The Fourth Man - Chapter 10

A Gun and Holster for Billy

 Time moves on.

My kids are growing up fast. James Riley is two and into everything. Missy is almost six and Billy is eight and wants a gun of his own.

Since for the next few generations it will be necessary for men to protect themselves even though we are supposed to be civilized, I will have to teach my boys the right and wrong about guns and their proper use.

I took Billy to the guy who makes all our tack and had him measure him for a holster. I had bought him a small version of the gun I carry so he fitted the holster to fit the gun. It was a small caliber gun but had the power to kill and was fine for what we wanted.

The first thing he wanted to learn was how to draw fast. He was obsessed on the fast draw. Perhaps it was because he saw me practicing often and the swift way I could get the gun from my holster, pointed at a target, and fired in an instant.

After two months he was getting very good with his small weapon. The next and most important step was to show him the move to cock the gun as you draw and not shoot yourself in the process.

The third step was deciding whether to pull the trigger or just hold it on the target till things settled down.

The last thing was to practice until you could hit what you were aiming at. This was an important step in his development so I spent a lot of time with him.

How to shoot, how to avoid having to shoot and understanding the consequences of shooting something or the worst scenario killing someone was lessons he had to learn.

For a while he was using four or five boxes of shells a week but as he got better he used less.

I was looking forward to the time he only needed to hone his skill a little. I had bought him a small caliber rifle and he had already become a good shot with it and he is pressing me for a large caliber one.

I let Jim teach him how to fight for he was a lot better at that than I was.

Jim could break a man’s jaw or rib with one blow and put him out for an extended length of time.

He would have liked to have got his hands on the men who shot him but they were long gone dead by the time he recovered from being shot.

Billy wasn’t the only one who required my attention. Missy was in my lap every time I sat down, and now James was doing the same thing. He was in the process of wanting me to pay attention to him more and more.

Up until recently he was a mama’s boy, but he was changing now. With Jim pretty well running everything I had time to spend with the family and we would picnic and fish when the weather was nice.

Billy now wore his gun belt everywhere he went. He said you never know when something needs shooting. He was deadly on snakes.

I was just asking.

I asked Sarah if our family was big enough and she said, “Big enough for what?”

Perhaps another Girl ??

I always hate it when she retorts in that manner for it causes me to have to come up with a logical reason for asking whatever I asked.

I said, “Well if we are going to have more then now would be a good time to do it, don’t you think?”

She said, “Well these we have are getting to be a handful don’t you think?”

I thought about what she was saying and she was right.

I was spending more and more time with them and I didn’t have much more kid’s time available to spend with some more.

I said, ‘Aw just forget it we got enough.”

She laughed and said, “Now you tell me.”

“What does that mean?” I wondered.

She went on and said, “It is too late to say forget it.”

I thought, “Oh no she’s pregnant again.”

She said, “Remember the last full moon… that was the time - - - and a full moon baby is on the way.”

She said, “James will be three by the time the baby comes and halfway to being a cowboy by then.”

As happens sometime with me a foolish thought popped into my mind; “I wonder if I hadn’t said anything would she be pregnant.”

After a moment I said to myself; “I can’t believe I thought that crazy thought. What do I want another boy or a girl like Missy.”

I heard some shots behind one of the barns. I figured it was Billy getting some practice.  When I found him he had a rat and he was proud of the game he had shot. I told him he was going to quit shooting around the ranch house because he might hit one of the chickens.

He said, “Aw dad you know I wouldn’t do that.”

I told him, “In any case you have to quit shooting near the house, and you need to go talk to your mom.

“What for did I do something wrong?”

“No you just need to talk to her.”

“Okay but I don’t see why.  Hey Mom did you need to talk to me about something?”  

“No I don’t think so - - - well maybe I should tell you about something you will find out about anyway. You are going to have a new brother or sister in about six months.  So get ready for this new one coming to live with us.”

“How did this happen or maybe I should ask why did this happen? Don’t you have enough kids?”

She said, “Well suppose it was you that we decided not to have how would that set with you?”

“Not too well I suspect. I guess it will be alright since missy is old enough to help you out with the baby. I won’t be available since I’m working with the cattle now.”

Another surprise for Billy

Military School for Billy

Sarah had been teaching the kids so far but now she wanted to send Billy off to a school she had heard about. It would be six months a year and run by some ex-military men.

I knew this wasn’t going to go over very well with Billy but he could use some formal training.

