Fools' Gold

[Tyrel Cody]

Smith passed out when I cauterized his hand where his thumb used to be. Now to wake him and figure out how to make the man talk without killing him."Pepper can you get a rope over that highest limb?" I asked. "Well yeah, but we dont want to kill so what's the point?" retorted Pepper. "Oh, we ain't going to kill him, but he ain't going to like this." I said as I was tying a rope around each wrist. After Pepper had the the other rope ready we secured it and slowly raised him until his feet were about three feet off the ground. I then threw a bucket of water on the man which woke him; he was angry to say the least. "I ain't talkin," he said. I just nodded as I started building a fire directly under him and said, "Oh, I think you'll be begging me to let you talk shortly." I pulled the mans boots, socks and pants off and lit the fire. At first he resisted pulling himself higher but that didn't last long as he began getting weak. The flames got higher and he began to scream, "You're insane! Please stop I'll talk, I'll tell you anything you want to know, just please stop!" Pepper and I raised him high enough so the flames couldn't get at him and I said, "Start talkin' and keep in mind if I think you're lyin' back down you go."

 

"What's yer name?"

"S S S Smith, Sandy Smith," he stuttered.

 

"Who you work for?"

"I dont know," I started lowering him, "Nooooo I swear, I dont know!"

 

"Then why are you following us?"

"We was given a description of a whore that somebody wanted, we was told if we brought her back alive there would get a handsome fee."

 

"How many of y'all are there?"

"Eleven"

 

"Where are the rest?"

"About a mile to the Southwest."

 

"When was ya plannin to take her?"

"Don't know, I ain't ram roddin' this outfit."

 

"You're lyin, tell me the plan!" as I lowered his feet back into the flames.

He screamed and said hoarsely, "Ok, Ok; we was plannin an ambush day after tomorrow as you neared the small mountain range just south of here"

 

Satisfied I dropped him into the fire. He kicked and screamed and rolled away. Pepper showing mercy threw a bucket of water on him, looked at me and said, "D@_n, you're a hard man Tyrel."

 

I turned and walked back to the camp, "He's all yours Bill, what's left of him that is. Mary you got some talking to do," I said as I poured a cup of coffe and rolled a cigarette.

[Calico Mary]

I knew I'd made a big mistake trying to shoot Bill and hitting Cheyenne instead, but at least both men were all right and all the men seemed more concerned with the man Bill had caught than me. While Tyrel and Cheyenne went to 'talk' to the man, Mattie and I stuck close to Bill and Red, but I could tell Mattie was furious with me, so I just sat quietly with my head bowed. I wrapped a shawl around me because it was getting colder, but that didn't stop my shaking. Should I tell these men that I recognized both the man that had tried to stab Cheyenne and the one that had attacked me?

 

I don't know how long it was before Tyrel and Cheyenne came back, but Mattie had already fallen asleep. Bill got up and started heading for the prisoner, but I sure didn't want to see what was going on with him, the sounds had been disturbing enough. Tyrel walked up and stood right over me, and told me I needed to start talking, and fast. Cheyenne kind of took exception to that a bit, but Red sided with Tyrel, saying that since these men were after me, he and the others deserved an explanation.

 

“Any of you ever heard of Delano, Kansas?” I asked, and all three men acknowledged that they were familiar with the town, and it's reputation. “Well, that's where me and Mattie are from, I worked there for a little over a year, Mattie for just a few months. Before that I spent some time in a few other places around Kansas, don't really matter which ones. Delano was the roughest, and it didn't take long after I got there to learn that if a girl wanted to stay alive long she had better be prepared to defend herself.”

 

“I got me the biggest, sharpest knife I could hide easily enough, plus another slightly smaller one as backup, and had them on me all the time. It wasn't long before I had to start using them either, had to kill one fellow before he could kill me, though I had witnesses to say I was just protecting myself. Sliced up several more, a couple of them pretty badly, but only if they were attacking me or one of the other girls in our saloon. I never hurt anybody unless it was to stop them hurting someone else, I swear! But a while back men started being found dead in spots all over town, either stabbed or slashed so bad that they bled out.”

 

“I didn't have anything to do with any of those murders, honest! But all of these fellas had been customers in the saloon I was working in at one time or another, and with my reputation with that knife it wasn't long before talk started. At first I didn't really care what people thought, and it didn't seem to affect our business any, though a few of my customers started showing more manners than I ever thought possible. I didn't worry too much, I just stayed in the saloon more often, and if I needed anything Mattie or one of the other girls would go shopping for me. Then I found out that Wichita was gonna annex Delano....about the same time the accusations started getting worse. Someone out there was trying awfully hard to convince people I was the one committing all those murders, and with Wichita about to take over, Delano was now gonna have lawmen. I didn't want to risk swinging from the end of a rope over a bunch of ridiculous gossip, so Mattie and I split first chance we got.”

 

After I'd finished my story, the men just looked at each other, I could tell they wanted to discuss what I'd told them, but out of mine and Mattie's hearing. She was still asleep, but I was really getting upset, what if these four men decided to just hand me over to the ones following us? They had no reason to show me any loyalty, and if men had followed me that far there was most likely a reward involved. I had to get out of there before that thought occurred to any of them, especially Cheyenne.

 

“Look, just let me take the horse belonging to that fella over there, and my own stuff, and I'll get outta here before I put any of you in any more danger. All I ask is that you please see that Mattie gets to Santa Fe safely, she deserves a chance to make a new life for herself. And tell her I said goodbye....” and I turned to go get my belongings out of the wagon. I hadn't gone more than a step when I felt someone grab my arm from behind...

[J. Mark Flint #31954 LIFE]

The cold whipped through us pounding on us like icy hammers and picks, unrelenting as it drove into every inch of our bodies. I fell asleep in the saddle, my horse content to follow Hawk. There wasn't much chance of falling out as I was pretty much frozen into the saddle and the makeshift canvas coat was layered in a crusty sheet of ice.

 

The troops rode on like this for days, working our way behind the yankee lines. With our caps and powder protected and dry, we prepared for the attack on Grant's supply line-he had just been promoted and it was time we congratulated him properly. We were hungry and more than one man had succumbed to the cold. The noreaster had caught us southern boys by surprise and we weren't prepared. "We're going to all die Major Flint, you have to do something." I heard ""Kill the spare horses and stack them into a shelter just big enough for the men." come out of my mouth then a jarring step on the ground dumped me from my saddle and my eyes opened to a concerned, but also slightly amused group.

 

Blackwater started to dismount, but I managed to get to my feet-I could feel the start of a tingling fire in my legs. I looked around trying to get my bearings as I stomped my feet, trying to get some feeling back.

 

I looked around and the white coating made everything look the same-everything but the ridge line. I followed it looking for the saw toothed gap that would show us the route.

 

"Hawk, the cabin is below that sawtoothed notch to our left. Half way up the mountain side more or less. There is a cluster of evergreens around it, you'll need to get close to see it."

 

With that said I swung up into the saddle stiffly, trying to shake off the pain and numbness. I checked my gear and began to follow Hawk as he located a trail and worked out our route up the mountain.

[Cheyenne Culpepper 32827]

"You're not going anywhere missy" I told Calico followed by a wink. "I know all about you, where you're from, the saloon you worked in and I know all about those men that were murdered, more like executed in Delano. Now, just sit there by the fire, Tyrel, if you would wake Mattie, she needs to hear this too."

 

By the time Tyrel had awakened Mattie Bill was done with Smith and joined the rest of us at the fire. "Calico here didn't kill those men in Delano, oh she may have judiciously cut a few up here and there but the others, well I know for certain that she didn't kill them." Calico who had been hiding her face the whole time looked up and in a small still voice asked me, "How do you know that I wasn't the one that killed those men?"

 

"I'll get there in due time" I said and continued on. "Delano was a wild town, no law, open to anyone who was brave or crazy enough to stay or even pass through there. I had fulfilled many a bounty there over the years and had been there before the stabbings had taken place." I looked straight at Calico and Mattie, "imagine me with a clean shave and closely cropped hair, and glasses in a suit." They studied me for a few seconds, then you could see the look of recognition on their faces. "I spent my share of time in the Shortbranch saloon and knew each of these two here well. The owner knew me too and had hired me to look after his girls without them knowing it. We didn't figure though that the men that I executed for mistreating his girls would be tied to Calico and before we could take care of that Marvin apparently talked them into leaving town with him and his promise of protection. One of the men killed had a brother that was powerful in town and vowed vengeance on anyone that had any thng to do with his brother's death. I took care of a few that had taken him up on his reward offer but there were too many to get them all. I had been trailing Marvin and the girls when I met Flint and the others in Toostone. I had figured that Marvin would make a stop there but he had avoided Toostone and then I came across them as I was scouting for the wagons. You all know what became of Marvin."

 

"This is my fight" I continued, "there's only seven of them left, I can pick them off one by one, you all head for Santa Fe, take the ladies with you."

 

With that said, I started to pick up my gear getting ready to finish what needed to be done.

[Blackwater 53393]

We stumbled into the cabin at dusk. Up here on the mountain the sleet had long since turned to snow. The colonel was somewhat the worse for wear as he had been dressed the lightest. He and Hawk got a fire started in the big fireplace and Tom and I proceded to drag up as much deadfall timber as we could dally a rope on. There was a stone corral that offered some shelter from the wind and we turned the extra stock in there. Once inside we crowded around the fire to warm ourselves for a while.

 

The roof was a problem. The lattice work that had held the cedar shakes was still there, but it appeared some previous occupant had been too lazy to fetch wood and had burned a section of the roofing. "Tom! You reckon you an' me could stretch a couple of these canvases over that hole?" I pointed to where the sky showed through the roof.

 

"It'd make it a lot more comfortable if we gotta' stay here a day or two." he grinned. I nodded toward the door. On our last change of horses I'd saddled the dunn and he'd remained saddled for now. I climbed into the saddle and then up onto it, standing. This way I was able to crawl carefully onto the roof. Tom stood on his saddle but didn't get onto the roof. The hole at it's widest was four feet and it was over six feet long.

