by Sharon Sala
Letty was already swinging the bullwhip again when George lit for the door. She was right behind him, running as she went.
Just as he was about to jump from the sidewalk, the bullwhip snaked around his ankles. Letty gave it a jerk and he went down like a felled ox. Dirt went up his nose and in his mouth. He tasted blood at the same time an intense wave of intense pain shot through his head. He’d bitten into his tongue so hard that the end had come off. He rolled over on his back and unwound himself from the bullwhip, spitting blood as he went.
“You’re crazy!” he bawled. “Somebody stop her. She’s crazy!”
People in the buildings heard the ruckus and began spilling out onto the sidewalks and into the streets. They didn’t know George, but it didn’t take long for them to recognize Letty. Everyone knew the woman in men’s pants who’d struck gold.
Letty was past rational thinking as she drew back the bullwhip, cracking it time after time onto George’s back, and his legs, and his face.
George Mellin was lying in the middle of the street, rolled up as small as he could get with his arms over his head, screaming and begging for someone to make her stop.
Someone yelled at her. She didn’t know it was the sheriff, and at the time, wouldn’t have cared. Every time she drew back the whip, she taunted him with a dare.
“What’s the matter, George? You like to hit women. Why don’t you get up out of the dirt and take a swing at me like you did your wife?”
Suddenly, the onlookers got a sense of Letty’s justice.
She swung the whip in the air. It cracked against the back of George’s neck like the echo of a rifle shot down in a canyon.
“Come on, you sorry sack of shit! You wife is broken in so many pieces she can’t stand up any more, and you went and starved your baby to death. She’s dead, George! Do you hear me? She’s dead!”
Letty didn’t hear the collective gasp from the crowd, or see the disgust spreading across the onlookers’ faces.
Take a swing at me, you sorry bastard. I’m not like Alice. I’ll fight you back.”
She popped the whip again. It ripped the back of George’s jacket, through the shirt, and all the way to the flesh on his back.
George bucked like he’d been shot as he rolled, trying desperately to get out of her way. Every time he tried to get to his feet, she yanked them out from under him again. Just when he was convinced that he was going to die, he heard the sounds of running horses, and then a man shouting Letty’s name.
Eulis was deep in the mine shaft when Henry Smith had reached the mine. Robert Lee was on duty. His first instinct had been to reach for his gun when the man had ridden up, then Henry had shouted.
“Get Eulis! Letty’s got trouble.”
Robert Lee turned on his heels and ran into the mine, shouting Eulis’ name.
Eulis was loading ore into the mine cars when he heard Robert Lee.
“Here! I’m here!” he called back, and leaned his pick against the wall. “Mose, take over here for a minute until I see what’s up.”
He lifted a lantern from a peg in the wall and started walking back toward the entrance. Even though he’d heard concern in Robert Lee’s voice, he had not connected it with the possibility that Letty was in trouble.
He rounded a bend in the shaft about a hundred yards from the entrance and ran into Robert Lee.
“Whoa, there,” Eulis said. “What’s so all fired important?”
“Henry Smith came riding in from town. He said Letty’s in trouble.”
Eulis felt the ground go out from under him.
“Letty?”
“Henry said she’s in trouble,” Robert Lee repeated.
Eulis pushed past Robert Lee and started running. He heard the footsteps behind him, but didn’t stop to wait. Moments later, he burst out into the open. Henry had saddled Eulis’ horse and was waiting by the mine, holding the horse’s reins. T-Bone was waiting, too; tongue hanging and ready to go wherever Eulis went.
“What happened to her?” Eulis cried, as he swung up in the saddle.
“I don’t know what all happened, but when I saw her, she was carrying a baby and helping a woman down the street. I reckon they were on the way to the Doc’s house.”
He immediately thought of the woman and the baby who’d been crying in the room next to theirs.
“Oh lord,” he muttered.
“I’m coming with you,” Robert Lee said, as he mounted his own horse.
