CHAPTER 14 
CHAPTER 14 Jem came up swinging. He knew if he stayed on the ground, he was done for. Tom and the others would pile on top of him, and that would be the end of it. A sudden punch to his still-tender “brand” sent searing pain up Jem’s arm, making him reel backward with a gasp. He curled his fist and drove it straight for Tom’s face.
Jem might as well have tried to hit a fly in mid-air. Tom ducked the blow, grasped Jem’s shoulders, and spun him around. Freddy’s fist plunged into Jem’s stomach. He collapsed in a crumpled heap.
“Stay outta this, Jem.” Tom swiped a hank of dirty brown hair from his face and glowered. “I got no reason to fight you.”
Jem sucked in air to steady his shaking arms and legs then staggered to his feet. He faced the three bullies, clenching his fists. For ten whole seconds, nobody moved a muscle or blinked an eye. “Leave Shen alone,” Jem finally said between clenched teeth.
Tom curled his lip. “You’ve got one chance, Jem. Walk away. Now.”
Jem’s hammering heart skipped a beat. What was Tom up to? Once the older boy got riled, he never backed down. Why would he give Jem a chance to escape? Run and find Pa, Jem’s good sense told him. His throbbing arm and belly screamed the same command.
One look at Wu Shen sent all good sense flying from Jem’s head. I don’t have time to find Pa. Blood smeared the Chinese boy’s nose and mouth. Dutch held him fast with one hand. His other hand clutched a pocketknife. Jem caught his breath.
Dutch laughed. “I’m just gonna give the China boy a haircut. A little message to the scavengers to get out before somethin’ worse happens.” He yanked hard on Shen’s pigtail. The boy winced.
“What you do right now, Jem,” Tom said, “will show if you’re on the town’s side or on the side of dirty, yellow scavengers.” He paused and spat. “We know where the sheriff stands. But it ain’t your fault your pa’s a—”
“Shut up!” A hot flush soared through Jem at Tom’s words. How dare he insult Pa! The flush raced down his arm and made his hand curl up almost on its own. He raised his fist and smashed it head-on into Dutch’s sneering face. Blood spurted from his nose. Bull’s eye!
“Run, Shen!” Jem shouted.
Dutch howled and dropped his knife. But he didn’t let go of Shen. The Chinese boy reached down and bit his captor’s hand then wrenched free. He took two steps toward freedom before Freddy yanked him back into Dutch’s grip.
Jem was rubbing his sore knuckles when Tom came for him—shoulders heaving and roaring like a bull. Down the two boys went, rolling and scuffling in the dusty street. “Reckon we’ll give the sheriff a message about which side he should choose,” Tom hissed in Jem’s ear.
Jem was too busy focusing on staying in one piece to answer. One-on-one, Jem and Tom were equally matched, and Jem was angry enough to emerge the victor. But two to one? Or three to one? If only Shen would lend a hand and defend himself, maybe we’d have a chance, Jem thought as he warded off another blow.
Even if he’d wanted to help, Shen’s slight build was no match for the taller, heavier boys. He was clawing and biting the best he could, but Dutch ignored his own bleeding nose and gripped Shen’s pigtail like a leash on a dog. He landed his punches with little effort.
When Freddy joined Tom, Jem knew he would lose this fight. His head felt like it might explode any second. A hard smack had reopened the gash from last week. Jem had forgotten all about that injury until this moment.
He suddenly realized he’d been a fool to get himself into this fix when he wasn’t at his best. But what else could he have done? Walk away and let those bullies beat up Wu Shen? Let them humiliate his friend and cut off his queue? All because Shen’s family refused to give up their mine?
Another surge of fury gave Jem the strength to dodge the boys’ attempts to plant his face in the dirt. A grunt from Freddy told Jem one of his kicks had hit home. But it was too little, too late. Jem was ready to cry “uncle.” He hurt all over. He opened his mouth to admit defeat.
Suddenly, the pressure on his arms eased off. Tom rolled to one side and stood up.
Panting, Jem twisted around to see what had loosened Tom’s grip. Will Sterling stood on the fringe, eyes bright, with his hands on his hips. Oh, no! I’m done for. Four against one are odds nobody can beat.
Jem and Will scuffled at least once during every school term. The rest of the year they maintained an uneasy truce. Jem saw the eager look in his eyes and knew Will would get payback today for all the times Jem had licked him in the past.
“You’re just in time for a piece of this, Will,” Dutch said, grinning. He held out the knife and nodded at Shen’s long, black pigtail. “You wanna do the honors?”
Will dropped his hands to his side and ignored Dutch. Instead, he waded into the middle of the group. The smirk never left his face as he reached down and pulled Jem to his feet.
Jem tensed in readiness for the coming blows.
Then, smack! Will rounded on Tom and landed a punch to his mid-section. The older boy curled over and went down with a startled yelp. Dutch and Freddy gaped.
Jem took advantage of their frozen looks and yanked Shen from Dutch’s grip. He gave the Chinese boy a shove that sent him reeling. “Get out of here!”
He didn’t wait to see if Shen obeyed but turned to give Will a hand. He suddenly felt full of energy. He ignored his aches and pains and stepped to Will’s side. Three-to-two odds were much, much better!
It looked like the bullies agreed. Tom lurched to his feet, clutching his belly. He glared at Jem and Will, but the fight had clearly gone out of him. Dutch pocketed his knife and elbowed Freddy. Without a word, the two boys scurried around the nearest corner. Tom shot one last, furious look at Jem … then Will … and slunk after his chums.
Alone with his surprising rescuer, Jem didn’t know what to say. The two boys looked at each other until Will finally shrugged and turned to leave.
Jem thrust out his hand. “I don’t know why you did it, but thanks just the same.”
