The Fire Within a Ninjago Soldier

Chapter 32 - November Sorrow

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

As you can tell from the chapter title below, the mood of the Garmadon Ranch residents is not an upbeat one by the chapter's end...

Chapter 32 - November Sorrow

The third week in November...

As had been done for the last few weekly errand runs, the Garmadon Ranch's housekeeper, Miss Gayle, had driven herself and Mr. Wu into Ninjago Town today using the carriage.

Sam remained at the ranch, not only to keep the pregnant and bedridden Nya company, but also because her own pregnancy was causing her to constantly feel fatigued.

Miss Gayle had dropped off Mr. Wu at Doc Julien's red brick bungalow on the corner of Main and First, where the kind doctor practiced medicine on the lower level and lived on the upper level with his wife of one year, the former Misako Garmadon. Doc was going to take a look at the ranch owner's broken ankle, to see how the healing process was progressing.

Mr. Wu planned to stay at the physician's office until Miss Gayle returned from her shopping to retrieve him there, after which they would go to the telegraph office to obtain any telegrams for Garmadon Ranch residents, as well as to learn the latest news regarding the war.

The housekeeper finished up her shopping at Ninjago Town's general store. After loading her packages in the back of the carriage, she adjusted her scarf to keep warm against the blustery breeze of the gray, cloudy afternoon. She climbed up into the carriage and urged Mr. Wu's horse toward the physician's office.

As she rode along, she silently noted that the yellow bunting on the Main Street storefronts, which had hung proudly and cheerily in the spring, now flapped like torn and dirty rags in the chilly wind.

But the most disturbing sight awaited the housekeeper as she passed the McAllister Saloon. She spotted Mr. Wu sitting on the curb with his crutches scattered around him. And he was drinking out of a whiskey bottle.

Immediately she halted the horse and practically fell out of the carriage in her haste to reach her boss. "Yerra, Mr. Wu! What ye be doing, sittin' out here in the cold and drinkin' whiskey?!" she exclaimed.

So far, the whiskey had only had a small effect on the white-bearded rancher. "Miss Gayle," he announced after taking a swig from the bottle, "when I tell you why I'm drinking, you'll want to be drinking, too."

"What happened?" she cried out, sitting down next to him and placing her hand on his shoulder.

Mr. Wu reached into an inner pocket of his coat for another bottle of whiskey, and he handed it to her. "While Doc Julien was looking at my ankle," he explained, "one of Theodore Grant's apprentices from the telegraph office burst in. The young man said that Grant had seen me go into the bungalow and thought I should see a telegram from Captain Noonan right away."

"And what did it say, Mr. Wu?" the housekeeper asked, alarmed. Mr. Wu was indeed acting very strangely today.

Mr. Wu sighed. "Jay and Kai are believed to have been captured by the Purples," he said lifelessly. He handed her the telegram and drank once more from the bottle.

Her mouth agape, Miss Gayle read the telegram. According to Captain Noonan, the two soldiers from Garmadon Ranch never returned from a recent regular nightly reconnaissance mission. The next night, under cover of darkness, the Captain sent Rusty McKanna from the Double S Ranch and another soldier on the reconnaissance route. Outside the abandoned farmhouse, they located the missing cowboys' hats, inscribed with their names. Inside, they found bits of rope to indicate they were no doubt trussed up when they were taken away.