Sarah took Billy to the school and got him signed up and settled in. She was a little tearful as she left but didn’t let Billy see her cry.

I told her to make sure she didn’t say anything about he could come home if he didn’t like the place for that would weaken his resolve to make good there.

I told him the older boys will feel it is their duty to make his life miserable so expect that and avoid fighting anyone he didn’t think he could whip. I had heard that when someone wanted to fight another student they would have to go to the arena and fight in a ring with gloves. There the rules would protect them from most of the dirty fighting.

Three weeks later we got a letter from him and he said it was pretty much as I describe it. He said he is getting along okay now but getting used to the food is the hardest part of being here. He said don’t send any food for the older boys take everything boys my age receive so don’t bother.

Two weeks later he wrote again and said he had his first fight and it was quite a bit different from what Jim had taught him. He went on saying as soon as he got used to the gloves he whipped his opponent even though they were older than him.

He is doing alright with his lessons but the big news for him was they let them carry a rifle. They had to take a rifle apart, clean it and put it together again and dry fire it to see if it would fire. They told him it would be next year before they get to actually shoot the guns. The six months went by fast because we were busy on the ranch then it was time for him to return home.

As he was leaving one of the bigger boys said when he returned next year he was going to challenge Billy to a fight. He was a tough kid and he had whipped several of the kids in school.

Billy told him, “Okay he would fight him unless the boy changed his mind.”

Jim went to town and picked up supplies and waited for Billy to get in from the train. When he arrived they talked about school and the fights he had so far. He also told him about this kid who was going to beat him up when he returned.

He told Jim that fighting in the arena was a lot different from the fighting he was used to. Jim said he understands and by the time he goes back to school he would have him in shape to defend himself some better.

When they arrived to the ranch Billy ran and greeted everyone and then went to his room and changed into his ranch clothes. Then he checked his gun and strapped it on. When he came back to the great room he once again greeted everyone and rough housed with his siblings. James was a little scared but Missy gave him a good tussle.



New Sister

Then it was time to meet his new little sister. She had been born a month ago and was named Caroline Riley.

He said, “Mom does it hurt when a baby is born?”

She said, “Well it didn’t hurt your dad but it was about like getting thrown and having the horse roll over on you.  That should give you some idea what it is like.”

“Are you going to have any more?”

“No this was the last one so enjoy her for she is a sweetie.”

Back in the saddle

It was noon and everyone sat down for dinner. Billy ate in a hurry and ran out to the corral and put a saddle on his horse. His horse hadn’t been ridden since he had been gone and he bucked him off on his first attempt.

Jim came out of the barn and saw what happened and said, “Go a little slower. Let him see who you are and then once he recognizes you then get on.”

Billy did as Jim said and his horse was gentle as he usually was.  Billy said, “He never did that before.”

Jim answered, “Well he has been penned up for some time and is feeling a bit frisky so go slow. You don’t want to wind break him.”

Billy said, “Thanks Jim I will be careful with him for he is my buddy.”

Jim smiled at that and thought that he is that for Billy had been riding him since he was four.

Billy lit out for the valley where they did all their practice shooting. He let his horse graze and went to where he practiced using his gun. He went over the rules his dad taught him and then began to draw his gun without shooting. He would cock it and then release the hammer slowly as he holstered his gun. He did everything just like his dad taught him. After he was sure he had everything down so he didn’t have to think about it he started shooting.

As he was letting his gun to cool down he heard a squeaky voice from the woods behind him. It turned out to be a young girl about Billy’s age, she lit into him saying, “What’s the matter with you shooting in all directions and not caring if you killed someone.”

Billy didn’t know what to say, for no one ever came here when someone was practicing.

She lit into him again and bawled him out good.

He said, “What are you doing trespassing on my ranch I should have the sheriff arrest you and put you in jail.”

She said, “Your ranch?”

He said, ‘Yes and you don’t belong here.”

She said, ‘My grandfather died and left the Bartlett spread to my mother and father and I’m new here. In fact I think I’m lost. Some of your shots came close to me before you quit shooting.”

At school Billy had met some girls when there was a dance. The girls from the girl’s school would be brought over and they had to dance with them. If one of the instructors saw that you weren’t on the floor he made you regret it. He had got used to holding a girl while dancing but wasn’t comfortable doing it.

The girls always had something to say that wasn’t very complementary about you when she joined the other girls.

Of course the older boys said some things that the girls wouldn’t want to hear about themselves also.

