Coming Home to la Petite Valley

Coming Home to
la Petite Valley

happyhugo

copyright (C) 9/12/20

 Romance, Historical, Western Saga,

94,920 words

readers score  8.36

Riley McBain comes home to the valley from the civil war to find his wife has been killed and his ranch in the hands of her killers. With the help of her sister and the colts she packs, they soon regain control. (1866) This is the time of Scalawags and killers. Six-gun justice makes la Petite Valley a good place to live.

 

Foreward

I’m getting to be an old man. Now and then I think back on my past. I’m sitting on the ground on the bluff looking down on the ranch where I was born. I’ve lived here all my life, except for the time when I was away fighting during the civil war. People would look at me and say I had made a big mistake taking up arms for my country, but they don’t know how I feel about that. I’d say I came home strong and with a sense of righteousness and that the war made me that way. What I faced when I came home would make most men throw up their hands and walk away in despair.

I found my wife Winnie dead and her killer had taken over my ranch. She still lay where she died. I loved her and needed to make it right! I’ve had another wife, Abby, up until a couple of years ago. I loved her too and maybe a little more than the first one, but then why wouldn’t I? She was with me for many more years and gave me five children. Good kids all.

Today the ranch looks the best it ever has. There are a lot of buildings for the family sprawled around and the ones built of wood are all painted white. The adobe outbuildings are a tan colored shade from the clay they were made with.

The valley looks like it was going to be a good year for cattle and horses. Grass is good. There isn’t a catclaw or mesquite bush on any of the grazing land. Most of the valley is like that. The Mennonites had found a use for that kind of brush and showed the rest of us how to make fences of it. It still makes better fences than that barbed wire someone invented a few years ago. Beef cattle and horses … it makes me hungry and proud to see them grazing.

I glanced at the burying ground close by.  My two wives had stones here, but only Abby was under one. Pa and Ma were here too. I smiled when I remembered Pa’s few words uttered one time, “Riley, if any one of them Mexican hands should die and don’t have family, I’d be proud to have them in the same ground by me.”

There were seven stones that bore names such as Pedro or Juan and could have been intercession for Pa to find his way into heaven, but I knew not needed. I think the gate was open for him. He was the one who claimed there were none better at handling cows than the Mexicans. This was some different than the way he felt when I first hired Mexican Pete and his cousins.

I could see from my perch the first sign of dust rising from the road, way to the south. That would be the townspeople and the Mexican community coming for this day. The Mennonites bunched together would be behind them and all were also headed here to the ranch. I looked west and the ranchers with their families were near, riding tall and proud.

***********************

Chapter One

I stepped off the train in Saint Louis. I was familiar with Missouri. My father and mother moved here when they sold me the Texas ranch. My wife’s sister, Abby, was married and lived close by. I joined the army here in Saint Louis because I wanted to see Pa and Ma one more time before I signed to fight for the Union. Kansas and Missouri had seen some serious fighting along the border. It was mostly guerrilla type warfare.

I had been ordered to Virginia a year before Lee surrendered at Appomattox. Some of the heaviest of fighting had occurred at that time of the war, but those were straight military actions. Now I was heading home to Texas after spending a year working in Washington on the commission that was handling reconstruction issues.

There weren’t any trains directly to my ranch in Texas so I was traveling horseback. I had purchased a good animal that would carry me the distance. Yes, I was an ex blue belly captain. The valley in Texas where my ranch was located was peopled by men of both north and south persuasion. It was a place where neighbors meant something even if you were for or against slavery. There was little rancor so it just wasn’t brought up.

The ranches weren’t that large and no one carried a big crew. We all relied on helping each other during round-ups and trail drives. I feared that might have changed by now. The war had been long and bitter and Texas had seen its share. I had no idea how many of us from the valley had gone off to war, but knowing fewer came home.

I waited a year after the war began before I joined up, it being difficult for me to make up my mind which side to fight on. I knew before I left of at least one of my neighbors who had been killed. I helped the widow and her three kids until some of her family showed up to help. They hadn’t stayed with her long so she had to go back to depending on the neighbors.

I was married and I felt I left my wife in good hands with the neighbors when I had made up my mind to join the fray. We were young and hadn’t started a family yet. Our ranch had come to us when my parents decided to move to Saint Louis and live with my wife’s sister, Abigail. Today I came down off the train and unloaded my horse from the stock car and headed over there to visit.

I was anxious because, although I had sent letters regularly home, I hadn’t received any back from my wife for the last two years. I had been pressured into one extra year-long enlistment, but when it was up, I wasn’t taking on another one. I needed to be home a year ago and I was headed there now. Three weeks would do it to enter the valley.

I drifted up the side street and tied my horse to the post by the back door. My brother-in-law was coming down the street. He glanced at it and came on by toward the back stoop where I was sitting. I didn’t know what kind of reception I would receive for he and I had never got along. He ducked under some clothes on the line. Between the bed sheets some frilly undergarments were pinned.

He was, and probably still is, a rabid southerner. I wasn’t looking to argue or fight with him over the war that his side had lost. I was just looking for any information from home.

“McBain.”

“Hello, Roger. I’m going home from the war. How’s Abby?”

“I wouldn’t know. She doesn’t live here anymore. She and your parents moved out when she divorced me.”

“Where are they living?”

“Boylston Street. Ask anyone along there.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me. I’m glad to be rid of the lot of you.” I didn’t answer. I knew it would be useless. I mounted up and headed for Boylston Street, not knowing but wondering.

This section of the city didn’t have as much class as the other. It had more going for it though. There was a livery stable on the end of the street and I inquired for Abby and my parents. “McBain, sure I know him. Let’s see, I don’t know the number but it’s the eleventh house up on this side. You must be Riley, his son.”

“I am. How is Pa?”

“Better than me. I got the gout bad, but I can still hobble around. Your Pa helps me out some. Put your horse up for you? I hate to ask for pay, but times are real tough. Cost you four bits a day if I feed them. Kinda like to have you pay in advance.”

“I can do that. Thanks.” I paid the man. I guess business wasn’t that good because he seemed overly glad for a paying customer. I went on up the street. I counted the houses and when I got to number eleven, I knocked on the door of the cottage.

Abby, Winnie’s sister, opened the door. She was in my arms kissing me before I could speak. She shouted, “Ma and Pa, Riley is here. She unhanded me and pushed me into the living room ahead of her. Pa was struggling to get out of a chair and Ma came rushing in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.

“Riley, it’s been two years since we seen you.”

“I know Ma. How’ve you been?”

“Okay I guess. Missing you. Things have gone to hell here. I think we are just about ready to move back to Texas. Abby wants to get out of town and Pa is sick of town life. Says he would never be this crippled back at the ranch.”

“So, Pa, the good life in the city isn’t that great?”

“Nope.”

“Do you hear anything from Winnie.” A look of sadness came over all their faces.

“We think she must be dead. We haven’t heard from her for almost a year and a half. Some bunch of Scalawags moved into town and there have been some shootings and killings. Nobody has answered our letters to our old neighbors or Winnie for more than a year. The last we heard someone took over the town and has been slowly getting title to some of the land in the valley. It’s such an out of the way place, it could happen.”

“I guess I better get back there as soon as possible and find out what’s going on.”

“That would be a good idea, son.”

Abby spoke up, “I’m going with you when you go. There’s nothing here for me any longer.”

“How come?”

“Roger took up with some floozy he knew when he was younger. She is supposed to be genteel, but is nothing but a tart. I wouldn’t stand for it and asked for a divorce. He didn’t think the court would ever give me one, but times are changing and women aren’t just chattel any more. There have been seven divorces here in the city this year alone.”

“I’m going by horseback and it will take me three weeks to get there. Too rough for a woman.”

“I’ll become a man for the trip then. If you’ve got a home when we get there, Pa and Ma can make the journey later.”

“If you’re ever found out, you will have a poor reputation.”

“No worse than what a woman who has divorced her husband is. Besides, you will need someone who can watch your back if there is trouble before and after we get there.”

“We’ll talk about it. I’m hungry. Anything to eat in the house?”

“Beef stew and dumplings. Beef is tough but can be chewed. Pa brewed up a batch of beer and it’s ready to drink.”

“Good, I’ve dreamed about his brew ever since I’ve been gone.”

I went into detail of what I had been doing since the surrender. “I was there at the surrender and I was one of the officers who had been designated to give out the parole of several companies of the Northern Army of Virginia. The southern men were hungry, ragged and worn out. Neither side was sad the fighting ended. I know bitterness will creep in when the soldiers have time to rest and reflect. At that time they just wanted to go home.

“I continued to be busy and there were a million details to address in dealing with the defeated army. The country has turned its attention to the west and the Indian situation. I want no part of fighting anymore. I would have had to take a reduction in rank from captain to possibly as low as sergeant. I want to get on and see if I can put together the life I interrupted by going off to war.”

Ma and Pa were sad to see me arranging my journey. Abby was adamant that she was going with me. One morning she appeared in a union campaign cap with every strand of hair tucked under it. Never full breasted, she had wound her chest tightly and with thin shanks she appeared to be a small man. We both wore buckskin and boots. The matching Paterson colts she wore would detract anyone from examining her gender too closely. “I can even shoot and hit what I aim at. When I said I would watch your back, I meant I can do it.”

My horse was a big gelding. The livery owner was glad to let me have a good sized mare and I bought another older mare for a pack horse. We spent six days with Ma and Pa and then one early morning we headed south toward Arkansas and Texas.

We were well armed, both of us having hand guns and Henry repeating rifles. I had a long range telescopic sight that would fit to the Henry rifle in my scabbard. The telescope was carried separately in a wooden box hung on the other side of my saddle. It could take as long as five minutes to affix, so it was only to be used on a long-range target or used from concealment. I had a Walker Colt for a side arm and had a Paterson under my shirt. I had another that I didn’t speak about.

We didn’t hurry particularly, but kept up a steady, mile-eating pace. We were overly careful of the other travelers we met and the ones we passed. Every night we were far off of and hidden from the trail. We had coffee and bacon for breakfast and occasionally an egg. We had some money so we bought what we could as we went along. Most usually Ab made up a mush to fry in the pan rather than dump out the bacon grease. It was heavy, filling, satisfying, and if we felt we shouldn’t build a fire, it could be eaten cold. We had purchased several pouches of jerky and this was often our second and last meal.

If we had a fire, we made a stew of the Jerky. Neither of us would gain any weight, but we had enough nourishment for traveling. I had begun to use “Ab” to address Abby, saying if asked her name was Abner. She was a trooper and we shared camp chores.

We had a spot of trouble before we reached the Arkansas/Texas border. We had pulled off the trail, built a small fire and I had a rabbit spitted that I had shot during our travel that day. Ab had disappeared into the brush to take care of business. I heard a noise behind me just as I was reaching to turn the rabbit. I felt a vicious blow to my shoulder. I rolled away and pulled my Walker.

The man had his arm raised to strike me again with a chunk of wood. Christ, he could have killed me if I hadn’t moved when I had. “Hold, it feller, you trying to kill me?”

“I’m jus’ hungry and done smelled your food from the trail. I followed my nose. I jus’ wanted to knock yous out and eat your food.”

I looked behind him. Ab had a gun out and was ready to shoot. “Turn around, Mister. I cooked the food for my partner. Talk to him.”

“Oh, my God, there was two of yous. I’ll leave. Don’t kill me.”

Ab waggled the gun at him. “Sit.”

I asked, “Union or Rebel?”

“Mister, iffen I guess wrong answer yous’ll up an’ kill me.”

“Maybe, maybe not, but now’s the time to tell the truth. What’s your name?”

“Red Morris and I fight wi’d the Gray. I been sick a lot and not able tuh travel fast. The wars be over long time and I don’t know iffen I’m ever goin’ make it home.”

Serious like, I said. “You couldn’t have guessed wrong. I’m Union and he’s Reb. Maybe someone didn’t tell you but the war is over. Ab, give him a piece of jerky to chew on until the rabbit is done. Chew on it slow to get the goodness out. You go to swallowing it too soon and it just passes through you and does you no good.  One of those facts you need to remember.”

“Tank you, suh. I bet yous more’n a private?”

“I was. Made captain, if you’re interested. We’re headed for Texas. Got me a ranch there. That is if someone hasn’t latched onto it while I’ve been gone.” I poured him coffee in a spare tin can while he was working on the dried meat.

“Cap’n, I’m right sorry I hit on yous.”

“Well, I might have to do the same to someone before I get home. Where are you from?” He told us. “That’s only fifty miles from where we are headed in some hills around central Texas. If you ever make it home and can’t find something to do, come around. If I still got a place when I get there, I’ll see if I can’t help you out. You good at doing anything special?”

“Not really, but I damned sure willing tuh learn. I don raised hell before I joined up.”

“What did your pa do?”

“Pa raised hogs an I gathered pecans an fed em. I know some about hogs come tuh think ’bout it.”

“Good enough. I guess the rabbit is done. Good thing it is a jack. Lot of meat on it. Enough to give us all a taste.”

“God, yous men be white. I sure hit it lucky runnin’ intuh yous.”

“Yeah, but next time trying the same thing might get you dead. You’d do better going to a farm house and asking. They might chase you off, but probably not kill you.”

“I’ll ’member. Can I sleep here by the fire tonight? I ain’t met a friendly traveler for long, long, time.”

“I guess so. We don’t usually camp with anyone.” We talked long into the night and finally Ab crawled off into the bushes and went to sleep. I went across to the opposite side of the fire and several yards into the woods. I came awake before daylight. Red was poking up the ashes. He was down on his knees blowing on the coals, adding some dry leaves to them. Soon he had a blaze going.

I shouted, “Abner, time to get going.”

Ab came out of the woods. “You’re the one who is late. I watered our mounts and got water for coffee. I’ll slice us up some bacon. We’re out of eggs, but we got corn meal. I’ll fry us up some mush.”

Red couldn’t believe we were going to give him another meal. He got more than that. Abner gave him a pouch of jerky and a small bit of left-over fried mush. I had a dollar in silver coins and I handed that to him with the admonition. “Remember, it is good to share with those who have less than you do. Someday you may be paid back ten fold.”

“I ‘member. God Bless yous two.”

“Good and I hope to see you again someday. We’re on our way.”

We were a mile down the road when Abby finally brought up last night. “That’s going to make us have to buy food sooner. Why didn’t you give him a ten dollar gold piece if you were so generous?”

“If he had gold, he might have had it taken away from him and he still would have come up hungry. Some farmer’s wife will feed him for a dime and glad of it.”

“Guess you’re right in that. Why did you do as much for him as you did, anyway?”

“Just looking to the future. When we get to the valley we may need some extra hands. He’s what, maybe twenty-one or two? He’ll be someone we can rely on if we’re short-handed. If he makes it to the hill country, we’ll see him.”

I caught Ab glancing at me several times. I guess she hadn’t figured me out yet. Did she think I was a pushover? Time would tell before she had it sorted out. I didn’t know if I was or not, but if I met a hungry man I would feed him if I could.

We were nearly all the way across Arkansas and almost to the border with Texas when our next tight spot came up. We had three men to deal with this time. We met them while crossing a small plain. We kept going and they passed us off to the left by a couple hundred yards. They looked us over pretty closely. I didn’t like the looks of them and was worried.

“We had better head for some place where we can fort up. I suspect they’ll follow us and try to get our horses.  I’d put money down on it anyway and I hope I’m wrong.” We picked up our pace, and it wasn’t before we had traveled eight miles I found a place that satisfied me. The prairie looked level, but I was looking for an old time buffalo wallow or some rough spot a tornado had created. These came up occasionally. More than one rider had been killed by riding into one unexpectedly.

“Cold camp, tonight. I’ll divide up one canteen of water between the horses. That leaves us two. I hope they don’t pin us down for long.”

“You think they’ll follow us?”

“For sure.” I was right. My gelding whickered not long after full dark and was answered. “Here they come. It’s dark enough so they may not know we found some place to fort up.”

They didn’t know exactly where we were located. “Hey, you out there, if you can hear me. Let us have your horses and we won’t kill you.”

We didn’t answer. I had told Ab not to hesitate to shoot if she saw someone because they meant to kill us anyway. We heard some thumping and Ab whispered, asking what the noise was. “They’re driving in a picket pin so the horses won’t run off. We’ll have all three of them to deal with.” We could actually hear them advancing toward us through the prairie grass. I knew they were close and we were set.

I was staring over the lip of the wallow when I saw one man coming up. There was another darker patch behind him. Time to cut down the odds. I shot at the black indistinct blob that was furthest away. I had time to get off another shot targeting the man standing on the lip at prairie level. Then Ab’s gun went off … twice. The powder smoke drifted away. I guess my first target wasn’t dead, for we could hear some groaning.

“Help me? Oh, God I’m hurtin’ bad. You got any water? We weren’t going to hurt you guys. Our horses were just about played out and there is a posse about a day behind us.”

Ab asked, “Are you going out to him?”

“No, I’m not. Not sure and it may be a trick. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. First man I ever killed though. I’m a little shook.”

I held Ab for a minute. “Sit down for a bit. If that Ranny out there keeps moaning for long, I’ll ease up and knock him in the head.” I didn’t have to because we soon could hear his death rattle. I had heard enough of them in the last few years.

“Abby, stay still and I’ll come to you. The moon will be up soon and we’ll check things out then.” I sidled up to her and put my arm around her. She sobbed and shuddered some. Not for long though before she pulled away from me.

“Sorry about that. You called me Abby and it made me remember I am a woman. I’m back to being Abner now.”

“You’re the best either way. I hope someday you can revert to being a woman all the time.  For now though, you are doing a man’s job and doing it damned well.”

“Thanks Riley. I told you I would watch your back and that’s just what I did tonight.”

When the moon was up high, I went out and pulled the three dead men together up to the lip of the wash. “We’ll see what they look like in the morning. I think I’ll put their horses here with ours. That last guy said there was a posse behind them. We’ll back track them as long as it is in our direction and meet up. We don’t have a tool to bury them. The posse will get the horses and the bodies and we won’t have to deal with either.”

Neither of us felt like eating although we did chew on some jerky. It was the same in the morning. When I looked the dead men over, it was a poor outfit. There had two pistols between them. The man who Ab had done in only had a big knife. The horses must have been stolen.

They all had different brands. The horses seemed to be fine after a nights rest. My first shot had caught the man in the guts. He was the one who died last. The second one had caught it in the brisket. Ab’s two shots had taken her victim in the chest. We loaded them onto the saddles and started following tracks. Two hours after we started we could see a five-man posse coming toward us. They spread out some and came on.

I stopped a couple hundred feet from them. “You following the tracks made by these men we got tied on those horses?”

“That’s right. We had them in our jail and they killed the night man escaping. They took horses out of the livery stable and we didn’t know nothing about it until the next morning. We’ve been chasin’ them for three days. What happened back there?”

“They tried for our horses while we were forted up pretty good. That was last evening after dark. We didn’t even know what they looked like until daylight this morning. We heard the gut-shot one say there was a posse after them. That’s why we took the trouble to load them up and back track. Other wise I would have left them for the coyotes.”

“Thanks. Good thinking. Save us some time. We’ll turn around and you can ride with us. You stick around a day or two. Two of them have a $50 bounty on their heads and one is $125. You earned it.” 

Just then one of the posse-men reined forward. "Howdy, Captain McBain, remember me?”

“Sure do, Tom Duffy. Are you still getting drunk and causing trouble?”

“Not me, Captain. Well, I might if I had the price of the drink.”

“Maybe we’ll do that when we get to town. Deputy, we’re down from Missouri headed for Central Texas.  I have a ranch there. My partner is Abner Whitaker. He was a rebel, but one of the good ones. Where are you men out of?”

“One of the border towns on the Texas line. We got a telegraph so it’ll only take a day to collect your bounty. Well, let’s go. No need to sit here talking. I want to get back to the wife.” It took us two days to get to the town. The posse had left sudden-like after the killers and were out of food when we met up. We shared and they about cleaned us out of everything but some jerky. The deputy promised we would be reimbursed.

Ab and I got a room at the boarding house. The first thing I did was to order up a tub so we could take a bath. This was going to cause a problem I figured, Abby being a woman and unrelated. “Riley, I ain’t much and I’m divorced and don’t have to speak to anyone for permission.  We’ll have our bath just the same as two men would. I would like to be the first in the tub though.”

“You got it. I can face the wall unless you take too long.”

“Riley, face the wall or not, that’s your choice. I have a bad feeling that Winnie is dead and if she is, I might make a try for you. If she isn’t, which is what I pray every night for, I’ll get her to find me a good man.”

“Good enough. We’ll always be friends in this life and after.”

Two days later we loaded up our pack horse again and headed for the hill country several days away at the rate we traveled. We left a lot of well wishers behind us and had a little extra money in our poke. We were clean and rested and the horses were raring to go. Just being in Texas, made me feel like I was almost home. And yeah, one other little thing, Duffy was riding with us. “I’m sick of hanging around the saloon and waiting for someone to offer up a drink. Hey Captain, there’s something funny about Abner. He’s strange. Goes off by himself at times. He sleeps away from you and me too.”

“Duffy, that’s because Ab is really Abby, my sister-in-law. She said she wanted to see her sister and would watch my back while I was getting home to her. Remember she is the one who put two holes in one of those outlaws. It was dark before the moon was up too. Walk careful around her if you would.”

“I will. A woman … really?”

“Yep, a woman.”

“Huh, who’d have thought it?” Duffy did treat Abner with a little more deference after our conversation.

Ab laughed about it to me when she got onto him knowing she was Abby and not Abner. “But I will not be sharing a room with the two of you.”

*****

We stopped in the last town before reaching the valley and home. Our valley had its own village, but I didn’t want to go in blind. I hoped Pete Black the mail carrier still had the contract. He lived here in this wide spot in the road and was friendly when delivering mail in our town.

It was 7 p.m. when I knocked. He came to the door. “Hey Pete, I was going through town and thought I’d say hi. I’ll be staying here tonight and go on to the valley in the morning.”

“Riley McBain. My God I haven’t seen you forever. Come in, come in. I didn’t know if you were coming back or not. Your wife left and your place has gone to hell. I make plans to go by your old ranch occasionally. I guess the new banker bought it. He’s living there now.”

I stared at him. “Winnie left? I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah, guess so. The story is she packed up and left for Saint Louis and her sister’s place. Nobody said different. Didn’t she write and tell you? Now that I think on it, I’ve been bringing letters for her, but none going out.”

“I haven’t heard a word from her for almost two years. I’ve been writing, but never got a letter back. What’s going on in the town, anyway? You say there is a new banker?

“Yeah.  Petite Valley has a new banker, new sheriff, a couple of new saloons, and a whole bunch of riff-raff. Out of the seven ranches in the valley there are only five left. This gang moved in about two years ago. It was some months before the war ended. We personally think it’s some kind of land grab.”

“Which five ranches are left?”

“I dis-remember names. Your ranch and Tim Long’s are in hands of the Scalawags. Mrs. Holcomb’s and the Sinclairs are both under pressure to sell out. Jenkins is in the middle of two more where the ranchers have taken to the hills. Sarah Holcomb ran a bunch of them off of her place. All she’s got is those three kids and her buildings with the land they’re on.”

“What about our cattle?” 

“There are about all gone too. Your steers were rustled off last year in a gather. All of the other ranches lost their stock at the same time. I expect the rest will go this year. There’re driving all the way to Louisiana. Some are being driven to the coast and shipped to New Orleans. Trains are reaching Kansas so there will be a new market and easier to get to. Where have you been all this time?”

“I was with General Grant when he took Richmond and he had me do some things for him. I finished up in the Interior Department a month ago.”

“Things have really gone to hell around here. I don’t guess there is anything you can do about it. Hell of a note you go off and fight in a war and you come home and find this.”

“Yes, well I had a premonition that something was wrong. Hey, don’t tell anyone I’m in the area. I want to look things over before these highbinders know I’m around yet. You may see me again. I’ll be buying supplies here most likely even though it’s out of my way. Has the telegraph reached here yet?”

“No, it ended about thirty miles east of here at a village they call Pineville. You know, Riley, if it is something important, I go there once a week. I could hand it to the operator. If an answer was expected I could stay over one night.”

“Thanks, Pete, it’s a thought and I’ll keep it in mind. I’m going to slide on out of here now.”

“Go careful, Riley. Your life won’t be worth much if they get onto you.” I waved my hand and headed to where Duffy and Ab were holding our mounts.

I explained what I had learned when I reached them. “Okay, here’s what I found out. We’re up against a bunch of crooks. They got themselves a sheriff, a banker, and they have a couple saloons where some toughs hang out. Winnie disappeared just before they took over my ranch. The banker claims to own it now and they have taken over one more after the owner was killed. A couple ranchers left for the hills figuring it was safer there. They got all the ranchers on the ropes. The salable cattle have been gathered and trailed to Louisiana.”

“What are you going to do, Riley?”

“Find out what happened to Winnie if I can. I know the widow at the next ranch and I’ll see what she knows.”

“Where are we going to be living?”

“I know of a nice cool cave for the summer? Pa found it when he first settled here. We’ve kept it a secret from everyone except family. Keeping the horses hidden will be a problem but we’ll figure out something. Let’s go cross country and keep off the roads.”

“We’re with you.”

It was eighteen miles to the cave. My ranch was a little less than a half-mile away from the cave and we had arrived by a roundabout way through the hills that bordered the valley. I knew the way and the moon lighted us there. There was a ridge that stretched more than two miles lying east and west. There was a brush-covered crack in the wall and if you wormed your way through it, the crack widened and there was a quarter acre of flat ground below where the cave was hidden.

Even the entrance to the cave was disguised from random eyes by a couple of boulders bigger than a house. If you walked around the first one all you could see was another one positioned behind it. How Pa ever found the cave he never said. I used to play there as a youngster. When first married, I took Winnie there and we made love for the first time. The problem was if you rode a horse in there you couldn’t get your mount around the last crack in the wall.

There was no water anywhere near. The cave itself was quite sizeable and you could stand upright and move a couple hundred feet back into the rock. I had built a fire in there one time and the smoke found its way out through some cracks in the ceiling.

We put our horses on a picket string and made a small fire for coffee. “Well I’m on my home ground. It would have been nice if I could have walked into the house and surprised Winnie. As it is, all I have to offer is more camping until I find out what is going on. When it gets daylight I’ll show you the cave and we can set up camp with our goods.”

“What’s the name of this place?”

“The Spaniards called it the “Valle del rio petite,” named after the good-sized crick that runs the length of the valley. The official name now is “Petite Valley,” but some who live here just call it “Small Valley.”

“That figures. Captain, I’m asking, are you going after these bastards who took your place?”

“I’ll tell you in a couple of days after I find out more about the situation. Just remember, though, this is my home and I have learned how to face up to do whatever it takes in the last few years. It may kill me, but either way the McBain name will be remembered whichever way it turns out. Duffy, I’m not asking you to get involved, but I’d take it kindly if you would.”

“I’m yours to command, Captain. You brought us through some tough times. Guns, knives or shillelagh, I’m with you.”

“Thanks.”

We rolled into our blankets until daylight. “Duffy, would you go through the break in the wall and build a fire? You can get wood from those trees over there. Ab, when he gets the fire going, put some beans on. I’m sick of mush. I’m going to foot it over to the Holcomb spread and talk to Sarah. I’ll be back in two hours. I’ll take two canteens with me for water. When I get back, we’ll head over to my home place and we can look down from the bluff to see what’s going on.

“Sarah Holcomb will fill me in so I know where I have to be careful. Ab, do you have any women’s duds in your pack? I can borrow some from her if you don’t.”

“I’ve got a couple of dresses. I’ll see if I can get the wrinkles out of them. Why, am I going to town?”

“I don’t know. How would you like to become a ghost? I was thinking if someone killed Winnie, it might spook them some if they thought she was still around. It would mystify them if they caught a glimpse of a strange woman.”

“I don’t know, Riley. First I’m a man and then you want me to be a ghost. Am I ever going to be a woman again?”

“If you do as well acting as a ghost as you have a man, it ought to work just like I want it to. I paused and then stated, “But then I really prefer you a woman.”

“Long time before I’m a woman again, is that it?”

“Abby you’re always be a woman no matter how you’re dressed.”

It took me a half hour on foot to come up behind the Holcomb barn. It was light now.  I could hear conversation going on in the house. I went up the steps to the back stoop and knocked on the door. It went silent inside. “Who is it?”

“It’s Riley McBain home from the war, Sarah.” The door burst open and I had Sarah in my arms.

“Oh God, you’re alive! Get in here. The whole valley has gone to hell since you left.” She introduced me to the kids. They were too young to remember me. The oldest, a girl looked a lot like her mother. The kids were old enough to keep secrets. We cautioned them not to mention me.

“First, tell me about Winnie and what happened to her?”

“Oh Riley, she disappeared winter time a year or more ago. Us here in the valley think she was killed and buried. The new sheriff gave out she sold out and left, but we know she would have told one of us if that is what she planned. Where are you staying?”

“I’m camping out in the hills back of my spread. I was warned that things weren’t like they should be so I’m being cautious. How are you making out?”

“Not so good. I’m being pressured to turn the ranch title into the bank. Somehow they claim Sid had borrowed money. If he did, I never knew about it. The bank took the cattle. I’m down to my last few dollars to feed me and the kids. After that, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“Where are the other ranchers that were run off?”

“They are holed up in the old logging camp north of here. There are about twenty-five people and some kids living there now. The sheriff went up there and tried to tell them they had to leave, but they laughed him right out of camp. The Sinclairs are still holding down their place, but they’ll be driven out eventually.”

“It’s that bad here?”

“It is. None of the ranches are being worked. What cows that haven’t been sold or run off are running wild in the valley.”

“What’s behind it all?  Does anyone know?”

“It’s a land grab. We’ve heard in town about a couple of men who speak German were here for a bit. We think some land company is thinking it is cheaper to run us off and then sell to them. We could stand a few farmers in the area, but some of the other ranchers don’t agree. We need schools and more stores and most of all is to be rid of these Scalawags. The sad part of it is that it’s going to happen and us that settled the valley won’t get anything out of it for our efforts.

“Give me some names. I can’t stay long. I have to find a place to water and hide our horses. I need a more permanent camp too.”

“Name’s, Bert Innes, that’s the banker. Brian and Ezra Sloan, they own the saloons. One is for dancing and whoring and the other is for gambling and drinking. Jeff and Gordon Parks are sheriff and deputy. When they take cattle, they get men from somewhere else. I guess the Sloans have a ranch of their own somewhere up in the panhandle. Doug Dugan, he’s a cattle driver and in town a lot. He heads up the round-ups and hangs out in the saloons when in town.”

“Is there anyone living on my place?”

“Bert Innes does and claims he has title. He claims to be from Boston, but his accent says Missouri. He looks harmless, but he does wear a gun in a shoulder holster. I was in the bank to demand to see him about the so-called notes and he was arguing with one of the other ranchers. Innes pulled a gun on Mr. Jenkins and backed him out of his office.

“You know there is that spring under the hill at the back of the ranch here if you want to water your horses. It might even be safe to picket them in the breaks over the ridge from there where there is also some feed. There aren’t many riders around unless they are here rounding up cattle.”

“What happened to Winnie’s clothes and things? 

“I have some of her dresses here. Innes told me she left them and I could have them for my daughter Cindy when she grew up. He brought them over.”

“Nice of him.”

“No, I don’t think so. He was acting guilty when he gave them to me. Most of your furniture and other goods are still in the house.”

“If he had her killed, I should think he would feel guilty. I have Abby, Winnie’s sister with me and I have to get back to her. Sarah, I’ll be in touch.”

“Riley, I’m glad you came home. We need someone like you to counter what happened. Remember if you need meat don’t hesitate to take any brand. Hell, kill any of ’em, there is unbranded young stuff all over the valley.”

It took me longer to walk back to camp. I checked out the spring and looked around for feed for the horses. It looked as if it would work and no one would know we were around. I had no idea what I was going to do, but it would be something.

Abby was worried when it got on to be noon before I showed up. I spent an hour telling her and Duffy what I had learned. For the next few hours I wasn’t going anywhere until the beans got done.  I’d have to figure out how to get better supplies. Maybe I could steal some.

Chapter Two

“Let’s check out our new home. I’ve never spent more than two nights at a time in the cave.” 

Duffy helped carry our packs around the first big boulder. You couldn’t see the opening until you were behind the edge of the stone. There was dim light that filtered inside a few feet. We were shocked to see Winnie’s remains lying at the edge of the dim light. 

She was on the floor about ten feet inside the entrance lying on her left side. She was covered with a heavy coat that I remembered … not wearing it, but pulled over her as if she was very cold. Heavy stockings encased her legs and her favorite boots were on her feet. Her dress was showing about a foot below the bottom edge of the coat.

The bones of her hands and face were skin covered, but all the flesh had melted away leaving the bones under the grey parchment-like skin. Her wedding band was visible, loose now on the bones of her hand that looked more like claws than fingers. I was thankful that at least no animals had disturbed the body and this consoled me a bit.

We three stood staring at what was lying there. I began to look around. It appeared she had at one time come here before dying because there were some blankets, extra clothes, and a few cans of food along the edge of the cave. I spotted our metal candle box and it held a dozen candles when I opened it. I immediately lit one and raised it. It looked as if Winnie was ready to use this as a place to hide if necessary.

Abby brought my attention to what was nearly touching her right hand. “Riley, she must have been writing something. That’s a book and she has a pencil clutched in her hand. There is a burned down end of a candle she must have been writing by.”

“That’s her journal. I recognize it. Open it and see what her last notes were.” 

“I can’t bear to. How horrible this is. How horrible to die in the cold like this.”

“Maybe she left word why.” I had asked Abby, but I shouldn’t have put it on her.

“I’ll do it. I shouldn’t have asked it of you.” I feared the pages would be stuck together, but they were just as white and legible as the day she wrote on them. I opened to the first page and looked at the date. The day was when I left her and went off to war. All there was written on that page was; I fear I will never see Riley again. Why do men think they have to go away and leave their loved ones behind? Sarah has already lost Sid and I know I will lose my Riley just like Sarah lost her husband.

I asked myself, “Why did I?” I wondered now.

I read it aloud. Tears were in my eyes and my voice caught twice. I turned to the last written page. This wasn’t the neat words marching across the page like Winnie’s usual letters. I could tell she was expending much effort to guide her hand. The words were large, small and some barely legible, drifting up and down.

The Lords Birthday, 1864
Riley, I’ll write until I die this night. I have been shot in the back trying to escape a man named Bert Innes. He had locked me into the pantry until I would agree to come to his bed. He already claims he has title to our ranch and says he will stay right here with me. By morning my reputation will be of a fallen woman and I might as well be comfortable. You know me better than that, my love. I feel now it is too late for him to make use of me if he does find me. I know I will not survive. If he does find this note I will have to come to you in your dreams, for he surely will destroy it. I didn’t give in. I hit him as hard as I could with the rolling pin and thought I had time to gather more supplies before he came to, but I failed. He roused and shot me as I went out the door. It was snowing already and I could hear him searching for me as I ran. I am very weak and barely made it here to our special place where we had such happy times. I am very tired and will rest for awhile. I’ll add more to this if I awake in the morning. Riley, I lo….

Through my tears, I made the comment, “I do believe I’m going to start my own war.”

“What are you going to do, Captain?” I sat contemplating for fifteen minutes.

“First, I need some troops. Duffy, you and I will take a trip up into the hills and do some recruiting. Abby, we may be gone a couple of days. When we come back I’ll bring us some fresh meat. Would you stay close to camp? If you get lonely, you can hike down to the ranch house and meet Sarah. Before you step out of the woods, make sure there are no riders around.” 

“Where is my horse located?”

“I’ll chase it to where there is plenty of feed. I’ll take the pack horse with me to carry meat on.”

“Be careful. Riley, should I do anything about Winnie?”

“Yes, read the journal. As for her remains, don’t try to move them. I’ll make the cave a monument to her. She would like that. I don’t believe I want to move into the cave to live here like I planned. Somehow or another it won’t be long before I’ll be living in my old home.”

“Riley, I’m going to spend some time in the cave with Winnie while you are gone.  When we were kids we played together all the time. We would crawl under our covers and talk about what we wanted our lives to be like when we grew up. Sad to say, real life doesn’t come close to what we imagined.” I nodded my agreement and Duffy and I headed out to get our mounts.

It had been years since I had been up into the hills where a logging company had come in and logged off one of the mountains edging the valley. They had set up a saw mill and worked it for almost two years before moving on. It was eight miles from my ranch. Duffy and I watered all four horses and then left Abby’s mare where she had feed and headed out. About a mile from where I knew the saw mill headquarters was located I was challenged by a young man I didn’t know.

“Pull up and raise your hands. What’s your business?”

“Name’s, Riley McBain. Sarah Holcomb said there were some men from the valley living around here. She said they might be interested in what I have to say.”

“I’ve heard your name before. Hang your gun belts on your saddle horn and keep your hands on the reins. I’ll follow you in.”

“Fair enough.” There were a bunch of slab shanties scattered around and some open faced sheds. Some of them were patched with bits of canvas. It was a poor settlement of the worst kind. There was a good-sized corral with a dozen horses enclosed. The young man behind me gave a shout and everyone gathered in a bunch facing me and Duffy.

“Riley, you made it through the war?”

“I’m here aren’t I? What the hell has happened in the valley?”

“Scalawags moved in with some gunmen. They took over the town and then most of the ranches. In one way or another they drove us out.”

“You didn’t fight them?”

“We tried. Tim Long and some of his crew were killed. Our womenfolk were hassled when they went to town. Then Winnie sold out and left. Her leaving took the starch right out of us. We looked up to her. She was dealing with the banker and then she took off. Some of what happened came from the one lawyer in town. The sheriff and his deputy are crooked and maybe even the circuit judge. There’s more’n eight gunfighters that hang around in the saloons. They backed up the round-up crews that are stealing our cattle.

“Winnie wasn’t dealing with the banker and she didn’t leave here either. I found her body and she left me a letter written as she lay dying. The banker was going to rape her and he shot her as she was escaping.”

“That ain’t what we was told.”

“I’ll show you her body and you can read the words for yourselves. Enough of that. What are your plans for getting your land back?”

“I don’t guess we got any plans.”

Jenkins asked, “Who are these people and where did they come from?”

“I can’t answer that, but it is happening all over the south. Generally they are south leaning riff-raff that are getting in on the ground floor during the reconstruction for the conquered parts of the country. You’ll soon see this happening all over. Many will be not just local Scalawags, but of the same kind from up north swooping in to pick up all the assets of value.”

“How do you know this?”

“I was an aide to General Grant. He’ll be running for president next year. I don’t hold with some of his plans, but he is politically a power. The premise is good, but I know he won’t be able to control things when these crooks are let loose. Here you’re going to have to fight your own battles and it better be before the crooks you mention get too solidly entrenched.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Fight certainly, and get some revenge for what happened to Winnie.”

“Tell us what we can do and we’ll do it.”

“You have to realize you may be getting some more of your friends killed if you join me.”

“Riley, we’re broke and homeless. Some of us have money in the bank, but can’t get it. We’ve been on a beef diet for so long it makes us gag. Doing something is better than the way we are living now. What’s your situation?”

“Duffy and I don’t even have a roof over our heads. As long as the weather holds out we’re okay. Basically we have just a few months to get this settled. I think first, I want the owners of the ranches to take a look at Winnie. Bring your wife if you are married. I’ll show you why I’m fighting.”

“Where do we meet you and when?”

“Tomorrow, in the hills back of my ranch. Don’t go out into the valley. I’m not ready to declare war just yet. If you want to ride back with me, I’m leaving here before daybreak.”

“We’ll be ready. Uh, you said we were going to see Winnie. Isn’t she buried?

“No, you’ll see her just as I found her.” From then on I was questioned about my duties during the war. Stories about what happened here in the valley came forth from those who had owned the various ranches and how they were came to be lost to the invaders. I had a thought. “Tell me about the Sinclairs?”

“He has been able to hold on, but won’t for much longer from what he told us a week ago. His two boys are gun handy, but don’t know how to get started without being shot down just like Tim Long. We need leadership, so it looks like it is up to you.”

“I think I would like Sinclair to be present tomorrow when we meet. Is there anyone here that could make his way over there tonight? He would have to leave for my place early so he would be out of the valley before daylight.”

A young man spoke up, “I’ll go. I know the way.” There was a round of laughter. It was explained when he said he was sparking the fourteen year old daughter, Amy Sinclair.

“Tell Sinclair to stop and gather in Sarah Holcomb on his way. She knows about where Winnie lies. She needs to be there as well. I guess that’s about all for tonight. Now tell me what you know about these men. Every little thing you can remember.”

One woman had a tidbit I picked up on, “I was in the store and I heard one of the toughs talking with the deputy. They were joking about being in Kansas during the war. I took it they rode with Quantrill’s Raiders. Finally the deputy said they better shut up about Kansas. The raiders were still being looked for.” One man had overheard something similar while playing cards right after the saloons opened up. The owner came by and told him to keep his mouth shut. This was all reasonable because I knew that Quantrill himself had been killed a year ago by some Union troops.

I could sympathize with these people. It just drove home to me how the farmers felt when I had sent troopers out to take food from them and give them a piece of script that said they were owed for what we took. Maybe they got paid, but more often they hadn’t. Another stark reality of the war. But the war was over wasn’t it?

Early morning we were up and ready. One of the ranch owners was ill, but sent his wife along with us. There were four men and three women riding behind me. When we got close to the Holcomb ranch, I sent a man down to see if Sarah and Sinclair were there. He came back and told us they were ahead of us. We watered our horses and Duffy and I left our mounts. We kept the pack horse with us as it had a quarter of a steer strapped on it. 

When we went through the crack to the level spot and our campfire, it startled Abby. She was still dressed as a man and I introduced her around as Abner. I got her aside and whispered something to her. She picked up her pack and went behind the boulder and into the cave.

I now read from the journal the first page in it when I went away and then the letter she was writing while dying. Tears came from the three women and the men were blinking furiously. “I’ll show you Winnie just as I found her yesterday. I’m undecided what to do about her remains. I may wall up the cave and make a crypt leaving her just as she lies.”

Abby had lighted two candles and placed them strategically. I guided Sarah in first with the others coming close behind.  Sarah was at the feet of Winnie. They stood staring down at the remains. They had a better look at them with the candles lighted than I did when I first discovered her.

While I was reading from the journal, Abby put on a dress and was standing in the shadows at the very edge of the light far back in the cave. No one noticed her until she walked from one side of the cave to the other. Every one turned to escape, but I held them up. “You met Abner outside. Actually Abner is Abby, Winnie’s sister.  She traveled here from Saint Louis to see why Winnie hadn’t answered our letters.

“We can go out now and I will explain what I aim to do to spook Bert Innes.” We backed out of the cave and everyone was showing relief to be outside, it had been that creepy viewing the remains. “I have plans to have Innes see Winnie’s ghost. I think this will soften him up and he will be easier to deal with. If he isn’t, I will rob the bank with Abby’s help and shoot the bastard. One way or another he is going to die.

“Don’t think I’m going into this blind.  Before I make any move at all, I’m going to plan it and then execute it. Hopefully I’ll be alive when the dust settles.”

Sinclair spoke up, “I don’t know as I hold with robbing the bank.”

“I don’t expect you to. I have other plans too. These Scalawags are stripping the range of cattle. There is no way you can trail them to market, but if you bunched them somewhere difficult to get to, you could keep them from being rustled. I haven’t seen that many. There must be a canyon or a series of canyons where they can be hidden and saved until we can clear the area of these invaders.”

“But some of us don’t own our ranch any longer. You don’t either.”

“I’m figuring on how to get our ranches under our control and it will be legal enough so you can return to your homes. I admit this will get nasty. Nasty for them and I’m telling you I’ve seen plenty of nasty in the last few years. I think I have figured out some of it already. Remember one thing? They must figure this is open range so all you people have to worry about is your home places. But unless you have sold out, I think you bought the same as Pa did and you own it and can show title.”

“We do, but with a gun to our head a piece of paper is useless.”

“I’ll start the action at my ranch first, and as far as they know it is just me fighting them. What you saw a few minutes ago should give you an idea why I’m doing this.

“There may be times when I’ll ask you do something or to back me up when I need help. I won’t pressure you if there is any risk involved so you can refuse and we will still be friendly. The first thing I’m asking is for you to go to Pineville for me. You need food, and this is an order for that. I do have limited funds, but I have two hundred twenty-five dollars that Abby and I collected when we out gunned three outlaws on our way here. They had broken out of jail and killed the guard.”

“Three of them? How did you manage to do that?”

“Easy. We killed them. Don’t worry, it was legal. They attacked us and tried to take our horses. We both fired at them. I drilled two of them and Abby placed two holes in the last one. When we were taking them in, we met the sheriff and he gave us the bounty that was on their heads that we were unaware of at the time. I knew the money would come in handy so we waited an extra day for it to arrive. The only thing we ask in return is if we drop in on you, you will feed us. Other than that the food is for you. When we left, one of the posse members came along with us. That’s Duffy.”

“Thank you, so much. The women and kids will appreciate the change in food. Is there anything else we should buy?”

“Yes there is. I’m thinking a case of giant powder might come in handy. Make sure you have plenty of ammunition for your arms too. If one of you would ride back to the town of Pineville, they have a telegraph. I’ll write out a message to send to General Grant in Galena Illinois. I’ll ask him for some help about our situation here. Although this is a personal request, I was a good aide to him and he might look into our problem.”

“You think he will?”

“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t. He is a busy man, so there again I won’t hold it against him if he doesn’t. For now, I see Duffy has coffee made. I only have one pot, so you will have to wait for the second one so everyone can have a cup. While you’re doing that, I’ll write up my telegrams.”

Abby came out dressed as a woman. She did look very much like Winnie and that startled these people as much as being ghost-like. For myself, I finally admitted to myself she held quite some attraction for me. From the glances I was receiving, she felt the same way about me. 

The ranchers soon left. Because it was too rough to get a wagon through the hills, there were going to use horses to pack supplies in. I gave direction to the person who was taking my telegram to the end of wire. I begged General Grant to reply within twenty-four hours if he could because I would be waiting on his answer. It would likely be five days before I would know about his help either way.

Not much was said about the showing of Winnie, but it was obvious it was on everyone’s mind. When it was time for everyone to go, the men shook my hand and the women spoke kindly to me. Sarah, whom I had helped in the past, gave me a hug and urged Abby to come use her tub for a bath. I knew Abby would certainly make use of her offer. They would be friends just like Sarah and Winnie had been.

There was still daylight and now I picked up the journal and read it from page one. It was recounting pretty much day to day life until I came to when Bert Innes arrived in the valley. Winnie wrote not only what was going on but her thoughts about how the neighbors were accepting the change in regime.

Living alone as she was, she vented her feelings on the pages and the injustices that were being perpetrated. She even put down what she felt I would have done if I had been here. This was giving me a trail map of what I should do now to counter this invasion although she was dead and gone. Case in point, she had checked out the old Indian escape tunnel that went from the barn to the cellar at our ranch house.

It might be she was so dedicated to understanding these toughs, and Innes especially, that he might have taken it for interest in him personally and that is why he felt he could approach her as he did. If that was so, it killed her and now it was going to kill him. She made note of what the town was like and how these Scalawags interacted with the natives and with each other. 

One of the wives in town had taken up with the person who was head of the roundup. She was immediately ostracized and her husband picked up and left town, leaving her behind. She was definitely left an unhappy individual.

I looked for clues in Winnie’s comments that would help give me advantage even if she wasn’t aware she was. The two new saloons that were constructed side by side had an empty lot on the outside of each. I paused to think about this. U-m, I did order some dynamite, didn’t I?

Not through reading the journal yet, I decided I wanted to view my ranch buildings from the hill back of the buildings. We had a half mile to travel and we hurried right along. We found cover, as I knew we would overlooking the house and barns 400 yards down below in the valley. The sun had gone behind the trees to the west, but it was still light.

I saw a gig coming wildly down the trail from town. This must be Innes coming home from his daily work at the bank. He wheeled into the yard. The horse stood with his head hanging over the bottom half of the Dutch door. Even from this far away, we could see that he must have run the horse all the way.

Innes missed the one step down from the seat. He still had the whip in his hand and slashed at the trembling horse. It jumped ahead. I hadn’t noticed but a man had come around the corner of the barn and held the bridle. I recognized Mexican Pete and he was shouting at Innes. 

Innes raised his whip to strike Pete, but thought better of it. He turned and stumbled toward the house. He looked to be carrying a load of liquor and was drunk. I knew Mexican Pete well. We had grown up together and often got into trouble with our antics and pranks when I was in town. His sister was the first girl I had kissed. His was a nice family. Not much get-up to them, but they were happy. Pete survived by doing odd jobs. I’d guess that is how he ended up working here for the banker.

“I’m going down there and talk to Pete. I wouldn’t imagine there is much danger.”

