THE FOURTH MAN - Chapter 1

 

Today begins a new Continued story

 I am sharing Chapter one at:  “Tell Me a True Story.”

 

They needed a Fourth Man to Rob the Train !

The year was AD 1869

The things written here may not be in the exact chronological order because I have written them down as they came to mind.

I tried not to leave out any short comings of the family but had to include the fact we are a passionate group. One other trait from my father was we didn’t put up with any foolishness from anyone and took steps to let people know that was the case.  

Our land was practically without law so we settled issues ourselves, hopefully without making mistakes.

Lester Riley

First off I must admit I have been a bit wild, even more than boys my age. I started packing a six shooter at the age of twelve and by fourteen I could hit almost anything I aimed at.  Before that I was just a chore boy trying to get by the best I could because my folks had died.

I was limited somewhat by the cost of ammo and even though I reloaded my shells it was enough to keep me broke.

I learned to fight using the get whipped method. That is where you get whipped every time you fight.  However by the time I was eighteen I never lost any more fights. It wasn’t because I could whip everyone but because I could size up potential opponents and leave the ones I figured were too tough alone. There were other ways to deal with them without me suffering pain.

The gang of four

When I was about sixteen and in the back of the saloon I overheard two men talking about robbing a train. It seems one of the men had been badly treated by the rail company. His way to get even was to rob them and get rich at the same time.

He thought about blowing up some tracks and other acts of devilment but that would only cost them without improving his status.

As they talked they decided they would need at least four men to handle the job. One man said he knew one guy but they would still need one more. I was intrigued by the thought of doing something so daring; so simply put I volunteered to be the fourth man.

I told them to call me Les for my name was Lester but they liked the name Riley so they called me that.

The three men, Lem, Jimbo, Lazarus, and me, Riley waited until a large payroll was going through. Our plans were simple just get in and out quickly.

On the day we intended to rob the train they had to add an extra car for there was a large passenger list. We blended in separately and only got together when it was time to make our move.

I went over the baggage car and up into the engine. After making the engineer and fireman jump off the moving train, Lem disconnected the passenger cars.

Once we had control of the train it was going to be easy or so we thought.  

I stopped the engine about five miles down the track from the passenger cars while the three other men tried to get the baggage man and the guards to open the doors.

They chose to fight and after Lem blew the door open with dynamite a few shots were fired and only me and Jimbo were left standing. After we broke open the strong boxwe put the engine on a slow speed and sent it ahead down the track while we left on some horses we had hidden near where we stopped the train.

Soon after we made our getaway we separated and I was to meet up some time later with Jimbo who was taking the money with him. I showed up at the appointed place but Jimbo wasn’t there.

While emptying the safe I had managed to grab several bills and put them in my saddle bags as we left so I had plenty of money to live on while searching for Jimbo.

Time to collect my share

It was a year later that I got a lead on where he might be. I took my time checking him out to make sure he was the right man for I didn’t want to be wasting my time on the wrong guy.

He had shaved his beard off and cut his hair short. It changed his looks completely but eventually I was sure it was him.

He had bought a large ranch but was shy of having any stock save for a few horses.

As I rode in I saw out of the corner of my eye a guy with a rifle in the barn loft.

I rode up to Jimbo and said howdy Jimbo. It looked like he wanted to deny it was him but thought better of it and said “Howdy Riley.”

I said, “I guess you know why I’m here?”

He said, “I’m not sure why don’t you tell me.”

I said, “It is pretty simple; I want my half of the take.”

He said, “Don’t you mean your fourth?”

“No I mean my half for there is only two of us left.”

At this point I realized this conversation was over. I knew there was a rifle pointed directly at me and then I heard the click as he put a bullet in the chamber.

I dropped off my horse and jumped behind a watering trough and shot Jimbo as he was reaching for his gun.

 

The guy in the loft was shooting at the watering trough but the bullets didn’t penetrate the heavy wood and water.

I finally got a shot at him and put him down.

After it was over I thought that was dangerous but found myself unperturbed as I looked at the two of them.

No See Nothing

I went into the house where I found a Chinese cook cowering behind the stove. He was saying over and over; “No see nothing, no see nothing.”

