Jenny asked, “Not say that, just so much like Mother. Way grabbed my chin just like her. You remember her pinch chin?”
Gage said, “He spent time with her. He picked up on it.”
Jenny said, “Yes as boy looking for Mother. He found her.”
Gage shook his head, “You’re saying she had him before you? She gave him up before she married Dad? Come on Jenny, you really think Dad would shoot one wife for living with the Comanche and marry a woman who would give up a child? That’s crazy.”
Bryan looked at Gage, “Not if he didn’t know. Explain that rosary Gage.”
Gage sighed, “I’d rather not. Take my word for it. He wasn’t the one who made it Jenny.”
Jenny said, “Doubting Thomas made it. I remember her say that. She so proud of it.”
Bryan looked at Gage as his eyes rolled up into one of those looks that said he was improvising on the fly, “Oh no, Gage don’t.”
Gage said, “Oh yes.” Gage started to spin a story to fit his needs, “Jenny, Dad carved and made furniture, remember? He liked to make things with his hands. I think he made that for his first wife, not Mom. That’s how he knew where to find her. That’s why he wouldn’t go look for you. He knew Sparrow Hawk would kill you like he killed Sparrow Hawk’s mom.” Gage took a breath, “He forgot Mom’s birthday and that was all he had to give her. It was never meant for her, but she thought it meant he had found God and was going to start going back to Mass.”
Jenny shook her head, “You spin bigger lie than Priest. Would not be banned if Father only fear Sparrow Hawk kill me. He hope I died and want me to go away forever.”
MacLeod walked up, “My ears are burning. Jenny is he talking bad about me?”
Gage said, “This is a private conversation MacLeod. No one invited you. I want to say good-bye before they leave.”
Jenny looked at Gage, Bryan, and MacLeod, then looked at Lacy and the Major watching this all play out. Jenny asked Lacy, “Who you trust?”
Lacy said, “Bryan.”
Jenny asked the Major, “Who you trust?”
Dallas said, “Gage.”
MacLeod asked, “I think the important thing is who do you trust Jenny? The man who wanted me to feed you peyote until you showed us the gold or the man who ordered your husband to leave you in my more than capable hands and go tend his wife’s needs or the person who’s been brutally honest about what I’d do to get the truth and who I am?”
Jenny asked, “What do you plan to do to Bryan?”
MacLeod said, “I guess that depends on you. You help drain the cavern so we can get to the mule, and I could release him from his parole early. You help make me look bad by only helping your brother, and I could report Bryan for not following orders in war time and he could be shot or hung. Nice hanging trees up by Banderas, but I think just shooting him would be quicker.”
Jenny asked, “And Gage and Major what you do to them?”
MacLeod said, “I out rank them despite what Captain Bowman thinks. He can’t demote a higher ranking officer.”
Dallas walked up, “Doesn’t matter what he might be Jenny. He presented himself as a Lieutenant and as such Captain Bowman had every right to demote him. He’s expected to respect any officer that’s his superior based on the uniform he’s wearing. That’s our rules.”
Jenny asked, “Are you my brother?”
Gage said, “Yes, you know I’m your blood. All you have to do is look at my face to know the truth.”
MacLeod let out his breath, “I’m pretty sure she meant me Travis. No Jenny, I’m not a blood brother. But I do know your Mother and I wasn’t lying about not liking her grabbing me by the chin or anything I said about her. If you want to think of me as a brother, like Sparrow Hawk took Bryan as his brother, then I don’t mind if it helps you deal with this. But you are just a crazy woman who had the unfortunate experience of being a resource for Jefferson Davis and the PIU. Nothing more or less. You are a means to an ends for me. That’s all you’ve ever been M.”
Jenny asked the Major, “What am I to you?”
Dallas said honestly, “You are a means to an ends to me.” Lacy kicked Dallas in the shins. He hopped on on leg as he grabbed his knee and added, “You’re also someone who deserves better than I can afford to give you and still get my job done.” Dallas ducked as Lacy tried to get his other shin and caught her as she fell hanging on as she gave him an elbow in the ribs.
MacLeod smirked, “Fancy way to say the same thing and make it sound better Major. I can’t wait to hear Travis try to answer that.”