 

"Gimme that canvas we ain't used yet and some good sized rocks!" I called over the moan of the wind. Tom pitched me the canvas and began kicking away the snow to find what rocks he could. I unrolled the bedroll and pushed the wool blanket through a gap in the latice down into the cabin. I took off my canvas and smoothed it out on top of the other one. I folded a narrow section of each canvas together and then twice again. "Damn it's cold!" I thought out loud as I turned the bundle over and spread it over the hole. The folds formed a watertight joint when placed face down, and the two canvases joined thusly, covered the hole nicely. I moved to the edge of the roof and began catching the rocks that Tom tossed up. I placed them so they would hold down the canvas and keep it tight against the lattice until it was covered with snow. "That'll keep the wind out and the heat in!" I called when we'd finished. "Lead that horse back over so's I can get off this roof, willya?"

 

Tom brought the dunn back over and I bellied down and slid off the roof onto the saddle. "These two can stay saddled a while 'til we get more firewood dragged up." he said. "I'll tie 'em under these eves for now!

I nodded, "Let's go warm up!"

 

On the inside, Flint had recoverd and was hacking chunks of wood with his big knife. I proceded to do the same, figuring I'd warm up faster that way. Hawk had some of the meat from the elk fawn roasting already and as he tended to that, Tom began rummaging through the cabin. He quickly found a lantern with a little kerosene still in it. He raised the glass and lit the wick, but put it back out. He trimmed the wick and relit it and it glowed brightly. Next he found a small hand axe which he gave to the colonel. At the far end of the cabin he pushed a window shutter back into the window. It's leather hinges had rotted away and it had fallen to the floor. "That orta' help!" he declared.

 

"Meat's ready!" 'Pache hollered, and everyone turned toward the fire.

 

"Hey!" Tom stopped in his tracks. His eyes rested on a bag sitting on a shelf in the corner farthest from him. He almost ran as he crossed the room and grabbed this newfound treasure. "Arbuckles!"

 

"Somebody had to leave here in a hurry!" I said. "See if you can find us a pot!" Arbuckles wasn't the best tasting coffee, but it was the most well known.

 

"Just give it here!" Hawk commanded. He was bent on having himself some coffee and none of us wanted to get in his way. He pulled a full canteen and took a big swallow from it, dumped some of the ground beans from the sack into the canteen and hung it over the fire. "Where there's a wlll............" he grinned.

 

Tom continued to search the cabin. That two quart canteen wasn't going to be enough for this bunch. He found some old pots on another shelf and a partial tin of dried beans. "These don't appear to have any worms in 'em," he handed the tin and the pots to Hawk. "there's also a couple of cannin' jars with peppers and tomatoes in 'em over there."

 

"We'd better drag up some more wood too." the colonel advised.

 

"J. Mark! Let me have your canvas there. Mine became part of the roof," I said as I chewed on a tender piece of elk meat. I wrapped my blanket around me like I had done before and readied myself for another trip out into the storm.

 

Back outside, I brushed the snow off of my saddle and slid a Winchester '73 that we'd liberated in the battle at the wash into the scabbard. It used the new WCF .44 round and I made sure it was fully loaded. Tom joined me and we found several good fallen trees and dragged them in close to the cabin. When we had finished we rode off a ways and looked around. "I want a look at our back trail and now's a good time." I said. We rode to the edge of the shelf that the cabin sat on and studied the scene below. We couldn't see much for the falling snow, but a campfire nearby might have showed in the gaps in the swirling white stuff. We saw nothing and after a while we turned for the cabin. I paused a moment here as well. The man that built this cabin chose a good spot. The ridge above leaned out over the place where it was built. The chimney was situated where smoke from it rose into a stand of pine that would partially disperse that smoke. Looking at the cabin itself, no light could be seen from outside and a row of junipers hid it from view from below. I nodded my approval to no one in particular and headed back to the warmth and more food.

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

I had scalped Sandy , with the small toothpick , then cut his head off with the one I carried on my belt

 

seemed fitting as they were from the same steel , some years back , I was down in New Orleans , I had met a Japaniese metal worker

 

he had said , the blade was a living thing , the owner became one with the blade , I think I now understand what he was tryin to say

 

every female that had attempted to posses the small blade , had come to great harm , wonder if this will quell the spitit of the blade ?

 

Cody , Cul Pepper get ready to ride , we can get to the camp just before sun up .

 

Bama , you take the ladys , and have the wagons moving at first lite ,

 

Boys , we hit the camp at first lite , riding through in a full charge , 2 in the first wave and 1 providing cover , then wheel around and hit em again

 

should have everything done in 2 passes ,

 

lets get this done , we should be back to the wagons for lunch

[Cheyenne Culpepper 32827]

I looked at Bill and said loudly enough for everyone to hear, "NO, this is my problem, my revenge, and my decision. You've got a schedule, I'll catch up when I done. I wasn't sure how they would react until Bama said, "He's right, let him handle it, it's his mess. If he can't get it done, then we'll deal with it."

 

"I need 10 sticks of dynamite, fuses, tabacco and papers to roll it in, that's all I need. I'll hit them with the dynamite at sun up, you should be rolling by then. If you see me after that, I finished it, if not then I guess you'll have to finish it." I told them as I saddled my horses and prepared my gear.

 

Tyrel brought me the dynamite and Bama handed me the tobacco and papers to roll it in. I could see Calico and Mattie quietly talking with each other but as I got ready to ride they each came over and each of them kissed me on my cheeks, "You better come back for us!" was all that either on said.

 

I swung up onto the albino, which brought a question from Tyrel, "Why you riding that white horse, they'll see you for sure!"

 

"He's a nightwalker, he can see at night as well as Midnight can during the day," I told them as I rode out of camp with Midnight trailing closely behind me.

 

There was a knoll about two hundred yards away from the small batch of trees and brush where the others were camped, I left my horses there and crept the rest of the way on foot. "What fools" I thought as I heard the drunken men through the night's stillness. I waited until the camp got quiet and then waited until the sun was about to peak over the horizon. I lit one of the cigarettes I had rolled and stuck the fuse of the first stick and set it by the horses. I repeated this encircling their camp and then ran back to the knoll.

 

I got back to the knoll just in time to catch my breath as the sun started to light up the sky from behind me. The first blast lit up the sky and sent horses running in every direction. I set the trigger and waited for a target. I heard men hollering before i saw the first man, the bullet from my Sharps sent the man stumbling backwards. I reloaded and found another target, and repeated it for three more shots and men being sent into eternity.

 

Four gone, I thought, three maybe four more. I heard gunshots and then the dirt around me started to kick up as the bullets missed their mark. I saw the flash of a rifle and looked at the spot through the glass on the Sharps, there he was and then as the bullet found him he was gone.

 

It got quiet, only two more, where are they? Suddenly two men broke through the brush riding straight for me, the front one was thrown from his horse after the bullet smashed into his chest. I had no time to reload the Sharps and grabbed the shotgun Bill had given me and stood up to face the last rider bearing down on me firing his pistol as he rode. I waited for him to get near enough for the scattergun to work effectively and then opened up with it. The first shot hit the man, but not well enough and he tried to turn his horse but the second shot was closer and the shot nearly tore completely through him.

 

I sat down and watched the brush trying to quit shaking. I waited until the sun was high before I mounted Midnight to ride into the camp and make sure it was finished.

[Apache Hawk 60642]

I don't remember no one appointing me as cook of this outfit, nor head tracker neither, but I was doing both. Tracking I was good at for my father had taught me the ways of the Apache, how to find sign and track on rock and soft sand where most white men would never see it. Where to find water, food and shelter too,..how to live with what Mother Earth blessed you with. My Father also taught me that any man who is willing to fight Washington City, is a man to stand along side with. That's way I joined the Confederate scouts and later was given a field promotion.

 

But now I was a cook ? How did I come to this ? This was woman's work after all, but there was one good thing about this hole in the wall cabin. Who ever left here, left in a hurry and left behind their supplies and they left some coffee ! I quickly took 2 big shallows from a canteen and put 3 or 4 huge handfuls of grounds inside and set it near the hearth to boil. It didn't matter if it was strong or not, hell....it was coffee ! Besides, it was going to be a long cold ride tomorrow and some coffee during the day would be good too, I figured. I was glad them boys didn't come up with some flour for making biscuits !

 

I put those peppers and maters into something that looked like a pot along with those beans, then as they started to boil, cut up a bit of the elk fawn meat into it for seasoning. It's best I keep most of it with me to have on the trail to chew on. Blackwater and Tom came in from dragging those dead falls in, so I let them sit by the fire and warm up some. Besides, my white Grandpaw used to say "Any good fire wood will warm yur butt twice.....once when ya cut it and once when ya burn it !" Well, looks like he was right, cause those boys looked mighty warm right now while I threw another log on after cutting some up. It was all I could do to keep my eyes open, but I went on and did the cooking for them anyway. Least I could do....Blackwater had saved my hide many a time and I owned him more than I could repay him. So even if I had lost the trail of the outlaws I was tracking for the Rangers, I was still bound for Mexico with him.

 

I settled down with some of this "stew" and coffee that was strong enough that it could stand at attention on it's on, and then went to wiping down my weapons before I pulled my buffalo robe around me, lowered my head down to my chest and closed my eyes.......just for a minute.

[Calico Mary]

When Cheyenne described to me and Mattie the disguise he had used back in Delano, we both knew right away who he was at that point. Neither had recognized him as the same man, but he looked and acted so different now, and he'd gone by another name in Delano. I thought back to when our boss had introduced his “friend” from back East, and told all of us that anything the man wanted, we were to see to it that he got. Me, Ginny, Julia, Sadie, Hannah, and later Mattie all knew we had better do it, the boss's orders were to be followed without question. The gent hadn't been much of a drinker, most of the time he'd just sit quietly at the end of the bar watching everything going on, and drinking either tea or coffee.

