The Texican Way

by Bernard Veale

  “We do not have any side saddles here, Jonas. How is Miss Arabella going to ride?”

  “De tackroom by de stables is fine sah. De Federals done take all de hosses but dey ain’t take none o’ de saddlery. Miz Arabella’s side saddle and bridle is all theah.”

  Daniel saddled the black and choose the best-looking of the remaining horses for Arabella. It was a bay with white socks and a distinctive lightning flash on its forehead.

  He rode to the stables with Jonas riding bareback on the bay. Jonas quickly saddled the bay and led it over to the mansion where Ophelia, one of the two black maids, went in to notify Arabella that Massah Beauregard was a-waiting out front.

  Arabella came out in a brand new brown riding habit. She looked exceptionally attractive and she knew it.

  “Why good mawnin’ to you Corporal Beauregard. I trust that you slept well last night?”

  “I most surely did, Miz Fairfield and I hope that you did likewise.”

  He assisted her into the saddle and then mounted the black. It was beginning to dawn upon him that the main reason for this morning’s outing was that she wished to show-off her new riding habit.

  Having ridden out into the plantation many times in her life, Arabella knew the riding paths well and she led the way.

  “This is surely a nice little pony you have brought for me, sir. I think I shall call him Flash. What is the name of your fine animal?”

  “Ma’am, I have not given him a name. I simply call him ‘the black’.”

  “But surely you must give him a name! He is your closest companion and you rely on him to carry you away from trouble. Come now, sir, give him a name.”

  To please her, he said. “Well he has that star on his forehead and if you will call your mount ‘Flash’ I might as well call mine ‘Star’.”

  She clapped her hands. “Excellent! Star it is! See that was not such a labor, now was it?”

  “Indeed no, ma’am. It was not.” He assured her.

  “Ah, come now Daniel, I thought that we were friends after our evening together last night. Let us do away with this ‘ma’am and ‘corporal’ nonsense. You must call me Arabella.”

  “It will be my pleasure, ma’.... er, I mean Arabella.”

  “There! Now that is so much better. Now tell me about yourself, Daniel, where are you from?”

  “Texas, ma’am, I am from Texas.”

  “Arabella, not ma’am! You do not sound to be Texan so where in Texas do you live?”

  “All over Arabella; my father was a gambler and we moved often but I was born in El Paso where we are called Texicans not Texans because our neighbors are called Mexicans, although we are all Texans. I know it sounds to be complicated but it works for us.”

  “You could not have learned to speak such good English in El Paso, Daniel, or was your mother English?”

  “Yes, my mother was from England and I learned English at her knee and Spanish at the knee of Maria my mother’s maid. I was sent to school in Boston for a couple of years and did a year at Harrow in England but for a great deal of my childhood I roamed freely through the Southern states as my father moved around. After he died, I cared for my mother as we lived off what little he had left us. After her death, I was on my own.”

  “Ah. So you own nothing? No land, homes or inheritance?”

  “Whatever we had has been swallowed up by this war. All I own is my horse, my saddle, my rifle, my pistol and my army savings.”

  “Your army savings? That cannot be very much.”

  “A good deal of it is in Confederate bills.” He admitted but he said nothing about the gold sovereigns.

  “You know Daniel that I am my father’s sole heir and his will nominates me as his sole beneficiary. I own the plantation and also a forty five percent share in an armaments factory in Connecticut which brings in a remarkable amount of money each year. My marital prospects are excellent.”

  “Arabella, even without those valuable assets, I am certain that your prospects for marriage are a good deal better than excellent. When the war is over you will be flooded with suitors. Only the fact that all eligible men are fighting the war keeps them away.”

  “Do you really think so, Daniel? No one seems to have paid much attention to me up to now.”

  “I cannot conceive that Arabella. Why, you could easily outshine any young lady that I have met so far.”

  “I really do not look for a long string of admirers, Daniel. I have only one person in mind.”

  “Oh? Ah yes, then I would hazard that it is the Captain. He certainly is a fine figure of a man but I fear that he is hardly possessed of much more than am I.”

  Arabella displayed a flash of annoyance and she slapped her quirt on her horse’s ribs and cantered ahead. Daniel assumed that she was piqued because he had guessed her secret so easily. He trailed after her at Star’s very fast walking pace and after thirty minutes or so she eventually slowed down enough for him to draw alongside her.

  “Daniel, for a man that can memorize the order of a hundred and eight cards in fifteen seconds, you can be remarkably obtuse. Why in heaven’s name would you believe that I am interested in an old man like Captain Quantrill?”

  “Old man? Arabella he is in his mid twenties and why would I believe that you are interested in him; because you invited him to dinner last night!”

  “Did you not notice that I also invited you?”

  “Well yes of course, I understood that. You clearly needed someone else there to avoid appearing too forward. As I had a closer acquaintance with you than any other Raider, you obviously chose me for that purpose.”

  She cantered ahead of him again. What on earth had he said to upset her again?

  This time he cantered up beside her.