Jenny said, “He has told me before. I not need to hear it. His actions speak clearly to me.”
Bryan asked, “Jenny, I’ve got orders. Come with me. This isn’t settling anything or telling you anything you didn’t know already. Don’t put yourself through this. Let’s go.”
Jenny nodded, “As you wish. I am ready.”
Gage said, “Good-bye Jenny.” Gage watched as Bryan and Jenny left and headed north on toward the stage coach road. Gage turned to MacLeod, “So, how did you say we smoke out the bats?”
Dry Creek
Two weeks later Bryan scrambled half a dozen quail eggs that Jenny had found with wild onions, and green peppers diced into the mix. He dished them out onto their plates adding them along side of the stewed apples and hot steaming skillet bread. Jenny poured two cups of Bryan’s herbal bark coffee in cups. She added just a little whiskey to take the bitter taste away. Jenny smiled, “This good breakfast. We pickup more stones today I think.”
Bryan chuckled, “Well, I think we’ll need to move further down stream Jenny. Not enough new stones to make it worth the effort now.”
Jenny said, “That is true, but there are fishing holes, or were fishing holes a little further down. Maybe some in bottom and not wash out.”
Bryan passed her a plate, “Eat all of that. You need more meat on your bones.”
Jenny chuckled, “Never have I had man tell me I get to eat like this.”
Bryan grinned, “I like to cook. You’re not going to make me eat it all by myself are you?” Bryan looked her over and unwrapped her fingers. Bryan asked her to make a fist and clinch his hand. Bryan smiled, “Well, look at that. All healed up.”
Jenny looked down at the sling, “This not hurt, you look and see if well?”
Bryan wasn’t going to tell her he knew it could come out. The minute he took that sling off, she’d be trying to do all the cooking, washing, and things to him he wasn’t completely sure he wanted to consider yet. Bryan thought about Dallas and when Lacy was hurt last year. How did he know for sure he wouldn’t hurt her? Then Bryan grunted as he thought to himself, “Get a life Travers, he probably convinced her to jumped him. It’s Dallas you’re talking about. He had her in his bed when you weren’t even cold in your grave.”
Jenny looked at the frown on his brow as Bryan unwrapped the bandage and dabbed a cloth with whiskey over the scar on her skin rougher than normal. Jenny yelped as he pressed down over her cat gut stitches that had sealed up the wound. Bryan quickly took his knife cut the stitches and pulled out the threads, “Better, but I think you still need to wear this.” Bryan re-wrapped the bandage then realized he’d hurt her, “When that doesn’t hurt, then you can go without the sling. It’s still healing inside even if you can’t see it Jenny.”
Jenny swallowed and looked at Bryan with questioning eyes, “You angry at me for doubting you know best? If you say I wear until I die, I will.”
Bryan pursed his lips, “Not angry. At least not at you Jenny. I shouldn’t have left. I let my fears convince me MacLeod could take care of you better than me. You see, I’m just a field doctor like he said. I studied, but a doctor on the battlefield helped finish training me. That and these books.” That was a lie, but the truth as well. A truth she already knew. There wasn’t any way he was admitting to her what he was really thinking.
Jenny put her arm back in the sling, “I just read some books too, but I still know roc
ks well. You know more than fancy men. You bring me back from spirit world. That is powerful medicine is it not? You try to learn new ways like our medicine and not too proud to change.”
Bryan’s face relaxed into a wry smile, “Well, I guess you could leave it off for a little while. But you try to do everything and it’s going right back on. I’m not helpless.”
Jenny touched his hand, “I will listen. You tell me no Jenny and I mind you. Not need to act like person you not. I glad you are not him.”
Bryan chuckled, “Alright, one more quick look here and we’ll try that spot you mentioned. Then we’re done.”
Jenny searched the dry creek bed trying to stir up the rocks with a walking stick to see if anything shone that they might have missed the day before. Bryan took his wire screen and sifted the small tray letting the dirt fall through then looking closely at the remnants in the screen for emeralds, sapphires, rubies, or other precious stones.
Jenny asked, “We go after you through?”
Bryan said, “Yes, after this batch.”
