Ride The Wild Range

by Cheryl Pierson

* * * * *

  "Where's everyone else?" I asked. The creek was peaceful and shady. I wished we could just sit here and fish instead of going on with the others.

  "A few miles ahead. I've been hanging back a ways so I don't have to put up with Eddington," he confessed, "but tomorrow'll be a different story. We'll catch up to them this evening." He gave me a hard look. "I'd send you back for safety's sake, Will, but I don't think you'd go. Am I right?"

  I didn't know how to answer anything but honest to Jacobi. But I didn't want to come right out and tell him that, no, I hadn't changed my mind and I wasn't goin' back. So I said, "You an' me, we're family now, Jacobi. I can't go back and – and leave you. It wouldn't be right."

  His features relaxed and he looked away. "You believe I was wrong to leave you." He said it like he knew my thoughts, not like he was wondering.

  I took off my hat and scratched my head. "No. I know you'd have brought me if we'd have thought about Mrs. Allen before you left."

  Jacobi's lips quirked and finally he smiled at me full out, and I knew everything was going to be all right between us as his anger fled, and understanding came in place of it. Then, he said the sweetest words I could've heard.

  "Yeah. I wish I had thought of it, Will." He came toward me from where he'd been standing and knelt down in front of me, eye-to-eye. "I'm glad you're here, son. But promise me you'll do as I say." He put his hands on my arms, but he didn't shake me like Papa always did. He just looked at me, asking me for a promise, and I had to give it to him.

  I nodded. "I will."

  "I mean it. I have to know I can depend on you to do that."

  "I know. You can depend on me, for sure."

  Arrow had gotten himself a nice cool drink and rested a bit, and I knew it was time to be heading out again. But, still, there was something I wanted to say.

  "Jacobi, you know I wouldn't have ever left Laura if Mrs. Allen couldn't come be with her."

  "I know, Will."

  "An' Laura, she said it was best for me to come and be with you, on account of—" Here I broke off, but not soon enough. I had said too much to not finish now, and when Jacobi got that look on his face, I knew I had to tell the rest of what Laura had said. She wasn't gonna be happy about that.

  "On account of...what?" His voice was slow and steady, and I knew nothing but the truth would do.

  I sighed, wishing I had been more careful with my words. But he was waiting.

  "On account of maybe you'd be more careful if I was here with you, she said."

  "She did, did she?"

  I nodded, miserable that I'd even brought it up. When I got home, Laura would have every right to slap me like a rented mule. But I knew she never would.

  Jacobi just chuckled. "Well, Laura's pretty smart. That's about the truth of it."

  Right then, with the way he laid a hand on my shoulder again, warm and gentle, I knew what he was thinkin' though he never said it. He would be extra careful to take care of me, but also to take care of himself, now that we had us a family. He couldn't be mad at Laura for loving us both so much.

  * * * * *

  We caught up with Marshal Eddington and the others just before it turned full dark. The twilight had settled in on us already, and we rode into camp easy enough. There was a big fire blazing and I could see that didn't please Jacobi at all by the way his jaw set and the steely hardness in his eyes. I expect he thought maybe they should have done with a smaller fire – or maybe no fire at all – so as not to attract unwanted attention.

  "Kane," Marshal Eddington said as we rode up. "You playin' nursemaid on this trip?"

  I wanted to tell him to go to hell, but just as I started to, Jacobi did it in his own way, better'n me just sayin' it.

  "My boy killed Red Eagle last year, Marshal. He'll be twelve in a few weeks. Wonder...how many Injuns had you killed, by the time you were ten?"

  Eddington's fat face turned red. So red, I could see it in the near-darkness. "Listen, Kane—"

  Jacobi dismounted quickly, and moved to stand toe-to-toe with Eddington. He towered over him by several inches. If Eddington wasn't afraid, he should-a been.

  "No, you listen, Eddington. I'm not here because of you. I'm here because of those dead settlers, and a promise I made a long time ago to someone else. So, I'll bring whoever I need along with me to get the job done. That happens to be my boy, Will. And there ain't no nursemaid to it."

  "Gentlemen," Trask interjected quietly, "shall we put aside our differences? This task shouldn't take long. Jacobi, I, for one, am delighted to have both you and young Will, here, along with us."

