The Travelers 1

by Lee Hunnicutt

  Jack had finished the grave marker and had buried the bottom half of the board into the grave. He called the others to come over and said, “I guess we should say a few words but I don’t know what to say.”

  Sonny said, “They were Catholic so I don’t suppose praying to the Great Spirit is apropos here.”

  Beth took off her hat and bowed her head. The boys did the same and she said, “Dear God, please accept these poor souls into your house where they will find the peace that they so sorely deserve. And God please guide us so that someday we can find the miserable, low life sons of bitches that did this so we can send them to where they belong. Amen.”

  Both boys said, “Amen.”

  Sonny arranged some of the bedding next to their wagon and Jack carried Anne over to it and laid her down. They made her as comfortable as they could.

  Beth said, “I hate to bring her around. I don’t want her to face the horror of losing her family but we need to try. We need to get liquids into her. We don’t have an IV so it has to be by mouth.”

  “We don’t have any ammonia so how do we get her awake?” asked Sonny.

  Beth knelt down beside Anne and began calling her name over and over again. When that didn’t work she began to pat Anne sharply on the cheek and call her name.

  That didn’t work either.

  Beth said, “We’re just gonna have to wait and hope that she comes around.

  Sonny, see if you can find a nightshirt or something we can use as a nightgown for her. Jack, look for something we can use as a diaper. We’re gonna need several of them. If she doesn’t come around, I don’t want her soiling the blankets.”

  Sonny found several flannel nightgowns in one of the many chests that had been strewn around the wagon.

  Jack came back with a linen tablecloth and said, “We can cut this up. What do you think?”

  Beth said, “Great, cut it up in several large diamonds, so that when you fold it in the middle it will make a large triangle with each side a foot and a half long. This way we’ll have a double thick diaper.”

  She took the nightgown from Sonny and started to take the blankets off the wounded girl. She stopped and gave Sonny a sharp look and said, “Give her a little privacy, pervert. Instead of being a peeping Tom, try making yourself useful. Go see what else we can salvage from their wagon.”

  Sonny looked at his sister in disbelief, blew air out through his teeth, turned and walked over to the covered wagon.

  Jack leapt to his feet and stammered, “I’m gonna look for some scissors.”

  When Jack was out of ear shot, Beth chuckled and began to put the nightgown on Anne.

  In a few minutes, Jack came back with a pair of scissors. He looked like the cat who ate the canary and said, “While looking for the scissors, look what I came across.”

  He was holding up a small perfume jar. “No self-respecting nineteenth century lady would be without it, smelling salts.”

  Beth took the jar from him, opened it and put it to her nose. She pulled her head back sharply and said, “That’s smelling salts all right.”

  “As soon as I found it I remembered that I have ammonia ampoules in the first aid kit in my pack. It’s just as well that we didn’t bring her around. The way I figure it we should have plenty of clean drinking water for her and we should evade telling her what happened to her family as long as we can.

  Don’t tell her anything until she drinks a quart or two. If she is anything like you were when you had lost so much blood, she should be plenty thirsty.

  I realize that she has been drinking unsterilized water all of her life but why take a chance. We still have some iodine tablets in our packs.”

  Beth reached over into the pack that she had gotten the Bacitration Ointment out of and tossed a small jar of iodine tablets to Jack.

  Jack, climbed up on their wagon and found his canteen. He jumped down and went over to the water barrel on the covered wagon. He filled his canteen and dropped in an iodine tablet. He put the cap on and shook the canteen.

  He trotted back to Beth and dropped to his knees.

  Sonny walked over.

  “Let’s give it a shot,” said Jack.

  Beth uncapped the bottle and held it under Anne’s nose.

  Anne’s head began to make small, sharp side to side movements. Her eyes fluttered open and she gave a small moan.

  Beth removed the jar and capped it and said, “You’re safe. We’re friends.”

  At first Anne couldn’t get her eyes to focus. Everything looked blurry. She could hear a comforting voice but she couldn’t make out the words. She was confused and didn’t know where she was.

