PEG BOY (31 page)

“You have the
night off,” she told Vincent. “Stay here until I get back. Wexler, come with
me. We’re going for the boys.”

They left by
the rear entrance and came into the street from the alley to see the crowds
that were beginning to arrive for the business of gambling, drinking, and
whoring. Wexler drove the carriage with Belle sitting beside him. They pulled
into the alley behind the restaurant and Wexler called out to the boys as he
unlocked the door.

“It’s me,
boys. I brought Belle. Come out.”

She saw the
two boys move from the shadows and could not believe that the taller of the two
was the same boy she had seen the night they met. Santiago’s incredible
sensuality was still present but it had become blurred by the abuse of opium,
too little sleep, and too much sex. Both boys were suffering withdrawals as
their bodies shook with tremors, their eyes reflecting the coldness that comes
with living only for shandoo. Then she took note of the little one and recalled
how pretty he had been, not near death as he appeared now. Belle kneeled and
looked into his eyes.

“My God, what
have they done to you! Mercy to heaven..., to think that I sold you to that
bastard! Forgive me?”

She picked up Kim
and held him in her arms. She could feel his bones. Belle began to cry.

“You’re coming
with me,” she said after regaining her composure. “You’re safe now!”

M
cIntire
was killed on July 2nd. On July 4th the harbor began to fill with ships
arriving

to celebrate the American
holiday. Belle knew the town would be bustling and that on the following day
many ships would be leaving. She thought this the best time to secure passage
for the boys.

Doctor Spencer
had been called to examine Kim and Santiago. He found the older boy to be
suffering from drug withdrawal and gave him a small amount of opium to balance
his sickness. Kim was feverish, a result of excessive drug use and starvation.
The boy also had an infection resulting from the use of dirty syringes. There
were no broken bones but his sides were badly bruised from beatings suffered at
the hands of McIntyre and customers. Dr. Spencer wrapped him tightly for
support. Kim suffered deliriums for two days. His fever finally broke, leaving
him utterly depleted and weak but obviously in better health than when he had
escaped.

Belle spoke to
Santiago and felt uneasy about his plans to return to Peru. He amazed her with
the story he told of his adventures since he had arrived in San Francisco with
his father. As he spoke, she watched the gentle boy and found it difficult to
imagine him reacting with the degree of violence he claimed to have used on
those who had caused him injury. She had no doubt, however, that he was capable
of caring for himself. He had proven his ability.

Santiago was
adamant about taking Kim with him. It was obvious that he cared deeply for the
boy. She knew Kim had no one else, save a father who had long since
disappeared. It seemed a good turn for him to have found Santiago and so she
resolved to protect them and get them safely boarded.

She placed the
nugget that Vincent had given her, in the safe. The rock weighed almost
twenty-five ounces and was valued at approximately $400
[2]
.
Having had the gold assessed by a jeweler she knew, Belle added an additional
$200 to the price, assuming the man had likely undervalued it by that much.
Belle decided to keep the rock and give the boys the money in cash.

Belle called
the boys to her. Since his arrival Santiago had spent all his waking hours with
Kim, talking to him when he was awake and sitting by his side while he slept.
As Dr. Spencer had examined Santiago, he told him that McIntyre and two of his
men had been killed and that the operation had been taken over by one of McIntyre’s
subordinates. He said that most who learned of McIntyre’s fate, thought justice
had been done. The killer was assumed to have been a street-boy he had picked
up. The story had been spread by one of McIntyre’s underlings, a man called
Larson who had taken control. In any case life went on and business did not
suffer. Little was to be done, given the dead man’s notoriety. Too many well
known people would be exposed if the incident were made a topic of public
conversation and curiosity.

The boys’
lives, therefore, were not in immediate danger and they were considered heroes
by some. Many who had lived in or near Devil’s Acre had grown to hate McIntyre
for his practices and exploitation, and total disregard for human life. These
had been reluctant to express opinions for fear of reprisal. It was well known
that McIntyre kept carefully guarded and embarrassing records of all his clients
and of other prominent or notorious residents of the area.

Earlier during
the day Santiago and Vincent had obtained a bottle of champagne, had smoked a
little opium, and toasted their reunion and future. The two boys, now slightly
drunk, sat in Belle’s office wondering why she had sent for them.

