The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap

by Paulette Mahurin

  “That still dun ’splain why she did what she did. I don’t care what her story is. Don’t make it right!” He downed another shot.

  “No it doesn’t. There’s more.”

  “I don’t really give a damn ’bout Josie.” Charley, numb of any emotion, his brain swelling in liquor, held up his glass. “But for you, old Gus, I’ll lissen.”

  Gus obligingly poured. “After the war, when the Carpetbaggers came to the South and took over reconstruction, Josie’s father left Georgia and took his family to Virginia City to seek his fortune in the mines of the Comstock Lode. He never succeeded and died in a mine accident. Her mother took in laundry to feed the children.”

  Charley swatted at a fly buzzing around his face.

  “Josie had two older brothers.”

  That cut through the inebriation, sending an alert adrenaline rush through Charley, getting his attention. “I thought she had no family outside Satchel and their kids.”

  “That’s true. Her brothers both died of pneumonia. Was during that cold winter spell we had in these parts many years ago. Lot of folk perished back then. That’s about it.”

  “That still don’t excuse her vindictiveness to Mildred. She’s plain got it in for that woman for no good reason.”

  Gus solemnly replied, “You haven’t made the connection because you probably don’t know that Max Dunlap was from Ohio. Came out here and bought up every piece of land he could. Took over.”

  “So?”

  “Sherman was from Ohio. Sherman’s march to the sea…”

  It took Charley a moment then it hit him. “You think Josie’s family had it in for Mildred’s father because of Sherman? That’s really a far stretch even for you, Gus. I don’t buy it at all.”

  “From what Josie’s mom wrote, Max and Sherman could have been brothers.” Gus went on to explain that they were both tall, over six feet, had reddish hair, and thin statures. Josie’s mom wrote about Sherman being orphaned when he was nine, then getting lucky by being adopted by a wealthy family who put him into the best schools. He was handed so much, then goes on in his life to destroy others? He destroyed us. Just like Max Dunlap did when he bought up all that land. Took every last parcel. Left nothing for anyone else around here! Men like you don’t deserve what you got! Men like you don’t deserve to live! Damn you, Sherman. Damn you, Max Dunlap! Gus went on to say that Josie’s mom had the two confused in her mind and was bent on getting even with Sherman through her vengeance for Max. What tipped the scales for her was all the land Max owned, from the Preemption Act, at what she felt was the expense of her family. There were no homesteading parcels left after Max manipulated all the land for himself. She blamed Max, just like she blamed Sherman for taking away their land. The only hope her family had was to get in on the free land deals, but they were too late because of Dunlap.

  “What’s that got to do with Josie’s way with Mildred?” asked Charley.

  “Josie’s mom hated anything associated with the Dunlap name, including Mildred. She passed her hatred along to Josie. It’s obvious Josie hates all that Mildred’s inherited.” He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the beads of sweat from his face. “There was also the similarity of physical appearance…”

  “What?”

  “I don’t want to be saying anything unkind about Mildred,” Gus replied. He did not want to say that Mildred was tall and masculine-looking like Max.

  “Then don’t! It still doesn’t satisfy me as to why she has it in for Mildred.”

  “Who can explain the hatred we learn from our parents? Why we believe what we do? It runs deep and is very complicated. You haven’t been exposed to it like I have so I understand why you find this so difficult to understand or accept. Even without Josie’s mamma’s feelings about Max or any Dunlap, she could have developed her hatred just because Mildred is powerful and represents everything Josie lost: land, power, even her inheritance. All that hatred bundled up and directed at one woman, Mildred.”

  “That little bitch!”

  “Yes, there is that side of Josie. But there’s also all this other stuff buried in her.”

  Charley felt wiped out and withdrawn from everything Gus had said. “All the persecution of Mildred through the years, escalated because of Josie. I don’t know why Mildred puts up with it. Shows me she’s a good woman.”

