Jack and Sonny were on their feet.
Jack grabbed Sonny and quickly whispered “Take your knife and stab Slim in the ass. I’m going for his gun.”
They were about two paces away from Slim and they moved as one. Just as Jack reached for Slim’s pistol Sonny hit him in the right buttock with his hunting knife. His was so scared that his adrenaline was in full flow. He hit Slim so hard that he could feel the knife grate on the bone as it went through the buttock and on to the pelvis bone.
Dirty Earl felt rather than heard or saw something was wrong. He was drawing his pistol and spinning around in one fluid motion. His pistol was in his hand at a flick of his wrist.
Jack was just as pumped up as Sonny. He had Slim’s pistol out of the holster and into his hand in a flash. Jack could see Dirty Earl spinning around as Jack was bringing Slim’s pistol up into firing position. Everything was now moving in slow motion for Jack,
Dirty Earl spinning around, the firelight glinting on Dirty Earl’s pistol barrel.
Jack was bringing the pistol up and thumbing back the hammer.
Dirty Earl’s pistol was almost leveled at Jack’s head. He thought he could actually look down the barrel. From his vantage point it looked like it was big enough to crawl into.
Jack fired.
His first bullet hit Dirty Earl in the upper right arm breaking the bone. The impact of the bullet spun Dirty Earl around to his right so that he was facing Jack. His hand went limp. His pistol went spinning.
Jack’s second shot caught him square in the chest. It knocked him backwards a step. He then fell forward onto his face.
Time stood still. Nobody moved.
Curly Bob was frozen, bent over Beth with a knife in his hand.
Sonny was on top of a thrashing Slim who after hearing the pistol report stopped his thrashing.
Jack was standing there looking down at a dead Dirty Earl.
Jack recovered quickly but not quickly enough. As he was thumbing back the hammer and leveling the pistol at Curly Bob, Curly Bob had snatched up Beth by the hair and was standing behind her with his knife at her throat.
“Drop the gun kid or I’ll cut her throat or I may just spin her around and gut her like a fish.”
“Don’t do it Jack.” screamed Beth. “If you do he’ll kill us all.”
Curly Bob gave a vicious tug to Beth’s hair pulling her head back further and screamed “Shut up you little bitch. Drop the gun kid. I’ll kill her.”
The tension was thick in the air. Jack looked into Curly Bob’s eyes. He had the look of a wild man. And Jack knew that Curly Bob would indeed kill Beth if Jack didn’t do something fast.
He said, “You kill her. I’ll gut shoot you and then turn you over to the Indian. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind working on you for a few days. You let her go. You walk out of this camp alive.”
Curly Bob turned his head to look at the Indian. The Indian had come alive and was now on his feet straining at the ropes. One eye was swollen shut but the other eye never left Curly Bob and glowed like a coal in the firelight.
Curly Bob looked back at Jack and Jack could see for the first time what looked like confusion and fear in Curly Bob’s eyes.
Jack stepped over Dirty Earl’s body and moved closer to Curly Bob and said, “Drop the knife and you live. Do anything else and you die slowly.”
Curly Bob moved the knife from Beth’s throat but her still had her by the hair. Jack could see that Curly Bob was thinking how he could get out of this situation alive and not have to give up anything.
Jack said, “Drop the knife. Let her go and keep your hands where I can see them. Slowly!”
Curly Bob dropped the knife and let go of Beth’s hair.
Beth ran over behind Jack.
Jack told her “Pick up Dirty Earl’s gun and go stand about five feet behind Curly Bob at an angle and if he does anything that I don’t tell him to do blow his head off.”
She did as he said. She stood behind him at about a sixty-degree angle so that if she did fire the bullet wouldn’t hit Jack who was directly in front of Curly Bob.
Jack then told Curly Bob “Put your right hand behind your head and slowly unbuckle your gun belt with your left hand and throw it at me easy so that it lands at my feet.”
Curly Bob did as Jack said. When the gun belt was at Jack’s feet, Jack said, “Lie face down on the ground. Spread your legs and reach for the fire.”
Curly Bob lay down on the ground spread eagle, his hands stretched out towards the fire.
