Chapter 4

I came awake. It must be after midnight because the moon was on the wane. I whispered, “Berta, the horse just whinnied and was answered by another. I’m going out and look around.”

“Be careful. You don’t think it is that Trace person, do you?”

“I wouldn’t think so, but maybe he is smarter than I gave him credit for. Pull the latch string in after I close the door.” I eased the door open and on my stomach. I crawled out, pushing the door closed behind me. I listened, hearing nothing.

“Brady, Brady, wake up.” The voice came from over by the blocked up window. I recognized Pete’s voice.

“Right behind you, Pete. What’s up?”

“Brady, those bastards hit both yards. The swamper at our yard was hit, but he will survive. We killed one of them and we think we wounded another. There were only two of them. They tried to fire the place.”

“What happened at Frachette’s?”

“It was attacked by four men. One got away and the rest are dead. Again. they tried to fire the place. Tom was in Sarah’s house. The man broke the door down and Tom plugged him dead center.”

“Is the marshal around?”

“Yeah. He made the comment that if you and your men keep on killing there won’t be anyone left in town. He said it as a joke.”

“Maybe I should go in and talk to him.”

“Naw, it’ll keep. Stay with Berta.”

“Was any of the dead men Trace?”

“I don’t believe so. That’s why you had better stay here.”

“I will.”

I guess I had lived in town too long. It had been three weeks since we had come off the trail and there were people everywhere around us. The Indians were famous for shooting at a cabin when the door was opened first thing in the morning. I should have heeded that thought. I never gave it a thought that someone would imitate the Indians. I opened the door to step out, but thought of something to say to Berta.

I turned back and a bullet struck the door. It hit about two inches from my hand on the edge. It ripped a strip off the door edge and drove a splinter into my hand. I stared at it and just pulled it out. Blood welled up, but it didn’t do any damage. I dropped to the floor and three more bullets came through. I looked at Berta lying on the floor beside me. “That would be Trace.”

Berta was white as a sheet. “Brady, what are we going to do? He has us blocked in.”

“Stay calm, I’ll think of something. Keep lying on the floor where you are.”

“Hey Boyd, come out with your hands up and I’ll let your woman live. You faced Frachette and won, Come out and try it with me.”

“No thanks. Frachette was a man. You’re just river scum.”

“Bastard.” He had reloaded and four more bullets went through the door.”

“Shoot him, Brady. He’s out of bullets.”

“No he’s not, he’s holding one or two back making us think he is. Let’s see what we can do so I can get a shot at him. Hand me the broom, a towel, my coat and my hat, but stay down.”

“What are you going to do?”

“When we get set, I’m going to swing the door wide open and have you wave the hat and coat in the opening. Hopefully he will shoot at that and I can get a shot at him from down here.”

It took us a few minutes to get this set up. “Berta, do you have your pistol?”

“Never without it.”

“Well, keep it at hand. Okay, I’m going to push the door open. Just ease the hat into the opening as if you were peeking around the door jam. Make damned sure you stay down. If that doesn’t draw fire, let the jacket edge out after a minute so he’ll think I’m coming out shooting.”

“Okay. Open the door.”

I pushed hard and the door swung way open and bounced back almost closing again. “Guess I didn’t need to push so hard.” Berta grinned at me. I was amazed, now she was cooler than I was, or at least appeared to be.

We did this again. I just pushed the door open slowly keeping hidden. Before it was all the way open Berta showed the hat and then pulled it back. No gun fire. I was on the floor and used my rifle to finish opening the door. Again, Berta showed the hat. The towel around the broom straw had to look like a man’s head. She pulled it back quickly. The door was now wide open.

“Try a little of the coat this time along with the hat.” Two bullets came our way. One hit the door jam and another came through the side of the building about where a man would be standing.

I had a good view of Trace and sent a bullet winging into his body. He had been behind the cart, but had come out into the open. He went down and other than kicking some he lay sprawled on the ground.

“Is he dead?”

“I think so. We’ll wait a bit and be careful. When we go out you go to the left and keep the cart between you and him. Just don’t go so far to get in line between me and him. I’ll go right, and if he moves I’ll plug him again. He has to get his rifle into position and he can’t very well from where he is laying.”

