Chapter 21

Tom slept good the first part of the night, then awoke from a dream about Sally Mae. He just couldn’t help but feel to blame for her death. He couldn’t help but feel that no one on earth was going to ever avenge her death if he didn’t.

Cal had gone to bed in his small quarters near the front of the stable after they had talked out everything they could think of. He really liked the Injun from The Dakotas. This wasn’t no dumb ass injun for sure. Tom was doing what Cal had dreamed of doing, riding off and taking a look at the other parts of the west.

Tom was up before daylight, he felt tired after turning and rolling in his bedroll all night. He was sittin’ on a block of wood just inside the front door when Cal came out of his room into the stable.

“Tom, I had a helluva time sleeping last night, I kept wakin’ up and thinkin’ about you ridin’ out and seeing parts of the country I always wanted to see. I dreamed I was riding with you and we were over in Dodge.”

“Cal, you got a good deal going here with your dad and you can make a fair livin’ sittin’ here in this doorway waiting for a man to ride up on a horse. If you ever went off ridin’ like me, all you worked for would be gone.”

“I could set right here and be an old man too. Maybe let my boy run the stable one day, spendin’ the rest of my life dreamin’ of all the places I never saw.”

“Yep I reckon I see what you’re saying, if you don’t go look now you never will, that was what hit me too. I grew up with not even a house closer than a hundred miles of ours. I knew if I didn’t go now, I would die on my ‘reservation’ like the Sioux are sentenced to do now. I just had to saddle up and go. Just don’t you go letting something I said make you jump up and ride off looking for the place the where the sun sets, you hear me?”

“Tom you ain’t said nothing that ain’t already been in my mind. I been sittin’ here every day watching the sun go down through that back door, wondering what it was like to see the sun go down on the Texas Panhandle, or maybe Tucson, Arizona. I had the itch to get up and ride a long time before you and me got to talking. I just never took myself serious before. I didn’t go to sleep solid until I made up my mind to talk to my dad today. Tom, I’d like to ride a ways with you if you wouldn’t mind having a man like me along, for a while that is.”

“You go have a sit down talk with your dad, if you and him can work out all the good parts and all the bad parts, then I reckon I could stand some company for a spell anyway.”

“Thanks Tom, I know I don’t know enough about the rough side of life to make it long out there alone. I really do thank you for letting me tag along.”

“Well you ain’t had that sit down talk with your dad yet. You don’t know what its like being part Indian either. Lots of folks don’t take to my people right off. It’s rough sometimes to take all that’s thrown at me, I walk away more’n I fight.”

“I think you’re one of the best men I’ve ever set down and talked with, you look at things a lot different than most folks. You don’t have a mind full of hate and anger either.”

“Right now Cal, I got a burning in my belly to find a coward, maybe two that killed a special friend of mine, I wouldn’t want that to become your fight.”

“If it does, then so be it.”

“You go find your dad right now while you got the itch. Sit down with him, man to man and if he says yes, then pack you a light bedroll with a few changes of clothes, some grub and a handgun. You gonna need a good horse too, mine likes to run.”

“I’ll see you in a while,” Cal said as he smiled and headed out the door.

Tom found a curry comb and a stiff brush and went to work on his horse. By the time Cal came walkin’ in the door with a grin a foot wide, Tom had his horse lookin’ like the show mares they’d bred.

Cal had a bedroll under his arm, a grub sack and an old black powder cavalry pistol in his hand.

“I take it you talked him into letting you go ridin?”

“You know what he told me? He said I needed to get out and see the world now and not wait until I was his age to start wishing I had.”

“Well, looks like you need a good horse and a replacement at the door,” Tom said as he shook Cal’s hand.

“I got both of them already, Dad told me to take his horse. He said he was too old for a horse like that anyway. We got a man that helps out some, and he’ll be here in an hour.”

“Well I reckon we’ll be leavin’ soon then Cal. Let me see that pistol you got there.”

“Dad gave it to me, it’s the only gun he ever owned.”

“Put this in your room over there,” Tom said as he went to his saddlebags and pulled out the new Colt wrapped in oil cloth.

“Here stick this in your belt until we can get you a proper holster.”

“Tom this looks new, has it ever been fired?”

“Nope, that Colt was given to me special, and I’m giving it to you. Make it a part of your life.”

“You better believe I will, but I never even shot a Colt or any other gun Tom.”

“I’ll show you the same way Mr. Bill Cody showed me then.”

“Buffalo Bill Cody taught you to shoot?”

“He taught me to handle a gun, I had to learn to hit what I was shootin’ at from what he told me, and you can do the same.”

“I’m ready to learn all about gun handlin’ Tom.”

“There’s a lot more to it than pointing and shooting, but you’ll pick it up, I did.

“Where’s that horse of yours, that your dad gave you?”

Cal went to the side of the barn and led a big black gelding into the stable. He was solid black with a white star on his face. He was dancing and throwin’ his head up and down as Cal slipped the halter off and put a bridle on him.

Cal got his horse saddled and tied his bedroll and slicker on behind his saddle. Tom saddled his horse and within the hour the two new friends were riding out past the stock yards on the trail that led west from Wichita. Cal’s horse was still itchin’ so Tom decided the best way to settle him down was to run a bit. He nudged his horse and they set off in a good lope. Cal was smiling, finally getting out of the rut he was in.