“Riley, you be careful. A lot of people are depending on you.”

“I will, Abby.” I headed down the hill and across the flat to the barn. Pete was putting up the horse. It was still trembling and when I came in behind it I could see whip welts across its rump.

“Hey Pete.”

“Riley, good God man you made me jump. Hey, where’d you come from?”

“I’m camping up in the hills. I heard before I got here that things were all torn up here in the valley.”

“You can say that again. Everything has gone to hell. You know Winnie left, don’t you. She took off out of here some time ago. Nobody knows where she went to.”

“She’s dead, Pete.  I found her remains.  Innes shot her and she crawled back into the ledges. I’ve done my crying, but I haven’t done my forgetting. Is Innes like this every night?”

“Drunk, you mean? No, not always. I can usually tell when it’s coming on. When I hitch up for him in the morning and I know he has had a bad night, be assured he’ll come back like he was tonight. That’s why I was waiting outside to grab the horse.”

“How long have you been working for him?”

“Since the middle of the winter. He came home one night in the freezing rain and left the horse out. It caught the wheezes and died a few days later. His pal the sheriff hired me to come out here and watch out for him. He’s got a nasty tongue on him and I’m about done with the situation. Tonight he threatened me with the whip. I almost went for him, but then the sheriff would have killed me. This bunch is a rough crowd.”

“Say, can you warn me when he is going to be drunk again? Hang a blanket on the barn door or something. I want to get into the house and I want him in it.”

“I can do that. He’ll be okay for a couple of days, but that’s about as long before he goes off like he was tonight. You going to kill him?”

“No, not here. I just want to talk to him. Killing is too easy on him.”

“Okay. God, I’m glad you’re back. Are you planning anything for the rest of this bunch of bastards?”

“Maybe. We’ll see. I’m just looking the situation over now.”

“Riley, Innes carries a gun and he puts it under his pillow before going to bed. I think he’s right handy with it too. I have a feeling he’s done a lot of killing. I’d guess because he is so restless, some of those killings must bother him. Just a thought, that’s all.”

“Could be.” I left Pete there and went back up the hill to Abby and Duffy. “Abby, in a couple of days you’re going to become a ghost again. I’m hoping to scare Innes right off the place and back into town.”

We made it back to the campground. I was restless. My wife’s body was nearby and I hadn’t done anything yet to retaliate for her death. But then I had set some things in motion. I hoped General Grant would come through for me. I had asked a lot of him and he was a man who had many irons in the fire so nothing was certain. No one knew how Johnson would make out as President. People said he was drunk when he gave the speech when he was being inaugurated Vice President. Six weeks after he became Vice-President, he was the sitting president because of Lincoln’s assassination. A sad situation both then and more so now.

I gave up wondering if General Grant would provide any assistance to one of his ex-aides living in the central part of Texas. It was dark when by feel I made my way into the cave. I was on my hands and knees when I crawled in to where I could touch Winnie’s boots. I sat up then and let my mind wander into the past and my time with this woman and the happiness we had known. 

I don’t know how long I had been sitting there when I heard some rustling and scraping. “Riley, speak to me and let me know where you are. I am badly disoriented.”

“I’m here, Abby. Follow my voice. That’s it, you are close now.” My hand felt Abby and I guided her to me and we sat down. Abby had on her men’s clothes. I put my arms around her and drew her to me. “Why are you here?”

“Riley, Winnie was my sister. I loved her too, you know. I haven’t seen her since you two were married. I so looked forward to reliving our childhood together and reconnecting and maybe finding me a new husband and living close to you and her.”

“Abby, we both have loving memories of Winnie. When it settles down around here we will be able to have time to share them with each other.”

“You don’t mind that I am divorced? Most men wouldn’t want to associate with a woman who divorced her husband.”

“I don’t look at it like that. I applaud your decision to be free of someone who didn’t respect you. It shows me that you are a strong person and I need someone beside me who thinks like I do.”

“Are you saying what I think you are saying?”

“Yes I am. We are here where Winnie can bear witness to my intentions.”  We held each other closer and I suppose napped a little. After a time we were stiff from sitting on the cave floor and crawled our way out and found our way back to camp.

Duffy heard us return. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, we were just saying another goodbye to my wife. This is the first moment of quiet time we’ve had.”

“Good, a man needs that. Sisters do too. Get some sleep.”

The next morning soon after 9 a.m. I sent Duffy over to where we were yesterday to watch my ranch house. He was to see if there was a horse blanket thrown over the barn door. I asked him to stay there to see if anyone came around. I told him he probably would see Mexican Pete, but I wanted to know if there were others. Abby and I watered the horses and watched Sarah’s place long enough so we felt she didn’t have any visitors. We made our way by foot to her door.

Sarah was happy to see us and to talk with Abby. She declared that Abby was much like Winnie. She asked, “Did you bring many clothes with you?”

“No, I wasn’t able to. I’ve been living like a man, so haven’t needed much.”

“You’re in luck. Bert Innes dumped most of Winnie’s clothes here after she left. It must be it bothered him that she didn’t take any with her and they were still in the closet and bureaus. We know why now. It was because it was him that killed her. When you get to a place to live, you can have them.”

I broke in. “Sarah, is there any one dress that Innes would know was Winnie’s? I’m going to be spooking him if I can.”

“There certainly is. We had a box social and dance right after that bunch arrived. This was before we knew that they were Scalawags. Bert bought her box lunch and he danced with her twice. He would have danced with her more, but she refused.”

“I guess we should take the dress with us. That will just be the one for Abby to make use of.” It was eleven-thirty when a rider came into the ranch yard. He came to the door. Abby and I went into a different room so we wouldn’t be seen.

“Miz, Holcomb, just to let you know we done taken Captain McBain’s suggestion and are moving all the cattle to the farther end of the valley. We are starting at his ranch and at Tim Long’s ranch on the other side of the river. We’ll be sweeping the width of the valley as we go along. There’s plenty of feed where we’re shoving them to, and it will be damned sure difficult for those bastards to round them up while facing all of us ranchers. We might even get a shot or two off at them if they try.”

“Good  If I see the Captain, I’ll tell him.” 

“Thanks Ma’am.” He rode off.

“You heard?”

“Yeah. I’m riding up to the logging settlement again tomorrow and they can tell me all about it. Eventually that crowd in town will get on to what we are doing and they’ll retaliate. I want the ranchers to be prepared. Sometimes it is good to give in and sometimes you have to fight. I think it is time to fight. The men should be ready. For that matter, the women may have to pick up a gun and fight too.”

“You mean Abby and me.?”

“Abby has already picked up a gun. That’s where some of the bounty money came from that is feeding the ranchers. If I remember right you used to hunt with Sid.”

“Yeah, but that’s different than killing someone.”

“Abby will be in this all the way. Winnie was her sister.  Remember where Winnie is right now and what they did to her. Winnie was your friend, so you should think about her a little. Too, you should think about how and where you are going to make a home for your children if these people win.”

Sarah looked intently at me. She wasn’t saying anything, but she was thinking. Finally, “Riley, you cut right to it don’t you? Abby is a little bit of a thing. If she can stand up, then I can too.”

We didn’t hang around Sarah’s very long after having this conversation. We got our horses, along with Duffy’s. Saddling them all, we gathered up Duffy and I led them through the foothills along the edge of the valley. There was feed everywhere. Here and there, there were Catclaw and Mesquite brush growing. If the land wasn’t grazed it would take over everywhere. So many cattle had been sold last year the valley was actually under grazed.

I wanted Abby and Duffy to see what a great place this was to live if we could only free it from the outlaws who had taken over. We didn’t go around the head of the valley, because we didn’t want to have to cross the open range getting back to our camping spot near the cave.

Again, the next morning, I sent Duffy to overlook my ranch building to see if the blanket was on the barn door. Abby and I headed for the hills and the logging camp. The women and children and one old man were there. The rest of the men were moving cattle and were being joined today by the ones who had packed in supplies I had given them money for.

The old man told us, “We got back with the supplies okay late yesterday. Jim Brown, the man with the telegram didn’t stop with us when we were buying supplies and he went on to Pineville to send off your message. Maybe you will hear something tomorrow.”

“I hope so. Would you send a message down to my place just as soon as he returns? I have something else I’m working on while I’m waiting.” 

We didn’t tarry and headed back to the ranch. When we came down out of the hills we could see three cowhands out on the range pushing cattle west. It was the biggest herd of cattle that I had seen since I had arrived home. 

This valley was pretty good short grass land, but it wasn’t in the heart of cattle country. That lay farther north up in the panhandle. Ranch owners now were just buying land around the water holes and controlling the land that way. Here in the valley the original owners had purchased the land and held title to their grazing land. But this wasn’t good enough for the Scalawags and they were laying claim to the land by driving away the owners and saying they had been abandoned.

The original owners grazed their cattle on the land like it was open even though they all had boundaries. We used the roundups to sort out who owned the cattle. I was second generation and likewise, Sarah Holcomb. Her father had settled along side of his friend McBain when they came into the valley together. Sid Holcomb had punched cows for Tim Long from across the valley. He was some older than Sarah, but it had been true love. They had married when she was seventeen and he was ten years older at twenty-seven.

Sarah had looked on me as best friend while growing up and I still was. Winnie had come into my life about the same time Sarah and Sid married. We were twenty-four when Sid immediately joined up even before Texas had gone into the war on the side of the confederacy. Seven years they had together and then Sid was dead and Sarah needed to depend on her neighbors … more specifically, Winnie and me. Surprisingly, the Holcomb ranch was left to struggle along while five of the seven ranches were attacked in one way or another.

*****
Duffy was back at the campsite and said Pete had shown a blanket at the ranch. “Okay, Abby, lets see what kind of ghost you will make. Would you get into the dress of Winnie’s that Sarah gave you. We’ll wait until almost dark and head over to the ranch. If Innes comes home tonight like he did the other night, we’ll go in to see if we can throw some scare into him.”

Mexican Pete was waiting for the three of us. When we reached the ranch, he said Innes was drunker than usual. “Be careful though. If he is having nightmares, he might be awake. How are you going to get inside anyway? He locked the door when I came out.”

“Do you have a lantern?”

“Sure. What good is that going to do you?”

“I need it to light our way through to the cellar. You and Duffy stay here. There is a way from the barn into the cellar, and Pete, you can forget I told you that.”

“What’s that you said? I didn’t hear you.” Abby giggled. 

We went into the grain room and I slid the grain bin aside. Luckily, it was nearly empty. Behind that there was a small door near the bottom that was disguised so under normal circumstances it wouldn’t be noticed. The door opened inward and down some steps into a tunnel. If a person was coming out, there was a pry bar to move the grain bin out of the way. The tunnel was of laid-up stone covered with dirt and it led directly into the cellar under the house. At one time Indians attacked and the tunnel was built so both the barn and house could be defended.

It was high enough so we could move right along by only stooping a little. On the cellar side of the tunnel there was a tall cupboard and the door swung back into the tunnel. It was made with two wide boards hinged on the sides. When closed they fitted together. Just by moving three shelves you could walk right into the cellar. I found the tunnel dry and still as stable as ever. It had been five years or more since I had inspected it. Winnie had inspected it in my absence, so she had written.

Abby held the lantern while I quietly opened the entrance into the cellar and stepped in. We listened and could hear nothing. Then we heard someone upstairs turn over in the bed directly above us. We heard a snore. Whew, it was just Innes sleeping restlessly. We made our way to the stairs and lifted the latch, walking into the kitchen.

The door to the room where Innes was sleeping was closed. I gently unlatched it and holding the lantern high, I pushed the door open. The light from the lantern was dim. I could see a candle on the stand by the bed. I would light that soon. Innes was lying on his right side facing the wall. I was hoping his head wasn’t resting on the gun Pete said he kept under his pillow. I eased in and running my hand under the pillow, I pulled it out.

I took the shells out of it and replaced it. I lit the candle and Abby came into the room. She sat in the chair. His boots were beside it and I supposed that was why the chair was in the room--so he could take his boots off and on. Abby was sitting there, one side of her face fully lighted and the other in the shadow. I backed out and partially closed the door, but still where I could still observe.

“Bert.” Nothing. “Bert, wake up.” Still nothing, but the snoring ceased. “Bert, I came back to warn you. Bert, you must wake up.”

This time Bert rolled over to where he could see Abby.  “What … Who… Who are you?”

“You know who I am, Bert. You danced with me before you killed me. Bert, you don’t know it, but I have been in purgatory since you shot me. I’m released now and will make my way to heaven soon. I came back to tell you this is the last time you will see me. I’m so sad for you. It is too late to change your ways. Bert, you wanted to kiss me….” She didn’t finish.

Abby got up and headed closer to the shuddering, bug-eyed hulk. Bert screamed and rolled off the far side. We were hearing gibberish and we could him crawling under the bed. “Too late, Bert. It is way too late.”

We backed out of the room, leaving the candle burning. I don’t think Innes would have heard us if we had stomped down the cellar stairs. We were quiet and reversed our course out of the house. Mexican Pete was waiting for us when we reached the barn. “What’cha do to him?”

“Scared the crap out of him, I hope. He was crawling under the bed when we left. I don’t know if you will hear from him tonight. If he doesn’t come out in the morning, you had better get someone to go in with you to see if he is alive. The doors are still locked and barred so you will have to break in.”

“Serves him right. I’ll wait until ten in the morning before I do anything. Maybe he’ll stop beating up on his horses if nothing else. I’d like to take a horse whip to him the way he treats his horseflesh. Do you still want me to hang around here, and how will I get in touch with you if I do?”

“The blanket on the door worked well.”

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

“One thing, Pete, if we leave any tracks, you might brush them out when it gets day light.”

“Can do.”

We made our way back to camp. Duffy was curious, so Abby went through what she did to Innes. He wondered “Captain, don’t you think I should camp out and watch to see if he leaves? He may take right off for town.”

“Okay, if you want to. We should be able to tell if his gig is still there or not. You’ll need sleep soon though.”

“I’ll just nap some. If I see lights moving around down there, I’ll know he is on the move.”

“Thanks, Duffy.”

“No problem, Captain.” Duffy turned around and went back to watching from above the ranch.

Abby and I put our blankets together and went to sleep. I was up at daybreak and went to water the horses. It wouldn’t be many days before I was going to have to find more graze for them. Duffy was back at the camp when I returned. “Innes, survived the night okay. I think he called Pete in to stay with him because they came out of the house together this morning. I must have dropped off and missed it.”

“Where is he now?”

“Pete drove him toward town. I’m going back and watch to see if Pete comes back.”

“Okay. You’ll have time to eat. Abby will send some food with you. Maybe she should go with you so you can get more sleep.”

“That would help.”

I sat down after they left. Then I took the journal and read Winnie’s last words again. I sat there thinking that maybe Innes wasn’t as much bothered about what Abby had done last night as we thought. I’d track Pete down and find out what Innes was like this morning. Damn, I wish I had someone in town to tell me what was going on there as well. I didn’t yet, but I would figure out something. Maybe Pete could suggest something?

I heard a horse coming through the brush. I worried because whoever it was must have passed by our mounts.  Then I relaxed when the rider came into view. It was Jim Brown, the person who had taken my message to the end of the telegraph line.  “Hi Riley, I got a message. It’s pretty long. I also got one from your Pa to deliver. It was waiting for someone coming this way.

“Good, you’re back. I thought you might be in today. Sit, there is coffee. I’ll have to see if there is more up at the settlement. We’re about out.  How was the trip?”

“Long, but about as I expected. General Grant told me to wait until he arranged things. I don’t have any idea what it says.”

“We’ll see.” I opened it. --captn in ansr  yr req’st stop  one troop cav on wy frm Levnwth as I respnd stop  ariv 10 da stop  2 wk deploy stop  fed judg - fed proscutr, fed mrshl dircetd yr addrs stop  ariv 5 da stop  yrs gen ulsg  end

The one from my father just said,-- rly on wy by coach stop  ariv sum tim stop  yrs pa end

Both telegrams were clear to me. Help was on the way. A troop of cavalry was coming down from Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, ordered out as he responded to my request. They would be 10 days getting here and would be here for two weeks. There was a Federal Judge, a Federal Prosecutor and a Federal Marshal ordered here from somewhere closer by.

I counted the days and figured one day had gone by already. I could expect all would be in position within nine days from today. It was signed by Ulysses S Grant. I hoped it would be soon enough. Pa’s message was just that he was headed this way. Good, I might have things settled by the time he and Ma arrived.

In the meantime the status quo should be maintained. Probably the federal justice authorities would be looking over the situation and the troops would be here to back up the marshal who was under the prosecutor’s orders. That would work. I should make plans to speak with them or have some one else do it before they arrived in town. I wish I had someone who lived in town to let me know what was going on. Maybe someone that lived with the ranchers at the logging camp could do it.  I’d ask.

It looked as if I would be making the trip up there tonight. “Jim, I’ll ride back with you. I want to talk with the ranchers.”

“Tonight? Geezus, Riley I’m beat. Can’t I stay over and get some rest?”

I thought it over. Hell, I had been on the go too much myself. “Sure, one night won’t matter. We’ll turn in early and get an early start.”

Just then Abby and Duffy came hiking in. “Riley, Mexican Pete came back driving a buckboard. He threw a blanket over the barn door. He must want to talk. He was alone and there is no one that I can see on the road to town.”

“I’ll go talk to him. Abby would you get us something to eat. I should be back fairly soon.”

“Be careful, Riley.”

“I will. I’ll see what I can find out”

*********

“Hey Pete, what’s happening?”

“Not much. Innes woke me up about midnight. He said he has decided to move back into town.”

“How was he acting?”

“Strange in one way. I thought after what you told me last night he would be raving or drunk. He wasn’t either. He was silent and hardly speaking. He had me get him some breakfast and never said a word while at the table. He never did that before. When I got the horse ready he told me to drive in for him. When we got near town he told me to hire a buckboard and move his personal stuff to his room at the hotel. He wouldn’t be coming back.”

“Guess he doesn’t like living with ghosts.”

“He didn’t say. Oh, he told me I could stay here and watch the place. I could even bring some of my family out here if it was too lonely.”

“You can still go to town can’t you?”

“I guess so, he didn’t say I couldn’t. You okay with me being here?”

“Sure, I’d like that. I’d also like it if you hung around town some and could tell me what was going on.”

“Anything I should look for?”

“One thing. There may be a man name of Red Morris, show up. You’ll recognize him. He has bright red hair. I met him on the trail here. If he does show, ask him to get in with the Scalawags over to the saloon and listen to what they have to say. I’ll figure out someway to get in touch. Do you have any money?”

“Some. Innes has been paying me twenty dollars a month.”

“How does he pay you?”

“Gives me a twenty dollar gold piece.”

“Good, then if you spend a gold piece no one will question it. I’ll give you the same for the next two months. So now you’re working for me.”

“Thanks Riley. My family can use it. Your Pa and you have always come through for us when the family needed a hand. Most people don’t even know us people are alive. They ignore us even when we have been here for generations before them.”

“I know.” I shrugged, knowing it was a situation that would never change in my lifetime and maybe never. I helped wrestle the bureau and the bed that belonged to Innes into the buckboard. I wandered through the house. Some of my furniture was still in place. Most of the kitchen equipment was there where I remembered my mother and my wife’s hands using it to prepare meals for me. It gave me some moments of sadness. I felt my time was coming and it wouldn’t be long before I had some retaliation.

I rode back to the logging settlement the next morning with Jim Brown. I directed Abby and Duffy to visit Sarah Holcomb, but to stay out of sight for the next few days if they could. I planned to go around the outside of town to meet and talk to the federal officials who were on their way here. I wanted these notaries to be warned of what they would be facing when they arrived. Maybe, with my input, they could develop a plan of action.

I stayed overnight in the old logging settlement. There was excitement in the air. They knew change was coming. These people wanted to go back to their homes and property. They wanted to go to town and do some shopping without fear of being hassled, cheated, or pushed into a situation where they had to defend themselves and possibly be killed. It had happened all too often since the Scalawags had arrived and taken over.

“What are your plans, Riley? Are you still planning on raising cattle?”

“Maybe, but I’m leaning more to breeding horses. I saw some horse farms while bivouacked during the war back in Virginia. Horses back there are selling for two-three hundred dollars a head. Even here we can buy a pretty good horse for forty dollars. Raising cattle, the best you can get is twenty dollars after trailing all the way to the coast or to Louisiana. Even going up to the new rail head in Kansas you are lucky to get that price

“Of course they are only worth three and five here. That’ll change when all these cattle that grew up during the war are sold off. My thinking is I wouldn’t have to go as far to find a market for horses.”

“Yah, but not everyone can do that.”

“No they can’t, but every one of us can figure out something to live better if we get our ranches back into our own hands. We might have to work together a little more than we have been. Before the war each ranch was like a single kingdom of its own. Most of our ranches are bigger than a half town back east. If we had more people around, we might make a market right here in Petite Valley.”

“Where would the people come from?”

“We have some right here that would qualify if we gave them the chance. Mexican Pete has been living on my ranch since Winnie died. There are no better people than him and his family. You might not want to hear this, but we had a war with Mexico and the Mexican’s lost. When Texas became a country we treated them just like us here in the south are being treated now by the Northerners. Think about that. 

“According to Pete, these people who came here came with the idea in mind to take over the valley and sell off the land to a bunch of immigrants coming from Germany, Sweden, and Denmark. Remember most of us were immigrants when Mexico controlled the area. I say most of us were good people then and we still are. The same will be when these immigrants get here. Most all good, with maybe a few poor ones mixed in.”

“Where will they settle?”

“We all own our land. We can buy or sell as we please. I’m thinking I might hold onto a section or two and plat out the rest into quarter sections. I’d get a few dollars to buy me some good bloodlines and eventually have a market for my horses. All seven ranchers have land that abuts the La Petite del Rio at some point. Every section next to it is well watered and all would make good farms.

“This would give us a chance to get rid of our slab-sided Long Horns and bring in the Durham and other breeds like white faces that will pack on more meat. There are some Mexican breeds that put on half again as much weight as a longhorn will. Sometimes it is better to look beyond the way our fathers did things”

“For me, I would be buying quality hay and grain from these farmers and in return when they needed horses they would be at hand. Another plus is that we would have more schools, churches, stores and all kinds of services that we don’t have at present. Plenty of women for the men and maybe a man or two for some of our women to mate up with. Anyway, you sure got me started about what I’m looking at for the future.”

There was complete silence from these people I was talking to, except for three or four kids playing in the woods. “McBain, are you saying you want to let dirt farmers settle in next to us?” This was Sinclair asking. “Billy-be-damned to you, if I’ll go along with that.”

“Well maybe after we get this valley back into our hands it will be something to look at. You’re kind of out of the way up at the head of the valley. Think about raising a steer in three years instead of four and have it weigh out more.”

“Your Pa will take you out to the woodshed you talking like that.”

“I’ll find out. He’s on his way back to the valley.” Not much was said after that, but I could tell I had given everyone something to think on.

                                          Chapter Three

The next morning I headed out for the trail on the other side of town. I didn’t figure I would have to wait more than a day or two before the judge and his officials were coming down the trail into town.

I camped three miles outside the town in a little patch of trees. I could observe the trail coming and going. I hadn’t anymore than set up my camp when I saw six riders coming toward town. They looked as if they had ridden a long way. About the same way as Abby and I did when we arrived. This was a rougher bunch though. I’d put money on the table that they were some of the same crowd who had invaded the town in the last year.

Wouldn’t you know they drew up to rest their horses in the shade right in front of me where I was camped? They didn’t come off the trail, just standing there smoking. I could hear what they were saying though. “I hope the Sloans will feed us. I’m damned hungry. Ezra’s letter said he had chores for us. Remember, us’uns want to hang back and don’t do nothing until he shows us some money.”

“I hope he ain’t planning on us killing any women or children. That gets too raw for me.”

“Getting old, Bill?”

“Could be. This ain’t war time any more. I done enough of that to last me a spell. Let’s get on, I’m hungry.”

I thought, “I hope the judge was bringing some blank warrants with him.” I spent the night and was awake before anyone went by going either way in the morning. The judge wasn’t supposed to be coming along before tomorrow sometime, but you never could tell. He might be early.

He was. It was three and the hottest part of the day when I saw dust coming up the road. This time I stepped out and watched the buckboard approach. I raised my hand. There were two men on the buckboard and two riders behind it.

The driver pulled up. There was lather underneath the harness on the team, but this was because it was hot and not because the team was being pushed overly hard.

“Judge?” 

There were suddenly three guns pointed at me. The judge wasn’t showing one, but I’ll bet there was one on him. “Judge, I’m Riley McBain. Thought I would meet you and fill you in a little before you got to town. It might be a dangerous place for you if you weren’t aware.”

“Kenny, hitch the team in the shade, we’ll rest here for a bit. I want to get out of this sun.” This was done and we withdrew to where I had made camp. I looked at the judge before we began a conversation. He was big and I would guess in his fifties. The man driving the buckboard was older. Both had an air of competence and authority about them. The two men on horses were much younger, but had the same look about them 

I was introduced: “I’m Judge Kelly this is my prosecutor, Kenny Proctor. The short man is a Pinkerton agent, named Harry Sims and the other man is Federal Marshal, Samson Blue. What’s the setup? McBain, you do know some powerful personages. I never got orders from a general before. How come?”

“I was honored to serve as General Grant’s aide for more than a year. He wasn’t the easiest to get along with, but effective in doing what he set out to do. He always pays his debts. Guess he figured he owed me one.”

“Must be. I’m here. Tell me about the situation?”

“Short version, these Scalawags moved in here before the war ended. I think the main leaders are brothers named Sloan. The sheriff and his deputy are brothers, named Parker. The banker is one Bert Innes. He took over my ranch and is the one who killed my wife.”

“You haven’t gunned him? Why not?”

“He’s going to die soon, but it can wait until the whole bunch is driven out. The day he dies is the day I can bury my wife. I found her body in a cave the day after I arrived. People from the ranches have been treated just as badly. I don’t know much of what goes on in town, although I do have some written testimony that might be effective in bringing these scuts to justice. 

“I have a Mexican friend who has been in the employ of the bank president and he is willing to testify. Some of the ranch people will as well. I sent one into town to keep track of all of the ones in charge.”

“It sounds like we won’t be going into town blind. What else?”

“You do know that General Grant has ordered a troop of cavalry here to be used at your disposal, don’t you?”

“I didn’t know that. Are they here now?”

“No, and they won’t be here for another five or six days.”

“Well maybe we should get all of our ducks in a row and wait for them to arrive.”

“My thoughts exactly. The troops are being ordered to the Indian Territories after they have been here two weeks. Hopefully it won’t take longer than that to settle out problems.”

“What’s our first move?”

“I think we should ride right through town and make my ranch your headquarters until the troops get here. Innes has left and won’t be coming back. He was visited by the ghost of my wife the other night. Scared him a bit. Also, I’ll bring down some of the ranch owners and their hands from the hills to be close by if we need them. You might want a little more protection than what is right here at present.”

“They wouldn’t bother us federal officers would they?”

“They might. Some of this bunch was in with the raiders who destroyed Lawrence Kansas. That’s a fact. You’ll learn who those are when you get to talk to the witnesses. Six of the same stripe went by here yesterday heading into town. I guess they figure this is a good place to hide out.”

“I may have warrants for a few of them. Some of them will qualify for the rope if we identify them.”

“Good, we’ll hope so.” I picked up camp, throwing my gear into the buckboard. I nudged my horse in with the two riders. The marshal talked friendly like. The Pink agent didn’t say a word.

When we went through town there were three men crossing the street. One of them came to the side of the buckboard and inquired what our business in the area was. I pulled up facing him. “I’m Sarah Holcomb’s brother. The two men in the buckboard are our uncle and another brother. These other two are riding along with us. No relation. Sarah’s okay isn’t she? It’s been years since we have seen each other.”

“Never met her, but I hear she’s okay, but she ain’t too friendly. You get there you stay until you get ready to leave. Don’t have no truck with her neighbors. There’s been some trouble out on the range and I wouldn’t want anyone hurt.”

“Okay. Is Sid still with her?”

“Wouldn’t know. I never heard of no one named Sid. Get along, you’re blocking the street.” The judge said something to the effect that I thought fast and could lie with the best of them.

I saw a couple of people I recognized, but we were moving. I had changed some and no one recognized me. We left the town behind us and an hour and some later we pulled into my ranch. The corral was full of horses, but there was no one showing when we pulled up. When I was recognized, there were a dozen men coming out of the barn and from around back.

“You the judge?”

“That’s right. Kelly is the name. This all of you there are?”

“No, some of our families are still up in the hills, and over to the Holcomb Ranch there are another half dozen men. The women, we hope, are safe enough and are armed.”

“Christ, is it that bad here.”

“It was worse for awhile. Them bastards took us by surprise and we didn’t get organized until Riley got here. We’re ready to fight now to get our homes back.”

“Okay, folks, Judge Kelly has been on the road for four days. Let me get him settled tonight and we can get into why we need him tomorrow.” I took him and the prosecutor into the house and made them comfortable. I finished up, saying, “I’m taking you up to visit my wife first thing in the morning.” I asked if the ranchers were comfortable bunking in the barn. Our bunk house was small, only big enough for five men, and that had been staked out by the first arrivals.

All of this didn’t take me very long and I was on my way over to the Holcomb ranch to fill Abby, Duffy and the rest in on what was happening. I made arrangements for Abby to bunk with Sarah for tonight. There were no women on the McBain spread. I laughed because I didn’t think Duffy would have come back with me. He had eyes for Sarah and her children thought he was a pretty good person.

He came to me, asking, “Captain, do you think I’m being a fool? I mean, I don’t have a thing except the horse I’m riding?”

“Duffy, if you are interested in her, she’ll tell you soon enough if she doesn’t want you hanging around. If she does that, accept it and move on.  Sarah knows she is going to need a man around to teach her kids. I’ve known you for years and I’ll put in a good word for you.”

“Thanks, Captain, you give me a little hope.” I ran this by Abby.

“Sarah knows how he feels about her. He is going about it the right way to catch her attention. The main thing is that the kids like him. That goes a long way.

“He’ll be okay then. He was a very competent soldier. He’s pretty young, though.”

“That won’t matter to Sarah if it doesn’t bother him about her being older.”

“It won’t. Abby, please come over to the ranch early tomorrow if you would. I’m taking the judge and a couple of men up to the cave to see Winnie. When we get back, I’ll give the journal to the judge and let him go through it. I wish those troopers were here now, but this wait will give the judge time to put together some plans.” I took my blanket roll and camped for the night up on the high ground over looking my ranch. Abby found me there in the morning.

We went down to the house and had breakfast. We would soon need some supplies. I sent one of the cowpunchers out to beef a critter and make sure on the way back they dropped off a quarter for Sarah.

“Judge Kelly, I would like to have you visit my wife’s remains. She is located in a cave less than a mile from here. It isn’t too far to walk if you would be so kind.”

“I thought she was dead?”

“She is, but has never been buried. I want you see her just the way I found her. This has strengthened my resolve to change the balance of power here in Petite Valley. While there you will meet my wife’s sister who looks enough like her to be her twin. I’ll tell you now that my wife kept a journal from the time I left until she died while writing down what was happening. I’m hoping you will look on it as a sort of death bed accusation of several of these men who have taken over our town and ranches.”

“We’ll see.” The other three men who arrived with the judge went with us. We paused when we reached the ridge back of the ranch and looked south out over the open range. There were thousands of acres visible and there wasn’t a cow in sight.

I commented, “There was a huge roundup of salable cattle last year and there was supposed to be another this year. I directed the ranches to push all the cattle up into the foothills at the far end of the valley. Hopefully they can come back within the next couple of weeks.”

“Were you chosen to direct all of these moves?”

“No, but I came home and found the ranchers leaderless. I do know General Grant so I asked him for help.”

“That I can understand. I never liked the general very much, but orders are orders.  I just knew some personage in the government had power enough to move me out here. The orders said it was a temporary assignment and I would be back in my home territory within the month.  So okay, let’s get going.”

I had gone up to the cave last evening and placed the journal just as I had found it. The burned down stub of candle that Winnie had written her last words by hadn’t been moved and neither had the pencil. When we got as far as where we had camped, I sent Abby on ahead to light two more candles farther in the cave so there would be some light. This was to show that Winnie when she reached the cave and couldn’t get further inside before she wrote the note and died before it was completed.

The prosecutor objected having to walk the distance, so we put him aboard a gentle horse and led him up to as close to the cave as we could. “This better be damned necessary. If it isn’t, you people are going to have some serious explaining to do.” The judge didn’t hesitate at all, figuring that if General Grant believed in me, he should too. The prosecutor changed his mind when he stepped into the cave and saw Winnie’s remains.

“Is this the way you found the body?”

“Exactly. The only thing that has been disturbed is I picked up the journal and have read it. I put it back into its original position last night. No one has even picked up the coat that is over her.”

“Why not?”

“Because I am thinking that I will have the cave walled up and this will be her burial crypt. When I have settled with the man who did this, I will have a service and she will be just a memory. After you read the journal, I think you will believe that Winnie’s words will bring out the truth of what happened here in the valley and it is your duty to take action.”

“We’ll see. Is it okay with you if I take the journal with me?” I thought it right that Kenny Proctor would ask. “I’ll return it to you before I leave.”

“Of course. That why I brought you up here.”

“It has certainly garnered my attention and made a believer of how serious the problem is here in this section of Texas. I’m afraid though, this isn’t an isolated case. I wonder every time I see someone stepping down from a train carrying a carpet bag why they are here.”

“True.”

We returned to the ranch. The four men went into the house. I went in with them. The judge made the comment that he wished there were someone who knew the situation in town who had more knowledge of what had been going on recently.

“I’ll see if Mexican Pete is here. He’s smart and one of my best friends. He has been working for the banker so he might have a little inside knowledge. Not about bank business, but how he interacts with the natives and with those he arrived here with. Pete is treated as a peon, but I have found he is much more than that.”

“Good, that will help. You can trust him, can’t you?”

“Definitely.” Pete wasn’t there when I went looking for him. I told the men hanging around to send him in if he showed up. I went back inside. Kenny Proctor was reading Winnie’s journal.

He spoke about what Winnie had written down, “Your wife did well in telling us about the situation here. She not only mentioned the people who live here, but the ones that came in and took over. She gave names to them all as she learned them. Some of them she described fully and what they were doing that was wrong. I think I can use this and charge several with their misdeeds and make it stick.” Kenny was scribbling notes so he wouldn’t have to keep looking at Winnie’s journal and could pass it to the judge and then to the other two men with them.

The men who were down from the logging settlement couldn’t understand why I had them here. They wanted to be up in the hills with their families. I gave it thought and agreed with them. “Please come back in four days. The judge will have his plans in place by them. I’m sure he will welcome the support from all of you when he gets ready to move. The troopers should be here that day or the one following. I’m sure you will be seeing some action.”

“Captain, one thing about you, you think of your troops and not just about the power we’ve given you to direct us. Going into action with you lets us feel confident that we will come out of this with a whole hide.”

“I hope so. At least you will be fighting for yourselves in the near term and not for some ideology that effects you someday in the future. We do need the changes now and I’m willing to fight.”

Mexican Pete rode in and I took him into the house to be questioned by Kenny Proctor and Judge Kelley. I was a little worried that they wouldn’t treat Pete right, but I relaxed when they paid no attention to him being a Mexican. They started asking him about the town. The Federal Marshall, Sam Blue, had paper and he made notes where all different buildings were located. He was much interested in the jail and where the sheriff’s office was located. Next they spoke about the Sloan brothers and where they were in relation to the jail.

He inquired about the bank, which was between the Hotel and the General store. At that time, Kenney Proctor asked how much room was inside the bank. When told it had a sizable lobby, he acted pleased. The single teller was named Graham Brown. He was uncle to the Jim Brown whom I had sent to deliver telegrams for me. Pete said Jim’s uncle didn’t have access to the big safe at all. If he needed a ledger or money from it he had to ask Innes to get it for him.

The Mexicans and poorer folk lived on the south side of town and this is where some of the businesses were located, such as the saddle shop and livery stable. The gunsmith was in the same building with the blacksmith. There was a good sized corral next to them and then the country opened up to the ranches. Tim Long’s ranch, he that was dead now, was positioned across the Petite Rio which curved around the town and then on south through a notch in the hills. It was directly across the Petite Rio from the McBain property.

The hotel fronted on Main Street across from the two Sloan properties and then there was the bank and the large general store. Across the street was a freighting outfit and wagon yard next to an empty lot before you reached the first Sloan building. This is what you first came to as you came into town from the east. My land was on the north side of the river before you reached town from the west. Behind Main Street to the north was where the better business folk lived.

“So, how many people live here in all?”

I answered, “I don’t know for sure. Counting the town folk, the Mexican population, and the Ranch community, there must be about two hundred, give or take.”

Judge Kelly spoke up, “Is that all?”

“That’s about it. Wouldn’t you say, Pete?”

“I guess so. There are thirty or so who came in with the Scalawags, but then there have been that many have left because of them. I can think of eleven of us who have been planted in the grave yard. Most were all good people too. Everyone else has been intimidated. That is until Captain Riley showed up.”

“Yes, and that is why we are here. I think we would be as helpless as you people if there wasn’t a troop of soldiers on the way. They should give us enough backing to tip the balance in your favor.”

“What about those immigrants that are headed here? The rumor is that they are a bunch of German religious people.”

“Mennonites?”

“I’ve heard the name.”

“They’ll be farmers and really good ones. Probably being pushed out of someplace else. They are religious, ultra peaceful, and won’t fight because they don’t believe in it, but will be good solid citizens. They’ll have cash money to buy property. That’s likely why these Scalawags took over your ranches. The Mennonites aren’t exactly like the Quakers back east although they have the same beliefs by not joining in any military action. They more than make up for it in other ways.”

“Do you know this for a fact, Judge?”

“Yes, there was a small settlement of them living next to my family while I was growing up. Maybe someone here would sell them some land when you get it back into your own control.”

“We’ll give it some thought if they do show up here.” The marshal, Sam Blue and Proctor were discussing the case they were building. 

The judge was listening in. I went out with Pete. He had something to say, “I saw a man with red hair, if he is the one you know, going into Sloan’s bar. He’s new in town. Do you want me to look him up?”

“I do, but don’t jump right into asking him to spy for me. Watch him a little. If he acts as if he is in with them, keep away from him. Be careful, we have four more days before the troopers arrive.”

“Okay Riley, I won’t make a move until I’m sure of him.” I picked up and headed over to the Holcomb ranch. I wanted to see Abby. Did I have a reason? No, I just wanted to see her.

Abby was glad that I came over. She asked what was happening and I said we were waiting on the cavalry to arrive, but plans were being made to get control of the town. “These things take time and if they are planned right there is a good chance of success.”

“It’s taking a long time.”

“I know.”

“Riley, can we go up to the cave and visit Winnie. I think about her all the time. I want to tell her I am divorced. I know she can’t hear me, but I need to say it anyway.”

“Sure, I want to tell her about how invaluable the journal she wrote has been to me and others. I want to tell how it strengthened me in my resolve to get rid of these invaders. I’m sure her presence will come to me, maybe in a dream or some other way.”

Abby and I went into the cave. We had only the light that came through the entrance to view Winnie. I sat down on one side of her and Abby sat on the other side. I looked at Abby when she whispered, “Riley.” She was holding out her hand for me to take. I stretched mine out. We let our arms sag down so our hands were resting on the coat where it covered Winnie’s body. We relaxed.

It was crazy, but I felt a presence other than Abby’s. I was imbued with the sense that Winnie was waiting for me to speak to her. “Winnie dear, I feel you near me. This is something I haven’t felt for two years or more. I haven’t forgotten you and my love hasn’t gone away at all. It is just that we have been so far apart.

“I came here to tell you that journal you kept while I was gone has buoyed me up and has kept me from going crazy over what happened while I wasn’t here to protect you. Love for you has given me the courage to try to right the wrongs that has descended on the valley.

“The last year of your journal notes the Scalawags who came in and took over our homes and land. It has been invaluable in laying open those crimes. There is a federal prosecutor and a judge to prepare charges against them and these are being readied now.

“The Judge has agreed that your entries in the journal are as good as any testimony you could give if you were still alive. In the next two weeks, this will be settled and if all goes according to plan, it will be you who has returned the valley to its rightful owners. I will return and speak about the results when all is completed.”

I ceased speaking when I felt the tenseness that had been with me leave. It was Abby who was now whispering, “My dear Sister Winnie, I’m sitting here now with Riley. He has my hand in his. My marriage to Whitaker didn’t turn out well and I have divorced him. It seemed like the thing to do at the time. Then Riley came by on his way home. I felt the inclination to travel here with him, hoping to be with you.

“I’m aware of how much Riley loved you. I have read your journal too and I know how much you loved him. I confess I have grown very fond of him over the past several weeks. When the trouble here in the valley has been settled, I will come again to commune with you. His heart will be with you always I know, but maybe you could share some of it with me. I would treasure it as much as you did. I love and miss you.”

We lay there holding hands and dozing, each with our own thoughts. Soon, though while we had been warm and comfortable, the chill of the cave got to us and our hands parted. The presence I had felt wasn’t with me any longer. It was a relief to go out and feel the sun beating down on us.

“Riley, did you feel as if Winnie was with us?”

“I did. From the minute we began to hold hands until we let go. It is beyond me to read what it meant. I just know how I felt at the time. I believe it will happen again and I’m looking forward to it.”

“I am too. Well, back to the real world now. I’m feeling anxious about what is before us. No, that isn’t what I meant. I’m not anxious about how it is going to turn out, but anxious for it to begin.”

“I’m of the same mind.” I left Abby to walk back to the Holcomb spread while I headed for my ranch.

“Where have you been McBain?” Proctor asked when I arrived.

“Kenny, I went up to the cave for awhile to visit my wife’s remains. I found that if I talk out loud to the memory or remains of ones you love and grieve for, it is like being close to them. I almost can feel their presence. It is peaceful there and I need something like that on occasion. Tricks of the mind, I suppose.

 “I’ve seen a lot of death and I always feel like this before a battle. When the first gun is fired, I’m fine. How long before you will have the charges made out?”

“They are all set. I’m indicting at least seven men and asking for the death sentence for some of them. The local lawyer should be charged too. He bent the law for his own use by walking all over the people in this community. The circuit judge is no better, but I guess I can only ask for a reprimand.”

“Is Bert Innes included in the number being indicted?”

“Yes, of course, and him especially. I believe he was the head and it needs to be cut off. I have made up a list of several others too.”

“What are you going to do with all of them if they are found guilty?”

“That’s up to Judge Kelly. I think they’ll be turned over to the troopers when they leave. They’ll be taken to the nearest fort and hung or shot if death is the sentence. Those with lighter sentences will probably be inducted into the army and forced to serve fighting the Indians. Will that be satisfactory?”

I thought about it before agreeing with one exception. “Innes deserves to be horsewhipped, but I don’t suppose you can sentence him to something like that. He needs to be humiliated in front of all the people he has wronged. I never thought I was a vengeful person and I don’t know for certain of only one person he has killed, but it should be enough with all of the other crimes he has committed.

“I’ll take it up with the judge.”

“Good enough.”

A little later I asked Kenny Proctor how the troopers were to be utilized. I gave him my thoughts. “I’d like it if we could get the troopers here to my ranch without them being seen. Get them here and plan how best to deploy them. I’d better get some of the ranchers to spread out to all of the trails into town and see if they can’t be intercepted. Also I had better have the rest of the ranch people here by tomorrow evening.

“They’ll do that for you?”

“They said they would follow my lead. I’ll send word up to the logging camp about what I want done.” There were still a couple of ranch hands here who hadn’t gone back to the hills. I set one on the trail with word of what was needed to head off the troopers. The Pinkerton agent dressed up as a cowhand and went into town to look around. I wondered about that. Those men would look over a stranger damned close and might hold him. I asked the question if it wasn’t dangerous for him.

“He is his own man. He just rode in with us. We have no control over him or any moves he takes on. I wouldn’t worry about him. The Pinks are a different breed. They very seldom get into a situation they can’t handle.” I shrugged my shoulders and passed it from my mind.

I sat in on the plans being made for taking over the town. Judge Kelly laid it out for us. “If we can get those troopers here soon enough and they ride in backing us up, it will be simple. I’ll use the bank lobby to set up court. That will put Innes under our control. The rest of the bunch won’t know what is going on at first. I want all the records of what has gone on since they came to town and I suspect they will be found in the bank safe. I’ll have the troopers collect everyone on the business side of the street and occupy the buildings facing the saloons”

“That sounds like a good plan. Where do me and my men need to be?”

“If you and the ranch people could set up behind the saloons and the jail that would cover that section. There should be three or four men covering the livery stable to stop any of them from running out. I think your man Pete said his people lived on that side of town. Maybe they would give you some help.”

“I’m sure they will. I’ll send Pete in this evening to make sure. You aren’t just after the leaders are you?”

“No, I’m not. We have a trunk full of flyers on all the outlaws we think are in this section of the country. We’ll round them up if we can. We’ll wait three more days for the troops to get here. If they aren’t by then, we’ll just go after the leaders. Most of the others will get away and we’ll have to deal with them again at some later date some place else.

If the troopers arrived on time, they would be here the day after tomorrow. I took a minute for reflection. It seemed as if the feds that were here were planning on the troopers being here, but if they weren’t they would still go forward and do what they could. I was ready for either situation. I also knew that none of this would be without risk.

The men from the hills started coming into the ranch by noon. There were three women who came with them. Camp was set up behind the house. I gathered everyone together and told them what the plans were if the cavalry got here and the plan if they didn’t. Pete had come back from town and said the Mexican community was behind us and would help. I asked Pete to direct them if I was busy elsewhere.

I was eating with Abby over at Sarah Holcomb’s. It was late and almost dark when I got there. There was a knock on the door. I pulled my gun and had it in my lap when Sarah went to the door. The three kids had been trained to go into the other room. Abby went with them.

There was a trooper standing there. “Miz, Holcomb, I was asked to come to your door and ask direction to the McBain ranch. Can you direct me?”

“Come in. Mr. McBain is here.” I stood and holstered my weapon.

“Hi, I’m McBain. I didn’t expect you until tomorrow.”

“The Lieutenant told us this was urgent so we moved right along. One of us is from Pineville so we knew generally where we were headed. One of your people met us and led us around the town so we could talk a bit before going into action.”

“Who’s in charge of you?”

The trooper grinned before answering. “We’ve got us a Second Louie. He’s trying awful hard, but don’t know much. The sergeant is getting him trained before we get to fighting Indians. I think he’ll be up to snuff before that happens. So what are we here for?”

“I’ll take you over to my ranch. There is a federal prosecutor, a judge and a marshal doing the planning. They’ve been here three-four days. Before the end of the war a bunch of riff-raff showed up here and took over the town and the valley. I got home and found they had killed my wife and others. I sent a wire to Galena and General Grant got on it and he started moving men around to take care of our problem. You being here is the end result of the wire I sent.

“General Grant, huh?”

“General Grant.”

“When are we going to plan on chasing them down?”

“Don’t know, but soon. I’ll saddle up and lead you. It isn’t far.” I walked out and met Lieutenant Burnsides and Sergeant Morgan. The troop had stood down waiting for the trooper who came to the door to find out where my ranch was. They were looking tired.

The sergeant explained, “It was understood that we reach here as soon as possible. We’ve been riding long days and are on short rations.”

“Your arrival has been anticipated. You’re a little earlier than expected, but we have beef and beans waiting on you.”

“Good, that’s better than we expected. We have beans, but no time to cook them. Mostly we need to rest up. I take it you were in the army?

“Yes, I was captain and aide with General Grant.”

“That explains our orders then.” I led the troop over to my ranch. In a few minutes after our arrival there were six tents showing and cook fires started. About that time the three wives that had come with their men were bringing out kettles of stew and pots of beans. The stew had biscuits on top. None of it was hot, but that didn’t matter. It was food and welcomed by the hungry troopers. The troopers had coffee and that was brewing on their own fires. The lieutenant and the sergeant went inside to talk with the other half of this operation.

The troopers soon crawled into their tents with the ranchers posted as guard. Every one of the troopers was equally tired, so being relieved of guard duty was welcomed. By dark it was a quiet encampment. The ranchers down from the hills were as quiet as the troopers. They were more nervous about what the morrow would bring. They had fought Indians and an occasional rustler, but had never gone into any kind of unified battle before.

When I came out of the house, the plans had been finalized. The prosecutor and the judge would be taking over the bank at noon tomorrow. Some of the ranchers would filter in through where the merchants and business owners had their homes and go into the hotel and business fronting on Main Street facing the places held by the Scalawags across the street. That included the jail, the Sloan establishments, the freight yard and the livery stable.

