Beauregard was out walking thinking about how he can put his knowledge of Justin’s secret to its best use. He was near the livery and decided to saddle up his horse, Kismet, and take a little ride, clear his head and think about the situation.

As he entered the barn he heard voices though faint as they were, he recognized them as being Justin’s and Samantha’s. There was an open area with hay in it before the first stall, and he quickly ducked in there.

Justin said, "I don’t want to be the cause of any distress for those girls, but I hate keeping secrets."

"It’s not really a secret. All you know is that Mr. Hagan went to look for his son-in-law. You’re not sure if his son-in-law is alive or not. So it’s not much information at all, so forget about it." Samantha replied.

"But Jacy thinks her pa is dead. And the young one Melissa has told me great tales about her pa that Jacy relayed to her. When I talked with Mr. Hagan now and then, I didn’t get the impression that his son-in-law was dead or a captain of the sea."

"How do you know?" Samantha asked.

"Just by little things he said now and then, like his son-in-law was on a dangerous mission, and if Mr. Hagan was younger than he would join him right now. And the way he talked it seemed to me that his son-in-law was working alone. You need men to run a ship."

"Well maybe you’re wrong. Maybe he’s not alone. You don’t really know." Samantha stated.

"At one time I thought he said his son was a detective. You know one of those Pinkerton’s detectives. But I can’t really remember." Disgusted that he couldn’t remember everything that Mr. Hagan had told him. He rubbed his temples as though that would help him remember.

"Justin let it go. It’s eating you up inside, and it’s none of your business. Those girls are none of your business."

"That’s not true. They are my business. They board their horse here." Justin started brushing Braids again.

"Their horse is your business, not them!" Samantha was getting perturbed. It seemed her brother was listening to her, but it was going in one ear and right out the other.

"Someone needs to look after them. They are young and impressible. I don’t want anything to happen to them." Justin hadn’t known Jacy and Melissa for very long, but he had quickly taken to them. It’s like he had known them for much longer. They were just very likable young girls. Melissa would come by every now and then and watch him work. She wouldn’t ask him any questions until he finished his work and they would talk together. She was a very considerate young girl, and her sister was, too.

Knowing that she wasn’t getting anywhere with her hardheaded brother she said, "I give up! Talking to you is like talking to a tree."

Upon hearing that Beauregard knew it was time to depart the premises. So he quickly went to the barn door and backed out as quietly as he could.

Caller Bob was just about to enter the livery when a man with his back to him came out of the livery. Surprised Caller Bob didn’t have time to stop. It was so sudden and unexpected that he bumped into the man.

Beauregard was startled when his body hit something behind him. He slowly turned around and recognized the mayor. "Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to run into ya, Mayor Sitzler. Are you alright?"

"Yes, I’m fine. But why are you coming out backwards?" The mayor asked.

Beauregard knew that the mayor could easily ask Justin and Samantha about what he was doing in the livery, and then they would suspect that he had overheard them, so he said, "I heard two people in there. It sounded like they were arguing, so I quietly left."

Caller Bob accepted the explanation, and Beauregard went on his merry way back to his room in the hotel to think, since he didn’t want to enter the livery to get his horse.

The argument had stopped by the time Caller Bob had entered the stables. He didn’t hear any voices, so he called out, "Justin, Justin are you in here?" Besides he wanted to let the people inside know that he was there in case they were discussing anything privately.

Justin with Samantha following came out of Braid’s stall. "Hi Bob, what can I do for you?"

"My horse has a little problem." Bob had rode in on Starthru and had led Allemande in because he was limping.

"Well, let’s take a look." Justin followed Caller Bob outside. He looked at Allemande’s right hind leg where a rock had lodged its way into his hoof.

"I tried to get it out, but it’s determined to stay." Caller Bob explained as Justin examined Allemande.

"I’ll take care of him. If you want to come back later he should be better in a few hours." Justin said.

"Thanks, Justin. I’ll pick him up before I head back home. I have some errands to run anyway. Caller Bob made sure that Starthru was securely tied to the fence before heading over to the restaurant for lunch.

That evening Beauregard watched as Jacy rode out of town. He quickly saddled Kismet and followed her. He found her sitting by an oak tree near a stream. She was writing on a pad and was oblivious to the world.

"Good afternoon," he said as he approached. Startled Jacy quickly stood up and took a defensive posture. "Please don’t be alarmed. I’m Beauregard Fothergill, but please call me Beauregard. I’m staying at the hotel. I saw you out here and thought I might make your acquaintance.

They talked about casual things at first and then Beauregard told Jacy that he knew her grandpa, and that he also knew about her pa. He saw that she tried to hide her fear quickly, but she hadn’t succeeded before Beauregard had noticed it. Now he knew what she had been telling Melissa about their pa was a lie. He could use this to his advantage. "Don’t worry I won’t tell anybody that you’ve been lying about your pa." Beauregard patted her on the leg. "I’m sure we can be real good friends. I won’t tell anybody about your pa and in return you can help me out."

"What do you mean?" Now Jacy didn’t want the good folks of Dreamville to know that what she had told Melissa had been all lies. She was afraid that Melissa would be mad at her and that the citizens of Dreamville would hate her. "What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing yet, but I might be needing you to publish some articles for me." Beauregard gave her a mischievous smile.

"What kind of articles?" She asked.

"I’m not sure yet, but you’ll be the first to know." He winked at her as he stood up and then he strolled to his horse and rode off.

Jacy sat there too stunned to move or even write an article. Her and Melissa had been doing so well in Dreamville, now this. What in the world could he want to publish in the PEG that he would have to blackmail her to do it? She practically admitted that she already published about any type of articles in the paper. She was worried now. What could he be up to?