  Jacobi turned to Trask then. "Well, that's mighty hospitable of you, Aldous, and good of you to say so. But it really doesn't matter who's happy about it and who isn't. It's just the way things are." He looked slowly around the faces of the men in the group, as if marking each one. "You want my help, my son's part of the deal."

  Trask gave a thoughtful nod. "I understand, Jacobi." He looked up at me. "Welcome, Will. Why don't you come on over to the fire and grab a bowl of beans and some coffee?"

  I didn't say anything. I looked at Jacobi and waited for him to tell me what he wanted me to do. He nodded at me, and the look he gave me was one of approval.

  "Climb on down, Will." He turned to Trask. "We'll see to our horses first. Join you shortly." To Eddington, he never gave any other sign of acknowledgement. It was like that fat little turd was invisible.

  I swung down off Arrow and followed Jacobi over to the makeshift tether line where the rest of the horses had already been tied. We had our privacy now, and I figured Jacobi would have somethin' to say about the way I'd almost answered ol' Marshal Eddington earlier when he'd cut in. I was right. We'd barely tied our horses and started to unsaddle them when he spoke.

  "Will, I don't like Eddington any better than you do, but I want you to leave him to me."

  "Why? Sayin' you were my nursemaid—"

  He turned quickly to look me in the eye. "I know that made you mad, son, but that's what he's trying to do."

  "But why?"

  Jacobi shook his head. "Maybe to get you to say something. I think he suspects you aren't my blood son. But he's not sure, and he can't be certain it even matters. One thing he's good at is learning details and using what he's learned to his own end. With Eddington, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. That's why you need to keep still, and let me deal with him."

  I didn't reply, because I wanted nothing more than to tell Eddington to go straight to the devil. But Jacobi was letting me know his thoughts about the marshal. He was a man we needed to watch and keep track of. And Jacobi didn't want me sayin' anything that might give Eddington the least bit of information. I hoped I could keep still, but I wasn't sure I'd manage.

  "Will?" Jacobi stood looking at me steadily. I knew what he expected. "Give me your word, will you?"

  I nodded, and looked away. "Yes, sir."

  He smiled at my heavy sigh. "We'll get this wound up quick, then we'll head for home."

  "I'll be glad of it," I muttered.

  He reached to put his hands on my shoulders, and I looked up into his face. "Me too. I'm glad you're here, Will."

  That just about made me bust my buttons, because I could see he meant it. Jacobi didn't say things in a light way. Everything had worked out, I thought, when I had been so worried about it earlier.

  * * * * *

  The talk at the far edge of the fire where me, Jacobi, Trask, and Trask's partner Deputy Marshal Kelly sat was low and quiet. I wasn't sayin' anything, on account of I figured I'd already used up any good favor from Jacobi concerning bad manners that would come my way. But I listened to everything around me – including the talk comin' from other areas of our camp, and the night sounds all around us. Even the stillness had a message, sometimes, if you knew how to listen. I had learned that from Jacobi.

  "We'd thought to go due north, as the crow flies, until we hit the Red River," Trask said. "That last raid happened on the other s
ide, in I. T."

  "Still in your jurisdiction, I take it?" Jacobi took a drink of his coffee.

  I held a cup of the stuff in my hand, because it had been given to me. But after my first drink, I knew I couldn't bring myself to down the entire cup. Still, it made me feel ten feet tall to have been given a cup of it like all the other men in our outfit.

  Trask looked down a moment, took his time about answering. "Yes. And I don't mind telling you, that band of savages is making us look like a bunch of fools, Jake. We've wasted enough time trying to chase them and run them to ground."

  I watched Jacobi. Maybe none of the others would notice, but when his jaw flexed, I knew Trask had said something that made him mad. And I knew what it was. It seemed, by his words, that he was more concerned that Laughing Wind was making him look foolish rather than the fact that settlers were being murdered. If Trask had ever had his family killed like Jacobi and me, he wouldn't be worried about looking dumb. He'd be chasing after Laughing Wind with a lot more reason than 'running them to ground'. I knew Jacobi's thoughts were the same as mine. And I knew that was why he was so careful to choose what he wanted to say next.

  "Yeah. I imagine those sodbusters wished you'd caught them sooner too, Aldous."