Jenny asked, “You miss friends?”
Bryan said, “Of course. Don’t you miss the women in your village? Your friends?”
Jenny said, “Yes, but woman not expect to have much choice when move. Man chooses their path like Priest said. That much is true in both worlds.” Jenny found a small rock, “Another, look.”
Bryan walked over to where she was, “A very nice one too Jenny.” Bryan took the pea size ruby and put it into his pouch. Bryan looked at the land around them, “Doesn’t look the same without the creek running through it.”
Jenny agreed, “Yes, hard on animals. No water. Things starting to die and will not come back if no water too long. You think we have enough for person who send you yet? They let water run free soon?”
Bryan said, “Well, I doubt they would ever think there is enough, but we can only do so much. I told Lacy once we should run off to California and leave the war behind us. Just let them fight it out. The best we could do was to survive, and I meant to survive. I wasn’t exactly the patriotic type, not for blue and certainly not for gray back then. MacLeod wasn’t lying when he said I was trying to leave Arkansas, but somehow fate always sent me back until I realized it was just easier to go with the tide than fight it.”
Jenny thought about that, “Like me. The more I tried to leave, the more fate sent me back until he no longer wanted an old dull Knife. But, you have done more than survive. You are better man. One very different from one MacLeod describe. It is a shamed, but they will still lose will they not?”
Bryan replied, “Most likely. Not even all this treasure can stop the now that is to come, but that’s not all bad Jenny. Many people who are slaves will be freed, but some will suffer and lose their way of life when that happens too. Some of those will move west. Here to Texas or even further. They’ll start over.”
Jenny said, “These slaves who will be free. Will they be free like I was free. Must they have a sponsor too? Will people know by their speech that they were slaves once and always treat them as slaves?”
Bryan replied, “Yes. Many don’t have any education. They can’t read or write and will be dependent on their old master’s kindness to keep them on as hired hands. They may be worse off. They will have to live on that wage and it won’t be large.”
Jenny said, “Times will be hard when this day come. We should put aside some grains and dried meats and fruit. I should have picked better.”
Bryan’s eyed her rough, dirt coated hands, “Seems to me you picked just fine Jenny. What are these but raw stones. They’re not worth anything but the value we put on them. Someone thought a lot of that rosary. It was well kept.”
Jenny smirked, “Yes, very well kept. At least now I know what mattered more.” Jenny sighed, “I am sorry Bryan. We could have enough to repay you for price of land and I picked poorly like Priest wanted.”
Bryan touched her chin with his fingers tenderly. There was no grabbing or pinching, just gently raising her chin until she looked into his eyes, “He enjoys making people look foolish. He’s very good at it. It will get better Jenny. He’ll be out of our lives soon.” Bryan’s lips pursed, “Plus, it was worth it to see their faces when Gage put up that no trespassing sign and yours that morning I woke you up. For a few hours, it all belonged to us.”
Jenny thought about that, “This belongs to us Bryan. It all come out before they come. It should be ours. We find it like gold nuggets out west.”
Bryan sighed, “I wish. But I think if they caught us with it, it would be more trouble than it’s worth Jenny. What if MacLeod searches our wagon after we turn over what we find?”
Jenny pursed her own lips like Bryan’s expression, “I think about that. You work hard, they should give you reward.”
Bryan chuckled, “Oh, they think letting me live is reward enough. Not exactly how I thought my future would turn out, but I don’t regret it.”
Jenny said, “Yes, it is not how I imagined it would be as a young girl.” Jenny asked, “You not mind if I tell you this? You can handle truth?”
Bryan said, “Yes, better than guessing what you’re feeling. I’d rather you tell me.”
Jenny took a deep breath or two then started to tell Bryan about her own dreams of the future, “I thought I would go to school in Kentucky and meet a handsome rich man. We would have beautiful horses and I would sit and rock my baby watching foals play in blue grass. I always wanted to see if their grass was really blue or not.”
Bryan smiled, “You like horses? They’re useful, but I can’t say I’m the right person for a horse ranch. I’m not that into mucking out stalls and such Jenny.”