Finally I said, “Let’s go. Berta dodged to the left and kept a good distance from the cart until she was even with it then drew closer. I was afraid for a minute she was going to walk right up to Trace, but stopped a dozen feet from him. When she was in position, I stepped out. She had gone quietly, but I made plenty of noise and kept my rifle trained on him. Suddenly he was struggling to his feet. Berta never gave him a chance. With her Baby Paterson, she put three .28 bullets into his back and calmly walked up and put one more into his head.

“There, you won’t be ambushing anybody else.” Berta was shaking just a little, but wasn’t that upset about just killing a man. “Brady, you have a bullet hole in your coat. I’ll sew it up after breakfast. Leave that piece of shit right there.” Hey, I wasn’t going to argue when she still had one unfired chamber.

She came down from the excitement and what she had done, and it hit her by the time we reached the cabin. “Brady, I guess you had better make us breakfast, I’d probably break your eggs.” I took her in my arms and held her. “I was so scared and he made me so mad. I want you to be careful when you open the door in the morning from now on.”

“Okay Berta, I will.”

We ate and were slow about heading into town. When we finally did saddle up to get going, we met Jack and Tom a hundred yards down the trail. Berta went on ahead while I stopped to tell them about what had happened. Then I remembered we had forgotten something. “Jack, I’ll go back with you.”

“To the yard? Are you going to leave the body out there?”

“No, back to the cabin. I have to dig up a pail of gold to take into the bank. You two can ride double and put the dead man on one of your horses.”

“You said a pail of gold? Where did that come from?”

“It was Berta and her brother’s. She told me about it yesterday. I tell you she is some woman. She did in her brother’s killer and did in the one who almost killed me.”

“You didn’t say she was the one who killed Trace.”

“Oh, I guess I did forget to mention that.”

I didn’t see Berta when I got into town. I took the pail of coins into the bank. George Cosgood had a clerk count it and record it into a ledger. Some of it would be going into our account at the bank when we satisfied the lien on Sarah’s house. I came out of the bank and she and Sarah came walking down the street. “Brady, we walked to the cemetery. I was a little late, but I did hear the closing prayer.”

“Are you okay Sarah?”

“Yes. I’m relieved that Frachette is in the ground. He loved me and I tried to think I loved him, but I didn’t really. I chaffed all the while we lived together even though he treated me like a queen up on a pedestal.”

Berta spoke. “Brady, tell Sarah about this morning. I haven’t had a chance to. Oh, I saw you coming from the bank. Why?”

“The gold, Berta, remember? We forgot it in all the excitement. I went back, dug it up, and put it in the bank. Cosgood will have the deed for the freight yard tomorrow. Sarah has to get some paperwork done on her house.”

“Damn it, you guys. You’re talking in code. What happened this morning and what gold are you talking about and where did it come from?”

Berta explained about the gold. Sarah wasn’t satisfied. “Something happened this morning, what was it?”

“You don’t have to worry about Trace any longer. He tried to ambush us. We survived, he didn’t. Jack is bringing the body in now.” Sarah noticed I had a tear in my coat.

“Is that a new bullet hole?”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t wearing it at the time. I was lucky though, he shot at the cabin when I opened the door to go out. I turned to say something to Berta and he missed me. It was close and it drove a splinter into my hand. It got right busy while he was plugging bullets at the door.

“Then we worked it so I could get a shot at him. Berta was holding my coat up on a broom. That’s when I got a hole in it. I managed to hit him while he was shooting at what he thought was me.”

“Killed him, did you?”

“I thought I did, but he wasn’t dead. Berta went out and came in behind him and killed him when he rose up to shoot at me.”

“Berta, you were the one to kill him?”

“Yes, or he would have got another shot at Brady.”

“No wonder you were late coming to the cemetery. Do you feel okay?”

“I was shook up some, that’s all. You don’t need to tell anyone I was the one to kill him. Tom and Jack won’t tell anyone. Brady, I’m headed to the office now. Sarah, won’t you come with me?”