Henry took off his hat and shoved a hand through his hair, as if uncertain of what else to say.
“Hey, Eulis… about that woman who Letty was helping…”
“What about her?” Eulis asked.
“She looked near beat to death.”
Eulis paled.
“You said she was on her way to Doc’s house?”
“Looked like it,” Henry said.
Eulis spurred his horse and took off across the valley at a gallop with Robert Lee and the dog right behind.
There had been a warm, steady wind blowing all day, whipping through the new growth of ankle-high prairie grass and rustling through the trees, but Eulis didn’t hear it. He didn’t hear anything but the hard, steady gallop of his horse’s hooves, and the bone-jarring sound of his own heartbeat thundering in his ears.
Each leg of the trip that he made into town was marked by a different thing. From the mine as they rode into town, it was a large boulder in the shape of a man’s bowler hat—the lightning-struck tree that had been split into three pieces but continued to grow—then the twin pines at the crest of the road, before it began to slant downward toward the city below. It was three miles from Denver City to the Potter mine, and it was the fastest trip he’d ever made.
As he rode into town, he saw a huge crowd gathered at the far end of the street. From the corner of his eye, he saw the sheriff come running out of his office as he went riding past. Then, only a few yards from the edge of the crowd, he saw her.
It was his Letty. But he’d never seen her this way. Her face was streaked with tears and dust—her features contorted with rage. It was the bullwhip in her hand, and the bloody man on the ground at her feet that sent him flying off his horse. He went running through the crowd, shouting her name. Robert Lee had dismounted, and was right behind with his hand on his gun. The dog saw Letty, and lunged at the man on the ground.
One minute Letty was pulling back her arm for another blow and the next thing she knew the whip was yanked from her hand. She reacted like an animal, spinning around in a crouched position, readying herself for a fight.
Then she saw Eulis. His lips were moving, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying. There was nothing in her head but the hammer of blood pounding through her veins, and the memory of a baby’s last cry.
Eulis could tell something awful had happened. He tossed the bullwhip into the dirt and then wrapped her in his arms.
“Letty, darlin’, it’s me, it’s me. Let it go, girl, let it go. Whatever he did, let it go.”
Letty froze. The voice in her ear was familiar, as was the feel of the arms holding her close.
“Can you hear me, honey? It’s okay now. It’s okay.”
Letty shuddered. Eulis. Was he truly here?
“Eulis?”
Her voice was so soft that at first Eulis imagined she’d spoken, and then he felt her trembling and looked down at her face.
“It’s me, Letty. It’s me.”
She swayed where she stood, and if he hadn’t been holding her, she would have dropped.
“What happened here?” the sheriff yelled, as he ran onto the scene. Then he saw the bloody and beaten man on the ground and turned on Letty. “Did you do this?” he growled.
T-Bone growled.
Robert Lee stepped between Letty and the sheriff without saying a word.
The sheriff had heard about Potter hiring a gunslinger at the mine and took a quick step back.
“Now see here,” he said. “I’ve got to do my duty. Step back, miste
r. Step back now or I reckon I might have to arrest you for obstruction of justice.”
Robert Lee grinned, but he didn’t move.
Letty turned to face the sheriff, and gathered what was left of her wits.
“It’s all right, Robert Lee,” she said, and then pointed at the man on the ground. “Is he dead?”
George was rolled into a bloody ball, whimpering like a dog.
Robert Lee glanced down.
“No, ma’am.”
“Damn,” Letty muttered, and kicked the bullwhip. “I should have used a gun.”
Robert Lee stifled a grin.
The sheriff was speechless.
It was Eulis who asked the first question.
“Letty… what happened?”
“He beat his wife up real bad. I got her and the baby to Doc Angus’s house, but she’s all broken up inside.” Then her voice shook, but her gaze never wavered. “The baby’s dead. He let it starve to death.”
