RANCHO REYES Chapter 9 The Girlie House






You Girls Must Leave NOW
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The girls were confused about Juan leaving without saying anything and they concluded he must have spent the night at the girlie house, and for some reason it aggravated them.

After breakfast they decided to go down to the girlie house and get him up for he was suppose to be watching over them.  The brothers tried to stop them but the girls were determined to “rescue Juan.”

They knocked on the front door and walked in when the door was opened with the brothers following.  The older woman demanded that they leave but to no avail.  The girls started looking in every room and saw some sights that shocked them to no end.  

They recognized some of the townsmen and a couple ranchers.  After going through the whole establishment they were convinced he wasn’t there and they sheepishly left.

They gave one last remark; you men ought to be ashamed of being in here. One of them fired back saying, “I won’t tell anyone you were here if you don’t say I was.” Suddenly it struck them where they were and what they had done.  

Luis and Pablo said, “Are you satisfied now that you have made fools out of yourselves.”  The brothers said, “Grab your things and we will bring the buckboard around, we’re heading home.”

They said, “We still have some shopping to do.”  

Pablo said, “You have done enough of everything for one trip so load up and hope Senior doesn’t hear about this.”

They headed out of town and as they went by the girlie house some of the girls were on the porch calling out to them some catcalls like, “We could use some more help are you interested,” and they were quite a ways out of town before their laughter died down and could no longer be heard.

The oldest sister drove the buckboard and every so often one of them would mention something they saw at the girlie house and they would laugh among themselves.

It was later in the evening when they arrived at the cabin and the girls fixed some steaks for Luis and Pablo telling them, “Not a word do you understand.”

Seeing the steaks they quickly agreed for they knew they would have thrown them in the roaring fireplace if they hadn’t.

The line hand who was left to spend the summer watching over the herd kept asking what they were talking about.  Pablo said it is something about that you don’t need to know.  The hand felt left out and said, “Now I am curious and I will be wondering about this the whole summer.”

When Pablo and Luis with the girls arrived back at the Hacienda, Senior told them what had happened and the demise of the men chasing Juan.  He said he knew sooner or later their ranch would be involved so he put an end to it once and for all.

Meanwhile, Juan was settled about as far back into the canyon as he could get.  You could hear sounds that traveled up the canyon long before anyone could arrive near you.  

Someone in a Wagon Approached
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Juan was alerted to someone coming in a wagon at a slow pace as if they were looking for something.  

Juan was hid from view and as the driver passed him he threw a lasso around the man and pulled him the off his wagon.  When he hit the ground it knocked the breath out of him.  Juan flipped his rope and threw a half hitch around the person and then tied him up where he couldn’t move and stuck a handkerchief in his mouth.

After determining he was alone Juan decided to take a look and see what the guy looked like.  Realizing it was the girl who cooked for the men who were chasing him, his mind went back to the Indian girl he saved who he also thought was a man.

She had turned into a canyon also, had gotten lost, and was trying to get out of the box canyon.  Whimpering sounds came from her, either from pain or out of fear.  

Juan decided he would loosen the tight ropes she was tied with but first he ran his hands over her legs and then down the breeches discovering a knife she had attached to her thigh.

After finding the knife he checked her out more carefully and finding nothing else.  He took the knife and cut the ropes off her and they sat there staring at each other for a long time.  She was afraid to move for he had the knife in his hand.  Then he did something strange, he leaned over and kissed her on the fore head and said, “Barbara.”

They sat there just starring at each other.  He leaned back and stuck the knife in the ground next to her.  After what seemed to be hours she finally spoke and said, “Why did you say Barbara?”  

After a pause he said, “Don’t you remember?”

“Remember what,” she replied?

“Your name, don’t you remember your name?”  He said, “Think back; think about when you were small.  When you were six years old, you must remember something.”

She didn’t reply.  He said, “Do you remember an old man who had whiskers and would hold you and sing funny sounding songs?  He would sing about all the animals and birds.”

She sat there thinking about an old man and the name Barbara.  Then the faint image of the old man began to take shape.  He had gray hair and when he removed his hat there was a scar on top of his head.  Then she remembered he had a tooth missing in the front.

She said, “That was what they called me!  My mother where is she?”

He said, “I will explain it all to you in time but first are you hurt?”

She said, “A little, but I’ll be alright.”

He leaned over and kissed her again on the face.  He could see she had many questions so he started at the beginning and told her everything as he knew it.  How they lost their property and who killed their relatives and what had happened to her.  

He said, “You and our father were out riding and some men came and took him and you captive.  They tied father to a tree and said they were going to keep you as their slave.  They told him all the bad things they were going to do to you all of which increased the mental and emotional pain he was suffering.  

After torturing him they shot him dead.  You have been captured by them for twelve years and the trauma and fear has caused you to forget much about your earliest days. It took me a while to recognize you.  I saw you with them at a distance more than once but wasn’t near enough to see your face close up until now.”

Over the next couple of days she recalled more and more of her early childhood and Juan who had been her protector.  

The third day some of Senior’s drivers showed up with teams of horses and said they had buried the last of the pursuers and it was safe to come out and return to the ranch.

Two of the brothers Raul and Reynaldo were with the drivers and immediately took an interest in Barbara who had cleaned up a bit but still needed a little more grooming.  

 

Juan could hardly believe it was over after all this time.

He thought I can put away my guns (at least one of them).  But when he took one off it made him feel unbalanced so it was either two guns or none.

To be Continued