 

There was one thing the boss's friend didn't hesitate to ask for, and I could feel the blood draining from my face when I remembered.....oh my, did I remember. He'd been upstairs with all of us at one point or another, most often with me or Ginny. He'd paid well enough, but after hearing the rest of his story I realized now that the boss had probably provided the money for that, almost all of it went back to him anyway. Boss had made us give him the majority of what we earned, but then again he did provide us with just about everything we needed—food, clothing, shelter—and even an occasional trinket or bottle of perfume. I guess the boss had also been providing us with a bodyguard, even if we hadn't known it.

 

As embarrassed as I was now to realize that I did know this man, I was also horrified to hear him insist on taking care of the other seven men chasing me all by himself. Seven against one? Those were some pretty steep odds there, and Mattie and I weren't sure when he rode off that we'd ever see him alive again. That's when I knew what we had to do, enough blood had been spilled on my account already, I couldn't risk bringing any more trouble to these fellas that had saved our lives.

 

Mattie and I returned to our wagon, and I whispered to her to start getting our stuff ready to go. “Go where?” she whispered back. “I don't know yet, but we have to get out of here, just do it but be quiet about it!” She glanced in the direction where the other three men were sitting by the fire, and put her hand on the rattle necklace Bill had given her. “Do we have to...” she started, but one more look from me finally got her to quiet down. I grabbed a half empty flask that I had, it wasn't the best whiskey in the world but it was all I had. Mattie saw me grab a little bottle of chloral hydrate that I had and shake some drops into the flask. Her eyebrows shot up, I just leaned over and told her, “It ain't enough to hurt em, just gotta make sure they stay asleep long enough for us to get away. Relax, I know what I'm doing.”

 

Taking the flask, I went out to the fire, and told the men, “I'm sorry, really I am, I should have leveled with all of you long before this. I just didn't know who I could trust. This is all I have for a peace offering, if you'll accept it...” and I held out the flask. “Well, a sip or two might help me sleep better,” Red responded, reaching for the flask. I stayed there long enough to make sure all of them had a few swallows, at one point Tyrel offered me some but I shook my head. “Naw, already had enough, thank you, don't need my head hurting any worse tomorrow.”

 

Returning to the wagon, I made sure that Mattie had everything of ours ready to go, and then we waited. Before long I heard snoring coming from the fire, cautiously peeking out I saw that all three men were sound asleep. As silently as we could, we crept from the wagon with our meager belongings wrapped in blankets, and headed for where the horses were tied. I knew the penalty for horse theft, but the horses that belonged to Sandy Smith and one of the other men Cheyenne had killed that night didn't really belong to the men at the fire, so they couldn't say we were stealing them. And they could keep the horses that had been pulling our wagon in return, neither was much good for riding. We walked the horses for a little ways before mounting up. In a way I wished we had sidesaddles, riding astride was going to get cold pretty quick, with our legs exposed and the temperature dropping. We had no choice though, and motioning for Mattie to follow me I turned my horse towards the west and started riding.

[Blackwater 53393]

Hawk had cooked one hell of a meal. I didn't know why he was cooking. I knew he was raised to believe cooking was women's work, but I guess he was hungriest among us or maybe he just wanted to stay by the fire. The coffee had been a near miraculous find and the other foodstuffs had made what was a bleak night into a feast of sorts. The cabin had become warm and almost cozy, and the others had bedded down. At this height in the hills sounds traveled far and if the snow let up you could see for a hundred miles in some directions.

 

I pulled on my blanket and the canvas that I'd borrowed from the colonel and stepped out the door into the night. I dusted the snow from my saddle and climbed onto the dunn, turning him toward the front edge of the ridge as I mounted. "Let's have a look around, boy." I said. I peered through the still falling snow as we rode along the ridge. Once in a while the snow seemed to pause for a moment and the flat land below could be seen in glimpses. At the far end of the ridge I reigned up and sat in the saddle listening, and looking out over the expanse of land as best i could. I heard nothing except the moan of the wind. In the gaps in the snowfall I saw no light or movement. "Let's get some sleep, horse!" I reigned around and rode back to the cabin. I unsaddled the dunn and turned him into the corral, carried my saddle into the cabin and found a place to bed down. I was asleep before my eyes were fully closed.

 

At dawn it was still snowing hard. The wind had died and the flakes were small and thick. I stirred the fire a little and threw wood onto it. Adding a little water to the stew, I set the pot back onto the fire and started another pot of coffee. Celeste had liked for me to cook. She said the trail food I fixed was good for the soul, simple and spicy and with no apologies to anyone. She hated cleaning up after me in the kitchen. That, she had said was proof that I was raised in a pig pen! We had laughed at that often!

 

The others woke to the smell of the coffee and one after another pulled on their boots and hats and wrapped themselves in their blankets to go and relieve themselves. "Looks like we're stuck here for a while," the colonel grunted as he returned from outside.

 

"It'll snow at least a few more hours," Hawk nodded over his steaming cup.

 

"This'll be mostly rain east of here," Flint observed, "The wagons will be mired up a day or so."

 

"Hope Bama and the boys don't run into trouble while we're stuck here," I mused. "Them women looked to be nothin' but trouble."

 

"If they're anything like the three of you," Tom glanced around the room, "I'd say that trouble would do well to avoid 'em!"

 

We finished the stew and went about cleaning the cooking gear. "Glad we found these," the colonel smiled, "We didn't have even a skillet after we left the wagons."

 

"You'd said to travel light!" I pointed out.

 

"Yeah, and it worked!" Tom added. "At least it did 'til we caught up with that pack of gun wolves!"

 

"I wonder at them not being better supplied," Hawk said. "And I wonder how far they'd rode."

 

"Been sorta wonderin' that myself!" I agreed

 

"I still don't recall that brand, and I've ridden these parts for a lot of years, off and on." J. Mark told us.

 

"Well that answers the question I asked the other day." Tom acknowledged, "I wasn't tryin' to mix in your business, Colonel. I was just wonderin' out loud."

 

"No offense taken, Tom," Flint smiled, "It just ain't how things are done out here. But I figure you know that already." The smile came with a warning.

 

We sat around the cabin the rest of the morning, swapping lies and cleaning weapons. Around noon Hawk and Tom went out to hunt dinner and the colonel and I saw to the animals. There was no grain and little forrage here on the side of the mountain, but we found a couple of old hay bales that weren't molded in a lean-to near the corral. We fed them to the horses a bit to each at a time.

 

The snow stopped and the hunters returned as the afternoon stretched into dusk. Tom and Hawk had a small mountain goat, dressed and hung from a pole. "We'll eat anyways!" the half Apache laughed, "So long as I ain't doin' the cookin' this time!" his demeanor at that last bit showed he wasn't joking.

 

"If it don't turn bad again, we'll pull out in the morning," Flint advised as we ate the evening meal.

 

I'd done the cooking after Hawk and Tom did the butchering. I wished I'd had some molasses or brown sugar to make a barbeque sauce, but we'd instead cut the meat up fine and made a chili out of it. Hawk had found some suitable sticks of wood to make five new arrows. The one that took the goat had been saved. He produced heads from a small bag and fletching feathers from a folded piece of deer skin that hung from his saddle. Before we slept his new arrows were done.

 

Since the weather had begun to clear, we took turns at watch that night. It was again uneventful and thankfully we all got decent rest. At dawn we filled up on the last of the goat chili, a last pot of coffee, and began to break camp. "I hate to do it, but I'm gonna pull down our canvas, " I said. "We may need it again. The next folks through here will just hafta' fend for themselves!"

 

 

 

 

[Cheyenne Culpepper 32827]

It had taken me several hours to settle down to where I felt I could walk again, but as I waited I cleaned my firearms and got things in order again. I finally felt it was time and rode slowly into the camp, with that new fangled shotgun across my lap. Why were these men in Trooper's clothing, I had circled the encampment before I ventured toward where their fire had been.

 

I heard someone crying as I neared and saw a young man sitting, leaning up against a tree. When I he noticed me, he threw up his hands, a small black book in one of them, "Don't shoot mister, I done in."

 

I dismounted and walked carefully over to him, "little late for crying son" I told him as I knelt beside him.

 

"I'm not crying for me" he said, "I'm crying because I've broken my dear mother's heart." He handed me what turned out to be a small bible and asked me, "Would you please read this, my eyes have blurred to where I can't read anymore. I've made my peace with God, but would you read where I've opened it too, please?"

 

Dern kid, now I could hardly read too, I looked at his bible, it was opened to the 143 psalm, I started reading out loud,

 

"hear my prayer, oh Lord, give ear to my supplications; in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.

 

and enter not into judgement with thy servant, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.

 

for the enemy hath persecuted my soul, he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those who have been long dead.

 

Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed withing me; my heart within my is desolate. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all they works; I muse on the work of thy hands.

 

I stretch forth my hands unto thee; my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land Selah

 

Hear me speedily O Lord. my spirit faileth, hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that fo down into the pit,

 

Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust;cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.

 

Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies, I flee unto thee to hide me.

 

Teach me to do thy will: for thou art my God; tyr spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.

 

Quicken me. O Lord. for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.

 

And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies and destroy all them that afflict my soul; for i am thy servant.

 

 

 

Just as I finished I heard him say "Momma, I'm coming Momma" and then his breaths grew quick and shallow, then with a smile on his face he passed over to the other side. I closed the bible he had given me on put it into my inside coat pocket, said a quick prayer and started taking the uniforms off of every man laying there dead. These men weren't fit to rot in a uniform.

 

I gathered up the men's firearms and put them in the light wagon they had and then hitched up a team of horses and had made their way back to the camp and along with all their foodstuffs I drove the wagon with Midnight and the albino trailing along behind to catch up with the others.