I told him to keep it that way.

We buried the two men and the cook started calling me; “New boss man.”

After we buried the men Lo-Chen (the Chinese cook) showed me around the place and said; “Men, cows come soon.”

I didn’t get it but didn’t ask any questions about what he was trying to say. I put my horse in the corral and fed him after which I was moved in.

While looking everywhere for the money that I was sure it would be here in the house if there was any. I found a loose board in the bedroom and under it was a large sum of money. I figured He must have bought the ranch for cash but yet he still had most of the money left.

Meet the new ranch owner

After Lo-Chen fixed me some food I went through the large oak desk and found all the papers relating to the ranch. I signed the deed over to myself after practicing Jimbo’s signature all afternoon.

The next day me and Chen (I now call him Chen) went to the county seat and filed the deed. The clerk said Jimbo sold out rather quickly didn’t he? I said I wanted the ranch and paid more than it was worth so he decided to take it. That seemed to satisfy him so that was finished.

We went shopping and stocked up with all the staples we needed and some stuff Chen said we ought to have on hand.

I asked him why we needed so much stuff for just the two of us and he said; “Men, cows come.”

 

To Be Continued

 

 

 

SOMETIMES WORDS HAVE TWO MEANINGS

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"Knowing Jesus personally vs. knowing about Jesus—what is the difference?"

 

Much of what is written and many songs that are sung seem to have a spiritual overtone but the sweet implication is no substitute for knowing the true reality in Christ.

To say “I know a person” barely scratches the surface for only with constant communications with them can that individual be known you.

Some think that an allusion to something is the fulfillment of the truth from the Almighty. This leads one to settle for an aura, a misty feeling that seems to come from a spiritual source but can cause one to take the wrong fork in the road instead of the correct one that leads to heavenly places in Christ.

 

“Jesus said; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.  I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to The Father except through me.”

Underlying the false christ is the seductress of pleasure that satisfies through erroneous ideas of what relationship with the Creator is all about.

The so call pleasures of life through drugs, illicit sex, and worship of idols whose chanting creates a hypnotic spell that numbs the spirit and blocks access to the Holy One.

The words spoken by Paul the Apostle tell us concisely what the pursuit of each man must be; “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.”

Know him in every way; through his words, through fellowship, through practicing the truth.

“1 John 1:6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth.”

Beware of those who claim to know Him and walk in darkness for the ditch is waiting for all who do. “Luke 6:39

He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?”  

The pulpit avails not if the practicing of the truth is left lying in the gutter.

The aura of spirituality cannot be a substitute for true relationship with Christ where one can truly say “I know him”.

Psalm 19:14   Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

 

 

 

Ridge House - Chapter 4

Explaining the Darkness of Ridge House

I was called into Lady Johnson room to talk to her about the future and she said she had something to share with me.

I thought it was about my marriage to Connie and was partly right.

She said, “Years ago she had strong feelings for Joseph and he took advantage of her affections, the result being a pregnancy of one of the grandsons.

Joseph refused to marry me but continued to stay on as butler. I didn’t give up on him marrying me,” she said, “So I continued having sex with him.

This is where the darkness began here at Ridge House.  It is set on Smoky Ridge where the clouds cause a natural darkness around it. It was used by a tyrant at the earliest century as a place of torture to get information out of enemies of the tyrant.

We came into possession of it four generations ago and have kept it up to some degree as you know. Because of my getting pregnant over and again no one was allowed to visit lest they find out what I was doing.

I had four offspring with Joseph and he treated them very badly. They were all males and left when they got married.  For some unknown reason the fathers died young. I thought Joseph had something to do with it but couldn’t prove it.

When the grandsons came to live with us I feared for their lives.  It was me who put the wire on the steps to remove that danger.  

But for some reason they ended up dead somehow which I’m not aware of how it happened.

For some reason Joseph cared for Connie and he never harmed her. It may have been partly because I threaten him if he did or it might have been another reason.

Now it comes to you and Connie.  She has some bad genes and I hesitate giving my approval for you to marry her; because of her not you.

You are the one person I have learned to trust. If you think she can overcome her bad genes and not pass them on then you may marry her.