  Beth was saying over and over in a calm, soothing voice, “You’re safe. We’re friends.”

  Her eyes slowly came into focus. The first person she saw was Beth with her long yellow hair in braids hanging in front of her chest. She was wearing buckskins with some bead work on it.

  Anne looked to her right and saw Jack in buckskins with his hair in braids. She then looked over Beth’s shoulder and saw Sonny in braids and buckskins.

  In her confusion she panicked, moved her head left and right and tried to move away. Her face screwed up in fear and she gasped, “Indians!”

  Jack and Sonny looked nervously around trying to see the Indians.

  Beth gave a little laugh and said, “No, no, we’re not Indians. Calm down. Calm down.”

  She broke out the smelling salts again and put it under Anne’s nose. She could see that Anne was going to faint.

  Feebly Anne tried to push the salts away from her nose.

  Beth recapped the jar and said, “We’re here to help. We’re your friends. You’ve been hurt and we want to help.”

  Anne looked confused sighed and said, “I don’t know where I am. What’s happened to me?”

  “Enough time for questions later. Right now you need to drink this.” Beth put her arm under Anne’s shoulders and raised her up. She then held the canteen to Anne’s lips.

  Anne grabbed the canteen with her free hand and drank greedily from it. Water ran down her chin and she began to cough. The coughing caused her pain but as soon as she caught her breath, she took another long pull from the canteen.

  The exertion exhausted her. Her eyes fluttered closed and she fell into a sleep.

  Beth gently lowered her back onto the blankets.

  She shook the canteen and said, “That went well. She drank about three quarters of it.

  We’ll let her sleep now. I’ll make up a hearty stew tonight and try and get her to eat later on.”

  Sonny said, “Jack, give me a hand collecting what we can from their wagon. Whoever did this took everything of value, money, jewelry, rifles, pistols, that sort of stuff.”

  Jack said, “Beth, I didn’t have time to cut the diapers.”

  “That’s OK. Go with Sonny. I’ll cut them.”

  As Beth cut the tablecloth the boys started to load their wagon with bedding, cooking utensils and some clothing for Anne. They found a few pictures and things they thought Anne would want as mementos. This included her family Bible, her mother’s thimble, a comb, brush and mirror set.

  When they had picked up all they thought was useful, they fashioned a bed and a shelter on the wagon. They also arranged a seat out of a buffalo robe next to the bed in case anyone had to sit next to Anne as a nurse.

  Beth had fitted Anne with a diaper. The boys picked her up and put her on her bed in the wagon.

  Beth wandered around the looted wagon to put a woman’s touch to the search. Under a chest she found an old doll that she picked up. She was proud of the boys. They had been very through.

  They left a lot of things. They just didn’t have room for it all.

  When she came back to the wagon, Jack said, “Sonny and I have been talking it over. We think we should move on away from here.

  We should camp where there is some cover and maybe post watches during the night.”

  “I agree,” said Beth.

>   Jack said, “I figure maybe a dozen riders did this and by the condition of the bodies and the horse shit, the family got hit about noon yesterday.

  The guys who did it could be anywhere.”

  “They probably took off to put distance between them and the murders but who knows? This is pretty remote country. They may think that they own this part of Colorado,” said Sonny.

  Beth said, “It looks like we have two and a half maybe three hours of daylight left. Jack, you ride up ahead. Sonny the river’s on our right and it’s pretty clear from the trail to the river. You ride as an outrider on the left up by the tree line.

  We’ll stop just before dark and pull up into the trees and camp.”

  The boys nodded, mounted their horses and took off.

  Beth climbed up on the wagon’s seat. She looked in the back at her patient. She turned around and looked at the ruin that had once been a family. The bows of the wagon looked like a skeleton. The contents of the wagon were scattered all around. The lonely grave was off to the side of the wreckage.

  She felt a lump rise in her throat. Her face screwed up into a grimace as she popped the reins on the horse’s rumps and yelled, “YAAA!”

