Camp Camel: The Heart of Texas

by Eaton, Rosemary

  Jenny puckered her lips into a pout and shook her head. She wasn’t talking. She made a rude gesture with her hand at Dallas and threw the haversack in his face.

  Bryan growled, “Just had to put it there right in her face didn’t you. Couldn’t just have given her the damned rocks back. There wasn’t one worth more than a nickel in the whole bunch and you let them throw them out?” Bryan reached back and Jenny fought him over the left out sack of rocks from the creek until it flew out of Bryan’s hands and landed at Dallas’ feet. Dallas reached down and picked it up and looked inside. His eyes bugged open, “My God. Did you forget to give me something? This is worth more than all the rest combined Bryan!”

  Bryan said, “Well, I wasn’t counting sacks. That’s where I put the best ones and I put it where we wouldn’t lose them. When she showed me these had gotten pushed back behind those jars, I had to think long and hard about whether to come back or just get on a stage, but I came back Dallas.”

  Dallas asked, “Before or after she told you about the tunnel? Were you coming back before you thought we’d die if you didn’t?” Dallas picked up the bag and the loose stones.

  Bryan said, “Doesn’t matter, I came back didn’t I?”

  Jenny made a grunting sound, “HUMPH.” That was it. She just looked Bryan in the face like really, doesn’t matter for you, but it mattered for me.

  Dallas asked, “Why did she do that. She’s mad, no not just mad she’s pissed beyond belief at you Bryan. What did you say to her?”

  Bryan said, “I asked her how she knew about the tunnel and what’s in that tunnel and she blew up. She thought I was trying to put the blame on the boys or her because she knew. It’s not just a tunnel Dallas.”

  Bo was back with Victoria pushing him out the door. Vic said, “He has something he wants to say. Go on Bo, tell them.”

  Bo looked at Dallas and tried not to look at Jenny, “I know her.”

  Bryan looked at Bo, “Say what?”

  Jenny was shaking her head no and blurted out, “My tunnel. I dug tunnel to save Indian boys. Not there when boy soldier here.”

  Bryan cocked his head toward Jenny, “You’re talking again?”

  Jenny squinted, “Not to you smuck!” Bryan started to tell her she just did talk to him, but wisely decided that wasn’t a good move.

  Dallas looked at Bo like what have you done. Bo shrugged one shoulder and swallowed then confessed, “No, it was mine Nahuu. I snuck out and went to Sparrow Hawk’s camp. I followed Gage when he went at night and well, things happened.”

  Bryan looked at Bo, “Things happened? Like you laid with my wife things?”

  Bo’s eyes grew big, “Well, I’m not sure. There were a lot of squaws in his camp.”

  Bryan looked at Jenny, “Tell me you didn’t show a boy that honey pot of yours.”

  Jenny pursed her lips and spit in his face, “Sarrie!”

  Vic looked at Bo, “You did, you little horny toad want-a-be. My God, she’s almost old enough to be your Mother!”

  Bo looked at Vic, “It was dark Vic. If I’d seen her face I would have told someone. My God, Gage was in his tent all the time with her bragging about what she did with her hands. You can’t put that thought in front of a young man and expect him to have any blood left in his brain.”

  Bryan pulled a flask from his jacket and took a large gulp, “Well, Peekwi sure looks like Gage, maybe he’s Gage’s too.” Jenny grabbed the flask and took a gulp of her own and started looking for the haversack and digging through the contents. She had a large piece of wokwave in her hand and stuffed it into her mouth and started to chew. Bryan grabbed her jaw and tried to get it out before she swallowed as Jenny bit down hard on his fingers. Bryan cussed three ways to Sunday but didn’t let go of the piece and pulled it out like a dentist extracting a bad tooth from a stubborn child. Bryan looked at her and started to pull out his belt, “SPIT! That’s not getting you out of this Jenny. Admit it you pleasured a sixteen year old BOY!”

  Bo put his body between Jenny and Bryan, “Don’t you dare touch her!”

  Dallas looked at Bo, “Prove it. Where is this tunnel? I’m betting he’s covering up something worse. He doesn’t know.”

  Bo swallowed and looked at Jenny, “Let’s see. Let me think. It’s been a while.”