 

You can imagine my surprise when I reached the camp and found Tyrel, Bama and Bill either sprawled out on the ground, or sitting there rubbing their heads. I looked around for Calico and Mattie but they were nowhere to be seen. I unloaded much of the hardware I had taken from the "troopers" and started looking for the women. It didn't take long for me to see that they had left out on two horses with only their meager belongings.

 

I asked the others what had happened and they just shook their heads saying the last thing they remembered was drinking whiskey from Calico's flask. Knowing then what had happened I smiled. "They felt quilty because of all of this trouble and they put somekind of knockout drops in that before you drank it, old soiled dove's trick to roll a man. I got to find them, they'll die out here and I feel responsible for them."

 

I can't repeat what was muttered behind me as I climbed into the small wagon and head west following the women's horses tracks.

[Calico Mary]

I had no idea where I was leading my friend, we were both totally lost and had no idea where we were. All I knew is that it might be harder for someone to track us if we headed up into the mountains, rather than stay close to the trail. The mountains themselves I knew nothing about, having grown up in Iowa, then living in Nebraska and Kansas. Still, anything was better than being caught and hauled back to Delano, even if Cheyenne had admitted to us that he was responsible for the killings that wouldn't help me any if I was captured.

 

We rode for quite a while, and after the sun came up it was easier to see that we were in fact starting to climb into the foothills. The horses didn't have too much trouble at first, I wished I could say the same for me. Mattie was not a bad rider, but I didn't have anywhere near as much experience as she did on horseback. All the same she was depending on me to lead us.....somewhere. I told her to keep her eye out on the way for any game that we could try to shoot, we'd need food sooner or later, I hadn't had the nerve to take any that was in the wagons.

 

We had taken the saddlebags belonging to the original owners of the horses, but I'd already gone through them and there wasn't much of any use other than a good supply of matches and some ammunition. Both might prove useful before too much longer. It was steadily getting colder, and before long to my horror it started snowing. We weren't dressed for such cold weather, and I figured the best thing to do now was find someplace we could shelter and build a fire.

 

It took the better part of another hour before I finally found a spot that might work. There was a shallow depression in the side of the hill up ahead, not really a cave but the closest thing to it that I'd seen so far. There were a few trees in front and to one side of it that would help block a little of the wind, and just enough room in there for us to get back out of the snowfall. The horses would be able to stand between the trees and the hill, if we could get a fire going in there it may be enough to keep us and the horses warm enough until the storm passed.

 

We pulled up close to it, I handed the horses off to Mattie and went to look for firewood. There wasn't much close by, but I found enough to start with at the base of a tree that wasn't too wet yet, and took it to Mattie. “Use a match outta that one saddlebag to get a fire going, I'll grab some more wood and be back as soon as I can,” I told her, and she nodded. I think she was too cold to say much by that point, but a fire would take care of that soon enough. I was cold too, but it was my fault we were in this predicament, and firewood was not going to just magically appear. I was stumbling by the time I finally was able to get back to Mattie and the horses with enough to last us for a while, if necessary I could look for more after I'd warmed up a bit.

 

Mattie was already asleep, rolled up in her blanket along the back wall of the depression in the hill. I didn't want to fall asleep myself, one of us oughta be keeping watch, but as I sat there and pulled my own blanket around me, I realized how exhausted I was as well, I hadn't been sleeping well lately anyway. It wasn't long before my eyelids had gotten so heavy that I just couldn't keep them open any longer.

[Elk Creek LeMieux]

From the higher ground the cabin occupied we could see that the storm had moved off to the east, straggling clouds still overhead.

 

It was unlikely we'd see anymore snow, even traveling the same direction as the storm. We wouldn't be moving very fast after this storm. It had been relatively warm in the days prior, and with that sudden snow the ground under it wouldn't have had a chance to freeze. I'd been around long enough to know that we'd be riding in snow with mud under it once it warmed up a touch, and as footing goes, it don't get much worse.

 

Still, it was decided that there was no good reason to wait another day at the cabin, with our limited food and forage. And it was possible that lower elevations hadn't gotten so much as we saw here.

 

I thought the main reason to be movin was to find feed for our mounts, and I expect everyone else thought the same.

 

There hadn't been much talk in the cabin, but it hadn't been a tense atmosphere. It'd been the sort you often find in a small group of men that have ridden together and known one another for years. There wasn't much talk because there didn't need to be. And the time we'd spent in there reminded me I needed to work harder on bein seen and not heard.

 

So with that in mind, I didn't weigh in on the discussion to tear down and get movin. Once we had our things together Hawk had led out, the subtle changes in landmarks covered in snow being the least likely to fool him. The Colonel havin spent time in the area, was behind him, and I rode drag.

 

It promised to be a cold ride, at least until the sun got high in the sky, those clouds to the east would block every bit of warmth it might have offered.

 

I wrapped up in a ground sheet and a blanket, and settled down to see what the days travel might bring.

[Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103]

Jacob Keller laid back in a clump of brush and studied the trail ahead with cold eyes.

Jacob Keller, chief deputy, Firelands County, Coloado, firstborn son of Sheriff Linn Keller.

Jacob Keller, husband and father, crack shot and expert knife fighter, and rare in that part of the world, an ace swordsman, thanks to his late mother's tutelage.

Jacob had come south looking for a wanted man, looking for a man whose face was on a wanted dodger, a man who'd tried to kill his sister, a man he'd seen and with whom he'd shared coffee over a remote fire some years back.

He'd found him.

The man he was after lay dead in Mexico, killed as Jacob came in sight of him, stripped and scalped as Jacob watched: Jacob had a good set of German binoculars with him, and he watched the bloody tableau, watched long enough to satisfy himself it was the last of the Carsey tribe -- a lying coward named Dan Carsey -- who now lay naked, mutilated, his fingers sliced and his eyes gouged out, hamstrung and without his parts, guaranteeing that the deceased could not see to pursue his murderers in the Afterlife, nor could his cut fingers grasp a weapon in the Afterlife to avenge his own death, nor could he father sons in the Afterlife to avenge his death for him.

Jacob turned his mountain-bred stallion and rode away, knowing he had distance on his side, satisfied he'd not been seen, knowing if there was pursuit, his stallion -- used to the thin, high Colorado air -- could out-last a lowland horse.

He headed for home, back to Firelands, back to Colorado.

Jacob was far from a stranger to trouble and right now he could taste trouble on the wind.

Cover was sparse on the mountain and he knew a man looking for an enemy would look at cover first: he knew that the brush that helped break his visual signature would draw the eye, and so he looked, and listened, and smelt the wind, and finally his knees spoke to his stallion and the three of them -- Jacob, the Macneil Appaloosa he rode, and his mousy-grey pack horse -- eased down the mountain and into a little gully to the side, a little gully that bent and deepened and hid him from the trail.

Troubled men would be coming up-trail and Jacob preferred to avoid troubled men.

Good souls or bad, he knew men on edge might jump to conclusions, and he didn't care to get jumped.

Snow rattled the sparse brush and hissed against the rocks surrounding him and he knew it would be wise to get below timber line and into some shelter.

[J. Mark Flint #31954 LIFE]

I made it a point not to fall asleep in the saddle. Falling the other day had been damned embarrassing.. Hawk was skirting a rather nasty, thorny thicket as we worked our way out of the foothills when an explosion of movement occurred off to his right. My hand darted to my colt and I fired. Hawk's horse was dancing like a rodeo bronc and to his credit, he managed to ride it out.

Once the excitement was over we looked and laying on the side of the trail was a Mountain lion, larger than any I had seen before.

 

I dismounted and pulled my Winchester to verify the animal was dead. My shot had struck the spine just below the base of the skull and there was no exit wound. I rolled the animal over looking for a sign as to why it would hunt a man-but it looked perfectly healthy. I hated that the animal would go to waste, but I'd had cat meat once before and I wasn't hungry enough to eat it again.

 

We didn't waste time. It was over and we'd just signaled our location, if someone was listening. I took the lead, though Hawk didn't seem to have been the least bit flustered. Hell he'd have probably killed the cat himself with his bare hands if I hadn't intervened.

 

I turned us south and we headed back up into the foothills for a little while before turning east again and starting back out towards the flatlands. With the snow, there was no covering our backtrail, so we moved quickly. The foothills faded away and as they did the snow thinned to just a few inches of icy crud. I stopped and tended to my horses hooves as did the others. I cleaned out the hooves and checked the shoes, finally rubbing the underside of each hoof with a bit of mutton tallow to keep the ice from sticking and causing pain. So far it had worked well.

 

It was getting close to the end of the day when we saw the flicker of lights in the distance. "Trinidad!" I said loudly, and I kicked my horse into an easy canter. We were two miles away from food, shelter, whisky and most importantly real coffee.

[Apache Hawk 60642]

We all rode into Trinidad as a motley crew.....covered in canvas and blankets to keep the sheet , snow and cold out, yet to make us water proof as well. Our mounts looked a bit worn as well and could use a rest as well as grain. For that we headed straight to livery stable to get settled in. Our stock cost a whopping total of $2.00 to feed and care for a week. By God that was high, but the old livery man had us over a barrel and he knew it. He was the only one around and our stock needed rest and grain. So $2.00 a week it was, but those wagons best be here by then, or Blackwater and the Colonel will make sure there will be hell to pay !

 

I unsaddled my Appaloosa stud, poured some grain in the trough and let him eat while I wiped him down then went on to curry and comb him out. He liked it and some me so by swishing his tail toward me and then looking back at me as if he was smiling at me. Horses can be almost human at time, if you just know how to look and listen. I cleaned his hooves again, making sure the frogs where in good order when I noticed the old man was looking over at the odd brand on the mounts we had taken from the dead men. I walked over to him and whispered to him and to my amazement he knew Apache language and told me that he had seen this brand only a few days before. He said there where a dozen or some men and they where looking for me and some white men who where after some mestizo with 3 fingers. And that these men where mean but it looks like we where meaner than they.

 

I smiled and patted him on his humped over back and gave him coins, telling him not to tell anyone what he had told me. Not even anyone in our party.....I would do that. He nodded , smiled and walked off. I returned to my horse when Blackwater came up.