“You have had
quite an adventure!” Belle said to Santiago, who sat next to Vincent. She was
reclined on the divan and smoked an elegant pipe. Santiago had been given new
clothes and was beginning to look as handsome as she remembered he had looked
before becoming one of McIntyre’s stable. It was obvious that Vincent and
Santiago were more than just friends. Their attachment had grown even more
powerful during recent days.

“So..., much
has happened in your life. You are about to embark on another adventure, it
seems. I wonder how much thought has been given to this decision of yours,
Santiago?”

The boy sat
cross-legged, his black hair, just recently washed, fell luxuriously to his
shoulders. His eyes, more sunken by the recent loss of weight, made his face
seem even more haunting. It was a face harsher than the one she remembered.
Santiago folded his arms and leaned back against Vincent.

“I have been
turning this over in my mind for some time. My decision to leave was something
I was going to do when the opportunity presented itself. This opportunity has
come sooner than I thought.”

“To go back to
Peru is one thing,” said Belle. “But to return there with an added burden of a
child..., well that is quite another thing. Do you know what that will entail?”

“I know I will
not leave him!”

Santiago
pronounced the decision with determination. It was clear to Belle that his mind
was set. She watched Vincent as he looked at Santiago and saw the shadow of
disappointment in his face.

“You could
stay, you know!”

“Señora Belle,
it is not that I do not want to do that. You have been the kindest person to
me. I do not want you to think that I have no gratitude for what you have done.
I know that you are a good woman. I know that I could be happy working for you.
Vincent has told me how much he likes being here. But there is someone else I
must consider. Kim is
not
made for this work. He hates what he has been
forced to do. And although I know you would be kind to him, he
is
too
young for this place. So that means he would need to go elsewhere. He knows no
one. What can he do? I made him a promise I intend to keep.

“I love Kim.
This is not in the way you think. I know he loves me also. He depends on me!
Truthfully I do not think I could go without him!”

Belle
understood Santiago’s commitment and was surprised by his loyalty and courage.

He continued,
“I know if I returned to Peru and took Kim with me I could return to my
father’s trade. I am a good craftsman with wood. My father taught me well. I
know many merchants in Lima who would buy my work. I have the money to do that,
now. The gold has brought me more than I thought it would. The price of passage
should leave me with enough to find a place for Kim and me to live, to buy
tools, and perhaps even a shop.”

Belle nodded
approval of his determination and forceful constitution.

“I believe fully
that you could and will do all those things, Santiago. So, you are determined
and there is little I can say to sway you. Let me speak, then, of the ship I
have found for you. The Captain is a man whom I have known for several years.
He is one who I trust will treat you well and kindly.

“We met on the
street, this morning. He had just docked with a shipment and had decided to
remain in port until after the holiday festivities. He will be leaving on
Saturday’s tide and will be going as far as a place called Callao. The Captain
said that you would know that place, Santiago!”

Santiago eyes
opened wide, suspecting what Belle was about to tell him, yet unable to believe
in the coincidence.

“He knows
you,” she said.

“Is it...?”

“Captain
Alvarez,” she said.

“My father and
I sailed on his ship!”

“Yes, he told
me,” Belle said, smiling.

Santiago was
almost uncontrolled with the excitement of going home and of meeting an old
friend again. He did not take note of Vincent’s disappointment, but Belle did
and decided to let it pass.

Santiago
continued. “We slept together. I was his cabin-boy!”

“I’m sure you
were...,” Belle said, laughing. “...I’m sure you were! I know him..., but
perhaps not as well as you?”

Santiago hid
his face in embarrassment, a gesture that surprised them.

“The Captain
is as surprised as you...,” she continued, “...to see that you are still here.
He has offered to carry you home for half the original cost. The other half
will no doubt be collected in private. You may even make this journey at no
cost, depending on how well you play your cards, Santiago. However, that is for
you to arrange.”

Santiago’s
excitement made it difficult for him to remain seated and he slipped into his
native tongue when it became too difficult for him to think clearly in English.
When he turned he took note of Vincent’s mood. His friend looked depressed and
close to tears. He also detected anger in Vincent’s eyes. The darkness of the
room made it difficult for him to be sure, but there was no mistaking the
pained expression. It took Santiago by surprise and he went to Vincent and
knelt at his feet, taking hold of his hands. Their eyes met and Vincent tried
to look away but Santiago pressed for his attention.

“Come with
me?”

