by Jake Logan
McKee introduced Slocum as his best friend to the seated Indians, and Red Bear showed them where to take a place beside him.
“What does trader want?” Red Bear asked in halting English.
“The two hostages. I must talk to them.”
Red Bear motioned to a woman outside the circle and spoke in guttural words to her.
“He said go get them,” McKee told Slocum.
In turn, McKee nodded.
The two women set out for them.
Several Indians pointed at Slocum and talked, nodding their heads about something. It did not look hostile, but he was unsure about their meaning.
Red Bear finally spoke to him. “They say you came with Comacheros one time.”
“Yes, I came three times when I lived among them in New Mexico.”
Red Bear was a big man by these people’s standards. Most of the men were hardly over five feet and the women even shorter. He’d never met Red Bear before, but he knew much about the Comanches from his trading experiences the West. According to history, these people came from the North. They were Shoshone people who lived on mountain goats and had been pushed by the Crows into the Rockies, where existence was hard. Then the Sioux came from the northern woods and drove the Crow off the buffalo plains.
A band of Shoshone warriors came south, found the Spanish horse, and became a tough cavalry. They were powerful enough to drive the eastern Apaches off the plains. This was a warrior society, and if you could not ride, fight, and hunt, you chose suicide or being murdered. They simply eliminated the old women, the barren, and crippled ones or abandoned them to die by themselves. They had no religion and did no ceremonial dances, but they did dance or stomp as a social event. Men like McKee who knew the Shoshone language could speak with them. Many of those women left their tribes and became the “wives” of the early trappers.
A Cherokee woman once told Slocum why so many of their women married the Scots-Irish traders. She smiled and said, “The traders all had iron pots to cook in instead of skin ones.”
It made good sense.
Slocum sat beside McKee as the Comanche argued around their circle about the poor offer McKee had made for the two women they held. How they could take them to New Mexico and get a chest of gold for them.
McKee said something in Comanche to counter their argument and caused them to laugh. He leaned over and spoke to Slocum. “I told them a soldier would put hot bullets up their asses if they went over there.”
Slocum agreed. “When will they decide about this trade?”
“Oh, they don’t have anything else to do. Red Bear said they’d all fucked the four women with them and wanted to go back to their home camp for some better pickings.”
“Probably the captives want the same thing. To get away from those bastards.”
McKee agreed.
Red Bear finally spoke. “You are cheating us. These are good princesses. Maybe when you see them, you will give twice as much.”
The chief and the rest of them tore out small dead blades of buffalo grass and threw them up to see the wind’s direction. Another hour passed. A McKee Mexican brought more logs for their fire. The air had not warmed hardly a degree since sunup. Gloomy clouds still passed over them.
The two captives arrived, wrapped in thin blankets and joined with heavy ropes tied around their necks. Hair in braids, they wore blank expressions on their faces, and when they got before Red Bear, the two of them were stripped of their blankets. Naked in the cold wind, they huddled for warmth, but one of the Comanche squaws prodded them apart with a quirt and motioned for them to stand straight.
Neither of the teenagers was pretty. They were white women, with small tits, the broad shoulders of a man, and wide hips with dark pubic hair in their crotches. One girl’s belly was visibly pregnant while the other’s was firm and flat.
“Tell them your name,” Red Bear commanded.
“Elania Proctor,” the taller of the two girls said. “Our father is a prominent storekeeper in Santa Fe. He is rich and I swear he will pay a thousand dollars in gold for us. This is my sister, her name is Katrina. She has not spoken in many days—weeks—since they kidnapped us.” She shivered violently.
“You know of such a man?” McKee asked Slocum.
“Yes, Proctor has a big mercantile store a block off the square.”
“Cover them up,” McKee said to Red Bear. “I cannot get a nickel for a frozen hostage. Send them inside the store.”
Slocum never made a sign or said a word, only sat hard-eyed beside McKee and waited, but he obviously also wanted them out of the cold.
“Good,” Red Bear said. “We will trade and then go back to our own camp.”
McKee motioned to the girls, who had both begun to cry as they wrapped their blankets around themselves again to hide their nakedness and then stumbled to the doorway that Willow held open for them.
One Comanche buck spoke in English to Slocum as they started to leave. “That one talks too much,” he said, pointing to Elania. “The other one only cries.”
Slocum nodded as if he were grateful for that information. “Thanks.”
Inside he joined Julie standing at the fireplace. Neither Willow nor the captives were in the store. He glanced around.
“Willow took them to fit them into some clothing. Those men are bastards to do that to them,” Julie said under her breath. “Are they gone?”
“For now.”
“I would stick a big branch up that chief’s ass and break it off so he could not get it out.”
He chuckled. “I can tell you don’t like them.”
She poked him in the muscle-ribbed gut with her flat hand.
“I hate them. Those Indians wanted to make a showing of their power. I once asked for a white woman they held, and this chief went over, tore back his breechcloth, and made her suck him off until he came.”
