Allerton and Axtell

by Gary Lee Martinson

  “Really,” Clara said happily, “I want to help. I don’t have to be at the track until eleven tomorrow.”

  “Great, hold the lantern up and when I dig out a coin, put it in the bucket.” Her aunt handed Clara a lantern and bucket. Mrs. Morton pulled out two knives from her apron, one large and one small. She got down on her hands and knees and began to dig at the wood panels of the floor boards. She plucked out a silver half dollar and tossed it in the direction of Clara. Clara picked it up and tossed it in the bucket. There was a variety of coins tossed in Clara’s direction.

  Mr. Morton unhitched the horses and led them to the barn behind the house. He fed and watered them before giving them a brief rub down. He returned to watched over Mrs. Morton as she dug out coins.

  “You will find out sometime that Clara had a run in with some bad men,” He said without much concern. Gretchen gasped and looked at Clara, “She’s fine. She had to save her beau from a terrible fate.”

  Gretchen looked fearful when he mentioned Clara’s beau. “Gilbert,” she asked apprehensively?

  “Yes,” Mr. Morton said, “I told her how we overheard a certain conversation she had with Eva.”

  “Oh, sorry honey,” she said with remorse.

  Clara smiled, “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. I’m glad you know.”

  “Oh, bless you dear,” Gretchen said. “Now, what happened.” Clara told her briefly what happened at the barn.

  Gretchen said, “I like Gilbert. I wish I could convince your father to like him.”

  “He’ll never think Gilbert is a good.”

  “Tell me all about it,” She said with great excitement.

  It took Mrs. Morton nearly an hour before she was satisfied with her job. She took the bucket from Clara, put her arm around her and added a little squeeze. Mrs. Morton put the coins in a bank bag, went to the birdcage in the front room, opened the door of the birdcage. The canaries inside flew out of the way to allow her to lift a false bottom. She placed the coins under the false bottom. Then she took the cage outside onto the porch and hung it there before going off to bed.

  The next morning Mr. Morton brought the cage inside and plucked the bag of coins from it and took it to the bank for deposit.

  Chapter Fifteen

  King of the Stallions

  A few days after the August meeting was concluded, the town began to settle down into a normal routine once again. The two young couples decided to take an afternoon and have a picnic. They planned to spend the time at a secluded place north of town along the river. Gilbert and Barney hitched Ginger to the buggy and off they went to meet the girls. Katie and Clara met them outside the Vienna Café. The girls were sitting on the window ledge along Main Street.

  They had two picnic baskets and a blanket. The boys had a rope, a large water jug and a whiskey barrel full of crushed ice. The day was unseasonably hot and no clouds to block the stinging sun’s rays. They were thankful for the light breeze out of the south. The town was quiet for a change. Most of the citizens were tucked away in shaded areas resting after the week race meeting.

  As Gilbert helped Clara into the buggy he noticed a group of men sitting at a table inside the café. He recognized most of them and overheard something about Allerton. As he stood their transfixed listening, Clara yelled out, “Come on,” He noticed his three companions sitting in the buggy waiting for him.

  “Sorry,” he said as he hurried to get aboard. He flipped the reins and Ginger leaped forward throwing the passengers off balance, except Gilbert who had anticipated the sudden movement.

  They arrived at the secluded area as the sun was high in the sky. The steady wind rustling through the leaves in the trees. Clara and Katie prepared the picnic by placing the large blanket on the ground. They proceeded to unpack the food they brought. Gilbert and Barney got out some tin cups and filled them with ice and water.

  Gilbert brought a cup to Clara. She took a few swallows, “Thank you.” Then she handed the cup back to Gilbert, “Would you put this on the stump there?” She pointed to a stump several feet away.

  Once the men had properly cared for their women, they looked at each other with grins on their faces. They bolted for the buggy and pulled out a long thick length of rope. Without saying a word, they ran to a large tree with a limb hanging out over the river.

