Dakota Trail

by David R Lewis

  “Down at floor level,” he said, “is five or six holes about a inch wide. She’ll be fine.”

  I rode out on the flank agin’, checked the loads in my handguns, an’ kept Willie in pace with the team. My mouth was some dry, to tell the truth.

  We was about a quarter of a mile from the place when Carlton brung the coach to a halt. Me an’ Homer rode over.

  “After we get to the house,” Marie said, “I will go to the door. Homer and Ruben, I will want the two of you to come with me, one to each side. Marion will stay in the coach, and Carlton will remain seated and tend to the horses. He has a shotgun at his feet, and he is very competent with it. Remember that I am here to buy Chinese slaves, and I do not see them as anything more that livestock. We are merchants who deal in Chinese human beings and none of us believe there is anything wrong with that. It is vital that we do not let our true feelings show.”

  Me an’ Homer both nodded to her.

  “Fine,” she said. “Let’s go buy some little yellow heathen bitches.”

  The last quarter mile seemed to me to be three times that distance.

  Carlton brung the team to a stop at a rail about ten feet back from the porch. I got down offa Willie, ground tied him, an’ give Marie my arm to help her down from the coach, then tied Willie to the rail. She was near the top of the steps when a fella a some size come out on the porch. He wore a brown slouch hat an’ had tobacca juice stains on his shirt. They was another man that stayed just inside the doorway. Both a them boys was armed. Me an Homer went up them steps an’ flanked her.

  “Good morning, sir,” she said. “It has come to my attention that you sell yellow livestock here.”

  That ol’ boy looked at her for a minute.

  “What give you that idea?” he asked her.

  “Not a what, but a who,” she said. “Rayland Craig. That name ought to be familiar to you.”

  “Lady,” he said, kindly grumblin’ like, “I doan know what yer talkin’ about.”

  “The hell you don’t,” Marie said. “I am here to make a major purchase. You play dumb with me, mister, and you are going to lose a lot of money.”

  I could see that fella back in the doorway smile a little bit.

  “Well, just who are you?” that ol’ boy asked her.

  “A twenty dollar gold piece doesn’t give a damn who I am. Why should you? I am not here to make friends. I am here to buy some little Chinese bitches. If you have some in stock, this could be a helluva day for you. If not, I’m on the way to over by Pierre. It is a long trip, but the merchandise will be less expensive. If you aren’t as dumb as you look, you should be able to understand that this could bring you a pile of money. If you’re honest with me and cooperate, you could possibly make another big sale every two months or so for the next few years. If not, you have lost that pile of money. You have a choice to make. I’m not going to wait much longer.”

  He looked at her for a minute.

  “Rayland Craig, huh?” he said.

  Marie nodded.

  “Fat man who thinks he is somebody and is probably scared of the dark. It cost me a hundred dollars to find out where he got that little yellow heathen he had with him. I imagine he spent it all in a café.”

  That fella shifted his stance some an’ seemed to relax a little bit.

  “How many do ya want?” he asked.

  “As many as I can carry out of here between the ages of five and twelve. There is a growing market in Chicago. If I can get what I need from you, we’ll both make a boatload of money.”

  “I got ten on hand. They is all healthy an’ all the right age. You can look ‘em over. Five hunnerd dollars each, no matter the age.”

  “Four hundred dollars each, in gold, for the ones I take. If they’re in good condition I’ll take them all. You lie to me, and it’ll be the biggest mistake of your life. Bring them out. I have no need to go in the house.”

  Him an’ that fella that stood in the doorway went off then. Purty soon they come back, kindly herdin’ ten little girls. They looked to me to be six to nine or ten years old. They was all wearin’ white pajamas like, an’ was skinny an’ dirty. Marie looked each one of ‘em over an’ shook her head.

  “You don’t take care of your stock very damn well,” she said. “I’ll take them all, but next trip I expect to see heathens that are well-fed and clean. That will be in six to eight weeks. You hold up your end of the dealm and I will make you rich. You screw with mem and I’ll have you put in the ground.”

