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“Not by myself. ”
“Well, I ain’t going with you. ”
While they bickered, Rector cringed. He took Angeline’s elbow with one hand and Zeke’s with the other, drawing them back closer against the wall—farther into the shade, and farther out of earshot.
“But I want to see them,” the princess hissed.
“Trust me. Please,” he begged.
Houjin gave him a glare that said Not a chance, but he followed him a few yards back and joined the huddle. “What is it? And why are we supposed to trust you, again?”
Rector held up his hands for quiet because it was his turn to talk—and for once, he had something true and important to say. He leaned forward, and when all their heads were practically touching, he told them what he knew.
“I don’t recognize the one fellow who hurt his leg, on account of it’s hard to see when people are wearing masks. But the other one’s name is Isaac West—I’d know his voice anyplace. He’s a chemist from Tacoma who’s been moving sap under his own brand, calling it ambrosia. I heard Yaozu didn’t like it much, and I also heard West wasn’t planning to change his behavior any. And that Otis fellow they’re looking for—I bet it’s Otis Caplan. ”
“Who’s that?” Zeke asked, bonking his forehead against Houjin’s mask.
“Used to be in the army. The Union, I mean. He was a scientist. He invented some kind of gun that everybody liked, and it made him a mint. Then he switched from dealing arms to dealing sap a year or two ago, and now he’s making another mint. Bought a big house in San Francisco, but he comes up here pretty regular. ”
“What about the other two, the ones we followed up here?” Angeline asked.
Houjin said, “One of these guys called them Jay and Martin. ”
“I don’t know. I don’t know everybody. Give me a break. ”
Zeke’s voice was low with awe. “I heard of Otis, back before I came in here. Every time there was a rum
or going ’round that Minnericht was dead, or missing, or gonna retire, or anything, people used to say Otis Caplan was coming to take over the operation. ”
“I don’t think he ever discussed it with Minnericht,” Angeline said wryly. “And anyway, Yaozu beat him to it. Do I even want to know why you know of these men, Red?”
“Probably not, ma’am. ”
Zeke sat back on his heels and asked, “I think my filters are stuffing up. ”
The princess sighed, and looked at the boys one at a time. Seeing the same thing on each face, she relented. “I think we’ve done enough mischief for now. My mask is starting to chafe me, too. Let’s turn around,” she started … but whatever she’d planned to add was drowned out by the sputter of something loud, and coming closer.
Everyone tensed and retreated, and soon all four backs were pressed up against the wall—as close as they could get, as if they could melt right into the rocks that formed it.
The rumbling, roaring sound grew louder, approaching from behind them, back the way they’d come. Rector desperately shuffled through his moth-eaten memories, hunting for some idea of what the noisemaker might be. The closest he could come was the steam-powered works at the old sawmill, but that wasn’t quite right. The volume was correct, and the mechanical rhythm of it was absolutely right, but the timbre and tone were all wrong. This was something smaller but still impossibly heavy. The close-pressed air made the rattling feel like an assault, and the vibrations were a personal insult as they butted and shoved. The ground beneath his feet quivered like it wanted to fall.
“What is that?” asked Zeke.
Houjin replied, “It reminds me of something I saw in New Orleans. ” And he might’ve elaborated, except that the persistent clank drowned out every other sound, and everyone had the good sense not to shout, in case it suddenly stopped. Instead they covered their ears and watched as a machine came crawling up the hill and into view.
It rumbled and rolled, a war carriage without a war horse, riding on enormous wheels that were spiked with great nubs for the sake of traction. The rear of the carriage was covered with canvas in an old-fashioned wagon style, but the front was sealed up with glass to create a compartment for the driver. The driver himself was a wide-set man sporting glasses and a bow tie. He was not wearing a mask, a fact that Houjin called attention to by pointing at the one he wore and gesturing back at the transport machine.
Angeline nodded, and everyone frowned. The machine’s cabin must have air filters, or carry its own air supply for clean breathing. Rector could see the wheels in Houjin’s head turning, calculating how on earth it could’ve been done … and wondering how he might be able to repeat it.
Rector tapped Angeline’s arm and drew her closer. Right into her ear, he said, “That’s Otis. I never seen him before, but I heard he was a tall fat man who’s always dressed nicer than he ought to be. They say you can’t mistake him for anybody else. ”
“Not a lot of fat men around these parts. ”
“Not a lot of bow ties, either,” Zeke observed. “Nobody dresses up like they’re going someplace fancy. ”
“Yaozu does,” Houjin muttered, and Rector realized it might be true. He didn’t know what a Chinaman wore to dress up and go out someplace fancy, so it was hard for him to say one way or the other, but it made sense to him that rich men ought to dress like rich men, and act like rich men, too. How else would anybody know they had any money?
And in Rector’s experience, people didn’t often take orders from men without money.
