Amy arced an eyebrow at the priest's bold statement. "Placing himself in danger... what, is he trying to win over their hearts?"
Two could play at that game.
Waving her hand, Amy broke the silence after the priest's statement. "Please, Jon, don't fool yourself. You're no scout. Besides, I'm certain that we'll be needing your..." She paused. "Spiritual guidance these next few weeks. We've already lost our Father, let's not lose another."
Sorry I've been quiet - been a bit busy at work the last few days. But here goes!
Sheriff Drummond stood quietly at the end of the bar, taking in the various options proposed by the townsfolk. He'd spent most of the time staring at the floor, visualising his crude map of the town and trying to figure out a solution. So far, he hadn't thought of one...
As the hubbub died down after the initial rush, he started to feel the gaze of the crowd slowly turn towards him. Drummond let silence grip the room, then lifted his eyes to the room.
"It's clear that we're going to have to work hard to get through this. Those curséd redskins want to get everything they can from us and they'll probably try and destroy us if they can! If they think they'll get a 'payment' from us, they've got another thing coming!
Here's how it's going to go. We'll shore up the defences good and proper. Regular watches, and we'll get the church bell down to act as an alarm bell. We'll fight them here, and we'll fight them on our terms.
Second, we need to know what we're fighting. A team of two will go out, scout out the Indian camp and report back. Then we'll know just what's going on and that will make our reports more effective.
Which brings me on to part three; we send one man on our best horse to Carson City. If they can get out on the trade routes heading west, they'll make it all the way to Reno. From there they can wire something to Carson. I just pray they'll get there it time.
So here we are Ladies and Gentlemen. It's all in our hands now. And God's hands, of course."
He nodded at the Chaplin. Drummond had to come down on Amy's side as there was no way the town could mount a counter attack. He hoped that the Chaplin would still be supportive...
Jon was quiet after Amy's challenge, and listened to Drummond before speaking.
"Wise words, sheriff. I shall see about the bell immediately after this meeting. But my volunteering still stands. I may be a man of God, and this towns Chaplin, but I lived a different life before I came here, and I have the skills I would need. I'm not saying I want to go out and scout their base, but who would I be if I asked others to do what I could do, but chose not to?"
Amy chuckled at Jon's bold statement. "A man of logic rather than God."
"Well. If some of our townsfolk will dig themselves out of their drinks and volunteer, we're golden. Otherwise, I suppose Jon and I will scout. I'm no survivalist, but at least I know how to move around quietly."
"Of course, if there are any manly volunteers, I'd rather stay here and help oversee the defense. It seems more my... forte."
Random Citizen
"So the plan is to grab the bell and put in the town as an alarm system, send one man to Carson City, and two to scout the area? The road to Carson City is dangerous, why not send someone by train?"
Amy pondered the man's statement. "Well... that's a possibility. But a train is loud, easy to attack, and visible. A single rider..."
She rubbed at her temples with exasperation. This was proving to be harder than she had expected. "When would the next train be here? Not for a few weeks, surely?"
"Well the regular passengers only come by when one is rerouted so they're very infrequent. But a lumber train comes by every week or so for a water stop, fifteen minutes, not usually more. I hear from their engineer that it goes to a Pulp Mill in Tonopah, near Goldfields and Belmont. You'd definitely be able to hit a main line to Carson city if you find a stage coach that heads north from there. I'd be able to flag 'him down probably tomorrow afternoon, I think. Rail schedules are loose around this season. It wouldn't be comfy riding either with him or the wood, but at least you wouldn't be walking." said Rutherford, optimistically.
"Surly the lumber train is usable? It might not be sneaky, nor comfortable, but it comes past regularly, and the Injuns wont take a second glance at it. I vote we send word by train."
The slovenly underappreciated man of low wealth at the nearby table farts loudly, making the members of the meeting eye him oddly. He stands and begins to stumble outside, a beer he 'forgot' to pay for in his hands.
Amy watched one of the men stumble out her doors, grasping one of her favorite glasses. "I'll chase the bastard down later..." she growled under her breath, drumming her fingers on the table.
"If the raiders get wind of this ruse, we're ruined. If they find that we're sending for help via a train, they'll no doubt do anything to intercept the train. Hell, they might intercept every train that passes by here. But... it does seem to be our safest bet."
Amy rubbed her temples, a headache slowly building under her fingers. "Who's going to take a ride?"
When Ethan heard Amy was planning on scout, his head snapped in her direction. was she serious? she couldn't be. "If were going by train, I suppose I can head out.I was plannining on riding there, but a train would be...safer, in most cases. that is unless anyone has any objections?" his words were directed to the bar, but he looked at amy with an incredulos gaze. was she serious? She? scout? he knew she was more than your average tavern maid, but...scout? with redskin raider's lurking around, ready to grab her, drag her back to there camps, and...he gave his head a good shake.
John was quietly listening to the plan. He sat in his chair and sipped his coffee as the town members planed there way to protect themselves. John was still strapped for cash and he knew that the natives who ambushed him were nearby. John could care less about the town but he did care about his inventory. If he could find the tribe that robbed him he might be able to get his guns back. Then he could sell it them to the man who contacted him.
John stood up and made his statement. "If we are going to send scouts then they should have some survival skills and combat training. I volunter to be one of the scouts. Will anyone join me?"
"Go. You've always wanted an adventure. But what if they need you here? The most complex thing anyone's ever needed around here was fixing a crank eggbeater. Nuts to you." Thought Rutherford inside his own head. His mouth stepping forth before his mind, Greers spoke
"I'll go too."
Jon nodded.
"In that case, I think we're done here. John and I will scout, Amy and the Sheriff will run the defences, and Ethan and Rutherford will go fetch help."
He turned, and walked for the exit, stopping to talk to John
"How soon can you leave, John? I have to go make arrangements for the church bell to be moved and turned into an alarm, and then I need to pack up, but I can be ready to leave by 3 o'clock. Does that sound good to you?"
I thought someone was going to come and help me with the church business, cos I could use that help about now to keep the town in line (=P), what with Jon being away in the desert for a while...
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