*** Session 09 - Scene 5 (of 10) ***

Over at the telegraph office, Squantum sends out a telegram to Odessa and other neighboring towns looking for a carpenter. He invites interested contractors to send back a request for proposal for constructing the new casino.

After they get done, they run into Coltrane on his way back from the jail. Coltrane relates most of what Earl said (repeating the basic story of what Earl said happened) and mentions he overheard something about the sheriff investigating the poker tournament while the deputy is investigating earl (confusing what he heard and getting it backwards).

Franklin repeats his plan to fake Earl’s death, saying as a semi-doctor he could declare Earl dead of a heart attack if Earl gets the drug while he is present. Squantum notes that plan won’t allow Earl to own a casino, but Franklin says they can just keep him hidden in the basement or something.

They continue discussing options such as getting Earl a glass eye, dying his hair with shoe polish, getting him new clothes, and saying he is a mute from back east. Or perhaps get that Professor Higgins they’ve heard so much about to give him elocution lessons so he’ll speak differently.

Squantum tells Franklin he doesn’t want to say the plan is stupid, but it is stupid and will get them all arrested. He says it is equivalent to the telegraph robbery plan and they should focus on talking with a lawyer. If that fails, Squantum admits they will need to come up with a different plan but isn’t sure Hennessy’s idea should be plan B.

The Indian wants Coltrane to go pay off the girls at the Cottonwood with promises of lucrative new jobs at their new casino. Franklin doesn’t think they’ll need to bother since the girls can only indicate Earl, and if they kill him off it won’t matter.

Squantum, however, is pretty sure it won’t take a genius detective to determine Earl is connected to them as Earl is a known friend of theirs and Hennessy won the tournament. He does offer they could poison Earl for real as part of the plan, as killing the old man off might be easier. Franklin isn’t so sure, as Earl is clearly a madman who butchered children, but agrees to go along with Squantum’s plan.

While Squantum and Franklin head over to see Rusty, they send Coltrane to go deal with the girls to pay them off to stay quiet. They arrive at the Brock Law Firm and Franklin greets the lawyer. He tells Rusty they have another job for him, this time it will almost be free money as the client is so innocent.

When Hennessy tells Rusty he’ll be representing Earl, Rusty notes he’s already heard about the murder charges related to the Frese boys. He tells Franklin he might be able to get Earl twenty years’ hard labor.

Franklin asks if they really have a case against him. Rusty makes it clear it’s fifty-fifty at trial at best unless he wants to make a deal. Hennessy says he doesn’t want the rest of Earl’s life to be spent on hard labor. Rusty asks what the difference would be as Earl is a prospector so it’s already likely a life of hard labor.

Hennessy continues on about how Earl’s just had a stroke of bad luck. He laments Earl’s situation, rambling about how the old prospector is almost like a father to him. Rusty promises he’ll do his best and collects his retainer.

*** Session 09 - Scene 6 (of 10) ***

At The Cottonwood, Coltrane arrives and looks to see if any of the girls are working as he sits and buys a drink. He notices Osma appears to be working.

After finishing his drink, he waits until Osma is by herself then approaches her. She's surprised to see him drinking there, as a drink is nearly a whole days' wages as a dishwasher.

Coltrane asks her how much money she makes. She says she does OK and wants to know why he's asking. Johnny explains he is part of a group opening a new establishment offering gambling and other services.

Osma asks what kind of other services he has in mind. Coltrane says they don't have anything in particular in mind and asks what kind of work she'd like to do. Osma notes she knows what kind of work she doesn't want to do. Coltrane, not following what she's saying, asks what that would be. She tells him she's not interested in washing his dishes if he gets her drift. He doesn't.

Coltrane offers her a role of maitre'd. She says that's fine as long as she doesn't have to get those dishpan hands. She says she would be interested in a role as a hostess if the pay is right and there is no funny business.

Osma says Finney has been good to her but she's always interested in new opportunities. Coltrane offers her a 25% increase in salary to come work as the hostess.

Remembering (or misremembering) what Squantum and Franklin wanted him to say, Coltrane tells Osma she'll need to keep this all quiet as they are worried about competition. In particular, he wants to put some distance between the new casino and the poker tournament since some people in the tournament had hard feelings about how things went.

Osma asks if that is why Deputy Oldman is talking to Donna. Coltrane says he supposes it could be, or perhaps some other reason. He again rambles something about some people in town having hard feelings about the game.

