By four o’clock they could see the ridge lines of their little valley. Sully went ahead when they were two hundred yards from the pen, opened the gate, and herded the animals inside to the far end of the enclosure. There was still lots of graze in the area.
Then he and Curley headed the herd into the twenty foot opening in the fence and they had them safely inside.
“You get a count?” Sully asked.
“Hope. Figured you would.”
“Let’s get inside mounted and see if we can count our whole damn herd. Must be getting toward that magic number of a hundred.”
They counted and came up with a kind of a firm figure.
“Too many of them worked back and forth,” Curley said. “Know I missed some and one or two I think I counted twice. I came up with fifty seven on my end of the pen.”
“Should be about right. My count was sixty two on this near end mostly the new cattle.”
“So, we’re over a hundred, Curley said. “Should be about a hundred and nineteen.”
“Good. I’m going to strip down naked and take a bath in that cold creek water. Hope to hell I can find that one bar of soap I brought along.”
On their count Sully had found a calf maybe six months old that had a broken leg and was hobbling around. Sully shot it and carried it up to the gate. He left it hanging to a tree limb then had his bath in the cold water.
He came out shivering and his teeth chattering.
“How can I get so cold when it’s this hot outside?” Sully asked.
Curley didn’t answer. He was busy getting the evening cooking fire going. He had butchered out the calf while Sully swam. Now he had steaks frying in the skillet. They would eat well tonight and most of tomorrow before the warm weather spoiled much of the meat. He remembered how cold the creek water was. Why not cut up some pieces of the carcass and sink them in the water? The wet wouldn‘t hurt the meat and it certainly would stay cool enough not to go bad. He would try it tonight before it got dark.
As they ate that night they planned ahead.
“You still think that three more men will get our herd to Fort Worth?” Sully asked.
Curley took a big bite out of the steak and when it was gone he shook his head. “Nope. Now that I’ve herded this bunch a little, I think we need two more men. Only going to cost us another fifty dollars. Be cheater hiring them than losing twenty or thirty head in a break out.”
“Agree,” Sully said. “Give me more time to ride ahead and pick out our route. I’ll go into town tomorrow and see if I can look at that Marshal’s map to get some idea of the land we’ll be cutting across. Then too, I’ll try to round up five men to ride herd for us. Might be a problem but I don’t think we should start out with fewer than seven of us.”
“I go along with that. I’ll guard the herd, keep the home fires burning, and eat some good veal while you’re gone.”
“I’ll take the wagon into town. We need a whale of a lot of food to feed seven men for twenty days. Think I’ll find a carpenter and have him make us some shelves along the sides and a frame work so we can throw a tarp over the top. A regular covered wagon. Well almost.”
“We spent all of Carter’s share yet?”
“Nowhere near. We’ll use that up then start splitting expenses between us. Should have plenty of cash to make the trip. After that we will have the sale proceeds from the beef. Probably should open a bank account in Gunsight. Must be a bank there.”
They were still planning when Sully put out the small fire at the head of the lean to and they both hit their blankets.
The next morning Sully had eaten his fill of the last of the egg toast, syrup, and six slices of bacon and was on his way with the wagon just as dawn broke the darkness. Although only six miles it would take him two hours to make the run into Connor’s Corner with the wagon.
When he arrived in town He stopped at the Connor’s General Store first and greeted Anne.
“Didn’t expect you back so soon,” she said a small smile brightening her face.
“Couldn’t stay away. Then too. Have a lot of business to do.” He explained the trip, the seven mouths to feed, and Annie’s eyes sparkled.
“You need a whole chuck wagon full of goods,” she said. “You said seven men. Okay let me start making a list. Some things like bacon and meat you’ll have to buy every three days along the route. But I’ll get you started. You’ll need lots of potatoes, carrots, and stew things. Coffee, lard, oh, so many things.”
“Good. You work on a list and start putting things in boxes. Tell me who in town can make my wagon into a chuck wagon with shelves and storage areas?”
“Oh that would be Charlie Otter. He has a small shop next to the livery. I think he’s there today.”
Charlie grinned when he heard the job.
“Hey, sounds like fun. Build you a good chuck wagon with deep shelves with latching doors so the goods don’t spill out. Then places for big storage items. Yes sir, I can have it done for you in two days.”
“That long?”
“Lots of work, then put a canvas top on her so everything don’t get wet in a rain. Gonna cost you a few dollars. Materials, nails, hinges, all sorts of wood and boards. I’d say I can get you a real good chuck wagon all set to go for forty dollars.”
Sully whined. Carter’s money was going fast. But he had to have the chuck wagon. They shook hands on it. Sully took the draft horse back to the livery to board for two days, then picked out a riding horse to get back to camp. He went to the Home Town Café for the beef stew and had a piece of apple pie for desert.
After he ate he went to see the Town Marshal. The man looked the same.
“Figured you’d be back,” he said.
Sully told him about the planned trip and they looked over some maps. Sully borrowed a pencil and some paper and drew rough maps of his own putting in towns, rivers, and mountains to watch for. When he was done he thanked the lawman.
“Know of any cowboys in town? I’m going to need five for the drive.”
