by Joel Baker
One building contained an old portable forge unit with a hand crank bellows. Charcoal used to heat the metal lay in a pile on the floor. Franklin asked Paul to turn the crank. The protesting squeals of disuse made everyone cover their ears. A grindstone bench stood off to one side. One of the foot pedals was broken off and lay on the floor.
"Let's go check on the horses," Franklin said.
Jesse and the boys followed Franklin to the largest building that passed for a barn in Haven. The strong acrid smell of old musty hay greeted them at the door. A line of pegs along the wall down the right side of the barn was loaded with old leather harnesses. Pigeons cooed and flew back and forth between the rafters.
Two stall openings were at the far end of the center area. The horses stuck their heads out and looked at the visitors. Their large brown eyes were focused on the men and their ears erect with curiosity at the prospect of something different taking place in their tranquil lives.
"This here's Abby and Fisher," Franklin said. "Fisher is good with the plow and Abby's good for Fisher. I only needed one horse up to now, but Abby's docile and saddle broke."
Jesse rubbed the heads of Abby and Fisher and scratched them behind their ears. He took a hand full of oats from a barrel. Fisher tickled Jesse's palm as the horse's soft lips nibbled the oats from his hand. Jesse looked at the equipment sitting at the far end of the barn. The plow blade gleamed silver from its recent use.
"Franklin looks to me like you've been working hard around here," Jesse said.
"I did the best I could JJ. We still got a long way to go."
"JJ?" Mark asked. "Franklin, why did you call Dad JJ?"
"Never mind about that," Jesse said.
"Why when your Daddy was just a pup, we called him by his initials," Franklin said. "Jesse James Colter. JJ."
"Jesse James Colter? Gees, that sounds like an outlaw or something," Paul said laughing.
"Yeah, Dad,” Mark said. “You and mom always said you didn't have a middle name."
"Well now you know,” Jesse said. “It wasn't a name I would have chosen, and your mom used to tease me about it. So I just stopped using it."
"Hey. Not a problem, JJ," Mark said.
"You know what, Mark?” Jesse asked. “I'll just bet that's the last time I'll ever hear that used again.”
Everyone was smiling, but they knew it would be the last time.
The men stopped by to see the pigpen on the way back to the house. There were two pens with board fences attached. The one pen contained three sows and six baby pigs, running back and forth. The sows lay on their sides and rested in a muddy hole. The baby pigs ran up to the men standing at the fence and stuck little pink flat noses through the fence rails. One of the sows rose ponderously and walked over to the feed trough for the last of the morning's scraps.
"Used to be more baby pigs," Franklin said. "Dogs and such been hitting us real bad. We've lost one every other week or so."
"Something tells me that won't be problem any longer," Jesse said, thinking about Boss.
After the tour, Jessie asked the boys to unload the truck. Sarah gave directions for where to put things. She, Hattie, and Lily spent the late afternoon opening up the main house, and airing out the bedding and stuffy rooms. As it began to cool towards evening, Jesse and Franklin cleaned old bird nests and leaves out of the chimney and started a fire. They could hear sneezing coming from where the women and Lily were dusting.
They went out onto the large front porch carrying two rockers from inside. Daisy lay on the floor at their feet looking up at them. The sun went behind the west ridge and a blue twilight came quickly.
The men sat and visited for a while. Light spilled out onto the porch as kerosene lamps were lit and set on tables.
"Things been hard around here Jesse,” Franklin said. “It's getting worse too. Hattie and I don't even go into Eagle Rock anymore. Do you remember the Haskins?”
"I remember the Haskins twins,” Jesse said. “They had a little brother everybody called weasel."
"Well that was thirty years ago,” Franklin said. “They're grown men now, and as mean as snakes. They’re killers and cruel, every one of them. They've been raiding places around here, whenever they feel like it. Mainly robbing, but sometimes taking the women and killing the men. There’s no law, and nobody's stood up to them. They've left us alone so far, but I think it's only a matter of time.”