“Sure. You have to find something for me to do, remember?”

“No Sarah, don’t go with Berta, I want you with me. We’ll get something to write on. I want you to inventory everything in your yard. You can start with the junk wagons. I’m planning on salvaging a lot of it. While you are doing that, I’ll see about getting your house up on wheels. Jack is going to go over your books to see how messed up your records are.”

“You two don’t slow down at all do you? Berta kills a person and goes right back to work.”

“We have to before we run out of money. Sarah, when Brady goes out looking for business you can go with him. Everyone knows who you are. That’ll ease us into who we are.”

“Okay, but won’t that bother you, my being with him?”

“Nope. I love him and he loves me.”

“I wouldn’t know much about that kind of love.”

“You will. Take a good look at Jack; you’ll be working with him. This is Brady’s idea. Jack lost his freight business to Brady, and Brady feels sorry for him. He figures a woman is what will make him happy again.”

“Berta, I never said anything like that.”

“No, but that is what you were thinking.”

“Jesus, no privacy at all. Now you have got into my head.”

“You love it.”

It took us two days to get Sarah’s house up on wheels. We built a lower front bunk and drove a pin down through the top cross timber into the hole in the bottom bunk. This was so the front wheels would turn. The house wasn’t as heavy as one of the freight wagons when loaded, but it was much wider and longer. We reached the one tight corner going out onto the street that would take us to the Newell property. That was on the first day and we had to leave it for the night. There was some cussing and swearing because no traffic could get by it.

Sarah was upset. “Brady, what are you going to do? The back end won’t go by the house on the left side.”

“Sarah, don’t bother your mind. Hell, you can even sleep in it if you want to. You know if you are homesick or something.”

“I hope you are joking. I’m not going to. I’m not sleeping in the middle of the street.”

Just then, the marshal came charging up. “You had better have that off the street by nine tomorrow morning. You’re tying up the whole town.”

“I’ll try, marshal. Can I take you to supper at the rooming house?”

“No, that would be a bribe. He stalked up the street and said over his shoulder. “I’ll have you in jail if you don’t move it when I said to.” Then he came back and said. “I better have one of you in my office tomorrow after you get that damned house off the street. I want to know about you killing Trace Bedlow.” This worried Berta. I wasn’t concerned because if the marshal thought something wasn’t right with the killing he would have been around sooner asking questions.

I talked to Jack and sent him back to where the house had started from. I wanted him to make arrangements about the house with the crew there. I stabled the draft mules that had been hitched to the house at my yard which was close by. Sarah and Berta were following on my heels. “Come on, ladies let’s eat. Berta, why don’t you take Sarah home with you? I’m bunking at the freight yard tonight so I can get an early start in the morning.

I lay down after talking to my teamsters. At eleven P.M. I got up and my men were ready to go with me. We carried some planks, a pail of grease and a heavy pole. One of the teamsters was harnessing the mules I was using for this job.

When we reached the stopped house, Sarah’s men put some screw jacks under the rear axle. The wheels had come off a bigger wagon than the one we had taken the front ones from. Raising it high enough to place the planks under the rear wheels and after greasing them, we let the wheels back down. We only had about three feet to go sideways to clear the house on the corner. We were ready now to push the house sideways.

There were seventeen men including me to push on the house. Everyone leaned into it and gave a mighty shove. Instead of the three feet we needed to move to get the house into the street, it traveled seven. It was now in the middle of the street and lined up heading straight out of town. Harry brought up the team and we hooked on.

Sarah’s men picked up the planks, putting them and the grease into a ranch wagon. We hadn’t needed the pole. My crew walked ahead of the mules with saws and axes because after we got outside the town, the house was wider than the trail. We had lanterns to light our way after the moon disappeared. The six mules had no trouble moving the load. We had to stop several times to fell some small trees and chop brush out of the way. All the men thought this was a lark and we went forward without problems.

The light was showing from the east when we turned into the Newell place. We parked the house next to where I had decided was the best place for it. Sarah needed a cellar and that would be dug and a foundation built. The house would be slid onto foundation the same way we had moved the house around the corner. We would need more greased planks for that move, but we knew it would work.

