Chapter 14: A new Beginning

The next day Tom moved into the house that Black Otter built. Tom was very impressed with his skill. It was bigger than he had imagined, and had many rooms. There were tables and chairs, and there was even a bed. Black Otter simply shrugged and said that Gray Eagle had told him that it needed to have all of the things that a white man would need, and Black Otter had seen many things while raiding wagon trains. He had tears in his eyes when he looked at Tom, "You were the best thing that has ever happened to the Cheyenne people. I am sorry that you had to die. I had hoped that one day you would take Gray Eagle's place and lead the Cheyenne people. But I will still enjoy your spirit when I come to visit with you." Tom held his arms as a Cheyenne warrior would. He smiled and thanked him for his words.

In the library Tom found that all of the books were there on the shelves, and there was the chest. On the top of the chest was the key, but he wasn't concerned, nobody here was concerned with the contents of the chest. In the bedroom Tom found a wardrobe, and when he opened it he wasn't surprised to see clothes that he knew would fit, as well as the ones that he now wore. He walked through each room and looked at the life he was destined to lead. When he walked outside he examined the smoke house. It was only different from the smoke lodge in that it was made from wood. Inside he found two deer hanging, and a low fire smoking the meat. He smiled at the thoughtful gesture of Gray Eagle. He knew who had done this. He had seen the pain on the man's face when he had put on the clothes, and knew that he felt much worse than Tom did.

When Tom entered the barn that was beside the house he found that his favorite horse was there, along with three others. Each of the others was a white man's horse. They had shoes on their feet and as you looked you could see their skittish nature. They calmed as he approached. He stroked their noses and fed them some hay.

When he walked back outside the barn he was surprised to see two white men walking toward him, with their belt guns resting on their hips. He was instantly suspicious of them and wondered how they had come to be there. As they got closer he was shocked to see that they were Cheyenne warriors. Like himself they had been taken as a young boy, and had grown into manhood as a Cheyenne warrior. One had light brown hair and the other was as bright as the sun. It made him think of Bright Dove, and realized that they could be brother and sister.

They spoke in English when they got closer. He nodded and greeted them. The dark haired man was named John, and the Blonde one was named Ben. As Tom looked at them he could tell that they were both a few years older than he was. Since it was rare that any boy was as old as Tom, it meant that they had been in the village for more than half of their life. He asked about it, and they confirmed it. He asked why they were there.

They both frowned and said that Gray Eagle had insisted that they be with him. Cheyenne warriors could watch the valley without being seen, but outside the valley the two white warriors would always be at his side. He frowned at the idea, but they said that Gray Eagle had charged them with his life, and to fail meant death. They would always be at his side when he left the valley. Tom frowned and shook his head. He might not be able to fix it yet, but when he got back, he would have a long talk with Gray Eagle.

He nodded at the belt guns at their sides and asked if they knew how to use them. Without a blink John's hand dropped to the Colt Patterson .36 pistol and it slipped into his hand. The pistol was out and pointing at Tom before he had a chance to blink. Tom had watched exchanges at the fort, and knew that the faster the gun is used, the longer that the person lived. He was sure that John was faster than any white man that he had ever seen. He nodded, and John dropped it back into the holster.

Tom asked how they had become so good at using the pistols in so short of a time. John smiled and said that it was not so short, as Gray Eagle had them practicing with them for more than three years. Ben spoke for the first time when he said, "The first year was just learning to shoot, but the second we didn't even have shot, as all we learned was to get it out faster than anybody else. But the worst was the last year, then we had to draw and shoot, and hit what we were supposed to, and some of the things that Gray Eagle wanted us to hit got pretty small, and pretty far away." John still had a disgusted look on his face as he said that it was easy to kill with it, but that there was no honor. Tom nodded his head showing that he understood. Then he turned to leave and his escort followed.

