by Lou Bradshaw
There was a lot of laughing and talking among them as I got closer. They were making so much noise, that I could have come down that hill with a brass band, and they’d never have known anything about it. As I got close to the edge of the clearing where they had set up camp, I was able to see the layout pretty well, but I couldn’t see Angelina. Their horses were back up canyon a ways but no sign of the senora.
I backed off a little and moved to my left in hopes of getting a better angle. If I couldn’t find her soon, I’d pretty much made up my mind to start shooting fish in a barrel. All the way here, I was hoping… even praying that I’d get here soon enough to stop any more of the abuse and degradation that they’d already heaped on her.
The trail I’d followed didn’t show anywhere that they had stopped or even took a breather, so if they’d killed her, then her body would be here. And I aimed to find it. They just sat there laughing, passing around a bottle, and playing poker.
One of them threw down a card and yelled, “Hot damn! I’m the first! Bud, you got last!.. Haw haw…hooeee!”
The one who had the worst hand, hollered back, “I don’t care bout no last… Just hurry it up, dammit.” He was a skinny fella with stringy hair and big yellow teeth. He couldn’t have been more than twenty, but you could see that he had a lot of meanness in him.
The winner got up from the fire and started back toward the horses, then he stopped and turned to the other two and said with a sneer, “You boys wanna watch?”
They both lifted their heads and called out that they would indeed like that. He started again and I got myself in position to step into their camp. He went back behind some boulders and within a few seconds, he came back out pulling Angelina behind him. Her hands were tied and she was stumbling to keep from being dragged. That pretty new buckskin shirt was a mess with one sleeve barely hanging on.
The other two were staring at him as he pulled her upright before them. Pulling out a sheath knife he cut her bonds and said, “Let’s get these clothes offen you, sheepherder… you never should a run off like that… and make us go lookin’ for you… you’re gonna pay for that.” He ripped the dangling sleeve loose and shoved Angelina to the ground.
As he was fumbling with his belt I said, “Mister, I spent a lot of time makin’ that shirt, and I don’t appreciate you rippin’ it up like that.”
His head swung up and he saw me for the first time. For a few seconds, he just stood there looking at me and trying to figure who I was and how I got there. Then he said, “Who the hell are y….” That was about the time my tomahawk sunk into his skull, splitting it open from the bridge of his nose on up.
The other two were mesmerized by the face that could no longer be recognized. By the time he hit the ground, it was too late. When they swung around toward me they were clawing for their guns, I had them covered and covered at close range. I just pulled the trigger of my Winchester and jacked in another cartridge for my second shot.
The one they called, Bud was already standing and the front door of hell, wondering why it was so hot. The other one had thrown down his gun and was on his knees begging me not to shoot him. I put the muzzle against his forehead, eased the hammer down, and then pulled it back with a loud click. That started him wailing and bawling to go along with his begging. I just swung that rifle butt around and put him to sleep with it.
Picking up Angelina and helping her to her feet I asked, “Are you alright? How bad did they hurt you?”
She looked at the ground for a moment and then raised her face and said, “No, they were rough, and they slapped me around, but you got here before they could do anything worse… Thank you, Senor Cain… If they hadn’t killed me I was going to kill myself, and that would be an unforgivable sin… You saved my life… and you saved my soul.”
Taking all their handguns, I threw them into the fire. Their rifles, I kept and tied them into a bundle. I’m a rifle loving man, and I sure hate to waste anything.
About that time, the third one was starting to come around. He was past his begging and crying. Since he was tied up and not dead, he probably figured that his life would be spared. “What’er you gonna do to me?” he asked, but I ignored him. I was busy taking the saddles and riggings off two of the horses. The best of the bunch, Angelina would ride, and the others I would run off.
“Mister, you don’t know the trouble you got yourself in.” He shouted trying to get his two cents in now that he would live. “That boy you shot… That was Bud Daveys.”
