THE IMPERIAL ENGINEER (39 page)

He embraced her then, arms around her waist, head pillowed on her breasts. "Oh,
God, Lulu, just be careful! If something happened to you--"

As if to emphasize his words, the babe gave a tremendous kick, startling them
both.

Tony pulled back and laced his hands with hers, where they lay protectively across
her belly. "Just be careful," he repeated. "Don't risk our son out of pride."

"Our daughter," she said softly, as she bent to kiss him.

* * * *

Tony felt as if he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. With each day that went
by without incident, he grew more apprehensive, rather than less. The vandal wasn't done
with him, he was sure. When would he strike next?

And where?

One of the first things he did was install a telephone in the apartment. He told
Lulu it was so Jack or Eph could get hold of him day or night. To himself he admitted it
was so she could reach him if she needed to.

He talked to Dave Pinnick, who denied making the call. "I wasn't here," he said.
"The blower burned out a bearing and I was out working on it all afternoon." He had no
idea who might have made the call. As far as he knew, his office had been unoccupied
while he was in the mine.

The sheriff was doing his best to discover who the vandals were, but he had his
hands full with other business. Some members of the League were engaged in a boycott of
merchants who still employed Chinese, going so far as to post signs warning away
customers. There had been a few shouting matches, and a fist-fight or two, all related to the
boycott. Nothing serious, but they kept people on edge.

Tony was walking to the office Wednesday morning when he saw Ed Whittsett
ripping a sheet of paper from the wall beside his front door. The tailor employed one of
Mr. Yu's younger brothers. He'd been somewhat outspoken in his disagreement with the
League.

Curious, Tony walked across the street. "What's that?" he said.

Ed turned around. "The dad-blasted League. I've got until tomorrow to send
Danny packing, or they'll boycott me. I'll show them!" He ripped the placard apart and
tossed the fragments into the street. "Danny! Get out here!"

A half-grown Chinese boy came running. "You call, Boss?"

"Durn right I called. Run down to Burkhardt's and get me a couple of showcards
and some red paint. I'll show them." As the boy ran off, Ed said, "It ain't the important men
in town who're doin' this. It's those blatherskites and do-nothings who hang around the
saloon and talk their fool heads off. That lot! None of them ever bought so much as a shirt
off me. So they're going to boycott me! Ha! I've got more work now than I can keep up
with."

"Watch yourself, Ed. Somebody's going beyond threats. You heard what happened
out at my place Sunday?"

"Yeah, I heard. That reminds me, do you need shirts? I've got a couple a fellow
ordered, never picked up. I hear he left town real sudden."

"I do, but I haven't had time to think about clothes. I'll come by when I get a
chance." Fortunately he'd kept a couple of changes of linen in the office, so with that and
the laundry Lulu had forgotten to pick up Saturday, he was able to dress respectably. But a
couple more shirts wouldn't be amiss.

"Any word on who tore your house up?"

"Not yet. I doubt we'll ever find out, unless we catch him--or them--at it again."
He waved as he started again along the street. "See you later."

There seemed to be more men than usual in the street this morning. Jacob Teller
had mentioned that the smelter in Ketchum had cut back on production while they installed
some new machinery. That must be where they all came from.

Tony sure hoped they'd get back to work soon. What was that saying about idle
hands and the devil? It sure was true in Hailey. Last night Eph had called to ask what to do
about the fight going on in the street outside the newspaper office. Knowing the sheriff
was probably keeping a close eye on it, Tony had reassured Eph and gone back to bed. If
the vandals decided to torch the place, there wouldn't be a damn thing he could do.

He hadn't slept though, not until Eph called again to say that everything was
quiet.

* * * *

Eagleton wired Tony on Friday that he was staying another week. His telegram,
which must have cost him an arm and a leg read, in part: AUTHORIZED AXMINSTER
ADVANCE FUNDS STOP HIRE GUARDS AS NEEDED STOP BRINGING HOME
BACON STOP.

Tony wondered what bacon and why his employer was so sanguine about the
possibility of more vandalism.

