Chapter 4

When they got up in the morning, even though the sun had barely risen, Frank was already hard at work on the portable sawmill. Will decided to fell a few trees and drag them in. That way, Frank would have a way to test the completed contraption. His two wives both insisted on going with him. He wasn't about to argue, since he appreciated the company. Will knew he had no chance of winning an argument, even if he wanted to.

Figuring to 'kill two buzzards with one rock', they started clearing a road. It had been a royal bitch to get the wagons back home. Will didn't even consider not using a chainsaw. He figured the most work would be at the beginning, so it would be beyond stupid of him not to. He wasn't going to waste gas by using the truck to drag them, though. Jughead and the horses would just have to earn their keep!

They worked until lunchtime, with Will cutting and trimming. The girls worked on dragging them to the vicinity of the mill. Not all of the trees would be cut there. They were building cabins, after all. When they took a break to eat, they figured enough had been cut to test Frank's toy. For a while, at least, they'd move the rest to where the cabins were to be constructed.

When they made the last trip, Frank took a break, too.

"Will, I been a'thinkin'" he said. "It don't make much sense to go through all the trouble o' wrasslin' with that big ol' engine thing. After I square these off, that other thing... the band saw?... Well, that thing looked to be good fer cuttin' squared off timber into board stock, with a little work on a guide fer it. Won't waste that gas-o-leeen you was complainin' about, neither!"

That sounded good to Will, and he added "Remind me to show you 'bout the planer later, Frank. I been thinkin' too. I plumb forgot it was there! Ain't used the thing in years, but I suppose it still works the same as it used to."

Frank just had to know what that was, and right now! He loved gadgets, but Will managed to get him to wait until they were eating. He described it, and other things, as they had lunch. Frank was almost as excited by the drum sander, at least until Will told him how long the belts he had on hand would last. Knowing him, Will figured Frank would lay awake at night trying to figure out a way to make more! He was already speculating on it. He knew of a company back east that made abrasive paper, and wondered if he could have them try to make some belts if they were ordered special.

"Probably cost too danged much, though," Frank surmised.

This speculation by his friend got Will to thinking on a subject that had worried him for quite a bit. He figured it was time to 'shit or get off the pot', so he cornered Carrie for a conference. The result was that they asked the four brothers, Jess, and Becky to meet them in the barn.

They led the group downstairs to Will's 'strong room'. There was a small safe there, but that wasn't where Will was headed. The safe was much too small for the job. Instead, he unlocked the closet and opened the door. The big nugget, along with a huge pile of smaller ones, grabbed their attention pretty quick.

Becky sputtered, "Is that all gold?"

"Yep," Will replied "afraid so. We've been a little careful with the find. Some folks lose their sense when they see color. We were hoping' y'all weren't the kind to do that. We just don't know enough about the others to say. We're leavin' it up to you whether to tell the women or not. We figure you know 'em better than we do. The hands and the rest are another matter. I trust Hank pretty well, but I don't know nothin' about the rest of the folks."

"I'm a mite surprised y'all even tol' us!" Jess said. "If word got out, this place would go to hell in a handcart; and mighty quick, at that!"

Artie proved to be as levelheaded as they had hoped. "I see the need to tell us, since we kinda need to know what we got to work with. If'n I was you, I wouldn't tell no one else, though. I'd also make sure the diggin's was hid good, an' do some meanderin' around to cut the chances of any more obvious sign down. Like as not, word will get out anyhow. You cain't hide the fact that you got it. If you cain't spend it, what good is it anyhow?"

Of course, Frank had the answer to that one! "I say we make a smelter! The mold fer the golds would be a snap! Hell, we don't even need a smelter! The danged forge would work jest fine! Gold melts at a lot lower heat than iron, ye' see. All I need to git started is a bit more clay an' a heap o' charcoal! Nobody need know where the golds were made besides us!"

Will was damned glad that they had stumbled on this bunch, but he saw one major flaw in Frank's plan. "You're already doin' the work of three men, Frank," Will said. There just plain ain't enough of you to spread around. How do you plan to get all this done?"

He was happy to elaborate. "First off, you can trust our wives jest as much as you do us. Most of the work is 'tote 'n' carry', so they'd be all I need fer the forge an' smelter. Lumber will be a mite harder. Ain't no secrets there, though. The other folks should be able to handle things once they's learnt how it be done. Some o' the folks what was slaves, done asked if they could help me out a bit. They's wantin' a roof o' their own as much as the rest o' us."

That was how things went. First of all, they needed to make yet another trip to town. Will only had tools enough for one man at a time to use. With only one chainsaw for felling trees, they needed more hand tools. With their past experiences, it was decided that they would travel in a group. Becky and Carrie would go, of course. There was no arguing with them on that! Hank needed a couple of things, as did Frank. They'd travel along, as would Jess.

