The Marshal of Denver

by Judge Rodriguez

  Both men shake their heads emphatically and set to. Sean smiles, turns and leaves the two men to their enthusiasm. The smells coming from the food increases each of their appetites, and neither speaks as they consume their meals with gusto. John’s food, being some type of sausage and mashed potatoes is quite likely the most tasty food he has ever eaten. Including Ling We’s cooking. After both men eat more than their fill, they linger over their respective drinks.

  In Cherokee, David asks John, “So what does what you told me have to do with a gun or your blood brother’s death?”

  John takes another drink, noticing with a slight sense of depression his glass is almost empty and sighs. In Cherokee, he continues. “When the orphanage was burned, we discovered the sisters had been hoarding gold, money, letters, personal effects, and the list goes on.” He then goes on to describe the trip to Springfield, buying the matched pistols, going back to the site of the orphanage and the revenge they got on the troop of Red-Legs.

  David appears to be quite shocked that John was capable of such violence at such a young age, but allows the older man to continue his narrative.

  John describes how his fiancé was killed just before the outbreak of the War Between the States, and all the events leading up to his and Josh’s being banished from the tribe. John notes with amusement how David sits there in rapt fascination. Either his history is as fascinating a subject to the young man as is possible, or he’s a good storyteller. He expects it’s somewhere roughly in between. He does relish the ability to speak to his young friend in Cherokee, as it has been more than a decade since he has been given the chance to speak to someone at length in the tongue. He also notes he is having trouble with the syntax, making his monologue more difficult.

  David stops him after he finishes with them coming across Red-Feather and Silver-Moon. He says, “I would like something else to drink, and I’m sure you’re throat is dry as well.” He motions towards Sean. “Can we get another round?”

  “Would ya both like another Guinness each?” Sean asks hopefully.

  David smiles. “Him? Yes. Me? More tea, please.” David indicates the empty cup of tea.

  Sean nods and moves off.

  David looks at John and asks, “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. How did you know I was about to ask for another drink?”

  “Your voice is cracking. You’ve been talking for almost two and a half hours straight,” David says in an off-hand manner.

  “Good enough. Want me to continue?”

  David smiles. “If you want. Hearing all you’ve been through, well, now I understand why you have been having nightmares at the least.”

  John smiles wanly. “You haven’t heard all of it, yet.” He takes a deep breath and in Cherokee continues. “It was just after we got back with Lonargan’s family, and Red-Feather with his little sister, Silver-Moon, that Josh and I were re-instated as sergeants in the Army. Capt. Walters agreed to let us re-settle Red-Feather and Silver-Moon with a local family of the Indian Agent, in the fort. Apparently they had been orphans for several years. They were made orphans when both their parents were killed in some political in-fighting within the tribe.

  “Their father was a medicine man of the Chiricahua. Later, we found out that the person who killed their parents was none other than Geronimo himself. He would have killed them as well, but their mother’s sister got them out of the camp and cared for them for a few months, before she, too, was killed, by a puma.

  “The local family we’d found took Silver-Moon in without question, but said since Red-Feather was twenty, he was old enough to be on his own. Josh and I helped him get set up as an Indian Scout.”

  David sits there in stunned silence, as Sean walks up with their drinks. “I’m sorry fellas, but t’hese will need ta be tha last free drinks o’ tha evenin’. After t’his round, I’ll need ta charge a bit per refill.”

  John takes a long pull from his tankard and nods. “Would you be able to start a tab? I think we’ll need a couple more before it’s all said and done?”

  Sean nods and says, “Yeah. I’ll only be able ta give ya one more drink each. Mam doan like guys getting drunk in here. Sorry.”

  John nods. “I can understand that. After this, I think I’ll drink water then.”

  Sean nods in agreement. “Would ya like some pie while ya’re here?”

  Both men, still feeling stuffed, shake their heads. Sean turns and leaves them to their drinks.