You best think it over and get back to me. I would like to see great grandchildren before I die.”

That revelation certainly was a surprise.  She set a trap for her live in man and now what do I do with that information.

The sheriff said it was natural causes so I guess that is what it is.

I need to talk to Lady Johnson again before I talk to Connie for there is something missing that other reason still stuck in my mind.

I found Lady Johnson and said, “You haven’t told me all the truth.”

She said, “What do you mean?”

“All of the offspring have been males until it came to Connie so I want the truth about that.”

She had the look of one who had been found out.  She said, “You have me. Connie’s father, my son was infertile and his wife was going to leave him. He allowed her to become pregnant with another man and the result was a blond haired girl named Connie.

When I told you she had bad genes I lied, but I had to test your love for her one more time. It seems you are smarter that I gave you credit for.  Go ahead and marry that girl for you deserve her.”

We had a small wedding; none of my family were invited. Sometime it pays to know when to cut the ties of friends and family. This may go against tradition but is the wise thing to do especially when money is forthcoming.

We are happy as a couple can be and Grandma Johnson along with us.

It took a year to sell Ridge House. We renamed it happy house and that helped with the past negatives. The county bought it and made a museum out of it.

We purchased a nice house on the edge of town and the four of us are very happy.

Did I forget to tell you of our little blond haired girl that came to live with us?

Just ten months after we were wed she came on the scene and great grandmother won’t leave her alone.  

She finds that playing Great Grandmother Johnson is a lot more pleasurable than being the Austere Lady Johnson of Ridge House.

Finis

Ridge House - Chapter Three



 

The Grandsons hired two maids

I found out that the three grandsons and Connie had the same father but not who he was at present. I had quickly realized that everything was on a need to know at Ridge House.

Connie and the three grandsons had different mothers.  Each mother had died under suspicious circumstances, but no investigation followed. It was the same sheriff who called it “natural causes” even though there were a lot of questions that needed answers.

Now there were five deaths at Ridge House without the full story coming out.

One day two servant girls arrived. They had been hired by the grandsons to serve at the parties. They decided to keep them on after the parties even though Lady Johnson said they weren’t needed. They also hired a cook which was a good idea for Connie had to do most of the cooking.

A year passed without anything tragic occurring.

The parties each month created some extra work for me but nothing I couldn’t handle. It mostly revolved around setting things up for theme parties. This was interesting and was a bit of fun at the same time.

The pirate’s ball was one of my favorites with every dressing up as pirates and wenches. It was made up pirate talk and barrels of rum drinks. I was taught to be a bartender and served, Mojitos, Mai Tai’s, Pina coladas, Frozen Lime Daiquiri, Caribbean Rum Punch, and a host of other drinks. I was even was provided with a pirate suit.

There were a host of people there but Connie was my favorite wench. Then it happened the three grandsons became ill. They got worse as the weeks passed. Some six weeks later Lawrence passed away. The sheriff after consulting with the local doctor put in his report, “natural causes.”

Two months passed and the other two grandsons also died. The sheriff said it was ‘natural causes’ again.

On behalf of the family I ordered a private autopsy and found they had been poisoned with Mercury and another poison compound which they couldn’t identify.

To say I was nervous was putting it mildly for I was eating the same food and I feel fine.

I went to a clinic in the big town and they said I was in perfect health. The two maids were in good health but they had quit because of being worried they might be next.

As it turned out the cook was the instigator of the poisoning for some years ago the grandsons had all raped her and didn’t recognize her when they hired her.

She didn’t want them to die quickly for she has been living with the torture of the rape for years.  Her fiancé dropped her after the rape and the word spread concerning what happened.  This was her chance to get even so she took it.

She told the story to Connie and me after getting drunk one evening. We never told anyone and the sheriff once again said it was “natural causes” or something they ate.

The cook resigned and left when she realized she had spilled the beans. We told her not to worry about us telling anyone for we would leave it up to her to confess it or not.  She has been okay with circumstances as they are so far

I asked Connie if she was alright and she said she was.

She said all three of the grandsons were after her but she never said anything to anyone but was glad they paid the price for what they had done.

She knew how the cook must have felt being taken advantage of like she was. This was a surprise to me for I never knew what was going on.

