“It’s a two-man job, at least,” McCaleb said. “Lone Star, are any of you willing to try and repair a busted wheel for a hundred dollars?”
There was a total silence. With a grim look on his face, Monte Nance glared at Yates. It seemed there were no takers, until Stoney Vandiver spoke.
“I reckon Jed and me can do it, if we’re on the second watch.”
“Consider yourselves on the second watch with me,” said McCaleb. “You’re asking a lot of these men, Yates. They’ve been in the saddle all day, and they’ll be back in the saddle come midnight. I aim to see that you make it worth their while, patching up your wagon when they should be sleeping. Show them the color of your money.”
“You have me by the short hairs, McCaleb,” Yates said. “You’d just better hope the time never comes when our positions are reversed.”
He reached in his pocket and withdrew a handful of double eagles. Counting out five, he handed them to Stoney.
“Those coils of wire are under the wagon seat,” said McCaleb. “Don’t use any more of it than you have to. We may be needing it ourselves.”
“Bring the wagon jack,” Yates said. “I don’t have one.”
Jed and Stoney mounted their horses, Jed carrying the wagon jack, and Stoney the coil of wire. They followed Yates on his mule, and soon the trio was lost to distance.
“I hope they’ll be all right,” said Rebecca worriedly.
“They will,” Pen Rhodes assured her. “I knew their daddy, and they take after him. Give that old varmint a hammer, a saw and a few nails, and he could have built the ark.”
Rebecca wasn’t doubting the skills of the Vandiver brothers, but the wiles of this pair of women who had led to Monte’s downfall.
“I just wonder what he’s got in that wagon that’s so all-fired important he can’t leave it,” Pen Rhodes said. “From what I hear, men on their way to the diggings are in a hurry, sometimes arriving with nothing but the clothes they’re wearing.”
“I think his reason for going to Deadwood is in the wagon,” said Monte. “He caught me before I could light a match, but I touched something that I’d swear was a roulette wheel.”
“Likely crooked as hell,” Brazos said. “That old buzzard’s aiming to find his gold in the pockets of better men, who have worked for it. You’re too generous, Bent. You ought to have forced them either to set there with their disabled wagon, or ride their mules the rest of the way.”
“I considered it,” said McCaleb, “but it’s wrong to refuse help on the frontier, even if you’re helping somebody who later becomes an enemy. After this, I doubt that Yates will have any more damaged wheels. I reckon we’d better save Jed and Stoney some supper. It won’t be easy, wiring that wheel by the light of a fire.”
Reaching the wagon, Jed and Stoney wasted no time. Jed positioned the wagon jack beneath the axle, near the damaged right rear wheel. Stoney then jacked the wagon up high enough to take the wheel off the ground.
“Well,” said Yates, “can it be fixed?”
“Yeah,” Stoney replied, “but it won’t stand another jolt. You’ll need another wheel.”
Removing the wheel, Jed and Stoney twisted the dislocated spokes back into position and brought the two split portions of the wheel’s wooden rim together. Repeatedly they wrapped the split with wire, drawing it tight with pliers.
“This wheel goes into a water hole until morning,” said Stoney. “The wooden parts of it need to swell, further tightening the split. We’ll be here before breakfast to mount it on the wagon.”
“You have your money,” Yates said. “How do I know you’ll finish the job?”
“Your wagon’s settin’ on our wagon jack,” said Stoney.
For all the time that Jed and Stoney worked on the wheel, Connie and Kate hovered as close as they dared. But the two young men appeared not to notice them, and when Jed and Stoney rode away, the Yates girls were furious.
“Settle down, damn it,” Roscoe said. “It was your hell-raising that drove Monte away.”
“It was you that caught him with his head through the wagon pucker,” said Connie, “and no sooner did you let him go than he started pawing me. You didn’t care a damn what he did to us, did you?”
“Not particularly,” Yates admitted. “He couldn’t have done anything to either of you that hasn’t already been done, many times over. There’s nothing any more obvious than a whore acting like an honest woman who’s been robbed of her virtue.”
