(Another edition in the continuing saga of the outlaws Jesse and Lou along with the rest of the James-Younger Gang) It had been years since the war ended with no word from Kid, leaving Lou to assume that he had perished in one of the many battles. Needing to provide for herself, Lou continued to do the only thing that brought her enough money that allowed her to do so; she continued to ride with the James-Younger gang. The size of the crowd at the entrance to the Kansas City Fairgrounds that September day in 1872 was daunting. The James-Younger gang had decided to take a cash box amid a record crowd of ten thousand plus fairgoers. It was decided that Lou would go dressed as the woman she was, instead of her usual masculine garb, enabling her to tuck the cash box under her cape and allowing her to leave the area with it undetected. Glancing over at her accomplice and old friend, Lou motioned Jesse closer so she could speak to him. “I don’t know about this Jesse! Look at all these people. Someone is sure to spot me,” she hissed. Her nervousness make her twist the strings of her purse, causing Jesse to smile. He put his arm around her and led her into the throng, whispering so only she could hear. “Don’t worry Lou. Everything will go as planned. With all these people around, it will be easy to slip the box under your cape just like I told you to. Everyone is intent on having a good time, not watching the booths. Besides, with that bonnet, your face is hidden. Ain’t no one going to see what ya look like.” Leading her towards the intended target, Jesse offered, “ ‘Sides, I’ll cause a distraction. When I do, you take the box and head to where Frank will be waiting by the Snake Man’s tent.” With a sense of dread, Lou let out a sigh and tried to smile for Jesse. “I just haven’t done a job like this before is all…” “Well, it’s time to get your feet wet Lou,” Jesse said, giving her a little nudge towards the door of the booth which was opposite the window where the old man stood taking fairgoers money. Jesse looked around making sure that all the members of the gang were in place. He had stationed Jim near the western fairground entrance, farthest away from the intended robbery, waiting with a carriage to whisk Lou away with the loot. Cole and Bob were nearby half-heartedly playing one of the games available to the revelers, waiting in case anything went wrong. Lou watched as Jesse stood in line at the ticket booth, waiting for a family that was ahead of him. When Jesse stepped up to the window he started gesturing with his hands in an angry fashion, pointing a finger down the midway. As his voice got louder and the man in the booth tried to placate the irate man, Lou quickly stepped up to the open door and quietly lifted the cash box on the shelf under her cape. Not looking back, she hurried away, disappearing in the throng of people heading towards where Frank was waiting for her. Jesse was able to see Lou through the window beyond the man he was distracting. Keeping up the pretense of an angry visitor he threw up his hands and swore, leaving several minutes after she had disappeared from view. Jesse had gotten about thirty feet away when the cry went up from the man in the booth that he’d been robbed. With all the people rushing to the booth at the word ‘robbed’, Jesse smiled to himself and let out a cheery whistle as he strolled towards the west entrance of the park. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ As Lou rounded the side of the Snake Man’s tent an arm reached out and pulled her into the shadows. A hand flew up, covering her mouth to quiet a startled gasp, as Frank demanded, “Did you get it?” Lou nodded and opened her cape to allow him a view of the cash box. Smiling, Frank put his arm around her and they started walking towards the entrance where Jim was waiting for them. They could hear a murmur going through the crowd that there had just been a robbery, but no one shouted for them to stop so they picked up the pace to ensure they were long gone before anyone remembered a woman near the booth. As they neared the gate they were to meet Jesse at, they heard a shot behind them, spurring them to walk faster incase trouble was heading their way. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ “Damn it Jesse! What took you so long and what the heck was that shot we heard?” Frank snarled at his younger brother when he finally stepped into the waiting carriage. “We should have been out of here five minutes ago!” Jesse ignored his brother’s complaints as he patted Lou’s hand, offering her a satisfied, “Well done my dear, well done!” As they were driving away, Jesse mentioned that some fool got trigger-happy when word of a robbery went up and he shot wild and hit a little girl. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Arriving back at the dilapidated farmhouse that Bob had found for the gang to rally at, Frank, Jesse, Lou and Jim hurried inside to the waiting Bob and Cole. “So, did she do it?” Cole asked without much faith in Lou’s ability to live the life of an outlaw like the rest of them. Lou gave Cole a scathing look. They had disliked each other from the start and he was not letting up on her being part of the gang. He continually put her down whenever he got a chance and she was tired of it. “Of course she did it!” Jesse said in a booming voice, slapping Cole on the back a little harder than necessary, as Frank dropped the cash box down on the table. Pulling out a chair, Frank sat down, rubbing his hands together as the others followed suit. “Let’s see what we got…” Bob let out a low whistle and Jesse laughed when Frank had finished counting the money in the box. “Can you believe it?” Jesse whooped, “Ten thousand dollars!” Lou sat in disbelief, looking at the piles of money on the table. “Why, that’s over fifteen hundred a piece!” she declared in awe. “Just stick with me Lou and there’ll be a whole lot more where that came from!” Jesse informed her with a satisfied smirk. Drop me a note and let me know what you thought!