The bank was up the street from the blacksmith, gun shop and saddle shop that were owned by men who had settled in the area years before. Their services were needed by both the new and the old. Duffy and I would be behind those concerns where most of the Scalawags held sway. The Mexican community would be under my guidance. Where did my authority come from? The Judge had the power to swear me in as a Deputy Federal Marshal so I was now wearing a star.

Things don’t always go as planned. The original plan was to hit town at noon. At that time if reports were correct, Innes would be in the bank. The troopers would escort the judge and the prosecutor down Main Street. Those two with two troopers and the Federal Marshal would step into the bank and declare it was now under federal control. Duffy and I with two more troopers would peel off and go into the sheriff’s office and lock the sheriff and deputy into a cell.

At that time Duffy and I would lock the front door of the jail and go out the rear to meet with my force of Mexicans and ranchers whom Pete and Duffy were to have ready at hand. We would try to keep the main characters from escaping before they were brought before the judge.

We started getting ready and going over our plans before ten that morning. Suddenly Abby appeared at my side. She was now dressed as Abner. “Riley, I’m going to be a part of this. Winnie was my sister.” I couldn’t deny her so she was going to be riding with Mexican Pete and I would meet up with her after taking care of containing the sheriff.

We were mounting up when somebody said there was a buckboard coming. The buckboard stopped when they spotted a lot of men and horses at the ranch. The sergeant ordered four troopers out to bring then in. When it drove into the yard, I recognized Red Morris doing the driving. Banker Innes was beside him and there were two men in a seat behind. They were dressed much differently than the people around here and I recognized they must be a couple of the new immigrants.

Red spoke up, “Howdy Cap’n, I was wondering iffen we would meet up. I was talking to a Mex an’ he said you was round, but been havin’ trouble ’claiming your land. I’ve been hangin out with them Scalawags. The Banker here needed a driver to show some land so I done volunteered jus’ tuh get away from them.”

I grinned, “The banker is the worst Scalawag of the bunch and you’re driving him.”

Just then the Innes asked, “What are all these men doing on my land. I came out here to show some land buyers the property. Who are you, anyway?”

“The name is Riley McBain. I believe you knew my wife Winifred. I dispute this is your land and your right to sell it. We’ll take that up later. I think for now, though, Federal Marshal Samson Blue has some papers for you.”

“What. What do you mean papers for me? I’ll have you know that I’m the owner of the bank and its leading citizen of the town.”

“You’re also its leading crook and Scalawag. You’re being charged with murder, mayhem and fencing stolen property after the sack of Lawrence Kansas. They’ll be more charges when your records are looked at concerning the false land acquisition around here in Petite Valley that you have been party to.”

“You can’t do this. I’ll take you to court. The circuit judge will be here next week.”

“You’ll have your day in court. There is a Federal Prosecutor and a Federal Judge who will be sitting a court in another few hours. You can take it up with them. For right now you are under arrest.” Blue grabbed Innes and pulled him out of the buckboard.

I broke in, “Red, who are the buyers in the wagon with you?”

“Farmers lookin’ for land I guess. They don’t speak like us’uns. I don’t know what they speak an’ I can’t cipher it.”

I looked at them and asked, “Are you Mennonites?”

“Jah, Jah.”

“Red, are there more of them?”

“Yeah, a lot. They got ’bout dozen wagons and a whole bunch of women and kids. Pretty likely lookin outfits. They dress good but different, an equipment shapes up good. They got fine lookin’ draft animals pullin’ em too.”

“All right, we’ll deal with them later after we get this other situation settled.”

“What can I do to help?”

“Drive them back into town to their families after we take over. Where are they located?”

“They be parked on t’other side of the village jus’ fore you get tuh town. They found a good sized field and some graze for they stock. Innes been talking wi’ em ’bout land an said it was where they could park ’til they went on land of they own. Say, yous got that Abner feller wi’ you? Yous two set me up by feedin me an’ I got tuh say I had good luck gettin’ home after yous left. I found me family all gone so decided to look yous up.”

“Glad you did. It’s pretty unsettled right now, but we’re about to get it straightened out. Abner will be around to say hello after a bit.”

One of the foreign farmers questioned what was happening. He was the only one of the immigrants who had full command of the English language. He was also much concerned because the farmers had paid money down being told that land was available for setting up a community for them. The Judge assured them that their money was safe. However he didn’t say anything about them being able to settle on land in the area. That was up to the ranchers who owned the land.

*****

We were soon ready to leave for town. Every one knew what the plans were to take over the town. The one change was made after Innes was put under arrest. It was decided that Samson Blue would drive my ranch wagon into town and stop before the bank. Blue, Innes, Proctor and Judge Kelly would go in and the Judge would set up the lobby as a temporary courtroom. The towns people, including the riff raff should be surprised enough to let this happen before being aware that the power of the Scalawags had been challenged.

Red Morris was driving the buckboard that brought the farmers out with Innes. Pete rode in with him and he did converse with the farmer who spoke English, telling him more of the situation at hand. 

Two troopers were behind the wagon with the men who were going into the bank. I rode beside Duffy directly behind the wagon holding Red and Pete. There were two more troopers riding behind me. They would go into the Sheriff’s office with me when I ventured to confront the sheriff. When we had the sheriff and his deputy locked into cells, the four of us would go out the back door and join the Mexicans.

The men from the ranches, by this time, would have peeled off and gone into the back of the stores and facing the street from the shelter inside. The six remaining troopers, including the sergeant and the lieutenant would be stationed along Main Street. When Red delivered the new immigrants he would drive the buckboard across the first empty lot beside the Sloan Dance hall and park it around behind the jail and other buildings. All of the horses, including most of the cavalry mounts, would be held there as well.

The lieutenant was the only trooper who was wearing side arms. The rest of the troops were carrying seven shot Spencer Carbines. This was a lot of fire power and it was debatable if the Scalawags could match the guns of both the ranchers and the troopers.

We advanced up Main Street without incident. Samson Blue halted in front of the bank. Innes was looking for some of his crowd. There were people on the street, but none that he felt could help him. Resigned, he went docilely into the bank ahead of the marshal. Proctor and Judge Kelly followed. The two troopers dismounted and tied their mounts to the back of the wagon and went in too. Pete jumped down from the buckboard and drove the vacated wagon up to the empty lot and back around behind the jail where there was some safety for the animals if the bullets started flying.

Red Morris drove the wagon that held the Mennonites up the street and into the grove where the Mennonite families were gathered. He too, moved his wagon to where the one Pete parked his. Duffy and I dismounted and handed the reins of our mounts to Abner (Abby). She went through the alley to find a place to hitch them. She was supposed to find Mexican Pete and stay with him.

I had been given a badge by Judge Kelly and I pinned it on now. I looked up and down the street and could see the normal activities taking place. A few residents had stopped to look at the troopers, wondering no doubt, what they were doing in town.

I opened the door and walked into the sheriff’s office with Duffy right behind me. Jeff Parks, the sheriff, sat with his feet up on the desk and was snoring. His brother Gordon, the deputy, was stretched out on a bench asleep. I had my hand on my gun. I pulled it now and rapped on the desk. Startled, both pairs of feet hit the floor.

“Sheriff, and Deputy Parks, you are both under arrest for the murder of Tim Long.”

“Say’s who?” The deputy came awake and jumped up. He was sidling toward the hall and the back door.

“I do. I’m Federal Marshal Riley McBain and the badge I’m wearing shows I have the authority.”

“Bullshit. No way.”

“Well then, this shooting iron in my hand says it louder. Turn around and put your hands up. Duffy, search them for weapons.” It was crowded in the small room. I was jostled when Duffy went around me. Both the sheriff and his deputy had started to turn their backs. Just then the rear door at the end of the hall opened. Abby stood there with gun out. The deputy exploded into action. I couldn’t see him as he had turned and the sheriff was blocking my view. I could see his holstered gun making sure he didn’t reach for it. I couldn’t see it, but he was digging one out of his belt.

Abner shouted at him to, “Leave it.” He never hesitated and the gun was coming up. The deputy was a big man and not only was digging for his gun, but was rushing down the hall toward Abby and the open door behind her. Abby fired twice and the deputy went down landing at her feet.

The sheriff decided he had better get into this, but Duffy swiped his head with his pistol. He didn’t go down, but was stunned enough so he could be handled and cuffs put on him. Duffy then went about removing his gun. We had time now to assess the situation. There was a prisoner in one of the two cells. It was Sims, the Pinkerton agent. He had been considerably roughed up.

“Let me out, if you would?” I let him out and Duffy shoved the sheriff into the empty cell.

“How come you’re in a cell?”

“The night man at the hotel knew who I was from some other investigation and reported it to the sheriff. They dragged me in here and said they were going to beat on me until I told them why I was in town. I’m damned glad to see you.” I smiled remembering that this was the most words I had heard from the agent since we met. The agent headed for the back door and Abby. He kicked the dead deputy and said to Abby, “I could kiss you. My only regret is that you killed him before I had the chance to fix his wagon.”

Just then we heard gunfire from up the street from one of the Sloan buildings. One of the troopers stuck his head in the door and said one of the troopers was down.

“Come on, we’ll go out the back.” The two troopers who were with me, followed after I locked and barred the office door. We left the dead deputy and the locked up sheriff and went out the back. 

I paused to ask if Abby was okay, “Yeah, I’m fine.” She didn’t look it. She was shaking.

“Abby, you’re always there when you are needed. Good job.”

I looked around and could see three troopers and several Mexicans patrolling up and down the alley behind the buildings. There was a spate of gunfire down in back of the livery stable and three or four men on horses went riding out.

                                          Chapter Four

Up on the other end of the street by the Sloan buildings, several women burst out the back door and ran into the Mexican community. “Abby, would you go ask one of them if all the women are out? I don’t want to be shooting in there if there are still women who could get hit.” This was more to get Abby out of the way instead of really needing to know.

Now there was steady gunfire across the street coming from the hotel and the general store. I guess the ranchers had opened up at the Scalawags. I cautiously went up the alley behind the buildings. There didn’t seem to be any windows on the back of the buildings, just a single door and steps. “Pete, don’t let anyone out the doors if you can help it. I’m going across the street to the bank and talk to Proctor. Maybe we can pick up that trooper who is down if I can stop everyone from shooting for a minute.”

I stood in the alley surveying what was happening. I could see that the trooper who was down wasn’t dead. He had crawled in close to the building where the Sloan gang couldn’t reach him with gunfire. This wasn’t going how I wanted it to. I ducked across the street and into the bank. “Proctor, we can’t just kill them all. There must be some men with Sloan and their only crime is being guilty by association.”

“I know, but who started this fight? The first shots were fired in the sheriff’s office and that is where you were located.”

“I know that. I was arresting the sheriff and his deputy. Both had been proscribed and you have warrants for them. The deputy is dead.  That said; we need to talk to these people and let them have a chance to give up. We need someone who can hold a white flag and tell them what this is all about.”

Graham Brown, the teller spoke up. “Sadie Hanks would do it. She is wife of Sloan’s bartender. Sloan is a little sweet on her and he would never shoot her. She could talk to them without being shot at. She lives on this side of the street.”

“Would you find her? She must be worried about her husband.”

“That was why I thought of her. They are friends of me and my wife.”

Just then the only lawyer in town, Lawrence Brickland, came in asking what was going on. The judge explained. “Judge, I’m on retainer to the Sloans. I can talk to them. What do you want me to say?”

Proctor answered, “Just tell them to stop shooting. I’ve set up court here in the bank. I have a list of warrants and I have some that I can fill out if I find they have committed crimes.” Brickland looked down the list of names of whose crimes were known. Most were of the deeds they had done since reaching here.

The exceptions were the Sloans, the sheriff and his now dead brother. There was also a warrant for attorney Brickland. He blanched when he read his name. “Why is my name on this list?” 

The judge answered, “Some of the ranchers made complaints about you double crossing them. I’m to look into it.You work with us on getting this settled and you won’t receive more than a fine. You cross us and I’ll see you get jail time.” Brickland didn’t like it, but agreed to work with Proctor. It was the only deal he could make.

Sadie Hanks came in the back door of the bank with Graham Brown who had found her looking out the General store window. She was justifiably concerned about her husband who was in Sloan’s bar room across the street. 

There had been sporadic shooting coming from both sides. A large piece of white paper was attached to an umbrella being waved by Attorney Brickland as he stepped cautiously out the bank door. He walked to the middle of the street. Sadie ran by him and started shouting for her husband to come out of Sloan’s Bar. He looked over the batwing door of the saloon to see his wife shouting at him.

He pushed the doors apart and came to her. She grabbed his face and kissed him and then dragged him up the street and into the hotel. That was one man who wasn’t going to die today if she could help it. Attorney Brickland went inside Sloan’s. He was in there for fifteen minutes and came out and went next door to the dance hall.

It wasn’t long before Brickland came back across the street to the bank. “You’ve got a fight on your hands. Some of the men in the bar are going to give up, but that still leaves eleven in there forted up. There is only one man in the dance hall that caved. There are six at the hall that aren’t giving in. How do you want to handle the ones who want out?”

“Tell them to go out the back door and I’ll check their stories. If I think they are wanted or caused crimes here, I’ll hold them. They are to come out one at a time. I expect you will be representing them?”

“Nope, they’re on their own.”

“That won’t work.” I looked at the Judge Kelly. “Judge, order Brickland to represent them.”

“So ordered. Proctor, you go with McBain and process them as quickly as possible. Restrain the ones you charge until we get the others dealt with. Tell the ones you don’t charge to get their ass out of town. Get to it, time is wasting.”

When Proctor and I scooted across the street I saw that the downed trooper had been rescued. I didn’t know how seriously he had been injured. The dead Scalawag was still lying in the street. With the gunfire quieted the sense of danger had dropped. I knew that things would heat up again soon. The minute I reached the rear of the Sloan’s bar I ran into Pete.

“Pete, did the dynamite come into town with you?”

“Yeah, it’s in the wagon. Are we going to use it?”

“I think so. First, there will be some men coming out the rear doors. The prosecutor and I will be interrogating them. I imagine most of them will be regular cowhands. They may be guilty of stealing cattle, but I’m positive they were ordered to by Innes or the men who they worked for. We’ll let them go if they give their word to get out of town.”

“What do you need the dynamite for?”

“When the men that are quitting are dealt with, we’re going to have to dig the rest out. The quickest way is to open up those two buildings with dynamite. It may not kill many, but the shock value is as good as ten men.”

“I’ll have it ready. Who is going to lay it in place?”

“I will.” Just then a man eased out the door of the dance hall with his hands in the air. I grabbed him and asked him what his business in town was.

“I was just getting ready to jump into bed with Rosy when I started hearing gun fire. Then she ran out of the room and didn’t come back. After I got my clothes on somebody said there were troopers out front and one had been shot. I want no part of this. This could make me swear off women for the rest of my life.”

“You had better get out of town then. Where is your horse?”

“At the freight yard.”

“Get it saddled and ride.”

“I’m gone.” I shunted six more cowhands who had been drinking at the bar to the freight yard and they left all in a rush. I had Proctor detain one man who gave me answers that didn’t sound right. I took him through the back door of the jail and locked him in the other cell next to the sheriff. He paled some when he had to step over the dead deputy that was still lying in the hall. The sheriff spoke to my latest prisoner by name which made me think they knew each other. I’d deal with him later.

Brickland came out the door and came up to me and Kenny Proctor. “I did what I said I would. I’m leaving town now.” The Pinkerton agent came up behind Proctor while Brickland was speaking to me. “Kenneth, Brickland is one man I have been trying to locate. The paper work on him is back at the ranch. Don’t let him get away. He is part of the old Quantrill gang.”

Proctor looked at me and said, “Lock him up. We’ll look into it later.” I nodded and took him by the arm and went back into the jail. I put him in with the last prisoner. The sheriff’s face fell when he saw that the attorney was being locked up. I shrugged. I knew from Winnie’s journal that the lawyer had taken money to represent the ranchers and then he turned on them and represented the Scalawags.

That done, I went to Pete and he handed me several sticks of dynamite. I intended to blow the back off the two buildings. One problem, there was no place to put it where it would be very effective. I puzzled over this for a minute. “Pete, find me some water and a pail of clay if it is handy. I’ll need a bar or something to dig a hole under the timber foundation.”

Soon I had five sticks of dynamite spaced under the foundation of the dance hall each one located six feet apart. I looked around and I had enough people to take care of both buildings if I did them both at the same time. I cut the fuses so that I would have time to light them all and have them burn down to go off approximately at the same time.

“Everyone get ready, I’m lighting them in five minutes. Find a safe place so you don’t get hit by flying boards and timbers. Remember, just as soon as those inside stop firing at us, you’re to cease as well. We aren’t out to kill them. I want them to face the judge for their crimes.” I paused and then grinned. “But then if they are firing on us, don’t hesitate to protect yourselves.”

I looked over my force consisting of the Mexicans, a few troopers, and a few ranchers. I lit my torch and started at the edge of the dance hall and began lighting fuses. When lit, I threw down the torch and ran down the alley so I wasn’t behind these two buildings. Twenty seconds later the dynamite went off. 

It peeled the backs of both buildings off and we could see inside clear to the front door. One man began shooting at us from inside the dance hall. A burst of gunfire silenced him. In the saloon where most of the Scalawags were, it took a couple of minutes for them to get organized. Soon gunfire was coming at us from there as well.

Those of our force from across Main Street in front joined us in returning fire. Finally after fifteen minutes, I couldn’t hear anymore firing from there and I signaled the cease fire. We could hear men in agony from inside the building. A weak, “Don’t shoot,” was heard. Abby and Duffy came up beside me and we three went into the Dance hall. 

The blast had done more damage than I thought possible. Three men were on the floor without a mark on them. They were dead though. Two men were still alive, but terribly confused. They had splinters sticking from their bodies. They didn’t look serious though. We found Ezra Sloan dead with multiple gunshot wounds. He was the one who fired at us after the blast.

There was even more carnage in the saloon. Three of the eleven men had been near the back wall when the charge exploded. Maybe they could be identified and maybe not. Their bodies were badly messed up.

Brian Sloan was wounded, but still alive and the rest of his men had various wounds. While we were checking, one more of the men died. “Pete, would you haul these dead men out of here. Get the dead deputy from the jail and put his body with them. I’ll have to get some men to start digging graves.”

Duffy said, “Riley, why do you have to do everything? Get the townspeople to take care of the details.  They let this crowd in here.” I looked at him and decided he had it right. I headed over to the general store. I suspected that the town council would be there. Sam Pickens might still be on the council.

I walked in. “Hi Sam. Are you still head of the town council?”

“Yeah. Riley, what in hell are you doing? You’ve brought a bunch of troops into town and you have killed off several of our citizens. You’ve run a bunch more of them out of town. Who gives you that authority?”

“This badge gives me some of it. I can think of two ranchers and some of their crew who have been killed. Their cattle have been rounded up and sold off.”

I stopped speaking and then continued, “And they also killed my wife. Just that in my mind gives me the right. I didn’t just come in and start killing either. I got in touch with the federal authorities and there is a Federal Judge, a Federal Prosecutor, and another Federal Marshal set up in the bank and they will be holding court session tomorrow. I didn’t ask for, but a troop of cavalry was transferred here to enforce the prosecutor’s and the judge’s orders.”

“How do you know your wife was killed? As far as we know she left town.”

“I found her body. She left a note while she was dying telling me Bert Innes shot her because she wouldn’t stand still for him attempting her rape. I have her remains and I have her note written in a journal.”

“Bert Innes? I don’t believe it. He’s our best citizen and he owns the bank.”

“Yes, and do you know where the money to open the bank came from?”

“No idea.”

“You’ve heard of Lawrence, Kansas haven’t you? Innes was the one who converted the loot into cash from that raid. Judge Kelly has a warrant for his arrest. It has been served. Now I have some questions. Do you have someone to bury the dead? Also there are several wounded men across the street. A doctor and some nurses are needed.”

Sam turned to the two other council members and they conferred out of my hearing. Finally Sam came back to me. “We’ve decided, you killed and wounded them. It’s your problem.” I stared at him, not believing what I was hearing.

“Okay, but they are going to begin to smell by tomorrow. There will be more too. I suspect that three of the men and maybe more are going to be hanging by their necks down by the town fountain before the judge leaves town next week. You also might think about what would have happened to this town if Quantrill’s raiders had hit here instead of Lawrence. They’ve hit several isolated ranches and did the same thing there instead of here in the village. I’m busy right now, so I’ll leave you to think about it.” I stomped out.

What was I going to do to resolve this? The townspeople hadn’t been troubled much by those who had come in and taken over. Sure they looked down on the Mexicans, but the ranchers did too. I went over to the bank and the lieutenant of the cavalry was talking to the federal marshal.

“Sir, I have several wounded men and I have several dead men to deal with. I’m getting no help from the people here in town. Would you have any suggestions?”

“The dead are no problem. I’ll detail a trooper to identify them if he can and I’ll have a detail dig a trench to bury them in. The wounded ones, I don’t think I can help you with. Isn’t there a doctor in town?”

“No, there isn’t. There’s a Mexican woman who looks after her people, but this would be beyond her ability.”

“How about those new people who are outside of town? They didn’t take sides and I understand it is against their religion to fight, but they might have someone who could give some aid.”

“I didn’t think of them. I’ll ride out and check. Also, maybe you could guard these men whom we have corralled. There isn’t enough room for but one more prisoner in the jail”

“Sure, I can have that done. Sergeant, would you see to getting it done?”

“Yes Sir.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.”

“Glad to help. I must say you marshaled your forces quite effectively. I ended up with only one trooper being wounded and you saw to it that we could get him out of harms way as soon as possible.” I gave the lieutenant a half salute and went to find my horse.

*****

I rode into the Mennonite camp and an older man named, Jacob Rotterman, came out from between a couple of wagons to see what I wanted. “Sir, we’ve had some problems in town. We have several men wounded and I was hoping I could get you to provide some aid for them. Most are under arrest, but still need care.”

“We heard the shooting and of course we’ll help if we can. You are wearing a badge, what is your office?”

“My name is Riley McBain and I’m a Deputy Federal Marshal. We’ve gathered all the wounded in one building and there will be an officer present to make sure you are safe.”

“Marshal, we have a surgeon who had at one time credentials to practice and use the facilities at the main hospital in Hamburg, Germany. He is eminently qualified.”

“Good, just what we need. Will he be setting up a practice here? We don’t have a doctor, and he will be welcomed.”

“Not sure. He was a doctor, but has retired. Now he just wants to have a small farm, but he may still practice a little. I know if he is needed he won’t let anyone suffer. He has a covenant with God.

“I’m sure the community will welcome you.”

“Let me tell the doctor he is needed and then I have some questions for you. In fact I’ll ride into town if you have a minute to give me some attention.”

“Certainly, if I’m not too busy. It would be better though if you could wait a few days.” I only waited a few minutes. I was introduced to the doctor and two women who came out with him. The only vehicle they had to ride in was one of the heavy wagons that they had arrived here in. It was still full of household goods. When we reached town, I had them park in front of Sloan’s saloon and led them inside. Most of the injured were lying on blankets with a blanket rolled up for a pillow.
 
I found out the Doctor’s name was Hesikiah Dittermier and the women were Hannah and Maria. The two were sisters. The doctor was wearing sober black clothes with a white shirt. The women were in long dresses, one light blue and the other lavender. Both had on full dress aprons of a heavy cloth and a white cap, much like a close fitting bonnet. All three wore heavy shoes for footwear.

The doctor set to work examining the injuries. He directed the two women in applying the bandages. Some he administered a draught to relieve the patient’s pain. Brian Sloan was carrying a spent bullet high up on his right shoulder and the doctor prepared to operate using the bar for an operating table.

I was pulled aside by the man I had first talked to. He spoke reasonably good English and had been the leader who had guided these people here to this country. He wanted some questions answered. “I have corresponded for more than a year with a man named Bert Innes, a banker. I talked to him yesterday and I sent two of my people out to look at land. They returned and said he had been arrested. Where does that leave us?”

“I can’t really say. First let me explain the situation here. I must remind you that our country has been through a war recently. The old order of things hasn’t been settled yet. This state of Texas joined the war which turned out to be on the losing side.

“Some people on the losing side quit the war early, and after looking over the situation felt they could gain control of this valley for their own profit. These Scalawags came here and took control. They killed and drove out several of the people who had settled this land a generation ago. My father was an original settler.

“I joined the war on the side who won, leaving my wife to hold onto my ranch while fighting for the Union, which I had strong faith in. Two years ago our stock was stolen and sold off.  Bert Innes, the banker you were corresponding with, shot my wife in the back and she died soon afterward. He claims my ranch for his own and I have no doubt that this was the land where he was going to place your people.”

“Sir, this is a terrible thing to happen to us. We trusted this man and have given him a third of the price of what we require for a farm. Will the money be returned to us so we can search for some other place to settle?”

“I would suggest that you go across the street and talk to Judge Kelly. He has taken over the bank and he can advise you. I know the teller who is employed there.  He is a good responsible person. Innes hired him because he knew the people who lived here.  I don’t know what the judge has in mind to straighten out this mess, but it will be fair.”

“Thank you. You don’t seem to resent us being here looking for land. Why is that?”

“Maybe because I see that we not only need a town with people and ranches and ranchers, but families who raise farm goods as well. The valley has been pretty safe from the Indians so far, but that may change. The more people who live here the better protected we will be.”

“We had been told that there would be no Indian trouble in this location. Are you saying there could be?”

“Definitely. The risk is small, but it can’t be discounted and will be for several more years.” Jacob was shaking his head as he went across the street to the bank. The doctor came up to me when he saw I was free.

“Sir, we need beds for the injured. These patients will not recover lying on the floor.”

“Okay, I’ll find you someplace for them.”

I went up the stairs to the top floor. There had to be some bedrooms up there for those who hung around here. The rooms were extremely filthy. Their condition reflected the people who lived in them. The building should be burned down and totally eliminated. I came down and went across to the dance hall and bordello. Maybe the women living and working there took better care of their quarters. I wondered for a second where they were staying right now?

These rooms were much better cared for. There was no back wall on the building and there was but relatively little damage to the rooms otherwise. The bodies that were here on the first floor when I left had been removed. Pete the Mexican came wandering in. “Pete what happened to the girls that came out of here?”

“They are waiting and hoping they will have a room to sleep in. They doubt they could get a room in the hotel, being shunned as they are. They don’t have a way to leave town either. They are stuck here with no place to live.”

“I suspected they might be. If you can find me Abby, I’d like to talk to her. In the meantime could you get some of your relatives to move these beds down to the first floor? The doctor wants the worst of the injured in beds.”

“You have a doctor? Where’d you find him?”

“He is one of the Mennonites and a farmer, but knows doctoring. He’s operating over to the Sloan saloon right now. Brian Sloan had a bullet in him and the doctor is removing it.”

“Fix him up and then hang him, is that it?”

“Pretty much. Don’t feel sorry for him, I don’t.”

“I don’t either.” I ran into Abby when I was going down to the jail.

“Abby, what can I do with those fallen angels that came out of the dance hall?”

“I was wondering about that. I talked to a couple of them. They don’t have much for money or possessions. They just need time to decide what they are going to do and where to go.”

“What do you think about taking them out to the ranch and letting them stay in the bunk house. That’s empty.”

“And then what are we going to do with them?”

“Find them a husband and marry them off.”

“Who would want them?”

“Abby, there are enough single cowhands that would marry anyone of them.”

“That won’t work. They’ll be looked down on by everyone. Look at me. I’m a divorced woman and I was looked down on just for that reason.”

“Not since you came here.”

“No Riley, but that is because only you know my situation. No one else knows about my past.”

“Let that be their problem. Cowhands are a moving bunch. Some of them have wives. If they don’t like the way they are treated, they’ll just pick up and move on.”

“Well you can try it by letting them stay at the ranch, but I don’t think it will work.”

“Abby, would you talk to them? Tell them that if they don’t want to try and find a husband, we’ll give them passage on the stage to the next town. In the meantime, they can sleep in the bunk house. We’ve moved most of the beds downstairs over at the dance hall, but for tonight the women can pair up in a couple of rooms. They might help out nursing a bit if so inclined.”

“Okay, just for you, I’ll talk to them.” I went on down to the jail. I pulled attorney Brickland out and marched him over to the bank.

“Judge, I brought the lawyer over. I want to make sure the trials are done right.” I turned to the prosecutor. “Kenny, would you explain who you have warrants for. Show them to him. You won’t need them all because several of the men whom the warrants were for are dead already. Let Brickland read them. About all he can do is to ask for leniency anyway.”

“Good enough.” It was two hours later when I escorted the attorney back to his jail cell. Prosecutor Proctor now knew who the men were he was going to prosecute. There were only two cells in the jail. I put Banker Innes and Attorney Brickland into one cell and Sheriff Parker and the man we had picked up coming out of the dance hall with the cowhands who we had told get out of town. This one had been identified and was also connected to Quantrill’s Raiders.

I went back to the dance hall to see how the doctor was doing. Abby was there. I informed her that the women would make out here in town tonight okay … the ones I had suggested using my bunkhouse. Then I asked, “Will you please go out to the ranch tonight and sleep? I want you to get away from everything that happened today.”

“No, I’m sleeping at Pete’s sister’s house. I found out you and she had a past and I want to learn all about you that I can.”

“She’s a sweet person. My past with her was back when we went to school together. I was pretty sweet on her at one time, but then I met Winnie and she met Raul. I understand she has children?”

“Four of them. I’d like kids some day. Maybe not four though.”

“I’d like kids too. That’s another thing to blame the war for interrupting our life.”

“I know, Riley, but maybe the future will smooth out for you. Me too, for that matter.”

“We could work on the future together?”

“That sounds good to me.” The doctor was staying the night. He asked if he could use a conveyance to go home in the morning.

“I’ll let you have a gig that belongs to Banker Innes. You can keep it for your own use if you need it.”

“It would be handy.”

“It’s yours. I doubt Innes will be using it.” He didn’t ask why that was and I was glad the question wasn’t put to me. It had been a long day. 

Pete found me. “Riley, come on over to Mama’s. She has a big pot of chili. Duffy and Red will be there. You haven’t seen Mama long time. She hug you.”

“I’ll bet she will and I’ll hug her right back. Uh, will Abby be there?”

“Of course.”

I had many friends in the Mexican community and several made a point to come in and say hi to me while we had a final glass of tiswin. Someone had brewed this recently and wanted me to sample it. Myself, I would go for beer made with hops for flavor. Afterward Duffy, Red and I went down to the livery stable and sacked out. I wasn’t worried about the jail or the wounded prisoners at the saloon. The troopers were guarding them although I had made provision for them to be fed before going with Pete for my own supper.

*********

We all came down out of the hay mow early, rubbing the sleep from our eyes. Abby was waiting for us. “You guys overslept. This is going to be a big day for the ranchers. I still can’t figure out the town’s people. They aren’t happy about what we are doing at all.”

“I know, but if we hadn’t done something they would have known. Scum doesn’t rise to the top for awhile but it does eventually. It just hadn’t happened to them yet. Let’s go up to the diner and eat. The owner up there was pretty pleased with the order I put in to feed the prisoners.”

The Judge and Kenny came into the diner from the hotel across the street. Marshal Blue paused at the entrance of the hotel and looked up and down the street. Finally he settled onto the bench that was on the veranda and rolled a smoke.

The prosecutor stopped at the table where I was sitting. “Riley, we’ve got to have more information on these people before we try them. Your wife’s testimony is excellent, but it isn’t enough. The man who tried to get away from the dance hall might be someone with direct knowledge of what crimes the others have committed.

“Kenny and McBain, would you get him alone and see if you can break him. Threaten him with hanging if you have to. If that doesn’t work, give him partial immunity from prosecution. Not total immunity, but he would only have to serve a couple of years in the cavalry. His name is Dennis Buckhorn and he is known as one of Quantrill’s raiders. His job was to hold horses for them, so he wasn’t that important. He was only a kid at the time.”

“Sure, I can do that. What time are you calling court to order?”

“Soon. You talk to Buckhorn and see what you can find out. I want what I can get on the sheriff and Innes. Brian Sloan doesn’t stand out that much, but he might be more important than we know. Someone must be Innes’ partner in all of this. It may have been Brian’s brother, Ezra, but I don’t think so.”

“How about, Brickland, the attorney?”

“Riley, he’s crooked, but I don’t feel he rises to the level of being in charge of what they were pulling off.” He paused and then went on. “We are finding out a lot about their dealings by examining the bank records. There is a great amount of money in the bank that came with Innes and the Judge is looking into it. I’ll know more by the time court is in session. I suspect it is money that came from Quantrill’s raid. If it is, I’ll confiscate it and split it among the ranchers who have lost so much.

“There is also the Tim Long ranch that has no owner now. I’ll have to decide what to do with that too.”

“That might be good land to settle the Mennonite community on.”

“You are for them, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I guess so. I’ve seen what the Quakers and Amish have accomplished back east. Their farms are some of the best in the country. We had to raid a lot of them to feed our troops, but we were ordered not to take everything. In a few years they will be back up to being the best anywhere again.”

The prisoners had been fed and now it was time to get down to business. I pulled Buckhorn from the jail. Kenny Proctor and the judge had arranged the bank’s private office with a screen so Buckhorn would believe the office was empty. I was going to use the office for interrogation of Buckhorn. I hit him fast and hard. “Buckhorn, I know you rode with Quantrill. Everyone who did has been proscribed. In most cases the sentence is death. What have you got to say in your defense?”

“I’m only twenty-one now and I was awful young when I was picked up to hold horses for the Quantrill raiders. I never did no raidin’ or rapin’ or killing.”

“But you were there, weren’t you?” He didn’t want to answer. “Answer me!”

He straightened up and said. “I were there.”

“Do you want to hang?”

“Oh, God, no. Don’t do that to me.”

“Well, maybe I can help you out so you won’t have to. Tell me about the Parker brothers. Tell me what they did when they were raiders.”

“They be about as bad as could be and weren’t named Parker back then. Gordon was the worst, but he’s dead. I saw Jeff shoot two men and one woman whilst they was raiding. Not at Lawrence but at a lonely farm while running off a bunch of hosses. The woman was holding a baby.  I don’t know if it died or not.”

“How about after you men came here? I understand the sheriff was the person who shot Tim Long.”

“He was. I were there. Gave him no chance at all. Somebody else killed his two punchers. Maybe it t’were Gordon. Them two hands ran out the back of the barn and they went down by rifle fire but I didn’t see who done it. Gordon, he was around somewhere.”

“Well, would you swear to all of this you have said?”

“I don’t think I had better. My life wouldn’t be worth a plugged nickel.”

“You might want to re-think that. It’s down to swear or hang. Tell me about Ezra Sloan. Did he ride with the rest of the raiders?”

“He and his brother always rode together. Quantrill would come in from one end of town or farm or village and Brian and Ezra would come in from somewhere else. They were some bad asses. I didn’t know them very well and were damned ’fraid of ’em. Ezra always carried two guns and used a shotgun when the pistols runned out of bullets.”

“How about Bert Innes? Was he at the raids when they were taking place?”

“Nope, he stayed out of it, but he was always close by. He furnished the wagons if they thought there was goin’ to be much loot. I don’t know what he did with it after the raid was over. Them raiders would come up and dump everything in the wagons and tie some canvas over them and take off in a different direction. I guess nobody spected him. Later on, he always come by with bags of coin to the rendezvous to pay the raiders.”

“Is that all you know about him?”

“I guess so. I heard him talking to the sheriff about killing some woman out at some ranch. He had a bunch of us out looking for her, but there was a lot of snow on the ground. He said he guessed a wolf or somethin’ must have found her and drug her off. I don’t know if he killed her or not. I mostly hung around town and helped out with our hosses down at the livery, but I was out there that day.  It was just before New Year a couple of years ago.”

Buckhorn looked anxiously at me. “Marshal, now that I’ve told you all this, what’s going to happen to me? You aren’t going to hang me are you? I answered everything you asked and if it is ever found out I talked, I’ll surely be killed.”

I spoke up loudly, “Judge, what do you think?” The judge came from behind the screen.

“He should have an attorney speak for him, but then that would be another person who would know he talked. That trooper who was wounded is headed back to Leavenworth. I’ll have the lieutenant swear Buckhorn into the cavalry and Buckhorn can assist him. If he doesn’t show up at the fort, he’ll be listed as a deserter.” He looked directly at Buckhorn and asked, “Is that good enough?”

“Yes, sir. Can you get me out of town today?”

“Marshal McBain, see to it, if you would.” I took Buckhorn out the back door and over to the troop’s bivouac area and an hour later the wounded trooper and Buckhorn were on their way to Kansas.

“Kenny, who is next?”

“Bring the sheriff in. You might as well bring Lawrence Brickland along to defend him. We’ll make this look as legal as we can. Leave Innes in the jail for now to worry about his fate. I imagine he will wonder what happened to Buckhorn. Just tell him if he asks that he is being guarded by a trooper and on the way to a fort to have his sentence carried out. Bring in enough citizens for a six-man jury.”

I rounded up four of the ranchers and one Mexican. The sheriff had been particularly hard on all of them. I also picked Sam Pickens, the town council leader. I had the feeling that judgment was at hand. I knew Pickens would go with the majority. He didn’t have the balls to stand alone. Having him on the jury would at least give some legitimacy to the trial in the town’s eyes. Also the same jury would be impaneled as long as Judge Kelly held court in this town. 

Brickland objected strenuously when informed who we selected for the jury, but they were seated already. Something about being able to challenge them. Proctor prevailed.

I pulled Jeff Parker from his cell and handcuffed him. I also fashioned some rope hobbles for him so he had to shuffle. Duffy was standing by with a shotgun. I didn’t handcuff the attorney, but warned him that he would be shot if he tried to escape.

Chairs had been brought in for the judge, the prosecutor, the attorney, and of course the man charged. The judge had a table in front of him. There had been a long bench along one side of the room that customers had the use of while waiting to see the bank president. This was used to hold the warrants and any evidence that was used to support the charges or to refute them on the defense’s end. The other bench from the other side of the room was for the jury to sit on. It made the room quite full.

The prosecutor started the legal process after the judge said the court was in session. “Jeff Parker, former sheriff of this town, you are being charged with murder and mayhem. There is also a warrant for your arrest brought to this court by the Pinkerton agency when you were known by the name of Pierson. We have found evidence in the bank’s files verifying this name change before you arrived here. I’ll read these charges and then present the evidence.”

Attorney Brickland asked to read the charges and wanted time to see the evidence before it was presented. He asked the judge for a few days continuance. He received a one word answer, “No.”

The warrant was read and Parker pleaded innocent. The judge so noted and continued the trial. The trial brought up the time when Pierson was one of Quantrill’s Raiders. The prosecutor used Banker Innes account record of where Pierson had opened an account with the money he had received for murdering a family and removing cash and goods from said raid. Attorney Brickland questioned and tried to make the point that Banker Innes would not have known where this money came from.

“Not so, Lawyer Brickland. Banker Innes kept meticulous notes on where deposited monies came from in his side notes. It is possible to conceive that Innes in the future had blackmail in mind. You may look at this ledger and the notes, but it is not to leave my hands. This, because the ledger is evidence, not only in this case, but other cases coming up.”

Brickland asked, “How can you prove this is his ledger? Innes isn’t present.”

The Judge ordered, “You’re correct. Marshal McBain, would you bring the prisoner, Banker Innes, into the court?  Someone get a chair for him to sit on when he arrives.” The trial moved right along after Innes arrived. Innes was the best witness against his former cohorts although he was pretty much sealing his own fate at the same time. Also Prosecutor Proctor had the deposition of Buckhorn’s that he swore was the truth before he was sent on to Fort Leavenworth.

Winifred’s journal made its appearance later in Parker’s trial. She had written that she had planned to visit Tim Long that day when the sheriff and his deputy and four other riders had ridden up and killed the ranch owner. She hadn’t quite reached the ranch when this happened, but had remained hidden and had observed the murder from a clump of catclaw. This was written before Banker Innes had tried taking the McBain ranch and the subsequent attempted rape and murder of Winifred McBain.

Lawyer Brickland questioned where this journal had come from. Prosecutor Proctor looked at the Judge. He spoke, “The journal was found after Mrs. McBain’s demise and was present with her remains. I’ll be witness that I saw both the journal and her remains and is a true account.”

A few other facts came out: to wit, the sheriff and the banker were in collusion to take over as much of the range belonging to the ranchers as possible. Over time they planned to build an empire encompassing the whole of Petite Valley. The Sloan brothers were also part of this by harboring the hangers on in their establishments and using the lower level Scalawags as needed in this endeavor.

I thought to myself that the prosecutor had made a mistake in not trying all of the Scalawags at the same time. Maybe he would do that with those remaining. Prosecutor Proctor suddenly announced, “The prosecution rests. The defense will now proceed. Attorney Brickland, do your best.”

“Your honor, may I have some time to confer with my client?”

“Certainly. You have one half hour. Marshal Blue will observe only while you look at the evidence and set a strategy to defend your client.”

Brickland knew his case was hopeless. I couldn’t see he would be able to present any kind of a defense. For now, the Judge needed a smoke and several in the court went out. We all trooped outside and most had a cigarette or pipe. The judge stood alone and the jury stood separated although in a group. No one discussed what had gone on so far. The judge gave the two inside an extra five minutes.

When we went back inside, the former sheriff was sitting relaxed, not saying anything.  He did look at the jury as they sat down. He knew they had made up their minds before his defense was presented.

“Court’s in session. Mr. Brickland, present your defense.”

“Your honor, the prisoner will take the stand in his own defense. He declares this whole trial is a farce. And I’m inclined to agree with him. I have advised him to ask for mercy. He says he will make a statement, that’s all. Sheriff Parker please stand and address the court.”

“Just to let you bastards know that I have searched all my life to find the most excitement I could have at any given moment. Mercy … that hasn’t been in my life for others and I won’t ask it for myself. I dare the jury to find me guilty and, Judge, I dare you to sentence me to hang. Just hang me high enough so my feet don’t touch the ground. That’s all.” Parker returned to his seat with a smirk on his face. I had to admire him until I remembered all the terrible things he had done to his victims and others.

“Jury, you’ve heard the evidence against the prisoner. You have heard him make a statement. Please go into the bank’s office and deliberate the prisoner’s guilt or innocence. Return here when you have reached a verdict.” It took ten minutes for the jury to arrive at a decision before they filed out and sat down.

“Mr. Pickens, would you give me the jury’s verdict?”

Sam Pickens stood up, “Your honor, we find the sheriff guilty of all charges. The vote is unanimous.”

“Thank you. I’ll pass sentence within three days by two o’clock on that afternoon.  Marshal McBain, would you escort the prisoner back to his cell.  Make sure the troopers who are guarding the prisoners are alert. When that is done, see if Brian Sloan is able to stand the rigors of a trial. Report back to me as soon as possible.”

I went into the saloon. The Mennonite Doctor was there. I asked about the patient from whom he had removed a bullet. “He’s doing well. In fact he is up and walking around.”

“Will he be able to walk as far as the bank across the street and down a couple of buildings?”

“I would believe so. Why does he have to go there?”

“He is on trial for some past crimes he committed before coming here. He also is in collusion with other criminals who have perpetrated several crimes after his arrival here in this town”

“I wouldn’t agree that he should stand trial until he is well.  That could be as long as a month.  Three weeks, anyway.”

“It has to be done by next week at this time. The Judge and the prosecutor will be leaving at that time. Time is of the essence. The reconstruction of the state of Texas and the country as a whole demands that justice is meted out to those who have committed crimes during the war. 

“Warrants have been prepared and there is a Federal Judge and Prosecutor here to see they are served and carried out. I’m sure much of this is contrary to your beliefs, but this is the law of the land. Terrible crimes have been committed in this section of the country. I lost my wife during this time, committed by these same men we are bringing to justice.”

“It doesn’t seem right. I suppose these men will be sentenced and some will have to pay the ultimate price if their crimes warrant it in the eyes of the law?”

“Yes, certainly.”

“I’ll have Mr. Sloan as ready as soon as possible. I would like to talk to the judge and make an objection on humanitarian grounds.”

“I’m sure the judge will listen and take into consideration your objections. Would you like to meet with him now? He is waiting on me.”

“Yes, if you please.” The two men were closeted in the bank owner’s office. I was waiting on the outcome.

It was a half hour before the door opened. The judge and Doctor Hesikiah Dittermier came out. He was shaking his head and quite sad looking. I escorted him back to the saloon. “Thank you, Marshal McBain. The judge convinced me in theory that he was performing his job as directed. It is a sad commentary that your country has to do these horrible things.”

“That may be, sir, but you have chosen to become part of this country. The laws are there for everyone. If someone breaks them, then they must pay the price. I have the former sheriff in a cell at present and I’m guessing when sentenced he will die because he didn’t adhere to the laws he was sworn to uphold. I’m sure you saw injustice in your former country and wished that something could be done to correct said injustice.”

“True, put in that context. A person can’t escape to someplace where there isn’t any law.”

“Our country is going through a rough period at this time, but we can hope it will get better. That is why we are doing some things that seem so barbaric today. I would be pleased if you would attend Mr. Sloan while he is in court. If he looks as if he can’t take what is going on, the judge will excuse him today and pick up the trial at a later time. He still has a few days and several more men he has warrants for.”

“I will do that.”

The judge had relented in one instance. He postponed court until early morning by sending word by one of the troopers to the saloon before we had Sloan ready to cross the street. It had been a long day.

*****

I found Sloan in the morning looking white and weak. I told him I was taking him to the bank for trial.

“That’s it, Marshal? You can shoot me, fix me up, and then kill me?” 

I had little sympathy for any of the raiders who rode with Quantrill. “You brought this on yourself. You kept men who are of the same ilk around you. Not once have you tried to change from what you were in the past. You deserve everything you have been charged with.”

“Do your damndest.”

This was more the Pinkerton Agent’s show than what had gone on here in our valley. The man, Buckhorn, who held horses on the raid of Lawrence Kansas, had given a deposition of what Sloan’s crimes were locally. There was an interruption before the charges were read and Sloan had a chance to plead.

The doctor had informed me that one of Sloan’s other men was near death and wanted to talk. The trial was then interrupted and the prosecutor and attorney Brickland traveled over to the saloon to question him. Of course Brickland was objecting, but it was doing him no good. The man sealed Sloan’s fate. 

I was there and would bear witness on the stand as to what was said. The man was damned weak by the time he had finished answering the questions put to him by the prosecutor.

Back at the bank, Sloan stared at us all when we trooped in. I was sitting on a stool behind them close enough to hear what was being said. Sloan asked Brickland when they sat down next to each other, “They got enough from that son-of-a-bitch to hang me?”

“It is pretty incriminating. I also learned that there was someone who gave a sworn affidavit about your activities back in Kansas. They got him listed as a John Doe.”

“Can they do that?”

“’fraid so.”

“Well, piss on them. I’ll laugh at them when they put a noose around my neck.”

The trial was soon underway. The charges were read and I wasn’t surprised when Sloan pleaded “Guilty.” He hesitated and then went on. “Get this damned farce over with. Hang me today if you want to, I don’t give a crap. I’m hurting and want it all behind me.”

The judge didn’t let that happen quite yet. “Harry Sims, (The Pinkerton agent) tell the court what you have on Mr. Sloan. Attorney Brickland, you may interrupt at anytime.”

Harry Sims had places, dates, and the crimes listed and where they were committed. They were detailed relating Brian’s involvement. Most of these crimes were committed in Kansas and Missouri. His brother Ezra’s name paralleled his. Winnie’s journal didn’t have much in it that pertained to the Sloan brothers, but what little there was, was read in open court.

The man who was dying yesterday had died last evening during the postponement. I was called on to verify what his answers to Kenneth Proctor’s questions were. The John Doe deposition pertaining to Brian was also read.

Judge Kelley asked Brian if he still wanted to plead guilty. “I do, Judge.”

“Good enough, this court accepts your plea. You will be sentenced at the same time as Jeff Parker, the former sheriff of this town. You have two days to make your peace with the Lord.”

“Screw you, Judge, and the rest of you too. I wish I was free for just one hour with Quantrill’s raiders under my command. I’d show you what we could do to a town like this in that amount of time.” Sloan was helped back to the saloon and a trooper assigned to guard him.

Judge Kelley spoke, “Okay, that was easy enough. At least these Scalawags aren’t whining and crying. Marshal McBain, get Bert Innes in here and we’ll try him for murder and sundry other crimes.

I went across to the jail and got Innes out of his cell. He questioned me as we were coming out of the jail. “Have they tried Brian Sloan yet? They shouldn’t as wounded as he is.”

“Tried him and he pled guilty. He and the ex-sheriff will be sentenced two days from today. You’re next.”

“I don’t have any chance of surviving this do I?”

“I hope not. You didn’t give my wife any chance and you don’t deserve one.”

“I didn’t mean to kill her. She was so lovely. I never had a chance at a woman like her.”