Coltrane asks Osma if she heard anything. She says she's not sure as he's in the back talking with Donna now, or possibly Marie. She says she knows the deputy was planning to talk to her later. According to Osma, she overheard something related to that crazy old prospector who shot the Frese boys.

Johnny says he heard something about that. Osma says it's all rather odd as Earl gave them some powder to put in the drinks before the tournament. She wonders if that is what the deputy is asking about and asks Coltrane if he thinks the old man was trying to poison everyone (though notes it is odd he'd then shoot the Frese boys).

Coltrane tries to dodge the question and get the talk back to business on the new casino. He again puts the hard sell on her to accept the offer saying they really want people with experience for their new venture. Osma says she'll consider the offer and let him know tomorrow. He tells her he appreciates it.

Marie then walks out to the main bar area and tells Osma the deputy is ready to talk to her know. Osma leaves to the back and Marie starts working to serve. Coltrane takes the opportunity to chat her up.

Coltrane's discussion with Marie focuses again on telling her about the new casino and trying to secure her in a position. Marie is very receptive to his offer of a 25-30% increase, particularly as she is worried she could get in trouble for slipping some powder into the drinks during the poker tournament for that crazy old prospector Earl.

Ignoring the comment, Coltrane tells her they are trying to separate themselves from the poker tournament so they'd prefer it if she not talk too much about it. Marie says she is fine not talking about it anymore as she just spent twenty minutes talking to the deputy about it. Coltrane says he appreciates her silence.

After waiting around a little bit, Coltrane also gets a chance to talk to Donna. Like Osma, she is receptive but wants a day to think it over. Johnny finishes his drink then heads out.

*** Session 09 - Scene 7 (of 10) ***

When all three men get back together again, Squantum asks Coltrane how it went with the women. He tells her it went well as one of them has signed on and the other two are considering the offers he made them of around a 25% pay increase.

Coltrane also says he talked to the girls about not discussing the poker tournament. He notes the sheriff was there talking with them.

Squantum asks what the women told the sheriff. Coltrane admits he didn’t ask them about that, though notes he heard something about the drinks. The Indian points out if the women mentioned such things to Coltrane without him really pressing them on it they likely told the sheriff as well.

The Indian then asks if Coltrane offered the girls a little extra not to talk to the sheriff. Coltrane says he offered them better jobs, but when Squantum presses the point he admits he didn’t actually tell the women not to talk to the sheriff about it.

Squantum Franklin they may need to go with plan B after all. The three discuss the situation yet again with the pros and cons of each approach.

Eventually they decide to send Coltrane back to The Cottonwood to talk to the women again to find out exactly what they told the sheriff. He also clarifies to the hunter how he should make it very clear, without being too clear, to the women that they are being paid very well in exchange for their silence on the matter.

Coltrane argues to wait until the next day to go back, as going twice in one day will attract too much attention. The others are forced to agree but start preparations for a quick exit out of town if needed.

Again, much time is spent talking about more whacky schemes with such gems as paying someone to come forward as a witness or killing Earl’s cellmate so he can sneak out in the coffin. As before, the topic is eventually dropped as they realize they have no good plan with a chance of success.

*** Session 09 - Scene 8 (of 10) ***

The next day, they receive a telegram from a carpenter named Gregory Sylvester from Harrington who wants to build their casino. He quotes a good price and they send arrangements to have him come in the next day or two.

When it gets near lunch time, Coltrane makes his way back to The Cottonwood. He finds Donna to be the only waitress in attendance.

Donna comes over and tells Coltrane she'll take the offer. Coltrane expresses his gratitude at the good news. He briefly reiterates again about how with all the things going around about the poker tournament they will need to keep things quiet. He offers her fifty dollars to keep quiet about it. She agrees.

Coltrane then asks after Marie and Osma, but Donna says they will not be in until later. He says he'll come back later.

Donna then asks who all the owners are. She assumes it is Coltrane and Franklin, as he won the tournament. He agrees it is, not wanting to mention Squantum or Earl's roles in the venture.

When he returns to the others, he tells Squantum he got Donna to agree to come over and how he gave her the money to keep quiet. Squantum is happy, asking Coltrane to verify she didn't say anything to the sheriff.

Thinking a moment, Coltrane realizes he forgot to ask her anything about that. He says he'll go back and ask again.

*** Session 09 - Scene 9 (of 10) ***

Meanwhile, over at the jail, Deputy Oldman goes over to the cells and starts talking to Earl. He tells Earl he must think he’s real smart. Earl plays dumb, saying he doesn’t know what the deputy is talking about.

