Jake

by C. J. Petit

  As the bleeding man continued to make his looping ride, Jake nudged Mars into a medium trot but kept watching the would-be thief. He was no longer a danger to him or anyone else who might be leaving Fort Benton. He’d probably make it to the town and survive the wound. When he returned, he’d ask about him.

  After Jake was more than a five hundred yards away, he turned his eyes to the front again. It was only then that he realized he’d just had his first gunfight. In his time on the ranch and his almost three years in the army, he hadn’t fired a single time at another man. While he was wearing the uniform, he always wondered if he’d be able to shoot someone without hesitation or regret. He now had his answer. He hadn’t hesitated and felt no remorse for what he’d done. Granted, he hadn’t killed the man, but Jake didn’t think that would have made any difference.

  While he was pleased with his reaction, Jake cautioned himself from becoming over confident. He knew he had to continue to use gunplay as a last resort, even when he found his father…especially when he found his father. But it also served as an intense warning of what dangers may lie ahead.

  He now realized that there was a very real chance that he may never return to Sara or even find his father. If the passing stranger had been a bit more accurate or just plain lucky, he wouldn’t have had a chance to get a shot off. He could have missed, too. It was a startling revelation, but Jake was pleased when it reminded him of his mortality.

  He checked his backtrail again after riding another mile or so and didn’t see the rider, so the episode just became a memory.

  _____

  Jake stopped for lunch an hour later and after dismounting, let Mars and Vulcan drink at a small pond off the road while he finally opened Charlie’s food pack. He laughed when he realized just how much Charlie had squeezed into the pannier. He found a sack of biscuits on the top, so he took two and closed the flap before taking a canteen from Vulcan. He let them graze some of the tall plains grass that blanketed the area as he munched on Charlie’s tasty biscuits.

  He had just popped the last of the biscuits into his mouth when he saw another dust cloud on the western horizon. He wasn’t quite halfway to Fort Shaw, so it was probably just a freight wagon. He mounted Mars and returned to the road. After the recent gunfight, Jake hadn’t bothered replacing his hammer loop, so he was ready if he encountered another problem.

  Less than twenty minutes later, he approached the eastbound freight wagon and pulled Mars to a stop. He wouldn’t be surprised if one of the men on the driver’s seat pulled a shotgun. But when they were fifty yards away, Jake waved and smiled. It probably didn’t guarantee that he wasn’t a highwayman, but neither of them seemed worried about him. It was probably because of Mars and Vulcan. The two horses weren’t typical of the animals ridden by outlaws.

  When they pulled up, Jake said, “Howdy. I just want to let you know that a rider heading east tried to ambush me after we passed each other. He missed, but I hit him in his left upper arm. I didn’t follow him, and I doubt it he’s in any condition to bother you, but I thought you should know.”

  The driver nodded as he said, “I appreciate lettin’ us know about that feller. When we were in Fort Shaw, we saw him leave and thought he might be waitin’ for us along the way. I guess he saw your horses and gear and liked ‘em. If he made it to Fort Benton, we’ll see if he’s there and tell Sheriff Zendt.”

  “Tell them that Jake Elliott was the one who shot him.”

  The other man exclaimed, “You’re Jake Elliott? Your pa owns the Elk Ranch; don’t he?”

  “He does. I’m heading west looking for him. I only returned to the ranch last week and don’t know where he is. I’m heading to Helena which is my best guess. Do you know him?”

  “Nope. I just heard the name. Well, good luck, Jake. Hope you find him.”

  “So, do I,” Jake replied before he waved and set Mars to a trot.

  There had been a brief glimmer of hope that one of them knew his father and might even have spotted him in Helena or Fort Shaw. But it hadn’t lasted long and his chances of finding his father hadn’t improved.

  _____

  He had passed two more freight wagons and a group of four riders before he spotted Fort Shaw in the distance as the sun was about to meet the mountains to the west. After the last break two hours earlier, Jake had slowed Mars pace. While neither he nor Vulcan was showing any stress, he knew he’d been making good time and could afford to let them take their time for the last leg of the day’s journey.