Saturday evening there was a dance at the Miner's Union Hall. Tony offered to
take the evening shift in the switchboard so Billy, Eph and Jack could attend. When she
learned he'd be alone there, Lulu insisted on accompanying him. "What better opportunity
for someone to do damage?" she demanded. "Everyone and his sister will be at the dance,
and they'll all be walking about town afterward. Someone could go in, overpower you, and
wreck the whole place, and be gone, with no one the wiser. "

His objection was merely a matter of form. Her concern and determination to
protect him gave him new hope for their marriage.

As a matter of fact, their marriage was going so smoothly it worried him. He and
Lulu had never been together this long without arguing about something, not in the twenty
years they'd been friends. She had to be up to something.

With so many at the dance, there were few requests for telephone service that
night. He spent the time checking and rechecking connections, wiring, and the switchboard
batteries, until Lulu laid down her book and said, "Oh, for heaven's sake, Tony. Will you
relax! You're like a bear in a cage. Pacing. Poking your nose in every nook and
cranny."

He laid aside the electrometer he'd been using. "It's my job to make sure the
system is working. I've not had as much chance this week to check it out as I'd like. So I'm
catching up."

"Pooh! You're bored, that's what you are. You've tested those batteries half a
dozen times. You've traced every wire from where it comes into the building to the
switchboard at least twice. I'm surprised you haven't waxed the floor."

"I considered it," he said, rising and stalking toward where she sat on a high stool,
"I can't do what I want to do, so I'm trying to occupy my mind so I won't think about
it."

"Oh? And what is it you're trying not to think about?" Her eyes laughed at him
over the top of the book she'd been reading.

"This." He snatched the book and tossed it aside. Before she could react, he caught
her wrists in his hands. Slowly, gently, he forced them behind her. "Spread your legs," he
said, desire making his voice husky. "Wrap them around me, Lulu."

She obeyed, although her heavy skirt and wool petticoat were still a barrier
between them. "What if someone comes in?"

"The door's locked," he assured her. "But I'm not going to do anything that would
embarrass you." He nipped at her throat and her head fell back, giving him greater access
to warm ivory skin. With both her wrists manacled in the fingers of one hand, he brought
the other back to slide under her skirts. Above the sturdy boots she wore, her leg was slim
and warm in a thick wool stocking. The wool scratched against his palm as he stroked up
her calf and clasped her knee. Just above the knee her garter was a surprising scrap of lace
and satin. Lulu was always well turned out, but generally in clothing more severe than
frilly.

The garter held her stocking against soft, warm flesh. He snapped the elastic
gently, then slipped a finger under the band and tugged it toward her knee.

"Don't," she said. "I'd rather not be mussed, in case someone comes."

Tony released the garter, and let his fingers rest on her thigh, enjoying the warmth.
He was in no hurry. He'd be surprised if Billy came back before midnight. The young
reporter was walking out with Minnie Hathaway. With his open, friendly nature, he was a
good match for the pretty, giggly girl.

"What are you smiling at?"

With one thumb, he stroked the velvety skin of her inner thigh. "Billy and Minnie
Hathaway. They both seem so... so young."

"They are. She's what, eighteen?" Lulu caught his hand between her thighs, the
sweetest trap on earth. "And he can't be much more than that."

"She's twenty. Billy's a bit older." The last word came out on a catch of breath, as
her fingers found him. "Yes. Unbutton me."

She did, and he sprang free into her palm. As her hand closed about him, his
fingers slipped through the opening of her drawers and found her hot center. She was wet
and ready for him. "Can you--"

"Yes, Let me--"

"No, not like that. Pull your skirt--"

Her legs clamped about his hips. He felt the stool rock as he entered her. "You're
tipping..."

"Hold me," she said, high and strained. "I'm going to... Ahhhh!"

As the storm took her, he was caught in its force. He heard the stool crash to the
floor, but then nothing except the roaring in his ears as his body convulsed. Erupted.

His shaking legs were about to give way when she slowly unwrapped her legs.
"you can let me down now," she said, "before you collapse."

Tony's legs were trembling by the time they were sitting on the floor, leaning
against each other. Both were still breathing heavily, and his heart still pounded. "Great
God," he gasped.

