Sagebrush Serenade

by Jeanie P Johnson

  “I guess we should un-hitch the mules,” she suggested.

  Both Trapper Dan and Raven came to help her.

  “What are all these tags on the harnesses?” Trapper Dan asked.

  “I had to name the mules so I could put the right harness back on them,” she explained.

  “That was smart thinking’. Ya see if a harness doesn’t fit right it could rub the animal raw an you’d have a lame mule on yer hands. Ya hafta be careful not ta twist a strap or hook the harness wrong or too loose. Otherwise, ya got problems ya don’t want. Can ya tell all them mules apart?”

  “Sure. The two big ones are Big Black and Big Blue. Big Blue’s muzzle is more of a blue color than black,” she explained. Then there is Curly, cause the hair around his ears is all curly, and Whiskers, named for obvious reasons. That one is Sassy. He is always tossing his head, and his partner is Broomtail since his tail is shorter than all the rest. She went on explaining to Trapper Dan the names of the mules and why she named them what she did. Trapper Dan started laughing.

  “Well our horses have names too,” he responded. “I call ma mount Pebbles an Raven thar, named his horse Waki Ya, which means Thunder. Raven’s name in Sioux is Kagi Taka but I don’t suppose you’d be callin’ him by thet name. He don’t mind being called Raven, though.”

  “I’m sure happy you two showed up when you did. I was a little worried if I could have done it all on my own,” Marcel admitted. “I’m kind of learning as I go.”

  “Must be fate, considerin’ we actually ran into ya while we was in St. Louis. God moves in mysterious ways,” Trapper Dan winked. “We kin teacha whatever it is ya need ta know so in the future, ye’ll know whacher doin’.”

  “I’m much obliged to you,” Marcel thanked him.

  “We’ll be settin’ up our pack rolls under yer wagon so we ken get an early start come mornin’.”

  “Then I will see you in the morning,” Marcel told him.

  She glanced at Raven, who had been watching her closely the whole time she and Trapper Dan were talking. There was something about his intense stare and the slight smile that quivered at the corner of his mouth that disturbed her. The problem was, she couldn’t understand exactly why it disturbed her. She just knew it caused her heart to race and her insides to quiver. Was it because of her natural fear of Indians, or did it have something to do with a feeling she dared not analyze? She just knew that when he looked at her that way, it brought unbidden emotions to the surface.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  rapper Dan was in the process of hitching up the team, while Marcel was cooking them all breakfast. She didn’t even realize she was humming as she worked. She felt lighthearted and anxious to continue the trek, now that she didn’t have to worry as much about her safety.

  Raven raised his head, as he was packing his cot roll on the back of his saddle.

  “Looks like a rider approachin’,” he mumbled.

  Marcel and Trapper Dan looked in the direction he was pointing. In the far distance, a cloud of dust was being whipped up as a rider, going at a full gallop, was coming in their direction. When the rider approached, he brought his horse to a skidding halt, his gun raised, pointing it at Raven.

  “Get away from my sister!” Josiah bellowed at the Sioux. “I don’t know what you two are up to, but one false move and the Indian gets a bullet in his forehead.” He turned his gaze to his sister. “I told you it was stupid of you to try to make it on your own. Now, what have you gotten yourself into?”

  “Put that away,” Marcel yelled at him. “They are helping me, not harming me. This is Trapper Dan and his friend Raven. They were thoughtful enough to offer to travel with me and help me out,” she informed him.

  “More like trying to take advantage of you and then robbing you blind. You know how dishonest all those Indians are. You can’t trust them and you don’t even know either of these men. You are more naive than I thought! You two just mosey on along your way and let my sister be.”

  “They will do no such thing!” Marcel objected. “You left me, Josiah Wilson! You didn’t care what happened to me! These two could have been dangerous when they came upon me all alone. Then you would have been mourning me! It is a little late for you to all of a sudden start to worry about my welfare!”

