The Whippoorwill Trilogy

by Sharon Sala

  “What is it I’m going to do?” Letty asked, as she carried in the second bucket of water and set it down on the floor near the door.

  Her rapid reappearance startled the men as Eulis automatically cupped his hands over his manly parts and Morris reached for his nose. When she made no move on either of them, they both relaxed.

  However, Morris was embarrassed to be in the same room with a naked man, even if he was a preacher, and the woman who was not his wife. He wasn’t even sure they were brother and sister as they claimed, then decided it was to his benefit not to dwell too deeply on these people’s business. Sister Leticia would be a formidable enemy.

  “Nothing,” Morris said quickly. “Just nothing.”

  Eulis was not so standoffish. “Morris was wonderin’ if he could borrow your soap once you’re done with it,” he said.

  Letty frowned. It was one thing to wash up after Eulis, who she’d known for years, but she didn’t know what she thought about letting a total stranger have at it, too.

  Morris could tell by the look on her face that she wasn’t fond of the idea.

  “It’s all right,” he said. “I didn’t realize it belonged to you and I would never presume to—”

  “You can use it,” Letty said. “Just make sure you don’t leave any hair on it when you’re done.”

  “Oh, thank you, Sister Leticia. I promise I’ll—”

  “Save it,” Letty said. “It’s the least I can do after hurting your poor nose.”

  Morris patted the bandage. “Yes, well, it was an accident, right?”

  “Of course it was an accident,” Eulis said. “She’s a little clumsy, but she’s not outright mean.”

  Letty resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

  “Thank you for the kind words, Brother Howe, and you’re dripping all over the floor.”

  Eulis frowned. “So? We poured water all over it while ago when we were washin’ my hair. A little more can’t hurt.”

  Letty chose to complain instead of admitting he was right.

  “Aren’t you about done there?” she said.

  Eulis dobbed the rag back into the basin.

  “I haven’t washed my dingus yet.”

  Morris froze. He wanted to look at Sister Leticia but was afraid to.

  “Do it and be quick about it,” she said, and then added. “There’s not much of it to wash so it shouldn’t take all that long.”

  “You don’t have need to malign my manly parts,” Eulis muttered.

  “I simply stated the truth,” Letty countered.

  Morris stood abruptly, looking frantically from the preacher to the sister and back again. Neither one of them seemed the least bit bothered by what they were doing, but he couldn’t believe he was hearing this conversation, let alone standing in the room with them.

  “I believe I’d best wait outside,” Morris said.

  “Good idea,” Letty said. “Brother Howe will be joining you once he’s done.”

  “Dang it, Sister, I was planning on taking me a rest. I’m still right sore,” Eulis said.

  “I like to do my washing alone,” Letty said.

  Eulis slapped the rag back into the water and then began sloshing it up and down his spindly legs.

  “I might say the same, but I reckon it wouldn’t do me any good.”

  “All you had to do was say so,” Letty said, picked up her skirts and sauntered out of the barracks as if she was trying to sidestep a pile of shit.

  Morris shifted nervously. The preacher had as good as asked them all to leave, but if he did, that meant he would be on the porch alone with Sister Leticia. He wasn’t sure his body could take any more abuse.

  “I suppose I should give you some privacy, too,” Morris said.

  Eulis nodded.

  Morris sighed.

  “Uh… I’ll just uh… be right outside.”

  He nodded again as he dug the wet rag into one ear and then the other.

  “Let me know if you need anything,” Morris added.

  Eulis didn’t answer and Morris was left with nowhere to go but out.

  Letty was sitting on a bench to the right of the door with her arms folded across her chest; her eyes squinted slightly against the glare of the setting sun.

  Morris closed the door quietly behind him and chose a seat on the bench to the left of the door, fidgeting some with his collar and his coat while keeping a wary eye on the Sister.

  Letty knew he was there, but for the time being she chose to ignore him. Besides, it was hard to look at the man and not laugh. What with his black eyes and the bandage on his nose, he looked a whole lot like a raccoon.