  Jenny could hear Daisy growling. She had scented her and wanted her baby. Jenny’s eyes were looking at the pen as Bo said, “It’s in the camel pen. You want to know why I hate camels, that’s why.” Dallas gave him the pitch fork, “Go for it.”

  Bryan took Jenny by the arm as they entered the pen. Bo pointed to one of the stalls, “There.”

  Bryan looked at Dallas, “Don’t just stand there, get a shovel or something.”

  Bo started poking at the ground. After he’d poked around in Daisy’s stall he muttered, “Maybe it was the next one. Things looked different back then.” There was the sound of wood as Bo hit pay dirt and lifted up a wooden trap door over a narrow tunnel. Dallas crawled down into the opening and kept calling out as he bumped his head and knees on roots that ran under the wall and came up about fifty yards further out.

  Bryan called out, “Find anything?”

  Dallas crawled out of the tunnel as he pushed up a board and spit out dirt and brushed the cobwebs out of his hair. In his hands was a jar covered with buckskin. He carried the jar back into the camel pen and took the top off. Dallas looked at the pads of wokwave, “What were you thinking? My God Bo, if anyone had got a hold of this, they could have murdered everyone here.”

  Dallas reached down pulling out and counted the pads. When he got to fifteen he felt something else, “Hum, something else in here too. Now why did you have this?”

  Bo cringed, “I swear, I thought I filled it in. You know I wouldn’t have left it like that.”

  Vic had her hand in the jar and pulled out a hand full of black pearls, “Oh my God, you went on that trip. Who let you go on that?”

  Bo said in self defense, “Gage. That’s who I got the wokwave from to start with and then when I realized the Indians gambled with it, one thing led to another.”

  Bryan pulled out some IOU’s and silver dollars. He shook out a deck of cards, a pair of dice, a pea and three shells. Bryan chuckled as he read an IOU to Bo from Eagle Feather promising a night of pleasure with Rabbit Woman and others from Red Eagle, Mouse Dog, and even one from Sparrow Hawk where Nahuu’s name was crossed out and replaced by Snow Bird. Bryan signed with relief, “Snow Bird. he did Snow Bird.”

  “Bo said, “No, I never collected on those.”

  Bryan shook his head like he wanted to wallop Bo on the side of the head, “When a man offers you an excuse, have the decency to not to throw it back in his face.”

  Vic was counting the IOU’s, “Hum, that would be about the time your mother married Mr. Sanders?”

  Bo sighed, “Yes. That would be about the time I started going to Crockett’s Bluff with Dallas. You’re the only woman in my life Vic.”

  Victoria laughed, “Well good, then these pearls are mine to keep. Victoria looked at the cactus pads, “That doesn’t look that dangerous to me.”

  Bo slapped her hand as she started to take a chunk, “You can’t.”

  Victoria smiled, “Oh but I can. It’s yours right? What’s yours is mine.”

  Bo put it a different way, “No, what’s yours is mine and I’m not planning on dying like Senior. You gave this to the old man didn’t you? That wasn’t just some old heart attack, you might as well shot him in the heart Vic.”

  Victoria swallowed down her bile, “Not murder. He asked for it. I just needed a little help to get in the mood.”

  Dallas looked at Victoria, “You didn’t warn him?”

  Victoria shrugged her shoulders, “He wasn’t taking no for an answer that night. That still no reason why I can’t Bo.”

  Bo looked at Victoria, “It wouldn’t be healthy for a baby. Is that reason enough?”

  Victoria looked at Bo, “You want children?”
/>   Dallas looked around, “Where’s JC?”

  Victoria said, “Back in the house I guess.”

  Dallas ran calling out the boy’s name, “JC! DON’T GO NEAR THE FIREPLACE!”

  Bryan looked toward where Dallas disappeared and told Jenny, “STAY, DON”T YOU LEAVE.” He ran after Dallas calling out, SOMEONE GET THE FIRE BUCKETS!”

  Bo looked at Vic, “You left him alone?”

  Victoria said, “He’ll be fine. Mrs. Tyler introduced herself. She has him.” Jenny looked toward the outside listening to the sounds of men scurrying toward the Major’s home.

  Victoria looked at Jenny waving her hand in front of her eyes, “I think he missed some she doesn’t look like she knows where she is Bo.”