  “I thought you would realize how your threats were ridiculous and see reason if I left you on your own. We hadn’t entered Indian territory yet so I figured the only trouble you would have is figuring out how to hitch up and drive the team. When you didn’t catch up last night, I felt something had happened so I came to check on you. I didn’t figure you had picked up questionable travelers. I thought maybe the rig had broken down or a mule went lame or something.”

  “Well, you can put your worries aside, Josiah. You chose that widow over me and as far as I am concerned, you can continue to ride in her wagon. I trust these two, even if you don’t. If I am proven wrong, then you can say I told you so.”

  “By that time, it will be too late. I’m telling you that right now! You are way too trusting and as much as you love all your worldly belongings I will wager you will end up with nothing by the time these two are through with you. You may lose your virtue in the bargain!”

  “Only I have one up on you. With a Sioux Indian with me, I don’t have to worry about getting attacked by Indians like the company does. So while you may end up fighting off raiding Indians, my companion, here, can discourage them from trying to raid my wagon. Maybe I will send him to your rescue if you come under attack!” Marcel sneered.

  “You are talking nonsense. The moment that Indian gains your trust he will rape you, scalp you in the night and he and his Trapper friend, will take your wagon of precious belongings and use them as they please. If you had any sense at all, you would make them leave while I have this gun pointed at them!”

  “So what do you think?” Marcel asked her two companions. “Why didn’t you take the opportunity to rape me and scalp me last night, making away with this wagon which would stand out like a sore thumb if anyone came upon you? This wagon is starting to become legendary, you know.”

  Raven chuckled. “I guess ya pointed out the obvious reason,” he said. “Helping ya out is gonna slow us down. What could we do with all yer belongings? As it is, it’s gonna be hell ta get this beast of a wagon through the passes. It wouldn’t even be worth taking yer scalp over. If we wanted ta robe ya or rape ya, we would of tied ya up last night, taken all yer money and maybe jewelry, then hightailed it out of hare before yer brother coulda shown up. We knew ya had fallen behind an someone would be comin’ ta check up on ya by morning’.” He glared at Josiah. “We ain’t as dumb as ya think, mister!”

  “Now, if I end up raped or scalped, you will know exactly who to blame,” Marcel put in.

  She glanced at Raven, hoping she was right to trust the two, but her stubborn pride would not let her back down. She had to prove to Josiah she could take care of herself if he refused to remain with her.

  “You’re signing your own death warrant, Marcel. Come with me, while you have the chance, and send these two packing!”

  Marcel stood her ground. “Put the gun away, Josiah. Nothing is going to happen to me.”

  Josiah shook his head. He couldn’t believe Marcel would risk her life over a bunch of out-dated furniture and heirlooms. The woman must be touched in the head! He shrugged his shoulders and holstered the gun.

  “Suit yourself, Marcel, but don’t say I never warned you.”

  Then he turned his horse and was galloping back in the direction he came.

  “I guess if you are going to scalp me, you might as well get it over with now,” Marcel stated, looking from one to the other. “Otherwise, we might as well finish up here and have a good breakfast before we leave. I’m not going to cook this breakfast if you just plan to rape and scalp me later, so what do you say, boys?”

  Trapper Dan and Raven shrugged and then laughed.

  “I’m afraid white women’s scalps don’t bri
ng much of a price on the market anymore,” Trapper Dan, chuckled. “Might as well letcha keep that prutty head of hair an have a good breakfast under our belt afore we leave hare. As fer rapin’ ya, that ain’t our style. Raven hare, is lookin’ fer a wife, not a victim!”

  Marcel’s eyes flashed up at Raven. He merely smiled and shrugged his shoulders. She drew in her breath and continued. “In that case, I will get to it,” Marcel stated with a shaky smile and went back to cooking.

  Raven watched her as she worked over the fire. His estimation of her had risen several notches. The way she stood up to her brother and showed her trust in Trapper Dan and himself impressed him. He figured if someone did try to scalp her, she would put up a pretty good fight. He didn’t want to fight with her. He wanted to get her to trust him more than she already did. He had seen that questioning look in her eyes when she claimed she could trust the two of them. He wasn’t sure she really did. Trapper Dan was right. He would rather have her as a wife than a victim. He just didn’t think she would ever be attracted to a Sioux brave. His chances of having someone like her, with those magic fingers that could coax such beautiful music out of that piano box of hers, was pretty nil, he had to admit to himself.