Kate laughed. “Don’t talk down to us, you righteous old bastard. It was me that got the rap in Cheyenne, behind your damn crooked roulette wheel. I had to use my own talents to convince that deputy sheriff to let me go. You didn’t lift a hand.”
“I needed time to take the equipment and make a run for it,” said Yates. “Besides, you was in a better bargaining position than I was. Since I wasn’t caught, we got away clean with the money. If it’s true there’s no law in Deadwood, we’ll clean up.”
“Just don’t you forget, Daddy dear, you’re not equipped for luring the suckers in, but we are,” Kate said. “If double-cross so much as comes to mind, just you remember that Connie and me can stir up enough miners to hang you before you can saddle a horse.”
“Threats,” said Yates, a woeful expression on his florid face. “I rescued the two of you from jail in California, took you in as my own daughters, and now look at you. You have a most unconventional way of showing your gratitude.”
“Hell, Yates,” Connie said, “We could have sold ourselves for money. We never needed you for that. So far, you’ve paid us nothing. Now, thanks to your damned trick roulette wheel, we barely escaped the law in Cheyenne. Now we’re stuck in some godforsaken part of the world, on our way to what you call a boomtown. If you bust another wheel on the wagon, we’ll never get there. Those cowboys won’t lift a hand to help us.”
“And whose fault is that?” Yates snarled. “I told the two of you to cultivate young Monte Nance. Damn it, you were supposed to give in to him a little at a time, not both of you the same night. I caught him sniffing around the wagon, but he didn’t see anything. If the two of you hadn’t driven him away—”
“You’d still be using us, and we’d still be sleeping with Nance, and all for nothing,” Kate told him.
“Kate’s right,” said Connie. “We only got one thing to sell, and you’ve swapped our favors to your own advantage for the last time. We’ll wait just one week, to see what you can do in Deadwood. If you can’t put some real money in our hands, we’re gone.”
True to their word, Jed and Stoney Vandiver dragged the wagon wheel out of the hole where it had been immersed in water all night.
“Tight enough,” said Jed. “Let’s get the thing on his wagon and be done with it”
Quickly they hefted the rear wheel into position. Stoney tightened the hub nut, lowered the wagon and Jed recovered their wagon jack. They mounted their horses and rode away without a word.
“I’m glad that’s behind us,” McCaleb said, when Jed and Stoney reined up near their own chuck wagon.
“Easiest money we ever made,” said Stoney. “Too bad Monte’s got a mad on. He could of done the job, took it out in trade and saved old Roscoe a hundred dollars.”
Everybody laughed at Monte’s expense, and to their surprise, he laughed with them. Benton McCaleb looked astounded when Monte failed to explode, but his eyes were on Rebecca. She sighed with relief. Perhaps her little brother was finally becoming a man.
LITTLE BIG HORN RIVER, MONTANA TERRITORY.
JUNE 1, 1876
“I figure we’re almost sixty miles north of where the Sioux are gathering,” Cal said. “If we continue as we’re now headed, we should soon be able to drop back to the south.”
The outfit had set up camp for the night on the west bank of the Little Big Horn, and darkness was only a few minutes away when they heard the jingle and rattle of horsemen approaching.
“Tarnation,” said Bill Petty, “there’s near a hundred, an
d all armed to the teeth.”
“Rein up and identify yourselves,” Cal ordered.
The men reined up and Cal stepped out to meet them.
“I’m Jim Connor,” said the lead rider. “Me and these other gents is from Miles City. We represent every horse ranch in eastern Montana territory, and we’re trailing a damn bunch of Crows that pretty well wiped us out. Have any of you seen ’em?”
“No,” Cal said, “but we saw where they turned north, toward the Yellowstone, maybe ten miles back. By the tracks of the shod horses they were driving, we thought maybe they had left a bunch of soldiers afoot somewhere.”
“Unfortunately not,” said Connor. “Every horse is civilian-owned. But the soldiers are coming. A telegram came from Washington to Miles City, forbidding any civilian to ride south or west.”
“But you gents didn’t take it serious,” Cal said.
“The Good Book says when the ox is in the ditch, you get him out,” said Connor. “The damn Crows ruined us, not even leaving some of us a saddle horse. The animal I’m ridin’ is borrowed. We’re gonna ride that bunch down if we got to chase ’em all the way to the big water. You seen any of them Sioux the army’s lookin’ for?”
