Another hour out, Dallas asked Captain Tyler, “Put your spy glass on that dust north of us.” The Captain signaled for the men to halt and pulled out his telescope and tried to focus in on the small dust cloud. Captain Tyler said, “Sir, could be I’m seeing things, but that looks like Beast and something across his back. Wasn’t that one of the camels Itsee took, the bull that you gifted to Sparrow Hawk?”
Sergeant Major Vincent rode back from scouting the tracks up ahead, “Sir, looks like our boys split from a larger party that headed west. We’ve got company up ahead.”
Captain Tyler agreed, “Some one is chasing our Beast. Yes, he’s brought us some more Comanches Sir.”
Dallas raised his hand and motioned forward, “Well, let’s not disappoint them men. Forward HO!” With that the bugler sounded charge and the men made a bee line for the whooping Comanches trying to over take the camel. The Comanche’s stopped looked at the dust cloud and column of soldiers headed their way and decided the Beast was not worth being out numbered four to one and tried to make a run for it. Dallas ordered, “Camels to the front and let’s flank them boys! Captain Bowman horses follow and box them in. Captain Tyler go cut off Beast and bring him back.” With that the Cavalry charged on camel and horse.
The band of Comanche’s decided their best bet was to split up and scatter to the north, and east before the filthy smelling beasts got too close. Dallas took his western flank and moved to the east. He would not put his men between two groups and flank himself. They drove the eastern band back west, then rounded to the north and drove that band south. The Comanche horses bucked wildly as the horse soldiers shot their way through their mist taking down many of their horses and all of the riders. Dallas gave the order, “Kill the horses. We’re not leaving them to be picked up.” The shots rang out and the screams of wild ponies were heard until there was nothing but silence.”
Dallas asked, “Wounded, casualties?”
Captain Bowman said, “Two wounded Sir, and one horse killed.”
Dallas swallowed, “Tell me when their wounds clot Captain.”
Captain Bowman’s eyebrow rose, “Sir?”
Dallas said, “Just do it. I have my reasons.”
Captain Bowman replied, “As you say Sir. It was only flesh wounds. They should be fine. Your beasts had them bucking and they barely got a shot off straight at us. Mighty fine animals Sir.” Captain Bowman had his own opinion as to why his Major was concerned about the men. It wasn’t just the stage being attacked that had them out in force. His wife and son were over due. Captain Bowman turned in his saddle and addressed Dallas hoping to ease his mind, “It wasn’t your fault Sir. We’ll find them and bring them back safe.”
Captain Tyler road back with Beast up to the Major and cleared his throat, “Sir. Seems Beast brought back a dead Injun and a message. The message said ‘Help Ravine cave’ in blood. They wrote in blood. You think it might be some trick to get us into an ambush?”
Dallas examined the Indian, “I don’t think they would have cut up one of their own like that. Look at those cuts on the back of his arms and the cut down his front.”
Sergeant Major Vincent was looking over the body, “That’s Gage Travis’ style if I ever saw it boys. Major, are you up for another sortie?”
Captain Bowman said, “I don’t think we have much choice Sir. Daisy’s still out there with those murdering savages with your woman and child. Can’t let your Mrs. kill them all for us or there will be no living with her.”
Dallas replied, “No Captain, I’m sure I’m going to get an earful as it is. Hopefully JC got some or the men in my family are in a world of hurt.” With that the cavalry headed west toward the ravine. If Gage was at the ravine, the fighting had spread that far west. A range war. He was in the middle of a range war with the Comanche and Lacy was out there somewhere with JC. Dallas couldn’t help but think it could have been her body on Daisy coming back toward camp with a message from Red Eagle just as easily.
Captain Bowman checked on the wounded men and reported back as the Major had requested, “Sir their wounds have stopped weeping.”
Dallas looked at his own scratch. It was still weeping. It wasn’t a deep scratch, but it was taking it’s bloody time in clotting. Dallas looked at Captain Bowman, “Very good Captain. Thank God the boy didn’t poison us all.”
