The Man from Misery

by David C. Noonan

  The words stunned Faith and made her stomach clench up. She flopped back into the chair and canted her head to one side. The fire was snapping, and the grandfather clock in the corner was tolling, but, at that moment, she was in a daze and heard nothing.

  “Imagine. You would be a hero to all these women, because they would know they are free because of you,” he said. “Then you could live here like a queen. And you could put your healing powers to work for everybody’s sake.”

  Faith tried to control her eddying thoughts. She steeled herself and focused her concentration. “What will your cousin say?” she asked.

  “He has no say.”

  “What about the money he’ll lose?”

  “I’ll make it up to him.”

  Faith could not stop her hands from quivering. She was scared, confused. Could she really save all the girls by sacrificing herself? Her parents taught her that there was no greater love than to do that for others, but could she spend the rest of her life with this vile man?

  “Let me sleep on it,” she said.

  Salazar’s face brightened. “You’ll give me your answer in the morning?”

  She swished her head from side to side, trying to shake her discomfort away. “Yes.”

  “Promise?”

  Now she gave a slow nod. “Yes.”

  A door knock and then Armando appeared with Calida beside him.

  “Come, Calida,” Salazar said and motioned her into the room. “I have good news. Tomorrow morning we’re sending you home to your parents.”

  The girl’s eyes bugged out, and she squeezed her hands together. “Thank you,” she gushed.

  Salazar tilted his head towards Faith. “Thank Miss Wheeler. She picked you.”

  Calida rushed to Faith and hugged her. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she whispered.

  “Armando, escort Miss Wheeler and Calida back to their room. And tell Ponce he’ll be taking Calida home tomorrow.”

  Faith trailed Armando and Calida as they moved towards the door, but as she passed Salazar, he grabbed her hand. She tried to yank it away, but his grip was firm. He bowed and kissed the back of it. “Until tomorrow,” he said and then released her with a graceful motion, as if setting a small bird free.

  The short, stocky guard posted outside the girls’ quarters opened the door for Calida and Faith to enter. He was as ill tempered as all the other guards. When he saw Faith’s face, he asked, “What happened to you?”

  “I’m not used to eating with such sharp knives,” she said.

  “You did that to yourself?”

  She smiled at him.

  “You’re a fool,” he said and then pointed to a tin-gilded mirror hanging on the wall. “Look at yourself.”

  He grabbed her arm with one hand and whirled her in front of the mirror. Faith refused to look, so he grabbed her chin with his other hand and forced it up so she could see her reflection. In a pang of self-consciousness, Faith raised her hand to her cheek but stopped short of touching it.

  “Stop it!” Armando yelled. “Let her go.”

  The guard turned and said, “I don’t take orders from whelps like you. Who do you think you are?”

  “I’m the person that brings Señor Salazar his coffee every morning,” Armando answered with a scowl. “You heard what he did to Moco—and that was just about his dog. Imagine what he’ll do when I tell him you tried to pluck his favorite flower?”

  The guard glared for several seconds and then released Faith. He pointed at Armando and said, “You keep your mouth shut.”

  Armando pointed back. “You keep your hands off.”

  Faith turned away from the mirror and moved towards the door behind Calida.

  “Wait,” Armando said. “This bully’s paws have caused your wounds to open up. You’ll need fresh bandages.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a roll of gauze, and handed it to Faith. “I’ve already cut the strips for you,” he said with a small smile, “because I know they won’t let you have scissors.”

  Faith took the bandages, thanked him, and went inside. As the door closed behind her, several girls rushed over to ask if she was okay. She assured them that she wasn’t badly hurt, that the wound stung, but that Salazar hadn’t laid a finger on her.

  “Thanks to her, I’m going home tomorrow,” Calida said. The pregnant girl’s face was radiant.

  Faith spoke in a voice laden with sadness. “Salazar said he would free all of you if I married him.”

  Valencia grabbed Faith’s arm. “Don’t do it,” she said. “We’ll be all right.”

  “You can’t be sure of that,” Faith answered.

  “I think you should marry him,” Fabiana said. She was a wide, squat girl with long, dark braids. “Better they let eight of us go than none of us.”