“Matter of fact, we have,” Cal said. “That’s why we’re trailing so far north. Our scout warned us there’s many Sioux dug in along the Little Big Horn, maybe fifty miles south.”
“We’re obliged for the information,” said Connor. “For damn sure the Crows won’t be goin’ that way.”
“You said the soldiers are coming,” Cal said. “Do you happen to know when?”
“No,” said Connor. “We know the soldiers are under the command of General Alfred H. Terry, and they’re marching from Dakota Territory along the Yellowstone. We reckoned they wouldn’t be long gettin’ to Miles City, so we made sure we got away ahead of ’em.”
“I reckon there’s no way we can avoid them,” Cal said. “The Sioux are to the south of us, and we’re as far north as we can afford to go.”
“Don’t let ’em buffalo you,” said Connor. “A man’s got to look out for himself. The army’s supposed to be on our side, but they’re ready to fight the Sioux while these Crow varmints steal every horse in eastern Montana Territory.”
“Good luck,” Cal said. “Catch up to them, and they’ll give up the horses. We had to run down a bunch of ’em to recover our horses.”
The grim-faced men rode out, continuing west.
“We should have invited them to stay for supper,” said Jasmine.
“I thought of that,” Cal said, “but they didn’t dismount. Besides, that many men could leave us short on grub long before we reach Deadwood.”
“I didn’t like what he had to say about that government order,” said Bill Petty.
“It shouldn’t affect us,” Cal replied. “We’re not heading west, and we can pretty well tell the soldiers where the Sioux are gathering. That ought to be worth something.”
“If they’re marching along the Yellowstone, there’s still a chance we can avoid them,” said Tom Allen. “After that foolishness we ran into with Story’s outfit along the Bozeman Trail, they’ll have something to say to us.”
“We’ll not travel any farther north,” Cal said. “It’s entirely possible we’ll pass them by at such a distance they’ll never know we exist. Starting tomorrow, we’ll head due east. For tonight, let’s douse our supper fires before dark. We don’t know how many more Sioux have gathered to the south, and I don’t want them getting interested in us, while they wait for the soldiers.”
“Oscar,” said Jasmine, “you told me these splints could be taken off today. Can’t we do it now, before supper?”
“I ’spect we better,” Oscar Fentress replied. “We don’t have no fire after dark.”
They made an event of it, Jasmine raising the blanket as high as she dared. Lorna had already fetched a pair of Levi’s and was standing by while Oscar removed the splints.
“All of you vamoose when Oscar gets the splints off,” said Curley. “Jasmine will have to rid herself of that blanket to get her Levi’s on.”
“Nobody’s going anywhere,” Jasmine said. “My legs are weak, and I’m going to need a lot of help. Before I try, I know I can’t stand alone.”
“That be true,” said Oscar. “They’s got to be a strong shoulder on each side of you, so’s you don’t hurt them legs again.”
“I’ll take one side,” Tom Allen said. “Who’ll help me?”
“Quickenpaugh help,” said the Indian.
Jasmine’s first impulse was to laugh, but something in Curley’s eyes changed her mind.
“Thank you, Quickenpaugh,” Jasmine said, “but before I try to do anything, I want to wash my feet and legs.”
Lorna already had water boiling to brew coffee for supper, but the water was poured into a basin and taken to Jasmine. She cast aside the blanket, and with Lorna’s help, she bathed her feet and legs.
14
EASTERN WYOMING TERRITORY.
JUNE 1, 1876
MCCALEB INCREASED THE GAIT of the herd, but the Yates wagon never faltered. While their supper fire was within sight of McCaleb’s camp, neither Yates nor his supposed offspring made an appearance. To the relief of everybody in the cow camp, Monte Nance kept his distance from the Yateses, but it created a seemingly new problem for Brazos and Rosalie. Monte managed to get Penelope to speak to him, and immediately set about further cultivating her interest.
“Brazos,” said Rosalie, “can’t you keep Penelope on the first watch and have Bent put Monte on the second?”