  There was still more than an hour before sunset when he approached the settlement that had grown outside the fort. He knew that he’d probably be better received by the soldiers but suspected that the civilians would have been more likely to have spotted his father. Even if they had seen him, it was unlikely that they would remember his passing.

  A few people were watching him as he entered the crooked roadway that passed for their main street. He pulled up outside Stoker Brothers Livery, which was the biggest building in town, then stepped down. He didn’t even need to enter the large barn as both of the Stoker brothers had already stepped through the open doors to admire Mars and Vulcan.

  “You got some mighty handsome fellers there, mister,” the older brother said as his sibling passed to inspect Vulcan.

  “They’re brothers. Mars is the red gelding and is two years older. Vulcan is the black’s name. I’m Jake Elliott.”

  “I’m Amos Stoker and that ugly cuss lookin’ at your packhorse is my younger brother Fred. I’m two years older, too. Are you stayin’ for the night?”

  “Maybe. I’m looking for my father. He would have passed through town about three weeks ago. He was riding a brown gelding and was using another brown gelding as a pack horse. You don’t happen to remember seeing him; do you?”

  Fred had finished his short examination of Vulcan and had just stepped closer when Jake finished.

  Amos looked at his brother and asked, “You told me you saw some feller trailin’ a packhorse, but I don’t recall when it was. Do you remember when that feller passed?”

  Fred grinned as he replied, “You bet I do. It was the day Willie Thompkins blew off his pinky finger when he tried to make his own fireworks for the Fourth of July celebration. We already closed the barn for the day and was getting’ ready to head to the food tables.”

  Amos snickered as Fred looked at Jake and said, “I spotted him comin’ down the road and figgered he was gonna stop by to leave his horses. But he didn’t even come into town. I remembered him ‘cause he headed north takin’ the trail to Woman’s Breast. I took him to be some kinda outlaw to be goin’ that way, so I just watched for a minute to make sure he didn’t come back. He didn’t, so I joined Amos to get ourselves some free food.”

  Jake knew he’d been incredibly fortunate to have asked the only man who had probably seen his father after he left the ranch.

  “Did you see if he had a cream-colored Stetson with a dark band?”

  Fred shook his head as he answered, “It was around sunset, and he never got that close. I couldn’t even tell you if those horses were all brown or had markings. They coulda been mares or stallions for all I know.”

  Amos then asked, “So, do you wanna leave your big boys with us for the night?”

  Jake glanced at the low sun as he replied, “I think I’ll head up that way to see if he’s still there. You didn’t see him come back; did you?”

  Amos replied, “Nope. But that don’t mean much. You could ask the soldiers. Maybe one of them saw him passin’ by again.”

  “Does anyone still call Woman’s Breast home anymore?”

  Fred answered, “I reckon the only ones still livin’ up there are squatters and a few prospectors. That’s why I was kinda surprised to see him head that way.”

  “I can’t figure out why he would either, but it won’t hurt to check. Thanks for your help. I’ll stop by on the way back and maybe Mars and Vulcan will grace your livery for a night.”

  Amos chuckled
as he said, “You sure use big words, son. You musta had a lot of schoolin’”

  “I only reached the third grade before I had to start pulling my weight on my father’s ranch. My mother was my teacher after that.”

  As Jake mounted, Fred said, “You must have a right smart mother.”

  Jake looked down as he said, “I did until my father murdered her on the second of July. That’s why I’m looking for him.”

  Both Stoker brothers just stared at Jake as he wheeled Mars about and walked him out of Fort Shaw.

  Once on the road, Jake headed north, and soon the road degraded into little more than an almost unused trail as the prairie grass reclaimed the prepared ground. He’d ridden for about five miles when the blue sky began shifting to a light red. He knew he could reach Woman’s Breast in less than three hours, but he didn’t want to ride into an unknown place and a possibly dangerous situation in the darkness. The moon wouldn’t even be a sliver tonight, so Jake decided to pull up when he found water for Mars and Vulcan.

