Chapter 19

They kept their heads down and suffered through the rain. There were 2 lightning strikes in their vicinity, which scared the hell out of Li Sun and didn't do much for Andy, either. The rain finally blew over and they got out of the gully as soon as it looked safe to do so. They had been out of the gully for a few minutes when the first of the flowing water appeared. Fortunately, the water was not deep enough to be dangerous, but it would have been miserable to have been caught in it.

They rode on for a couple of hours and found a large stream, too small to be called a river, but plenty of water for the cattle. It would not be as long a run as usual for one day, but Andy didn't know how much trouble the trail drive had with the rain storm, so he decided that this would be the place for them to stop for the night. There were some trees and enough downed wood to serve for the cooking fires, so they would settle for this place for camp.

They were just about to head back to the herd when they saw a rider approaching from the other side of the stream. They waited until the rider got close, whereupon, they saw that the rider was a woman. "Please, kin y'all he'p me? The storm scared my pa's horse an' it threw him. I'm afeared that he broke his back."

"Yes, Ma'am, we'll shore try ta he'p. Lead the way. We'll folllow." All three of them rode back the way the woman had come, and it was not long before they saw a man lying on the wet ground. He must be just where he had fallen, since he was not in what Andy would consider a comfortable position. He was still wearing his rain slicker, so he was not getting a chill from the wet ground.

They quickly dismounted and hurried to the downed man. His face was blue and he did not appear to be breathing, so Andy was sure that the man was dead. Yes, there was no question of it when Andy bent over the man; he must have died in just the last few minutes. The woman burst into tears and Li Sun tried to comfort her, but had little success. Andy's further examination of the man showed that he had a broken neck and probably would have died very soon, no matter what kind of current medical care he might have received. At that time, there was just no treatment for a broken neck; you just waited for the paralyzed victim to die and hoped that it wouldn't take long!

Andy said, "Ma'am, where would ya like fer us ta take yer pa? Do ya live around here?"

"No, we don't live around here. Me an' my pa wuz headed fer California. He wuz a Union sympathizer durin' the war, an' our neighbors took revenge on us fer the loss an' burned us out. We're from northern Arkansas, so we don't know any folks from around here. What am I gonna do?"

"I guess ya could stay with us fer a while. We're runnin' a trail herd up from Texas ta the railroad at Sedalia. I'll have ta ask my pa, though. They'll be along in a few hours. Do ya want ta bury yer pa here, or what?"

"I guess I kin bury 'im here. It seems like as likely a place as any. There's a short handled spade on my pack mule, ifen we kin find 'im."

"Ya kin stay here with Li Sun, an' I'll find yer mule. Just rest easy 'til I git back. Which way do ya think he ran?"

Ethel pointed northeast, so Andy rode in that direction. He went less than a half-mile before he found a horse and a pack mule grazing quietly, as if waiting for someone to find them. He gathered them up and returned to the two women. Andy found the spade in the pack and dug a shallow grave. They buried Amos Jefferson with a minimum of ceremony but a maximum of reverence, in consideration for Ethel.

They rode back to the herd, and Andy told Josh what had happened. Josh welcomed Ethel to their group and said that she could stay as long as she wished. Ethel and Li Sun moved off together, and Andy took up a position as outrider just in case they ran into trouble.

That night, after they got the cattle bedded down and supper was under way, Li Sun called Andy to one side and said, "Ethel wants ta join our family. She has no where else ta go and we girls are a sign of safety ta her. I told her 'bout our sex practices, an' she claims ta be eager ta join in, but I'm not so sure. Ethel says that she's a virgin, so I don't know how much she knows about what she's getting inta. I discussed it with the other girls, an' we'd like fer ya ta be the one what breaks her in. Jus' go slow an' don't press her too hard. Jus' be yer regular sweet self. Will ya do that fer her?"

"I shore will. Jus' make shore y'all women don't neglect the other boys, and we'll be fine."

Li Sun smiled and ran back to talk to the other women. There was a spirited conference that lasted a few minutes, then they went of, in shifts, to change into dresses. By the time supper was ready, all of the women were wearing dresses and smiling like successful members of a conspiracy. Li Sun sidled up to Andy and whispered, "Ethel grabbed a bath, why don't ya git one, too?" That was all the hint that Andy needed—he grabbed some soap and ran for the stream. He must have taken the quickest bath in history, because he was back from the stream before everyone had started eating.

Andy sat down with his dinner plate of steak and beans and dug in. Ethel, as instructed by the women, came over to him and squatted down with her knees well separated. She gave Andy a sly wink and waited for him to make the next move. Andy was not slow to pick up on the invitation. He put a big chunk of steak in his mouth and started chewing. He put his fork down on his plate and slipped his hand under Ethel's skirt. He dragged his finger nails gently along her lower leg up to her knee, meanwhile watching her face for a reaction. He got a reaction, all right! Ethel began to tremble as he continued to make progress along her leg, this time down her inner thigh, still gently dragging his fingernails over her skin.

He stopped when he got to her crotch and looked her in the face. She looked pleadingly into his eyes, so he began to drag his nails over her pussy. She jerked rigid at his touch, let out a shriek, and fainted! Andy looked shocked and helpless, but the women just laughed. Elizabeth said, "Don't worry 'bout it, Andy, ya're jus' the first man ta touch her pussy, an' she fainted from the thrill. She'll come around in a minute an' want a whole lot more!"

Andy returned to eating while he waited for Ethel to recover. He had nearly finished his steak and beans when she finally regained consciousness and turned beet-red. Andy said, "Relax, Honey, I won't hurt ya; I jus' want ta make ya feel good."

"That ain't no problem, Andy. I ain't never felt so good as when ya touched me. Please do it again."

Andy smiled and slid his hand back under her dress to her pussy. He moved his fingers up and down her pussy slit, feeling the oil start to leak out. He rubbed his middle finger in her slit to get it thoroughly coated, then began working it into her cunt. He didn't go far before he felt her cherry, so he felt around carefully until he found the small hole in it. It was a close fit, but he was able to slide his finger in until his palm butted against the surface of her pussy.

Ethel's eyes got bigger than anyone would have thought possible as she felt his finger move around inside her. She had never felt anything pushed into her cunt so deep, so she couldn't help squeezing down on it. Andy was careful not to cut her soft inner tissues with his fingernail as he carefully sawed it back and forth. He started to tickle her G-spot, and that was all it took to make her faint again. But this time, when she collapsed onto her back, she jerked his finger from her cunt. This was enough to tear her cherry to shreds. The shock immediately woke her up, and she shrieked, more from surprise than from pain, but it was enough to cause Andy some concern.