This was different from that. Here he was out in the woods with a girl and he didn’t know how to handle himself.  He said, “C’mon, I’ll take you home if you tell me your name.”

She said, “Mamie, will I be safe with you? You aren’t going to start shooting again are you?”

He said, “No the practice is over for now.”

The hour of the gun

They went at a slow lope and got to her house. One of their hands took her horse and tended to him while another came out and said, “Well what do we have here. It looks like a gunman. He is packing a gun on his hip, and has it tied down like a gunman does.”

The man asked, “Do you think you can outdraw me.”

Billy didn’t say anything. He just stared at the man.

The guy said, “C’mon let me see you draw you gun, show me how fast you are.”

Billy said, “I don’t draw unless I intend to shoot something.”

The man continued saying, “Let’s draw and see who is the fastest.”

Billy said, “I told you, I don’t draw unless I intend to shoot something.”

Her folks came out and wanted to know where she had been.

She just gaily said; “Oh, I have been riding with Billy.”

Her dad asked the ranch hand what he was doing and he said I was just getting acquainted with this young gunslinger here.  He said he was faster on the draw than I am.

Mamie spoke up and said, “Billy said no such thing you have just been bothering us.”

The hand said, “I was just curious as to why a gunslinger like him would pack such a small caliber gun.”  He continued, “I still think he should show us his fast draw.

See that Twig??

Billy said, “Alright there is a twig sticking out on the tree down by the barn, can you see it?”

The man said, “Yes.”

Billy said, “Let’s draw and see who can hit that twig first.”

He went on saying, “You start to draw first, and we will see who is the fastest and the best shot.”

The guy said, “Okay,” and at the same time he reached for his gun.

Before the guy cleared leather there was the sound of a shot that went off and the twig fell to the ground.  Billy let off two more shots and two more pieces of the branch hit the ground.

Billy said, “I have three more shells in my gun. That would be one for the brain and one for each eye, if you want to try it.”

The guy let his gun slip back down in his holster and headed for the barn. When he got to the barn the other hand said, “Do you know who that kid belongs to?”

He said, “No I don’t know he is.”

“He said that is Riley’s boy and I wouldn’t want to be you when he finds out you have been harassing his boy.  If I was you before sundown I would be on a train heading East.”

He said, “I didn’t mean any harm to the boy surely he won’t get mad about that.”

He said, “Riley don’t take to fooling when I comes to his family.”

After thinking about what the ranch hand said he went to Mr. Bartlett and asked for his wages.

Bartlett said, “Here is your money and if I was you I would get out of the country before Riley heard about what you have done.”

He took his money and asked if he could borrow a horse to ride to town and Bartlett said no for you might just keep on going with it. The man lit out on foot for town.

Billy said, “Best we don’t tell Riley for he surely won’t take kindly to this. There is no need to get him upset over something that has been resolved.  I better get back to the ranch before they send someone out looking for me.

Bartlett said, “I want you to come back right soon and visit some. Maybe you and Mamie could go riding for I think she would be safe with you.”

Bartlett said to his wife, “That boy is really mature for his age. He faced down a man over twice his age and didn’t bat an eye. His folks have done a marvelous job of raising him so far and I suspect sending him to military school has taught him to discipline himself. I don’t know who taught him to shoot like that but they understood guns and how to use them. I hope we see him again.”

Rehashing the events

Billy went over the events of this last year in his mind and thought he probably did as his father would have wanted him to do. He had grown used to guys picking on him at school.

His dad and Jim had taught him not to lose his cool in moments of stress.

As he thought about their mean treatment of him and had the circumstances been different would I have shot them, and he concluded yes I would have if it hadn’t been for Jim teaching me to control my temper.

Jim had taught me to stare an adversary in the eye and that it has the power to unnerve the opponent many times without doing anything. It was good seeing the ranch house come into view for he was hungry.

He heard Chen giving orders to Mai, and Mai coming back at him. He couldn’t tell what they were saying for they were speaking Chinese but she was louder than he was so I guess she had won the discussion.

His dad wanted to know how the afternoon went and Billy said, “It was good and I met the new neighbors and they invited me to come back.”

“I hear they have a daughter about your age did you meet her?”

“Yes I met the whole family.”

“What did you think about her?”

“Well she is a little mouthy but can ride pretty good for a girl although she got lost and shouldn’t go riding alone until she gets to know this country.”

“Maybe you should you go riding with her and show her the layout of the land?”

“I guess…I might do that.”