With Connie doing the cooking again I felt a lot more secure even though the cook had nothing against us. This left us with the question, “Who killed the butler?”

It was murder as sure as I could be.  I knew where the wire came from because it was from my supplies in the storage shed.  Everyone had access to it so anyone could have gotten it from there.

There was only the three of us left who was there at the time of the Butler’s demise or so I thought.

There were a number of temporary helpers who came in for specialty work which I wasn’t trained to do. I sat down and made a list who worked here on the dates in question.

There were three that stood out;  A plumber, who completely redid Lady Johnson’s bath,  A kitchen specialist who installed a new stove that would handle the larger party needs, and a phone company that put in new phones in the grandsons rooms.  There were about fifteen men involved with the phones so this detective work was going beyond my expertise.

I went and talked to Lady Johnson and asked if we should pursue it any further. She said, “No, just let it lie and some day the truth may come out.”

Then I remembered that the three grandsons were there also.

I had completely been dropped from favor with my family when they no longer received all my salary. I really didn’t care for I was treated by my family like a slave much of my early years.

Connie and I have grown closer and we are considering getting married. Lady Johnson hasn’t given her approval as of yet but I think she is almost ready.

It is partly because she is unsure we will stay with her afterward. I believe Connie has convinced her we will stay but if she keeps refusing we may leave. Without her approval Connie won’t get her huge estate both land and cash but our happiness is on the line and we are willing to give up the money if necessary.

We have been cheating a little and getting ahead of the ceremony but we have strong feelings for one another and the pressure was too much.

Connie has given her a deadline for an answer, and we will know soon.

To be Continued

 

 

Ridge House - Chapter 2



Mud Hole would be Better than Ridge House

Once I had stepped into a deep mud hole and couldn’t get out. When they found me I was up to my neck in mud. They threw a rope to me and I managed to get it around my shoulders and four men pulled me out. I would rather be back in that mud hole than to be where I am now.

The Widow said he was sick but I know a drunkard when I see one, and he was a full blown drunk. He was sober enough to keep me busy repairing things he had let go for years.

He would try to hit me and yell at me to speed things up but I was going as fast as I could. I asked for some food and he said that I only was allowed to eat twice a day.

I thought if that is the case the breakfast was going to have to be a lot bigger than what I had the first morning. I was so weak from working and hunger that by evening I could hardly stand.  After all I was a growing boy.

My angel said to wash up and she would feed me. When I came back she said, “You missed some spots so do it again.

Once I returned and she had a nice big bowl of stew ready for me. It looked like most of the meat had been picked out but it was filling.

After an hour I felt much better but then was sent back down to the dungeon.

This same thing went on for six weeks, and I had managed to make a little headway.

I was tired of being abused by Gregory for no reason and one day there was a beam hanging by a thread. I was going to remove it but Gregory hit me and sent me to do another task.

When I returned a couple of hours later he lay there with the beam on top of him.

When Lady Johnson saw what had happened she at first blamed me, but I told her he sent me to do another task saying he wanted to handle this job alone.

She knew where I was so she knew I had nothing to do with it. She told me to take Gregory’s body to the poor people’s section of the grave yard and bury him there. I could hardly manage the task but finally I managed to get him under.

There was no one to say words over him and since I had been to many funerals I thought I would say something. I started by saying, “Lord” we send Gregory to you today. He wasn’t a bad sort (I knew I was lying about that part but I had heard preachers do that before for some of the worthless ones) so if you can some mercy for him we would appreciate it Amen.”

That was about the best sendoff I could give him so I got my shovel and went back to Ridge House.

I wasn’t very hungry that night but since my angel served it I ate it all.

Six months had passed when I was summoned to the big room and to my surprise there were three young men there with Lady Johnson (her grandsons). They were laughing and she was laughing with them. I had never seen her without her face in a frown.

When she saw me she called me over and said, “Stay,” then she told the young men to go and check out their rooms and see if everything was to their liking.

After they left she said that since Gregory is dead I would have to do his work and mine ( I was already doing it.)

I said, “That would be fine if there were some changes made.”

She swelled up as if she was going to bust and sputtered out, “What changes?”

