The Visitor_Texas 1863_1869

by Barbara Svetlick

  The man tried to pull his gun causing the rope to swing around making it hard for her to reach it without falling herself. As the gun came up, he planted his feet on the wall and wiped his hand across his eyes trying to remove the mud so he could aim the gun when she kicked catching his elbow which pushed the gun into his face as he swung with his arm firing several shots that went wild.

  Dominic assessed their mismatched clothing, dirty ill fitted boots and they were wearing government issued holsters. “Slowly undo your belts and drop your guns.”

  “We ain’t done nothing wrong mister.”

  Garnett pulled back the trigger on his gun startling both of them. They looked from Garnett to Meeks as they unbuckled their holsters allowing them to drop to the ground as the third man was screaming from the rope for help.

  “What was your intent tonight?”

  “We was just tryin' to save that little girl from falling down the cliff. She fell over the side and we heard her yellin' and stuff. We didn’t mean anything.”

  “That’s awfully nice of you.” Meeks dismounted and walked over to the edge and looked over at the man swinging back and forth trying to grab something to steady himself. Garnett picked up their guns as Meeks unsheathed his knife. Mirisa watched as shock crossed the man’s face just seconds before he let out a scream and disappeared with the rope falling over him like a snake swimming across the river.

  The sound of his body hitting the wet hard riverbank made an awful sound. Meeks lit a cigar and watched as a large alligator slowly lumbered out of the river grabbing him by the foot dragging him back into the reeds. Meeks watched as his arms finally disappeared. “She’s about thirty feet down.”

  Dominic nodded and dismounted. “Tie them up.” Garnett took a rope off one of their horses and proceeded to tie them to a tree making it so tight that it cut into their arms. He picked up their guns throwing them over the edge into the river. Mirisa saw them as they flew out from the cliff and splashed into the water causing several very large alligators to scramble in after them. Mirisa’s heart began to pound as she closed her eyes pushing back against the rocks.

  “Mirisa?” Dominic waited but there was no response. The relief that Dominic was there only made all the fear she was holding back so overwhelming that she just pushed back further not caring if she ever moved again.

  Garnett lifted his rope off his horse and tied it around the tree as Meeks tied the second rope above it and tied knots in one rope throwing both over the side. Garnett took his gun off before he seated his leather gloves. Dominic stood on the other side of the tree as Garnett slowly lowered over the edge until he came to the opening. He smiled because she was covered in mud and was balled up with the biggest green eyes peering out between the strands of muddy, wet hair.

  “Has life been so dull that you felt the need to seek adventure?”

  She looked at him but couldn’t respond. Garnett hooked his boot under the metal rung and took the end of the second rope wrapping it through the rung looping it moving his foot to the loop allowing his weight to make the rope taunt. He wrapped his arm around the taunt rope and took the first rope making a larger loop in it.

  “Mirisa slip this over your head and put it below your arms.” She reached out and he felt her hands shaking as she grabbed the rope. He helped her get it over her then he put his hand out. She looked at him and slowly reached out as he took her forearm bringing her to the edge of the rock. He felt her hesitate and knew getting her to the top would be the longest thirty feet she would ever have to ascend. “Mirisa, I want you to wrap your arms around my neck and overlap them. Can you do that?”

  “Yes.” Mirisa put her arms around his neck and closed her eyes. Garnett wrapped his hand around the first rope untying the second one as he pushed himself away from the opening. He could feel the panic as she held him tighter wrapping her legs around his waist. Meeks and Dominic started pulling up the rope as Garnett climbed. Dominic grabbed one arm as Meeks grabbed the other pulling them both over the side. When Garnett tried to sit up, Mirisa wouldn’t let go until Dominic undid her hands causing her to look up into his face.

  Dominic immediately suppressed a smile as he scowled at her. “Do you have any idea…?” She started crying as Meeks untied the rope around her. He rolled up the rope putting it on his horse before he picked her up and sat her on Dominic’s horse. Dominic reached down helping Garnett up and they headed back to the plantation.

  James was sitting on the veranda when she walked up the steps. He raised his eyebrows as she walked into the house leaving a trail of mud. They all sat down as James passed the bottle but no one talked as Dominic tried to control his temper before he dealt with her. “Were you wrestling in the mud?” Garnett smiled as he removed his boots and shirt.

  “I think I need to go talk with…” Mirisa stepped out onto the veranda in dry clothes and wet hair. “Mirisa, I believe we need to have another discussion on the rules that you seem to think do not apply to you so if you will accompany me to the library.”

  Mirisa looked at him then the other three who were not going to chime in at all. Dominic stood but she didn’t move. “Frankly, I was doing quite well before you came along so I don’t believe I need a lecture.”

  “You were doing quite well?” Dominic shifted as he worked to calm his tone. “You went out without your firearm, you went out without telling anyone, you climbed over a cliff with a hundred foot drop into the river and maybe you noticed the large alligators though I doubt you would have survived the fall and three fugitives with intentions to show you a world you never want to know.” His voice rose with each word as she listened. “And you think you did quite well.”

  They all watched as she put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. “I sent my horse home and I climbed down so they couldn’t see me.”