"Tony?" She spoke just above a whisper.

"Um-hmm?"

"I'm glad you forced me to marry you."

He pulled her closer. "And I'm glad you seduced me, so I had to force you to
marry me."

She pulled free and sat upright. "Seduced you? I never--"

He silenced her with a kiss. "Lulu, we've gone almost a week without a fight. In
one hour we'll start a new week. Can we save the argument for then?"

Leaning back against him, she said, "I suppose so. But no longer. I'd hate for you
to get complacent."

* * * *

The truce lasted until Monday. That was when Tony said, quite casually, "I wish
you wouldn't use the buggy until this nonsense about the boycott dies down. People will
see you being driven by Ru Nan and some of them might decide to teach you a
lesson."

She turned from the stove where she was stirring the oatmeal. "Not be driven?
What do you mean? You were the one who insisted I needed a driver."

"I know, but I hadn't intended for you to hire a..."

She slammed the wooden spoon down so hard its handle snapped. Oatmeal
spattered across the stove and sizzled as it charred. "You hadn't intended for me to hire a
Chinaman! No, I know you hadn't, because you're trying so hard to pretend you aren't one
yourself. When are you going to quit lying to yourself, Tony? You can't run away from
who you are, from what you are, no matter how you try. Sooner or later someone will take
a good look at you and will see..." She sketched a line across her eyelids. In school she had
learned the name for the fold of skin that gave the slant to Chinese eyes, but she couldn't
remember what it was. "And that fake Boston accent. Honestly! How long did it take you
to learn it?"

"It's not fake," he retorted, "and it's not a Boston accent. Even Aunt Hattie says I
sound like Silas."

"Who cares what kind of accent it is. You didn't talk this way when you went off
to Hah-vahd." Her grimace told him what she thought of the way he pronounced the word.
"And you were proud to be Chinese when I first met you."

"Bullshit! I would have given anything to be white. If you'd seen how Celestials
were treated in the gold camps. Great God, woman, I've seen men burned to death, just to
amuse a mob of drunken miners."

He turned away from her, but she could still hear him plainly. "I used to put
vinegar on my face and hands, hoping it would turn them light like it did Ellen's hair. I
held my eyes open so wide they hurt, trying to make them look less slanted--"

"They aren't really slanted--"

"I know that. But they still look Oriental. Why do you think I wear the spectacles?
I can see perfectly well without them."

"I wondered about that. They don't seem to magnify much."

"Hardly at all, and they do help when I'm drafting or reading small print. But
still..."

"But still, you're living a lie. I wish you'd simply admit you're Chinese and stop
trying to hide it."

"And will you announce you're colored?"

"I've never denied it. I just don't make an issue of the fact that my father is half
Negro."

"Let's take out an ad in the
News-Miner
then. 'Mr. and Mrs. Tony...' No
make that 'Mr. and Mrs. Guan Tao Ni Dewitt wish everyone in the Wood River area to
know they are not what they seem. He is Chinese and she is a mixture of white, Negro and
Nez Perce.' We'll have it printed on the front page, just underneath the news about the
League. And then we'll both get ridden out of town on the same rail."

It is falsely asserted that the League has over 400 members. The TIMES is assured that
it has not got 200; that, furthermore, it comprises comparatively few hard-working or
business or professional men who pay their bills.

Wood River Times
- Editorial

~~~

"Tony..."

"I'm going to work. Drive out or not, as you choose. It's your hide." He left before
he could say anything else. If he'd stayed, he'd have taken her in his arms and told her how
scared he was for her. For their child.

He was counting on her innate stubbornness to keep her home. Just tell her what to
do, and she'd do the exact opposite.

The note he'd found tucked under the door last night, when he'd returned after one
last check of the switchboard, sat in his pocket like something alive. And deadly
poison.

And ye shall perish among the heathen and the land of your enemies shall eat
you up.

His first stop was at Yu's laundry, where he left a message for Ru Nan to come to
his office before he went to the apartment. If the lad was unavailable, Lulu couldn't have
him drive her around.