“Is that someone I’m supposed to know?”
“You can just bet it is… That’s Frank Daveys’ little brother.”
“Never heard of him.” I lied.
“Well, he’s got the toughest bunch in these mountains… He’s got twelve gun handy riders, and they don’t take nothing from no body… You’d do well to get the hell out of this country and damned quick.”
“Does he have a couple of fellas…” and I described the two from Creede. And he affirmed that they were part of the gang, so I went on. “I done those two a couple of days ago up in Creede. Neither one of them even got off a shot. Come to think of it, neither of these boys did either. So that would give Frank what’s his name with only eight outlaws left. And if you don’t shut up, old Frank is goin’ to have seven.”
“Furthermore,” I said, “it ain’t up to me. You ain’t done me no harm… It’s up to this lady whether you live or die and what condition you live or die in… She calls it, I does it.”
I looked over to Angelina and she was mad clear through. She was remembering her home, her husband and the unborn child I suspected.
She said, “This one was the worst of the lot. The others were hard, rough, and stupid. This one was mean, this one enjoyed hurting me… he shot my Hernando down.”
“Well then, ma’am, you make the call.”
She walked back and forth for a few seconds, and then she stopped and looked at me, as if to ask, did I really mean what I had said…. I did.
“I cannot ask you to commit murder, Cain, but there are other things that can be done… I want… I want him castrate.” She blurted it out like she was afraid to say it because she was afraid to hear it.
That outlaw’s face went white, and his eyes were like a rabbit’s at that moment the coyote clamps his jaws on his neck. I’m sure he was more scared than he had ever been in his life. I wasn’t eager to do the deed, but I said I’d do it. Getting him tied to a tree was no easy matter, but I managed to get him all snugged down and cut away his clothes.
He was crying again and talking about his poor wife. I started to tell him that she would probably send me a boo-kay of roses, but that would be meaner than I really am. I was putting an edge on my skinning knife, when Angelina touched my arm.
“Senor.” She said. I thought she had changed her mind, but she said, “I will do it… I owe it to my Hernando.”
I tried to tell her that I promised to do it, but she wasn’t to be deterred. I handed her the knife.
Chapter 11
We rode out into the dark of night, leaving two dead and one wishing that he was. At least he won’t be troubling any women again. That was a hard thing to watch, and it would have been an even harder thing to do. But I would have, if it had meant that she would sleep better and her husband could rest.
I didn’t think badly of her. Granted, it was a harsh punishment, but he had committed a harsh crime. There is no telling how many other victims there had been before Angelina and Hernando. He had earned those cuts, and he had earned seeing his…stuff being tossed into the fire. He was crying like a little bitty baby when I cut him loose, and he fell to the ground curled up sobbing.
We only rode about four or five miles before we made camp for the night. I didn’t much relish coming up on Antonio in the dark. I could call out to the cabin, but there was no way to know that he was in the cabin and not sitting out in the pines watching for more outlaws. A youngster could get an itchy trigger finger if he got a little nervous.
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By the time the sun had cleared the mountains to the east, we were riding into the yard, and Antonio was running out the front door. That boy was sure glad to see us… her. He felt responsible for her getting abducted, even though there was nothing he could have done. He was over matched and didn’t have the experience to deal with men of their stripe. As it was, it was just pure luck that they hadn’t killed him.
Angelina went into the cabin to rustle up some breakfast, while I stayed out with Antonio to look over the sheep that he had recovered. Out of the original thirty, there were only eighteen left… plus the ram. The dog, Rico, was with them at the pen that Antonio had constructed from deadfalls and rocks. He was proud of his work, and he had every right to be, it was a good job.
“The others,” he said, “are maybe food for the panther and the lobo…. Senor Cain… this may not be a good place for sheep.”