  “Arabella, have I offended you? If so, it was quite unintentional I assure you. I did not take offence when you called me obtuse although I cannot imagine your reason for doing so. I thought that last night we established a friendship and friends should not take offence at any ambiguous remark made in good faith. If I have offended you please tell me outright what it is that I have done.”

  “You men are all the same! You are just like my father. You are superbly intelligent and yet you cannot see what is under your very noses. I did not invite you to avoid appearing too forward with Captain Quantrill. I invited Captain Quantrill to avoid appearing too forward with you. Now do you understand?”

  “Why would you expect to appear forward to me? Friends do not regard one another as forward when they want to spend time with one another. When you sent to ask me to take you riding today, I did not regard that as forward. A lady needs an escort in these dangerous days and I would expect of you to call on my assistance.”

  She sighed and shook her head.

  “Perhaps in time you will come to understand, just as my father always did at length.”

  They rode on in silence for some while and as they were reaching the boundary of the Fairfield estate, Arabella began to rein her horse in just as a Federal cavalry officer came racing around the bend at full gallop and narrowly missed barging into her.

  He wrenched his horse around and skidding to a halt in a cloud of dust which showered itself down on Arabella and Daniel.

  “Oh my dear lady, I beg you to forgive me. I thought to be alone on this path. The horse is a new remount and is yet rather unruly.”

  “Sir, this is private property and you are a trespasser.” Arabella said angrily as she dusted herself down.

  “Ma’am, I confess my offence and abjectly beg you to forgive me. I thought that such a path well off the road would be the ideal place to bring the colt to obedience.”

  He was a handsome young fellow and already a captain. In normal circumstances Arabella would have forgiven him readily but he was wearing the dark blue uniform
which she abhorred so she was not inclined to relent.

  “If you are truly apologetic you may demonstrate your repentance by removing yourself from this property as quickly as possible.” She said icily.

  “Allow me to present you with my card, ma’am and I shall immediately withdraw.”

  He held out the card and since Arabella was not about to take it, Daniel rode forward and received it.

  The Federal officer turned his mount and withdrew with as much dignity as he could muster.

  Daniel held up the card and read it out.

  “It says that his name is Captain William J Hamilton the third. That sounds like there is money behind him.”

  “I do not care if he is Abraham Lincoln’s son. I do not want Federals on my property.”

  “You might have to get used to that Arabella. This whole area is under their control.”

  They rode back to the mansion talking on anything that occurred to them. Arabella told Daniel how her mother had died at sea when her ship went down on her way home after an extended European visit.

  “I was only four years old when she left me with my father and my black child-nurse and went to Europe for what she called ‘the season’. When I was older, I overheard my father telling a friend that she had a lover in Europe and that she was returning to America merely to obtain a divorce and a financial settlement. I have only the vaguest memory of her so I have never really missed her. My father never remarried. He said ‘once bitten twice shy’.”

  Arabella invited Daniel in for another cup of her stale but genuine coffee and he accepted the invitation eagerly.

  They were enjoying a second cup when Ophelia hurried in and curtseyed.

  “Ma’am, dey’s a troop o’ Federals outside and de captain he say he like to talk wid you.”

  Daniel rose but Arabella laid a hand on his shoulder.

  “Better that you stay here Daniel. They are bound to want to know who you are, so stay out of sight.”

  She climbed the cellar stairs and walked around to the front of the burnt-out building. The officer of the Federals was Captain William J Hamilton the third.

  “Good day to you again, Miss Fairfield. You may recall that we met earlier today. I am here to warn you that there is a band of rebel raiders that have been seen in this area. They held up the army pay-wagon. They are extremely dangerous. I thought that you ought to know.”

  “What are they likely to do to us that the Union soldiers have not already done?” She asked bitterly gesturing to the burnt-out hulk of the mansion.

  “Ma’am, if Union soldiers were responsible for this, I am sure that you will be able to claim compensation for it after the war. You have my sincere apologies.”

  “Captain you spend a lot of time apologizing. How do expect that the government will compensate me for the killing of my father?”

  “Ma’am, I do not know but I am sorry for your loss. If there is any way that I can make amends to you, you have only to call for me and I shall come.”

  She made no response to him so he wheeled his horse about and gave the order for the troop to move away.

  Daniel had listened to the whole exchange through a small window from the cellar on that side of the house.

  “I think that he likes you and wants to be invited to come calling.” Daniel said to Arabella when she returned.

  “I do not want any Union soldiers on my property.” She said doggedly.

  “It may not be a bad idea to be under the protection of a Federal captain, Arabella. It could keep them from doing a search if they believed you to be a Union sympathizer.”

  “Should the man have any sensitivity whatsoever, he will know that he is not wanted here and he will stay away in future.”

  “I have a feeling that you are mistaken.” Daniel said as he prepared to take the horses back to the canyon.

  Chapter Seven

  After dark Quantrill and his men came into the canyon flushed with success.

  “We got away with the contents of a Federal army pay-wagon!” The captain crowed as he handed his horse over to Pierre Chamont.