Will shook Jem’s hand. “I don’t know why either,” he admitted. “But if the sheriff showed up, like he was bound to do if the fight went on much longer, I reckon I’d rather be on your side than those others.”
Will dropped his hand and let out a breath. “I wish those scavengers would pack up and leave, but I’ve got nothin’ against the China boy. Beating him up won’t solve my father’s or the miners’ problems.”
Jem looked around. “Tom and the others sure made a mess of Wu Shen’s things.”
Will threw up his hands and backed away. “Hold on, Jem. I helped you, but I’m not cleaning up after no Chinese.” He turned and ran off the way he’d come.
Jem was tempted to grab Copper and gallop away. After all, he’d saved Shen’s honor and helped him get away. That’s enough for one day. His throbbing head and sore fists agreed. But Jem knew that if somebody didn’t gather up the ruined laundry, Shen would return to do it. The bullies were no doubt lingering close by to have another go at him if he did.
Feeling like a fool, Jem reached down and turned the broken cart right side up. Half the town was probably looking on, but not one adult had stepped in to break up the fight.
Jem cringed. News of Pa’s stand with the Chinese miners must have traveled far and fast. Nobody would be inclined to help the sheriff’s son. Not today. He gathered the filthy linens and dumped them in the lopsided cart. Then he looked around for the missing wheel.
“Can I give you a hand with that?”
Jem whirled. Pa stood a few yards away, wheel in hand.
“W-why, sure, Pa,” Jem stammered. He knew he looked a mess. A stay-out-of-fights-or-else scolding was surely coming his way. He reddened.
But Pa said nothing about the fight. He just quickly repaired Shen’s cart and stayed close to Jem’s side all the way back to Wu Jiang’s laundry on China Alley.
Aunt Rose didn’t say anything about the fight either, which surprised Jem even more. Auntie was dead set against boys getting involved in scuffles of any kind. “Only low, common children resort to fists,” she often said.
One look at Jem’s black eye and swollen lip should have sent Aunt Rose through the roof. But she only pressed her lips together and flicked a disapproving glance at Pa, as if he had encouraged such behavior. “It appears you’re more than ready to return to your ranch chores, Jeremiah,” was all she said.
Pa must’ve pulled Auntie aside and warned her ahead of time, Jem decided two days later, sitting up on the wagon seat near the Wilsons’ back door. Maybe Pa figured standing up for Wu Shen was worth getting a black eye for. Whatever the reason, Jem had gotten off scot-free from any punishment.
He waited for Nathan and Ellie to climb aboard, then released the brake and headed for Main Street.
“We just got the Morrisons’ firewood to deliver,” Ellie reminded him. “Then we can go out to the creek.”
Jem glanced at the town’s small tower clock and groaned. It read a quarter to five. Aunt Rose may not have scolded Jem for the fight, but she’d managed to fill the last two days with mountains of chores. “By the time we finish with Mr. Morrison’s order, it will be too late to do any panning,” he told Ellie. “But you can hop off now and go out there if you like.”
A glare gave Jem his answer. Ellie had gotten a taste of her brother’s firewood business last week. She clearly wanted to keep earning a few pennies stacking wood. It looked like Nathan wanted a continuing piece of the business too. For once, he was dressed for work. A pair of faded overalls had replaced the fancy duds he’d worn before.
“Hey, Jem! Wait!” A familiar voice hailed the wagon when it passed the Grand Hotel. Chad pounded into the street and snatched the horses’ bridles. “Where are you off to?”
“Delivering stove wood to the mining superintendent,” Jem replied.
“Need a hand?” Chad’s face showed his eagerness. “I’m bored to death. Staying at the Grand is near as dull as staying out at the Sterlings.”
Jem’s face fell. He couldn’t afford to hire any more help.
Chad laughed. “You don’t need to pay me.” Without waiting for an answer, he swung up on the wagon seat and squeezed in between Nathan and Ellie.
Nathan yelped and clutched the wagon seat. “Watch it! You nearly shoved me off. This seat’s not big enough for four.”
Jem chuckled and slapped the horses. They’d gone no more than two blocks when he pulled Copper and Silver to another stop. “Shen!” Jem called out to his friend in the street. “How are you?”
“At this rate, we’ll never get done,” Ellie muttered.
Jem elbowed her into silence and hopped down. One look at the cargo told Jem that Wu Shen was having a hard time today. Instead of laundry, his rickety cart was loaded down with pickaxes, shovels, drill spikes, and sledge hammers. A leather strap was wrapped around Shen’s shoulders to help steady the load as he lugged it along on two wheels. Sweat beaded his forehead.
“I am fine, Jem,” he said, smiling.
“Looks like you’ve got quite a load today.”
Shen nodded. “Men bring much tools down to sharpen and repair. Must take back, make ready for new day.”
“And you’re dragging it clear up the hill by yourself?” Jem knew the answer. Shen always hauled things to the mine. It was his task. But Jem had never seen him with such a heavy load before, and the hill was steep.
Shen lifted the handles of his cart. “Good-bye, Jem.”
“Wait,” Jem said. “We’re headed up to Morrisons to deliver wood. There’s plenty of room for you and your tools in the back of the wagon. Hop in. We’ll give you a ride.”
Jem heard a muffled squeal from Ellie and hid a grin. It was no secret she was green with envy that Jem had been inside the Belle a few days ago. Nothing would please her more than to get a peek inside the old mine.
Shen hesitated then glanced up at the late afternoon sun.
“It’s a hot climb up the hill in this heat,” Jem remarked.
“Hotter than the inside of an oven,” Ellie agreed. She was bouncing up and down on the wagon seat in her eagerness. “C’mon, Shen!”
Shen finally nodded his agreement. He untangled himself from his harness and stepped away from the cart. “I would be glad for your help.”