 

"What was that about Hawk ?"

 

I looked off into the darkness and said, "The old one knows of this brand, " and I pointed to the brand on the horses and I relayed the story to him. "And he know's of you're man with 3 fingers AND a mestizo that may just know who those men that where trailing us where. I find that interesting to say the least.....I think it has something to with our little trip to Mexico, but we'll have to see what the Colonel thinks. Right now, I'm more worried about getting some food, whiskey and hot coffee. This town don't cotton to half breeds to well."

 

Blackwater said, "Colonel.......Over here please.... Hawk.....you back our play and everything will be fine. Tom.....bring mine and you're rifles with ya."

[Cheyenne Culpepper 32827]

I left the other men behind to try to find Calico and Mattie. the women must have feared that I wouldn't return and decided they would be safer on their own. The horses pulling the light wagon were well rested and i pushed them harder than I would have because the women had a several hour head start on me. I felt sure that I could catch them by late evening because I could see by the tracks they were leaving behind that they were moving slowly.

 

I started to get concerned when the tracks led into the foothills and the temperatures started to drop, followed by light snow. I had almost given up hope of being able to track them as the fresh snow started to cover their tracks, but then I saw a bit of color on a bush. It was a piece of fabric just big enough to tie around a small branch. I pulled the cloth of the bush and continued on until I spotted the next piece and so on until I caught a wiff of smoke. It was already dark as i spotted their horses sheltered by some pines. I locked the wheels on the wagon and went to check on the ladies with blankets in hand.

 

I found them in a deep sleep and put blankets over each of them and then found wood to add to the fire. I went back to the wagon and got a dutch skillet and opened a large can of beans and placed the skillet close to the fire. I sat between the two of them and with more blankets I pulled them to each side of me and then spread the extra blankets over the three of us.

 

Calico looked up at me, "Took you long enough, I thought we were going to freeze to death!" she said as she snuggled in closer. Mattie awoke and rubbing her eyes said, "Did you see the fabric I left for you?" then she closed her eyes as she put her arm over my stomach.

 

I did have to admit that the cold that had been spreading through my soul was suddenly gone and a warmth was welling up within me. I sat there contemplating just how we were going to meet up with the others. But, for now I wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere.

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

Cul Pepper , took off , like a love sick puppy , tryin to catch up with the wayward doves

 

I made a big pot of very strong coffee , to push back the cob webs cuased by the durgged whiskey

 

there is a storm comin in and this ain't no place to be cuaght up in it

 

guys , get some of this mud in ya , I will get the teams hooked up , we gotta get to moving , we are behind schedule

 

we are at least a full day , behind , before we get hit by the storm

 

we ain't got a scout , so we are gonna have to stay alert for trouble

 

we made good time for what was left of the day , made up some time , as we were not slowed down by Mary and Mattee

 

as , we set camp , for the nite , I reached for the small toothpick , dang , it was gone

 

well now , what kinda of mischef , is it gonna cuase now ?

 

there is coffee and stew on the fire , I will take first watch , Cody , ya want to take it next ?

 

I will wake ya around midnite , you and Bama tske a couple of hours each , then wake me for last watch

 

I will hook up the teams , so we can roll out early , maybe we can get back on schedule

 

the Col , is gonna be upset if we don't make it on time

[Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103]

Jacob made no visible move.

He didn't have to.

His Pa taught him the value of knee-training his mount; he could, and did, ride with the reins knotted and dropped over the saddle horn.

Jacob's eyes tightened at the corners, taking in the trail ahead.

Wagon, he thought, and three ... no, two ... two horses ridden ...

Jacob swore silently, wishing most fervently for Charlie's tracking skills.

A gust of wind brought smoke to his nose, a teasing trace of scent.

He'd considered the topography, read how the land folded, tortured into a convenient convolution that bespoke an ancient stress to the land, something stout enough to bend rock and lay it into what would weather into a meagre shelter from the winter winds that reminded the tall, skinny deputy that he'd best get somewhere less unpleasant.

He shucked his '76 rifle, laid it across the saddle in front of him, his thumb on the hammer, and bade his Apple-horse forward, slow.

Hooves were silent on new snow; he halted when he came line-of-sight with wagon and horses, fire and figures.

Two were bundled under blankets, the canvas mostly snow covered now; a hard-eyed man laid the lid back on a Dutch oven and rose, rifle in hand, as Jacob came in sight.

Jacob raised his right hand in greeting. "Hello the fahr," he called quietly, "I've got meat and coffee if you'd like to sweeten up that meal you're a-fixin'."

[Cheyenne Culpepper 32827]

Midnight and the albino had warned me of something coming into camp, I checked the skillet and watched as a rider make his way ever so slowly and without sound into our meager camp. At least he had the good manners to announce himself quickly. I noticed the heavy rifle and smiled, rose and welcomed into the camp, "Come on in stranger, you can leave your rifle with your horse, I don't reckon either of us are much in the mood for gunplay in this weather."

 

He nodded, slipped the rifle into it's scabbard, fetched his coffee and meat and strode slowly into camp, his eyes carefully taking in every inch of it.

His eyes spent a little extra time on Mattie and Calico, couldn't blame him for that.

 

"Lawman?" I asked without taking at least one eye off the lanky man.

[Calico Mary]

I'd wanted to stay awake and guard Mattie, but I was just too exhausted. At least the fire had warmed us both up enough to where we could sleep safely, and we probably both needed it. The horses needed the rest and the warmth as well. My dreams were disturbing though, someone or something was chasing me, but all I could see around me was white, white as far as the eye could see, and I had no idea where to go and nowhere to hide. I awoke with a start to find Cheyenne sitting between me and Mattie, trying to pull us both in closer to warm us up even more.

 

I was thankful that he'd brought extra blankets and food, but I was still worried about him coming after us, what if we were in fact still being chased? Just how far was he willing to go to protect two whores? I pushed a little closer to him, the fire had burned down a bit while we were asleep and I'd started getting cold again. I noticed Mattie doing the same thing, and heard her tell him that she'd left a trail for him to follow. Just what was she up to and why hadn't she told me? I wasn't going to worry about that now, I was more interested in how long it was going to take those beans to cook, I was starving.

 

I had closed my eyes again, but opened them when I felt Cheyenne tense up. There was a strange man riding slowly into our little camp, and as he got closer Cheyenne stood and greeted him. The man offered to share some meat and coffee with us, and I had to admit coffee sounded wonderful. Then as the man dismounted and stepped forward, Cheyenne asked if he was a lawman. I froze in horror as the stranger gave a slight nod but then said no more, he just handed the meat to Cheyenne then started making a pot of coffee. Who was this man, and did he know that I was wanted? Maybe trusting him was a mistake, but Cheyenne seemed to relax a little, if he was worried he wasn't showing it.

 

The stranger didn't say another word until the coffee was ready, and he had poured us each a steaming cup. Then he slowly looked me and Mattie up and down, and turning to Cheyenne he said “These ladies aren't exactly dressed for this weather. If they don't have anything else, you may want to consider heading for town and getting them something warmer to wear. I doubt this is the last storm we'll be having before spring.”

 

I glanced down at my dress, but I already knew the stranger was right. I appreciated him calling us ladies though, since no lady would have gone anywhere in a dress like this. Cheyenne agreed with him, asking “What is the closest town that might have what we need? And might you be able to show us how to get there, or at least tell us how?”

 

“That would be Trinidad...” was the stranger's response...

[Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103]

"That would be Trinidad."

Jacob poured himself half a tin cup of coffee, set it down to cool some.

"I'm passin' through there. Headed back to Firelands."

"Business or pleasure?" one of the ladies asked, her voice low and musical, steam from her coffee rising in front of her face.

The deputy's smile was tight.

"'Twas supposed to be business," he admitted "Injuns got the man I was after."

"How do you figure that?" Cheyenne asked, his voice tight.

"Saw 'em cut him up." Jacob took a careful sip of coffee. "I got me a good set of German field glasses. Saw it plain. 'Twas Dan Carsey and I don't reckon the world's gonna grieve too hard."

"Carsey," Cheyenne said thoughtfully. "Scar on his right shoulder, easy liar?"

"The same."

"I heard of him." He looked directly at Jacob. "You kin get us to Trinidad?"

Jacob set down his coffee. "I got a map," he said, "let me fetch it."

Cheyenne saw the slight movement to his left and he knew Calico was ready for unpleasantness -- probably snaked a rifle under the blanket she was wrapped up in.

Good, he thought approvingly as Calico drifted a few steps to one side, moving while the deputy's back was turned.

Cheyenne blew on his coffee, waited.

Jacob walked back to the fire, a flat leather wrapped parcel in hand: he went to one knee, carefully withdrew a hand-drawn map, unfolded it, looked up, to the horizon as if to get his bearings, gave the map a quarter turn.

"North, that way," he muttered, "we'd be ... here." His finger hovered over the lower left margin. "Right about here ... " He looked closer, reading the hand lettered legend. "Fisher Mountain. Trinidad be ... here, and here's the trail. Springs here, here and here" -- his finger touched the paper delicately in three places, then he looked up and grinned. "My father drew this. He has a gift for it."

Calico came into the deputy's left peripheral, approaching with her head tilted a little.

"Your father," she said, a question in her voice.

"Yes ma'am," Jacob nodded. "The Sheriff. Linn Keller."

"Pale Eyes," she and Cheyenne said together.

[Blackwater 53393]

The town of Trinidad had grown in the years since I'd been there. The railroad had been extended over Raton Pass and word was that it would be finished all the way to Santa Fe by late summer. The old man who ran the stables had spoken to 'Pache about the brands on the extra horses and what Hawk told me didn't set well. After discussing it with the colonel, I left him to deal with that issue. Tom handed my rifle to me and fell into step as we headed for the nearest saloon, Hawk trailing a couple of steps behind. We walked into the room and paused to let our eyes adjust to the change in light. "Barkeep! I'll have a bottle and four glasses at that table yonder!" I called, pointing my rifle at an empty table at the rear of the room.