  Trask's steel-gray eyes hardened, and he and Jacobi stared at one another for several seconds. I carefully eased upright from where I'd leaned back against a boulder. If push came to shove, I wanted to be ready to back Jacobi up. He would be countin' on me. Deputy Marshal Kelly scanned the distant edges of our encampment, but I knew he was listening to the nearby conversation just as surely as I was.

  "Jake, I – I know your history...what happened to your family. I'm sorry for your loss. It's ...unimaginable. You're lucky you and your boy, here, survived it." Trask's voice was sincere.

  My heart pounded. If Trask had heard the story, then he had to know that Jacobi's son, Dalton, had been murdered. Was he playing a game? Testing Jacobi for the truth?

  Jacobi took his time answering. "Well, I can tell you, Aldous, I didn't feel very lucky that day. And as fate would have it, Will wasn't there. He's actually my sister's boy. But, that's another story." He glanced at me, and I assured him silently that I would keep quiet, and go along with whatever he said. Certain of me, he looked back at Trask. "And that's the reason I'm here with you now. Not because you're starting to look foolish and inept – but because of a promise I made to my wife as she lay dying in my arms."

  "I...heard the story of how young Will killed Red Eagle." Trask turned to me and smiled. "That took a lot of guts, boy."

  Before I could say anything, even a thank you, Jacobi spoke again. "Will has more heart than ten men. More gumption for what has to be done than I believe I've ever seen."

  Trask nodded. "I'd be mighty proud too, if he was my kin."

  "What's your plan once we ford the river?" Jacobi turned the conversation back to the problem at hand, and Trask glanced at Kelly before he answered.

  "That's where we're divided, Jake. You see, ah..." He fell silent a moment, and Jacobi nodded his understanding.

  "Eddington wants to go the opposite direction from where you imagine they'll head?"

  Trask gave him a sharp look. "Precisely. I look for Laughing Wind and his bunch to bear back to the west – back toward Apache and Comanche country. Eddington believes they'll go farther north, and maybe to the east."

  Jacobi gave a faint smile. "Eddington's not much of a tracker." Deputy Kelly gave a snort. "He ain't much of anything, Mr. Kane." Trask gave Kelly a silencing glance, but Jacobi just laughed outright.

  "One thing he is good at, Deputy. Best not forget it."

  "What's that?"

  "Stirring the pot."

  Trask gave a reluctant nod. "I've heard that, too." After a moment, he went on. "Will you be with us, Jake, or will we part ways when we cross the river?"

  "I expect we'll be in your company, Aldous. That's another half-a-day's ride from here. A lot can happen between now and then."

  Trask started to say something, but thought better of it and remained silent.

  Jacobi stood up and stretched. "I expect Will and I ought to be turning in, with another long day ahead tomorrow."

  I stood up quickly and dumped my coffee out in the darkness as we headed toward our bedrolls. I was tired suddenly and ready to lie down for the night.

  Just before I drifted off to sleep, it dawned on me Jacobi hadn't given Trask the straight answer the marshal had been hoping for. Yet, I couldn't imagine us riding along with a group headed up by Marshal Eddington, instead.

  The only other thing possible was Jacobi and me going our own way. A chill raced up my spine. I was glad I had followed after him, no matter what. Whether he knew it or not, Jacobi needed me. I knew right then, Laura had figured that out too.

  Chapter 21

  We stopped at the south bank of the Red River before noon, and ol' Marshal Eddington wanted to make a fire for lunch. He always wanted a big noonday meal. That was why nobody wanted to ride with him. Well, one of the reasons. And today was no exception. After Trask told him he wasn't stoppin' for no lunchtime campfire, that's when the split happened.

  Trask, Kelly, Jacobi, me, and the other posse members all headed west along the river, leaving Eddington and his two deputies behind to build their campfire. But fifteen minutes later, here came the two deputies, looking kind of embarrassed when Sheriff Kilmore asked about

  Eddington.

  "He fired us," one of the men answered. "Said if we was to leave him to build his own fire, he didn't need us anymore."

  Kilmore gave a wide grin from beneath his handlebar mustache. "I'm in need of a couple of good men. Why don't you come to work for me?"

