Lottie swore that she was harboring a phantom in the room above the bar. For three weeks, Kate was out and about before the saloon owner had even thought of opening her eyes. The only evidence Lottie had that Kate really existed at all was the sliver of orange light gleaming from underneath the door to Room #5 in the wee hours of the morning. The reporter would have been amused to know that she had inspired a new game in the saloon. The regular drinking crowd enjoyed entertaining each other with alleged sightings of the mysterious "Hurricane Kate" who seemed to walk about Seattle's square only at night.

       Of course Candy, Biddie and the brides knew where she was. They kept Kate busy for hours each evening recounting to her every important event that had happened to them from the time the Bolt brothers stood before them in New Bedford's town hall to the present.

       Aaron Stempel also knew Kate's whereabouts. He saw her from time to time either leaving Seattle sleepy-eyed at early dawn or arriving home again in the early evening looking a little wilted and dusty but satisfied. The mill owner stopped to talk to the girl and give her a few words of encouragement when he had the opportunity. Although the sentiments cost him nothing, Kate cherished each encounter. She found herself determined to succeed with this project in the hopes of securing a larger share of Aaron's respect. Why it was so important to her she didn't know, but it was.

       On the morning of June 30^th, the exhausting month came to an end. Kate read over for the hundredth time, the folder filled with data for the town council. Then she reread her article about the brides before encasing it in brown paper for its journey east on the mail boat.

       The young woman made her way to the general store through the dense morning fog. She couldn't tell if the goose bumps on her arms were from the cold or the excitement of the meeting later that day.

       Kate greeted the shopkeeper as he filled display jars on his counter. "Good morning, Ben."

       "Morning, Kate." He eyed the parcels in her hands. "Whatcha' got there?"

       "My report and the article on the brides. I'm sending it to my editor."

       "Could I read it?" Ben hoped.

       "Sorry Ben. I want everyone to read it in the first edition of the Seattle paper." Kate glanced over at the telegraph. "I have to send a message to Chicago, too. Would it be all right if I did it myself?"

       Ben was overjoyed. "Go right ahead! Always hoped someone around here would be able to work that machine besides me. Maybe you could spell me every once in a while when things get busy in here."

       "I wouldn't mind. We're going to have a telegraph in our news office, you know. At least that's in the plans."

       Ben looked up from his work; "Today's the day, isn't it? Town council meets at eleven o'clock. Are you ready?"

       Kate smiled. "I'm as ready as I can be. I just hope all the council members will show up."

       "Clancey should pull into port within the hour. Aaron was in earlier today. I'm here and ready to go and Jason will be in town in plenty of time, he always is. Don't worry about Miss Essie and Lottie; they never miss a meeting."

       "Sounds like a full house!" Kate's smile quivered just a bit.

       The little bell over the door rang out, announcing another customer.

       "Morning, Josh," Ben called, "Haven't seen you here in weeks."

       "Morning, Ben. Jason left Swede and Corky in charge up at camp. Jeremy and I came down last night with him last night. Can't miss the excitement." Josh stood next to Kate who was stifling a yawn.

       "Hey, who's the stranger?"

       "Don't know." Ben joked, "She just wandered in from the fog. I felt so sorry for her, I told her she could stay awhile."

        "Don't let her out into the square alone! I've heard stories of a Hurricane Kate tearing around town. I'd hate to see her get mixed up with that wild woman." Josh playfully pulled the front of Katie's bonnet down over her eyes. "Morning, Cricket."

       "Morning, Squid." Kate smiled. She hadn't seen Josh in three weeks and had missed him.

        "What can I do for you, Josh?" Ben asked in his usual amiable way.

       "Coffee, please, Ben. We're all out in the cabin."

       "I'll see if I have any left." Ben joked. "Katie here has used up at least five barrels in the past month. Thought I was going to have to start planting coffee beans out back just to keep her supplied."

       "You haven't been killing yourself over these deadlines of yours, have you?" Josh asked, trying not to sound too overprotective,

       "If I have, it will all be over this afternoon. Here's my article about the brides," she laid the packet on the counter, "and here's my presentation."

       She lifted up the file. Josh took it from her and studied it briefly. The amount of data Kate had compiled impressed him.

       "You know you're going to have to stock up on coffee unless the council votes against this paper."

       "What do you mean?" she asked.

       "If you get it, you'll be busier than you ever were."

       Josh spoke to Ben who was grinding coffee for him.

        "What do you think, Ben? Maybe you should vote against the paper and save her life."

       Kate snatched the report from Josh's hand and turned to Ben, shaking her fist at him with a grin, "Ben Perkins, if you vote against this paper you may be saving my life at the cost of your own!"

       "I stand warned!" The shopkeeper laughed as he handed over a bag of coffee to Josh. "Katie, before you send your telegraph, there is a letter here for you. It came in yesterday from Chicago."

       "'I'll bet it's my deadline! A great help it is now that the article is finished!" Kate confided to Josh as Ben went into the backroom to fetch the letter.

       "Cricket, what are you going to do about this" he pointed to the file, "if you have to get back to Chicago?"

        "I knew before I came to Seattle that I might not be able to stay for very long. If all I can do is give this paper a solid start, then I'll be happy." Kate paused, "I was thinking that Biddie would be able to carry on for me when I have to leave."