I said I would now live in Gregory’s old room and eat at the table where he ate and get the food he got and the wages he got.

She told me that my father always got my wages and I still would get nothing.

I said, “Then let him do the work.”

She said, ‘He isn’t going to do that and you know it.”

I said, “Do I? The only way I will work is if from now on I get the same wages Gregory got?”

She said, “Okay and what are the other demands?”

“One, people will treat me with the respect they gave Gregory.”

She said, “Done!”

I said, “Fine then everything is settled and the work will get done in a first-rate manner.”

As I headed to my new room my angel walked with me and said, “I’m glad you have a nice room, for we can visit every night before we go to sleep.”

Things were looking so much better because almost a year sleeping in the dungeon was about all I could take.

The three grandsons appeared to do little of nothing. They would ask me to do small things they could have done for themselves.

Lady Johnson laid out for me a number of things to do, as there were going to be parties thrown in the future for the grandsons.

After a month I had everything finished she ordered and several more she didn’t have on the list.

Then the first accident happened.  Joseph the butler tripped going down to the wine cellar.

I was the first to discover him and upon inspecting the stairs I found a wire that would act as a trip wire and that was what he tripped over to his death. I quickly removed it before some else tripped over it.

Joseph had been with Lady Johnson for many years and she was overcome with grief.

The party was canceled for now even though the three grandsons insisted it go on.  They rescheduled it for two weeks later while moaning about it messing up their schedules.

The only person Lady Johnson would see for the next three weeks was Connie, and after that she got up and dressed, and acted as if nothing had happened.

The sheriff had been called in and I told him about the wire but he ignored that saying no one in this house would ever have done that so forget it.

He went on and said no autopsy would be necessary for it was obvious what had happened; he slipped and fell because he was old.

As a last resort I asked about the skinned places on his legs where the wire scraped him as he fell.  The sheriff said that could have happened anytime, anywhere.

After that I shut up and he left.  

I knew there was a murderer in the house and I wondered when he would strike again and who the next victim would be.

 

To be Continued

 

 

Ridge House - Chapter 1

A new Short Continued Story Begins today

 

Ridge House



 

"Marvin I want you to go up to Smoky Ridge to 'Ridge house' and help the widow Johnson for a few weeks."

Of all the words and sentences he could have said that was the last ones I wished to hear.

It was my Pa who uttered them and his word was law.  I saw my older brother rebel against Pa’s wishes once and I vowed I would never make that mistake.

After all these years my brother hasn’t fully got over Pa’s correction.

Ridge house was a fearsome place to go for a few minutes but to spend a few weeks was unheard of.

I thought about running away but I knew he would just send another brother in my place.

From all I had heard, the widow Johnson was a force to be reckoned with, and I sure didn’t feel up to the task but Pa said I had to go.

I gathered up what few clothes I owned and got a biscuit from the warmer above the cook stove and said I was leaving.  Ma came and kissed my fore head.  She said it was just in case I never saw her again or she me.

All the family gathered around me and said goodbye.  It seemed as if that was the last time they would ever see me or I them.

Hesitating, I stood on the bottom step of the porch while everyone went back inside and lit the lamp.

I knew I needed to hurry for the darkness was almost upon us so I took off a running.  I didn’t dare be caught in the darkness that surrounded Ridge House. It was almost dark around Ridge House even in the daytime.

Some bushes tore at my clothes as I ran along the narrow path through what everyone called the Evil Forest.  

I began to breathe almost normal when I arrived at the foot of the mountain Ridge House sat upon. There was an evil smell that surrounded the place and it burned your lungs if you breathed too deep.

As I climbed higher and higher up the path I could see a single light emitting from one of the dirty windows. Then there it was before me - - the door that opened into Ridge House.

I pounded on the door for some time until an old bent over man (who I found out later was named Joseph) opened the door for me.

He mumbled something that sounded like follow me, I couldn’t be sure but I followed him just in case.

There was a cold draft that blew through the great hallways and it caused me to shiver.  Then it got very warm as we approached the great room where the Widow Johnson sat patting a Great Dane dog.

He was huge and caused fear to come over me as he showed his teeth and growled with each breath.