Jack said to Beth “If he moves, scratches his nose, belches, farts, does anything, shoot him.”
“Why don’t you let me shoot him now.” she said, a cold fury in her voice.
“No, I told him if he let you go, I’d let him walk out of here alive.”
“Jack don’t be a fool. He wouldn’t give us the chance you’re giving him.”
“I know Beth. Please just do as I say.”
“OK, but I don’t like it.” She then said to Curly Bob “You do anything at all, anything and I’ll kill you.”
Curly Bob lay with his face in the dirt grinding his teeth, wondering how things could have gone so wrong.
Jack then turned to Sonny and Slim. Sonny was sitting high on Slim’s shoulders. He had his left arm under Slim’s chin pulling Slim’s head back and he had his knife on Slim’s throat. Slim was lying perfectly still.
When Sonny stabbed Slim in the right hip, he twisted the knife. It felt to Slim like he was having a huge cramp in his right buttock and his right leg gave out. As he began to fall, Sonny pushed him hard in the small of the back sending him sprawling face down onto the ground. Sonny pulled out his knife as Slim fell and threw himself on top of Slim’s back.
As Slim was writhing in pain, Sonny was scrambling up Slim’s back to his shoulders and wrapping his arm around Slim’s neck. When Jack fired his first shot, Slim stopped cold and looked up to see Jack shoot Dirty Earl in the chest. Sonny used this monetary pause to gain his position on Slim’s neck and put the knife to his throat.
Sonny put his mouth next to Slim’s ear and said, “Make a move and I cut your throat.” Slim froze.
Sonny then said, “If Curly Bob kills Beth, I’ll cut your throat.”
Slim was thinking “Who the hell is Beth and why is he going to kill me if this Beth person dies?” Slim wasn’t a rocket scientist.
Jack walked over to Slim and Sonny and stood behind them. He said to Sonny “Go over and get Curly Bob’s guns.”
Sonny slowly got off of Slim. When Sonny was out of the line of fire, Jack stood away from Slim a little to Slim’s left and said, “Don’t try anything stupid Slim.”
“Don’t worry, I ain’t gonna do nothing’.” Slim said. His voice filled with pain from the knife wound.
Sonny came over to where Jack was. He had one of Curly Bob’s pistols in his hand.
“Cock the pistol and if he moves kill him.”
Jack then uncocked his pistol and stuffed it in his belt. Throughout all of this they had kept their packs on. Jack took his pack off and unclipped the roll of suspension line that he kept clipped to the pack’s shoulder harness. He then went over to Curly Bob and began pulling Curly Bob’s boots off.
“Just as I thought,” said Jack. “He has an ankle holster. Watchin’ all of those westerns paid off.” He unbuckled the holster and held it up to see. It had a revolver in it that was smaller than the ones the men carried on their hips. It looked like a 38.
He pushed Curly Bob with his foot and said, “Roll over and take off your pants. You’d better do everything in slow motion. You do anything fast, have a muscle spasm, twitch anything and you die.”
Curly Bob rolled over, his face a mask of hatred. “I ain’t undressin’ in front of her.” he spat.
Jack pulled the pistol from his belt and moved close to Curly Bob’s head cocking the pistol as he moved and knelt down on one knee putting the pistol to Curly Bob’s head. Curly Bob could feel the muzzle against his temple.
In Jack’s mind’s eye he could see Curly Bob’s hand in Beth’s hair, his knife to her throat. Jack said his voice shaking with rage. “Listen to me, you piece of human garbage. The next time you open your mouth or don’t do exactly as we say, I’ll kill you.” He stood up, looking down on Curly Bob shaking with fury, his finger tightening on the trigger.
Curly Bob looked into Jack’s eyes and knew he was a dead man. He pressed his arms down in the dirt and pleaded “Don’t shoot, don’t shoot kid.” His voice breaking “I was just funnin’. I’ll do as you tell me. Just don’t shoot.”
Jack started to get a hold of himself. The red haze that he had been looking through started to melt away. He backed away from Curly Bob and said hoarsely “Not another word out of you, not another word. Now strip those pants off and then the shirt”
Jack turned to Slim and said, “Sonny, have Slim take off his clothes and crawl over here and lay down next to Curly Bob.”