  “No!” Toya yelled. “I don’t trust him. Why would he let any of us go?”

  “Why do you think, you idiot?” Fabiana said. “Because he wants Faith, and it’s the only way he can get what he wants.”

  “He could take what he wants by force,” Toya said, and then she looked down at the floor.

  “He doesn’t want me that way,” Faith whispered.

  Belinda spoke next. “He still wants to marry you after you cut yourself like that?” She stroked Faith’s bare arm as a sign she didn’t mean to offend her by the comment.

  Faith patted Belinda’s hand and said, “I promised him an answer tomorrow.”

  “You said your uncle would come for you,” Toya said. “Let’s wait for him. Maybe he’ll come tonight.”

  Fabiana stood and pressed her point. “If he was coming at all, he would have been here by now. Our only way out of here is for Faith to marry him. If it were me, I’d do it.”

  Faith looked up at Fabiana. “You would?”

  “If it meant all the rest of the girls could go home,” Fabiana replied. “Unless you think you’re better than us.”

  “No,” Faith said, “I’m not better than any of you, just better than Salazar.”

  Valencia leaned in and pressed her forehead against Faith’s. “Don’t do it,” she said, her voice soft and low. “Please don’t do it.”

  The two girls held that position for several seconds. Finally, Faith clasped her hands on the sides of Valencia’s head. “I mean to save you all, but not by marrying him.” She pulled the bottle of chloroform from her pocket and held it up. “See this? It’s powerful medicine. Later tonight, I’m going to put the guard to sleep, escape over the wall, and bring back help.”

  “But if you run away,” Calida said in a frightened voice, “they won’t let me go home.”

  “None of us will go home,” Fabiana said with a snarl. “What if I tell the guard what you’re planning to do?”

  “Trust me,” Faith said. “The best thing all of you can do right now is trust me.”

  CHAPTER 27 A SECRET REVEALED

  It was late afternoon when Frank and Zack returned from the cutoff and assured the group that nobody was in pursuit. Zack’s gait slowed when he saw Abe’s bruised and swollen face. “What the hell happened to you?” he asked.

  “Ran into your old friend Danny Brown and his pal,” Abe said. “They done me bad, Zack. They busted a few ribs and broke some teeth.” Because of the damage to his mouth, the word came out as “teef.”

  Zack stared at his brother. “You ran into them out here?”

  “Turns out they were bounty hunters looking for Chiquito,” Abe said.

  Frank looked at Chiquito. “You’re a wanted man?” he asked, half question, half groan. “Well, if that don’t beat the dutch.”

  “Chiquito saved my life,” Abe said. “I guess all Apaches ain’t bad, Zack.”

  “He’s the one that put your life in danger,” Zack replied. He turned to the Indian. “Looks like my brother took a vicious beating. Exactly when did you step in? And how come we didn’t know about the bounty on your head?”

  Chiquito stood and pawed the knife in his belt. “You’d like to discuss this now?
”

  Zack looked back at Abe, who shook his head.

  “Maybe later,” Zack said. He looked at Mariana. “What’s wrong with her?”

  Mariana sat in silence, wrapped in a green and orange rebozo, her face puffy and red, wiping tears from her eyes.

  Emmet pointed to the body shrouded in a yellow, cotton blanket in the back of the wagon. “Turns out Reno was working with the cousins.”

  “Well, ain’t today full of surprises,” Frank said. “Never would have made him out for a turncoat, the good-for-nothing.”

  Emmet watched Mariana absorb the comment with a shiver.

  “You don’t know who you can trust around here,” Zack said, flipping a wary eyebrow at the Apache.

  Lucita ran up to Mariana and sat next to her. “I picked some flowers for you,” she said, “because you look so sad.” The girl held out a fistful of firewheels.

  “They’re beautiful,” Mariana said, admiring the fiery red centers ringed by yellow outer bands. She set the wildflowers in her lap, removed two of them, and pinned them in her hair, one over each ear. “You’re kind, Lucita.”

  “They made you smile,” the girl said, “so I’m going to pick some more,” and she flitted back into the field.