  John takes another drink, sighs, gathers his thoughts and continues in Cherokee, which is starting to come more easily now. “Things stayed pretty stable, until our troops got transferred down to Camp Wichita, back in ‘73. The Department of the Army heard we had an Apache scout and ordered us down there to see if we could make peace with the Chiricahua, before war broke out.

  “When we arrived down there as part of the Fourth Cavalry, things were at a boiling point. The first thing we were ordered to do, was to find rogue Apache and ‘teach them a lesson’. After having searched out two bands of braves, the third turned out to be a trap.”

  David’s face is shocked when he sees John’s un-shed tears.

  John wipes his eyes, clearing them. “We were hard pressed. It was a troop of forty cavalry against close to a hundred braves. We lost more than half our troop that day. Josh was among them. He fell close to the end, but I couldn’t go back to save him.

  “Finally, as we were able to escape the trap, we made our way back to camp. I took two bullet wounds, one in the arm, the other in the thigh. Red-Feather took one in the arm.

  “Heart-Of-Falcon had been captured by our troop a few weeks earlier and had taken a liking to Red-Feather and, alongside Silver-Moon, nursed Red-Feather back to health. She, Silver-Moon, and Aisling were the best of friends, being around the same age. Aisling’s father was furious, since he hated all Indians. It ended up being Eithne, who convinced him to relent. It almost ended their marriage, but Major Walters ended up convincing Capt. Lonargan that if he divorced Eithne, she was gonna be able to find another man as quickly as is physically possible.”

  David snorts derisively. “I get the feeling you would have enjoyed watching him get his comeuppance.”

  “He did eventually, but not for quite a few years.” John shakes his head. “The day after we got back, we held a funeral for our fallen troopers. About two weeks went by, before we could go recover the dead. Neither Josh’s gun nor his rig was with his body. Our burial detail, being the solemn occasion it was, had one highlight. Heart-of-Falcon told Red-Feather that they were going to be wed. Until that point, she hadn’t told anyone why she insisted on going with us.

  “We buried our dead, there at Camp Wichita, and received word a few days later that there was a massive camp of Comanche massing in Texas. Most of the camp moved out to follow the lead. We were gone for a full five months tracking down the leads.

  “By the time we got back, we found out General Sheridan had cleaned house in the Fourth Cavalry. Many of the officers that were left at Camp Wichita ended up being charged with conspiracy to defraud the federal government, and were executed. Apparently, while we were gone, a conspiracy had formed with the local Apache, where the Apache were being provided with weapons to raid wagon trains and several officers were selling the stolen items to other white settlers.

  “Maj. Walters and Capt Lonargan were exonerated of all charges, because they were on the trail with us. Eithne, Aisling, and Silver-Moon had gone to Kansas, while Capt. Lonargan was gone, saying he didn’t trust the Indians not to attack. Heart-of-Falcon was riding with us, swearing she wouldn’t leave her fiancé’s side, until she got her brand on him.

  “General Sheridan came back shortly after our troop returned. There was quite the trial, where pretty much everyone was exonerated. The trials lasted about a week, and were concluded with three troopers being found guilty and being shot by firing squad.

  “That evening just after dinner, Red-Feather asked me to be at his side for his wedding. It was an
interesting blend of traditional Apache and Christian services. The next day, General Sheridan announced the plan to subdue the southern Cheyenne and Apache. Maj Walters and Capt. Lonargan outlined the plans to the troop. It was quite the aggressive campaign that was planned out.

  “Red-Feather was okay with the plan, but Heart-of-Falcon was not thrilled to say the least. She and Red-Feather almost left the service, but Silver-Moon convinced them to stay. I’m still not sure how she managed it, just that she spoke to them quietly for a bit, and they agreed to talk to Maj. Walters about the issue. Walters agreed to have Red-Feather stay back, when we were attacking the Apache.”

  David sits there quietly listening as John passes off significant events in history with a statement or two.

  John is impressed with the young doctor’s strength and patience. He would have been passed out by now, were he in David’s position. Not only is David still awake, he actually seems interested in the narrative.

