Chapter 5

Will knew he was in trouble. This time, he just went along. Maybe he was being trained. To tell the truth, he didn't mind a bit. Thinking on it, he decided that he was actually damned lucky. He didn't mind, as long as the girls stopped adding women at the agreed upon point. He had doubts about his ability to contend with five of them. Any more was a definite impossibility. It turned out to be fortunate that they had brought so many people along to help Dominga.

On the way back they stumbled on some more slavers. These were leading a group of what appeared to be natives. They were bound together at the wrists, and were being almost dragged along. Hank had been scouting ahead and had rushed back to clue them in.

"Looks like they corralled a bunch of Miwoks, to me. It happens all the time in these parts. Slavers raid a village and cart all of 'em off that they can. Then they sell 'em for labor to the railroads and mines. Most of them die in a year or less. Plumb pitiful, if'n you ask me."

None of Will's group liked it much, and they were mad enough to do something about it. The only problem was that if any of the slavers lived, people would come after the ones who had done the rescuing. Because of that, an ambush was set up. It may not have been very sporting, but in less than ten seconds all of the captors were dead.

Hank spoke enough of the language to discover that it had happened pretty much as he had expected. The rest of their group had been wiped out. They were all that was left.

The Miwok lived in small bands, with one larger village roughly in the center of several bands. They were offered all that their captors had owned. They gladly took the horses and weapons. After thanking their rescuers, they began to make their way back to their people. It looked like Will's people had some friends in the area now. An offer to trade had been extended, and a promise to relay the message was received.

Shortly after arriving home, Carrie pulled Will aside to talk in private.

"What do you suppose would happen if the natives were better armed than the white man this time?" she wondered. "With this slavery shit, I'd like to find out."

Will didn't like the idea much, and told her so.

"I used to be a history teacher, Carrie. I know the white man wasn't right in what was done to the natives, but there are some groups that would go nuts with modern weapons. If repeaters and automatics got into the hands of the Comanche or some of the others, it might work out just the opposite from what we remember."

After a bit more thought, he reconsidered.

"It probably wouldn't, though. Organization and numbers are what helped the white man wipe out the red. That hasn't changed at all," he said. "The first modern weapon captured would be duplicated in no time. After that, it would be over even faster than before. The natives don't have foundries or gun manufacturers. We sure couldn't make enough to count, either. I don't have a thing against providing them with what we can of what's already here, but modern weapons are not a good idea."

Carrie sighed, but had to agree.

"Yeah, I see your point. I don't like it, but you're right."

She came up with an idea then that Will didn't see a thing wrong with. "There's a lot of good land around this place. I wonder if we could talk one or more of the men into claiming a big chunk and seeing if one of the tribes wanted to live on it. At least we could save some of the tribal culture. In our time, there weren't many of the Miwok left."

"That's not a bad idea," Will replied. "Heck, if we manage to get a town started around here, they could even sell their baskets and things to get some extra cash. Besides that, nobody could attack them without giving us a reason to kick their ass. They'd have to trespass to get to them. Let's run that idea past the boys and see how they like it. If we get a taker, we can ask the Miwok, if they show up to trade."

Hank was all for the idea. "Them Miwok is good folks," he told them. "They's peaceable, unless somebody messes with 'em. I knowed a few of 'em, and we got along fine. They's hard workers, too. I bet if I started a ranch, I could pay 'em to tend to the stock."

Jess jumped on that. "I been wonderin' what I was gonna do with them beef critters. I know about horses, but ain't ever messed with them. They'd make a decent start on a herd."

"They would at that, Jesse," Hank said dejectedly. "Trouble is I ain't got any money to buy 'em."

"Hell, son," Jess chuckled "you'd be doin' me a favor by takin 'em off my hands. They's screwin' up my pasture an' shittin' all over everything in sight. I seem to have a ready-made place to put 'em, too. Zed's place is rightly mine, I figger. You put 'em there and keep it up for five years, and they'll belong to you. How's that suit ye?"

Hank could hardly believe it, but didn't want to accept the agreement. It didn't seem fair, to his way of thinking.

"I don't want no charity, Jess. I aim to pay for what I got. I cain't do it right off, but I will. Mebbe we can work out a deal?"

Jess scratched his head and smiled "Mebbe so. Tell ye what, you keep me in beef for those five years that I said, too. I ain't got time to hunt, what with everything else goin' on. It'd save me a heap o' trouble."

