His comments served to deepen her blush. She could not remember ever having been spoken to in such gentle tones. Shy and frightened before, she now found that she did not want to scurry away. She wanted to stay and hear more of his gentle talk. When he reached out to help her, she permitted him to take the bucket of water and carry it up the bank. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“You’re welcome,” Jeb replied. “I’ll carry it back to the wagon for you.” She looked perplexed, as if what he offered was wrong. He realized that she had no earthly idea how a woman was supposed to respond to simple courtesies in a civilized world. Gracing her with a wide warm smile, he turned and started back. She followed along behind him.
Ida Freeman glanced up when the young couple reached the wagon. She paused in her preparation of supper to consider the two. Jeb Hawkins was paying a lot of attention to the troubled wife of Joe Leach. She could not help but notice, and now she stopped to consider whether or not it was a good thing. Jeb had made it perfectly clear that he and Tanner would be leaving them at Fort Dodge. She wondered if she should warn Cora against taking too strong an interest in the boyish charm of Jeb Hawkins. But maybe Jeb had more than a trifling interest in Cora. Who could say? In times and conditions like these, things happened awfully fast on the frontier. After thinking about it for a few moments, Ida decided that it was Cora’s business. The girl was a good deal older than her years, and she had certainly known the rough side of life. If anyone deserved a fling with a handsome young man, it was Cora. And there was the possibility that Jeb might change his mind and go to the northwest with them. Or, she thought, he might decide to take her with him to Montana.
“You can just set that bucket down right over here,” Ida said. “As scarce as water’s been over the last four days, I don’t want you to kick it over while you’re staring at Cora.” She favored Jeb with a knowing smile that almost made him blush. “Cora,” she asked, “would you slice off some of that side meat and put it in the pan?”
“Yessum,” Cora replied obediently, and turned at once to the task, leaving Jeb to stand there, awkwardly self-conscious.
With a mischievous twinkle still in her eye, Ida told Jeb, “If you’re just gonna stand around, I’ll find a chore for you, too.”
“I reckon I’ve got my own chores to do,” Jeb snorted indignantly, and spun on his heel to leave.
“Well, I don’t see no buffalo ridin’ on that packhorse,” Jeb called out to Tanner as his partner rode into camp.
“Reckon not,” Tanner replied. “The whole prairie is covered with tracks, but damned if I can find one buffalo.”
“I ain’t sure you can bring one of the critters down with a .52 Spencer cartridge, even if you do find one.”
Tanner smiled and shook his head. “I’m not certain myself, but if the Indians can bring one down with a bow, then I figure I’ve got as good a chance as they have.”
“Well, it’s beans and bacon for supper tonight,” Jeb said. “You’re lucky I left you some.” He watched Tanner unsaddle Ashes before asking, “You see any Injun sign while you were out there lookin’ for buffalo?”
“Nope,” Tanner replied.
Jeb nodded thoughtfully. “According to Jacob, we oughta strike Fort Dodge about noon tomorrow, so I reckon we’re too close to the soldiers for Injuns to be nosin’ around.”
“Maybe,” Tanner said, his attention drawn to the pan of beans warming on the coals. He had not eaten since breakfast.
It was a couple of hours past noon the next day when the wagon train reached Fort Dodge. Located on the north bank of the Arkansas, the fort was a dismal disappointment to the party of travelers. A few lonely sod buildings were laid out in a half circle that made up the headquarters, shops, and officers’ quarters. The enlisted men lived in dugouts, carved in a twelve-foot clay bank close to the river. Fort Larned now seemed luxurious in comparison. The only positive aspect of the fort was an unusually large campsite. The fort was at a point where the Dry Route and the Wet Route met again at the Arkansas. Consequently, it was a welcome spot for those traveling the Dry Route to rest up after a long, dry crossing. Jacob decided to stay over an extra day before starting out again. Tanner decided it was a good time to rest the horses. He had kept Ashes and the packhorse on the move almost constantly during the past four dry days. They deserved the rest, because he planned to go in search of his buffalo as soon as the wagons rolled again.