To be Continued

 

 

GREAT AUNT ADA2

 

This is a true story shared at "Tell Me a True Story,"

My continued story will resume very soon !

 

 

Aunt Ada

 

I suppose it is fair to say people are people and when they are integrated from birth into a culture and belief system there will be a similar response from them with a few variables due to personality.

 

Aunt Ada along with her siblings was raised in what would be called backwoods surroundings, where little demand was made upon them for education.  How to survive on little else but hard labor was the order of the day.

 

While it wasn't unique to Aunt Ada, braggadocio was one of her character traits.  Her husband, Brown was likewise inclined except he toned it down somewhat.  One of the most notable things about their home was the huge fireplace. You could put a six foot long log into it. The opening was over five foot tall and when properly fueled it put out many BTUs.

 

On occasion my mother and I would visit them and Aunt Ada would spread a delicious table full of food, which my feet felt very comfortable under.

 

Her kids were all good on a descending scale. The oldest was the best and youngest possessed less goodness is one way to put it.  I liked all of them.

 

Since I was a second cousin the older ones didn't interact with me much but the youngest was about my age although I wasn't as fond of him. Two of her boys were killed in the service one in WW2 and one in Korea.

 

Grady was drafted into the army and sent to Europe.  He had a farm deferment but he got to messing around with the wife of the guy that ran the draft board and he lost his deferment and was drafted.  Aunt Ada was very proud and said Grady was doing very well he had already made KP.

 

I knew that being on KP meant you had messed up and was on kitchen detail taking out the garbage and doing the dirty jobs. I didn't try to explain what that meant because she was a proud woman and would thought I was just being jealous.   In Europe Brady stepped on a land mine and was killed.  Aunt Ada received ten thousand dollars from his Army insurance and was rich.  Farm hands were only getting three dollars a day so that was a lot of money.

 

Her youngest son Paul helped her spend it, by buying himself a 1936 Ford Roaster and a lot of other goodies. He looked really good in his new wardrobe and always had spending money in his pockets.  He became popular and made the mistake of seeing a married woman and was caught by her husband who threaten to kill him. He had to jump out a window without his clothes to keep from being shot. In fact the husband spent days looking for Paul who was hid out.

 

He (Paul) decided to  join the army to get away from the husband and he died in Korea. Aunt Ada received another ten thousand dollars from the army and lived out her life well cared for financially. Knowing her was a good experience and I was glad, I was her great nephew.

This post is shared at “Tell Me a True Story.”

The Fourth Man - Chapter 9

The Deputies Were Just Hired Killers

 

A bad time for Jim

Jim had been working steadily for a month and I suggested he take a few days off and go to town for a break. He has so many friends in and around town I felt he needed to visit with some of them. He has several lady friends but Lily is the one he is close to. One evening he and Lily who works as a nurse for the doctor, were in the saloon talking when two men came over and started harassing Lily.

After trying to reason with the men Jim started to get up and found himself unsteady. He had consumed too much of the hard stuff. The men acted as if they were going to draw their guns so Jim reached for his but before he could get it out of his holster another man shot him in the back and then one of the other men shot him also.

I was in town and when I heard Jim had been shot I rushed to the saloon and found him in a critical condition. The doctor said he needed to get him to a hospital which was three hours away. A friend of Jim’s was a train dispatcher and he said, “Get Jim down to the station as soon as possible. He said there was an engine warmed up and getting ready for its next run. He said he could have a passenger car hooked to it in ten minutes and ready to go.”

Meanwhile the three men that shot Jim were drinking and laughing and flashing their badges. I knew them to be related to the sheriff and I guess he made them deputies. Apparently they thought it was a license to kill.

I didn’t have time to deal with them right now. We got Jim on a cot and as comfortable as we could. The dispatcher said there was a cattle train due later but he would have them pull it over on a siding until Jim’s train passed it.

He told the engineer to highball it all the way and he could cut the three hour trip down to two with a clear track ahead. Lily was with Jim and the doctor and they were off.

What goes around?

I went to the sheriff and asked what he was going to do about the attempted murder of Jim. He said, “The way he heard it Jim drew his gun on his deputies and they had to defend themselves.”

I said, “That wasn’t going satisfy Jim’s friends for they knew Jim wouldn’t instigate anything like that without cause.”

The Sheriff said, “I can take care of any friends that start trouble and that goes for you also.”

I realized it wouldn’t be smart to kill the sheriff with witnesses present for some of them believed his side of the story.