  The sunset turned the entire sky red from horizon to horizon when he found a nice stream that bowed close to the trail just ten minutes later and turned Mars to the right. He dismounted and as they dipped their muzzles into the water, Jake began removing Vulcan’s packs.

  As he prepared his cold camp, Jake tried to understand why his father would choose to go to a town that was a borderline ghost town rather than head to Helena. Maybe he was concerned that Sheriff Zendt had wired a warrant for his arrest to the county sheriff. If he’d headed north to lay low for a while, it would make sense. But Jake doubted if he had taken enough supplies to last three weeks. He probably had enough money to buy the whole town, but Jake suspected that it was more likely that he had ridden south after a few days. He could have passed through Fort Shaw at night.

  While Mars and Vulcan grazed on the smorgasbord of prairie grass, Jake opened the food pannier and pulled out a paper sack. When he opened it, he was greeted with the wonderful scent of bacon. He reached inside and took out a massive bacon and fried egg sandwich. If the slices of crusty bread hadn’t been so thick, the grease would have turned it into a soggy mess. There were two sandwiches in the bag, but he doubted that would be able to finish them both.

  He wolfed down the first sandwich in just a minute before he belched and drank some water from one of the canteens. He left the second sandwich in the bag while he finished setting up his camp and let his stomach deal with the mass of grease that he’d sent down his natural well.

  Jake laid out his bedroll and thought about adding his blanket, but decided it wasn’t necessary. He sat on the bedroll, removed his Colt and took his cleaning kit from his saddlebags. After he removed the spent casing, he tossed it away and pulled a fresh .45 Long Colt cartridge from his gunbelt’s loop. He inserted it into the empty chamber and after closing the loading gate and releasing the hammer, he suddenly realized that Fred Stoker may not have seen his father at all. He might have been the man who planned to rob him earlier that day.

  He had noticed the poor quality of the man’s horses, but now tried to recall their coloring. They were both shades of brown, but the packhorse was almost tan. But Fred said he wasn’t sure in the low light, so it could have been the highwayman and not his father. Maybe the outlaw was hiding out in Woman’s Breast until he needed to find another victim. It made more sense than his father heading that way, but Jake would still ride to the small settlement in the morning. If his father wasn’t there, someone could tell him who had arrived around the Fourth of July.

  After returning his Colt to its holster, he set the gunbelt on his slicker with his Winchester and the Sharps, then folded the rubberized cloth over the top to protect them from the morning dew.

  He stretched out and wondered if Sara had already had her conversation with her older sister. He grinned as he envisioned Sara’s fiery blue eyes adding an explanation point to the warning she issued to Kay. Then he wondered if Sara would just wait until he returned. Either way, he didn’t doubt that Sara could handle her older and bigger sister.

  _____

  “How did Kay react?” Priscilla Smith asked her younger daughter.

  Sara smiled as she replied, “I think she was shocked at first and briefly considered saying that Jake had made it all up. But when I threatened to stop helping her clean or watch the boys, she not only admitted that she had said every one of those words, but even apologized.”

  Her mother laughed lightly before saying, “I wish I’d been there to watch your sister’s face. Do you believe that she’ll behave herself now?”

  “I think so. To be honest, I think she just wanted to relive those times she’d spent with Jake. I don’t think she’s satisfied with Homer, and you can interpret that any way you’d like.”

  “I know. I thought she’d made an enormous mistake when she married him. I was stunned when you told me that Jake had offered to take her away. But when you said that she made up that lie about my having a fatal disease as an excuse, I was shocked. I knew she was flirty and pretentious, but even I couldn’t imagine she was capable of such deceit. At least she has her own home and family to keep her occupied now.”

  “And when Jake returns, I won’t be able to help her any longer. After we’re married, I’ll be living with him on the ranch and taking care of my own home and having our babies.”