We had the team unhooked before Sarah and Berta realized what we had been up to all night. They had come down to watch when we turned in here. The house still had wheels under it, but Sarah climbed in to look around to see if anything was broken. The damage was minor. Three glasses had fallen out of a cupboard and one window was broken where a tree limb had snapped and hit it when we had to cut a tree.

The ranch wagon that had come along with the crew, carrying equipment, was still needed. Now the men who walked out cutting trees climbed into the wagon for the ride back to town. I knew we hadn’t made much noise getting out of town because there were few onlookers when we moved the house. I hoped the marshal would be satisfied.

Sarah helped Berta put a breakfast together. I lay on the bed because there wasn’t room to sit anywhere else while they were moving around. They had to wake me to eat. I had given the crews the day off after they had taken care of the teams. Sarah ate and then went down to her house, leaving Berta and me alone.

“Brady, you surprised us. We heard wagons moving, but thought it was people getting an early start on the trail. Finally, we heard some men talking. It was you giving directions when you turned in here. Did you have any trouble?”

“Not at all.”

“Brady, I have a question. When is our world going to slow down? I almost wish we were back in the cave, trapping. We at least knew what we were going to do the next day. Now we have no idea.”

“You’re right, but it will settle down soon. We are putting together something that will serve us for the rest of our lives. Soon you can concentrate on taking care of just me and the babies.”

“I’m not pregnant yet that I know of. It hasn’t been time enough since we were married. Another week should tell me. I hope I am.”

“Me too. Let’s see, I have to go in and talk to the marshal today. What should I tell him about the killing of Trace?”

Berta paused, thinking. “Brady, better yet, why don’t I be the one to talk to him? I can tell it like it was.” She grinned, “I was there, remember? I was the one who shot him when he was firing at you. I was just protecting my husband.”

“Umm, Berta, I didn’t see it quite like that. I had time enough to shoot him while he was struggling to get into position.”

“But what would have happened if you had missed?”

“When have I ever missed what I was shooting at?”

“I don’t know if you ever have, but there is always the first time. I wasn’t taking any chances.”

“Okay, you can talk to the marshal. Tell him anything you want to. Just let me know what so that I can swear to it if I have too. Are you really going to tell him you were the one to finish him off?”

“Not unless he asks me specifically. Brady, you are getting a reputation of being quick on the shoot. First thing you know, there will be someone trying you out to see how good you are. That’s the road to having to defend yourself all the time. I don’t want that for you. You’ll live longer if you don’t have to.”

“Okay, do what you have to do. I’m going to catch a couple of hours sleep and then I’ll be into town.” I slept hard and fast, coming awake at noon. I cleaned up and headed for the freight yard. One of the teamsters told me Berta had been in, but had left. They said Jack was over to the other yard and if I came in, I was to meet him over there.

I piled onto my horse and cantered over. I saw Jack standing down at the end of the wagon sheds. “Brady, I’m going through these old sheds. I’m finding lot of stuff we can use to repair many of these broken wagons. Some of it is better than what I’m used to using. It must have been stored here since before Sarah’s father passed away.

“You know I envied Frachette, but he was a damned poor manager. No wonder he was about on the rocks. There are a couple more buildings I haven’t opened up and looked in yet. You take one and I’ll take the other.”

One was nailed shut and the other had a hasp with a wooden peg holding the door closed. The peg was attached to a string so it wouldn’t fall on the ground and get lost. Jack said, “I’ve got tools. I’ll get a wrecking bar and open this shed. You see what’s in that one. It smells like a something crawled inside and died”

He took off and I pulled the peg, swinging the door open. There were some wooden crates piled haphazardly in the front and along one side. There was something dead in here and that was for certain sure. I eased around the crates and almost stumbled over a dead man stretched out on the floor. I backed out. The smell was overpowering. I couldn’t help from puking. “What’s the matter with you?” This was Jack approaching from across the yard. I jerked my thumb pointing to the shed.

Jack’s stomach was stronger than mine, but he did gag some. “What’ll we do?”

“Get the marshal up here and let him handle this.”

