Winter Crossing

by James E Ferrell

  It was a pleasant day, and she was grateful not to be sitting on that big wagon. The weather still worried her, and the idea of wintering in a wagon was not a good idea. Suddenly she heard a shrill scream Tillie knew well. It was Mary’s scream. Looking up, she saw the mules the boys were leading running down the road towards her. Dropping the lead ropes, she started up the road at a full run. The mules passed her galloping headed back to the campsite. The sight on the main street was of citizens standing around as a horror unfolded in front of them. As the boys and Mary had passed the livery, the hostler had caught Abraham and was beating him unmercifully with a wide belt that he had jerked from his pants. He was drunk and crazed, and the only person that stepped in lay against a water trough. Her dress covered with blood, and one shoe was missing. She had tried to stop the beating, and the hostler’s massive fist had smashed her nose and lips. Tillie came up in a state of rage for what was going on and instantly put the whip into action. The first lash took the tip of Price’s nose off. Tillie knew that the nose was a sensitive body part and any cut, no matter how small it would bleed profusely. Three more times, the whip lashed out. The ear and the hand holding the belt lost hide. She had become a master at the whip. The crack, crack, crack echoed off the town buildings as it inflicted pain on the drunken man. With every lash of the whip, the people standing around cringed and then cheered. In a rage, Price turned to face the small woman with the whip. He had forgotten the belt holding his pants up had fallen to the ground just as did his pants. Tillie knew that the best way to finish this fight was to take advantage of the exposed organs below his waist. The whip lashed out, and the dingy undergarment split. Instantly a high-pitched moan that could only signify excruciating pain parted his quivering lips. The fight was over, and time stood still as the people stood horrified as the young boy Abraham Cole struggling to stand. He back was wet with blood from the severe beating he had taken. Abraham did not cry but limped over and fell at the stricken woman who had helped him. Tillie was now down by him, and she heard his weak cry. “Miss Doris get up. Please get up.” Suddenly, the blacksmith was on the scene, and he lifted Doris to her feet. At that moment, Abraham wrapped his arms around her, and then he wept. Someone was explaining to Jake what had taken place, how the drunken hostler had beat the young boy of Jackie Cole’s and Doris King unmercifully when she tried to stop Price's brutal attack. What the young mother with the mules had done to him was justice, and he received much worse when she applied her bullwhip. Price’s nose was still bleeding, which was the least of his worries. He had managed to get his pants up over his bloody undergarments begging for the doctor's help.

  The blacksmith looked around at Price laying on the ground. “You beat a woman! Worst of all, you beat Doris. I should hang you in your barn for that!” Jake stated in a guttural tone.

  Price knew fear. Looking into Jake’s eyes, he began to beg for mercy. “I was drunk and didn’t know what I was doing!” he cried.

  Tillie touched the blacksmith's arm, and she had a calming influence on the big man. Still looking at Tillie, Jake Burns said, “A couple of you men roundup this lady’s mules and take them to my shop. Miss, I will get your mules to you after we get this straightened out.” Pointing to two men, he said. “Now you and you, take Price over and lock him up in the jail. He will stay there until the circuit judge hears what has happened here. Until we get a real sheriff, I will act as such. Heaven help anyone who ever does anything like this in this town while I am acting sheriff. I will be judge, jury, and executioner. Picking up Doris King, he headed down the street. Abraham, Tillie, and her kids followed along.

  As they walked along, Doris moved a bloody rag from her lips and said, “Jake, you know I’m able to walk.”

  “Well, I like carrying you. I think I would like to do it often,” Jake Burns said.

  “Jake, if I had known all I had to do to get you to carry me is get the stuffing beat out of me, I would have done it a long ago!” Doris said with a painful smile.

  “I’m sorry that I haven’t come back and said I was sorry, but if you forgive me, I intend to make up for all the hurt I have caused you. I bought that place out south of town. I am hoping you would want to live there with me,” Jake said.

  “Jake, what are you asking me?” Doris asked.