The suggestion
to follow Santiago was one that had crossed Vincent’s mind. But it was not in
his nature to follow others. He had not been able to bring himself to ask
Santiago if he could come along. He had needed to hear the offer made. Now that
it was done the thought that he had a little money saved from what Bolen had
put away for him, made Vincent less reluctant to risk the venture. Anthony
Bolen’s generosity had been counted on to be his escape from the street-trade
and into something more promising. At their last meeting Bolen had spoken of a
job in one of his warehouses and of giving Vincent his own living quarters when
Bolen’s  health improved. But if Bolen died Vincent would be completely
dependent on Belle’s generosity. Would the gamble be worth it? And what of
Santiago? When he looked into his friend’s eyes he saw the truth of what he had
heard when Santiago had spoken about Kim. Vincent decided not to press the
question.

“My place is here...,”
he said, understanding that it meant the end of their friendship.

Santiago’s
disappointment could not be dampened. His good fortune was such that his
spirits were, for the first time since before his mother’s death, rekindled in
a love for life.

Belle
interrupted his thoughts and the impasse they had reached.

“You boys need
to get back to your chores and I must get back to mine. Santiago, go look after
Kim and tell him of the good news.”

Belle always
referred to the work her boys did as their
chores
. When she told a boy
he had chores, it meant there was a customer waiting.

“This isn’t a
free ride, boys. Get back to work.”

Before she
closed the door, she lingered a moment.

“Remember,
Santiago, you leave Sunday. Today is Wednesday. Business as usual until then,
understood?”

“I always
have,” he said.

“That’s what
I’ve heard,” she said, blowing each a kiss before she ushered them out.

T
he
explosive activity of the town’s celebration reflected its recent growth. The
spirit of the crowd was wild in nature filled with careless abandon of most who
ran through the streets with bottles of whiskey at their lips and pistols in
hand, firing into the air as proof of their festiveness and patriotism.

The influx of
immigrants was evident in the normally noisy and bustling streets, now so
filled with people that it was impossible to drive a team along any of the
public thoroughfares. The ladies walked ankle-deep in mud and seemed not to
mind. Children wove through the throngs picking pockets, in competition with
their more agile adult counterparts. Gamesters, tricksters, hawkers, acrobats
filled the waterfront and plied their art. The occasion was a wonderful excuse
to over-eat, over-drink, and over indulge all the senses in excesses that gave
the town its notoriety.

The sound of
gunfire was matched by broadsides fired by ships anchored in the bay and
throughout the day windows rattled from the cacophony of cannons. Gambling
houses and whore-houses filled to capacity. Some of the merchants had boarded
doors and windows from fear of the crowd’s wild nature, having learned a lesson
from previous experiences.

As
night fell on July 4
^th
of 1889, a bonfire fueled by shipping-crates
and pieces of old and abandoned ships blazed along the waterfront. The sky was
lit like daytime and many who witnessed the light from atop the hill above
Mission Dolores and from the outskirts beyond, thought the town in flames. It
was, perhaps, a portent of the conflagration that would sweep across the
settlement in the December to come.

Belle’s Nugget
profited grandly. Faro-tables and roulette wheels were in continuous operation
for almost three days. Business was so brisk in bordellos that some boys were
near exhaustion. The story was circulated that one lad had slept through three
acts of intercourse before someone complained to the management. Belle decided
to close her facility temporarily and allow her boys to rest and join the
crowds outside and sample the excitement.

Santiago and
Vincent walked the streets for three hours, absorbed in the human drama they
saw before them. The few dollars in their pockets were quickly spent on food
and drink. They stuffed themselves with tortillas, pickles so sour that they
barely could keep their eyes open to see where they were going, apples dipped
in sugar, cider, sausages sold by a Portuguese woman who covered them in a
sauce so hot that they almost drowned themselves at the water fountain trying
to quell the fire in their stomachs and mouths. The boys followed men whose
faces they recognized as customers, especially those who were accompanied by
wives and children and laughed when they saw them become self-conscious, filled
with the fear of being approached and disclosed.

They reveled
in freedom and did not return until late evening. They stopped by Kim’s room to
see how he was feeling, but found him sleeping. Returning to their own room,
Santiago and Vincent smoked two pipes of opium. Belle saw the boys arrive and
joined them, looking concerned.

“I have
received some bad news and good news.”

