Chapter 14

Our farm was producing well, and we had plenty of food and were building up storage of fruit from wild sources, meat and fish. I decided to purchase a fishing rod and try fishing for fun.

I was receiving visitors from time to time. Usually, it was camp leaders coming to introduce themselves to me. The third group to come for a visit came for me to judge a problem they had.

A man and his family had gone n an extended trip to visit his ailing mother. A neighbor had needed some utensils for some preserving of food and had borrowed them from the absent neighbor. The utensils had been broken, and not replaced. When the neighbor returned, his spouse was angry that the broken things had not been replaced. The neighbor had pled that they did not have anything to replace it with. That is why they borrowed it to begin with.

"What was broken?" I asked them.

"A large ceramic bowl," I was told.

I thought for a few minutes. I asked Betsy to go retrieve a set of the stainless steel bowls they had ordered from television.

She got them and brought them back. "These are my bowls," I said. "I am sending them to your camp for everyone to use in their food preserving. They are to be kept by you," I said indicating the woman with the broken bowl, "but you are to let any camp family use them if they need them."

Both of the women looked at the bowls in shock. "Ricky, these are wonderful. I thank you for this. I am sorry for causing trouble with you, Betta," she said.

Betta said, "I am sorry also. I was wrong not to at least try to replace the broken bowl."

Both husbands came up and thanked me and said, "You are a good leader, Ricky."

The next group came up and the camp leader wanted to challenge me for leadership. He was about 5' 9" tall and around 170 pounds. I knew he would not fight without weapons, I was too much bigger.

"I assume you want to fight to the death," I said.

"That is my plan," he answered cockily.

I knew he must be very quick with his knife and spear. "What will become of your family when I kill you?" I asked him.

"I know that you will care for them, like I will care for yours when I kill you," he answered.

I called Edie and Randa over. "Do I have a choice about this?" I asked.

Randa said, "No husband, you must allow this challenge, but you may use any weapons at your disposal."

"Do you know anything about his family?" I asked them.

Edie said, "He has a nice wife and a 3 year old boy."

"Do I have to take them or can I see that they have a good home?" I asked.

"You only have to see that they are taken care of, Husband," Randa said.

"I am asking you one more time to allow this to be a fight using no weapons." I said loudly.

"No, I will kill you," he told me just as loudly.

"So be it," I said.

He pulled his knife and held it in one hand and had his spear in the other.

I moved toward him pulled my pistol and shot him dead.

Randa, Sarah and Kimi ran up to me and asked, "Husband, are you injured?"

"No, I am safe. My weapon makes that noise," I told them. "I am getting you all one of these when I get you your love rings."

I could see that they knew what my wives and Momma were carrying now.

I walked up to my challenger's wife and asked her name. She said, "He was talking all the time about how he would kill you and have all of your things. You will have his now."

"What is your name?" I asked again.

"Kara," she answered, "and this is my son, Chad."

"Kara, my wife's brother needs a good woman to take care of him," I said. "I want you to stay with him and see if you think you might want to take him for a husband, and see if he wants you for a wife."

"Yes, my chieftain," she answered.

"This trial will last for one month. At that time you both need to choose. Both must agree," I told her.

"Joe, I want you to take Kara for a time to see if you want her for a wife. Edie says she is a good woman. You try her out, no sex until you decide to take her. I know she is very pretty and sexy, but you must decide first," I said.

"What about Lesa?" he asked.

"Do you want her for a wife?" I asked.

"Yes, her beauty is calling to me," he answered.

"Wait to take her until you also decide about Kara. Lesa will try to make you do as she wishes by keeping her body from you, I am afraid," I told him. "If you also have Kara, you will be immune from her selfish ways, and can make good decisions for your family, and still have her beauty with you."

"I will do as you ask, Ricky," Joe said.

Later that night Maggie, Sherry, and Betsy all came to me and thanked me for my wisdom in giving Kara to Joe also. "He will have a much better chance for happiness now," I said.

The wheat matured in June, and we were all working hard to harvest and store it. Our bean crop was also producing enough to harvest it three times a week for fresh produce. Our tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers had regular production, also.

The corn and popcorn were in the milk stage so we had boiled corn several times during that time.

The land was giving us everything we needed.

I had more women than I could handle at one time now, so they were taking turns being with me. I was not sure I really liked that method, but it worked. If I really wanted one of my wives particularly on a given night, the others adjusted the schedule to accommodate me.

The end of Kara and Joe's trial period came, and he told me that he loved Kara and wanted her for his wife. She also had the same feelings.

"How do you two feel about Lesa being in your family?" I asked them.

Kara answered first saying, "Lesa is a gentle soul, she has gotten over a great hurt to her heart, and loves me, Joe and Chad. I would love to have her join us."

Joe said, "I agree with Kara, Ricky."

I called to Lesa and asked her to come see us. "Lesa, Joe and Kara have asked me to give you to them for a wife. How do you feel about joining their family?" I asked her.

"Ricky, I have gotten over my feelings for you and truly love Kara, Chad and Joe. I ask you now to give me to them for a wife," Lesa asked me.

I nodded and said, "Joe, Kara and Lesa are now yours to have for wives. Chad is to be your son."

"Thank you my chieftain," He said, formally accepting my gift.

They went to Joe's cabin, hand in hand.

It came time for the fall trading. Everyone wanted to go except Momma and Lamar's family. We loaded our trade goods on the wagon and loaded everyone else that wanted to ride. Jack and Alice strained a bit to start the wagon rolling, but were able to maintain momentum fairly easily.

Eldon took his rifle. Everyone else took his or her pistols and normal weapons.

We had a good trip, we encountered another family group on the trip and camped with them the last night before we got to the trading site. They were not members of my clan, but were nice people all the same.

We looked at the goods for trade, and traded some rawhide ropes for some different fruit trees. We got some plums, and some more apples and pears.