The Return of Jake Slater

by Zavo

  “Good morning, Benjamin. I hope you slept well.”

  “I did, indeed. I met Joshua and Jeremiah before I drifted off. You have fine sons, Josiah.”

  “Thanks, Benjamin.”

  He continued eating his porridge, an unreadable expression on his face. Did he know what had happened between his sons and me last night? I pushed the thought from my mind.

  I finished my breakfast and went outside to begin my chores.

  That afternoon, I was working in one of the large gardens, waging war against the seemingly never-ending weeds, when Josiah joined me. He handed me a pewter jug. It was filled with ice-cold water. I drank deeply, and wiped my sleeve across my mouth.

  “Benjamin, it’s been a little over two weeks since I found you pleasuring yourself at the edge of the pool. You have quickly taken to our ways. I am beginning to consider you one of us, as is the rest of the community. Benjamin, in the weeks you have been among us, you have acted as one of us. You have helped to tend our crops, mend our fences, and chop our wood. In effect, you have performed any chore that has come your way. While most of our lives are given to hard work, even the good Lord rested now and again.”

  “I don’t mind it, Josiah. It helps to keep my mind off my troubles.”

  He was silent for a moment then raised the jug to his own lips.

  “I know something is weighing heavily on you, Benjamin. I hope you know if you need to talk about it I am a good listener. I believe the Lord brought you here for a reason. Just what that reason is I don’t think has been shown to us yet. We are not all about hard work and no play. We often enjoy our music and get together for births and weddings. We are a strong community. We rely on our brethren to help keep the community thriving.

  There is a young couple that was married just before you arrived. They need to build a barn to shelter several cows and horses the husband received from his father in-law as part of the dowry. Because you are now considered a member of this community, I’m hoping you will join us. It’s this coming Saturday. It will be a day of hard work. Our goal is to have all exterior walls standing and the roof built by sundown. Once this has been accomplished, we will celebrate with music and food.”

  “Josiah, you have accepted me without question since that first day. I would be more than happy to help out in any way I can.”

  As the day of the barn raising drew near, a sense of excitement and expectation permeated the entire community. The smells of baking bread, pies, and cakes filled the air. The smell of roasting beef, chicken, pork, and venison added to the aromas floating around the settlement. Josiah woke me, Joshua, and Jeremiah at dawn on the day of the big event. We ate a quick breakfast of biscuits and honey. We walked with him to the last house in the row, just opposite the church. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon. A large group of men was already gathered. Their individual breaths appeared as white plumes.

  Large piles of hand-hewn planks were stacked all around us. It looked as if they could in fact make two barns. There were also several piles of hand-hewn poles. These I learned would be placed in the ground to support the walls. I was introduced to Jonathan, the new groom. He began handing out saws, axes, hammers, and adzes. Everyone appeared to know their role. Mine was to help dig the holes for the poles. After many hours at the task, we had only taken two or three breaks for water. I realized I hadn’t ever known what hard work really was. By noon, we had two walls standing. We paused to eat when the women brought us fried chicken and biscuits. We washed it down with cold water. When we had eaten, we went right back to work.

  By late afternoon, all the walls were framed and standing. The roof was also beginning to take shape. I had removed my shirt and rolled up my pant legs, as had most of the rest of the men. As I worked I noticed strong muscular backs, glistening with sweat. As well as torsos, both hairy and hairless. When the women returned later that afternoon with more water, the roof was finished. We had moved inside to begin framing the interior. As darkness began to descend, Jonathan whistled to get our attention.

  “My brothers, we have put in a good day’s work today. My wife and I thank you heartily. It’s time to call it quits and get washed up for tonight’s festivities. There’s plenty of food and drink in the hall. I will be playing my fiddle.”

