Chapter 3

Our only worry with hitching the teams turned out to be wondering if they'd die of boredom before we got to move out. I'll swear I don't have the first idea how most of these people got their wagons to Independence in the first place. It was two hours before the last one got his team hitched to his wagon and it was a puzzle until nearly the end on which one would be last.

There were fifty wagons in this train. Jim and I had our three ready in a little over twenty minutes. I could see that two others had their single wagons hitched not long after that and then the wait was on instead of the race.

If there was someone that didn't know what fit to be tied looked like, a glance at Jack Jenkins would give them the picture right away. He was so disgusted he was fuming. He was so pissed he had everybody unhitch, put their stock back up and then do it again.

It was no skin off Jim's or my asses and we unhitched, took the stock back, hobbled them all, and sat on our asses for the hour the others took to get it done.

Jack Jenkins came around about half way through the show the others were giving us while they tried to unhitch. He told us not to bother when he got them started on the next try.

"I can already tell we won't be leaving today and maybe not even tomorrow. I've never had a bunch this stupid before but we can't leave until they can get ready to go in an hour or less," he said.

"Maybe me and Jim could give a few of 'em a hand," I said, but knew what he'd tell me if he had any sense.

"Naw, I appreciate your offer, but if they can't even hitch their own teams I'm not going to let 'em stay with the train," he said.

They did two more practices before noon and they were getting better every time, but progress was slow. Jack called for a break so people could get a bite to eat, and after they'd eaten he called a meeting among the men only and lit into their asses.

"Don't think I haven't saved the money you paid me. Any of you that can't learn to get your teams hitched up and ready to move out aren't going with us. We don't have the men or the time to baby-sit you all the way to Oregon," he said.

Some people just can't keep their mouths shut, even if it would leave them better off. One of the men who was doing a pretty good job with his team came up to Jack to give him a cussin' I think. He didn't get it done though, because Jack figured out what he wanted just from the tone of his first few words.

Jack rared back and knocked fire from his ass and then repeated his thoughts as the guy was wigglin' around on the ground moanin'. It was the end of any further discussion and when Jack signaled them to try again, the guy he slugged was right in with the others, hitchin' his team as fast as he could, and with his nose still bleedin' to boot.

Even though they were wore plumb out by the last try of the day, they all got it done in less than an hour. Jack let 'em know we wouldn't be leaving tomorrow either since they would probably be too sore to move. He was giving them a day to rest up but he told them they'd better be damned sure they didn't forget what they'd learned today.

There's no telling what Bill was thinking over all this, but after supper he went off to find Jack, and I could tell he thought he was going to give him a piece of his mind. I didn't have any idea what he was mad about but I sorely wished I could get a ringside seat for this little chat. At least I knew better than to try.

Whatever Bill had wanted to talk to Jack about didn't take long. Bill was back in fifteen minutes with a bloody nose of his own. I made myself scarce when I saw him heading our way. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep from laughing at him and I knew that wouldn't help any of our feelings in the long run.

Too bad it didn't help one damned thing at all. Bill had his back up and since he'd already found out that giving Jack Jenkins the business was a no go from the get go he hollered for me. Damned if he didn't get it in his head somehow that he could give me a dressing down. I didn't let him get started good either.

"Are you just having a dumb day or are you always this stupid? You didn't have a damned bit of trouble over today's delay. Hell, you didn't even have a bit of work to do. Then you decide that you're going to give the wagon master a talkin' to and you got what was coming to you. Now you think you can come back and give me a ration of shit.

"In case you've forgotten, I ain't a slave and I never was. The south lost the war and there ain't any more slaves anywhere for that matter. If you don't keep a civil tongue in your mouth you're about to lose your own little war and I'm not gonna bloody your nose and let it go at that. I'm gonna beat the ever lovin' shit out of you. You'll be too broke up to leave tomorrow, but it won't matter cause you don't even know how to hitch up your own wagons and I'll take Jim, Mary, and Honey with me when I go.

"I don't have to work for you. You're payin' good money for sure, but I can leave you and get at least six men in this train to hire Jim and me in fifteen minutes. Thanks to what I've seen today I know just who to go ask whether they'd like some help or not. You, your wife, and your daughters will be left sitting right where you are tomorrow, peeking out the hole in your wagon and wonderin' when somebody is going to fix your breakfast.

"I'll hate it for Helen and the girls but it won't be my fault," I said.

I guess he though I was bluffing or maybe he though his kind treatment had made Jim and Mary loyal to him. So he told me I was fired.

I just went out and caught my pack mules and led them back to camp. When I got there I told Jim to help Mary and Honey pack their things onto the mules while I went to get my horses. Jim took the lead ropes and headed for the wagon Mary and Honey stayed in.

Sometimes there's no telling just how stupid a man can get when he lets his temper get away from him. Bill actually tried to get a little whore pistol out and I just watched until he had it loose from his belt and was trying to point it at me, then I showed him how much an 1860 Colt hurt when it shot you in the belly.

Helen, Rebecca, and Elizabeth watched the whole thing and so did Jim, Mary, and Honey. It was a little odd to me that while Bill was lying there bleeding, moaning, wiggling, and crying - neither Helen, Rebecca, nor Elizabeth rushed to his fallen side. That didn't mean everybody else in camp wasn't on their way over as fast as they could get here.

Thankfully no one came right up to us except Jack Jenkins. He had plenty of questions and I had the whole damned story for him, starting from the time Bill came back with the bloody nose. Jack even asked Helen and the others for their version. Helen looked me right in the eyes before she started and then just told Jack that it was pretty much exactly like I'd said.

"Bill has always had a terrible temper, and it's been worse since he can't really boss everyone around like they were still slaves," she said.

That was all Jack needed to hear, but he did have a question for Helen.

"I'm sorry for your loss ma'am, but the train has to leave day after tomorrow. Do you still intend to go with us?" he asked.

"We do if Frank and the others will stay with us. Please don't quit on us Frank," she said, and she didn't seem to think the fact I'd just killed her husband made much difference.

In fact I hadn't killed him. Oh, he was going to die all right, he just wasn't dead yet. He started moaning louder about then, crying about the pain and asking for someone to get a doctor for him. Jack just gave me a look and walked off. I knew he was telling me it was my problem. He shooed the others off too as he went.

"Do you have any laudanum Helen?"

"Yes, we have quite a bit, but it can be bad for you later on," she said.

"There ain't gonna be any later on for Bill, and if we don't get some laudanum in him pretty quick it won't even do him any good," I said.

"Oh. I see what you mean. I'll get two bottles," she said, and headed for the wagon.

Apparently the pain had Bill out of his head by now, or maybe he just didn't understand why his temper tantrum didn't work this time. When I kneeled down by his head he asked me to get a doctor.

"The doctor's on his way Bill. He sent some medicine for you to take until he can get here," I said, and damned if he didn't believe me.

Helen came back with two big bottles of laudanum in just a few minutes. When I asked she said it wasn't their whole supply, so I got started having Bill drink them down. I knew once he passed out from this dose his troubles in this life would be over for good. Apparently Helen realized the same thing.