Jesse thought for a few minutes. He decided that he wouldn't have any secrets with Franklin. He told him about the problems up north with scavengers. He told Franklin about Middletown, the bikers, and the girl. He told Franklin about what he remembered about his parents' deaths and his suspicions about how it happened.
"I've decided that no matter what I have to do,” Jesse said. “Franklin, we're going to survive. When it's time to settle with the Haskins, it won't be pretty. I'll understand if you don't have the stomach for it."
They sat in silence for a while in the gathering darkness. Jesse knew Franklin was thinking about what he'd told him. The sounds of the night began to kick in. Whippoorwills called back and forth, crickets sounded at each other, and the frogs by the creek started up. Franklin broke the silence.
"Jesse,” Franklin said. “I'm just an old black man. I’m tired of being forced to cross over the street by some ignorant redneck. I tired of being hassled for no reason. You had it hard, no doubt about it, for the past year or so. It's been hard my whole life. Now I'm closer to the end than the beginning of my life. I have very few years left, and pray to sweet Jesus to forgive my many mistakes. I got reasons for wanting to be a part of what you're suggesting, Jesse. I got very little to lose. Will I have the stomach for what's got to be done? I believe I will."
"Tell me Franklin,” Jesse said. Why did you stick by my father all those years ago? I don't have to tell you what a mean cuss he was. Why'd you put up with it?"
"Your papa was a hard man, Jesse,” Franklin said. “But he weren't a mean man. Believe me when I tell you there's a big difference. Far as I could tell he didn't treat me any worse or any better than he did you, your mama, or anyone else. He treated me fair. I never wanted to be treated better than other folk, Jesse. I just wanted to be treated the same."
"You got to know Franklin,” Jesse said. “I treat situations like the Haskins boys in a particular way. I look at it like a job that's got to be done. I do what I got to do. I don't worry much about what's fair. Let's say you come on a nest of rattlesnakes. You don't get down on your belly and see who can bite who first. You shoot the bastards and move on. Is it fair? Well, the snake probably doesn't think so."
"Yea, verily I say unto you, if you come upon a nest of vipers tread them asunder without thought or consequence," Franklin said.
"What passage of the Bible does that come from?" Jesse asked.
"Why that's from the Book of Franklin, I do believe. Amen," Franklin said.
"Amen," Jesse said.
Chapter 17
By the end of the first week in Haven, Sarah had declared war on the wood kitchen stove. The large cast iron behemoth had a mind of its own, and Sarah started kicking it every time she walked by. She was convinced the stove hated her, and she felt the same way about the stove. Sarah was considering her options when she heard Lily scream. She rushed for the front porch and found Lily pointing down the east road.
"Mommy, the dogs are hurt terrible," Lilly said.
Sarah saw Boss and the other three dogs walking slowly towards the house. All four appeared injured and bloody. Sarah sent Lily scurrying to fetch Hattie. The dogs limped up on the front porch, dropped to the floor exhausted. Sarah saw Hattie running with a pail of warm water and a cloth sack with her medicines and poultices.
"My Lord, they must have fought a bear," Hattie said, after she reached the front porch.
"Lily, go get your father," Sarah said. "He and Franklin are out with the horses."
Lily took off at a dead run, curls and dress flying. Sarah watched as Hattie bathed Boss g
ently. He raised his huge head and gave Hattie a lick on the arm and laid his head on the floor. He appeared to Sarah too exhausted to hold it up any longer. Sarah could hear a commotion as Jesse and Franklin raced for the house with Lily in hot pursuit. Jesse was the first to arrive and went to where Hattie tended to Boss.
"It's most peculiar," Hattie said. "Seems to be lots of blood, but I can't tell where he’s bleeding."
"Same over here," Sarah said, as she quickly checked the other dogs.
"I think I know," Jesse said. "It's not their blood."
Sure enough, after all the blood was cleaned off, they found a nick on one ear and a chew mark on a leg or two, but that was it. Sarah thought that whatever the dogs fought must have paid dearly.
"Something tells me I wouldn't want these dogs mad at me," Franklin said, still out of breath from his run to the house.
"Why they're just big old babies," Hattie said. "I think the dogs can sleep over at our place tonight, Franklin. You go put out some water."