  The wagon lurched to a start.

  After about an hour of travel, Jack had found a good place to camp down by the river in a cove of trees. He stood up in his stirrups and waved his hat to get Beth’s attention.

  When she turned the wagon toward Jack, Sonny saw what was happening and rode toward the wagon.

  By the time the wagon and Sonny arrived Jack had a fire going. He had built the fire in a natural circle of rocks that were large enough to conceal the flames from the trail.

  Between the rocks and the tress, a person would have to be right on top of them to spot the wagon or the campsite.

  The three set about unharnessing and unsaddling the horses. They hobbled them and set them out to graze.

  Jack walked over to the wagon and Beth handed him down a cooking pot and a coffee pot.

  Jack walked down to the river and filled both pots with water and suspended them over the fire.

  Beth poured a pound of beans in the pot.

  Sonny was chopping up onions, carrots and potatoes and throwing them in the pot.

  Beth went to the wagon and pulled out a smoked ham. She cut off a half pound, then wrapped the ham back in its cloth. She came back to the fire, diced the ham on a rock and threw the pieces into the pot along with some salt.

  “I wish we had some garlic,” said Jack.

  Sonny brightened “I’ve got some two-year-old garlic power in my pack.”

  “Whoa, now we’re cookin’. said Jack.

  “Hold on boys. We can’t make this thing too spicy. I want our patient to be able to keep this on her stomach.”

  “Boy, you sure know how to put a damper on culinary excellence,” said Sonny.

  Beth just shook her head and smiled.

  She said, “How much further before we come to the stream that we turn on to take us to our mining site, Jack?

  “Well because of our stop today, I think tomorrow about noon.”

  They kept their talk light, purposely not talking about the wagon they had left behind.

  Jack went over and tasted the stew.

  He said, “The beans are a little crunchy but the rest tastes OK. Whadda ya think?”

  “I’m starved,” said Sonny. “Let’s eat.”

  Beth passed out four tin bowls.

  Jack served up the stew. They set the bowls aside to cool.

  “What are we going to do about her?” Jack said looking over at the wagon and Anne.

  “We take her with us” said Sonny. “We can’t leave her. We can’t take her back to Hard Luck or Fort Laramie. We have to take her with us.

  Marthy Jane was orphaned about the same age as she is and look where it got her, in a cathouse.

  This is a tough land. Besides, the nineteenth century wasn’t known for its humane treatment of orphans.”

  “I agree,” said Jack. “We wouldn’t abandon a stray dog or a kitten. We sure as Hell can’t abandon her to the tender mercies of one of these Western towns.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” said Beth. “I guess she belongs to us. I just hope that she doesn’t whine and bark during the night.”

  Sonny just shook his head.

  “I hope she likes gold mining,” said Jack.

  “Hell, I hope I like gold mining,” said Beth.

  They all laughed at that.

  “Yeah,” said Sonny.

  Jack touched one of the tin bowls and said, “It’s cool enough to touch.” Indicating Beth, he said, “Climb up and I’ll hand you a bowl and spoon.”

  Once she was in the wagon, Jack handed her the bowl of stew and Sonny handed her a canteen.

  It was evening and the sun would soon be behind the mountains.

  The boys watched Beth as she shook Anne. Her eyes fluttered open.

  Beth smiled and said, “Hi, are you hungry? I’ve got something here for you. Jack cooked it so I can’t vouch for its quality.”

  Anne looked up at Beth. There was confusion and a little fear in her eyes.

  Beth said, “It’s all right. You’re safe now. No one is going to hurt you.”

  Beth was kneeling next to the wounded girl and she turned at the waist and said to Jack, “Take this.” She handed the bowl of food to him and gently lifted Anne’s shoulders up and stuffed a pillow that they had salvaged from the covered wagon under her back and shoulders to give her support. Once she had Anne sitting up, she reached around and took the bowl from Jack.