It was a pleasant trip, all in all. There weren't any auctions or fights, this time. The tools that they needed were plentiful, and quite cheap. Will picked up five double-bladed axes, along with a few hatchets. They even ran across a couple of two-man saws, which would come in handy.

Frank had spoken to the town blacksmith about a couple of things. When he understood that the questions weren't something that would cause him to have any competition, they hit it off. Frank got him to order some things for the ranch, such as an anvil and tongs, among other items.

Jesse wanted to see the cooper, and paid up-front for several kegs and barrels. He seemed to think that he'd be ready to set some whiskey to aging in a week or so. He'd been busy on that, as well as making beer as fast as the equipment on hand would allow. He was running out of both ingredients, and containers for the finished product.

The logs were piling up fast, so some of the hands were started on building the actual cabins. Frank would be ready to start cutting planks for the flooring long before they were needed. Cal and Hap were working on the vein of gold we'd found. Artie had begun to scout around some for more. When things were moving along well enough, Will went with him to get a better feel for the changes in the area that he might have missed.

One of these trips brought the next bit of excitement. They heard gunfire in the distance, and rode in carefully to see what it might be about. They dismounted when they got close, and looked in on the action. Two wagons were being attacked from below Will and Artie's position. It wasn't hard to tell who the bad guys were.

It appeared to be the same sort of ambush that Janie and her folks had run into. The folks in the wagon were barely holding their own. Artie and Will were in perfect position to 'bushwhack the bushwhackers' and wasted no time in doing so. There were six of the assholes, and before they even knew the shoe was on the other foot, all of them were down.

After announcing themselves to the folks in the wagons, they checked on the attackers. Only one was still breathing, and he wouldn't hang on much longer. With that out of the way, they checked on the wagons. It turned out to be a group of settlers.

Once the gratitude had run the course, they discovered that the group was composed of two families. Other than the husband and wife pairs, there were six girls and five boys that looked to range from late teens to eight years old or so. It was hard to understand them at first. They were fairly new to this country. They were from Italia. Will supposed that must be Italy. They sure sounded like it.

Once it was discovered that they had immigrated in order to start a winery, Will's interest went up tenfold. He told them of a valley he knew of that would be perfect for grapes. That served to make the settlers perk right up.

The one Will assumed was the leader asked, "You know the graps?"

Will ventured "I know a bit, but I'm willin' to bet that you folks know a heap more than I do! 'Specially 'bout growin' the things and makin' decent wine from the squeezin's. I do know this area pretty well, though. The valley I'm thinkin' of is perfect for grapes; in fact, the whole area is. I even grow a few kinds around my place. They do real well."

The fellow seemed confused. "You not mind the foreigner for neighbor?"

Artie said, "As long as you're good folks, we don't give a hoot where ye hail from! You folks don't abide ownin' people, do ye?"

The oldest youngster seemed peeved at that one, she piped right in. "Barbarians! How could one person own another? This is impossible!" She thought a second and then said, "This is what those animals wanted? To make us slave?"

"I'm afraid so, miss. They'd probably have killed your folks, and most likely any of the boys that fought 'em. They would have taken you girls to sell and left the boys that were left to fend for themselves, if they were lucky."

That sobered them up a bit. It also seemed to help to decide them. The valley was sounding better all the time. They were anxious to find a place, soon, anyway. There was one wagon that was filled with vines. They needed to get those vines into the ground before long.

Will and Frank led the group back to the cabin, as it was too late in the day to see the valley Will had in mind. He promised to show it to them in the morning. When they pulled up, and all the introductions were over, they invited the newcomers to eat with them. It was a good thing some of the former slaves knew how to hunt! Two of the men were keeping them fairly well supplied.

Hoping he might get lucky, Will asked if they knew herbs. The women started right in on the subject, and seemed to know a lot. Will kept a few things, but they seemed to have what they needed to do it up right. He had only planted Bay Leaf, Oregano, and Basil. All the others had been the store-bought variety. With no more stores, he'd be out of luck pretty soon.

Will even broke out some of his homemade wine for the experts to sample. He was pleased with their response, but got the impression that they thought it could be better. He figured they were right. There was even enough time before dark to show them his grapes. That made them pretty happy. It seemed they hadn't ever heard of Riesling or Cabernet Sauvignon before. From all the excitement, it looked like they didn't give a hoot about what the valley looked like, as long as they could get some of those grapevines!

One thing was a worry to Will, though. Gia, the oldest Italian girl, seemed to have a thing for him. Becky and Carrie thought it was funny, but Will didn't. What really scared him, was that after she had rubbed about every part of her possible on him, he noticed her folks were smiling at her antics!

What made it worse, was that the girl was 'some kind of pretty'. She had long dark hair, pouty little lips, and a body straight out of Penthouse. In short, she was what he would have termed a 'babe' in his old world.

