Chapter 7

Ben woke the next morning to the urgings of Dove. The woman had risen early to tend the fire that had been built the night before down on the flat, and to put a pot of water to boil. She seemed pleasantly happy, and she smiled broadly at Ben, once they made eye contact.

“Get up, Marshal Ben,” the woman said. “There’s work to be done, as you know. I was told this morning by Half-Moon that Big Ed wants to speak to you.”

“Do you know what about?” Ben enquired out of curiosity as he wiped the sleep out of his eyes.

“Nope,” Dove replied promptly, “although if I was inclined to tease you, I’d tell you it was because of the racket that you and Miss Cecily made last night. It certainly made it hard for a woman to get some sleep.”

Ben blushed in response to the inference that he and Cecily had kept the camp awake last night. While their lovemaking had been relatively short, it had been explosive. It turned out that Cecily was a screamer. Her first cries of passion had been very loud!

Dove just smiled broadly on seeing how embarrassed Ben was over being teased. She chuckled and shook her head.

“Don’t be too worried about it, Marshal Ben,” Dove said with a hint of good-natured teasing still in her voice. “While the men might have found it a bit awkward, the women in the camp found it very illuminating. You just might find someone else in your bed tonight, other than the woman who’s still there. You best be careful today. Now get up and get dressed. As I told you, Big Ed wants to speak to you before we all get to work.”

Ben assured Dove that he’d be up in a second. Dove took him at his word and then wandered off to wake someone else. Once she had, Ben turned his attention to Cecily.

“You can show yourself,” Ben murmured in a low voice, peeking below the top of his blankets, as he spoke to Cecily. “Dove’s wandered off.”

Cecily slowly pushed her head up, so that she could look about and see what was going on. She saw Dove waking her brother, and reflexively, Cecily ducked down once more. Ben just laughed at that.

“Don’t laugh,” Cecily scolded in a half whisper. “I can’t believe I’m still in your bed. What will my brother think?”

“He’ll think what every other person here in the camp will think,” Ben told her pointedly, “and in truth, what do you care? Personally, I’m glad to find you here. If it wasn’t for the fact we had to get up, I’d teach you a few more things about kissing that I forgot to show you last night, along with some other things that all women should know about. What do you think, should we go for it, or not?”

“You jest!” Cecily exclaimed with a look of disbelief on her face. “In broad daylight and with people standing about? You’ve got to be crazy!”

“Crazy for you, my sweet,” Ben declared with a reassuring smile, earning him one in return from Cecily. “However you might be correct about the propriety of the moment. Big Ed is looking for me and I doubt very much that you’d appreciate it if he came by while I was giving you another riding lesson.”

Cecily blushed a darker brown in response to Ben’s suggestion, as the image of her straddling Ben as she’d done the night before filled her mind, as did the image of the big, burly trapper standing over them while she did also came to mind. Ben just chuckled at her obvious embarrassment. He then kissed her tenderly upon the lips, before reassuring her that he would behave. After that, Ben slipped out from beneath the blankets that had shielded him and Cecily last night once they’d come back from their bath. He stood up to answer the call of nature. Of course, Ben did so buck-naked, much to the horror of Cecily, and the amusement of the other women who were now up and gathered by the campfire. It certainly gave them something to talk about later on, over breakfast.

Ben met up with Big Ed thirty minutes later. He found the big man sitting on a stool just outside the front door of the trading post. The big man smiled warmly upon spotting Ben approaching him. Without asking Ben if he’d eaten, Big Ed called into the trading post to his woman, requesting plates of food for both of them.

“Have a seat,” Big Ed stated as Ben reached him, pointing towards a log that had been dragged from somewhere last night for people to sit upon. It had been left there after the festivities had wrapped up for the night. With an acknowledging nod, Ben walked over to it and sat down.

Half-Moon and Blossom showed up seconds later, holding plates of food, utensils, and cups of coffee. They both greeted Ben with welcoming smiles, which seemed strange to Ben, at least in the case of Blossom, but was also somewhat reassuring. He’d come up to speak to Big Ed, wondering what the trader had wanted to talk to him about, and fearing the worst. His reception put him at ease.

“Eat up, Marshal Ben,” Half-Moon told Ben as she handed him his plate. “You need to regain your strength after last night’s ‘activities.’ A man like you will need a lot of strength with so many women around. There is more food inside if you want it.”