  David leans back, expression thoughtful. He finishes his current cup of tea. “So, you were in the Red River War?” John nods. “I remember a lot of troops moving around our reservation. That was just before I went to school down in Texas.” David thinks a moment, “In fact, it was ‘75 when I went down to Houston. My grumpa sent me down there, expecting me to bring home white man’s medicine.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Honestly, other than ma and grumpa, I have nothing tying me to the tribe. Even then, they both told me to follow my heart. After living among the white man for half my life, I can’t go back to the tribe.” David shrugs. “Too much has happened to be able to go back to the life I had as a child.”

  John nods. “I can understand that.”

  Sean walks up and picks up the empty glasses. “Is t’here anyt’hin’ else I kin get ya fellas?”

  John shakes his head and says, “Nope. I think a bed is just what the doctor ordered.” He smirks at David.

  David nods, then says, “Yup. I am prescribing a bed for you right this minute.”

  Sean looks at David a moment curiously. “Are ya doctor, David?”

  David nods again. “How much we owe you?”

  Sean waves the question away. “I wouldnae worry about it. Any extra charges ‘twill be added at tha end, when ya check out.”

  Both men nod, rise from the table and head upstairs. As they pass by the front desk, John notices that it’s just before ten. Apparently, we’ve been talking for a number of hours. No wonder I’m feeling so stiff and sore.

  When they reach their respective rooms, John turns to David and says, “Night. See ya in the morning. When we have to give our depositions.”

  David nods, waves, enters his room, and closes the door wordlessly. John goes in his own room, closes the door, gets undressed and slips into the bed. He is asleep before the cool covers settle over him.

  Chapter 43

  The ambush at the abandoned monastery at Crecilla began just as they ride in. It has been raging for the last ten minutes. John has ordered several of the troops to protect Maj. Walters and Capt. Lonargan while he tries to flank the attacking Chiricahua Apache. He turns in the saddle as he hears Red-Feather cry out.

  John maneuvers his horse over to help his young friend, tossing his repeater rifle to the Indian Scout and draws his own revolver. He fires a couple of rounds into the attackers and, at hearing Josh cry out in pain, turns just in time to see Josh tumble from his saddle to land hard on the ground. In horror, he watches Josh struggle to get up, before finally collapsing back to the ground and stop moving. John tries to get over to his fallen brother, but at that moment, the attacking Apache choose to make a push into the Cavalry troop.

  There are about a dozen attackers between he and Josh. John calls out, “No!” and tries to work his way around the attackers again, but there are just too many Apache in his way. The retreat signal sounds and John has no choice but to get his troopers in order and follow the rest of the company.

  John swears to himself that he will come back and bring back his brother, even if it kills him. The company escapes the ambush with the Apache hot on their trail.

  Fighting a rear guard action is one of the most difficult actions any commander can perform. The instinct to start and then keep running is difficult to defeat at best. That is where the training comes in and the commander of any soldiers has to maintain control of his troops.

  Maj. Walters orders John to take command of the rear guard, keeping the Apache at bay to give the rest of the company enough time to mount an effective defense.

  John pulls five troopers out of the line and directs them to hide close to the nearby outcropping of rocks to counter-attack. Over the next ten minutes, John gets shot twice, but he is able to hold their attack together.

  They finally receive the signal that the troop is ready to attack. The troopers fall back and the onslaught of bullets coming from the rest of the company is enough to convince the Apache to go away.

  The troop rides back to Camp Wichita, rather than back to the mission. Maj. Walters said they couldn’t fight their way back to the mission, that they were already too hard pressed, that they needed to get more troopers, before a recovery.

  As the troop rides back in to camp, Heart-of-Falcon sees Red-Feather is injured and rushes to his side, almost pulling him from the saddle. John smiles. He has noticed the way she looks at his young friend. He expects Red-Feather will be getting married, and soon.

  As he dismounts, John hears someone call out his Cherokee name. He turns and sees Josh standing there, covered in blood.

