by J.A. Sprouls
Chapter 14
The wagon train made its way slowly across the plains. They had been held back a whole day by a really bad sandstorm but finally got underway again. The people of the wagon train were very optimistic about their choice to leave the life they had known behind and set out for a new adventure. Most were hoping they would end up doing a lot better than they were back east.
Winter Bleathy was no exception. He had not been able to find work since the factory he worked in had burned down. They weren't gonna rebuild the factory and so he was at wits end when it came to finding a job. He was competing with all the others from the factory who had also lost their jobs. His fifth grade education was limiting his options. His wife, Skarlet, was constantly reminding him that he had three young children that needed to be taken care of, like he could forget that.
Then one day he saw an ad up on the side of the mercantile store. It was all about the West and all the opportunities that were available to those souls brave enough to chance the journey. So he went home and talked to his wife about it. She wasn't too thrilled with the idea of packing up what they could and leaving everything else behind. After all, her whole family lived there and she would miss them. To Winter, that was one of the reasons why he thought it was such a great idea. He was tired of his mother-in-law reminding him what a loser he was. But Skarlet wasn't seeing the big picture. She was just looking a little beyond the street they lived and no further.
It took a good month of Winter pestering Skarlet before she conceded. This was a red letter day for Winter because he never won an argument or anything else, for that matter, when it came to Skarlet. So he decided to make all the arrangements before she had the chance to change her mind. Within a week he had everything taken care of and had told his wife that the wagon train left early in the morning two days from now. She was still hemming and hawing about not going but he knew in the end she would go. The last thing she wanted was for people to think that she wasn't a good wife, appearances were everything to her. And good wives follow their husbands.
They were the last wagon in the train because Winter didn't have all that much experience with driving oxen. He was holding them up too much at the beginning of the journey. But he had finally mastered the technique so that he wasn't a half day behind all the others. The sandstorm had made his wife see red and she had started to harp on him about what a stupid idea this was. He couldn't wait for the moment when they got to their new home and he made good. That would shut her up. Of course, if that wasn't gonna happen then he could always hope for an Indian raid. According to the papers the Indians sometimes took the women of the wagon train as wives. He would keep his fingers crossed in regard to that happening.
The kids were having a great time. They were kids and didn't fully understand what was going on but they knew as long as they were with their parents they were safe. They mainly just sat on the back tailgate of the wagon and watched where they had been. That was what they were doing when the youngest, Cutter, saw something. He pointed this out to his sister Wisteria, who thought she was seeing things. She was sure that was a ship's mast with a sail on it but how could that be? This was right smack dab in the middle of land. There were no ships that could sail on the land. But the middle child, Poppy, confirmed what they were seeing. This being so bizarre they felt their parents surely would want to know.
"Pa, you're not gonna believe this but there's a ship with a big old mast coming up behind us real fast," Wisteria hollered to the front of the wagon.
"Hush now, child, what have I told you about telling stories? Your Pa is too busy trying to steer these oxen and avoid any holes to be bothered by you young’uns." Skarlet hollered back at the kids.
"But Ma, I'm telling you the truth. There is a big old ship coming up behind us."
"She's telling you the truth, Ma," Cutter yelled.
"Don't go sassing your Ma, you hear me, Cutter? I'm tired, I'm dirty and I'm pretty sure that my last two teeth have been loosened by the vibrations of this here wagon. So I am in no mood for your stories either." Skarlet was gripping the seat as they hit a rather deep hole this time.
"But Ma, Cutter and Wisteria are telling the truth. Honest to goodness. I promise," Poppy hollered.
"Do not make me come back there young lady," Skarlet was getting really mad now.
"Fine, if you don't mind being hit by a ship then that's your problem, but I'm jumping off when it gets too close." Cutter yelled.
"Your Pa will stop this wagon and turn around if you three don't stop it this minute. I mean it!" She threatened her kids.
The three kids just sat there fuming that their mother seemed to think they were telling her a story. You see, in her time 'telling a story' meant the same as 'lying.' And they didn't like to be called liars, most particularly since the ship had gained considerably on them and they could see it crystal clear now. It was definitely a ship.
Pill, who had lost the draw on whose turn it was to be in crow's nest, sighted the wagon train and had told Pigtail exactly how to steer to go towards it. She had the telescope and was watching everything that was going on. She noticed that there were three kids on the back of the last wagon. She was pretty sure they had seen them. I mean, how the heck can you miss a big old ship with a sail. You'd have to be blind. It looked like they had been yelling up to the front, maybe telling them that the ship was behind them, but since the wagon hadn't changed course or sped up, then she guessed that they either hadn't told them or that the people up front hadn't believed them. Who can blame them, how many ships do you see sailing on the land?