“You went at getting one the wrong way. She belonged to someone else. You overlooked that fact. She would do anything to stay true to me. You must realize that now.”

“I do and she still haunts me. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since it happened. I never know when I rouse up, but what she will be standing before me”

“Too bad.” I had no sympathy for him.

Again there was a preponderance of evidence. The prisoner seemed to accept it. There was nothing that the attorney could do for him. Occasionally Brickland would ask for clarification, but it was all pointless. Brickland conferred with Innes and said for the record that Innes wasn’t guilty, but the evidence refuted this. It went to the same jury. It took a little longer for them to come back with a unanimous guilty verdict, but they did.

“Prisoner, stand before me. I’m about to sentence you now. I’m giving you a choice in your punishment. I’m going to sentence you to forty-five lashes with a bull whip well laid on your naked body. This may seem barbaric to some, but I feel your crime warrants it. There is to be fifteen lashes applied tomorrow at daybreak. Another fifteen the next day and the remaining fifteen lashes the day after that will complete the punishment.

“If you survive this and I imagine you will, you then will be turned out of town, without any clothes except the shoes on your feet. This will take place immediately after the last lash is applied and the sentence fully carried out

“I said you had two choices. The other choice; you may choose to die by hanging. If you choose that now, this will be carried out summarily at daybreak tomorrow morning. If you change your mind after choosing the lash and at anytime after the first strike is applied, you will then be immediately hung. In essence you are choosing pain from the lash to continue living or to die by the rope.

“Your punishment is in your hands and whichever way you choose, justice will be served. I’ll give you ten minutes to make up your mind. Clear the court while the prisoner confers with his attorney.”

Marshal Blue asked me which punishment I thought Innes would choose.

“He’ll take the whipping,” I paused and then said, “but I can almost guarantee that he will change his mind and ask to be hung. He hasn’t the stamina to receive that number of lashes. See if I’m not right. In fact I’ll be surprised if he gets through the first fifteen.”

“We’ll know what he will go for just as soon as the judge finishes his cigarette.” He was silent for a minute. Finally the judge flicked his butt away and we followed him inside.

We filed back into the bank. Innes and Brickland were still conferring. The attorney said to Judge Kelley, “Before my client gives you his decision, he wants to know if he will have the time to make out a will, and if he opts for the whipping will he have time to make a directive pertaining to the distribution of his assets?”

“How long will this take?” 

“An hour at the most, your Honor.”

“I’ll give him the hour. Let it be known that some property transactions have been vacated and the properties will be returned to the original owners. The money in his accounts here in the bank has been confiscated and will go to pay the ranchers for the stock that has been stolen from them. Other than that he can make all the directions he wishes and can will his assets to anyone he pleases. I commend his decision to make restitution where he can. However, this does not change his situation regarding his future in any way.”

“Understood, Your Honor.”

“Good, it is now half-past one o’clock. We will return here to open court at half-past two. Court’s recessed until that time. Let’s get lunch.”

I sat with the judge and Prosecutor Proctor. I repeated what I had said to Marshal Blue about the choice Innes would make concerning his sentence. Judge Kelly agreed with me that this was likely.

We were leisurely at our lunch. The judge said as soon as the prisoner had made his choice of punishment for me to arrange to have him fed. “Let him order anything he wishes. You might as well treat Sloan and Parker with the same consideration. By that time I will have read what he wants to happen. I imagine it will have to do with his assets or maybe his body if he chooses hanging. Please discuss with me if he chooses the whipping. We will have to figure out how that will be carried out.

Chapter Five

I had already given thought to how a lashing was to take place. Up near the end of the street, there was a flag pole that was set up to display the Confederate flag from one arm and the arm opposite would be to display the Lone Star flag of Texas.

This would make an ideal place to carry out the sentence. The arms were strong enough to hang a person from. If Innes screamed that he couldn’t take anymore of the whipping, all that would be needed to carry out the last part of the sentence was to throw a rope over the high arm and put Innes on a horse. Ten minutes after he said to cease the whipping he would be dangling from the rope. I would have a rope prepared and nearby to use if warranted.

Had I ever taken part in hanging someone? Yes, I had twice. One, a rustler here in the valley when I was barely eighteen, and another person when my squad caught a civilian stealing some stores we had cached in preparation for an upcoming battle. That particular hanging had happened under my orders.

I felt Innes would choose the whipping and he did. His choice was written on a piece of paper that Attorney Brickland handed to the judge. The judge read it out loud.

“I have chosen to be whipped fifteen times on three consecutive days. I also request that Riley McBain be the one to carry out this punishment. This is to make amends, slight as they may be for causing the death of his wife, Winifred McBain. Submitted this day, June 24, 1866. Bert Innes.”

The room was quiet. Judge Kelly looked at me. “Mr. MacBain, you are so ordered to carry out the court’s sentence. At six o’clock tomorrow morning you are to remove the prisoner from his cell, strip him naked except for his footwear and proceed to the town’s flag pole and at 6:30 mete out said punishment, any questions?” There weren’t any.

I led Innes back to his cell and went about taking orders for the late lunches of all the prisoners. I even took Brickland’s order for his favorite dinner. I put him into the cell with Parker thinking Innes would like to be alone. Besides I didn’t trust Innes. He might have been able to convince Parker to strangle him so he wouldn’t be whipped in pubic or to hang.

Little things had come out in court that made me believe that Innes was a major player with Quantrill. He apparently did a lot of scouting for places to raid. He might have even spent time in Lawrence before the raid. I was pleased that he took the shooting of Winnie so hard. I was almost sure that bothered him almost as much as the whipping he had coming up.

I went up to the freight yard and looked at the various whips that the freighters used.  I wanted one that was short. I had handled a whip some, but wasn’t a professional by any means. A long one would get tangled up if a person wasn’t adept with it. I borrowed one that was about seven feet long and two feet of that was the handle. This was only a third or half as long as many I looked at. It depended on how many pairs of animals in a team and how far away the skinner was from the lead horse or mule.

If the team were oxen, the driver walked beside the lead ox with a stick. These were trained to answer to gee and haw and the stick was just to get their attention.

The whip I settled on was one braided using three strands of rawhide. It was tied where the braid ended with a knot leaving the four stands unbraided for about five inches. These strips had a small tight knot near the ends. These knots were what would cut and cause the most pain. They were extremely vicious in the right hands. Whether I would cause his back to be turned into raw meat remained to be seen.

If I kept a vision of Winnie in front of me while administering the punishment, I’m sure his back would tell the story. I paused in my thoughts. I had been ordered to do this. In a way I was relieved. I was an officer of the law and had been ordered to perform a duty. I would do it of course, but I began to doubt I would enjoy it. I wondered if the judge sentencing Innes to this particular punishment had anything to do with an off hand remark I had made to the prosecutor one time not long ago. Probably! Oh well, it was now my duty.

I had gone up to the saloon to check on Sloan and tell him his dinner was on the way. I stepped out into the street. I had to wait a minute because of a wagon with canvas covering the bows was coming slowly down the street. It was a two-horse team that appeared to be tired. I was startled when the driver spoke, “Hey Riley, I wondered if you would be in town.”

Startled, I exclaimed, “Pa, I didn’t recognize the team. How’d you get here so soon?”

“Took the boat down river to Louisiana. We left not long after you did. And then come across.”

Where’s Ma?”

“She’s in the back. She hasn’t stood the trip too well. I should have stopped earlier, but she wanted to get here and said she would rest as soon as she got home. How’s it going? How’s Winnie? Is she in town with you?”

“No, she isn’t, Pa, Winnie was dead when I got here and had been for a long time. The whole valley went to hell in the last year an a half. How bad is Ma?”

“I think she’ll be fine. She needs a place to recuperate, that’s all. You’re wearing a star that says marshal. You moved into town?”

“No, it’s a federal badge. I wish you hadn’t reached here for a few more days. We’ve got some unpleasant business going on and I just as soon Ma didn’t know about it. I’ll break Abby loose and have her go out to the ranch with you. When I got home, the ranch had been taken from Winnie, but I have it back now. There are some people staying there, but they’ll move out and into town if they have to. They will be gone in another week anyway.”

“We’ll make do. Maybe we better stay in the hotel until they leave.”

“I don’t know. I’ve got some unpleasant things to take care of starting tomorrow.”

“Like what?”

“I’ve been ordered to whip a man. This is by order of the court and in a couple days, I may have to hang a couple more. They will be sentenced the day after tomorrow. Court’s in session and there are still more to be tried. That’s taking place tomorrow too.”

“What in hell has happened to the town?”

“It isn’t so much to the town, but to the ranches. The town’s people aren’t too happy about what’s happening because they have benefited by the Scalawags that came in and took over a couple years ago. The judge is getting things put back together and trying those that caused the trouble. You’ll learn all about it as soon as the dust settles. Let me find Abby and she’ll help you get settled better than I can. She will have the time and I may not. Actually she can fill you in better than I could anyway.”

“Do what you think best, Riley. Can we still get a decent meal at the diner? We’re kind of sick of cooking for ourselves.”

Duffy came out of the saloon. “Duffy, these two are my Ma and Pa. Can you find Abby? My folks will be in the diner.” I guess Ma had heard Pa talking to me. She was standing behind Pa and looking over his shoulder. Ma looked worn out. I went around back and lifted her down. Ma clung to me.

“Riley. Are you in any trouble?”

“No Ma, not now. Things aren’t the same as they were, but nothing for you to worry about. Abby will be here soon and she will take care of you.  She is an amazing person. I would be lost without her.”

“I heard you tell Pa that Winnie is dead. Is she going to take Winnie’s place in your life?”

“We’re talking about it. We have communed with Winnie’s spirit and didn’t get the sense she would object if she knew about our situation.”

“That’s wonderful, Riley. Would you walk me into the diner? I’m a bit unsteady. I was good up until three or four days ago. Traveling for so long just has worn me out.”

“I know, Ma. You’ll be fine after a bit. Abby will see that you are. I promise I’ll be with you all the time in another three days. Things are just so unsettled at present. Sarah Holcomb will look in on you too and help if you need it.”

“That’s wonderful. I’ll love seeing Sarah again.” It wasn’t long before Abby showed up and rushing to Ma, hugged her.

“Riley, what do you want me to do.” They turned to me. Both Ma and Abby had tears in their eyes.

“It’s frightfully crowded out at the ranch. You have five of the dance hall girls in the bunkhouse. The judge and the prosecutor have two of the bedrooms. I’ll let you have Duffy. See if Sarah Holcomb will put my folks up. By next week most of the crunch for room will be taken care of.”

“I can do that with no problem.” I motioned with my head for Abby to follow me out side.

“Abby, don’t tell my folks what is happening here in the next three days. I don’t want them to know what I have been ordered to do.”

“Okay. When will you be out to the ranch?” 

“I’ll try to get out there for dinner by noon tomorrow. See if Sarah will cook it for all of us? You had better get supplies in case she is short.”

“Can do.” I went back inside and told Ma and Pa that I had to go down to the jail and watch my prisoners.

“Ma, you’re here so you rest up and I’ll be home as soon as possible. You relax and get back on your feet.” I was depending on Abby to take care of them. She had been very close to them in Saint Louis, living together as they did, so she would have little problem. I also was thankful that Abby was going to be out of town tomorrow when it was time to whip Innes.

I was back from the jail and helped Ma into the wagon. Duffy and Abby followed it out of town. I looked up Proctor and the judge, asking if Marshal Blue couldn’t take over the trial for the rest of the Scalawags tomorrow. I needed the time to get my folks settled. They agreed he could take care of that. I didn’t mention that I could use the two rooms they were staying in at the ranch, but when they had heard my Ma and Pa were in town, they said they would pack up their things and stay at the hotel from now on.

“Judge, are you going to be here in the morning to see the sentence of Innes being carried out?”

“Of course I am. I ordered it and can no do less.” 

“I’ll see you in the morning. Have a good night.”

You might think I wouldn’t sleep when I crawled up into the loft of the livery stable. I got comfortable and went right to sleep. I suppose this was like the night before you were going into battle. There had been enough of those in the last few years so I had learned to be calm about whatever the day would bring. Tonight was the same.

*****

I awoke at 4:45 and got up and headed for the diner. It opened at 5:00 so I was the first customer. I ordered a full breakfast and had a cigarette. I still smoked a little, but was aware that Abby detested them. Today I needed one. The judge and the prosecutor came in as I was leaving the diner. I nodded to them, but didn’t speak. I knew that they would be at the flag pole a little before my leading Innes there to be tied.

Marshal Blue was standing in the jail’s doorway when I arrived there. I asked, “Did you get what I asked for to be handy, just in case Innes changes his mind? He nodded. I entered the jail at exactly 6:00.

Brickland spoke from the cell where he was locked in with Jeff Parker. “You know this is a kangaroo court, don’t you?”

“It may seem so Brickland, but it is the only one we have. Everyone here is either elected or appointed by the Federal Government so it is legal. Also it is damned necessary given the crimes that have been committed by the individuals being charged. If you had come before a military tribunal, you would have been shot out of hand. Say no more to me about it.”

I passed on to the cell that held Bert Innes. “Mr. Innes, it is nearly the time to walk up the street. Please disrobe. You may retain your shoes. I brought a coffee flask. Would you care for a few swallows? It does have a stick in it. We have the time.”

“No, thank you. I do appreciate the thought. Tell me, will Judge Kelly be there when you carry this out.”

“Yes, he said he was going to be.”

“May I have a private moment with him? 

“I’ll ask and urge him to do so.” I watched as Bert Innes removed his clothes.  He had been here for almost three days and was considerably rumpled. His skin was white as any indoor man would have been. He had a small pot belly and not well muscled at all. He was a small man and looked more so now without his clothes on. I guided him out the door and turned to lock it.

When I turned back, Innes hadn’t paused when I did, but had started up the street alone. Was he anxious to get this over with? I couldn’t tell. “McBain, don’t feel badly about having to whip me. I deserve every bit of what is going to happen. Not many men can say they have killed a woman. Especially one who they thought so well of. So do your damnedest when you pick up the lash.”

“Mr. Innes, I have seen some horrible things during the war. I’m sure there will be other horrible deeds committed before the country puts this war behind it. I’m not making this something personal. The whipping will be the same whether it was my wife whom you killed or someone else’s.” We walked steadily up the street. When we were opposite the hotel, there were some people out there watching. I stepped to the side to shield him from their view.”

“I thought the whole idea was to humiliate me by making me make this walk without clothes on?”

“It was, but there were women in the crowd. It was for them not for you.” From then on we were silent.

When we reached the flag pole, Marshal Blue was standing beside a saddled horse. There was a small canvas on the ground a dozen feet from the pole. Under it there was a rope with a knotted noose on one end. Also I could see the handle of the whip I was to use. On the ground lay some short ropes to bind the prisoner to the pole.

His hands would be tied over his head so that they wouldn’t interfere with the lash being applied. There were to be bonds for his feet and higher up just below his buttocks to keep him steady in case he fainted or sagged away from the pole.

 There were spectators beginning to come closer and I indicated they were to stand out in the road. “Judge Kelly, the prisoner would some private words with you as soon as I finish binding him.” Judge Kelly nodded and when I finished I waved the spectators away. Innes spoke low to the judge. I was closest, but couldn’t hear what he was saying. The two used all the remaining minutes. Finally the judge backed away.

“Marshal McBain, it is time, and you may proceed.”

My first blow was to get the range. It was a little too far to the right side of his back. I adjusted my stance. The second blow was just where I wanted it to land a few inches above his right buttock. I was careful not to hit the same place twice. My strikes marched from his tail bone up his back. He screamed out loud on the fourth strike. His shoulders were hunched. It was on the sixth blow that I reached that point. All the marks now were to the right of his back bone.

I backed up a few inches and began placing them to the left of his spinal column. I knew if I hit the same place twice, I would be drawing blood. So far I hadn’t done that. I was laying my shoulders as well as my arm into the punishment. My strikes were measured so Innes knew when the next was coming. He was screaming steadily now. I’m sure his nerves were confused and the pain from each small area was radiating throughout his whole body. I laid number thirteen on and then he screamed to stop.

I paused and looked over at the judge. He nodded for me to do so. The judge went around in front of him and asked, “Are you sure this is what you want?”

Faintly I heard, “It is.” Innes was sagged back against his bonds. The muscles and flesh on his back were quivering constantly.

The judge spoke, “Marshal McBain, cut him down and get him on the horse. Marshal Blue, prepare to hang the prisoner.” He motioned to a couple troopers that were standing by to help carry out his new orders. Marshal Blue retrieved the prepared rope from under the canvas and threw one end up over the arm on the flag pole. Harry Sims, the Pinkerton, agent placed the noose around Innes’ neck just as I sat him on the horse.

Marshal Blue tied his end to the flag pole where normally the flag rope was tied. We all stepped back. Harry Sims picked up my whip and struck the horse sharply. I believe Innes’ neck had snapped as the horse lunged forward. The rope stretched, but Innes still was three feet off the ground. 

I turned to look around me. The ranchers were gathered behind the troopers who had formed a few feet away from the flag pole. Behind the ranchers the townsfolk had gathered into a restless group. I heard a couple people retch and most of them turned away. The townspeople were glaring at us who were grouped around the dangling dead man. All the ranchers avoided my eyes, but still there was some with satisfaction on their faces.

The judge spoke. “Sergeant, cut the dead man down when you are sure he has expired and then bury him. Marshal McBain, follow me to the bank building for a few words and then you are relieved of duties so you can visit your family.”

I went inside the building behind the judge. I glanced at the clock on the wall.  Christ, it wasn’t even eight o’clock yet. I felt it should be at least noon. “Riley, please come into the office. I just wanted to commend you for all you have done to see that justice has been served. The people of this community won’t realize it and probably won’t recognize that you have pushed the bad times away and set it on the road to a peaceful community everyone can be proud of. 

“I just want to tell you what Innes said to me in that private conversation he asked for. He told me he was going to stop the whipping and wanted to be immediately hung. He said if he completed the sentence and lived, the whipping would someday come back to haunt you. He said he knew what it was like to be haunted. He had struggled with a visage of your wife ever since he fired at her when she was getting away. I think his one regret in life was the one concerning your wife. I couldn’t see that any of his other misdeeds bothered him at all. At least he didn’t mention them.

“So put this all behind you and build for the future and forget the terrible things that have happened in the past. If you would come into town tomorrow, I’ll open Innes’ will and read it. I said in court the other day that I have confiscated the monies here in the bank that the gang had received from the sale of the stolen cattle. Would you pick two of the other ranchers that you trust and see that it is distributed fairly?”

“What about the townspeople? Are they to be included?”

“I think most of the townspeople have made out pretty damned well by having the Scalawags in town. They’ll go on just as they were before the Scalawags came. Also there is your ranch and one other besides your own that need dealing with. You, of course, have your title back because I vacated the previous one held by Bert Innes. Give some thought to those immigrants who have paid money down for land. It would be proper to use the land that is in limbo to see that they don’t lose out after sailing half way around the world.”

“I’ll see to it Judge. I’ve given it a lot of thought all ready. I have several ideas. I’ve even thought of selling some of the bottom land that I have next to the river to them. It all depends on what kind of crops they are planning to grow. I have seen how industrious these people can be.”

“Good. If you wish I’ll write up some of this for you. It won’t have any standing, but I get the feeling the townspeople will be glad when I leave and won’t want to see me back here again.”

I smiled for the judge was reading the feeling correctly about what went on with our way of dealing with the Scalawags. I knew especially how the town felt about him and the ranchers in the valley and the justice that was being meted out. I knew also, that I was included in this scourge that had descended on the Scalawags and the town.

“Get going. I understand your mother wasn’t feeling well. I pray she recovers fully. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Judge Kelly, I believe my mother is just weary.” I went down to the livery stable. Duffy was just pulling in.

“How’d the whipping go? Riley, I kind of wimped out on you. I could see hanging the man but whipping him I couldn’t take.”

“That’s fine, Duffy. I don’t blame you. That’s the way most of the people felt. It’s all over with now.”

“Yeah, until tomorrow.”

“No, it’s all over with. I imagine he is close to being in the ground, if he isn’t already. He took 13 lashes and he had enough. The judge was there and said hang him so within 10 minutes he was dangling.”

“You’re shitting me?”

“Nope, all over before eight. Say, would you stick close to the judge? He’s going to try the remaining Scalawags today. He wants to get out of town so he’s pushing to get finished. How were my Ma and Pa this morning?” 

“I met your Ma last night. She’s a fine lady. She was some tired, but better this morning. She’s anxious to get to know you again. No one has clued her in on what was going on in town. She was a little sharp with Abby because of it.”

“I’ll have a sit down with her. I was trying to keep things from her, but she has lived here. Bad things have happened to people she was friendly with. She has lost her daughter-in-law. I’m going to tell her and Pa everything because they are making their home here for the rest of their lives. This will become the fabric woven into something that makes up the history of the valley.” I saddled up and made for the Home.

I rode first into my ranch before going on to see my mother, Abby, and Sarah. Pa was here already riding over early to look at his old home. Apparently he had only arrived a little bit ago. He was still mounted on a horse. Facing him were the five girls whom Abby had given shelter to in the bunkhouse. The women immediately turned their attention to me.

“Marshal McBain, what is happening in town? You know us girls had wages coming? Are we going to get any money?”

“I’ll tell you in a minute. What name do you go by?” I was addressing a woman five foot six or so. She was dressed a little more conservative. She was attractive, serious of demeanor, and I took it the other four women looked up to her.

“My name is Sharon King.” 

“Sharon, I’ll take it up with the court. I have to be in there tomorrow at ten in the morning. I would think it can be arranged for you to collect something. I’ll speak for you anyway. As far as what else is going on, your boss Ezra as you know, died in the opening fight. His brother Brian has had his day in court and has pled guilty. He is to be sentenced tomorrow along with the sheriff. The rest of the men that worked or hung around with them are being tried today. I wasn’t needed so I don’t know even know what these men are charged with.”

“What about Bert Innes, the banker?” We heard he was to be whipped for his crimes. The most serious one where he killed a woman.”

“The woman he killed was my wife, Winifred. Yes, he was sentenced to receive a lashing. It was started, but never completed. The full sentence was carried out, how ever.”

“And the full sentence was?”

“If Bert Innes stopped the whipping he was to be hanged. That was done and by this time he has been buried. Did you know him well?”

“Not well. I guess we must have arrived after he killed your wife. He never availed himself of our services. He acted as if we weren’t good enough for him. Some men are like that. Is the nice woman who brought us out here your friend? She dresses like a man and wears guns. I heard she was the person who killed the deputy sheriff.”

“Abby is the person who saved my life by shooting the deputy. My wife was sister to Abby. Abby is more than my friend and we have an understanding. If you are still in the area you’ll be invited to our wedding.”

“You’d invite us?”

“I can’t think why not. I have to get on and go see her this morning. Is there anything more you need to be comfortable while you are here?”

“No sir, we are making out fine. There is food in the cook shack and I’m a pretty good cook. Thank you for taking care of us.”

I waved and turned to give my attention to my father. We turned our horses and headed out. “Pa, let’s get to the Holcomb ranch. I want Ma and you to hear what’s been going on since Abby and I arrived. This afternoon we’ll go visit Winnie. She still lies just as we found her. Maybe you can help decide what I should do in her memory.”

“Riley, give me a quick rundown before we get to Ma.”

“I have been busy since leaving you in Saint Louis. Abby and I had a little trouble getting here. I’ll leave that for later. I had talked to the mail carrier before we pulled in, so we knew someone had taken over the ranch and that Winnie had supposedly moved on. We camped out by the cave instead of coming to the house. I found Winifred’s remains just inside the cave. She died there Christmas Eve 1864 and was been lying right where she died. She left her journal and her last words in it.

“I then knew who killed her and who my enemies were as soon as I read it. I sent a telegram to General Grant. Help in the form of some court officials and some troopers arrived. We are just cleaning up the situation now. It will be all over in a couple of days. I’ll have the ranch back in my name and we will be getting some money for the cattle that were stolen and sold.

“The man who killed Winnie died a few hours ago. I was instrumental in seeing his sentence carried out, and as you heard me tell those women back there, he has been buried already. There will be two more hangings in the next day or two. You also heard that Abby killed a deputy. She saved me from having to do it. She is one damned fine woman.”

“You let that be known when I heard the conversation back at the ranch. What will Abby say when you tell her you have invited those women to your wedding?”

“I suspect she intended to invite them. “Pa, the country has been turned topsy-turvy since the war began. It is also expanding. In a few years we will have a telegraph here in town and maybe even a railroad. There are plans already for a railroad all the way to California up north in Wyoming.”

I stopped speaking for a minute. “Pa, there is something coming up that you and I might disagree on. There is a religious group coming in that was going to take over the ranches stolen from us by the Scalawags. This ranch here was one of the places they were to settle on. Tim Long’s ranch was the other one. He’s dead, by the way, killed by the sheriff.

“I met people like them when I was back east during the war. They are the type of people that keep to themselves. They believe in God, stronger than you and I do, and can make a paying farm out of the poorest land. I read up on them one time. They get pushed onto poor land, make it good and then are pushed off that and onto different poor land again. How good they could be if we allowed them to start out with good land.

“The reason they get pushed around so much is because they are pacifists and won’t fight. The Quakers and Amish are like that. It seems to me if we protected and promoted these people we all would come out ahead. I met one of the men and he practiced as a surgeon back in Germany. When asked, he stepped right into the middle of our fight and tried to heal the injured. His beliefs are totally against what went on, but it didn’t stop him from doing his humanitarian duty.”

“I donno, Riley. I bought the ranch when I was your age thinking we would have a passel of kids. We didn’t so I turned it over to you and you should have a bunch of kids. I didn’t pay much for it and it is yours to do what you want with it. How much are you figuring on selling to these foreigners?”

“I thought I’d let the section go that’s near the river. That leaves nine sections to raise horses and cattle on. I could do with four sections and still do what I want. I’d get me a couple of good bulls and maybe some Percheron or Clydesdale stallions and maybe hunt up some for breeding riding horses. I’d plan on getting some help from the farmers when haying time comes to mow and put up hay stacks for me. I tell you dad, if you ranch right you don’t need a whole lot of land.”

“Son, I can’t say as I agree with you. I worked hard to hold onto this land. I earned it and yes I spilt some blood doing it too.”

“I know. Do you want it back? I probably can get a hold of some of the Tim Long Ranch?”

“God no, Riley. Ma and me came down from Saint Louis to watch you work while we sit back and grow old.”

“Pa, you ain’t that old. I could have used your help a few days ago … your gun too for that matter. I knew what I had to do and was prepared. I ended up wrecking two buildings with giant powder almost before we started shooting. This was to open them up so we could get at the bastards inside. It killed a bunch of scuts and softened up the rest of them. Abby fixed one. She planted two bullets right where they needed to be.”

“I heard you tell them women so back at the ranch. Ma and me have always liked Abby and she sounds like a person to tie to.”

“She is that.”

We rode into the Holcomb ranch yard. Ma came out the door with Abby right behind her. Ma hugged me and stood back. She looked a lot better this morning.

Abby whispered, “Did you get the whipping done for today?”

“Nope, but Innes is dead and buried by now. You can hear all about it when I tell Ma. Winnie has been avenged and it was mostly by my hand. I’m free of those problems until tomorrow. I have to go into town and be there by ten. More orders from the judge to carry out, I imagine. He’s trying the rest of the Scalawags in court today.”

“Great. Riley, are you going to take Ma and Pa up to the cave?”

“I plan to right after dinner. I want to tell Winnie about it. I will say Innes had more balls than I gave him credit for. He died brave. But then it might be just his way of getting rid of the ghosts that were haunting him.” This made Abby giggle. She knew I was referring to our invasion of Innes’ bedroom one night not long ago.

We ate dinner. Ma kept looking at me. Finally we pushed back from the table. “Riley, please tell me every bit of what has happened to you and Abby since you left Saint Louis. She wouldn’t tell me anything.”

“That’s because I asked her not to. I wanted to spare you from hearing how bad things were here in the valley. But then you are going to be living here so you should know everything, so here goes.” It took me almost two hours of speaking steadily to arrive at this morning’s happenings. 

When I finished with that, Ma, said, “Serves the bastid right. You got revenge for Winnie and for yourself. I’m happy, for you, son.”

“There is still a lot to do. I imagine the judge will sentence the sheriff to hang and the same for Sloan. I think he is going to order the rest of the Scalawags to join the army. The Indian wars are heating up and men are needed to fight them. The one uncertainty is what Judge Kelly will do with Attorney Brickland. He has been damned unethical in his dealings with the ranchers.

“He should be disbarred and receive jail time. I sometimes wonder how the judge’s mind works. I never in the world thought he would order forty-five lashes to be applied as a sentence and a way out for Innes to escape losing his life. I have the feeling he will come up with something as unusual for Brickland. Brickland knows the laws and we certainly need that here to promote justice in the valley.” I had enough of this. “Ma, let’s go view Winnie’s remains. Give me your thoughts on what I should do.”

“Okay Riley, I’m willing to do that.” Ma was familiar with the location to the cave. She was a little slow getting on a mount, but declared it was better than sitting on a wagon seat. She had done enough of that recently. When we reached the cave entrance, I sent Abby on ahead to light candles. Ma entered and immediately knelt by Winnie’s head.

She said a little prayer and there were a few tears, but she contained herself reasonably well. This was the moment when I asked Ma what I should to honor Winnie’s memory. “Riley you could close up the cave if you think it right. But remember once you do that there are certain times of the year you can’t visit her grave. I would like to have her in the ground with a stone marker at her head or at her feet.”

“Thank you, Ma. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. I’ll give them due consideration. Would you let me have a few moments alone with her now? Maybe Abby would like a few moments too.”

“Okay Riley, I’ll head back to the Ranch. When will I be able to get home? Staying at the Holcomb spread is fine but I don’t feel at home there.”

“Tonight you can be home. The men that are there will all be moved to town and into the hotel by then.” Ma and Pa went out of the cave, leaving me alone. I knew Abby was waiting outside and would want her chance to say a few words. I didn’t tarry long. Ten minutes only to relate how Innes had left this realm. I ran my fingers down over Winnie’s parchment skin and let them brush her lips. “Be at ease. Soon the valley’s trouble will be behind us. Much is due to your journal in righting the wrongs. So long, sweet wife.”

Abby spent less time inside the cave with Winnie than I did. She was smiling when she joined me and we soon caught up with Ma and Pa. We went directly to the home place. We found Duffy loading up the baggage of Judge Kelley, Prosecutor Proctor, and Harry Sims, the Pinkerton agent.

Duffy filled me in, “Riley, Judge Kelly sentenced Sheriff Parker and Brian Sloan to hang tomorrow morning at sunup. The rest of the gang are to be transported to the nearest army fort and given a choice of spending an equal time in a brig or serving the sentence as a soldier. I suspect most will serve. It’s out of our hands now. They’ll be leaving with the troopers anyway.”

“Good enough. Did the Judge want me in before ten when he said I should show myself.?”

“He didn’t say, but I don’t think so. He wants as little friction between you and the townspeople as possible. He is leaving it to you to keep the ranchers and the people in town calm. You hanging those two after what happened with their banker might stir up a lot of resentment.”

“Anything about Brickland?”

“No, but I saw him and the judge go into the bank office after directing me to pick up his duffle here at the ranch.”

“Everything else okay in town?”

“Yeah. The town council had a meeting. They didn’t let on what they talked about. They were probably discussing you.”

“That’s okay I can handle them. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

Ma headed into the house. She started stripping the beds in all three rooms. She hung the blankets on the line at the back of the house. As she was doing this, a couple of the girls came from the bunk house and gave her a hand. It wasn’t long before they were telling Ma their life story. Ma was relating how she and Pa came to settle here in the valley forty some years ago.

One of the beds had sheets on it and the other two just had the blankets that whoever slept there had rolled up in. Ma went up into the attic and found the chest where Winnie had stored extra bedding. We would be sleeping between sheets tonight. The girls offered to do the washing tomorrow if Ma would share the rest of the bedding that remained in the chest. “Of course, I will.”

The girls gave Ma some help in preparing supper and ate with us. Ma mentioned to them that she had viewed the remains of my dead wife this afternoon. Abby then told them about her and me arriving and finding Winnie. We soon moved on to the topic of what the girls were going to do. They were at present in limbo and had no plans. 

Ma suggested they stay here until they decided. Abby looked at me. These women were all prettier than her. She was afraid that I might be attracted to one of them. I disabused her of that the minute that we were alone. “Abby, we have been through a lot together. I want us very much to continue being together. It looks as if Ma is taking over here, but I can’t blame her too much. I don’t want you to worry about it. We can build our own cottage anywhere.”

“Riley, when it comes time, I’m going to make you the best partner ever.”

“As in wife, I hope?”

“Yes, if that is your wish.”

“Abby, it certainly is.”

                                        Chapter Six

When I went by the livery stable the next morning I looked onto the hay barn floor.  I could see a man hanging there. There were a half dozen of the troopers taking down another body.  I paused and asked why the barn was used to hang the men. The judge thought that any more of a public display might unsettle the town more than it was so it was hidden from their view.

I agreed and headed up the street leaving the troopers to carry on. Before I reached the hitching rail before the bank, I saw Judge Kelly go inside. I tied up my mount and joined him.

“Morning Riley, We got just about everything accomplished that needed doing.  I’m going to speak with Brickland this morning. Also, I’m going to have a notice posted in a few public spots around town detailing what and why we did something.  It will be up to you to put the valley back together after we leave. 

“I think we can be on our way the day after tomorrow. The cavalry will be pulling out tomorrow. The hardcases that hung around with the Scalawags will be going with them. You should use Sam Pickens and one of the ranchers to help you get the town back on even keel. Make sure the Mexican community is involved and take care to integrate the Mennonites into this area as well. I think you are up to the task. Eventually the past with its bad times will fade into the distance.”

Judge Kelly reached into the desk drawer and pulled from it the last will and testament of Bert Innes. “Attorney Brickland will be here in a few minutes. When this envelope is opened in front of me, he will swear that there hasn’t been any changes to this document since Innes had him construct it. At that time I will read it.  It is for you to assign Innes’ worldly assets to those in such a way to best serve the community. You are named, not only as receptor, but as the administrator of those assets that don’t pertain to you directly. I understand that he did make some suggestions.”

I thought, “So, I’m not done with Innes yet? This seems to be on-going.”  

I needed clarification about the lawyer. “Judge, what are you going to do about Brickland?  He was guilty of several crimes.”

“What ones, Riley?  I admit he was certainly unethical and guilty of collusion with the Scalawags. That said, when I--and the men with me--leave there is no person here that knows the law better. He is a good lawyer in that he knows the law, crooked that he may be. You, yourself, will need his advice in settling Innes’ will.  I’ll threaten the hell out of him and will return in a year to review his actions. By that time, the need won’t be so great.”

I stared at unbelievingly at the judge. He continued, “Riley you are an intelligent person. I’ll send you a copy of some laws that might be of necessary interest. You can read up on the law and what’s behind it. You can watch Brickland and will know if justice is being practiced.”

I didn’t have time to object because Brickland came into the bank. He had Graham Brown with him.

“Okay, men let’s get the will read and discuss what should be done. Attorney Brickland, I’m going to open it. I want you to read it to make sure it is the same as what Bert Innes swore that it was his last will and testament.” He opened the envelope and Brickland read through it. It took several minutes for this.

“I swear this is the same document that Bert Innes had me prepare and he signed it.  The list of chores and distributions are as I remember them. First he named Riley McBain as administrator.

“Banker Innes told me that. I have already informed Mr. McBain that he was to fulfill that duty. That done, will you tell us what the will says in words we can understand in layman’s terms. You understand that I have vacated the sales of property that the men with him acquired through death and coercion?”

“I do. First he said the money for the sale of the stolen cattle is in a separate account labeled ‘Cattle’ and Mr. Brown will find it listed in the back of the Bank’s ledger. There is also a list of what cattle were sold under each brand. Bert told me that he kept meticulous records of the each transaction. He suspected at some time in the future he and his co-conspirators would have a falling out.”

“That’s good. That will make deciding how much each rancher is to receive. Mr. Brown, I direct you to set up an account for each person. If they don’t have one, create one and deposit said money into it. If there isn’t sufficient to cover it all, divide it accordingly.”

“I’ll certainly be glad to do that, judge. It won’t be too difficult given the notation he left of where the money came from. Riley McBain as administrator can oversee and audit my figures.”

“Fine. Now, Mr. Brickland would you tell us his other intentions and suggestions that are in the will and pertains to the townspeople and to the ranchers. I understand that there is some distribution of the titles of certain properties?”

“There are several. Mr. Innes held title to all land that his associates acquired. He declared that this was a common agreement to prevent the principals fighting amongst themselves. First there were the four town lots owned by Ezra and Brian Sloan. Two had buildings on them and those and two empty lots are to be returned to the town held in public trust to be used for the common good. The livery stable, building and lot, is to be sold at auction, the monies again used for the common good of the town. The freight yard, buildings and equipment the same.

“Mr. Innes was the person who contacted the Mennonites and urged them to immigrate to this valley. They are to be given title to the seven acre lot outside of town where they are presently staying. This is for a church, a school, or for commercial development if they desire.

“Mr. Innes was impressed with Mr. McBain as a leader and he asks two things of him. First that he find farmland for the Mennonite community. Mr. Innes promised and received partial payment for nine sections of suitable land for farming, location to be determined. The Mennonite payments to date, has its own account here in the bank and it is suggested that it be distributed equally among the ranch owners. Mr. McBain, as administrator is urged to see that the Mennonites families are settled on nine sections somewhere.

“The McBain property was also acquired for future farm settlement. Judge Kelly has declared Innes’ titled vacated to the McBain property and title should be returned to Mr. McBain.

“Lastly, the personal account of Bert Innes is willed to Riley McBain without restriction and is his to do with whatever he desires. The Timothy Long ranch was intended to be available for the placement of the new settlers and that title is at present willed to the estate of Winifred McBain. Innes regrets only one ill undertaking in his life, and that was his lusting after Mrs. McBain and by his hand causing her death. His apology is written out. It is signed Bert Innes. The signature was witnessed by Graham Brown.

Brickland paused and then said, “This document was created in the hour that Judge Kelly gave Innes. He apparently thought about this while waiting his day here in court. Innes dictated it to me and it was difficult writing because he talked quite fast. I did have time to read it to him and he was satisfied he hadn’t forgotten anything. It may be a little rough, but the will stand up in any court in the land.”

“That’s a good piece of work Mr. Brickland. Riley, can you work with Attorney Brickland, satisfying all aspects of the will?”

“Of course, Judge. It may seem odd, but I find I don’t feel as much rancor toward Bert Innes as I have. Don’t think it is the money that it is coming to me through Winnie’s estate either. I’m impressed the way Innes tied up all of the loose ends of his life. Only a person who kept control of everything would be able to this. Looking at this in a different light, he had to be the worst of the worst to be the cause of so many deaths throughout his life. It makes you wonder if Quantrill wasn’t just an extension of Bert Innes and it was actually Innes who was behind it all.”

“We’ll never know. Thank God both are now dead.”

I pondered what had just been said. It looked as if I had the title to my ranch back.  Also, I would be quite well-to-do when Winnie’s estate was finalized. I was pleased the rancher owners would get the money from their stolen cattle. Sharing equally in the down payment monies from the Mennonite settlers would do two things. It would in a way to satisfy the disposal of the Tim long property and I supposed that also legally belonged to me.

I could do as I wished with it under the terms of the will. The land would no longer be a ranch, but by sharing in the money from the down payment would give the ranchers less of a reason to have ill will with the Mennonites.

I was particularly pleased that the Mennonite community, after traveling so far and under such harsh and uncertain conditions, would soon have land they could call their own. “Judge, I will work hard to fulfill my duties as administrator to the best of my ability.”

“I’m sure you will. You know of course you may legally bill Innes’ estate for the hours you put into performing your duties. You may hire anyone to help you with that too. I would suggest that you talk with Attorney Brickland about this. There are some personal papers belonging to Innes here in the bank. I have had them bundled and placed in the safe for you to go through when you have time. I’m sure what’s in them will give you more insight into his mind. There may be some facts in them that the public doesn’t need to know. Graham can hand them to you when you work on the settling of the estate.

“Understood.”

“That done, we have one more case that needs resolving.” He turned to the lawyer,   “Attorney Brickland, stand before the court. You are charged with various crimes, mostly in disregard of the performance of your sworn duty to uphold the laws of this state and the country. How do you plead?’

“Judge, I don’t have anyone represent me. How can I plead under these circumstances?”

“Good point. I’ll appoint Riley McBain as advocate to represent you. Will he satisfy you?”

Brickland thought this over. “It does. He doesn’t have a law degree, but I believe he is an honest person. May I confer with him?”

“Certainly. I’m going over to the diner and get me a coffee.” Judge Kelly didn’t even look my way when he left.

“Riley, What do you think the Judge has in mind for me?”

“I’m guessing if you plead guilty, he might just fine you. Do you have any money?”

“I have a few hundred dollars.”

“Plead guilty and I’ll suggest a fine of $500 dollars. You’ll make that back when I employ you to settle the estate of Bert Innes. By the way, what’s your first name?  I’ve heard it, but don’t remember what it is.”

“It is Lawrence. My friends call me Larry. You may do so.”

“Okay, Larry it is. I don’t think the judge will mind if we step out while you smoke a cigarette.” We soon watched the judge come back across the street. When we got back inside, the judge declared the court was back in session.

“How do you plead?”

“Guilty, your Honor.”

“Riley, explain the plea the prisoner just made?”

“The guilty plea covers all crimes known and unknown until this morning. Continuing forward, the prisoner swears he will never commit another crime.”

“Do you have a recommendation as to his punishment?”

“A fine would be justified in this case. I would think in the range of $300 to $500 would be in order.”

“So noted. Lawrence Brickland, I fine you $500. You will be a free man as soon as the fine is paid.”

“Judge, to whom do I pay?”

“To me of course. Riley, I’m going to end this court’s session. I’ll be spending one more day here to relax and then I’m going back to my own district. If you would give me General Grant’s address, I’ll telegraph and report that the issues here have been resolved. I’ll follow that up with a letter explaining everything.”

“Thank you, Judge Kelley. I must say your court was a little unusual, but certainly effective. I feel justice was served very well. Yes, a few corners had to be cut, but when looking at the whole picture, justice I believe was applied fair and evenly. It got a few Scalawags out of circulation and that was the important part.” I shook hands with Judge Kelly and now it was up to me to administer the Innes estate.

*****

I watched Larry Brickland withdraw twenty-five gold coins from his account and hand five hundred dollars over to Judge Kelly. Judge Kelly shook his hand and handed him a receipt. “I’m buying lunch. There are a few things I want to pass on and we can discuss these while eating.” The diner had an alcove that was used for a sizable group when they came in. We headed for that. Kenny Proctor, Sam Blue and Graham Brown joined us.

We ordered. Judge Kelly now took time to speak. “Graham, you know banking better than anyone else in town. I’m naming you president of the bank. Give Riley the names of three people who can act as directors. Riley, that badge I gave you making you marshal is only temporary, but I’m making it permanent for a year. There are no law officers in town and that will have to be addressed by the town council. 

“The council should name Jim Backus as town clerk to take care of the paperwork brought about by Bert Innes’ death. He was clerk before Innes took those duties away from him. I’ll speak to the town council tomorrow about electing people to fill different positions. Innes seemed to have been in charge of most everything concerning the town. All of the title changes will have to be recorded to make things legal. I suppose if there are any arguments, any of the people can write me and I’ll make a decision and straighten things out. You do have a circuit judge that comes through periodically. You should approach him first.

“Riley and Larry, the will that Bert Innes left doesn’t have to be open to the public. If any of the decisions you make come into question, I’ll return and settle them after you say you have fulfilled the terms. Someone has to have the final say and I’ll take it on as one of the duties that was been thrust upon me by General Grant working through the federal government.

“I would advise that you notify the town immediately about the property they are about to receive. That should dispel a lot of the resentment that has come up. After the town agrees to accept the properties you’ve done your duty. Just make sure you receive a document of acceptance from the town council. You won’t have to get involved in how the property is to be used. Let the town fight over that … and I suspect they will.

“Next, I would suggest that you inform the Mennonites that they will have title to the land where they are parked. You can also tell them that you are working on finding land for them to settle on. I wouldn’t be too definite at first about where, just that it will be suitable."

“Why shouldn’t I be definite?”

“Because the ranch owners may put up a squawk about some of the range being turned into farmland. The Tim Long ranch was left to your wife’s estate, but I would urge you to disregard that and sell it to the Mennonites. Probably you should call a meeting informing the ranchers that they are getting the value of their stolen cattle returned. Also what the newcomers have paid in so far, the money is to be distributed among the ranch owners.

“This should go a long way toward quelling resentment from them. I find that cash money can do that. You might point out repeatedly that the Mennonites are paying for the land and have paid a third into the bank already for nine sections. As Winifred’s estate holds title to the Tim Long ranch, that money will be split five ways among the other five ranchers. You could argue you are due a share also, but you might not want to as you will receive much more as heir to her estate. But then you are administrator and it is in your hands.”

Judge Kelly paused and then gave a reason for his suggestions. “I’ve been a judge for twenty-five years … fifteen of those years as a federal official. The valley ranchers have been treated very unfairly these last couple of years. This should calm the situation. Again, just as soon as the paperwork is finalized you can say it is out of your hands and you won’t have to defend your decisions about satisfying the terms of the will. That is why I said I might return to see how everything played out. I’ll take up any disagreements at that time.”

We finished up lunch and stood in the street finishing our cigars. “Come on Brickland, let’s go talk to the town council. No time like the present.”

“Okay, good plan. You know, I wish you would call me Larry.”

“I can do that. Whenever I used to hear the name Brickland, I thought in my mind about a crooked lawyer, so Larry it is.” We went into the general store and found Sam Pickens.

“Sam, where’s the rest of the town council?”

“Around somewhere. What do you want them for? You planning on charging them with some crime? They haven’t done nothing.”

“Nope, no crime. I want a meeting. Innes appointed me administrator of his estate. Some of his will pertains to the town. The judge also gave me some instructions about the town that should be looked into.”

“Riley, you’re going to have a damned hard time ramming your sense of justice down our throats.”

“Sam, just call the council together and hear me out.”

Sam went out the back door of the store and fifteen minutes later he and the other two members came back in. I asked, “You got someplace private where we can talk?”

“My office.” It was a little crowded in there but we made do.

“Okay, here’s the deal. You know Larry Brickland. As far as I know he is the only person in town that knows the law. Judge Kelley put Larry here under bond and if I find out he does something crooked in the future I’m supposed to shoot him. That said; he is speaking for me about getting the town back to working as it should be.  Larry ...?”

“Thanks, Riley. Sam, the town has lost a lot of people who did the town’s business.  It is up to the council to see that those offices are filled as soon as possible. You need a sheriff or at least a town marshal … maybe both. You need a town clerk to keep records. Innes took over that when he took over the town, but he is gone. Jim Backus will be acting in that capacity until it is made permanent.

“Also Innes had title to several pieces of property holding it in the other’s name. He owned the livery stable, the two Sloan properties and the two empty lots on each side of them. He also owned the freight yard. Riley is asking that the town agree to receive these properties. They are to be turned over without restriction. The men who are running the two businesses may want to continue under lease or buy the property. All Riley is asking is for the town to agree to accept them. That fulfills his duty as administrator.”

“God, that’s all prime property. What should the town do with it?”

I spoke up. “It’s nothing to me, but you should get some businesses on the property. I would if I was running the town. Put it up to the townspeople and let them decide. You’ll have to meet to accept the property anyway. Do it as soon as possible if you would so I can say it’s done. Larry will provide the titles in a few days.”

“Are you getting anything out of this?”

“Not much. Larry and I are billing the estate for our time, that’s all. Get in touch with me when you can. I can’t believe the town won’t accept them, but I need to know.”

“Oh, we will and you can count on it.  Riley, are you out at your ranch now?”

“Yeah. The judge vacated Innes’ title so I have a home again.” I turned to Larry.  “Come on Larry, we have more to do.”

We stepped outside. Larry was smiling. “You wouldn’t shoot me would you? You laid it on pretty thick in there.”

“Larry, try something crooked and see.” I wasn’t outwardly smiling …but? Larry wasn’t smiling now after I answered. “Let’s get our horses and talk to the Mennonites. We rode in silence out to the Mennonite camp.”

Jacob Rutterman greeted us as we stepped down from our mounts. “Mr. McBain, what is it that you require now?” The last time I had been here I had asked for a doctor to treat several injured men. Two of those men were now dead. I wasn’t surprised that my reception was cool because of it.

“Sir, would you please gather your people? I have something to say and it concerns you all.” Rutterman sent a couple of kids that had followed him out to spread the word that a person was here to speak to them. They gathered slowly in front of me.  I was surprised I faced so few men in the group. Most were women and various children of all ages.

