Lou Silt

by Steve Shadow

  The girls in the back laughed at that one. They had taken Violett back there and were fussing over her. “Don’t you worry, Al,” said Berta, a large big busted woman. “We will earn our keep. Plus we got to look after Violett here. She took care of us for so long that we owe her that. And the first thing we got to do is clean her up and get her out of these old mans clothes. She is looking like a miner after a full night

  underground. Doc, is it OK if we take and bathe her?”

  Doc nodded his assent and gave Berta some ointment out of his bag and whispered to her how to use it. They gathered Violett up and traipsed off with their old boss. Silence enveloped the Black Dog. I, and everyone, was at a loss for words. It seemed that a tornado had ripped through the heart of our town and its people and left us with nary a positive sign. All we could do was sip our whiskey and gaze out the dusty windows as the late fall sky darkened and we felt the chill of winter settling in our bones.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Now that the Nez Perce scare was over, the army, as Al had said, decided to close the fort. They sent a quartermaster team to empty the place out. Lucky for us they did not dismantle the buildings nor lay claim to the lumber. As the post had never been truly commissioned they just left it as it was and marched away. The remaining Larue families agreed to stay the winter. They had come with a lot of put up foods and would have no trouble surviving the coming cold months.

  I left Violett in Doc’s care and made my way to Virginia City. It was as I expected and I was relieved of my Marshal’s badge. I had to take quite a talking to by the head of the Marshal’s office but I barely heard anything they had to say. It had been decided that without the railroad and the mine closing, the jurisdiction was not large enough to need a US Marshal. It made no difference to me. It was actually a relief for I had lost interest in the federal nature of the position. Once I got back to Lost Path we held a town meeting and decided to make Al the official mayor and I became the town sheriff. Hitch and Busy was still to be my deputy’s. I felt more comfortable in this position and was now only subject to the dictates of the town.

  With the help of the Larue clan we set to building Hitch and Breezy a house next to Bill Bird’s place in anticipation of their coming marriage. The whole town was involved in this big affair and though none of us was exactly expert builders it turned out that John was able to save us from disaster. Breezy told us he could build anything and sure enough it turned out that he could. He had already done a lot to rebuild what the Army had done in the fort. He made sure we did things right and we had that place going up in no time at all.

  I kept up inquiries about Josephus and the four boys but they seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth. I was still determined to find him but that would have to wait until the spring.

  Poor Violett had shown no signs of change and had to be cared for constantly. I convinced Berta to give up the whoring and I paid her to become Violett’s caretaker. I got Al to fix up a two room suite for them in the Black Dog. I tried to spend time with Violett but it was hard seeing her like she was. I missed the way things once were.

  Lost Path pretty much closed down once the winter cold came rolling in. If the roads were clear we got the stage to come through but usually we were just cut off from the world. We got some hunters and tourists passing through looking for the real west. It was right amusing listening to them go on about stuff they had read in them dime novels. Al was real good at telling them tall tales about Buffalo Bill and Hickock and such. He gave them a whole passel of tall stories about Injun wars and the like while he kept pouring them drinks.

  We had the wedding planned for Christmas time. Al had fixed up the Black Dog so it was all ablaze with decorations and bunting. Hitch and I went out to the Crow reservation and told Two Leggings about the coming nuptials. He had taken a wife since we last saw him. She was a plump little thing and was very shy around us. He said he would come for the festivities.

  The Crow seemed to have accepted their life on the reservation. I hoped it would suffice for them but had my doubts. These people were never cut out to be farmers.

  Hitch’s new house was about finished. It was cold work but so far the blizzards had held off. We were off in the woods one day cutting trees for the long winter that was just about here.

  “Well, Lou,” Hitch said. “Did you ever think you would see me married off?”

  I looked at that grinning fool and smiled. “Sure, why not? You are a lucky man. Breezy is just a bundle of energy and that gal can do anything. I am happy for both of you.”

  “Thank you, Lou. I am glad you will be my best man. I am just sorry that it ain’t you and Violett joining us.”

  I stopped swinging and leaned on my ax. “You ain’t as sorry as I am, Hitch. I will make sure she is looked after, no matter for how long, but I do not think I can stay here and see her

  everyday; it is just too damn hard. When the spring comes I aim to go after Josephus. I don’t care how long it takes or where I have to go but I will find him.”

  Hitch just shook his head and said nothing. We loaded up the wagon with wood and headed back to town. We were stacking the timber when Breezy strolled in.

  “Well it is nice to see you boys doing something other than drinking and playing cards. This house got a ways to go before it is finished. Now how about you get to sanding that table so we have something to eat on.”

  “Well, Hitch, I can see who is in charge here.”

  “You never mind, Lou. It’s bad enough I got to take orders from this little bit of a thing.”