In a reflective mood, Jeb sat down on the riverbank a hundred yards or so from the fort, watching the sun sink into the western prairie. He had persuaded Tanner to stay with the wagons one more day before striking out to the north. Tanner didn’t argue against it. He understood Jeb’s reluctance to leave, but that was only part of his decision to give in. He still had it in his mind to supply the party with buffalo meat, so he welcomed one more day to hunt. He felt confident that he would be successful in the morning with his horses rested and the presence of fresh sign the day before. He busied himself back in camp, readying his weapon and saddle gear for the next day’s hunt while Jeb sat on the riverbank, staring thoughtfully at the setting sun.
The afterglow would last for only seconds after the sun finally dropped below the horizon. Soon darkness would envelop the riverbank. Still Jeb remained. Deep, troubling thoughts worried his mind, thoughts of the girl, Cora, and why it bothered him that, after tomorrow, he would see her no more. He pictured her face, transformed in a few short days from the frightened, haggard countenance he had first seen to one of childlike innocence. It was a new experience for Jeb Hawkins. He had never before found it difficult to leave any lady friend or lover, but he suddenly felt the desire to protect someone. And he didn’t know what to do about it.
Since he was unsure of himself, fate decided to lend a hand. Only minutes before dark, when he was about to get up and return to camp, she appeared beside the water. He watched her stepping carefully down to the water’s edge before speaking. “Let me get that for you,” he said.
Startled almost to the point of losing her footing, Cora couldn’t suppress a squeal. Upon discovering that it was Jeb seated a few yards from her, she held her hand over her pounding heart and tried to calm herself. When she could speak, she said, “You scared me half to death!” After a moment more, when he scrambled to his feet and rushed to apologize, she regained her wits enough to joke. “Are you always gonna be around to fill my water bucket?”
“I’m s-sorry I scared you. I s-swear I am,” he stammered. “I didn’t know you couldn’t see me settin’ there. I wouldn’t blame you if you hit me over the head with that bucket.”
Calm now, she looked up into his face. “I wouldn’t ever hit you with a bucket,” she said softly. “There’s a lotta folks I would, but never you.”
The moment was too overpowering for Jeb. His mind was caught in a whirlwind of emotions. “Doggone it,” he sputtered, “I’m leavin’ after tomorrow, and I know I’m gonna miss you somethin’ awful.”
Never suspecting before that moment that he could possibly have strong emotions for her, she was speechless for a few seconds. Just as he was about to sputter an apology for his brash confession, she whispered, “I’m gonna miss you, too. I’m awful fond of you.”
Her response, unexpected, served to render him tongue-tied for a moment, a totally new condition for Jeb Hawkins. She gazed earnestly up into his eyes and, seeing his confusion, followed her instincts. Standing on tiptoe, she reached up to kiss him lightly on the cheek. “I’ll never forget you, Jeb Hawkins,” she whispered.
Ida Freeman’s bucket dropped on the ground and rolled into the shallow water, unnoticed by the man and woman standing there. In the rapidly fading light of day, there was no one in the universe other than this man and woman—no thought of today or yesterday, or what might lie ahead. There was only this moment and the two of them. He took her in his arms, and she came to him eagerly, without guilt, knowing that what she did was right.
Lost in the sweet passion of their first kiss, they clung together fo
r a long time before Jeb took her by the hand and led her to a willow thicket well away from the camp. There on a blanket of grass, they consummated their un-spoken vows. Afterward, he held her in his arms, reluctant to end the moment. It had never been like this before, and the one thing certain in his mind was that he did not want her out of his life. He had to know if she felt the same way.
“Cora,” he finally blurted, “go to Montana with me.” Even in the dim evening light, he could see her eyes open wide in surprise. Afraid that she was about to reject him, he hurriedly said, “I’d take care of you. We could start all over out there.”
Everything had happened so fast that Cora’s mind was in confusion. She wanted with all her heart to say yes to this decent man, but she feared that she came with too much baggage from her past. What if, once past the first blush of passion, he began to think about her time as Joe Leach’s wife and Garth Leach’s sister-in-law? She responded to his proposal in halting, carefully chosen words. “Are you sure you really want me to go with you?” she asked. Before he could answer, she reminded him, “I’ve had a lot of bad things happen in my life, things I ain’t proud of. I’ve been livin’ with bad people. You’re the first good man I’ve ever known.”