“Larry, would you tell these people why we are here?”

“People, you probably know that the banker you dealt with has paid for his crimes with his life. That said, he didn’t forget you. He named Riley McBain administrator of his estate. One of the elements in his will stated that he owned the piece of land you are now camping on. It comprises seven acres in all. Mr. McBain is here to satisfy that part of Mr. Innes’ will. You will have title to this land to build a church, a school, or any other endeavor you come up with.”

“You mean this land will belong to the Mennonite community?”

“That’s what I am saying. When I hand the title over to you, all you have to do is agree to accept the land. That will satisfy the terms of the will. Mr. MacBain thought as unsettled as the situation was when you arrived, you would like some good news.”

“This is good news and we welcome it. However we still don’t have land to farm yet. Do you have any good news about that?”

“Mr. McBain is working on that. Riley.”

“I can tell you that the money you put down for land is still in the bank. There is also some land that is suitable for farming that may be available. The title at present is somewhat clouded. It will take a few days to clear it up. Keep the faith that you will be on your own land shortly.”

“This is good news too. We do have a problem, though. We need grazing for our stock. They have depleted the feed here on the seven acres. We must find more immediately.”

“Before I address that problem, let me ask a question. Tell me how you are going to make farmland out of the ranch-land with only the few people you have with you? You have very little stock for such a task too.”

“Oh, I thought you knew? Many of our men and the older boys are on their way here with our equipment and the stock that we shipped on the boat that was companion with the one we were on. We understood from the banker that there would be cows to be found grazing free on the range when we arrived.”

“I wouldn’t know of any here on this range. Remember the cows are the livelihood of the ranchers here in the valley.”

“Mr. Innes told us that the ranchers had all left leaving the cows and young stock to fend for themselves.”

“I suspect that was the plan, but it didn’t totally happen. One of the ranchers was killed along with some of the hands who worked for the different ranches. Most were driven from their homes. We rectified that last week. You saw it close hand.  The land has been returned to the original owners. What the ranchers need the most of are good bulls to service their cattle.”

“Mr.McBain, we understood that the type of cattle you have here are not what we call beef type, although used for that. We have practiced good genetics for a few generations. The bulls that are on the way here are very good. We are anxious to begin transforming the local cattle into a premium breed that is even better than what we raise and certainly better than your cattle.”

“Interesting. Do you have enough to share with the ranchers?”

“Certainly. I think we have enough to service all the cows in the valley. There will be bull calves coming from the original cows you have by next spring. That will create new bulls that will be ready for service within three years from this year. Second generation breeding can take place at that time and within a few generations there will be a true breed here. We are not into raising beef and our landholding will not be anywhere near what your large ranches are. We intend to be diversified both in our crops and our animals.”

“Mr. Rutterman, I have to talk to the ranchers tomorrow. They will be gathered at my ranch at noon. I’m inviting you to come share your vision about what you are looking for here in the valley.  In a way the ranchers are afraid of farmers. They claim it destroys the prairie land and makes it unsuitable for grazing cattle. This would be the time to change their mind about that. I’ll give you time to talk about it. One other thought. I’m still a federal officer for the next year. I’m looking forward to having it as peaceful as possible. My goal is to see that everyone gets along.”

Larry and I were invited into Jacob’s tent for a cool drink of water. His wife placed pastry before us and urged a second piece on us when they saw how much we enjoyed it. I commented; “My mother loves to bake. Someday I hope you will show her how to make this.”

“You don’t have a wife, Mr. McBain?”

“No, I don’t at present. My wife was killed by one of the people who paid for their crimes this last week. I hadn’t seen her for three years, but I still think about her often. Her sister is here now and she doesn’t have a mate. We may walk out together.” I wanted to get off this subject. “I must get going if I’m going to notify the ranchers about the meeting tomorrow. Thank you for inviting Mr. Brickland and me to partake of such tasty dessert.”

I asked the lady who made the pastry what it was called, finding it was strudel. I arranged for her to make enough to feed thirty-five people and paid her in advance. I shook hands with Jacob and most of the other people came to us to say good-bye. The feeling toward me as we left was much different than when I arrived.

I left Larry off in town asking him to have Pete and some of the Mexican community notified about tomorrow. I stopped at the bank and retrieved the bundle of notes that Graham was holding for me. I hoped to find what Innes had in his mind for the valley.

When I reached the ranch, Red Morris was hanging around the bunk house with the women staying there. I sent him over to Sarah’s to get Duffy. When the two got back, I gave each direction how to notify the ranch families I wanted here at noon tomorrow. I told them to tell the ranchers I had some good news and they needed to hear it.

That evening I told Pa, Ma, and Abby what the will revealed and what I was doing to get finished with it as soon as possible. “Riley what you have planned won’t work. The people involved are just too different.”

“Pa, it is worth a try. Notice, I’m not including the town and the people in it. Most of them are too bigoted and have had a pretty easy life, especially after the Scalawags came in and took over. The Scalawags were careful not to step on the toes of the townspeople because they needed a base for their operations. When they were taking over the land in the valley, the people in town didn’t object because it didn’t affect them that much.

“Outside of town were the ranchers who were getting hammered into the ground and no one from town gave a damn. These people from Europe were being driven off their land and needed a new land to settle on. They came here with faith in God and a great measure of hope. 

“What we call Mexicans came about partly by the Indian tribes mixing with the lower working class and soldiers from Spain, many being a subjugated people. The highborn and elite that arrived as conquerors held them selves aloof. The Americans won a war with Mexico and look on high and low as being the same.

“I’d like to see the Mexicans, the Mennonites and the Anglo community come together and make more of the valley. Something they don’t have now.

“The ranchers are an independent bunch. The Mennonites have been put down all too often and the Mexicans have lost the belief that their worth as a people is something of value. If I can get through to the three different cultures and have them show respect for each other, we just might make it work.”

“I wish you luck, son, but the three different groups you mentioned will be working against it happening.”

“How so, Pa?”

“Well, for one, the Mennonites are Protestant and Anabaptists, while the Mexicans are Catholic. For another thing, the ranchers believe in holding huge amounts of land. They don’t want to let any of it go. It takes a lot of acreage to raise a hundred cows. I’m telling you I’m strongly of that mind. Most of these ranches comprise ten sections. That is the way the valley was platted when we purchased it from the Spanish Grandee that owned it. Why split it up?”

“Yes, but that was then, but now I’m convinced that the ranches can be smaller.  Why ride ten miles to get to your boundary when you can raise the same amount of beef and only ride five miles? However Pa, I don’t think that needs to be addressed at this time. The only land that is going to be divided is the Tim Long ranch.

“These families will be satisfied owning nine sections and believe it is enough land for them and future generations of their children. That is what they contracted for and have paid a third down before arriving. To them forty acres is a large land holding. Anyway you have given me some more ideas for talking points to convince people to see things my way.”

“Riley, where did all these strange ideas you have acquired come from?”

“Pa, I was back east during the war and after. The people, some victorious and some defeated, are fast working to put their lives back together. The old order of business has disappeared. The slaves are no more and those who have embraced a free society will be the ones who make out better than most. I have to add also that it is cheaper for them in the long run too. We never had slavery here in the valley, but we never made good use of the people who lived here either.”

“I never thought of you as a dreamer, but it looks as if you have become one. All I can say is good luck.”

“Thanks and we will see. What do you and Ma want out of this? Do you want the ranch house returned to you? I know you gave it to me, but I want you to be happy.”

Ma answered, “Pa and me have talked. Are you going to find a wife and start a family?”

“Yes, I am. I have been waiting for things to settle down. Abby and I will be getting married within the next few weeks. I hope this is with your approval?”

“Of course it is. We are more familiar with Abby than we were with Winnie.  Abby will make you a perfect wife. As far as where we will live, I think we would like an acre of land down by the river to build a cottage. Pa talks about going fishing and I guess I would like to sit back and knit clothes for my grandchildren. It would give us time to go around and be friendly with the people who live here.”

“Even if your neighbors are Mennonites and Mexicans? That could happen.”

“I can get along with anyone. I’ll make sure your Pa gets along with them too. Different subject, Riley, are you going to serve dinner tomorrow to all of these people you are going to be talking to?”

“Beef stew and dumplings would be welcomed. I have dessert coming with the Mennonite representatives.”

“You didn’t invite all of them?”

“No, I didn’t. There are to be just a few people from the Mexican community too. If things play out like I hope, there will be time enough for all getting together later. One thing I wish you would do. Would you see that the five women in the bunk house dress conservatively? They can help serve our guests and maybe they will catch a husband.”

“Riley, they have already given up their provocative wear. Sarah and Abby have found clothes for all of them. All five were pushed into their unwanted previous lifestyle. Maybe their lives will turn around with our help.”

I looked at Pa. “See Pa, I’m not the only dreamer named McBain.” He was shaking his head, but I could see he was in agreement with Ma that she extend a helping hand to the women.

 Abby and I walked outside and down by the barn. The five women living in the bunkhouse had found benches and had them on the barn floor. They were lounging there with the doors at both ends where the breeze was circulating through. I knew Sharon’s name and spoke. Abby introduced me to the rest.

“Tomorrow, ladies, there will be a great many people here for a meeting concerning them all. Before the meeting my mother and Abby will be serving a stew for dinner. Would you be so kind as to help them see that everyone is served?”

“Certainly we will. Thank you for giving us a chance. Mr. McBain, won’t you be ashamed to have us out where people can see us? People must know of our past.”

“Yes, they will know, but if you deport yourselves ladylike you will be treated as such. People out here in the valley may be rough, but not uncouth. They can and do show more class than the townsfolk toward their friends and neighbors. Another thing, I’d like it if you would please address me as Riley. You already call Abby by name. That’s enough to reveal that you are friends of ours and you should be treated the same way as we are. I’ll try to remember your names as well.”

*****
I skimmed through the notes found in the bank safe that Innes had written down. It was just a bunch of ideas and no set plan that I could determine at this time. I did gather that the Scalawags wouldn’t fare any better than the ranchers at some later time after he had solidified his control over them. He was definitely power hungry. I also extracted a couple of names of townspeople from these papers that made them collaborators of the Scalawags. One name surprised me being one that Winnie had alluded to and he would be one to watch.

I knew that Judge Kelley and Kenny Proctor would be leaving very early in the morning. I was correct, for the buckboard was hooked to a pair of horses hitched in front of the hotel. I tied my horse next to them. There was the hotel roustabout bringing bags through the door and loading them onto the wagon.  I noticed a valise with Harry Sims’ name on it. I could see him and Marshal Blue coming up the street mounted on their horses. 

The judge came out the door and stood beside the wagon. “I wondered if I would see you before we left. The town is buzzing about their good fortune of the acquired property. Different factions are putting forth suggestions on what they should do with the land. You may have to step in as marshal if it gets, too acrimonious.”

“I don’t think so. This is a town problem and I can’t see where it will rise to needing a federal officer. They have to choose their own police so that should be first on the agenda.”

“You’ll do fine, Riley with that attitude. You know, it has been a pleasure working with you. You had us called in and then let us do our job. Not many men would have acted the way you have by standing back and just following orders. How did you make out informing the Mennonites that they have land to build a church on?”

“Very well. Before this they thought I was a harsh person, but they have seemed to have softened their stance toward me. I’m having them represented at a meeting with the ranchers. They know their land has to be coming from some of the range owned formally by the ranchers. I haven’t left the Mexicans out of the meeting either. It would be nice if they could move their community out to encompass some of the range land as well as the newcomers.”

“Riley, I do believe this valley will become a nice place to live. So many cultural issues are present, but you have identified them and you just might make them work to the advantage of all. I wish you luck. You have my address, so be sure to write and tell me how you are making out.”

“I will, sir.” Judge Kelley took up the reins and headed out of town. I went into the general store and bought some extra flour. Ma said she would be embarrassed if she ran out making dumplings for the beef stew. I was addressed with respect in the store. Some different than when I was dynamiting the building across the street or when I was whipping and hanging their perceived best citizen.

The ranchers and their families were arriving when I got back to the ranch. Larry Brickland had to have been within sight following me for he arrived ten minutes after I did. The ranchers looked on him with suspicion because he had been so closely associated with the Sloans and Innes.

The three Sinclair men, father and sons, came charging up to me asking what in hell? “Brickland paid his fine and is on bond to me. He knows if he breaks it and goes back to his crooked ways I’ll kill him. If you can’t trust him, trust me. I’ve got your valley back for you. That said, I need him to straighten out the mess that the Scalawags left us with. He knows the laws and I don’t want to make any misstep that can come back to haunt us in the future.

“I’ve several pieces of good news that I will address after lunch. For now just be satisfied that you have your land back and the titles for them are stronger than ever.”

“I guess this is your show, Riley.” I heard a wagon coming and I looked as Pete and his family arrived. There were seven people in it. Pete wasn’t married, but his sister and her family were riding with him in the wagon. They got down and lifted a five gallon iron pot of chili out. They hung it over one of the fires to stay hot. I knew it wouldn’t need much to let you know how hot it was. The heat would come from within.

There were two older Mexicans on horses that rode slowly into the yard. Pa knew them and rushed to make them welcome. I didn’t count, but with the men, women, and children, there had to be forty people here. I was worried that the Mennonites wouldn’t be represented. Ten minutes later just before we began serving we could see the two wheel gig coming. There was a trotter pulling it. It was a beautiful sight. I hadn’t seen the animal before, but then I hadn’t seen everything that was in their camp.

It was I who welcomed them. “I’m glad you came.” I stuck out my hand, greeting Jacob Rutterman.

“Mr. McBain, thank you for inviting us. There are a lot of the ranch people here.” 

“Yes, and you will meet them all. All of the ranchers and their families are standing over by the barn. My mother and father are by the house with Abby, my passed wife’s sister. You’ve seen her in town during the time of trouble. The five ladies standing with them are our friends. They are here to help us serve. The Mexican community is represented just as your people are. In the fall we will plan to have everyone together. Come, I’ll introduce you around.”

The men gathered around the horse looking her over. She wasn’t a young filly any longer, but had been so well trained she had kept her gait. We soon sat down or leaned against a building and commenced eating. It was Pa who opened it. “Lord, we have passed a time of trouble and pray it is behind us. We are here to welcome those who are gathered to build a new community of friends, friendship and prosperity. Thank you for hearing our prayer and for the food that is before us. Amen.”

Everyone who came brought their own eating utensils and cups. This was standard when traveling and I wondered if the German’s were aware. They were--and produced them handily. The ladies, led by Sharon King, were ladling the stew and Pete’s sister spooned the chili. She laid a piece of corn bread on each plate. There was at least one dumpling with the stew. Mary Puck, another of Sharon’s friends, walked around with a pitcher of well water from the house. When finished eating each person passed by a tub of water and rinsed their plate and utensils. This would hold until they got home and washed them if they thought not clean enough.

I stood on the porch facing the people crowded around the yard. “Okay, I think all of you here know me. You have had a bad time of it in the last couple of years. I missed most of it while I was away fighting. I returned and found the valley in dire straits. I have tried and I think I helped succeed in righting some of the wrongs that took place. I have gathered you here to tell you just where you stand. 

“First, Bert Innes, the bank owner, was surely the worst Scalawag, although most of you were unaware. He was working for one person and that was for himself only. He is gone now. In one way, that was a good thing and makes my job as his administrator less difficult.

“Innes made sure records were kept of what he and the others had stolen. He listed the cattle under each brand in a tally book and incorporated it into a money account in the bank. So I have the number of cattle stolen and I have much of the money they brought when sold. I will have our new bank president divide and deposit to each one’s account the money that those cattle brought. This money can be used to replace the cattle that were stolen.

“You know of course that the title to your ranches has been returned to you and are more solid than ever. This doesn’t take into account the men that were killed or those driven out. In a way though, there will be some reparation. Tim Long was gunned down and he didn’t leave any heirs. The Tim Long property that Innes held title to was willed to my ex-wife’s estate and I as administrator to both have to decide what to do with it.

“I was with Innes much in his final few days. He was the cause of my wife’s death and he regretted it greatly. He willed the Tim Long ranch to my wife’s estate, so in essence I can say it is mine.” There was a shocked grumble from the people facing me. I held up my hand stopping it. It finally quieted. “To continue, Innes contacted some people in Europe with the thought of selling that land and other land in the valley to these people looking for farms. The first of the immigrants are here now. They have paid one third of what he was asking into an account and that is also in the bank. 

“To bring this into perspective, say you decided to move to California and paid one third the cost of a section of land with the promise to pay the remainder when you reached there. But when you got there the man who was handling the transaction was dead and had willed the money to someone else and you had no legal recourse to either have the money returned or title to the land.

“That is grossly unfair. I, as one of the ranch owners, am in the same position as you are. I will receive money due me back for the rustled cattle. That’s fine, but who is to receive the land willed to my wife’s estate. As administrator of both Innes the banker and of Winifred my wife, I have decided to go forward and sell nine sections of land from Winnie’s estate to the new settlers.

“One third of the purchase price has been paid and is in a separate account. This is a contract and I will abide by it. In reparation of all that has gone on while I wasn’t here, that money will also be divided among the five of you. I’m opting out because Innes left other assets to me. Do you understand?”

“I don’t.”

“Sarah, it is like you receiving a full section of the Tim Long ranch without cost to you. You have sold it and the money will go into your account at the bank. To me it sounds like a good deal.”

“Riley, you are saying you are going to dump a whole lot of money into my account at the bank for me?”

“That’s what I am saying. It really isn’t that much, but will help you get the ranch back on its feet. There is a cost to you, though and I don’t have any control over that.”

“What is the cost? I know there must be something hidden that will ball this up.”

“All you have to do is to make welcome the new immigrants who are settling on land that they have purchased. Be a good neighbor. That’s all it will take.”

Sinclair spoke from the sidelines, “They are farmers aren’t they? They’ll ruin the grazing land and then will take over our range when we are driven out.”

“I disagree that it will destroy the land. Sure they are farmers, but they will be raising crops of corn, wheat and rye. They’ll have fields of alfalfa and timothy.  They also raise a little cotton and their stock will be the best that there is. Horses, both draft and riding, with maybe a race horse thrown in like the one that was pulling the gig. We ranchers raise just one thing … cattle. Our cattle were stolen and we were pretty much wiped out. That won’t happen to the farmers because they will be diversified. We can learn much from them and they are willing to help.” Sinclair said no more.

I could see that Jacob Rutterman wanted to speak. “Herr McBain is a man of vision. I must remind you that we are a very religious people and we keep to ourselves in the most part. But we are dedicated to being good neighbors. We don’t bear arms and we share what we have when needed. I have told Riley that we have cattle that are on the way from the coast and they should be here with in a few days. Have you heard of the shorthorn breed of beef cattle? We have over thirty young bulls that are ready for service when they arrive. 

“They aren’t being driven, they are coming by freight wagon and they are our most valuable asset. Banker Innes said there were not too many cows in the valley and that 30 bulls would see that all are bred. We people planned on buying the cows here, but it might be better if we sold the bulls and paid for our land that way. Herr McBain has agreed to accept the bulls as partial payment for the land we are purchasing.

“In ten years you would have herds of cattle that would have the best of the longhorn cattle and best of the shorthorn. Think if you bred to produce a beef that was the size of the longhorn and carried the conformity of the Shorthorn? We have been breeding cattle for generations. It can be done.”

Sinclair spoke up again. “Well now, maybe you have something there. Who knows, maybe that beef stew will be more tender than Riley fed us today.” Everyone laughed, for Ma had made the stew and she was rightly proud of it. He continued, “Some of that cash money would be greatly appreciated too.”

I didn’t know Bob Sinclair that well for he was from the far end of the valley. He was the one though, who might just be of the same mind as I was. He certainly appeared to have an open mind and he was one to bring the ranchers together.

Chapter Seven

Some one shouted that there was a horse coming on a dead run. It was lathered some when it was yanked to a standstill in the yard. It was a girl of seventeen or so and she was looking around for Jacob. “Jacob, we just got word that raiders have robbed our wagons and set our people afoot. They are taking our cattle and all of our equipment. You must do something.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know. I think the other side of the last town before this one. They are taking them north and west.” 

“Were they Indians?”

“No, somebody named Dugan was the leader of them.”

Larry Brickland spoke, “That would be Doug Dugan. He will be headed for the Sloan holdings up in the Pan Handle. He must have found out that his friends here have been wiped out. He was the cattleman who directed the roundup when they stole your cattle.”

“How many men does he usually have with him?” I asked this of Larry.

“Ten or twelve. How many wagons did the immigrants have?”

Jacob answered this. “Ten for the bulls and twenty for supplies and farm machinery. There are extra horses and some milk cows that could be driven with the wagons. They can’t travel very fast.

I did some calculations in my head. “He must have nearly thirty riders to steal this whole train.” Sinclair agreed with me. “Men, those bulls are pretty damned important to us. I think I know about where we could catch up with them. I say we go after them.”

“Let’s go.”

“Okay, let’s take a minute and talk about how we are going to do this.”

Jacob stopped me. “Herr McBain, will there be violence? We should contact the authorities and take it to court. We will get our goods back that way.”

“Jacob, with all due respect that wouldn’t happen. We have to take them back or you will see none of your cattle or equipment. Your goods will be back in your hands by tomorrow night or the following morning, I promise.” I ignored Jacob.

“Pa, you take Jacob’s friend and round up some help to take over after we take control of the wagons. We’ll need people who can drive the wagons. Hit the trail and come up on the wagons from the rear. I’ll take the men and head over the mountain. They won’t be too far up the trail and we may even get ahead of them. We can stop them from in front and take back the wagons.

“Abby, you go with Pa. I’ll want Pete and his brother-in-law with me. His sister can find some Mexicans to help to go with Pa. I’ll take the men over the hills here and hit the trail they’ll be on. If we can catch them before tomorrow morning we can do it. We could wait for the next morning, but I don’t want to.”  

Ma had anticipated our needs for food and had filled some flour sacks. Twenty minutes later we were saddled and were winding up through the hills. It would be almost full dark by the time we would come down on the wagon trail and I was anxious to get going.

Word couldn’t have come at a better time for us with the ranchers all here together. I had nineteen armed men with me. Sinclair had never gone into the mountains from this angle and didn’t believe there would be a trail thorough. I had grown up here and knew this section intimately. At one time when young, I had kissed a girl at a dance and she lived on the other side of the mountains. Enough said.

Duffy, Pete, and Red Morris were ones I could depend on. I would trust Monty and Jack Sinclair just as much. We moved as fast as we could. Most of the time it was single file but we ate up the miles. Eventually we got over the mountain to where we could look down into the valley. There was a small crick that meandered beside the trail.

We gathered at the foot of the mountain and I sent Duffy and Monty across the water to the trail. It had been traveled, but there were no large wagon tracks or droppings that indicated a large gather of livestock had passed this way today so the wagon train hadn’t got this far. He pointed and indicated that he was going down the trail to see how far we were ahead of the raiders. “Men, eat and sleep if you can. When Duffy gets back we’ll do some planning.” 

We didn’t build a fire. It was two hours later that Duffy came back up to us. “The wagons are a mile down the road.  They’ve got the bulls out of the wagons and all the horses and cattle are in a glade across the crick. They’ll be there the rest of the night. The bulls aren’t giving any trouble and there are only five men with them. I couldn’t see any arms on them and only two are mounted.

“Some raiders are around a fire and are passing a bottle between them. I think we should leave our mounts here and get down closer going on foot. Monty said the big man is definitely Doug Dugan. Pete and I and maybe Red can knock the five men in the head. And then if there is shooting we can do it from across the crick.”

“I’ll think on it when I get there. I may want you and Monty with me. Jacob you stay here with the horses. Jenkins you stay with him. I don’t anticipate we will be having too difficult a time. Dugan had to know these people don’t fight so how can any of them come after him. He probably isn’t worried. Taking candy from a baby is the way he will be thinking. Just as soon as the moon comes up we’ll head down there.”

I hated to leave the horses, but I didn’t want them to whinny and spoil our surprise. I sat down and relaxed. I was always like this while waiting. Too many times it seemed. I’d thought fighting was behind me. Guess not.

Finally the moon came up over the mountain and we headed down the trail. I did make one change. I put Sinclair’s two boys, Monty and Jack, and one other man in the woods near the trail a hundred yards short of the wagon camp. “If the men get to their horses, stop them anyway you can.”

“You mean shoot them?”

“Yeah. We don’t have horses and they do. It will be them trying to get away.”

“But we can’t just shoot them, can we?”

“They are cattle rustlers and would be escaping aren’t they?” We started forward. Suddenly Pete was beside me. I was in the lead and my men bunched behind me.

“I figured you would be coming along. I got up close enough to hear the men with the animals talking. These five aren’t happy at all. I identified them as either Mennonites or maybe freighters. The raiders are the only ones with guns. I take it there are only six or seven true raiders. The rest are immigrants.”

“That’s good to know. Did you find where the raiders are located?”

“Yeah, they are around the brightest campfire. There are four sleeping around it.  The other two or three are on guard. I couldn’t spot them. They have to be in the shadows somewhere.”

“You’ve done good Pete. I’m going to talk to one of the men with the bulls if I can. I want them to get away before we attack the ones we came for.” I followed Monty across the crick and into the glade with all the animals. One had just tossed wood onto a campfire and it flared up. All were staring into it. When they got their eyes adjusted again I was beside one of them with my gun out.

“Stand still men and you won’t get hurt. We are owners of the cattle and came after them.” 

“God mister, get us out of this mess. We aren’t Mennonites, but we are with them. We hired on because they didn’t have enough drivers. Those bastards forced us to work for them. We just want to get where we are going and go home.”

“We can do that if you cooperate. I want you to ease up to your friends across the road and quietly tell them to disappear back down the trail you just came up. Go back a half mile and wait. The cattle won’t scatter much. Tell them that Jacob Rutterman is with us. At present he is holding the horses. If you hear shooting it is just us taking over. Here, if you don’t believe me, I’ll show you my badge. I’m Riley McBain and a federal marshal. Get going as soon as you can. When this is all over, I’ll make sure you get a ride south and home.

“Thanks, Marshal.”

These men were so quiet, I didn’t hear them move. Occasionally I could glimpse a shadow pass in front of the dim campfires. I figured fifteen minutes and most would have followed my instruction. If not, too bad. Now was the tricky part. I directed the ranchers into a half circle just across the crick. They had some cover and out of the light from the outlaw campfire.

I was ready and shouted,  “Hello the camp. This is Federal Marshal Mcbain and you’re covered. Throw your guns away and come out into the light by the campfire.” I wasn’t surprised when gunfire erupted before I finished speaking. The first shot came from back in the woods behind the fire. As soon as we realized this we targeted the shooter. It had to have been someone mounted on a horse, awake and on guard. Those around the fire had come up shooting at that moment. We gave it back at them. Soon there was no more gunfire. Then we heard what sounded like two horses speeding north.

We fired at the sound. Then there was shooting up the road from the men I had left there to stop just such a thing as this. It was now quiet. “Let’s see what we’ve got men?”

I eased across the road as did some of the others. We all had our guns at the ready.  There were four men in the camp and all were dead. I sent a couple of men toward where the shot had come from back of the campfire. “Found him. The horse he was on is dead too.”

“That’s five of them. Now we’ll see what luck the ones up the road had.”

When we got near, there was a horse and two men down. One horse stood there quivering. Pete stepped up and calmed him. We tied both the dead men on the horse led it back to the campfire. We laid them all out where we could inspect them. All seven of them were known by the ranchers and had been in and around the Petite Valley when our cattle were stolen. The only one who didn’t have a bullet in him was Doug Dugan. Apparently when the horse went down, Dugan had gone over its head and the horse landed on him in such a way that his neck was broken.

“I have paper on Dugan. This saves me from stretching it with a rope. Hey, somebody go get the wagon drivers. They must want to know how this turned out.  This was a good piece of work tonight. Duffy, grab a horse and help bring our mounts down. Be careful to let Jenkins know it is you. He might think you are a raider and start shooting.”

Soon we sorted things out. We found that these men with the wagons were Mennonites except for the five we had talked with earlier and had been forced to change direction. There wasn’t a gun in the bunch including the hired drivers. This made sense--now more than what we had surmised when we heard back at the ranch that there were raiders driving the wagons. Jacob had family with these people. He also received much credit for rescuing the cattle from the raiders. He turned my away and said it was me and the ranchers who had done it. 

We had a few hours sleep before we turned the wagons around and they headed back down to where they had been high-jacked. The wagons had traveled sixteen miles from that point. It was then still several miles to Petite Valley. It looked as if it would be two or three days before they reached the valley. I told Jacob to go with them and travel right through town when he reached it and park on my land next to the river. We would sort things out when they reached the ranch.

Jacob was very thankful. All the ranchers admired the bulls as they were being loaded into the wagons. Many of the ranchers had never seen this type of beef critter before. They were slowly being imported into the country, but these were the first that had reached here. I had seen the like back east, but these were really something.

I smiled, thinking the ranchers would give up a whole lot to have the use of these bulls to service their cattle.  I know I was. When the wagons started, there were eight of the ranchers with them as guards. They would make sure those bulls reached the valley. I and the rest went up and over the hills the way we had come.

*********
Pa met me when the ten of us came down out of the hills. I was surprised to see him, but found another of the Mennonites had followed the first messenger, so Pa turned back knowing that different drivers weren’t needed and was waiting for the results and “How’d it go?”

“Great. It couldn’t have gone better. We wiped out some more of those rustlers who stole our cattle. Pa, the rest of the Mennonites will be arriving here in a couple of days. I swear those bulls that the Mennonites are bringing with them will make this valley producing some of the finest beef in the country. 

“The livestock have had a hard journey coming half-way around the world, but you wouldn’t know it. Another good thing is that they are not as wild as our longhorns. They are used to being handled by people. I was told they can get damned mean as they get older, but these young bulls will be good to work with anyway you cut it.”

“Well, tell me what happened. I’ve seen a bull before.”

“You haven’t seen any like these.” I went on to tell about the fight we had. “None of us even came close to getting hurt.”

“That’s because of your planning. It sounds as if you had all the contingencies covered by how you assigned a job to everyone.”

“I guess so, but everyone was willing and made it easy for me. Who would have thought I could get the ranchers to help out a bunch of farmers? After they seeing the bulls, this is going to be easy. You should ride out and meet them tomorrow. I have to get with Larry and to organize a place for them when they get here.”

“Maybe I will. I’ll bet Abby will go with me. She’s one damned fine woman. Ma and me wondered about her when she sued for her divorce and I guess although we didn’t say anything, our estimation of her was lowered a mite. Now though, I’m advising you to grab her.”

“She’s already grabbed, Pa. They’ll be a wedding within the month or before cold weather.”

“Smart move.”

Abby and Ma set food before me and the rest of the ranchers. We all ate quickly. The ranchers were anxious to get back to their families and I wanted to find Larry Brickland. I wanted him to go with me to let the Mennonites know the result of what had gone down and that their people would be with them tomorrow. I headed for town.

I found him in the bank working on paperwork. He and Graham Brown were satisfying the terms of the will by depositing to the ranchers accounts money from the stolen cattle account.

“Riley, I’m almost done with this chore. Next will be figuring out what the division is to put into the separate accounts and what goes to the ranch owners. The money is here, it just needs to be divided. You’re going to have some happy people among the ranchers. I don’t think the Mennonites will have enough gold with them to pay the other two thirds. Will you give them time to come up with the money if they don’t have it?”

“I’ll look at my options. Remember Winnie’s estate is the owner of the sections. I’ve done quite a bit for both the ranchers and for the Mennonites. I think we can come to some agreement without much trouble. We’ll have a get-together and sort it out. For now, can you break loose and ride out to the Mennonite camp with me? I want to tell them their people are safe.”

“God, I forgot where you were and what you were doing. Did you accomplish what you set out to do?”

“We did. It was Doug Dugan and his bunch. Doug went down under his horse when it was killed. We shot the six other men with him. None of us got a scratch and we have turned the Mennonites around and are backtracking. They’ll be here the day after tomorrow.

“I was surprised to find that Dugan and his bunch had taken over the wagons and forced the Mennonites to drive for them. That made it much easier for us to separate the two parties and gain control. I’m going to advise the Mennonites that are already here to pack up and move out to the ranch. There will be between forty and fifty wagons in all. They might as well be together in one place.”

“You’re letting the new arrivals camp on your ranch?”

“Just across the river is where they will be settling and that’s close by. They’ll want to be building homes before winter. They can’t just turn those bulls loose either. I tell you those people have their work cut out for them to get settled in.  They have more than cattle with them too. I saw goats and sheep in a couple of wagons. I didn’t see any hogs, but you never know because I didn’t inspect their outfits.”

“Riley, I think you had better go out there by yourself. I want to keep working on these accounts. You’re as eloquent as I am and you know those people better than I do. I do want you to look over what I am doing before I finalize them.”

“Let me know when you’re ready for me.”

I didn’t argue and I trusted him … mostly. After all I told him I would shoot him if he wasn’t honest. After what I had been doing in the last couple of weeks he must believe I would.

I rode into the Mennonite encampment. Jacob’s wife hesitantly came up to me.  She looked fearful to see me alone without her husband. “Jacob?”

“Jacob is fine and sends his love. All of your people and goods are fine. They should arrive here the day after tomorrow late in the day. If you have enough people to pack up tomorrow, I’ll come by and lead you to my ranch and when the others get here you will be all together.”

“Mr. McBain, why are you so kind to us?”

“Mrs. Rutterman, I can’t really say. Maybe it is because I was without a home for so long. Oh, I had a home, but I was two thousand miles away from it. When I was able to travel home, I found that much of what was to make me happy was gone. My wife was dead and that was a serious hit and also my way to make a living had disappeared as well. Winnie had looked ahead and left a document that would help destroy those that caused my loss. That is if I was strong enough to make it happen.

“I found I was able to accomplish both. Word came to me that you and your people were being driven from not only your homes but your country as well. You had time to plan a move and it took a great deal of strength to venture forth to a new land and country. I suspect Banker Innes admired your people. He must have admired your strength to contemplate a move somewhere so far away and begin again.

“These words came from my worst enemy. He was the person who shot and killed my wife and who headed up the destruction of my way of life. In his final days though, he left in my hands the instrument to not only give me back my lands, but to help those he had admiration for.

“There was nothing he could do to give me back the wife he had taken from me so he left everything he had acquired to her estate. There were some suggestions on its distribution, but I don’t have to follow them. I have chosen to follow a few. He felt I was a better man than he and that I wouldn’t follow in his footsteps.

“I have to hate him for what he did to the people in this valley, but I have to admire him a little bit too. I’m young and I want to find out just what kind of man I am before I pass on. I know the Lord says thou shall not kill, but I’m not one to stand aside and see people lose everything if I can prevent it. I’ve had to take action, but I take no joy in it. Everyday, I’m hoping I will never have to again.

“I admire your people’s faith in laying down the sword, but when not picking it up to save your people I can’t agree. In the theory of turning the other cheek, you have to think of your children if not of yourselves.”

“Mr. McBain, we have talked much of you and not always kindly either. Our teachings follow a different path than yours do concerning violence. Sometimes a person does doubt the wisdom of the teachings when you hear that our people are forced into giving up their livelihood to some outlaws. Would you forget I said that because it isn’t good to doubt?  All I can say is thank you and bless you. I’m glad we had this discussion. I understand you better and I know you are a good man.”

“Thank you. I hate to harp on this and I don’t want to argue with you because I don’t know your teachings. I just want to remind you that you have traveled to an area where the hostiles can still sweep in, kill, rape, and carry off your children into slavery. Anyway, I will see you tomorrow and on the following day you will be reunited with your people. You must be excited. I understand it has been months since you have been all joined together as a people?”

“Yes, and we will be thankful as well.” I turned and with a wave and a smile I headed back through town.

Sam Pickens hailed me as I rode through town. “Riley, what’s going on? You stopped and told us the town was receiving some property, but that’s all we know. We hear that the rancher’s took off over the mountains on some adventure. That was a couple day ago. Now you come riding through town and don’t stop. I assume it has something to do with those religious people. Is that correct?”

“You’re correct in your assumptions. The remainder of that bunch of Scalawags high-jacked the train carrying the Mennonites goods and equipment and were forcing the men to transport them north to some ranch. I don’t know what they would have done with the people at that point. Maybe kill them. They killed enough people here in the valley.”

“Riley, you caused more deaths than they did,”

“Maybe so, but first, I had cause and I also have the federal government behind me. I am carrying a badge and again I was called on to fulfill my duties in a like situation.”

“Well, what happened?”

“I was able to straighten it out. There will be seven more bodies to bury the day after tomorrow. One of them was that cow thief, Doug Dugan. When I identified myself as the law, they came out shooting.

“Jesus, Riley, where’s this going to end?”

“It’s getting close. I do believe we’ve taken care of this particular bunch of Scalawags. Sam, let’s cut this off. I’ve been sitting a saddle for over twenty-four hours, and I’m beat. I’ll be in to talk to the council in a few days.” I lifted the reins and left Pickens standing looking after me.

I crawled into bed when I got to the ranch. I slept until eight the next morning. I wouldn’t have woken up then except Abby came in and eased down beside me. “Riley, Ma has your breakfast almost ready for you. Before you get up, I need a hug. I don’t see enough of you.”

“I don’t see enough of you either. I still remember us taking a bath in the same room together while getting here. I have to confess I peeked.”

“I know you did and I didn’t mind although you must think me bold. You can’t see me this morning. There isn’t time. I still want that hug though.”

I rolled out of bed. I had my cotton skivvies on and I stood up, opening my arms. Abby was wearing a cotton dress. Somehow when she rolled out, her dress ended up bunched around her waist. Her face was flushed and she was breathing erratically. “Riley you did ask me to marry you, didn’t you?”

I was reaching for this little woman when I said I had. Pent up feelings had been denied for too long. Ma had to holler twice before I headed out to wash my face and comb my hair. I guess I hadn’t heard her the first time she shouted. Ma nailed me with, “Riley, how long are you going to be tied up with your business? You know you and Abby could be married and making grandchildren for me?”

“Ma, you plan it and busy or no, I’ll take time to get married. I don’t know about taking a honeymoon, but that can come later.”

“That’s what Abby said. How’s Saturday sound? That’ll give us four days to get ready for it.”

“Fine, plan anything you want, just make sure it is what Abby wants. I’ll go along with it.”

“Abby said the same about giving you what you want. Keep that attitude and I promise you’ll grow old together.”

I slicked up a little and Abby had changed into her buckskin outfit. She had combed her hair, and wasn’t trying to hide that she was a woman. She would make her apologies to the Mennonites why she was dressed this way. It was the only way she could ride astride. I had seen a few girls at their camp that had on overalls, so knew she was appropriately dressed.

We cantered the whole distance. We continued right through town even when someone hailed me to stop and talk. I just waved my hand and we kept on going. The wagons were all hitched up. These wagons plus the gig were all loaded. The extra horses were being led. There were a dozen sheep and a half-dozen goats surrounded by children following the second wagon in line. We only hesitated a few minutes before I gave a signal and all fell in behind me.

The townsfolk were out lining the street to watch the procession. Where the road to my home place turned off, there was a fairly level plot of about forty acres. I turned off onto it and circled around toward the river. When the other wagons arrived and closed the circle except for the river, the livestock could be contained within it. The stock would have water and the graze would hold for a few days.

The doctor, Hesizekiah Dittermier, asked if this was part of the land they were buying. “No, this belongs to me. The land you will be purchasing lies across the river. You can see it from here by looking south. See that ridge of hills in the distance? All the land between the river and the hills was willed to my wife’s estate by Banker Innes with the suggestion that the Mennonites be settled there. It is a plot of land that comprises ten sections. That is 6,400 acres. I as administrator of my wife’s estate will agree to have nine sections put up for sale to your people.”

“Where is the section located that you are retaining?”

“I haven’t decided. There are springs on all of the sections and most have scattered groves of trees. There are enough woods to cut logs to build homes and barns to live in for people and their livestock if they will accept irregular property lines.  That is up to you. We can discuss this later. I don’t want to say something that will bind me to something at this time.”

“You are a wise man, Herr McBain. Sir, someone mentioned that all the ranches in the valley were of the same size. Will you be using that terrible amount of land and more? One of your sections of land is a larger holding than what our whole community lived on back in the old country.”

“Between you and me, Doctor Dittermier, there are parts of my holding I have never set foot on. I could make a living on one section if I knew how to ranch as well as your people farm. I am counting on Jacob or some of you to teach us to be more productive. That should make us even better neighbors over time.”

“It will.” 

“There is something else, I have been given partial money for nine of the sections, as Winifred’s estate holds title to the Tim Long ranch. We have a Mexican community living just outside of town. Can your people get along with them? Their religion is much different than yours.”

“We are a close-nit community and keep much to ourselves. I’m sure we can.” 

“They also keep to themselves. Most Texans look down on these people for most of their ancestors were Indian. My father and his friends bought this valley from a Spanish Grandee. He held this valley and more, owning it under an ancient grant from Spain. He left the peons here, for that is what they were, and gave them no chance to improve their lot before leaving. He moved to a city and had no need of them. They owned no land under the grandee and they own no land now. Their ancestors were slaves, but they had no great emancipator to speak for them.

“What I am saying is that I have no need for the extra section of land that has come to me. I have been thinking that all people should have the chance to own land. I haven’t had time to clarify my thoughts because I have been very busy in the two short months since returning from the war. I feel I have accomplished much in that time. This winter I should have time to relax, to think, and to plan.”

“Maybe you will be their emancipator.”

“No, that can’t be, for I don’t have the drive to make it happen. It would take a firebrand politician of President Lincoln’s ilk to do that. I may have been given a chance though to help my friends a little. I just haven’t figured out how best to proceed.”

“I’m sure you will. Herr McBain, you are an interesting individual and I am very glad to know you.”

“Thank you.” I left the doctor after watching the wagons being pulled into a partial circle, knowing the rest would complete the circle when they arrived on the morrow. I was interested in these people. I was hoping there would be much interaction between the ranchers and the Mennonites. Our culture was much different, but we needed to meet somewhere in the middle to understand each other.

Abby hadn’t said a word, but had been beside me every bit of the way. “Riley, you like these people don’t you?”

“Yes, there is so much to learn from them.”

“I believe they feel the same about you. I wonder if they have a parson who would marry us. Have you thought of that?”

“No, I haven’t. That’s your and Ma’s department. There is a priest who cares for the Mexican community.” I didn’t want to continue, because I knew how strongly Catholics were against divorce.

Abby knew this as well. “Riley, let’s ride back into town and see if there is a parson. If there isn’t, we’ll ask if the Mennonites will marry us.” When we reached town, we found there wasn’t a parson that would be here on the date we wanted the wedding to be performed. He was on the other side of the county and it would be another week before he would be again in Petite Valley. The town clerk, Jim Backus, or recorder as he was known, had the power to marry us so we engaged him to say the words over us.

“Abby, Larry Brickland is in the bank working with Graham Brown on getting the records and accounts straight. I want to talk to him about something. Why don’t you go into Cecilia Canady’s millinery shop and pick out something pretty to wear at our wedding. They must have shawls or something. There won’t be time to have her make a dress, but I want you to have something special to wear.”

“Riley, I could fall in love with you if I hadn’t all ready.”

“I guess I’m doing something right, aren’t I?” I wanted to kiss Abby, but that wasn’t done in public.

*****

“Larry, I’ve talked to the Mennonites about land. They want nine of the ten sections in Winnie’s estate. Can I give them title to nine unspecified sections and have the tenth section reserved?”

“Of course. I would suggest you remove it from her estate and take title to the tenth in your own name.” Larry had something else on his mind. “Riley, you know this has been all about the land and nothing much has been said about what Innes’ cash account amounted to. That isn’t included in your wife’s estate and it is considerable. You, my friend, are a very rich man.”

“Where did the money come from?”

“I would imagine most of it came from nefarious undertakings by Innes before his arrival here. Both Graham and I can find no records of where it was earned at all. Maybe his family passed it on to him … but somehow I doubt it. It is strange, but he kept records on everything after he arrived here but none before. The money did come with him and was deposited to his account on his arrival and is in the bank’s safe. He could and did will it to you personally.”

I would know when I looked at the bundle of papers had left. I thought for a minute and then said, “Larry, put it into my name when it is convenient. Graham, I’ll be leaving the money in the bank, so you can have the use of it to lend out the same way you do with any account. That should keep the bank solvent.”

“Thanks, Riley. If you did withdraw it, it would limit the banks assets considerably. You will also become the banks major depositor. I would suggest that you also become chairman of the bank’s directors.”

“Yes, well they haven’t been appointed yet. We’ll talk about that some other time. Judge Kelly was going to name some, but didn’t take the time. Oh, Abby and I are getting married Saturday. You and Larry are invited. Probably there will be a lunch out at the ranch. The town clerk will be marrying us here in town and we will be returning home afterward.”

“Congratulations, Riley, neither of us know her, but we do know you depend on her a lot.”

“I loved Winnie, for she was a lovely person and I miss her as any husband misses his wife. We were very happy together. Abby is a somewhat stronger person, both in her beliefs and in her actions. Maybe that is what the times warrant in this day and age.” I said no more, for these thought had come out of my mouth as I spoke. They looked to be true.

Abby was excited when we mounted our horses. “I found just the thing to wear. Riley, I going to wear Winnie’s wedding dress and with what I bought, it will make it my own. The two items together will be beautiful. You are so thoughtful to suggest this. You know, the milliner asked for cash? They think the ranchers are all poor people. I believe within a year, they will be begging us to trade with them.”

“You had enough money to pay for what you bought?”

“Yes. Riley, we have never discussed our financial situations. I have a little money of my own so if you have need, it’s yours.”

“That’s okay. Just as soon as Winnie’s estate is settled, we’ll pool our money. I think we should reserve some out so we each are a little independent. I might want to buy you a pretty or something. We should keep a stash where we each could get to it if needed without going into town. We have certainly found that life is uncertain at times.”

“Riley, I’m so glad I came to Texas with you. You are treating me a hundred times better than Whittaker did.”

*****

Jenkins Sr., one of the ranchers who had been pushed off his ranch, was waiting to speak to me. “Riley, we want to get the cattle out of the brush where we pushed them two weeks ago. They’ll go wild if we don’t. They need to be out on good graze too. We want to begin just as soon as Rafe gets home with them bulls you’ve been braggin’ on.”

“Good thinking, but I’m waiting until next week. I’m getting married on Saturday and have a few other things going on. I turned to Pa, “Pa, will you rep for me?”

“Sure, all I’m doing is sitting around getting fat. What are we going to be doing for hands, I ain’t much good at cow work no more.”

“I’ve already spoken to Mexican Pete. Some of his relatives are back from Mexico. They are good vaqueros. I told Pete we would put him on and could use one more.  Sarah Holcombe could use two. Duffy is a good man, but he doesn’t know cattle.  Cow ranching is going to change some so we all have something to learn.”

“How do you mean?”

“We have those good bulls to breed our cows to. You’ll see them tomorrow. Jacob Rutterman, the head of the group of Mennonites, will show us how to get the best use from them.”

“Foolishness. Turn ’em loose and they’ll get the job done.”

“Maybe, but if we know which bull mates with what cow, we can breed for the best results. Not only that, he says if the ranchers exchange bulls, we can build up our own breed of cattle here in the valley. It’ll take ten years and a lot of record keeping, but it will be worth it.”

“I’ll have to see these wonder bulls before I agree to all of that work.”

“Tomorrow, Pa, you’ll see tomorrow.”

Pa brought my attention to another thing that needed tending to. “Riley, what are you going to do with them women in the bunkhouse? You can’t be moving punchers in there until you get them out.”

“I know. I’ll find Abby and we’ll talk to them to see if they have any plans.” It was after the evening meal that Abby and I walked over to the bunk house. Abby was greeted just as if she had been their best friends for years.

Sharon was the only one I had much conversation with. She was a half-dozen years older than the others, but still short of my age. Abby burst out with, “Riley and I are getting married Saturday. Mother McBain is putting on a lunch here at the ranch when we return from town. You’re invited and if you would pitch in I’d be so ever grateful.”

Rosie Rickets spoke immediately, “Of course, Abby. Congratulations to both of you.” She turned to me. “Mr.McBain I’ve wanted to ask you a question about that man with the bright red hair. We’ve spoken a bit and he likes me a lot. Is he a good man?”

“I would say so. I don’t know him that well.”

“Would you have any work for him? He thinks just as soon as he can get a bit of land he could raise a few hogs along side of a steady job. We’d like to get married. My folks used to raise them. I hated it then, but I miss doing for pigs now. I was awful foolish and run off from home. I wrote my Ma, but Pa won’t let me come home. Red said pigs are what he knows best. He said you might put him on as a stable hand just as soon as you got some horses in here.”