  I followed Josiah and his sons back home. We quickly washed up and changed our clothes. When we were done, we walked as a group down the hill to the large meeting hall. Josiah informed me his wife and daughters were already at the hall. Music was already flowing from inside. When we opened the doors, the music washed over us. In the far right corner a raised platform had been erected. It was overflowing with bales of hay which provided seats for the musicians. Two men had joined Jonathan on their fiddles, while a half dozen more added to the din with harmonicas, banjos, and mouth harps. Two older men were even heartily blowing on enormous pewter jugs.

  While these simple folk toiled heavily on a daily basis to make a living on this pocket of land, they were not shy about having a good time when it was called for.

  The left half of the building was also filled with bales of hay that were being used as seats for the non-musicians. Inside was a very large group of people, at least fifty strong. Men, young and old, sat and talked earnestly while the women bustled about several tables to the right, and several feet from the seats. There were platters of roast beef, chicken, venison, and pork; several plates piled high with ears of corn; assorted vegetables including carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, potatoes, and cabbage; at least a dozen loaves of bread; and pitchers of fresh milk. On a separate table were numerous pies, muffins, and cakes. The men were the first to eat, heaping their plates and returning to their bales to eat.

  Josiah, Joshua, Jeremiah, and I had each made two trips to the food tables. After returning our empty plates, we engaged in casual conversation with the men while the women ate. When everyone had eaten their fill, Jonathan rejoined the fiddlers, which was the signal for the dancing to begin. It was young and old alike. Everyone was clapping and stamping their feet and having a grand time. It was the first occasion I had seen these folks cut loose since my arrival. I was almost becoming mesmerized by the whirling and twirling when Josiah whispered into my ear, “Follow me.”

  He led me out a back door into the cool night air. We walked for a little ways till we reached the large stand of pines that bordered the settlement. Standing just within the pines was a small building I hadn’t noticed before. When we reached it Josiah knocked softly on the door. It was opened a crack, and a bearded man peered out.

  “It’s Josiah and Benjamin.”

  The door opened fully. When we stepped inside, it took my eyes a while to adjust to the darkness. But the two lighted candles helped to dispel it. There was not much to the room. There were no windows, and an old stove stood in the far corner. A bench ran the length of the room. It was filled with seated men. At least twenty. Men quietly and determinedly drinking from pewter jugs. There was room on the bench just inside the door, and Josiah and I squeezed in. Almost immediately a jug was handed to Josiah. He took a healthy swig and passed it to me. I held it to my lips and let the liquid go straight down my throat. I almost gagged at the taste and potency of it. It was hard cider. Very hard. Tears quickly welled in the corners of my eyes. But it left a good taste on my tongue, so I took another drink before passing it back to Josiah.

  “You told me you don’t condone strong drink, Josiah.”

  He smiled mischievously.

  “Only for special occasions such as this, Benjamin. A man must have one or two vices. You will notice not all of the men are here. Just this select group.”

  As several jugs continued to be passed around, the men took turns telling ribald jokes that I’m sure their wives and sweethearts would have died if they had ever heard. They also related stories told to them by their fathers and grandfathers, of covered wagon days, the Indian wars, and the war with Mexico. As the cider continued to flow, some parts of the stories began to be forg
otten; many of the words became slurred. Of course, the laughter increased significantly. Soon the stories turned to stolen moments of passion, first-time experiences, and first loves. Before I realized what was happening, an older man, big and stocky, pulled down his pants and drawers. He spit into his right hand and slicked up his stiffer. No one seemed surprised or alarmed at his actions. Several more men did the same thing without hesitation. With pants and drawers around their ankles, they were soon busy stroking their own dicks.

  I watched, mesmerized, as Josiah did the same beside me. Not one to be left out, I quickly joined him. Another man stood up, whose name, Josiah whispered to me, was Emanuel. He wobbled off the bench and drew a line in the dirt floor with the heel of his boot. He did not retake his seat, but stood against the far wall near the stove. Everyone but me seemed to know what the line meant. I turned to Josiah and whispered, “What is that for?”

  “Patience, Benjamin,” was his reply.