The same went for the deputies, because to kill them out in the open wouldn’t be so smart.

During the night it seems the deputies and the sheriff made a huge mistake. All of them were experienced riders but they allowed their horses to run- a- way and their lassoes had somehow caught them around their necks and they were all dragged to their deaths.

No one around here had ever seen such a thing happen before. And for it to happen to all four of them and the sheriff was a little strange.

Some suggested foul play but without a sheriff there was no one to investigate it. There were no witnesses to the event so it was written up as an unfortunate act of God.

Some good news

Later that morning (I slept in late for some reason) we received the word that Jim was going to make it through but it was going to take a while for his recuperation.

Lily stayed with him and watched over him like a mother hen. The doctor wanted her back at the office to help him but she said he would just have to wait. She requested a young nurse trainee from the hospital to take her place.  The doctor was pleased with the new girl for she was very comely and efficient.

After a month Jim was back on his feet and was ready to be released from the hospital. We were excited to have him coming home.

He let us know it would be a couple more weeks before he came back because he and Lily had just got married and were going to spend some time together alone before he returned.

He said, “Get me a house built or at least started so we can live on the ranch near my work.”  He added, “Don’t build it too near the barn.”

By the time they returned we had the walls up and the roof on and some of the inside finished. In another week it would be livable.  Meanwhile, we gave them a room in the large ranch house to stay in temporally.

While Jim was back I could see it would be six months before he was recovered enough to be his normal self.

He still could give orders it was he just couldn’t jump in and help do the work he wanted done.

He had been told about the misfortune of the sheriff and his deputies and said; “How careless of them,” and looked at me knowingly as to what had happened.

He said I still don’t know why this happened. He said I won’t ever let myself get in that condition again. They would never have gotten behind me as they did if I hadn’t been drinking.

I asked the sheriff why it happened the last time I saw him alive and he said it was to send me a message.

I asked him, “What message?”  

“He said that he was taking this county over and wanted me to know it.”

Jim said, “Maybe he overestimated his abilities a bit.”

I said, ‘Yeah, it looks that way doesn’t it?”

Jim said, “The folks in town are confused about what happened. They can’t figure out how four men and the sheriff could all do the same thing. Lasso yourself, fall off your horse, and then be dragged to death by your horse.”

Jim asked, “How do you figure that happened?”

“That’s an easy one,” I answered.  “You know they were hired killers so I figure someone hired them to kill themselves and they did a good job of it.”

Jim smiled and said, “Something’s are hard to figure.”

A couple weeks later Jim and Lily moved into their new home and things returned back to normal with a lot of dust being stirred up from all the activity.

To be Continued

 

The Fourth Man - Chapter 8

Horse Thieves

 

An unexpected happening

I decided to clean and oil my two guns. My holsters were getting a little dry and needed a bit of oil to keep them pliable.  I broke them down and replaced the trigger springs then oiled and put them back together.

I worked on the action until it was fluid and just the way I wanted them. I tried to draw and found I had lost a split second in clearing my leather. It had been a year since I had done any practicing so I loaded up with ammo and headed up to my favorite spot for shooting and resting along the river.

I practiced this for a week and I was faster on the draw than ever.  

On the last day as I was wiping my guns down I was hoping I would never have to use them again. Sometime you just don’t have a choice but I was hoping that would never be the case.

I was on my way home when off in the distance I saw some horses running at a full gallop.  As they got closer I realized some men were stealing some of my Mustangs.  

As I counted they were four thieves and a half dozen of my horses. I realized they were heading for a pass and once in there my old favorite horse couldn’t keep up with those Mustangs.

I used a short cut and let the mustangs’ run through, but cut the riders off. Closing in on them was Jim and Jones from behind and they were coming fast. I told the men to stand fast or die.

The leader said he wasn’t going to jail and started to draw his gun. He was dead a second later.

The other three raised their hands as Jim and Jones arrived. As I got closer I saw the other three were just young boys.  I told the boys to get off my mustangs they had stolen and stand against a big rock. They were on my cross bred mustangs and that was the reason they were able to cover so much ground in a short period of time.

I asked them why they were stealing my horses and they said their pa made them do it.

Jim talked to them for a long time and they convinced him the man that I shot had forced them to come along with him. Jones had caught up with the mustangs and herded them back to us and then asked do you want me to hang the horse thieves here and now?

I said, “No take them back to the ranch, feed them, and have one of the hands haul the father and them back to their spread. They can bury him there.