“That might work. As far as a home for you, there is that knoll that has a bunch of pecan and oak trees on several acres about a mile up behind the ridge. I wouldn’t sell the land, but I might rent it to him. I like bacon so that would be a way for him to pay me. It is too bad I can’t do something like that for all of you. That’s why Abby and I came over to tell you it won’t be long before I’m going to have some cow hands living in the bunk house.”

Sharon said, “I guess we had better get busy and find us a man just like Rosie did.”

“Sharon, that shouldn’t be too difficult for you. You are older and seem better educated.”

“I am older. As far as my education and when and where I acquired it will remain in the past. Sometimes a person does something stupid and ends up paying dearly for it. That is what happened to me. If I do find a man who would accept me, I will be totally honest with him before we become too close. I will never return to working in a dance hall like I’ve had to do recently to survive. I don’t necessarily need a man and can get along without. I do need a home, that’s all.

“I believe you.”

It was odd and this didn’t really apply, but it did pop into my mind. I had heard the expression several times in my life, “It takes a thief to catch a thief.” Larry Brickland was a crook by his own admission and was on bond to me so to speak. I had warned him he had better go straight or I would shoot him. There also were a small number of the townspeople who collaborated with the Scalawags. There was one identified in Winnie’s journal, but not on any other list. I would watch that person closely.

I didn’t know what Sharon’s past was, but it had to have been something serious to move her from a decent station in life to working in a dance hall. I wasn’t paying attention to what Abby and the girls were talking about for a few minutes. I was thinking about how to put Larry and Sharon together and remove her from my bunkhouse. Something to think about, anyway.

I picked up the conversation as Abby was finishing her plans for the day of the wedding. That gave me pause, too. The wedding was to be the day after tomorrow.

“Ladies, you are generous of giving your help. It would be nice if you would circulate among the guests and talk to them. Please don’t do it in such a way that you are looking for getting back into your old lifestyle. I would be disappointed if you did. However we will be dancing on the barn floor and if you should be asked for a date in the future and it is someone who would make a good husband, this would solve several problems.

“I’m sure you all have seen enough of life to know what it would take to make you happy and I know you could make most men happy. Be serious about searching out that person. Most of all, be fair and honest. Abby and I have both been married, and I suppose we are looking for much the same in each other.

“This conversation I had to have because within the month I will need the bunkhouse for my crew. I assume Rosy will be the first to leave because she has already spoken for Red Morris. Who would’ve thought that pigs could bring two people together?” This brought a round of laughter. I grabbed Abby and we headed back to the house.

“Riley, you know don’t you that it isn’t going to be easy for those girls or their men if they do get as far as marriage. You’re always going to have to protect them from the public. Mostly from the people who live in town.”

“That’s the point. Out here in the valley it won’t matter so much and they’ll have a better chance to be happy. I think it is worth the effort.”

“I guess I agree. Riley you said one thing that I wished you hadn’t. You said I had been married before.  People are going to be curious of who it was and why I’m unwed now.”

“Just say your husband left you during the war and it hurts too much to talk about. That’s not a lie is it?”

“No. That relieves my mind just knowing how to answer if it was ever put to me.”

“Abby, your being married before is no big deal for me. I am so sorry I spoke out of turn.”

“Think nothing of it, sweetheart. I love you too much to let it bother me.”

“I never should have suggested housing the girls in the bunkhouse. They would have found some way out of town.”

“Riley, don’t feel that way. Your heart is certainly in the right place. You helped the men you know, like Red Morris, Mexican Pete, and Tom Duffy. There isn’t any reason not to help a woman when she needs help.”

“You okay with this then?”

“Of course I am. I’m proud of you.”

“I was afraid you would be jealous?”

“Nope. Don’t forget, I’ve been over the trail with you and we bathed in the same tub.”

“You sure have, and the trail we are on will never fork.”

“Riley, when did you first fall in love with me?”

“Not sure. I have always liked you even though you were different than your sister. I looked forward to seeing you before getting to St. Louis. You notice I didn’t object that much when you suggested traveling with me. When we arrived here and I found Winnie’s remains, I was pretty nearly lost. I could see that you were too. My first thought was to ease the pain for you over you losing your sister. Then I realized you were trying to do the same for me. One morning I just woke up and knew I loved you.”

“That’s it?”

“Almost. Winnie has had her hand in me falling in love with you. We both have been into the cave to commune with her. At first I was heartbroken, but then I would think about you and I didn’t get the feeling that Winnie minded and might even be suggesting that I might love you. That one time when we lay down beside her and we reached across her remains and touched, it was as if she set me free. It was that next morning I decided I wanted you for my wife because I loved you.”

“Riley it has been different for me. I have always been a little in love with you. I buried those feelings when I met Whitaker. He was a little like you when I first met him. He was tall, good looking and very personable. I soon knew, though that he was no Riley McBain. I tried to love him, but he was rotten inside. I felt so cheated. 

“Please don’t think I traveled with you for any reason other than to see my sister. That changed at about the same time when it did for you. From then on, I was waiting and it was well worth the wait. I do love you so much and in about forty-eight hours we will be as one.”

“Abby, what about the night we took a bath in the same room? That doesn’t fit with what you have just finished telling me?”

“No it doesn’t. But you did say you wouldn’t peek. Are you telling me you couldn’t help yourself?”

“I suppose, Abby.”

“Good. I couldn’t help but tease you a little. Then it was Winnie who was preparing us for the future and what we would find when we arrived. Can we believe that is what happened? “

“I can, if you can. I don’t think we should speak to others about how we feel Winnie had a hand in us coming together. They wouldn’t understand our feeling that she is near at times. I know she was and no one can persuade me differently.

“I’m of the same mind. It’s too personal.”

 “If we are happy then I believe Winnie can rest in peace. Abby, let’s move beyond what has occurred since we arrived. We’ll deal with the bunkhouse women, we’ll deal with the ranchers and we’ll deal with the farm group. They are our future I know, but not entirely. We can retreat to the ranch and our room every night and put those problems from our minds. Our future with each other is the only life that counts.” Abby’s hand found mine and we walked into the house with my arm around her.

Chapter Eight

Ma knocked on our door about six. “Riley, we have company and they want to speak to you.” I quickly kissed Abby and put on my clothes. Ma pointed to the yard.

I opened the door and there was a boy of thirteen or so and a girl even younger perched on a draft animal. The horse wasn’t saddled, just a blanket. The boy spoke. “Herr McBain, we got word early that our wagons will reach town about ten this morning. My Grandpa thought it would be nice if you led the wagons through the village because you were so kind as to save it from the outlaws.”

“I would be honored. Won’t you step down and have a bite to eat, while I’m getting ready?”

“Yes sir, we would like that.” I knew ma had made flapjacks and every kid will gobble them up. Ma had rounded up some honey and bought some strawberry jam from Sarah Holcomb.

Everyone on the ranch wanted to watch the parade of wagons arrive at the encampment. This would be the time for the Mennonite families to reunite after being so long apart. Some, but not all, hadn’t seen each other since leaving Germany months before. We headed out as soon as I had eaten. I didn’t wait for the kids or my people to leave the ranch, they would ride together. I wanted to reach the wagons and talk with the leaders and of course the men with them whom I had left as protection after the battle with the outlaws, so I spurred ahead.

I met the first Mennonite wagon about a mile on the far side of town. Jacob Rutterman was in the lead with one of the Sinclair men riding beside him. Both were pleased to see me. I turned my mount and fell in between the two. Most of what was discussed was how the Mennonites wagons were taken by the outlaws. I assured them there was a place to camp for the wagons with feed for their livestock. The men with the wagons would be with their families in an hour. The train moved just a little faster, now that the drivers knew they were almost there.

Before we reached town, the people were out standing next to the street watching us approach. The ten wagons that held the bulls were in front. The air was pretty fragrant, although the wagons were all mucked out at each night’s stop-over. This was a long train of thirty some wagons and there were riders between some of them. The rear of the caravan hadn’t reached town by the time the first ones were leaving it.

Sam Pickens walked out along side of me and began asking questions. I didn’t slow my mount down and put off answering questions. “Sam, Abby and I are getting married tomorrow at the recorder’s office. I’ll give you my attention for a half hour before the ceremony. This is a busy time for all of us. These people want to get settled and ready for winter. They have homes and shelter to build for their livestock. The ranchers have to go after what is remaining of their cattle herds.”

“You mean these farmers and the ranchers are going to get along?”

“I’d say so. It is an advantage to both groups.” The wagon behind was almost on our heels so we broke into a lope leaving Sam staring after us. I’d see him tomorrow.

When we turned onto my land where the other Mennonites had camped yesterday, I could see that just about every person from the valley was here. Even the Mexicans were well represented. I didn’t see many of the townspeople, though.

A meal of Lamb stew had been prepared. The ranchers tasted it, but it wasn’t beef and I’d guess that it wouldn’t become a staple at their table. The bulls and other stock were unloaded from the wagons and immediately driven out to feed.  I could see and understand that these people wanted to be left alone. So many of the Mennonite families had been separated for way too long.

I signaled the ranchers to follow me to my ranch after they had paused long enough to inspect the bulls. I wanted to thank all the men who had helped rescue the farmers. “I also want to tell you that the money for the cattle that was stolen from us will be in our accounts by Monday evening. That should help us get back to ranching again. It will take a couple of years for us to recover, but we’ll make it.

“Abby Whitaker and I are getting married tomorrow. Mexican Pete is roasting a steer and it should be done by the time we get back from town as husband and wife. We have plenty of help and plenty of food which I know has been in short supply for many of you until recently. Now, just so you know, there are five of the ladies from Sloan’s dance hall living here. They will be serving some of the food.  Please treat them with respect and do not embarrass them. They have given up their previous calling and are trying to start a new life.

“Monday morning the plan is to head for the hills and roust out our cattle. We will make a gather in the center of the valley. Bob Sinclair will head up the roundup and if there are any arguments over whose cow is whose, he will make the final determination. Are there any questions?”

“What about them bulls that came in with the farmers?”

I grinned, knowing this was uppermost in every ones minds. “They brought thirty of them from Germany. There are six ranches here in the valley. We each get five of the bulls. Five bulls will be more than enough to cover the cows we have in our decimated herds. They are all young and good for service for a number of years. Most of you have at least got a good look at them. What is the most obvious thing about what you see?”

One of the men who had guarded the wagons here spoke up, “They are all of a size. They are marked some different, but not so much as our own cattle are.”

I continued, “Yes and the legs are shorter and their bodies wider and more compact. Think man what we have, if we started in a program to cull out the smallest of the cattle and breed the bulls to the largest ones. What if we kept records in a breeding program that would increase not only the size but the amount of beef on each animal? In a few years we could have cattle that bred true like these bulls. 

“I will say we all should do it together encompassing the whole valley. It won’t be many years before we can be selling or demanding a hefty service fee for our own bulls. Who knows but one of our bulls when sold would bring what a small herd of steers would bring on the market. When we get our herds to breed true, the heifers will be nearly as valuable. The only thing different is that you will have to work closer with your cattle which may mean you have to hire on another cow hand or two.”

“These records you mentioned, hell, I can barely read. How in hell am I going to keep a record of which bull covers which cow?”

“I trust that the Mennonites will follow through and help us get set up. They struggled hard to get those bulls here from across the water and will hate to see their efforts wasted. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. I’ll help all I can. Abby will too, and Ma has to have something to do. First thing is to get the cattle rounded up and sorted out and see just what we have.”

The ranchers soon left, promising they would be back tomorrow for the wedding reception. I spoke as we were finishing the evening meal. “Abby, can we walk up to the cave tonight?”

“I was thinking we might. I also would like to go up there shortly after we are married. When I know we are doing the right thing I get a warm loving feeling around me. It feels like her spirit is right there with me.” I felt the hair on my neck rise because it was exactly the same feeling for me.

I left the journal at the house and we walked hand in had up the trail to the top of the bluff and along it until we went to where we had first camped. We brought a lantern with us. It would be dark in the cave and might be dark on our return.

I lit the light and raised the lantern high when we entered. Winnie’s remains had not been disturbed. We stood at her feet looking down on her. Then we parted and laid down one on each side of her. Again our hand found each other. The feeling came on me that Winnie knew I was there and very happy that I had come to see her. In my mind I explained why and what had been happening in the valley recently. The warm feelings persisted. When I mentioned the five soiled doves that were staying at the ranch and what I had done and hoped for them, it suddenly was warmer.

My mind traveled to what I planned for the Mennonites and of selling the land that was in her estate. The warm feelings stayed with me. I went into more detail about them. I didn’t know if Winnie had been aware of the reason for the land grab and what was behind it so I felt I had to explain. I declared the farmers were good people although strange and I was impressed with their dedicated lifestyle to their religion and to each other.

My mind tracked to what I was to do to honor Winnie’s memory. Suddenly a thought appeared about something we had read and discussed at one time. It was that most of the burials in New Orleans were above ground in crypts. Now I knew how I was going to handle her interment. I would have a solid casket constructed and have her placed in it. Then I would have heavy doors built and this would become a mausoleum for my loved one.

I knew Abby needed the time to mention our wedding. She spoke in a whisper and I didn’t hear every word, but that didn’t matter. I did hear the bunkhouse ladies mentioned and Sarah Holcomb’s name. I did hear Abby say Ma and Pa had come to stay with us. There was a burst of warm feeling and then I felt it was just Abby and I alone. We said our good-byes.

When we reached outside, the stars blanketed the heavens and we could see plainly our way back to the ranch. We reached the bluff overlooking the ranch house.  Lights were on and it was a welcoming sight. We sat there holding each other. It was a place to pause and reflect.

*****

“Good morning, Abby, you’re awake?”

“Yes, I am, Riley. I have been lying here thinking of you. This is my wedding day and I’m so happy. I’m still thinking about last night and us being with Winnie. I just know we have her blessing.”

“I feel the same way.” I didn’t say anything, letting my mind drift back to the short time I had enjoyed with Winnie. It was ended now and for all the heartache over losing her, I knew it was time to put her away. “Hey, Ma must have breakfast ready. I can smell coffee. I’ll bet she has eggs. She was going to ask Sarah for some. She is the only one around who has chickens.”

“She does have eggs. Riley kiss me, and then we will get up. Today is the start of our future together.”

I took care with my dressing this morning. In a few short few hours I was to be married. I would wear my broadcloth suit that had been stored in the attic since I left so many years ago. It had been aired and it had the second pressing to be sure all the creases were out of it.

I had a thought while eating. “Abby, I’m going to shanghai Jim Backus and bring him out here to perform the ceremony in front of our friends and neighbors.”

Pa spoke, “Well, don’t get Jim too drunk. That may be what it will take to get him to agree to it.”

“Guess you had better go with me to help persuade him. I have to talk to Sam Pickens anyway.”

This upset Ma considerably. “Pa, you heed your own words. You are apt to take on a couple more drinks than you need. You stay sober. It would be awful if you couldn’t stand up during the wedding.”

“Okay Ma, I promise.”

“Ma, Pa will be driving the gig so Jim can ride back in it. I’ll ride a horse.” 

Abby was concerned too. “Is that apt to happen? You men getting drunk, I mean?”

“I have it under control, sweetheart.”

Jim Backus was sputtering when we walked into his cubby hole that was in a room spliced onto the back of the bank. “Riley, I ain’t marrying you and your woman today. I’m way behind an’ I got too much to do. Ever since you showed up here, I’ve had all kind of land transfers, death certificates and what all. I hear there is a lot more paperwork coming with all them farmers arriving in town and you selling them land. I’m stuck back here in this hole behind the bank an’ the town council wants me available ten hours a day. I tell you I won’t do it.”

“Come on, Jim, Ma changed the plan anyway. Pa is giving you a ride out to the house in the gig. She said to allow you one drink over to the Sunset Saloon before you leave town. When you get out to the ranch and get Abby and me hitched, liquor will be flowing like water.”

“Like water, huh? Well maybe I might close up the office just so you young folk will be alright before the Lord.” He slammed a ledger closed and was putting on his hat before I had time to turn around.

I cautioned Pa to give Jim just one drink and that I’d speak to Sam Pickens and be right along. I found Sam poring over his accounts in the back room he used for an office. “Sam, when’s the next town council meeting?”

“A week after next. Why?”

“I want to appear before it. I don’t think it right I should just be talking to just you. The ranchers are getting back to being organized after they were all splintered up. We got a whole bunch of farmers that have moved in and there are the Mexicans that have never had any representatives in the council. I’m going to suggest some changes.”

“It won’t do you any good. You can’t change what the council does any time you want to.”

“I don’t see why not. It only takes a five percent of the property owners to call for a change and to vote in new council members. That’s according to Brickland who is representing us. That is written in the town charter he says and he would know.”

“We’ll see about that. You can’t come home from the war and take over.”

“It’s no different than what you and them Scalawags did to the ranchers. I’ve got the names of all the townspeople who sided with them and who were lining their pockets from the poor people they drove out or disenfranchised.”

“Where’d you learn all them big words? I never heard the word disenfranchised and don’t know what it means.”

“I learned it in Washington last year. It usually pertained to the Nigras, but it is the same for the Mexicans here in Texas. The Scalawags and you townspeople who sided them did that same thing to the ranchers. I’m going to see to it everyone has a say here in the valley. I didn’t go off to fight and come home and find it wasn’t worth it. Just wait until all the carpet baggers get here and try to take over. You’ll be thankful it is just me you are dealing with.”

“None of the townspeople sided with the Scalawags.”

“Oh Yeah? I have Winnie’s journal that identifies some and I have the sworn statement from the Lawyer. Sam, I want this to be a whole community like it was before I went away so I’m not bringing up anyone’s name. I’d like to forget who was named and I will if people will just listen to my suggestions. After that, it is up to the people.”

“You just want to head up the town council. That’s what is behind this, isn’t it?

“Nope, you got me wrong. I don’t want to be on the council at all. Hey, I’m getting married just as soon as I get back to the ranch. Wish me happiness.” I didn’t wait for a reply and made my way through Sam’s store and out into the street. The gig was gone. Must be Pa was ahead of me. I loped right along to the ranch. 

I did pause and speak to Jacob Rutterman who was near the road when I went by the Mennonite encampment. I informed him that on Thursday of the coming week I would take time to look over the land boundaries that I thought would comprise nine sections. “Also there is a town council meeting the following week. I would suggest that you and a few others be there. You are part of this community now and you need to be represented.”

“This would be unusual for us. We aren’t usually allowed to be included in any of the local politics.”

“That may be, but it is in your own best interests. It will take a little while to get used to our laws and our government. It’s called democracy and doesn’t always work the way it should, but we have to keep trying. You’ll learn and soon get the hang of it.” I told him I was late for my wedding and soon was on my way with his good wishes.

*****
“Riley, please get dressed in your suit. Your pa has been hitting the bottle and I want him by your side when the words are said. He is supposed to walk Abby out of the house where you will be standing with Tom Duffy. Abby picked me and Sarah to be with her. Some of the kids have picked a bunch of flowers for her to hold. I think that was real nice.’

“Ma, you and Winnie were married in the church and the same for Abby and Roger Whittaker. One ended sad for you and the other ended glad for her. This one will be different and I have faith will last forever.” There was mist in Ma’s eyes and she quickly turned away.

Jim Backus had enough to drink and was quite happy. Our ceremony went off without a hitch. Just after he directed me to kiss the bride, he declared, “Folks, they make a nice couple don’t they. Say, isn’t there any one else here that wants to get married today?”

There was silence and then Red Morris and Rosy Rickets slowly came forward. Rosy, asked, “Can you do that? I mean, can you really do that?”

“Don’t see why not. You aren’t really married until I sign the license. Come into my office Monday and I’ll fix up a license for you. Before I say the words, are you sure you want to do this? It’s damned easy to get married, but a hundred times harder to get out of one.”

Red Morris spoke, “I is sure.”

Rosy followed with, “I’m positive and Red is my man.”

Jim looked around, “Anybody else?”

I laughed because Sarah’s three children were pushing Sarah and Tom Duffy toward Jim. Suddenly Mexican Pete’s cousin was dragging a little black-eyed senorita forward.  “Nina, we are old enough. We can get Father Juan to make it all right later with the church.” And that was our wedding day!

*****
Sunday was a day of rest and we just lazed around. Being married had a slightly different feeling for both of us … more secure anyway. I had Pete working full time for me and he had two more of his people who wanted work. I temporarily hired them and told them when we got organized I might put them on permanently.  I would know more as soon as the cattle had been rounded up. Pa and these three were to head out Monday morning for the hills. I would have preferred to be included, but I had so much more to take care of. 

The Mennonites wanted to see the boundaries of the land. That would take the major part of the day on Thursday. I’d get a chance to get out in the valley before then and see how the roundup was coming along. 

I wanted to get to the bank and talk with Graham Brown and Larry Brickland about Winnie’s estate. Also there was the money that had belonged to Bert Innes that he willed to me. I wanted to inquire and see what the best use for it was. It was definitely going to remain in the bank and I wanted to get straight in my mind how it could be lent out and what I would receive and what the bank would receive in interest. These were just details.

I had to meet with the Mennonites about another concern I had. The cattle in the valley were all free to roam at will and this worked fine when everyone was ranching, but now that one of the ranches was turned into farms, the cattle had to be kept away from that portion of the valley. I didn’t know if a split rail fence would keep the cattle from the farmer’s cropland. It would only take a few minutes for a herd of cattle to destroy a field of corn or wheat or even trample a field of cotton.

“Riley, can I go with you? I know I’m your wife and should stay home and keep house, but your mother is here and there is nothing for me to do.”

“I’d love to have you ride with me and when we get to the bank this afternoon, I will want you with me. If anything should happen to me, you would have to take over.

“Don’t say that.” 

“Nothing is going to happen to either of us. We are going to be together forever.”

“I hope so.” Abby could provide a service on Thursday. She could write down the landmarks of the land that the Mennonites were buying. This would enhance the description of the property more than what it was at present.

The last section of land that I was keeping in reserve was a long narrow piece that started at the river and extended to the mountain ridge to the south. This did have somewhat of a natural boundary since there were coulees on both the east and west that extended the whole length of the property. 

“What are you going to do with that section, Riley?”

“Abby, I’m turning over in my mind to grant it to the Mexican community. They have never owned land, just squatting on that little piece on the south side of the village. Six hundred and forty acres would be manna from heaven for them. I believe Winnie would approve and she was quite friendly with these people.”

“Is this the only reason why you want to do this?”

“Abby, the grandee who had the grant for the whole valley, just picked up and left when my father and the others purchased this part of the grant he held. He did nothing for the people who worked on the grant, leaving them here when he returned to Mexico. Their homes and jobs disappeared suddenly overnight. There are only a few of the original workers still alive.

“These people are now second generation and they are still struggling. If they had a bit of land, say five or ten acres to grow their own food it would help them considerably. The ranches are going to require more hands that will open up their prospects when we learn how to manage this new way of raising cattle. It is going to raise the Mexican standard of living all the way around if they have the chance to have a bit of employment.”

“You amaze me and you make me proud of you.”

“Yes, well the land cost me nothing out of pocket. It did cost me Winnie’s life if I want to look at it in such a way. I’ll just make the grant of the land out of her estate a tribute to Winnie.”

“You certainly are getting rid of the land that came to you fast enough. Having so much property bothers you, doesn’t it?” 

“The land that is in Winnie’s estate only. The money that was left by Innes though, I’m keeping. It will stay in the bank and make it a good solid institution. You will learn about it this afternoon after I talk with the Mennonites.”

“How much money did Innes leave you?”

“Close to a hundred thousand dollars. It is mine, but stays in the bank making the bank one of the most solvent here in this section of Texas. I do consider the money in a way tainted and to remove that taint it should be used for good deeds. I suspect it came from proceeds of the border wars that the Quantrill gang were involved in. How Innes got his hands on so much of it is suspect too, but there is just no way to trace it. A dollar is a dollar and it doesn’t name its owner or ancestry.”

“Are you sure it is yours and can justly claim it?”

“Judge Kelly knew all about this and declared it was mine after reading the will that Innes drew up. He did strongly hint I should use it for the common good of the community and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

“Riley, listen to me. We are going to have a few lean years and we want to have children. I don’t want them to go without, so don’t give it all away.”

“I don’t intend giving it away. The money in the bank is to be lent out at interest. We have the cattle money being put into our account today. Even after we receive the five bulls, the nine sections the Mennonites are purchasing is still only half paid for. That money is coming into Winnie’s estate and will be drawing interest and is one more of our assets. I’d say we were damned rich.”

“I guess we are. I don’t understand all this money talk, but if you say we have enough, I’ll go along with you.” She didn’t realize it, but I was probably the richest man in the county and that didn’t include what I was spending from Winnie’s estate. Innes had willed me all the money in his account for reparation for killing Winnie. I had the hint from the papers that came from the safe that just maybe Bert Innes had the same plan. But then he had killed Winnie and it had all gone sour on him. He was a crook and of the sort to make himself the head of everything.

More thinking on this: If what I had read, Burt Innes had gathered the proceeds from the Scalawag raids into his hands and convinced the others to let him handle it all. Did Brian and Ezra Sloan and the Parkers know he had put it under one account in his name? It was doubtful and that proved there certainly was no honor among thieves.

It was he who had started the process of contacting and bringing in the Mennonites. He had accepted money from them as down payment for the land the Scalawags had grabbed. The Tim Long ranch and the Riley McBain ranch would comprise twenty sections … that was if I hadn’t shown up and reclaimed my ranch. If he had populated all twenty sections, and the new owners owed him allegiance, then he would be king of it all. He was also working to throw out the other ranch owners in the valley.

Of course it fell apart for him when he fell for Winnie. I returned and my revenge and retribution killed him. I could only guess what was on his mind when he willed the land to Winnie’s estate and willed his money to me. I might never know.

The Scalawags who helped could have stopped him from getting this far if they had realized how devious he was. He must have had some plan in the future to double cross them. He would have had to, to gain full control. I’d follow up on this thought. Innes must have left notes in the bank about his intentions. Again, I would have to go through that bundle of paper that had been handed to me. These thoughts were going through my mind as we came to the Mennonite encampment.

My first questions to the Mennonite representatives were, “How are you planning on keeping the cattle away from your land when it is plowed and planted? Are you expecting the ranchers to do it all?”

“No of course not. All these gullies that travel north and south are filled with Catclaw and Mesquite brush. Too, the brush and trees are encroaching on the open land. If we dig them up and plant live hedges, the fields will be cleared and we can go ahead and plow and plant our crops. Some of this brush will be used to contain our own stock in pastures and keep your cattle out. In some parts of Europe it was against the law to cut trees. It was also required that inhabitants go into the forest and remove the brush and the forests were almost like a park. We made live hedges of the brush and we will do the same here.”

“It seems like a lot of work”

“It is but that will be our first order of business after we get shelters built for our families and stock.”

“I should think more pressing for you is how you are you going to house your people this winter? You are going to be seriously constrained for time to get everything done.”

“We have money to purchase lumber to build with. We can order it this week and start as soon as it arrives.”

“That sounds easy, but to find lumber in this area isn’t that easy. I honestly can’t think of a place you can buy the amount you will need. You will need substantial housing. As warm as it is right now you might not think so, but it does get bitter cold during the winter. We don’t have the snow that they get further north and it doesn’t stay too long. When we get rain though, it often comes in the form of ice and that is worse than the snow.”

“We were told that there was plenty of stone. We thought that would be what we would use if we couldn’t find lumber.”

“That’s true if you have the time to quarry it, but that is no easy task in having the stone trimmed so your walls are all of the same thickness. Also, you can quarry the stone in the hills, but will take some time to move it to where you want to build.

“What would you suggest we do? I’ll admit this hasn’t been thoroughly thought through and this situation you present is somewhat a shock.”

“Jacob, look around you. What are a lot of the dwellings in this part of the country made of? Many of them are sandstone colored and sand is one of the components. The varying shade of the red ones are from the clay that we have here next to the river. There are several clay pits scattered about on other places on your properties. You have both sand and clay and the only other item needed is grass or twigs to help bind the two together. Oh and water of course, to make it all into mud and that’s what is adobe.”

“Then what? How is adobe made?”

“You have a wooden frame that you fill with the mud to make bricks. The frame is the size where one man can make four bricks at a time. The mud has to be stiff enough so you can remove the frame and leave the bricks right where they are for a few days to dry. You rinse the frame and fill it again. You need a big flat area to do this. A good man can make 200 or more bricks a day. You’ll want this done close to the place you are putting up the building so you don’t have to move the bricks that far from where they are drying.”

“How long does it take to dry them?”

“It is a two step process. Your green bricks have to stay in the original position for three or four days until they will hold together and you can tip them up and stand them on edge to dry more evenly. They should dry for a month or so after you tip them up and then they are dry enough to build with.”

“What size are the bricks?”

“Any size you want. It depends on the thickness of the walls you think would work well. A lot of bricks are made in a 10 inch by 14 inch rectangle and 4 inches thick. You can turn the bricks either way having 10 inch thick walls or 14 inch. For one story buildings the 10 inch will work fine. You use mud of the same material between your bricks. When it comes time to build the walls they go up pretty fast.”

“Is this something our people can do?”

“Possibly after they learn how. There are Mexicans living close by you can hire to get you started. You would have to provide much of the heavy work anyway. You need screened sand and clay that is of a fairly even consistency. The ingredients have to be close to the same proportion making the bricks. That calls for the ingredients being measured. Children can get the straw and have it available. Somebody has to get the water and then it takes several people to do the mixing which is really strenuous work.”

“Your house is of wood. Why didn’t use adobe to build with?”

“My mother wanted timber built. The ranchers got together and hired a mill to come in and saw the logs. There is only one place in the valley that was suitable for a mill site and that’s on the Sinclair ranch at the western end of the valley. If you want to inspect some adobe ruins, there are still some back of the Holcomb ranch. They were built when the original grandee made this his home a hundred years ago. Some adobes are still standing, but most have deteriorated from the weather. The Holcombs haven’t had much use for them and let them break down. Still if kept repaired they last as long as stick built.”

“What’s the biggest drawback to this type of building?”

“The rooms are usually small and necessarily dark because windows and door openings are few and the ceilings low. The two big advantages are that they are very cool in summer and it doesn’t take much to heat them in the winter. Why don’t you go into town with me and look at some of the adobes that the Mexicans live in. Bring along a couple of your women to see if they could make a home living in this type of house. Remember you have all of the building materials on site. Labor is about the only cost involved and you would be furnishing much of that.”

“Won’t the Mexican people object to us inspecting their homes?”

“I wouldn’t think so. They are a friendly people and if you hire them to do some of the construction they would be willing because they are always looking for work. The man who will be in charge is very old and he learned his craft while a peon for the Grandee. Soon they may be your close neighbors.”

“When would it be possible to meet with them?”

“Right now is fine if you can break away? Mrs. McBain and I have to go into town to the bank and I’ll introduce you. You can ask what you will have to pay for wages and how long it will take to put up what shelters you need. The cost will be a lot less than you think. How many souls live in your community?”

“When the rest of our people get here from the last ship that is on its way, there will be eighty souls. Maybe two more children by this time since some of our women were with child when they boarded ship. The Lord has been kind and we haven’t lost anyone so far that we know about.”

“You certainly have your work cut out before you getting fully settled.” Three men and two women rode into town with us. I brought them into the Mexican community and right to Papa Salandras’ door. I turned the Mennonites over to the old man’s great grandson. Those with me were all eyes, studying the adobe dwellings. The inhabitants came out into the hot sunlight and invited Jacob and friends inside where it was cooler to see how they lived.

*****

Abby and I went on to the bank. Graham was alone. He had been unable to attend my wedding because his wife was pregnant and he didn’t want to come alone. I introduced Abby as the new Mrs. McBain and we received congratulations. I enquired, “Is Jim Backus in his office?”

“I believe so. I saw your red-haired cowpoke friend and one of those dance hall girls go by the window. Mr. and Mrs. Duffy did too after they came into the bank and had Tom’s name added to Sarah’s account. There was a young Mexican couple went by here and I’m guessing for the same reason. What’s all that about, do you know?”

“Yeah, Backus married them after he finished marrying us last Saturday. Had a few extra drinks and married them without a license. They are talking care of that detail today. I’d like to add Abby’s name to my personal account. She is agreeable as long as I don’t put her name on what was willed to me. That will make the book keeping that much less confusing.”

“It’ll take just a minute. You have a substantial balance. I’ve split what was in the Mennonite down payment account five ways among the ranchers. You directed me not to put you in for a share.”

“That’s correct. Between that and what the bulls the Mennonites are giving us will pay half of what they owe on the nine sections of land they were promised. I have no idea what their financial situation is. This valley will be all to the good if they can get settled and begin contributing to the economy.”

“Riley, how did you acquire all of this knowledge about banking and what it means to a community?”

“I had a 1st lieutenant who was a banker in my command before I went east to join General Grant. He set out in our spare time to teach me how banking could contribute to a community. I never figured what he taught me would be useful, but the knowledge has come in handy.”

“I’d say so. You know the bank safe is bulging with money. I’m little worried that we might get robbed. I’d feel better if there was only enough capital in it for what we need day-to-day and maybe a little bit extra.”

“Good thinking. I’m the only law officer in the valley and there isn’t one here in town. Whether the townspeople would get out and stop a robbery, I can’t begin to know. Is there a cellar under the bank?”

“There’s a crawl space, half a man high. It’s only dirt and left-over extra flat stone from when the foundation was laid. I’m beginning to get your drift. I could take two thirds of our gold and bury it. No one would have to know. We’d still have as much in our safe as most banks have in theirs.”

“That’s about the amount that Bert Innes willed me isn’t it? We could bury the money from what I received from Innes.

“That would be just about all of it. Are you going to need it in a hurry at any time?”

“I can’t think of any need unless I buy some horses and I have quite a bit in my regular account. I’ve heard about a rancher up near Fort Worth that brings in mustangs from the Indian territories. The only problem is that he sells to the cavalry and they get the first pick. I also have to get my cattle herd organized and I need to replace the ones that were rustled. All the ranchers here are in the same situation. We might make a trip down into Mexico if we can’t find what we need around here.”

Abby spoke up, “I have four hundred dollars I brought with me. I would like to put that into our account at this time.” I was surprised. I didn’t know that Abby had any such amount of money. “Mother McBain brought it with her when she and Pa came down from Saint Louis.

“Abby, why don’t you hang onto it? We’ll keep it at the ranch. I’m going to keep a like amount there as well.” 

I asked Graham if he needed help moving the money into the crawlspace and if there was a way to get down there from inside the bank.

“There is a trap door here in the office. I just have to move the desk aside. It is fitted well and hard to see even then. About needing help, I’ll come back at night and use a lantern while I dig out a hole to put it in. When we get ready to move it, we can do it after I close for the day and you can help.

“That sounds like a good plan. Will you have it ready for Friday?”

“Sure, come just before closing time.” This concluded everything needed doing at the bank.

Abby and I went back to see how Jacob and the Mennonites were making out with the Mexicans about getting help to construct housing for the winter. Jacob was quite excited. He had contracted with Papa Salandras to build a compound big enough to house the Mennonites before it got seriously cold.

There would be a few housed in Tim Longs old headquarter buildings just across the river from where they were encamped now. Eventually farms would be assigned, but for now it was imperative to get this done and in place before winter.  Many of the wagons would be used for storage. The compound could always be utilized in different ways. The construction was to be started as soon as the plans were finalized and a site prepared. Gathering the material for the adobe bricks would begin tomorrow.

We left the Mexican community and when we reached the encampment he said, “Riley, as soon as possible can you come get the five bulls we agreed you are to have? I know the others are rounding up your cattle and I’m hoping they will get theirs as soon as possible. You can pick up the papers on the bulls linage. One drawback is that they are written in German. If you would have a person who has the time, could she or he be present and we can translate them into English?

“If it is some one who isn’t tied up for the next little while, I’ll have all of them copied into English. The woman who will be doing the translating can speak English, but can’t read or write it. This will necessitate someone to write it down as she speaks.”

“I think I can find someone who isn’t tied up right now. I’ll have her come over this evening to see if it is something she can do.”

While we were riding to the ranch Abby asked, “Riley, who did you have in mind for this?”

“Sharon King. She is educated. Just as she soon as she is finished with the translation she can work with us one on one to explain it to us. You and me first and then to the other ranches receiving the bulls. She can ask a fee for what she does.”

“You like Sharon, don’t you?”

“I do. I think she got trapped into the lifestyle we found her in. I know she wants to change. I don’t know her background, but she deserves a chance.”

“That’s good. You got me out of Saint Louis where I was known as a divorced woman and gave me a chance. Did you ever stop to think that old man Sinclair is a widower and he has two unmarried sons? One of them might take up with her. I don’t know about Jenkins senior, but Rafe is unmarried. If we got them all married off it wouldn’t be long before they would become legitimate in their roles as housewives.”

“That would work.”

“Yes, and it would free up our bunkhouse and they wouldn’t be wandering around as a temptation for you.”

“Abby, they are no temptation for me. How could they be when I have you?”

“Riley, I was joking. I’m solid in my trust of you.”

“I knew you were joking. It was just my way to say something sweet to you.” I sidled my mount close and leaned over and kissed Abby. I got kissed back too.

*****

“Sharon, I may have something for you to do if you would like.” Sharon agreed to listen to my proposal and was definitely interested. I took her over to see Jacob and let him explain more fully. We met the woman who was going to be reading the papers and charts on the genetics of the bulls. Sharon had a fine legible hand and could understand the broken English of her counterpart whom she would be working with.

The evening ended with Sharon agreeing to come everyday to get the information translated. She and I walked our mounts slowly returning to the ranch. “Riley, I’m going to tell you about my past. I confess it isn’t pretty and how terribly stupid I have been. My family was fairly well to do and gave me a good education. Then my father made some bad investments. Mother couldn’t deal with the loss of her station in life and withdrew from us all, taking to her bed. She hardly ever spoke to anyone.

“I cared for her while I was nineteen and twenty. Finally my younger sister relieved me of my burdensome mother by asking me to go out and earn a little wage to help out. I went to work in a counting house. The firm handled large amounts of money and I kept the accounts for several different businesses. 

“My boss was a handsome devil and flirted with most of the clerks under him. He sweet talked me and suggested that I divert some of the money into a separate account. In return he would take me dancing and give me a taste of what I had when I was younger.

“I came to work one Monday morning and he didn’t appear for work. He had absconded with the money that I had helped put into the account. Oh, I wasn’t the only girl caught in this. There were two others. I had my day in court and needless to say, I was there and the real crook wasn’t. When I was released from jail, I couldn’t find work. 

“My status drove my mother even further into withdrawal and stopped taking nourishment. She soon passed away. My sister, and rightly so, stopped speaking to me. I left my home town with a person that was of the same ilk as my former boss. He soon dropped me when a prettier woman came along. 

“This led to a succession of men who treated me the same way. Finally Ezra Sloan hired me to manage his dance hall girls. I have to say he treated me better than many of the men before him did, but I am forever tagged with what I was. I want to stay here and I’m going to face my future hoping somehow to live down my past.

“Until such time as that comes about I will work very hard to help what you are working for here in the valley becomes a success. I have observed you from the sidelines. I don’t think you even know yourself what you are trying to accomplish or how successful you are in pulling everyone that lives here together.”

“Sharon, I don’t have a plan as such. I remember five or six years ago when this whole valley worked together and everyone was happy and satisfied with their life. Then the war came along and I believed in the emancipation of the slaves. More importantly, I believed in the union. I thought long and hard and it was a difficult decision to go off and fight for it. 

“I still am glad I did, but the war certainly disrupted things here at home. I never in God’s world thought war would touch us here in the valley. It did, and I don’t feel as if it is really over for me until things get back to being normal.”

“What is it that you want for yourself?  Is it riches?”

“No, definitely not! I want to be able to come in from working on my ranch and have Abby put supper on the table in front of me. I want to look across the table to see her feeding our children and hear the kids talk about what they did during the day. I want to have my kids look up to and admire their father and mother. That’s about it and I’ll be satisfied to have every day the same.

“I admire the Mennonites and their way of life. The thing is, they don’t seem to realize that they can build something, but sometimes they have to fight to keep what they have built. I find it hard to understand when they don’t. To me it is a weakness and easily corrected. They may come to it if they are about to see it destroyed. If the Indians should come down on us, as they are apt to do at times and they see their women raped and killed with some of their children being carried off, are they going to sit down and let it happen. I can’t imagine it.”

We rode for a few minutes in silence. “Sharon, how much are you expecting for pay for what I have asked you to do translating the records? Give me an idea.”

“I think I’d like the same amount of money as you would pay one of your cowhands. I also would like a bit of land to build a home on. I don’t ever expect to marry. I would have to share my past with that person like I have with you. I couldn’t unless I knew the man would not mind. And I can’t ever certain of that. I like it here in your valley and I like you more than I should.”

This drove me to silence. I can’t say I was really surprised at what she said.  Finally I spoke, “I’ll see what I can do. The wages are the easy part of your request. The land isn’t much of a problem either. A building for you to live in could take awhile. I’ll think on it.”

“Thank you, Riley. I know I was bold to ask. Forgive me.”

“That’s okay and I’m pleased you will be making a home here in the valley.”

Sharon dismounted and I started to put up her horse. Suddenly Red Morris took the lead from my hand. “Cap’n, let me do it.”

“Red, where are you and your wife staying?”

“We got a nest up in the loff here in the barn and we’s eatin’ in bunkhouse. We’s really happy and not botherin’ a body. Hope you don’ mind?”

“No, I don’t mind, but it isn’t much of a way to begin married life.”

“Don’t bother us, we’s happy.”

“That’s good for now. Damn, I wish I wasn’t so busy. I have a million things to take care of. I have in mind some land that you and your missus can build a home on and then we’ll see about getting some hogs for you to raise. There is some browse for them. Maybe you can start with a couple of brood sows if we can scare them up. Ask around. I’ll help you with that. I’ll also begin giving you some cash money if you’ll take care of the horses here on the ranch.”

“Thanks, Riley. Rosy be working right side me all the time thinking maybe she dress up the place fo yous by plantin’ a flower garden round the yard. Kinda late this year, but she can set plants tuh bloom come springtime.”

“That would be nice. She doesn’t mind working then?”

“God no. She be keepin’ me on me toes already.”

“Good night, Red. I’ll see you in the morning.” Abby, Ma, and Pa were sitting on the stoop when I walked across the yard. They wanted to know all about Sharon and what she was going to be doing. I filled them in. Then I told about talking with Red and lastly what Sharon had asked of me.

Pa thought cowhand wages for Sharon were too high, but I disagreed. “This cost isn’t all going to land on me. This is for all the ranchers benefit so we’ll split the cost. Sharon does want a home of her own on her own piece of land. She doesn’t want to live near here. I’ll pick a piece somewhere near the river down by where Sarah’s and my border come together. Pa, you know quite a bit about building adobe houses. Is that something a woman can do?”

“Sure they could. It’s hard work, but if they want a home bad enough one could.  What are you thinking?”

“Red and Rosy need a home and Sharon does too. We’ve got those other three as well that we want out of the bunkhouse. I was thinking that you might go watch the Mexicans build homes for the Mennonites starting tomorrow. Take all five women and Red and see if it is something they’d be willing to take on. Sharon will be there anyway”

“Riley, I want to be in on this. I know how busy you are, but I can help. I’d kind of like to get them out of here as soon as possible.”

“Okay. You can watch and get ideas as the work progresses. There will be a break in between making the bricks and waiting until they get dry enough to build with. Red and the women can make their bricks and then go back when the actual building begins for the Mennonites. By the time the bricks are dry it might be that there will be some men free to help put up Red’s and the women’s homes.

“Remember, though that Sharon’s main job is to get her translating done and then explain it all to us. She will start here with us and continue around with the other ranches through the winter so by spring we will all know what to do.”

“The cows should be bred soon. How are you going to handle that?”

“It depends on how many cows I have to breed. If the Scalawags hadn’t sold off so many cows, five bulls wouldn’t be enough to service what I had on my six thousand acres. I doubt I have more than a hundred and twenty cows to bring to them. Feed is excellent so they won’t move far from the area where I have them placed. Maybe I can think of a way to mark the calves when they arrive. That’s the whole gist of genetics.

“Too, we have to get some hay cut and put up into stacks for the winter. Our saddle horses and the bulls should be here at the home ranch and will need to be fed. I guess I had better ask Pete if there aren’t some men in his community who are free to help us. We seem to have a million things that need attention right now.”

“Relax Riley, we still have a few months to get this all done. I’d say by Christmas all we will have to do is a few everyday chores.”

“Okay Pa. I’ll try to do as you say.”

“Riley, I want you to relax too. Remember we want to start a family and that takes two of us to make it happen.”

I laughed, “Okay Abby, it’ll be something fun to do.” Abby blushed.

Chapter Nine

Pa and I headed out for the roundup before day-light. He had been out there yesterday and had come in last night. Mexican Pete and the two other Mexicans spread their blankets nearby. They were at the chuck wagon eating when we arrived. We got in line and the chuck wagon cookie filled our plates. We got our own coffee.

“How’s it going?”

“We got most everything gathered. There may be a few more in the brush and half the crew is hunting them. All the ranchers have a few steers to sell. There is a good crop of yearlings. Most of the cows are open although we did find a couple of bulls that we didn’t know about that covered a few. There is more stuff to be branded than not, but the young stuff is still by their mothers so there won’t be many arguments of who owns what. The feed is still excellent and the land could stand five times as many head as what is on it now.”

“Thanks Pete, for letting me know the situation. Maybe I can swap the steers for more cows. I’ll put the word around that I’m buying. Is there much cull stuff?”

“I didn’t see many. Just a few old cows. One of those bulls was yours and I told Sinclair to knock it in the head. That’s what’s on your plate this morning. They are saying around the fire that Riley McBain raises the toughest damn beef in the valley. 

“You know that Doug Duggan who raided our herds must have been planning ahead. He didn’t do any branding, but he did have his hands cut the bull calves. You would have had to wait a year if he hadn’t. Figuring that what those two bulls got to, you won’t be so bad off and putting these new bulls on the ground won’t hold your plans back very much. Half of what cows got bred we’ll hope will be heifers.”

“I guess we are in good shape then. Pete, after you get the cows separated, can you move our herd onto our land by yourselves?”

“I can if your Pa is here to help.”

“Pa?”

“I’ll be here. I can show these youngsters how to handle cattle.” Me, I was okay with this and he made me smile ’cause I knew Pa could still well hold his own.

“Good, I’ll leave it in your hands. I’ve got so God damned much going on, I don’t know which way to turn.”

“Riley, step back and take things one at a time. Tomorrow, when you wake up, decide what you are going to do for the day. Then when you get that done, go kiss Abby. Then think what you are going to do the next day. In the next month you will have thirty things done. Have you really got more than thirty things on your list? Hell, you might even get two things done in one day.”

“Oh, I know you are right, Pa. Thanks for reminding me. Are you coming in to the ranch tonight?”

“Nope. What you set me out to do is one thing off your list. Now get out of here, you owe your wife a kiss and that just might lead to a little bit more.” I had to grin. That came from feeling more relaxed than I had for days. I waved and rode off.

*****
“Ma, where is Abby?”

“She went with the girls and Red over to the encampment to see how to make bricks. She said something about learning how to build a wall in front of a cave. She said also that there is enough lumber in the barn to build a good strong door.”

“That’s my Abby. She helps wherever she can.” I sat down on the stoop and thought about tomorrow. I planned to ride the perimeter of the land that the Mennonites were buying. I wished I had asked what time they would be ready, but hadn’t thought to. They had chores, so they should be ready by eight in the morning. 

The nine sections comprised about Five thousand, eight hundred acres so it would take awhile to travel around the perimeter. It might not be exact because when the ranchers had divided the valley into six parcels, and built stone cairns at the corners of each. This meant me splitting the Long property into two different parcels. I had to set new boundaries within the original. I had a survey chain to carry with me so I think I could come close to where the corners should be located. It didn’t matter that much as long as we both agreed to the placement of the cairn. Someday it could be, but not today.

It was supper time before Red and the six women returned. They all looked worn out, but were happy about what they had learned, They would be stiff and sore tomorrow, but tonight they said they intended to go at it again.

I asked Abby what they did today. “We pitched right in. There were several women doing heavy work and we wanted to prove we could do as well as them. There were two of the Mexicans making the mud bricks at first, but then a couple of the Mennonites made two more frames and there must be a half acre of drying bricks when we quit. It won’t take many days before Papa Salandras says there will be plenty.”

“Did Sharon work with you? I didn’t intend that she should.”

“No she didn’t, she went off somewhere with another woman named Greta.”

 “Good. Did you mix okay with the other people?”

“We did and they are very friendly. They are happy and sang songs all day. I don’t know what they were about. Some must have been funny songs because they would break up and have to start over. Late in the afternoon several Mexican women showed up and they began to help rather than stand around. One of them brought a guitar and sang some love songs.” We lay there each with our own thoughts. Five minutes later Abby was snoring softly.

