by Joe Corso
She didn’t acknowledge what he said. She just turned and began putting her clothes away.
Chapter 11
Charlie heard the door open and a figure climbed into the bed and slipped under the covers. He didn’t move because he wanted to see what she would do next. He wasn’t disappointed, because she snuggled close to him, then put her arms around his waist. Their lips met. Their kiss lingered, and when she felt his hardness, she knew she had aroused him. He had assumed she had a nice body but was surprised at how perfect it was. Her breasts were larger and firmer than he expected and that pleased him. She was compliant when he mounted her and she gave in eagerly to everything he did to her or wanted her to do to him. He realized he had a tiger by the tail. When aroused, this reserved, proper female became a virtual tiger in bed. They lusted for one another three times before falling asleep in each other’s arms. But before Charlie fell asleep, she snuggled closer to him and whispered in his ear, “I do love you, Charles Longstreet.”
It was a brief but enjoyable two-day visit with his friend Percy, but it was marred when he told Lorraine that he’d be leaving soon. He told her how much he valued her friendship but that wasn’t what she wanted to hear. She loved him and she had hopes that their relationship would be more than a one-night affair. It was an uncomfortable moment when she was introduced to Rose and Marsha. Lorraine studied Rose without being obvious, and she didn’t like what she saw. Rose was pretty, she was intelligent, and she had a perfect figure. It took a second for Lorraine to realize that Percy was explaining to her how Charlie and Wild Eagle had saved Rose and Marsha from a band of Apache raiders. But Lorraine knew—call it a sixth sense, but she knew that this woman Rose was the reason why Charlie wasn’t coming back to Yuma, at least not in the near future. So it was with a heavy heart that Lorraine, with Percy and Janie, watched the wagon, driven by Rose and led by the white man and his Indian friend, ride out of Yuma. They watched the figures get smaller and smaller until they faded into the distance. With tears falling down her cheeks, Lorraine wished it was her riding out of Yuma with Charlie instead of Rose.
Charlie was glad to be riding Sable on the road to California. The young cowboy was totally confused about the direction his life was going. He knew how to take care of himself in the wild, but with both his parents dead, he hadn’t had a stable home life since he was discharged from the Confederate Army in 1865. He loved being in the company of women, but at the same time, he didn’t want to be tied down with one woman. His dilemma was: could he be happy settling down with Rose? He thought about the other night and how compatible they were, and how compliant she was. He felt comfortable with her, and he was leaning toward asking her to join him on the trip to Nebraska. But didn’t he feel that way with all the women he was intimate with? Didn’t he feel that he wanted to settle down with each one until he left them? And when his memories of being intimate with them faded, he found that although he thought he loved them, he really didn’t want a permanent relationship. But could he feel differently with Rose? Could he really settle down with her? That was the question. And, more importantly, could he put his wild and rowdy ways aside and really settle down with one woman? He thought hard about the question and couldn’t find an answer. He decided to put the question aside for the moment and allow time—the great healer—to settle it.
Wild Eagle kicked his horse and pulled alongside Charlie and motioned for them to stop. Then he put out his hand for the others to do the same.
“Must be careful. Trouble ahead. White men hide in rocks there.”
Wild Eagle pointed toward the rocky side of a mountain.
Charlie knew not to question his friend’s warning. Wild Eagle could see things that Charlie couldn’t and he was never wrong.
“How many men are there?”
“Maybe four, five. They have watched us for long time. Wait for us in safe place to catch us in trap.”
Charlie looked over his shoulder at Rose and Marsha. “What do you suggest we do with Rose and the wagon?”
Wild Eagle grunted. “Men know about squaw and wagon. We go ahead, take wagon with us. Give woman gun to protect herself.”
As usual, Wild Eagle gave Charlie sage advice and he always heeded his friend’s counsel. He turned his horse and motioned for Rose and the wagon to pull up to him.
“Is something wrong?” asked Rose.