  They looked over the tree when Gilbert suggested, “Try to loop it just past the small limb that sticks straight up.”

  “The de-dead branch?” Barney asked.

  “The one just beyond that.”

  “That’s a long wa- wa- wa- ay out there, Gilbert.”

  Katie yelled out to the boys, “Come and get it.” The two boys dropped the rope and ran to the blanket. They sat down and ate anxiously without saying a word. The girls had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, raw garden green beans and peas, fresh baked bread and butter. They also had four peppermint sticks for after their meal.

  ‘Raw peas?” Clara asked.

  “There the best,” Katie said, “when I pick peas from the garden I can never resist eating some. They lose so much flavor when you cook them.”

  Clara tried one, “I love them, but are they safe?”

  Katie responded, “I don’t know. I cleaned them well, and I’ve never gotten sick from them before.”

  Clara popped a few more in her mouth, “They are tasty.” The boys watched Clara eat the peas as they continued to hungrily eat their chicken. The girls ate their meals with dignity and grace, while the boys ate like field hands on a time limit. The boys ate so well there wasn’t a morsel left for the ants. They excused themselves and went back to the task of getting the rope over the limb. The girls stayed behind to clean up.

  “What’s the plan again?” Clara asked Katie.

  “You need to ask Gilbert to show you the lagoon.”

  “All right and you will be doing what, again?” Clara asked anticipation of a clever scheme to get the boys alone.

  “I will suggest to Barney that we try to find the old lost cabin.” Katie said, “You know so we can be alone, with our men.” Clara smiled and shook her head, “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know, it just seems so naughty.”

  Katie was surprised by her comment. “Heaven sakes Clara, haven’t you and Gilbert done anything?”

  Clara suddenly had a rush of embarrassment, “Well, we have kissed and stuff.”

  “So, kiss and stuff.” Katie shook her head, “It’s just good peaceful time alone with one another. You won’t have to worry about anyone seeing you. Do whatever you feel comfortable doing.” Katie caught a glimpse of the two boys. Barney was attempting to throw the rope over the limb.

  Clara noticed her interest shifted to the boys activity. “What are they doing?”

  “Oh boy,” Katie sighed, “if they get that rope looped and start swinging on it, our plan is ruined.”

  Clara lost concern for what the boys were doing and went back to the subject they previously were discussing. “Have you and Barney ever,” Clara asked quietly. Katie looked at her blankly, “You know,” Clara was hesitant to come right out and ask the question directly. Katie suddenly felt embarrassed when she comprehended what Clara was referring to. Her face turned red.

  Katie turned away fiddled with her sleeve before she answered, “Of course,” then as an after thought added, “not.”

  Both girls looked away from each other and began to quietly pick up scraps lying around. They threw all remaining items back into the buggy, Katie again spied the boys activity. “Oh, my god.”

  Clara looked and saw Barney had crawled out on the limb and was tying the rope around it. He had just finished tying the rope when, he seemed to just roll off the limb back first into the water. Gilbert laughed.

  Katie, not sure Barney could swim, made her way toward the river. Barney quickly recovered and swam back to the edge where Katie s
tood. He climbed out of the water as Gilbert extended a hand to assist him. He climbed up the bank to a grassy area.

  “The water is c-c-c-cold,” Barney said, “and I wasn’t stu-stu-stuttering because I was stuttering, either.” It took them a few seconds to comprehend what he was saying. “You go-go-go in there and ya-ya-ya-ya-you’d be stuttering too.” Barney handed Gilbert the rope.

  Gilbert tugged at the rope testing it to make sure it was securely fastened to the tree. “Did you get her tied up good?” He looped it over a stump so the end would not fall into the river.

  “Yeah,” Barney smiled as beads of water dripped down his face.

  Without even a thought about the girls being there, Gilbert said, “You had better get your clothes hung out to dry while we swing.” With that statement completed, the two boys started to remove their suspenders and shirts. The girls stood close by watching them undress to bare top status. The boys sat on the bank to the river and began to remove their shoes and socks.