“Two drifted in last night. Probably see them over at the Last Chance Saloon. Looked like they might be good hands.”
He thanked the marshal and went over to the saloon. He went up to the bar and waved at the keep.
“Hunting those two cowboys who were here last night. They still around?”
The bar keep laughed. “One spent the night on the floor right back there. So drunk he couldn’t walk. The other one hit the hotel. Said they were here for three or four days. The one still here might be sobered up enough to talk.”
Sully found he was. The man was thirty, lean and about five eight. His eyes were still bleary but he perked up when Sully asked if he had done any trail drives.
“Hell yes. But then they petered out. Not much yet after the war.”
“You handle a horse and a rope?”
“I can do that very well.”
“You work for twenty five dollars a month or for the drive if it’s shorter than thirty days.”
“Hell yes. And I know two more gents who would be tickled pink to get a trail job.”
“We won’t be ready for two days. Then we’re moving a hundred head to Fort Worth,”
“Yeah, been there.” He held out his hand and his eyes cleared. “Name is Hardy Young. I can dig up three or four more men who know the trail. You said two more days?”
“We should be ready by then. Getting a new chuck wagon put together. You have your own horse?”
“Oh, yeah. Mable is with me.”
“My name is Sully and I’ll see you here or at the hotel in two days.” They shook hands and Sully hurried on to the general store.
Annie was bustling around when he got back to the store. “I’m making out a menu for you to go by. I figure that you’ll need to take along some of the calves and butcher one every three days. The meat will last for three days. Then you’ll do lots of potatoes and biscuits and gravy. Oh, you need a big pot to use as an oven to cook your biscuits in.”
/> She was full of suggestions that Sully had never thought of.
“Oh, how long will eggs last on the trail?”
“If they don’t get broken usually three days.”
“Good. I need a few things to take back today. The wagon won’t be done until tomorrow evening. So I’ll be back then.”
She filled his today list and stowed it in an old flour sack. He paid for the food, three dollars and twelve cents then he caught her hand.
“Nice lady, it’s a pleasure doing business with you.”
“Well, good. I’m glad. Been wanting to ask you something.”
“Go ahead. I got an answer for almost any question?”
“Good. Can you stay over the rest of the day and have supper at my house tonight? I want you to meet my two precious girls.”
Sully was stunned. An invitation like this was not quickly or easily reached by a woman.
He watched her and saw the hope on her young face.
“Well now, I didn’t have a ready answer for that question. But now that I think on it, I would be delighted to come see what a home cooked meal tastes like.”
Her smile was radiant. “Oh, good. I’m so pleased. Now you help me start putting our order together. You going to need so much. If you run out of something you send a rider into the next town to bring back food. There are quite a few little towns between here and Fort Worth.”
“That one I will remember. Now, what do you want me to do?”
Chapter Eleven
They talked as they put items in paper sacks and boxes.
“I suggest a two week supply,” Annie said. “How long will it take you to make the trip?”
“I think it will be about twenty days, more or less.”
“So we’re talking about ten days of the non-perishables like beans and rice.”
As they worked he found out more about her.
“Do you run this store all by yourself?”
“Oh no. I have a woman who comes in three days a week and helps.”
“You said your father started the store here about three years ago.”
“Yes, he came from Ohio. Bought it from an advertisement in the newspaper. He lasted two years, then got sick and I came down with the girls. I had lost my husband the first year of the war and needed something to do. Then when I got here he turned worse and died two months later.”
“I’m sorry. You had two losses in two years.”
“Three really. My mother died a year before Daddy moved down here.”
“Looks like you are making a success of the store. You must know what folks around here need to buy.”
“It’s been a learning process. But I am getting better at it. I have a lot of good friends here who advise me especially on the men’s side of the store for the tools, hardware, fencing, that sort of thing.”
They finished with the bulk packages of beans and rice, and then worked on potatoes.
“Figure these should last for two weeks before they start to sprout. Just rub off the sprouts and cook them as usual.”
“Let’s have some coffee and sweet rolls. I made some cinnamon rolls last night.” The coffee pot had been on the little stove in the back room. They went there and had a sit down at a small table. Twice the bell rang on the front door and Annie left the back to wait on a customer.
When she came back she was smiling.
“Talked that Mrs. Anderson into buying some new cloth to make curtains from. She’s a good seamstress.” She sat down and sipped her coffee.
“Sully, I know so little about you. For starters I don’t even know your last name.”
“It’s Roberts, Sully Roberts.”
She held out her hand. “Well, it’s good to meet you, Sully Roberts. My name is Annie Farley.” He took her hand and held it.
“Well, it’s good to meet your formally. May I call you Mrs. Farley?”
“No, call me Annie. Now, what else can we get packed up and set aside for you, Sully Roberts?”
Business picked up at the store then and they got little more done before closing time at six o’clock.
Annie locked the front door after putting up the closed sign then pointed north.
“We have a long three blocks to walk but that will be good for us. My Sandra has been minding a slow fire for me this afternoon to finish cooking a pot roast with all the vegetables I could find.”
“Sounds good already.”
