by Rita Hestand
"Sounds good. But with so many different tribes, do you think you can be successful?" Joe marveled at the attempt at peace. It would be a first in the area.
"It is our greatest hope, yes." The Colonel smiled at them. "The tribes most resistant are the Cheyenne and the Sioux. But we are hopeful they will come to agree too. We have a lot of Pawnee scouts with us here at the fort. Most of the peace has been initiated by the Indian Agent, Thomas Fitzpatrick. He's done a monumental job of gathering the different tribes and allotting lands and holding peaceful talks with them."
"That's good," Joe agreed. "I'd like to meet him."
Assured that their passage should be a peaceful one, A.J. and Joe breathed much easier now.
The women indulged in the supplies, buying material to make dresses for the dance and it put everyone in a better mood. When A.J. informed them that a treaty was under way, the people seemed to really relax.
They were also informed the the Cholera scare along the way was monumental. And that liquor sales to the Indians had been attributed to one white man at the fort who was arrested.
"Now they'll see how wise A.J. was to order them to boil their water. If we hadn't a lot of those markers along the way would belong to our train. I'm so glad he spoke up about it." Millie smiled at Wilma.
"He's been through here before. He knows the dangers, he and Joe better than most."
The fort was busy all the time and Indians drifted in and out of the fort to speak with Fitzpatrick. Joe met him one afternoon and was very impressed with all the work he'd been doing.
"The Indians are worried about the wild game and ruined lands that we are responsible for. The government will have to reimburse them to some extent to keep them at peace. D.D. Mitchell, Superintendent of Indian Affairs has been a great help to me. The buffalo are being shot and wasted. This was their prime source of meat."
"They call you Broken Hand, don't they?" Joe smiled.
"That's right. Had a firearms accident a bit ago, messed my hand up. They also call me 'White Hair'."
"Well you've sure managed to do a lot of good for the Indians, I'll say that. It isn't a good time for them, but at least they have you on their side to help fight their battles for them. It was a pleasure to meet you sir."
Later Joe told Millie about meeting the man. "It was such an honor to meet a man who has done so much, he was a mountain man, fur trapper, owned his own fur company, a guide for wagon trains, and even more famous for being an Indian agent. Very impressive man."
Millie smiled. "I'm glad you got a chance to meet the man."
"I've heard about him every time I've come through here; he's done something else that was fantastic. Never thought I'd get the chance to meet him." Joe admitted.
"So is traveling safe now?"
"Pretty much, he's gathering tribes together as we speak to talk treaty talks with them. It's really something. We shouldn't have much trouble this trip."
"That's wonderful." Millie smiled.
Joe stared at her and smiled, "Now this is to get you something new for the dance. And I want no argument about it."
"You'll get none." She smiled and took his money this time.
"Good, and tomorrow I'm taking you on a picnic."
"Really," He smiled and kissed her nose.
"I'll look forward to it." She sighed.
True to his word, the next day he came and gathered her behind him on his horse and they rode out from the fort to a small wooded area, and made a blanket on the ground.
She'd cooked up some fried chicken and she fed him as they slumbered on the ground together.
"So when do you think we should start sharing a blanket together?" He asked with a sexy smile.
She glanced up at him, as she had her head in his lap now as he finished his last chicken leg.
She blushed, "I hadn't thought about that…"
"I have…" He chuckled.
She chuckled.
"When we get to Oregon…" She answered him.
"All right, I can wait…" He smiled, "although I will do a lot of thinking on that between here and there."
"So what's happened to Janet, I haven't seen her around much."
Joe chuckled. "I got wise, I introduced her to Mike Williams, and she's smitten with him, now. I think she's keeping him pretty busy."
"Mike Williams?"
"Yes, he's about twenty, and unmarried. He helps A.J. handle the remuda."
"Oh yes, I've seen him." Millie nodded. "That was clever of you."
"Especially since I'm an old married man." He smiled and pulled her up to him.
The kiss they shared lasted a long time and had Millie squirming for more and coming up breathless.
His smile surrounded her now, "You're so pretty when you've been properly kissed."
"Joe I'm so happy it scares me…" She cried.
"Why? Why does it scare you?"
"I've never been this content, this relaxed with anyone. It's all so new. But I'm afraid something might take it all away from me." She said.
"I'm taking care of you now, and nothing is going to take you away from me."
"Promise?"
"Promise. You're mine, in case you don't know it. You have been for a while. It sure took you long enough to figure it out though."
"I was afraid to admit my feelings…"
He took her in his arms now and stared into her dark eyes, "Never be afraid of me…"
"It wasn't you…it was the feelings your aroused in me. I'd never felt like that. It scared me because when you first met me you didn't like me."
He chuckled and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Sweetheart the first time I laid eyes on you, you scared me to death. I was so smitten with you; I couldn't believe it. I thought you were the prettiest little thing I'd ever seen, and I had no idea you could ever come to love a man like me."
She chuckled. "A man like you? When you offered to marry me, at the Indian Village…I wanted to hug your neck and thank you, but I was so scared. And when you kissed me…I'd never been kissed like that before. You were so tender, so gentle with me. No man had ever touched my heart before. And that's the truth."
