(no subject)

[i_got_vision]

[OOM: What does Butch Cassidy do when he's not out working in the stables? Lose at poker and spend the night in Chicago with Johnny Hooker, apparently. Grifting lessons for everybody!]

Johnny had opened the door back to the bar up for Butch but stayed behind, mumbling something about a carousel? Butch has no idea. He doesn't much care either; his main concern is getting over to the bar without losing any of the stack of fancy department-store boxes he is carrying.

Somebody's been shopping.

But not out to lunch, alas; they hadn't even stopped for street food. One outlaw on his way over to the bar to put his spoils down and get some food.

Totally botherable.

[ooc: open until forever, though slowtime will happen at some point]

Comments

[ikissdhimbck]

"Well, now."

Kate slides up to the Bar beside him, very clearly amused.

"Is this what y'do with your earnin's? I thought you'd been workin' a bit harder'n usual lately."

[i_got_vision]

"Miss Barlow," he says with a grin, and a tip of his hat. "I've been working very hard lately--just got in from a new job, in fact. Never worked harder in my life. I'm startin' to think I should take a vacation."

[ikissdhimbck]

"I thought that's what you've been doin'."

She winks, full of all good-humor and joviality. She's curious about his loot, tipping her head this way and that to look at the store insignia on the bags, guessing at what they might contain.

"Now, when y'say 'job' d'you mean an honest t'goodness one, or a 'job'."

She arches an eyebrow.

[i_got_vision]

There's a big hatbox and two smaller, rectangular boxes; apparently you could get a lot for $150 in Chicago back then? Alas, not much that would be useful for Butch in his own time and place...

"...well," he says after a moment's hesitation, "I can't say as how it's honest work, not entirely. But it wasn't my usual kind of work either. Helping a friend out, paying off some debts. You know how it goes."

He orders himself some stew and bread, and coffee.

[ikissdhimbck]

"I reckon I do."

He'll hear no judgment out of Kate's mouth. She leans against a stool, all casual in her usual Victorian manner. Shoulders straight, back in a perfect 'S'.

"But y'walked in under your own power, an' y'don't look like you've been sufferin' overmuch. So, I figure that's somethin' of a success, ain't it?"

[i_got_vision]

"Made three hundred dollars," he says with a grin that doesn't quite... well, he's not as enthusiastic about it as he could be.

He stirs his coffee. "And I got to go dancing. You know I do love going dancing."

[ikissdhimbck]

She whistles.

That's no small sum, that's for darn sure. She's a mite confused as to why he doesn't seem all that happy about it.

"You been dancin' around with other partners? My, my. I'm downright hurt, Mr. Cassidy."

She flashes him a quick smile, and tilts her head to one shoulder.

"Y'don't look like a fella who's sittin' on top of the world. With all your treasures, I should think y'would be."

[i_got_vision]

"You know how to foxtrot, Miss Barlow? I learned last night. I bet I can still remember most of it, too..."

...well, some, anyway. Those drinks were strong. Everything's a bit of a haze.

"Oh, these?" He gestures toward the boxes with his spoon. "They're not for me. In fact, one of 'em's for you."

[ikissdhimbck]

"I can't say as I do."

She brightens; dancing is one of those topics she never tires of, along with learning new things, and sharing in the enthusiasm of her good friends. She doesn't have long to linger on it, however.





"One'a — for me?"

[gotpoetryinme]

McCabe is looking over his calculations for the tenth or eleventh time. The page is full of scribbles, corrections, and bad math.

"Aw, hell," he mutters to himself. "Might be able to scrape up enough to start out. "It'd be easier with...well, I ain't doin' that again."

He looks up at Butch as he approaches. "Afternoon."

[i_got_vision]

Butch sets the stack of boxes on the bar, absently squares their edges so they look neater, and takes a seat.

"Afternoon," he says with a grin and a polite nod. "You look like you're doing some complicated work, there."

He orders himself a sandwich and some coffee. Next time, he'll make Johnny buy lunch.

[gotpoetryinme]

"Yeah, sure is," he says. "'N I never was much for workin' with figures. I'm just lookin' to see what it'd take to start up a little business operation."

[i_got_vision]

"Always more than you think," he says with a chuckle. "And twice that, easy, if you're going into ranching. Something always happens. But you never know, you might have the luck. We never did."

Bank robbery's the most successful career move he's ever made.

[gotpoetryinme]

"Shit, don't I know it," McCabe says. "Nothin' but money and pain sometimes."

He shakes his head. "But hell, I'm gonna need somethin' to do, long as I'm here. And I'll tell you what, I don't think this is a bad idea. Can't go worse'n last time I ran a business."

[i_got_vision]

"You new around here?" Butch asks. "I've been here a while now, no door to go back home, and if it weren't for working in the stables I think I'd have gone crazy a long time ago. A man shouldn't have too much time on his hands, too much time to think. It's not healthy."

Whenever he has too much time to think, he comes up with a new scheme. Life is simpler when he's busy.

[gotpoetryinme]

"Naw, I been here...a couple months, I reckon. Problem is, I'm stuck here. Ain't got no life left to go back to. 'N you ain't the only one what starts to feel the grass growin' 'round your brain when he stays still too goddamn long."

[i_got_vision]

"It's not so bad," Butch says. "Lot of people seem to tend bar--it doesn't seem to be a steady thing, but it's not bad, and you get to meet people. I had fun the last time I did it."

During an outbreak of sickness, serving up high-proof patent medicines to healthy folks. But everybody likes to drink.

"All depends on what kind of work you're looking for, I'd say. You got something in mind?"

[filemyclaim]

Dixie's impressed by the sheer amount of stuff he's got. "How deep your pockets must go," she purrs lazily.

[i_got_vision]

"You know what they say, miss," he says, setting the boxes on the bar and tipping his hat politely. "You never really own money. Sure, you may have it for a while, but then it's back into circulation, easy come easy go."

He grins and orders himself some coffee and a sandwich.

"Maybe it's different for people who got more of it, though. Who don't have to spend it."

[filemyclaim]

"If you're lucky enough," she declares, "you can hold it in your hand for a little while. I do try to keep my purse sealed," she declares, "but sometimes the money just comes flying right back out again." Dixie then smirks and leans back against her stool. "I'm a working lady, so it just means more to me."

[i_got_vision]

"Story of my life," he says with a chuckle. "I believe in being generous when I got it, so when I don't, my friends are happy to help me. They know I'd do the same for them. Long as we're not all out of money at the same time..."

In which case... well, the banks always have plenty.

[filemyclaim]

"Now that's the core of life - finding friends where you need them," she admits. "I'm good at that one."

[i_got_vision]

"Life's too short not to be friendly. I've seen people--city people mostly--who just don't have time for anybody, but maybe if you live around that many other people, you know, you only have so much time and a lot more people to divide it up among."

He's not saying the people he met in Chicago weren't friendly or anything, just that it was no Circleville, Utah.

[filemyclaim]

"A smile and a song'll get you everywhere," I replied. "Or so experience tells me. After all, I've lived in both, but right now I'm a travelling gal."

[i_got_vision]

"There's something to be said for traveling," he nods. "I've done my share of that--a lot for work, driving cattle and horses, but when I have the time and the inclination I go down to San Antonio to take in the scenery."

In a manner of speaking.