  “It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information.” OSCAR WILDE

  20

  As the effect of the alcohol wore off during the night, Charley’s addled mind played the conversation with Gus over and over until he saw what Gus was tying to tell him without his reaction clouding it. Although he didn’t accept the excuse of Josie’s childhood as a reason to hate someone she hardly knew, he now understood that she was haunted by her past. It didn’t change how he felt about her, but what he hoped for was this would give him the opportunity he needed to mend things with Mildred. After three days of no response from her to his notes, a very tired and agitated Charley grew too impatient to wait any longer and decided to pay her an unannounced visit.

  “Hello? Anybody here?” he called through the front door. “Mildred, you home?”

  There was no reply.

  “Edra?”

  Yet no reply.

  He waited. “Someone!”

  After five minutes of calling and knocking, he gingerly let himself in.

  He walked through the living room to a hallway at the back of the house where he saw two closed doors. Without thinking, he went to the door on the left and opened it to find an empty den full of what looked like office furniture. He then went to the other door and on impulse turned the knob and pushed it ajar, enough to see Mildred asleep in the bed. She stirred but did not wake. He closed the door.

  Just then, Edra walked into the house carrying a bunch of freshly cut flowers from the garden. The minute she saw the backside of Charley at her bedroom door, she dropped the flowers and screamed, “What are you doing there?” She was relieved to see the door shut.

  He quickly turned around. “I need to talk to Mildred.”

  “Get out!”

  Mildred woke up. “Edra, what’s…”

  Edra ran up to Charley and pulled him away from the bedroom door. “Leave! Right now!”

  “I need to talk to her. It’s really…”

  “She doesn’t want to see you! Now go!”

  Mildred overheard the commotion and in a panic put on a robe, opened the door, and rushed into the living room. “What! Edra, did you let him in?”

  “I let myself in.”

  “Get out!” Edra screamed.

  “Please, just hear me out. Then I’ll…”

  “Now! I’m going to get the shotgun if you don’t leave!” screamed Edra.

  “Please, listen to me,” he begged.

  Edra ran to the den and fumbled with the gun cabinet latch that refused to open. “Damn it!”

  “Charley, you need to leave.” Mildred was adamant. She felt herself drain of the little energy she gained from yet another fitful night’s sleep.

  “If you’ll just listen to me, I can explain.”

  Edra stormed back to the living room. “Get out of here!”

  Mildred reached for a chair to steady herself. “Please, just go,” she panted.

  He made a move toward her. “Let me help you.”

  Edra jumped between them. “You’ve done enough! Now, go.”

  “I haven’t done anything. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”

  Mildred was sweating profusely, her rheumy eyes out of focus, fatigue dulling her response time. “Please, Charley, I’m too tired to argue.”

  Edra helped Mildred to sit. She shot Charley a look. “For the love of mercy, will you please just go.”

  It pained him to see Mildred so weak and ashen. For a moment, he wanted to turn around and leave but caught himself. He knew if he walked out now he wouldn’t have another opportunity to get through to them, and he felt that what he had to
say would help. “Let me just have my say and I’ll leave. Please.”

  When Mildred saw how crestfallen he was, she stopped resisting. She nodded to Edra it was okay. “Go on then.”

  “I had dinner with Gus a couple nights ago.” He told them about what Gus had relayed to him about the rings and how the rumor most likely got started.

  “Why didn’t you say anything to Pat? You just sat there letting her believe…”

  “A lie. I know. I feel real bad about that.”

  “Why?” Mildred repeated.

  “It was so awkward. Everyone was looking at us. Truth is, I didn’t know what to say. Didn’t want to draw any more attention. I was afraid it’d get worse for you.”

  “But you didn’t say anything.”

  “I tried to and you stopped me, a couple of times.”

  Mildred saw he was right, that he did try to mention he didn’t know, but she was too taken aback by the whole situation when she cut him off.