  Bo looked in Jenny’s eyes, “I have no words for what happened.” Jenny blinked and she was back in the moment and looked around the camel pen wondering where everyone went.

  Victoria waved her hand dismissing Jenny, “Go on shoo, you’re free to go.” Vic looked at Bo, “You never answered my question. Do you want children?” Jenny bit down on her lip as she considered the fact that he might already have one.

  Bo’s eyes were looking at Victoria, but he addressed Jenny, “I’ll be fine, you can go now Jenny. This is between my wife and I. You understand?”

  Jenny looked at the boy. He had grown into a man. He was right, he didn’t need her to remind him of his past or hers. There was no going home or going back to when she was his and he wanted her body or at least somebody and pretended she was her. She was older than him, but the boy had always seemed wiser than his age. Jenny thought on Itsee. Had he scream out his wife’s name so? Had Sparrow Hawk when he took Tatsinuupi for the first time or maybe some other older woman had been his first too and she had to hear another woman’s name.

  Jenny heard the fire bell ringing and people calling for water. Jenny quietly put Daisy’s saddle on and lead her toward the big gate with buckets of water hanging from her sides. When she got there the guard challenged her. Jenny looked him straight in the eyes and smiled as she pointed to the outside and pretended to be throwing water on a fire. The guard opened the gate and Jenny walked over unloaded the water and held a bucket in her hand by the porch waiting for the first flames to appear trying to decide if she would just watch the man who said she was a means to an ends and his family burn or douse them with her water.

  Dallas came out a little red faced with Bryan right behind him. Jenny let the water fly and doused them both, picked up the next bucket and repeated it for good measure muttering one word, “Smuck!”

  Dallas announced, “False alarm. Everyone can go home.”

  Bryan watched as she walked away. Dallas looked at him, “Well don’t stand there Bryan go after her. Where’s she going to go?”

  Bryan said, “She isn’t going to forgive me. I touched her like him Dallas. I turned into MacLeod.”

  Dallas said, “Your her husband for better or worse. Well this is the worse part, man up. You didn’t want her rolling over for MacLeod did you? You wanted her to learn how to fight back. Well she just went against fifteen years of captivity to throw that water in our faces.”

  Bryan smiled, “She did, didn’t she.” Bryan took the wagon and drove off after Jenny. Dallas was right. She stood at the exit to the camp and looked lost. She didn’t want to go North or South or West and she was scared of what might lay to the East. Bryan pulled up and tied the reigns off and gingerly made his way down. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her and gently asked, “So which way were you thinking about? Maybe I’ll just tag along and see what comes up.”

  Jenny didn’t answer, she just climbed up in the wagon and found her way to the back and took off her dress and put on the skirt and blouse Dallas had given her and walked back into the camp without any head dress on or shawl covering her shoulders. The men parted as she marched straight toward the Major’s office.

  Bryan sighed and just followed several steps behind hoping that she wasn’t going to murder someone as he waved his hands at the men in front trying to clear the path. Jenny burst through the door with no regard for what was going on in the office. Bo was kissing Victoria and taking off her blouse on the floor when Jenny came through the door. She took a look at how his muscles had filled out since he was a young man. There was the bag of gemstones on the desk that Bryan had given to Dallas. It would have been easy enough to have taken it back and she thought about it. But if she did, they would belong to the smuck. Then Jenny spotted it. There was her haversack.

  Bryan was at the door but didn’t move further toward Jenny. He just watched. Jenny started to reach over Bo to take the pouch and her eyes met Victoria as she tried to push Bo off and put her blouse back on. Jenny bit on her lip and smiled and reached down with her hands and pulled Victoria’s hands up around his back and lifted her finger tips and ran them down his back.

  Bryan’s head arched forward trying to see exactly what she was doing as Bo moaned and a shiver went all the way up his spine. Bo never looked up. He was at the moment where passion takes all the blood from a man’s head and gives it to his loins. Bo called out Vic’s name as he thrust and thrust and collapsed spent of his seed on top of her.

  Jenny quietly lifted the haversack and clutched it to her breast. She opened the the haversack and Bryan started to stop her but waited watching to see if she had wokwave in her hand. When she removed it from the pouch her fingers were closed around the broken emerald. She laid it on the desk. Then she rifled through the bag of good gemstones and took the last stone she found and lay it by the broken emerald and called out, “All or nothing, call heads or tails.”