“He must have been this Red Bear’s brother.”
“It was very bad.”
“I can see that it must have been. Can we go back to bed now for something quick before we’re needed to help out around here?”
“Absolutely.” She poked him in the gut and giggled. “You are a big man, Slocum. How long can we stay here?”
“Until he runs us off.”
“What can we do until spring?”
“We can play in bed.”
“Oh, that will be fun.”
“If you need us, we’ll be at the jacal,” he called over his shoulder to McKee.
“Sure enough. Take your time.”
Slocum laughed and they went back to the small dwelling. He considered the shifting of snow on the wind. It might really pile up if it ever started snowing in a serious fashion. Oh well, with Julie’s sweet body to enjoy and McKee’s hosting them, he was well provided for.
Unless some traveling merchant came along, McKee would probably want him to take those two females to Santa Fe and try to collect a large reward from their father. But Slocum wasn’t volunteering for the job.
He closed and bolted the door of the jacal after they’d come in from the cold. Julie knelt down and started rebuilding the fire.
He closed his eyes and savored his warm paradise.
3
While Julie rested, Slocum repaired his saddle and packs and thoroughly cleaned his two pistols and Winchester rifle. One was a .30-caliber Colt he kept as a hideaway gun. It was a cap and ball weapon. The dusting of snow melted when the sun came out, but the snow returned in a few days to blanket Cap Rock in a day-and-night-long blizzard. The snow was over a foot deep, and McKee was pacing the floor, concerned about his helpers, who were out hunting for meat and had not come back the night before.
“I’ll ride out and find them,” Slocum said, “if they don’t come in today.”
; “I hate for you to have to do that,” McKee said.
Slocum dismissed his concern. “No problem.”
“Thanks. You are a true friend.”
“No, I’m a leech waiting for spring.”
McKee laughed. “A better one I don’t know. You are such good company, I enjoy talking with you about the old days. This snow reminds me of another bad winter. I was in Montana in the Rockies living in a cave with a Sioux woman after a grizzly attack about sent me to hell. I’d’ve been in bad shape if she hadn’t nursed me back to health. I was sure grateful to her and promised her I’d buy her lots of things.
“Well, we had three mules loaded with good furs. And more cached down south I planned to pick up. We needed six more mules to move it, I didn’t know she planned to kill me—her and some other buck. I didn’t even know that he existed.
“The furs were in the Big Horns. I had an old man guarding them for me. I found him dead, just recently killed, but the furs were untouched and she was acting strange. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. That night I was in bed and woke up from some noise. She was arguing with him outside the tent. I understood Sioux well enough. He told her she was supposed to kill me and she said no that he had to.
“Damn, that was strange but she had plans for me, I guess. She wanted to get all them valuable hides that winter so she nursed me back to health. Guess they figured they was going to kill me anyway and went on arguing out loud by the tent. I solved all that by getting up and killing the both of them. I got me a sweet squaw that summer and pocketed my own damn money. That money built this fort.”
“You sure had some times back then. I better go tell Julie what I intend to do.”
“See you at supper.”
“Thanks.”
Julie wanted to go with Slocum, but he told her to stay put. He had enough to worry about finding the helpers in the snowy world around them and didn’t want her hurt.
She hugged him and then they went to bed. He enjoyed her body and reactions so much, and he sure had awakened a real woman within her. Whew, she kept his lower back aching, but hell, he enjoyed even the reminder of it and all the fun they had in bed.
He rode out on a shaggy mustang he chose as a survivor of what the winter dealt out to such animals. McKee thought the men had gone northeast to look for any stray buffalo. So, well dressed for the cold, Slocum left McKee’s small ship in the sea of white. Julie, close to tears, had kissed him good-bye. In an hour, he couldn’t look back and see the flagstaff any longer. Moving on, he watched for any sign of smoke or movement. In a few hours he spotted some buffalo pawing in the snow for something to eat. These furry creatures had lived in this harsh environment for a million years. But where were McKee’s men?
An hour later he saw the sides that kept things loaded on the carreta sticking out of the snow. One wheel must have been broken because of the odd direction the rig sat. He could see the ends of spears sticking in things buried under the snow. As he drew closer to the disabled vehicle, he saw the long-horn oxen steers had both been slain in their yokes and realized those others humps were the bodies of McKee’s men.
While he searched the scene, he discovered that the bodies had been mutilated, and under a drift he found a .50-caliber Sharps rifle and a canvas bag of ammo. The attackers must not have found them because of the snow. Anxious about where the killers had gone, Slocum made several checks of the horizon around him. When he cleaned the snow off the rifle, he discovered it had an empty cartridge in the breech. After ejecting the cartridge, he reloaded the rifle, satisfied he had an excellent weapon should he come under attack.
There was no way he could bury the three bodies or even recover them. Hungry wolves would find them and have a feast. He needed to return and pass on the sad news. The cold north wind swept his face. Who had done this? No doubt Indians, but was it Red Bear or some other band? There was a lot to wonder about. Had McKee’s men shot a buffalo or two and were they coming home? No way to tell, but he’d better get back. Rifle in his hand, he headed for the fort. Satisfied the mustang would know the way back, he let him have his head.
