"Next time, you might all be dead!" a strange voice growled from beyond the fenceline. All noticed an imposingly large, stocky, muscular, handsomely rugged and ruggedly handsome if he wasn't so old White man striding to the fence and ducking under the wooden slats.
"Savages, scoundrels and darkies, on my land..." the man continued forward, drawing a bead on the group with his 12-gauge shotgun. "This cannot be a good thing... What brings the likes of y'all round these parts? Cattle rustling? some other brand of nastiness?" Speak up now, or my boys will gun you down..."
All across the plains beyond the fenceline, the group noted several men, all with rifles trained on the area, scouting the fenceline.
"Chester Rutherford, you're the only scoundrel here..." Buddy barked back, swatting the dust from his duff and stepping to the fence, Catori close by his side.
Greg stood in front of Buddy. "That isn't goin' to get us no where fast. Calm down a second," he wispered quietly. Greg turned to Rutherford. "Now, Mr. Rutherford, I know that this must unnerve you a bit to see us here, wondering around. But I cna assure you that we mean no harm. We are merely on our way to town. In fact sir, that," he pointed to Lily, "Is the sherifs daughter." He hoped his smooth talking was as good as it was in the past.
Leo hadn't found anything in the town, exept for the news of a blacksmiths murder and several suspects on the run. There was nothing here for him. He would continue traveling North until he found something, as he had done before. If he found the murderers of the blacksmith he would deal with them, but he wasn't counting on anything.
Gregs eyes snapped to Lily, and then back to Rutherford. "If I were you, and I wanted to live, I would be telling that man to let her go." He laided his hand on his weapon. He might not be able to take them all, but he could take most of them before he went down.
((seeing as u brought the character into play slick, i'll let u decide what he does. Remember, he more then likely knows my character for his shot))
"TAKE THEM!" Rutherford commanded, his men moving in, surrounding the group. Chayton growled and snarled as the men stepped to Catori and Buddy.
"Chay! Heel!" Buddy commanded sharply, after hearing Catori use the same commands all afternoon. Chayton looked up at Buddy and calmed, even as Rutherford's men grabbed Catori away from the group gruffly.
"We don't take to savages and N***ers on this ranch no more, Reno!" Rutherford explained, facing off squarely against Buddy, his liver-and-onion breath leaving Reno gagging. "Lots of things have changed in the last few years... lots of things..."
"And some things haven't... WR... you didn't even need to change the brand, did you old man?!" Buddy scowled, but nodded, holding his own against the burly rancher, while the ranch hands frisked the men to rid them of their weapons.
"No unauthorized and unfriendly weapons here either boys..." Rutherford explained, almost hoping some would resist, switching up from his Remington rifle to 2 pearl-handled Colt pistols for close-quarters cover of the crew. There were a total of 12 guns trained on the group, and of the 12, 5 were trained on Greg at all times; obviously the sharp-shooter's reputation preceded him here...
"Lock the savages and the darkie in the secondary root cellar... it's empty... keep the servants away from there.. the rest of you 'gentlemen' are welcome to come spend some time up at the main house, once you are rendered 'harmless' by my boys. I am curious what brings you trespassing on my property... oh, and kill that mangy cur of a 'mutt'..."
Catori screamed, and Chayton bolted from the mix, scampering into the thick underbrush, free and clear from the watchful eyes of his exterminators.
"Hunt down the wolf and bring me its pelt by sundown..." Rutherford demanded, stalking toward his group of horses. After a few steps, Rutherford turned on his heel, glaring straight back at Buddy, out of nasty breath range.
"Welcome Home, Buckshot Buddy Reno... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Let me go!" snapped Lily as she spun around. She glared at the men evilly as she was pushed roughly down a path. After a while a man swung her over his shoulders and although she kicked he just kept walking. Catori patiently walked with the man her eyes cast downward in a fleeing breeze. Lily tried to comfort her but nothing came out of her dark red lips. Nothing but the sound of air.
Finally the men came to an old wooden boarded up window and opened it. Like patatos they tossed the girls inside. Lily landed on the black moldy floor in the darkness. It took a while for her eyes to adjust and see a man sitting on a table playing poker. He looked at the girls with a scowl.
Pointing a gun at them he said, "Sit down and don't talk or you will get it." They sat down feeling all hope was lost. But Lily remebered the dagger she handed to Buddy before she disappeared and smiled.
