Sixty-four

Back at the Boarding House a different kind of campaign was being waged in the hot muggy kitchen. Ma and Grandma Heitzer were each preparing their special pastry for the pie baking contest.

Herbie was helping his grandmother and Matilda was assisting Ma. Both women cast frequent suspicious glances at the other, suspecting their competition was attempting to steal away their secrets.

"You just keep your eyes on what you're doing Mrs. Smalley. I'll not have you flavoring your pie with my secret ingredients." Grandma Heitzer warned when she saw Ma glance her way.

Ma retaliated, and flour flew about her as she shook her finger in the direction of her rival, "I'll remind you of whose kitchen you're in and whose pie you've been wolfing down for dessert ever since you moved to my boarding house."

Grandma Heitzer took a step closer to Ma, hands on hips to widen her already plump frame, "Psha ... You're pie is only fair to middling - no contest winner. My pies have come in second place to Edsel Pry for the last ten years, this year I plan on taking home the blue ribbon."

Mrs. Smalley moved forward and now the two ladies were standing near nose to nose. The tension between them stickier than Ma's pie dough, "Well, you're right about one thing. The blue ribbon will be coming home to this house, but it will be atop my pie!"

"That's a laugh!" Ma declared. "I oughta send you out of my kitchen."

"Just try to make me leave."

Stopping an all out rumble was an impatient knock at the front door. Mrs. Smalley glanced down at her flour dusted, sweat soaked dress. She knew her hair had escaped the tight bun at the nape of her neck and her face was flushed with heat and anger, "Answer the door for me Matilda and if it's someone looking for a room tell 'em we're full up."

Matilda looked from Grandma Heitzer to Ma, "'Kay, but don't do any more fighting 'til I get back, I don't wanna miss anything."

"Just answer the door like I told you young lady, don't need no sass from you too."

Matilda skipped out of the kitchen letting the swinging door close behind her. Two saddle traps were standing on the other side of the oval beveled glass. The little girl turned the knob and as she did the men pushed their way in. "Taffy Boyd live here?"

"She's sleeping, she doesn't get up until it's lunch time."

"Go wake her up, tell her a couple of old friends are here to see her."

Ma called from the kitchen, "Matilda, who's there?"

"Some friends of Miss Taffy's."

"Good Heavens," Mrs. Smalley muttered with a quick look at Grandma Heitzer and then louder for Matilda's benefit, "are they menfolk?"

"Yup." Matilda answered back.

Ma quickly wiped the pie dough off her hands, smoothed back her hair and scurried to the front door. Something about the strangers standing in her front hall didn't set right with the old woman and she felt a twinge of apprehension at having them in her house. Still, she summoned forth bravado,

"Miss Taffy don't usually receive guests this early. You can visit with her this afternoon at the Long Branch."

The strangers had been scanning the room as Ma spoke, looking at the front stairs and down the hall leading to the dining room, parlor and kitchen beyond. One of them moved into the parlor fingering the scarf on top of the piano, and lifting up the china figurine on the fireplace mantle. The other man made a move to the staircase. Ma's eyes narrow at the pair. Her voice took on mettle, "Stop touching my things with your dirty hands. You boys go on, now, there's nothing for you here."

With a smarmy grin one of the men moved closer to Ma, he ran the back of his hand over her fuzzy cheek, "We don't mean you no harm old woman." His hand dropped from Ma's face to Matilda's russet curls.

Ma grabbed hold of the child in a protective way. She produced her sternest voice, "I said go on now, this is a respectable home."

The man ignored her and instead forced Matilda to look up at him, "Well, ain't you a pretty lil' thing, you're gonna grow into a real looker."

Ma's flesh crawled, and she clung tighter to Matilda's shoulders. "Get out."

The other man pulled his partner back, "Come on, let's head over to the Long Branch. We can get a head start on Taffy."

Ma stared after the men. When they were out the door she hurried forward to lock it, realizing it was small protection. Anyone mean enough to break in would merely shatter the glass and enter at will. She was shaking when she turned back to face Matilda.

The little girl could feel Ma tremble, "They were nasty men weren't they Ma?"

She nodded her head, "Good Book says, Judge not lest ye be judged but ... yes they were nasty men."

Grandma Heitzer had dashed out from the kitchen with rolling pin in hand just in case she needed to defend Ma and Matilda. For the moment their pie feud was forgotten.

"So many strangers in town, what with Independence Day coming up and all." Grandma Heitzer tried to sooth.

"There was something pure mean to that pair." Ma said. "I've seen my share of cowpokes and saddle bums. Those two were something different. Don't like it at all that they were looking around here and don't like it one bit the way they was looking at Matilda."

With one old lady leading the other they returned to the kitchen where they shared a cup of tea laced with a little brandy to shore up their nerves.

"Can Herbie and I go out and play Ma?" Matilda requested when she noticed Ma's hands were no longer shaking when she picked up her tea cup.

Ma nodded, "But keep to the back yard close to the house and stay together. Keep your eyes open. Too many strangers in town up to no good. I'm gonna have to have a talk with your Pa when he gets home and Miss Taffy too."

Outside on the porch, Matilda gave Herbie a punch on the arm. "Come on." She said jumping from the top step to the ground three steps below.

"Where are you going? We're not s'posed to leave the yard."

"We're going to follow those two guys?"

"Why?"

"Cause, they're bad guys we might need evidence."

"How do you figure they're bad guys?"

"Oh, they're bad, Ma said so ... and I think I saw one of 'em when Doc took us fishing the other day."

"Matilda ... I don't think this is such a good idea, your Pa wouldn't like it none."

"You don't have to come if you you're scared." Matilda said over her shoulder as she ran down the path to the front of the boarding house.

Herbie hesitated. He didn't want to be accused of being chicken and he sure didn't want a girl being braver than he, but he was decidedly uneasy about disobeying Ma.

He hesitated for a beat and then ran off after the little girl.