The deputy says the only thing he hasn’t figured out yet is why Earl did it, but he’ll find out. Earl asks with incredulity if he thinks he killed those boys. Oldman says he’s pretty sure Earl killed them, but he doesn’t care about that.

Oldman tells Earl he cost him the tournament. He says he got the same story from all three of the women about him paying them fifty dollars into the drinks. Oldman says he knew he wasn’t feeling right that day.

Earl says the deputy doesn’t look right either. He asks if he had all the drinks tampered with how could he fix the tournament.

Oldman responds he thinks Earl’s real plot was to make him look foolish. He warns Earl he’s not going to let it go; and once he figures out exactly what Earl did and why he did it, they may have to hang him twice. Earl says he’s had a good run anyway.

Opening the cell, Oldman then tells Earl his lawyer is there. He hauls him over to a more private cell so he can talk with Rusty.

Rusty greets Earl. Earl tells him they’ve been getting in quite a few pickles lately. Rusty asks if this is another cast of mistaken identity like with Mr. Coltrane, but Earl says it is just a misunderstanding.

Earl goes into his usual detailed explanation of what he says happened with the boys. Rusty takes notes as he listens but gives no indication as to whether he believes Earl or not.

At the end, Rusty says the case is rather circumstantial, but with the multiple gun wounds on the boys it may be a hard sell to the jury that they killed each other. Earl gives his summation of how that could have happened.

Then, Rusty tells Earl he overheard some of what Oldman was saying about Earl interfering in the poker tournament. He asks what that is about.

Earl explains that because Hennessy won, some people’s feathers got rustled and everyone is looking for excuses. He claims the deputy is strong-arming the waitresses there to implicate him in some kind of poisoning charge.

Rusty notes that could bring another sixteen counts of attempted murder against him. Earl says he’s not worried as the whole thing sounds made up to him.

Discussing the case, Rusty verifies Earl isn’t interested in a deal. Earl says he did nothing wrong. Rusty says they can take their chances with a jury, but notes mountain men types such as himself do have a reputation for going off and doing crazy things so that could work against him.

Earl scoffs at the prejudice. Rusty says they’ll try and find more open-minded jurors. Earl tries to offer extra money for the right kind of jurors but Rusty doesn’t bite and makes it clear he wouldn’t be part of anything like that.

*** Session 09 - Scene 10 (of 10) ***

Later that day, Squantum and Franklin head over to the jail to visit Earl. Mateo begins swearing at him in Spanish as soon as he enters. Squantum makes some nonsense sounds back at the man and tells him to shut up.

Squantum then asks Earl how he's doing. Earl isn't too happy about his breakfast of water and a stale biscuit.

Franklin asks if he's met with the lawyer. Earl says Rusty is useless and they'll need to go to plan B. Squantum and Franklin look at each other and then the Indian tells him he won't like plan B.

Earl then says Mateo is confident he'll be out soon, so he believes an escape might be planned.

Squantum asks about the investigation into the poker game. Earl says they are trying to pin sixteen counts of attempted murder by poisoning on him. He mentions the three girls at The Cottonwood said he gave them money to put powder in the drinks.

The Indian suggests it is time to go. Earl doesn't want them to leave him there and asks what else they have planned. Franklin suggests he buddy up to the Mexican, as that escape from jail is likely a better plan that what they've discussed.

Franklin says if that doesn't work, they do have another plan and if he should find himself incapacitated he should not wake up too quickly. Earl doesn't understand at all but says he'll try to do his best.

After Franklin and Squantum leave, Earl goes over to talk to Mateo. He tells the man if he finds himself in a position where he can leave the jail, he'd be happy to pay him for his trouble if it meant he were able to get out at the same time.

Mateo says he wants half the winnings from the poker tournament. Earl agrees to the deal.

Gil tells him to deliver the money to a man named Miguel over at El Ranchito and he may want to hurry. He notes sometime within the next day would be good.

After the talk, Earl asks the sheriff to see his lawyer again. When Rusty gets there, he tells him to pass along the message to Hennessy on the money to deliver (saying it is some bookkeeping he needs to take care of). He says the money is going to a relative of his, Miguel (who he insists is related to his niece Jane).

Rusty agrees to deliver the message and Earl lets him know time is of the essence. He heads straight over to talk to Hennessy. Rather than go along with the message, Franklin heads back to the jail to talk to Earl.