  “I’m asking what I should have asked you years ago,” Jake said.

  “Jake, you are the biggest and strongest man in town but afraid to state your feelings for me,” she said.

  “Okay, Doris, will you marry me?” Jake asked.

  “Finally, you said it…I will, but the conditions are still the same. Do you agree?” Doris stated.

  Jake looked around at the boy. “Abraham, you are part of this arrangement. Doris was your mother's little sister, and she called Doris Angel. Doris and I want you to be our son. That was what your mother and father wanted, and we want it, too. How do you feel about coming to live with us?” Jake asked.

  Abraham was all smiles and turned to look at Tillie. “Abraham, it sounds like you are getting a ready-made family, and you know who the angel is now. I think your dad and mom will rest in peace, knowing God has placed you in a good home,” Tillie said lovingly.

  In all the confusion, Doris forgot about what the conniving Pace Jacobson had been doing. Tillie helped them get the wounds taken care of, and with Danny and Mary headed back to camp.

  Standing in front of the saloon, Pace watched the family walk back to their campsite. ‘This complicates things,’ Pace thought. ‘That fool Price has brought far too much attention to the woman. Now Doris King and Jake Burns would make things sticky for me. At least now, Doris would not be around the Snake Bit for a while, if she ever comes back. If she stayed out of sight nursing her injuries, that might give the Pinkertons time to arrive. If Jake is the sheriff, he will have to do what the law says.’

  ααααααα

  Four days passed without incident. One afternoon before dusk Doris decided her face had healed enough. She would return to the Snake Bit and let the owner know she was quitting her job and would not be returning. Walking down the street, she noticed the stagecoach pulling up before the station. From the stagecoach, three well-dressed men all heavily armed disembarked and stood while they unloaded their luggage from the coach. Smiling broadly, Pace Jacobson came down the street as he headed for the station. A sudden chill went over Doris as she realized Pace had been waiting for these men. They were here to take Tillie's children from her. It was Wednesday, and the circuit judge would be arriving tomorrow, and Tillie had no clue as to what was about to happen to her. Turning swiftly, she made her way back along the street.

  Pace Jacobson stepped up on the boardwalk and introduced himself to the Pinkerton men. “Good evening, gentlemen. My name is Jacobson. I am the person you have instructions to contact upon your arrival here in Cutthroat Creek!” Pace said.

  The head Pinkerton man said, “Mr. Jacobson, my name is Shiver. My partners are Bart and Cecil. We’ve had a long trip. We need a place to stay, and right now, a few drinks to unwind a little.”

  “We can do all that as soon as our business is complete. The circuit judge will be here tomorrow evening on the stage. I say we make sure all is well, and then we can have a few drinks,” Jacobson said.

  Shiver interjected, “Jacobson, we are not legal marshals. We are private detectives with no authority here or anywhere else. You will just have to wait until tomorrow to complete our business.”

  Pace frowned and said. “Well, I guess they will not be going anywhere in a wagon pulled by a bunch of mules. The only way out of this town is straight through the main street. I guess we can wait until tomorrow. I assume you have the money for the reward?”

  “There is no reward until the judge settles this up, Jacobson, and we take possession of the children,” Shiver stated.

  ααααααα

  Before she reached the cabin Jake had bought for his new family, Doris called to Abraham. Abraham was tying new artificial baits for hi
m and Danny to use. “Abe, I need you to run an errand for me,” Doris said. “Go down to the campsite and give this piece of paper to Tillie. Tell her I need to talk to her but to stay away from town until we talk. As a matter of fact, take her and the kids to that hideout of yours. Tell her I will meet her there. Here take your cane fishing poles. You are just going fishing. Do not talk to anyone about anything, now go,” Doris said.

  Abraham saw the stress and heard the alarm in her voice. He started down the street with the poles over his shoulder.

  Doris walked behind the buildings on the main road; taking the back way would take her unseen upstream of Tillie's campsite. A few minutes later, she paced back and forth, waiting for the others to arrive. She knew there was no way out except straight down the middle of town. The mountain behind the stream blocked any other way for a wagon to leave. Mules, a wagon, and trace chains would make a lot of noise if Tillie tried to go late at night under cover of darkness.

