When they reached the hotel room, Crystal placed the key on the washstand. “Amy,” she said, “I’m sorry for treating you this way. I promise you that what happens after we have our talk is up to you. I won’t pressure you to stay.”
Crystal turned away from Amy and began to pace the floor. Finally she stopped and asked, “How much did Amelia tell you about me?”
Amy tried to hide her surprise. “Nothing—she’s never mentioned you to me. Why?”
“I was wondering how much I must tell you now.” She paced, then turned with an apology in her smile. “Didn’t want to bore you with my problems.”
“I’m confused,” Amy admitted. “I keep coming back to what I see, and that’s you and Lucas together. I can’t help thinking you two make a very handsome couple.”
Crystal wheeled around and crossed the room to Amy. Bending close, she hissed, “I detest that man! Were it not for—” She gulped and steadied her voice. “Amy, I don’t know how God puts up with me. I try, but at times even I wonder what motivates me. Is it possible to think we are acting out of charity, when in reality our actions are goaded by the ugliest selfishness possible?”
Amy could only shake her head and whisper, “I don’t know. Sometimes I wonder that about myself. I see myself as being holy and good; then it’s like I turn around quickly and see something ugly. And there I am back on my knees again.” For a moment Crystal looked at her with a strange expression. She opened her mouth as if to speak; then with a shrug she continued to walk around the room. Amy asked, “How did you come to know him?”
“Lucas?” Crystal was still for a moment. Curiously she asked, “This time? After I left Buckskin Joe, I tried to find a job in Denver City. There wasn’t an opening in any of the rooming houses. Seems no one is making enough money to hire a cook. I tried to get on at the hotel here. They didn’t need a cook either. Charley Harrison liked my looks and tried to hire me at the saloon. Wanted me to deal cards for him.
“You know the story. Pretty girl attracts customers. Boss wants girl to pass out favors on the side. I didn’t go for that.” She moved restlessly and said, “Sometimes having a pretty face is a disadvantage. It makes it twice as hard to convince people that you’re moral—especially in the mining camps.”
Amy cringed and whispered, “I’m sorry. I judged you falsely. Crystal. I nearly lost my head over the whole thing.”
“Why?” There were honest questions in Crystal’s expression, and the words nearly flew out of Amy.
“Because I was caught by you. Nearly from the beginning. You were shabby, and I was too. You seemed—abandoned. That was the way I felt. All alone.”
“But you had a husband and a father.”
Amy shook her head. “I didn’t really. I’d left them behind. See, I was fighting God. And I had to do it all on my own. Have you ever felt that way? The hurting and misery is deep enough to make you want to crawl in a hole, away from everyone who doesn’t feel the same way. Besides”—she paused to catch her breath—“when I saw you, standing there in the snow beside Lizzie’s casket, singing with sunshine on your face, I started to hope again.”
“I didn’t know,” Crystal murmured. With her head low, she walked around the room again. It was a long time before she turned back to Amy with a bright smile.
But to Amy the smile seemed pasted on. Crystal continued. “Well, it turned out all right. At least until Lucas came along. Charley hired me to sit behind the desk at the hotel. I think it was mostly because he could get me cheaper. I saw a lot of interesting things in the months I worked there. The Bummers, Charley’s gang, were in and out all the time.”
Slowly Amy said, “I heard about them. A bunch of cutthroats, the newspaper called them. Hired thugs. What did Mr. Harrison have to do with them? I thought he was honest.”
“So did lots of people,” Crystal replied. “But there’s a taint hanging over the whole organization—not only the lawlessness of the bunch of men drifting in and out of Charley’s presence, but the whisper of secession floating around over it all. Too often I saw Lucas in the crowd. Mind you, not snuggling up to the Bummers—just close to them.”
Amy thought about Lucas standing in front of the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe. She opened her mouth and then firmly closed it. Crystal restlessly paced the room and then stopped to look out the window.
She turned unexpectedly. “You heard Lucas here that first night. He may come again. If he does, keep quiet. I’ll slip out. But I’ll have to lock the door. He’d be suspicious if I were to fail to do so.”
Amy nodded, aware of the anxious shadows in Crystal’s eyes. “You still haven’t explained why you are afraid of him,” Amy stated.
“Afraid.” She looked startled and then thoughtful. “I suppose I am.” She looked at Amy. “Lucas is a strange man. I’ve watched him gamble. It’s like he suddenly becomes a cold, cunning machine. You can feel a difference; even his muscles seem turned to metal. Amy, I get the feeling that there’s nothing that will stop him from going after what he wants.”
“What does he want?”
