by Joe Corso
Wild Eagle got up to take care of the fire and Rose Sullivan approached Charlie.
“Is it all right if I sit down beside to you, Mr. Longstreet?”
“Sure. I’m real glad to see you feeling better. When we get to town, we’ll get a few hotel rooms, then we’ll buy you some new clothes and, when that’s done, we’ll get you and little sister to a nice hot bath. That’ll make you both feel a lot better.”
“That’s very generous of you, Mr. Longstreet. If you don’t mind me asking, where are you heading?”
“Well, me and Wild Eagle are on a personal mission for the president of these United States, Ulysses S. Grant.”
Rose’s eyes lit up. “You mean you’re on a secret mission for the president?”
Charlie laughed. “Now don’t go making it a secret mission. We just have to meet someone in San Diego and take him to Nebraska and make sure nothing bad happens to him.”
Rose was really paying attention now. “Who is this man that you are to meet, Mr. Longstreet?”
“He’s the grand something or other. Wait a minute; I have it written down here.”
He reached into a couple of pockets before he found the letter and scanned down the page.
“Here it is. I found it. The man we have to meet is the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia.”
“Can I see that letter, please?”
“Sure. Here, you can read his name for yourself.” Her eyes widened. “My God, this letter is from the president himself.”
“I told you I was doing him a favor and I don’t tell lies.”
“Who is your Indian friend and why is he traveling with you?”
“His name is Wild Eagle and he’s the chief of the Kaw Nation. I saved his life a while back. He was in pretty bad shape when I found him. I nursed him back to health and, when he recovered, we became blood brothers. He and I have been very close ever since. In fact, he’s the reason I took the job of Indian Agent that the president offered to me. I wouldn’t have taken the job, but the Indians were being cheated out of their food supplies and blankets and such and I just couldn’t abide that, so I took the job.”
“But how did you come to know the president?”
“Well, he had a little powwow set up with a number of tribes who weren’t happy with the way the government was treating them and he didn’t know how exactly to handle it. So, since I was Wild Eagle’s blood brother and also a member of Black Elk’s Shawnee tribe, he asked me to come to the meeting.”
“Who is Black Elk?”
“He’s the chief of the Shawnee Indians.”
“How did you become a member of their tribe?”
“Ma’am, you sure do ask a mountain of questions,” he said, smiling, which put her at ease.
“Black Elk’s wife was in trouble and me and Percy were the only ones who could help her. I should say Percy was the only one who could help her. I was just there to assist if I could.”
“What was wrong with her?”
“She was about to have a baby, but the baby was turned and she’d a-died if Percy wasn’t there.”
“Now, who is Percy?”
“Percy Williams? He’s my friend and he’s also a medical doctor. He performed an operation that never was tried before. He cut Running Deer and took the baby out in a way which wasn’t natural like, but by doing that, he saved her life and ours too. Because if Running Deer had died, then Black Elk would have likely killed us too.”
Her eyes noticed for the first time since waking up how his gun was tied down, while his second gun was in a low side holster. Then she remembered where she’d heard the name of Longstreet.
“Excuse me, Mr. Longstreet, but I read a book written by Ned Buntline about a gunfighter. Are you that Charles Longstreet… the famous Lone Jack Kid?”
“I don’t know about the famous part, but yes, I can honestly say that I’m guilty of being the Lone Jack Kid.”
Chapter 7
Charlie was teaching Wild Eagle how to make coffee, but since Rose was with them, he decided he would make the coffee himself. Now that he wasn’t busy making coffee, Wild Eagle built up the fire by throwing wood on it, while Charlie ground the coffee beans. While the coffeepot was simmering over the fire, Charlie walked, with Ban-Chu following, over to Rose’s wagon to see if she was all right. He was pleased to see that she was awake and busy brushing her hair.
“Gee, the coffee smells so good,” she said as he approached.
“Come to the fire and I’ll pour you a cup.”