"You don't have to be so cross, or so rough with these people, Chester!" Buddy bashed his host defiantly. "They've done nothing to you..."
"That's not exactly true, Reno..." the big rancher muttered. "Savages still abound around these parts, like parasites on my land, no matter how much money, effort and gunpowder we expend to put them in their place, and to keep them off OUR place... and the Africaans... ARE a disease..."
"Nothing has changed..." Buddy sighed quietly, while the group approached the main house. "I wonder, what does---"
"SARAH!" Rutherford stepped away from his 'guests' charging like a mad bull up the steps to the main house, as a buxom and beautiful blond peeked out the front door from inside the house.
"Sarah..." Buddy couldn't help but smile, a smile which immediately withered once Rutherford reached the front door, and scooped the young miss into his arms lovingly. "We have guests... went out looking for fox, and come back with a pack coyotes..." Sarah scanned the group smiling and curious, stopping when her eyes met Buddy's. She gaped, surprised, then ducked quickly back inside...
Buddy stomped up the steps, ostensibly following Sarah's retreat, but Chester's tree-trunk of an arm barred his way.
"You are welcome in my home, Reno..." Rutherford seethed under his breath, "..my food, my company, and my hospitality... but, always remember, that hospitality extends only so far... watch yourself..."
Buddy stared back at the bigger man, all self-righteous and stodgy in his silk shirt and cravat, diamond studded tie pin and freshly powdered bowler and top coat, held at the ready by a faithful butler just inside the door.
"You have a butler?" Buddy seemed to ignore the threatening glare. "Good grief, Ches... it's only 12 rooms, split between 2 stories!"
"It's a fixer-upper..." Chester admitted with some touch of disdain. "Once this season's crop comes in, I will tear it all down and rebuild to a manner more suitable to a man of means, and the lady of the house."
Buddy stopped as Chester entered the house, slipping into his topcoat, but dismissing the butler without taking his hat. "We will settle in in the gaming room, Gavin... ready the brandy snifters, or have you switched back to coffee, Wally?"
"My father's name was Walter Reno (~Walter Reno Ranch 'never changed the brand...' 😉 ~), my friends call me Buddy... you're neither, Chester... Mr. Reno will do..." he stood his ground at the front stoop, holding back the rest of his friends. "Keep the brandy, and as for hospitality, we all came into this together, that's how we will leave... so, either release them all, or take me to my friends..."
From back further in the house, there was a tinkle of wind chimes and a clatters of some sort, a hushed sigh, and a flurry of a hoop skirt swishing down a hall, just out of sight...
Greg sat quietly, waiting for the right time. He knew that Buddy would either get them out, or come down to them. He cared for Catori to much to let her stay down here. If they were set free, then they could leave, if Buddy was brought down, then he could grab whoever brought him.
((I assume that our guns were taken??))
(( if you didn't give up your guns, or tried to resist back at the fenceline, you would have anywhere from 5-12 guns trained on you at the time... I didn't really control the situation, but it was made pretty clear... you can post a resistance post, if you like... see what happens... I won't take any of that 'fun' away from you, since you're here to play thru now... if you want?
But Greg and the rest of the gringos are allowed to hang with Buddy, just the 'savages' and 'darkies' are segregated and held in the cellar))
"I tried to be cordial, Reno..." Rutherford sneered. "I allow you back onto my lands, invite you into my home, take measures to insure the safety and security of the savages you call friends, offer you every kindness... and you spit on my courtesy, disrespect everything I offer, and insinuate that I am something less than honorable..."
Chester snapped his fingers sharply, and Gavin appeared almost from nowhere, nearby.
"I have 39 men at my disposal, Wally, in addition to servants and slaves... men to work the ranch, hunt and run cattle, to manage the servants in the fields, and to maintain security here at home... these men could have been at your disposal, to insure the safety and security of you and your 'friends' during your stay...
"Instead, my men will now hold you secure and safe with the scum you choose to travel with, until the proper authorities can be summoned... I believe one of your lady friends mentioned being related to the sheriff in town? Tsk tsk... family loyalty can be such a sticky issue... it's never a good thing when a man's wife or child turns against everything the man stands for in life... never a good thing..."
"GAVIN! Take them away!" his voice boomed, as if his faithful servant was anywhere but 6 inches away.
"yy... yessir..." Gavin whimpered, stepping out the door and ringing the dinner bell, summoning some men to corral the guests.