Is-A-Man (A J.T. Edson Standalone Western)

by J. T. Edson

Before any of the Mexicans could respond in a more positive way to the discovery that each blanket was draped over only a pile of leaves and branches, another voice spoke!

  The tone had such a timbre of hatred and loathing it could hardly be discerned as feminine in gender!

  ‘Namae’enumh!’

  Without realizing that they had heard the most profane and deadly insult any Comanche other than a member of the Wawai band could utter, the Mexicans brought up their gaze to locate the speaker!

  Doing so was not a difficult task!

  The slight was in some ways even more alarming than the discovery that the targets at which the quartet had fired were not sleeping human beings, but inanimate decoys!

  Under different circumstances, being lecherous and licentious by nature, the Mexicans would have derived pleasure from the appearance presented by Annie Singing Bear!

  Since they had seen her last, the girl had discarded the hat, shirt and trousers. Clad only in her breechclout, weapon belt and moccasins, as was demanded by tradition for the carrying out of an oath of vengeance, the feminine attributes of her shapely buxom figure were all too obvious. Nevertheless, at that moment, not one of the quartet gave a thought to her sex. Not even the firm mounds of her bare breasts, with the mark of the red hand showing in contrast to her bronzed skin, could distract them from realizing the implication of her reddish-brown hair in its warrior’s braids and the vivid slashes of white, green and blue ‘war paint’ which gave an added savagery to the lines of her otherwise attractive face. If further proof of her hostile intention had been needed, it was supplied by the Winchester Model of 1866 carbine she cradled in a firing position against her right shoulder as she stepped from her place of concealment at the other side of the clearing.

  In spite of being compelled to revise her original suppositions, everything had gone as Should-Be-A-Boy hoped and planned!

  Knowing there was no human habitation for many miles in the direction taken by the four Mexicans as they rode away from the bushes where they had left their victim, the girl had felt sure she could catch up with them before they could reach safety. However, before she set off on her quest, her mother had warned that she must do everything possible to avoid letting it be obvious that anybody from the village was responsible for their deaths. Despite realizing that to do so would mean she could not take back anything to prove she had carried out her oath of revenge, it had been her intention to catch up with and kill them by the most convenient means at her disposal. Having done so, unsaddling and turning loose their horses, she would conceal the bodies and their belongings in some secluded place. She hoped so long would elapse before anybody missed them and tried to find out what had happened that it would prevent any suggestion of the truth being established.

  Discovering that the quartet had joined and were travelling with a trail herd had warned Annie that her task would be far more difficult than if they had been alone. For one thing, she had concluded it would be almost impossible for her to carry out the oath of vengeance without Indian involvement being suspected. She had also realized that, should she be fortunate enough to come upon one or more away from their companions, their absence would be noticed very quickly and a search instituted. Even if the bodies were not found, knowing what had happened on the reservation, the party would suspect that revenge for the molestation of Loves Dancing had been taken. Furthermore, the survivors would take such precautions to protect themselves, she would not be offered any further opportunity to complete the mission in the time at her disposal and others would set out to do so. This in turn would ensure that the involvement of the band was made public.

  Keeping her quarry under observation from a distance and noticing how they were dressed in what she guessed to be a more expensive fashion, Should-Be-A-Boy had deduced they were different from the other Mexicans in the party. Instead of riding with the cattle or the remuda like everybody else while on the move, they had remained close to the two wagons. Yet this had not been to help the drivers with their work. Nor had the four taken any part in the tasks being carried out at the camps either in the evening or before moving on the following morning. Allowed to carry out a closer observation during the hours of darkness, she had formed the impression that their companions did not care for them.