"Wisteria, do you think that is a mirage? You know, like we read about in the books, when we learned about the desert," Poppy asked her sister.
"I don't know. I'm pretty sure that three people seeing the very same thing ain't no mirage. As to just what it is I have no idea. Aside from it being a ship and all," Wisteria answered her sister.
"Gosh, if they have ships on the land you don't reckon they have land sharks, do ya?"
"Naw, how could they? They have to swim in water. You can't swim in land. So there isn't such a thing as a land shark." Wisteria was really hoping she was right about that.
"I can't swim," Cutter stated matter-o-factly.
"I don't think that is gonna matter too much. I'm thinking that running will be a much better choice. Though how the heck we're gonna out-run that thing is beyond me. Look how fast it has gotten up to us," Wisteria said.
Then suddenly from the front of the ship a loud 'BOOM" rang out. Wicket had, following the Captain's orders, fired cannon number one at the wagon train. It hit the earth with a big old plume of smoke off to the right of the wagon train.
Winter and Skarlet screamed and slapped the oxen with the reins in order to make them go faster. Though there had really not been a need to do that. Once that cannon ball hit the earth with a loud 'BOOM' the oxen had started to haul as fast as they could away from the area. The others in the wagon train were hauling it also. There were screams and panic among the wagon train. Most wagons veered off from the trail and away from the point of impact but unfortunately that meant they were headed towards some of the canyons. Once they were stuck, there would be no way they would get out.
Jethro realized what the wagon train was doing and where it was headed and told Pigtail that it wouldn't be a good idea for the wagons to go off the caprock into the canyons. So Tally was ordered to fire a cannon off towards the area the wagons were headed. He did so and wagons stopped just before heading off the caprock. The wagons turned around and headed the opposite direction. Of course, by this time the oxen, which were not the fastest of team animals, were starting to tire. They also weren't known for great spurts of speed so their endurance had worn them out. All the wagons had finally come to a stop in a small cluster. The ship came up on them and stopped.
The ship loomed over the small wagons and Pigtail went to the bow's railing and yelled down to the wagon train.
"We mean you no harm. We simp
ly wish to rob you of your valuables and then you can be on your way. A few members of my pirate crew will now come down and collect your money and jewelry. I would strongly advise that none of you try to hurt or harm any member of my crew otherwise you will force me to destroy your entire wagon train and everyone who is in it. We don't want that to happen, now do we? After all the money and jewelry are given to my men then you are free to go back to your trail and your dream of a new life. And we wish you nothing but the best." He tried to sound as congenial as possible so as not to scare them too much but, really, he was fixin' to rob them and he had shot a couple of cannons balls at them, how could they not be scared out of their wits?
Wicket and Tally climbed down the ropes with a couple of bags to hold the loot. They went to each wagon and the people gladly handed over all their money and jewelry. Granted, most people were like the Bleathy's and didn't have too much money or any jewelry to speak of. So the haul wasn't all that much. But it was something. And something is certainly better than nothing. After Wicket and Tally were back on deck Pigtail waved to the wagon train to get moving, which they did despite the oxen needing to a rest.
"Okay, let's swing around and pick up those cannon balls. We don't need to lose any of them." So they swung around to retrieve the cannon balls.
"I thought cannon balls exploded on impact?" Pill said to Pigtail.
"Oh, they generally do but that's because they are filled with an explosive. But I realized that once we used all the cannon balls up we wouldn't be able to replenish the stock so I had Tally and Wicket take the explosive out and replace it with sand. According to Jethro, the dirt around here is soft enough that any type of impact would send dirt into the air and make it look like an explosion. This way we get to keep the cannon balls and still have them as a means to scare the wagon train." Pigtail explained to Pill.
"Hang on," Wicket suddenly spotted a problem. "Captain, just how the heck are we gonna get that cannon ball up the rope ladder. With the sand and all, it's really heavy. Me and Tally couldn't get it up here between the two of us."
"Well, piddle, I hadn't thought of that. Well, someone needs to come up with an idea really quick. We don't linger too terribly long in this area."
Pill had been watching all the goings on with a great amount of curiosity. She had been so excited about the action that she plumb forgot that she was supposed to be ready to shoot her slingshot at a moment's notice. As she looked down at the slingshot she got a sudden flash of brilliance.
"Captain, I think I know how to get the cannon ball back up on deck," Pill said.
So after a few minutes of preparation Tally climbed over the railing and Wicket tossed him a rope with a leather sling on the end to put the cannon ball in. Then Wicket and the girls all pulled the cannon ball up.