  When Homer an’ me kindly stuffed them little girls in the coach they was scairt to deathm an’ a couple of the young ones was cryin’ quite a bit. Marie walked out to where she could reach Carlton up on the coach. He handed her down about a gallon size leather bag. She carried it up to the porch, took a smaller bag from her pocket an’ counted out two hunnerd a them twenny dollar gold pieces an’ stuck ‘em in that little bag.

  “My men here will be back in no less than six weeks and no more than two months,” she said. “Again, I expect the next batch of these yellow monkeys to be clean, well-fed, and healthy. A dozen of your best will be fine. I’d like them to be about the same age as these.”

  “You have got yerself a deal, M’am,” that fella said.

  “Just remember,” Marie kindly growled, “you shitheads screw with me, and you are both as dead as Lincoln.”

  I helped her back up in the coach then, them little girls near stacked up on one another an’ scairt half to death. About a mile down the way we stopped, took Marion an’ three or four a them girls out of the coach, an’ opened up the seat. Miss Lotus popped up, grinnin’ quite a bit. She commenced to jabberin’ at them girls about as soon as she clumb out a her hidin’ place. Them girls all settled down an’ kindly stared at the rest a us with big eyes, two or three of ‘em smilin’.

  Homer come up on horseback an’ watched. I looked at him.

  “I thought you said they was three fellas at that place.”

  “Was,” he said. “Number three was in the barn loft with a rifle.”

  “What?”

  Homer smiled.

  “You dead, are ya?” he asked me, an’ reined his horse away.

  We loaded all a them little ladies back up agin, except Lotus, an’ headed toward our camp. Miss Lotus rode behind me on Willie, hangin’ on some tight. Both Marion an’ Homer grinned about that quite a bit.

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  We had crossed that little creek an’ gone about another mile when Homer pulled up beside me.

  “Rube,” he said, “why don’t you pass Miss Lotus over to Marion an’ strike off with me for a little bit. I kindly wanna go take a good peek at our backtrail.”

  “You think somebody might be follerin’ us?”

  “I doan know. That’s why I’m goin’ back a ways to take a look.”

  I rode up next to Marion right close an’ tolt him what was goin’ on. Miss Lotus made it over to behind him an’ onto the big App all by herself. Marion nodded to me after the swap, reached into his possibles bag hangin’ from the horn, an’ handed me his little pull-out telescope.

  “Keep a eye out,” he said.

  I returned his nod, set Willie into a short lope, an’ struck out after Homer.

  We went back up to that place on the little creek where I had waited for Homer the first time we went up that way, ground-tied our horses in that low spot, then went across an’ got up behind the bank.

  “You see somebody up this way, did ya?” I asked him.

  He shook his head.

  “Nope, but somethin’ ain’t right,” he said. “I just kindly got a feelin’ gnawin’ at me, Rube. It pays to check that kinda thing out.”

  I got Marion’s little telescope an’ took a peek back toward that farmhouse. I couldn’t make out nothing unusual. I tolt Homer.

  “This creek bed runs northwest,” he said. “Let’s foller it a little ways so we get some closer an’ off the trail we been on. Then we’ll stop an’ take another peek.
Stay in the creek, boy. We doan wanna leave more new tracks than we have to.”

  That’s what we done, wadin’ in four or five inches a water an’ leadin’ the horses so we wodden’ stick up too high in case somebody might be lookin’ down our way. When we stopped, I got out that telescope agin’.

  “Lemme see that thing, Ruben,” Homer said.

  I give it to him an’ he studied through it for a spell.

  “Small one horse carriage with another horse tied to the back,” he said, “not much bigger than a gig. One feller in the seat doin’ the drivin’, one more feller along side on a sorrel. From the angle they is takin’ I bet they is follerin’ the trail toward our camp. We didn’t see ‘em when we was up that way so I figger they come in from the east not long after we left an’ have turned south follerin’ our trail.”

  “Why would they be trailin’ us?”