She hesitated when Ban-Chu came near her to familiarize himself with her scent.
“Come on, and don’t worry about Ban-Chu. He won’t bother you.”
“In a minute. I just want to finish brushing my hair.”
Charlie noticed how she carefully brushed around the wound on her head.
“I found a hairbrush the Indians somehow missed and it feels good to brush my hair and feel a little human again.”
Charlie told her to sit still. “I want to check your wound. Hmm, you have quite a knot there, and you have a little cut on your head, but the cut’s not bad.”
She gazed at him with concern. “Will my head need stitches?”
“No. If it did need stitches. I’d take care of that for you, but it doesn’t. And that bump will be gone in a day or two. You were very lucky, Rose. The Apache usually don’t make a mistake like they did with you. You’re a good-looking woman, and I’m surprised they didn’t take you with them when they took your daughter. I guess they must have thought they killed you.”
She looked at him as tears started to fall.
“Yes, I was lucky, but my poor husband wasn’t. They came upon us so unexpectedly. Tom tried to protect us, but they were too much for him. It was horrible. One minute, there was no one and, in the next instant, the Indians were all around us, whooping and shooting and throwing our belongings in the air, and stomping on them when they fell to the ground. Horrible, just horrible.”
Charlie poured Rose a cup of hot coffee and handed her a hard biscuit. “Here’s your coffee and you should eat the biscuit. It’ll give you strength. Well, we better get started. Are you able to handle the wagon, Rose, or do you want me to drive?”
“No, I can drive. It’s better if you remain on horseback just in case something were to happen.”
“I agree, but I don’t think we’ll have any more Indian trouble this close to El Paso. What we have to watch for are renegade Mexicans who slip across the border looking to steal our horses and maybe our lives, and highwaymen hiding off the road, waiting for an easy mark to rob.”
When the sun was directly overhead, they came to a stream. Charlie motioned for Rose to pull the wagon off the road, close to the stream.
“Why don’t you and your daughter wash up in the stream while me and Wild Eagle ride up the road and take a look around. I’ll leave Ban-Chu here for protection. I don’t want you to worry, because we won’t go far.”
Rose protested, saying she could wait until she got to El Paso to take her bath. But she secretly felt the need to bathe while she had the opportunity, so she agreed. Charlie had no intention of riding up the road. He only said that to allow Rose and Marsha some private time to bathe without the fear of men gawking at them. Twenty minutes later, Charlie and Wild Eagle reined up.
“Hello, Rose. Are you decent?”
“Yes, you can get off of your horses.”
When Charlie tethered his horse and walked down to the stream, he was surprised to see how different Rose looked with the road grime washed from her face and her radiant hair shining as the sun reflected off it.
“My, what a difference a bath does for a body. You look like a new woman, Rose.”
She blushed at the compliment. “Thank you, Mr. Longstreet. Yes, it does feel good to be clean again.”
“It sure does,” Marsha added.
“Well, let me look at you, little sister.” He twirled her around by one hand. “My oh my, are you going to be beautiful when you grow up!”<
br />
Her eyes widened as she looked up at Charlie. “Will you wait for me to grow up, Charlie?”
Charlie lifted her up and twirled her around once before putting her down. “Of course I’ll wait for you. But you better hurry and grow up fast.”
She giggled. “I will, Charlie. You’ll see. I’m going to try real hard to grow up fast.”
Rose watched how gentle Charlie was with Marsha and wondered how such a gentle man could also be a cold-blooded gunfighter. She was in mourning, but one thing was certain: the Lone Jack Kid was an anomaly, which made him that much more attractive.
El Paso hadn’t changed at all since the last time Charlie visited the thriving town. There were still many shady characters roaming the streets and it looked to Charlie as if a dozen more saloons had opened up, along with twenty or thirty additional bawdy houses in the red light district. Charlie didn’t want to chance Wild Eagle walking the horses to the stable only to be confronted by drunken, angry white men, so together they walked all the horses, including the burro and the Indian ponies. Charlie sold the Indians’ horses and told the owner to feed their two horses the best food he had, then groom them. Charlie took his saddlebags off Sable.