****
Daisy had her puppies during the second week in Haven. It was a big event for Lily. The seven little mewing pups snuggled close to their mother. Daisy discouraged anyone but Lily from coming too close. This included the other dogs. Jesse thought it was funny that Boss lay on the porch and appeared to pout. The proud papa couldn't even get close to his own pups.
After a day or two, the pups were much more alert. Two of the pups with strange white markings, had coats that were slightly longer and more curled than the other pups. Sarah remarked that Daisy didn't appear to nurse them, and three mornings later, they found the two pups dead. Jesse buried them by the red cliffs. The remaining pups continued to make rapid progress and all the dogs took a special interest in them.
It was Hattie, and then Jesse, who noticed that the dogs appeared to be training the puppies. They were naturally disciplined. When the pups were five weeks old Jesse noticed they were peculiar in couple of respects. First was their size. They each weighed close to ten pounds as near as Jesse could figure. Second, they always ran everywhere in single file. Jesse would look out the door of the barn, and watch as a row of puppies ran across the yard.
"Strangest thing I ever saw," Jesse said to Sarah that night. "All those puppies moving like that."
"It looks to me like Dr. Frank managed to pull it off,” Sarah said. “What do you think ever happened to him?"
"I don't know," Jesse said. "But if he's looking down on us from heaven, I'll bet he's smiling."
****
"I keep telling you, somebody's been killing my goddamn dogs!" Teddy screamed.
"What are you talking about?" Calvin asked.
Calvin and Clarence were just finishing a huge piece of rancid fat back, with plates of white beans. It'd been raining all morning. Calvin was developing a bad head cold. To make matters worse they'd run out of whiskey. Clarence was suffering with the shakes after only three days without the rot gut. He was ready to drink the kerosene out of the lamps. Calvin wasn't in a good mood, and now weasel was in here whining again.
"I started out with eight dogs,” Teddy said. “I lost three about a month ago, and three more last night! Only one dragged home, and he was tore to hell too. After all the hard training of them dogs I put in and now they're just gone."
"Teddy, that don't even add up right,” Clarence said. “Besides, most of them were sorry looking, if you ask me. Except for them three big ones. Those three was the meanest dogs I ever seen."
"Think so do you?” Teddy asked, obviously shaken. “Well guess what. They was the first three dogs to come up missing!"
"You go looking for them?" Calvin asked.
"Yeah,” Teddy said. “I found them all tore to pieces. Not even worth burying. I found the studded collars I put on them. I think a bear got them cause of there was blood everywhere."
"Bear, you say?" Calvin said. "That might be fun to go on a bear hunt. Where bouts did you find them collars?"
"Up by Haskins Hill,” Teddy said. “Not too far from the old place."
"Isn't that close to where that old darkie Franklin and his wife moved?” Clarence asked. “The old Colter place?"
"Real close," Calvin said. "Maybe we ought to pay them a visit long as we're in the area. Seems like it's the neighborly thing to do."
"I know something else," Teddy said.
"What?" Calvin asked.
"I think more people's living out at the Colter place than just them Pierces,” Teddy said. “I saw tire tracks in the dirt over on Sand Hill road."
Calvin sat with his pig eyes squeezed into slits, suddenly alert.
"This is getting interesting,” Calvin said. “Teddy, how many new people are out there?"
"I don't know," Teddy said.
"You'd better go out and take a look around,” Calvin said. “Yes sir, I do believe it's time for a bear hunt.”
"Are you sure?" Clarence asked. "We don't know who's out there."
"Think about it,” Calvin said. “I bet you a hundred dollars they got a stash of moonshine out there.”
"Count me in," Clarence said, studying his shaking hands.
"Now you're talking," Calvin said.
"Can we use Cassy for bear bait?" Teddy asked. "You know, run her through the woods until we jump the bear?"
Calvin and Clarence looked at each other. Each waited for the other to speak. Teddy took a big knife out of the sheath on his belt and started rubbing the blade on his filthy pant leg. To Calvin, this was a sure sign Teddy was nervous or agitated. The rain began to fall harder and the wind picked up. Calvin hoped this wasn't the start of a big storm.
