Milly tied the horses in the back of Maggy’s buckboard and went to get a harness for the two. After that, they went out to the wagon builder and he had a wagon ready. Milly told him that she needed two.
He told her, “It will take two weeks. The wheelwright still has to make the four wheels.”
“How much do I owe you?” asked Milly.
“Ninety dollars,” he stated.
She paid him with a 100 dollar gold certificate. He gave her ten dollars back and helped her get harnessed and hitched up. Maggy left to go to the store and Milly took the buckboard out to the farm and over to the job. She re-loaded the rifle and told Sergeant Wells and Mason what went on in town. I heard the news, so I asked her what had gone on and she explained it all to me.
“I’m betting they’re going to come out here for you,” I told her. “Everybody better get armed. We may have to straighten out that sheriff’s department and judge.”
Milly had a nice buckboard and two fine horses that worked together wonderfully. It seemed like they had been a team before.
Nothing happened that evening, but the next morning I had to go to town to pick up 200 steel posts. We heard from the priest that both the sheriff and judge had each lost a leg. The doc had to cut them off at the knee. The judge was selling his place and the sheriff was finished too. Nobody came out to the farm.
Everyone worked away in peace on the fence. They now had the wire, so they stretched five rolls on the posts. When they finished with those five, they stretched five more rolls. The boys rolled out the wire while the men were fastening it on the poles. They had a good system worked out and it went by pretty fast.
Not long into the day we had some visitors, six men, all riding nice mares. We were ready for them.
Their spokesman said, “We just want to see Milly. Her friend, the ex-judge, sent us out here to see her. He moved to Pittsburg. These were his mares, bred to his thoroughbred stud. He took five, along with his stud with him to pull his wagon, and left these six for us. Now which one of you young ladies is Milly? We only want Milly. She has been so nice to the judge.”
I rode up and listened to what the man was saying and asked him, “Did the judge lose his leg?”
“He did, they had to cut it off. Poor guy, he was just trying to do an honest day’s work. Now, once again, which one of you is Milly?”
Milly then spoke up and said, “That would be me.” Then she lifted her Henry and put a bullet right through the man’s skull. They all pulled guns and began shooting. Mason shot the man beside him. Sergeant Wells and I both shot one too. One fellow rode away and we let him go. Five of the six were killed. I told them to let the sixth man go so that he could tell the judge where his mares went. The ones that were shooting all went to a horse, but I didn’t. The man I shot had three holes in him. Mason told me that I will need a buckboard for my team. Wells said he would try to trade his mare for a gelding. I told him that I could probably trade with him. They were nice mares. Wilson got the one with the three holes and Pierce also had one. It was a good thing that it was late afternoon. I told them to take care of their horses and we started to bury the bandits. We had plenty of shovels and we put the men down for a long rest. They had been hired to kill, but instead got killed themselves. They all had two double bags on them. The judge paid them cash and also gave them each a mare.
After they were all buried, Milly, Mason, and Wells went to brand their new mares. They had already been branded on the hip with the judge’s brand, so they put the new brand on the horse’s shoulder where it could be seen. Milly figured that she would hold on to her mare and wait for the colt. She had a nice pair. Her other mare was also pregnant.
I told the men that if they started to work with their teams, the next spring, summer, and fall each of them would get an extra 20 dollars gold every month.
“I will be working with my two,” said assured me Mason. “Unless my mare is close to foaling.”
“We will have to check with the vet in the spring. He can tell how close the colt is,” I told him.
Milly figured that with two mares one could be working and she would be making good money. She stood to earn her regular 45 and an 20 for a total of 65 gold every month; that was big money. All she needed now was a good husband, an ex-sergeant. Her first husband was a sergeant, and he was the one who taught her how to shoot. Mason, Wells, and Wilson were all sergeants, and they were there when she needed them.
I told Miller that we needed to find a good Morgan stud since which had a lot of females. Wilson was asking how to get a gelding to go with his mare, and Milly told him that the Amish store could get him a young stud but he would have to train it. Later on he could have the vet geld it after he bred all of the females.
Wells said that he was getting a young stud, “You can get one too, Wilson. The Amish don’t have time to train them, unless they need them themselves. The Amish store in town handles most of the sales and they always have plenty of horses. The Amish did not sell to the army, same with the Quakers.”
“What are you going to do with your money?” Wells asked Milly.
“If an adjoining property comes up for tax sale, I will bid on it. If I win, I will move into the house and work. Maybe I could even get some crops of my own and have some corrals for my horses and a barn for hay. I would like to raise horses and have a cow to milk. It would be nice to have my own little farm.”
“Would you take in a partner?” Mason asked.
“That depends. I would like a son to take over after I am old,” she stated.
“Going west, you could get six hundred and forty acres and so could your partner,” Wells suggested.
“There is a lot of fighting in the west; Indians and outlaws. You would need a big wagon and a year’s supply of food,” she replied.