  Behind the child, the sun was moving towards the horizon. A cool wind was sweeping down the slopes and chilling the air, so Soapy lit a campfire. As the group reclined around the snapping flames, Emmet explained to everybody how Reno’s body came to be in the back of the wagon and the implications of taking the next steps.

  “This is what we know,” Emmet said. “The army and the bidders will arrive sometime tomorrow, Sunday, but Salazar doesn’t know it. I killed the soldier who was on his way to deliver that message. The cousins still believe the army will arrive on Monday. If we attack tomorrow, we’ll have the element of surprise, and we can avoid an encounter with the army.”

  “How much surprise?” Soapy asked. “You said the cousins already know about us.”

  “They know about me and the twins,” Emmet said. “But I don’t believe they know about the rest of you. Reno was funneling information to Diego and Paco, and I killed those two brothers on their way back to Salazar’s before they could deliver Reno’s message.”

  “Busy morning,” Chiquito said.

  “I’m an early riser.”

  “We’re down two and a half men,” Zack said. “Abe’s pretty busted up and won’t be much help.”

  “We still have enough men to pull this raid off,” Emmet said. Catching himself, he added, “and women.”

  Mariana’s mouth formed a small scribble of a smile. Emmet touched the tip of his hat to compensate for his unintended slight. He would have done anything to dispel her freight of pain right then and ease her sorrow about her father. But he figured the best thing to do was keep talking, even though it wasn’t his way.

  “The King explained the battle plan to me before he was captured, and now I’m gonna tell it to you. Chiquito, tomorrow, before sunrise, Salazar’s kitchen help is expecting a wagon of Pedro’s baked goods. The major fashioned the baker’s wagon with a fake compartment on the underside that’ll hide you. It’s a snug fit, but you’re wiry enough.”

  “I’ve been in tighter spots,” Chiquito said.

  “Once you’re inside the gate, take out the two guards roaming the yard, and the two guards in the tower. Go back and unlock the gate. With Reno gone, we need someone to drive the bakery wagon into the compound. Any volunteers?”

  Now Emmet looked at Mariana.

  She met his gaze, and her eyes brightened. She shifted the rebozo onto her shoulders, and said, “I’ll drive the wagon.”

  Emmet touched his hat again. He hated to put Mariana in danger, but it was the only way the plan would work. “Take Lucita and your father’s body to Father Ramirez. Then go to the baker’s and swap wagons. Hide Chiquito in the fake compartment, and then bring the wagon of food into the hacienda. Do you understand?”

  Mariana nodded.

  “But listen to me,” Emmet said with a dose of urgency in his voice. “After you set Chiquito free from the wagon and deliver the food, get the hell out of there as quick as possible. You don’t want to be anywhere near that place once the music starts.”

  Emmet then looked at Zack. “You’ll position yourself on the ledge I showed you yesterday that overlooks Salazar’s den. He rises early and goes there every morning. Don’t attempt anything by the light of Salazar’s lantern, because it can cast misleading shadows. Wait for sunrise, and then make your head shot.”

  “Will Garza be with him?” Abe asked.

  “No way of knowing,” Emmet replied. “But Salazar’s the brains, so if we kill him first, we cut the head off the snake. I bagged a lot of Yankee officers during the war. It’s really an act of sabotage—it disrupts the enemy’s usual lines of communication and spooks the troops.”

  Frank spat the long blade of grass he was chewing into the fire and stared at the flames. Emmet ignored him and continued. “Abe, can you at least load shells into the cannon?”

  “I can try.”

  “Soapy and Abe, you’ll position the cannon about nine hundred yards from the compound on the west side.” His finger tapped the location on the map.

  “Perfect spot,” Soapy said.

  “Frank and Billy, go in the back way and position the Gatling gun at the humpback bridge. After those vaqueros hear the report from Zack’s rifle, they’ll come pouring out of the bunkhouse like bugs inside a burning log. Keep them pinned down. After we free the girls, we’ll put them in the second wagon that Pedro will be driving and make our escape. Any questions?”

  “Yeah, I got one,” Frank said. He rose and took a deep breath, inflating his chest for effect. “Who the hell put you in charge?”

  Emmet didn’t move, didn’t speak.