  “Them boys was sendin’ that wagon we knocked over off to Pierre or someplace to git another bunch a them little Chinee girls. The fellers at the farmhouse didn’t know we was gonna show up an’ buy all they stock. Since a new batch is supposed to be showin up in a couple a weeks, if it was me I woulda got the word out a few days ago to some a my old customers an’ tolt ‘em that they was several girls that had to be sold to make room for the new shipment. I speck that’s what they done. Not long after we left, here come some ol’ boys wantin’ three or four girls to put in that little carriage. I reckon they warn’t terrible pleased to find them fellers was sold out. They doan wanna make a trip all the way out here an’ go home empty handed. That’s why they are follerin’ our trail instead a just turnin’ around an’ goin’ back the way they come. They want some stock, Rube, an’ we already got all of it.”

  “So they is figgerin’ to take some girls from us?”

  “It damn sure ain’t no sightseein’ trip,” Homer said. “They left their trail to foller ours. That there is good enough for me.”

  “What do ya wanna do?” I asked him.

  “What would you do, Rube?” he said, smilin’ a little bit.

  I studied on things for a little bit, then spoke up.

  “I reckon,” I said, “that I’d hustle back over to near where our tracks cross that creek, tie the horses back a ways in some cover, an’ wait for ‘em near that crossin’. They’ll be follerin’ all them tracks we made goin’ up an’ comin’ back, special the deeper ones with all them young ladies in the coach. I bet we could surprise ‘em some.”

  “That’s what you think, is it?”

  “Yessir,” I tolt him. “That there is exactly what I think.”

  “That makes two of us, Rube,” he said. “Let’s hurry back to the crossin’ an’ set up.”

  It didn’t take us too long to git to where we wanted to be. I left Homer with his Sharps an’ Marion’s telescope an’ went off leadin’ our horses east down that little creek a hunnerd yards or so afore it turned back to the north a little ways an’ kindly went down in a little holler, then run off back to the south-southeast. I tied both horses to a couple a scrub trees along the north bank where they’d be outa sight, pulled my Winchester 45-75 outa the scabbard, an’ hurried back to where Homer was waitin’ on me. He was standin’ in the water near up agin’ the far bank lookin’ through that little telescope. He shucked it down to the shortest length an’ give it back to me. I stuck it inside my possibles pocket on the left leg a my chaps.

  “Got good sight on ‘em, do ya?” I asked.

  Homer nodded.

  “Bout a half-mile out an’ on a easy walk. They ain’t in a hurry. Most likely they is workin’ on they strategy or somethin’. I got some amazin’ eyesight boy, but that telescope durn near makes it possible for me to see three days into next week. I gotta git me one a them things. I speck that after the sun goes down I might be able to take a peek at the dark side of the moon.”

  That set me to chucklin’ some.

  “How you wanna do this,” I asked him.

  “Them boys come out this way to buy some little girls that they is likely fixin’ to re-sell into slavery to somebody else. That makes ‘em as low as any of the other sonsabitches that deal in this kinda thing. Far as I’m concerned, they belong to the buzzards an’ the ‘yotes. That alright with you?”

  “Right as rain,” I tolt him.

  Homer nodded at me, smilin’ a little bit.

  “Me an’ the Sharps’ll take care a the feller on horseback,” he said. “You git the one in the carriage.”

  Homer got hisself a ol’ piece a wood then that was of fair size an’ eased it up on the top of the bank so he could take a peek under it without gittin’ seen. He took his hat off an’set it up by the wood. I stayed down outa sight an’ made sure I had a round in the breech, figgerin’ to come up after Homer let loose the first round. I know I didn’t set there terrible long, but it seemed like a week. After a spell, Homer spoke up.

  “About fifty yards out, boy,” he said, kindly in a whisper. “Git ready.”

  It warn’t but a second or so later when that godawful Sharps went off. I popped up an’ put a round in a heavy-set fella on the reins in that little carriage. He fell back some, then kindly set back up. I put another one in him an’ Homer hollerd.

  “Git to Willie boy, an’ chase that loose horse down. We doan want him runnin’ back north. He might give the rest a what we gotta do away!”

  I run back down that creek about as hard as I could go. Willie seen me comin’ in a little bit an’ got to dancin’ some. I jumped on him, put that rifle back in the scabbard, aimed him to the north, an’ turned him loose. Willie give a grunt an’ took out. I durn near come off of him goin’ up the bank.