  “I’m glad you boys is having fun but if that table ain’t ready by tonight, you ain’t eating. So get back to work. I got to go off to the fort. My Aunt Mabel is about due to deliver another baby and I want to learn all about this mid wife business. We got to do something about boosting the population of this town.” She winked at Hitch and jumped on her pony and rode off.

  Hitch and I looked at each other and broke out laughing. We then got to finishing that kitchen table before she returned.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  The big evening had finally arrived. It was Christmas Eve. We had neither church nor minister in Lost Path. By and large we was a bunch of Christians without much religion. Breezy told us that as a little gal old Dorcus tried to keep up the papist ways from back home but soon gave up. Hitch knew Crow religion but did not give it much credence except for the respect he showed for the mother earth, as he called it. When Two Leggings, his wife and some kin showed up, well, I guess they was the most pious of us all. It struck me as mighty funny that the people we called heathens was the only real religious folks amongst us.

  Berta and the girls had fixed up the saloon real festive like and Breezy’s aunts had sewn her a nice dress; all white and such. Everyone, including me, was anxiously waiting to see what Breezy would look like dressed as a gal.

  The moment we was all waiting for finally arrived as Frenchy Claude played some wedding tunes and Hitch strode down the middle of the saloon in a black Sunday-go-to-meeting suit. He had his old bowler hat on and his boots was nice and shiny. Al, as Mayor, was officiating. The room was packed with all the local hunters, drovers, muleskinners and farmers that had come from as far as 20 miles. The whores were in their finest and all of Breezy’s kin were looking mighty proud.

  After Hitch took his place in front of Al, I come into the room with Breezy on my arm. She looked awful pretty in her long white dress. She had on a pair of Violetts shoes that pinched her a little but it was all we had. Her hair was put up and she had on a white tiara from one of Violett’s costumes. I glanced at poor Violett sitting in the corner and felt a stab of pain in my heart. We continued down the aisle with all eyes on us.

  Claude began to play real loud and everybody started in clapping and yelling for the bride. Breezy nearly stumbled in them high heels but I held her up and we made it to the front of the room. I stood aside as Breezy joined Hitch in front of Al.

  Two Leggings and his wif
e come forward. They was dressed in beautiful buck skin all adorned with feathers, beads and ermine pelts. They said some words in Crow which only Hitch could understand. They then presented Breezy with a buckskin dress decorated with elk teeth. Everyone clapped at that. When things quieted down, Two Leggings spoke in English.

  “Crow are happy for Sun That Rises. He is good Crow and good white man. I save his life from the bear and now and forever we are brothers. Crow people say much happy for him and wife and for many children to come.”

  This brought another round of clapping plus some shots fired outside. It was a rare sight to see whites and Injuns mingling like this but it felt right on this occasion.

  The couple turned forward and Al read his piece. They then said their “I do’s”. John had taken old Dorcus’s wedding ring off before they buried her and he had given it to Hitch to put on Breezy’s finger at the right moment. When he placed it on her finger, she recognized it and began crying big tears and hugging Hitch. I do not believe that a dry eye remained in the Black Dog after that.

  Al then pronounced them man and wife and Hitch raised Breezy’s chin and gave her a long kiss. She looked so very beautiful and had on a wide grin that lit up the room. Claude picked up the music. The newlyweds turned and walked back down the aisle to a burst of loud cheers. We all stepped outside into an evening filled with soft falling snow and in a tradition of the west, fired our guns into the air.

  After returning inside, the newlyweds led off the dancing and soon everyone was spinning about the floor to Claude’s piano. Al broke out the few bottles of bubbly we had on hand. We also had lots of food and plenty of whiskey. Aunt Mabel had made a nice cake which the young couple later cut up for everyone to have a taste. All in all it was a tasteful affair for Lost Path and a wonderful Christmas gift for our hard hit town.

  Later in the evening I went to Violett and raised her out of her seat. I thought that the wedding and the music and all the people gathered around would maybe set something off in her. I guess I was hoping for a Christmas miracle. I took her in my arms and tried to get her to dance. It was of no use. I sat her down and brought her some punch. I held it to her lips and she sipped it slowly. My heart sank to my boots and I felt that I would never know any happiness again. But then over the course of that night of celebration something happened that gave me hope. I saw that when the light hit her eyes just right, well, I believe I could see that she was still in there. Maybe it was only for an instant but I knew I was right. I still loved her and we, like Lost Path, would surely endure.

  THE END ABOUT THE AUTHOR Steve Shadow is the pen name for southwestern writer Steven Schwartz. He is a book reviewer, poet and author of four previous books. Look for Lou Silt’s return in the near future. You can follow the shadow at www.steveshadow.com.