Chapter 22 - Revelations

Frank and Jess tell Caleb the secrets of the Meyers-Butler rivalry.

Caleb, Frank and Jess sat at a small round table near the back of the tavern.  Orange light filtered in through the windows across the room as the sun sank slowly in the evening sky.  The plump barkeep sat three glasses and a tall bottle on the table and waddled quickly back behind the long counter. 

          “I ran into Jim here in the city, about six months after we all left Boston,” Frank began, filling his glass.  “The way he tells it, those two b******s been fightin’ from the day they met.  Meyers and Butler never did like each other.  Jim didn’t really say why they were so quarrelsome from the beginnin’.  Suppose they just didn’t like each other much.  Well, Mrs. Meyers and Thomas Butler are brother and sister.  Their pa didn’t like Meyers too much neither.  That woman was determined ta marry him anyway so her pa gave in and let her, knowin’ it would make her happy.  Thomas Butler never did stop with his objections.  He even missed the weddin’; it made him so mad ta have his only sister marry a man like that.  Caused a rift between siblin’s fer a time too.  Butler finally fergave his sister, but never could do the same fer Meyers. 

          “A year or two after the couple married, old Mr. Butler died.  The Butler’s were quite rich and when Mr. Butler died he had an unimaginable tract of land and money ta split between his only two children.  Three-fourths of his wealth was willed ta his son, while the remainin’ was given to his daughter’s family.  Mr. Meyers was convinced that the only reason there was so little left ta his family was because of Butler’s strong dislike fer him.  He argued that his wife was the one being cheated, although it made little difference ta her how much her father chose ta leave her.”

        “Meyers was a rich man long b’fore he married into the Butler family,” Jess added.  “Jus’ a stingy b*****d.  Wanted it all fer himself.  Even if it didn’t rightly belong ta him.”

          “Meyers somehow got a hold of the will before Butler could.  He destroyed the original and had a new one forged in his favor.  Butler knew the will was a fake and sought out his father’s lawyer.  When Butler announced he had a lawyer who could prove the will a forgery, Meyers went after the lawyer himself.  He paid him purty good ta denounce Butler’s claims.”

        “Wasn’t long after that ol’ lawyer did Meyers’ bidding fer him, he disappeared.  Meyers’ claimed he had nothin’ ta do with it, but I say he got nervous and took care o’ the poor b*****d himself,” Jess informed the men.

          “That was when all the fightin’ got started,” Frank continued.  “Both sides hired men ta do the fightin’ fer them.  Tried ta keep the fightin’ off the streets of town so it wouldn’t go public and ruin their reputations.”

          “Too often times,” Jess interrupted.  “The men got sloppy about fightin’ or a new one who didn’t know all the rules would come in and fight in the streets.  The only thing it did for their reputations was made them known for bein’ ruthless.  Made everyone afraid to cross them.”

          “Sometimes Meyers would send his men out ta Butler’s place ta cause trouble,” Frank continued again.  “Other times Butler would send his men ta intercept Meyers or his men as they rode off the Meyers place or into town.  Butler never would send his men onto the Meyers place ‘cause he didn’t want ta get Mrs. Meyers or any of the children involved.”

          “Yer father was one of the first ta fight fer Meyers.  He was already workin’ fer the ol’ man, but when all the fightin’ started Meyers put a gun in his hand.”

          “Yep, that’s how Jim got started workin’ fer Meyers,” Frank told him.  “Meyers needed ta find a replacement fer yer pa.  Jim was about sixteen.  He took care of the animals fer a couple of years like you did, then Meyers put him on the fight too, seein’ as Jim didn’t have much family.”

          “Yer pa had quite a reputation fer fightin’.  Not many men dared ta stand up ta him.  Butler’s oldest son was the only one who dared get too close, on purpose.  He was jus’ too damn stupid fer his own good,” Jess chuckled.

          “Butler’s son decided he was gonna try an’ take down yer pa.  He and three of the other Butler men caught him by himself one evenin’.  Yer pa had gone into town fer a drink b‘fore headin’ home.  Those boys come up on him in the bar and started haslin’ him.  He took ‘em out in the street, feelin’ ten feet tall and ready ta teach them a thing or two.  Rumor has it when the shootin’ stopped and the air finally cleared only one man was left standin’ and he wasn’t in too good o’ shape.  Yer pa had takin’ out three of Butler’s men and messed up the fourth purty bad before he fell himself.  Butler’s oldest son was the first ta fall.”

          “Meyers sent fer you the next day.  The man he sent was killed the next mornin’ by another one o’ Butler’s boys.  Didn’t think he had gotten ta ya yet but guess he had ‘cause it wasn’t a week later you were workin’ fer Meyers.”

          “That man who came up ta our place never said nothin’ ‘bout Meyers,” Caleb told them.  “He told me and my bro…he told me he was gonna find me a place ta go, but he didn’t come back.  I didn’t figure on goin’ into town until I ran outta provisions.  When I came into town, Meyers told me he knew my father and if I needed work he’d give me some.”

          “Everyone just assumed that Meyers’ man had told ya ta come on up ta the Meyers place,” Frank told him.

          “What happened after I left Boston?” Caleb asked after a moment.

          “Well…all of Meyers’ men started leavin’,” Frank explained.  “Jim was the last left when the fire happened.” 

          “Fire?” Caleb asked curiously.

          “The fightin’ had pretty much come to a stand still.  Only a few men left standin’ on Butlers side and only Jim on Meyers’ side, there wasn’t anyone left ta do their fightin’ fer them.  Mr. Meyers started spendin’ most of his time at home.  Mrs. Meyers wasn’t doin’ too well after Elizabeth left.  Meyers rode into town one evenin’ on business and when he returned that night the whole house was set a blaze.  Mrs. Meyers and the oldest son had gotten their two youngest boys out of the house but the little girl was still inside.  Mr. Meyers tried ta get her out, but didn’t make it.”

          “So she died?” Caleb asked.

          “And so did Meyers,” Jess told him.

          “After the fire, Meyers’ brother traveled to Boston fer Mrs. Meyers.  She wasn’t the same after that.” Frank lowered his voice almost to a whisper and leaned across the table.  “They say she just went mad.”

          “How’d the fire start?”

          “Well…some said Mrs. Meyers knocked over a candle.  One man, who was ridin’ up the road from town, said he saw a rough lookin’ kid racin’ down the road away from the Meyers place jus’ before the house went up.  Some people blamed Butler.  They were sayin’ the boy the man saw that night was one of Butler’s sons but Butler denied ever bein’ involved.  Jus’ don’t seem right that he’d put his sister and her family in such a position.”

          They sat a moment in silence.  Caleb finished what remained in his glass and poured himself some more. 

          “What happened ta ol’ Jim?” Caleb finally asked.

          “Well…not long after we ran into him and he tol’ us what happened, he took off again,” Frank told him.  “Said he had ta get as far away as he could.  Said he was headed south.”