Crystal’s forehead creased into a frown. “I’m not absolutely certain. It could be power. I thought so once. For a long time I thought he was moved by an ideal. A high and nearly sacred one. Now, these past years seem to have shaped him differently. The lofty emotion I thought was idealism now seems like cynicism. It’s as if deep down inside he cares nothing about anyone.”
She sat down beside Amy on the bed. Amy found herself admiring Crystal’s long frame and the fragile hands as she clasped them together. Crystal went on. “He wants to seize everything attractive. But at the same time, there must be an advantage in it for him. It must work for him. At one point I was dreadfully afraid of him. But when I repulsed his advances, I made the most astonishing discovery.”
Amy bent forward. “What was it?”
“He listened to me. I convinced him that not even the most casual of feelings must interfere with his goal. It was as if I managed to dangle a golden carrot just beyond his most primitive human instincts and he no longer wanted me.
“The discovery? I was only a means to an end. If you please, an envelope to carry his messages—nothing more.”
As Crystal’s words continued to pour over Amy, the woman began to change before her eyes. She must say it. “Crystal, when I first met you, I saw a bundle of rags. A shivering, frightened human. Now you’ve grown up in my eyes. You are an actress. The longer we talk, the more I see, even believe. You make me think your thoughts after you.” Even as Amy said the words, she saw the bitter smile.
“And you’re wondering if I’m spreading the talk to win you to my side. Yes and no. I don’t ask you to believe me; just listen and make up your own mind. I don’t like using people. Either their minds or their bodies.” She paused, then whispered, “See, I’ve enough Negro blood in me to want freedom more than anything else. And not just for me, for everyone. That’s why I feel so sorry for locking you in this room.”
“Crystal, you still haven’t told me.”
“Freedom. I’m caught up in the passion to buy freedom for every man. My money is my tongue and my hands. Nothing will stop me.”
“What does that have to do with Lucas Tristram?”
“Until Lucas and every man like him is stopped, we won’t know freedom from slavery. One by one they must be exposed. See, Amy, all of this is related to man’s greed. You can’t have greed and freedom. They fight each other. I believe the Bible—it teaches us to love one another. That’s the only way to freedom.”
Amy frowned. “You talk as if Lucas has done something to you.”
Crystal hesitated before speaking. “He has. But for the present, let’s concentrate on what is happening right now.”
“We saw Lucas Tristram in Santa Fe, New Mexico,” Amy said slowly, thinking aloud. “With that Confederate flag snapping in the air over his head. He looked like I’ve never seen him look before. Like King Midas with his hands full of gold.”
Crystal nodded. “That’s so. I believe in causes, but not in using causes for financial gain. Amy, I left the South at the time the rallying for freedom began. You see, it was the rich landowners who were shouting most loudly.” Twisting her hands, she added, “But the word freedom made me hungry. And I saw that hunger in countless other eyes. I had to leave to find out what freedom really means.”
“I’m beginning to understand,” Amy voiced. “Freedom means we can’t live that way—being a slave or owning slaves.” She looked at Crystal. “But you still haven’t said what he did.”
Her expression was veiled. “I’ll get there. Long ago Jefferson Davis scouted out these gold-rich areas. He decided the Confederate cause would best be served by having this gold in their coffers. Tristram has been in the territory since that first summer after gold was discovered. Does that tell you anything?” She paused as Amy gave her a puzzled look.
“He has been busy mapping out all the heavy gold-producing areas. Now he knows where the gold is, and in addition, he’s trying to get this gold committed to the Confederate cause. See, the cause wasn’t born overnight. Freedom was the handwriting on the wall. It was absolutely necessary the war happen.”
“Absolutely necessary? Crystal, the battle in New Mexico took care of their problem. Don’t you know that General Canby chased the Confederates right back into Texas?”
“But the war isn’t over. It won’t be over until the final shot is fired. Meanwhile, Lucas won’t give up his position. He’ll go on winning the confidence of men. My job is to be courier for Mr. Lucas Tristram. See, I’m Southern. You might say I’ve had my arm twisted behind me, but in reality it is something different. Anyway, I look as if I belong to the slave class. But I don’t—in fact, my family owns property and slaves in New Orleans. The white Southerners look down on us because of our mixed blood, but we have money and power. That is respected.”
She added, “Tristram’s job? He gathers the reports and the information and I deliver it all to a key person here in Colorado Territory. Amy, Lucas is a spy and I am his stooge. He is here to garner everything he can that will harm the Union, whether it is gold or information.”
Slowly Amy said, “Spies are shot during wartime, aren’t they?” Crystal nodded, and Amy continued. “You were afraid I would say something about you, about your past. But I still can’t imagine what I could possibly know that would harm you.”