“There may be trouble up ahead. There are some men waiting for us. Do you know how to use a gun?”
“Why, yes, I do. My husband showed me.”
“Good. Here, take this gun and use it if you are threatened.”
He wheeled his horse around and heeled the horse into a canter to catch up to Wild Eagle.
“Up ahead is where we will be attacked. I see sun reflect off rifle up on rocks.”
Wild Eagle tilted his head in that direction, where he saw the reflection of the sun off metal, most likely the brass loading gate.
“Yeah, I just saw movement there,” Charlie said grimly.
Wild Eagle pointed to a trail leading upwards between a break in the mountain. “I take trail and get behind men. You wait here. They come soon when you no ride past.”
Charlie dismounted, took the reins of the horse, and guided the wagon to the side of the road under the shade of an overhanging rock formation.
“Stay here and don’t move, no matter what happens.”
Rose nodded and pulled Marsha into the safety of her arms.
The men waiting to bushwhack Charlie and Rose must have gotten tired of waiting because Charlie saw four men on horseback ride out from behind a ledge and trot toward them. It took less than a minute for the men to reach Charlie. He had the barrel of his six-gun resting against his chest, pointing towards the sky. A man dressed in black, with a pockmarked face and broken nose, approached Charlie.
“Now, we ain’t gonna hurt anyone. All we want is your money and whatever valuables you have on you and in the wagon, and you can go on your way.”
Rose looked at Charlie and she noticed he had a grim smile on his face. The man in black noticed it also.
“What’s so funny, cowboy?”
“Oh, nothing much. I was just wondering how you were going to spend the money you stole from us when you’re lying dead in the dirt here.”
The man’s eyes widened. “Why you…”
Charlie raised his hand. “Now don’t go getting your dander up. I was just stating a fact. I’ll be honest with you boys. I faced down three men a number of times and I always came out the winner. Once I faced four men. I killed the four of them but the fourth managed to plug me and he almost killed me. But you see, this time, I won’t have that problem with you fellas.”
“Yeah? Why not?”
Charlie was beginning to enjoy this little cat and mouse game. “Because my partner will kill two of you with the Winchester he has trained on you, and I’ll kill the other two of you.”
The man in black looked over his shoulder. It took a minute for him to spot the rifle pointing straight at them, poking out between two rocks.
“Who are you? How come you’re not concerned, facing four men with guns?”
Charlie smiled at the men. “It’s simple. How can I be afraid of anyone that is slower on the draw than me? I’ll kill you before you clear leather, and I don’t suggest you try me out.”
The man in black looked over at Rose. “Maybe I won’t get you, but I’ll kill the woman and the little girl if you don’t cooperate.”
Charlie looked over at Rose and shrugged his shoulders. “Makes no difference to me. I just met her and the kid. They had Indian trouble and I helped out a little. Now, if you want to shoot them, then stop talking and go ahead, but keep in mind that as soon as you do that, I’ll kill you.”
One of the men pulled his horse up and asked Charlie what his name was.
“Charles Longstreet’s my name. Maybe you’ve heard of me.”
Recognition set in and the man asked, “Are you the Lone Jack Kid?”
“That would be me, fellas. Now who’ll be the first of you who thinks they’re faster than me?”
“Are all those stories written about you true?”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out. Step down from your horse and I’ll let you test me.”
Charlie couldn’t see the fourth man pull his gun because he hid behind the three men in front of him. The man raised his gun, intending to kill Charlie, when a shot rang out and the gun dropped to the ground, followed by the man with blood spurting from his chest, where a 44-caliber bullet from a Winchester repeater had just passed through.
Charlie’s eyes narrowed. “Get off of your horses. Do it now or I’ll drill ya.”
The three remaining men weren’t used to being talked to like this. They looked at one another and their eyes gave the unspoken order to open up on the Kid.