“Come with me, ladies.”
“Where are you taking us?” Rose asked. Then she noticed the woman’s clothing store directly ahead of them.
A young lady approached when they stepped into her store and she couldn’t help noticing the scrubby young man and his Indian friend, but it was their wolf that frightened her. Charlie noticed her concern.
“Don’t worry about my wolf. He’s harmless.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. Then she noticed the woman’s and child’s torn clothing. “It looks to me as if you can use some new clothes.”
Rose smiled for the first time, showing a perfect set of white teeth. Before she could say a word, Charlie told the salesgirl, “We’re gonna buy a whole wardrobe, so bring out the best you have for both these gals.”
The salesgirl smiled, knowing her day had just been made. “Yes, sir.”
She looked at Rose. “My name is Audrey and my mother will take care of your daughter. Her name is Dora. What size are you, ma’am?”
Rose told her.
“And your daughter?”
Once she knew the correct sizes, Audrey rushed to the back room and, a short while later, returned carrying an armful of boxes. Then an older woman Charlie assumed was her mother walked toward them with another armful of boxes. The older woman put the boxes on a table near a mirror with three panes and motioned for Marsha to approach her.
Audrey pointed to a room to the right of the mirrors. “I want you both to go into the dressing room and try on the dresses.”
It wasn’t long before mother and daughter stepped out dressed like royalty, with Rose wearing a blue calico dress and a matching bonnet, popular at the time.
Charlie grinned happily. “That dress sure does look nice on you,” he told Rose, barely able to contain his smile.
“I love your dress too, little sister.”
Marsha beamed at the compliment. He turned to the saleslady.
“Make sure you include all the accessories that go with those dresses; and don’t forget to show these gals some nice shoes.”
A thought came to Charlie’s mind and he remembered when he first rode into Kansas City after being discharged. His clothes were in rags and he was filthy and he bought some clothes from the first men’s store he came to. The store offered a bath service for their customers and he wondered if this place offered a bath service too.
“Excuse me, Audrey, but you wouldn’t offer bath services here, would you?”
“As a matter of fact we do. Many of our customers come into our store after weeks on the road and they’d prefer to get the mud and dust washed off their bodies before putting on a new dress. Would you like me to prepare a bath for the lady?”
“Yep, and while you’re at it, prepare a bath for little sister over there.”
She went to the counter and rang a little bell. Shortly, a little Negro boy about ten years of age entered the room.
“Yes, Miss Audrey?”
“Prepare two baths, Ben, and don’t waste any time doing it. Let me know when they’re ready. Don’t make the baths too hot now.”
“Yes’m, I’ll surely remember that.”
Then he turned and scampered out the back door. While Rose and Marsha were taking baths, Charlie told Audrey to bring out another half dozen dresses and all the accessories that went with them, including shoes.
“When the gals finish their bath, show them the clothes and make sure Rose likes them. It wouldn’t do to buy something for a woman that she won’t wear.”
Audrey smiled. “That’s an absolute fact, Mr.? Mr.…I’m sorry, but I didn’t get your name.”
“Didn’t give it. But it’s Longstreet, Charlie Longstreet.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Longstreet, I’ll make sure your woman is well taken care of.”
Charlie placed his finger over his lips.
“Shh. She might hear you. Rose is not my woman. The Apache killed her husband and she was clubbed on the head and left for dead. The Indians captured her daughter, so me and Wild Eagle had to go in and get her.”
“What happened?” Audrey was suddenly interested in his tale.
“Me and Wild Eagle killed all eight Indians and rescued the child. It would have pained me terribly if they’d hurt that little girl.”
“What happened next?”