Ben blushed in response to Half-Moon’s suggestion that what had happened last night would happen again, and not just with Cecily. Blossom just chuckled to herself with a twinkle of amusement in her eyes, as she passed Ben a cup of coffee. Then both women slipped away so that the men could eat in peace.

“I wouldn’t worry about their teasing, Ben,” Big Ed murmured in reassurance, dropping all formality as he glanced over towards Ben and spoke. “They mean well, and I have to admit, from the sound of it you made a good impression on that Negro woman of yours. It shouldn’t surprise you much if these other women come sniffing about today, looking for a little of that for themselves. They’re all widows, now, and are looking for a man.”

Ben just nodded in response in a non-committal manner, and then turned his attention to his food. Big Ed let Ben eat.

“I was thinking on things last night, after all the ruckus had settled down,” Big Ed murmured once both men had put down their empty plates and were sipping their coffee. “I really appreciated the fact you showed up here yesterday. Those bastards intended to clean me out; lock, stock, and barrel, and then they intended to shoot me dead. You saved my life and I’m grateful for that, and you spared Half-Moon the fate they intended for her.”

“I was just doing what had to be done,” Ben told the man dismissively. “I’m happy I was here to help out. Still, in a manner of speaking, I was just doing my job.”

“I don’t think you were, Ben,” Big Ed declared, waving off Ben’s efforts at trying to minimize how people perceived him. “I know that the men were outlaws and criminals, but I also know a thing or two about the law. This isn’t your neck of the woods, is it? I’m certain you were on your way to serve a warrant or something like that. You could have just kept riding by when you saw those men bothering that family of Negros, and you could have ignored the fact that the raiders had kidnapped Missus Taylor. You’d buried the bodies of her man and his boy, which was certainly the Christian thing to do, but no one out here on the edge of Indian Territory would have expected you to track down the men who’d taken her. They’d have ridden off; and, as I say, you probably have a job to do somewhere off and away from here. Am I right?”

“Yes and no,” Ben admitted hesitantly, recalling his cover story that had been given him by the detention centre, back in his own time. Ben did have a warrant to serve on a man up in Kansas, if he ever got there, but the man was already dead. With some reservation Ben told Big Ed this fabricated story, emphasizing that his job gave him some leeway in how he got things done.

“That might be so, Ben,” Big Ed admitted with some reservation when Ben had explained things to him, “but the fact is that you did step out of your way to come to our assistance, and I appreciate that, as does everyone one else here at the trading post. In fact, you might say you made a lot of friends yesterday, whether you know it or not.”

“Well,” Ben muttered back at the big trader, hoping to put an end to the discussion, “I still say I was just doing my job, but I am grateful that people feel the way they do, and I’m certainly not going to turn away anyone wishing to be my friend. Out here, friends are all you’ve got.”

Big Ed agreed with that sentiment, smiling warmly at Ben as he said so. Then the man got all serious again.

“I know we spoke about this yesterday, while digging the graves,” Big Ed stated as a preamble to what he had to say next, “but those Negroes of yours can’t stay here. I don’t mind them, but we’re still in Missouri. There are people hereabouts, who don’t cotton to any person who isn’t white. You’ve already told me that they’re heading west, and I think that’s a great idea; however, whether you know it or not, the road west is long and hard. Those Negroes are greenhorns, at best. To make it across those plains, they’re going to need help, and I’m not just talking about supplies such as food. They’re going to need friends helping them out.”

“I know that,” Ben acknowledged with a sigh, gazing down at his half empty cup of coffee as he did. “Unfortunately, I can only help them so much. Eventually, I’m going to have to head off to do my job. After that, they’ll be on their own. I’m just hoping that by the time I do, I’ll have taught them enough to get by.”

“It’s a good plan,” Big Ed stated plainly, “but it’s not the best plan. Blossom told me that she thought that you were trying to do that, for those people, telling me that the two of you had talked. She also said she had a better idea, given what happened here. She thought I should talk to you about it.”

“What did Blossom suggest?” Ben asked out of curiosity, looking up and gazing at the man as he spoke.