Charlie suspected foul play because the remaining three men were too compliant. He was right, because as soon as the men dismounted, they spun around, firing their weapons. Charlie, expecting something like this, dived to his right while at the same time firing twice, hitting one man and knocking him to the hard, granite-strewn surface. Ban-Chu leaped at the second man, biting deep into the wrist of his gun hand when he was about to raise his weapon to kill the animal. That outlaw would never shoot a gun again, at least not with that hand.
Wild Eagle shot and killed the third man before the outlaw could get a shot off at Charlie. The fourth man was lucky because his crushed wrist kept him out of the fight, which saved his life.
When Wild Eagle came running over to the wagon, leading his horse by the reins, the wounded man spotted him and murmured, “So I was right. There was another man riding with you. I thought so and I wondered where he could have disappeared to.”
Charlie took the man’s gun belt off, then reached out and took his arm, but the wounded man tried pulling it away.
“Easy there, partner. I’m just trying to see how bad the wound is. Hmm. It looks like my wolf crushed your wrist bone. You’re never gonna pull a gun with that hand, but look at the bright side. You’re the only one of your pals that’s still alive.”
Charlie tied a bandanna around the man’s wrist to staunch the flow of blood, and when that was done, he pointed at a spot by the rocks.
“Now go and sit down under that ledge.”
The man did as Charlie said, sitting under the ledge and holding his wrist.
“Are you ready to ride, Wild Eagle?”
The Indian nodded and, in one smooth motion, swung onto his horse.
“Wild Eagle, take their horses. Ready, Rose?”
“I’m ready.”
“Okay, wait while I put their gun belts in your wagon.”
When that was done, he said, “You two get moving while I have a little talk with our friend sitting under the ledge over there. I’ll catch up with you in a few minutes.”
Charlie searched the dead men for their billfolds, and when he had all three, he walked over and kneeled down in front of the cowboy.
“I’m taking your friends’ billfolds, their horses, and their gun belts. Seeing as you’re in no condition to walk ten miles, I won’t take your billfold, and if you give me your word that you’ll quit this life, I’ll leave your horse and gun belt about a half mile down the road.”
The man was in pain and he sighed, “You have my word. I’m heading back to my family in Tennessee.”
“Good. It can’t do for a man to be without a horse and gun out here with bandits and Indians lying in wait for you, so I’m leaving you yours.”
The irony of Charlie’s remark didn’t go unnoticed by the young jayhawker.
Chapter 12
Charlie caught up to Wild Eagle and Rose. He took one of the bandit horses, pulled to the side of the road, and tethered the horse with a long rope to heavily rooted sagebrush so the horse could forage until the highwayman claimed him again. He took the gun belt and hooked it over the saddle horn. That done, he mounted Sable and trotted after the others. When he caught up to Rose, she was quiet. She didn’t utter a word until Charlie asked her if she was all right. She looked at him suspiciously.
“Were you really going to let him shoot us?”
Charlie’s eyes narrowed.
“If I let them know you were important to me, they would have discovered my weakness. By acting indifferent when they threatened to kill you, they were taken off guard because if I didn’t care about you and your daughter, then their threats were meaningless to me. The bandit watched the expression on my face to see how I would react to his threat. If I showed that I cared for you, then he’d have leverage over me. But you had nothing to worry about because I would have killed him as soon as he went for his gun.”
Wild Eagle approached. “Why you keep horses?”
“Outlaw horses are the best horses you can buy, Wild Eagle. They have to be good because they have to have endurance and speed. They have to be able to outrun and outlast a posse. These horses and saddles will bring us a good dollar in California.”
Then it hit Charlie. He had completely forgotten to visit the sheriff’s office in both El Paso and Yuma. He chided himself for forgetting something as simple as that, and he made a silent vow that the first thing he’d do when he got to San Diego was visit the sheriff and check the wanted posters.
After five days, they entered San Diego. Charlie led Sable slowly down the long street, looking for the sheriff’s office. He found it halfway down the long thoroughfare. The two men tied their horses to the hitching rail and entered the office.