  Tillie was beside herself when she got to where Doris was standing. “Doris, this paper is totally untrue. I am a good mother, and we are fleeing the kid’s grandmother because she is trying to take my kids from me!” she exclaimed.

  “I have figured that out already, Tillie. Now let me tell you what is happening. A man by the name of Pace Jacobson contacted the grandmother, and she has hired Pinkerton detectives to find you and hold you. The grandmother has a Judge Herman Hayes in Hunter that has made a legal paper to present to the circuit judge who will be arriving tomorrow afternoon,” Doris related.

  “We will leave as soon as we get the mules hitched to the wagon. Knowing Grandmother, I have kept the wagon ready at all times,” Tillie said.

  “That won’t work. Jacobson knows you will have to come straight down the main road. They will be waiting for you. I can’t get my husband involved because it’s his duty to make you stay until the judge arrives tomorrow. The judge will have to go with what the papers say from Judge Hayes.

  Tillie walked along the stream and sat bewildered on a large boulder. “What can I do? What can I do?” she moaned.

  Abraham motioned to Danny, and the two turned from the group and disappeared into his cave. In a minute, the two came out dragging large bundles of rope. “Miss Tillie, this is the rope Pa and Mr. Walley was going to stretch across the river to pull the ferryboat back and forth. We can use the mules to pull the barge off the bank and down the stream to the open water. After that, we will load your team and wagon, and you will float down the river. I don’t know where you will end up, but no one will ever think you got away floating down the river,” Abraham said.

  Tillie looked at the rope and considered the plan. “It’s the only way. The only thing we don’t know is what’s downriver. Abraham, if we do this, you will lose your father's barge. No telling where it will end up!” Tillie said.

  “I know, Miss Tillie, but it is the only way,” Abraham said.

  “Boys, the stream is not deep,” Tillie stated. “We can harness the mules in pairs, and they can walk along in the shallow stream pulling the barge with the wagon. That will not leave any tracks to follow. Now, Doris, we need you to make sure the Pinkertons and Pace Jacobson do not come down to the river.”

  “I think I can take care of that,” Doris said.

  Before dark, the boys and Tillie had erased all signs of there ever being a campsite. The barge was in the creek, and the mules appeared to like the cold water as they stood dozing in the stream. Two sets of harnessed mules walked along the creek bank ahead of the two mules that were pulling the barge. There was nothing left of the campsite, not even the campfire. Tillie and Mary stood on the barge and took one last look around. The stream was wide enough to accommodate the barge, and with the strength of the mules the going was easy.

  From the bank Doris stood looking at Tillie and Mary. She said, “I don’t know what to say, Tillie Bonner, except I am losing a great friend this day. Go with God! Abraham and I will pray for you every night.” Abraham and Danny stood in the waist-deep water; one was leading the forward teams and one leading the pulling team. Doris grinned at the boys and said, “Boys, this idea of yours is a great one. Abe, I will see you back at the house.” Looking back at Tillie, she said, “Now I have a job to do.”

  ααααααα

  Pace was nervous and drummed his fingers on the bar. “Mr. Shiver, we need to go down to the stream and inform the woman she is not to try and leave,” he said.

  Betty stood face to face with the Pinkerton detective. His derby hat on her head. Shirley and Amy also were strung out around the Snake Bit with the other two detectives.

  Outside Doris looked through a window and grinned. ‘Those Pinkertons would not be going anywhere for the rest of the day,’ she thought.

  “Jacobson, I told you we are not lawmen. You said the wagon would have to come through here if they were to leave. We would hear them a mile away,” Shiver said.

  Pace sat at the end of the bar and nursed a hot beer. Since he did not want to warn the woman of what was happening, he had not been to the stream. Besides, he had not heard the wagon move out, so they had to be down there. Tomorrow would be time enough. Shiver was right. The judge and acting sheriff had to take care of this.