  Katie shook her head and told them, “We want to take a walk.”

  “All right, we’ll be right here,” Barney told her.

  “Yeah, you two go have fun,” Gilbert added.

  Katie tried again, “Barney, I want you to help me find the lost cabin.”

  Clara added, hoping to get their attention, “I want to see the lagoon, Gilbert.”

  The boys seemed to take no notice of the girls. They were getting up and started to remove their pants.

  “Oh my god!” Katie yelled as the two girls turned away covering their eyes from the ghastly sight.

  The boys were unaffected by the response the girls were giving. They had their pants off and tossed in a pile on the grass. They left their underclothes on, as they readied themselves to use the rope to fly into the river. The girls walked away toward the buggy afraid to look back, wondering if the boys were completely exposed to the world or not.

  Gilbert tied a knot at the end of the rope. He handed it to Barney. “You have the honors, my good friend.”

  Barney took the rope in his hand and without hesitation leapt off the bank and swung out over the river. “Ya-hoo!” He yelled letting go of the rope then splashed bottom first into the river.

  The rope returned to Gilbert and he grabbed it. When he saw Barney was all right and out of the way, he swung himself out, “Yahoo,” as he dropped into the river.

  The girls still did not turn to look at the boys. Finally Katie said, “Are you going to look or am I going to.”

  Clara shook her head, “I don’t wanna look.”

  “I really don’t want to know.” Katie said trying to appear indifferent.

  “Yes, you do,” Clara prodded.

  “No,” Katie shook her head, “I don’t.”

  “They’re far enough away that we couldn’t really get a good focus on any particular item.” Clara reasoned, “If that item happens to be exposed.”

  Katie looked to Clara, “A quick inquisitory look wouldn’t be wrong.”

  “No, not at all,” Clara agreed. “We really shouldn’t be held prisoner all day wondering if they are sporting a new look or not.”

  “I’ll look, if you will.” Katie raised her eye brows.

  “You mean look together, at the same time?”

  “Yes,” Katie said with great interest to the answer. When Clara hesitated, Katie couldn’t resist herself, “Are you afraid you might be disappointed?”

  “About what?” She asked.

  “Nothing.”

  Clara looked at her strangely for a few seconds. “All right, you say when.”

  “All right,” she said, “we’ll both look on three.” Both girls took a deep breath, “One, two, three.” They turned their heads to look at the boys, then turned back away from them.

  Clara asked, “What did you see?”

  “Heads in the water.” Katie stared straight ahead away from the river.

  “Me too,” Clara acknowledged. “All right, did you notice that the tree creaks when they are swinging on the rope.”

  “Yeah.”

  Clara reasoned, “So, it should be safe to say, they would be swinging away from us into the river when the tree creaks. So, we would see them out of the river and they would be showing their backsides. Which is more acceptable then to see the front side, wouldn’t you agree?” Clara reasoned.

  “Agreed.”

  “But,” Clara reluctantly added, “If one of them is swinging, then the other one may be facing us getting out of the water.”

  “That would be a little uncomfortable,” Katie reasoned. She thought for a second before she added, “You know if we see anything hanging there, our lives will never be the same for as long as we live.”

  “Ummm,” Clara thought, “I would suppose, it will be a sight that will remain etched in our minds for a long time.” She began to get angered at the boys, “They don’t seem to care if we see them. Why should we care?” There was a flurry of laughter from the boys as they heard another creak and a flopping splash in the water.

  Motivated by the boys laughter, Katie was determined to check it out. “Good point.”

  “At the next creaking of the tree we turn and look,” Clara took a deep breath. “And whatever we see, we see.”

  “All right,” Katie agreed. “And it is too bad, to whomever, may be exposed.”

  The wait only took a few seconds before the creak was heard. The girls again turned their heads, then turned back away from the river once again. Clara asked anxiously, “What did you see?”

