Beatrice and the Beast, page 2
‘Don’t worry your pretty little head Beatrice,’ replied the woman. ‘We’ll take good care of you until you have found your feet.’
‘Thank you so much madam,’ said Beatrice with a smile. ‘I feel so much better now.’
‘Oh, hush child and please call me Ella. Now get out of my kitchen and seat yourself in the restaurant.’
Sam laughed and ushered the young woman into the restaurant where they made their way to a table in the far corner. Ever the gentleman, he pulled out a chair for her and she settled herself at the table.
‘There ain’t much by way of choice ma’am,’ said Sam as he sat down opposite her. ‘But what there is, is the finest grub in these here parts and I ain’t just sayin’ that ‘cos my wife is the cook.’
Beatrice smiled and glanced at the hand-written menu. There was a choice of three main meals and one desert. She didn’t think she would be able to eat the steak, which left a choice between beef stew and beef and potato pie.
‘I can recommend the pie, ma’am,’ offered Sam noticing her frown. ‘I could recommend everything; but the steak might be too much for a delicate little lady such as you and the beef stew is very filling.’
‘Then I will go on your recommendation Mister Chambers and please call me Beatrice if you wish.’
‘Only if you’ll call me Sam.’
She smiled sweetly.
‘It’s a deal Sam.’
He grinned happily just as Jenny arrived to take their order.
‘What’ll it be Sam?’ she asked as she gave Beatrice a friendly smile.
‘I’ll have the steak as usual Jen and Beatrice will have the pie.’
Jenny raised an eyebrow at Sam’s seemingly over familiar use of Beatrice’s name. However, knowing Sam, she recognized it was simply his friendly personality shining through.
After Jenny left to fill their order, Beatrice tried again to Question Sam about the mysterious horseman who had left such a notable impression on her mind.
‘You didn’t answer my question about that man who stared at me so intently, Sam.’
Sam’s normally, pleasant features clouded and she thought she saw fear in his eyes.
‘Let’s not spoil our lunch by talking about him. He’ll be long gone now and should no longer be of interest to you.’ He brightened up before continuing. ‘Maybe now would be a good time to continue your story; if you’ve a mind of course.’
‘I will if you will tell me what you know about that man. Call it a woman’s curiosity, but I would like to know if there is some kind of reason, he would stare at me so intently. It was almost as though he recognized me from somewhere. I suppose it isn’t beyond the bounds of possibility that he could have spent some time in Chicago and possibly knew my father or one of his associates.’
‘Anything’s possible Beatrice, but it ain’t very likely. He ain’t no city feller and he don’t care much for people neither.’
‘What’s his name Sam?’
‘According to the town marshal, his name’s Frank Zelletta.’
‘What do you know about him?’
‘My god, for saying you only seen him one time and ain’t likely to set eyes on him again, you really are a curious young lady. I really don’t understand why you’re so all fired up about the feller.’
‘I don’t understand it neither Sam but there was something about him that intrigued me and I have this strange feeling, I haven’t seen the last of him. If that is so, it would be in my best interest to know more about him so that I’ll know who I’m dealing with.’
Sam studied her face for a moment while he ran through what he knew about Zelletta.
‘I doubt anybody in town knows much about him apart from the marshal. The first time I set eyes on him, was when I was sitting outside Mallory’s Saloon having a beer before heading home after work. He rode in around five months ago covered in grime and dust and looking the worse for wear. His hoss was about done in and I figured he must have ridden the poor animal for god knows how long without any rest. He stopped at the jailhouse and had words with the marshal before taking his hoss to the livery. After that, I went home and missed what happened later that night.’
She regarded him with interest.
‘Did he get involved in something Sam?’
‘I can tell you he killed three men that night. Cut one’s throat and shot two of ‘em, one in the back.’
Beatrice looked horrified.
‘Was he arrested?’