Curly Bob was lying on his face naked as the day he was born. His heart pounding. He knew that he had been as close to death as he had ever been. Curly Bob was frightened and he knew that he had good reason to be. His fear made him all the more dangerous. He had to figure a way out of this.
Both men were lying about a yard apart naked.
Jack took the suspension line and tied a loop in the middle of the line around Curly Bob’s neck. It was tight but not tight enough to cut off the blood supply to the brain. He then had Curly Bob stand up and move to one of the large pine trees. He had him sit down and hug the tree. He then ran the ends of the suspension line around the tree. He pulled the cord tight and tied a knot on the opposite side of the tree. The tree was about six feet around so Curly Bob couldn’t reach the knot. Curly Bob’s head was forced to one side so that his right cheek was resting against the tree looking away from the fire. The cord was tied so tightly that he couldn’t turn his head. Jack then took one end of the suspension line and tied it tightly to Curly Bob’s right wrist. He did the same to his left wrist with the other end of the cord. The cord was a hundred feet long so Jack had a lot left over so he took the ends and pulling the cord tightly tied the ends once again in a knot on the opposite side of the tree from Curly Bob. He did the same thing with Curly Bob’s feet as he had done with his hands.
Once that was done, he and Beth walked over to the Indian and cut him down. He collapsed into Beth’s arms, knocking her to the ground and falling on top of her. Jack rolled him off of her. They dragged him over to the fire and Beth began to look to his wounds. Jack took the blankets from the men’s bedrolls. He got one of the saddles and carried it over to where Two Feathers lay. He doubled one of the blankets and then doubled it again and placed it on the saddle. He then doubled one of the other blankets and lay it out in front of the saddle. He and Beth, with some effort, drug the Indian on top of the blankets and saddle. The blanket on top of the saddle supported his shoulders but his head fell back so Jack drug one of the bundles that the packhorses had carried and stacked it on the other side of the saddle so that it supported his head. He was now reclining at a forty-five-degree angle.
Beth opened one of the canteens and put it to his lips. His hands shot up to the canteen and he drank greedily from it. When he had emptied it, he fell back on the bedding. The canteen fell from his limp hand.
Jack said, “In about half an hour, give him some more water. If we give him too much water too soon, he might get sick but we have to hydrate him. Do what you can for him. I’ve got to help Sonny tie up Slim.”
They got Slim on his feet and took him to a tree that was on the other side of the campfire from Curly Bob. They tied him so that he couldn’t see Curly Bob and Curly Bob couldn’t see him. Jack and Sonny figured if they couldn’t see each other and couldn’t talk to each other, they couldn’t plan an escape or plan trouble. They had placed them so that the boys had a good view of each of them from the fire.
Once Slim was secured Jack and Sonny went through Curly Bob’s and Slim’s clothes. Besides the knives they had on their belts, they had jack knives in their pockets. Curly Bob had had a derringer stuffed in his belt in the small of his back. Slim had a couple of twenty-dollar gold pieces in his pocket and a pocket watch but Curly Bob was carrying a money belt filled with fifty-dollar gold pieces.
Jack got up and walked over to where they had tied Slim.
He squatted down to Slim’s eye level and said, “What’s today’s date?”
Slim couldn’t believe his ears. He thought “I’ve been stuck in the ass, stripped naked and tied up like a pig and he wants today’s date.” He wanted to scream “This was a nightmare and you want today’s date.”
Instead he gave Jack a blank look.
Jack slapped him on the back of the head with his opened hand a said again “What’s today’s date.”
The slap got Slim’s attention. He knew enough not to give a smart answer. He knew that Jack was not to be trifled with. He’d seen him shoot Dirty Earl and have Curly Bob begging for his life.
He stammered out “May 27, 1870.”
“Is that watch of yours set right?”
Again the question caught him by surprise but this time he didn’t hesitate. “As far as I know it is.”
“Thanks” said Jack and he stood up and walked back to the fire.
“Well according to Slim,” Jack said to Sonny and Beth “it’s May 27, 1870 and his watch says it’s 8:36 P.M.”