  “WHY?!” Josh demands. “ Why do you attack me?”

  JOHN WAKES WITH A SCREAM. His sheets are soaked in sweat. He can still see Josh’s face, covered in blood, hear his accusation of attack. But the voice he’d heard, that wasn’t Josh’s voice. John doesn’t understand.

  He gets out of bed and walks over to the pitcher of water on the dresser. He pours some water into the wash basin and washes his face. When he grabs the towel from right next to the wash basin to dry his face off, he feels a skittering across the back of his hand.

  He pulls the towel away from his face and looks. A fiddle-back spider. He drops the towel and cries out in surprise as he flings his hand away. The spider hits the wall with a thud, then skitters down to the floor and disappears into the wall between it and the floor. John stands there trembling in a stunned silence for several moments. He’s never seen a spider do that, ever. He shakes out the towel, making sure there’s no more surprise visitors waiting for him. There isn’t. Why do I keep seeing those hell-spawn? John shakily dries his face with the towel.

  He sits on the edge of the bed, still trying to control his shaking. He starts at a noise, only to realize it is the sound of someone knocking on his door. “What?” he demands after the knocking becomes more persistent.

  “You alright, John?” he hears David’s voice call out.

  “Yeah, just a second.” He stands up and goes over to the door. When he opens it, he sees the blood-covered Josh from his dream. John screams, “No!” and slams the door shut. He stumbles back to his bed and sits on the edge of it, covering his face in his hands and demands, “Why are you torturing me?”

  He feels a firm hand grab his shoulder and a gentle voice asking, “John? John, can you hear me?”

  John looks up and sees David’s concerned face looking down at him. “What? How did—? Where did he go?” John’s face feels as if it is drained of blood.

  David shakes his head in confusion. “Where did WHO go, John? You’re not making any sense.”

  “J—Josh. He was standing in front of the door.” John shakes his head. “I—I saw him die in my dream. He—he blamed me for his death! I—I couldn’t save him. He was maybe fifty yards away, and I could get over there to him.” John starts shaking again, tears streaming down his face now. He screams to David, “He was that close, but I couldn’t save him!”

  Seeing that he couldn’t calm his friend down, David turns and goes back t
o his room. He returns a few seconds later with a small cup. He places the cup in John’s shaking hands and says, “Here. Drink this. Try not to spill any of it, okay?”

  Without thinking about it, John downs the contents of the cup and almost gags. The liquid tastes like boiled lemongrass. The bitterness is gagging and the consistency is that of blood. John can, however, taste a little brandy in the concoction. He immediately starts to feel his muscles loosen. Everything becomes brighter. He feels a strange lethargy throughout his whole body.

  David lifts his chin and looks him in the eye. “Rest now. Your dreams won’t have the power they have been.” He helps John lay back down on the bed, and pulls the covers over him.

  John doesn’t have either the strength or energy to fight as his young friend forces him back into the bed. He only has one thought before the darkness takes him. What was in that drink?

  John wakes up with the sun shining in the window of his room. He can’t remember anything after drinking that weird potion David gave him. John can’t believe it. He knows what and how David did what he did, but not why. He doesn’t understand why his young friend actually drugged him like he did, though.

  Something doesn’t feel right. He rubs his face and looks out the window. The sun is more than half set. The late afternoon heat is making John sweat and he sits up in bed. He has literally slept in until evening.

  With a curse, John gets out of bed, throws his clothes on and heads downstairs. He had to have slept at least twelve hours, without realizing it.

  When he reaches the dining room, John is not surprised to see David sitting at a table, talking quietly with Lyttle. John walks up to the table the men are seated at. When he gets close enough he knows he will be heard, John says, “So what did I miss?”

  David turns around, a broad smile on his face. “Nothing, actually. Lyttle was just telling me he decided to let us spend a day resting.” He motions to Lyttle.

  Taking that as his queue, Lyttle says, “Yeah, things have been so hectic lately, I figured you boys would enjoy a day or two off. Little did I know you were gonna sleep away the day.”