 

You could hear the rats under the floor scurry for cover it got so quiet. "A pot of coffee and some cups too!" Tom added with a smile. We walked to the table and Hawk took the chair against the wall and Tom and I fanned ours out to either side. The bartender hurried over with the bottle and glasses, but stopped a step short of the table.

 

"We don't allow his kind in here!" he groused, holding the tray in one hand and pointing at Hawk with the other.

 

"Tonight you do!" Tom and I both replied as one. "Set down the tray, bring the coffee, and tell whoever is in the back to get the four biggest steaks you got in the pan, NOW!" I added, showing little patience or concern. "I'll be serving Mr. Hawk here, and you just see I don't want for anything."

 

"Y y y yes sir!" the man replied and dashed away to see to our 'request'.

 

Hawk grabbed the bottle and poured a round for all of us. "Colonel orta be here in a minute," as he poured the fourth shot and set the bottle on the table. He took his own glass and downed the dark brown liquid, poured another and said, "Y'all are welcome to catch up as you can."

 

Flint eased through the door shortly, quartered the room and came over to join us. I looked at him with the question unspoken. "I'll tell you about it later. Here ain't the place." As he sat down the bartender returned with the coffee pot and cups.

 

"Yer food'll be ready in just a bit, Sirs."

 

We all tossed back a shot and I poured each another. "I'll take some of that coffee!" the pot was closer to Tom. He turned a couple of cups up and poured. It was hot and strong and not too old. Hawk took a cup and filled it and dolloped a big shot of whiskey into it. He filled the last cup and slid it over to the colonel.

 

"You coulda' done the same for me!" J. Mark grumped and grabbed the bottle.

 

"Wave that around over here," Tom chuckled.

 

"You seen anything of the wagons?" I asked Flint. "I wonder if we're ahead."

 

"No sign of 'em," the colonel replied. "they ain't been here yet."

 

"We should eat and get us some sleep," Hawk advised as he drank another gulp of coffee. "Red 'n' ol' Bill will be along soon enough!"

 

"I'm just thinkin' of Red havin' ta' deal with that Yankee and them whores," I whispered. The idea of them riding into town like a bunch of peacocks wasn't something I saw as a good thing, and despite Red's assurances, I wasn't at all convinced that we needed that banty rooster.

 

"We'll eat our dinner, have a few drinks, and I've got us a couple of rooms at the hotel down the street." J. Mark Flint was good at this. "Just don't none of you cut the wolf loose tonight!!"

[Elk Creek LeMieux]

The livery man didn't do us any favors when he took our horses in, that's for sure. But after feedin the two I was responsible for and rubbin them dry with an old sack I'd gone in to settle up with him. I'd taken that 44 Russian, it bein my only spoils from the fight, and offered it in trade to cover my bill.

 

The old man had just looked up and said, "Your bill is settled. Take care of your pards, they're good men."

 

Then he'd gone back to reading a two week old paper and hadn't acknowledged my presence again.

 

From there I'd rejoined the group, where Blackwater promptly asked me to retrieve his rifle. I was already carrying the '66 in the crook of my arm, so I retrieved his '73. As we were all impatient to find food and drink not prepared over a fire outdoors I just stuck the Russian behind my gun belt instead of returning it to my saddlebags.

 

Hawk was concerned we might not be served with him in our presence, but Blackwater and the Colonel wouldn't hear any of it. I didn't drink very often, having discovered early in life that I got into enough trouble without it, I mostly left it to others that held it better. But I sure wanted coffee. The Colonel walked away to talk to the livery man again, and Blackwater led the way to a false fronted saloon.

 

There were several people in the place, and none of 'em looked to friendly at us. My clothes were only slightly better than rags, and my long handles showed through in several places. Hawk, was going to be unpopular anywhere we went. Blackwater was dressed well however, and his bearing made most people, that would have spoken up to rid the place of a saddle bum and breed, suffer in silence.

 

However, in the corner were two men that I immediately knew were gunmen. I'd never seen either of them before, but in that instinctual way that animals understand, and probably Hawk, I knew a fellow predator. I'd watched a wolf and a wildcat meet on a trail once. They'd growled and snarled at each other for a few minutes, then each had moved off the trail and neither had used it to pass the other by, and continue on their way. I heard some mumbling from their table, but they didn't speak up so we ignored them.

 

There was some talk from the barkeep about not serving us, but Blackwater and I quickly countered it and before long we had what we asked for.

 

After a few minutes of conversation that we couldn't hear I saw one of the gunmen drop a coin on the table of the gunmen and they got up and started moving out of the room.

 

Our food and the Colonel had showed up so I'd turned my chair into the table to work on that steak and with my back to the room I felt rather than saw them stop behind me. One of them said something in a low voice and then they moved on.

 

Hawk was topping off another cup of coffee with the whiskey, and did not look up. Blackwater looked at me and asked, "you know either of those men?"

 

"Only the type," I responded. "They're both gunmen but I've never seen them before."

 

"They recognized something about you when they got close," he said. "I couldn't tell what but maybe you better stick close to one of us while we're in town. Those two ain't smart enough to not try something after being denied their fun tonight."

 

"Alright, thanks," I mumbled. I wondered how much further I'd be into these men's debt before we hit Santa Fe. They were watching my back because of something those men saw that most likely didn't concern them, and one of 'em had settled my bill for the horses I was riding. I didn't know if Trinidad had a telegraph office, but if they did I ought to send a wire east before we left. Then hopefully my brother in law or my sister would have money waiting for me in Santa Fe, and I could start paying my own way.

 

I appreciated the help I was gettin, but it's a sorry man that accepts help when he ain't sure he can return it.

[Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103]

They don't trust me.

That's okay. It don't pay to trust a stranger.

Pegged me for a lawman first off.

Most folks do.

Jacob tended his mounts, grained them with what was left.

Runnin' low.

Won't be long til I get Denver behind me and get back to home.

He paused, set the pack horse's hoof down, straightened, looking around, listening to the wind.

Should be all right tonight. Good place to fort up.

He turned and smiled at the blanket wrapped woman standing a horse's length from him.

"Didn't hear you come up," he smiled.

"Are you looking for me, lawman?" she asked quietly.

Jacob knew trouble when he heard it and he knew that his bones could bleach here for some long time before they were found by anyone important.

"Ma'am," he said honestly, "I am lookin' for a warm bed and a woman in it. The bunk I'm lookin' for is in Firelands up on the side of a mountain and the sooner I get there the more tickled I'll be. You don't look like any of our wanted dodgers and I ain't really inclined to pry."

"I don't like being followed," she said, and Jacob heard the steel behind the quiet voice.

Calico saw a thought cross behind his eyes but he didn't make reply.

"Go on and say it," she snapped.

Jacob looked at the ground and considered, then he looked up and his pale blue eyes were smiling, though his mustache was not.

"Ma'am," he said, "I could tell you that an attractive woman had better get used to bein' followed, for men follow beauty like a bee follows a blossom."

"But ...?"

"But," Jacob nodded. "Ma'am, you must understand I have a sickness and it plagues me often."

"Oh?"

"It's called hoof in mouth and right about now, was I to speak that thought, why, my boot would drive in between my pearly whites and I'd sprout long grey ears and bray somethin' fierce."

Calico favored him with a long look and then laughed.

"Out with it, lawman," she sighed. "Let's have it."

"Ma'am, when you said you didn't like being followed ...?"

"Yes?"

"Ma'am, beggin' your pardon and it was unworthy I know, but when you said you didn't like being followed ..."

"Yes?"

"My first thought was that you're smarter than you look."

Jacob saw the rapid string of responses sleeting through her eyes; she finally sighed and shook her head.

"I suppose," she said quietly, "that proves the Lord's mercy."

"Yes, ma'am." Jacob reached up, pulled the piggin string on a blanket roll, handed her a Hudson's Bay blanket: he snapped it open, unfolded it, handed it to her.

It smelled of cedar and wood smoke and Calico closed her eyes for a moment, remembering a happier time, a time when she was cuddled in just such a blanket by just such a man that smelled just this way, and she lowered her face into the blanket, for a moment -- for just a moment -- escaping the cold and the snow and the stress of her situation.

"Good night, ma'am," Jacob said gently. "Rest easy."

[Cheyenne Culpepper 32827]

Pale Eyes, I knew him, a fair but stern sheriff that had raised an eyebrow more than once as I brought in a man, usually dead for a bounty. I reckoned his son would be no less the man his father was, and that suited me fine, I knew that I could trust him.

 

The uniforms were still in the wagon and I knew that Calico and Mattie could make good use of them, especially the pants. I called Jacob over and showed him the brands on the two horses that I had taken along with the wagon from the men that had presented themselves as troopers.

 

"Ever seen this brand before?" I asked him quietly. Then after he nodded yes I showed him the uniforms the men had been wearing. "Why those don't go together at all, artillery stripes on the pants and cavalry shirts" he replied with some thought.

 

"Not enough thought, they tried to attack us in camp and we killed three of them, the next morning I sent seven to hell and one that repented and was met by his mother at heaven's gate." I solemnly told Jacob.

 

Jacob thought a minute, "You may have more trouble coming, that ranch only sends men out in groups of twelve, if one got away, he'll bring more back."

 

I felt a cold chill go up my spine as I heard that. "There are no papers on Calico there" I shared with Jacob, "she was cleared of a killing after she had run off because of circumstances, but she's a good sort, I bet my life on it, Mattie too."

 

I excused myself and gave Calico and Mattie the wool troopers pants and socks to put on, after i had torn the long stripe from them. I went back and got two pair of boots for them as well as more socks, the boots were too large but the extra space would be much warmer than tight boots, or especially the little boots they had worn in the saloon in Delano.

 

We sat around the fire and shared the beans, meat and coffee together in mostly silence. Jacob acknowledged that he had heard of my reputation as a bounty hunter, but didn't say much more.