  When breakfast was finished and everything was put back in the wagon, Trapper Dan climbed up to the bench. “Ya could ride ma horse, or climb up hare with me,” Trapper Dan told Marcel, looking her up and down. “Seeing as how yer wearin’ them breeches, ya could sit ma horse prutty easy.”

  “I’ve never ridden a horse before,” Marcel admitted.

  “Well, it ain’t that hard. Nothin’ like the present ta larn. Ya handled them mules easy enough. A horse is no different. Besides, ma horse is well trained an it might come in handy ta be able ta ride a horse, once ya get ta Oregon.”

  “Then I think I will give it a try,” Marcel said hesitantly.

  “Raven will adjust the stirrups fer ya. Wouldn’t want yer foot ta slip through em,” he winked.

  Raven came to Marcel and helped her up on Pebbles’ back. Then he fiddled with the ties on the stirrups, placing her foot in and telling her to stand so he could see how much space was between her seat and the saddle before he tied each one off completely. He placed his hand between the saddle and her bottom, then smiled and nodded. When he was satisfied, he handed her the reins.

  When Marcel felt Raven’s hand brushing against her bottom as he measured the space between her and the saddle, she caught her breath. No man’s hand had ever come that close to touching her there, and the very feel, no matter how light it had been, seemed to bring her whole body to attention. Then the way he held her ankle when he placed each booted foot in the stirrup, sent chills up her leg. She wasn’t sure if it was from fright or something else?

  Raven smiled up at her, to reassure her he intended no harm to come to her. He wanted to make sure she was seated properly and safely in Trapper Dan’s saddle. The look in her eyes drew his attention. He wondered what it meant as she looked down at him, her lower lip trembling slightly. She still must be frightened of him, he decided.

  Raven turned away and swung up on Thunder’s back. He clicked his tongue, while Trapper Dan slapped the traces on the mule’s backs and Pebbles followed along beside Raven’s horse.

  Raven couldn’t stop himself from looking over at Marcel every chance he got. Her beauty grabbed him in a way he had never felt before. She looked a little aloof, though, and would steal a glance in his direction when she felt he wasn’t looking, which made him chuckle inside. Even in her men’s clothes, she looked every bit a woman. He knew she looked even lovelier in dresses, only it wasn’t the outside looks that attracted him the most.

  It was the way she held her head and the way she would look under her long lashes at him. It was the stubborn glare she gave her brother and the hopeful look she gave to him and Trapper Dan. Raven could tell this was all new to Marcel, yet she was trying to be brave and that was what drew him to her the most.

  The two rode in silence while Trapper Dan sang a song at the top of his lungs. Marcel chuckled to herself. She was impressed that Trapper Dan had such a nice sounding voice. When he sang the words to his song, he didn’t have an accent at all and he used all the proper words as he sang.

  “I should teach the two of you some new songs, Marcel suggested. I have a whole store of sheet music with the words on them.” Then she glanced at each of them. “Do either of you read?”

  “I read some,” trapper Dan admitted, “Only I don’t suspect that Raven reads none.”

  “I could teach you,” Marcel offered. “What else is there to do in the evening after the meal is finished?”

  “I would like that,” Raven told her.

  Anything that would draw her attention to him was fine with him. Also, he wanted to impress her. Trapper Dan had told him he was a fast learner so he hoped learning to read was as easy as learning to trap.”

  “I could teach you both proper English if it isn’t an insult to you.”

  “I’ve always talked this way,” Trapper Dan informed her. “I taught Raven ta speak English the only ways I knew how. But if ya think our language needs improvin’, I wouldn’t mind a few lessons from someone as eloquent as you.”

  “Then, if you don’t mind me correcting you when you say a word that needs improving, I will gladly teach you.”

  “Sounds fair enough,” Trapper Dan smiled.