“Little missy led us to where the Indians had attacked their wagon and I found her father dead. We thought her mother was dead too, but when I was about to pick her up and put her in the grave with her husband, she opened her eyes. The woman has nothing now but her daughter and some bad memories. I just wanted to cheer her up a little. The Apache destroyed their clothes and she couldn’t find their money. All she has is the clothes on her back and that’s not saying much. I was prepared to care of her little girl, but I was glad when I found that her mother was alive. My lifestyle is not particularly good for raising a little girl, but I would have gladly taken care of her if there was no other choice.”
Charlie, without being conscious of it, had been twiddling his fingers while telling Audrey the story, and when he looked up, he was surprised to find that she was crying. “Now before the gals get back here and make a fuss, I want you to tally up the bill.”
Audrey walked to the counter and began adding up the costs of the various items. Charlie suppressed a smile because sitting on the counter beside her was Buntline’s dime novel of the Lone Jack Kid.
“Your bill comes to $27.30.”
Charlie took out the money he received from the sale of the Indian horses and counted out twenty-eight dollars. “Keep the change, Audrey. You earned it.”
When Charlie told Audrey that Rose wasn’t his woman, she took a closer look at him. Under the dirt and grime, she realized he was a handsome man. He stood about five feet ten, slim, with a shock of black hair. She wished she could see him after he took a bath and shaved, so she took the initiative.
“Would you like me to have Ben prepare a bath for you before you leave?”
Charlie scratched his beard for a second. “You know, a bath sounds real good. Have him prepare a bath for me and tell him to make sure the water’s hot. Wild Eagle, would you care for a bath too?”
He frowned and made a face. “No like bath. Wash in river when we get on road again.”
When Charlie left to take his bath, and before Rose and her daughter came back, Audrey walked over to Wild Eagle, who hadn’t moved from beside the door since they first entered the store.
“Wild Eagle, Charlie is your friend?”
Wild Eagle didn’t want to answer her but decided he would. “Yes, Charlie my friend.”
“You like him a lot, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I can see that. But why do you like him?”
“Charlie my blood brother. He great
warrior, kill many men.” Wild Eagle hit his chest with his fist. “Same like Wild Eagle.”
Audrey looked at the Indian and knew that, if provoked, he would kill without a second thought. But she couldn’t believe that Mr. Longstreet, this gentle, caring man, was a killer. Longstreet? Could it be him? She rushed to the counter and picked up her dime novel and read the caption on the back cover.
“Oh my God,” she said to herself, “it’s him.” He’d said his name was Charles Longstreet, but she hadn’t connected the dots. The Charles Longstreet out back taking a bath in her tub was the famous Lone Jack Kid. She ran to the mirror and decided she needed a little more lip-gloss, and she pinched her cheeks to give them some coloring. She quickly fussed with her hair to make it as attractive as possible, considering the little time she had before he completed his bath. She ran into the back room and quickly changed into another dress. A sexier, more revealing dress. One that clung to her body a little more. She selected a dress that displayed more of her womanly attributes, while at the same time wasn’t demeaning.
Not more than a minute later, Rose and Marsha walked in, looking refreshed and pretty, as if they belonged somewhere out east.
A few minutes after that, Charlie walked in clean-shaven, except for his mustache, wearing clean clothes. Both women looked at the clean-cut, handsome man standing before them. Even Rose, who was in mourning, couldn’t take her eyes off him. But it was Audrey who suggested they have dinner together. Charlie liked the idea and so did Rose. Audrey suggested they go to Andy’s Steakhouse, which had recently opened. She swore that Andy served great steaks, and just hearing the word “steak” made Charlie’s mouth water. Everyone agreed they would meet at seven o’clock at Andy’s for steak dinners.
Charlie was about to leave, but Audrey stopped him.
“Where would you like these clothes delivered, Mr. Longstreet?”
Charlie hadn’t thought about that. He had bought so many clothes without taking into consideration that he had no way of taking them with him—so he asked her, “Can you store the clothes here until we know exactly where to send them?”