Jeb shook his head slowly, a faint smile on his face. “I don’t care about what you done before right now. I’ve done a heap of things I ain’t exactly proud of myself. You and me can make it together. Hell, I reckon I love you.”
“What about your partner?” she asked. “He might not like you bringin’ me along with you.”
“Tanner ain’t gonna mind,” Jeb insisted. “He’s always backed me up, no matter what I got into.” In all honesty, he wasn’t that certain that Tanner would react favorably to the idea, but he was determined to convince him.
She hesitated a moment longer, then decided. “Well, hell, I reckon I love you, too!”
“You’ll go?”
“I’ll go,” she replied, laughing as she pressed her slender body against him again, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks.
Tanner was fairly surprised to hear of Jeb’s proposal. He’d known that Jeb was interested in Cora Leach, but figured it was like his partner’s casual dallying with other women. Consequently, his first reaction was concern for the poor girl, but Jeb’s fervent defense of his emotions convinced Tanner that he was truly in love with Cora. In truth, Tanner would have preferred to strike out for Montana without a woman in tow, but he understood Jeb’s feelings, and it was not that long ago that he’d had the same feelings for a woman. “If that’s what you want, then I reckon there’ll be three of us heading out day after tomorrow,” he said.
No one in camp was happier to hear of the young couple’s plans than Ida Freeman. She felt justified in her assessment of Jeb Hawkins, and pleased at the abused woman’s good fortune. Cora deserved a chance for happiness. Maybe Jeb was her answer. Ida and Janie Reece prepared a modest celebration that night for Jeb and Cora, which was attended by a few of the other families. There were some in the wagon train that were not sure the two young people were not without sin, Cora being a married woman. But as Ida put it, “The Good Lord’s got to figure that Cora’s already done her time in hell. I’m sure He approves.”
Jacob was the first to declare it was time to end the party, since he wanted to get an early start the next morning. There was an air of goodwill and happiness as the evening drew to a close, at least in the Freeman and Reece wagons.
At sunup the next morning, the wagon company prepared to take the trail toward Colorado. Cora helped Ida pack the cooking utensils and bedding while Jeb helped Jacob hitch up the mules. It was to be their last day with the wagon train before heading north on the following morning. Tanner, his mind still set on supplying meat for the company before saying good-bye, had already left camp before sunup.
Chapter 9
“I was afraid we wasn’t done with those devils,” Jacob Freeman said.
Hearing her husband’s comment, Ida looked up to see what had caused it. Ahead on the trail, sitting on his horse, awaiting them, was the ominous figure of Garth Leach. “I thought we were rid of him,” she said, her tone laced with worry.
Jacob called back to Jeb, who was walking beside the wagon with Cora, his horse tied to the tailgate of Jacob’s wagon. “We got company up ahead, Jeb.” Jeb followed Jacob’s pointing finger and immediately ran up even with the wagon seat when he saw Garth. “What do you suppose he’s got on his mind?” Jacob asked.
“Whatever it is, it’s bound to be somethin’ we ain’t interested in,” Jeb replied. “I wonder where the rest of that pack of rats is.” He glanced left and right, looking for signs of the other three Leaches, but there were no other riders in sight. For the last several minutes the wagons had been following the trail through a narrow ravine. The other three brothers could be behind either of the ridges that formed the ravine.
As the wagons made their way slowly toward the solitary rider in the middle of the trail, Garth raised his hand and waved it slowly back and forth. With no further sign, he continued to wait until Jacob’s mules came to a stop before him. Then he nudged his horse and guided it around to stop opposite the wagon seat.
“When you left camp ahead of us, we thought you and your brothers had decided to go on alone,” Jacob said.
Garth took note of Jeb standing on the opposite side of the wagon, then looked back at Jacob. “We decided to wait for you,” he said. The wry smile that creased his dark face did little to ease Jacob’s concern. “Afternoon, Cora,” Garth said, nodding to the frightened girl, who had dropped back by the rear of the wagon. “You ready to come back to your family?”