“Swift Hawk is the key to this,” Big Ed pointed out bluntly. “Blossom tended to him yesterday. With luck he will live. The bullet that hit him didn’t hit any bones, and it didn’t hit anything vital. He’ll still need to rest up a bit before he can go hunting again, but so long as he doesn’t catch a fever he should be fine. Blossom thinks that you should take Swift Hawk and Dawn Flower back to their people. Blossom will go with you. She’s related, distantly, and will be of some help. She thinks that Chief Stone Eagle will welcome you as a friend, and that you could turn that friendship to your advantage with a little help from Blossom. Stone Eagle is well respected by most of the tribes in this area. If he gives your Negros safe conduct through these lands, then their trip west will be easier. Of course, Blossom has suggested that you bring gifts with you, to help grease the wheels. Speaking of gifts, that point brings me to all the loot that the raiders’ gathered up. We should talk about that next.”

It turned out that Big Ed wanted none of it. At least, Big Ed was content only to take what Ben decided that Cecily’s family didn’t need to speed them on their trek westward, and to assist them when they eventually got there. To Big Ed, that included the two Conestoga wagons and most of the livestock that the raiders had gathered up, that was currently stabled below the trading post in Big Ed’s stables and corral. Learning this put a smile on Ben’s face.

“You’re still going to have to sit and trade with me for anything you fall short on,” Big Ed pointed out in a warning manner, although he did so with a smile upon his face, “but I’m certain you’ll find my prices fair. Once we’re done haggling, both of us will walk away satisfied and friends.”

Ben couldn’t agree more with Big Ed on that point, and the sentiment that the man espoused in saying so. For the next half hour the men spoke on that topic and more. When they were finished, it was time to get to work.

There was one other task that Ben had to oversee before he could sit down and start inspecting the loot gathered by the raiders, and deciding what to keep for Cecily’s family, and what to give away. Ben needed to speak to the women that the raiders had brought in. According to Blossom there were four of them, other than Dove, who had been seized by the raiders at their homes to the north and east of the trading post. These women were now without husbands to provide for them, and they were technically homeless, since under the law the land belonged to their ‘husbands’ and not to them. Considering that most of them hadn’t ever married their ‘husbands’ in the traditional Christian manner, and that a couple of the men actually had family back east; the chances of laying claim to the land by the women, were slim to impossible. In Ben’s eyes they were hard done by, both by the raiders who’d wanted to sell them into sexual slavery and by the system that didn’t even recognize them as people. As such, Ben intended to make certain that the women weren’t left penniless.

In this venture, Ben needed help. He sought out Blossom and spoke to her about it. It caused Blossom to raise an eyebrow towards Ben.

“I will help you,” Blossom told Ben, once he’d finished explaining his intentions. “The women will be surprised. They have been milling about today, wondering what to do. Big Ed had told them that they could stay down on the flat, at least until they find new ‘husbands’ or winter comes; but that is all he has offered. I am sure Half-Moon will see the women are fed, but what you are offering to do for the women will help them greatly. It will give the women goods that they can trade here at the trading post, white man’s money in their pockets, and a chance for a better life. Cecily will have to watch over you closely tonight. Your bedroll will probably be crowded.”

“I’m not doing this for that,” Ben stated in protest, his cheeks reddening as he spoke. “I’m just trying to help them out.”

“I know that, lawman, and I think they do as well,” Blossom muttered in a reassuring voice, patting Ben on the arm as she said it. “Even so, Cecily will need to watch over you from now on. The women will want to thank you.”

Ben didn’t reply to that. He felt embarrassed by the thought that these women would want to share his bed out of gratitude for the fact that Ben was trying to help them out. He’d given in to Cecily, because in the short time Ben had been in contact with the woman, a bond had formed between them. Ben felt the same for her as he believed Cecily felt for him. While Ben wasn’t adverse to a roll in the bedding with a woman, something he’d done often in his life, he wasn’t certain that he wanted to do that here, in this time and place. Somehow he knew it wouldn’t be right, especially since he’d lain with Cecily the night before. If Ben went with another woman, Cecily would be hurt.

Blossom agreed to act as arbitrator in what Ben intended to do for the women. The fact was that only the women knew what was theirs and what was not. A lot of honesty and trust was going to be needed if this plan was going to work. If there were any arguments about who owned what, Blossom would have the final word. Blossom did have one question for Ben.

“What about Dove?” Blossom enquired bluntly. “You haven’t included her with these four women. Do you have another plan for her?”

Ben did. Ben quickly explained that in his mind, the wagon that Idaho Bill had driven back yesterday, the contents of it, and all the livestock that Bill, Dove, and the other woman had wrangled back with them, belonged to Dove. When Ben said that, Blossom’s eyes went wide.

