(Revised)



The Waterfall Canyon actors delved deeper into their roles in the Western movie Trail Ridin' Mama. As the chapter opened, Erika de la Rouge settled down to watch a scene being filmed, and she began to think about the consequences of the return of Hans Richter. His reappearence made Erika feel energized because she realized it was the break the SSC agents needed to crack the Florian da Silva case.

Erika still disliked Hans, and thought he must have been crazy to offer to leak information to Claudia Hunter, considering that he was putting his life at grave risk for little return. But she decided that what he wanted to do, and why he did it, was his problem. She was just glad that he chose Claudia to confide in, rather than trying to start the affair up with Beth again.

The movie scene began with Clementine Carson (played by Tasha Khoury) sitting dejected and weeping in the courtroom, having just heard the verdict given against her. She would get not a cent from the Sidewinder Stagecoach Lines to compensate her for the money she lost in the robbery and the suffering she endured at the crude hands of the outlaws. She begged her lawyer, Bonaparte Sprigg (Max Montezuma), to refund part of the retainer she paid him, since he lost her case; but he curtly refused and walked away, leaving her alone in the
courtroom. Knowing that she had made a spectacle of herself, Clementine lingered in the room until she thought the curious crowd had dispersed.

Once outside, Clementine decided to hunker down and go back to searching for her missing husband Quinn Carson. But her main problem now was finding money. On her way to the Post Office, she stopped in at Miss Emeline's Millinery to show Quinn's portrait, and asked Miss Emeline for a sewing job. Emeline, who had been polite when she thought Clementine was a customer, turned her away rudely as a job applicant. Clementine continued sadly toward the Post Office.

The next scene, filmed by Assistant Director Gopher Gutz, was the fight scene in the War Bonnet Saloon. It featured actors Zach Gallagher (as Jake), Sam Sackett (Logan), Willie Bellaire (Rusty) and Jesse St. James (Sheriff Bart). The outlaw Jake Curtis, a member of the Wesley gang that robbed Clementine's stagecoach, had sneaked into Red Bluff and was bent upon revenge against the two Sidewinder employees, the stagecoach driver and the man riding shotgun. The gang hated the driver because of his arrogance, and the guard because he shot and wounded gang member Phoebe.

On John Wesley's instructions, Jake hung out nightly at the rough-and-tumble War Bonnet trying to get information on the two men. From the bartender he finally learned their names, Logan Reinhardt and Rusty Tibbets, and that they came to the War Bonnet sometimes. He also learned that Sidewinder fired both of them, and that Logan had a favorite sporting woman at Odette's nearby brothel. So he waited patiently, confident that no one would recognize him because he had covered his face with his bandanna during the stagecoach robbery. One night, Logan and Rusty walked in.

Jake intended to pick a fight with Logan and Rusty. He walked up to Rusty and accused him of
being a woman-killer, a vile insult. Logan, who was already half drunk and in a bad mood, immediately
jumped up and slugged Jake. The two men engaged in a violent fistfight, much to the delight of the
War Bonnet patrons. Finally the bartender called Sheriff Bart, who watched the fight himself for a
few minutes before breaking it up. He told Logan and Jake they could either go to jail or leave quietly.

Jake, with false politeness, agreed to leave. What he really wanted was first-hand information, and now
he had it. He knew Logan and Rusty were out of work and desperate, knew that Logan was hot-tempered, and knew that Logan would protect his elderly friend Rusty. Jake deduced that the best method for successful ambushes will be to get the two men separated, and he left town pleased that he had such good information for John Wesley. Logan apologized to Bart and insisted he wasn't very drunk. He and Rusty left the War Bonnet.

In the next movie scene, Alan Quickman filmed his first major scene as gambler Philip Faraday. The camera followed Philip as he awakened in his luxurious suite at the Pearl Hotel in Red Bluff. He had a leisurely bath and breakfast, and prepared for another day of lucrative and satisfying gambling at the Wild Card Saloon, where he had made arrangements with the management to conduct games.