  That horse didn’t run off mor’n a mile, I guess, afore he settled down a little bit an’ stopped. I rode up to about fifty feet from him an’ got down, movin’ kindly slow an’ easy. He was still some excited an’ I didn’t want him to run off agin’. I give Willie a treat while pattin’ on him an’ tellin’ him what a good feller he was. That other horse took some interest an’ commenced to studyin’ on us some. I ground-tied Willie, got out another piece a that candy, an’ went walkin’ toward him, takin’ real low an’ holdin’ out my hand a little ways. He warn’t hardly no bigger’n Willie, an’ was kindly nice lookin’. He studied on me some serious with both a his ears forward. When I got to him I helt out that candy. He lipped it off my hand as easy as ya please an’ et it up right smart. After he swallerd it, he kindly reached out toward me a little bit, twichin’ his nose some. I took holt a his reins then an’ walked off toward Willie, talkin’ to him quiet like. He come with me as easy as could be. I swung up an’ led him away without him pullin’ on the reins or nothin’. He was a fair nice horse.

  After I got back, I seen that Homer had drug them two bodies a little way down the creek an’ was gittin’ the harness offa the other horse. I went up to see what else was goin’ on when he turned to me.

  “You hear that?” he said.

  “Hear what?”

  “Just a minute,” he said, an went to messin’ around on the floor in the back a that little carriage. He picked up a blanket an’ kindly tossed it aside, then come to chuckle a little bit.

  “I’ll be damned,” he said, reachin’ down in the back. “C’mon with me, sweetheart,” he went on. “Everthin’ is gonna be just fine.”

  It was then he lifted up what seemed to me to be a little Chinee girl no more than two or three years old. She was snifflin’ quite a bit an’ squirmin’ some. Homer wrapped her up in that blanket, an’ I helt her while he got to his saddle. I passed her up to him when he got set.

  “Push that buggy down in the creek,” he said, “an’ bring them other two horses. I gotta git this young lady to camp.”

  He went off on a short lope then an’ left me grinnin’ quite a bit.

  I found a halter on the floor a that little buggy an’ hung it on Willie’s saddle. I speck I fussed with that buggy for a half hour of better afore I managed to git it down the way an’ into the b
ed a that crick. Willie an’ them other two horses both stood there an’ watched my struggles. None of ‘em offered me one bit a help.

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  It was some past noon afore Willie an’ me got back to camp, leadin’ them other two horses. That little sorrel had come the whole way just fine. The mare that had been hitched to that little buggy didn’t care much about good conduct. She fussed quite a bit, draggin’ on the lead rein or comin’ up to trot right beside me an’ Willie, bumpin’ agin’ us now an’ then. To tell the truth, I didn’t care for her very much.

  Marion come over when he seen me an’ them horses show up an’ took aholt a the two leads. He looked up at me.

  “Maybe we oughta git in the horse bidness,” he said, as I got down offa Willie. “We’re gittin’ us a fair amount a stock.”

  “If nobody here minds,” I said, “I’d kindly like to take that little sorrel back home with me. He’s calm an’ some steady. I speck Verlon would have some use for him in the livery. I might even stick little Bill on him now an’ then an’ ease the boy into settin’ on a full size horse.”

  “How old is Bill?” Marion asked me.

  “He’s seven. Starts school this fall.”

  “Might be time, Ruben. Git him up on this horse an’ turn Arliss the mule over to Melody in a year or two like we talked about afore. I bet that little mule would take after her the same way he took after her brother.”

  I let that roll around in my head some while I took the horses over to that little stand a scrub. I tied that mare by her reins. Normally I wodden like leavin’ a horse rein tied over long but, if everthing went to plan we’d be turnin’ her loose the next day anyways. I dropped the saddle an’ headstall offa the sorrel an’ put that halter I’d found on him. Willie watched the whole thing some patient an’ such right up to when I tied the sorrel, then come to tossin’ his head some an’ kindly gruntin’ at me. I took his tack off, hobbled him, give him another piece a that candy, an’ turned him loose. He shook hisself right smart an’ then went to rippin’ up some grass.