I carried the surveyor’s chain in one of the saddle bag on my horse. Pa had a platt of the valley so I knew how far apart the rock cairns were on each ranch. I double checked the length on the river side of the former Tim Long property. Ten percent from the east side landed in the middle of a gully that went up to the top of the hill.  Jacob was satisfied when we built a cairn at this point.

The whole nine sections were on a gentle slope until we reached the foot hills. There had to be five hundred acres from the edge of the woodland to the top. Again I located the stone cairns and marked off ten percent before building the last cairn. This was the east Mennonite boundary and became the west boundary to what I was thinking about granting to the Mexicans.

Jacob spoke, “So Riley, I think we still owe for half the land. The third down in cash you have already and the bulls you are taking soon makes one half the land paid for. You sold the land to us for three dollars an acre. What is the amount we still owe you?”

“I make it at $8,640. Are we together on this?”

“That sounds about right. I’ll have it brought to you within the week.”

“Jacob, I am director of the bank and a major account holder. The bank has money to lend. The going interest rate for property is eight percent per annum. If you would manage to pay five percent for the next three years, the bank would be happy. After that you can pay a portion of the balance quarterly with interest at the same five percent. I’m sure you can find good use for your capital with all your expenses in getting settled. I would expect also that you will be good neighbors to the ranchers and to the Mexicans who will be on your borders.”

Jacob was well pleased with my conditions. “Under the conditions you have set forth, we will promise to be good neighbors. May I shake your hand in good faith?” I gave him my hand.

It was late in the afternoon when we got back to the river. I was feeling good for having the land from Winnie’s estate being sold. I stopped and watched the adobe bricks being made. I looked at the ones that had been made yesterday. A few had tiny cracks in them and a few had corners that crumbled, but overall they were pretty consistent.

Abby came over and spoke, “Riley, those with the little cracks had too much clay in them. The ones with the crumbled edges didn’t have quite enough clay and weren’t well mixed.”

I laughed, “You sound like an expert on making adobe?”

“I am. If we need more storage at the ranch, come to me and I’ll show you how to make bricks for it. There will be enough bricks made here by next week for what the people need for shelters. Then they just have to get completely dry.

“Red, the girls and I are going to begin making bricks for their home. We will be getting some help from Papa Salandras and his team too. Maybe you will have time this weekend to find the clay for us. The Mennonites are letting us use their teams and wagons to get the materials to where we are going to build Red and Rosy’s home.”

“I can do that. Maybe I can scope out a location for the pig farm tomorrow morning. I have to go into town in the afternoon to do some things in the bank. I heard you were planning on making bricks to make the crypt for Winnie. Rather than make them out of clay, I think I will use cement. That will make it so much more permanent and won’t have to be maintained as often. We will still have to use a lot of sand though.

“Okay. Riley, we will be done here in a little bit. Stay and ride home with us. Sharon will be waiting for us across the river at the encampment. Better yet go over and see what she is doing.”

“I will. See you. Love you.”

Sharon was just stepping down from one of the large wagons that apparently were used for an office where the records were stored for the Mennonite community.  “Hi Riley, do you want to see what I have been doing?”

“Yes, I’d like to.” I followed Sharon up the steps. Sharon was wearing a dress. I wondered how she could ride a horse, but then I glanced back and saw Pa’s gig. She had nice ankles though. Sharon opened a sheaf of papers. It was full of charts showing each bull’s lineage. I took one in hand and studied it. Then I picked up another to see how they compared. Down through the years they both had the same bulls behind them, the blood coming into the line at different stages.

I didn’t know much about this, but I knew if I had one hundred twenty cows and five bulls to service them, how was I going to keep a chart on which bull bred which cow this year and didn’t breed the heifer from that cow with the same bull when old enough? Way too much paperwork! If a rancher only had a dozen head it could be accomplished, but not with herds of our size.

We would have to adapt in someway where our herds would improve every year. I’d get together with Pa and the other more experienced ranchers to come up with some kind of strategy. The charts and the text that Sharon was copying would make interesting reading, though and well worth paying Sharon to translate. I didn’t intend to say anything until we split the thirty bulls among us.

Abby and Sharon rode in the gig with her horse tied behind. Red was riding next to me. “Cap’n, we’s are all done helpin’ them strangers. Abby said yous was goin to find a piece of land us’uns. Can we’s do that soon?”

“Tomorrow morning, early. Rosy will want to be with you and Abby will too I expect. Abby is a good housekeeper, but Ma wants to do for us. I’m glad because I love it when Abby takes so much interest in what I’m up to.”

“I knows just what you means. Sharon and t’other women envy Rosy and me. I hopes they’s find someones to be with.”

“I won’t be surprised, but what they will.”

*****

There was a sort of bowl I found that would be a good place to raise hogs. It was not far from the top of the bluff behind our ranch. There was a huge grove of pecan trees ringing it with oak trees a little deeper in the woods. The pigs should stay mostly in the bowl and not wander away too far from the mast.

There were some trees in the bowl and I knew if the pigs were on free range, eventually they would root around and the trees would die, but because they weren’t that valuable, it wouldn’t matter. The four of us stopped at the entrance, and paused to look at it. Rosy began planning immediately. “My house is going to be right here and the sheds to keep the pigs during the winter will be behind the storage barn. We’ll have to have a slaughter house and a place to smoke the hams and bacon. We don’t have the money to do it all at once. Riley, do you think the bank will lend us some money?”

“I’ll speak for you and I know they will.”

Red was more concerned about whether I would sell him the land and asked the cost. “Red, I’m charging the Mennonites three dollars an acre which is about the going rate. I don’t really want to split up the ranch and sell off a piece right in the middle of it, but I will lease it to you for thirty dollars a year for as long as you are raising pigs. If you move on, I’ll pay for what improvements you have built. Also I want you to work for me at the ranch like we have discussed.”

“That be mor’n fair, Cap’n. Yous got a deal. Can me and Rosy still sleep in the barn ’til we gets a home built?”

“I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.” Abby and I left the couple there making plans.

“Riley, you were pretty easy on them about the land. But why didn’t you want to sell it to them?”

“If I had sold it to them, they might not think the land was worth much. This way every year they have to come up with some money and that will remind them that they have to work and earn something to pay me. We don’t know either one very well. This way we will get to know them. If they make a good thing out of raising pigs and I see that selling the land isn’t going to hurt me, I can go ahead and give them a deed to it.

“I hardly know anyone I’m dealing with anymore and I’m taking a lot of people on faith. If it pans out, then I’ll be happy. If some of them do me dirt, then I’ll just have to stop and rethink what I am doing. I’m not going to be like the Mennonites and trust everything to the Lord. I don’t think the Lord wants us to not help ourselves when we are certainly able. I can forgive if someone does me wrong just like we believe the Lord does. I look at every situation and make a decision if my faith is warranted. I know I will make mistakes about people sometimes like anyone can, but if I do then it is up to me to forgive or seek retribution.”

“Riley, you scare me sometimes. Your thoughts are too deep for me to keep up with. I know you love me and you are what I have positive faith in.”

“I have faith in you, too, but then you know that.” Abby’s hand found mine as our mounts came close enough.

This evening was when I was going to move the money into the bank cellar. I would reach the bank just before closing. I left my horse at the livery stable because I didn’t want him standing in the sun so long. I planned on taking Graham to dinner at the diner after we finished our business.

When it was time to close and the door locked, Graham would proceed to move his desk and lift the trap door. It was ten to four when I entered. I didn’t expect there would be anyone in the bank except Graham. I was mistaken. Larry Brickland was just coming out of Graham’s office, shutting the door behind him

Larry looked nervous when I asked if Graham had a customer. “Yeah, he has someone in there and will be tied up for sometime.”

“I’ll wait. He asked me to meet him at closing.”

“Better go along. He said it would be quite awhile”

“I’ll wait.”

“Riley, you’d better leave. I’m seeing him next.” I had the feeling something was wrong.

“Speak to him and have him tell me to go, ’cause I ain’t leaving until he tells me.” Suddenly Larry drew a pistol and lined it up on me. I looked at him, “What’s this?”

“Riley, this is me and Sam robbing the bank, that’s what. We are only taking what Innes willed to you from his personal account or maybe we will take it all. Sam wants to. This town means nothing to either of us. That’s our money and you don’t deserve it. Sam was neighbor to the Sloan brothers growing up and he brought them here. William Quantrill was here in Texas believing the south would rise again. But we know that isn’t going to happen.

“Some of that money Innes brought with him was supposed to be mine and Sam’s. But then he is dead and I can’t see you handing any to us. This hasn’t gone right yet, but you won’t be coming after us. You’ll be dead.”

“Maybe, but someone will catch up to you. You and Sam, huh? Winnie said in her journal he belonged to the gang, but I didn’t half way believe her. I do now. You know I was going to let you get away with what you did if you went straight.”

“Yeah, well I’d be working for peanuts the rest of my life, but Sam talked me into this. Just as soon as Graham comes to and opens the safe, we’ll be fine. You both will be dead, so who’s to know?  Drop your sidearm and sit down in that chair. Better yet slide your gun over into the corner near that privacy screen.”

Larry was holding a small .32 pistol. I did as directed. I wasn’t dead yet and I didn’t intend to be. “Go ahead and shoot me with that little pop pistol you’re holding.  I just might survive and people will rush in here when a gun goes off in the bank.”

“You’d risk getting a bullet in you just to bring people in here? I don’t think so.”

“What happened to Graham?”

“Sam thought the safe would be open and slugged him before we knew it was closed for the night. We’re waiting for him to come around.” Larry went and locked the front door since it was now after closing time.

“Is it alright if I smoke?”

“Go ahead and enjoy it while you can.” I reached under my vest and pulled the makings from my shirt pocket and built my smoke. He watched me and then stepped to the front window and peered around the shade. I shuffled my feet and he turned quick and the gun he was holding lined on me again.

He walked backwards over to the office door. “Sam, I’ve got Riley here and made him get rid of his gun. Any movement from Graham? You know, I’ve been thinking. If he doesn’t come to, maybe we ought to slug Riley hard enough to kill him and the same for Brown.”

“No way. I came here for the money and I ain’t leaving without it.”

“I’ll wait another half hour, that’s all.”

I could see Larry was getting jumpy. “Larry, you had every chance to go straight. Too bad you let Sam talk you into this. Is he taking his wife with him?” 

“He didn’t say. He never loved her so probably not.” I was a little worried, but I did have an ace in the hole. I glanced to where I had slid the gun. Before this I could see it on the floor from my angle, but Larry couldn’t see it from where he was leaning against the office door. The gun was gone! Was there someone behind the screen? I figured there had to be. Did Larry know there was? Didn’t appear so.

I got up and walked away from the corner. I got about three steps when I was covered again.

“Riley, get back there and sit.”  

I turned away facing the front door and when I turned back I had a little two-shot hideout gun in my hand. It was a small .40 two shot derringer. My .44 that I had slid into the corner stated blasting and Larry was jerking from the impact. I put a bullet into him for my safety and for whoever was backing me. The office door was jerked open and Sam charged into the room waving his pistol around. The same fate met him that had Larry. I turned and looked to the corner.

Miss Cecilia Canady was standing there grinning. “That should be about the last of the Scalawags, wouldn’t you say? Thanks for giving me your weapon, Riley. Was I any help?”

“I’d say a big help. Where did you lean to shoot like that?”

“My Daddy, back when I was a little girl.”

“You aren’t so big now little Miss Cecilia, but then plenty big enough.” Cecilia couldn’t be five feet tall and couldn’t weigh over 90 pounds. She was the milliner for the ladies of the town. Just then someone knocked on the door. Cecilia went into the office as I swung the door open to the street.

“What’s going on?  We heard shooting.”

“The bank was being robbed, but with Cecilia’s help, the robbers have been stopped. A couple of you come in and then you can go out and tell everyone what happened. I have to see how Graham Brown is. He got slugged and I’m hoping he will be okay.” I turned back inside and Graham was being helped to stand up by Cecilia.

“Would someone please go get Graham’s wife. She’ll hear he was hurt and worry.”

The people who had crowded inside were staring at the two bodies. I saw one of Sam Pickens’ clerks and asked him to inform Mrs. Pickens that Sam had been killed in trying to rob the bank.

Everyone was clambering for details, but I pushed them out through the door. “I’ll have a statement for you as soon as possible. A couple of you men find a couple of doors and we’ll get these bodies moved. I think you can put them where ever funerals are held.”

“That would be Sam Pickens’ back room.”

“Okay, that makes sense, put him there then.” Sam sold coffins I remembered. I’ll bet he never planned on having to use his own facilities. Graham’s wife came and she took him into his office and shut the door. Ten minutes later Sam’s wife appeared.

“Who shot Sam?”

“I got a bullet into him.” 

She started to say something when Cecilia spoke up. “I put two into him. That fixed him good. I always figured he was a crook the prices he charged for a pound of coffee.”

His wife turned to me. “He told me this afternoon he was leaving me. He said he was coming into some money and didn’t want nothing more to do with me. He was taking the money in the store account and I could have the store to run or sell, he didn’t care. What am I going to do now? I’m finally rid of the old fool and he leaves me with nothing.”

“Just a minute?” I opened the door to the office and asked Graham, “Did Sam get the money from his account before he slugged you?”

“Nope, it was most all in the safe. The only money that wasn’t in there was what Miss Canady brought in to deposit. She was using the desk behind the screen to write the deposit slip. I guess she is alright. She helped me up.”

“I’d say she was okay. She is the one who shot Larry and she got bullets into Sam. I might have come out of this okay, but Cecilia made sure I did.” I went back out to Mrs. Pickens. “Your husband wasn’t able to withdraw his money, so I’d say it’s all yours. You wouldn’t be taking over his position on the town council would you?”

“I might just do that. At least I would listen to people and he never would.”

“Ma’am, you know everyone. I’d say you stand a good chance at being appointed. The meeting is next week Tuesday. Please be there. I’ll put in a word for you.”

Maybe I was biased toward her. She was young and pretty when she came to town and would slip a penny’s worth of candy to us kids when we came into the store.

The bodies got moved and I had some hay chaff brought up from the livery stable to soak up the blood. I even found someone to come in and clean the floor tomorrow if Graham wasn’t feeling able to open the bank for that chore. Slowly every one left. “Riley, you wouldn’t be willing to sell me that pistol would you?  That’s a nice shooting iron.”
 
I laughed. “It certainly was in your hands. Thanks Cecilia, you stepped up to the line when needed. That’s what it takes to keep a bunch of Scalawags out of here when they show up. Especially the sneaky ones like Sam.”

“Thanks Riley. I noticed you placed a couple of bullets in the right spots. Right in the throat did the trick quicker than in the chest. My shots were there for insurance.”

“Well maybe, but I’m going to brag on you anyway.”

“You’re sweet.”

*****

It was pitch dark when I was finally ready to leave town. I could have stayed at the hotel, but I knew Abby would be out of her mind when I didn’t come home on time. My horse knew the way and would keep to the road so I wasn’t worried about getting off the trail. I heard riders coming so I pulled up and off the road. I had time to strike a match and the others slid to a halt. It was Abby, Pa, and Red.

“That you, Riley?”

“Abby, what are you doing riding around in the night?”

“Looking for you. You okay? We was told by someone when they came charging into the yard that the bank had been held up.”

“Yeah. Abby, do you remember this morning that I said I could make a mistake in my faith of others? My mistake this time was about as bad as it could be, but no real harm done. I trusted Brickland and I shouldn’ve.”

“Well, let’s head home and you can tell us about it.”

Abby’s reaction was, “I’m going through Winnie’s journal and see if there are any other townspeople apt to kill you.”

“Abby, I don’t think it was about anything but the money. Larry evidently told Pickens about the Scalawag money that Innes willed to me. It was just too much temptation. I knew Sam was bad, but thought he would be okay.

“Riley, I did notice that you were usually opposed by Sam Pickens. I remember how he refused to bury the dead outlaws and never agreed with you about what the town council should do to further the town’s interest. I’m surprised at Larry though.”

“Larry was a weak person. Looking back, I thought my promising to shoot him was enough of a deterrent. I guess not. Odd, but I liked the man too. I was ready to push Sharon and him together. I’m glad now that I didn’t.”

“Riley, you are always doing something good for others. Don’t beat yourself up about how your association with Larry came out. You said it when you said he was weak.”

I worried about the money in the bank safe all night and headed for town in the morning. The bank had hours on Saturday morning and I wanted to see if Graham was okay and had no ill effect from being hit on the head. I reached the bank as Graham was coming down the street from the diner. He said he had been in earlier and cleaned up. I asked, “Hi, are you okay?”

“I still have a lump and I can’t lie with my head on that side. Other than that I am fine. Sam and Brickland were so inept at trying to rob the bank it killed them, wouldn’t you say.”

“Yeah. Do you want to move that money when you close the doors today?”

“I think we had better. You know they probably could have gotten the money if they had just slapped me around instead of knocking me out.” Graham was grinning all over.”

“How’s that?”

“Come into the office and I’ll show you.” When the door was closed Graham went to the corner behind his desk and pulled a blanket from something that was in a pile under it. Piled up there were a number of filled bank bags. It took me a minute.

“The money wasn’t even in the safe was it?”

“Nope, I had it ready to pass down to you in the cellar.” I burst out laughing. I wish I could tell Larry and Sam how they had screwed up, but then, best to let dead Scalawags die.”

When we sobered up, I noticed a new colt lying on Graham’s desk. I picked it up “Where did that come from?”

That’s Sam’s weapon. I don’t think it has ever been fired. I believe it came right out of his inventory. It’s a beautiful piece isn’t it?”

“It is. You keeping it?”

“Nope, I have a good weapon.  Do you want it?”

“Cecilia Canady claimed my pistol was a good shooting gun. She saved my bacon yesterday. I’d like to give her one.”

“Give her this one. It’s only fitting.”

“Okay to take it with me? I saw her sweeping off the boards in front of her shop. Who knows if someone is trying to rob the bank again we know we can count on her.”

“Do it. I was wondering how to thank her.”

“Do you have any kind of box here I could put it in? I can’t just walk up and hand it to her.”

“No, but how about one of the coin bags. That might mean something to her as well since she saved the bank from getting robbed all by herself.

“Good idea. I’ll give it to her now. I’ll be back at closing time. Also, I’d like it if you would cover up that pile of money in the corner again before I leave.”

“Good thinking.”

“Good morning, Riley. I saw you ride in. Quite some excitement yesterday wasn’t there?”

“Cecilia, sure was. Are you okay this morning?”

“Yes. It took awhile to get to sleep, but no nightmares after I did. I’m greatly refreshed this morning. How about you?”

“I’m good. Abby made sure of it.”

“I wish I had someone to be with. I’m Catholic you know. That sets me aside from most of the people here in town. I’m your age and maybe a little older and I have almost given up finding someone.”

“I’m afraid I can’t help you there. Isn’t there anyone in your church that would interested?”

“Most of those who attend are Mexican.”

“What’s wrong with them? I have three working for me. The one I call Mexican Pete isn’t attached.”

“I know. He smiles at me sometimes, but we have never spoken. What would people say if he started walking out with me? The town would shut me out if we did. The only way for me to make a living is my business.”

“If you ever had the chance would you like to talk with Pete?”

“Of course, but I don’t see that happening. He wouldn’t have any reason to come into my shop either. Actually this is the first time you have been inside yourself.”

“True. I do have a good excuse this morning. I needed to thank you again for saving my life. Now if Abby needs something I’ll come in with her to say hello.”

“What do you have in that bank bag you are holding?”

 “That, that’s a present for someone. I didn’t think to put it in my saddlebags. Cecilia, it has been nice talking with you. I have to get going and I have a couple more stops to make before heading home. Again, thank you. I could wish I could depend on the rest of the town to be as civic minded as you have been. Bye for now.”

“Bye, Riley. Please stop in again sometime and talk.”

*****
 I went through the alley over to the Mexican community. I was looking for Father Juan, the Catholic Priest. I found him in the tiny church. He was quite elderly. I had spoken to him several times, but didn’t know him well. There was a time when I was blamed for keeping the Mexican youth of my age from attending Mass. Sundays were the only day I had off from chores so I used to come into town and look up Pete and others of the same age. They of course were expected to be in the house of God, but being with me and the pranks and troubles we could get into were much more fun.

At the time he looked and acted very stern and I was scared of him when he caught me. Well, he didn’t really catch me. The Mexicans ran when he appeared, but I wanted to show how brave I was so I stood my ground. I received a lecture about troublemakers and how was I going to get into heaven if I kept others from listening to a message from God. I think he understood youth-full exuberance for at the end of this, he asked that I not come to town until after he had performed his mass.

I didn’t know too much about going to heaven, so to be on the safe side, I decided to adhere to his request. Father Juan recognized me. “Riley McBain, I have been hearing your name bounced around our congregation in the last several weeks. It is up to you to decide if what I hear is good or bad. Now what can I do for you?”

“Father Juan, I have one simple request. I would like to address your congregation tomorrow immediately following Mass.”

“And why is that, my son? If are coming to place more burdens on my congregation, I will not agree to your request.”

“Father, I assure you just the opposite. Please listen while I explain.” I spoke with Father Juan uninterrupted for almost an hour. Some of what I said he was aware of. At the end, I said, “I would like to grant one section of land to the Mexican community in my wife’s name. They are crowded into just a few acres close to town and this will give them room to expand and be happier.

“My son, this is a great gift you have given us. I would like also to thank you for urging the ranchers to employ our men as cowhands. Too long they have been unable to find work. I would be pleased if you would announce this gift immediately following Mass so we may thank the Lord through prayer. Would that be possible?”

“Of course. There are also a couple of questions on my mind. Would there be objections from the church if a Gentile woman became interested in a Mexican man and him in her and knowing they belong to this church?”

“There might be some objections culturally, but not from the church. The objection would more likely come from the families. Anything else?”

“One thing and this might be something you could address in the future. This grant will place your community beside the Mennonites. They are Anabaptists and are quite religious. Their culture is even more different than mine and I don’t know that much about them. I know I do admire their ethics and the way they live for the most part. I think your people will get along with them because several at present are being employed by them and many more are volunteering their labor. 

“I suspect that the reverse will take place when your community moves onto the grant and they could need the same kind of help. I think this was something you could mention. The Mennonites have promised to be good neighbors and I’m positive they will be. This has been on my mind a lot and has made my decision easier when I thought of what I should do with the remaining section of land.”

“Riley, you appear to be a complicated person. You have been home for less than three months. You come to me and the words coming from you make you seem as an extremely righteous man. Yet in the time you have been home more than twenty men have died.  Some by your hand and some at your direction. What does the commandment, ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ mean to you? I’m curious and trying to understand.”

I smiled, “You would debate theology with me? You have to remember I have been through several years of fighting recently and could be somewhat jaded in my outlook on life and that life to me doesn’t mean that much anymore. Also, I am not familiar with the inside of a temple such as this. I don’t want to debate with you because I’m sure I couldn’t change your thinking that has come through your faith and your beliefs. I would ask you to think of every person that has died here in the valley.

“The question you asked, why my actions and how I applied them using the commandment you quoted would surely condemn me to hell for ever after. Just for debate, what if that commandment was changed by one word? What if it said instead of, ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ to, ‘Thou shalt not murder?’ Maybe a poor excuse but I honestly don’t believe I have murdered anyone.

“Father, I have lived through these tough times and made that my creed before signing up to fight in the previous conflict. I have in my mind, examined every instance where a death could be attributed to me and I must say I sleep well at night.

“I’m not saying I didn’t look for revenge sometimes, but if someone died by my hand then it had to be within the framework of, “Thou Shalt not Murder.” I still am tied to “Do Unto Others as They Do Unto You.” When people get to “Do Unto Others as You Would have Them Do Unto you, which I believe is the correct quote, then we may have peace.

“Father, I’m sorry but I have an appointment in a few minutes. Am I still welcome in church tomorrow to announce the granting of land?”

“Riley, I declared you were a complicated man. You have just debated with me and your points are very credible, but still men are dead. Yes, of course I want you to be in my congregation tomorrow. You are more than welcome!” I turned and walked out of the church with Father Juan’s hand on my shoulder.

Graham was waiting on me because I had talked with Father Juan longer than planned. “This will only take a few minutes, Riley. I could have managed it by myself, but as most of the bank’s extra assets are here, I wanted you to know exactly where they are placed if not in the safe.”

“That’s fine, I trust you. You know Judge Kelly suggested I become a director and for me to name two or three other people to set policy? Question: do all the directors have access to the books and accounts?”

“Hardly ever that I know of. They need only the bottom line, the asset balance, and the debits. Kelly appointed me as president. I am really working for the directors and the directors can fire me or keep me on. Sometime soon there will have to be an audit and that would at that time reveal the strength of this institution.”

“Do you have any preference for whom I should name as directors besides myself? I want to choose those that will have the well being of the whole community in mind. We have four distinct groups now living here in this valley. It stands to reason I represent the ranchers. We should have the others from the townspeople, the Mexicans and the farmers.”

“I would suggest that you have an odd number of directors. That way you won’t end up in a tie vote on anything.”

“Good thinking. Let’s wait a few days before we decide for sure who we will approach. Now, for what I am here for. I’ll help slide your desk and open up the trap door. You show me where to place the money and you can hand it down to me.”

I went down the ladder into the cellar. The ladder was only a single pole with some boards nailed to it. There was only a small section of the cellar where I could stand upright. Graham had hollowed out a hole large enough to bury the money. Bury the money was a misnomer. There was a large slab of stone big enough to lay over the opening. It must have weighed 150 pounds. There was a stick there to prop up one edge while the hole was being filled. The dirt was bone dry and I raised some dust while moving from the ladder to the excavation.

Graham came down and we lowered the slab gently so as to not cave in the sides of the hole. Actually the slab was lying directly on the bags of money. We dusted dirt around the edges and piled some more on top. The pole ladder we flipped out of the way after we climbed up. A person could jump down, but would need it to get out. Graham took a broom when we got back up in to his office and waved it over the bottom making it look undisturbed for ages down there. Finished, Graham took me home where his wife had dinner waiting.

We stood talking a few minutes as I was getting ready to mount up. I said, “We should transfer the money to a larger bank eventually. I think we should wait until after we see how stable the economy is. Even the federal banks are going to be somewhat unreliable for awhile.”

“I agree. Later when we need more of our money, we’ll just send a draft and ask them transport it back here.”

Pete was at the ranch when I pulled in. He had the stock tally from the roundup. After we talked a bit he said he was headed to town and home. I considered whether I should follow though on something I had on my mind. Oh, what the hell. “Pete, would you do a favor for me? It means riding by and leaving a package at the milliners shop before going home. If the shop is closed, go down the ally and knock on the back door.”

“The woman’s name is Miss Canady and isn’t she the one who operates the shop?”

“Yeah. I’m asking also, may Abby and I sit in your family pew tomorrow? I’ll expect you to show me how to act in church so would you sit next to me and tell me when to kneel and all that stuff.”

“You in Church? I don’t believe it. How come?”

“I talked to the priest and asked him if I could make announcement. He said I could.”

“What’s the announcement?”

“Something your friends and family need to know. I’m not saying more.”

“Sure, I guess so. If I have to go into that woman’s shop, I had better clean up a little. I’ll go home first. Will that be okay?” 

“Whatever works for you works for me.”

“Is there anything I should tell her?”

“No, unless you want to mention that I’m making an announcement in church.”

“She won’t want to talk to me. She’ll run me off.”

“Maybe, maybe not. If she wants to talk though, don’t you run off.”

“What are you trying to do, get me into trouble?”

“Go along, Pete. She’ll have gone off to bed by the time you get my package delivered.”

“Damn it Riley, what would I have to talk about with her?”

“You both belong to the same church. Tell her how we got into trouble with the priest when I convinced you and the other boys to play hooky.”

“Yeah, I remember. I also remember it was me who set it up and it was you who took all the blame and got reamed out by Father Juan.”

“Get out of here.” I headed for the house to tell Abby that she and I were going to church tomorrow. 

I started talking at supper before indicating that I was going to the Catholic Church in the morning. Finally I said that I had made the decision for certain to grant the remaining land held by Winnie’s estate to the Mexican community. Pa objected and declared I had lost my mind. I gave argument, but I don’t think I changed his mind at all.

“Pa, you’ve been working with Pete for the last week. How would you describe him?”

“Um, good worker, I guess. Faithful to you who is paying him. That has nothing to do with the rest of the bunch. You’ve known him all your life and he is your friend. Of course he would work hard for you.”

“Don’t you think if we made friends with the rest of the bunch, as you refer to them, that they would do just as well?”

“Maybe, but in the meantime they have a hold on some prime ranchland. You’ll never get it back.”

“I know that, but I would rather have a bunch of friends than some land I don’t need.”

“They are lazy and no account.”

“Pa, how many of Pete’s friends and family are working for the ranchers now? Are they lazy?”

“Ten or twelve hands, I guess, and no they aren’t lazy.

“Don’t you believe if they had some land of their own that they won’t work even harder to make a living for themselves?”

“Do what you want with the land, you are going to anyway. I think I’m right.”

“And I think I’m right. We’ll just have to wait and see. Abby, your thoughts on this? Will you be in church with me tomorrow?”

“You can always count on me.”

Later that night, I told Abby about what Graham Brown and I had done to make more room in the safe. I told her where we had buried the money. She asked, “Do you trust Graham totally?”

“I do. I’ve known him for years. He is a solid family man and tied to the community. He is earning a good salary and has the area’s well-being in mind. Oh, I stopped in to thank Cecilia Canady for saving my life yesterday. I like her.”

“Oh damn, another woman who thinks the sun rises and sets on your butt.”

“Yeah, but you are the only one allowed to put your hand on said butt.” Abby’s hand came over and caressed said area. Of course, my hand had to do unto her.

“Abby in church tomorrow keep your eyes on Cecilia and see where her gaze is directed. I don’t believe it will be on me.”

Abby and I took the gig and arrived just as the congregation was entering church. Pete was by the door waiting for us. Pete said as we went through the door, “I delivered that package last night.”

“Did you have any problem?”

“No, but Miss Canady and I want to talk to you a minute after church.”

“Fine by me.” When we entered, Pete’s eyes found Celia Canady and her smile was almost a smirk in return. Pete led us down the aisle to where his mother was sitting in the family pew. We slid in. Pete kneeled briefly before entering. Nobody had told me about doing that. I had never been to a Catholic mass and I was quite mystified by the ritual. Finally service was over.

Father Juan spoke, “People, our friend Riley McBain asked to be present today. He would like to say a few words. Riley, would you come to the front of the church?”

Pete, let me out. I turned to face the congregation. I knew most every person here and could put a name to all except the younger kids. “Thank you for listening to me. First a little history. I think there are three people here who are old enough to remember the Don who held the grant that encompassed the valley. My father and some others purchased the land from him. I was born here and I grew up here. He sold his ranch to me sometime after I married Miss Winifred.

“You knew I went off to fight in the war and stayed away a year longer than I should have after the fighting stopped. You know of course what I found when I returned home. Pete and a few others have helped me regain control. Banker Innes, who arrived after I left, made contact with some people living in a different country, that were losing their homes and they were hoping to find new ones. He made a contract to settle them here.

“When he died he made a will designating the Tim Long property which he had acquired while I was away. I won’t go into much detail why, but the will was declared a legal document by Judge Kelly who sat in the local court for a short time.

“The will left the Tim Long property to Winifred McBain, or rather her estate because she was deceased. I am administrator of that estate. I have done one thing and that is to honor the contract that Banker Innes made with the new immigrants. They now own nine of the ten sections that were in Winifred’s estate. This leaves one section to dispose of. This particular section begins at the river and travels to the top of the mountain to the south. It has already been marked off with stone cairns at the corners.

“I am now granting this section of land to the Mexican community in my deceased wife’s name. My only request is that you remember my wife and make her name a part of the history of this valley. I would also ask that you be friendly with your new neighbors, the Mennonites. I have their promise that they will be good neighbors in return.” There was dead silence, then some whispering as neighbor turned to neighbor asking if they had heard correctly. Father Juan was waiting.

He wasn’t disappointed, soon one woman stood up and then another and soon the full congregation were on its feet. Father Juan then spoke, “People, let us give thanks to Riley McBain for channeling the grant of land to us that his wife so bravely died for. Some of us have worked on this land, but never in our wildest dreams did we ever expect to own a piece of it. We thank you, Riley, from the bottom of our hearts.”

“Thank you, Father Juan. I’m so fortunate to be in the position to help make your lives a little better.” The congregation gathered around me and shook my hand. Pete’s mother, Mrs. Sanches, hugged me. I wanted out of here. I definitely was uncomfortable. I was almost forcing my way to the entrance. I glanced at Pete. He knew me well enough and was laughing at my discomfiture. Then when he moved to the side slightly, I spotted Cecilia standing close to him. Somehow I wasn’t surprised.

Father Juan had gone out the side door and met me when I came out the front. He clasped my hand. “Riley, you do remember don’t you, I said you were a complicated person? What you’ve done today reinforces my belief. All I can say is thank you.” He let me leave. Abby came up beside me and took my arm.

I had moved a dozen steps when Pete told me to wait up. Cecilia was by his side. I asked her, “You received my package okay last evening?”

“Riley, I was shocked when Pete knocked on my door last night and I saw him standing there. Then I remembered our conversation of yesterday so invited him in for a few minutes. We discussed this and decided we had been set up by you. I didn’t just open the door to let Pete into the house; I may have opened one to my future at the same time. Abby, how would you like me to visit you occasionally? Pete has graciously agreed to be my escort when I do visit. I ask because knowing how unsafe it is for a woman riding alone. Oh, and Riley, thank you for the pistol.  It looks new.”

“I believe it is. I think Sam Pickens took it out of his inventory. I would have sold you mine as you asked, but mine fits my hand just right. I can’t think of letting it go.”

Abby asked when she could expect Cecilia to visit. “This afternoon, if it won’t inconvenience you? I’m making Pete a sandwich and then we will ride out.” The two left us then.

“Riley, why did you put them together?”

“Pete has been my friend ever since I was big enough to ride to town. Cecilia said that Pete sometimes smiled at her, but had never spoken. That got me to thinking. I did have that gun and I was going to give it to her. I thought why not give it to Pete to hand to her. They would have to have a few words.

“Remember, she saved my life and a simple ‘thank you’ didn’t seem enough. And at that moment the thought crossed my mind that Pete couldn’t very well take Cecilia into his crowded home. With the Mexicans now owning land, he can carve out a home to take her to if anything should develop between them.”

“Riley, Father Juan is right when he declared you are a complicated person … but I love you anyway.” Pete and Cecilia did visit. Ma knew Celia quite well and Abby had warned her we were having a visitor. We could see Cecilia thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon. Maybe it was the anticipation of the ride home though.

Pa … I don’t think he was a bigot. He just hated the order of things being changed. He liked Pete well enough so he didn’t say anything until after they left. He made his displeasure known as I expected. “Pa, the two are from two different cultures and race. I talked to the priest and he doesn’t have any objections. I don’t object because Pete is my friend. It will be tough for both I know, but I feel they will have enough in common. They go to the same church and will be happy no matter if difficulties arise.”

“The world just isn’t the same, Riley, and I don’t like it.”

“I can tell, Pa. Hell, they haven’t known each other for twenty four hours. Nothing may come of it.”

“You don’t believe that, I know you don’t.”

“I guess I don’t.”

Chapter Ten

“Riley, what’s next on your list of things to take care of?”

“Abby, I have to give attention starting tomorrow to the cattle. Jacob wants the bulls delivered to the ranchers. I have to decide how to handle them and I’ll ask him in the morning for advice. We have some steers to sell and are gathered ready to go up the trail. It would be foolish to keep them for another year although we have feed enough.

“Red and Rosy want to get their home built and you could help with that. We have Winnie’s crypt to build. Next time I’m in town I am going into the general store and see what they have for a casket. Then there are the four women in the bunkhouse we have to find homes for.”

“Monty Sinclair and the young Rafe Jenkins were here yesterday. They came to look the girls over. Monty was taken with Matilda Jackson. The Jenkins boy couldn’t make up his mind between Mary and Tina Lou. That was before Pete came. The women deported themselves very well. Oh, there was a little bit of flirting, but nothing blatant like they did at the dance hall. I do believe they really are looking for husbands and I know there are others who will be coming around.

“How come you didn’t tell me this last night?”

“It was what you wanted to happen so I didn’t mention it. Besides, you said my hands on your butt were the only ones that would ever touch you. I was making sure you would remember what they felt like.

“You did. Getting back to my list, there is a council meeting that I want to attend next week. The town needs a local law man. A town marshal or constable should be able to handle everything. I’ve got until next summer before I have to relinquish my federal badge. We could use a newspaper and certainly a full time doctor. With Larry gone there is no one who knows the law. I don’t want to get involved too deeply in the town’s affairs. I just want to make this ranch the best it can be.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I want to be the best rancher’s wife I can be.”

*****

“Jacob, I am coming to you for advice. You have given us the charts of the bull’s blood line. To keep such detailed records is beyond us. I thought most of the night how we could get our cattle bred and still promote keeping the benefits that you have taken so many pains to keep track off. I’ve come up with what I intend to do. I’m going to split my cattle into two herds and put two bulls in one and three with the remainder. That is just during breeding season. That will work for this first year of trying to improve our herds.”

“Riley, that would work, I think. Remember our herds were small compared with yours here. If we had more then twenty head we considered it a large farm. We also raised ours different in that we culled the calves out as soon as they were weaned. The bull calves we sold to farms that fed them until they were big enough to sell. It was the same with the heifers. Those were grown until they were bred and sold for replacements.

“If you wanted to take the time to follow our program you could keep a few cows penned up and bred to individual bulls that way. We used to notch their ears so we knew which bull bred which cow or heifer. It is all up to you because they are your bulls. You did say you would take possession soon didn’t you?

“I’m hoping to get them out of here by Wednesday. I will get my own tomorrow.” I already have pasture to keep them separate. We will be along to collect them fairly early.”

“You will need the fifth person if you are going to lead them.”

“They can be led? We were going to drive them.”

“They all have a ring in their nose. They’ll follow you if you just put a light rope through the ring. If they were older you would need a pole and hook to control them. They are also used to a halter. You use both. I’ll make sure you see how it is done before you leave with them. We brought them all the way from Germany without problem. In fact why don’t you take one with you when you head home this morning?”

“I will do that.” 

“I will have one of our young men show you how to handle one of our bulls safely. Unfortunately he doesn’t speak English so you will have to learn by observing.”

“I can do that. I am familiar with animals.” Jacob smiled because he knew I was trying to make a joke.

I had split my herd into two individual ones. The steers and culls that would be headed north by the end of the week in search of the railroad were being held in a common herd. I led the bull with me into the barn yard. Pa came out and admired the animal, amazed at how docile it was compared to our wild longhorns.

“Where is Pete this morning?”

“Doing like you told him. He is making sure our cattle are getting settled into the areas where you wanted them to pasture. You know I think dividing the cattle into two herds is smart. I figured that you should bunch them all together and turn all five bulls in with them, but your way may be better.” 

“Come spring I want to see if one herd has better calves than another. We will have enough hands to check them every few days and push those that do leave the herd back where they belong.”

Dad was shaking his head. “Waste of time and money to keep extra hands on.”

“I know, but I’m looking to the future. We are going to be increasing our herd every year for the next few. I want hands I can depend on.” I had ten square miles of land and I had no idea yet how I was going to make use of it all. Pa was in his sixties, and still able, but for how long?

Red came up to me. “Cap’n, I ben lookin’ ’round and think I found material closer than the river for building me a home. Tis only half mile from here on the end of the bluff. Must be a river flowed through one time an’ dumped a bunch of sand in a pile. Grass was thin an I ’spected it twere sand an’ I dug into it a ways. If there’s sand, then there must be some clay dumped some wheres too. I’ll dig around lookin’ for a pit”

“Go ahead. I’m glad you found some sand.  I’m going to cement up the front of a cave and I’ll need some.

“Why would you’s want to do that?”

“That is where my first wife lies. I found her remains in the cave when I first arrived home.”

“He’rd some ’bout that. Sorry for your loss. Good thing you’s had that woman with you. Takes some pain from you’s.”

“Thanks, Red.”

Ma called dinnertime and I ate fast. I headed out to find Pete. When I found him, I told him to hunt up the other two hands and head out for the other ranches and tell them to come down to the Mennonite encampment on Wednesday to get their animals. I explained how we would be moving the bulls. “I’ll go talk to Bob Sinclair since he is the farthest from here. I may be late getting back for supper.”

I hadn’t gone too far when I ran into Tom Duffy. He had a new hand with him. Duffy had just returned from town with Sarah. While there, he gad gone into the saloon for a drink while waiting on his new wife. This hand had just spent his last ten cents on a beer. There was a free lunch if you bought a drink and he needed the lunch a lot more than the beer. Duffy hired him.

I explained about the bulls and Tom thought he might follow my example on how to manage his herd. I left them and kicked my horse in the ribs. It was ten miles and more to the Sinclair headquarters and I moved right along. I reached there sometime after three. I wouldn’t be staying long, but I did want to talk to Bob. “Get down and come in. Amy just built a pot.”

First I asked about Indian sign. “Haven’t see any, but you never know. The government is keeping them stirred up. They want all the Indians on reservations or dead. Not much choice for the redskins. We aren’t right in their sights, but that don’t mean we ain’t going to get hit. We’re pretty handy here with my boys and crew. If they take a few cattle, we probably will let ’em go without chasing them. We got a couple of dogs we stake out by the horse corral every night to let us know if they are after the horses.”

“Maybe I should get some dogs. I fear for the new people as much as I do myself.”

“Why’s that?”

“They don’t own guns and wouldn’t use them if they had them. They make out to be against violence.”

“Well, if I was a praying man, I’d pray for them. Riley, you here for something special?”

“Yeah, I promised the Mennonites we would have the bulls out of there Wednesday. I found out you can lead them with a rope. I led one home this morning and it worked well enough. They will show you how it is safe to hook them up.”

“Guess I can arrange that. One person per bull I take it.”

“Yup.”

“Can Amy handle one? I’d need her to be one of them.”

“I’d think so. I’ll be around anyway, I could help.”

“Say, Riley, my Monty boy was down to your place looking over one of those women you got cached in your bunkhouse. Do you know the one he liked? She make a good wife?”

“Can’t tell for sure. I know all of them were forced into working at the dance hall through circumstances. I’d say you would have better than even chance of it working out. There’s one left that no one is buzzing around. You better come down and look her over yourself. You must have a little sap left in you. She isn’t the prettiest, but she works all the time making the bunkhouse clean and comfortable. All of them have been volunteering in helping making bricks for the new people.

“Maybe I will. Anything else on your mind?”

“Yeah. You don’t know anyone that could live in town and be a lawman do you? He ought to be handy with a gun, but not want to use it at the drop of a hat.”

“Can’t think of anyone right off.”

“There’s going to be a town council meeting Tuesday of next week and I’m going to bring it up. I wish you could be there.” I finished up with, “So, I’ll be seeing you Wednesday morning to pick up your bulls?”

“I’ll be there. That all?”

“Not really. I know you are ram-rodding the cattle drive heading out Saturday. We’re awful busy getting the valley put back in order. I was thinking that after you hit the trail north that you might combine with another outfit because you’ll be shorthanded both in men and horses. I think these steers of ours will bring top dollar. Average is nineteen a head and top is twenty-one. Say you made a deal with another drive to take on ours and sell them for us. They would get anything over fifteen.”

“How would we get our money?”

“Pick one man to rep for us.”

“Riley, I could go myself, but sending Jack would be better. He’s sharp and no fool. You do realize that you have the fewest cattle in the herd and won’t get much money?”

“I know that and, Bob, why I’m saying this is because I’d like to have you in the meeting the week after next. I’m so damned busy I’d be willing to sell for less and I think the rest of the ranchers feel the same way just so we’d be here to tend to things.”

“I’ll see what develops. I admit driving a herd that far will leave us shorthanded. Maybe I’ll get lucky and get in with another herd.”

“I’ll stand behind you any decision you make.”

“Thanks, Riley.”

On my way back to the home place, I met Jenkins.  He had already been informed by Duffy about picking up his five bulls Wednesday. I also talked to him about supplies for the cook and his chuck wagon that were going up the trail with the herd. He was to get the last supplies he needed when he went through town ahead of the herd Saturday morning. I was sending two Mexican hands with my steers although I needed them here at home. I think all the ranchers felt the same way I did. There was so much to do at home now that the Scalawags had been eliminated.

It was barely daylight the next morning when Ma shouted at my bedroom door. “Riley, we got company. The Sinclair clan is in the yard. Tell them to get down and I’ll feed them.”

I threw on clothes leaving Abby half dressed and went out. Bob, Jack, Monty and a hired man were just dismounting. Amy Sinclair looked half asleep and reluctantly did the same. She was a pretty little thing and only fourteen. Bob got right to the point. “Riley, you told me yesterday you had an unattached female here who didn’t have no home. Amy is up at the ranch and alone most of the time if I ain’t using her for a cow hand with us men.

“I just hired me one of them Mexican hands named Juan to keep from having her out on the range and away from the house. Thought it might be time Amy learned women’s ways and things. I’d give the woman a wage and a place to live if she’d pick up the house a bit and teach Amy things.”

Abby was now dressed and spoke. “Mary is up and cooking already. Why don’t you and Amy go introduce yourselves?”

Monty spoke up at that exchange. “I’m going too. Matilda said if I was ever close by, she wanted me to stop.”

“Fine. Send Sharon and Tina Lou over here and we’ll feed them. Jack, you and Juan stay here too.”

“We ate, but a coffee would be welcomed.”

“May be, but we got flapjacks. I’d be insulted if you didn’t try them.” Jack just grinned. About that time Red and Rosy came out of the barn after feeding the horses. They came into the house too, which filled up the kitchen. Sharon set places in the dining room and gave Abby and Ma room to cook.

No one dawdled long. When we came out Mary came up to Abby and me. “Riley, and Abby, Mr. Sinclair has hired me to keep his house for him. Amy hasn’t had a woman in the house since her mother died years ago, and even though I’m only ten years older than Amy he has asked if I would mother her until she gets a little older. I know how to keep house, and I hope I can keep her from making the same mistakes in life that I have.”

“With that attitude, I’m sure you will do fine.”

“Monty Sinclair was trying to get Matilda to go along too, but he will be away with the trail drive. She said to come get her answer when he returned. Abby, I love you for being so kind to me these last few weeks. I have been so happy here with you. Riley, us girls thought you the most horrible person when you came into town that first time and destroyed the only life we were accustomed to. Now we think you are the most wonderful man. One way or another I am going to make this valley my home for the rest of my life.”

“Mary, I know you’ll be living miles from us. When we get settled down, there will dances and parties to bring the neighbors together. We are of the same community just as if we lived next door to each other. I wish you the best.”

Red swung the buck board around and Rosy lifted Mary’s few belongings into it. Amy’s horse was tied to the rear gate behind. I wouldn’t be surprised but what there would be a bull tied behind when Amy headed home with Mary driving. Red would return here on her horse and exchange horse for buckboard sometime in the future.

I swung up onto my horse and we made quite the cavalcade headed for the Mennonite encampment. When we reached there, Pete and my other two hands were already to hook onto our four remaining bulls. First, we spent some time getting the Sinclair outfit ready to travel with their five bulls. There was a trail next to the river that went the length of the valley. 

There was a ford across the river just before coming to the Sinclair ranch on the other side. There were several places where the river could be crossed except during the spring runoff. We watched as the bulls were led away and didn’t see but what the Sinclairs had everything under control.

We soon had our own bulls ready. I went cross lots with the bulls that would service the herd on this end of the ranch. When we reached the section with the cows, we released three bulls and turned them into the herd. Before they got amongst the cows they caught the scent and let out a bellow which is all it took.

The cows that were in heat came running and tried to get into position for the bull to service it. The bulls began mounting immediately and if the cows would stand, they had no problem. Always there was another cow looking for the same attention. Noise … Every cow in heat was milling around, blatting, jumping on each other, and it was enough to deafen a person.

I worried some that the bulls would wear themselves out. Some might do that, but others would put his head down and push a cow away when he became tired. Theoretically two bulls could service this size of a herd of seventy-five, but nature saw that they wouldn’t be in heat at the same time. This many cows coming at the two bulls all at once would certainly be a challenge. By the end of twenty one days they should have mounted all of the cows once and some more than once before they went out of their heat period. By the end of forty-two days (two heat cycles) I would know just how potent the bulls were.

In late afternoon we took the other bull to the smaller herd that was closest to the ranch buildings.  Pa had brought down the first bull early this morning I brought home with me yesterday. This bull had been working all day. Pa was all smiles. “This one is still going strong and has a lot of stamina. I do believe they will get the job done.”