Santiago felt
his heart pound as he anticipated being told of some delay of his departure.

“What is it,”
he asked. “Has it to do with leaving..., is it about Kim ?”

Belle turned
to Vincent and laid her hand on his shoulder.

“This affects
you, Vincent. Your Mr. Bolen passed away this afternoon.”

Vincent
flinched as though he had been punched in the stomach. His eyes began to water
and he turned to hide his face, crying silently. Belle’s hand on his shoulder
only seemed to fuel his sadness. Santiago moved closer and held him.

“I received
word just an hour ago,” she said. “Anthony was a good man. He will be missed!”

“But how...,
what happened?” Vincent looked at her pleadingly.

“They say his
lungs became filled with fluid, last night. Sometime in the early morning hours
he stopped breathing. His wife found him that way.”

“You said
there was also good news?” Santiago urged her on.

She nodded and
took Vincent’s hand.

“You know Mr.
Bolen cared for you a great deal. He made provisions for you, did you know
that?”

“I know about
the money he was holding for me while I worked for McIntyre. But you know as
well as I do that it will be impossible to get that from his wife, now! The
five hundred dollars is as good as gone. I
know
he would not have told
her about me or why he would be holding my money. Belle, the money is gone...,
there is no good news in that!”

“No,” she
said. “It is not gone!”

“What?”
Vincent could not believe what she was saying. “Tell me for God’s sake..., what
do you mean?”

“I will...,”
she said, touching his cheek. “You are a wealthy boy, Vincent. When you left McIntyre
and came to me, Mr. Bolen gave me trust of your money. Above what you have
earned here, he was putting sums into your account. He never told you about
that and asked that I keep it secret until it was the right time. You were to
be told only if something happened to him or if you came to need it badly. I
know that at some time he would have disclosed it himself. I think he planned
to tell you if you ever decided you did not want to continue doing with this
kind of work.”

“How much?”

“Enough so
that you need not work if you choose, and are careful with it.”

“Belle, please
don’t tease me! How much?”

“Almost ten
thousand dollars. With your own money, it brings it well above that.”

“Ten thousand
dollars...?” Vincent was stunned.

“That’s right!
Mr. Bolen thought a great deal of you, I think. He loved you, you know!

“My God..., he
never said anything about it. Never even hinted!”

“He wanted to.
But I think he feared losing you if you came into that kind of money. He wanted
to make sure you would be well provided. What will you do now?”

Santiago
watched Vincent consider his options. He caught Vincent’s eye and winked.

“I don’t
know.” Vincent said. “I really am not unhappy here.”

“Good,” Belle
smiled. “Then you will remain with me?”

“I need time
to think..., I don’t know..., but I don’t think so.”

“I thought as
much,” Belle smiled knowingly. She stood and looked down at them. “I have a
feeling there will be three empty beds in this house, come Saturday.”

Belle blew
them a kiss as she left.

“Is she
right?” Santiago noticed the way Vincent was looking at him. “Will you leave?”

“I think so.”

“But where
will you go?”

“Far away from
here,” Vincent said with a twinkle in his eye.

 “Where? You
have something in mind, I know it!”

“With you!”

Santiago had
hoped beyond hope that it would be Vincent’s decision. The sense of many frayed
ends coming together into something more solid was something he had not felt
since his departure from Peru. He could not believe Vincent was serious.

“I mean it!”
Vincent said. “I have money now. You once said that you’d like to have me come
with you. Now I can pay my own way. We could help each other. I’ve never been
anywhere like where you come from. We could make it work, you know!”

“Are you
including Kim?”

“Of course!”

“You will not
mind him?”

“No. The
question is whether he will mind me! Kim depends on you. He is very attached to
you, Santiago. And he is very possessive of you. Remember how much he depended
on his brother? He may not like the idea of my coming along.”

“I will speak
to him, Vincent. I know that once he realizes he will not be left behind, that
he will adjust to the idea. I will tell him that he will have two brothers
instead of one. Much is happening and the change is hard for him..., as it is
for me! So many new plans and so many new events! I feel as though the world is
turning too fast and it is making me dizzy..., as though being swept away.

“I have been
in California a little less than a year and in that time, have lost my father,
have been with too many men to count, and have killed six people with little
remorse. Does that mean that I am a bad person also, Vincent?”