 

With full bellies we turned in for the night, Calico and Mattie much warmer this time and for the minute with a peace of mind. The three of us huddled together again and it wasn't long before Calico and Mattie had closed their eyes and drifted off. I laid there thinking about these two beside me, I had heard of Utah allowing a man more than one wife. That was a tempting thought that presented itself in various dreams throughout the shortened night.

[Apache Hawk 60642]

I sat with my back to the wall, and eating away at this wonderful steak. It tasted a damn sight better than that stew I had wrestled up back at that cabin in the mountains in that snow storm. And the whiskey blended with coffee to wash it all down tasted mighty good too........almost like I was civilized to some. To others, not at all.

 

Like the 2 men at the other table there. Fighters they where and looking for trouble. Now if they where looking for trouble, I'd be more than happy to oblige them, but I had my orders,......eat, stay out and drink. Then go to my room, where ever that was.But to let them two walk out like that, just didn't set well with me......especially the way they looked at Tom and the words they said about the man. If I wasn't under orders, I would have killed them on the spot.

 

But, as the Colonel was so fond of reminding me......He out ranked me although we where the same rank. The only difference was he was white and I was a breed. I guess that made all the difference in the world.

 

Those men, the gunfighters......looked mean as could be if you knew what to look for. They where young, in their late 20's early 30's. Tan and weathered skin, one was shaven and the other not. One had Remington's on his hips in a criss cross style , with his hat siting on his back. Black striped pants and faded tan shirt. The other older looking man wore a black hat, butt forward colts in a gunfight style, his gun belt loop was full of bullets save one 45-110 in the middle loop which told me what caliber the rifle was that was in the shadows across his lap, pointed toward the window. He wore a faded blue shirt ,tan pants with a black riding canvas sewn into it. Both worn black stove top boots, only the man with the butt forward colts had mexican sups with huge rowels.

 

I kept a tight eye on him. Tom, I knew would go for the other man, who was closer to him. I took my fighting knife and brought it up to the table to use to cut my steak with. And it case that man with the mexican spurs made a play for his gun, that knife would have been airborne towards his throat.

 

But I'm glad those two wild cats just circled wide our trail and went outside , there to lay in wait. They had made their play and I'm gonna make mine........I'm gonna sit right here and have another steak !

[Blackwater 53393]

"We're gonna all leave here at the same time," the colonel said when the two gun wolves had disappeared. "We ain't goin' out all the same way!"

 

"Me and 'Pache'll go by the back door," I winked at my old friend who had just ordered another steak. He merely nodded in reply.

 

"That means me and you by the front door." Tom said with a bit of a leer.

 

"Yep! We'll give 'em what they think they want," replied the colonel. "But we're gonna' make 'em wait a while for it."

 

"The longer they wait, the more on edge they'll be," Hawk thought aloud. "They're liable to shoot their own mamas when the party starts."

 

"Ain't gonna' be no party," I growled. "They'll be dead the instant they try for you two!" I looked Tom and Flint in the eyes,one after the other and grinned.

 

"I git the scalps!" Hawk hissed gleefully.

 

"Done!" I said. "Now finish this other steak ,you little bottomless pit!" I clapped the smaller dark red man on the back. Hawk just smiled and dug in.

 

"I've known Fileippe Baca a while," I spoke softly, "He's one of the town fathers here. Tomorrow I'll speak to him about these gun hands if there's anything said."

 

We sat and drank coffee and watched Hawk devour the second steak. It was warm, and the other patrons of the bar had lost interest in us after the initial confrontation. I made a small production of going out the back to the jake, and Hawk soon followed. Tom and J. Mark paid the bartender and strolled to the door a few minutes later. On the street, the older bearded gunman stood behind a post on the boardwalk, a short double barreled shotgun held vertically in both hands. I padded up behind him from the alley beside the saloon, my killing knife held in my left hand. At the other end of the boardwalk, 'Pache had found the other young shooter and moved to a similar position. My man spotted Tom and the colonel as they stepped through the doors and brought the scattergun up to his shoulder, his thumb pulling on the hammers. "You shoulda' already cocked it!" I said as the knife in my hand found his jugular and then his windpipe in swift succession. I grabbed the old double as it's holder crumpled at my feet.

 

I stepped over the body then turned and kicked it down the stairs into the alley. Hawk gave me the all clear sign and vanished into the darkness. I walked back to the stable and stowed the shotgun with my other gear. It would become trade goods if need be, or maybe I'd offer it to Tom. I then hurried back to the saloon and gathered up my "borrowed" '73, thanked the barkeep for his hospitality and flipped a five dollar gold piece to him as I strolled out the front door. I joined Tom and Flint on the porch of the hotel. In a moment Hawk walked up the stairs as if he were going to a church social. He turned and looked down the street like the rest of us were doing, "Won't find them fellers fer a couple of days," he said quietly.

 

"Good!" the colonel replied, "Let's get some sleep!"

 

We turned and entered the hotel, took the stairs and found our rooms.

[Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103]

Before we left I handed Cheyenne that flat leather wallet with the map in it.

"I come down trail and no difficulty," I said, "but if we get separated you might need that."

We'd talked trail the night before and I went over it in my mind as my finger followed along on Pa's hand drawn map, and I could not but admire my father's military precision: he had a scale on the bottom so a man could measure and figure how far from where to where-else, he'd marked particular landmarks and their names.

Breakfast was coffee and the last of my bread, and glad I was my wife slung me some extras into that off saddlebag.

Sweet rolls she called 'em, I called 'em good and apparently everyone else thought so too.

I am not a man to show off and 'twas not my idea but that Apple-horse has ever been of the notion that he needs to show a rider who's boss first thing in the morning and of course I got to show him the error of his way, and once he got himself bucked out, why, I either grew an inch from how high he tried to pitch me out of that saddle or I shrunk an inch from every time he slammed me back down in it, but once he was done he shook like a hound dog shaking after a swim and from then on he was just mild as milk.

I led and my pack horse followed, and so did the rest of the party.

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

The wagons had made up most of the lost time ,

 

we had rolled at first lite , did not stop for lunch , pushed till it was almost dark ,

 

thinking we should hit Trinidad , somewhere close to noon

 

I was tried , as the shadows had been about again , was hoping trouble would stay away at least till the crew was back together

 

with no scout , it would harder to react to anything at a distance ,

 

Cody had got a couple of rabbits , and Bama had brought down a prarie chicken , while they were cooking em up

 

I took the gray to check the back trail , all looked to be quite , I could not see anything out of place

 

as I rode back to the wagons , I hoped they did not burn the food , I was not the best cook , but I had them beat on that

 

dang , the coffee smelled good , I called out , before riding back in , at least I did not get shot at this time

[Calico Mary]

Pale Eyes. I'd heard of him, tough but fair sheriff, but not someone I thought I'd want to meet up with. Not too sure I liked having met up with his son, obviously cut from the same cloth as his father, but Cheyenne didn't seem worried. I'd trusted the bounty hunter enough so far, no reason not to continue, at least for now. I'd worry later on about protecting myself and Mattie if it should come to that.

 

It was nice of the stranger to have loaned me that blanket. Between that and the troopers' pants that Cheyenne made me and Mattie put on we'd be a lot warmer now. We all wrapped up in our blankets by the fire and prepared to get some sleep. I'd slept long enough earlier that I wasn't all that tired now, and I laid awake for quite a while, snuggled up to Cheyenne with Mattie on his other side, the stranger on the other side of the fire. I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep, I knew Cheyenne would not rest until I did.

 

I had no idea what I had done to earn Culpepper's loyalty, surely our old boss wasn't still paying him to look out for us, especially after we'd run off. The respect both he and the stranger were showing us had gotten to me, and it was hard not to let the tears start flowing. Most folks wouldn't think we deserved any respect, not after the way we'd earned our living. It gave me hope for our future, maybe there was some place, some where, that Mattie and I could put our past behind us and still lead decent lives. I couldn't remember the last time I thought that possible, now it seemed almost attainable. Maybe....no, I couldn't think that way just yet.

 

I finally fell asleep at some point, thankfully with no bad dreams this time. Morning dawned all too quickly, and breakfast was simple but filling. It didn't take long to get ready to go, we didn't have much to pack. After making sure the fire was out the stranger...Jacob he said his name was, seemed to have a little trouble with his horse, but got the animal calmed down fairly quickly. Cheyenne was going to drive the wagon, and he gave me and Mattie the choice, ride with him or continue to ride the horses we'd taken. Mattie didn't hesitate to start climbing into the saddle, but she loved riding. I wasn't so good at it, so I headed for the wagon. Cheyenne gave me a hand up, then climbed on the seat next to me and grabbed the reins.

 

Jacob led the way down the trail with Mattie following him and the wagon bringing up the rear. Cheyenne had handed me a rifle before we started moving, and told me to keep it ready. “We might still run into trouble, keep your eye out for anyone or anything unusual. If you feel like we're in any danger, don't hesitate to shoot but make sure you hit what you're aiming at!” he told me. As we rode along, I prayed that the rifle would prove unnecessary on the way to Trinidad.

[Cheyenne Culpepper 32827]

We headed down the trail, hoping to hit Trinidad by nightfall, a bed sure would feel good, though maybe not as sleeping between two lovely ladies. I had already made up my mind that Calico and Mattie were going to get suitable clothes, nice dresses and trail cloths once we got to Trinidad. Well, trail clothes if we were able to continue on to Mexico.

 

I didn't much like driving the wagon, I would have preferred being in the saddle, but I learned quickly the the right bounce or sharp curve brought Calico closer or her arms wrapping around me. That was worth driving the wagon.

 

It took us a few hours to reach the series of valleys that would lead us to Trinidad and once there we were able to push harder. As we neared Trinidad I gave the map to Jacob, who knew what we were going to get into once we hit Trinidad.

