29

Claire Hamilton’s Case Notes

Sunday, August 26, 1877
Cheyenne, Wyoming

Just when I thought there was nothing in the world that would shock me about this bunch, they reveal that Jehu’s a woman.

When Ruby told me, she was so matter-of-fact, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “She pretends to be a man.”

“He’s not a woman,” Hattie said.

“What?”

“It ain’t hard to comprehend,” Stella said. “Jehu’s got our parts, but he’s a man inside. What does it matter?”

“It doesn’t. I’ve just never … My friend Kate, she would go undercover as a man when needed, and I’ll confess I’ve been intrigued by the idea myself. But to live as a man all the time …?”

“He’s been pretending as long as we’ve all known him,” Hattie said. “I don’t know when he started. He doesn’t talk about life before Garet and Thomas.”

“Makes life a helluva lot easier,” Stella said. “I’ve done it a few times when I’ve gone to town. Got lots more freedom.”

“I made fun of him when I found out,” Joan said. “Hattie tore my hide, but Jehu sat me down later and explained it to me. He feels more comfortable in men’s clothes and being considered a man. As long as he gave me piggyback rides and brought licorice home it didn’t matter to me. Women’s parts or not, he was still Jehu.”

“But if he’s a woman, and he’s your man … What do …” My thoughts trailed off, and I blushed. I looked away from Hattie, and Ruby gave me an encouraging smile.

Luke Rhodes had been leaning against the door, silent. I asked him if he’d known.

“Suspected.”

“Bullshit,” Stella said.

“Question is, does Spooner know?” Rhodes said.

“He does,” Joan said.

“How do you know?” Stella said.

“We talked about it.”

Stella and Hattie talked over each other, but their thunderous expressions were identical.

“When did you talk about it?” Stella said.

“You told him?”

“No, of course not. He acted like he knew all along. That Garet had told him.”

“That’s a lie,” Hattie said. “You tell Garet a secret and she takes it to her …” Hattie cleared her throat and looked away. The weight of inevitability pressed against us all. Hattie continued before we became too maudlin. “But it doesn’t matter if Spooner knows. We need to focus on the job. Jehu’s out there, alone, probably scared like we are, and Spooner is going to use it against him in the trial, I’m sure of it. No way he survives the penitentiary.”

“We need a plan,” Joan said.

“Guns blazing sounds like a good idea to me,” Stella said.

“Maybe later,” Luke said.

“What we need is a distraction,” Hattie said.

“Two,” Joan said.

“We need extra horses on relay in four directions,” Hattie said. “That’s fourteen horses. I’ve got the money for maybe half.”

“Which means we’ll also need money for the run,” Ruby said.

“Distraction number one, robbing a bank,” Stella said.

“I don’t want to ruin you girls’ fun, but we could do this the easy way,” Luke said.

“You’re right, there ain’t no fun in that,” Stella said.

“But you’ll live,” Luke said.

“I like that idea,” Joan said.

“How?” Hattie said.

“Walk in and walk out with him.”

Everyone laughed. “You going to do it? Because there’s no way a bunch of women are walking into a sheriff’s office and walking out with a prisoner. Unless you want us to bribe the sheriff, which I’m not opposed to,” Hattie said.

“Maybe later. Thing is, we don’t have time to buy horses and take them to relay stations.”

“We?” Hattie asked.

“I’m helping.”

“Because you hate Spooner, or because you like Jehu?”

“Or because of Garet?” Ruby asked.

“Let’s just say it’s a little bit of all of that. And I’m a little jealous that you girls have all the fun.”

“Women,” I said. “We’re women, not girls. And Hattie’s in charge. What she says goes.”

Everyone looked to Hattie. With a wry smile, she asked Rhodes if he was OK with that.

“I’m outnumbered, so yeah.”

“That’s a ringing endorsement,” Ruby said.

“Keep talking, Rhodes,” Hattie said.

“I was talking to a deputy, and he told me Salter, who is a Pinkerton, by the way …”

“We know,” Hattie, Ruby, and I said.

“He’s coming today to take the prisoner to Denver for trial, which starts in two days.”

“Salter’s not coming, I can guarantee you that,” Hattie said.

Rhodes narrowed his eyes at Hattie, who held his gaze without flinching. “We aren’t in the Hole, Luke, and you don’t have jurisdiction over any of us. Remember that.”

He nodded, and Hattie went on. “One more thing, and this goes for all of you: if you’re not willing to do what needs doing, I don’t want you along. Doubt, hesitation, will kill someone. Probably yourself. I won’t think less of anyone who wants to stay behind. But tell me now. If we get in it and you put the group in danger, I won’t hesitate. Understand?”

We all nodded, but Hattie said, “I want to hear you say it.”

A chorus of I understands rippled around the room.

“First choice is to have a plan where no one gets hurt,” Hattie said. “We’ve done it five times now, we can do it one more.”

Rhodes said, “If Salter doesn’t show up this afternoon, the sheriff is going to have to send his men to transport Jehu, which will mean overtime that has to come out of his office until he’s paid back by he’s not even sure who.”

