Knight of the Tiger

by W. Michael Farmer

  “Army chief stands on hill. Uses big eyes. Watch Mexicans ride away into Mexico. Sweeny Jones andYellow Boy find Major Frank Tompkins, who tells Sweeny Jones to find men and horses. Says Yellow Boy come. Track Mexicans. Find and kill. No get away. Sweeny Jones runs to find men and horses. I come with horses. Frank Tompkins goes to hill. Talks to big chief. Big chief says go. Pretty quick we go. Chase and shoot Mexicans. Kill many. Leave where they fall. No catch Villa. When sun makes no shadows, soldiers have no more bullets to shoot, no more water, stop chase. Come back. Take care of horses. Sweeny Jones and Muchacho Amarillo eat in this place, and then Hombrecito and Quentin come. That is all I have to say.”

  We were sitting there, absorbing Yellow Boy’s description of what had happened, when a waitress brought us bowls of beans with chilies and tortillas, which was all they had left to serve. We didn’t complain. It was the best meal I’d eaten in a long time.

  Between spoonfuls of beans, I said, “So the Mexicans were lookin’ for Sam Ravel last night? Where was he anyway? Did they get him? At least they hit his store.”

  Quent shook his head. “Tale I got was that Ravel was in El Paso seeing a dentist. He must be the luckiest fool in the world, even if Villa did burn down his store.”

  We spent the next half hour speculating on what the army would do next. Major Tompkins’s chase into Mexico had violated all kinds of agreements the United States had with Mexico. Quent believed the Carranza government wouldn’t dare protest the invasion of their country by a hostile force chasing Pancho Villa. He said Carothers believed his old friend, Villa, was a mad dog that needed killing, and he intended to tell that to President Wilson.

  “What do you think Wilson will do?” I asked.

  Quent leaned back in his chair and used his napkin to wipe salsa off his chin. “He’ll send the army into Mexico after Villa, regardless of Carranza’s objections. The Mexicans will despise the gringos crossing the border uninvited. We might even get into a full-blown war with Mexico if we go in, but if Wilson wants to catch Villa, he has to move quick or Villa will disappear in the Sierra Madre where no one can find him. Albert Fall is already pushing the Senate to invade Mexico and make Chihuahua and Sonora a US protectorate. He says it’s the only way to catch Villa. My money says Wilson will send in the army to catch him, but it won’t go as invaders. We ought to know what Wilson is goin’ to do in a couple of days.”

  We finished our supper in good spirits. Sergeant Jones had a place at Camp Furlong for Yellow Boy and our horses and gear. Major Tompkins, impressed by the skill and bravery of Yellow Boy during the chase after Villa, told Jones to make him welcome and to recruit him for the Mexico campaign that was sure to come. Leaving the cantina, I told Yellow Boy I had to visit a couple of patients before I spent the evening with him. Quent left to wander the streets before writing a piece for the Herald.

  CHAPTER 42

  OATH OF MAIMONIDES

  The train station hummed with activity as the army rolled in more troops and equipment. A ticket clerk, glasses on the end of his nose, verified that a train would stop at four-thirty the next morning on the way to El Paso, but he wasn’t sure I could get on it. I told him I was a doctor and my patient, Mrs. Moore, had wounds that required I get her to El Paso fast for surgery. He nodded and said he’d make room for us and to be at the station at four-fifteen. I thanked him and headed for Colonel Slocum’s house to check on Maud Wright.

  Smiling, George Carothers huffed out of the tiny house where the telephone switchboard was located, next to the Hoover Hotel. Seeing me, he did a double take at a note in his hand, and waved for me to stop.

  “Doctor Grace,” he puffed, “you’ve saved me trying to find you. Great news! The State Department has just informed me that the Carranza government has found Mrs. Wright’s little boy, Johnnie, and will have him in Juárez the fifteen of March for her to get him. We all want to ensure she and the boy are reunited and that the child arrives in good health. She’ll need a doctor’s support when Carrancistas return him. Might you be so kind as to—”

  I smiled, knowing how happy the news would make Maud. “Of course. I’ll be more than happy to do anything I can to help get her son back. I’m headed to Colonel Slocum’s house now to check on her. Has she heard the news?”