“I’ll send a messenger for him. Brady, this ain’t going to make him happy a’tall. There have been an awful lot of people killed since you came to town.”

“I know, but all of it has been forced on me. I wonder who he is.”

When he returned he said, “I’ll ask some of the crew that works here if they know him. They might recognize his clothes.”

“Good. Have you seen Berta and Sarah today? Sarah came in early and Berta left home an hour later.”

“Yeah, they hooked up and were going to talk to the marshal. They were headed for the rooming house for dinner come noon.”

“Okay. They’ll likely be at our office when we get done here.” The crew who were working on tearing down the wagon shed farthest from where we found the body caught a good whiff. They traced it to where we were standing, and also were curious why we had sent a man for the marshal. One of them had to see. He came out and upchucked just like I had.

He was the only one who went in to view the corpse. He didn’t know who it was. The crew moved back to where they had been working and Jack and I went with them. It was just too rank here. It was almost an hour later when the marshal came into the yard.

“What’s going on, and what do you need me for?”

Pointing, I said. “There is a body in the shed over there. He’s been dead long enough to smell some.”

“Jeesuss Boyd, everywhere you go there is a body. Christ, it isn’t just you, but your wife too.”

“Oh, she told you?”

“She said she saved your life. That true?”

“She never lies, so it must be.”

“All right, I see what we got here. Stay back.”

“You can count on that.”

I will say one thing for the marshal; he went about his business of determining who this dead man was. He had me and Jack move some of the wooden crates in front so he could look at the body. Tex was standing there and was directed to get a piece of canvas to lie next to the dead person. “Grab his leg and pull it onto the canvas.” Now we had a good look at him.

One of the crew spoke up, “That’s Spud. He was one of Trace’s buddies.”

The marshal turned to Jack. “Didn’t you say you thought you wounded a man who was trying to set fire to the freight yard?”

“Yeah.”

“Was one of your men using a shot gun that night?”

“Yeah, Harry was.”

“Well, this has to be him then. Wrap him up in the canvas and put him on a buckboard. I’ll get someone to dig a hole over to the cemetery. We’ll get him in the ground as soon as possible. Does anyone know his full name or anything about him?” No one did. “Brady, I’m getting pissed off with all the killing going on. I’m going to have a town ordinance that if you kill him, then you dig a hole and bury him.” He grinned when he said more. “And that goes for your wife too.”

I couldn’t let this go by. “Oh come on Marshal, tell me the town isn’t better off without this scum?”

“You may be right, but it has to stop.”

“Maybe it will now. People will get the idea they can’t screw with Brady Boyd and his freight line. Marshal, you hire someone to dig the hole and I’ll pay them.” The marshal nodded and moved to his horse and mounted. I had an idea when the body reached the cemetery, the hole would have been started.

Berta was at the freight yard when Jack and I got back. “Hey, Berta, we don’t have to worry about any of Trace’s men any longer. We found the last one dead in a shed over at the other yard. The marshal is taking care of having him buried. What’s going on here?”

“Not much except there was someone from the army in. I think he said he was the quartermaster up at Laramie. He is over to the saloon having a drink. There were four troopers with him. I told him you would be back or I could send you over there to talk to him. He looked like he was a boozer, so maybe you better go over there and see what he wants before he gets too drunk.”

“I’ll see what he wants. I hope its business. We have too many wagons idle and not out on the trail. I’ll take anything.”

“Sergeant, you were looking for me?”

“If you are from the freight line, I am?”

“You called it.”

“Good. The army has supplies that we need in Laramie. They’re coming into Maxwell in about ten days. What are you using for draft animals to haul supplies?”

“Oxen, mostly, although we do have several teams of mules. They are about a third faster than the cattle, but the cattle pull better. How’s the Indian situation along the way?”

“Pretty unstable. We’re going to be setting up forts up through the territory north of Laramie. The Indians are getting restless what with all the influx of the white man in their hunting grounds.”

“I know. I came down through there this spring. I was warned that trouble was coming?”

“Who warned you?”

“It was a trapper who has been living with the Indians. He had his squaw with him. Nice woman.”