I told the boys, “Do this again and you are dead.”

Sometimes a second chance works… sometimes not

Six months later the oldest of the four boys came to the ranch riding an old horse and asked me for a job.

My first instincts were to send him along his way but I didn’t. He wasn’t a very good hand with cattle but I hoped he would improve.

Jim put up with him for six months but finally came to me and said, “He isn’t any better than when he first got here. We need to send him on his way.”

The boy was continually drawing his gun and pretending to shoot it. I could see he wasn’t ever going to be smooth and fluid on his draw.  The time came when Jim said he is too much of a distraction and I have to let him go.

On Friday night Jim paid him off and the boy became quite angry. He threatened everybody in ear shot.  He rode off on the old horse he came on and I thought that would be the last we heard from him.

Dealing with the unpleasant

I went for a ride to my favorite spot and sat down just thinking about some things Jim had brought to my attention when that fool boy came from nowhere and challenged me.

He said he was going to get even with me for shooting his dad. He drew his gun and pointed it at me and instinctively I drew and shot him. It was something I did without thinking, a natural reflex.

In a gun fight if you have to think you are dead. I went over and tried to stop the bleeding but it couldn’t be done.  He asked, “Am I dying, did I shoot you?”

I said, ‘Yes you got me good,” as he expired.

I rode to a shack not far away and got a blanket and a shovel. I buried him but never marked the grave.

When I arrived home Sarah asked if I had a good rest and I just said, “I have had better.”

I had to turn his old horse loose on the high pasture so he could finish out his days on good pasture. I put his bridle and a sack the boy rode on in the grave with him.

It took a little longer for me to put this behind me for it was such a waste and I hope the other boys will be able to get on with their lives without vengeance on their mind for settling of scores will only lead to their death.

To be Continued

 

 

 

The Fourth Man - Chapter 7

More Land for a Horse Ranch

 

Jones moving on up

While I made Jim foreman of the ranch, Jones went about his business without failing to do his job.

He and Jim had a relationship that went back a long time. Jim came to me and said one of the ranchers adjoining our ranch came to him and wanted to sell his ranch. He came to Jim instead of me thinking he might give him a better price for his place but the opposite was probably true.

Jim said he had offered him a price for it and the man took it. He told him I would have to okay the deal but he felt sure I would agree. I did agree and went and looked the place over. It was in need of some repairs but most ranches do.

Jim said he would like to move the cattle that came with the place onto the big ranch and move the mustang project to the new ranch. He said it would be a horse only ranch and be more efficient that way.

I said, “Okay but maybe you could give me more details about how this is to come about.” 

He explained the steps it would take to get it up and running and the cost of new corrals and barns.

I said, “That’s a little expensive but I trust your judgment.”

He said, “Now there is one more thing.  I would like Jones to run the whole thing. He would move into the house here with a couple of hands in the bunk house.

There is one other thing… it’s about this woman he wants to live here with him.

I spoke up and said, “I don’t want him just living with a woman and not be married.”

He said, “I understand, but he can’t marry her because she’s his sister.  Her husband just died and she is destitute. She is a little younger than he is and is still healthy. She could cook and clean for all of them and would earn her keep.”

I said, “Well go ahead but if there is any trouble I expect you to handle it.  I don’t want the ranch hands and her getting together for that will bring about a bad result. It would be better to bring a Chinese man to cook and handle things.”

Jim said, “I’ll make it clear that I won’t tolerate any thing unseemly going on.”

Jones brought his sister by to meet us and I thought she presented herself very well.

Sarah chatted with her after Mai brought them some refreshment.

After they left Sarah told me that woman has been through some tough times.

I asked, “How do you know?”

“I know because I experienced some of the same stuff. She is still of child bearing age so don’t be surprised if someone comes along and wants to wed her.”

I said, “Well that isn’t any of my concern right now and I hope it doesn’t become my concern somehow. By the way does she have a name?”

“Yes her name is Loraine but likes to be called Lorry.”

“Fair enough, Lorry it is.”

Another year passed without any unusual incidents and we were getting ready to start selling our mustang mixed horses.

Jim had been dealing with the procurement officer Colonel Logan. He had been out to the ranch several times watching the horses being saddle broke.  The Bronc riders both rode them and handled them to gentle them down.

Lorry was a fine cook

Colonel Logan also made it a practice to have dinner with Lorry. She enjoyed his company and fed him well. The time came to make a deal with the army.