Meanwhile, Squantum goes to The Cottonwood and tries to clear up the mess Coltrane caused. He tells them he knows the sheriff has been talking to them about the poker tournament. They go along with him as he is also a lawman and explain what they told the deputy.

Squantum says lots of people are angry about the tournament, including the deputy. He offers the girls to double their wages if they name Mateo Gil as the person who gave them the fake story about the powder to tell the sheriff. The girls are confused at first until Squantum clarifies he is the director of security at the new casino. To seal the deal, he also offers them a hundred dollars each to help them correctly remember what happened.

The women are clearly uneasy so Squantum offers them an additional hundred dollars today and the other hundred after they talk to the sheriff. He warns them the situation is very dangerous and telling the story incorrectly could lead to anything. They indicate they understand.

Back at the jail, Franklin confronts Earl about the strange conversation he had with Rusty. Earl asks if he gave the money to Miguel yet.

Franklin says he did not yet. Earl starts to get upset, noting Franklin himself suggested Earl should make a deal with the Mexicans. The barber, however, isn't sure Earl bargained hard enough. Earl tells him his life is at stake.

Earl and Franklin argue back and forth about the money, with Franklin noting they already have the contractor coming in to build the casino. Franklin then calls Mateo over so he can deal with him.

Franklin explains to Mateo that he can make him a better offer by giving him an ownership share in their new casino rather than using all their cash. Mateo wants a 51% ownership share. Franklin counters with a 1900-dollar cash and 20% stake. Mateo says he won't take less than 2000 dollars and a 40% stake. They finally settle on 35%. The barber leaves the jail and heads over to the bank to get the money and hands off the two thousand to Miguel at the cantina.

*** Session 09 - Session Notes ***

This session was a fairly typical one in many regards - the PCs do something stupid then spend the session coming up with increasingly bad ideas trying to get themselves out of it.

It all started because none of the players actually recalled who the "Frese boys" were and instead of anyone asking, made an assumption they were older and more dangerous. Since Earl rushed up there and acted rashly, I figured I'd let it happen. Granted, I baited him in the first place; but the moral here is that "shoot first and ask questions later" isn't always the best idea.

Anyway, we got a lot of dark humor out of the situation. Many OOC jokes were made about him murdering children, including people voicing "little kid voices" and me bringing up a picture from the web of what an actual twelve year old shooting victim looked like.

Random notes from the session:
* Originally, there was a plot to steal the winnings (by Mateo Gil). Since Gil is in jail and away from his men, I figure that plan had to change.

* The body falling on Squantum makes no sense from a physics standpoint but was a rule of funny moment.

* The scene with the old women yelling at Earl on the roof of Ernie's Tavern is actually something that happened to me. My best friend in middle / high school was the real-life Ernie junior and one night we were playing some type of game up on the roof (I believe it was some sort of hide and seek thing) when I got spotted by two nosy women who then called the cops (of course by then I'd gotten off the roof so never got talked to about it).

* Ms. Horton had to approve the accounts because I thought it would be funny for her to be insulting to Hennessy again. The request for character references was similar - I wanted to see who he'd give.

* The joke about Horton preferring fish to Coltrane's meat was intended to be a cheap joke suggesting she was a lesbian but I don't think any of the players actually caught it.

* Earl's story of what happened with the Frese boys clearly makes little sense so I had the sheriff arrest him.

* A vast majority of the session time was spent on conversation of various ideas the player's had about how to get Earl out of trouble. There was serious discussion about killing him (which they kind-of, sort-of felt bad about), breaking him out (which would harm their plans to open a casino), or other various schemes to get him off.

* I found the irony particularly humorous that both the plot of land they wanted, and the actual construction of the casino, were hampered by the fact they killed the man who owned the land and the sons of the man who does construction in town.

* Mateo Gil's connections with the bandits will remain to be seen. Clearly, though, he's not the simple vaquero he pretends to be.

* The Earl player was actually starting to get mad about the fact they were discussing killing him or letting him stay in jail and that they started working on the casino plans before trying to help him.

* The "request for proposal" language was used along with some OOC jokes related to work by one of the players.

* Franklin considers himself "practically a doctor" because he keeps boosting his medicine skill.

* Professor Higgins is, obviously, a reference to Pygmalion.

* I loved the fact they once again hire Rusty, pay him, then immediately attempt to undermine his work with a different scheme.