  “And why didn’t you just ride your horse home?”

  “Because, as you well know, she is not a fast runner and they caught up with her so it was the right decision.” Dominic was chewing on the inside of his cheek trying hard not to walk up and shake her.

  “They found you so you obviously weren’t as cunning as you think and they would have either gotten you back up on that cliff or dropped you to your death.”

  “Dominic, I did everything to save myself until you would rescue me. I think I deserve a little credit for being resourceful.”

  “Damn it Mirisa, you jeopardized your life. You have no idea how angry I am at this moment.”

  Mirisa looked down and when she looked up her face was so angelic as a sweet little smile formed for just a split second. Dominic took a step toward her raising his voice. “Have you heard anything I have said?”

  She blinked. “You said you loved me.” They all watched as his anger dissipated and he looked down taking in his breath. He looked back up at her before he took her arm dragging her off the veranda.

  “She’s going to make him rue the day he decided to marry her.”

  “Did he send someone to pick up the two scoundrels?”

  “No. Remind me to send word to the Sheriff tomorrow.”

  Meeks nodded and passed the bottle.

  THE UNION troops started to arrive in greater numbers and they had been told that Grant was taking over the Tavern as well as one of the larger plantations in preparation of taking Vicksburg.

  They hadn’t seen much of Mirisa since Dominic talked to her and they didn’t ask if she was alright or even how much, if anything, he had to tell her. At the end of the week, James stepped out onto the veranda and lit his cigar. He loved the river first thing in the morning when man was absent and the natural predators were trolling for easy prey along the river banks. He broke the match in half and dropped it in the spittoon.

  “Do you shoot as fast as Dominic?”

  James turned to her voice and smiled. She looked tired but he loved her face. “We’re all probably just as fast as the next.”

  “Then all of you kill?”

  He swallowed and tri
ed to think how he could avoid answering but knew he couldn’t. “Whatever Dominic told you, you can pretty much assume it applies to all of us.”

  “How do you do it without feeling?”

  “I don’t know. I guess it’s just something men do. I’ve never really thought about it.”

  “Do you ever feel bad?”

  “No.”

  “Are they always bad people? The people you kill, are they bad?”

  “Sometimes they are just following orders but ultimately it’s them or you. So far, I have tried to err on the side of me because I like drinking whisky with beautiful young women.” Mirisa turned back to her gun. She put the last pieces together sliding it in the holster. She handled it so well and with ease but he doubted if she could ever shoot someone. James walked over and sat down next to her. None of them knew whether or not she could actually work through reality to still see that they loved her.

  “Your life should be filled with children and gardens not men who are destined to always wander aimlessly.”

  “You consider me part of your life?” He drew on his cigar as she took in the look in his eyes that said more than a thousand words could say. “Obviously, you can’t answer that.”

  “It’s not that I can’t, it’s that I shouldn’t.”

  “Why?”

  “I have enough proper upbringing to know not to get involved with loose women and to never get emotionally attached with another man’s wife.”

  She laughed. “I believe it may be too late.”

  “You may be right but I’m trying not to think about it.”

  “James, it won’t do any good.”

  “Wouldn’t you rather talk about shooting people?”

  “No, I would much rather tell you that I love you.”

  “Mirisa, you can’t tell other men that you love them.”

  “James, I can and I will because tomorrow one of us may be gone and even though I would cry and mourn forever, I will never regret that I didn’t tell you how much I love you.”

  Dominic walked out and wondered why she frequently turned to James when she was struggling with something. “James, don’t I have enough to do trying to watch the other two?”

  Mirisa looked up addressing her husband and then told Dominic that he shouldn’t spend unnecessary time watching his friends when it was far easier and a lot more fun to just watch her. She stood up and kissed him before heading into the house.

  Dominic lit his cigar as he leaned out over the railing. “Has she said anything?”

  “Nothing specific. She seems to be seeking comfort more than answers. I really think it was a bad idea to marry her.”

  Dominic acknowledged the statement and knew that once you removed the veil of innocence that the dynamics always changed even if it wasn’t obvious. He wondered if their paths would have ever crossed if not for the war. Even if they had, he doubted seriously if they would have ever become involved for she would have sought out a traditional husband who would have probably beat her every time another man looked her way.

  At dawn, they outfitted the horses for the ride and started south crossing over the Mississippi just above Baton Rouge at the Red River Crossing. The weather was mild and the small makeshift town seemed to be teaming with activity along the riverfront. The buildings were built above the low lying water on stilts that marked the changes of the river from one day to the next. There was a rancid smell of cooking oils and heavy seasoning that mingled in with the pungent smell of fresh caught fish and algae. Mirisa loved the lanky white birds as they sat high above the river and would swoop down rising with substantial wiggling fish.

  Generally wide open and flat with a lot of small rivers, creeks and lakes that seemed to spill over and create lowlands of moss covered cypress trees, Louisiana was a place where the river and the ocean created a haven for some of the greatest salt and freshwater wildlife. It was rare that they didn’t see alligators and turtles resting along the banks or birds roosting on the tips of the broken cypress stumps. Mirisa found the landscape almost haunting and at night it seemed to come so alive that she felt vulnerable. She spent most of the morning riding next to James and a little behind the others. Her horse was taking to the long days but Mirisa thought if she had to spend two months on the back of a horse she would have nothing left to sit on.