The onlookers began to murmur among themselves as shock spread through the crowd. Suddenly, Letty Potter’s behavior began to make sense.
“See here, Miz Potter, you can’t take the law into your own hands like this,” the sheriff muttered.
“He came at me. I stopped him,” Letty said.
The hotel clerk stepped out of the crowd.
“It’s true, sheriff. He knocked me down first, and he was challenging Mrs. Potter as I ran out the door to get you.”
The sheriff mumbled something beneath his breath, and then spit in the dirt.
“All right then,” he said, and motioned toward some men in the crowd. “You two. Help me carry him to the jail. I’ll have the Doc come take a look at him.”
Letty felt as if all the bones in her body were melting. As she turned, she stumbled over the bullwhip, then stopped and picked it up, rolled it neatly back into a loop, and looked around at the crowd for the freighter.
“Thanks for the loan of your whip,” she said, and thrust it into his hands.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said softly, and walked away.
Eulis put his arm around Letty. She leaned against him for a moment until she realized there was a crowd of people watching her every move, and stood straighter, not wanting them to see her weak.
She glanced at Eulis first, and then at Robert Lee and sighed.
“I don’t think I’m made out to be a lady. I made quite a spectacle out of myself, didn’t I?”
Eulis patted her on the shoulder, and then put his arm around her waist.
“Now girl, they’re just admiring your spunk. Besides, when have you ever cared what people thought about you?”
Letty stifled a grin.
“Never, I guess.”
“Okay then,” Eulis said.
Robert Lee cleared his throat as he holstered his gun.
“If you’ll pardon my language, Miz Letty, you’re one hell of a woman. You did yourself proud.” Then he looked a bit taken aback, and cleared his throat once more. “I’ll just go get our horses,” he told Eulis, and disappeared into the crowd.
Eulis put a hand beneath her elbow and began walking her back to the hotel with their dog at his heels.
“Are you mad at me,” Letty asked.
Eulis shook his head.
“Ain’t no way I’ll ever be mad at you. I was, however, scared half out of my mind thinkin’ you was hurt.”
Letty looked startled. She’d been so caught up in her own fury that she hadn’t thought of how her message might have sounded.
“I’m sorry, Eulis.”
Eulis patted her shoulder.
“No apology needed. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
Doctor
Four little girls were playing in the alley between the general store and the assayer’s office, as Letty passed by. Two were turning a long piece of rope, while the other two were taking turns jumping in. They were chanting a little rhyme as they played, and when one of them stumbled and stopped the rope, the others would squeal out in childish glee.
She paused on the sidewalk to listen. T-Bone had been trotting ahead, but when he realized she was no longer behind him, he ran back and sat down at her feet.
“Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief. Doctor, lawyer, merchant, chief. One of them will make you tarry. Which one of these men will you marry?”
Then they would repeat it over and over until someone tripped. Whatever man they stopped at, was supposedly the man they would marry.
Letty shook her head in wonder at their innocence. By the time she was their age, she’d been orphaned and well on her way to permanent employment at the White Dove Saloon.
It made her sad, thinking about what a rude awakening they were going to get when they grew up. Likely as not they’d all wind up married to some hard-scrabble farmer or cowboy, or end up in the same boat Letty had been in. Life in this country wasn’t easy for anyone, but for a woman, it was quite often brutal and brief.
Case in point, Alice Mellin.
Letty had just come from Dr. Warren’s house. Alice was going to live, but would most likely never be able to have children again. The poor woman was distraught by the news. Letty felt sorry for her, but there was nothing more she could do.
Angus Warren had tended to George’s wounds and dog bites in the sheriff’s office, and then watched in silent satisfaction as the man was put behind bars. As a doctor, he’d taken an oath to do no harm, but for the first time in his life, he could have willingly put an end to George’s life without losing a second of sleep.
Letty was of the same opinion, but she would have much rather seen him drawn and quartered for what he’d done to his wife and child.