* Coltrane was sent to the Cottonwood because once again the other players think it is funny when they send him because they know the player will fuck it up. Much laughing happened over that, though when he fucked it up the second time later it just became kind of sad.

* The Coltrane player very obviously did not pick up that Osma was saying she didn't want to be a prostitute. The other players were dying laughing over that conversation because Coltrane was so straight and naïve about it.

* The deputy talking to the girls was trying to create a sense of urgency in Coltrane. It didn't work because I don't think the player honestly understood the implications (much like how he didn't think much of what he overheard at the jail).

* The other players were beside themselves when he only offered the girls a 25% pay increase.

* Oldman is intended to be a bit of a loser with an inferiority complex. Thus, he assumes Earl's plot at the tournament was related to making him look bad.

* I thought since Earl shot the kids, the powder would makes more sense to be interpreted as trying to kill people (as some kind of insane mountain man psychopath) rather than fix the game.

* The PCs are getting ideas about killing Mateo or just refusing to give him his cut of the casino, but they'll be in for a bit of a surprise.

*** Session 10 - Cast of Characters ***

"One-Eyed" Earl: A 65 year old prospector from California. He's a rough, mountain man type but is missing an eye from an injury earlier in his life.

Squantum: A 27 year old Indian scout of an undetermined tribe. He's tough, if strange, and is hideously scarred.

Franklin Hennessy: A 45 year old barber from Maine. He's also quick with a knife or a pocket pistol.

Johnny Coltrane: A young hunter from the area looking for new ways to make money.

"Tex": A 29 year old cowboy from Texas. He has a dog named "Dog" and a horse named "Tonto" and carries lots of guns.

Annie: A young cowgirl who works for Tex's father.

*** Session 10 - Scene 1 (of 12) ***

Over in Odessa, Tex and Annie are planning how to bring in Clay Riley for the murder of Kid Cassidy. Since Riley is likely to have a lot of men, he figures they’ll need to go get Squantum and some of the others back to help them make the arrest. Putting Gregori the town drunk back in charge, Tex and Annie head off to make their way back to Quebrada Cruz.

Meanwhile, Squantum and Hennessy vigorously debate whether or not it is a good idea for Earl to participate in the jail break that Mateo Gil mentioned. The Indian is against it as he thinks helping the sheriff stop the breakout would be better for their reputation, but as Franklin already paid the money to Gil, he feels they should proceed with it. Coltrane says trying to stop the jail break is a bad idea, though admits he doesn’t have a lot of good ones.

The debate goes back and forth for some time. Squantum seems particularly upset the plan requires a Mexican (Mateo) going free. He’d rather stop the breakout and try to make Earl look like a hero. He’s also concerned about how Earl can participate in the casino if he breaks out of jail after being arrested for murdering children.

Squantum even goes so far as to scope out the area for any buildings nearby he can act as a sharpshooter from. But since the Sheriff’s Office is only next to the courthouse and some one-story houses, and he’d be too suspicious hanging around there, he decides against the plan. He does have Hennessy secure him a few sticks of dynamite first.

Hennessy decides to wait it out at Ernie’s Tavern. Squantum mocks him for waiting to see if Earl stops in for a drink on the way out of town. Coltrane, however, decides to join the barber.

Squantum waits until dusk then makes his way over to the Sheriff’s Office. He walks inside and asks Deputy Oldman if the sheriff is there. When he’s shown back to see the sheriff, Trulock asks what he can help him with.

The Indian starts to ramble on about wanting law enforcement tips, as he could use advice for his duties as a deputy marshal in Odessa. Trulock doesn’t fall for Squantum’s attempts to stall and eventually has Oldman escort Squantum out after telling him the best way to be a good lawman is to be White.

Not deterred by the sheriff, Squantum starts asking Oldman the same sort of questions. Oldman tells him it is time for him to go back to Odessa. The Indian then begins insulting the deputy, causing him to get arrested for “insulting a White man” and thrown in the other cell in the jail, the one next to Earl and Mateo. He shares it with Jack Blisters, who makes a comment about Squantum having a pretty mouth. Not intimidated by the threat, Squantum tells Blisters he can show him some tricks.

*** Session 10 - Scene 2 (of 12) ***

Not too much later into the night, Squantum can hear a large group of horses approaching the jail. He decides not to alert the others.

A minute later, a great commotion breaks out in the front of the building. While the men can see nothing from their vantage point, they can hear a lot of gunfire. After it stops, Deputy Oldman stumbles into the back near the cells and promptly falls over dead from the gunshot in his chest.