  The man who had been the first to pull out his cock stepped in front of the vacant seat. After a few more furious strokes with his hand, a white blob of his spunk shot out. It arced high in the air and landed well past the line drawn in the dirt. A second one did as well, but the rest simply splashed onto the ground at his feet. Emanuel pulled a stick from a basket on the stove. He bent down and stuck it in the ground by the first blob of spunk.

  “Not bad, Perkins. Who’s next?”

  As Perkins took his seat again, a man named Jedidiah stepped into place. He was pulling on quite an impressive dick. But after several minutes, he sat down in the vacant spot.

  “I need a hand, brothers.”

  Emanuel crossed the room without hesitation. He knelt in front of Jedidiah and was quickly sucking his cock in earnest. The rest of the men watched, avidly, still stroking their own stiffers. After several minutes of frenzied bobbing, Jedidiah pushed Emanuel out of the way, stood up, and pumped his dick once. His seed shot out, surpassing Perkins’s mark by several inches. However, by that time, the game had turned into a free-for-all. Emanuel had simply moved to the next man seated and was sawing on his cock. Two other men got up and stood over Emanuel. Each was stroking for all he was worth. They bucked forward at the same time and sprayed the back of Emanuel’s shirt with their spunk.

  Meanwhile, the man Emanuel was sucking cried out, and it was apparent he was shooting into the man’s mouth. I was startled when I felt a hand on my stiffer. When I looked down, Josiah smiled up at me. He took the large head into his mouth and began sawing on my prick. It wasn’t long before I shot in his mouth. The next hour or so became a blur of stroking dicks, men on their knees sucking cock, and even one man bent over the stove, taking it from behind. Before I knew it, a line had formed behind him, and I was in it. After that, I was the one bent over the stove.

  The next thing I knew, Josiah and I were stumbling to his house in the dark. How we had gotten there was hidden by a cider haze. When we went inside, he kissed me deeply and tried to follow me up the ladder to the loft. I steered him gently toward his room before ascending the ladder. I was damn lucky I didn’t miss a rung and fall and break my neck. I could see by the moonlight filtering in through the window that Joshua and Jeremiah were fast asleep. I was thankful for that, because I had nothing left to give them if they had asked. I crawled beneath the covers and passed out.

  It was the next day, with my head still pounding from last night’s cider, when my world was once more turned upside down. I was up in the loft, throwing down hay for the horses and cows, when I heard the galloping of horse’s hooves. I set down my pitchfork and went to the loft door where hay was thrown into wagons. A group of at least twenty men were riding into the settlement. Even at this distance, I could see the silver stars on each breast pocket of the two in the lead.

  Chapter Six

  Jake

  “Hold your fire, stranger,” I hollered.

  “Who the hell are you,” he bellowed, “and where’s Harry?”

  “My name is Jake Slater. Harry and the boys have been gone since yesterday. I expect them back either today or tomorrow. I’m watching the place for them while they’re gone. Are you Samuel?”

  “I am indeed. Come out here where I can see you,” he demanded.

  I stepped onto the porch as the bear of a man dismounted. He scrutinized me from head to toe.

  “What are you doing here, Jake Slater?”

  I quickly explained to him what had happened on the train, and our subsequent ride to the hideout.

  “So, you’re the new boy. I would have simply shot you right there and been done with it.”

  I realized then I would never have a friend in Samuel. Not wanting to rile this big man, I nodded my head.

  “I guess I need to stop leaving Harry alone. Is there anything to eat?”

  “I can heat some stew for you.”

  He grunted and tied his horse’s reins to one of the porch posts. He glared at me again then stomped up the stairs and came inside. He looked around the room as if he had expected it to have changed while he was gone. He went to the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. He obviously noted the low supply and looked at me with accusation in his eyes.

  “I see you’ve kept yourself busy.”

  “It’s lonely here when the gang is gone. You should know that better than me.”