  Priscilla shook her head as she said, “I am still amazed that you and Jake are already talking marriage when you spent such little time together. Are you certain that he doesn’t see you as a replacement for Kay? They were a couple for almost two years.”

  “No, Mama. I’m absolutely sure that Jake loves me as Sara Smith and not Kay’s younger sister. You know how I always felt about him. It wasn’t as if we were strangers, either. My only worry was that my blunt nature would drive him away. But I wasn’t about to hide behind some gentle façade. I wanted him to see me as I am. I was overjoyed when it had the opposite effect than I’d feared it might have. He was happy that I wasn’t a shy, giggly girl who would do anything just to please him. That was also the reason we were able to agree on such a short courtship. We have no doubts, Mama.”

  “Then I’m as happy for you as a mother could be. Do you think Jake will be gone as long as he believes?”

  “He’d originally expected to be gone for as long as three months, but now I imagine he’ll be back within a couple of weeks. I’m not sure if I want him to find his father, though. I know he couldn’t shoot his father, even if his father was about to shoot him. But if he returns without finding him, then his father could suddenly appear at the door and Jake and I would have to find a new home.”

  Priscilla studied her daughter’s face for a few seconds before saying, “All you can do is wait, Sara. I’m sure everything will be all right.”

  Sara nodded but was still worried about Jake. He’d be halfway to Helena by now. Even though he said he’d send her a telegram to let her know where he was, she would much rather that his message simply said that he would return in two days.

  _____

  Jake was already saddling Mars as the sun’s early morning rays glistened off the prairie grass. He had enjoyed Charlie’s second bacon and egg sandwich for breakfast.

  He wanted to reach Woman’s Breast by midmorning, then make one quick ride through the town in the slim chance of seeing his father. After his brief, but most likely futile search, he’d ask anyone he found about a recent visitor. He was probably the only newcomer to set foot in the town in quite a while, so if anyone still resided there then the appearance of a stranger would be remembered.

  Jake returned to the thin trail just an hour after waking. He was wearing his jacket because of the morning chill that had left a coating of dew over his gear. His Colt was secured by its hammer loop, but he’d release it when he spotted the town. It should be warm enough by then that he’d be able to shed his jacket as well.

  As he rode, he tried to understand his father. While Jake wasn’t about to forgive him for kil
ling his mother or having his affair with Mrs. Benton, he had to push those sins aside to try to comprehend his father’s behavior. Jake had admired and respected his father as a strong man when he was a young boy. But before he was even ten years old, he’d lost all of the admiration and most of his respect for his father. If it hadn’t been for his mother’s affection and guidance, and Dave Forrest’s friendship, Jake would probably have run away from the ranch before he was thirteen. But once he had shifted his respect and admiration to Dave, he thought of his father as nothing more than a heartless bully.

  As the gulf between father and son grew, Jake spent as little time as possible with his father. It was only now that he understood that because of that rift, he really didn’t know Chet Elliott as a man. He’d enlisted without even telling his father and let his mother break the news after he’d gone. Now Jake wished that he’d at least spent more time talking to him when he was old enough to see him as a man and not just a father. But by then, he had become infatuated with Kay which then led to their last and worst confrontation.

  So, as he neared Woman’s Breast, Jake realized that his biggest obstacle to finding his father wasn’t the distance or time. It was his own lack of understanding of the man he needed to find.

  Jake soon spotted some low buildings on the northern horizon, so he shrugged off his jacket and let it fall onto his saddlebags. He released his hammer loop but kept his eyes on the town, if one dared to call it that. He didn’t see smoke curling above any rooftops, so it was probably deserted, but he was still a good mile and a half away.

  But as he drew closer, it was looking even less likely that he’d find anyone at all in the place. When he entered what probably barely passed muster as a street in the town’s heyday, he didn’t see anyone, but continued walking Mars down the center of the space between the rundown buildings. Only a few of the dilapidated structures still had glass in their windows if they had walls at all. Some of them seemed about to collapse, but others seemed at least habitable.