She said, “Are you the worthless lad of the Levee clan?”

I didn’t know what to say so I said, “Yes… name of Marvin.”

She whispered to the old butler and said, “Bed him.”

He stared over my head at something and said, “Come.”

As he shuffled along I followed him and we went down, down, down till we were nigh unto the bottom that I could faintly see and hear the water as it dripped in the pool at the bottom of the dungeon.

There he said “Bed.”

I took it that he meant I was to sleep there.  Then I saw he had something in his hand.  It gave me a fright until I saw it was a teapot. He poured me a cup of tea and said, “Drink.”

I quickly drank the contents of the cup which was slightly bitter and he said, “More?”

I said, “No that was enough thank you.”

He then threw me what surely must have been a horse blanket.

He said, “Sleep,” and then left.

I blew out the candle he had left me and covered myself with the thin blanket he gave me.  

When the candle was extinguished I realized there were two windows that let the moonlight flood in and I could see my surroundings better than by candle light.

I didn’t feel like sleeping or so I thought.  I was awakened about an hour later (my guess) and the world was spinning. I couldn’t see clearly, and there was a vision of an angelic being before me but I couldn’t make it out clearly.

As the spinning ebbed it became a little more discernible as to what I was viewing. Then she covered me with a heavy cover that warmed me almost immediately and stopped my shivering. She then faded into the darkness and disappeared.

As I stared toward the ceiling, thinking about what just happened I noted the ceiling was about thirty feet above me and the walls were made of large stones hewn from a quarry. At one time there was mortar the stones were set in but it had dissipated over the years leaving large cracks in the stones.

Now that I was warm but still dizzy I drifted off to sleep.  I was awakened by the clanking of chains. The moonlight still illuminated the large room I was in and I saw an eerie figure slowly coming toward me dragging the chains.

As he neared me I began to climb the wall by using the cracks in the stones. He was grabbing at my feet until I was out of his reach and I was hanging on to the wall.  I hung on till I was exhausted I had to climb down. As I looked around he was nowhere to be seen.  There was a loud voice that could be heard a mile away after he had disappeared.

I lay there for about an hour and finally drifted off to sleep again for the rest of the night.  

When I awoke I looked for a place to relieve myself and saw where the stones had fallen away leaving an opening to the outside. I relieved myself through the opening and proceeded to find my way out of the dungeon type room. When I got to the top of the stairs I tried the door only to find it was locked.

There was an outcropping of stone at the top of the stairs so I sat on it waiting for someone to come and let me out. After about a half hour I began to beat on the door without any success.

An hour later I heard the key turn in the lock and waited for someone to open the door but it remained closed. I finally tried the door and it opened.

There was a small landing with five more steps up to the next floor of the house. I continued to climb upward on the steps and through doors I found myself on the main floor.

As I wandered through the house I was suddenly shocked to see a beautiful young girl (Connie) about my age (16) coming down the stairs and was there standing before me.

We stared at each other till she said, “Come.”

As my mind cleared I realized this is the girl of my vision and I think she is real.

I wanted to touch her to make sure but was afraid to. She led me to the kitchen and said, “Sit,” which I did as she gave me a small bowl of oatmeal. There was nothing to put in it, no milk, butter or anything.

I ate it and asked if I could have another bowl and she showed me the pan which was empty. What she gave me was little more than a taste and I was ready for some heavy eating but that was it.

She disappeared as a disheveled man came in and stared at me.  He would first stare at me and then roll his eyes to the ceiling making guttural sounds.

The butler entered followed by the old woman (the widow Lady Johnson). She said, “You the worthless Levee boy?”

I said, “Yes name of Marvin if you please.”

She, said, “Don’t you sass me or evil will come upon you according to my word.”

Those words caused me to all but lose control of my bladder… “No Ma’am I would never dare to do,” that as I shivered even though it was warm in the room we were in.

She said, ‘You been eating my vittles?”

“Yes Ma’am,” I said.

She looked at the disheveled man who was still making guttural sounds but quieter than before and said, “This is Gregory.”

She spoke to Gregory and said; “You know what to do, make him do your work, hear me?”

He said, “Yes Ma’am Lady Johnson.”