The next morning Pa went to check out the herd he was with yesterday and I sent Pete to look at the herd with the three bulls. These bulls were three years old and their semen should be as potent as it ever would be. We had to watch them because there was always the chance they would hurt themselves or get hurt from the excited cows. I went down to the encampment while the other four ranchers picked up their bulls. Duffy and Sarah would be taking theirs across my range to get home.

Sharon came along in the gig and stopped to talk. “Riley, it looks like I’m going to be the only woman left in the bunkhouse. I don’t know how you did it, but you managed to find a man for most of us. I’ll be the last and I’m not really looking for one.”

“Sharon, there must be one for you. You’ll find him sometime. I intended to throw you together with Larry Brickland and I thought it would work well because you both were intelligent and educated.”

“I’m glad you didn’t make the effort before you found out what sort he was. I never would have entertained the idea of being with him. He was the same sort of man I put too much trust in and we know how that turned out. I’ll be finding new quarters somewhere soon. I’ll miss living here at the ranch. You all have been so good to me and it is the closest thing to a comfortable home since I made my first mistake.”

“Sharon, don’t hurry in leaving. You can move into the house. We still have one empty room.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“It just wouldn’t work, that’s all.” We stared into each other’s eyes for a full minute.

“No, I guess I can see why now that I think about it and I understand. Best not to say more.” I received a sad smile and she chirped to the horse and moved away to the river ford. I watched her back as she drove away, but she didn’t look around.

I stopped to look around at the encampment. It looked deserted without the bulls pastured here. There were still some animals. I could see a handful of milk cows, a few goats and a dozen sheep and of course a large number of draft horses. I wondered what they would be doing with the remainder of the wagons. The ones the bulls came in were gone back to the seacoast I also understood there were more coming with people and equipment. I’d have to ask.

I decided this was a good time to go into town and see about a casket to put Winnie’s remains in. I went into the General Store and found Mrs. Pickens at her desk in the rear of the establishment. “Mrs. Pickens, do you have a suitable casket that I may place the remains of my first wife, Winifred, in?”

“Hello, Riley. I can show you what I have. I also can order one for you. It will take more than a month to be constructed. People usually buy what I have on hand unless they know a particular person is near death.”

“Time isn’t that pressing. She is still not buried and has lain where she has for more than a year and a half already.”

“Oh dear, that’s sad. Most people don’t buy anything too elaborate because it will go into the ground and rot.”

“That won’t be true in this case. I intend to have her placed in a crypt behind a solid door. I doubt the casket will rot as it is away from the weather.”

“You will want something good looking in case you open the crypt. What kind of wood did you have in mind and what would like for ornamentation?”

“Can I get one made out of copper? I know it will change color over a period of time, but that will be more solid than wood. I would like it lined with cedar to help preserve her remains in the state that are in now.”

“I can have the local tinsmith make one. He will want the dimensions before he begins. I can order the cedar and he can install that as well.”

“That would be fine. I will give you the measurements when next in town.”

“Is there anything else you would like on it to make it less plain?”

“Maybe some brass reinforcement for the corners, two filigree decorations above the inscription and four handles all of the same brass. I’ll write out the inscription. Also I would like information what would normally be on her stone placed on the crypt door and that could be of hammered iron.”

“It will take considerable time to get this all together. The brass will have to come from a foundry. It is also going to be quite costly.”

“Cost doesn’t enter into this. Banker Innes left enough money to pay for whatever I order.”

“What do you mean? What does he have to do with this?”

“He is the person who shot and killed her. His name will be in the inscription and his name will live on for his deed. Some day someone will write the history of the valley. He will be known by all for killing Winifred and also for being the cause of the upheaval that has taken place within the last few months.”

“You must really hate the man?”

“Of course I do, but Bert Innes did a lot for the area at the same time.”

“How so?”

“Because through Winnie he placed in my hand and in my mind what his vision for the valley could be like. It never would have happened if I hadn’t arrived. I’m sure the Scalawags would have turned on him and would have destroyed him before he could have implemented his vision. I’m sure he also realized this and is why he went to his death the way he did. Maybe he realized I was a more able person than he. Anyway he left a grand plan and I’m implementing it.”

“Riley, I have little idea of what you just said to me. Guess it doesn’t matter. I hate to ask, but I have little money coming in. Could you pay half of what I estimate the cost of the casket before I order it made.”

“Certainly, I will. I will bring money when I come in with the inscription. Turning to other matters, I wanted to ask, do you have a copy of the bylaws that the council runs the town under?”

“I’ll get you a copy. I suppose you want to be on the council?”

“No, I don’t, but I am civic minded and want to know what goes on.”

“Are those church people going to be voting?”

“I don’t believe they will. They don’t believe in government. They think that the government could force them to bear arms and that is against their religion. Therefore they stay away from governance altogether.”

“That’s strange.” 

“They have a lot of strange ideas, but to me they appear to be good, honest people. I like them a lot although I don’t understand them. Oh, I was going to let you know that Winnie’s estate gifted the Mexican community a section of land off the Tim Long property.”

“I had heard that. They are practically dancing in the street. They’ll be building cantinas and be bringing in all sorts of riff raft.”

“Mrs. Pickens, I don’t believe so. This is the first time in the history of the valley that the Mexicans here have owned land to build a home on. They will become good citizens, you just wait and see.”

“Well I’m going nowhere so I guess I will see.”

“I hate to bring this up, Mrs. Pickens, but I am sorry I was the instrument that took your husband from you the way I did.”

“Riley, you don’t have to be sorry for me. Sam was a miserable man, especially to me. My life is getting better as time goes on. I can have friends in when I want to. I’ve even been able to shave my prices a little to my customers. I could use a few more customers and I expect they will come when they hear how fair I treat everyone.”

“That’s good to hear. You do trade with the Mexicans, don’t you?”

“I would, but few trade here. Sam didn’t treat them well and certainly didn’t trust them for he watched them closely.”

“You know me and the ranchers have hired on thirteen of the men to work cattle for us. The one known as Mexican Pete is my ramrod. I trust him and depend on him greatly. I remember you used to slip me a piece of candy when I was little. If you did the same with their kids it would be a good way to build a trust.”

“I will for certain. Riley, are you sure you won’t come on board as a council member?”

“No, but I intend to be involved. We definitely need a law officer of some sort here in the village. If you know of one, I would like to interview him before you hire him on.”

“I’ll do that. I’ll get started on that casket right away too. Are you going to have a service for Winifred before you put her in the crypt?”

“I am and I would like you to be present.”

“That, you can certainly count on. I was almost her only friend here in the village. She would often come in and we would talk about things in general if Sam wasn’t in the store.”

“That’s funny, Winnie kept a journal and your name wasn’t mentioned anywhere in it at all.”

“That is because I was afraid that if someone found it they would know she and I discussed affairs that could cause me trouble.”

I looked closely at her while thinking about what she had said. “Mrs. Pickens, as time goes on things become clearer to me. I was attributing the information in the journal as having come from Winnie’s friends in the Mexican community. It came from you, didn’t it?”

“Yes, but I still don’t want it known that we were collaborating. I thought for a long time she went away without coming to tell me she was leaving. Now I’m sorry for thinking that of her and I am so sad that she died. I never knew what happened to her, and as her friend I think you are wonderful for remembering her.”

“The only way I can be at peace is to remember her. Most of what I have done here to restore the valley can be attributed to the notes she left in her journal. They were detailed and I knew right where to begin. Now I find that you had a major hand in it as well. I would like to thank you for being her friend. Men are seen at the forefront of the action, but it is the women behind the men who make the difference. Winnie certainly took it on herself to see that she didn’t die in vain.”

“You are very generous, Riley. Your present wife is of the same mind. I saw her in town wearing two guns. That’s more extreme than most women.”

“Yes, but she had already decided she loved me, and she did love Winnie and felt she could do no less than to protect me if needed. She was needed. Think about Cecilia for helping me in the bank the other day. I think I may have handled the situation by my self, but it was good she was there.” I paused and realized what I had just said. Cecilia and I had killed this woman’s husband. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Pickens, my mouth runs away with me sometimes. “

“Pshaw, that is okay. Cecilia came and apologized, not knowing there was no need. I felt like shooting Sam several times myself and I’m glad he’s gone. I feel so free not being under his thumb.” Talk about being uncomfortable … I certainly was and made my exit as soon as possible.

*****
We got the cattle on the trail early Saturday morning. Just about everyone who could handle a horse was out guiding the cattle through the town. Bob Sinclair was the drover. We left him in charge when he hit the trail north and all men that weren’t on the drive headed back through town. This was a small herd of eight hundred head and if we got our price, Bob would be bringing back almost fifteen thousand dollars less some expense money. We would know in a couple of months.

I shook hands with my two Mexican punchers and wished them luck. This herd would be late up the trail and feed would be scarce. Bob intended to swing east in search of feed found away from the regular route. Jack Sinclair had been up the trail two years ago before the Scalawags came in and rustled last year’s increase. This was just before the war ended and there weren’t many herds moving. At that time a drover had to search for end of track. The tracks had moved west in the last two years. Bob figured he would head the cattle toward the same place that Jack had sold the cattle at that time.

Those of us who were headed back to the valley sat our horses and watched the herd move away. It was moving slow and the punchers who were driving it had their hands full, for always a steer here or there didn’t want to stay in the herd and would try to escape. The extra mounts at least clung together in a bunch and one puncher could handle them easily. When we got back to town we stopped and ate in the diner. Someone began counting all the bad things that could happen on the drive until I told him to shut up. We didn’t need to hear this.

When we passed by the farmers’ encampment, we could see across the river most of the Mennonites were getting ready to build their adobe homes. That would begin on Monday. There were twenty-three distinct families that would need homes. Four of them would be housed in the old Tim Long ranch house. They would be terrible crowded, but they had been crowded on the ship coming over. Their homes in Germany were always small anyway. By spring of next year, most would be building on acreage and plowing up land.

I understood that their settlements usually consisted of twenty-five to forty families. When they became a larger group than forty families some would splinter off and search out new land and create a new settlement. Here, though, they had much more land to call their own and the size of the community might increase beyond what was normal.

When we got to the Mennonite encampment, we paused and talked a few minutes and then split up and went on to our home ranches. I went across the river and watched as the walls for housing were going up, made with the adobe bricks that seemed to cover every flat area possible. Each family was going to have two rooms. There were ten units in a row, an open area, and then another ten units.  The front entrances were all facing out.

They decided not to build individual homes this year, but instead plan out where each farm and family was to be located.  They would also start building fences to keep their animals contained which would also keep the ranch cattle away from their fields.

I was amazed with the ease they went about establishing a new community from what was basically raw land. But then they had been doing this for generations and maybe even a couple of centuries.

Sharon King seemed to have been elevated to a position where she was translator and scribe. She did have a fine hand. She was established in one of the wagons along with a lady that was reading from the Mennonite papers and dictating to her.  Sharon was writing this all down in English.

Already Sharon knew more about the Mennonites than I ever would and was learning to speak their language. The two women complimented each other in that the Mennonite lady was a school teacher able to speak English albeit broken and Sharon had the ability to understand her speech so she could write it into legible English. Sharon was also becoming a teacher of sorts. The children would come asking something in German and went away with the English translation.

I didn’t stay long watching all this activity because I wanted to check out the cattle and how the bulls were doing. They still were holding up and able to perform. If they proved to be potent, the calving next spring would be concentrated into a narrow time frame as it should be. I left Pete there and went on to the herd closest the ranch buildings. He was going to circle the herd and nudge those that had wandered back with the rest of the cows.

Pa hadn’t gone with us so he had come down at daylight and done the same. He sat slouched in his saddle half asleep when I came up to him. “Damn, Riley, I was just imagining what this herd would look like when they all looked like them bulls. It will be a pretty sight.”

“Glad you came back from Saint Louis?”

“You bet I am. I feel ten years younger and your Ma is happy too. She would like a home of her own. Tain’t right we should be living with you folks.”

“We’ll do something about that come spring. You decide what you want and we’ll build it, or if you want the house, we’ll build our own.”

“I think Ma wants just a cottage. Besides, by this time next year you’ll have a baby in the house.”

“I’d like to think so.”

Everyone in the valley was busy. The Mexicans were meeting at the church trying to figure out the best way to utilize the 640 acres of land. Some wanted to be given five acres immediately. Some of the others wanted to have a well laid out village with a half acre lot assigned to each family and the rest held in common. You would receive a half acre lot if you were either married or reached the age of majority. I talked with Father Juan several times. He asked me what I had in mind when I gifted the property. I laughed at him and told him I wouldn’t get involved.

The Mennonites had no such problem. They came with a plan and except for minor adjustments they followed it the same as their ancestors did. I was curious to see how the different families were chosen or assigned to the land to be turned into farms. There must be a plan for that in place already. I just didn’t know what it was.

Tuesday I appeared at the town council meeting. There were the two sitting members and nine other people there. When the meeting was called to order, Mrs. Pickens declared that a new council member needed to be chosen to fill the spot vacated on her husband’s death. She put my name up and I immediately declined saying I lived too far from the center of things and it needed someone who lived in town. “I would suggest that Charity Pickens be named as council member and also take the title of chairman.” She was immediately named to those positions.

Charity knew I was going to bring up her name for council member. She smiled when she was elected as chairman. Right off she said there was enough business to have meeting weekly instead of monthly. She came prepared and had an agenda for business to bring before the council. She wanted to find out what the town wanted to do with the lots and businesses that had come to them and it was decided that next week, anyone who had an idea was to show up at the weekly meeting with ideas.

It was agreed that everyone present would spread the word. No other action on that was taken this meeting. When it came to new business I spoke about what the town needed to run well. I brought up the point that some kind of police presence was needed even though crime had all but disappeared recently. “Riley, you are still a Federal Marshal aren’t you?”

“I am, but I’m not about to take on the duties of shutting up barking dogs or coming down on someone because some didn’t like dust from their neighbors getting on their hung out laundry. That would be the duty of a town marshal or a constable. There really is a need for one. I don’t believe the sheriff’s office needs to be in this town. Let one of the other towns in the county fill the office. It would be a way to save the town money. I can take care of any serious crime until a sheriff’s deputy arrived.

“That makes sense.”

“We’ll bring it up next week.”

“Thanks Charity.”

“Riley have you anything else you want to say?”

“Just a couple of things. You all know that I’ve sold the former Tim Long property that was in Winifred’s estate. The Mennonites purchased most of it. They are a different people than us. They keep pretty much to themselves. They won’t be interfering in the town and they teach their children in their own school so they won’t be asking for public funds. They are extremely peaceful and don’t bear arms. If there is ever an Indian attack though, we might have to go to their defense. That is odd, but I think we will be glad they moved into the valley.

“I also sold one section of the land to the Mexicans. You know that already. They will be slowly moving out of their enclave and onto that land when they decide how the land is to be portioned out. They are having the same problem as the town and the empty lots that came to you.

“There is also a need for a doctor, a lawyer and a newspaper here in town. You know a building on one of the empty lots to house offices would help entice these professional people to move here. We should have a large room where the council could meet. Charity’s office won’t do if there is a large meeting called for. The bank lobby that was used for a courtroom won’t do forever. That reminds me, I’m looking for an honest person to be a bank director. I’ll entertain either a man or woman. How about you Charity, filling the position?”

“No, I have the store to run was just elected head of the town council.”

“I guess there is no hurry. I will state that the bank is in very good shape. I could use help with policy decisions.”

“How come you became chairman of the bank board, anyway?”

“That was Judge Kelly’s decision. The bank needed someone to replace Bert Innes and as long as Innes willed the land he held to my wife, the judge thought I should be the one to fill the vacancy. Also, I promised that I would honor the contract Innes made with these immigrants who had already paid some money down. I did not ask to be made a director. I came home from the war with the intention of staying out of sight on my ranch, raising a few cattle and horses and starting a family. I seem to have become involved whether I wanted to or not.

“Judge Kelly, gave me a year to do what I could to straighten out the valley’s problems and I expect I will see him next spring to see what kind of job I have done. I’m trying to see that everyone’s interests are considered and treated in a fair manner. It is difficult for me because I don’t know that much about law, and I’m relying on my sense of justice and what I think is fair.”

“There, I think I’ve said enough. If at any time people don’t think I’m being fair, I’m willing to listen to their arguments and there is the option to contact Judge Kelly.” I sat down and nothing more came up so the meeting ended and everyone left leaving me with Charity.

“Riley, I want to speak with you for another minute. You must have some idea who should be on the town council. Do you want any changes made?” 

“It isn’t my place to make any changes. If you can work with the other two members, I don’t see any need for change. I know Sam had to be in charge and never listened to any ideas if they differed from his own. Get them involved in decisions. Neither one spoke up tonight, but they should have.”

“I see what you mean. The three of us are here to do the towns business and should work together. Who are you going to pick for bank directors?”

“I have one person in mind. It is a woman and I feel she is qualified because she has had some experience dealing with the handling of money. She is well educated, although she made some mistakes years ago and ended up having to work in a place that wasn’t well thought of. She now is working with the Mennonites as a translator. They made partial payment on the land with the bulls that came with them. She is also learning their language. The Mennonites don’t believe in being in any form of government, but I feel they need representation, so would I like her to become one of the banks directors.”

“Do I know her?”

“I don’t know. She might have come into the store on occasion. Her name is Sharon King and she worked for Ezra Sloan. She has been living at the ranch until she can find someplace else to live. She and Abby are good friends.”

“Riley, if you think she would be an asset, don’t hesitate to name her. I’ll defend your decision if I feel it is needed. What about Cecilia Canady who owns a shop next to me?”

“I like Cecilia, but I didn’t choose her for a different reason. This is in confidence, my telling you this, but Cecilia may have some problems ahead of her. She is friendly with my Mexican ramrod and people here in town will look down on her for that reason. Father Juan approves and I certainly do. I don’t know what your feelings are about such a union, but if you could support her when and if people talk against her, I would appreciate it. The biggest thing going for them is that they are both Catholic.”

“You’re speaking about that handsome Mexican, named Pete, aren’t you? Hell, if I was twenty-five years younger, I’d be after him myself. Who knows, I may be looking for a good man soon. I’m going to be damned choosy, though and the man will be altogether different than Sam was.”

On the way home to the ranch I thought about Charity Pickens. She didn’t seem to miss Sam and she didn’t seem to hold my or Cecilia’s shooting of him against us. She apparently had no affection for her husband. Strange. Must be he treated her terribly and the townspeople never knew about their private life.

That night cuddled next to Abby, I said, “I pushed for Charity Pickens to be on the town council and for her to be chairman. I think she will be much more effective than Sam ever was.”

“That’s good. I don’t know her at all. What have you done about finding directors for the bank?”

“I discussed it with Charity. I’m chairman and representing the ranchers. Graham Brown is president of the bank and lives in town so I don’t think it necessary to have someone on the board as the town representative. I’m thinking I’ll ask Father Juan to be on the board to represent the Mexican community. I’m sure he will.”

“Who are you picking to represent the Mennonites?”

“Well, I’m stymied in one way because the community doesn’t want to become involved  I do feel they need an advocate on the bank board as director and also go to the town council meetings to do the same. I’ll ask Sharon to be one for them. She needs to be a face in the community to regain some respect. There is a small remuneration as director which will help her financially.

“Right now, I’m paying her something to be a scribe and to translate the Mennonite papers that will benefit us. She, on her own, has been learning the German language so we can communicate better. I’ll ask Jacob to continue that task and before long most of them will have a smattering of both languages.”

“What would her duties be as a director?”

“There would be a scheduled meeting once a month. If someone wanted to borrow a large amount of money, we would meet and approve or reject the loan. I don’t see that as happening very often.”

“The townspeople and maybe even some of the ranchers won’t like dealing with her. They won’t trust her at all.”

“I know they won’t, but she is still the best one in the area besides Graham Brown who knows how money in the economy works. Charity will speak for her and I have the rancher’s trust.”

“I guess you know what you are doing. How much longer will she be staying here?”

“I can’t say, but she will be moving just as soon as she can find quarters. I thought about finding or building a place for the five women to live, but all but Sharon are spoken for.”

“Matilda hasn’t yet.”

“She will be, just as soon as Monty Sinclair returns.”

“Yes, I guess you are right in that.”

“Tomorrow is Wednesday. I’ll go talk to Jacob Rutterman. I have to fill him in on what the council meeting was about. I’ll see what his plans are. I don’t want his people to always be outsiders. I would like Sharon to build a bridge between us all.”

“Pa McBain won’t like any of this you are trying to do. He doesn’t want us mixing with the Mexicans and he naturally feels the same way about the Mennonites.”

“Pa settled here as an immigrant forty years ago. I know where his money to buy land came from and he can’t say a word against anyone. My grandfather, whom I never knew, was a seafaring man owning a couple of ships that sailed the seas. Pa never would say what his father transported in those ships, but I think it was something that Pa should be ashamed of.”

“I notice you aren’t arguing with him about your liking the people here in the valley. You just inform him and he tells you his feelings, but you don’t fight. I love your pa as much as I did my father. Winnie and I didn’t know our father because we were so young when he died. Your pa stood by me when I decided to divorce Roger. He can do no wrong in my eyes.”

“Yes, I know dear, and I suspect much of what Pa says about the Mexicans is all talk and not his true feelings. He would rather work with Pete than with me and that tells me something. He just hates to see change coming.”

Pete arrived a little after daylight from town where he had spent the night. “Pete, is there anyone left in your community that isn’t working for the Mennonites and could make adobe?”

“Sure, most of our women can. Do you need them? You know next spring we’ll be building homes of our own and they’ll be tied up all next summer. They’ve been volunteering for them foreigners. You need to get Red and his wife out of the barn, I take it.”

“Yes, and I’m going to need some labor to cement up around the door into the cave. There are enough boards in the barn to build a good strong door.”

“What about your pa and ma? Are they staying in the house?”

“For the winter they are. They will be building a cottage next spring. I’m going to have the timbers and boards freighted in from somewhere. To Ma, an adobe building isn’t a house and I want her to have what will make her happy.”

“You’ll have to figure out how to get my people here.”

“I’ll borrow a wagon and team from Jacob. I’ll be going his way this morning. I’m sure he will let me have one. There are another bunch of Mennonites arriving in a few days. They were on the third ship. This ship is loaded with farming tools, seeds and fruit cuttings. I hope it isn’t too hot to grow what they are used to, but I know they will adapt. The Mennonites have spread into several countries. There are a lot of them here in this country already. These that came here are the furthest west, I believe. I saw some in Pennsylvania and I’ve heard Canada have several settlements.

“Let me know about the wagon before I leave tonight. If I have one to use, you may have some extra help starting tomorrow.”

“Okay Pete, I’ll see what I can do.”

I had breakfast, gave Pa and Pete orders, checked with Red and Rosy and then saddled my horse and headed for the Mennonite encampment.

I was almost to the encampment when I could see a herd of cows coming down the trail from town. Monty Sinclair broke away from the herd and spurred toward me. “Riley, do you think the bank will lend us money on these cows? We bartered for this bunch of bred cows and some yearling heifers. This limits our money for this year.”

“What are the cows bred to?”

“Longhorns, but they are bigger than what our stock is. Pa’s on the other side of the herd. Ride over and he’ll tell you all about it.” I rode through the herd and they looked damn good. They were a little gaunt and must have traveled quite a distance. I knew they would fatten up before winter and drop some fine calves in the spring.

I came up to Bob. “Guess you didn’t have to go to Kansas?”

“Nope, you said I could make a deal for the steers if would save driving all that way. As you can guess we didn’t get too far up the trail. Watson, the owner of these cows was headed up north ready to start over. Watson got himself killed in a stampede. His widow was following their herd in a coach and doing the cooking. She didn’t have a home to go to or return too. I asked her if she needed money. She did. I told her I’d swap one head of my steers for two head of her cows.

“They would have the steers for cash money when they reached Kansas. I had to dicker some. I ended up with 1732 head. I also had to give up the Chuck wagon and the food in it. Jenkins’ cookie is going to cook for them and they promised him two months pay. He’ll be back sometime without the wagon.”

“This all sounds good.  I told you to do what you could. If this is going to make us ranchers short of cash, Graham, I’m sure will lend money on them. We certainly have the feed and it will keep us from having to look for more breeding stock this year.”

“That was my figuring too. I’m heading these cows to where we had the roundup. In a day or two, we can divide them up on our home ground. Riley, is it alright if Monty goes over to your ranch to see that Matilda woman? She’s all he talked about.”

“Sure, she was asking when he was coming back.You have a woman to come home to as well.”

“Yeah, but I ain’t planning on bedding her.”

“Maybe, Bob, but you’ve been a long time without a woman. I’m guessing it is going to be a cold winter and a body likes to keep warm.” Bob snorted but didn’t deny.

I watched the cattle move on. The young stock would be ready to breed in the spring not long after the older cows calved. This would spread out our breeding season and if careful the bulls we had would be able to service all of them. I’d say Bob Sinclair did very well in making the swap of steers for cows.

I waved on the herd and hands before I went across the river where I could find Jacob. He had noticed the cattle. “Riley, I see you have more cows.”

“Yes, we swapped one steer for two cows with a widow who lost her husband and needed money. She and her crew are driving the steers to Kansas. That brings our men home to continue putting the valley back together. We were planning on buying more stock anyway. We’ll have to wait a year to put our new bulls to them because they have been bred to native bulls. The yearlings will be old enough at the same time. I’m excited about the way things are coming together for us.”

“That’s good. We feel the same way. It is going to take us a few years to get where we want to be. I’ve already been through a move such as this in my lifetime, so it isn’t strange for me. So far for me this has been an easier move and I can thank you for some of it. You have been so welcoming and have helped us considerably.”

“Thank you. I stopped by to ask if I could borrow a team and a wagon to transport some workers who are doing some things out at the ranch.”

“Of course. Whom are you transporting?”

“Some of the Mexicans are helping me build a couple of Adobes and I want to enclose the cave were my first wife rests. I’ll be having a service for her when I have it finished. She actually did more to put the valley back together than anyone else. It is so sad that she had to die to make it happen.”

“How so?”

“Because it was the banker who killed her and it made him feel so guilty he left much of what he had acquired to her estate. He did leave some paperwork saying that he had made the contract with you people and it made it much easier for me to follow through.”

“Maybe, but say what you want, it all comes down to you. Getting back to you needing a wagon and team, of course you can. Won’t the Mexican community be building on their land?”

“Not until spring. They have a lot of planning to do. Most of them have never owned land before and they want to get it right.”

“Wise of them.”

“There is one other thing I would like to ask about? How do you go about educating your children?”

“We are strong on education. We conduct a school for them the same way as a public school. Was there something specific?”

“Yes, I was wondering about them learning the English language? More to the point I feel responsible for Sharon who has been working with one of you on translating papers. I don’t know too much about her except she admits making some unwise choices in her life. I do believe she is intelligent. I’m about to ask her if she will join the bank board as a director. She has worked in that area before.”

“So what is your problem?”

“I was hoping you might ask her to teach English in your school. I think she would do well in that capacity. She doesn’t really have a place to live and has little income. The bank position won’t pay much. After she gets the translating she is working on now finished, I would have no reason to keep her employed.”

Jacob thought before saying, “I will bring up your suggestion in meeting about hiring her to teach your language. There are only a few of us who can speak English and I haven’t met anyone who speaks German. It is difficult not being able to walk into a store and inquire if they stock such and such an item.”

“Jacob, it is a little awkward for her staying at the ranch and that is why I was inquiring. I would take it as a favor if you did find a place for her. I wouldn’t want it mentioned either to her or to anyone that I tried to influence your decision.”

Jacob smiled. “I think I understand. I don’t think you would want me to mention this to your new wife either”

I grinned. “You do understand. One other question; I’m chairman of the board of directors for the bank. Would that be anything you would like to be involved in?”

“No, I’m not one to hold any kind of office. Some of our faith do, but I have stayed away from anything like that. Sorry.”

I met Sharon and the gig when I headed back to the ranch. I stopped and she pulled up beside me. “Good morning, Riley. It is a beautiful day. You must be returning home?”

“I am. I was speaking with Jacob Rutterman. Tell me, would you take on a position at the bank. It is more of a title than actual work. I’d like to ask you to become one of the directors on the bank board. I’m the chairman and I intend to ask the Catholic priest, Father Juan to be another one.”

“Why are you even thinking of me for director? You know my past?”

“I do know your past. You are familiar with banking and how the economy works. Graham Brown is good, but he will need some extra support. You’re more qualified to be director than I am.”

“What does being director, entail?”

“I’m planning on having a meeting twice a month and if someone comes in for a loan above a certain amount, Graham will schedule us to meet to pass on the request. You’ll receive a fee whenever you attend.”

“The uptight biddies in town know who I am and won’t like it.”

“I know that and I have asked Charity Pickens to support my choosing you for the position. She is not only the leader of the women in town, but also head of the town council. I really need you as director. Jacob Rutterman and the Mennonites need an advocate and you know them better than anyone. If you stay their friend, I would like to be able to come to you about how they think or would deal with matters as they come up. Be their advocate, is what I’m suggesting.”

Sharon stared at me quizzically and then asked, “Why are you getting me involved in these things?”

“Sharon, you declared that you had made some bad mistakes and weren’t going to make any more. I can tell you have lost respect in yourself. I’m challenging you to get it back. You can’t do it by hiding yourself away from everyone. I know you are on the road to gaining respect. Jacob speaks well of you. I do and Abby does. Your real challenge will be when you appear back in town with those people that knew of your former life. I’m not saying it will be easy, but I know you can do it. With respect, you can be happy.”

Again Sharon stared at me. “Riley, if I join you on the bank board, it will reflect on you personally. I wouldn’t want that to happen so I am going to refuse. As far as the townspeople are concerned, I don’t give a fig.”

“Sharon, please reconsider. Talk to Abby and get her to tell you about her life before I met her. This is a secret, but she had a period when she didn’t have any respect either. She regained it by facing the problem and doing something about it. Hey, I fought for the Union in a secession state. How much disrespect do you think I’ve had to face at times?”

There was a pause, “Okay, Riley, I’ll think about it. I’ll let you know in a few days. I don’t know how you do it, but bending people to your will seems to be a trait of yours.”

“Do you ever hear of any complaints?” Immediately, I wished I hadn’t asked that question. 

“And there lies the problem. There never seem to be any. Enough of this, I’m late, but I have enjoyed this conversation, as I always do. I look forward to having the next one with anticipation.” She was not looking my way when she said this. She flicked the horse’s reins and moved on. It was I who stared after her. Uh, I did tend to manipulate people as Sharon pointed out. I would have to watch that in the future.

I returned to the ranch. Abby came out before I stepped down from my horse. “Riley, there is only Sharon left in the bunk house. Monty swept in here shortly after Sharon left and called Matilda into the yard. She ducked back into the bunkhouse and came out with a suitcase. Monty tied that to the saddle horn and then lifted her into the saddle. He jumped up behind her and they rode off.  She was laughing. I’m a little upset she didn’t say good bye.”

“That’s true love and Monty was her knight in shining armor. I’m sure she will return and thank us for letting her stay here.”

“Maybe it was love, but the way he was hanging onto her, it looked more like lust to me.”

“Now we only have Sharon to deal with before the bunkhouse is empty and we can move Mexican Pete and his cousins in.”

“Riley, we have an extra room. We can let her live in the house.”

“Abby, that extra room is right next to our room.”

“Riley McBain, we are married. I’m sure Sharon will understand if she should hear us.”

“Well, I don’t like it. I offered her the director’s position at the bank, but she turned me down. I did ask her to reconsider.”

“I’m glad you did. I’ll talk to her tonight and urge her to accept it. You are only thinking of her well being.”

“Okay, you talk to her.” I was asking myself, how could five women whom you were trying to ease their life cause a person so much trouble and anxiety?

I headed over to the barn to talk to Red and Rosy. “Hey Red, I may have some Mexicans coming tomorrow to help you in building your house. Pete is using a wagon I borrowed to transport them. Is there anything I can do today to help you?”

“Nah, Cap’n. We’se have ’nough adobe bricks made for our house and iffen we have more help coming, we’se fine. We been trouble ’nough for yous already. We be out your hair shortly.”

“No problem, Red. Remember, though, after you get the hog ranch going I want some bacon from the first pig you butcher.”

Rosy spoke up, “You get sausage too.”

“Cap’n, I’s takin’ a load of sand over tuh that place where yous said was a cave. I do that today. Iffen I got help coming tomorrow, that be done an’ I can git to buildin’.”

“Thanks, Red.”

I went into the kitchen and poured the last cup of morning coffee. Ma and Abby sat down with me. “Riley, this is the first time during the day since I’ve been here that you have taken time to relax a mite. Are you tired?”

“No, Ma, I’m not tired. It seems like when Abby and I got here there has always been something that had to be done immediately. There’s still enough to do, but there isn’t anything I can’t put off until tomorrow. I didn’t tell you, but Bob brought back a herd of cows with him. I’ll meet him later and we’ll split them up between the ranchers. That saves me from hunting up more stock before next year.

“The women have all found homes except for Sharon and I feel that she will find someplace to live other than here. Eventually we are going to have a supply of pork. I have enough money to keep the ranch going. We have farmers that’ll be growing all kinds of food for both people and the animals. The Mennonites and the Mexicans will be raising sheep and goats. They have a few milk cows for making cheese. There will be cotton and wool to make cloth.

“There is enough work for everyone here in the valley. They can work and earn enough money to have a decent life. If we are aware, we can keep the rough element from coming in and taking over the valley like they did in the recent past.

“Most of all, I think everyone, no matter their origin, will make La Petite Valley a great place to live. They all seem to be getting along and it should continue.”

I finished my coffee and stood. Abby came and kissed me right in front of Ma. “I’m hoping you will stop rushing around. I want to be with you more than I have been lately.”

“I’ll go saddle your horse. Don’t forget, I never want you to go anywhere with out being armed. We’ll ride out and see Pa and then ride over to the Jenkins ranch where they are holding the new herd of cows.”

“What are you doing tomorrow?”

“I’m building forms so I can cement the opening to the cave. Pa will be helping build the door as soon as the cement hardens.”

“Can we go up there this evening?”

“I’d like that.” Abby and I had a great afternoon, getting back to the house in time for her to help Ma prepare supper. Abby went out and invited Sharon in to eat with us when she arrived, just before we sat down.

“Riley, Jacob called a meeting at noon today. I was the subject. He wants me to teach English to the children of the community. It will be a paid position. I agreed. I also went into town and talked to Mr. Brown. He questioned me about my knowledge of banking. He said I would definitely be an asset, so I will take you up on your offer to become a bank director.

“That’s great, but it will mean a lot of traveling for you.”

“No it won’t, I’m moving to town. I found two rooms over the General store with Charity Pickens. If needed, she is going to run interference for me with the townspeople. She also said I could work in the store when I’m not busy elsewhere. Right here and now I want to thank both you and Abby for all you have done for me. You said one time that I needed to gain back the respect I let slip away through the mistakes I’ve made. It seems I will soon have it back.”

Abby spoke up. “I know what it is to lose the respect of your friends and family. It makes it difficult to respect yourself. It hurts terribly, but if you work hard enough you can get it returned. You just have to have faith.”

“Thank you both for believing in me.”

Ma and Sharon cleaned up from supper. Abby and I walked to the cave. It was still light enough so we found our way without trouble. I showed Abby what I intended for closing up the entrance. In another couple of months, the copper casket would be ready and hopefully the brass accouterments that would adorn it would be here from the foundry. At that time I would have a service for Winnie.

We went in and stood beside Winnie’s remains. Now we stood with our hands clasped together while I told Winnie of the valley’s progress coming together. I told her that the list of improvements needed was getting smaller and what were left were more ordinary happenings that would come up everyday. Again, as had happened before, a warm presence washed over us. It didn’t last, but we felt we had been acknowledged. No need to stay and we wondered if we would feel her presence the next time we visited.

*****

Still hand-in-hand, we went back and sat on the bluff and watched the stars come out. We could see an occasional light from Ma passing in front of it as she moved around. There was a light momentarily in the spare room before the shade was pulled closed. I knew that was Sharon getting ready for bed.

“Riley, what now?”

“Abby, everything is in place to make the valley a wonderful place to live. The seeds have been planted so all the different people here in the valley should be friends. I don’t expect they will mix all that much, but then again, there is Cecilia and Pete, so it may happen to some extent. Sharon will be a bridge to the Mennonites, just as Cecilia is to the Mexicans.

“I was upset with the town’s folk when I came back--for letting the Scalawags take over--and the ranchers didn’t do that much for them selves either. There is a greater understanding amongst all and my hope is that it will continue.

“What I am planning for myself is to withdraw to the ranch and not stick my nose in like I have been doing. I want to work with my cattle and I want to get me a stud and raise some fine horses. I saw a horse breed while in the east that should do well here. Back east they talk about them winning races and are a great all round work animal. They are quick and agile and should make great cow horses. Some are already called quarter horses.”

“What is the breed?”

“They were first defined as a breed on a farm in Vermont and given the owner’s name of Morgan. Morgan horses can be used for most any task. They are great coach horses and the Calvary used then extensively during the war.”

“We will begin looking for a stallion and some mares as soon as possible. Red Morris has put out the word he is looking for a boar and some sows. Someone should start raising hens for eggs too.”

“I think the Mennonites are planning on that being one of their products. The Mexicans have always kept a few, but only for each family’s use and let them run free. Even when we go to town, you can only find a few eggs and then you have to hunt for those who are willing to sell.”

“Riley, you do want children don’t you?”

“I was hoping for a couple. A boy and a girl would be just right.”

“I will try to provide and make sure you have at least one of each.”

“I’ll agree as long as you are healthy and able.”

“Riley, I might just be that way all ready. I haven’t seen that much of you during the day, but you always take care of me at night.”

“That’s because I love you. I’m going to be with you more during the day from now on and that’s a promise.”

“We could make sure about having a baby if you would do more than sit there holding my hands.”

Afterward

Abby and I made it a practice to come sit here on the bluff on a summer’s night to reflect on our life and on our beloved valley. We always went to visit Winnie’s crypt before coming back here and sitting on the height looking down on our ranch. Thirty-two years we did that. We talked about events and people in the year past and what we wanted for the future. Kind of catching up on things happening around us.

The first year anniversary, we had a town marshal. He was Sergeant Morgan who had arrived with the troop of cavalry and helped wipe out the Scalawags. He had been wounded by Indians while chasing them back across the Mexican border. He walked with a limp, but made a fine police officer. Two years later he became a sheriff’s deputy for the county, quartered in our town.

Sharon King gained back her respect during the first year on moving into town. Charity Pickens and she would lunch together at the diner. Charity knew everyone and wouldn’t be ignored and Charity was approved of, so people almost had to approve of Sharon.

Having a position at the bank also helped immeasurably. She rode out to tell us about the first time a businessman who knew about her past stepped off the boards and into the street. He raised his hat to her saying as he paused, “Thank you for voting to approve the loan I applied for at the bank. It is a fine glorious day isn’t it Miss King?” He smiled and moved on.

That first year too, I carried a basket in each hand and opened the crypt door and set them on top of Winnie’s copper casket. My three month old twins boys began cooing and waving their hands in the air. I guess they felt the same warm presence that Abby and I did. Tears came to my eyes when I looked at Abby and saw them running down her face.

Two years later, Abby presented me with another son and then the year after came Lilly, my girl child. We said enough of having kids.  That was the plan, but mistakes can happen. Two years after Lilly arrived, Riley Junior came along. We were more careful after he arrived. Carrying this child badly tired Abby out and I said “No more.” Our house was need-full of sprawling out from all sides and we made sure there were extra rooms or three for guests who would drop in on us.

I rarely thought about Bert Innes and never spoke of him. I believe he came to this sparsely settled valley thinking to live like the old Spanish Grandee did. He had acquired the spoils from the border wars grasped in his fingers so funds were at hand. First he had to wipe out the few land owners using the Scalawags he had been associated with. They apparently trusted him, but from what clues I read in his notes, their time here was to be as limited as the ranchers they replaced. What was in store for the Mennonites and why he brought them to this country, I couldn’t guess.

This valley was large enough to be a small feudal kingdom. This country didn’t need a king and I made sure any such ideas of one died before any roots could take hold and grow. In one way Innes and I were alike. I say alike, but we couldn’t have been more unalike in our approach.

His way was with raw power and it struck him down. My way was to acquire the respect of everyone in the valley. I held no office these many years, but was often asked to make suggestions and give advice. Sometimes I did, but most often I would say the answer would come with input from the various groups if it was thought about long enough. That usually worked and I was happy to stay on the ranch with my wife and children.

Ma passed when nearing eighty. Pa lasted two more years. He moved to the bunkhouse soon after Ma left us. I guess he didn’t move into the main house because a houseful of kids running around bothered him. Or maybe it was because we wouldn’t let him buy the grandkids everything they wanted. 

Didn’t matter, you could see him tipped back against the bunkhouse wall in a chair laughing with the cowhands after supper in the evening. Pa, at one time, looked down on the Mexican hands, but he came to appreciate how they worked for the brand. Pa still brewed up beer and if things on the ranch were calm, Saturday night was beer night in the bunk house.

Every year there were happenings to think about. Down through the years there were droughts, tornadoes, locusts and Indian raids. There were the economic downturns of ’73 and ’93 too. Bert Innes’s gold was our bank’s savior in those times. Most in the valley didn’t even remember him … but I did! Only a few knew where the infusion of gold originated. This was a part of the valley’s untold history.

The Indian raids were mostly thievery of our cattle that stopped when we surprised a bunch of them. We killed two, three got away, and two who were wounded got across the river, bursting into the Mennonite meeting house.  The Anabaptists protected them from us, binding up their wounds and feeding them and preventing us from taking them.

We never knew when the two Indians left, and we forgot the incident. That is until the middle of a particularly harsh winter the next year when Jacob came to me and asked to buy five steers. “You need meat?  I’ll give you what you need.”

“It isn’t for us. It is for the Indian tribe who raided you. They are starving this winter. We have been giving them corn but they need meat. They could raid you again out of necessity, but we don’t want anyone killed. This is the best and only solution.”

“That won’t work, Jacob. You give them five beeves and they’ll slaughter them all at once, pig out, and a week later they will be back looking for more. Give them one a week and with the corn you are giving them, they will survive. I’ll see if the ranchers won’t donate one steer every week. I’ll donate the first one.”

“You are a good Christian man, Riley.”

“Maybe. I hope this isn’t going to backfire on us. You can’t tell about Indians. They think different than we do. I’ll give it a try, anyway.”  That was the last winter that the Indians went hungry. Eventually the small band of Indians moved into the old logging camp and made their home there. They were useful to have around. The squaws and kids would work in the fields during harvesting for the Mennonites, but the braves never! The braves though would help with the cattle and they were amazing at breaking horses. I depended on two of them for getting all my horses gentled and training them for riding and working cattle.

Judge Kelly referred a judge to us when the judicial retired. “Find a young man to read law with him. Start him young and then send him on for some advanced training at a college somewhere. Homegrown officials are the best for any community. I heard you have a couple of young men and a woman working with that Anabaptist surgeon learning doctoring. Dittermier, I think his name is. Make sure they get formal training, too.”

Yes, and we did have a paper to read too. Never much exciting in it, only news in and around the valley. If someone journeyed out or returned we all knew about it. We did get the news when we went to war in 1898. Some of our young men applied. Riley Jr. was the only one selected.

That same year was when I lost Abby. She did live to see Riley Junior home from Cuba where he had gone when Colonel Roosevelt raised the call for a few good men. Junior was two months home when Abby woke me during the night complaining of chest pains. I jumped from bed and sent Lilly, who was staying the night, riding for the doctor. It would be two hours before he could get here from the old Tim Long property where the new doctor lived. I doubted he would get here in time.

“Come back to bed Riley and hold me. I was hoping to live two years and to see in the new century. “I don’t think I can. I’m having terrible pain.”

“Abby, tell me what I can do for you?”

“There is nothing except to hold me. That will help more than anything. Riley, we have had a wonderful life together. We worked so hard the year we came to the valley, but it paid off and we have been so happy. I feel like the whole valley is our family and we made it so.”

Abby ceased speaking and I thought she had left me. Not yet. “Riley, the pain has lessened. You know how we feel when we visit Winnie? The warm presence we are so aware of? I feel that way now. Riley, kiss me.”

“Abby.” I held the kiss until her lips relaxed and she gave a sigh. The warm presence we shared slowly disappeared and I knew her soul had flown.

*****

I was alone and doing more grieving than reflecting when I traveled to the cave and to where Winnie lay to tell her. That next year, as always, when visiting Winnie. I spoke how the valley had come together and how lonely I was. Life moved on. I was fifty nine and had done about everything in my life I had set out to do. Dark thoughts would descend on me at odd times, but then one of my many children or grandchildren would speak and drive the dark thoughts away. I would think about Abby and be good for another few weeks.

I went into the second year beginning to enjoy life again and still reflecting on my life as always with Abby in my thoughts. My children grew up with the children of the other ranchers. When it came time to choose mates, there were many to choose from. Abby and I had laughed about it when most of the women whom we had invited to live in our bunkhouse all became part of our extended family. One of our first born chose to mate with a daughter of Tina Lou Brady and Rafe Jenkins. His twin chose a daughter of Monty and Matilda Jackson Sinclair. Our third born son chose another Sinclair … the daughter of Bob and Mary Puck Sinclair.

When it came time for Lilly to look for a husband, I wondered whom she would choose.  She had just about every man in the valley chasing after her. We sent her away for advanced schooling. She chose Houston, expecting she would come home with a rich city person who would add new blood to our family and the valley.

She wrote at Easter time:
Mom and Dad, I have met and fallen in love with a man whose parents are farmers. They are successful although uneducated, but I find he is extremely intelligent and I love him dearly. When we finish school this year we will be traveling home together and will see you in May. We hope for a June wedding and we will both finish our studies while living as husband and wife. We plan on making our home in the valley. Love Lilly

We were mystified at the lack of information about our prospective son-in-law. In May, it was immediately apparent who he was when both clinging together stepped down from the stage. Roger Morris had the same fiery red hair as his father. Just then Red spoke from behind me. “Sorry, me an’ Rosy be late, but yous knows how ’tis?” Abby and I didn’t mind. Love is where you find it.

Riley Jr. is breaking hearts all up and down the valley, and seems to concentrate on one dark beauty of the Sanches' family

My thoughts seldom touched on my first wife, Winnie, who was of the distant past. It was in June and I sat on the bluff again. I was coming here more often to be near where Abby lay. Thoughts were almost entirely of her. I remembered when we talked before she passed away about how odd it was that most of the soiled doves were now our extended family. They were friends when first we knew them and even closer friends when their children married into our family. We didn’t see Sharon King that often, but she was always invited to our gatherings. 

“Sharon!” Her image leapt into my mind. Very seldom had I seen her in this last year of my loneliness. It was as if Sharon was a bit afraid of me. I should ask her about that. Then the answer came to me. Sharon had turned every man away and she was still a lovely looking woman. Sharon, I knew had always been a little in love with me and I was attracted to her, we never voicing it or acting on it. Damn, had she been waiting all these years for someone to love? Could it be me? I walked to Abby’s stone and spoke out loud of my thoughts.  I had my answer when I felt the familiar warm presence.

That evening I knocked on Sharon’s door. It was now I who was a little bit afraid. The joy on her face was apparent as I was welcomed in. Was there hope and longing there too?

“Riley, this is a surprise. I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Sharon, are you certain about that?”

Now it was she who searched my face to read my expression. “Riley, I was hoping and yes I was expecting you someday, so I am not surprised after all.”

*****
That happened three months ago. Abby had to know. I could see from my perch the first sign of dust rising from the road, way to the south. That would be the townspeople and the Mexican community coming for this day. The Mennonites in black carriages driving their sleek horses would be behind them and all were headed here to the ranch. I looked west and the ranchers with their families were near, riding tall and proud. So many friends!

My eyes returned to the ranch buildings. It was busy down there and I would soon join them as the main attraction. There were a stream of kids running from the ranch house toward me and would soon be gathered around after climbing the heights. They wanted to hold Grampa Riley’s hand. It was time to leave my moments of solitude on the bluff. Before many days I would return to this my favorite place and reflect again on what my life had been over the last thirty-four years. I would have someone new to talk to and reflect with.

I walked through the crowd of kids as they swarmed around me and I scooped up my youngest grandchild. She was excited. “Did you forget?  Mommy says to get your butt down to the house and get changed into your wedding suit.” I laughed and swung Abby’s namesake up onto my shoulders.

“Little Abby, I wouldn’t forget my wedding.”

“Grampa, Brother Jake told me I had another Grammy once, but I don’t ’member her. I’m going to love my Grammy Sharon. Is she going to live here with us?”

“She sure is and you can see her everyday.”

“Goody.”

The End

  


                                                                   



  

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