A large group of Mexican banditos come into the back and take the keys from Oldman's body. They unlock the cell to let out Mateo. Earl greets them with an, "Hola Boys!"

Mateo tells the others to let the old man go. He briefly considers Squantum, but one of the men tells him they need to go. He leaves with the men and heads outside where he gets on one of the horses and heads off.

Free from his cell, Earl considers what to do next. He was expecting the Mexicans to take him with them, not just leave him there on his own. Against his better judgement, he decides to open the other cell. Blisters pushes past him quickly and makes a run for it.

Earl then tells Squantum not to say he never did anything for him. He starts to leave, spotting the sheriff's body in the front. He decides to take the sheriff's gun and makes his way to leave to go back up the canyon to grab his possessions and leave town.

Squantum calls after him to stop. He explains no one saw what happened except the two of them, the Mexican criminal, and the drunk. He tells Earl the better play is to look good by going to look for help for the dead sheriff and deputy (which he feels is better than an old man with one eye trying to run out of town on a mule which will lead to certain death).

Earl considers Squantum's plan and agrees. He drops the gun back on the floor and goes to ring the emergency bell outside the courthouse (once he makes sure the sheriff and deputy are really dead). Squantum heads off into the night to stay away from it all.

Once a crowd gathers, Earl starts talking about how a bunch of Mexican madmen broke in and killed the sheriff and deputy.

A town militia forms and holds Earl for questioning. From the talk going around, he also hears that Deputy Sullivan was killed by the bandits when he stopped them trying to leave town, leaving the town without any law enforcement. He has to stop a gag reflex as he suggests to them that the deputy marshal of Odessa is in town and can help.

The townsmen begrudgingly go find the Indian and put him in charge temporarily. He agrees to take custody of Earl, who he slaps around a bit to "make it look good" and puts him back in jail.

*** Session 10 - Scene 3 (of 12) ***

Word has also reached Ernie’s Tavern, where Hennessy and Coltrane hear some men talking about forming a posse to go hunt down the Mexicans. Hennessy notices one man in a long black duster and black hat is a stranger in town. The man makes a comment to no one in particular that he heard something about those Mexicans.

Hennessy heads over to the mysterious man to ask what he’s heard. The man says the bandito leader is a man named Pepe Silvia. According to him, Pepe Silvia has connections to various businesses and men all over the towns out here.

Franklin asks how he knows this. The man says he has connections. When the barber asks if he’s planning to join the posse, the man says he won’t cross Pepe Silvia and warns Hennessy not to do so either. The barber tries to get more information out of the man, but he says little. He only gets the man’s first name, Barney. The man then finishes his drink and leaves.

Coltrane hears there was a survivor from the jailbreak, the prospector Earl. They also hear how the Odessa marshal is now in charge. He and Hennessy decide to head over to the Sheriff’s Office to check things out.

They find Squantum there, sitting behind the sheriff’s desk. He appears to be wearing the sheriff’s badge that he took off the body before having the town undertaker, Don Strait, haul the bodies away.

Squantum greets Hennessy and Coltrane, but tells them it is past visiting hours. Hennessy asks about what happened. Squantum says he wasn’t there when it happened but is now top lawman in town and has everything under control.

Hennessy is skeptical about Squantum’s story about how Earl was a great hero during the jail break and sarcastically remarks about how happy he is to hear the great news. Since the barber is a close friend, Squantum tells him he can go back and speak to Earl for a few minutes.

Franklin and Coltrane head back to talk to Earl. When Franklin tells him he’s surprised to see him still in jail, Earl says the “uppity Indian” tricked him. He explains how it really went down. Earl says he expects Squantum to fully exonerate him for the murder charges, but the men aren’t so sure the Indian has the power to actually do that.

After they finish up, Coltrane tells Squantum about Barney on the way out and how he identified Pepe Silvia as the leader. Squantum berates them for not getting more information but says as they are amateur investigators (and not a professional lawman like himself) he understands. He then tells them to be sure to meet with the contractors tomorrow as he has important sheriff things to do now so won’t be able to attend.

*** Session 10 - Scene 4 (of 12) ***

The next day, Tex and Annie arrive in town from Harrington along with a wagon filled with carpenters. Tex chats with them along the way and finds they are headed to Quebrada Cruz to build a casino. He asks who they are working for and they say there are three men who hired them named Franklin, Johnny, and Squantum.