  “Well, at least we will not be short of Yankee dollars from now on.” Daniel commented.

  “Daniel, I want you to count the money. You’re the only one that I trust not to take any. Every last penny of this money has to be delivered to Confederate headquarters in Texas to further the war effort. Choose your men: you can take two; because you will personally make the delivery.”

  Daniel spent the whole evening counting the money. There was over fifteen thousand dollars with almost two thousand dollars in coins.

  “Captain, the coins are too heavy and bulky.” Daniel complained. “May we not leave them here to use for supplies? There will be over thirteen thousand in notes to deliver to headquarters.”

  “No sirree! Every last coin has to go to headquarters. I will not have it said that we did this robbery to enrich ourselves.”

  “I will have to take two packhorses, sir, one for provisions and the other to carry the money.”

  “That’s fine Daniel but I want you to spread the money over all the horses just in case something happens and you lose a horse. I would not want it to be the one horse carrying all the money.”

  Daniel chose Pierre Chamont and Jake Smith to accompany him. He left them to pack the provisions onto the two packhorses while he rode over to the mansion to see Arabella.

  She appeared delighted to see him.

  “Arabella, the captain is sending me south into Texas. Depending on the disposition of Federal troops, I could be away a couple of weeks. Do you have any wrapping paper or cloth that I can use to wrap a cargo that I must deliver to the headquarters?”

  “Daniel, wrapping paper and cloth all went up in smoke with the house but I call to mind some rolls of wallpaper that were left over from decorating the living and dining rooms. They would be stored down at the stables in the storeroom there.”

  She led him down to the storeroom and handed over the wallpaper. It was sturdy stuff and very near to waterproof.

  “This should do the job well, Arabella. Thank you for your help. I’ll see you in about two weeks, God willing.”

  “Hold on there mister!” She said with determination. “If you are going away for two weeks with the possibility of never returning, the very least you can do is kiss me farewell.”

  Daniel was surprised by the request but he was nothing loath, so he kissed her soundly and had to tear himself out of her arms.

  “I’ll be back, Arabella. You can count on it.” He told her as he mounted Star.

  He carried the wallpaper back to the canyon and set about making tight parcels of all the banknotes and individually wrapping rolls of coins so that they did not rattle or jingle in the horse-packs. He then personally placed equally-valued packs on all of the five horses to be used for the trip.

  “I’m done, captain.” Daniel reported to Quantrill before leaving.

  “Here, Daniel this is my report for whatever general you encounter. You will see that I have not addressed it since I do not know who will be in charge. Also, if you are captured, I want you to destroy the letter before the Yankees get a chance to read it. It would make excellent evidence against me in a Yankee court.”

  “I will make sure of that Captain. You may count on me.”

  “I do, Daniel, that is why I am sending you.”

  Daniel rode out that evening since they would be doing most of their traveling at night and sleeping in the daytime. Against Pierre’s suggestion, Daniel had taken a large quantity of jerky for those times when a campfire would not be advisable.

  They traveled along the ridges always with one man out front checking the lie of the land and watching out for hostiles.

  By morning they had covered twenty miles and then they found
a sheltered spot where they could eat and sleep. Daniel always insisted on one of them standing guard while the other two slept for four hours at a time. After sunset they began to travel again and on that night they covered thirty miles.

  “We need to be more careful, men. Thirty miles is too much: it means that we are not advancing with due caution.”

  Daniel made sure that they collected only the driest of firewood before he would permit a fire. Once the fire was going, Pierre began his kitchen magic and Jake sat on a highpoint watching in all directions.

  Pierre had just produced the meal when Jake called down.

  “Boss, I c’n see what looks to be a Federal cavalry troop comin’ from where we just bin.”

  Daniel climbed up the ridge and took the telescope from Jake.

  “Looks like they’ve got an Indian tracker there; we had better eat and move. The map shows a river a few miles ahead. Let us see if we can use that to lose the tracker.”

  Pierre was highly irate that they had to gulp down his masterpiece and move on without even taking a nap.

  “Daytime is when we sleep, no? Why zen must we move on?”

  “Pierre, we do not wish to be taken by the Federals. They will make camp at the end of the day and if we have not lost them by then we will sleep, okay?”

  “Ah, I should ‘ave stayed in New Orleans where food is good, sleep is easy and so are zee women.”

  He grumbled but he moved quickly to gather his implements while Jake dismantled the fire and scattered leaves over the site.

  They traveled hard because in the daylight when one could see where one was going, it was easier to cover a lot of ground.

  The river was not entirely suitable for losing the tracker. It cut across their line of travel and whether they moved upstream or downstream they would still lose ground if they used it. Daniel decided to try and fake it. He erased their prints going into the river and erased their print coming out of the river but he still pressed on straight ahead. He hoped that the tracker would waste time looking up and down the river for their exit point. As it happened, the Major in charge of the troop, decided to camp at the river and the Indian tracker was apparently able to pick up their tracks at leisure before the pursuit continued on the following morning.