  She leaned against the outer wall of the barracks and closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of the fort, and wondering why Eulis was so spooked, and wondering where they would go from here. Even though it was a bit unsettling not to know where their next meals were coming from, or if they would find a place to set up a preaching session, it was still better than dancing with drunks and sleeping with men for money.

  Morris, on the other hand, couldn’t relax. All he wanted to do was hawk his wares at the Sutler’s store, then catch the next stage heading east. Being self-employed had seemed like a fine thing when he’d started on this trip, but that was two months ago. He wanted to go back to civilization where women still fainted at the sight of a mouse, and tended to their men with unswerving devotion. The women out here were far too hardy and independent to suit him.

  Then he glanced at Sister Leticia. In his estimation, she was a prime example of what a woman should not be. Outwardly, she seemed feminine enough, but there was something else. He frowned. He couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was, but she was different. He didn’t know a woman who would have knowingly gone into a room where a man was bathing, but she had. What was that all about? Even more confusing, who were they? They weren’t like any religious people he’d ever known. But then he looked out onto the parade grounds to the mounted soldiers coming and going and the unseen dangers of the land beyond and decided that nothing was normal out here, including the people.

  At that point, the door between him and Sister Leticia opened. The preacher came out.

  “I’m done, Sister Leticia.”

  Letty got up. “Thank you, Brother Howe.” She glanced at Morris on her way into the barracks. “I won’t be long.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Eulis sat down on the bench that Letty had vacated and then glanced nervously around.

  “How’s your eye feeling?” Morris asked.

  Eulis touched the one swollen shut and then ran a finger along his busted bottom lip.

  “It’s some sore, but I reckon it’ll heal up all right. How about your nose?”

  “Broken.”

  They both thought about their injuries then glanced toward the door. It was all that stood between them and the Sister.

  Even if Eulis was somewhat pissed at her for what he’d endured, he felt obligated to say something in her defense.

  “She’s usually a real gentle soul.”

  Morris’s eyebrows arched perceptibly, at which point he winced.

  “I’m sure,” Morris said, then folded his hands and leaned back. “It’s right hot, isn’t it?”

  Eulis shrugged. “It’s August.”

  “Since this is my first trip out West, I’m assuming your answer means this is normal temperature for this time of year.”

  “Yep.”

  “When does it usually start to cool down?”

  “First frost or first snow, whichever comes first.”

  Morris frowned. This just reinforced his decision to go home. He could always work in Boston. At least there you had warning when the seasons were going to change.

  “I’m going to catch the next stage going east,” Morris said. “What are your plans?”

  Eulis glanced toward the officer’s quarters. “Not sure. Might head up North.”

  “Well, when the doctor was fixing my nose, I heard that someon
e in Dripping Springs was looking for a preacher.”

  Eulis sat up a little straighter. “Dripping Springs? Where is Dripping Springs?”

  “I don’t know. You might ask the Major.”

  That was the last thing Eulis intended to do, but he wasn’t going to talk to Morris about it. Still, the news that he was needed made him feel a bit better. Now all he had to do was get out of Ft. Mays without being hanged.

  He was still trying to come up with a plan when Letty opened the door and came out. She was wearing a modest wrapper and the same slippers he’d seen her wear in her room back at the White Dove Saloon. It wasn’t exactly proper lady-like clothing, but she was all covered up, which was really what mattered if they were to continue their charade.

  “Mr. Morris, I am finished with my bathing. I left enough water in the bucket for you, and the soap is on the table. I trust it will be enough.”

  Morris was so pleased by the normalcy of their conversation that he actually bowed when he stood.

  “I thank you again for sharing your soap. I won’t be long. Then maybe after we’ve bathed, we can go to the mess hall and eat with the soldiers. The doctor said that the stage passengers are always invited.”

  “Good,” Letty said. “I’m hungry.”