  “Jacobson, come play a hand with me. There are no players out tonight,” Chet said.

  “Sorry, Chet. I haven’t got enough money to play penny-ante,” Pace said.

  “Come on. I’ll stake you for the first hand. I’ll take your IOUs tonight,” the gambler said.

  The mules took to the barge as if they had ridden ferryboats before. Tillie and Danny used long poles to keep the barge moving down the river. The water was slow, but they were moving steadily. By morning they were miles away from Cutthroat Creek. “Mom, while we are going so slow, I think I will feed the mules. This boat ride is a lot smoother than bouncing in that big wagon.”

  For two days the going was excellent and the river was deep. On the third day, they began to drag the bottom. In most cases, they could pole the barge around the shallow fast running water, but it was getting more and more difficult. For the last two days, they had seen wagon ruts alongside the west side of the river.

  “Danny, I have been enjoying this riverboat journey, but it looks like we are about to run out of water deep enough to continue this river journey,” Tillie said. No sooner had she said it, it happened. Before them, the river spread out wide and shallow. It would take a springtime flooding to get the barge moving again. Letting down the gangplank in the middle of the river, they crossed over the shallows to the riverbank. The mules were ready to pull, glad to be off the barge. It was early in the day when they finally got lined out and moving south again.

  Tillie knew her little family was being cared for by a benevolent, loving God. He had used them in the lives of those they had been in contact with over the past week. Now they had been spared again.

  ααααααα

  Daylight found Pace sleeping in the loft of the livery barn. He had played on IOU’s all night, and after a short winning streak lost his room and board money plus some. The IOU’s would not be a big deal when he collected the money owed him by the Pinkertons. He went back to sleep, and the noonday sun woke him through a knothole in the barn roof. It was time to march down to Cutthroat Creek and let the little woman know the judge had just arrived on the stage. Walking out of the barn, Pace gasped for a good breath of fresh air. What a nasty place to spend the night. That had to be the last time for that. He must never let liquor and the game of chance master his superb ability with the cards.

  The Pinkertons had already been to see the circuit judge, and the four men all dressed in black suits plus the blacksmith made a highly impressive sight walking down the road headed for Cutthroat Creek. It just so happened that Pace stepped from the barn as they passed.

  Shiver glanced over and saw Pace in all his glory of straw and said, “Judge, this is Mr. Jacobson, who is claiming the reward for finding the people for whom Mrs. Mira Bonner is searching.�
�

  Pace stood there with hay sticking out of every pocket and laced through his scruffy hair. Judge Carr had, at one time, been a colonel in the Union Army. The man standing before him had been one of his field officers. The relationship had at best been brief after the Colonel had mustered the shiftless man from his command with a dishonorable discharge. “I thought that name sounded familiar. We meet again, don’t we, Jacobson?” the Colonel asked with a glare.

  Pace had been so shocked upon seeing the Colonel he jerked to attention and saluted him. The all-night poker game had played havoc with Pace’s appearance. The Pinkerton men fought hard to stifle all-out laughter.

  The procession now six-strong made their way down to Cutthroat Creek to stand on the sandy bank looking around. “All right, Mr. Jacobson. Where is the family we are supposed to see camped here? A family of three, Conestoga wagon and six mules are surely hard to hide. There hasn’t been a wagon on this site since the last rain.

  “I don’t understand, sir! The wagon and a six-mule team were here five days ago. They could not have just disappeared!” Pace exclaimed.

  Turning abruptly, the Judge stormed back up the long grade headed for his office.

  “Jake, you know there were mules here!” Pace called after the retreating group. “What about my reward?”

  Knowing his short term as sheriff of Cutthroat Creek was over, Jake grinned to himself as he made his way back to the little house behind the blacksmith shop. Doris and Abraham stood watching him come down the lane. “Alright, you two, I want to hear the entire story and especially the part where you make six mules AND a Conestoga wagon disappear into thin air!” Jake said with a smile.

  C3 Get as Far as You Can