Hank still didn't think it was enough, but eventually he agreed. They shook on it. He said wanted to check Zed's old place out for damage, first. After he'd done that, he promised Jesse he'd get the herd moved by the end of the week. Will's suggestion of hiring the hands that had come with him was appreciated, too.

Since Will knew he was 'stuck' with Dominga, he decided to spend some time with her. First off, he showed her the gold. She was amazed at that, but when she saw where it came from, her eyes lit up.

"Madre de Dios! I wish father could have seen such a thing!" she exclaimed. "There will be much gold here, I think."

Will had thought ahead. Jughead was loaded up with every tool he thought they'd need. He found out right away that he knew even less than he had believed about mining. Just the way Dominga used the tools told him that much. The way she seemed to know just where to use the drill to get the most color amazed him.

They worked for hours, and Will had trouble keeping his mind on the job. She wasn't doing it intentionally, but Dominga was very distracting. Watching her breasts jiggle as she worked, or the sight of her heart-shaped ass as she leaned over in front of him was enough to make him want to 'stake' another kind of claim.

Every time she caught him looking, she only smiled. By the time they left, every bag Will had was full of ore. There were more that he could have brought, but he hadn't wanted to overload the mule too much. After carefully covering the enlarged opening with brush, they cleared up any other obvious signs of activity before leaving.

They met up with the youngsters at the barn. They had been just as busy. Between the three of them, they must have panned over a pound of gold from the creek. Everyone else had been just as busy. Nobody would suffer for not having a roof over their heads, tonight. Somebody had even managed to build a coop for the chickens.

The plan for tomorrow seemed to be building two more cabins for our Italian neighbors. They would be built in the valley they would be using, as it was a little too far to travel each day for them.

Jess was content where he was. The box canyon he was using for his herd was close enough to the new settlement to suit him, and he wanted to stay where he had company. He swore that he didn't need much help to tend to his horses, but Will didn't see it.

Nancy backed him up, though. She figured that if Jess and Becky had managed on their own, there wasn't any reason that she and Jess couldn't. The canyon had already been fenced off. With some help building a barn and some fenced in areas for breeding, they would have everything under control.

The only problem that night was Dominga. It seemed that she was somehow the only one without a place to sleep. Sensing the trap, Will volunteered to sleep outside. That caught the plotters flat-footed. None of them had anticipated the possibility of their plan not working, and they didn't like it much.

"Why you fight so much, the destiny?" Gia wanted to know. "You know Dominga be the wife, why you resist?"

She had a point, Will decided. It surprised him that Dominga didn't mind having an audience, though.

When asked, she just said, "We will sleep in the same bed. It is only proper that we do everything else there. I do not mind this." She actually blushed when she added, "I think I will like it even more."

They had to take turns in the shower. Will hadn't planned on a crowd when he'd installed it. More than two just wouldn't fit, no matter how friendly they got. Naturally, Will got to share his with Dominga. Resisting her in the shower was not easy. As with all the others, she was 'firm and fully packed'.

She stood about 5' 6" or so, and was just as shapely as the others, in her own way. Dominga was as slim as Becky, with narrow hips. Her breasts were smaller than the others, but no less delightful. Those little brown nipples were the one lure that he couldn't manage to ignore, and he had a nibble or two. From her reaction, Will figured she didn't mind much. It was more difficult removing his lips than it had been resisting the urge to latch on to one of those nubbins. Of course, she hadn't had both hands in his hair, then.

They were the last in line, and the other three had saved them a spot right in the middle. Will had all the help he needed to make sure his newest bride was ready for him. As soon as her head hit the pillow, Gia kissed her. Becky and Carrie had just as much trouble staying away from those twin peaks as Will had, because they latched on right away. That only left one possibility for Will.

"Goody!" he chuckled, "I ain't had dessert yet!" before diving in for a furry little treat.

Dominga let out a squeal to let him know that she thought it was a fine idea. He kept it up until she had finished bucking for the second time before his other brides informed him it was time to mount up.

Gia did the honors of guiding Will in, and kept a close watch to make sure he was doing things the right way. The other two made it hard for Will to do anything but enjoy the furnace that was clamped like a vise around his dick. There hadn't been anything in the nature of a hymen in the way, but Dominga was by far the tightest woman he'd ever encountered.

She was just as hot in other ways, too. In three strokes, she was babbling in Spanish between kisses. In less than a minute, she was bucking as if Becky had instructed her on just how to do it. There was another big difference that stood out about her. She was a moaner, not a screamer. The lower volume was actually nice for a change. When she went off, it was still easy to tell. She sucked in a big breath, and started to shake.

