Chapter 4

The girl had to be in pretty bad shape by now, both mentally and emotionally. I was no doctor, but I did know enough about human nature to believe that she needed some revenge on her tormenters. This was the perfect time to get that revenge, because all three of them were going to be dead in a couple of hours or less.

I went into the house and dragged the former rapist away from her. She was aware enough of things to shift her eyes to look at me. Honestly, I do not know what she was thinking at the moment. Hell, she might just be thinking of me as a new rapist. I knew her name, so I said, “Ellen, you are safe, now. These men will never hurt you again. They are not dead yet. Would you like to be the one who kills them?”

At first, all I got from her was a grin that looked devilish enough to burn the paint off a barn wall. She tried to say something, but all she could do was make kind of a rattling noise in her throat. Dammit, she must be dying for a drink of water.

“Ellen, I will cut you loose, and then I will get you some water.” That produced a nod, so I cut her bonds that were holding her wrists. At this point, her feet were not tied. She struggled to sit up, so I helped her to lean against the headboard. There was a glass on a nearby table that must of been used for whiskey, but it was dry now. I sloshed a little water in it to clear out the residual whiskey and poured in a couple of swallows of water. I was afraid of letting her have too much water at one time.

I explained what I was doing, and Ellen nodded. I handed the glass to her, and she managed to drink what was there. It certainly helped her throat some because she handed the glass back to me and simply said, “More?” I poured in a little more water and handed the glass back to her. That was a smart young woman—I certainly could not call her a girl any more after what she had been through. She sipped a little water, waited, and sipped some more. She knew not to drink too much too fast and make herself sick. I wondered if I could have done that?

We spent about an hour getting water slowly back into Ellen without making her sick. During the periods when she was letting the water percolate through her body, I dragged the three men outside. They were naked, so I had an easy time of laying them out in the direct sun. No shade for those bastards! They were not going anywhere with the wounds they had. They were not dead yet, but they had to be close to it.

The last time I went back inside, I found Ellen sitting on the side of the bed. She refused to lie back down, and I saw no point in arguing with her. She sat there for a few minutes as if she were thinking deeply about something. Then she asked, “What is your name, if you please?”

“My name is Jed Adams, but you can call be Jed if you like.”

“Okay, Jed it is. Did you really mean it when you said that you would let me kill those devils?” I assured her that I had meant it, so she said, “Please see if you can find my dress. I think that it is still in one piece. They made me take it off before they raped me the first time.”

Damned if the dress were not hanging on a peg on the wall. I handed the dress to her, and she slipped it over her head. “I have something in mind, but I will probably need your help. Please help me to walk to where you left the rapists.”

I did, and she looked the situation over. “Please stake them out spread-eagle on their backs. I am afraid that I cannot manage that at the moment.” That was easy enough for me to do, so I had that task done in only a few minutes. I will admit that I was not too careful not to hurt the men as I dragged them into position.

At Ellen’s direction, I built a small fire and started heating some iron tools in the flames at her request. Once the iron got hot enough to suit her, which was hot enough to produce first and second-degree burns, but not third-degree, Ellen set to work. I watched what she did, but sometimes since then I have wished that I had not. Let me tell you, she could have taught the most sadistic Indians a few lessons.

After about three hours, the last man was dead, so we considered heading to Ellen’s home. By this time, she was feeling very tired, so I suggested that we wait until tomorrow to head home. There were two beds in the little house, so I suggested that we just sleep there tonight and head out tomorrow after breakfast.

Ellen said, “Were you expecting to sleep with me tonight?”

“No, Ma’am. I do not force myself on any woman, and you look like you need to rest and get a good sleep tonight.”

“Thank you, Jed. You are truly a gentleman. Can you cook for us tonight? I honestly doubt that I could handle that chore the way I feel now.”

Not only did I fix supper, but I also fixed breakfast. My cooking does not warrant any cheers, but it is edible. We left the men where they had been when they died. The scavengers would handle them in only a couple of days. I fastened all of the extra horses to the rear of the buckboard with lead-ropes, and I drove. Ellen looked quite the young lady as she sat beside me when I drove the buckboard away from that accursed house.

On the way home, Ellen and I had a serious discussion. I recommended that she not mention the rapes to anyone. Just for her to say that she was tied up most of the time, and the men were not kind to her. She should say that she had very little to eat or drink during her captivity, so she was still very weak from her ordeal. Of course, if she showed up pregnant, then she would have to change her story, but she should stick with the first version as long as possible, even when talking to her mother.

She knew that she would be classed as damaged goods if the word got around about her rape. That would kill any chances she had of making a marriage to any man who heard about the rape. Rapes were always blamed on the woman, and this was no time to challenge that stupid rule. I certainly was not going to tell anyone.

Ellen kissed me on the cheek and thanked me again for being such an understanding gentleman. Ellen had a joyful meeting with her parents when we arrived at their home, and I had no trouble collecting my $200 reward. I also got to keep the three extra horses and tack which I sold in Tucson for a total of $57.

Yes, I got an invitation to the wedding, and I made a point of showing up. Ellen did not turn up pregnant by the kidnappers, and the last I heard, she had three children by her husband. The last I heard, they were living happily ever after.

*********

Dammit, another dry spell. I went almost five weeks before I made any more money. I was still down near the border with Mexico, and the Mexican bandits were very active. The problem was that they were always active somewhere else. I was not so much running low on money as I was running low on patience.

Then it finally happened. A Butterfield Stage went tearing past me with all eight mules running for all they were worth. That struck me as unusual because the stage drivers always liked to keep some reserve in their team in case they were being chased by Indians or bandits. Well, that shows how alert I was. Of course, the only reason for the stage to be moving like that was that they were being chased by a hostile force.

That was when my brain finally registered that there must be bandits after the stagecoach. Hardly had I woken up to that when I saw a gang of about 10 Mexicans headed after the stage. This was a twisty and hilly section of road, and that was why I had not seen the bandits before now. Normally, in flat country, a stage with a team of eight mules can outrun horses carrying a regular Western or Mexican saddle and tack with a full grown man in the saddle.

Unfortunately, it was the hilly and twisty road that was keeping the stage from leaving the bandits in a cloud of dust. If they had the patience to keep up the chase, the bandits were going to catch the stage before they had gone much farther. However, that was assuming that I did not get involved. Well, by now, you should know that I was not going to keep out of their business.