       "Biddie?" Josh was incredulous. "You'd leave Biddie in charge?"

        "Her heart's in the right place and like her Aunt Irene said she does have a nose for news." Josh was unconvinced. "She's responsible for half of the accounts in my article. Besides if she ran into trouble, Aaron, Jason and Miss Essie are more than capable of helping her over any rough spots."

       "Kate, you can't leave now." Josh was serious.

        She avoided his look but admitted, "I'm going to ask my editor for some vacation time. The three months I spent in San Francisco paid off for him in a great story. This article isn't bad either." She shrugged. "It can't hurt to ask."

       "No, it can't." Josh agreed.

       Ben returned with the letter, which he exchanged for her packet.

       "Here you go, Kate."

       She was just about to open the envelope when the sound of loud, taunting voices disturbed the quiet in the square. Kate shoved the letter into her pocket and followed Josh and Ben outside.

        An angry gang of loggers was herding two men from the Chinese camp out toward the water's edge. They shouted and shoved, tripped and kicked at the defenseless men who struggled to remain on their feet.

        "Why don't you take your pots and pans, your tents and your people and just get out of the Territory?"

       "Yeah, things were fine around here until you and your lot showed up. Vamoose!"

       Within seconds, Jeremy appeared from inside the dormitory. At the same time, Jason sprang out toward the street from Lottie's. Josh joined his brother half way to the pier. The three Bolts managed to wedge themselves between the victims and their attackers just as the Chinese were about to be shoved into the Sound.

       Jason grabbed the loudest of the bullies by the arm, "What's going on here, Hobbs?"

       "We want them and their kind outta here Bolt, or me and the boys will walk."

       "Why?" Jason demanded.

       "The way we figure it, we can get this Army job done without their help."

       Jason's eyes burned with rage. "The way I figure it, I'm still the boss. I say who goes or stays and I say we won't get the job done without them." The sound of his voice dropped and his grip became like steel. Hobbs winced in pain. "They're staying, but if you and 'the boys' want to quit, just let me know. Now would be the perfect time."

       Another logger chimed in, "Don't let him bully you, Jess."

       Before anybody could stop him the second logger turned to Jeremy and landed a punch to his jaw that sent the young man sprawling.

       "Why, you..." Josh pulled back his fist to retaliate. Jason released Hobbs by shoving him to the ground before restraining his brother.

        By this time Ben, Aaron Stemple, the Reverend and Lottie's bartender, Ken, had rushed to the fray. Each man took charge of two of the loggers, hustling them to the jailhouse.

       Aaron had time to shoot a comment to Jason as they left. "Having a little labor dispute, Bolt? Do the town a favor would you and confine it to your camp."

       Jason ignored the jibe turning his attention to his youngest brother. Candy had whisked around the dormitory porch and to her love's side as soon as the loggers were hustled off.

       "Jeremy, are you all right?"

       The young man was more embarrassed than hurt. "I'm fine, Candy. He just surprised me that's all."

       Josh reached down and gave him a hand up. "You gotta remember to duck, little brother."

       "Thanks," was the wry reply.

        Jason turned to his two Chinese loggers. "Are you all right?"

       The men bowed to him in thanks but Jason knew they didn't understand a word he said. He asked Jeremy to give it a try. The young man had a knack for learning languages. Although he could only speak to the Chinese in broken phrases, it was a lot more than he or Josh had been able to do.

       "Tell them to go back to work. Those men were drunk. No one will hurt them now."

       Kate approached Jason. "You can't promise that, Jason."

       "This isn't San Francisco, Katie," he said evenly. "They're going to be all right."

        Jason turned to the curious crowd that had gathered. "That's it everybody. It's all taken care of. The men were just a little drunk. Go back to your business."

       Katie shook her head but said nothing. She'd seen it all so many times before in so many cities. It wasn't all taken care of. Drunk or sober those men were infected with a disease that would take more than Jason's strong hand to cure.

       Jeremy convinced the two Chinese loggers to join him at Lottie's for a drink to calm their nerves. They agreed and followed him to the saloon. Jason turned to Josh and said something to him. Josh nodded then headed for Kate.

       "How about you and I going for a walk or something?" he asked her.

       "Why?"

       Josh was momentarily stumped. His brother had asked him to distract Kate for a few hours so he could straighten out this mess with their men without her around. She was a reporter after all, and Jason didn't relish the thought of this incident showing up in print.

       The young man saw the file in her hand; "You're going to be presenting that report to the council this morning. Wouldn't you like to practice a little? I'll be your audience."

       "Thanks, Josh, but I don't think..."

       He never let her finish. "Let's go up to Secret Place, just the two of us. I promise I'll let you practice and never say a word if you don't want me to."

       She looked uncertain so he pressed his advantage. "In two hours the entire future of Seattle's newspaper will rest in your hands. Are you just going to stand there when you could be rehearsing in front of your best critic?"

       Kate knew he was coaxing her away from the most interesting news story she'd encountered in Seattle so far; however, he was right. She did want to practice before someone who would give her his honest opinion. She'd get back to Hobbs and his cronies after the council meeting. After all they weren't going anywhere for a while.