to find a friend,’ I said.
‘It is the hardest thing in this world,’ he agreed. ‘Again,’ he said to the woman. But he was tiring, it was clear. I left them to their game. My brother had drunk a brandy and was waiting in the road for me. We walked in the direction of Morris’s hotel, passing the livery where we had stabled Tub and Nimble. The hand spied me walking by and called out. ‘It is your horse,’ he said, beckoning for me to enter. Charlie said he would take in the sights and return in half an hour, and we parted ways.
Chapter 40
&nb
sp; As I entered the stable I found the hand, a stooped and bowlegged old freckle-spotted bald man in coveralls, inspecting Tub’s eye. I stood next to him and he nodded a hello, saying, ‘He has an uncommonly agreeable personality, this one does.’
‘What about that eye?’
‘Here is what I wanted to talk to you about. It’s going to have to go.’ He pointed and said, ‘Two doors down and there’s an animal doc.’ I asked how much the procedure might cost and he told me, ‘Twenty-five dollars, is my guess. You’ll want to check with the man himself, but I know it’d be close to that.’
‘The entire horse is not worth twenty-five dollars. An eye shouldn’t cost me more than five, I wouldn’t think.’
‘I’ll take it out for five,’ he said.
‘You? Have you done it before?’
‘I have seen it done on a cow.’
‘Where would you do it?’
‘On the floor of the stable. I will drug him with laudanum; he will feel no pain.’