  Morris slipped past her, and in his haste to get inside, he stubbed his toe on the threshold and started to fall. On instinct, Letty grabbed him by the back of the coat near the collar and yanked. Morris flew backward, landing on his backside unusually hard, which jolted loose a rather large fart. He groaned.

  “Sister Leticia, I am so—”

  Letty interrupted. “Didn’t mean to grab you so hard, but I was afraid you’d fall and hurt your nose again.”

  Morris was so happy she wasn’t going for her gun that he rolled to his feet. If she was willing to pretend the fart had never happened, Lord only knew he was willing to do the same.

  “Yes. Thank you,” he said, then straightened his coat, raised his chin, and walked into the barracks and closed the door.

  Letty looked at Eulis, then grinned.

  “I got them all buffaloed, don’t I?”

  Eulis frowned. “You don’t need to be so proud about it.”

  Letty shrugged. “If I’d known being proper had this much power, I might have tried it years ago.”

  She sat down beside Eulis and then lowered her voice.

  “Talk to me.”

  Eulis pretended ignorance. “Morris says that a preacher is needed in Dripping Springs.”

  “That’s good,” Letty said. “But that’s not what I’m talking about and you know it.”

  Eulis glanced around then hunched his shoulders.

  “I can’t talk about it.”

  Letty punched his arm.

  “Ow. What’s the matter with you? I fell outa a moving coach, remember?”

  “What’s wrong?”

  Eulis sighed. In all the years he’d known Letty Murphy, he had yet to win an argument from her. But this wasn’t just about an argument. It was about his life.

  “Dang it, Letty, why can’t you let sleepin’ dogs lie?”

  “Who is the sleeping dog? Is it that Major? What’s his name… Banfield?”

  “Canfield,” Eulis said, and then realized that he’d fallen into her trap.

  “You know him, don’t you?” Letty asked.

  “Sssh,” Eulis hissed.

  “Then talk,” Letty whispered.

  “We gotta get out of here,” Eulis said.

  Letty’s heart started to pound. She’d never seen Eulis this upset—not even when Will The Bartender back at the White Dove Saloon had cut him off the whiskey.

  “Tell me why,” she asked.

  “If he recognizes me, I’ll hang.”

  It was the last thing Letty expected Eulis to say.

  “Why? What on earth can he—”

  “I used to ride with Canfield, only he wasn’t a major then. He was a lowly soldier, just like me.”

  “You were a soldier?” Letty asked.

  Eulis slapped a hand over Letty’s mouth.

  “For God’s sake, Letty, not so loud.”

  She leaned forward until their foreheads were almost touching and whispered.

  “Sorry. So why would he want to hang you?”

  Eulis swiped a shaky hand across his face.

  “Cause I’m a deserter. I rode off my post and I didn’t look back.”

  Letty straightened, and then stared at Eulis as if she’d never seen him before. She couldn’t believe that the no-count drunk who’d barely sobered up enough to sweep floors for drinks had any kind of a past like this.

  “You’re kidding.”

  “I wish,” Eulis said.

  “Lord have mercy,” Letty muttered.

  “I hope He has more than that for me,” Eulis said. “If not, I’m a goner.”

  Letty frowned, then got up and started to pace. “Shut up, Eulis. That’s loser talk.”

  Eulis snorted, then groaned when the act caused him pain.

  “That’s because I am a loser,” he mumbled.

  Letty grabbed him by the shirt sleeve and pushed him against the wall.

  “You are not a loser! You are a preacher. You have married people, and buried people, and baptized a kid with no name. You said words over a killer in Dodge City before they hanged him for murder. Loser’s don’t do good. They do nothing at all.”

  “Fine then,” Eulis argued. “I’m not a loser, just a liar.”

  Letty drew back her hand and slapped him square on the face.

  He grabbed his face and then groaned.

  “Damn it, Letty, you don’t have call to do that. I’m already hurt.”

  “Do you want to be dead?”

  Eulis gawked. “Well, hell no.”

  “Then shut up whining and help me figure out what we’re gonna do.”

