Gather The Children (Chronicles of the Maca Book 2)

by Mari Collier

  “She tis a good choice. Tis your turn, friend Rolfe.” Lorenz stood taller. He had Papa's approval.

  Rolfe spat at the ground. “Hell, if du are spoiling your poy, might as vell do the same. Vhat won do du vant, Martin?”

  Martin grinned and pointed out the roan with the white face and white stockings. “I'll take that one.”

  MacDonald and Rolfe chose the two they wanted and then decided they'd try to keep another two. If they found the time to rough break them, they could make a better profit in Arles when they trailed the herd in come fall. Lorenz and Martin were stationed at the gate, and the extra five horses driven out of the enclosure and shooed off to prevent any diversion for the six they meant to trail down to their ranches.

  They used their ropes and voices to keep the six horses under control and kept a brisk, even pace to the MacDonald ranch. MacDonald easily swept ahead and opened the corral when they pounded in. After they watered their own mounts they headed for the house and a quick meal.

  The kid that MacDonald and Lorenz rescued met them at the door carrying an empty bucket. Anna had given him Lorenz's old too-short trousers and the misshapen hat. Lorenz had discarded for his new one. His face was still sun burnt, but he seemed recovered. His pale blue eyes, however, were just as dull as when they found him and his mouth dropped at the size of MacDonald.

  “What tis yere name, lad?”

  The eyelids blinked furiously and no sound came from his mouth for a moment. Chalky was slight of build, slight of hair, and slight of mind, and he could but gawk at the huge form in front of him. “Hit's Chalky,” he half-whispered.

  “How did ye come to be out there by the wayside?”

  Lorenz felt sorry for the kid. He knew the empty gut feeling Chalky must be experiencing while he was looking at the huge form asking questions when he didn't have an idea what would happen next or why they were being asked.

  Mama came to Chalky's rescue. “He said he vas riding to Schmidt's Corner. His reason for doing so seemed confused, but that could be from the sun. Except for the carrying in vater, I've made him stay in most of the day.” She raised her eyebrows to MacDonald, and he nodded his head.

  Mina, by this time, had pulled at MacDonald's leg and was back up in his arms, hugging him. Anna reached for the child and continued talking. “There are plenty of beans and biscuits. Everything is ready.”

  After washing up, Lorenz got behind Chalky and guided him into the dining room. He figured that Chalky's former living conditions didn't include dining rooms, heaping tables, and people who spoke more than one language. He was feeling downright sorry for him.

  Anna practically pushed Chalky into a chair and plumped Mina into her high chair. Chalky looked at the table in total disbelief. Everyone had a plate and utensils, and the table held more than a bean pot. He sat in his chair as still as the stunned look on his face.

  Like everyone else he bowed his head while grace was being said and gave a low “Amen” when they finished. Then he sat there staring straight ahead. The Rolfe's ignored him, Anna looked concerned, and MacDonald's face showed no emotion, the amusement driven away.

  Lorenz was sitting next to Chalky and plopped the beans and two biscuits on his plate. He wasn't sure about the milk, but poured it in the glass anyway. Anna smiled at her son, delighted at the compassion she knew he possessed and at his ability to display it.

  “Ah doan want to take any food from yu all,” Chalky stammered out. “Ah can wait until yu all are done and jest eat the leavin's.” He face flamed even redder as he spoke and he bowed his head.

  MacDonald looked up, completely dumbfounded, his eyebrows arching upward, and looked to his wife for a response to such a statement.

  Anna smiled at her husband and answered for him. “Du don't need to vorry. There is plenty more. Eat now.”

  As before, the table became a jumble of people eating, talking, and passing dishes. This was not the fancy meal served when Lorenz came home, but the everyday fare for people working. Soon everyone finished, the chairs scraped back and shoved under the table as the men headed back to the corral to move Rolfe's horses to his ranch.

  Chalky stammered out his thanks to Anna for taking him in, for Lorenz's cast off clothes, and the food. His face became a burning red and his dull, blue eyes filled with tears over her kindness.

  Anna patted his shoulder. She turned to MacDonald who was setting Mina back down on the floor. “Du must make sure he gets to Schmidt's Corner without getting lost again.”

