Rebellion in the Valley

by Robyn Leatherman

  “Not long enough,” Tobias answered for her.

  With eyes narrowing and searing holes right through Tobias’ head, Duffy stood his ground and reached over for a shovel in a fluid, nonchalant motion.

  He shook his head without even moving his eyes off Hailee. “Nah, it’s been plenty long enough,” he said with no regard to who heard him say it.

  Tobias walked square up to the man, face to face and toe to toe.

  “You do know how much I want to sink my fist wrist-deep into your face, don’t you?”

  Duffy spat off to the side, returning his gaze to the man in front of him, but said nothing at all.

  Instead, he grinned and chuckled.

  “I’m telling you right now to back off. You touch her and I’ll – “

  Duffy offered a spit-spattered laugh into his face.

  “Or what, Tobias? You’ll what?”

  Hailee interrupted the men by yanking on Tobias’ shirtsleeve.

  “No, Tobias! He’s not worth it!”

  Duffy showed no emotion in the way his eyes raked over her.

  “And how would you know what’s worth what, little lady? You never even gave the old Duffman a chance.”

  “You’re disgusting,” Tobias told him.

  He laughed and continued with his chores, leaving the startled group of people standing to themselves. Duffy carted the load off in the wheelbarrow, whistling a tune as if that conversation had never even taken place.

  P

  “So I sure would like some riding-along company if anyone feels like heading into Westcliffe with me for a spell,” Tom continued.

  The gears in Richard's head already turning, he figured it would be good if Hailee got out of the house for the rest of the day; glancing over toward Tobias for his unspoken thoughts on the matter, the word was good.

  “Hailee, you know, I sure could use some more sugar and flour, and I was thinking if you came along, you could pick out some sewing thread and get busy on a couple of redwork towels for yourself. Until you get full swing into your sheep business, I mean,” Richard winked.

  Her head picked straight up. “Really? Yeah, I want to go! How many sacks are we bringing home?”

  Now that her mood had settled down from the barnyard incident, the stress lines in Tobias' forehead began to smooth out as he gave his own reply about heading into town.

  “I think I best stay around here, but how ‘bout I make me up a list of a couple things I need from town?”

  Tobias caught the questioning look on Richard’s face and shook his head ever so slightly, shutting his eyes slightly. Richard got the hint they’d have to talk later.

  “We don’t want you coming along and stinking the place up anyhow. We saw you out in the pig pens earlier!”

  The group laughed and the air at the Red Bone Ranch filled with goodness once more.

  P

  Tom and Hailee agreed on their way into Westcliffe that he and Susan did share ownership of one great buckboard wagon, crafted with two full bench seats and three built-in chests for toting.

  “When all our children were still living at home,” Tom began, “sometimes Susan found it difficult with all the young ones to figure out a way of keeping all their belongings gathered together on a long trip. There were a few times,” he recollected, “when even a trip into Westcliffe turned into a fiasco. So I made those trunks and they served a dual purpose: hauling and sitting on.”

  She wondered what wagon-makers would think of next and reopened the chest next to herself, running a hand along the inside; so smooth and Tom had even built a divider to keep items separate.

  “I wonder if I’ll ever have such a fine wagon one day,” Hailee wondered out loud.

  “You thinking about settling down, Hailee?”

  “Well, maybe someday,” she blushed. “If the right fella shows up.” changing the subject, she inquired, “Tom, what do you think about having three sheep? Susan said one would be sufficient, but I want to be sure I get plenty of wool so I don’t keep running out of yarn. In the winter, I tend to crochet a lot more, and I’m thinking by winter next year, I’d like to have a proper supply built up. Of course, that means I’ll be coming to your house more often for advice, if that’s alright with you.”

  Richard smiled at her yammering on and on in aimless talk.

  “I should have gotten more salt and sugar in Canon City. Noticed the other day my yeast supply is getting low. Gonna have to spend a whole day making another batch,” he drew in a breath of the fresh Colorado mountain air. “All I know is, there’s some flour sacks waiting with my name on ‘em. Did we settle on how many sacks to get, Hailee?”