“I could,” Brazos said, “but what good would it do? Hell, I can’t follow them two for six hours, seein’ that Penelope don’t do something foolish, and neither can McCaleb. Can’t you just lay down the law to her and tell her to leave Monte Nance alone? What is it with Penelope? Can’t she get it through her head he’s been carousing with a pair of whores?”
“You know she’s of age,” said Rosalie wearily. “If she decides to sleep with Monte, we can’t do one solitary thing.”
“I can shoot the son of a bitch,” Brazos said grimly.
“I won’t listen to such talk,” said Rosalie. “He’s Rebecca’s brother, and her only kin.”
“Then I’ll have McCaleb shoot him,” Brazos replied. “Will that make you feel better?”
“Just forget I ever mentioned it,” snapped Rosalie. “She can do whatever she pleases, with Monte Nance or anybody else.”
“I’ll talk to her,” Brazos said, “and she’ll listen to me, or else.”
“Or else what?”
“I’ll peel down her Levi’s, belly her down and leave some permanent hand prints on her bare behind,” said Brazos.
Monte Nance never seemed to tire of riding drag. For one thing, the cattle had become trail wise and were no trouble. For another, Penelope was always near at hand. Following Monte’s shameless escapades with Connie and Kate, in a surprisingly short time, Penelope was riding beside him at drag, and paying particular attention to him in camp. One night after supper, Brazos decided it was time to make good on his promise to Rosalie.
“Penelope,” said Brazos, “let’s walk over to the chuck wagon. We need to talk.”
Penelope followed, and when Brazos leaned up against the chuck wagon, Penelope leaned there beside him. Brazos Gifford was in over his head and, realizing it, wasted no time on aimless talk.
“Penelope, Monte’s Rebecca’s brother, but he’s still trash, and I don’t think he has any honorable intentions toward you. Your ma and me don’t want you . . . ah . . .”
“Fornicating with him,” Penelope finished.
“Thank you,” said Brazos. “I hadn’t planned to speak to you in a blunt way, but you’re obviously older than we thought. It bothers Rosalie and me that those Yates women are a pair of whores, and Monte’s been with them. He’s a womanizer, and we just don’t think he’s worthy of you.”
Penelope laughed. “He didn’t have a chance with me. Yo
u and Ma hover over me like two old hens with one chick between them. I know Connie and Kate are probably whores, but I can’t fault Monte because they were available. Is he the first man who ever just took what he could get, when he couldn’t get what he wanted?”
“I reckon not,” said Brazos uncomfortably, “but they’re fallen women. You’re far above them, and we want to keep it that way.”
“I don’t think of myself as better than anybody else,” Penelope said. “Monte’s throwing in with the Yates girls reminds me of one of your card games. Connie and Kate raised the ante, and not being able to match them, I had to fold. I think it’s shameful that a woman can be called a whore, when some man dragged her down. There wouldn’t be fallen women if there hadn’t been some two-legged varmint to push them over the edge.”
“I reckon I can’t argue with any of that,” said Brazos. “I’ll settle for your promise that you won’t allow yourself to get in deep water with Monte Nance while we’re on this trail drive.”
“I reckon I can promise that,” Penelope said. “I can’t be sure he won’t sneak back for a visit with Connie and Kate.”
“And that won’t bother you, if he does?”
“Some,” said Penelope, “but they’re allowed to raise, and I’m not.”
“That’s not entirely true, and you know it,” Brazos said. “There was that day you went to the chuck wagon to wash yourself, with Monte watching.”
“So you figured that out,” said Penelope. “Who else have you told?”
“Nobody,” Brazos said. “Benton McCaleb saw through it before I did. Rebecca knows, and your ma knows, but not because of anything I said. It was all just too obvious, and it wasn’t the first time, was it?”
“No,” said Penelope, “but the other time, stuff was stacked all the way to the wagon bows, and . . . and . . .”
“There was no way to see inside,” Brazos finished.
“I had to shift things around some,” said Penelope. “I really didn’t mean for anyone to know, but when I was standing there . . . naked . . . and him . . . looking at me, I was afraid.”
The Deadwood Trail Page 21