  Carothers said, “Why, no. I just got word myself. Please give her the news for me.” I gave Carothers a little two-finger salute off my hat as I turned away to continue to Colonel Slocum’s house.

  At twilight, the temperature fell like a stone in a deep well. Maud sat rocking on Slocum’s front porch and stared south, her shoulders covered by a thick, wool shawl. She saw me and nodded toward Mexico. “My son and husband are down yonder, Doctor Grace. Crows, coyotes, and buzzards have probably eaten Ed’s body by now. I can only pray Johnnie still lives, and that he’s well cared for.”

  “He is, Mrs. Wright. You’ll get him back.”

  “I hope so, and soon.”

  “No, I mean you’ll get him back in six days, on the fifteenth of March, in Juárez. He’s fine. Mr. Carothers just got the information from the State Department, asked me to tell you and to accompany you to Juárez to get Johnnie. If that’s your desire, I’m happy to do it.”

  Surprise and joy filled her face, as tears spread over her cheeks. She dabbed her eyes and said, “I’d be most grateful if you came with me. It’d mean a lot.”

  My heart went out to her. “Of course. We’ll have Johnnie back before you know it. Have you thought about what you’ll do after you get him?”

  She stared off into the dimming twilight and shook her head. “No, not really. I still have friends in El Paso. They’re very generous, and I’m sure they’ll let me stay with them until I can support myself and Johnnie.”

  The lady had real grit, and I much admired her for it. I knew if she stayed in El Paso, it wouldn’t be long before men would line up to court her. She’d have her pick. I smiled and said, “I’ve got to take Mrs. Moore to El Paso on the four-thirty train in the morning. I should be back sometime tomorrow afternoon. Is there anyone you’d like me to get in touch with while I’m in El Paso? Your friends, maybe?”

  She leaned forward and asked, “Can’t I go with you?”

  I shook my head. “It’s better if you stay here. Your feet are beginning to heal, but you can barely walk. Carothers will be getting additional information about the Carranza government’s plans to bring Johnnie to Juárez for you. You need to stay where he can find you easily if I’m not here.”

  Tears welled up at the corners of her eyes. Her words become a rushing torrent. “Please let me go. What if Villa attacks again or something happens to the tracks with all the trains running on them? We might not get there if we wait too long. You wouldn’t have to come back for me if I went and stayed until I got Johnnie. Carothers can send his information to his State Department representatives in El Paso. They’ll probably have it before he does anyway.”

  Her pleading eyes locked on mine, and she said, “My feet don’t hurt. I’d walk on burnin’ coals and barbed wire if it’d get me back my Johnnie.”

  I held up my hands and said, “All right. I know exactly how you feel. Come with us in the morning, and I’ll stay in El Paso until Johnnie is returned to you. While we’re waiting, you can talk to your friends and see if they can take you in until you get back on your feet. If they can’t, I’ll give you the money to get a hotel room, but after you get Johnnie, I have to come back here. I have a personal score to settle with General Francisco Villa.”

  She looked at me, her eyes wide, and asked, “What do you mean by a personal score to settle with Villa?”

  The cloud of anger deep in my soul condensed into a black gusher of venom spewing out of my mouth. “Years ago, he saved my life, and to repay him I helped him last fall when he crossed the Sierra Madre. After listening to him, I believed the right thing to do was serve as a medico in his army. I believed everything he told me. I believed in his war with Carranza. I believed he had only the best intere
sts of the Mexican peones at heart. Now that I’ve learned better, I mean to blow him to hell and gone.”

  “I pray you do, but how can you murder anyone if you’re a doctor? Didn’t you swear some kind of oath to preserve life when you became a doctor?”

  I sighed, remembering I’d sworn the Oath of Maimonides when I received my medical degree. I’d memorized it. Now, its cadences passed through my mind:

  The eternal providence has appointed me to watch over the life and health of Thy creatures. May the love for my art actuate me at all time; may neither avarice nor miserliness, nor thirst for glory or for a great reputation engage my mind; for the enemies of truth and philanthropy could easily deceive me and make me forgetful of my lofty aim of doing good to Thy children.

  May I never see in the patient anything but a fellow creature in pain.

  Grant me the strength, time and opportunity always to correct what I have acquired, always to extend its domain; for knowledge is immense and the spirit of man can extend indefinitely to enrich itself daily with new requirements.