Her hips would rise off the bed quite a bit, too. For Will, the easiest way to know when her orgasm arrived was that the pussy that had seemed impossibly tight to begin with, latched on to his prick like a fucking bear trap. This happened twice. The second time, Will would have joined her if it had been possible to squeeze anything past the human cock ring he was encased in. He had to wait until things loosened up again, before unloading.

When the gasping for air and panting stopped, Will was in for a shock. Carrie asked Dominga how old she was.

"Almost fourteen," Dominga said, "Why do you ask?"

Everyone but Carrie couldn't understand why that should bother Will. Becky finally laid down the law, as usual.

"I don't know how they do things where y'all come from, but around here, that's marryin' age. Hell, me an' Gia was done 'sidered old maids! I figgered I'd never get married even if I found a man I could tolerate because I was too danged old."

Even if Will hadn't taught history, he should have realized that. In this time period in his former life, that also had been the way it was. He was determined that other things would be different, though. The average life expectancy for this time period was less than forty years. It was one of the reasons they had to start so young. For a lot of them, their lives were already half over. Will knew it was strange to be lying in the middle of a bunch of beautiful naked women, and thinking about what he was thinking, but just couldn't help it.

He knew how to make a crude form of penicillin. During his college chemistry class, he had done just that with no more material than what he presently had. He had used a cantaloupe in the project, but any citrus fruit would suffice. A lot of people died from common ailments that a simple antibiotic would have cured in days. Will was convinced that Jesse could handle the job at the same time he was dealing with his little brewery/distillery. It wouldn't take that much room.

His wandering mind was jerked back to the present when his dick was suddenly engulfed in something warm and wet. With his thoughts on wonder cures, he certainly hadn't been in any shape for it to be one of the girls' lower openings. Looking down, he saw that someone had taken it upon themselves to further Dominga's education. As a former teacher, he could appreciate the thought.

He appreciated Dominga's natural ability even more. She seemed to be a natural, and was already doing at least as well as her teachers. In minutes, she left them in her wake. Before he knew what hit him, Will gasped out a warning.

He was sure that she had heard him, but her only reaction was to back off a bit and swirl her little pink tongue around his shaft. That didn't help his staying power one damn bit. He didn't know how much he'd let loose, but she sure didn't miss a drop of it.

As he deflated again, she looked up and smiled, as she said, "I liked that. Did you?"

He just groaned and pulled her up for a kiss. She must have taken that for a yes, because he ended up satisfying every one of them. After each, she wrapped those talented lips around him and raised the dead. Will woke up the same way he had dozed off.

'Dominga must think my dick is a pacifier' ran through his mind.

Soon thereafter, he found out she had other uses for it. When she saw his eyes were open, she mounted right up for a morning ride.

"Finally, you wake up!" she sighed as her tight little snatch was filled to the brim. "I only got one time last night. I would like to start my first new day with my husband with the second!"

Dominga had no knowledge of just how long a piss induced hard-on could last, and from the way she was enjoying his increased staying power he wasn't about to tell her. He didn't mind occasionally waking like this, but not on a daily basis! He couldn't even cum when she did, and Gia took her place before he could blink. He was glad she didn't clamp down quite as hard during her orgasm. He was able to join right in. The other two pretended to pout, but he could see in their eyes that they thought it had been funny.

Will got cleaned up a bit, and gathered a few things. Then he headed for the barn. When he explained to Carrie what he was up to, she insisted on helping. They made one stop along the way. Will had a few fruit trees, and he picked several lemons and oranges.

When they got to the barn, the preparation took only minutes. He cut each fruit in half and put it in a plastic bag, after brushing each section of exposed fruit with a q-tip that he rubbed on the windowsill first. He then added several drops of water and a dash of milk. He only put the milk in half of them. He left the bags open, and placed them in a cardboard box.

As he carried it to the cabinet, he explained "I used cantaloupe in my project, but I don't have any of those. Fruit is supposed to work just as well. The milk was just for the lactose. It's supposed to speed up the process some. I didn't do that before. That's why I didn't try it on all of them this time. Now all we need to do is put this somewhere warm and dark. Hopefully, we'll grow the right thing."

"I thought penicillin just grew on bread," Carrie said.

"It would," Will admitted "but the only bread we have made right now has salt in it. Mold doesn't like sodium. Fruit works just as well, if not better. The trick is not growing the wrong kind of mold. What we want is blue-green in color. If it looks red, pink, or just green, we don't want it. That's the 'bad' mold, and it's poisonous. We just have to wait and see, now."