The next movie scene began with Clementine Carson as she arrived at the General Store, which also housed the Post Office. In response to her inquiry, the kind and polite proprietors Obadiah and Hester Pendergast told her that they had not seen her husband Quinn. Clementine wrote a letter to her housekeeper Bessie, who had been left alone in Hoochie Gulch to care for Clementine's twelve children on the Carson ranch. Trying to sound positive for the children's sake, Clementine wrote the rosy invention that she was close to finding Quinn and that everyone in Red Bluff had been "wonderful" to her. She said nothing about the stagecoach robbery, the lawsuit, or the fact that she was almost out of  money. Hester, trying to be helpful, suggested that Clementine ask about Quinn at the Wild Card Saloon, since nearly every man who came through Red Bluff had gone there.

Clementine timidly entered the saloon, knowing that respectable women never went to saloons, and found the courage to insist to the shocked bartender that she needed to ask the patrons about her missing husband. Sadie, one of the saloon girls, wanted to help Clementine
 and told her to wait a little while until the gamblers have concluded their games. Learning that Clementine was short of money, Sadie suggested that she participate in a game of chance, and described various games to Clementine. She emphasized faro, one of the most popular games in the West, and told Clementine all the details. Clementine then recalled playing faro with her husband, and the knowledge began to come back to her.

Meanwhile, Philip Faraday recognized Clementine and wished she would not approach him with her portrait... for he had seen Quinn Carson, and the memory was unpleasant. In a flashback, he recalled a game they had in another town, and how Quinn, who was known
there as a homicidal criminal, lost all his money and loudly accused Philip of cheating him. Philip had to pull a gun on Quinn, who backed off but left Philip with death threats. Now, seeing the pitiful Clementine, Philip decided that it would do no good to tell her what he knows. When she approached him while he took a break from the faro table, he treated her in a  very courteous manner and told her that he had never seen Quinn.

At this point Clementine made the decision to gamble the last of her money in a faro game. With Philip conducting the game as the "banker," she placed several bets, and at first she won. Excited and happy, she placed several more faro bets, hoping for a big payoff, but in the end the cards were against her and she lost everything. In worse despair than ever, Clementine sat at the gaming table and cried.

Shortly afterward, Mattie, the head saloon girl (played by Erika), and Philip discussed Clementine's unfortunate situation. Philip wanted to help her, as long as he could do it anonymously; he did not wish to complicate his life by getting openly involved in Clementine's problems. Mattie was agreeable to the idea. She saw the gamblers admiring Clementine during the short time that she was lively and animated, and thought she had potential as a saloon girl. Mattie also realized that Odette DuPont would soon be chasing after Clementine trying to recruit her for the brothel, once word reached her of the unfavorable court verdict. Odette, who kept her ear to the Red Bluff grapevine, would know that Clementine was broke.

Mattie approached Clementine and spoke kindly to her, telling her a little about the duties of a saloon girl and emphasizing that the saloon girls at the Wild Card were not prostitutes. She also dropped the tidbit that she got expensive gifts from her gentleman admirers. This
interests Clementine, who had always longed for nice things.  Mattie did not actually offer Clementine a job yet, but it was clear that she was considering making the offer. Mattie asked Clementine to meet her for lunch the next day at the elegant Pearl Hotel Tea Room to discuss the predicament.

Clementine left the Wild Card. Seeing a stagecoach unloading items at the General Store, she returned there to see if any letters came for her. There was a letter from Bessie, who wrote that scarlet fever was going around Hoochie Gulch, but that the children were all right so far.
Bessie urged Clementine to come home soon. Clementine was dismayed and anxious. She had lied about her circumstances in the letter she just sent to Bessie; in truth she could not go home now, without a cent to her name and no news of Quinn's whereabouts.

At this point Odette DuPont (played by Marcia Pola) saw Clementine and zoomed in on her. In a honeyed voice, Odette expressed her compassion for Clementine's misfortunes and accompanied her back to the Eight Balls Hotel. Once there, Odette turned up her nose at the
shabbiness of the place and tried to convince Clementine to accept "free" room and board in a lovely spare bedroom at the House of Beauty. Knowing that Clementine was penniless, she tried to scare Clementine into accepting by telling her how disgusting it was to live on the street. Neither of them would speak directly about prostitution, though both of them were thinking about it. Clementine was aware that the House of Beauty was a whorehouse and she knew what Odette was up to; she was so desperate for money that she became inwardly frantic, terrified that she might have no choice but to become a "soiled dove." Clementine clung to the hope that her lunch meeting with Mattie might result in a solution. Concealing this information from Odette, she told Odette politely that she had already paid for one more night at the Eight Balls and that she needs time to consider the offer of hospitality.  Odette left, confident that in one more day, she would have Clementine where she wanted her.