Just when he thought he might escape, Bianca and Pauli cornered him. They were Gia's parents. He was getting more panicked by the second. Then they started in on him!

First Pauli with "You like my daughter, eh?"

Then Bianca with "She sure like'a you!"

Bianca obviously wore the pants in the family. "Gia never like man before, this is good! She old maid now, should be married and having gran'babies! I worry for her, you treat good, OK?"

She turned the floor over to Pauli, and Will swore he sounded like a used car salesman, it even seemed like he was offering a 'test drive'.

"She good worker, too! Italia woman very hot-blooded, you be very happy with our Gia. You see!"

He felt like strangling his mates. Over the parents' shoulders, he saw them laughing their asses off at his predicament!

And Gia was between them! He was trapped. Will had no idea how to get out of this without offending these people. He couldn't even use the excuse that his mates would have to approve before he agreed!

He tried using the scamps anyway. "Folks," Will said, "Gia's a beautiful woman, and I'm sure she's everything you say. The problem is, I already have two wives, and..."

That was as far as he got before Bianca interrupted. "Is custom here, no? They're many more women than men, here. Man need many wife! You no like my Gia?"

Shit! Double shit! Try as he might, he couldn't come up with anything else. The only consolation he had was seeing that three of the other dark haired beauties had Frank, Cal, and Hap cornered!

His fate was sealed when Carrie and Becky strolled over, with a very smug looking olive-skinned and saucy Gia still between them.

"We were just telling Gia what a wonderful husband you are" Carrie said. "She's really looking forward to joining us!"

The other culprit added "She really wants to learn how to shoot; but most of all, she wants to ride. Will you teach her how?"

Everybody there knew exactly what she meant. Gia surely knew! Even with her dark complexion, Will saw the blush. Her parents thought it was the funniest damn thing they'd ever heard, they were laughing like fuckin' Hyenas!

Will wasn't too happy about being led like a bull with a nose ring, and pulled his scheming brides into their room as soon as they reached the cabin.

"What in the hell do you two think you're doing? Do you intend to build me a damn harem?"

"Not a bad idea, Will" Carrie snapped back "but that's not the general idea. Before you get your shorts in any more of a knot, I think you should hear Becky out. She's been teachin' me a few things about how they operate around these parts. There are some things you should know if you want to fit in."

He was still pissed, but managed to say "All right, before I turn the two of you over my knee and tan your hides, I'll hear you out. It better be a damn good yarn, though!"

He rolled his eyes when he saw the look Becky shot him. He might have known what that threat meant to her! She'd love it! Becky tried to explain, anyway.

"It's like this, Will. A man here can take as many wives as he can support. For most men, that's none, or one, at the most. A man has his importance judged by how many women he has, and how pretty they are. If you want to be a leader here, you need more of us. You gotta get the best! We figure five will do, if every one of them is smart, tough, and drop-dead gorgeous. With Gia, you get two check marks towards filling that bill. I'll just try an' stay outta sight as much as I can so's folks don't notice me as much."

That did it. Without saying a thing, Will started taking Becky's clothes off. She actually looked scared! The shirt he just ripped off, but he took his time on the pants. The underwear was also ripped from her body. He sat down and yanked her across his lap and began to swat her pretty little ass with gusto.

Each blow was punctuated by one word.

"I. never. want. to. hear. you. say. you. are. not. pretty! You. are. a. damn. fine. looking. woman!"

With just those eighteen swats, Becky's ass was as red as her hair. Will's lap was soaked, too! Her pussy was running like a faucet! He threw her on the bed and yelled at Carrie.

"Hold our beautiful wife's arms for me, lover. I'm about to fuck her silly, and I'd like to be in one piece when I'm done!"

Carrie obeyed as never before (actually, as she never had), and pinned the other girl's arms above her head as Will started pounding her for all he was worth. Becky was so loud, that Will was worried everybody in the state would come running to save her. He lasted as long as he could, but when the massive orgasm rolled over her, and that tight little snatch locked up on him, he roared as he emptied his balls into her. He and Carrie both started raining kisses on the sobbing redhead then.

He was afraid that he had gone too far, until she sobbed, and cried out, "You do love me!"

When they left the bedroom, Gia was in the hallway. They didn't need to ask if she'd heard Becky's screams.

The look in her eyes said it all, as she gasped "Successone! Che un uomo!"

They didn't have a clue what she had said. When Will asked, she turned red as a beet, and ran off. It was Will's turn to blush when Becky asked Gia's sister, Lita to translate. The girl gave them a huge smile and told them Gia had said 'Wow! What a man!'. She also revealed that she knew why her sister had said it.

"We tell each other everything," she said. "I am wondering if maybe I choose wrong man!" She turned her big, brown eyes to the women and asked, "He really make you scream in joy, like Gia say?"

