Yancy and Pahoo walk along the levee at midnight and Yancy meets with John. Pahoo makes sure the area is safe, and John says that the citizens are up in arms about Gallatin Street and he doesn't know what to do about it. It's a national disgrace, and decent people can't walk along it at night. The police lost twenty men there the previous months, and Yancy says that Toby Cook told them to keep out. John asks Yancy to clean up Gallatin, but Yancy says that it's foolish.
Shots ring out and Yancy tells John to get out. Captain Sven Larsen runs up as someone chases him. Pahoo grabs Sven while Yancy knocks out the pursuer. Sven says that can take care of himself, and explains that he just got to New Orleans from Stockholm. He explains that he brought a valuable cargo on his first trip and now he wants to have some fun. Yancy advises him to go to Bourbon Street, but Sven wants to go to a gambling place on Gallatin, the Jumping Jack, and was told to see Toby. The gambler warns him against Sven but the captain is eager to see it. Sven shows them a stick of dynamite and puts it in a cotton bale, and then has Yancy set it off. It explodes, He boasts that a scientist, Nobel, recently created it and says that he can take care of himself. Once he leaves, Yancy and Pahoo follow.
On Gallatin, Yancy tells Pahoo that Toby has passed the word that he's allowed to walk Gallatin but Pahoo is not, and orders his blood brother to stay behind. Pahoo reluctantly does so, but follows across the rooftops. Yancy enters the Jumping Jack and finds Sven betting on a mouse with Phil Dollar. Sven explains that two men tried to stop him in the street but he took care of them. The mouse picks Phil's numbers even though he switched with Sven, and Yancy explains that the game is rigged. He shows Sven Phil's ring, which has a piece of cheese on it. Yancy tosses Phil out the back door and suggests that they bet on lighting matches with a gun.
Toby comes out with Phil and greets Yancy, and warns him not to bet on the match game. Yancy insists, using his own gun and match, and Toby agrees. The gambler tells Sven that the matches on the mantle aren't real, and then lights his match with one shot and puts it out with the second. Sven collects his winnings, making back what he lost on the mouse, and Toby cheerfully admits that all of his games are crooked. He figures that since Sven is a friend of Yancy's, he'll let him go unharmed. Sven insists that he can take care of himself and leaves.
Yancy and Toby go to the bar to get a drink, and Toby figures that Gallatin could last a long time. He wonders if Yancy plans to depose him, A woman, Lucy Maridale, comes down and Yancy recognizes her. Toby advises Yancy to stay away from her, warning him that the girl Yancy knew is dead. Ignoring him, Yancy goes over and Lucy tells him to go away and then goes back upstairs. Toby explains that the Maridale Plantation is gone like all of the others, and Lucy acts as a decoy to help him shanghai men. When Toby says that Lucy isn't much good, Yancy punches him. Phil goes for his gun and Yancy outdraws him. Toby concedes that he had it coming and offers Yancy a drink, and Yancy tells him maybe later.
As Yancy goes outside and lights a cigar, he sees Lucy watching from an upstairs window. He remembers growing up with Lucy, and she closes the window. Yancy rides out to her plantation, now burned out in the War, and goes back to Gallatin. He takes a roof route to Lucy's room and slips in. Lucy hugs him in and says that Yancy has to get out. Yancy tells her that he's taking with him, but Lucy says that it's too late. She warns that Toby will kill her because she knows too much, just as Toby and Phil come in. Toby advises Phil to put his gun away, well aware that Yancy has the Sharpe's in his hat trained on them. Lucy insists that she didn't know Yancy was coming back, and tells Yancy not to make any trouble. Once she leaves, Toby tells Yancy that his henchman Bruno is covering him from the balcony, and Yancy advises him to take a look. Pahoo has his knife to Bruno's throat, and Toby tells Yancy that Gallatin is closed to hi forever.
The next morning, Toby sees a classified ad in the paper. It's from Yancy, saying that he's going to talk Gallatin that night at 9 and anyone visiting the Jumping Jack after that does so at their peril. Toby figures that Yancy will do it because he's a man of his word.
That night, Yancy arrive promptly at 9. Toby receives word that Yancy is there and tells his thugs that he'll handle him personally. He sends Bruno upstairs and goes out with Phil and several of his men to confront Yancy. Phil trains a gun on Yancy, and Toby explains that he has to show his power by hanging Yancy. Bruno brings Lucy out on the balcony to watch, and Toby prepares to shoot her dead.
Sven and Pahoo toss down dynamite from the rooftops, and everyone on the street takes cover. Pahoo drops a lit stick down the Jack's chimney, and the place is demolished. The Pawnee then breaks into Lucy's room, kills Bruno. Meanwhile, Toby comes after Yancy, who shoots him. Yancy tells him to surrender or die, and Toby wisely surrenders. John and his officers arrive, and the officers take Toby into custody. The administrator then arrests Yancy for destroying private property.
Later after they're released, Yancy and Pahoo go to John's office and Yancy has Pahoo wait outside. Yancy says that Lucy has gone to California and takes out a deck of cards. He explains that he's going to win back the $500 fine John imposed on him.
Written by Gadfly on Aug 17, 2017