That afternoon they prepared to leave. They packed everything that they would need into saddle bags. When all was ready they lay down to sleep. It was well before sunrise when the three silently left the valley to the south. They rode hard for many weeks on their way to Kansas City. Tom said that it was the only place that they could apply for the land grant. John and Ben didn't have a clue what he was talking about, but just nodded their heads. All that was important to them was that they had to go to Kansas City. That was enough for them.

Tom asked how that they still spoke such good English, as most of the boys lost the ability in the first couple of years. They just shrugged their shoulders and said that Gray Eagle had made them teach the young boys Cheyenne. He had even made them talk to each other every day. Tom nodded his head. He was sure that if he had not been found in the wagon train, or somebody like him, then these two would have had to do his job. Right now Tom wished that they had the job, but pushed the thought out of his mind. What he was doing was necessary and he had to accept it.

Kansas City was still a ways in the distance when the three got their first smell of the city. They all wrinkled their noses, and shivered. Tom made a comment and Ben agreed with him, but still they rode on. Tom had spent the last couple of days working on their story. He had worked it out on the first day and then started making his two new friends memorize it.

Tom quizzed them all day on details, and had kept it up for days. They were getting short tempered when he reminded them that there were many people depending on them, and they couldn't make a mistake. So they settled in and worked hard to learn what they needed. As they rode into Kansas City he felt secure in the knowledge that they would be able to keep up the story if they had to tell it

The busy town was disgusting to him, with the filth of the people. They smelled and there was garbage everywhere. He didn't understand how anybody could live like that. He could see that John and Ben had similar thoughts from the expressions on their faces. He called to them, "Keep your mind on what we are here to do." He saw that both of them were suddenly alert for any signs of danger. He smiled as he saw that it removed the looks on their faces. He didn't want to stand out, as it was important that they fit in.

As they rode slowly through town he noticed the Sheriff's office and pulled up short in front of it. Sitting in a chair with his hat pulled down and his feet resting on a rail, was a deputy. He called to the man. He watched as he slowly pushed his hat back on his head and gave them all a quick once over. He saw that the deputy noticed that he wasn't wearing a gun, but John and Ben were. His gaze settled on Tom, "What you fellers want?"

Tom knew that he had picked him out as the leader of the group too easily. He had made a mistake, but it couldn't be helped now. He smiled and asked where he could find the land office. The deputy looked him over once again and then dismissed him. He slipped his hat slowly back down over this eyes and jerked his thumb down the road. "Take the second left. It will be on the right about half way down." Tom smiled again and said his thanks as they moved off.

When they had gone a few yards he spoke softly, "I'm sure that all of them aren't as bad as he is." John and Ben both gave a noncommittal grunt, but Tom had to agree with them.

They found the land office just as they had been directed. As they dismounted the horses Tom pulled his saddle bag off and slipped it over his shoulder, as he had seen others do at the fort. He found that it felt natural there, as it left his hands free.

As they entered the office Tom noticed that nobody paid any attention to them. He moved to the cage window and a tired little man looked up with an enquiring eye. Tom found himself wishing once again that he didn't have to be there, but he still put a smile on his face as he spoke, "Good morning. I need to speak to someone about buying some land."

The little man still had a bored expression as he said, "Homesteads are a dollar an acre and grazing land is fifty cents an acre. Fill out a form and pencil in the acres that you want from the chart on the wall. The ones that are filled in are already taken." He pushed a form through the little window and turned back his ledger book. Tom took the form and looked it over, then went to the chart on the wall. He could see that this would take considerably longer than he had thought and more forms than this one.

He moved back to the little window and the little man now looked irritated, "Now, what is it? If you can't read or write you will have to get somebody else to do it for you, we don't have the time."

Tom's smiled slipped from his face as he lost his patience, "I can read and write just fine, thank you. But if you are too busy to do your job, then maybe they should get somebody that is better then you to do the job." Once again Tom smiled at the little man. He looked like the veins on his forehead were about to pop as he picked up the heavy blotter beside him. Before he could start to move it there were two guns sticking through the little window inches from his face. He paled as the blotter fell from his hand and dropped to the floor. Tom made a quick movement and the guns disappeared.