  “We go through about three barrel bags every couple of months, right?”

  Richard nodded after he thought about it for a second or two. “Yeah, I guess that’s about right; my word, we go through the food, don’t we? I hear butcher hogs are going for close to fifteen dollars each over in the valley; good thing we don’t count on others to feed the lot of us.”

  As the men transitioned into a conversation which neither involved nor interested the young lady in the back of the buckboard wagon, her eyes turned to the dust kicking up behind the wooden wheels and to the open skies overhead. Her mind turned to other things.

  Bruce. Tobias. Duffy.

  If only her father were still there, Duffy would never have gotten to this condition. He would for a certainty never have spoken to her the way he did, and he would never have been brave enough to stand in Tobias’ face and mouth off against him in front of the other ranch hands. It was true that the man sometimes gave her the willies, but she never imagined he could have ever thought about behaving this way. Not with her father there to keep him in line.

  When she felt a tear trickle down her left cheek, Hailee just allowed it to drop. First one, then three more. She just allowed them drop, one by one.

  P

  The wagon rolled down the main dirt road in Westcliffe known as Dutch Row, mainly because of the number of German people who had moved into the mountainous region and set up not only their homes, but also many of the local stores and saloons.

  The wagon moved onward toward the Sangre De Cristo mountain range and right past the Klutz saloon. Snow already wrapped the tops of the jagged peak edges, providing the perfect base for low-lying clouds to hover over. Hundreds of flat, grassy acres lay in between the town and the base of those mountains; Hailee had asked her father more than once how long it would take a person to walk from Westcliffe to the top of the farthest peak. As a little girl, it had been her wish to climb all the way up to the steepest peak of one of those mountains with him.

  Shaking her head a little bit to focus, she noticed a couple of girls from church standing near the doctor’s office. They waved in unison.

  Richard jumped down, helped Hailee from her perch. Out of the corner of his eye, he happened to notice the sheriff had just opened Doc Amerley’s door and stepped inside.

  “Think I’ll head on over to the doc’s place and see about some camphor, his seems to be thicker than the general store’s supply – I’ll find you when I’m done.”

  Giving Tom a nod in the direction of the feed and grain store, Richard and his friend decided to meet up there in an hour or so.

  Boots scooting across the dirt street and down the wooden-planked sidewalk, Richard's open palm pressed against the heavy door to the doctor's modest office with one hand as the other turned the handle.

  “Just the man we needed to see,” the sheriff extended a hand to shake the cook's. “Got news earlier this morning from the sheriff over in the San Luis Valley, and you might want to sit down to hear this.”

  Complying, the man took his seat with a cautious yet optimistic glimmer in his eye.

  “What do we have?”

  “According to my old buddy over the ridge, we have a case. Enough evidence to bring him in for questioning, anyhow.”

  P

  Richard stood and shook the man's hand once again.


  “That is the best news we could've heard today; our little trip into town is actually the result of getting Hailee out of harm's way for a while. That man doesn't care who he plows down anymore, and to tell you the truth, if Tobias has to look at him one more day, there may be other reasons for you paying us a visit,” he gave a nod toward the sheriff.

  “Now you keep him calm,” the sheriff directed. “Don't let him stoop to that level, this is almost over and then life can carry on as normal for all of us. But first, we have some work to do.”

  Doc Amerley glanced out the window, making certain none of the townsfolk were in the process of making their way toward his office before asking, “Are we still on board with the same plan?”

  “I don't see any reason to change what we've already discussed, do either of you?”

  “No, Sheriff, I believe we all know what to do and when,” Richard shook his head.

  Chapter 28

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

  A startled Duffy almost dropped the rags when he turned around to the sound of Tobias' voice; he couldn't help but notice the remains of the gunpowder keg Tobias held in his hands.