“What do you want, Garth Leach?” Ida demanded. “Where are your wagons?” By this time, all of the wagons behind them had caught up and were now standing motionless in a line, waiting for Jacob to start out again. She was about to scold Garth again, when she suddenly gasped, “Mercy!”
Her gasp was followed almost instantly by similar sounds of alarm from the wagons behind her. Jeb looked toward the ridge to see what had startled her. There, along the crest of the ridge, a long line of Indian ponies had suddenly appeared and now sat quietly watching the wagon train below them. The blood drained from Jacob’s face. Jeb, his rifle still in his saddle sling, dropped his hand to rest on his revolver.
Apparently amused by their sudden fright, Garth smiled. “No need to get scared,” he said. “Them’s Yellow Calf’s boys, Kiowas. They don’t mean you no harm. They just wanna say howdy, and maybe trade a few things. I told ’em to wait up there till I explained they was peaceful. We wouldn’t want somebody to take a shot at one of ’em and start a massacre.”
“They don’t look so damn peaceful to me,” Jeb interjected. “From here, it looks like they’re wearing war paint.”
Garth’s smile immediately turned to a scowl. “Ain’t nobody asked you for your two cents’ worth,” he snapped. Then just as quickly, the twisted smile returned to his face, and he turned back to Jacob. “Best tell them in the other wagons Yellow Calf is peaceful, and not to shoot off no guns.”
“I don’t know,” Jacob started, not sure what he should do.
“Well, let me put it this way,” Garth replied. “He’s peaceable enough right now, but if you insult him, he’s liable to turn mean.” His grin grew wider as he locked his eyes on Jacob’s.
Jacob glanced at Jeb for help, but Jeb could offer very little. He had already judged their odds as poor to middling, trapped at the bottom of a narrow ravine with no room to circle the wagons, even if there was time. Maybe what the black-hearted villain said was true, although he doubted it. If they told Yellow Calf to go to hell, they might be in for a fight, but at least they could make the savage pay with a few dead warriors. Of course, if the chief was peaceful, then no lives would be lost, white or red. Finally Jeb told Jacob, “I guess we ain’t got much chance one way or the other, but maybe we’d best gamble on the odds that that damn Injun ain’t as evil as Mr. Leach here.” He caught the s
udden spark of anger in Garth’s eye, but the huge man made no comment. “I’ll go tell the others not to shoot if the Injuns come down to visit.”
Garth waited until Jeb returned before signaling his Kiowa friends. Standing up in his stirrups, he waved his arm back and forth. “Come on down, Yellow Calf,” he roared. Then he backed his horse a couple of paces before halting again to fix his gaze directly upon Jeb.
Almost as if performing in a giant pageant, the line of Kiowa warriors moved slowly down the ridge, their ranks unbroken, feathers on their lances fluttering in the wind as they sat easily upon their ponies. There were so many that their line extended beyond both ends of the wagon train. A few paces behind the warriors, the other three Leach brothers followed. The warriors continued to slow-walk their horses as they came right up to the wagons. Jeb noticed that many of them carried Springfield rifles cradled in their arms. He realized at that moment that he had made a serious mistake. “Jacob! Get down!” he yelled, but it was too late.
On a silent signal, the Kiowa suddenly opened fire. The whole line fired as one, riddling the line of wagons with bullet holes. Those warriors without rifles attacked with bows. Two shots from Garth’s pistol knocked Jacob over backward, dead. When Ida tried to come to his aid, he shot her as well, casually taking aim as if shooting for sport. Many of the doomed tried to dodge the deadly rifle fire by running for their lives. None escaped.
As soon as he had shouted a warning to Jacob, Jeb dropped down behind the wagon wheel, his pistol in hand. On his hands and knees, he scrambled back to find Cora. The terrified girl was clinging to the back wheel, afraid to move. “Come on!” he yelled, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her to his horse, which was tied to the tailgate. Their only chance was to try to ride out of the ravine.
Tanner's Law Page 12