There was a small cloud of dust surrounding the girls as they played, stirred up by their stomping feet and the thump of the jump rope against the hard, dry ground. The little girls’ stockings and shoes were covered in dirt, as were the hems of their dresses, but they didn’t care. They were too caught up in the fantasy of fate having a hand in choosing their mate. Their rhythmic chant matched the turn of the rope as they jumped in and out of the wide, dusty arc. When one of them finally tripped, the other three squealed out loud.
“Beggar man. Beggar man. You’re gonna marry a beggar man!” they cried.
Letty shook her head, looked down at T-Bone, and then clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth.
“Come on, T-Bone. Let’s get out of here before the fussing starts.”
The pup was oblivious to everything but the gentle tone of her voice and touch. When she moved, he moved with her.
Letty walked away from the alley, ignoring the whispers and stares from the people she passed. It hadn’t taken long for word to get around about what she’d done now. She’d already been judged and found wanting for wearing pants like a man, and riding astride instead of side-saddle.
Today, she’d just added to her notoriety by taking a bullwhip to a man. While the citizens of Denver City were disgusted by what George Mellin had done to his wife and child, most of them were of the opinion that Letty Potter had overstepped her bounds, and should not have involved herself in the situation.
Letty would have liked their acceptance, but she’d lived on the wrong side of society for so long she no longer cared. Eulis was the only person whose opinion mattered, and so far he had kept his disappointments to himself.
She thought back to the earlier events of the day. When Henry Smith had stopped her on the street, her first instinct had been to send for Eulis. She hadn’t known how much she’d been counting on his arrival until he’d come running through the crowd and snatched the whip from her hand.
And there was Robert Lee. When the sheriff started threatening her, he had immediately put himself between her and the law. It had all happened so fast that she hadn’t realized the impact of what he’d done until it was over, at which point, he’d quietly made himself scarce. It gave her an odd feeling to know that he’d stood up for her like that.
When she reached the corner of the sidewal
k, she paused to wait for a stagecoach to pass. Eulis promised to meet Letty in their room, and she was fighting the urge to run to him. Instead, she crossed the dusty street with her head held high, and her steps long and steady, unconscious of the stern jut of her jaw. When a man on horseback rode too close to her, T-Bone barked, and then nipped at the horse’s heels. Letty was already in the hotel by the time the cowboy had his horse under control.
The young clerk was back at work. He smiled when he saw Letty.
“You did something real brave today, Ma’am,” he said, and then blushed.
“A little foolhardy, too,” Letty said.
The clerk shook his head.
“No, ma’am. It was amazing, and so are you.”
Uncomfortable with the unexpected praise, Letty hurried up the stairs and down the hall with T-Bone at her heels. She was almost running when she reached their room. The door was ajar. The pup ran in, headed for his bed in the opposite corner, and was already in it and settled as Letty entered.
Eulis was standing at the window. His pants were hanging a little loose, and there was a small tear just below his right knee. His gray shirt was a collar-less homespun with long sleeves he’d rolled up to his elbows. His face was lean and expressionless, delineating his rough-cut features more than usual. He could have used a shave and a haircut, but to Letty, he looked just fine. It occurred to her he’d been watching her from the window as she’d crossed the street. What had he been thinking? Was he upset with what she’d done?
“Eulis?”
He took a deep breath and then turned.
“Come here, girl. I need a hug.”
Letty hurried across the room and walked into his arms. When they closed around her, she shuddered.
“Oh Eulis… that poor woman… and that baby… that poor, poor baby. We laid in our bed and listened to her dying.”
“We had no way of knowing,” Eulis said.
“I should have done something sooner. If I had, maybe—”
“No. Stop thinking like that. The only person at fault is the man who did it.” He kept hold her close as he rubbed at the middle of her back, gentling her as much as himself. “You did a real dangerous thing today, but I have to say, I’ve never been prouder to know you, girl.”