Then she looked at me and said, “He’s been sick. You gotta do his work you hear me?”

“Yes Ma’am Lady Johnson.”

Her eyes became like flames of fire as she began screaming for a long time. As she wound down, she through gnashing teeth said accenting every syllable; “Don’t ever say my name like that for your mouth defiles it.”

I was too scared to answer so I just hung my head and said nothing.

She spoke and said to Gregory; “Put him to work – Now.”

“Yes Ma’am,” he said as he grabbed my shoulder by the coat and pulled me out of there.

To be Continued

Chuck Wagon Cookie - Chapter 3

This short story ends today -
A new story begins soon - Y'all come back you hear?

 

Chapter 3

If they don't pay - We will burn it down!

Cookie asked Maria what she going to do now that the drive was over.

She said, “Get a job of some kind I guess.”

Then she asked what Cookie’s name was and he said, “Some call me Shorty.”

She said, “I know that much, but I want to know your real name.”

He said, “I think it was Leonard it’s been so long since I heard it I have forgotten what it is.”

She said, “From now on I will call you Lenny.”

He said, “The reason I was wondering what you would be doing was maybe we can get a job working together.”

She said, “Maybe we could.”

He said, “I know the guy who owns the stables let’s eat and go see him.”

She said, “Okay I’m hungry so let’s eat.”

After eating they went down to the stables and saw the owner Lester. The stables had some rooms out back where a person could live and several stables with a couple corrals also. When Lester saw Len he said, “Hello Shorty.”

Len said, “My name is Len now so call me that. He said we need a job for winter do you want some help?”

Lester said, “No I’m going to have to close down.”

Len said, “You have all the stables full and some more horses in the corrals.”

Lester said, “I have plenty of business it’s just that no one will pay me the money they owe me. He said I can’t collect it for I’m just too old to fight them and the sheriff won’t help me cause his horse is over there and he doesn’t pay me either.”

He went on and said, “The businesses on either side of me owe me a lot of rent money but they also won’t pay.”

Maria said, “If we collect the money owed you or most of it what will you give us?”

He said, “If you can get my money you can have a half interest in this place.”

She said, “I will be back shortly with a lot of your money.”

She explained to Len what to do and how to get the money from one of the guys next to Lester.

She went into the general store next to the stable and asked for a gallon of coal oil.  He asked her if she needed anything else and she said, “No, I think this is enough for once the fire is started it will do the rest.”

She said, “I’m part owner of the stable next door and we’re going broke because people like you won’t pay us.”

He said, “You can’t burn that place down for it will catch my place on fire.”

She said, “You might as well be out of business as we are. Oh yes, one more thing, please give me a box of matches.”

He said, “You can’t do that.”

She said, ‘You can watch it burn, or you could pay me and I wouldn’t need to burn it.”

A few minutes later she and Len walked in and handed Lester a good part of his money.

Maria said, “I think I will visit the sheriff next.” 

She smiled and I told the sheriff to get ready for his horse would be running down the street with his saddle on him unless he settled up.

This went on until they had almost all of the money owed to him.

Lester wanted to know how they did it and they said it don’t matter as long as we collected.

Lester said it looks like I have some new partners. Len and Maria took over the rooms in the back and settled in for the winter. Len went out and made some deals for enough hay and grain for the stock throughout the winter.

They also put a cover over one of the corrals to protect the horses who were housed there.

One evening someone tried to break in and steal one of the horses and Marie gave him a dose of large grain salt from her shotgun. It hurts like pellets but doesn’t usually kill.

Come spring new people were showing up and looking for a business to run. They had some offers for the stables, much more than it was worth. The three of them decided to sell to the highest bidder and now had a lot of money in their pockets. More than they ever hoped for.

A man from the East met Maria and asked her to marry him. She decided she had enough of the single life and he was well off so she wouldn’t have to worry about money any more.

Len and Lester saw her off as she headed East to her new home.

Len had an offer on a ranch to be the main cook and he decided to take it.

Lester built himself a small two room house and did odd jobs around town.

One of the town widows finally roped him and he is now a married man.

This is just one of the many chuck wagon stories some are true some are not, but all are interesting.

Finis