Her next question was, "I thought you had to use penicillin in a syringe."

"Yep," Will replied. "Grandpa was a diabetic. There are two boxes of unused syringes in the closet. I figure we can sterilize and re-use those without much trouble. Heck, I'm pretty sure you could hide it in orange juice or something. They had penicillin pills, after all."

He made another detour on the way back to the cabin. There were several Willow trees down by the stream. Carrie caught on to that one right away.

"Willow bark tea! That one I know. Heck, we used that all the time when there wasn't any aspirin in the house."

She was confused again when he also gathered some birch bark, along with some leaves.

"This is really good as a poultice for wounds. It's an anti-bacterial and anti-viral agent as well. There's also Chamomile, Feverfew, and Comfrey growing around here. I'd like to pick the brains of those Italian ladies, too. They're bound to know more than I do. Everything I know about it, I learned from my grandma. We'll need all we can get. I never kept much of a medicine chest. All I have besides a shit-load of leftover pain pills is some alcohol, iodine, aspirin, and some bandages.

They didn't even need to ask the women. As soon as Bianca saw what Will was carrying, she jumped on the bandwagon and asked what else he knew. That didn't take long, but seemed to please her.

"It is more than most men know," she informed Will before asking him if he knew whether some other things she thought they might need grew around there. Some he knew, and some he didn't but it was more than they had to start with.

She barely let Will put his burden down. He grabbed a basket as she dragged him off to hunt up the things he knew how to find. Carrie came along and they both learned a lot from the older woman. Along the way, she spotted other things to gather.

Will hadn't known you could use Shepherd's Purse to stop bleeding, and he sure hadn't known about Elderberries for chest problems. That was just a couple of the things she got excited about. The only reason she let him stop was that they had no room in the basket to carry anything more.

Since Bianca obviously knew more than they did, all of their production was taken over by the older lady to be processed. While a lot of the old remedies might not work as well as the synthetics, they did work. It was enough to ease their minds somewhat.

After a quick bite, they headed back to Altaville. Frank had ended up using most of the stock they bought the last time to make stoves for the cabins. The man was in love with Will's shop, or at least with what modern tools could do. He did melt some to pour into his prototype molds, though.

Will had asked him if he ever slept when Frank showed off the molds for the Ruger and Interarms .44's.

"Not much," he admitted. "It's them gal's fault, though! I swear I could squeeze at least four hours of sleep in, if'n they'd calm down a mite!"

"You complaining," Will asked?"

"Not so's you'd notice," Frank replied with a shit-eating grin. "There are things more important than sleep. Work is just one of 'em!"

Altaville was a busy place. It was easily four times larger than Melones, too. It bothered Will that he had to buy from the foundry, though, as most of the work was done by slaves. He didn't see any way around it, however. Once that was done, they bought up as much as they could with the room they had left. All but one of the items was needed. The one that wasn't, Will just happened to see. He picked up a case, figuring he might need to use it, sooner or later.

The group that went on the shopping trip this time had been mostly women. Will and Jess were the only men who had gone. They must have presented an inviting target because of this. Halfway back to the claim, they were ambushed from the right side of the road. It was a perfect place for the attackers. The terrain was steep and rocky, and there were numerous places for them to hide.

The first shots took out one of the horses pulling the wagon, so they couldn't even run for it. Another nicked Will, and he jumped into the wagon bed next to him for cover. An idea came to him right away. In fact, he hit his head on the damn thing when he landed!

While the others were firing back from the little cover to be found, he pried the lid off of his 'just in case' box. He was happy that he could reach the caps and fuse, and quickly prepared a couple of his "giant firecrackers".

Will yelled to the others and asked them to keep the bad guys pinned down for a minute before lighting the first one and letting it fly. The resulting explosion spooked the horses, but it spooked the attackers even more. After the second one, they began to run. That put them in the open, and all four were quickly picked off.

Thankfully, Will had the only injury. It stung like hell, but wasn't bad. He had been grazed on the top of the thigh in the first volley. His horse was the hardest to catch. It wasn't injured, but the bullet hitting the saddle had scared the hell out of it. The explosions probably hadn't helped much, either. After that, they found the horses of the bandits. They used one of them to replace the dead one that had been pulling the wagon.

They found something else with the horses. A wagon, with two bound and gagged women in the box. The scum that had attacked them had been busy. The two freed captives opened up right away, when they realized they had been rescued.