“You could also hunt along the way. Three rabbits for chicken soup, five for lamb stew, deer for chops and stew, and buffalo for stew and jerky. Oats for the horses, when there is no grazing. But make sure to watch out for snakes and grizzly bears,” said Wells.
“I would go if I had a husband to take me,” Milly replied.
“We would need a wagon, a buckboard, and six horses. I have three. In the meantime, I have a job building fence with five and a half miles to go and grass to establish,” Wells stated.
The next morning at breakfast, I told the gang that a section to the east of us was going to be auctioned off and we were low on money. “What happened?” they asked.
“The family left for the west, and their Grandpa stayed and passed away. All of the livestock is gone and is going up for sale too. It has a very nice home, barn, and corrals. If any of you want to bid on the place, I will back you. We will be good neighbors,” I explained.
Milly got up and declared that she wanted to bid. Sergeant Wells also stood up and told the room that he would back her, and Mason stated the same. I told the group to go in and do the best they could. Milly told the room that if she got the place she would move there, but would still work on the fence since there were only five and a half miles left to go.
Miller and I went to the auction; along with Milly, Mason, and Sergeant Wells. There was quite the crowd at the courthouse. At nine they declared that a full section was going up for sale, “It was behind in taxes and the owner died; the family went west and took the livestock to go homestead. The place is a full section, 640 acres, with a home, barn and corrals. It is going up for bids. The minimum bid is 270 dollars,” the auctioneer announced.
The Amish bishop bid 300 dollars, I bid 350. Milly bid 500, the banker bid 600. Mason bid 650, then the banker bid 655. Sergeant Wells bid 700, Miller bid 750, then Milly bid 800.
“Eight hundred once, eight hundred twice, eight hundred sold, to be paid to the clerk. A title will be made to the young lady,” the auctioneer stated.
The banker got up and said, “She is a criminal, not a lady. She is not to be taken seriously.”
I got up and to
ld the room, “She is a foreman on my farm. She is not a criminal, but I can’t say the same for the banker since he uses his depositor’s money to bid with. He should be investigated.”
After the sale, we all went to the restaurant in town and got some pie and coffee. Wells wanted to stop by the Amish store to see if his young stud was there.
After coffee, we went to the store and his stud was there. It was a nice-looking horse. It looked a little like an Arab or a Morgan. It was tall, like a thoroughbred, a good Amish mix.
They tied the horse in back of the buckboard and we headed out to Milly’s new place. We found the Amish bishop along with two of his men taking the cook stove out.
“Put that right back,” I told them. “And after that, get off of this farm and don’t ever come back. You are a thief.”
The bishop said that the previous owner owed the Amish money. “That does not mean you can steal from this young lady. You should have taken care of that before it was sold. Get off of this farm and don’t come back.” They put the stove back and left.
We looked in the barn and it had a lot of hay, so we put the sergeant’s stud horse in the corral and gave him some hay and filled the water tank. Miller and I looked at the house, everything was in fine shape. I told Milly to take the rest of the day off and stay around just in case someone tried to steal something.
“It looks like you have a good plow and harrows,” I told her. “We will be needing to work with them. We will have a team plowing next spring, maybe even two teams. We are glad that you got this section, we will be good neighbors,” I told her.
Milly told Mason and Wells to go back with me to work, then to come back out to her place that night with their horses. “There is enough room here. We can all have a room to move in to. We will make this place the home for our horses.” They both said that they would be back.
She told them, “I looked in all of the rooms and found a lot of clothes and items left behind. I cleaned the big bedroom for myself; that is where I will be sleeping from now on. I will be home here for the rest of my life. All I need is a son to leave all of this to, so he can take over after I am old.”
Milly looked all over to see what she had for food. She had dry noodles, some potatoes, and carrots. She started a soup and made a big shopping list. Then the priest came out with two girls and told her that the girls needed a home. She told the priest that she had a room for them, but no jobs. She suggested they work for the big farm with her. The priest told her that she had good job security. Milly told the girls that she was fixing a noodle soup and asked them to watch it while she took the priest back to town and did a little shopping as well.
She had a big list and decided she would go to the Amish store since they would have most everything she needed. She looked in the barn room and it had two bunks. Milly told the girls that would be their home; it had a stove and a couch with a small table and two chairs. The girls were very happy. She already had potatoes and carrots in the soup, and she told the girls to add the noodles but not too many and then they will eat when she returned.
Milly checked the cupboards. There were bowls and silverware, so they would get by with the soup for now. After her list was finished, she took off for town.
Milly dropped the priest off at the church and went to the Amish store. She went in and handed the owner her long list. He looked at it and asked her what had happened between her and the bishop.
She told him, “Well, I bid on a farm and got it as is. When I got out there, I had two of my bosses with me, and the bishop was out there with a wagon and three men. They were taking the cook stove out of the kitchen. My boss told him that he was stealing, and the bishop told him that the previous owner owed the Amish money, so they were taking the furnishings. My boss ordered them to put the stove back in the kitchen and to get off of the property and never come back. The bishop’s helpers put the stove back. That bishop of yours should have collected his money before the property was sold. I bought the place, including everything inside, as is, as they call it. I always thought that Amish people were honest.”