Suddenly there was another man standing beside the little man. He had obviously heard and seen what had taken place, but pretended that he hadn't, "What seems to be the trouble here?" Tom smiled once again but decided that trying to explain anything would be a waste of time. So he ignored it as he moved back toward the chart on the wall.

"I want to purchase a large block of land, and this one little form will not do the job. If you have something easier to fill out it would be appreciated, or possibly you have clerks to do that job?" Tom turned and looked at the man obviously in charge of the office and waited for him to get a handle on things. He noticed when he suddenly smiled and moved to talk with Tom at the wall chart.

As they talked Tom knew that this man was a typical white man. He was greedy and was only out for what he could get for himself. Tom took the pencil that the little man had pushed through the cage with the form and marked the four corners of the area that he was interested in. The man sucked in his breath and whistled it out. "That is some little piece of land that you marked off there. It would cost you a lot of money. Why a homestead that size would..."

Tom interrupted him, "Look mister, I think that you heard me telling the other man that I can read, and the sign over there clearly says that mountain areas are a fifteen cents an acre, and wooded mountain tracts are a twenty five cents and acre. We both know that this whole section is nothing but mountains and woods. There isn't even a trail up there." Tom watched as the man pursed his lips and sucked on his teeth.

Tom knew that this could still be a problem. If he really wanted to, he could probably push for some of the land to be considered a homestead, and then he would have to pay more than he wanted to. He saw that with this man, there might be an easy way to fix the whole thing. "I'll tell you what I'll do. Why don't we just say that everything is wooded mountain, and I'll pay a twenty five cents an acre for the whole tract?" Tom watched as he looked at the chart, and he knew he was figuring how much that he would be able to keep for himself. He wasn't surprised when he saw the smile play at the corners of his mouth.

He was also not surprised when he suddenly turned and ordered the clerk over to the chart and had him start figuring the parcels of land. Tom knew that there would be at least two different accounts of this sale. He stood and waited while they counted the acres across and down to get the total. Then there was the tedious task of dividing things up into the real count. He watched as they huddled over a different larger map with surveyor's markings.

As Tom studied the chart again he quickly calculated the amount that he could spend. With the area marked it put the boundaries well north of the Cheyenne village, and well south of the valley; from the first high peak of the Rockies on the west and to the first mountain peak to the east. The calculated total stood to be about six thousand dollars. He smiled to himself as he looked at the next peak to the east and did another calculation. He guessed that it would come in at about ten thousand and five hundred. He looked at the two mountains that it would include and knew that he had some room to play and still come out ahead.

He turned to the men with their heads bent over the map. "I'll tell you what I'll do." He watched as the older man looked quickly at him, hoping that he wasn't going to change his mind. "If you will extend everything to the east to cover the next valley, and mountain, I will pay an even ten thousand." He watched as the man quickly figured the total cost, and saw that he wasn't happy that he would be giving up too much profit. Tom figured that he needed a little help making up his mind, and pointed out that when he left the price that he would only be fifteen cents and acre, and that was only if they ever found anybody that would want it. He saw the older man sucking his teeth again before he nodded and they turned back to the map, and they unrolled it into a larger area.

Tom smiled as he sat down in one of the chairs under the chart to wait. John and Ben stood quietly on different sides of the room, and never relaxed their guard as Tom slowly slipped his hat down over his eyes. He was far from asleep, or even relaxed, but he wanted to give the impression that he didn't have a care in the world.

It was more than an hour later when the man made a rude noise to attempt to wake Tom, without having to get too close to him. He had seen that John and Ben were watching him suspiciously, and he knew what their job was. Tom made a show of stretching and yawning, but his eyes were sharp and clear. John's mouth twitched with the slightest smile as he noticed and Tom winked as he got slowly out of his chair. When he stretched, it wasn't all for show as his muscles had gotten a little stiff from sitting in the uncomfortable chair. He hadn't sat in a chair in a long time and found them uncomfortable.