  Edra wanted to be sure she understood what he said. “You’re saying you had absolutely nothing to do with this?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Then how’d this get started? No one questioned you? And we know no one talked to Mildred.”

  He spoke gingerly. “My guess is, Josie. I know it may sound outlandish but I really think…”

  Mildred sucked in a breath. “It’s not a surprise to me.”

  “I’m sorry for all of this, Mildred. That you have to put up with her misguided vengeance.”

  When Mildred asked him what he meant by that, he explained further what he had learned from Gus. He knew it was the right thing to let them in. As he talked, Mildred appreciated his sincerity and when he was finished she labored to get a breath in. “I’m tired. Think it’d be good if you left now,” without any further mention of Josie.

  An apprehensive Edra sat still.

  “Sure hope I didn’t tire you out too much. I just had to be sure we’re okay.”

  “I’m fine with you. Don’t know what to do about the rest of the town. We need to think this through”

  Charley responded, “Okay. I was thinking…”

  “I meant me and Edra.” Mildred knew they would probably do nothing. Let the pieces fall where they may and distance herself from Charley, which he would understand. The embarrassment in town could work to their advantage.

  “Oh sure. Sorry. However, I think it’s high time I have a word with Josie.”

  “I wouldn’t do that.” Mildred was brusque, which all but drained the last of her energy.

  “She needs to be stopped. All of them with their mouths.”

  Edra interrupted, “Then what? They’ve caused enough trouble.” She saw Mildred’s effort to breathe. “Give us some time to figure out what we want to do.”

  “Okay, but I don’t understand…”

  Edra jumped on him. “Charley! You do want to help, don’t you?”

  “Why yes, but…”

  “Then we’re asking you to just let it be. We’ve had enough excitement today.”

  “Sure, well would it be okay if I come back out again soon?”

  “Let’s just let it be for now.” Edra walked him to the door, watched him leave, then turned to Mildred. “I had no idea it was that bad with Josie.”

  “Now you understand what I’ve been telling you about her. Why we need to protect ourselves. All this time I thought her animosity against me was cause we didn’t go to church. This takes the cake!”

  “Mil, I’m worried about you. You look so pasty. I thought you were going to faint when Charley was here.”

  “We’ll be okay,” she mumbled back. “It’s working out okay. We can turn this to our advantage.” She slumped down in the chair. “I just need a little more rest to get my strength back.”

  Edra knew it was Mildred’s pattern to hold things in. She hoped she was right about things turning around. She also hoped the turbulence wasn’t taking a toll on Mildred’s body.

  Charley rode back to his place feeling relief they heard him out, but he was not happy with how Mildred looked and that he had agreed to say nothing to Josie. That wasn’t the only thing that bothered him about the visit; something else stuck in his craw. How come you only have one bed? He went back over the scene in his mind, trying to remember if he missed something. There was the den with a desk, couple of chairs, a cabinet where the guns were kept, another cabinet containing miscellaneous items, but no bed in that room, and he was sure he only saw one in the other room. It was the one Mildred was sleeping in. Maybe Edra sleeps on the couch? He wanted to come up with some other answer than what was niggling at him, but deep down he knew what he saw, not just in their bedroom but how they interacted with each other. He remembered the inflection in Mildred’s voice when she first spoke of Edra to him, how they tended to each other, and showed affection that was reminiscent of something all too familiar that he shared with Emma. A chill ran down his spine when he thought of Mildred’s subtle masculine mannerisms. He was a slave to the thoughts that refused to cease. The one thing that puzzled him was why Mildred was showing an interest in him.

  When a week passed, he sent a note with Ben. Mildred responded she needed to rest. By the next week, the notes had stopped, while his overactive mind kept going. He tried to keep himself busy doing odd jobs and helping the kids after school. He borrowed books from Gus and read to fill the empty space. He said nothing to Josie or any of the other women, and made no trips out to his brother-in-law’s place, and no one in town made any further comments to him about being engaged to Mildred. But the talk among the women continued.