“I am glad you told me this,” replied the grocer. “The previous owner did not owe a dime, other than taxes. That bishop had no business being out there with a wagon.”
“My boss told him that he was stealing. The same thing happened with the sheriff and the judge. I guess that since I’m a woman it’s okay to steal from me. I left my team at the town house corrals, and the judge and sheriff took them. The judge gave the gelding to the sheriff and he kept the mare for himself. I traded Mason for that mare fair and square. I bought a buckboard and they took my team. They called me a horse thief, but they were the horse thieves. I always figured that the Amish were honest Christian people. I did not expect thievery. My boss said the same,” she explained.
“I can deliver all of this to you this afternoon. That way, I can take a look at your farm. Some of this is too heavy for you,” the grocer stated.
“I can do heavy work. I am not pregnant. Just give me the butter then, and I will pay my bill when you arrive with the rest. By the way, that was a nice young stud that you sold to Wells. He is out at the farm. He wants to keep it at my place.”
The store owner gave Milly a pound of butter and told her that he would have the rest out at her place after lunch. She told him that was fine and she would have the cash ready. She left and went to the bakers and got 20 buns, then went home.
Betty was out with the two girls when Milly got home. They had soup together. There was enough soup left over for dinner that night. Betty loved everything out there. She told the girls to come to work whenever Milly was ready for them. She also told them that she would give them some money so that they could buy the things they needed to start work with.
The soup was perfect, they all had two helpings. Those two girls were so happy. They had a home and were looking forward to meeting some men on the job. They would be able to have some underwear and socks, and maybe some winter shoes. Milly told them that in order to work they had to have good shoes and jeans. She said she would help them get those things. She added ten blankets to her shopping list, so everyone would have a clean blanket for their bed. They did not have much firewood, so they would have to get some.
On the job, they had all of the cedar posts laid out in position, approximately 30 feet apart, where they would go. The girls were measuring out the 30 feet with a boy on one end and another boy bringing up the post and laying it out for planting. It looked like they would have another full day to go before they ran out of posts. Sergeant Wells figured he would go after more posts while they still could. He figured he’d get another two loads with the wagon. Some of the men were pounding the steel posts so the wires could be stretched across.
Chapter Seven
That night, they got all of the horses and headed over to Milly’s farm. The horses went in to the corrals and they were fed lots of hay. One of the girls staying in the barn came out to help. After they took care of the horses, they went inside and Milly served soup with some fried potatoes and buttered buns. Then she showed Mason and Wells to their rooms upstairs. Mason wanted to know where Milly’s room was. She told him it was downstairs. The two men kidded around with her a lot, and she kidded back. She told them that she would turn have to Mormon so she could have two husbands.
“You have that wrong,” Mason told her. “Mormon men can have several wives, not the other way around.”
“Well then I guess I can’t win them all. I will just stay Catholic then,” she replied.
“I thought you were a Lutheran,” Mason inquired.
“I was, but I am now Catholic. The Lutherans don’t have a soup kitchen or an orphanage and the Catholics help the homeless. The Lutherans only feel sorry for them,” she stated.
“How many people do you think that priest has helped?” Mason asked.
“He helped countless people. There’s nothing he won’t do to help someone in need. He walked these
two girls out here just to get them a home and possibly a job so that they could get by,” she remarked.
“You are right. I am Catholic too,” Mason stated.
“That’s good, Mason. I will make sure to tell the priest. The priest told Wheeler that he was the best Catholic that that he has, and Wheeler told him he was okay for a Lutheran. All of the boys he has working for him are orphans,” Milly told him.
Mason then said, “You better not go and get married again, your husband would kick us out.”
“I have to get married now, so I can have a son to leave this place to,” she replied.
“What if you had a daughter?” Mason asked.
“I would fix her some pants, and teach her how to ride and shoot,” she assured him.
“If your husband doesn’t behave, are you going to shoot him?” Mason asked.
“I’d just shoot him in the knee, like that horse stealing Sheriff,” Milly joked.
“Who are you going to put in that room right next to yours?” Mason asked.
“That is where my bathtub will go. I am going to order a nice copper bathtub; they make them in Philadelphia.”
“Can one of us wash your back when you get it?” Mason asked.
“I may just let one of you do that,” she replied.
“That gives us something to look forward to. Which one of us would you want for a husband?” asked Mason.
“The one that asks first,” she stated.
“How come you put up with us?”
“Well, both of you are sergeants and you know how to shoot. In case some ex-Sheriff or ex-Judge wants to donate some more horses, you two will be around to put them to work,” she replied.
“Okay, so you just want protection? I see how it is.”
“I’m no dummy. I have to get something in exchange for rent, food, and a place for your horses,” she replied.
“Do I have to get on my knee when I ask you to marry me?” Mason inquired.
Lieutenant John Holbrook, Sergeant John Wheeler Page 15