“We need a Pinkerton,” Ruby said, “and they know you.”

“Who better to play one than a former Pinkerton?” He looked at me.

“How did you know that?”

“Spooner. Don’t ask me how he knew.”

“I was afraid Salter saw through me at the Blue Diamond.”

“Will you do it?” Joan said.

I stared at the four women arrayed in front of me and thought of Garet—all of them tough, arrogant, vulnerable, intelligent, loyal—and finally, for the first time in my life, knew what family felt like. My voice cracked with emotion, gratitude at being trusted, at being included, at finally being one of them.

“Hell yes, I will. But I need a bodyguard. So I can convince them the two of us are enough to transport the prisoner by train.”

I caught Hattie’s eye, and she smiled real slow.

“Hattie, can you pretend to be a man?”

“Give me an hour, and you won’t recognize me walking down the street.”

“That’s what I’m counting on.”

Monday, August 27, 1877
Somewhere between Cheyenne and Denver

Hattie was as good as her word; she was unrecognizable beneath her bowler hat and glued-on mustache. I was shocked to see her hair was close cut against her head and almost entirely gray. In all the months I’d been with her, I’d never seen her without a turban. I hadn’t paid her hair much attention at the holdup, which seems like a lifetime ago. A plug of tobacco in one side of her mouth helped camouflage her high cheekbones. The wad made her mumble, and with her voice lowered, she sounded manlier than even Rhodes. She wore gloves to mask her long, thin fingers, and had padded her midsection to mask her figure. We knew it was a good disguise when Ruby came in the room and didn’t recognize her.

Forging a letter from Pinkerton wasn’t difficult. I didn’t bother disguising my feminine hand, and explained it away by noting at the bottom that the letter had been transcribed by Chloe Anderson, secretary. I had Rhodes scribble a signature, knowing the sheriff wouldn’t know if it was authentic or not. I considered having the letter come from the Connollys, but figured the chances the sheriff would want to telegram Denver and wait for the response was greater than the chances of his doing the same for Chicago. Luckily, the trial was supposed to start in two days; there wasn’t time to lose.

Hattie and I arrived at the sheriff’s office at eight a.m. Rhodes, Joan, Stella, and Ruby were hidden along the path we would walk with Jehu to the train to make sure we weren’t followed. We had purchased tickets for everyone the night before, separately, for the 8:25 a.m. train, including a first-class cabin to transport the “prisoner.” Twenty-five minutes didn’t leave us much time to pull off our ruse, but the sooner we got out of Cheyenne, the better.

The sheriff sat at his desk drinking coffee and flipping through a stack of wanted posters. He glanced up when the door opened and did a double take when Hattie walked in after me.

“What can I do for ya?”

“I’m here to escort the prisoner, Jehu Lee, to Denver for trial.” I held the letter out to the sheriff. He looked at the letter, at the gun on my waist, at Hattie, who held a rifle down to her side and was looking around the place. The sheriff looked up, turned his head to the side without taking his eyes off me, and shot a stream of tobacco juice into the nearby spittoon.

“You’re not Salter.”

“Salter has been relieved of his responsibilities in this case. I am the agent in charge now. This letter from Allan Pinkerton explains everything.”

The sheriff took the letter, opened it, and read it with deliberate slowness. “Who’s the nigger?”

“My guard.”

“He a Pinkerton, too?”

“Yes.”

“He’s not mentioned in the letter.”

“I met him this morning. It seems agents have been dispersed to other cases, and this is the best Mr. Pinkerton could come up with on short notice. Show him your papers, Henry.”

Hattie held out the forged Pinkerton credentials, and I handed him mine as well. Mr. Pinkerton hadn’t asked me to relinquish them when I resigned, and I’d kept them for just such an eventuality.

“Women and nigger detectives, huh? If that don’t beat all.”

“Women and Negroes break the law, too, Sheriff …?”

“Cooper.”

“Sheriff Cooper. We have reserved a cabin on the eight twenty-five train to Denver. It was alluded to me that the reason I have been taken off my own case to do this errand is that you do not have the manpower or the funds to pay your men the overtime it would require to deliver Mr. Lee to Denver. Mr. Pinkerton and Mr. Connolly have gone to the trouble of getting me and Henry here to do your job. I’m sure they won’t be pleased to learn you made me miss a train, which we’ve already paid for, because you didn’t trust a woman and a Negro with legitimate credentials to do their jobs.”

The sheriff laughed and stood. “Lady, you must be new at this, because disappointing rich men isn’t a threat that’s going to get me to do what you want.” He stood between us and the door leading to the jail cells, one hand resting on his gun. He spit another stream of tobacco juice and adjusted the wad in his mouth.

I snapped my fingers and held out my hand to Hattie. She placed an envelope in it. I held it out to the sheriff, but pulled it back before he could take it.

“Is everyone in the West corrupt?”

“Just about,” he said.

“I’ll take our credentials back first, if you don’t mind.”

“I’ll keep the letter, if it’s all the same to you.”

“Of course. Henry, see to the prisoner while I sign him out.”