‘No ma’am, them fellers had a price on their heads dead or alive and I guess he figured it was easier to kill ‘em than try to take ‘em alive. But what I’m telling you is second hand and only what I heard from other folks.’
‘So, is he some kind of policeman?’
‘Bounty hunter. Makes a living hunting down fugitives for the price they got on their heads.’
‘Oh, my goodness,’ she gasped. ‘That is absolutely deplorable. He is surely no better than the men he hunts down using such an abhorrent method.’
‘I guess that’s so. But folks who commit crimes have to expect some kind of justice.’
‘But surely they deserved a trial for whatever crime they committed. They shouldn’t be shot down like rabid dogs’
‘I don’t know about that Beatrice. I figure they were just as evil as he is. From what I heard, they robbed a stage down near the Ozarks and killed all the passengers except two, a young woman who they took with ‘em and the driver who they shot but didn’t kill. He recognized the gang and told the lawmen who they were before he died. The posse found the woman’s body a few days later in an arroyo a few miles from where they took her. I heard she wasn’t a pretty sight and they’d done stuff to her that’s too sickening for tender young ears like yourn.’
Beatrice was a young woman who had led a privileged and sheltered life, therefore, what Sam had told her was too much to take in. She simply couldn’t come to terms with this awful land where men murdered women and killed each other so readily. However, she was spared her immediate thoughts on the subject when Jenny arrived with their meals. After that, they ate in silence, but Sam’s revelation had quashed her appetite and she only picked at her food, unable to clear her mind of the horrific events her companion had revealed. However, she did not give up on ascertaining more information about Frank Zelletta. Therefore, once they had both finished eating, she began once more to probe.
‘Why did he stay on in town after he had concluded his business?’
Sam offered a lopsided, knowing grin before answering. He had been waiting expectantly for the inquisitive young woman to begin questioning him again.
‘I believe he had to wait a couple of weeks before the bounty could be approved. After that, he hung around checking out faces of strangers against some wanted posters he carried.’ I guess he figured this being a boom town, sooner or later somebody is gonna come here with a price on their head,’
‘But if his sole purpose is to hunt down criminals, why do you fear him so much Sam? You aren’t a wanted fugitive, are you?’
She asked it with a smile and a small giggle.
He debated denying he feared Zelletta, but that wouldn’t be completely true. There had been something about the man that was very intimidating and Sam felt, at his age, any display of bravado to impress his young companion was totally unnecessary.
‘I believe most of the law-abiding citizens of the town and many of the not so law-abiding ones, were unnerved by him and I guess there’ll be many sighs of relief now he’s decided to move on.’
‘I don’t understand Sam. I realise he is a very intimidating man and clearly a murderer. But as I understand it, there’s no reason for good citizens to fear him.’
Sam mused over her statement for a moment.
‘Maybe fear is the wrong word to describe the gut feeling you get if ever you’re unfortunate enough to get in his way. It only happened to me the once and I honestly thought I was gonna die. It was a time when I was returning to the railhead after my lunch. I almost bumped into him as I walked by Mallory’s just as he was coming out the door. That was the first time I saw his face up close and the first time I knew about his disfigurement.’
‘Oh!’ She exclaimed. ‘What kind of disfigurement does he have?’
‘I didn’t look too closely. It wouldn’t do to offend him, but one side of his face looks like it’s been burned by a red-hot knife as though somebody tortured him at one time. It’s healed but left a bad burn mark there in the shape of a knife blade. The rest of his face is also scarred as though somebody worked on him and cut him up some with the same knife. Them there scars have disfigured him making him look evil and if that ain’t bad enough, what is worse, is the way he looks at you with them green eyes. It’s as though he can see deep into your soul like Old Nick himself.’
Beatrice shuddered involuntarily. She hadn’t been able to see him clearly with his hat pulled down low placing his face in shadow. But she had felt his eyes on her for a long time and that alone had sent shivers of trepidation coursing through her body.