“It means you
learn quickly, Santiago. The causes of your actions were bad. But your
responses to them left you little choice!”

Vincent’s
letter arrived by steamer in late October and it brought Belle great relief.
She had wondered and worried about the boys. Not a day had passed since their
departure that she had not thought of them and realized with joy her part in
their liberation. Belle had received a short note from Captain Alvarez saying
he had seen the boys as far as Callao, but had been unable to go further with
them. When Vincent’s letter arrived and she saw that the postmark was from
Lima, Belle was excited and curious.

Her curiosity
was more piqued when she saw the length of the letter and realized that it had
never occurred to her that Vincent could either read or write. With her glass
of port in hand she settled by the open window and began to read.

Dear Belle,

This letter may surprise you. Now that
it is finished, it surprises me. I have never written more than a few words at
any one time, in my life. We arrived in Lima the first week in August. The ship
was awful! The weather was miserable! We slept almost every night on deck
because it was so hot. Captain Alvarez is a good man. You were right about him
and Santiago. Kim was angry because Santiago paid so much attention to the man.
That is when he turned to me and we become close. He is a very likable little
boy!

When we arrived in Lima we stayed at the
inn Santiago said he used when he worked for his father. He knew the owner and
we were well treated there. We stayed in Lima for almost two weeks until we
finally found a place to live, where there was also room for Santiago to have
his shop. He surprises me! He is almost sixteen and that is not too old, but
sometimes he is so much the man! The old woman who owns the building looked at
us as though we were rowdies, but when she saw that we had the money, she said
we could move in. Santiago and I share a room. Kim has his own. We have become
lovers, but I suppose that does not surprise you. It did surprise me because
when we first arrived, Santiago always talked about finding his friend Fidel.
They had once been lovers. So Santiago went to his village but returned saying
that Fidel had acted cool to him. The boy told Santiago he had found someone
else and that it would be better if they did not see each other. It was almost a
week before Santiago pulled out of his depression. Kim and I tried everything
to make him laugh, but for a time I thought we had made a mistake in coming
here. But then he started to come out of it.

That is when things started to turn
around for us. Surprisingly, Kim seems happy about it. I thought he would hate
me but it appears that he is very happy with the sense of family we all provide
each other. I’ve never had a family before!

Santiago has started teaching us what he
knows about carpentry. We all work in the shop with him. Right now we are making
carved beams for a rich man who remembered Santiago, and has given him his
first commission. The man is putting up a new building near the Square and has
asked Santiago to do the work. Belle, you should see the work he does!

We are happy! I wish none of that
terrible mess had happened but I wonder what I would be doing right now, if it
had not? What if McIntyre would not have pushed his greed too far? What if
Anthony had not been involved in the conflagration? I would probably be lying
on my back in my old room at your place, with my legs spread, doing what I once
did best! Now, what I do best is cook, do the laundry, clean the house, and
take care of my men! Would you believe this is the same Vincent you knew?

I was just told not to seal this letter
because Santiago wants to write a few words. So I will say good-bye and thank
you for being the wonderful woman you are. You always treated me well and I
will never forget you!    Vincent                                                                                

Dear Belle,

I am not a writer of letters. Vincent
stands above me now, helping with the words of English. But I do not need his
words to express my heart to you. I owe you more than I can repay. For you gave
me caring love and protection when Kim and I needed it so desperately. Please
see Mr. Wexler and tell him I send him my thanks for his help! I am happy here.
I thought being on the streets was what I wanted. I thought selling myself
would be exciting. It
was
exciting but not in the way I wanted. I did
not know it would be deadly! We left San Francisco with much difficulty of not
being able to have our opium every day. Captain Alvarez stayed with us for a
long while, and refused to give in to our pleading. He suggested we use the
journey to begin a new life. It was hard. I still want it, sometimes. It was
hardest for Kim because he seemed to need it most. Vincent has been a great
help to me in getting Kim through his difficult times. We stayed with him continuously.
He seems well, now. Would you believe Kim now weighs almost as much as I? He
has a little belly and we keep asking him if he is with child, but it is just
fat!

Kim asked that I tell you that he sends
his love and kisses. He speaks of you often as his
Holy Virgin
, and I
know that you must be laughing so hard at this! But he tells everyone of the
wonderful woman who saved his life. There is more than one life you have saved!
I thank you for it. As Vincent has written, we are a family. It is very good to
have a family again.