“What can I do for you, stranger?”
Charlie pulled his vest aside, showing his marshal’s badge.
“Charles Longstreet, and I’d appreciate you checking your wanted posters to see if these men are wanted for anything. Four men on the trail here attacked us. My Indian friend and me killed three of them.”
The sheriff looked up at him.
He handed the sheriff the billfolds from the three men he killed at Horse Head Crossing and the three men killed on the trail here.
“Hold on a minute while I check.”
He had quite a stack of wanted posters and didn’t find any of the men until he was near the bottom. He looked up at Charlie.
“Looks like you hit pay dirt with the three that tried to rob you on the trail here. Two of the men are wanted dead or alive and the reward on them is three hundred dollars each. The third man is worth five hundred dollars, dead or alive. I also found paper on the three men killed in Horse Head Crossing. Two of the men had two hundred dollars dead or alive on them and the third man had one hundred dollars dead or alive.”
The sheriff swiveled his chair in Charlie’s direction.
“What happened to the fourth man that attacked you on the trail here?”
“My wolf crushed his wrist, so I let him go because he won’t be using that gun hand any longer.”
The sheriff looked surprised. “Why in hell would you do a stupid thing like that?”
Charlie gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes. He didn’t appreciate being talked down to by anyone in this manner, especially a sheriff with a burr up his ass.
“I don’t have to explain anything to you, Sheriff. But I’ll tell you my reasoning. I had a woman and child with me and I had another five or six days of traveling before I hit this town, and I didn’t want to lead a wounded tiger around on a leash. I have his name and address and, if I have to, I can find him. Now let’s conclude our business, because right about now I’m getting a mite riled and the last thing you want to see is me riled. Now I’m here on official government business. I was asked by the president of these United States to meet a person by the name of Alexis in San Diego, and in case you don’t know who he is, he’s the grand duke of Russia. And as soon as you give me the reward money, I’m going to wire it to Warren Bates, the sheriff of Horse Head Crossing. I told him to use the reward money to build an official jail.”
“Look, Marshal, I guess I’m getting old because I didn’
t mean to sound off the way I did. I hope you’ll accept my apology.”
There is nothing like an apology to make a man smile, and Charlie smiled. “Apology accepted, Sheriff.”
The sheriff put out his hand. “My name is Mark Winnenger.”
“I’m Charles Longstreet, and just so you don’t think I’m a bullshitter…” Charlie handed him the president’s letter to read.
“Wow, it’s not every day a man can get a chance to read a letter written by the president himself. Give me a moment to open the safe and get the reward money for those men you killed. And then we’ll take a walk down to the train station so you can wire the sheriff the money for the jail. We’ll see if the telegraph operator has a telegram for you.”
The sheriff walked to the door and was about to leave but remembered something. “Can I ask you a question, Marshal?”
“Sure, go ahead and ask.”
“Why would the president ask a marshal to meet such an important dignitary? Why did he ask you to escort the Duke to Nebraska? Why not a military man?”
Charlie shrugged. “I guess he trusts that I’ll get him to Nebraska in one piece, where maybe the other fellas might not.”
The sheriff scratched his beard. “What town did you say you were a marshal in?”
“I didn’t say where, but it was in Los Angeles. I was sworn in as a federal marshal to restore order in Los Angeles by Judge Slater.”
Now the sheriff scratched his head, deep in thought. “And before that?”
Charlie sighed. And before that… “Actually, I was appointed Marshal before the president appointed me Indian Agent, and before that I wore the gray when I fought in the big war.” Charlie barked a loud laugh. “Maybe I can clear up a few things for you, Sheriff. Are there any troublemakers in this town that you know of?”
“Every town has their share of troublemakers and San Diego is no different. Why do you ask?”
“Do me a favor, Sheriff, and write their names on a scrap of paper. Then I’ll tell you why I asked for the list. Maybe it’ll clear up some questions you may have.”