Tex decides to ignore the casino angle for the moment and talk to some of the townspeople about how things have been going. He quickly hears about the Mexican bandits and their attack on the town, and how Squantum is now in charge in town. Hearing the odd news, Tex decides to head over the sheriff's office to talk to Squantum.

Over at the sheriff's office, Tex finds Squantum in charge and Earl behind bars. He chuckles at that, not entirely unexpecting this turn of events.

Squantum greets Tex, saying he is the top lawman in town now. He tells Tex he could use a deputy.

Ignoring the offer to work for an Indian, Tex tells Squantum he also heard about the casino going up. Squantum agrees he is a bit of an entrepreneur.

Tex says he has a problem with Squantum being the sheriff there and still his deputy in Odessa. He also doesn't think one can run a casino and be a legitimate lawman. Squantum tries to say he can do both, but Tex insists he'll need to resign his Odessa position.

Turning his attention to Earl, Tex asks how he came to be in his position. Earl tells his tale and Tex decides to help by heading across the street to the courthouse and talking with the magistrate there, Judge Daniel Johnson.

After a brief wait, Tex is shown in to see the judge. Tex explains who he is and his position as marshal in Odessa. He explains he is a friend of Earl's and asks about the trial. Johnson says the trial is postponed because of Sheriff Trulock's untimely death.

Tex gets some more information out of Johnson about the case. The old judge admits there isn't a very strong case and with Trulock dead the county prosecutor, Jeffry Barksdull, isn't too enthusiastic about it. Tex tries to push the idea that the case should be dismissed, but the judge insists they'll need Earl's lawyer to make an official motion.

Heading back over to the Sheriff's Office, Tex berates Squantum for not already talking to the judge. Squantum explains as he is the only lawman in town, he can't leave the jail and that's why he needs to hire a deputy but Tex won't take the job.

As they talk, Earl says they should get rid of the evidence on him. Tex agrees, telling Squantum what he needs to do is destroy any evidence on Earl then talk to Earl's lawyer to file a motion to get him released.

Earl complains the Indian won't lift a finger to help him. He's immediately proven right when Squantum tells Tex he can go fetch the lawyer himself. Tex argues with him that as sheriff he should do it, but the Indian insists he can't leave the jail.

Around this time, the men hear some hammering outside. At first Tex thinks it might be the casino going up, but realizes the hammering is coming from just outside the door.

Squantum looks out the window and seeing one of the townsfolk is putting up some kind of notice. He asks the man what he is putting up. The man explains he is county clerk Michael Honey and he is putting up a notice for the special election for sheriff. According to the man, Mayor Sweet already has someone in mind for the position.

The Indian is happy they are going to elect a new sheriff as he does not want the responsibility of the position. Honey notes the town would be unlikely to elect an Indian anyway and Squantum says that is good, as he doesn't want to have to keep "all you White men" in order.

Squantum asks the clerk to go get Rusty McGuire. Honey tells Squantum he doesn't work for him. Squantum says he knows, that is why it is a favor. From his cell in the back, Earl helpfully calls out that Squantum should arrest the man for obstruction of justice.

Honey tells Squantum he'll go get Rusty, despite having no intention to do so. While they wait around for the lawyer to show, Tex tries to go over to the desk to look for evidence on Earl. Squantum tells him to back off or he'll pull his gun on him. Tex asks Squantum if he can read; when the Indian says he can Tex tells him to "read this" as he lets Squantum know he's number one and tells Annie to go fetch Rusty.

*** Session 10 - Scene 5 (of 12) ***

Meanwhile, over at the build site, Hennessy and Coltrane get the carpenters started on the casino. When the men ask for the plans, Franklin realizes they don’t have any yet. He quickly works to put together some sketches of how the building should be built despite not being very familiar with how a proper western casino should work.

The carpenters looks over Franklin’s plans. They are surprised to see he has included a bull riding pen inside his “fancy casino”, but roll with it as he explains “it will draw people in” and “it’s for the kids”. They do convince him to put it outdoors and connected to the casino rather than making it an indoor bull ring.

The men then ask what name should go on the sign for the casino. Franklin thinks it over for a moment and decides “Hennessy’s” would sound the classiest. They set up a temporary sign on the site that reads, “Coming Soon – Hennessy’s, a high-class casino”.

With things in motion, Franklin decides they should go check up on Earl. He and Coltrane are surprised to find Tex there with Squantum.

Tex greets Hennessy and says he is surprised he’s still hanging out with the Indian. Franklin says the man has his uses.