I tended to agree with him. Sheep needed to be watched, and I wasn’t much of a sheep watcher. Oh I could go into the hills and the surrounding forests, and I could kill or trap the wolves or cougars that would eat my sheep, but that would be wrong. Killing a wild animal just because it wanted to feed never seemed right to me. Wolves and cougars keep the deer and elk herds in check. That’s their reason to be here. If I killed all the predators the deer and elk would grow as thick as fleas on Rico. I’d have to take some time to think this all out, but I’d do that after breakfast.
Relaxing over a second cup of coffee, I was getting ready to give my thoughts of sheep, deer, wolves, and mountain lions a little more study, when I remembered the package I’d brought back from town for the senora.
“Angelina,” I said, I wasn’t sure about the right kind of needles and threads to get, so I got you this… I sure hope it’ll work just as well.” With that said I went to the cot and picked up the package. She stared at it like it was a rattler, almost afraid to touch it. I finally had to lift her hand and place the package in it. She was visibly shaken. It was like she had never been given a gift before and didn’t know what to do about it.
“It’s alright… go ahead and open it. It ain’t much… just something you might could use.” I said.
Very delicately, she untied the cord and pulled the paper back. She had it spread out on the cot, which was about the only surface in the cabin that you might lay something on, and then she pulled it open. It was a dark blue dress or maybe it was a skirt and a white blouse with a little bit of ruffle on the front. There was some other furfural in the package that went underneath it all. She just sank to her knees with her elbows on the cot and her face in her hands. There wasn’t a sound coming from her, but we could see her body shaking from the crying.
“Antonio and me are gonna go outside and look at the sheep for a few minutes, Senora. Why don’t you try those things on and see how they fit.” I told her. She nodded, and we left.
We sat out there at the sheep pen. Antonio was busy scratching the dog’s ear, and I was tryin’ to light my pipe without sloshing my coffee. We sat there making a few comments, but keeping busy doin’ nothing.
Finally she came to the door and then timidly stepped out of it. She was a vision. I don’t believe I’d ever seen a woman smile that way. It was a bittersweet smile. She was happy for the gift and she knew she looked much better than either of us had ever seen her look. But mixed in with that smile was a little bit of embarrassment and a good deal of pain that the last few weeks had heaped on her. I believe she must have felt guilty for being happy, when she had seen her husband shot down and her baby dead before it ever had a chance to kick in the womb. She was a confused young woman.
Antonio, who must have been every bit of fifteen or sixteen at the most just stared and said, “Oh… Senora… you are lindo.” He looked up at me and said, “Beautiful… Si?”
“Si.” I replied.
She thanked me like I’d never been thanked before… It was almost embarrassing. I tried to convince her that it wasn’t much, and the store owner’s lady had done all the picking out. All I did was pack it home. She twirled and the skirt flared. I was mighty surprised to see that it fit her so well. “If my mother could see me now, she would think I was a gringo girl.” Then she stopped and covered her mouth…. “I mean no disrespect, Senor Cain.”
“A lot of gringos take offense to the name, but I know it means only that I don’t speak Spanish as our native language, so don’t worry about me. As low down as I am, it’s hard to find words that can offend me.”
She laughed a little laugh and said, “You are no down low. I have seen those down so low, they make you like an angel.”
I figured I’d been called almost every name in the book and some that were scribbled on out back walls, but I couldn’t remember ever being called an angel. I think Antonio had a little trouble with that… I know Rico did. Angelina gave Antonio the evil eye when he started laughing.
Soon all of us were laughing. It felt good after all that had happened. The rest of the day was spent with everyone in a fine mood. Angelina was free from worry about those men. Antonio was thinking about the thirty dollars he would soon receive and what he could do with that much money. The dog probably wasn’t thinking of much, and the sheep weren’t thinking at all.
Antonio and I went out with the sheep to the forty acre pasture a short distance from the cabin. I’d brought along one of those rifles I’d taken from the three outlaws, and handed it to him saying, “Amigo, if a man’s going to be watching my sheep or his own sheep, I think he should have the best weapon he can get his hands on. If a griz or a catamount was to come out of that timber, I’d want that man to be able to put enough lead into it that if he didn’t kill it, he’d at least stop it…. Now that’s yours to keep with no strings attached…. I want you to have it.”