Captain Bowman frowned, “Poison? Who tried to poison us Sir? Did that misbehaved excuse for a boy Mr. Travis returned put something in our water?”
Dallas let out a chuckle, “No not Jake. I think it was peyote. Jenny’s sons were feeding her peyote and they managed to medicate several of us when they broke their mother out. I was a little concerned they might have dumped a bunch of it our water, but they didn’t.” Dallas pointed to the scratch on his arm, “Takes a while to clot, so if I fall off, listen to Sergeant Major Vincent. He seems to understand what is driving all this pretty well.”
Captain Tyler looked at the Major’s arm, “Holy Mary Mother of God. They were trying to kill her? She’s going to bleed to death when that child is born. They killed their own mother for sure.”
Sergeant Major Vincent said, “They might have, but I doubt they knew it. Besides the more obvious effects on the braves, it is sometimes gifted to a woman, but not often. Her man can request a piece from the Shaman when he thinks she could die a painful death. Mostly when they give birth or in cases like the Knife if he was dead and couldn’t just slip a knife into her liver and end it quickly. In larger doses it can easy pain like the poppy for the dying. Their medicine man controls who is gifted wokwave, how much, and when. If the boys had it it, came from him.”
Captain Bowman joined back into the conversation as he pointed to the Major’s arm, “Maybe it only affects pure blooded whites like that. Never heard of them trying to cause another tribe to bleed to death either, Sir.”
Sergeant Major Vincent chucked, “Nor would they. Not the easiest cactus to find and it wouldn’t be considered an honorable way to kill you enemy, Captain. That would be like killing a blind and deaf man who couldn’t defend himself. He’d get a very nasty reception in the Spirit World.”
Dallas told the Sergeant Major to ride with him a while. Sergeant Major Vincent moved his camel across from Dallas’ camel and waited for Dallas to spit out what worried him.
Dallas asked, “I’d like your honest opinions so don’t tell me what you think I want to hear Sergeant Major. Mrs. Tyler is of the opinion that I’m on a fool’s mission to try to rehabilitate Jenny. Her father seems to agree with Mrs. Tyler and I’m not sure her brother doesn’t too. But no matter tell me, I’d like to hear what you think. Tell me, do you think they will attack Camp Verde just to get to her if I bring her back?”
Sergeant Major Vincent didn’t speak. The answer most of the men thought was right was yes. The Major was on a fools mission that could cost their lives and lives of their loved ones for one person, sister of a friend or not she wasn’t anyone any of them would have considered taking into their home now or in the future.
The Sergeant let out his breath, “You’ve picked a hard row to hoe Sir. Unless you can either kill or move any Comanche that knew Sparrow Hawk well enough to know who she is, it is likely they will try to come for her. Given what John and Paul did, it makes us look weak in their eyes. After we get through here, they might think harder, but you have the Knife, not just some squaw. They will be out to make a point of her death. No pun intended Sir.”
Dallas asked, “So you don’t think that her being married to Captain Travers would discourage them. By herself, I could see how they’d think they could get away with it. But surely a wife of a officer would make them think that we’re not going to let it go unpunished.”
Sergeant Major Vincent replied, “I don’t think Captain Travers understood exactly what he was agreeing to when he said he wanted to marry her Sir, but it’s too late for him too. The minute you sent him with her, they were linked as much as she is linked to Sparrow Hawk in their minds. The man has to
be respected. Even for a savage he has has the mind of a General for sure. Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord except if your Comanche, then it might be said better as die with a vengeance or in his case send your enemy to kill and do your dirty work for you then kill him. Anyway you go about it, things are going to be ugly and some of us are going to be too dead to care how it comes out.”
Dallas asked, “So I should try to get Captain Travers transferred whether she lives or not.”
Sergeant Major Vincent replied, “That would be the humane thing to do Sir. Of course after we’re through here, they might look at you the same way they look at Sparrow Hawk and he might be safe as long as you’re here keeping the peace. But,I think it best we kill them all.”
Dallas asked, “You don’t think boys like Jake making friends with Peekwi and Wasapi say there is hope for peace between the Plains Indians and us? You’re saying we should kill women and children too?”
