Another man came out of the tent carrying a rifle and approached them. “Can I help you?”
“You can tell your men to lower their rifles. I don’t particularly like having one pointed at me on my own property.” Dominic’s tone left no room for arguments. The man turned and nodded to them and they pointed their rifles down but remained tense. “The better question is can I help you?”
“We weren’t aware that this was owned property.”
“Why are you camping here?”
“We came through with the last cattle drive to Wyoming and decided to stay the winter to see if we wanted to work out west rather than going back and forth.” Dominic lit his cigar and nodded.
“Whose drive were you on.”
“The Double Branch. They had the last drive to go north before the weather turned bad.”
“That was a couple of months ago. Why aren’t you camped closer to Denver?”
“Decided that we needed a little time away from people to just enjoy the outdoors.” He spit on the ground and put more tobacco between his cheek and gum. “Have we met?”
Mirisa couldn’t hear what they were saying but she could read their body language very well. She turned to her son and told him to turn slowly with her. They both turned their horses and put more distance between themselves and the men. Garnett caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and nodded to James who moved just slightly further to the right. The man from the tent watched Mirisa before he looked at Dominic.
“Pretty wife you have there.” He spit again and his finger twitched just slightly on the rifle. The other two men were looking from one to the other nervously. James watched them closely as he leaned slightly forward waiting.
Dominic smiled. “I didn’t think Mr. Rayson did cattle drives so late in the season.”
“They have a big appetite for beef in the north and his herds this year were extremely large so I guess he decided to take a chance on beating the weather.” He spit again which was really annoying James. They all knew that the Double Branch was owned by the Smith family and they all knew that the Sheriff had passed out posters with a face very similar to the gentleman spitting so impolitely on the ground.
“Yes, I’ve heard that the population in Wyoming and Montana was growing fast. I think next time I might have him drop off a few dozen head for the ranch.”
“I’ll tell him next time I see him.” He put his rifle up under his arm. “Thank you for the hospitality of your land. It’s a beautiful piece. We’ll probably be pulling up and heading south tomorrow.”
“You know you will be heading right into Indian country? There’s been quite a few raids by the Dog Soldiers along the Santa Fe Trail and up through the territory.”
“We’ll skirt around them and probably head for southern Texas. This weather here is just a little too cold for me.”
Dominic nodded but didn’t move. The man tipped his hat and turned to walk away. James saw both men make eye contact with him and within a split second they all raised their rifles. Mirisa was stunned at the reflexes since none of them had even fired a single shot before they were lying on the ground. She held her son’s reins and calmed his horse. Dominic never drew his gun. He dismounted and walked up to each of them and kicked away their guns. James put his rifle in the sheath and dismounted pulling his handgun as he checked each of them for life. They laid them next to the fire and covered them with blankets from the tent. It was cold enough that they would be frozen within an hour. They extinguished the fire then remounted.
As they reached Mirisa and Matthew, they stopped to see if either of them would react. When they both just sat there, everyone turned the horses north and headed back to the lodge taking a route along the river.
They dismounted at the stable as Dominic and James rode on toward Denver. Mirisa took the saddle off her Bay and put her in the stall before brushing her down and feeding her. Garnett was going to tell her that the stable boys would do it but he thought maybe she just needed time to not deal with the day. Matthew sat on the top railing and talked to his mother. She found it fascinating that they did everything with precision and without talking very similar to the way she was with her sons. Meeks walked over and climbed up as she brushed off her hands from the oats. She climbed up and kissed him.
“Are you two hungry? Because I am.” Matthew climbed down and asked what was for lunch if James went into town with his father. “I’m sure your mother can find us something warm to eat.”
They walked back up to the lodge with Garnett and Mirisa put on a fresh pot of coffee. She made a thick beef stew with dumplings and by the time it was ready to eat they were all hungry. She had no sooner cleaned up the kitchen when Dominic and James came through the door. James put a sack down on the counter and she opened it to find it filled with pastries and dried fruit. She kissed him and asked if they were hungry. They both walked over and took off their guns before picking up a bowl and sitting down on the couch. She put the plate of fresh biscuits on the table along with a pot of hot coffee. Meeks grabbed her by the wrist and brought her into his lap but continued to concentrate on the game of chess he was playing with Garnett.
“James can you hand me the blanket?” He reached over and took it off the arm of Garnett’s chair and handed it to her. She wrapped it around her legs and curled up tucking it under her feet. Meeks put his hand on her head as she laid down. She was asleep in minutes.
“Did either of them say anything?”
“No. She probably won’t say anything for a few days but at least she could read the situation enough to get out of range.” He moved his knight and sat back. “What did the Sheriff say?”