  Based upon what she had seen and deduced, aware that the details were widely known of how Agent Dillingham had reacted to the murder of her father, Annie had formulated a plan which she considered might allow her to carry out her mission without the other Mexicans wanting to be involved. Although it was beyond the boundaries of the reservation, the knowledge of the terrain they would be traversing, which she had acquired as a result of hunting on it—and the memory of what had led up to the only coup she had yet counted—had suggested the means by which she could achieve her purpose. In fact, thinking how the various factors were combining to help, it had seemed to her that Ka-Dih was looking favorably upon the enterprise despite her having obtained permission to participate without actually having received the puha she had claimed to come from Him.

  Riding ahead of the trail herd, the girl had selected the most suitable place in the woodland and made her preparations for what she hoped to bring about. Natural inclinations rather than prescience had caused her to have two indispensable items in her possession. Although inured to hardship, like every Indian brave, she saw no reason to suffer more than was needed. Therefore, she had brought along blankets in which to keep warm at night while on the mission. Everything else she had needed to create the two ‘sleeping braves’ was readily available close by and leaving her two reserve horses hobbled in the clearing had given support to the illusion she was seeking to create.

  Having set the scene for what she hoped would be the confrontation she was seeking, Tuinep’ had ridden to the Mexicans’ camp to try to bring it about. Although she had been ready to explain her motives for the supposed betrayal at greater length, the need had not arisen. Nor, due to the leader she was addressing having known something of the Pahuraix band’s predilection for living near water, had she been required to give an explanation of why the ‘two vengeance seekers’ would select a clearing by a stream to make their ‘medicine’. However, she had been pleased with the interest he had shown in her claim that the herd would only be endangered if he and his men interfered in the quest for revenge. She had laid stress upon the point that, provided nobody else became involved, the rest of the men and the cattle would be left unmolested. Because her pretense of not being able to understand Spanish was accepted, she had heard enough pass between the quartet and the leader to assure her that he had no wish for the white authorities to become involved. She also deduced the quartet would receive no help from their leader.

  Having laid her trap, Should-Be-A-Boy had taken her departure and returned to the clearing to see whether it would be sprung!

  Concealing her blue roan gelding amongst the undergrowth a short distance away, relying upon her faculties being sufficiently keen to detect the approach of her quarry long before they were in a position to see her, the girl had remained by the fire. In addition to keeping it going, she had chanted in Comanche to help guide the quartet to her. However, what they had believed to be a prayer was actually a bawdy song. Despite having laid a false claim to receiving puha from Ka-Dih, her religious beliefs were too strongly held to permit further irreverence.

  Hearing them arrive in the woodland and then stop long before they reached the clearing, Annie had guessed what was intended and elected to let them come to her instead of seeking them out. While she did not doubt she could stalk them without being detected, she had known there would be less chance of one or more getting away if the confrontation was to take place on the ground she had prepared.

  Waiting with the patience she had been taught was essential for a warrior, as she had only the two blankets needed to cover the decoys, Annie had been grateful for the excuse to keep the fire going and ward off the chill in the night air. Kept warm during the period of waitin
g, as much a precaution against becoming stiffened by cold as for comfort, she had concluded her estimation of the quartet’s intentions was correct when she heard them resuming their approach at daybreak. What was more, she had quickly decided the leader of the Mexicans had not changed his mind and given them assistance. The noise they were making had satisfied her that only four men were coming and they were those she sought. She had felt sure the other men with the cattle would have proved much more competent at silent movement and her summation had proved correct.

  Despite the hatred she had developed for the quartet, Should-Be-A-Boy had controlled her inclination to start shooting the moment they came into view. She wanted to wait until they were out in the open before taking action against them. However, she had wanted to let them know at whose hands vengeance was to be meted out. Instead of taking the fullest advantage of their error by opening fire immediately, she had spoken the profanity and caused them to become aware of her presence.

  Tuinep’ achieved her intention!

  ‘Mother of God!’ Nicosia screeched, chilled by horror as the realization of what he was seeing struck him and speaking a moment before a similar conclusion was drawn by the other three. ‘It’s her who’s after us!’