The winter sun set too early and he let the mustang push his way under the starlight. Slocum at last realized they were going to make the fort. Dogs barked and McKee came out to greet him. Julie came running through the snow to join him.
He handed McKee the rifle before he dismounted. “Careful, it’s loaded. I thought I might need it coming back.”
“You found them?”
Slocum nodded. “Indians attacked them. They were scalped and mutilated. The steers were killed, too. They need to be buried but I had no shovel. I’m sorry—they were very loyal men to you, I know.”
“Could you tell which tribe?”
“I didn’t recognize any of the marks on the spears.”
“Son of a bitch. I want them punished. Those men were no threat. All they did was work for me. I feed starving Injuns. Why kill my men?”
“I don’t know how to figure out who killed them.”
“When I find out who did it, they will be put to death. Hear me?”
“Yes, sir.” He watched the old man go back into the store. He looked much older to Slocum—much older.
He and Julie joined him inside the store, and McKee spoke to him. “What can we do?”
“Ask people who might know or have heard about the raid. Some Injun will get drunk and spill his guts.”
He agreed and turned to Julie.
“It’s been a long day for you. Willow will find us some food.” Julie guided him back into the kitchen.
“We will need more meat,” Willow said. “I have dried meat but . . .” She wrinkled her nose about that.
“I saw some buffalo. I’ll go shoot them.”
“How will you get them back?”
“Slide them on the snow. Now is the time to go get them.”
“I can go help you,” Julie said.
Willow agreed. “I will find another woman who can ride a horse and help you.”
“In the morning,” he said.
The two of them sat down at the long table and another of the women brought them two plates of food. “I am so glad you went to find them. They were good men and we are all sad they were murdered. But thanks so much for going and doing that.”
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Kelly,” Julie answered for her. “No one could pronounce her real name.”
Both women laughed.
Back in the jacal, they undressed and climbed into bed, both of them so anxious it was like they’d been separated for months. His hard rod stroked her smoothly and she hunched her butt hard to meet him. Soon their minds began to spin, and the feeling of the rising in his nuts told him he was about to explode. He did, and she fell back, satisfied, on the bed underneath him.
Slocum smiled down at her. Her eyes at last opened, and Julie shook her head in disbelief. She made him stay on top of her.
“I just don’t want it to end.”
He agreed.
* * *
At dawn, they set out in the powdery snow, Slocum and the two women. They had gone only a few miles when he saw the buffalo. He used a folding tripod to set the rifle on. Kelly held the horses.
He whispered, “We’re not far from the fort. We can get two buffalos here.”
Julie nodded. He picked out the biggest one and set the sights. The rifle boomed and the bull fell down without a cry. Next was a big cow. He dropped her and her death was soundless also. On their horses, he waved a blanket at the others and spooked the rest away. He bled them, while Kelly used a hatchet to open the bull’s gut. They would weigh less and be easier to drag if they were gutted, though they tried to save all they could. They had to get as much meat to the fort as possible. Kelly saved the liver. Then the women cut out the entrai
ls, which stank of the sourness of a ruminant. Slocum tied three lariats to the bull’s hind legs and next tied them to their saddle horns. They began to drag him to the fort.
The job was not easy and the bull’s head bounced up and down once they got him sliding. Their horses dug in on the long grades. They really had to struggle to haul him uphill. In no time the hay-fed horses had to be rested, and then they would set out again. Past noontime, they had him at the fort. The squaws changed saddles to fresh ponies, and two other squaws rode back with Slocum to get the other buffalo. Past the early dark of the winter day, they were cheered by the fort people when the cow arrived. The two hostages were good workers though the shorter one never spoke. They all fell into the task of skinning the second buffalo.
McKee held up a torch for light. “I need to go bury those men.”
“We need a sled and I’ll go get what’s left of them,” Slocum said.
“It’s a good Christian thing to do,” McKee said. “Those men served me well. They were like sons to me.” The old man looked tired when he put his hand on Slocum’s shoulder and thanked him for volunteering to handle the job. “At least now we have enough meat, thanks to you.”
“Those women worked harder than I did. I’m just paying for my board and room.”
McKee laughed. “You can stay here free anytime.”
“You’ll need to replace those men.”
“I will. There’s lots to do to run a fort. These women of mine would not like to live in town. The only reason an Indian woman lives in town is if she’s desperate, and then she becomes a whore for the scum. I’ll need to find some more men.”
“In the spring, I’ll take those white women to Santa Fe for you. Collect the ransom money you paid.”
“Good. They’re fine here for the time being. The quiet one may have her baby here by then. All the women are excited about that.”
Slocum nodded. “A baby may find her voice for her.”
McKee smiled and agreed. “It might do that. I had not thought about such a thing, but wouldn’t that be nice.”