Crystal was standing beside the windows. Amy couldn’t see the expression in her eyes, but she was quiet, waiting. Finally Amy asked, “Is it because there is someone important who must not see you as a spy? Someone you care for very much?”
More minutes passed, and then Crystal sighed heavily. “I believe you. I don’t think Amelia has told you anything about me. Also, Amy Gerrett, I trust you. Only the dear Lord knows how badly I need someone in whom I can confide. Someone who’ll help me muddle though this mess.” As she turned to walk across the room, Amy saw the glint of moisture on her cheek.
When she sat down beside Amy, she asked, “Have I made myself clear? I loathe Lucas Tristram. To smile at him, to laugh up at him and to tuck my hand in his arm and chatter in French because it pleases his vanity to be cast as a gentleman of noble character and good breeding—” Abruptly Crystal broke off and snorted.
Amy snickered into her hand, “Oh, Crystal!” she whispered, “you know him so well!” A sharp object rapped against the heavy door. Crystal clutched Amy’s arm. They waited.
There was a low, urgent voice. “Crystal, open up.”
They stared at each other. Amy scrambled to her feet; she needn’t be told it was Lucas. Across the room the large, dark mahogany armoire stood open. She threw a questioning glance at Crystal and slipped into the armoire.
“Just a moment,” Crystal called softly as she closed the doors behind Amy.
Amy heard Crystal’s step, the scrape of the key, the creak of hinges.
Carefully she dabbed at the perspiration on her forehead. What am I doing in here? I want to see Lucas—I have to discuss the piano with him.
She reached for the door, but at the same instant she remembered the expression on Crystal’s face. Crystal was afraid. Amy shuddered and strained to hear.
Lucas was speaking. “I’ve a message for you to pass on. This time the stage will be stopped halfway up the canyon. You’ll recognize your contact by the turquoise amulet on his hat. Make certain the message is in with the gold.”
“Lucas, why must you go to such lengths to pass along the message?” Crystal’s voice was loud.
“Keep your voice down,” Lucas remonstrated. “I have a feeling there’s someone watching me. Funny thing, I ran into a fellow in New Mexico. Twice. It seemed a casual contact. My guess is they’re using preachers as spies. Good cover, isn’t it?”
Crystal’s reply was inaudible. Lucas continued with a chuckle. “I’ve just given the fellow a new piano for his church. If they haul me in, he may have a difficult time explaining the piano.”
Crystal asked, “Isn’t this all a lost cause? It’s been in the papers that the Confederate Army has been pushed back to Texas.”
“My dear, as long as we’re winning the war in the East and South, it behooves us to keep a strong hand in here.” He paused and then added, “I’ll admit the chances of taking Colorado Territory aren’t good. The Pikes Peakers made a name for themselves in New Mexico. But there are other strategies under consideration.”
“That takes good imagination.” Her voice was mocking. “I can’t guess.”
Lucas was quiet for a moment. “New Mexico set us back, but we’re not out of the game yet.” Then he added, “It’s gold. Gold by the bagful, if nothing else. While we’re waiting for another push against the gold fields, we’ll continue to win support for our cause and at the same time drain away as much gold as possible. We need it desperately if the Confederacy is to survive.”
“You mean you’ll pack the ore out of here?”
“Not ore. With a few good contacts, we’ll know when the pure stuff is being shipped.”
“And they’ll never know how much you take?”
There was a pause and Lucas’s heavy voice questioned, “You think you’re not getting your share?” After another pause he said, “Don’t become an expendable commodity, Crystal. You are only valuable as long as you cooperate with the cause. If for one moment I thought your sympathies weren’t totally for the Confederacy—”
“And why do you think that they are?”
“Because you made a bad mistake a long time ago, and I know you’ll spend the rest of your life trying to win back the favor of your husband.”
“You act as if you know where he is.” There was a long pause. Crystal’s voice was low as she said, “You deliberately compromised me. You carefully planned the scene so that my husband would believe I was unfaithful. Is it possible you had planted additional thoughts before you staged the scene?”
Lucas’s low laugh was followed by the teasing words. “Perhaps. And perhaps he only wanted an excuse to follow his conscience instead of his heart.”
Crystal’s voice was cold. “At least you’ve used the word heart. I can nearly forgive you for implying he was wanting out. That he was a—”
Her voice choked off the words. Lucas’s voice made Amy shiver as he finished the sentence. “Nigger lover? Crystal, that makes me wonder what else you have on your mind. Unfortunately, I’ll need to address the question at a later time. Meanwhile, here’s the bag of gold. Be careful—it’s heavy. The message is in the bottom of the bag. I want you on the stage for Central City tomorrow morning.”