At first Dupree wasn’t sure why business was so bad. Then, as he began questioning the girls, he learned that the men were frustrated because they weren’t finding any gold.
“None of them are?” Dupree asked.
“None that I’ve had anything to do with,” Libby answered.
The other two girls gave the same response. So far, not one of them had heard a success story.
“Maybe they’re just keeping quiet about it,” Dupree suggested.
“No, it isn’t that,” Libby replied. “Listen, the one thing men like to do more than anything else when they are with a woman is brag. If any of them had found gold, we would have heard about it.”
Dupree smiled. “You mean when a man is with one of you girls, he would rather brag than do anything else?”
It was a teasing comment, and the three girls laughed at its implication.
“All right,” Libby said. “Bragging is the second thing he wants to do.”
“Lookie here,” Lulu said, looking through the front window. “We’ve got a couple of customers.”
“In the middle of the day?” Dupree said. “That’s odd.”
“Get on out there and meet them, Jay,” Libby said, pushing him. “We can’t afford to lose them. As it stands now, we aren’t doing enough business to keep the doors open.”
“All right, all right, I’m going,” Dupree said, stepping out onto the front porch. He smiled at the two men as they approached. He was smoking a cigar, and as he greeted them, he tapped off the ash at the end.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. My name is Jay Dupree, and on behalf of myself and the young ladies of the Golden Cage, I welcome you.”
“My name’s Win Woodruff, this here is Eddie Taylor.”
“This is our first time here,” Eddie said.
“I see. And you are gold miners, are you?” Dupree asked.
“Ha,” Eddie said. “I reckon you could say that, but we ain’t been doin’ a whole lot of what you would call gold minin’ so far.”
“Fact is, we ain’t done no gold minin’ at all,” Win added. “Mostly what we been doin’ is huntin’.”
“But no findin’,” Eddie said.
“Well, then it sounds to me like you two gentlemen need some relaxation,” Dupree suggested. “Come on in and get acquainted with the girls. Maybe it will bring you a change of luck.”
Inside, a dozen or so chairs and sofas were scattered about, along with several potted plants, mirrors on the walls, and a staircase rising to the second floor. Three girls were sitting in the parlor, but there were no customers anywhere to be seen.
Two of the girls got up and walked over to greet them.
“My name is Lulu,” the one who stepped up to Eddie said.
“And I’m Sue. What are your names?”
“I’m Eddie, he’s Win,” Eddie said. He looked around. “Where at’s all the men?”
“Oh, honey, don’t tell me you like men better than you do women,” Lulu asked, and she and Sue laughed.
“What?” Eddie replied in an almost explosive reaction. “Hell no! What do you mean, do I like men better than women? Why would you ask me such a thing?”
Win laughed. “Don’t get in such a huff. They was just teasin’ you, that’s all.” Then, to the girls, he explained Eddie’s question. “What he means is, how come you ain’t got no customers?”
“Because they’re all working their claims,” Lulu replied. “We normally don’t get anyone in the middle of the day. That means you fellas have us all to yourself.”
“Well now,” Win said with a big satisfied smile. “Ain’t we the lucky ones?”
“Listen, you got a place to take a bath in this here whorehouse?” Eddie asked, rubbing the stubble on his chin. “It’s been a while since I’ve had me a proper bath.”
“Oooeee, tell me about it,” Lulu said, pinching her nose and laughing. “Come on, I’ll give you a bath.”
“You’ll give me a bath?” Eddie replied. “Well, I don’t know about that.”
“What do you mean you don’t know about that?” Win asked. “Are you crazy?”
“Well, come on, Win, I ain’t had nobody give me a bath since my mama done it when I was real young.”
“I said you would figure out what to do when you got here,” Win said, shaking his head. “I can see now that I was wrong.”
“You mean he’s a virgin?” Lulu asked Win.
Win nodded. “He’s a virgin, all right, and about as green as they come.”
“Well, then, I’ll just have to teach him, won’t I?” Lulu said in a husky voice. “And we’ll start with the bath. Honey, I’ll just bet you that your mama never gave you a bath like the one I’m going to give you.”
“Why? What’s different about it? A bath is a bath, ain’t it?”
“Jesus, Eddie, you are one dumb turd, do you know that?” Win asked in exasperation.
“Shh, don’t scold him. You have to be patient with virgins,” Lulu said, chuckling. Then, to Eddie, she said, “Here’s something your mama never did. I’ll be naked while I’m giving you this bath.”
“Oh,” Eddie replied. Then, finally understanding the implications of what she’d just said, he smiled broadly. “Oh!”
“Honey, you could use a bath too, you know,” Sue said to Win.
“That’s fine with me,” Win replied. “As long as I don’t have to share a tub with Eddie.”
The girls laughed as they led the two men away.
Chapter 17
ON THE DAY AFTER THE FUNERAL, EVERYONE IN town knew who was behind the Sweetwater Railroad Company, because a big sign went up on the front of Bailey McPherson’s building:
SWEETWATER RAILROAD COMPANY
BAILEY MCPHERSON, PRESIDENT
Dorchester came down to the depot to see Cindy off on her trip back East. Cindy, with $12,500 safely tucked away in the false bottom of her trunk, expressed her thanks, then waved a tearful good-bye as she got on the train.
Dorchester said nothing when he first saw the sign, but as soon as the eastbound train left the station, he walked down the street, then into the Sweetwater Railroad Company’s office.
A young woman was in the front office, seated at a desk behind the counter. When Dorchester entered, she said, “Yes, sir, may I help you?”
“I would like to talk to Miss McPherson.”
“I believe Miss McPherson is busy now.”
“Tell her to get unbusy.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Tell her Dorchester is here.”
“Sir, I told you, she is—”
“Now!” Dorchester shouted, banging his fist so hard on the counter that it caused the windows in the building to rattle.
“It’s all right, Mrs. White,” Bailey said, appearing in the door then. “I’ll talk to the gentleman.” Bailey smiled at Dorchester, though the smile was obviously forced. “It’s good to see you, Sir James,” she said.
“Sir James?” the young woman repeated.
“Oh, yes, dear. Allow me to introduce you to our resident royalty,” Bailey said. “This is Brigadier Sir James Spencer Dorchester, Earl of Preston, Viscount of Davencourt.”
“You can dispense with all of that,” Dorchester said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I want to know what is going on with this railroad business.”
“Oh, yes, exciting, isn’t it? I’m building a railroad from here up to the Sweetwater. To South Pass.”
“What in heaven’s name for? There are no settlements between here and the Sweetwater. And even South Pass is a temporary settlement, until all this gold fever passes.”
“Well then, perhaps the railroad will ensure that a real city develops there. Wouldn’t that be exciting?”
“In the meantime you are taking land away from honest ranchers and farmers. Hilliard, Miller, who else will you be getting land from?”