"That's was a great idea, Pill, I'm glad you thought of it, instead of someone else. You know, a certain someone who seems to be letting all these new ideas he's been getting go to his head." Wicket said in a whisper to Pill.
"I heard that. I'm not either letting it go to my head. I just think you're jealous because I have proven I'm not just a pretty face around here and that I can contribute just like you." Tally said in a rather huffy voice.
"Sorry, but you do seem to be rather full of yourself. And I'm not jealous, not in the least bit. I've always been considered the smart one and you've always been considered the pretty one. We've each had our own areas of specialty but now you're horning in on my territory. You don't see me trying to pretty myself up, now do ya? Nope, I'm not gonna take that away from you. So I would think you would show me the same courtesy. But no, you're trying to usurp my territory as the smart one."
"I am not! I don't even use a straw and if I did I would not be slurping it." Tally countered and proved to Wicket that he was in fact, still the smart one. This made Wicket feel much better.
Meanwhile, Pill and Lark were trying to figure out how the heck Tally was pegged as the 'pretty' one because they would have to strongly disagree with that. It wasn't that he was so ugly he would break a mirror but he certainly wouldn't win any beauty contests. He might win an 'average looking' contest but nothing more.
When they got back to their home port, the cave, they emptied the bags onto the table in the galley. There wasn't much to show for their efforts, a few dollars and some worthless trinkets, nothing more. There weren't any jewels or gold bars or anything like that. Pigtail was very disappointed.
"How the heck can we make a living off this," he pointed to the take in disgust. "There isn't anything worth much here. We can't sustain our existence here if we don't get any more than this each time we go out. We need something substantial. How the heck can we be a scourge of the plains if we have to declare bankruptcy?" Pigtail sat down more depressed than when the Wind Hag had denied his request.
"Maybe we should focus on the stagecoaches. Those are people who have enough money to buy a ticket and sometimes they have payroll on them. The only problem is they would probably shoot back at us, which is why I didn't suggest them in the first place," said Jethro.
"Ooo, I'd rather do that. I felt bad about hitting the wagon trains. I mean, here are these nice people who are looking for a better life and we go and rob them. That's not very nice," Lark said.
Wicket sighed and told her, "Lark, honey, we're pirates, pirates aren't nice people. It's in the rule book for piracy."
"There's a rule book? How come I've never seen it?" Tally asked.
"Because, it's the Captain's and he's the one who owns it and goes by it. I just saw it in the bookshelf and decided to take a gander at it just to make sure I was doing it right. I'm not doing all of it right but I am doing a good portion of it right, I think."
"I have a rule book on piracy? Well, that's news to me. I'll have to be sure and read up on it." Pigtail said a bit miffed that no one had told him about the book.
"But I still think we should be nice pirates. We could write our own rule book and make pirates nice people. I think all of you are very nice and since none of us wanted to kill and hurt anyone, it proves we're all nice," Lark said.
"Yeah, but you have to remember that strictly speaking, we're not really pirates. I was the cook before the real Captain was washed overboard. I was only chosen as Captain because the rest of the crew thought they could get rid me anytime they wanted. Wicket and Tally were nothing more than deckhands. They washed and cleaned the decks and did any types of repairs needed. They never really took part in the raids either. They were sent down below when the others attacked because the pirates didn't want them getting in the way. Sorry about that, guys."
"Nothing to be sorry for, we knew that was why they did that and we didn't really care. It kept us from getting hurt or worse, killed or something. So we gladly went down below. After all, if the ship was boarded then it would turn into a knife fight and I refuse to do that," Wicket said.
"Actually, Pill is the only one who had anything to do with any of the real pirates, since she was the Captain's cabin boy. So she's the only one who might have an inkling as to what a 'real' pirate is like."
"Yes, I suppose I do, but it's not a pretty sight. So I would prefer to be pirates like Lark wants, 'nice' pirates. That could be just as much fun and no one would get hurt, physically or emotionally." Pill decided to get her two cents worth in.
Jethro felt a decision was needed. "Okay, then it's decided that we will be 'nice pirates' and forgo anything that the pirate rule book may say we're supposed to do to be pirates. All in favor say 'aye.'" They all said 'aye' and so the measure was passed.
So Pigtail and Jethro sat down and made preparations as to how to go about robbing a stagecoach. Tally and Wicket went to the galley to make lunch and Lark and Pill headed outside to play. Pill was really getting the hang of it now and so she really wanted to play more in order to brush up on all the necessary skills needed to be a good player. Lark was thrilled to have a friend she could play with and talk to and they spent most of the day playing differen
t games.
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