"We been meaning to talk to you about her," Calvin said, studying Teddy's reaction. "Strangest damn thing I ever saw. Appears Cassy decided that she'd go be with her family. I went in her room day before yesterday, and found she'd hung herself in that back room. Hung herself with her own dress."
Teddy sat with a dumbfounded look on his face. Whenever he got confused his eyes crossed. Nobody laughed. He looked at his brothers. He calmly put his knife back in its sheath. Calvin thought that was a good sign and broke the silence.
"We better wait a week or so,” Calvin said. “Make sure we’re not walking into something. Teddy, you go on and ride out to the old Colter place and take a look around."
"Okay, but somebody's going to pay for killing my dogs," Teddy said.
He got up and walked out of the room. Calvin saw Clarence breathe a big sigh of relief. They both knew they'd have to put Teddy out of his misery eventually. They could never agree on when to do it. Calvin thought it would be sooner, rather than later.
Chapter 18
The weather took a turn for the worse, and it rained all morning. Jesse and Franklin were sitting on the porch and enjoying a rest from the back-breaking work. Cole and Mark sat off to one side of them.
Most of the corn and beans were planted. They had a good start on the huge garden. Jesse planned on making a trip up to Linden in the next couple of weeks. Some of the seed they'd put aside had gotten wet and rotted. All in all, Jesse felt they'd made a really good start. They still needed to plant wheat, oats, and hay on the top part of the valley.
Jesse planned on acquiring more horses on their trip to Linden. They needed to fix the wagon so everyone could go to town. He wasn't going to leave anyone alone until he solved the Haskin problem.
Jesse had visited Eagle Rock after dark, on several occasions. He'd spotted the Haskin twins in the Shadow Bar and Grill on each visit. He knew where he could find them when it was time to settle up. It was different with Teddy. He was constantly on the move and difficult to locate. Still, it was only a matter of time.
Franklin interrupted Jesse's thoughts.
"I was worried about the wild dogs when you came,” Franklin said. “It seems like wild dogs went away since you arrived."
"I thought that might happen," Jesse said, with a smile.
He looked down at the three dogs lying at their feet. He didn't know where Boss,
Daisy and the pups were. Sarah had mentioned last night how fortunate it was Hattie and Franklin hadn't owned a dog when they arrived.
"Soon as we finish planting, we need to start cutting timber," Jesse said. "I noticed an old timber mill saw back in the corner of the equipment shed. It appears to still work, but we'll have to sharpen the blade."
"That saw needs a power take-off belt to drive it," Franklin said. "We don't have a tractor that works, or the gas to run it if we did."
"Cole?” Jesse asked. “How much diesel do we have in those barrels?"
"I think the tank's about half full,” Cole said. We have almost a full drum in the back.”
"Good,” Jesse said. “We can rig a belt drive off the truck. Franklin, is the belt in the shed any good?"
"Nothing I can't fix,” Franklin said. “How you going to use the truck to power that saw?"
"I thought we could take off one of the rear tires,” Jesse said. “We can drive the belt on the rim. We need to cut as many logs as possible first, and pile them close to the saw table. We can't waste the gas."
Suddenly the three dogs on the porch stood and stared up at the East Ridge. The hair running down their backs stood on end. It transformed them into something primeval. Even Jesse was startled by their savage appearance.
The dogs scattered as if they'd heard a starting gun go off. One of the dogs angled off to the right, the other to the left. The third dog made directly toward and up the ridge. Jesse looked back at the small cabin. He saw Daisy racing for the barn with the five pups running as fast as their little legs could pump, single file, behind her.
"Looks like we got company," Jesse said.
****
Teddy watched the group on the front porch for some time. He counted one man, one black, and two boys. This was the kind of information Calvin wanted. He watched the small cabin with growing interest. He saw a small girl pass by one of the windows. Teddy grinned when he saw a pretty woman come out on the porch and shake a rug. She'd jiggled a lot in all the right places. Teddy knew his brothers would be very interested in that.