Sergeant Major Vincent said, “I’m sure Jake thinks he made friends, Sir. But boys grow up to be men. Take John for example. He’ll be riding with his father before you know it either for us or against us. Now if they move to the reservation and honor their agreement, then I have no problem with that. But if they don’t and we should kill all their men. What happens to the women and children you think? They starve which is a bad way to go, or raise children so full of hatred that they grow into men who come back and fight the same war with us all over again only it’s our sons that’s fighting them by then.”
Dallas said, “You don’t think things can change. That the Indian could be brought into our world or his soul saved by the good Friar at San Antonio for example?”
Sergeant Major Vincent considered it, “No, they ate the peyote and the good Friar will not have them. At least not this generation. Maybe if we took their children and gave them to him before their minds were Injun or gave their men enough whiskey to get weaned off the peyote.”
Dallas considered that, “So you’re saying they’re addicted to peyote?”
Sergeant Major Vincent replied, “Not all, but yes some are. Just as some can’t take laudanum without craving it, they say it’s the same. You never know if it will be you until it’s too late. You meet one of those braves in a fight and you’ll have to kill him a dozen times before his mind knows he’s dead. He just keeps coming at you. Maybe that brave on the camel was like that. Took enough blows that should have been fatal. Did you see, there was one through his ribs, his wrists would have stopped a normal person with terrible pain, and that center cut was like he was trying to take out all his organs and gut the man.”
Dallas said, “He should have taken him through the eye and smashed his brains in. Gage was always a body fighter. A little riskier, but I haven’t seen anyone keep fighting after that.” Dallas returned to his questions about peyote, “Some say something in the cactus opens your mind.”
Sergeant Major Vincent asked, “Did it open your mind if you don’t mind me asking you Sir? I’ve never done the peyote for fear of what might happen.”
Dallas answered, “It made me face how I felt deep down. At first I just thought it was nightmares about battles I was in or fights with the wife. Then the colors came, and I thought I had been in the sun too long. But it made touch, taste, smell, what I saw take on an intensity unlike what I’ve ever known. I just touched Lacy’s skin and I couldn’t control myself. I had to have her right there and then and then it was over leaving you pondering what just happened.”
Sergeant Major Vincent shook his head, “There you go. You think that was worth loosing control like that? You could have killed her just as easy and did she want you, or did you force her to submit you think? Could you have stopped yourself Major if she told you no?”
Dallas was silent. It was a question. Not one he had really considered. There were enough times he took his pleasure without asking. She was there. Her skin was cradled into his loins just waiting for him. Sometimes he didn’t even wake up before he found himself stiff and sliding between her legs into those moist folds. It wasn’t so different from the peyote only he wasn’t doing it with eyes wide open knowing he didn’t care about what she wanted as much as satisfying the burning desire in his loins for sweet relief.
Sergeant Major Vincent looked over. His Major seemed a little deep in thought or maybe he was in one of those peyote stupors right now. The Sergeant Major said, “Are you alright, Sir? You look a little peaked.”
Dallas looked down to his arm. Finally, there were some signs of a scab, “No, not worth losing control. It wasn’t so much that I couldn’t stop, but it never even occurred to me to try to stop or ask how she felt. But more than that, it comes back. It lingers in your blood. I guess that’s why this cut sure is taking it’s sweet time.”
Sergeant Major Vincent asked, “Did you feel it gave you courage? I say it gives those bucks bravado, not courage. But then you probably didn’t have so much as they do.” The Sergeant Major thought back to a story Gage had told him, “Captain Travis told me once that they eat slices as large as your hand before a big battle or when they have some important event in their lives. They sit around and eat it and smoke and drink some sweet liquor. Then they share their women folk with their guest.”
Dallas asked, “They’d expect you to do her right in front of them? What do you suppose would happen if she screamed out your name in pleasure?”
Sergeant Major Vincent grinned, “That would be a mistake. You see it’s their job to make you scream in pleasure. If they don’t they insulted their old man and he would whip her. It’s your job to make sure she doesn’t get whipped. Pretty sure Sparrow Hawk knew our Captain Travis was only trying to keep those squaws from taking a beating when he found himself with his sister. Strange sense of humor that one.”