  He stared hard at me, trying to determine if there was an insult behind my remark. When he seemed satisfied there hadn’t been, I let out the huge breath I had been holding.

  “I’ll be back with the stew in a moment.”

  I went to the root cellar, which was simply a small nook in the rock wall where the water flowed into the pool. But it did keep food cold. I returned with the stew, emptied it into the kettle, and started a fire. While I stirred it, Samuel studied me with cold determination. When the stew was hot enough, I filled a bowl and placed it on the table in front of him.

  He ate mechanically, not seeming to taste the food but simply eating because he needed to in order to survive. He had just finished and taken a hefty pull from the whiskey bottle, when the sound of horses reached us. They were moving fast. As Samuel stood, Harry burst through the door. He was quickly followed by Bobby and Cole.

  “Samuel, you’re back.”

  Samuel held his arms open and Harry rushed into them. They kissed deeply and passionately, ignoring me for the moment. Samuel finally pushed Harry to arm’s length.

  “You look a little skinnier than when I left, Harry. You know I like more meat on your bones.”

  “I know, Samuel. Times have been tough. The money never lasts, and the game around here is getting scarce. You know I can’t grow anything to save my life. We hit a string of real bad luck on this trip trying to pull a bank job, Samuel. Christian and Caleb were killed. A posse’s been breathing down our necks since yesterday. I swear they were waiting for us, Samuel. I think it’s time to hightail it to Mexico. For good. We should leave immediately.”

  “Christ, Harry, I just came from there.”

  “I realize that, Samuel, but I have a bad feeling about this.”

  He turned to Bobby and Cole, who were standing just inside the door.

  “Take the horses around back to the corral. Feed and water them, but leave them saddled. Then gather the rest of the boys and come back here. We need to have a meeting.”

  They hurried out the door, closing it behind them.

  “Sit down, Harry,” Samuel demanded. “I’ve never seen you this agitated.”

  “I know, Samuel. I’ll feel better once we hit the trail for Mexico. Jake is going with us.”

  A look of anger appeared on Samuel’s face.

  “The hell he is. I don’t want any of your boys on our ranch!”

  “Calm down, Samuel. I’m not taking him to the ranch. He’s just crossing the border with us. Once there, he’s on his own. He was headed to Mexico when we met. Now, I promised him I would take him with us, and I’m not going back on my word. He helped out around here when you didn’t
return and when we were out working.”

  “Did he keep your bed warm, Harry?” Samuel roared at him.

  Spittle flew from his lips.

  “Samuel, we don’t have time for this. You knew who I was when you met me. You agreed to the conditions of our relationship. You’re still here more than twenty years later!”

  Their argument was interrupted when the door opened and Tiny and Cole entered the cabin. They were followed by Simon, Bobby, and Purdy. Big Leroy brought up the rear. He was just about to close the door when the silence of the canyon was shattered by a volley of gunfire. Big Leroy staggered two steps forward and fell dead on the floor without ever knowing what hit him. Purdy was knocked forward onto the table, which crashed beneath his weight. Two round black holes were visible in his shirt in the small of his back. Bobby instinctively hit the floor and kicked the door closed, but not before he was struck in the arm. The fusillade continued, with bullets riddling the front of the cabin. Splinters peeled from the doorframe and the door. The front window was quickly relieved of its glass, followed by most of its frame. All this happened in a matter of seconds.

  “Let’s get out of here, men.”

  Harry shouted to be heard above the rifle din.

  He grabbed one of the chairs and threw it through the back window. He knocked out the remaining pieces of glass with the butt of his pistol. He climbed out the window, followed by Samuel. The remaining men followed, with me bringing up the rear. I had to help Bobby through. His shirtsleeve was already soaked red. It was a quick drop to the sandy ground. Harry was already inside the corral and mounting his horse. The others quickly followed suit.

  “Jake, you take Big Leroy’s horse. Follow me. There’s a back way out of here for situations such as this.”