  “First off, kid, I ain’t you. And second, if I was, I’d kill myself.”

  “You do realize that's not a comical choice of words.”

  “You don't see me laughing, do you?”

  An uneasy rift filled the barn; it didn't take the mind of a genius to figure out why Duffy would be filling rags with gunpowder and tying the tops off in knots.

  “You cannot possibly believe you would ever get away with something this sinister.” More words edged their way to the tip of the man's tongue, but he remained silent and kept both eyes firmly planted on the man in front of him. “When did you change, Duffy? What could have possibly happened that brought you to this point in your life?”

  “Boy, you stepped in here at the wrong time. Now I'm left with the task of having to decide just what I'm gonna do about that,” he spat to the side. “You ain't got no idea who you're messing with, do you? There's lots of ways to make things look like an accident, especially when men get busy with their chores on a big ranch such as this one here,” he waved a hand to emphasize his statement. “and I've been feeling rather creative lately-if ya get my drift.”

  Tobias clenched his jaw.

  “Yeah. I get your drift, Duffy. Loud and clear. But in spite of all your scheming, it appears to me you've neglected to think this last act all the way through.”

  He scoffed.

  “Act? What act?”

  “Duffy,” he nearly laughed, “Really? You stand before me with a bucket of little rags all tied up in gunpowder, not fifteen feet from that kerosene lantern. Wouldn't it be grand to send this place to blazes tonight while everyone else is fast asleep? Of course, you probably hadn't even given a second thought to the fact that if you happened to be the one to save Epoenah, no matter how much Hailee hates you right now - she would always feel indebted to you. How am I doing so far, Duffy?”

  He finished tying the knot in the bundle, placed it in the bucket with the others and wiped his hands casually down the length of his dungarees.

  “You have quite the imagination there, Tobias. You know, you should learn to keep your mouth shut. 'Specially when you don't know what you're talking about.”

  “So enlighten me, then. Back to my original question: When did you change into this bitter man nobody even recognizes anymore? What happened?”

  “See, the thing is, I don't report to you, Tobias. Fact is, not only do I not report to you, in no time a'tall, you're fixin' to report to me. What do you say about those apples?”

  Tobias shook his head.

  “Nah. Somehow I doubt that.”

  Duffy, about tuckered out with the arguing back and forth, clenched one fist and moved toward his most hated enemy. But just as he lifted a leg to move toward Tobias, the man had already given the signal to to the ranch's youngest hand.

  Without taking his eyes off Duffy, he shouted, “Now, Joe!”

  From the barn's overhead loft, the heel of Joe's boot rammed smack into the barrel of lime, sailing the blur of dark brown over the edge along with a scattered mess of loose hay and chicken feed.

  At the sound of the the boot heel cracking against the barrel, Duffy's confused head whipped around almost in time to see where it came from, but gravity yanked that barrel down before he could do anything about it. Catching Duffy squarely between the shoulders and peeling his work shirt, along with a considerable amount of flesh, the heavy object brought the man to his knees as the breath of life winded him to the point of passing out. He hit the dirt floor of the barn in a thud, alerting his assailant it was time to finish the job.

  Within seconds, Joe hurled himself down from the loft, where he and Tobias tied the man with rope as though he were another calf and this was the rodeo; sweat dripped from their brows while adrenaline pushed them into completing the task at hand.

  “What are we doing with him now?”

  Tobias scanned the barn and held up a finger.

  “Keep an eye on him. I'll be right back.”

  The look on the younger ranch hand's face begged him to be quick about that as he nodded and glanced back down at the man he didn't want to be alone with.

  “Alright,” Tobias instructed as he returned with a wheelbarrow. “To begin with, let's load him in here,” he grinned.

  The men tilted the wheelbarrow nose-forward into the dirt and edged it as close to the man as they could, lifting and shifting the awkward mass a couple times before Joe mentioned, “I don't know about you, but I don't want him waking up with me standing this close to him. 1, 2, 3 and let's pick him up already!”