 

We hit town at dusk, tired, hungry and dirty. We stopped at the livery on the edge of town and boarded the horses. i started looking at the horses already boarded and saw Flint's and the others horses, and then the brand that was on the horses that was pulling the wagon. I paid the caretaker extra and asked about the riders of the horses. "Which group you with?" he asked resolutely. I pointed to Flint's horse and the man simply said "Good, they're at the saloon and hotel."

 

We made our way to the saloon and with the trooper's clothes in hand I walked in and asked who was riding that brand from the livery. A table full of men looked my way, "What's it to you?" came from one of them.

 

I walked over to them and threw the uniforms on the table. "We sent 10 of them straight to hell and one to join his mother." I said looking straight into their eyes. Then i turned around and with Calico and Mattie headed for the hotel for food, a bath and a good bed.

[Apache Hawk 60642]

Me and Blackwater moved out the back door silent as a church mouse. Blackwater , being much taller than me, blocked the view of the street from on lookers, if there where any and I slipped across the street to where the younger of the two would be gun men had taken up positions to wait to do their deeds most foul.

 

But I was going to be the one who go the dirty deeds done dirt cheap this night. As the younger man leveled his Spencer rifle at Tom and took right steady aim, I knew that this man was a damn Yankee sniper from his stance and the way he held his weapon ! Well now.....this just was not going to do at all ! As the man cocked back the hammer and raised his arm to fire, my fighting knife found it's way into the side of his neck and into the post he use to steady himself ! I had used the cover of darkness and the way of the Apache to put the sneak on the yankee sniper and put my fighting knife clean through his neck, jugular, wind pipe, neck bone and into the wooden post all in one swift strike. And all without getting any blood on my buckskins and with a smile on my face !

 

When he stopped couching and sputting, I took his Spencer rifle from his dieing hands....after all, in a few more minutes he would not be in need of it, and put it to the side. Of course when he passed, his bodily fluids released themselves , which is never a good thing, but it covered up the smell of death and I went to work removing his scalp, which too, he no longer needed. I cleaned my scalping knife, returning it to my right moccasin boot and remove my fighting knife that held the young gun fighter in place. I took him to the outhouse behind the Saloon and removed his rig, then went back for the older one that Blackwater had done for and gave him the same "treatment". I drug both bodies over to the outhouse, lifted the cover on the 2 holer and let the bodies fall in.

 

Then I went to the livery stable to stash the fresh scalps till in the morning cause I had special use for them planned when we hit Mexico to warred of the spirits that wardened in the desert there. I then joined the others as if nothing had happened........just as innocent as I could be ! The Spencer rifle, shells, and scatter gun where safe at livery.......for now.

[Elk Creek LeMieux]

I didn't mind bein the bait when the Colonel laid out a quick plan, but I wished he'd let me walk out alone. Still, I was coming to realize that these men were determined to share the burdens of the rest, and no man would stand alone when they could prevent it.

 

For the Colonel and I, there was no excitement. Just a thud near Blackwater, and a splash of color where Hawk appeared.

 

That finished, the Colonel and I'd gone on to the hotel, where we met Blackwater, and a short time later Hawk. He spoke quietly about hiding the bodies, then we went in and received our keys. The clerk was a young man, barely 20, if that. The look on his face went from grave respect for the two older members of our group, to fear as Hawk then myself lined past him receiving our keys. He'd stared at me as I climbed the stairs. I was gettin mighty tired of the attention I was drawing in this town.

 

It wasn't until I was in my room stripping away my gun belt that it hit me, and I cursed myself for a damn fool.

 

The S&W Russian wasn't that rare of a gun, but this one was unique. It had a shorter barrel than most, and somebody had carved a design into the grips at one point. I had shoved it behind my belt in the small of my back, rather than return it to my saddlebags in my hurry to find food, and I might as well have waved a flag as I walked around town.

 

I thought of the livery man refusing it, then announcing that my bill was settled, then in turn ignoring me until I was compelled to leave him alone.

 

With a sigh of disgust I stripped away the rest of my clothing and tried to decide if this was important enough to mention in the morning. Figuring I might have brought more trouble down on us, as long as we were in this town, I decided I didn't need to keep it to myself.

 

I made good use of the wash pot, then climbed into the bed. It'd been a month or a little more since I'd felt one beneath me, and I was asleep before I finished thinkin about how good it felt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I jerked awake and came out of bed all at once. Standing there in the dark room I tried to sort my thoughts... I had been dreaming... That man with the Russian riding the lazy S double D horse had been in the dream. He'd come to turn a herd over to me that my boss had bought from his boss. And they'd come to town from the west/northwest...

 

As my head cleared more pieces of this puzzle fell into place. The ranch that used that brand was actually several ranches, that had formed a partnership. I couldn't remember all the details just now, but I knew at least the main ranch was south east of Cheyenne, almost in Colorado. The others were all close by it.

 

I thought about the dream again, and about the fight with the four that had laid in wait for us on the trail. I didn't know if I'd ever seen the man that had come at me with the Russian before, he was unrecognizable after the 44 hit him just above the tip of his nose. But after that dream though I was sure I'd either seen the gun or been told of it... I thought maybe I'd been told a man with a gun like it was the ramrod for an outfit that was bringing a herd I needed to meet... That was years ago though, six years at least.

 

I walked to the window and found the sky to the east just beginning to turn gray, the stars above the gray still bright. I dressed quickly and leaving my gun belt in the room, I carried my rifle into the hallway with me. I was goin to knock at Hawks door, he'd most likely be awake and I needed a clear and sharp mind to hear my thoughts and help me sort them out for the others.

 

I figured I couldn't be the only one in the group that knew about the ranch partnership up there on the edge of that high desert, it was jointly owned by several retired union officers. One of them had been a general I thought...

 

But the time I'd spent riding night watch on so many cattle at the railheads probably made me the only one in the group that knew those ranchers used a lazy S double D as their collective trail brand. They ran their own various brands on their home ranches.

 

I thought it time to share this info, I only wished I had remembered it sooner.

[Calico Mary]

On the ride to town, I didn't have much to do except keep my eyes peeled for any signs of trouble, and to think. The thinking part probably wasn't such a great idea, too many thoughts going through my head and most of them not very pleasant. Just where were we going to go after Trinidad? I wished Cheyenne would share more of his plans for all of us with me, but at the same time I was afraid to ask. He had said he would buy us each some new clothes, but I would prefer to pay for those myself. We were already too much in his debt, and I wasn't sure just exactly what he wanted in return. I had finally had the chance to count Marvin's money, it hadn't been as much as I had hoped for but there would still be plenty left over after purchasing a few wool or corduroy dresses, something much more suited for hard travel.

 

I had glanced at Mattie riding ahead of us several times, and I had seen her take out a knife and hold it a few times for a while before returning it to it's hiding place in her boot. I couldn't tell for sure at that distance, but it didn't look like the one I knew she had been carrying, and that concerned me. At one point we had stopped to rest the horses, and to take care of “personal” business, and once out of earshot of the two men I had asked her about it. As she pulled it out to show me, her eyes had glazed over with a strange look, it was almost like I was talking to a stranger. As soon as I saw it close up, I recognized it right away as the knife I had seen Bill using. “Oh, tell me you didn't steal that from him! Are you crazy?” I begged her.

 

“No, I didn't steal it, it was dark in that freight wagon when I was trying to pack our stuff, I must have grabbed it by mistake,” she told me, but I wasn't too sure about that. Mattie was no thief, but she seemed to be fascinated by that blade to the point it was almost an obsession. “If I get a chance to return it to him, I will,” she promised me, but from the look in her eyes I knew she didn't want to give it up for some reason. I didn't know if she would get that chance, but there was not much else I could do about it now.

 

It was getting late when we hit town, and dropped the horses and the wagon off at the livery stable. From there we stopped at one of the saloons, I had no idea why Cheyenne wanted to go in there but Mattie and I waited outside. I heard him say something to some men about having sent 10 of their friends to hell, considering he was alone that took guts. I tensed up, fearing trouble, but in seconds he was coming back through the door and telling us to follow him, there was a hotel up the street.

 

At the hotel, Cheyenne asked for two rooms, one for him and one for me and Mattie, then raised an eyebrow at Jacob. The lawman said he'd take care of his own room, and that he had things to attend to and couldn't join us for dinner. The dining room had not wanted to serve me and Mattie, but Cheyenne put his foot down, and we were shown to a table in the back corner. That was obviously meant as an insult, but we were all too hungry to care, at least they let us order. After eating, we headed for our rooms to get some rest. It was too late to do any shopping, that would have to wait for morning.

 

At one point in the night, I was awakened by the sound of Mattie leaving our room. I dressed as quickly as I could and followed her out into the night. I had no idea what she was up to, but she had no business wandering around a strange town after dark alone. It wasn't hard to spot her as I came out of the hotel door, but she had a bit of a head start on me and I had to hurry to catch up. When she got a little closer to the saloon we'd been at earlier, I saw her duck into the alley way next to the building. I approached the alley cautiously, just what was she doing?

 

“Mattie, is something wrong?” I softly called out to her as I got closer. She spun around to face me as I came near, and I saw that she had that damned knife in her hand. Glancing beyond her, I saw a man passed out a few feet further down the alley, from the looks of him he'd been there a little while. Mattie's face was white as a ghost, and there was no recognition in her eyes for me for a few seconds. I got the feeling that she had been about to use that knife on the drunk, but why I had no idea, she hadn't been in the alley long enough for him to have done anything to her even if he had been conscious.

 

After a few seconds she seemed to snap out of it, but looked at me like she had no idea what was going on. “How did I get out here?” she asked me, confused. She wasn't the only one, I was really starting to get worried about her, how could she not know that she'd come down here? I had no explanation for the strange way she was acting, so I just suggested that she had been sleepwalking and that we needed to go back to the hotel. She did put the knife away willingly enough, and agreed to return to our room with me, but even after we were back in bed I couldn't sleep. Something weird was happening to my friend, and this was trouble we didn't need.