  “Major Kingston was the brains behind our operation,” Frank said. “You ain’t no Major Kingston.”

  “Emmet can lead us,” Soapy offered.

  “Like hell,” Frank bellowed. “Honeycut ain’t qualified to shine the major’s boots.” He pounded his chest. “If anybody should take charge, it’s me.”

  “You’re crazy,” Emmet said.

  “Don’t ever call me crazy!” Frank shouted.

  When the big man started for Emmet, Soapy jumped up and extended two arms to intercept him and said, “Emmet has been in a lot of battles.”

  “So have I,” Frank replied. “The difference is we won ours.”

  “You Yankee dog,” Emmet said with a sneer.

  “Honeycut, let’s settle this once and for all. It’s about time I carved you off an honest slice of truth.” Frank began to roll up his sleeves.

  “Quit it!” Soapy yelled. “Enough. You both saw war. But, Frank, you’re the only man in this outfit strong enough and experienced enough to manage that Gatling gun. Without you, we lose a major part of our advantage. If you don’t operate that gun, then, truly, all of us might as well go home.”

  Frank would have none of it. “Forget it, Soapy. I’ll take my five hundred dollars for showing up, just like Major Kingston promised.”

  Emmet realized that without Frank, the group’s odds of success had greatly declined. He let his temper cool and then said, “It’s hard for me to ask a Yank for help, but that’s what I’m doing. Why don’t you join us and take home two thousand dollars?”

  “Why don’t I join you?” Frank asked in a mocking tone. “Maybe I think this whole operation is jinxed, what with Major Kingston being captured, Reno turning traitor, and bounty hunters breathing down our necks—but that’s not the reason.”

  A vein in Frank’s temple throbbed as he glared at Emmet.

  Emmet looked at the ground. “Spit it out.”

  Frank pointed his finger at Emmet’s nose. “I don’t follow kid-killers into battle.”

  Emmet’s hands fell limp at his side, and he bowed his head. “Is that really the way it is?”

  “Yeah, that’s the way it is,” Fran
k replied and returned to his seat by the fire.

  “Then I’ll fetch your money—and everybody else’s.”

  Emmet strode over to the wagon, just as Lucita returned with more flowers. He shoved a few boxes of shells aside to get at Kingston’s war bag, leaned in, and pulled it out. He returned to the campfire, dropped the bag, knelt down, and removed a burlap sack that held packets of money wrapped in string.

  “I’ve got all of your boodles right here,” Emmet said, “in crisp, neat one-hundred-dollar bills sealed with the stamp of the U.S. government.” He held up half a dozen thick sheaves of cash. The sight of the money stunned everybody into silence.

  “I know you got issues with me,” Emmet said. “Let me meet them head-on.”

  Emmet approached Billy. “First up, I know I ain’t the soldier that the major is. Never will be. But I’m damn accurate shooting from a galloping horse, which is gonna come in mighty handy tomorrow. Ruby Red is a good chopper, and she can turn on a biscuit and never cut the crust. I’ll be as fast and frisky as anybody sitting around this campfire.”

  Billy’s eyes popped when Emmet handed him two thousand dollars, and he gave a loud yee-haw.

  “Second, it’s not my battle plan, but the major’s.” Emmet dropped a packet in Abe’s lap, who picked it up and dandled it in the palm of his hand. “The King told the plan to me, and I think it’s a corker. Major Kingston crammed a lot of sober thinking into it, and it’ll work if each of us does his job.”

  Emmet tossed a packet to Zack. “The battle starts after you take out Salazar through the window. Think you can make that shot?” Emmet knew the answer but wanted the rest of the group to hear Zack’s reply.

  “Mr. Honeycut, you spent a lot of years teaching me how to shoot. Don’t worry. I’m gonna part Salazar’s hair with this here Spencer.”

  Everybody laughed except Frank.

  “Third, I want to tell you why we have to fight this battle.” Emmet presented a packet to the Apache, who received it with both hands.

  “Chiquito here will tell you that revenge is a sacred duty. I cotton to his thinking, except I prefer the word reckoning instead of revenge. Salazar and Garza are demons of the first stripe. They steal and kill and profit off the misery of others.”