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[Continuing chapter eleven]
“How are you so sure that Travis knows?” Muddy water dripped from Peterson’s trouser-cuffs to the carpet; he drew a cheroot from his coat’s inside pocket and reached for the taper someone had left smoldering on the mantelpiece. Reynolds sighed; if everyone had been on time he would have only had to tell this story once. He’d long since given up asking new arrivals not to smoke; God only knew what Susan would say to him when the others had all gone.
“He’s noticed too much,” Reynolds said. “I warned everyone about discretion, didn’t I?”
“You’re just spooked,” Cooper said.
“Spooked, am I? Travis has certainly noticed you, Captain.” Reynolds glared at the Ranger. Captain Cooper would have been an ugly man even had his face not been disfigured by one of those grotesque beards affected by Canadian fur-traders and mountain-men. His dress made him even more visible; he’d arrived in Washington wearing dirty, stained buckskins, a greasy red shirt and an orange-red sash around his waist. After Reynolds had complained he’d changed into a checked suit with a bright-yellow vest that had perhaps been in style shortly after Jefferson’s War—keeping the sash. He’d trimmed his beard, Reynolds noted. But he was still unmistakable, even from a distance.
“He specifically asked about you. Rangers are supposed to be on the frontier, he said. And why, for God’s sake, do you keep your men with you? You shouldn’t run together all the time; you look like a bandit gang.”
Cooper grinned evilly. “You ain’t cut out for this kind of work, are you, boy?”
The man had a giant Colt revolver thrust ostentatiously into the sash around his waist, and now he patted the spotted, worn handle. Reynolds ignored the implied threat. “You see to yourself, hear, and don’t worry about me.” He turned to address all nine men gathered in the parlor. “The question remains,” he said. “Are we going to wait until Travis is certain and moves to stop us, or are we going to accept that he’s forced our hand and act now?
“Do we know where Colonel Walker is? It wouldn’t be prudent to move until we can be sure he’ll be arriving soon to support us.” That was Hackett, a senior clerk in the Post Office. He was the man charged with monitoring the telegraph traffic for any sign that Walker’s purpose had been discovered.
“I’ve heard nothing from him since his message a week ago saying he was about to cross the Sabine.” Reynolds glared at the men. “Colonel Walker will not fail us, hear me? By now he’ll have gotten out of the piney woods and be moving across the plains. Even if he moves at half the speed he promised, he’ll still be here in two days. If we can’t hold Washington for two days, then frankly we don’t deserve to be the republic’s new leaders.”
The men looked at one another for reassurance. Reynolds felt his confidence wavering, and wondered for a panicky moment if he’d have to run for Mexico. Then Cooper got to his feet.
“By God,” he said, “I thought you were weak-livered like most of these politicians. But you’ve got spirit, Reynolds. Ha!” Cooper slapped his side. “I can hold Washington with just my five boys.” He turned to Hackett. “Make that four boys. I’m going to send one up Trinity way to find Walker, or Mosby—whichever he reaches first. I’ll have him bring the feller straight to us, on a forced march.”
Reynolds held himself steady while inwardly he sobbed his relief. If Cooper was with him, then the crisis was past. “We are going to be busy tonight, gentlemen,” he said. “Before you leave here, I will be satisfied that all of the plans we have so carefully laid are ready to be unfolded.” He turned to Cooper. “You are the single exception, sir. I would be gratified if you would go now, and send your man on his way immediately. The sooner Colonel Walker—and Colonel Mosby, if your man finds him as well—know that we have been forced to move early, the faster they will be able to march on the city. Finding Walker is the more important task, of course. Mosby already understands his responsibilities.”
Cooper slapped him on the back as he left. “This is gonna be fun,” he said. “I’ll come back here as soon as my boy’s on his way, and we’ll jaw all night if we have to.”
Next Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six
Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven
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