He was mighty proud of that Winchester. I gave him a little instruction on how to use it and to take care of it. He was a quick learner, which was something I already knew. I told him to walk up the stream a ways and get us something for supper. Rico wasn’t sure whether to stay or go with him, but I gave him a little whistle and he went back to watching the sheep.
After a while I heard a shot, and then a little bit later, Antonio came back with his legs about to give out on him under the load of a good size buck. He was grinning from ear to ear. I sent him on back to the cabin to get the pack horse, so he could take it on in and start skinning it.
After supper, while Angelina was washing up the dishes I told Antonio, “You’ve done a good job, amigo, and there’s one more thing I’d like you to do for me.” He looked up with a question on his face. “Antonio, I’ve come to the conclusion that I ain’t cut out for herding sheep… if those sheep stay with me, they’re gonna probably get ate by a cougar or a wolf… even with the dog to watch over ‘em.”
While he was digesting what I was saying, I pulled out six five dollar gold pieces and handed them to him. “Here’s your wages, but I’d also take it as a big favor if you’d take them sheep too… They’ll be yours, not Rubio’s… I’ll give you a bill of sale… You can keep ‘em or sell ‘em as you like.”
“In a few days, I’m going to have to take Angelina back to her family and friends. When I do, those sheep will be left to fend for themselves, and we both know that they won’t make it on their own out here… and I got a feeling that we ain’t seen the last of that bunch of cut throats, so I’d take it as a favor if you’d take those sheep somewhere safe.”
“Si,” he said, “if those men were part of a large gang, they will come for revenge… What will you do, Senor Cain?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll probably have to improvise… you know… make it up as I go.”
He just nodded his understanding.
“I wanted to talk to you man to man without the senora here. She wouldn’t understand why I am getting rid of the sheep… let’s just keep that between two hombres.”
“One more thing,” I said, “I’d sure admire to keep that dog, Rico, but you need him to help with the sheep
on the trail. So you go ahead and take him with you… I’ll loan him to you, but if you ever get back up this way… you can bring him back.”
Antonio agreed to bring the dog back just as soon as he could. I didn’t really expect to ever see that dog again, but it made me think about getting one for myself the next time I had the chance. Right now, I wanted the senora to get well rested, so I could take her home.
When Angelina came out from the cabin, I told her what I had decided about being a sheepherder. Then I told her how I had disposed of the sheep to my former assistant, and she thought I was a poor businessman, but still an angel.
“Senor Cain, I could not believe you were a sheep man when I first met you, and I still feel the same way. You are a woodsman, you move like a woodsman, and you think like a woodsman…not at all like a herder of sheep… or a rancher of cows.”
“Well now, that there seems to be the problem, Senora. A man can’t just be a woodsman. There ain’t no future in it. There’s no way to earn a livin’. I can’t just trap and hunt. There’s no place that wants to buy furs… but there’s no place I want to be other than these high up mountains…Reckon I’m kind of a misfit.”
We sat by the fire pit and talked as the moon rose. She was sewing on the torn sleeve of my buckskin shirt that she’d worn for over a week, and I was whittling on a chunk of wood, as I often did when I was thinking. Antonio had started nodding off, and he finally got up and went to his bedroll just inside the door. We let the senora have the cot at the rear wall where the cabin met the cave. I generally slept in the stable.
Chapter 12
It was a few hours after sunup when Antonio, Rico, eighteen woolies, and a ram started down the shoulder of the mountain on their way to Taos, New Mexico. There was also a bill of sale for those sheep, tucked into his saddle bag. He was a good boy and I hated to see him leave. He was smart, but he didn’t say much until he had something to say. Ben told me that when he first met the boy, he thought he was a mute.