Chapter 8

The stable boy almost ran into the back of one of the law men. They’d stopped a lot faster than he’d thought.

“You the fella with the two horses?”

“Yes sir. I was just explaining that we picked them up on the trail after we had a run in with some rough men.”

“How many rough men?”

I looked at the sheriff and the deputy and both were starting to lower their rifle barrels towards me. Opal Anne moved behind me.

“If you’re the sheriff, we crossed paths with five of them.”

“And what happened?”

“They rode into our camp and separated us from our wives...”

“Who’s us?” The sheriff asked gruffly.

“My two brothers and their wives. We’d just finished eating dinner and were cleaning up. The three ladies went off into the brush to do their business and these five yahoos came riding in at a fast lope. They all had their guns drawn.”

“So, they caught you by surprise and you still got the drop on them?” he asked suspiciously.

“Not exactly. Earlier in the day, my brother was riding scout and found signs that we were being shadowed. He told me that every time he seemed to get close, it looked like they scrambled away.”

“Your brother can read signs, can he?”

“He and I both. We were in the cavalry in the war.”

“Which side?”

“Both. I was North, he was South.”

“And you’re still brothers?” The sheriff gave out a short chuckle.

“Yes, we still are,” I said proudly. “Anyway, they had their guns drawn and made their intentions clear that they were going to rob us, rape our wives, then kill all of us but Raylene, my brother Rory’s wife, and take her with them. I told them they were endangering their lives, but their leader laughed at me and raised his pistol like he was gonna shoot me.”

“A man rode into town. He was tied to his saddle and told us he was jumped. He said that three of his men were shot in the back.”

“That’s right sheriff,” Opal Anne said stepping out from behind me. “Me and the other wives had snuck up behind the riders and when the one man was looking like he was gonna shoot my husband, the three of us each shot one of the men.”

I continued the story, “Then one of my brothers shot the leader’s horse with a shot gun and my other brother shot and killed the fourth rider. The shot horse keeled over and trapped the leader. We got him loose, and when he told us again that they planned to kill everyone but my brother’s wife, Raylene, the women got kinda upset.”

“Is that what you call it?” The deputy asked. “The man you call the leader rode into town last night tied to his horse.”

“No sir,” I said. “My brother shot his horse. He rode in on the horse of one of the other men.”

“He had a broken jaw, deep scratched across his face and his stones had been smashed,” the sheriff added.

“Yes sir,” Opal Anne resumed her story. “Raylene, the one they were going to take with them, kicked him in the stones a couple times. She wears some really pointy toed boots. Then Betty Mae kicked him across the face and broke his jaw. Then I raked my fingernails across his face. We told him we were going to let him go so that he would remember that no one should mess with the O’Dell clan and that the men were tougher than the women.”

The sheriff looked at me and Opal Anne and lowered his rifle. He looked at the ground and then back at me again.

“Those five have been robbing and raping and killing for the past few months; whites, Indians, anyone, they came across along the river, but we could never catch them. They are a rough bunch and you were wise to kill them. But letting the Amarillo Kid live? I don’t know if that was wise.”

“The Amarillo Kid,” I said. “Is that what that bastard calls himself? Where is he, I’ll put him out of everyone’s misery.”

“No need. He’s pretty messed up.” The sheriff explained.

“No, I need to impress on him the fact that he’d better remember us and forget us.”

“Well, he’s in the jail. We don’t have any witnesses that have seen him do anything wrong here, but they have a warrant out for him in Denver for killing a couple of whores and a piano player. They’re coming to get him and I’m pretty sure they intend to hang him, but as messed up as he is, they may just send him to prison for life.”

“No nuts, a crushed jaw and a messed-up face. He’s not going to have a good time in prison. He better plead to be hung,” I said with a chuckle.

The sheriff actually joined in with the laughter. He waved the deputy to go with him and he left. Opal Anne and I returned our attention to the livery owner.

“Now, about that trade?” I asked.

After we left the livery, we followed the directions we were given and walked a few streets over to the midwife’s house. I knocked on the door and after a few minutes a rather large, unattractive woman opened it.

“Yes?” She asked in the softest sweetest voice I had ever heard.

“Hello, my name is Paul O’Dell. This is my wife Opal Anne and she is going to have a baby.”

“Wonderful, please come in. My name is Daisy Rourke. I’m the midwife. Would you like some iced tea?” She directed the question to Opal Anne.

“Yes, that would be lovely, thank you.”

The woman turned and in the booming voice of a drill master she bellowed out, “Martha! Three iced teas!”

When she suddenly yelled so loud, both Opal Anne and I almost jumped out of our skin.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said in that sweet vice again. “As a midwife, sometimes I need to be soothing and sometimes I need to yell over the caterwauling that women make when they give birth. How can I help you?”

“My wife is going to have her baby in about five to six months. We live way out in the mountain. We’re gold miners. She thought it would be a great idea to talk to a midwife about what I can expect.”

“You?” She said in that sweet soft voice. “You can expect to shit your pants and pass out. Depending on the situation of the birth, your ears might bleed from your lovely wife’s cussing.”

I stood there with my mouth open. I had no words. Thank God, a young pregnant woman came in with our tea, and Opal Anne jumped in.

“I have delivered a couple of babies in a brothel. I think I know what to do, but I don’t know how to explain everything to Paul, and I feel like I might be having twins.”

“Twins? Without a doctor or midwife? Darling, you are a brave woman. Are you sure that there is any way that you can’t be here when it happens?”

“The wives of my husband’s brothers have offered to help. They have delivered babies in a brothel also.”

“I don’t want to be indelicate,” Daisy looked at Opal Anne, “but were you and your friends whores?”

Opal Anne looked embarrassed for the first time that I’d known her. “Yes, does that mean something?”

“Yes, it means you’re a tough woman and you’ll be alright,” Daisy said with a lot of confidence. “Your husband might not make it though.”

“He’s also a very tough man. I trust him with my life.”

“You will have to. Were you a soldier?”

“Yes, ma’am. Union cavalry.”

“Well then you’ve seen your share of blood and guts. But you’ve never seen it squirt out of your wife’s privates! How far away are your friends?”

“Their camp is three to four hours away if there is no snow.”

“And if there is snow?” Now she sounded worried.

“We don’t know, we haven’t lived there for a winter yet,” I said.

“Well Opal Anne you know how babies come. You know they need to be in the right direction and sometimes you have to reach in and turn them, right?”

“Yes,” Opal Anne said calmly.

“You are going to have to teach that to your husband.”

“It almost sounds like the things we had to do when birthing calves,” I interjected.

“You’ve done that?” Daisy gave out an expression of hope. “Then you’ll be OK.”

“But Daisy, what if it’s twins?”

“Well twins are a little different. First, they never come out together, there isn’t enough room. So, you will deliver one and then, when it’s ready, another. You’ll have to teach him how to tie off the cord and cut it. He’ll just have to do it twice if there are two. It’s too bad there aren’t any Utes around anymore. Those people love to deliver babies!”

“What happened to the Utes?” I asked.

“Smallpox, a long time ago. They figured that the land was cursed and left the high plains en masse. But the way I hear it, they seldom lost a baby or a mother. That’s why the smallpox deaths scared them so bad. A curse from the Gods, you know?”

We remained with Daisy for a couple of hours before she asked to see Opal Anne’s belly. Opal Anne stood and lifted her shirt and pulled down her pants. Daisy seemed impressed that Opal Anne didn’t flinch having to do it in front of me. Daisy put her hands-on Opal Anne’s little belly and moved it around. She got out a cone-like object and pressed the wide end to Opal Anne’s belly and put the small end in her ear.