Jim explained to Colonel Logan that these horses are going to fetch a premium price. The time and effort it took cross breeding them for the rugged range they have to travel over make them worth a great deal more. He finally got a good price and was set to deliver them.

The horses still had to be trained to be Army horses; to walk in parade, and just about march like foot soldiers.

Colonel Logan came to get the horses and wanted to talk to Jones privately. He said as soon as the horses were trained he was heading west to relieve another troop. He said he wanted to take a wife with him since there weren’t any women at the new fort that wasn’t either married or too young for marriage.

He wanted to ask Lorry to marry him but wanted to talk to Jones first.

Jones said, ‘Why her?”

The Colonel said, ‘Well for several reasons. She is about my age and I don’t think the bloom is off the rose yet so we could have children.  She is tough and works real hard around here.  Another thing although there hasn’t been any romance between us and I have grown to care for her.”

Jones said, “Wait here,” and he went into the house for some time. A half hour later he came out and said, ‘She’s willing.”

Logan asked if it would be alright if he went into the house and saw her.

Jones said, “Sure, go ahead she’s waiting for you.”

Man and Wife

They talked for a while and decided to get married on the week end for they were leaving in a month for the new fort.

Jones told Jim about what was going on.  Jim said, “You better go to town and get a new cook… get a Chinese woman so she can cook and do the cleaning.”

Later that week Jones came to the ranch and had a white woman in tow.

He said, “I decided to go ahead and marry Lisa. I have been seeing her for some time and when she heard I needed a cook she said I might as well take her.  For being a wife it would be free but for the cooking for the hands and keeping the place clean she wanted to be paid for her work.”

Jim thought it strange how some things work out, but said, “Okay.  I guess she had a point for she was getting paid where she was working, and didn’t want to work for free just because she got married.”

Colonel Logan and Lorry were married and left for the west. Lisa moved in and took over the duties at the mustang ranch and things are moving along without missing a beat.

To be Continued

 

The Fourth Man - Chapter 6

We Needed a Pacing Horse

 

The new buggy works fine

Sunday arrived and Sarah insisted we go to church. One of the hands hitched up the team and drove it to the front hitching post.  Billy climbed up into the front seat with me and Sarah sat with Missy in the back.

I soon decided I needed some pacers to pull the new buggy for the saddle horses were too slow and wrong gaited. They could run loping but were not the even gaited horses for a smooth ride.

I sent Jim to Kentucky to find some pacing horses for he knew something about the breed. It took a while but the breeders finally realized they couldn’t sell him their inferior nags for Jim knew all about all kinds of horses. 

When Jim started to walk away without buying, they brought out their best stock. He got carried away and bought a stud and several mares.

He fell in love with the fine brood mares and was going to breed them for sale in our part of the country.

I went to town with a couple of hands to help bring them to the ranch. Instead of driving them like a Remuda Jim had us lead them to the ranch.

I was surprised that he bought so many but trusted his judgment. He was so taken by the smooth gait of the horses he picked out two of the mares to use with our buggy and spent time with them getting them used to our gear.

One trip to town was all it took to convince me he had done the right thing by buying these fine horses. He wanted a large corral and a new large barn to house them in. I just went along with him and let him do what he wanted to do.

Sunday was church time

Sarah had been in church since she was a child and had been a regular attendee until she made the mistake of marrying the cad she married.

Our first trip to church was interesting. There was a lot of whispering and ogling of my family.  We walked in as if we were old time members and made our selves at home. When after the service the minister acted as if he knew us then there was even more gossip started.

When we had a private moment I thought I should explain things to the minister. I told him, “Sarah’s first husband was dead and when he married us it was her second marriage.

I’m the father of the children now and I didn’t want anyone to say otherwise. I further stressed this point by saying these are my children and I’m the father of them. That is all anyone needs to know and nothing else matters. What I’ve told you is for your information only not for anyone else and I expect you to keep it to yourself.”

He said, “Enough said, I will speak of this to no one but I’m glad you told me just in case someone brings it up to me.”

He seemed to be a man of his word and I trusted him. Sarah on the way home said she was glad I told the minister but one thing I said bothered her.

“Are you sure my ex-husband is dead?”

I said, ‘Yes absolutely sure.”

“Did you have anything to do with it?”

“No, no I didn’t do it or have it done, because he cheated a card shark and the man killed him.”

She said, “Good,” and that is all she has ever said about it.

I told the preacher I didn’t know how often we would make it to church but will come as often as possible.

