Chapter 2

"Sunshine and I will strip him and take his remains away from the camp," Star volunteered.

"I hate for you two to be exposed to that," I told them.

"Somebody has to do it, you are not able right now," Sunshine said.

"Thanks, ladies," I said.

They smiled, and went about their grisly work.

When they got back, they stripped the saddles and gear off the horses and staked them out to graze.

I had nodded off to sleep. I must have lost more blood than I thought.

When I came to the next day, I was in the tent on my sleeping bag. My leg hurt. In just a minute, Sunshine looked in on me, and asked if I wanted something to eat. I told her I mostly wanted something to drink.

'You have been unconscious two days. I know you are hungry, but I will get you some water."

She brought some water, and a really good stew. "This is delicious," I told her.

"Thanks, I am afraid that we will need to get some more meat tomorrow or the next day," she said.

"Can either one of you ladies hunt?" I asked.

"Yes, we both know how to hunt," she answered.

"Are you familiar with shotguns?" I queried her.

"No," she said.

"I will show you how to use it," I told her.

I showed both of them how to load and fire the shotgun and allowed both of them to shoot the shotgun. They were both impressed, and felt like they could effectively get us a rabbit or two.

"Both of you go, I want you to be safe. Star you take his pistol and rifle, just in case." Then I thought, "Do you know how to shoot them?"

"No, we hunted with bows and arrows," she answered.

"Then let me show you how to use this one instead," I said.

I got the UMP and showed them how to function it and sight it. Then I let them shoot it. They shot single fire and two shot burst fire. They loved the power and low noise level.

They went hunting, Sunshine had the shotgun and Star had the UMP and led the pack horse.

They came back in about an hour. I had heard a couple of shots.

Sunshine had killed two prairie chickens and Star had killed a deer. The deer was a large buck.

I asked Star how far away it was when she shot. She explained that it had been around 75 or 80 paces. "One shot through the heart, that was good shooting," I complemented.

"You two women are very self sufficient, I thank you for staying and helping me," I said.

We had roasted prairie chicken that night for supper. It was very good. "You two are spoiling me, I may have to keep you around," I teased them.

"Burr, we need to have a serious talk about what is happening. Sunshine and I are destitute. Everything we had is killed or burned. You are a very good man, and we would like to stay with you and take care of you."

I was a little shocked. "Listen, I am fifteen years old, I have been through nine years of school, and my father was killed in that airplane when it crashed last month. I have no experience taking care of myself, much less taking care of you two."

"I am sorry about your father. Sunshine and I will leave if you want us to," Star said.

"You don't need to do that, I really like your company. You are both very pleasant, and bright," I complimented them.

"How far away was your farm?" I asked.

"We didn't have a farm, we had a camp where we hunted and gathered food until we needed to move on to another place. We lived in a hut, similar to yours," Star explained.

"We went to a church school for a few years, that is where we learned English," Sunshine added.

"What tribe are you?" I asked.

"Cherokee, my people got moved out here from Georgia," Sunshine told me.

"I am from Mississippi," I told them.

"Is there a place to trade or buy things like flour and salt near here?" I asked.

"Yes, about three days on horseback," Sunshine told me.

"When I get better we will go and get some supplies," I said.

"We have enough to get by on for about a month, if we are careful. You should be up and around good by then," Star said.

"Did your captor have any money or trade goods?" I enquired.

"He had two pieces of gold money and five silver pieces," Sunshine said.

"Fifteen dollars, is my guess, It won't buy much, but maybe we won't need much," I said.

The next day after worrying all night, I asked Star and Sunshine to come and talk with me for a while. "Something very strange has happened to me. I left Jackson Mississippi about a month ago in the year 2005; do you know what year this is?" I asked them.

"No, I don't. I know I am 28 years old and Sunshine is 29 years old," Star said. I knew I was in the shit now. Everyone knew what year it was.

"Are you sisters?" I asked her.

"No, we are cousins," she replied.

"Have you been married before?" I asked.

"No, I have not, but Sunshine has. Her husband was killed 6 years ago," Star said.

"I have been thinking, I need you to help me and teach me about things. You need me to take care of you and protect you. Why don't you just plan to stay with me, and we will take care of each other," I offered.

They both agreed that I was a good man for them and they would take care of me.

I eventually healed up and was able to get around. Star and Sunshine taught me how to take care of horses and took me hunting and taught me a great deal about stalking game.

I spent some time cleaning up all the guns and making sure they were functional.

I taught them how to handle and shoot pistols, and gave them each a revolver. The man I killed, I never learned his name, had a cap and ball pistol in .36 caliber and a Spencer rifle, the ammunition was marked .56 Spencer. He also had several knives and an axe and a hatchet. The girls each got a knife and I gave Sunshine the Model 97 shotgun and Star the suppressed UMP. I carried the modified model 19 Glock, and Dad's 38-55 Marlin.

We got our things together, and I closed up the plane, and we left for the trading post. They taught me to ride along the way. My butt was in bad shape by the time we got there.

I checked the money and was surprised to find that I had 45 dollars. The gold money was two $20 pieces. The five silver pieces were a dollar each.

I told the girls to see what they thought we needed. I introduced myself to the proprietor, and asked him if he knew what year it was. He said, "You really have been away from things haven't you?"

"Yes," I answered, "I got shot and was out of it for a while. My companions took care of me, but I lost touch with the time."

"It is the Year of our Lord 1869, the month of April." He told me with a smile.

"Does this place have a name?" I asked to try and cover up my shock.

"Smith's Trading Post. We are not a territory yet, but I hope we will soon be Oklahoma Territory," he said.

Star and Sunshine both had several things that they wanted to buy for our camp. I asked what he would give me for this rifle and pistol; I showed him the Spencer rifle and Colt pistol. He offered five dollars for the pistol and twenty-five dollars for the rifle. I gave him the extra ammunition I had for each of them.

What they had picked out came to a grand total of twelve dollars. "Find something you want for yourselves. I want to buy you a present," I said.

They both picked out a new dress. The dresses came to a total of seven dollars. "Do you have a wash tub?" I asked.

"Yes, I have a number two and a number ten," he answered.

"I want the biggest one and some nice smelling soap and two hair brushes, and a mirror," I told him.