Earl calls out for Hennessy to get him out of there. The barber responds he tried already, clearly questioning Squantum’s plan.

Squantum finds everyone’s lack of faith disturbing. He explains again to all of them how they got Earl into jail and he’s going to get Earl out; and the best way for them all to stay out of jail is to not break Earl out or steal and destroy evidence.

The Indian argues with all of them for some time about the merits of trying to find and destroy evidence. Squantum clearly thinks any more crazy schemes will end up with them shot or arrested, while Tex, Hennessy, and Earl think Squantum is putting too much faith in the legal system.

Squantum tells them all he is tempted to just let them all get arrested or killed. Hennessy’s sensibilities are hurt at the suggestion, while Earl suggests the new sheriff will lock them all up once he’s elected.

Tex goes over to talk to Earl in private, whispering loudly through the bars. He tells him the Indian is going to get him hanged. Earl agrees and Tex believes the Indian is trying to kill him. Tex starts coming up with a scheme where he becomes the hangman and they use a special harness to fake his death. Earl sarcastically shows his enthusiasm for this plan. Tex tells him it is the best he can do without having to shoot Squantum, knowing that if Annie were here she’d have shot him already.

*** Session 10 - Scene 6 (of 12) ***

Downtown at the Brock Law Firm, Annie meets with Rusty McGuire. Annie, having not paid much attention (as usual) to what is going on, takes some time to recall why she was coming to see him. Eventually she recalls enough for him to understand that Earl needs to see him.

Annie then heads back to the jail just as Tex is finishing up his whispered conversation with Earl. She tells Earl that Rusty is on his way over and the old prospector says it is about damn time and he hopes Rusty can get him out of here.

Everyone waits around a few more minutes for Rusty to arrive. When he gets there, Tex explains who he is and how Earl needs a petition to get him out of jail. Squantum interrupts and tells Rusty he's the one who sent for him as he is the sheriff.

Squantum then takes credit for Tex's ideas and starts explaining how there is no real evidence against Earl and he was a hero during the bandit attack. Squantum says it is time to free Earl as he is a hero despite being an ugly, old, stupid man.

Rusty is a bit confused, saying "aren't you one of Earl's friends?" Squantum replies that is one way to say it. As the Indian insists he wants Earl freed out of his sense of great injustice, Rusty heads over to talk to Earl.

Earl tells Rusty to get him out of there. Rusty replies he can get a writ of habeas corpus to the court that afternoon. Earl agrees to the plan. Tex says something about how he doesn't need a writ of habeas corpus, just something to argue there is not enough evidence to hold Earl for trial. Rusty says nothing about Tex's knowledge of legal matters and proceeds with putting together the order.

Squantum waits tensely to see if any of them do something wacky instead of just waiting patiently for the legal process to run its course. Despite the odds, no one does and Earl is finally released later that day.

*** Session 10 - Scene 7 (of 12) ***

After Earl is released, Squantum explains they have a “small reputation problem” with Earl. Franklin agrees, saying they can’t have his name associated with the casino. Earl is upset they are trying to screw him out of his share of the partnership.

Squantum explains to Earl that despite the injustices done against him, he’s also too stupid to see the big picture. Earl insists he saved them all from the Frese boys, but Squantum says Hennessy is right and he’ll need to be a silent partner until the dust settles.

Tex asks for clarification on the partnership. He’s a bit upset that he isn’t included in the partnership either, after “all his years of helping each other”. Accusing them all of back-stabbing each other, he storms out.

Franklin calls after him they are just trying to scratch together a living. Squantum mentions they will need some employees. Annie decides to stay back and take a job as a bartender.

Earl is upset at the idea they are throwing around jobs and insists he have something to do with the casino. He claims the casino was his idea, he won the tournament for them, and even claims he first came up with the idea for including a bull pen in it weeks ago.

Franklin tells him it isn’t like they are throwing him out on the street, he just can’t have his name on anything and can’t be seen at the casino until it all blows over. Earl claims he won’t show up there without a disguise and there’s no reason he can’t have his name on the official documents as no one will go digging in them. Hennessy says he can’t take that risk, pointing out how Michael Evans from the QC Times could always go looking into them.

Earl claims he’ll take them to court if they try and take him off the legal documents. Squantum points out they never actually signed any papers to create a legal partnership, but Earl starts claiming the telegraph with all their names on it counts.

Franklin is offended Earl doesn’t trust him. He says he has no problem sharing the money, he just wants it all under the table.