  They both looked plenty relieved, and we pressed onward. It wasn't another ten minutes until Marshal Eddington rode up and joined us again, and nobody said one word. By the time we stopped at Colbert's Ferry crossing, I was daydreaming about bein' home. But not at my old home – my new one – the cabin where Jacobi, Laura, and me all lived. I thought about my new baby brother. I refused to consider the idea that Laura might have a baby girl. That would be almost the worst thing that could happen. What could you do with a baby girl, anyhow? As it was, I might be grown up before I could play with the baby either way, but I was sure looking forward to having me a brother. One day, he'd be grown up too.

  Colbert's Ferry was, from what I knew, the only way to get across the river without gettin' soaked, at least, in these parts. In this summer heat, I wouldn't have minded getting wet, but this way of crossing would be a good rest for our horses, and for us. And it looked like Marshal Eddington was goin' to get him a big noonday meal at the Colbert's Ferry Station, once we crossed to the north bank.

  When we rode up, Marshal Eddington fired a shot into the air and, almost immediately, the ferry started our way from the other side. There was no need for Eddington to have fired the shot, because already, a gathering of men waited to cross. From the looks of things, we were just going to have to wait our turn.

  We all dismounted and I took both Arrow and Blackie's reins to see to them. Jacobi joined Marshal Trask and Sheriff Kilmore as they stood by the bank of the river.

  "Can't wait to find them savages and see an end to them," one of Eddington-now-Kilmore's deputies, Levi Johnson, said.

  "You ever hunted Injuns before?" one of the older men asked.

  "No, but I figure...how hard can it be?" He sounded a little defensive, as Jacobi would have called it. Like he was getting his back up.

  Several of the members of the posse laughed at that, and Johnson's face turned red.

  "Pretty damn hard, young 'un," a white-bearded man answered, a glint in his eye. "I've seen plenty of Injun fightin' and there weren't none of it easy."

  "This one's gettin' started young," Mr. Reynolds said, giving me a wink and a friendly smile.

  I nodded. "Yes, sir."

  "What's your specialty, young 'un?" Mr. Davis asked. "Shotgun? Pistol? Maybe even a knife?"r />
  I shook my head and looked down. "Whatever I have to use." At that, all the men laughed, repeating my offhand comment.

  "Well, son, that's one of the best pieces of advice anybody could ever get," Mr. Reynolds said. "You use whatever's handy, and you kill them before they kill you."

  Just then, Jacobi walked up quiet behind me and laid a hand on my shoulder.

  "You got a boy to be proud of, Kane, that's for sure," Mr. Reynolds went on approvingly.

  Jacobi just nodded. "Thanks." Then, he looked at me. "Will, let's go. Our group's going over next. We'll grab us some grub once we cross the river. Bet you're hungry."

  I was. So hungry my stomach thought my throat had been cut. Jacobi and I led Blackie and Arrow down toward the returning ferry. I knew he was cautioning me to be careful about what I might say. He didn't have to worry. I wasn't gonna let anybody separate our family now. I had me a baby brother comin'.

  * * * * *

  We found out soon enough that the other men there at Colbert's Ferry were also hunting Laughing Wind's band. One of them looked somehow familiar to me, and I got to where I wanted to stare long and hard at him to see if I could place him. Finally, it hit me so strong I laid down my spoon, and with everything in me, I hoped he didn't remember us meeting a couple of years back.

  Mike Dawkins. He was the distant cousin of the last woman who had been killed in Laughing Wind's latest raid. It also turned out he had visited his grandfather, who lived a few miles from where I'd lived before. Papa and I had run into them three or four years ago, so I didn't think he'd remember me. Still, I tried to keep close to Jacobi, and out of his notice. I finished up my beans and cornbread with my head down, eyes on my bowl.

  "Somethin' wrong?" Jacobi asked quietly. I couldn't answer because there was no privacy to explain. I just shook my head. But he studied me hard, and I knew we'd talk later.

  Mrs. Colbert offered us a piece of cherry pie, and I looked at Jacobi hopefully. He nodded at her and smiled.

  "Much obliged, Mrs. Colbert. I believe that's just what we need to see us on our way."

  "I'll be right back." She laid a friendly hand on my shoulder and gave me a pat before she hurried away. The station was clearing out as many of the men went outside to have a smoke and talk before we continued on. We wouldn't have a chance for a good meal like this until we came back this way again. I was sure gonna take advantage of it. I hadn't ever told Jacobi, but cherry pie was my favorite.