  Just as numbed as his sibling and the de Ulloa brothers had been by the discovery that they had fallen into a trap, while the comment was being made fear brought a reaction from Benito Velasquez. However, it was one of self-preservation rather than action taken to help the others escape the consequences. Without even waiting to see how Nicosia and their companions fared, he flung his rifle aside and took to his heels. Although he heard shooting to his rear, he did not so much as glance back to find out what was happening.

  The words were the last conscious act of the elder Velasquez brother’s life. Just after he said ‘us’, Annie sent a bullet from her Winchester into the center of his forehead. Throwing the lever down and up with the deft skill acquired through considerable practice since the carbine had been presented to her by Colonel Charles Goodnight, she sent the spent cartridge case spinning into the air and replenished the chamber. Turning and sighting along the twenty-inch barrel, she squeezed the trigger to deal Arnaldo de Ulloa an equally fatal wound as he was lifting his weapon to defend himself.

  Such was the ability Should-Be-A-Boy had attained, her third shot took Ruben de Ulloa before Nicosia’s lifeless body arrived on the ground. However, this time the speed with which she aimed caused her to inflict only a minor wound. Pain combined with terror to distort his scratched face. Acting in the fashion of a cornered rat, he began to raise his rifle.

  Seeing there was no such response from the last of the quartet, the girl continued to give her attention to the surviving de Ulloa brother. Moving with all the speed she could muster, aware that a slightly injured and enraged enemy could prove far more dangerous even than one who was unharmed, she put the little carbine through its reloading and firing cycle five times in very rapid succession. Although only two of the bullets she discharged found their mark, they proved to be sufficient. Flung backwards before he could shoot in return, Ruben was dead by the time he fell across his lifeless sibling.

  Darting forward, holding the Winchester ready for instant use, the girl concluded she had achieved her oath where three of the Mexicans were concerned. However, although they were dead, the fourth was unscathed and had already reached the edge of the clearing. The bullet she sent after him missed and he disappeared between the trees before she could correct her aim. Nor did he offer more than fleeting glimpses as he continued his flight in the direction from which he had come. Therefore, having counted the shots she had instinctively fired and being aware she had no replacements on her person, she was too wise to squander the three which remained in the chamber and magazine against such a difficult target.

  Accepting pursuit was unavoidable, like every Comanche brave, Annie would never walk when it was possible to ride. What was more, she suspected the fleeing man would reach and mount a horse before she could catch up with him on foot. Giving a whistle, she caused the blue roan to join her at a run. She had not taken off the saddle when leaving it the previous evening. Nor did the construction of a hackamore require it to be removed to allow the animal to graze while waiting to be used. Catching hold of the horn as the gelding joined her, she vaulted astride its back and sent it onwards without any break in its rapid gait. Before she had covered many yards, she was given proof that her supposition with regard to the young Mexican was correct. Not only did he continue to avoid offering a target suitable for the circumstances, she saw him reach and mount one of four tethered horses and gallop away through the trees.

  Watching Benito as they left the woodland, Should-Be-A-Boy quickly concluded she might have to end the chase with her carbine from a greater distance than she would have preferred. She did not doubt that her mount could catch up with his, even thought he was doing everything he could to achieve greater speed, but she felt waiting for this to happen could be ill advised. From the direction he was taking, he was making for where he believed the Mexicans who had remained with the cattle could be found. If they considered the herd might be endangered by the pursuit, or the discovery of how she had tricked them aroused their anger, they would intercede in his behalf and drive her away. If that happened, she doubted whether she would be granted another opportunity to complete her mission.

  Certainly she would not be able to do so in the time she had been allocated, or without resorting to methods which would cause the man with whom she had talked to complain to the white authorities.

  Even as Tuinep’ was drawing her conclusion, the need to act upon it was removed!