This was something he’d dreamed of for a few years. He was so happy right now, tears welled up in his eyes as the wind blew against his face, for the first time ever from ridin a horse. They overtook and passed three freight wagons headed for Dodge and met a few riders headed back toward Wichita, but that was about all the traffic they saw.

The first night on the trail to Dodge, Tom decided to stop a little early and find a good place to camp. They rode north about a mile from the trail and settled down near a small creek. The land was flat and except for a few scattered trees, they could see forever. Cal gathered up what sticks and tree limbs he could find while Tom rode out about a quarter mile to circle their campsite.

Tom saw Jackrabbits every way he looked. On his way back in to camp, he shot one. He skinned and gutted it then rode on back into camp. Tom took his knife and chopped a few green limbs from the bushes along the creek. He stuck them in the ground next to the fire. Running a stick through the jackrabbit, he strung it across the fire to cook.

“Get your Colt out Cal, you need to get the feel of it in your hand.”

Cal picked up his his gun and Tom showed him the workin’ parts and what all happened when he pulled the trigger.

Tom schooled Cal the same as Mr. Bill Cody had taught him back in South Dakota that morning.

“Hold the gun at your side Cal, then pull it up to shoot. Don’t try to aim down the barrel, just shoot from your hip and shoot where you look. Pull it a up a few times and you’ll get used to the feel of it.”

Tom pulled his Colt and fired at a stick across the small creek about twenty feet away. The stick jumped in the air and split in two pieces. Tom did this a few more times while Cal watched.

“We’ll get you a holster when we get to the next town, but until then just get used to the feel of the gun in your hand.”

“Load it now and fire at that big stick there on the ground.”

Cal loaded the Colt just as Tom showed him then raised the gun and fired. He hit a few feet away as the gun bucked in his hand.

“Cal, I did the same thing when I shot the first time, just ease the gun up to fire and squeeze the trigger. Let your gun feel like a part of your hand and keep your eyes on that stick as you shoot.

This time Cal hit within a foot of the stick. Tom told him to do it over and over. Cal hit the stick three times out of twelve rounds.

“That’s good for now Cal, you’ll get a better feel when you get a holster and pull your gun up to shoot.”

“You make it look so easy Tom when you draw and shoot.”

“Remember to let your gun set easy in your hand with a solid grip, you’ll get the hang of it soon.”

The Jackrabbit was tough and stringy, but they made a meal on it. When the cooking was done, they let the fire burn down and go out. It was still cool on the prairie at night, but inside the bedroll a man could stay warm.

Tom woke up a few times during the night, listened until he heard his horse nearby, then dozed off again.

At first light Tom was up and nudged Cal with his toe, Cal jumped up and looked around like he was lost. He looked at Tom and smiled as his mind finally settled down and he looked around. They were saddled and riding, a few minutes after waking.

“I figure we’ll get over to the town of Pratt about an hour before sundown,” Tom said.

“We can stop there for the night, maybe find you a gun holster and get something better than Jackrabbit to eat.”

“Sounds good to me Tom, I already feel like I just shook off some chains that were holding me down. Don’t get me wrong, I love my mom and dad, but I knew I’d never feel right about myself if I didn’t go see the world.”

Tom and Cal hit the main trail and rode at an easy lope for a long way. Cal’s horse was settled down some now after riding the open trail and getting the barn jitters worked out of his system.

Tom looked at the sun and figured another three hours of sunlight as he saw the buildings in the distance. This must be Pratt, he thought as they came nearer. There were only a dozen or so buildings, lined along the main trail through town.

They saw a general store and a hotel with a saloon sign over the door too. There was a small livery stable and a few houses. Three windmills were lazily spinning in the late evening sunlight.

They stopped at the General store and went in to see about getting Cal a holster for his Colt. There were only two customers there and the owner was waiting on them as Tom and Cal looked around. Tom saw some leather holsters and pointed them out to Cal.

When the other customers had left, the owner came over and showed them the holsters. They were nothing fancy but Tom saw one that looked well made and fit the Colt good. They bought it and two more boxes of .44 cartridges from the man.

“You fellers planning on staying here for the night?”

“Well we kinda figured on it if we can find some warm food and a place for our horses.” Tom said.

The man looked at Tom kinda funny.

“You sure talk good English for an Injun, what’s your name”

“I’m Tom Cooper and I’m part Sioux. I was raised by my white father and mother. She taught me to read and write.”

“We don’t see many Injun’s around here anymore, since they moved them all to the reservations. Where ya from?”

“I was raised in the south part of the Dakotas.”

The man looked at Cal and asked, “You from up that way too, you don’t look Injun to me.”

“No Sir, I’m from Wichita. I met Tom a couple of days ago and he let me tag along with him.”

“Where you two headed if you don’t mind me askin?”

“From here we’re headed over to Dodge, then maybe down into Indian Territory and out to the Panhandle.”

“That sounds like an adventure to me. If you fella’s wanna get a good meal my brother owns the hotel over there, just ask for Mr. Aaron Miles and tell him I sent you over. I may close up here and come join you if you don’t mind. I’m Richard Miles, by the way.”

“Sounds good to me, we’ll see you over at the hotel then. We’re gonna get our horses settled in at the livery and head that way,” Tom told him and they both shook his hand.

The hotel entrance was the front of the saloon, from there a door on the left opened to the front desk and dining room.