  MacDonald's eyebrows went skyward. “My love, have ye discovered why any would wish to go to Schmidt's Corner?”

  She shook her head and replied in German. “It's something about his Ma'am told him to.”

  MacDonald sighed and answered in badly accented German. “That means there was no food for another mouth, and she has sent him on a pointless journey.”

  Trouble filled Anna's eyes. “If he makes it there, maybe he can go on to the north where there are more farms.”

  MacDonald shook his head. “The farmers there are as broke as the rest in this land. They are just now moving back in after the rebels chased them out. They won't have work for another, nay money to give.” He saw the stubbornness settle on her face, gave in and returned to English. “Once we have the wild ones moved, I twill make sure he gets to Schmidt's Corner and has something to travel on.” He followed the rest down to the corrals.

  The others were busy saddling their mounts. Chalky had no saddle and was leading his aged mule out of the barn and was about to mount when MacDonald stopped him by saying, “Mrs. MacDonald tis worried that ye may become sun struck again. After we have driven the horses to the Rolfe's, we twill make sure ye get there safely.”

  Chalky looked confused and licked at his cracked lips. “My Ma'am said hit was real important for me to get there.”

  “We may need ye to help with the moving. Ye can open the gate when we have the horses caught up. Ye twill wait for my saying to open it and then ye twill ride with us. Tis a way of paying for yere vittles.”

  “Yes, suh.” The thought of helping and paying for what he had consumed seemed to brighten Chalky's outlook.

  Rolfe snorted, shot a stream of tobacco at the ground, and muttered something about, “und he'd better stay out of the damn way.”

  Lorenz was wondering how they were going to separate Rolfe's selection without losing the whole shebang of horses out of the corral and asked Martin. “How do y'all get just your horses?”

  Martin grinned, “Y'all just watch me, Lorenz. Maybe y'all will learn something.” He swung into the saddle, looked to see if the rest were ready, and shook out his rope.

  The rest mounted up, and MacDonald leaned over and opened the gate. They entered the corral single file with Chalky remaining on the outside. MacDonald closed the gate and showed Chalky how the wire held the gate, bottom and top, then he turned to line up with the other two. Martin set the loop on the end of his rope into a swirling motion, kicked his heels into his horse's ribs, and set off at a slow trot.

  Lorenz watched in disbelief as Martin's rope swung out and settled around the neck of the horse Mr. Rolfe had picked. Up until then, he'd figured only the vaqueros could handle a rope like that. Evidently it was something that other people did too. Rolfe had raced his horse along the roped one, and they brought it towards the corral rails. Rolfe handed over another rope and kept both his horse and the wild one under control. Lorenz saw how this would proceed and watched MacDonald pull up the rope from his saddle horn.

  It was almost four in the afternoon when they had the wild horses corralled at Rolfe's and were watering their horses at the horse tank.

  “Friend Mac, I buy du a drink,” announced Rolfe. “Come in for a spell. Olga vill be glad to see du.”

  “Rest a wee bit and I twill be right back,” MacDonald said to Lorenz and Chalky before the two headed for the ranch house.

  Eons ago, this had been a high plain plateau gradually cut down by a deep river. The river cuttin
g at the ground as the water sank deeper and deeper. Later the river meandered away from the first high bluffs it created and slowly shrank in size, leaving the bluffs standing guard over a flat, grass covered prairie. Rolfe had dug his home into the bluff and then built the front part from wood. The river was no longer a huge river, but a slow moving stream that occasionally rose during the seasonal rains. It was, however, deep enough to supply the household with water. A cistern augmented the supply during the dry months.

  “Where did y'all learn to rope like that?” Lorenz asked Martin as they rubbed down their horses. “Can y'all teach me?”

  Martin grinned. “Ja sure, but Uncle Mac can teach y'all the basics. He can rope some too. He just ain't as good as me.”

  Chalky was beginning to recover from seeing a second, complete homestead with a house, barn, outbuildings, and to his amazement, a chicken house with fencing around it to keep out the coyotes and other varmints. He was certain he had fallen in with the rich folks his Ma'am had talked about being one day. He felt getting rich might be harder than Ma'am made it sound, and he would not even be able to earn any money if he didn't get to Schmidt's Corner. He led his mule out of the shade of the tree and was ready to mount when Lorenz saw him and went over. “Papa said we'd take y'all into Schmidt's Corner. He ain't going to be long.”