‘What did he do when you nearly ran into him?’
‘Nothing. He just looked down at me with them green eyes and waited for me to get out of his way. Never said a word, so I apologised and went around him, then got away from there as fast as my legs would take me.’
‘You’re quite a tall man Sam, yet you say he looked down at you. Surely he can’t be that big.’
‘Bigger than any man I ever met and from what I heard, he has the strength of a grizzly bear.’
The more she heard, the more engrossed she became in Sam’s revelations about the man. She held an uneasy fascination for him that even had she tried, she would not be able to eradicate from her mind.
‘What did you hear Sam?’
‘I have a drinking pal who happens to be the dentist in town. He was playing cards in the Long Bar saloon when a couple of buffalo hunters came in and though it was still early evening, they were clearly drunk and lookin’ for trouble. Zelletta was minding his own business at one end of the bar when the biggest of the bufflers spotted him. He must have been loco or too drunk to see the menace he was facing, cos he figured on challenging Zelletta to fist fight. Went straight up to him and prodded his arm with a finger. Zelletta didn’t even wait to hear what the guy had to say. He hit him with a big fist, full in the face and the buffler staggered back and fell to the floor. He must have been a tough ole boy though, cos he came off the floor with a knife in his hand and rushed at Zelletta aiming to stick him. You realize what I’m telling you is second hand talk but quite a few folks swear it true.’
‘Go on Sam.’
‘Well they say, despite his size, Zelletta is lightning quick and sidestepped the buffler and in one quick movement, drew that Colt Peacemaker he has slung on his thigh and brought it down hard on the other man’s head. They say the force of the blow would have killed most men but still, the buffler tried to get back up onto his feet but couldn’t quite make it. Zelletta hadn’t finished though. He picked the man up by his pants and his shirt as easy as you like and the guy must have weighed two hundred and fifty pounds or more. But Zelletta tossed him head first through the big glass window as easy as tossing a log. Then he went out and dragged the buffler back inside, went through his pockets and took out all the money he had. He must have just sold a lot of pelts ‘cos he was loaded. Zelletta tossed the money on the bar and spoke just a few words.
‘For the window and a doctor.’
Then he finished his whiskey and turned and left leaving the buffler covered in cuts and bleeding everywhere. The other buffler was nowhere to be found. They figured he’d hightailed it out of town in case Zelletta came looking for him.’
Though Sam’s story had intrigued her, Beatrice was horrified at the brutality of men and their blatant disregard for human life.
‘What happened to that unfortunate buffalo hunter?’
‘Don’t rightly know. The doc patched him up as best he could, and the barkeep returned what was left of his money after taking out the cost of replacing the window and the doc’s fee. The guy went and got himself a hotel room where he could try and recover, but the next day he’d gone and nobody saw him again.’
‘Why didn’t the marshal arrest Mister Zelletta?’
‘The marshal’s a good and brave man but he don’t interfere in personal disputes like fist fights and gun fights. He’ll only interfere if a crime has been committed and he don’t consider duels and fights to be crimes.’
‘What an awful and lawless land this is,’ she whispered.
He studied her attractive face, brown eyes and dark hair and figured she could be descended from Mexican stock had she been born this far west. She was in fact, part Italian on her mother’s side.
‘I have to get back to the Railhead Beatrice. Ella will be in shortly I guess, to show you to your room. Would you like a cup of coffee or tea while you wait?’
‘No, I’ll be fine thank-you, I just want to get in my room and lie down for a while. I believe the long journey here has taken its toll and the disappointment of having nobody here to meet me is quite disconcerting.’
‘Then hopefully, you’ll take dinner with Ella and me and perhaps enlighten us on the reason you have undertaken such a long journey to this awful land as you put it.’
‘I will Sam if the arrangement is acceptable to your wife.’
‘Believe me she will be thrilled by your company.’
