Chapter 11

"As I was coming back from town two higher ups from Blanksdale's place were looking over the body we left the first time. We ended up quarreling over the remains and I left more remains while I was at it. I found a damned good trick on one of the bodies though," I said, and then I showed him and explained what it was.

"That would be a good hideout knife and especially useful here where there are no firearms. It would take a little practice to get good with it, but I can see where it would come in handy."

"Yeh, me too, and I can also see where more compound bows would come in handy, especially if I'd do a little practicing with mine," I said, and then explained my lucky break.

"You know, even if you'd hit him in the armor there's a good chance it would have knocked him off the horse. That thing has to be delivering a wallop. Even with the ceramic armor in Iraq we knew it when it stopped a bullet," he said.

"Damn I'm glad you said it. Ceramics are something that's here already."

"Maybe so, but supposedly it was some high dollar shit ours was made of and I know it was tricky as hell to make it. They had a bad batch one time on our gear and it was useless as hell even though it looked normal," he said.

"Yeh, I heard about it. They claimed ours was from a different batch, but how in the hell can you know about something like that."

"You can't, and two soldiers died thinking they were protected, but shit rolls downhill don't'cha know?"

"Hey, what did you find out from our prisoners?"

"Everything. I separated them and I walked into the first one's stall with a wicked looking knife, a burning brazier, and a wide bladed knife on it already red hot.

"I told him it was to stop the bleeding after I had cut some skin off him. He pissed his pants before the first question and when I started asking he started giving answers. He told me everything, even how big his momma's nipple was the last time he suckled her tit.

"After I was done questioning him I told him to scream his heart out every time I touched him so it would scare the bejesus out of his brother. I told him I'd use the hot knife on him for real if he didn't make it sound like I was killing him.

"It worked like a charm too. When I took the brazier and all into the other stall where his brother was he told me everything he knew.

"The only trouble was they didn't know much. Oh, I found out they were responsible for stealing the cattle. They'd find a good place in late afternoon, knock down a couple of sections in the fence just at sunset, and then drive out a few cows and drive them into a little spot they've got in the woods. It hits a trail which goes right into the back of the other place."

"Did you find out where the spot was?"

"Of course. I've already got a man out watching it for tonight. Seems they always have one watching their trail on nights when they're gonna make a grab.

"The watcher I put out knows to run back up here as soon as they come through the woods. Of course I picked a watcher who is good with a crossbow and he's going to cash in their watcher after the others are out of sight," Amos said.

"That, my friend, was good thinking.

"What about numbers. Did you get any idea about how many men he has over there?" I asked.

"Yep, got that too, but they had to count with handfuls instead of saying fifty. They both showed the same count though so it's probably pretty close to right."

"Well things are looking up. We've only been here since this morning and we've already cost them five men. I'm betting we can cost them more the next time they try to steal cattle."

"We can for sure. Apparently it's the same higher up that takes mostly young boys out to steal the cattle and he usually takes ten to twelve with him. Both boys said they don't even take swords or crossbows with them when they go, just their knives.

"I figure we can hem 'em all up with a net or something strung along their backtrail after we get rid of the watcher. Of course, I don't have it all set up if they were to come tonight, but I can probably get it arranged for after tomorrow though," he said.

"I can tell you're going to have to become a hero too. You just ain't worth a shit about hanging around supporting." I said, mostly joking.

"All right, all right. I'll be good, but rigging a trap sounds like it comes in under the supporting business to me. I'll just let you spring it," he said.

We both went in to turn the boys loose and damned if they didn't want to stay. I asked them why and got a hell of a surprise.

"You are so much smarter than Blanksdale's men they have no chance. We can already see your farm is much better managed and we have no jobs now, and no horses either," Ralph said.

"We're not keeping your horses. You are free to take them when you leave," I said.

"Thank you, but after seeing the horses you have here we realize we don't really have horses, just ponies," Carl said.

"Well, I don't want to talk bad about you two, but you aren't fighting men," Amos said.

"We never said we were. We asked Mr Blanksdale for jobs as farm hands and today was the first time his overseer asked us to do any type of work like even watching the road. We didn't want to do it, but we didn't have any say. We are farm boys and we want a job tending cattle or raising crops. We don't want to be fighters."

"Well go see Ben and ask him for a job farming then. He hires and fires the hands here, not me. Tell him I said I had no objections and be sure to tell him you tried to hire on as farm help over at Blanksdale's place," I said, and we let them go.

"Let's go in the house, Amos. It's only a couple of hours until suppertime anyway," I said.

"You go ahead. I came to support you by making saddles, throw ropes, and other leather goods. Believe me I am well satisfied with my pay so far and I want to do a good job," he said, and then laughed like hell.

Of course Kala wanted to know where I'd been during lunch so I lied and told her I had plenty to eat from the snack she made us. She let me slide this time so I went back up to my room, dragging the stuff I'd taken from the safe deposit box and my ill gotten gains from the dead men. I separated out all the money to give to Amos in case he needed some and put the rest of the stuff away.

I pulled off my boots and lay down to rest my eyes a minute and the next thing I knew Wanda was in my bedroom shaking my shoulder to wake me up. I hadn't intended to go to sleep, but had dozed off. I was glad I had though.

I had a dream, but not one like Martin Luther King's. I dreamed of the powered grinding wheels and forge blowers at George's place. I knew with all the horses we had now Bill or Ben one must have hired a smith, and I was going to make his day, or it's what I thought at the time.

Right now I got up, put my boots on, and gave Wanda's ass a pat as I followed her down to supper. I don't know why she stayed to lead me down there, but I imagined it might be to see if I really would pat her on the ass, at least it was why I hoped she did.