“They’ll be out in the morning to identify and get the bodies.” Dominic put his bowl on the table and picked up a biscuit. “We told him to keep the reward for whatever they needed. They’ll also confiscate the horses and personal effects but we’ll have to go down and breakdown the camp or what is left of it.” Dominic said he needed to spend some time with his son. They all knew that even though he handled hunting for game or having to put an animal out of its misery this was the first time that he had witnessed another person being killed.
Meeks asked Mirisa if she wanted to get up early and go turkey hunting with him and James. She was in the middle of writing out a Christmas list and was sipping on a glass of wine.
“I like not being pregnant.”
James laughed and told her if she were smart she’d be happy with what she had and go back to making his days better. She sipped on the wine and picked up the bottle as Meeks took it away from her and filled her glass. “You may be right. When the lights are turned down at night, Alexander makes me feel like I’m sixteen again.”
“Darling if I had gotten hold of you at sixteen I would probably be in my grave by now.”
“Probably but it would have been fun.” She put her pencil down and curled her feet under her as she sipped on the wine. “I would love to go hunting with both of you. Are you going south?”
“We’re going down to the south field.”
“Do you have to get permission first?”
James poured a shot and sat down next to her. “When Dominic sold the land he reserved the right to hunt on it until it was resold for homesteading. I think the southern portion will stay open for a while.”
“Is Matthew coming with us?”
“Matthew, Jonathan and Maggie are all going with us. I’m going to make Maggie ride with me but Jonathan has gotten very good on his horse.”
“He has no experience with a gun.”
Meeks smiled. “He said he wants a bow because he doesn’t like guns.”
Mirisa looked at him thinking about it. “Is that what Matthew and Jonathan have been doing?”
“They have but I think they are a long way from making something that is effective in killing anything. I think it will be a good outing for the children.”
Mirisa dressed warmly and when she came downstairs Matthew, Jonathan and Maggie we
re sitting at the bar drinking hot cocoa. Mirisa kissed them each good morning and went into the nursery getting out their scarves, gloves and knitted caps. Meeks took Matthew and Mirisa’s rifles out of the case as she unrolled her holster and strapped it on. James put on Maggie’s jacket and buttoned it up as she stood chewing on a piece of beef jerky. He loved the way she tried to act like her brothers. Matthew and Jonathan headed for the stable with Meeks and were waiting outside when James came out with Mirisa and Maggie.
It took them an hour to reach their favorite bird field. They dismounted and were tying up the horses when a group of riders came in from the north. Mirisa took her rifle out of her scabbard and was walking toward the tree line when she stopped to watch them. She hadn’t seen Dominic and Garnett all week but the group was at least eight or nine riders. She took Maggie’s hand and they found a large stone just inside the brush line so they wouldn’t be visible but had a good view of the field. Mirisa folded her blanket and helped Maggie to climb up and sit down. Meeks was standing between Matthew and Jonathan as James was loading his rifle. The sun was about a half hour from rising when Garnett walked out and stood on the other side of Matthew talking to him about the hunt.
Dominic took his rifle out and waited for the others to dismount. Mirisa watched as they all stretched and passed the canteen as though the morning had either come to early or the night was a little too long. One of them walked over to the other side of the horses as the others chided him and she looked away because men sometimes were completely uncouth. Garnett stopped and talked to Meeks who pointed back to the tree line where Mirisa and Maggie were sitting. He walked over as David turned and watched him.
“What is my favorite girl doing out of bed before the sun rises?”
Maggie stood and put her hands on his cheeks as he lifted her up and kissed her cheek. “I’m watching them hunt the turkeys but I have to be very, very quiet or they’ll know we’re here. If they don’t get turkey we’ll have to eat scrambled eggs for Thanksgiving.” Garnett bent down and kissed Mirisa before walking back over to Meeks with Maggie.
They talked briefly before he took her back to the rock and got his rifle out of the scabbard returning to where the men were standing. Dominic pointed east and half of them walked about a hundred yards from where Meeks was standing. James told Jonathan to back up so he wouldn’t be in the line of fire and Jonathan walked over to his mother climbing up on the rock waiting. He closed his eyes for a moment then looked up as a large eagle circled above them and disappearing over the tree tops.
It was a quiet morning as the soft sound of the gobbler started to approach from the left of the field. They waited and within seconds the tom entered the field followed by several very large hens. Matthew stood pointed his gun with precision as the turkey rose and several others stood shooting. The smoke from the guns settled as everyone stepped back allowing James to retrieve the shoot. After an hour, they mounted and headed east into a field of quail where they spent an hour hunting for sport.
Mirisa helped built the fire as Garnett and Matthew cleaned the birds and put them on the spit to roast. She was standing next to her husband when James came up behind her and pulled her back kissing her cheek.
“Hey Garnett, is the little blonde available tonight?”
They all turned to the very portly Senator whose eyes were sunk so far into his head that they disappeared. He let out a rolling belly laugh and made an obscene gesture that was more than inappropriate. Mirisa looked at him and he gave her a nod as she turned away. Dominic walked over and talked to him which made everyone in the circle break out in riotous laughter. David walked over and kissed her on the cheek.