  “Their covered,” Katie responded, “Underclothes, covering all potential mind etching parts.”

  The splashing and laughing at the river continued. Clara said, “Sounds like they’re having fun.”

  “Yeah.”

  Clara asked Katie, “Would you want to go to the rivers edge and watch them?”

  “I think I can handle that.”

  They stood up together and marched over to the rivers edge. Gilbert noticed them coming down toward them. “You can join in if you want.”

  Katie responded, “We’ll just watch. If you don’t mind?”

  “That’s fine,” Gilbert agreed.

  Barney stood up in the water, “It’s fun Katie, try it.” His teeth began to chatter from being chilled by the cold water.

  “We are not taking off our apparel,” Katie said, “we are ladies.”

  “Oh, darn,” Gilbert said without showing any real disappointment.

  “Shame on you, Gilbert Fenny, trying to get us in a compromising state of undress.” Clara said sternly.

  “Nonsense, my thought was getting more flying time, if you aren’t taking a turn.”

  The two girls continued to watch the boys have, what obviously was great fun. As they watched they became more bored and jealous of their fun.

  Clara said unenthusiastically, “It would have been different if they would have told us they planned to swing all day.”

  “I would have brought a book or something.” Katie said, just as unenthusiastically.

  Clara excitedly responded, “Oh,” She looked at Katie happily, “I brought a book. Would you like it?”

  “No,” Katie said mournfully. She looked lazily over to the boys as they played, “It certainly is nice to see that they wore clean underclothes.”

  Clara looked over to them. She suddenly turned away and covered the side of her face so she could not see them. “Don’t look too closely.”

  “Why,” Katie asked amusingly, as she looked intently.

  Clara hesitantly said, “I think, I saw, an outline.”

  “Outline?” Katie questioned. “What do you mean by, outline.”

  “You know, his thing.”

  “Who’s what thing?” Katie asked in wonderment as she anxiously looked over the boys playing, almost hoping to
see something.

  “I see the outline of Barney’s thing through his underclothes.”

  Katie looked at Barney intensely, “Barney, blow some bubbles in your pants!” Barney looked at her blankly holding his hands out.

  “Oh, don’t tell him,” Clara pleaded with her. “I don’t want to embarrass him.”

  Katie nodded to Clara, then shouted to Barney, “Just kidding honey!” The two boys, were puzzled by the statement. They slowly began to continue with their frolicking.

  There were several minutes of silence before Clara commented in a bored monotone voice, “Looks like fun, doesn’t it.”

  “Yeah,” Katie said, “We should dump these guys and come back later.”

  Clara nodded, “Yeah, but by then it will be too late.”

  Katie added, “They will take the rope back with them anyway.”

  “Yeah,” Clara lazily responded.

  “It sure looks like fun.” Katie squinted as she looked up into the sun. “Not much sunlight left this time of the year.”

  “Probably won’t have a nice day like today the rest of the year.” Clara said then added, “And I have to go back to Dubuque in a few days.”

  “It’s now or never isn’t it,” Katie said.

  “I’m afraid so,” Clara said distastefully, “we have to swallow our pride.”

  “Lose our dignity,” Katie added.

  “Yes, our dignity,” Clara nodded in agreement, “but I think we should make them pay for this, somehow.”

  “Yes, we will have to think of something,” Katie nodded in agreement. “What are we going to do to make their lives miserable?”

  “I don’t know, but let’s not think about that right now. It will be a waste of precious time.”

  “Right, it would be wasting time.” Katie started to undue her shoes. Clara quickly followed her lead. “I wish we had a button hook.” When they had their shoes and socks removed, they stood up and threw off their bonnets. The grass felt scratchy and warm on their bare feet. Katie untied Clara’s strings on the back of her dress. Then the two flipped around and Clara untied Katie’s dress. They stepped out of their dresses and began to repeat the process to undue each of their corsets. They were soon down to their undergarments.