Jenny replied, “Not matter. Indians not keep in stalls, so no mucking, but they are much work and sad when break leg in gopher hole.” Jenny continued, “When that dream disappear and I realize I never see this Kentucky and the only school would be my books, I just think about smaller dream. Maybe I meet handsome blue coated soldier.”
Bryan had a grin on his face, “I wore blue once. Looked rather good in it too. Better than this dull gray and sand color we’re in now.”
Jenny looked at Bryan, “Dark hair look good in blue, but gray will match what show on your hair later better.”
Bryan frowned, “What gray? Where?”
Jenny smirked, “Ha, got you. You believe that, so I win point.” Then she sighed and said, “Then that dream disappear when Comanche took me. Many nights all I care about was how to get word to family, then Sparrow Hawk tell me what happened to his mother and I realize same happen to me. There was no hope but to be his Knife until I wasn’t.” Jenny was waiting to see if Bryan believed her. She could see the look of surprise on his face when she hinted that this might just be a game and not real.
Bryan lips pursed, “He wouldn’t have told you. That was very personal to him.”
Jenny pursed her own lips, “Your point. He did not tell me. I hear first about this from Father while I being burned to crisp.”
Jenny took another breath, “Then dream go back to blue coat who would take me away with him. I would be his woman and he would not want to give me back. I found him, but handsome is not the same as kind or good. He was an angry man. Angry at me. Angry at Comanche. Angry that they send him and make him use what he could not. Angry it cost him chance to be with woman he wanted. It was funny, but not funny that we should meet this way. Even funnier that if he had waited, he would have had what he wanted without ever leaving.”
Bryan thought about it. It sounded a lot like Gage, but it could be Dallas, and even MacLeod. Was she talking about the trip West or now. Maybe he shouldn’t admit he knew about that. Bryan said, “He wore gray, not blue.”
Jenny looked at Bryan and said, “Hum, not your point. You think you are handsome?”
Bryan replied, “What, you don’t think I’m handsome?” Bryan was still in shock. She was talking about him. Bryan muttered, “How did you know all that?”
Jenny grinned, �
��You know you are very handsome, my point too.” Jenny didn’t wait for Bryan to disagree and spilled the beans, “Your mind play trick. You think worst of yourself, not others. All men smucks or pricks so most true of all. But this before you. Woman was my Mother. She move from Yuma to San Antonio. Now you guess again.”
Bryan mulled it over, “Shit, It’s Gage. Of course it’s Gage. He can’t ride a camel and they sent him to Yuma and he didn’t marry Mary Jane. The Church sent your Mom to San Antonio and he missed getting to see her in Yuma.”
Jenny puckered her lips, “This may be harder than I thought. No not Gage, but I see your points. That not who I meant.”
Bryan looked puzzled, then he smiled, “Bo. It’s Bo Callahan. He was in love with Victoria and he went on that trip to see your Mom too. Maybe if he hadn’t gone, they would have gotten together before Dallas and Victoria had JC. That’s it, isn’t it?” Then Bryan frowned, “I knew he had something for older ladies like you, but your Mother too? Well, how about that.”
Jenny blushed, “Why you say that? My father not think it funny when catch boy sneaking in house. He say he hunting real map, but Father say he hunting Mother. Maybe Father was right. We are both whores. You have won.”
Bryan looked amused, “So if I just guess wrong enough times, I win? I don’t think so. You were talking about MacLeod weren’t you. I’m not him Jenny. I don’t expect to win every time. Just when I’m right. I want to keep playing.”
Jenny replied, “Your point.” Jenny tried to watch Bryan’s reaction. Perhaps someone had told him some of this. He didn’t seemed that surprised that this wasn’t the first time Priest was in her life. Perhaps that’s why he left her. Gage or the other man told him about their trip. Maybe it had shocked him too much that she would do what she did. She definitely would have heard the comment about not being the type of wife he wanted. Maybe she never would be, “I survived this man twice, but others did not. M did not survive. I left as the Knife, lived as M, and came back as the Knife to him, but a more dangerous knife than when I left. I would set into motion Tatsinuupi’s revenge on our lives and maybe Sparrow Hawk’s too.”
Camp Camel: The Heart of Texas Page 48