"How was that so different?" He asked with a slight smile.
"I don't know for sure, but something happened. I'd never felt so helpless nor so happy…you opened up a new world for me. It was like you showed me how it should be."
"God, that first day, you were so beautiful, your eyes were so big and round and I drown in them, and you stunk like a polecat. But I wanted you even then."
She laughed and kissed him smartly for that remark. "When I asked you if we were really married, you said, 'do you want to be'. And then you said…you would be married to me in your heart. I wanted to cry, that was the most beautiful thing anyone had ever said to me. I thought you would mock the ceremony and me."
"How could I mock it; you've been in my heart ever since." He grinned.
"Oh Joe, hold me, don't let anything ever come between us…"
"Sweetheart, you have me wrapped around your heart, don't you know that…?"
And then he kissed her, slowly, burning, lovingly. She lay in his arms for over an hour, kissing, touching a bit and confessing her love for him.
Courting was a lot of fun, she admitted to herself as she lost herself in his kisses.
Chapter Twenty-One
Three days later they were headed for Independence Rock and something had Millie spooked. She couldn't put her finger on what was wrong. She had this eerie feeling about her. She couldn't explain it. Things were just going too nicely. Could she be so lucky?
"Something bothering you girl?" Wilma asked when Millie got too quiet for too long.
"I don't know Wilma. I've just got this strange sensation. Probably nothing." Millie tried to shrug it off, but the feeling intensified as they got closer to Independence Rock. the hair on the nape of her neck seemed to stand up.
"You're still worried about that Matt Hudson aren't you?"
"I guess
I am. If he got my letter, he'll be expecting me to show up. It never dawned on me, but what if he shows up here?"
"You mean to say you think he might come after you?"
"That's just it, I don't know." Millie shrugged trying to ward off this feeling of doom surrounding her. "But I'm so uncomfortable. The closer we get to that rock, the worse these feeling is."
"Did you mention this to Joe?" Wilma asked as a worry wrinkle formed on her forehead.
"No, I didn't want to bother him, I mean, it's just a feeling, Wilma." Millie cried. "Besides, he's got work to do. I didn't want to interfere in that. He doesn't need to carry my problems with him too."
"You should have told him."
"Maybe I'm just making something out of nothing." Millie replied.
Millie went about her daily chores, of managing the mules and the wagon and then finishing her washing.
"You know you should invest in some more clothes; you spend all your time washing your things out." Wilma noted.
"I did buy a few things at the trading store, this time. Some underthings and another dress. You know the one I wore to the dance."
"Oh yeah, only I didn't see much of you at the dance. How come?"
"Joe and I walked around the parade grounds and talked a bit. And kissed a bit. He's such a terrific kisser, Wilma."
"I told you kissing is important when you are young." Wilma chuckled.
"You were right." Millie chuckled too now, releasing some of the tension. She sighed happily. "At least I have a change of dress, thanks to Joe." She smiled.
"Yeah, but those unmentionables are going to fall apart if you keep washing them every day."
"I don't mind the washing…"
Joe was out on a scouting mission and the train moved along until lunch. A.J. always allowed enough time to cook the meals and have a short nap before rolling onward. Trying to fit sixteen miles into every day meant staying on a schedule though.
It was right after they ate, Wilma took a nap in the wagon and Millie rested in the rocking chair. There was a bit of a breeze from the south and it had a calming effect on Millie. She even opened Wilma's bible and read a while before drifting off to a light sleep.
When suddenly two men came up to her, very quietly. She opened her eyes feeling a heavy breath on her as one of them bent down close. They were dirty cowboys to say the least and one of them glared at her with an evil looking grin.
Startled she stood up.
"Millie Powell?" One of the men asked.
"That's right…who are you?" She demanded to know.
"Don't matter, come with us." The tall skinny one took her by the arm and led her away from the camp.
"No…I will not!" Millie started to shout just before one of the men put his hand over her mouth.
In seconds she was swept away, pulled on top a horse and held by one of the men as they galloped quickly away.
His clothes reeked and his grip was tight around her waist. He seemed careful where he put his hands, and of that she was glad.
Millie tried to scream but to no avail, finally she bit the hand that held her. The man jerked his hand away.
"Son of a …" the man grabbed his hand.
"Where are you taking me?" She insisted knowing.
"You're Matt Hudson's intended, aren't you?"
Her head flew to look into the man's eyes and a strange fear flew all over her. "He sent you…to get me?" She shouted.
"That's right. The letter said you'd be here before the fourth of July. We been waiting for a week. We saw that train it wasn't hard to find you. He said to look for the youngest, prettiest blond haired gal on the train, with dark eyes and built like what did he call it…"
"A goddess!" The other one shouted.
"That's it, a goddess. And he's right. You shore are pretty. Can't blame him for that….no sir."
"But you don't understand. I can't marry him!" She shouted.
"Why not?" The one that held her now asked.
"I'm already married…" She raised her chin to the air.
"Already…married! You can't be? Didn't you send him the letter sayin' you were comin' to marry up with him?"