“Poor Cecily,” Blossom exclaimed teasingly. “She has lost you already to Dove. Hopefully, that woman knows how to share. You will not be able to keep her away, once you tell her this news. Trust me on this. I know!”

With that stated Blossom turned about. She wandered off, leaving Ben looking a little uncertain of himself and what he was about to do. It didn’t help that as the old woman left, she was cackling to herself!

To Ben’s surprise and overall relief, the day went by without incident. The women identified which livestock was theirs, and what possessions if any was amongst the stuff that Amos and Cecily’s boys had unloaded from the wagons. In reality, there was very little in the way of personal effects kept by the raiders. They’d taken what they’d seen as valuable – a gold watch, a broach with a stone set in it, a half-decent Tennessee rifle, some clothing, a fiddle, and some books – but very little else. They did take the furs and skins that their men had accumulated and hadn’t yet taken to the trading post. These the women claimed once they’d been identified. That and some pots and pans were about it.

The process left Ben with quite a lot of goods to go through. The two Conestoga wagons didn’t belong to any of the women, so Ben laid claim to them for Cecily and her family. Amos and the boys had emptied them through the day so that the women could identify what was theirs. What was left over had been piled up beside the wagons according to what was what. There was a massive pile of foodstuff, a second pile of clothing, a third pile that were furs and skins that hadn’t been claimed by the women, a fourth pile that was pots and pans and other household stuff, including bedding, and one final pile that consisted of weapons. To make matters worse, into those piles went anything out of Dove’s wagon that she didn’t want.

Dove was certainly appreciative of Ben’s concern for her and his generosity. She readily accepted ownership of the wagon that the raiders had stolen, and the team of mules that pulled it, along with anything that had been her man’s that the raiders had packed off in the broken down wagon; however she wouldn’t claim anything else, besides some chickens and a milk cow. To Dove the rest was spoils left behind by the raiders and now rightfully the property of Ben and Cecily, who had saved her.

On the plus side, Ben had a lot of helping hands. Once the women had collected or at least indicated what was theirs to Ben and Blossom, they volunteered to help Cecily sort out the piles of plunder even further. They separated the foodstuffs that were good and could be kept for the long trek across the plains from foodstuff that wouldn’t travel well, or was on the verge of spoiling. At Ben’s suggestion, that food, if it was still edible went into a communal pile that the women Ben had rescued could use to survive. The women did the same for each pile of goods, separating the best of the lot for the family to use, and setting the rest aside for Ben to deal with later. This included the piles of clothing, the pots and pans, and some household belongings that the women thought the family would need, once they reached California.

Ben ended up personally dealing with the pile of furs and skins, the collection of firearms, and the personal effects of the dead men, such as the tent their leader had used. The furs Ben loaded into the old farm wagon. The raiders had been busy up until they’d struck the trading post. Once the women had claimed their ‘husbands’ furs for their own, Ben was still left with twenty bundles of furs and skins that needed attention. They were all large bundles and Ben mentally estimated each bundle to weigh in at about fifty pounds. That gave him over a thousand pounds of furs and skins to deal with.

Big Ed willingly accepted all the furs and skins claimed by the women. He opened a special ledger for them, and after weighing and inspecting the furs and skins, assigned a value to each bundle brought to him, giving the women a credit against goods drawn from his trading post, rather than gold or silver. The deal made everyone happy.

Ben also dealt with the pile of weapons that had been collected by the raiders during their rampage through the region, along with the weapons that had personally belonged to the raiders and the slavers that Ben had killed the first day in the area. The pile consisted of a motley collection of muskets and single shot pistols, shotguns of varying gauge, muzzle loading rifles, and various models of revolving pistols. Ben sorted the weapons into two piles; those that were serviceable and those that looked to be too dangerous to use. The dangerous weapons he intended to destroy, if Big Ed didn’t have a use for them.

The biggest surprise of the day was the treasure trove that Ben pulled out of the wagon that Idaho Bill had brought in, which Ben had declared belonged to Dove. When Bill, Dove, and the other woman who’d gone with them to wrangle the livestock back to the trading post, and to transfer everything from Dove’s wagon into the other wagon, the trio had just piled it all in without even looking to see what was there. Dove and Cecily had worked on the wagon all day, offloading what was there and sorting it into what belonged to Dove and what Dove was giving to Ben and Cecily. When they hit the bottom of the pile, they came upon the treasure. They found money.