  “Good plan,” Tobias agreed, and within another minute Duffy plunked in the center of the wheelbarrow, heavy and hanging out over the sides, but in there.

  “Now what?”

  “Give me a minute to catch my own breath here,” Tobias wheezed.

  Both men turned their heads at the sound of several horses rounding the bend just before the ranch entrance.

  “Great timing! Richard's back from town - hey, do me a favor,” Tobias reached out to his friend's shoulder. “They have Hailee in tow. Go out to the wagon and make sure she doesn't see what's going on out here. Tell her I want her to go straight into the house and up to her room and not to come out until one of us fetches her. She doesn't need to see any of this.”

  “No problem,” Joe trotted on out to meet the wagon.

  What he did not expect to find on the road was the sheriff and Doc Amerley riding ahead of the wagon.

  Raising one hand at the large number of people, Joe made his way straight to the Hood's wagon and related the message to Hailee.

  “Richard, sheriff, there's a bit of,” he glanced toward Hailee, “a situation we've encountered since you've been gone. Out in the barn,” he shrugged a thumb in that direction. “Tobias could use some help right about now.”

  “What's going on? Can't I -”

  Joe raised both hands toward the wagon, receiving the girls few packages from town to allow her to climb down from the wagon.

  Tom began to wind the leather straps in his hands. “Is there anything I can do to help here?”

  The sheriff shook his head.

  “No, Tom. You best head on home. I think we've got this handled; one of us will stop by your place on the way back into town and fill you in on all the details. You go on home and rest now, I bet Susan has a hot meal waiting for you right about now,” the sheriff assured him. “But I do thank you for being so neighborly.”

  “Let me at least get the merchandise off the wagon before you leave,” Joe thought out loud.

  With a concentrated effort, Joe, Tom and the doctor unloaded the wagon in a snap.

  Tom started back to the wagon, but turned around. “What's the big fuss about in the barn, anyways?”

  Joe winced. “It's Duffy. Seems like it's been Duffy causing the stir for a while now.”<
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  “Well,” he nodded. “You know where I am if another pair of hands is needed for anything. Guess I'll go home and see about that hot meal,” he winked at Hailee, hugging her as he turned.

  She waved a confused hand of good-bye to her friend as he turned his wagon around and headed back down the road.

  “Alright, girl,” Richard placed a hand on her shoulder. “You heard what Tobias said. Now get on up to your room and stay put. And stay away from that window.”

  Blonde curls turned in an obedient swirl and the girl was off, skirt in one hand with an arm wrapped around her packages. A couple steps away, she turned.

  “Hey, Richard,” she hollered. “Make sure nobody goes into the wash room. I may as well clean up while I'm waiting for you men to finish up out there.”

  “Good idea, I'll pass the word,” he nodded.

  Richard entered the barn and stood behind the sheriff, who instructed a few men to help wheel Duffy into his own bunk house for the time being.

  “We'll roll him into his bed and keep the doctor and two other men posted inside the house with the door open so the rest of us can get this all sorted out and get things ready. This is it, men. You did good!”

  The sheriff gave a nudge of his chin toward Tobias.

  “Let's give Hailee time to finish up with her bath before we hit her with the rest of this. She's had an awful lot to digest lately.”

  Nodding, Tobias had to agree with that statement.

  “How much does she know?”

  “Well,” the sheriff scratched his head, “seeing as how she was with the men while they were in town today, I didn't see any sense in keeping the news about Duffy's being brought into my office any secret from her. She seemed relieved to have that burden lifted from the property, so I'm glad to have been the one telling her about it. Now, as for any other information,” he grinned, “I suppose that's coming right after her bath, don't you reckon?”

  Tobias reached out and placed an open palm on the sheriff's shoulder.

  “You have no idea how tickled she's fixing to be,” he chuckled. “Why don't we head on over to my bunker and get the rest of this sorted out? So you're saying we've got enough to bring him in now?”