  A stubborn look came over Chalky's face. “My Ma'am told me to git to Schmidt's Corner and warn that fellar about them really bad men. He might even pay me as much as a quarter for tellin' him.”

  Lorenz looked at him in disbelief. “Warn what feller?”

  Chalky shut his mouth. “No, siree. Yu folks have been right kind, but I ain't saying, elseways yu all might git the money instead of me, and Ma'am told me to do it.”

  “If they're so bad, why'd they let y'all get away?”

  Chalky grinned, “Cause they didn't see me. I saw 'em shoot the dawg an' ah knowed they wuz no good; 'specially when ah heard Ma'am and my little sister screaming. Ah wuz goin' to try and sneak in, but jest couldn't figure a way. Ah kept hid till Ma'am got outside to git some water. She tole me to go and warn this fellar theat built Schmidt's Corner.”

  “Y'all keep him here,” Lorenz shouted to Martin and he ran for the house. No way could he explain to Martin what he'd seen in Chalky's mind, but he knew this was more than he could handle alone.

  “Papa,” he yelled as he ran across the shaded porch, “that boy, Chalky, he's talking about warning the fellow at Schmidt's Corner, and it's something bad.” He was afraid to say more and sent a mental image of what he had seen and banged the flat of his hand against the door jamb.

  He could see the bulk of MacDonald heaving himself up from the chair and heard the mug hit the table. “Aye, Lorenz, I hear ye. Friend Rolfe, I believe this needs my attention.”

  At the door, MacDonald grabbed his hat and rifle. Behind him Rolfe stood and muttered something in German, but followed his friend. He picked up his rifle as he went out.

  As they hurried, MacDonald asked, “Now what tis this about?”

  “Two gunmen came to wherever they live and Chalky was outside, but had sense enough not to go in after they shot the dog and his ma and sister were screaming.” Lorenz was practically running to keep up with MacDonald's long strides. Rolfe followed more leisurely, but within earshot.

  “When I start to question him, I dinna want ye to say a word.”

  Lorenz started to ask why, but thought the better of it. He knew they had to get back to Mama and couldn't see why the bother. Then he remembered Uncle, but figured, hell, he was a man full-growed, and there were other people in town.

  Chalky's face had turned a deeper shade of red. Martin was blocking him from getting on the mule, and Martin didn't show any signs of letting him go until the three walked up.

  “Lorenz tells me my brither-by-marriage may be endangered, and ye have information about it.” MacDonald saw the blankness cover Chalky's face and he tried again. “It seems ye ken of someone who is planning to…”

  “Shoot hell out of Schmidt's Corner,” Rolfe finished the sentence for MacDonald.

  Chalky looked from imposing man to imposing man and swallowed. “My Ma'am said hit wuz real important, but she said he might pay me a quarter.”

  MacDonald fished a quarter out of his hip pocket. “Here tis the quarter for the telling. If the information tis important enough, there may be more.”

  Chalky examined the quarter, scraped the rim, and bit down.

  “What are ye doing? That tis nay gold.” MacDonald was trying not to be impatient.

  “Ah ain't never seed a quarter before,” Chalky admitted. He pocketed the quarter and told his tale. “Well, suh, ah wuz where we get our water and ah heard two gents ride up. Ah wuz going up to see who it wuz as soon as I got the bucket filled. That's when ah heard my Ma'am scream and when ah looked they shot our dog. He warn't really our dog, but he hung around like maybe we'd have something to feed him. Doan know whar he came from, jest sorta showed up every now and then, but thar weren't no reason jest to shoot him like that, and they kept shootin' hit and laughin'. I jest knowed they'd do the same to me if ah went up thar so ah hid out. When they went back inside my little sister started screamin' too. Hit wuz all ah could do to stay hid.”

  “That twas good thinking,” said MacDonald, his lips pulled tight.

