Chapter 64

It was three long weeks later that Tom saw Huggins Trading Post. Tom had told the wagon master that he was having problems with his wagons. The wagon master told him that the best that he could do was to leave him at the trading post. Tom was dejected but told him that he understood that the train had to move on. A few people waved as the train pulled out at another unplanned stop and Tom waved back. Nobody saw the smile on his face, or would understand why it was there.

Tom walked into the trading post. "Hey, are you Bert Huggins" Tom watched the man behind the counter look up. He started to say something and froze as he looked at the man standing in front of him. He quickly glanced around and then replied, "Yea, I'm Huggins, what do you want?" Tom noticed that he was looking at three men standing at the makeshift bar in the corner. He understood immediately. He nodded his head slightly. "I have some wagon trouble, and I need a place to park'em while I work on'em."

Tom watched Bert smile a little smile, "Sure, pull'em around back and you can park'em there." Tom nodded his head and glanced quickly at the men. With a few quick hand motions Tom asked Bert of he wanted the men gone. Bert nodded quickly.

Tom looked the place over, "Well, you seem to have a right nice place here. I think that I'll send the women folk in to have a look around." Tom saw the horror on Bert's face and winked at him. Bert looked back unbelievingly and just shrugged. It was already said and nothing could stop what was going to happen now.

Tom went back outside and started helping the women off of the wagons. As each hit the ground, Tom's voice was in her ear. He whispered what he wanted and watched as every one of them smiled like a little girl at Christmas. Tom motioned the girls to talk to the others quickly. It looked like a flock of chickens cackling as they went into the trading post.

Tom motioned to the warriors. They quickly walked over to Tom as he kept his eye on the trading post door. "Bert has a little trouble with some scum hanging around. I sent the women in to clean the place out. If they let any of them get outside, they're yours." Tom watched the warriors instantly shift into warrior mode; silent, alert and deadly.

Tom watched John check his pistol and move toward the door. The others not wanting to be left out followed quickly. Tom just sat on a wagon wheel and waited. Before the first warrior made it to the door they heard a man scream. Tom knew that Bert's problems would be over before any of the warriors could make it inside.

After he watched the men enter he sighed and walked back to the trading post door. When he entered he didn't bother to look around, but walked back up to the counter and watched as Bert just starred at the women innocently cleaning their knives. Tom grinned, "The women folk thank you kindly for the entertainment. They have been bored to tears at the lack of things to keep them busy."

Bert looked at Tom, "Where the hell did you find a bunch of killers like that?" Tom noticed that Bert had a smile on his face and smiled back. "Oh, different places. But once we found them we just couldn't let them go. You know how it is with cuddly little kittens, they're just so hard to throw out."

Bert looked at the women again and didn't see anything soft or cuddly about them. He wondered if Tom was just pulling his leg. Tom saw the look and turned to the women and opened his arms. Four of them were instantly rushing to him. Bert watched as they all cuddled and rubbed against him anywhere that they could reach. They didn't look anything like the blood thirsty killers that had just killed three desperate, well-armed men.

Bert shivered when the remembered that he was concerned about Tom sending his women in here. He realized that he should have been concerned with any man that crossed their path. As he looked at them he wished he had a hundred just like them.

Tom looked at Bert and smiled, "These are mine. The twins belong to John and the two dark haired beauties are Roberts. The other two belong to Peter." Bert grinned, "Is that all you were doing; shopping for women?" Tom grinned and nodded his head. The women giggled. Tom wondered when they lost that beautiful sound. He knew that was a sound that older women never made.

Tom pointed at the dead men. "So, where did you get them?" Bert snorted, "Scum like that have been plagues on the Santé Fe trail since gold was discovered in California. They prey on the people coming back, and then on some of the ones going there. In between they hit the traders hard. Those were waiting for traders. They have a couple of partners that are scouting the traders. When they get close they will show up, and collect the other scum, and then they will go out to ambush the traders. In a day or so the trader will pull in all shot up, or the scum will pull in with the trader's goods. I usually buy the whole wagon for about twenty cents on the dollar, and I'll make a deal for the wagons and teams. Those I send someplace else. If they don't like the price they can go into the trading business and take it to another trading post." Tom grinned. It was amazing that humans had their own equivalent to vultures; another plague of the white man.

Tom asked about his young trader friend and Bert nodded his head. "He should be in the next trading caravan, the one that those scum were waiting for. He even has a young apprentice, now. Tom grinned at the thought. He quickly thought about the time they had been traveling, it was only two months since they arrived in Springfield. They were well ahead of schedule. Tom looked at Bert, "So in the next few days, two more like those will be getting here?" Bert nodded his head, and Tom smiled and Bert felt a shiver run down his back.

Tom looked thoughtful, "If you don't mind, when they get there I'll let the women handle them. They really aren't worth a warrior soiling their hands with." Bert looked at Tom and shrugged. Tom looked at the women for a minute before he said, "Maybe I'll let the twins have them, but I'll have to take their knives away from them." Bert gasped as he looked at the delicate little girls and wondered what Tom was thinking.