My hand shook as I wrote my name in the log. When I lay the pen down, a sense of inevitability came over me. By signing my name, I’d passed the Rubicon, thrown my Christian name, Claire Hamilton, in with a group of outlaws. I was helping a prisoner escape, and if caught would go to prison myself. The full import of that hadn’t hit me until I dotted the i and crossed the t in my last name. Had I been swept along in the energy and the excitement of the events? Or had I been manipulated? Or had I gone into this with my eyes open, knowing deep down where the end was and not caring? I could have left many times. But I never had. What a dull, boring life I’d led to this point.

The jingle of chains announced Jehu and Hattie’s arrival. For a moment I didn’t recognize either of them, Hattie’s disguise was that good. When it snapped into place, I gaped at Jehu. He was a shell of the man who had threatened to throw me over a cliff a little more than a month earlier. The yellowing bruises on his face were almost as shocking as his sunken cheeks, dark-circled eyes, and stooped-over shuffle.

Hattie was managing to keep it together, somehow, but I saw the fire in her eyes.

I tried to keep my voice neutral despite the pounding of my heart in my ears. “What happened to him?”

“He didn’t want to come in quietly.”

“He looks ill. Has a doctor seen him?”

“Yep. But ain’t our fault he won’t eat or drink.”

“Very well. Thank you, Sheriff Cooper. Good day.”

The sheriff got his gun from the cabinet behind his desk and said, “I’ll walk you to the train. Just to be on the safe side.”

“I hardly think he’s in any state to attempt an escape.”

“No, he’s nice and compliant now. But he has friends, or so they say. Only person that’s visited him besides the preacher’s widow is a little boy. Works at the blacksmith shop.”

“I certainly understand the need for the escort, then.”

It was Sunday morning, so the main thoroughfare was mostly deserted. The gang was well hidden; I never saw them.

Sheriff Cooper checked the compartment before we entered and waited until the train was pulling out before leaving. We pulled the window shades down and Hattie hugged Jehu. He grimaced at the pressure on his arm. “Sorry, sorry,” she said. “Go get him some food, Grace.”

“What is she doing here? She’s a Pinkerton.”

“Not anymore,” Hattie said. “Go, Grace.”

I left the compartment under Jehu’s glare and ran straight into Rhodes and Newt Valentine.

“What are you doing here?”

“Found him staking out the sheriff’s office.”

“I’ve been waiting on y’all to bust Jehu out for a week. Where’ve y’all been? He was dying in there.”

“We’ve been busy.”

“I was about to ask Portia and Rosie to help me bust him out. I bet they would have, too. They’re two fine women.”

“Don’t let Joan hear you say that.”

“Go on, Newt. Joan and Stella are in second class. Whatever you do, don’t talk to them, especially about Jehu or breaking him out,” Luke said.

“Can I have a dollar for some food? I left before I et.”

Luke gave him a quarter and gently pushed him down the hall.

“Why is Newt in Cheyenne?” I asked.

“Garet and Hattie rescued him from Valentine, took him to some friends to stay. The bastard didn’t even care. Joined up with Spooner when he realized Newt was gone. Talked big about Garet stealing his boy and taking his revenge, though.”

“You won’t let that happen, will you?”

“No.”

“I need to get Jehu some food. He looks half-starved.” Rhodes started to enter the compartment to give Hattie the bag he carried, but I stopped him. “Give them a few minutes. Come with me to get him something to eat. I gave the sheriff all of my money.”

We bought a sandwich from the steward, and when we returned to the compartment Jehu had settled down, but he still didn’t look happy with me. He was still in irons.

“Did the others make the train?” Hattie asked Rhodes.

“As far as I know. Newt did, too.”

“That’s all we need is a boy getting in the way,” Hattie said.

“Don’t you worry about Newt. He’ll do what he’s told,” Jehu said.

“Stand there and guard the door, Grace.”

Luke removed the irons and Jehu rubbed his wrists. I held the sandwich out to him. He took it, sat down, and tore into it.

“You didn’t tell us they beat him, Luke,” Hattie said.

“I knew you’d go off half-cocked if I did.”

“Don’t you act like you know me.”

“It’s what I would have done if I’d been in your shoes. Let’s argue later. Did you tell Jehu the plan?”

“A bit, not enough to make me rest easy. I’m not going back to jail. Haven’t been able to take a shit in a week,” he said.

“Don’t you worry, baby. You’ll be able to take a shit whenever you want for the rest of your life.”

“You sure know how to charm a fella.”

“It comes natural. You two skedaddle. We have to get changed.”

Rhodes told me Ruby was in second class, and he was going to the back. “I’ll meet up with you in Denver. Good luck.”

Somehow Ruby was sitting on a bench alone, and I asked if I could sit next to her as if we were strangers. She smiled at me and raised her eyebrows in question. I nodded and winked at her. Ruby’s expression changed ever so slightly. I blushed and buried my head in this journal. It means nothing. Nothing at all.

I cannot believe we pulled it off. My heart is still racing, though I’ve been on the train for over an hour. I’m not sure when I will come down from this high. I understand the appeal now.