  “You sing the words to your songs with correct English so I know you can do it,” Marcel encouraged.

  Raven stopped and put his hand up. Suddenly, he was jumping down from his horse.

  “What is it?” Marcel asked when she saw him putting his ear to the ground.”

  “Buffalo stampede. We need ta get the wagon over among them trees by the river and once we see em a comin’, ya should start shootin’ that long gun of yers ta head them away from us.

  “Better do as he says,” Trapper Dan suggested. “Raven knows what he’s talking about. Ya don’t wanna get caught in the middle of no stampede!”

  The three brought the wagon along the river, up close to the trees. Already Marcel could hear the rumble of the buffalo in the distance before any of them could see the beasts coming. It sounded like thunder rolling. Soon, the dark clouds of thunder, in the shape of thousands of buffalo materialized like a low-lying black cloud hovering along the ground, while dust rose up around them like smoke.

  Marcel had never seen a buffalo up close before. Now they all seemed to be coming at them, ignoring the fact they were hugging the tree line. The horses and mules were picking up on the excitement and acted like they wanted to run with the buffalo as well. Raven took his and Trapper Dan’s horse and tied them securely. It would be hard for the mules to try and run, attached to the wagon the way they were, but it didn’t stop them from tossing their heads and pawing the ground, either in fright or excitement, Marcel didn’t know which.

  “Start shooting yer rifle,” Raven told Marcel and she started letting off rounds. They saw the buffalo veer away from them, even though their speed never slowed. They looked like one huge giant dark wave, rising and falling as they lunged past. The noise from the thousands of hoofs hitting the ground was deafening. The three couldn’t even talk to each other because the noise was so loud.

  The dust above the black wave rose all around filling the air and all three of them had to pull their bandanas up over their nose in order to breath. Even Raven wore a bandana to use for occasions such as this, or in case of dust storms.

  Marcel was astounded that the buffalo were even bigger than the oxen that pulled the wagons, yet they were so nimble, jumping over smaller buffalo who had fallen in the mad stampede. It took well over an hour for the herd to pass, even running full speed. Marcel hoped that the wagon master, leading the company ahead, would know what to do if caught in the middle of a buffalo stampede. She remembered how the horses had gotten frightened in the storm and managed to knock over a couple of wagons. What could a bunch of buffalos do, she wondered?

>   Once the dust settled, the wagon was pulled back out on the trail and Marcel and Raven climbed back up on their horses, following alongside the wagon. They could still see the dust rising farther up the trail as they followed in its wake. A few miles later, the three saw the result of the damage caused by the buffalo stampede to the wagon train.

  There was one battered wagon, in pieces along with scattered belongings, some damaged, and others intact. Apparently, whoever lost the wagon could only bring some of their belongings by putting them in someone else’s wagon. Marcel felt sorry for whoever had lost their wagon. She hoped it wasn’t the widow and her brother. She was almost tempted to pick up the discarded articles and bring them with her to return to their owner once she reached Oregon, only she knew her own wagon was packed with as much as it could carry.

  Marcel was beginning to believe this journey wasn’t going to be as simple and uneventful as she has suspected. She remembered what Trapper Dan had said about the trouble it would take to get her wagon through the passes. She hoped he and Raven did not decide to leave her behind, once they reached the passes, or worse yet, just leave the wagon behind with all her belongings in it.

  She tried to keep from staring at the scattered debris as they passed through, her heart reaching out to whoever lost it. Would it be worth it to them to arrive in Oregon with nothing to start their new life with, she wondered? However, there would be no turning back for them now because they wouldn’t have a wagon to use for the homeward journey. Even if they had, they couldn’t do it by themselves. It was carry on with the rest of the company and face the consequences when they came to them, she thought.

  “When we reach the North Fork, we’re gonna hafta cross the Platte River,” Trapper Dan informed Marcel. “It’s probably another two-day ride from hare. Part of the river turns an goes the other way but we hafta keep following the other part.”

  “Will the wagon make it across? Last time we crossed a river we had to pull the wagons across with a team on the other side of the river.”