Tom looked at the frightened features of Bert and grinned to himself. "When they get here, slip out the back and let me know. We'll handle the rest." Tom watched the girls take off and run to Ming and Ping. After a flurry of conversation the twins looked at Tom and bowed respectfully. Tom knew exactly what they meant. John looked away in disgust, and stomped out of the room. Tom knew that they could take John hand to hand, but he knew that if John was serious and he was willing to use a knife, they would never lay a finger on him.

The women were in a huddle on and off for most of the afternoon. It was late the next day when Bert slipped out the back and motioned to Tom. He immediately understood the hand motions. Tom turned to the girls. "Ming, Ping, your new boyfriends are here." The girls turned and looked at him with venom. Tom grinned back and hoped that they were good and mad. "Be sure to bring the trash out back, we don't want to have to clean the trading post again."

The girls looked thoughtful for a second and called Jess over. She was even smaller than they were. Her breasts had continued to grow and they now looked like her sister Jenns'. With her tiny waist, she was a walking wet dream. She giggled as the girls whispered in her ear. They all moved toward the trading post. Tom motioned to John and he immediately understood. They quickly took up a position at the rear door of the trading post.

The girls entered through the front. They weren't in there for more than a minute before the two men were on them. Jess was the main draw, but the twins attracted their own attention. In less than a minute the two men had lost their weapons and the girls were driving them out the back door. Once they flew out the door, without their weapons Tom and John holstered their own pistols and sat down on the edge of the porch to watch the show. Bert slipped out right behind the women. He was stunned at the viciousness of the women's attack.

Tom noticed and motioned for him to sit. "Don't worry, I've fought those two, they can handle themselves." If Tom said that he had fought them, then Bert didn't doubt that they could. He realized that without weapons they really weren't in that much danger and decided to be like Tom and John, and just watch the show. It was a little short lived, the two bandits weren't really in that good of condition and after only fifteen minutes they couldn't get back up again. The twins snorted in disgust as they each took one and cut his throat. Bert wondered if he still had it in him to do something like that. He knew that he was getting soft.

It was later that night when the traders pulled into the trading post. Tom could tell that they were alert and expecting trouble. When everything looked normal, and there were even women running around the trading post, they relaxed. Bert told them that the scum hanging around the trading post had met with an accident. He changed things around a little and said that they had offended the ladies, and that their men took exception. He didn't say how they met their end, even though he gave the impression that the men did the dirty work. He didn't want the traders doing anything stupid with the women.

Tom saw Brian Peevers as soon as he dropped from the wagon. Tom took his knife and threw it. It stuck in the wagon about a foot from Brian's head. He quickly turned and had his gun out looking for trouble. When he saw Tom smiling at him he smiled and dropped his gun back in his holster. He pulled the knife from the wagon and walked up to Tom. "You should know better than to throw your weapons away, you might need that if bandits show up." Tom smiled as he took the knife, "Naw, I don't see any bandits brave enough to come around here. Too many honest men that know what they are." Brian nodded his head, "That is the truth; an honest man has no use for bandits." Both men smiled as they shook hands.

Brian introduced his apprentice. A sly look at Tom told him what he wanted to know, and he nodded his head. As Tom and Brian talked he noticed that the apprentice was always close by, listening and trying to be helpful. After Brian ran him off to his blankets Tom nodded with his head at the back of the retreating boy. "How did you end up with him?"

Brian grinned, "It was so similar to something that happened once before that I didn't have a choice. It was late one night and we knew that bandits were around. I remembered what one man could do in the night and I told the others that I was going to slip out and see what was going on. They all thought that I was crazy. I slipped out and slowly made my way through the trees. I had never been more frightened in my life. I just kept quiet and slipped from tree to tree. The next thing I knew I saw a kid minding the horses. There were three plus his. I hit him over the head and then tied him up. Once I knew how many there were, it didn't seem so bad. I snuck back through the trees and waited for the attack." He spent a little time looking in his coffee cup and thinking. Tom understood and didn't rush him.

"When it came I slipped around behind them. One quick shot and it was all over and I slipped around to the next one. After I got all three I called to the camp and then I walked in. I told them what happened and they wanted to kill the boy, but I remembered another time and a promise. I told them that we would handle it my way. Since I did all of the killing they left it to me. I did something like what happened before. I brought all of the dead to the edge of camp, then I went back and got the boy and the horses. I walked him back to camp and I showed him what his life was going to end up being. I made him bury the dead before I let him leave. When I traveled back through he was waiting at a trading post. He asked me for a job. I understood how he felt, and how much courage it took to wait for me, and ask me for that job. I gave it to him. I have never regretted that decision, and when he asked me why, I told him what you told me. One day he will help somebody else, and if we can only change one at a time, it will still make this a better place." He looked shyly and grinned.