“Now, time to tell me about yourself Sully Roberts. I’ve heard that if you meet someone and hear their name, it’s good to repeat it three times so you’ll remember it, Sully Roberts. “Good, that’s five times. Where are you from?”
“Well, kind of all over. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, moved around a bit and now I call Conner’s Corner my home.”
“Memphis, so you are a Southerner. I wondered by the little twang in your speech. Oh, dear. Am I consorting with the enemy here?”
“No enemies any more. We’re all friends. Although I must say that I was furious with anything Northern for a while. A rampaging Northern Army unit burned down my farm and ranch and killed my wife and two daughters.”
She touched his shoulder. “Oh, my goodness. I had no idea. Sorry if I am out of bounds here. What a tragedy to lose your family and your ranch.”
“Took me some time to get over it, but I’m almost healed now.”
“But no sense in advertising that you were a Rebel soldier, right? I know about that. I had to kind of fib a little when I came. Folks wanted to know why I came down here from Cleveland.”
“You said you lost your husband early in the war?”
“Yes, one of those big battles. I even forget which one. Over six thousand men were killed. My Hubert was one of them. No funeral. He was buried near the battle scene. We have never been to his grave.”
They walked in silence for a ways.
“Good we have that cleared up,” Sully said. “I wasn’t trying to hide anything. Just didn’t know when to tell you.”
“Me too. Good. Here’s my house. My father had it all pad for and the store is even making money now. I do wish we had a real school for the children. I’m going to try to get a school district set up with the county.”
“What a nice house, painted and with windows and everything. Beats my lean to all hollow.”
“Not even a tent?” she said. “I've got a six by eight foot wall tent I can loan to you. We used it last summer when we went camping for a week. I just closed down the store.”
“A tent? Never even thought of that. First we get this drive done and then think ahead.”
“Will you make some money on the drive? I don’t know how that works.”
“These cattle are strays from ranches that couldn’t get help during the war and had to turn their herds loose. So nobody owns them. Whoever rounds them up and drives them to market gets the profit. At thirty dollars a head we could make over
Three thousand dollars on this drive.”
“Oh, my. That’s more than I’ll make at the store all year.”
She opened the door and waved him inside. “Come in, kind sir, and meet my two wonder children.”
Two little girls maybe six and eight rushed into the room and hugged their mother. It was a whirl of pretty dresses and swinging young forms. She set them down and straightened their dresses.
“Young ladies, this is the man I told you about. He is Mr. Sully Roberts and he is getting ready to make a cattle drive.”
They both curtsied. The oldest one spoke first. “Mr. Roberts, pleased to meet you. I’m Sandra.”
The younger one twisted her dress in one hand and nodded. “Me too,” she said and they all laughed.
“Now, head cook, how is that roast beef stew coming along?”
“It is done, Mama. I tasted it even. The meat just falls apart and even the cranky old carrots are cooked through.”
“My master chef,” Annie said leading them all though a living room and into the kitchen.
“That smells so
good already,” Sully said.
“We got yummy cinnamon rolls, too. Mama made them last night,” the youngest girl said.
“I already had one at the store and you are right, they are yummy.”
“My manners are missing,” Annie said. She stood the girls up straight. “Girls, this is Mr. Roberts. I want you to introduce yourselves to him.”
The older girl went first.
“Good to meet you, Mr. Roberts. I am Sandra Farley and I am eight years old.”
She nudged her younger sister.
“Oh, Good to meet you Mr. Roberts. I am Becky Farley and I am six years old.”
“It is good to meet both of you again, young ladies. Thank you.”
Annie went to the Franklin wood-burning cook stove and lifted the lid on a big cooking pot. It looked like it was some kind of thick steel. A delicious aroma floated out. She used a long fork, dug around for a minute, then put the lid back on.
“Another fifteen minutes, girls. Just time for you to set the dinner table. Remember it’s for four people tonight.”
“Yes, Mama.”
Annie waved at him. “Sit for a minute while I wash my hands.” She vanished through a door. He watched the two little girls. Both were smaller versions of Annie. Soft, curly blonde hair around their shoulders with straight bangs across their foreheads. They whirled around the kitchen table setting up dishes and silverware.
Becky, the younger, came up to where he sat in a kitchen chair.
“You really a cowboy with a horse and a rope and everything?”
“That’s right, Becky. And a whole bunch of cows.”
“Oh. Okay.” She turned and went back to help on the table. What a cute little one, he decided. His two girls had been six and seven and more on the tom boy side.
When Annie came back he saw she had changed clothes into a tight fitting white blouse and a red and green flowered skirt. She had combed out her long blonde hair from the bun and let it fall half way down her back.
“Now I feel better,” She said. “Oh, the bathroom is right in there.” She pointed to the door she had just come from.
“Obliged,” he said. He went into the small room with a wash stand, a pitcher, and bowl. He washed the trail dust out of his hair and face, then his hands and wrists. He felt better. There was a towel he used to dry off, then combed his dark hair with a comb with some of the teeth missing that he took out of his pocket. Hadn’t had much use to comb his hair lately. There was even a mirror. He looked in it. Same old face and hair. Nothing he could do about that.
The Devils Gunslinger Page 7