If she was looking to embarrass somebody, she was looking in the wrong spot. Carrie laughed and replied "Ask your sister after her wedding night, I'm sure she'll tell you all about it. Maybe you can use the information to train your man the way we have trained ours."

Lita thought that was damned funny!

Will didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings, but he had to ask "Why in tarnation did you girls settle on snaggin' us for husbands all o' sudden?"

Lita was happy to let him know. "We have been here three year now. Every time we try to stop, the people, they don't like us. They tell us go, and they steal our things. They call us names, and treat us bad. You are first men that treat us good. Mama and papa, they want us be happy. They want for us to find men that will treat us like papa treat mama. You and others, you are such men. We like you very much. We think you like us very much, too. We will make each other good match. You will see!"

Knowing he had lost the fight, Will went to help Jess. Maybe he had some 'shine ready, so he could get good and drunk. When he showed up, he found out that Artie, Cal, and Hap had beaten him to it.

They were all smiling; but it was one of those 'what the hell just happened to me' smiles. Artie shook his head as Will arrived.

"I ain't never seen the like of that bunch!" he remarked as Jess handed Will a jar of 'shine. "They're purty as all get-out, but I ain't never seen such a pushy crowd in my life. They just ain't no arguin' with 'em. We done figured the fight was lost, so we come out here to lick our wounds. I guess you done the same."

"Yep" Will replied, "there sure wasn't anybody on my side in the scrap. When a man's outnumbered like that, the best he can do is run. I just can't figure out whether I'm happy about it or not. Two of 'em are runnin' me to a frazzle. Ain't no tellin' what three will do."

"Mebbe you should let 'em find out what they's in fer, afore you take 'em to wife" Jess suggested. "They done bragged as to how hard a workers they was. Put 'em to the test! We need more meat, Will. Take the one that fancies you out huntin'. Frank could see how his fancies totin' mud an' makin' brick for the forge. Artie, Cal, an' Hap are workin' on cabins. Test the others out on totin' logs. Mebbe they'll change their minds, once they find out what work is!"

That night, Will was treated like a king by his two brides. He was pretty sure what they were up to, but he was enjoying it too much to complain, especially when they went to bed. Both women worked to make him feel like he never had before. They did pour it on a little thick.

When he commented, "I can't keep up with two of you, how in the hell do you expect me to handle three?"

They replied, "We're thinking you need seven of us. That way, you'd have one for each night."

"Besides, what with Carrie pregnant, she'll be out of action for a while," said Becky

Will didn't miss that bit of information! He even overlooked the part about the extras! The best part was that the two older Italian women knew all about midwifery. They loved all over Carrie until she was worn out, in celebration.

The next morning, Will was shocked. Gia was dressed, armed, and ready to ride at first light. She got two large bucks with two shots.

After the second one, Will asked "Didn't you say that you wanted me to teach you how to shoot? Looks like you already know what you're doing."

Gia smiled and said "The rifle, yes. I do not know how to shoot the pistol. I have never tried to do that."

She wasn't shy about blood and guts, either. She pulled her weight field dressing both bucks and loading them on the pack animals. On the way back to the cabin, she told Will more about herself and the others. It seems that where they were from, if a girl hit fourteen and wasn't married, her folks began to get worried. Most girls ended up with men at least twice their age, and the most of them weren't too happy about it.

Sensing a way out, Will said "You're seventeen and I'm thirty-four. That would make me twice your age, too. Wouldn't you rather have a younger man? I wouldn't want you to be unhappy."

That seemed to piss her off.

"You are young man, still. We will have many years together. This I know. I would be very happy as your wife, but not unless you want me also. If you do not, then say so! I will leave, and bother you no more!"

Will sealed his fate completely then. "Gia, there is no man in his right mind that wouldn't want you. You're beautiful, that's a fact. More than that though, I think you're cut out to make it around here. From what I've seen, you're everything a man could want in a woman."

She flashed that smile again.

"Then you will have me?"

Truth be told, he'd liken to have her, right there in the woods.

All he said, though, was, "Yes."

Her smile got even bigger, but she didn't say anything.

There was a lot of activity when they got back. Carrie and Becky had taken the two wine makers to see the valley, since Carrie knew where it was. All of the other Italian folks were hard at it, except for the two youngest. Will was amazed at how much had been done while they had been hunting. Frank's 'Chainsaw Mill' was running full blast, and in the lulls between logs, Will heard the band saw being busy, too.

One cabin was halfway up, and there was still a good supply of logs ready to be added. The older women wasted no time in taking over the venison, and shooed Will and Gia off to get cleaned up.

As soon as they walked into the cabin, the seduction began. Gia was one of those girls who didn't even have to try very hard. The "innocent" brushes against him, the constant touching of his arms and her attentive nature seemed to come naturally to her. She even insisted on cooking for them that night, and proved her worth in the kitchen, too.