Chapter 8

Ethel and Adam dropped off the gold at the bank in Wilsonville and rode to the ranch. They hastily packed supplies on a pack mule for an extended wilderness trip, picked four new horses so that they would have remounts, and dashed off for that cabin in the woods near Harley Springs.

They pressed as hard as they could, but it was still the next day before they reached the shack described by Willy Simpson. The shack was empty, but there was a trail to follow. Adam was a very good tracker, though probably not one who could be called an expert. He noted that one of the horses had a peculiar notch in its left rear shoe, so that would make it easy to identify. The initial trail was easy to follow because there were six horses in the gang. The gang seemed to be headed southwest toward the Rio Grande River and Mexico.

Adam and Ethel rode as fast as they could and still keep to the trail of the gang of bandits. They found where the gang had camped for the night, including a couple of empty whiskey bottles. This was encouraging because any drunk would be easy to overcome.

They came to the river ford about noon and had to decide what to do. Four horses crossed the river, but two horses turned parallel to it, one going upstream and one going down. They decided to follow the rider going upstream because that was the horse with the peculiar shoe. Besides, Ethel did not speak Spanish and Adam was not comfortable with the language.

They hoped to capture the rider and obtain from him more information on the plans of the rest of the gang. The fool must have been drinking a lot of whiskey, since he stayed close to the river so that he left a clear trail in the mud. They followed him to a small town where he, naturally, stopped in at the first saloon he came to, possibly for a hangover remedy.

They went into the saloon and found that there was only one customer. He was leaning against the bar, drinking a local beer. Ethel assured Adam that this was not one of the men she was looking for, so they just wanted to question him, not deliberately kill him.

The man was talking to a saloon whore, but it looked like the woman was not able to make a sale. She turned toward them as they entered the saloon and walked toward them. They saw her coming and leaned against the bar as she approached. Adam quietly said, "We're not here fer yer kind of business, but we will pay for information." Adam laid a silver dollar on the bar and said, "That's for you if you will answer a few questions."

The woman's eyes lit up at the sight of the dollar, which was more than she often made in a day of work. "Shore, Mister. What da ya want ta know?"

"First of all, who is that man you were talkin' to?"

"I don't know. He just walked in a few minutes ago an' ordered a beer. I asked him ifen he wuz interested in a quickie, but he turned me down. He said that he had a hangover, an' he needed ta git rid of that afore he could even think 'bout fuckin'."

"OK, that's what we wanted to know. Take yer dollar an' make yerself scarce." The woman grabbed the coin before Adam could change his mind and rushed to the other end of the bar. The bartender came up, and they both ordered a Mexican beer. They picked up their beers and walked over to the lone man leaning against the bar. Ethel stood on one side, and Adam stood on the other side of the man.

Without warning, Ethel stuck her gun muzzle into the ribs of the bandit, and Adam said, "We want to ask you a few questions. Whether or not you live much longer depends on how well you answer those questions. Bring your beer and let's sit at that table over there."

The gun muzzle poking him in the ribs was a powerful argument in favor of doing what Adam asked, so the three sat down at the table. Ethel said, "Keep your hands where we can see them if you expect to finish that beer."

"That voice! Ya'er a woman!"

"Yes, I am, and that won't keep me from pulling this trigger if you don't do what you are told."

The man looked completely defeated and slumped in his chair. Adam said, "We know that you were part of the Charley Wilson gang that tried to hold up a train three days ago. We'll let you go if you answer some questions truthfully, but you are a dead man if you lie to us. Either way, you are going to answer the questions. First off, what's your name?"

"Eddie Johnson."

"OK, Eddie, where is Charley Wilson?"

"I can't tell ya that. Wilson would kill me ifen I did."

"Rest assured that we will kill you if you don't tell us. Now, answer the question! Where is Charley Wilson?"

"When I left, he was headed for Rio del Sangre in Mexico. I didn't go with him cuz I can't speak Spanish."

"Where's he going from there?"

"I'm s'posed ta meet him at Eagle Pass in a week. At the Crooked Trail Saloon."

"OK, we'll let you live on the strength of those answers. But you can bet that we will shoot you if we ever see you again. Now, stay here for an hour to give us plenty of time to get out of town."

"Shore, Mister. I ain't goin' nowhere."

A week later, in Eagle Pass, they were sitting in a hotel lobby waiting to go to the Crooked Trail Saloon to confront Charley Wilson. Adam had been somewhat tongue-tied all morning. Finally, he blurted out, "Ethel, I can't take it any longer. I wanted a more romantic place to say this, but I can't wait. Will you marry me?"

"I thought you would never ask me that. You know I was raped. Do you still want to marry me in spite of that?"

"I sure do. You are the most wonderful, strong, interesting, intelligent, and I don't know what all else woman that I ever met. Please say yes?"

"YES!"

Adam jumped from his chair and shouted, "HOT DAMN! I LOVE YOU, ETHEL HARRIS." This brought laughter and applause from the few other people in the lobby. However, there was some surprise when the object of his affection turned out to be dressed like a man. The two lovers completely ignored everybody else in the lobby and embraced as two lovers should.

They stopped in embarrassment when the clerk came to them and said, "Please, I must ask you to act with a bit more decorum. This is a high class hotel." They both apologized and sat back down, but much closer together than before. They sat there, held hands, and looked at each other with that sappy stare that lovers are prone to use up until time to leave for the confrontation with Charley Wilson.

The Crooked Trail Saloon was a typical saloon of the period. However, Ethel and Adam had no trouble finding it. It sat on a corner with its main entrance in the corner so that it was reasonably convenient to enter from either street. Two walls were lined with large display-style windows letting in plenty of light, one wall was almost completely covered by the bar, and the fourth wall was solid with chairs running from the front to the foot of the stairs leading up to the balcony where the saloon whores could ply their trade.

There were a few men already in the saloon when they got there, but Ethel did not recognize any of them. They each got a beer and sat in chairs along the wall where they could watch the door for the entrance of Charley Wilson. This was the one week espoused by Eddie Johnson, but there was no guarantee that the Charley Wilson gang would show up on time. All they could do was sit and wait.

There was a great temptation to while away the time with a poker game, but they wanted to see Wilson as soon as he showed up, and that might not work if they were occupied with playing poker. Instead, they sat and talked. They discussed what Ethel wanted in the way of a wedding. She claimed that she was not interested in having a big wedding, though Hester might feel cheated if they didn't have some sort of fancy ceremony. Ethel explained that she'd had a big wedding in Philadelphia, and that was enough for her. She claimed that, as far as she was concerned, they were already married. She was ready to move into Adam's bedroom tonight if that was what he wanted.