  Today he can discover his errors of yesterday and tomorrow he can obtain a new light on what he thinks himself sure of today. Oh, God, Thou has appointed me to watch over the life and death of Thy creatures; here am I ready for my vocation and now I turn unto my calling.

  I looked at Maud and said, “The oath I swore says I’ve been appointed to watch over the life and health of God’s creatures. Any doctor will kill a rabid dog that’s attacking people, and that’s what Villa’s become. He no longer serves the cause of justice in Mexico, and his vanity and military stupidity have destroyed the best army to fight for the peones’ rights. He serves only himself. He has to be put down, even if a doctor has to do it.”

  She nodded and said, “Well-spoken, Doctor Grace. With your help, I may yet survive in this miserable world. How should I prepare for tomorrow mornin’?”

  “We need to be at the train station by four-fifteen. I have a room at the Hoover next to Mrs. Moore’s. I’ll borrow a horse and take you down there now if you like. You can have my room, and I’ll bunk with Quent. Then we won’t have far to go for the train station that early in the morning. How does that sound?”

  CHAPTER 43

  STRATEGY

  I hired a horse from the livery a couple of streets over from the Slocums to use for a little while. The night was cold, cast in a haze from smoke, fog, and dust. Squads of soldiers marched down the streets to take up positions around the Columbus perimeter just in case Villa returned to attack again. It was like closing the barn door after the horse was gone. I knew Villa wouldn’t be back.

  The livery stable corral, filled to capacity, held horses from riders, buggies, and wagons that had arrived during the day, but the liveryman only had an old, broken-down mare and a riding mule for hire.

  He said, “Villa’s sons-of-bitches came in here last night and took ever’ damned horse I had. I found these two wanderin’ around late this mornin’. Don’t know who they belong to, but you can rent one for a while this evenin’. ’Spect their owner won’t be around till tomorra, if ever.”

  Spitting a long, brown stream of juice from a big wad in his cheek, he grinned and said, “Now don’t take one o’ these here animals out an’ race ’im down the street. They’re so fast they might set the town a-fire again.”

  With Maud in the saddle, I led the mule to the Hoover. The night was cold, but she was so happy she hummed some little Mexican ditty I remembered hearing years ago. Although still tender, her feet appeared to be healing well from thorn and cactus wounds. I took her in my arms and carried her into the Hoover to keep her off her feet.

  Mrs. Moore, deep in sleep, breathed quietly, not moving at all. I said to Maud as I turned to go, “Try to get some sleep there in the next room. I’ll be back in a while.”

  She smiled as she headed for the bed through the open door, “Now that I know I’ll have Johnnie in a few days, I might finally get a few winks. Thanks again, Doctor Grace.”

  I looked for Quent before I visited Yellow Boy, but he was nowhere around the hotel. Riding the mule to a guard post at Camp Furlong, I told the guard I wanted to see Sergeant Sweeny Jones. The guard grinned and pointed at a lone tent near the far end of the horse shelters. Yellow Boy’s paint, Satanas, and our pack mules were tethered in the string of horses under the long, open horse shelter next to Sweeny Jones’s tent.

  As I approached the tent, Yellow Boy appeared out of the gloom and motioned me to the far end of the shelter, where McClellan cavalry saddles rode wooden sawhorses. A large white field of army pyramid tents spread out before us in neat rows running south and east. He lighted a cigar as I dismounted.

  “Grandfather, will you scout for the army when it chases Villa in Mexico?”

  He blew a stream of smoke toward the stars and shook his head. “No, Hombrecito. Other scouts come. Boys, maybe, but still Apaches, more better than white army scouts. Even with these scouts, army never catches Arango. Arango knows many tricks, lives many seasons with Apaches in sierras. Arango hides until army goes back north.”

  We walked to the saddles and found a place to sit against a couple of the posts supporting the shed roof. Yellow Boy looked at me and nodded.

  “We know Arango. We like Coyote, big tricksters. Use Shoots Today-Kills-Tomorrow and Yellow Boy rifle. Find Arango, you shoot. Find Camisa Roja, you shoot. They die, we all sleep more better. Your woman from many seasons ago walks in peace with the grandfathers. We leave tonight. Catch Arango plenty quick.”