  Meeks finally dismounted at a clearing alongside Sabine River where it overflowed creating a large lake that seemed to flow for miles. Mirisa looked out over the large waterway watching the birds fly in to perch in the trees. There didn’t seem to be any houses along the banks but the lake was clear with very little bank vegetation. Garnett checked the site for signs of alligators before he let his horse drink.

  Mirisa walked her horse over to the edge to drink before she sat down on a large flat rock that jetted over the water taking off her boots and rolling down her stockings slipping them off. Gratefully, the cool water caressed her throbbing feet. Mirisa finally sat up. She slipped off her jacket, unbuttoned her skirt and petticoat putting them next to her boots. She reached up and pulled off the saddlebags stepping back on the wet silt which caused her to fall on her backside in the shallow water and sending the saddlebags onto the grass.

  James picked up her saddlebags as Meeks put out his hand pulling Mirisa to her feet before removing her saddle and blanket. Mirisa mumbled under her breath while looking at the mud on her chemise. She reached for the reins walking her horse further into the lake.

  Garnett nodded to James and they stopped to watch her. She slowly walked the horse out until the water was chest high, cupped her hands throwing water over the horse’s head and neck washing off the layers of dirt. Mirisa put her fingers through the horse’s mane pulling out tangles and slipped them through again until she was happy with the results. The horse shook and tried to nudge Mirisa who was quietly talking to her. Mirisa finally led her to the rock and pulled herself up on her back.

  The sight of her as she sat up held all of them captive. Mirisa pulled her hair over her shoulder, unbraided it and squeezed out the water which captured the sun in each drop as it ran down her chest disappearing under the very transparent wet cotton. Her skin was taking on a rich golden tone from riding but it was her slipping modesty that they appreciated the most. After a few minutes, the horse turned coming out of the water allowing Mirisa to slide off her back as the horse shook vigorously sending water in all directions while nickering loudly. Mirisa laughed and kissed her nose.

  Dominic was in the process of taking his saddle off when he stopped to watch her. “Mirisa, most tend to take off their clothes before...” She thought he was funny so she began to untie her chemise with great flair. Dominic dropped the reins to his horse and pulled her to him to stop her.

  James snorted and Garnett shook his head and went back to taking his saddle off. Garnett stripped off his boots and shirt as James started unbuttoning his shirt. Dominic handed James the reins to his horse. “Come on, I’ll take you to the other side but bring dry clothes with you. This way the guys can strip down if they want.”

  “Do they need soap?”

  “Only if they wish to smell as sweet as you do.”

  She looked at them as she removed the soap from her saddlebags. “I think they will be easier to be around….” Meeks broke out laughing as he walked by grabbing the soap before heading for the water. She thought they were extremely handsome in just jeans and realized she was staring when James walked by telling her she could always join them if she found it that inviting. She quickly turned back to her saddlebags and took out dry clothes.

  Dominic walked with her a hundred yards from the camp until they found a small pool of water near an outcrop of large rocks. Mirisa slipped off her chemise and slowly lowered herself into the water. Dominic knew he needed this far more than she did. He took off his clothes and pulled her into deeper water until they were almost submerged, took her into his arms and kissed her lips lifting her chin before he moved down her neck. The water was soft and cool and h
e was so hard and hot. Mirisa thought the details were always in the devil’s eyes for his promises were capturing her common sense. She ran her hands down his arms memorizing the feeling of each muscle. The natural sunlight on his body was so beautiful that she found it hard to contain her desire. Mirisa bit his lip and he slowly made love to her without releasing her.

  “Thank you.” She whispered.

  “For making love to you?”

  “For bringing me on the ride.”

  “You’re welcome.” Dominic kissed her. “For both!”

  She splashed him then swam back to the side of the pool, holding onto the face of the rock.

  “I didn’t know that you could swim.”

  “There’s a lot you don’t know about me and more that I don’t know about myself.”

  The morning was filled with the sound of ducks flying low over the lake. Mirisa watched as they changed formation, circled and came in for a landing. The sound of a duck behind her caused her to turn to James who had his hands around his mouth mimicking them perfectly. Mirisa turned back to the lake as another band came in from the northwest toward their camp. Before she could say anything, shots rang out and three of them fell in the shallow water as the rest of the ducks immediately lifted circling to the far side of the lake. She stood there speechless as James walked into the shallow water and retrieved them.

  “James.”

  “What? I didn’t shoot them.”

  “No but you lured them in for the kill.”

  “Who taught you to talk like that?”

  She swung looking at Dominic who was reloading his rifle and she frowned. “Meeks. He teaches me all the bad things.”

  “Darling, I thought I did that.”

  “Only at night Dominic.”

  Garnett reloaded his rifle putting it in the scabbard. “Mirisa you are so incredibly naïve.”

  “No I’m not. I am not naïve at all and you need to stop saying that.”

  “Or what?”

  “Or…I don’t know but I’m not naïve.”