“I don’t believe there are any nice Indians, male or female. What they do to the whites, scalping and mutilating them while still alive is terrible.”

“That’s the way they have always lived. They fight amongst the other tribes and treat them the same.”

“You an Indian lover?”

“Not really, but I can understand where they are coming from. It would be like you having a farm and the Indians coming in and picking all your crops, leaving you hungry and doing it year after year. You fight back, but you know you won’t win because there is so many of them and you’re helpless.”

“Well, that’s one way of looking at it I guess.”

“We’re off track here. How many wagons do you need?”

“There is about forty-four tons in weight so twelve wagons should do it if they are of the standard size. The road isn’t too rough. There will be a troop escort riding with you. Two of the wagons will be carrying rifles and we can’t let them fall into the hands of the redskins. There will be an ambulance along carrying our payroll.

“How much in a hurry for delivery are you?”

“We are hoping for thirty days, but can stretch it out to thirty-five.”

“Okay, we’ll leave in the morning. I have to get there from here.”

“You’re on your own going east. The troop will meet you at the depot and by the time you get loaded, they’ll fall in with you for the trip back.”

“I’m kind of new at this, how do I get paid?”

“You get a draft you can cash at the bank here in town when you deliver. Anything else?”

“Expense, money, I’ll need some.

“I wondered if you would ask. I guess you aren’t so new at that.” He grinned, and pulled a slip from his wallet that was in his tunic. He also had a standard contract which he explained. He laid it on the bar and I signed it. “I’ll give you a draft for expenses you can cash now. Buy you a drink?”

“Let me.”

“Good, I don’t get paid until you show up with the payroll.” I bought the troopers one drink and the sergeant two. I left and headed for the yard hoping Jack was there.

He looked the contract over. “That’s good, fair too. They must need these supplies pretty badly. There is the bonus for every day you beat the contract of thirty days. In these times they could have penalized you if you went above the thirty-five, but that isn’t in here. I’m glad you have an escort.”

“Jack, I’m going with the train as a swamper. Berta won’t like it, but I have to learn this business if I’m going to be a success at it. Will you be fine here?”

“Sure. I’ve got Sarah. She knows everything that I do. Berta can help too.”

“Good. I’ll talk to her now.”

“You don’t have to Brady, I was listening. I’m going to miss you.”

“Get Sarah to stay in the cabin with you if she will.”

“Okay, I’ll ask. When are you leaving?”

I looked at Jack and he said, “Daylight, about five, I’d say. Be here at four to get hooked up and load what supplies you’ll need. I have you on the wagon Tex will be teaming.”

“Sarah’s crew is here?”

“Yeah, Pete was over there and told me the army was talking to you. They never need less than ten wagons. You’ll be using the mules, won’t you?”

“Yeah. Berta, I’m going to stay here tonight. This is the first big train we’ve had to put together and I want to be here and watch it.”

Jack laughed. “You’ll do more than watch. Tex will have you jumping. He’ll be swearing a blue streak at you. Boss or no, you’re a greenhorn and he’ll break you in right.”

“I can take it.” Four o’clock the next morning, the twelve teamsters and the twelve swampers headed out to the feed lot and fed the mules. There were 4 mules in each wagon team. Theoretically, each mule would be pulling one ton of weight. They were harnessed at the feed lot and driven back to the yard and hooked up to the wagons. The mules were excited knowing that they were going to be working. Occasionally there was trouble harnessing them and even more when hooked on.

Berta, who had mounted my horse, watched the operation. I kissed her and at five thirty we were on the road. She rode with us for a couple miles before waving and turning back. It must have been quite a sight with twelve wagons and team all in a line starting at a fast trot and heading out onto the trail. We would not be returning over this road on the trip back. We would be North of here coming up the Oregon Trail on our return. There wasn’t the heavy traffic of wagons traveling this trail west, although there was some.

We had to slow down sometimes when we met a wagon pulled by oxen as they were slow to move out of the way and sometimes the trail was narrow at that particular place, but we were making time. We stopped at noon and made coffee, giving the mules a breather. It was the swamper’s duty to build a fire and do the cooking and any other thing that the teamster demanded.