  I shook my head. “You speak true. Speak with clear eyes. But I can’t go after Villa and Camisa Roja for seven suns.”

  He frowned and looked at the end of his cigar. “Seven suns? You do special White Eye di-yen ceremony before we go?”

  “No, there’s no special ceremony. Two women need and ask for my help.”

  He took another puff and frowned as I continued. “One woman has a bullet in her thigh. I can’t remove it without maybe killing or crippling her for life. I have to take her to El Paso to a di-yen who can get the bullet out.

  “Arango stole the other woman on his way north and made her leave her little son behind. The Carrancistas have found the child and are bringing him to Juárez in six days. I promised to help her get the child back. I’ll return to this place in seven days and begin the hunt for Arango and Camisa Roja. Will you be here when I return?”

  I knew the answer before he grunted, “Hmmph. I wait. Peach comes?”

  “I don’t know, but I’ll find out tonight. The women and I ride the iron wagon to El Paso before the sun comes mañana. I’ll look for you here when I come back?”

  He nods. “Sí, I wait here at Sweeny Jones’s camp.”

  I found Quent in his room at the Hoover, a glass of Jack Daniels bourbon next to his bedside lamp, boots off, legs crossed, while he sat on the bed writing a Herald article. He pointed toward the bottle. “Help yourself. You’ll find a glass on the dresser.”

  “Thanks. A little shot of that firewater will take the ache out of my bones.” I poured a couple of fingers in the heavy crystal glass sitting on the tray beside the water pitcher and sat down on the second bed. A swallow of the bourbon burned all the way to my belly, and I felt its warmth spreading all the way to my toes.

  “I’m escorting Mrs. Moore and Mrs. Wright to El Paso on the four-thirty train in the morning. Maud has my room. Mind if I bunk with you? I’ll try not to wake you up when I leave.”

  He laughed. “That’s amazing. Slater sent a wire a little while ago and said I needed to get back to El Paso first thing tomorrow. His friends in Washington tell him that Woodrow Wilson is meeting with General Scott, Chief of Staff of the Army, as we speak, and it’s likely that first thing tomorrow, orders will be cut to send Black Jack Pershing into Mexico after Villa. Scuttlebutt has it Pershing will lead at least a division with all the army’s latest equipment.”

  I frowned and shook my head, “What do you mean by latest equipment?”

  Quent
shrugged. “The old army, the horse cavalry, is fading away, Henry. There’s a major war going on in Europe right now, and it’s using the same kinds of tactics, trenches, barbed wire, and machine guns, we saw used against Villa at Agua Prieta. The United States wants to stay neutral, but everybody knows it’s only a matter of time before we’re in the fight against the Germans. The Mexico expedition will allow the army to try out a lot of the new stuff that’s being used overseas. You know: things like automobiles, trucks, new guns and explosive shells. Hell, even aeroplanes. I understand there’ll likely be some Jennies for aerial surveillance and droppin’ bombs on big groups. It’ll also test the army’s ability to motorize delivery of supplies rather than use pack mules or heavy wagons. Slater wants me to go to Fort Bliss and write about what’s going on. He says he’ll even give me a daily column if I want it.”

  I was incredulous. “No more horse cavalry? What will they do? Drive to war in automobiles like they’re going to the next dance? It’ll never work. What can those generals be thinking?”

  Quent scratched the stubble darkening his jaw. “They’ll probably keep their horses for a while to fight in places like Mexico, where there’s little fuel. Chasing Villa in Mexico makes for a good test for motorized troops and their logistics. The army already knows that where the roads are passable, like in Europe, motorized transportation is the only way to go. They can maneuver and cover ground much faster and carry bigger, deadlier weapons than they can on horses. And, let me tell you, if aeroplanes live up to even half their potential, well, God help us all. The enemy can bomb you while you sleep in your bed miles away from the actual fighting.”

  I sat back, stunned by what I was hearing, and suddenly felt very old, even though I was only twenty-eight. I was just getting comfortable in the world in which I grew up and managed to survive. Now everything was changing. Things would never be the same. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I said, “Maybe I can go with you for a day or two when you go over to Fort Bliss. I’d like to see the army’s new equipment.”