  Racing across more open country, being ridden by a man in a state of blind fear caused the fast running horse to have a mishap it might otherwise have avoided. Trying to turn aside and avoid going through a gap between two bushes it realized was too narrow for its body, the control being applied so painfully by the bit in its mouth forced the horse to remain on its path. Feeling the resistance to his wishes, panic caused Benito to seek all the more determinedly not to be turned from the most direct route back to the herd. Attempting to enforce his will, he was caught unaware by the violent resistance of the horse as it finally swerved. Such was the force of the animal’s efforts, his feet lost the stirrups and he was precipitated from the saddle.

  In one respect, Benito might have counted himself fortunate. Thrown into the foliage, he was saved from crashing face first to the ground. However, he was aware only that he had been deprived of his means of escape. Hearing the drumming of rapidly approaching hooves, while another set went away at a slower pace, not even the suffering caused by his arrival against the bush could prevent him from appreciating what the sounds implied. Twisting himself around, he stared in horror at the rider coming towards him. Once again, he gave not the slightest thought to her appearance or sex as she sprang from the saddle. All he knew was that he was at the mercy of one of the dreaded Comanche warriors whose reputation for savagery and brutality were still an all too often mentioned memory, even amongst the kind of society to which he belonged in Mexico City.

  ‘No!’ Benito screeched, dropping to his knees and clasping his hands before him in an attitude of prayer. Forgetting that the girl had claimed she did not speak Spanish, he continued in that tongue, ‘D—Don’t hurt me. It was the others who attacked the girl. As the Holy Mother is my judge, I never even went near much less laid a hand on her!’

  Staring at the cringing young man, being able to understand his words, a feeling of even greater revulsion filled Annie. Although he had thrown away his rifle, he still had a revolver and fighting knife on his weapon belt. What was more, he clearly had not been sufficiently injured to be rendered unable to defend himself. If he had the courage to offer resistance, she would have killed him instantly. However, her training and upbringing had no sympathy with cowardice regardless of why it might be shown. Repeating the profanity with which she had announced her presence in the cleari
ng, she swung around her carbine to lash its barrel against the side of Benito’s head. The impact knocked him sideways from his knees. He was rendered unconscious, which proved fortunate for him in one respect.

  ‘Those scratches on your face make a liar of you!’ Should-Be-A-Boy stated, going to lean her carbine against one of the bushes which ended the pursuit. Drawing the Green River knife from her sheath, she went on in a tone as savage as any male Comanche warrior could have produced, ‘But when I’ve finished, you’ll never again treat another girl that way.’

  Seventeen – Is-A-Man

  ‘Good evening, Colonel Goodnight,’ Agent Moses H. Dillingham greeted, trying to keep the concern he was experiencing from showing. ‘It’s over then?’

  ‘Yes,’ Chaqueta-Tigre confirmed, glancing from the small and bespectacled white man to Brother-To-The-Hawk, Talks-To-Birds and Annie Singing Bear who were present in the office of the Agency’s building. However, his bearded face showed nothing to indicate whether the news he brought was good or bad. ‘It’s over.’

  ‘Was the verdict—favorable?’ the Agent asked, too worried to spend time on unnecessary conversation.

  Despite hopes to the contrary, there had been repercussions from the successful conclusion of Should-Be-A-Boy’s quest for revenge!

  However, the problems which had arisen were not created by Don Ruiz Caraballeda!

  Employing the skill she had acquired castrating colts, having all she would need in the small buckskin pouch she had fastened to the cantle of the blue roan’s saddle the previous evening, the girl had rendered Benito Velasquez incapable of ever again committing rape. She was using a sinew to suture the gash through which the ‘seeds’ of the testicles were removed from their bag of flesh, having stopped the bleeding with a liberal application of powdered witch hazel leaves, when she had seen four riders in the distance. Recognizing them as vaqueros who had been with the herd of cattle, she had left the still unconscious young man lying where the operation was performed. Keeping the Mexicans under observation while withdrawing towards the woodland, she had felt sure they had not noticed her.