Chapter 2

One thing about sleeping on the ground outside - when the sun comes up you are naturally gonna get up too if you ain't up already. Since I beat the sun by a little I went ahead and started a fire where Mary had cooked last night. When she came out of the wagon a few minutes later she stared at it like she didn't know what it was.

"Who built the fire Mr Frank?" she asked.

"I did Mary, I was up and I knew that you'd be needing one so I built it and I'd like it a lot better if you'd just call me Frank and not Mr Frank."

"I dasn't do that. Mr Bill wouldn't like it even a little," she said.

"Well how bout when he ain't around, like now. Could you call me Frank then?"

"I can try but I hope I don't forget while he's close. I'd get a strappin' for sure," she said.

"No you wouldn't, not while I'm here. It ain't been long ago I killed a lot of Southern boys over that very thing and I didn't come out west to go over it again. It ain't gonna happen while I'm around, no matter what Mr Bill thinks."

I couldn't believe how wide open her eyes went when I said it. It was plain she didn't think I'd dare.

"I'll just be real careful when he's around Mr Frank," she said.

"Ok Mary, I don't want to get you upset. My daddy told me to make sure I never upset the cook."

She smiled at me then and I wandered off to water something. When I got back she had the coffee on and when it was ready she poured me a cup. It was good and I told her so.

"Anybody can make coffee Frank," she said.

"Anybody can make dark hot water and call it coffee, but not everybody can make good coffee. I've been in the U S Army and I know what I'm talking about."

She had breakfast ready for us a few minutes later, but Bill and the others didn't come out of the wagon until we'd finished. I wondered if they'd been watching and waiting until we were done. It seemed funny to me but I didn't really care.

I went out to my horse, saddled it, and was having a last cup of coffee before I rode to town. Mary came back from serving the others and told me Mr Bill wanted me to wait for him to ride into town. That gave me time for another cup and I'd just finished it when Bill called for Jim to saddle his horse.

Later, when we were headed into town he finally got to what I knew he would.

"It's not right for you to eat with the niggers Frank," he said.

"Well it wouldn't be right for a hired hand to eat with your family either, and I don't intend to travel three thousand miles eating all my meals by myself just to keep up appearances. If that's part of the job I guess I'll just stay in town and try to get another one later."

I didn't really want to miss out on the pay and I didn't want to wait around Independence trying to find another job going west, but he didn't have to know that. I also knew he didn't have time to spend all day looking for somebody to take my place. If it really mattered I could eat by myself but damned if I was going to.

I already had plans to spend my meal time talking my way between Mary's legs and maybe Honey's too, and I wasn't going to pass up the chance just so Bill could pretend he was still a slave owner. We hadn't even started the trip yet and already he was beginning to seem like some of those Southern officers that had caused me to switch sides just lately.

"I hadn't thought of it that way and I guess you're right. It is quite a change for me though," he said.

"Well the war caused a lot of changes and there'll be more as things go along. We're just going to have to try to get used to a new way on some things. I just try to think of them as hired help just like I am."

He didn't say anything else about it or about anything, and when we got to town he left his horse with the livery and headed toward a store. Since this would be my last chance to pick up anything I did a little looking around of my own, though I tried to make sure Bill and I never occupied the same store at the same time.

I spied something I wanted in the second general store I went into. They had two Henry rifles standing up for sale among maybe a dozen Spencer carbines like the two I had. The Spencers were more powerful and longer ranged than the Henry, but a Henry's magazine held sixteen while a Spencer only held seven. If we did encounter any trouble with Indians along the way the Henrys would be much more useful.

The storekeeper knew it too. The Henrys were both used but he still wanted thirty dollars each. With a little talking I got both of them and five hundred rounds of the 44 rimfires they used for seventy-five dollars and counted myself lucky, even though it would leave me short of money until my first payday. I took the rifles and the cartridges and headed for the livery stable.

I got my mule and possibles, put the two together, and forked my bronc, heading back toward the wagon camp. Bill didn't need me to help him find his way back and he hadn't asked me to help him carry anything. I might as well let him get used to telling me if he wanted me to hang around and wait.

When I got back I unsaddled my horse and mule and put my things in the third wagon. Damn, it was crowded in there. It was mostly food for the trip but there were other things boxed up in there too and no way to tell what most of it was. It didn't matter to me, but I knew it was gonna be a pain in the ass the first night me and Jim had to get in out of the rain. Maybe we'd eat up a bunch of the food before it came to that.

Mary and Helen were near the cooking fire and talking. Somehow they hadn't noticed I'd come back. I guess they just hadn't seen me. I knew because Helen was going on about her corset to Mary and griping because Bill told her that she and the girls would keep wearing their corsets no matter how hot it got.

It was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud. Bill must really be a piece of work since I'd bet Helen, Rebecca, and Elizabeth were the only women in the whole damn wagon camp that were wearing corsets. Then I had to think of something else cause thinking of them in their corsets and nothing else popped into my mind and when it did my dick began to swell its head. Shit.

I came around to the fire and asked if there was any coffee. Mary smiled and seemed to be trying to blush though it didn't show on her dusky skin. She poured me a cup. Helen did blushed and I could see it up on her neck but I acted like I didn't and I made sure not to let on that I'd heard anything. Helen drifted back over toward her wagon anyway.