  “So what if they aren’t engaged. My bet is he knocked her up,” Josie snickered.

  Madeline replied, “Where is Mildred, anyway?”

  Josie laughed. “She’s hiding her growing belly.”

  “What’s Helene have to say about that?” asked Sarah.

  Josie replied, “She’s still waiting for Frank to cool off from our visit. We’ll give them a little more time, and then head back out there. He’ll have forgotten about it by then, and we can go check up on Mildred.”

  “Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious.” OSCAR WILDE

  21

  Satchel Purdue heard the last of the news clickety-clack over the telegraph machine, when Sam Tucker entered.

  “Got a telegram to send,” said Sam.

  “Give me just a couple minutes to finish this up here.” Satchel finished what he was writing. “Cleveland is supporting his boy Olney, showing what we’re all about!”

  “President Cleveland?” asked Sam.

  “Yes,” Satchel replied, raising his eyebrows. “And listen here. It says Cleveland will address Congress about Olney’s adopting a broad interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine, referencing a note sent to Britain demanding it submit…”

  Sam asked, “Who’s Olney?”

  “Secretary of State. Olney says the U.S. has authority to mediate border disputes in the Western Hemisphere. He demanded Britain submit a dispute to arbitration!”

  “Can you translate that?” laughed Sam.

  “Venezuela requested support in its border dispute with Britain over the boundary between it and British Guiana. Cleveland will reinforce Olney’s demand.” Satchel paused in his amazement to read what he had just read to himself. “I couldn’t be prouder of being an American today!”

  Sam, still confused, asked, “What am I missing here?”

  “Olney’s demand reasserts United States sovereignty in the Western Hemisphere in accordance with the Monroe Doctrine. In simple terms, we’re in charge and no one’s gonna be messing with us! Hands off of us, Britain!”

  Sam rejoiced. “Show them who has the gumption!”

  “Sam, can I get you to drop this off at Gus’s?”

  “Sure thing, Satchel.”

  After Gus had posted the telegram, a crowd gathered around his noticeboard, the men cheering, shaking hands and patting each other on the back, the women giggling.

&nbs
p; “What’s all the commotion about?” asked Sheriff Roper as he entered the store to pick up a tin of tobacco.

  “We got ourselves one powerful country here,” Sam explained, pointing to the telegram that Gus had just posted.

  Gus watched, thinking, Yeah, and what’s it going to cost us in lives? Goddamn hubris. When we ever gonna learn? Who’s gonna be the next victim all this hostility will be unleashed on? There’s no talking to this lot. He was frustrated by the ignorance he saw all around him, the lack of compassion and understanding, even worse the complete poverty of any comprehension that a poison lived inside these individuals and as long as they kept pointing fingers and saw their hatred outside of themselves, nothing would come but destruction.

  Another week passed and Charley still had not received a note from Mildred. Since he did not hear from Ben, he checked in with Doc daily to see if he had any word from the Dunlap’s ranch, and became concerned when he heard that Edra had written that she wanted Doc to pay them a visit. He felt bad that his befriending Mildred had caused her so much turmoil and was taking a toll on her health. He wanted to send a message with Doc but opted out of that idea, feeling that patience, not adding more pressure, was best.

  Doc had one last patient to see before he headed out to the Dunlap’s ranch. Young Frankie Whitmore had been vomiting for nine hours, causing his little body to become listless. Helene, an anxious wreck since the ladies’ visit, blamed herself for the baby’s illness, sure it was her nerves upsetting his gut.

  “He was active just two days ago,” said Frank. “His eyes are so dark and sunken. Last three hours he barely moved.”

  “If he can’t keep fluids in him, we’re going to have to get him to Carson City.” Nichols continued, “Get a sheet.”

  Helene went pale. “It can’t be that bad? You’ll be able to fix him, won’t you Doc,” she pleaded.

  “Helene! Did you hear the Doc? Get a sheet.”