  She offered a spoonful of stew to Anne who took it without protest. Beth shoveled food into Anne’s mouth. Neither one spoke. When the bowl was empty, Beth asked, “You want more.”

  Anne shook her head, yes.

  Jack took the bowl from Beth and refilled it.

  When Jack had returned with the bowl, Beth started the whole process over again. When the bowl was empty, Jack made another trip back to the cooking pot.

  Sonny thought, “For a little thing she sure can eat.”

  When Anne finished the third bowl she belched once, drank greedily from the canteen and went to sleep.

  Beth pulled the blankets up around Anne’s shoulders and climbed out of the wagon.

  They sat around the fire eating.

  Jack said, “Boy she eats like a horse.”

  “My thoughts exactly.” Sonny said with a laugh.

  “It’s a good sign,” said Beth. “I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to get her to eat.

  I touched her skin and it wasn’t hot so I don’t think she’s runnin’ a fever.

  You gotta remember she hasn’t eaten in two days.”

  “She’s a pretty little thing,” said Jack

  “Red hair and green eyes, she’s a beauty all right,” said Beth.

  “For a dwarf,” said Sonny.

  Beth playfully slapped her brother on the arm, smiled and said, “She’s not a dwarf.”

  “She can’t be more than four feet ten inches tall. If she were any shorter she could walk under a footstool without having to duck.”

  “Sonny, give it a rest, will you? She’s only thirteen years old and besides that, women in the nineteenth century were about five one or five two and men weren’t much taller.” Beth snapped.

  Jack smiled and said, “You are so easy, Beth.”

  Beth got up, walked over to Jack, grabbed his left cheek between her thumb and curled fore finger and shook it. She smiled and said, “Yeah, ain’t it the truth though? But then that’s one of the reasons that you love me, isn’t it?”

  She let go of his cheek and turned away toward the coffee pot.

  If she would have looked into his eyes she would have seen that there was more to what she had said than she knew.

  If she had paused to look into Jack’s eyes she would have seen that he was hopelessly in love with her. Sonny knew it. Apparently the only two people that didn’t know it were J
ack and Beth.

  All Sonny could do was shake his head and laugh.

  His laughter snapped Jack out of his moon faced look and both he and Beth thought that Sonny was laughing at what Beth had said.

  Jack smiled and said, “Yeah, you’re right. If it wasn’t so easy to get under your skin, you wouldn’t be half so much fun.”

  “Yeah,” said Sonny “if it wasn’t so easy to get your goat, Jack and I woulda dumped you years ago.

  Right, Jack?”

  “That’s right Sonny.”

  Beth ignored them and filled her coffee cup.

  She turned and gave them her sweetest smile and said, “If it weren’t for me boys, every time you went into a phone booth and I wasn’t there to lead you out, you’d get lost.

  Hell, Sonny, if you went into a phone booth with two bowling balls and set one down to make a call you’d lose it. You’d set the second ball down to look for the first one and you’d lose them both.”

  Jack laughed and said, “She’s got you there, Son. If your head wasn’t nailed to your shoulders, you’d lose it.”

  Sonny shrugged his shoulder and angled his head to the side and said, “Well I can’t argue with you.”

  Sonny could set something down in arms reach and lose it.

  Jack picked up the bowls and cooking pot and took them down to the river to wash them.

  Sonny filled his coffee cup and sat down.

  “Do you think we should post a watch tonight?” he asked Beth.

  Jack came back from his KP duties. He put the pot and bowls in the wagon to dry, returned to the fire and filled his coffee cup.

  Beth said, “Sonny just asked if we should post a watch. I think we should. What do you think?”

  “I agree. I didn’t see any signs that anybody from that gang of murders had doubled back or that they have any clue that we’re here. How about you Sonny?”

  “No, I didn’t see anything but we can’t take the chance. I figure that it’s about 7 o’clock. If we go to sleep at 9, we can break up the night into three hour shifts.

  I’ll get my watch out of my pack, wind it and set it to 7. We need something to let us know when three hours are up.”