  Eulis drew back, looking at Letty with new respect.

  “You aren’t pissed off?”

  She sat down with a thump and put her hand on Eulis’s knee.

  “Isn’t there some story in that Bible of yours that says something about having to be all pure and everything before throwing rocks?”

  “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

  Letty’s eyes widened. She eyed Eulis with new respect.

  “That’s good, Eulis! Real good.”

  Eulis grinned. “I been practicin’ up on my scriptures.”

  “Then there might be hope for us yet,” she said.

  “What are we gonna do?”

  “Go to supper.”

  “But what about—”

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Well, yes, but—”

  “Eulis… how long ago was it when you were a soldier?”

  “I don’t know… maybe seventeen… eighteen years ago.”

  “And what did you look like?”

  He almost laughed. “I was the skinniest fella you ever saw. And I had hair… lots of—” All of a sudden, he started to grin. “I get it. So maybe it’s a good thing I tried to drown myself in drink.”

  “It sure did a job on your face,” Letty said, then rubbed a hand through his short, shaggy gray hair. “And you’re hair’s a different color and some thinner. Somewhere down the road you solved the problem of losing your pants with that pot belly you’ve got now. Add to that the fact that your face is all red and skinned up and your eye is swelled shut. Your own mother wouldn’t recognize you and we both know it.”

  “You’re right,” Eulis muttered, then slapped his hands on his knees. “And you’re right about something else.”

  “What’s that?” Letty asked.

  “I’m hungry… real hungry.”

  She grinned. “Then as soon as old Morris gets himself cleaned up, I’ll get dressed, and we’ll all go have us some supper.”

  “Then find out how to get to Dripping Springs.”

  “Right,” Letty said. “Dripping Springs, here we come.”

  If Eulis ha
dn’t been so stiff and sore, he would have done a little jig. As it was, he settled for rubbing his hands together in a gleeful manner.

  “But first we eat.”

  Lead A Horse To Water But Can’t Make It Drink

  It wasn’t until their third day at Ft. Mays that Letty and Eulis were able to leave, and when the time came, they readily packed their things, mounted up, and rode out of the fort. Eulis was happy to put the fort, his past, and Major Canfield behind him, even though their mounts left something to be desired.

  It was a hot, windy day as they paused on a hill overlooking the fort and looked back. The stagecoach on which Morris Field had been waiting was just pulling out of the fort. Boston Jones, the gambler with whom they’d been traveling had bought a horse and moved on after their first night at the fort. Letty had heard rumors that Boston had gotten into a card game with some of the soldiers and won big. There were also rumors that the game hadn’t been fair, which figured since he carried a marked deck. She figured it had been in Boston’s best interests to get out while the getting was good. Personally, she was glad to be rid of the lot.

  Her horse nickered. Eulis’s mount answered back with a bray, which was a large part of their problem. They hadn’t had the money to buy good mounts and had to settle for a horse and a mule. The horse was old and mostly blind. The mule was big and broad and stayed in a pissed off mood, but the pair were oddly compatible, somewhat like Eulis and Letty.

  The hostler who’d sold them the mounts had given them only one instruction. Aim the mule where you wanted to go and the horse would follow. Therefore, Eulis was on the mule. Letty was on the horse. It wasn’t the most ideal of arrangements, but Letty and the mule had struck sparks off one another from the start. The mule didn’t like her any more than she liked it, which left Eulis no choice as to what he would ride. If they wanted to get to Dripping Springs, he would be riding point, with Letty following along behind—in the dust—on a blind horse being led by the smell of a mule’s ass.

  To Eulis, their situation was somewhat comical and he would have enjoyed a good laugh, but judging from the expression on Letty’s face, it would not have been a good move. This momentary setback might be uncomfortable, but it wouldn’t kill either one of them. The town of Dripping Springs was supposedly only a day and night’s ride away. Without misfortune, they should arrive at their destination before noon tomorrow. Surely they could endure their discomforts for one night.