Chapter 8

We moved out before long and it was another boring day. There just ain't much fun you can get into when mules' asses make up most of the scenery. Three times during the day I nearly went over to offer Nadine another little bonus for saving me from the driving chore.

We covered a little more ground today, and I figured we'd keep up that pattern for at least a week. The mules had been lazing around for weeks and they needed to get warmed up slowly to the pull the fucking wagon all God damned day routine. We needed to get on down the trail ok, but it wouldn't make sense to wear the mules out on the easy part.

That didn't mean I wasn't ready to unass my mount at the end of the day. I'd done a little lazing around myself since the end of the war and to tell the truth my ass was taking its own sweet time getting into riding shape. I wasn't saddle sore or anything; I just had a tired ass by the end of the day.

After unsaddling my horse and turning him out with the others I came back and helped the women set up our most important piece of equipment - the supper table. Nadine had beat me to the fire-building chore, but I sure as hell wasn't mad about that. All of them seemed to be rushing around just a little and then I remembered I was the cause of it all. We had company coming to eat with us tonight.

Before long William and Helga came on over. He and I took a seat and had a cup of coffee while Helga joined in on the cooking. Helen and Mary tried to tell her she was a guest but she acted like she didn't understand and just kept trying to help. Funny thing, when they gave her something she could help with she never had any trouble understanding what they were telling her.

"You ended up with a big job before we even got started," William said, right off the bat.

"Well, kinda, but I've had worse. This is gonna be a long wagon ride but it beats hell outta chasin' longhorns around in the mesquite."

"Longhorns? Are you from Texas?"

"Without a doubt."

"I guess I heard wrong then. I thought someone said you fought for the North," he said, but he didn't act like it bothered him.

"I did, most of the war anyway. I joined up with a bunch of fools that kept yammerin' about The Cause like it was some Holy mission, but I wised up before our idiot officers got me killed.

"I never held with slavery anyway and I still don't know who stuck that feather up my ass and got me to join the Confederacy. At least I came to my senses in time."

"Oh, is that what you and Bill got into it about?"

"Nope. Bill couldn't help thinkin' he should be running things like he did on his plantation, and after Jack knocked fire from his ass I guess he thought he'd come back to his wagons and give me a ration of shit to make up for it.

"He'd have lived over that if he hadn't lost his head and went for that little pistol he carried. I was gonna quit over his first mouthful, but I wasn't going to shoot him for it. I damned sure wasn't going to give him a chance to shoot me over it though. He just let his temper overload his ass, but I don't guess it's botherin' him much now," I said, and William couldn't help laughing.

I could tell William wanted to keep talking about it but it must have come to him that he was being downright nosey. That had already occurred to me, but I didn't mind talking about it and I was the one that invited them over.

He took over the job of keeping up the conversation for a while then and gave me a good rundown on what farming in West Virginia was like for a few minutes. It made me glad I was getting farther away for there and I knew he was probably right thinking he could find some better way to spend his days out west.

By the time supper was ready I was ready for it, and everybody else was too. We had to wrangle with Jim again to get him to sit with the white folks, but at least it didn't make him so nervous this time.

Damn my women could cook. I wasn't sure whether Helga had done much to help, but she sure didn't do the food any damage if she had. I ate so much I was sure I'd be too full to fuck tonight. After the food was gone we sat around gabbing for a couple of hours and like the big dumb ass I was I drank coffee the whole time.

Now I can handle my coffee, but even I couldn't get off to sleep after the six cups I'd had. I didn't even act like I was getting in the wagon when everyone else went to bed. I told Helen I was going to stay up a while and see what went on after dark.

That's what I was gonna do to, whether I wanted to or not. I didn't get in with them because I knew I'd be tossing and turning for hours and would probably keep them from getting any sleep. I was going to be worn out in the morning, but it was too late to do anything about it.

After walking out away from the fire a little I found a dead fall lying at the base of another big tree and sat my ass down, leaning back against the tree that was still standing. Maybe I could at least get some physical rest even if I couldn't go to sleep.

It must have been an hour later when I noticed someone stooped over and creeping around in the dark. At first I figured it was a man looking to creep up in the back of a wagon to meet a woman or gal that must be expectin' him. Damn if that was so.

He passed near the glow from the remains of our cook fire and it was a young boy I'd seen around. I'd already noticed he was kind of a young smart ass, but he damned sure didn't have any business sneaking around our wagons after dark. I just watched until I saw he was heading for the back of Mary and Honey's wagon. I slipped my pistol out and slipped up behind him.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked, putting the Remington's barrel against his spine and clamping my left hand around his skinny neck.

He jumped when I spoke and tried to spin around to face me, but my grip around his neck didn't let him.

"I asked you a question boy?"

"I's just gonna slip in their wagon and get a little poon-tang mister," he said, and his voice let me know he was scared shitless.

"No, you weren't. You were creeping around trying to get your throat slit, but I don't guess I will this time," I said, and I felt him relax a little.

"Mary, you and Honey have a visitor," I said, not caring if anyone else heard me.

"What?" Mary asked, opening the flap and looking out.

"I caught this boy trying to slip into your wagon. He said he wanted a little poon-tang."

"He better back a mare up to a stump then. He ain't gettin' nothing in here unless it comes from that nice pepperbox pistol you bought me," she said, and pointed it at him.