Dallas frowned, “Smart, dangerous, and a cruel streak if you ask me. I think he’s using Jenny to see how strong we are. If Red Eagle whips us, you want to bet Sparrow Hawk comes back stronger than ever.”
Sergeant Major Vincent looked at Dallas, “If you don’t mind Sir, since we’re sharing what we know. I have a few questions of my own given my wife is in your home often enough when Mrs. Tyler can’t be there. I heard stories about you boys in the PIU that made those Indian orgies seem like a church social, Major. Not that I’m worried about you or Captain Travers so much, but now that Gage Travis is back, he’s been known to sow wild oats with the married ladies. Some said that was his specialty. Was that just jawing or should I start locking her up you think? She’s a mighty pretty woman you know.”
Dallas replied, “Well, your wife is safe with me if that helps any and I’m pretty sure Captain Travers days of sleeping around have ended too. As far as Gage goes, he’s not one for children. Certainly not one that enjoyed Jake, so as long as your wife dotes on that boy, she’s safe. I’ll make a point to talk to him about that Sergeant Major if it makes you feel better. But most the married ladies were people we were asked to investigate, get specific pieces of information, maps, jewels, contracts for resources, cattle, rights to minerals. Basically anything the CSA needed to fund the war.”
Sergeant Major Vincent asked, “So how did you meet your wife? Didn’t she object to all that under cover work?”
Dallas chucked, “Yes, she certainly did and called me out more than once when she’d see the lip rouge on my collar. I even tried to tell her I put it there to make her jealous, but she never believed that. She just look at me with her puppy eyes all hurt like I’d ripped her heart out with a spoon.”
Dallas’ mind was going back to his time in Arkansas. The colors were back and all of a sudden he wanted to share how special Lacy was. Dallas said, “Well, Gage, Stuart and I were assigned to help Arkansas find a way to meet their expected contributions to the war effort after General Van Dorn pretty much stripped the state bare of men, guns, and anything worth taking East. In the middle of May, we found ourselves in Searcy, Arkansas watching their local men muster while waiting on the return of Captain Travers from his late
st assignment. Then up rides Lacy on her father’s plow horse looking just as settled on that gray mare’s back as us on our fancy cavalry horses. And what is she wearing but a bowie knife, like ours only older.”
The Sergeant Major asked, “She had a bowie knife you say. And her a farm girl? How do you think she got that Major?”
Dallas continued, “Bo Callahan lost it on a hunting trip to Crocketts Bluff when we were younger. I let him borrow my knife and the boy lost it carving hearts in the tree tops. Well right then I knew that had to be the girl we were looking for and I walked over and asked her if she was enlisting, offered to buy her entire strawberry crop if she’d cook for us that night thinking I could get up close and personal to quiz her. See she knew the Captain when he was a teacher there and we’d never met the man. Plus she was linked to something that got lost at the Bluff. Bo Callahan was looking for it, but we figured if he didn’t find it, she might help us figure out what happened to it. Well, Lacy’s father had a different idea about how close he was willing to let a Texan get to his daughter and before I realized what was happening that old man told me either I stayed away or set about to court her properly as a serious beau.” Dallas chuckled, “Little did I know he was a crafty old man himself. Former teacher turned farmer had snagged one of the beauties out from under her rich Daddy’s nose himself. I never had a chance. Between him, her brothers, and my friends trying to help me out, I fell hard. The more fate pushed us together, the more I realized I loved her. I never met anyone quite like Lacy. Most of the women I knew cared more about how they looked, who they socialized with, or how rich you were. She was everything they weren’t. Did you know she swam in water that burned under ground to save her family farm, swung from tree limbs and begged for pickles and crackers from the river boats for her friends, and pretended to be a young enlisted boy so she could stay with me rather than safe at home?”
Sergeant Major Vincent said, “Sir, you didn’t recognize her at all? She’s a fine looking woman Major. Just how did she pull that off?”
Camp Camel: The Heart of Texas Page 22