"Yes, but that was before. I'm married now…"
"To who?" The man that held her demanded to know.
"Joe Modoc!" She responded, knowing she had thrown them a curve he wasn't expecting.
"Who the hell is Joe Modoc?"
"The scout for the wagon train. We were married some time back!" She asserted.
"Well," The cowboy laughed. "That's between you and the boss. We were told to fetch you. And that's what we are doin'. You and him can sort that out."
"But it's useless now!" Millie cried out. "There's no reason. I'm already married. He'd be a bigamist."
"Boss ain't gonna like this!" The other cowboy shouted, giving her a quick once over.
"That's his troubles, not ours. We done what he wanted. He can't blame us for this." the other one said.
"Joe will come after me, and you'll have hell to pay." She threatened them. Seeing the confusion on their faces was enough to know it threw them.
"Who's Joe?"
"My husband." She said the words softly.
"We'll deal with that when the time comes…"
They rode for a long time, then darkness fell and they camped out.
As he helped her down from the saddle the cowboy glanced at her from head to toe, "We'll be there by tomorrow late."
They made a fire, and Millie watched their every move. She wondered if she could escape, run off and hide? But she didn't know anything about this country and from what Joe had told her, this wasn't a country to take off in, with snakes and wild animals about. Even though she was a farm girl, she knew little about being stranded in a foreign area.
She glanced at the men again.
What was she going to do?
One was a tall, lean fella with black slicked hair and brown eyes, the other was shorter, stouter and he reeked from not bathing.
"Who are you?" She asked as they continued to bring firewood to the camp.
"I'm Slim, and that's Butch. We work for Matt Hudson. And I reckon that's about all you need to know about us." The man who had held her on the horse explained. He seemed to have the most sense and knew what he was doing. He also seemed less harmful.
"Why didn't he come himself?" She asked.
"The boss?" They both looked at her as though shocked she asked.
"The boss, orders what he wants done and we do it. That's how it works. He's a man of means."
"I realize that, but I would think he'd come himself to get me." She exclaimed.
"Did you expect him to?"
"Not exactly. I did get an eerie feeling about being at Independence Rock."
"We got bacon and beans, fix it." Slim instructed her tossing her a quick glance as he threw the bacon down on a rock and tossed the cans of beans.
She took the food and Butch took out a pan from his saddle bags for her to warm the beans with.
She fried the bacon, after Butch sliced it for her, and then asked Slim to open the can for her. He took a knife and opened it then handed it back to her.
Butch brought out some coffee and got her some water from the creek.
She managed to make their supper as the two of them talked back and forth, ignoring her. Her mind was working but there were no clear cut answers to her problem. She didn't know these men, she didn't know what they were capable of, and she didn't know the land either.
"Well I'll say one thing for the boss, he sure can pick 'em. I mean, she's something, ain't she?" Butch's eyes glittered as he cast her a glance that went all over her.
"Better keep your eyes in your head Butch. Boss won't like it, if we mess her up none." Slim told him.
"She's shore young though for him…." Butch smiled. "Kinda sad for her, to waste on him, wouldn't you say?"
Slim nodded. "She is a looker all right."
"What's an old codger like him doin' with the likes of
her?" Butch muttered.
"Ain't our concern, now is it?" Slim cast him a warning glance.
She leaned against a rock, she could feel the tension growing with every word Butch spoke.
"Why'd he send you to get me? Didn't he think I'd show up?"
"We don't ask questions. We do as he says, that's all." Slim frowned at her.
"What's that around your neck?" Butch saw the necklace. He reached to touch it, his hand heavy on the stone in it, pressing it into her breast.
"It's a gift from an Indian chief." She tried to back away, not liking how his hands seemed to reach for her instead.
"An Indian chief. For what?"
"For saving him…" She admitted flippantly.
"You saved an Injun chief?" Butch snickered.
"That's right, I operated on him. Saved his life. So he gave me a necklace. He thought I was good medicine."
"It's kind of pretty, take it off…" Butch told her, his yellow teeth shining at her.
Slim watched her a moment.
"No!"
"I said take it off." Butch demanded.
Slim stood up and between them. "Leave her alone. Boss won't like you doin' this."
"Get out of my way Slim, I want that necklace."
"Forget it. You touch her in any way and the boss will kill you, Butch and you know it." Slim's grim face reminded Butch.
"I want that necklace, Slim. I ain't never seen one like that. It's pretty. I ain't never had anything like that before." Butch frowned at Slim. He reached for his gun and Slim killed him in the blink of an eye. Just like that, in a second Butch lay in a strange position against the rocks.
Millie froze for a moment. Her mind couldn't register that Butch was dead.
Millie was on her knees and reached to check Butch, but there was no sign of life in the man. Her face was full of shock now as she glanced up at Slim.
"You-you killed him." She shrieked, as she stood up and faced the man.
"Had to. Boss would've anyway. We had strict instructions not to touch you. Butch just wouldn't listen. He always did fancy himself a lady's man." Slim went back to get more food as though killing him meant nothing to him. "What the hell did he want with a necklace, anyway?"