Beatrice blushed a little as Chambers turned and headed for the kitchen to inform his wife he was leaving. She looked around the room, noting that almost all the diners had left and only one other table was occupied by what looked like a businessman judging by the clothes he wore. Her eyes strayed to the window close to where her table was situated. She idly glanced out onto the street and involuntarily squealed in fright and shock. For standing on the opposite side of the street was Frank Zelletta. He was holding on to the pack mule and two horses and was staring directly at her.
TWO
The businessman who was just heading for the door turned and regarded her.
‘Are you alright miss?’ he asked.
Beatrice did not hear him or wasn’t listening for her whole attention was taken by the menacing but impressive looking man whose eyes were in shadow, yet still she felt them boring into her. Now that he had dismounted from his horse, she was able to take note of exactly how big he really was. He was a giant of a man, far bigger than anyone she had ever seen before and she felt very vulnerable and helpless knowing he was capable of doing anything he wanted to her and nobody around would have the power, even if they had the courage, to intervene.
The businessman had departed having got no response from his enquiry. But Ella, Jenny and Sam had hurried to her side after hearing her sudden yelp of fright. They didn’t need to ask what had alarmed her, they saw for themselves and all three of them were filled with trepidation as well as concern about why a man like him would show so much interest in this quiet and out of the way establishment.
‘What do you think he wants?’ Asked Ella to anyone who would furnish her with answer.
‘I don’t rightly know,’ replied Sam. ‘But I’ve a notion it has something to do with Beatrice.’
Ella turned her gaze to the young woman.
‘Do you know that man Beatrice?’
The girl did not answer, she was transfixed by a paralyzing mesmerisation and was completely petrified like a mouse in confrontation with a snake.
‘Make him go away,’ she whispered. ‘He frightens me more than anything I have ever known in my entire life.’
‘I guess I’d better find out what he wants,’ said Sam nervously.
‘Don’t say anything that’ll get his back up,’ responded Ella. ‘I don’t want you displaying any heroics at your age.’
Sam looked at her askance but did not answer. Instead he opened the door and went outside.
‘Can I help you with anything Mister Zelletta?’ He enquired.
Zelletta did not take his eyes from the window where Beatrice was standing looking back at him.
‘Send the woman out.’
‘There are three women inside Mister Zelletta.’
Zelletta turned his eyes toward Sam which chilled the old man to the bone.
‘Don’t test my patience Mister Chambers. You know who I mean.’
Sam was scared for himself and recognized the sensible thing to do would be to send the young woman out. But he was more concerned for her safety and so spoke up again.
‘Can I ask what you want with her sir?’
‘That’s between me and her. Now either you send her out or I come inside and get her.’
Sam’s mouth was dry with fear but still he persevered.
‘Sir, she is terrified of why you have come for her. I’m sure if you could give her a good reason to come out you might be able to convince her she has nothing to fear.’
The man glared at Sam and the older man thanked god he could not see Zelletta’s eyes clearly for he felt sure he would read only malice there and that filled Sam with dread.
‘I ain’t gonna hurt her or do anything to her, if that’s what you mean. She ain’t got nothing to fear from me, I ain’t that kind of a man.’
Sam chewed on his bottom lip for a moment, then came to a decision.
‘Then maybe you’d be better conducting your business inside Mister Zelletta, it ain’t fitting for a young lady like Miss Mellowday to be standing on the street talking to a stranger.’
Zelletta pondered his options for a moment before reaching into one of his saddle bags and producing a sealed envelope which he held out to Sam.
‘Give her this to read while I hitch the horses and mule. I’ll be there presently to see what she has to say.’
Sam walked across the street and took the envelope from the man’s outstretched hand. Zelletta nodded curtly before turning away to lead his animals along the street and find a hitching post.
Sam entered the dining room to be confronted by three anxious women. They all stared at him in expectation waiting for what he had to say. They had all witnessed the handing over of the envelope and their curiosity had become almost unbearable.
