Revenge Requires Two Graves

by George Emery Townsend

  Chapter 23

  Meeting the Sisters

  The next morning, the wagons were finally leaving Ft. Laramie and heading out towards a place called Independence Rock. Ray rode out ahead of the train with Quincy and John. His chest was wrapped tight in bandages but his ribs still felt like they were going to poke through his sides.

  Ray wasn’t long on the trail before he began to notice some of the pilgrims up ahead of their train had tossed items from their wagons out along the trail. Confused by the obvious loss of valuable items he asked Quincy what the hell they were doing. But before he finished his question he was shocked by the sound of the death throes of a piano playing out as it hit the trail.

  Quincy looked at Ray with a sad face, “I’ll admit that this is the portion of trail that I think bothers me the most. No one explained well enough to these travelers that the only real value is a light load. If you kill off your mules or oxen tryin’ to pull a damn piano over the Sierras, you’re likely to end up dead yourself. You see boys; at first when they hit the trail all seems fine. But as they head for the great divide there is a gradual rise all the way to the mountains. It takes a toll on their animals. Then when they see the mountains for themselves, they understand what the ones goin’ before them were talkin’ about. Their fear overrides their poor judgment, in what they packed. It’s one of the few times in life when fear will save your life.”

  Ray’s neck was getting sore from trying to look back at the wagons as each seemed to get the idea or approval from the one ahead that it was time to lessen their burdens. Everything that wasn’t a necessity had to go. Most had hoped to sell these items in Ft. Laramie but few could, as there just wasn’t a need for them.

  “Okay boys, head on out. I’ll stay with the front of the wagons. You get into trouble fire three shots into the air. I’ll come a runnin’ with half the men from the train. Now you watch yourselves. The Sioux are not what you might call friendly. If you see one, don’t stick around,” instructed Quincy.

  “Yes sir!” Ray yelled as he and John trotted off down the trail.

  “So this is what you’ve been doin’, while Larry and I’ve been eatin’ dust back there in that remuda,” teased John.

  “Oh yeah, it’s been nothin’ but fun from the very beginning,” Ray said. “Come on, let’s get some distance between us and the wagons. We need to find some water and see if the wagons up ahead left any game. Folks back there sure would like some fresh meat.”

  At a fast trot they were covering ground, narrowing the gap on the wagon train that had left a day before them. Ray didn’t want to reach the other wagons, only to get close and then hunt their way back. They rode up over a small hill and in the valley below sat a wagon with a busted wheel. A wooden trunk was set in the shade of a nearby tree where two women sat talking. The scene was surreal. These women sat on the trunk in the middle of the prairie and acted as if they could be sitting in New York City on a park bench. One of the ladies looked to be very thin and tall, wearing a black dress with a matching bonnet. The woman sitting next to her was just the opposite; she appeared to be short and very over weight, dressed similarly in black dress and black bonnet.

  Ray stopped John from riding down the hill so as to give them an opportunity to check the area more thoroughly. Not seeing any danger, and seemingly quite clear of hiding places, Ray gestured to John for them to ride on down.

  Slowly they approached, “Hello the wagon!” Ray called out. “We’re friendly.”

  “Ride on in gentlemen, we’ve been expecting you,” said the shorter woman.

  As Ray dismounted he couldn’t help but ask, “Ladies, you’re not alone out here, are you? I mean you do know you’re sittin’ in Sioux country? You must have some kind of an escort?”

  “No son, we’re not alone,” smiled one of the ladies.

  Concerned they may have ridden into a trap Ray quickly grabbed for the butt of his gun and looked a full circle around the area.

  “I don’t see anyone else ladies, who the hell are you talkin’ about?”

  “Oh my,” said the thin lady to his use of the word hell. “Why the good Lord, that‘s who’s with us. When you have the Lord riding with you, you have a whole army to defend you. You see our wagon wheel broke. The fine people of the train ahead said that your wagon train would be more fitting for us, seeing as you are all God fearing pilgrims. Just like us, wanting to build God’s church in the West. Isn’t it wonderful?” smiled the short lady as she stood up onto her stumpy legs and raised her arms to the sky.

  “You mean to tell me that the wagon train ahead of us just left you two sitting here?” asked John.

  “Well they can’t just leave you here and your wagon train knew it. Did you ladies do anything to rub those folks the wrong way? I can’t believe they would just leave you for no reason.”

  The stumpy lady bristled, her chins trembling in indignation. “Rub them the wrong way? Why I should say not. We spent every waking hour spreading the word to each family. Why we had already visited most the wagons. What would you say sis, twenty, thirty times?” asked the short lady.

  “Well I can’t say twenty or thirty as I wasn’t counting how many wagons we had blessed. But if I was counting I would say twenty-three times,” said the tall lady without wavering.

  “Ray,” said John waving him over then turning his back so the ladies wouldn’t hear, “I think we’ve been stuck with a couple real Bible thumpers. No wonder they got left. I don’t have anything against the Good Lord or the Bible but I do hate havin’ it crammed down my throat,” whispered John.

  “I’m afraid you’re right. The wagon boss ain’t going to be too happy about this,” Ray said as he turned back to the ladies. “Do you have a spare wheel, ladies?”

  “Why yes we do, it just so happens one of the wagons from the train ahead threw one out to us as they drove by,” explained the short lady.

  “Weren’t they a real blessing Florence?” said the tall Lady.

  “Yes they were Sis,” smiled the short lady.

  “Ladies, all they were doin’ was easin’ their conscience by leavin’ you a wheel instead of helpin’ you put it on,” said John in frustration.

  “Oh dear me young fella, you have it all wrong. The good Lord must have felt we had done our work for that wagon train and left us here to start our work all over again with your train,” smiled Sis, the tall lady.

  John looked at Ray with dread, “what do we do Ray?”

  “Well, I guess we can’t shoot them,” smiled Ray, “so I guess all we can do is to see if we can get that wheel changed before the train reaches us so that these good ladies don’t slow us down.”

  “I was afraid you’d say that. Okay lead onward Christian Soldier!” John began to sing.

  Luck was with them as they found a good solid piece of wood to use as a lever and raised the back of the wagon up. They didn’t need to empty the wagon before hand as the Ladies were hauling very little. They just smiled when asked about the near empty wagon, replying that the good Lord would provide all their needs. Unfortunately it wasn’t always the good Lord who had to provide for people like this, but other travelers who were already short on supplies. While Florence and Ray leaned over the end of the pole, John wedged the new wagon wheel onto the axle. With plenty of grease added from the bucket hanging near the wheel, the pin was driven into the axle, securing the wheel in place. The ladies walked over to the shade and grabbed the trunk they’d been sitting and began to carry it towards the back of their wagon.

  “Ladies, you might just as well leave that there and take a seat. Our wagon train is a good half-day back and once they reach this spot we’ll be makin’ camp. There’s good water over there and the only shade tree for miles,” Ray observed.

  “Well if you say so young man. And I do declare, where are our manners? This is my sister Florence,” said the tall thin lady, “and you can call me Sis.”

  “Well it’s very nice to meet you ladies. I’m Ray and this her
e is John, one of my partners.”

  “Well how lovely. Are both of you boys baptized in the church?” asked Sis, a benign, sickly sweet smile on her lips.

  The boys both quickly answered "yes ma'am" as they knew what might happen if they didn’t. The ladies almost appeared disappointed that they had no one to try and convert until the wagons arrived.

  That night, with all the wagons circled around for protection, Florence and Sis went about saving as many souls as they could. John and Ray got dirty looks from everyone they passed. All they could say was that there wasn’t anything they could do. But their excuses didn’t make the ugly looks any less ugly.