  “Hit kept gettin' later and later and ah kept wonderin' what to do, and finally about dark Ma'am came out fer water. Hit was still light enough for me to see, and her face looked kinda swelled up and funny, but she said to pay no never mind. Ah wuz suppose to catch up the General, that's the mule over thar, and light out for Schmidt's Corner cause them two inside wuz gonna go there and kill the owner, and ah was to ride night and day and not stop fer anything, cause the man thar might pay me a whole quarter and even give me a job. She said they'd probably stay all night cause they wuz so drunk.” Chalky took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders. It was one of the longest speeches he had ever made, and he had gone over and over everything in his mind so he wouldn't forget Ma'am's instructions.

  MacDonald's face grew harder, but he kept his voice gentle. “How long twere ye on the trail?”

  “Oh, ah rode all night and most of the day and rested jest a bit when General wouldn't move, and then all night and most of that day yu all found me. Ah jest got so sleepy and thirsty that ah fell off and then ah jest doan even remember.”

  MacDonald let out his breath. “Damn, three days.” He spun to face Rolfe. “I must go to Anna and the wee one.”

  Rolfe's face was intent. “Ja, Indians she'd shoot mitt out asking questions, but probably not two vhite men.”

  MacDonald turned to head for his horse when he spun again. “Damn, I forgot, Kap and Gra Gerde.”

  “Don't vorry. Martin and Olga vill take care of things here. They know to look for two men. I'll go varn Kap.” He spat and pointed his finger at Martin. “Du use der buffalo gun if du see two men, Olga the other Henry. Don't try to talk to them, just shoot. If vun of du is doing chores, the other stands guard, and Young James does not go out of the haus. Ja?”

  “Ja, sure, Papa. We'll be all right.”

  Rolfe's eyes were as hard as MacDonald's and he pointed at Lorenz. “That poy goes mitt me. He shoots good.”

  “No, I just found Mama!”

  MacDonald laid his hands on Lorenz's shoulders. “I sorrow, laddie, for I would nay put this on ye till ye are elder, but Kap tis Anna's twin. There tis a bond twixt them that nay can break. Ye are of their House, and one of us must go to protect them. Pay attention to what Mr. Rolfe says. There tis nay better man in a fight.” He lowered his head and gently touched Lorenz's head with his, straightened, and turned to Rolfe.

  “Bring him back to us, Herman, for he tis our laddie.” He released Lorenz and grabbed his saddle.

  “Ja, ve both vill come back. Dem men,” he added to MacDonald's retreating form, “have vasted lots of time. Somebody hired them and they are going to have to finish the job to get paid.
They probably ain't going to stop again until they get to Schmidt's Corner.”

  “Martin,” he pointed his finger at his son, “du saddle my horse.” He pointed at Lorenz. “Und du saddle yours. Ve ride as soon as I get some more cartridges.”

  Chapter 12: Shootout

  They rode out of the yard, at a steady pace instead of the wild gallop that MacDonald had pushed Zark into. Lorenz's mind was a jumble, and Chalky's eyes were wide with wonder at seeing such a thing as Rolfe embracing and kissing his daughter and youngest son goodbye. The elder Rolfe had thrown his arms around Martin and muttered, “Auf Wiedersehen,” before mounting. Neither man had shown any embarrassment. Lorenz finally decided that Rolfe must be a strange combination of white man becoming a fur trapper turning mostly Indian, but still keeping the customs of his farming people back east. Maybe people back east were that different. He didn't know. He did know he wanted this over with and nudged Dandy up alongside of Rolfe.

  “Shouldn't we be going faster?”

  “Vy? I think ve are ahead of them. This vay if Mac runs into them, ve hear the shots.” His blue eyes swung around and drilled into Lorenz. “Du not thinking of telling me how to run things?”

  “No, suh.” Lorenz started to let Dandy drift back to Chalky.

  “Vhen do du think they'll hit us; tonight or in the morning?”

  “In the morning, I reckon.”

  “Ja, that's vhat I think. They'll come in first to look things over. Ve'll shoot first.” Rolfe fell silent for the rest of the ride.

  They rode into Schmidt's Corner about six o'clock, long before the sun was ready to set and pulled up at the back of the store. “Du poys take the horses to the stables and come on in. I'll tell everybody vhat to expect.”

  Chalky roused himself from his stupor. “Ah promised Ma'am that ah'd tell 'em.”

  “Don't vorry, du can tell Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt later.” Rolfe stalked up the steps to be greeted by Gerde.