“It’s been an awfully long time and yet your beauty never seems to diminish.” He lit his cigar off of James. “I must apologize for my colleague. He’s having a little too much fun out here.”
“Have you enjoyed the hunting?”
“I have but I am not a stranger to Colorado.”
“I forgot you were here with the Unit. I guess hunting was how you stayed alive when you weren’t the prey.”
“Pretty much. It is a lot more fun now.”
“Will you be here for Thanksgiving?”
“We’re here until the first part of December then I have to escort these fine Senators back to Washington where they can convince Congress and the President to annex Colorado into the Union.”
“Well, it is a clever way to do it. Nothing sells you faster than a beautiful land, great hunting, poker and bad women.”
“That and great cigars and top of the line whisky.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t stopped by the house.”
“I haven’t received an invitation yet.” Mirisa looked at David. “I’m sure it was an oversight.”
“Well, we would love to have you stop by if you find time between the planned activities.”
David talked to Meeks while they all had something to eat before heading back to Dominic’s where they would probably pass out for the afternoon. She wasn’t sure how he found horses for a few of them because they were quite portly.
Garnett stayed behind to help teach the boys how to find quail eggs. He found it a lot more enjoyable to work with the boys then grown men who were overly jovial and didn’t follow directions.
“Mom.” Mirisa looked down at Jonathan who had a concerned look across his face. “They are walking into an ambush.”
She looked across the field and the men were in the distance as she turned and looked over the field noting the numerous stands of thick foliage. She looked back at Jonathan and turned to Matthew.
“Matthew.”
He nodded and reached out to his father as Meeks asked her what was wrong. “Jonathan thinks there are dog soldiers waiting to attack them but they are too far away to warn.”
James mounted his horse as Garnett told the children to move over to where their horses were tied up. He started to mount when Matthew told him that they were trying to draw him out so they could sneak up behind them. Mirisa’s heart stopped as she realized that they were all in danger. Garnett loaded his rifle as Meeks made the children climb up in the tree above the horses.
The Cheyenne were very clever at separating men from the women and children. Meeks told Mirisa to load her rifle and to put her extra shells in her jacket pocket. He handed shells to Matthew and told him to keep quiet. He reached up and told Maggie to be brave. Maggie nodded and blew him a kiss that he caught and put in his pocket. They moved back into the darkness of the trees and the silence moved in around them. Meeks moved the horses so that they were a hundred feet away from the children where he tied them to the tree at the edge of the clearing.
Mirisa sat behind her daughter as Garnett worked to the right and Meeks worked in the opposite direction until she lost sight of each of them. Mirisa listened as Matthew reached out to Dog Moon who talked to him before Conrad opened the channels between Matthew and Dominic. She thought both her sons were so brave for their age. Dominic immediately turned away from the stand of trees with all of the Senators confused and trying to determine why he was changing directions. No sooner had he reached the edge of the field and dismounted, Dominic told everyone to move into the trees as David dismounted pulling his rifle out of the scabbard while watching James approaching from the South followed by a small band of dog soldiers.
The arrows were flying on both sides but his horse managed to negotiate enough to avoid being hit. Dominic put his sight on the closest Indian and shot him blowing a hole in his neck and lifting him clean off his horse as his arms went up and he fell straight back taking one of the other Indians off his horse. David took aim and shot three times taking out two Indians and shooting one horse out from another. James dismounted before his horse stopped and he rolled and took aim taking out another Indian as they all pulled back and turned toward the trees.
“Where are the children?”
“They are with Garnett and Meeks but I think we need to get back to give them backup.”
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Dominic nodded as he moved his horse back into the trees and told the Senators that they need to reload their rifles and put enough ammunition into their pockets in case they get separated from each other or their horses.
“Are those real Indians?”
“Yes.”
“What do they want?”
“They want to cause enough havoc to piss off the government.” Dominic lit a cigar and made sure his handgun was loaded. “James, I need you to head back to the house and make sure the girls are safe.”
James nodded and mounted his horse turning north at a gallop while David knelt down with his binoculars scanning the tree line. “I can’t tell how many are in there but I would guess at least a dozen.”
James dismounted east of the house and slowly worked his way through the woods and slipped over the porch at the east wing. He looked into the door to see a dog soldier standing in the nursery with something in his hand. James cursed to himself then stepped back. He went back over the railing and under the porch until he reached the western wall where the door to the basement was located. He unlocked the door and slid into the dark hall. It was cold and damp as he worked along the wall until he reached the door to the wine cellar. He slowly opened the door and could hear someone on the far side of the room but he was still adjusting to the dark. He slipped into the room when he heard the baby fussing. He worked across the room and found Jasmine in the corner with both girls curled up with her. He put his finger up to her lips.
The Visitor - New York 1871-1873 Page 24