New Sheriff In Town

Alex awoke before the sun was even up. She quickly set about making the bed - she didn’t want Nelly to see that she had slept on the floor for fear of hearting the dear woman’s feelings. After finishing the task the girl decided to try her hand at the bathroom once again. Slipping out of her room she quietly locked the door and tiptoed to the end of the hall. Entering the small bathroom, she quickly flicked on the light and shut the door. Glancing around the room she spotted the various items that Nelly had purchased for her use. A glance in the mirror told Alex that she desperately needed a good cleaning. Having been shown the previous night how everything in the room worked, the girl felt confident enough to shower. Carefully, she adjusted the temperature of the water and turned the middle dial to get things started. A lovely cascade of water poured out from the faucet mounted high up on the wall and a billowy steam soon began to run out from the bathing area. Carefully disrobing, Alex stepped inside the tub releasing an audible sigh of contentment.

“It’s like bathing under a waterfall,” she thought smiling to herself and enjoying the warmth on her aching muscles. Looking at the bottle of shampoo in the corner of the tub, she carefully read and followed the directions. She was amazed at how silky her hair felt between her fingers. “Lye soap never felt like that” she though as she ran her hand over her hair once again. Spotting the bar of soap on a shelf she quickly went to work scrubbing off the layers of dirt and dried salt.

Feeling satisfied that she was sufficiently clean; she turned off the water and stepped out from the tub. Reaching for a towel she proceeded to dry off in the steamy bathroom. After having done that she looked at the dirty mound on the floor that was her clothes. Knowing that she had no other clothing to change into, she reluctantly put back on the soiled garments. A small purple brush sat on the sinks edge, Alex eagerly went about combing out her long auburn hair, pulling it back into a pony tail. Looking around the little room, she began straightening everything back up as she had found it upon her arrival. Happy with her efforts, she left the room for downstairs hoping to have a bite to eat.

As she was about to step foot on the hardwood floor at the bottom of the stairs, she heard voices coming from the dining room. “She must have gotten guests in last night.” She thought approaching the bottom step. As Alex rounded the corner to enter the dining room she was surprised to see that not only was the large table packed with people but the room was too.

“Oh, here’s the dear now,” said Nelly proudly as she worked her way through the throng of people to stand next to Alex. A murmur issued forth in the room as all eyes turned to look at the girl. Alex felt the heat of embarrassment still across her cheeks.

“What’s going on, Nelly?” she whispered to the older lady once she reached her side.

“Well, I was just telling a few of my friends how you stood up to Officer Riddle yesterday.” A round of applause interrupted Nelly. “You see, we have all been victims of his schemes, but no more. You’re going to protect us.”

Alex turned abruptly to look at the plump woman to see if she was serious. Her heart sunk as she saw the hope in the lady’s face. Slowly she looked at each of those who were gathered there and saw the same look repeated on each them. Alex was dumbfounded, “Now what have I gotten myself into.”

“Um, Nelly, can I have a word with you up in my room?” gently she reached for Nelly’s elbow and guided her to the stairwell.

“Is something the matter, dear?” asked the woman innocently.

“Why are all of those people down stairs?” she asked once inside of room 3. “What have you told them?” Alex was pacing around the room like a caged lion.

“They’re business owners just like myself, friends of mine. I just told them how you stood up to Officer Riddle and offered to protect us in his place.” Nelly was moving about the room tidying up invisible messes.

Alex stopped her pacing to stare at the woman in disbelief. “I never offered to protect you. I don’t even have a gun. For Pete’s sakes I don’t even have shoes!” she regretted raising her voice immediately but her frustration kept her from apologizing. Glancing out the window she noticed a brown rabbit huddled under a bush across the street.

“Listen, dear, I saw how you talked to that dirty cop yesterday. You might be young, but you’ve been around. I don’t know what they taught you down in that ship yard but you’ve got guts.” Coming over to stand next to the distraught girl she placed an arm affectionately around her, giving a slight squeeze. “We need you to do this.”

Alex nodded her head in submission she couldn’t say no to the kind lady who had taken her in despite her appearance. Together they returned to the crowd downstairs.

“She’ll do it!” Hollered Nelly the moment they stepped into the dining room. Another round of applause broke out in the room as people shook their heads in approval.

“Wait,” Alex interrupted raising her hand to quiet things down, “there’s a few things I’m going to need.”

“Just name it, miss, and we’ll get it for ya” a tall man standing in the corner shouted out and was met with a murmur of agreement.

“Well, to start with I need a couple of pistols and a shotgun with plenty of ammo to keep them goin’ should the need arise.”

“We can do that, can’t we?” Nelly asked looking at her friends for support.

“Oh, sure. No problem” came a reply by several men in the room.

“And secondly,” Alex paused for affect, “I need some boots.” She smiled while wiggling her toes on the hard wood floor. The room erupted in laughter.

“You just come by my shop this afternoon, miss, and I’ll get you taken care of.” replied a well dressed lady seated at the table.

With business taken care of, the crowd dispersed heading back to their various shops. Nelly went about straightening up the dining room. “Well, dear, you must be ready for some breakfast.”

Alex nodded her head and followed the ruddy face woman into the kitchen taking a seat at the table. She watched Nelly go about her cooking, all the while wondering what she had just agreed to do.

In no time at all Nelly placed a large plate of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of her accompanied with a cup of coffee. Taking a seat opposite of her guest she proceeded in saying the blessings. Having done so they set about eating the filling breakfast.

Seeming to sense the girl’s apprehension, Nelly reached across the table and patted her hand reassuringly. “Don’t worry, dear, you’ll do just fine. I reckon you learned a lot of useful stuff aboard those ships. I can sense things about people and you’re a strong one.”

Alex smiled at the kind woman but quickly furrowed her brow in confusion, “Ships? What ships?”

Nelly opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by the telephone ringing. Shrugging her shoulders apologetically, she engaged the person at the other end in conversation. “Yes, she’s going to do it . . .”

Shaking her head in exasperation, Alex finished her meal and returned to her room to retrieve some money. “Let’s go see these shops you’re going to be protecting” she said to her reflection in the mirror. Pocketing the money she headed down the stairs and out the door.