  Vic asked, “What?”

  Bo said, “Tails, always tails M.”

  Jenny flipped the silver dollar high in the air, “Except when it is not. Like night you lose my future to Gage.”

  Bryan reached up and caught it and slapped it on the back of his hand and uncovered the coin and quickly called out, “Heads, you lose Bo.” Bryan turned the coin quickly in his palm before Bo rose up to check.

  Jenny picked up the remains of the emerald and the dark red ruby and put them in her pouch and walked out.

  Bryan flipped the coin over to Bo and reached up and took her pouch off the top shelf, “Hers. This should more than cover the price Major.”

  Victoria looked up at Bo, “That door needs a lock.”

  Bo grinned, “How did you do that.”

  Victoria asked, “You liked that?”

  Bo looked glassy eyed, “You couldn’t tell? Maybe we should do it again. Pay attention this time Vic.”

  Victoria chuckled, “It wasn’t your front side being exposed for all to see Bo Callahan.”

  Bo smiled, “Well, if you insist.” Bo flipped her and sat her on top of his waist. Bo replied, “Anytime you’re ready Vic, I’m good to go.”

  Dallas barged in and turned quickly, “My God, have you no restraint?”

  Bo chuckled, “No, none, didn’t those IOU tell you anything? What can I do for you Dallas?”

  Dallas kept his hand up shielding his eyes, “Just saying Good-bye and good luck with MacLeod. “

  Bo sat up dumping Vic on her bottom, “What? He’s going with Travers West.”

  Dallas said, “He’s going to try, but somehow I don’t think he’s going to catch up to them.” Dallas was wearing a smirk, “New orders for Travers. He’s joining me in Delight.” Dallas put the telegram down on the desk and left. Bo reached up and read the telegraph, “Damned. Now what.” Bo felt another piece of paper on the desk. His fingers slid it off onto the floor and he picked it up and looked in disbelief at the treasure map. The blood drained from his lower half as he remembered the ill-fated trip.

  Victoria frowned, “Awe something wrong?”

  Bo looked at the map and swallowed, “Shit. I thought for sure I burned this at Crockett’s Bluff. You think he knows?”

  Victoria asked, “Dallas or MacLeod?”

  Bo answered, “MacLeod, I know Dalla
s knows, he helped make it.”

  Victoria took the sheet and looked it over and giggled, “A treasure map? This is Dallas’ famous treasure map? The one he made with the dread Pirate Luellen in the cave while convincing her he wasn’t going to touch her the night they were trapped by the bear?”

  Bo asked, “You remember that? Are you saying you were there?”

  Victoria snorted, “Of course I do. That was the first time I got the best of her. It rained, then the darn bear showed up. If Lacy hadn’t tried to shoot the thing with that musket, we might have all died in that tree.”

  Bryan knocked and called out, “Major, as lawyer for Major Sanders representing him in a dispute concerning his son JC and custody, I just want to give you this notice to show up in Arkansas for a custody hearing about which state has jurisdiction over the child. As you will note, it is our contention that the child was conceived in Arkansas and you wife just corroborated his claim that he had access to said lady nine months before JC’s birth. Or you could sign the agreement and we just all stay friends. Anna Maria didn’t seem too upset when Brianna was born about leaving JC with Dallas either. I think Victoria was just exaggerating her distress of his absence. We could send a telegram. Oh look, I have one right here. Yes, pretty much that translates into go fuck yourself and don’t let me see your face or his again.”

  Dallas frowned, “You didn’t have to read that did you? You’ll give the boy a complex.”

  Bryan said, “Man up Dallas. You deserve that and you know it. You promised to marry the bitch.”

  Victoria perked up, “Marry my sister? Dallas you son of a bitch. You were doing both of us?”

  Bo pulled his pants back on and pulled himself back up while Vic buttoned up her clothes. Bo said, “Stop. Both of you before it becomes impossible to sit across the table from either of you at Thanksgiving or Christmas. Victoria sign that. You know JC’s his and Lacy’s. You’ll have one of you own before long. Then maybe you’ll understand what it feels like to have a child taken from you. Maybe you ought to think about that Dallas. M lost all her children this week. What ever you think Victoria was trying to do, it wasn’t anything like what happened to M.”