Back in real life, Sam Sackett and Claudia Hunter went to a rehearsal for their scene in the House of Beauty brothel. Sam, as Logan Reinhardt, would be the man buying the services of Claudia, as Sarah Jane Stanton the prostitute. They were surprised when they read the new script pages Gopher Gutz gave them; it included a sex scene, and they were both very nervous about doing it. Sam had some acting experience but had never done a bedroom scene, and Claudia had no acting experience at all. Furthermore, Gopher wanted nudity. He said Claudia could wear a bikini bottom and hide herself under Sam's arms and the sheet, but he wanted Sam naked. Gopher tried to aggravate Claudia into agreeing by telling her he could recast her role if she wasn't up to it, and tried to flatter Sam into it by complimenting him on his good figure and promising to film him only from behind. It worked on both of them.

Sam and Claudia began the rehearsal and went through their lines and actions hesitantly; with Gopher's urging, after a while they loosened up and rehearsed to his satisfaction. Gopher told them that the script said Logan and Sarah had already been together a few times, so it would
not be quite as raw as they feared at first. The next evening, the scene was filmed.

A night at the House of Beauty began with stirring piano music from Odette's house pianist, a talented and underappreciated man. Odette ignored his performance and lectured her girls, Sarah Jane among them, to look alive and smile. Soon a cowboy customer arrived. Odette
skillfully steered him to Jenny, keeping Sarah aside in case Logan came for her.

Logan appeared shortly, carrying his revolver, his Winchester rifle and an expensive gift for Odette. She knew he was out of work now and observed him for signs of strain, or even worse from her viewpoint, signs of being broke. Logan bluffed her and sat calmly in
the parlor next to Sarah, chatting with everyone pleasantly for a while before taking Sarah upstairs. Once alone with her, however, he let his tension show.

Sarah's story was told in a flashback. She had grown up on a ranch, spending her time
tending livestock and looking after her younger siblings, turning away gentleman friends,
until she was the last one left at home with her elderly parents. When they died she tried
valiantly to run the ranch alone, but soon failed and had to sell everything for whatever
she could get. She set out alone as a wanderer, with only her horse and a few possessions,
seeking work in different small towns. Unsuccessful, she had spent the last of her money
by the time she arrived in Red Bluff. She was in the livery stable begging to work in exchange for horse feed when Odette found her.

Odette worked on Sarah's fears, telling her, as she later told Clementine, how awful it would be to have nothing, and to let her beloved horse starve or be sold. During their conversations Odette learned that Sarah was a virgin, and became even more determined to recruit her since that would make her very valuable to the highest bidding customer. Sarah, desperate and knowing of no other options at the time, finally agreed to work as a prostitute. She became somewhat hardened, but still tried to appreciate having a way to earn a living; bad as it was,
she and her horse could survive now. And through this demeaning work she had found Logan, who was kind to her and seemed almost to love her.

The scene returned to action with Logan and Sarah completing their ardent lovemaking. As they rested, they began to talk about Logan's situation, no job and money fast running out. Logan said he had survived so far on odd jobs and that he was also trying to help the elderly
Rusty, whose age was against him when bosses looked for cowhands or gunmen. Sarah became depressed; Logan tried to cheer her up, and said he wished they could see each other privately, outside the brothel. Sarah replied that she wouldn't dare see Odette's customers on
her own.

Logan began to show a true affection for Sarah, saying he no longer thought of himself as her customer, and he tried to turn his mind away from the knowledge that she had been with many other men at the brothel. He asked her if she could get a job as a Wild Card saloon girl
instead; she replied unhappily that she had already tried, but was turned away because the Wild Card's policy prohibited hiring any woman who was known locally as a prostitute. Logan retorted that if he had any way to support Sarah, he would take her out of Odette's himself that very night, and that she must hang on and wait for something good to happen. Sarah hid her tears from him.