He put the watch in his pocket and set his wristwatch. He walked over to Beth and said, “How’s the patient?”
She had covered the Indian with the last bedroll blanket. She turned to Jack and said, “He’s pretty beat up. They must have drug him behind their horses. His nose and I think his left cheekbone are broken. His teeth were knocked through his upper lip and I think he has some broken ribs and he has a compound fracture of his left middle finger. We’ll have to set it.”
“Let me whittle out a couple of splints for the finger and you go get some water for boiling and we’ll use it to clean him up. Better take both cans.”
“OK,” said Beth. She went to their packs and unloaded the cooking cans and headed to the river.
Jack looked around for some small pieces of wood. When he found what he was looking for he went over to Sonny who was going through the men’s saddlebags.
He sat down and began shaping the wood with his pocketknife and said, “Find anything?”
Beth was back. She put the water on to boil and came over and sat next to Jack.
Sonny said, “Not much. Some clothes, another pistol, these guys were armed to the teeth, and a wanted poster.” He passed the wanted poster to Jack who held it so Beth could see. The poster had a drawing of a man looking straight on. He had a hat on and shoulder length hair. His face was narrow and he had thin lips. He didn’t look particularly threatening.
The poster said $500 REWARD for the Capture Dead or Alive of Heinrich Farber alias the Dutchman for Murder and Robbery. It went on to list his and his gang’s nefarious deeds. There were a couple of bank robberies, an attempted train robbery and various killings. They were also suspected of waylaying and killing settlers on the trail West.
In short, Farber and his gang were your general run of the mill sociopaths, low lifes and by the size of the reward Jack thought small time, two bit crooks. He wondered why Curly Bob would be carrying such a poster.
He said to Sonny “What do you think?” He passed the poster back to Sonny.
“I don’t know. They could be part of the gang and carry the poster as a souvenir or they are bounty hunters.” Sonny said. He looked over at the fire and said, “Those beans are more than done. What do you say about dinner?”
“Sounds good to me,” said Jack. He turned to Beth and said, “How about dinner?”
“I’m ready.” Beth said. “Get my mess gear will you, please? I’m going to find a plate for him.” She pointed to the Indian.
“We can’t just call him ‘him’” said Jack. “I’m going to talk to Slim. Get my gear
too, will you Sonny?”
Jack folded his knife and stuck the wood in his pocket and walked over to Slim. He knelt down so that he was at eye level with him.
“How you doing?’
“How do you think I’m doing? You try and be comfortable stabbed in the ass and then tied to a tree like a pig on a spit.”
“Well if you guys hadn’t been such jerks this wouldn’t have happened. It could be worse. You could be in Dirty Earl’s boots.”
Slim was wondering what a jerk was but he said, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He gave a snort laugh and said with a crooked smile “Things could be worse.”
“Who’s the Indian?”
“That’s Two Feathers, Cheyenne, war chief. I seen him once at Fort Laramie up in Wyoming in ’67. I was in the Army then and he came in to parley with old Colonel Baker. He’s a bad one, kid. He’s taken more scalps hisself than a whole tribe of braves.
We was lucky to take him. We caught him unawares so to speak. You may think we treated him bad but if the shoe were on his foot, Lord help us. He’d skint us alive.”
Jack remembered the wagon and tried to keep his composure. He hoped that Slim didn’t notice his uneasiness “Thanks Slim.” Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of jerky and stuck it in Slim’s mouth.
“I’ll bring you some water later. Tomorrow we’ll look at your butt and see what we can do.”
He got up and walked back to the fire.
Sonny and Beth had served up the beans and were already eating.
Jack told Beth and Sonny what Slim had told him and said, “We may be patching this guy up so that when he gets well enough he can cut our throats or worse.”
“We have to help him out, Jack. We can’t leave him here, not in his condition.” Beth said. “When he gets well, if he gets well, we’ll deal with that when it happens. Sonny?”
“You’re right Beth. We have to help him.”
“I agree,” said Jack “but I thought you needed to know who this guy is and what he’s famous for. Lifting hair.”
“OK, then that’s settled.” Beth said. She went back to eating.
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