He said, “Well you surely come in style. Those pacers and that new buggy are as good as I have ever seen and I was in Boston for some time where they have the best.”

When we arrived home we were hungry. Chen’s wife had the table sat and soon she had the food on the table. I had to ask Chen her name again and he said, “Her name, Mai Chen.”

I said, “Like My Chen?” and he said, “Yes like My Chen.”

 

Jim’s new project

Jim had another idea about breeding horses. It wasn’t new but he had a different twist on it. He brought in several mustang mares he had rounded up that were running wild. He made sure they were sound and about two or three year old. He built another corral for them and bought a couple Arabian studs to breed them to.

His idea was to end up with one quarter mustang and three quarter Arabian. And sell them to the army. This was a ten year project but was finally successful. They were mustang tough with Arabian conformation.

This man loved horses and I tried to partner up with him on these projects but he wanted just to be the ranch foreman because I let him do whatever he wanted to do. I let him set his own salary but he didn’t abuse the privilege. He took enough for his personal needs and he had a girlfriend he took care of in town.

I did it.

Sarah and I were in bed and she was snuggling up close to me and said, “Well you’ve done it.”

I didn’t have the slightest idea what she was talking about.

She said, “You have gone and gotten me pregnant.”

“Got you pregnant? You mean you’re with child?”

She said, “Yes I am.”

I didn’t know what to think. At first I thought, “I have done something wrong. Then I said no its alright what I did… I got her pregnant.”

She said, “I was teasing you. Are you as happy as I am?”

I said, “Let this announcement settle in…are you sure?”

She said, “As sure as I can be.”

I couldn’t believe it I am going to be the father of a child of my own.

I assured Sarah I was thrilled but at the same time something was bothering me. I was wondering how having a child of my own would affect my feelings for my step children.

I love those kids but this adds a different dimension to everything. Seems every time I turn around, Sarah’s ex gives me cause for reflection even though he is gone.

I knew I wouldn’t ever show partiality but would it be fomenting below the surface.

For the next few days this was in the forefront of my thinking. My conclusion to the matter came last evening when Missy climbed up into my lap. She was picking at my neckerchief trying to untie it and as I held her.  I knew I could never love any child more than I loved her or Billy who had become my buddy.

Yet there was a difference to be dealt with. It was a matter of blood relationship. It will be natural for me to love my own flesh and blood. This was beyond my smarts for I’m just a young cowboy who has survival skills but lacking in schooling where some of this stuff could be sorted out.

I had to face this conundrum with what smarts I had and the fact that knowing the cows only cared for their own calves didn’t help. In the middle of the night the answer I have decided to live with came to me. Sometimes you have to make a decision and let the feelings catch up to it as time goes by.

I realized there is more than one kind of love. And they can be equal if you deem it to be. I will love my child for one reason and my step children for another. The two need not be in conflict with one another but rather enlarge one’s capacity for love.

Accepting this concept allows me to love all my kids without being preferential. Of all the issues in my life so far this was the one that haunted me the most for it required complete honesty with my feelings.

With other issues a certain amount of guile crept in but there was no place for it to be found in this equation. The next few months were to be honest, a drag.

With the animals the time it took to have their offspring didn’t affect me at all. They were bred and then they had an offspring but this was completely different for I was sleeping with the future mother of my child. She liked to snuggle up to me and I could feel the baby moving. At first that was unnerving to say the least.

The time came when we sent for the doctor and she presented me with a son of my own. We decided on James Riley for a name and I know it was going to be interesting to watch him grow up to be a man. James was small and he would have a lot of catching up to do to become rooted in my heart like Billy and Missy was.

I found this to be strange because my feelings for him were very shallow at present. Sarah felt a much deeper love for him than I did.

I didn’t dare express these feelings out loud but I was honest with myself. Day by day I began to grow to have stronger feeling for him.

By six months I couldn’t put him down and would take him out to the barn with me. He responded to the chickens the most. By the time he was walking and beginning to try to talk he had completely won me and the other kids over.

I would sometimes hold all three of the kids and look at their mother and think of how lucky I was to have my wonderful family.  There was very little of my father left in me. Some of his strong traits would show up but none of the hardness that I grew up with.

I felt a little guilty at times when thinking I’m glad Sarah’s husband threw her out for otherwise I would never found her.

I owe Chen for being smart enough to see beyond the obvious and being able to see the family I have now.

His words echo in my mind; “You like cleaning lady?”

To be Continued