Chapter 2

Beau rode into the little town of Gator Bayou late one afternoon. He didn't know it yet, but he had just crossed into Louisiana about three miles back. Of course, it made no difference to anybody but the locals, but they put a lot of store about which state they lived in. They were so far out in the boondocks that they had just gotten word that the war was over. It really made no difference to them, since most of the business of the town was made up of piracy and smuggling. It was hard to tell which occupation was higher on the social totem pole, but both groups looked down on the other one.

Beau stopped at the first saloon he came to. It happened to be a "piracy" establishment, but that made no real difference. Beau would have met the same suspicion no matter which clique he had blundered into first. All strangers to Gator Bayou were regarded with suspicion, and Beau was no exception.

Beau walked up to the bar and asked for a beer. That immediately marked him as an outlander—he might have have been less odd if he had ordered wine, but, of course, Beau didn't know that. His beer was served and Beau paid his three cents from some script he happened to be carrying. The bartender refused to accept it. He demanded three cents in copper or five cents in the paper he had originally been offered. Beau looked a little askance over that, but shelled out two more strips of the paper money.

By this time, Beau realized that he was not welcome in Gator Bayou, so he prepared to drink his beer rather hurriedly and get out of town before trouble started. The problem was, it was getting late, and he did not want to camp out if he could avoid it because of the prevalence of snakes. Oh, Beau had slept with snakes in his Army days, but he really did not want to renew the acquaintance now that he was out of the Army. Nevertheless, Beau preferred his snakes with no legs to those with two legs.

Beau downed his beer and went back to his horse. He mounted and rode through town, determined to escape without having to kill somebody. The last thing he wanted was to have to fight a whole town just because he was a stranger. He had just cleared the outskirts of Gator Bayou when he was met by a woman on a horse. She was riding side-saddle and was dressed in the height of fashion of 10 years previously. Of course, the only skin that was showing was her face, but she appeared to be a beautiful woman in her early 20s.

"Monsieur, may I ride with ya as far as the next town?" she asked in a very pleasant voice. "I am traveling to meet my fiancee, and I find that I must leave somewhat abruptly. That is why I am alone and unaccompanied by no one but my pack mule."

Ever the gallant gentleman, Beau readily acquiesced to her request. The next town was 11 miles away, according to the woman, and they should get there before dark if they kept up a steady pace. They had only gone about three more miles when the woman suddenly halted. She said, "Monsieur DuVale, my horse seems to have picked up a stone in his hoof. Would you be so kind as to remove it for me, please?"

Suspecting nothing out of the ordinary, Beau dismounted. He still had both hands occupied with his reins and saddle when he saw the derringer that the woman was holding. "Stop right there, or I will blow a hole in yer fuckin' head!" she ordered. When Beau froze in position, the woman shouted, "OK, BOYS, HE'S ALL YERS!"

From right behind him, Beau heard a man's voice, "Merci, Lolette. I have him covered now." At that moment, Beau felt a gun muzzle pressed into his back right over his spine.

"Now, Monsieur, prove ta us that ya ain't a revenue agent. 'Cause, ifen ya are, I'm gonna blow yer backbone clear ta next Thursday."

Beau said, "I have no idea what you are talking about! I am an innocent traveler headed for New Orleans. I am an ex-Confederate cavalry officer who was recently 'discharged' by the Damyankees. My plantation was destroyed by some other Damyankees, so I am headed West to seek my fortune. Now, if you please, I would appreciate you removing that gun muzzle from my back so that I can get on to finding a place to spend the night away from this wet ground."

"Not so fast! We have not finished with you, yet." The man turned his head to say something to one of his companions, and Beau took that opportunity of diverted attention to act. He dropped and twisted at the same time, causing the gun muzzle to be pulled away from his back. On the way down, he pulled his hideout gun from his boot and shot the man who had been threatening him. The .51 caliber bullet hit the man in the left hip and shattered most of the bones in that area. Of course, the man lost consciousness as he fell to the ground. Beau was shielded by his horse from Lolette's gun, so he had time to drop the derringer and draw one of his LeMats.

Two other men had been standing close behind the first man that Beau shot. Both of them were carrying knives, so Beau was able to shoot them fatally with only a minimal danger to himself. Still under his horse, Beau ordered Lolette to dismount on pain of being shot if she did not obey. She cursed Beau roundly, but she did dismount. She had to return her gun to where she had hidden it because it takes two hands and a steady balance to climb down from a sidesaddle.

Once both of her feet were on the ground, Beau stood up and said, "Miss Lolette, I know that I cannot trust you, so I have only two choices. I can shoot you where you stand, or I can strip you to make sure that you are not carrying a gun that I don't see. The choice is yours. You have until the count of 10 to remove your dress; otherwise, I will put a bullet into your belly, and you know how long it will take you to die from that. One ... Two..."

"DON'T SHOOT! I'LL DO IT!" Lolette actually tore her dress getting it off. In only a few moments, she was standing in front of Beau wearing nothing but stockings and boots. She was a startlingly creamy white, except for the black bush at her crotch.

"OK, so far. Now, you may sit down and remove your boots and stockings. I want you completely naked before I will believe that you are disarmed. Again, you have until the count of 10. One ... Two..."

Beau had hardly gotten the "One" out of his mouth before Lolette was sitting in the dirt of the road frantically pulling on her boots. She got them off by the count of "Seven," and fairly ripped her stockings getting them off.

"Very good, Miss Lolette. Now, on your hands and knees. I want you to crawl back toward Gator Bayou about twenty feet. I'll tell you when to stop. When you do, you may stand up and face me. Remember what I promised to do if you disobey me!"

Once Lolette was a safe distance away, Beau stopped her and had her stand up and face him. He kept her standing there while he stripped the clothes from the first man and piled them in the road. That was a bit awkward with only one hand, so he ordered Lolette to sit back down on the road facing him. Now he was able to holster his gun and use both hands to strip the men. When that was done, Beau piled all of the clothes in the middle of the road and set them on fire! He stayed with it while all of the clothes were burned beyond any degree of useability. Lolette cried the whole time this was going on.

Beau looked around and spotted where the men had tied their horses. He stripped the side saddle from Lolette's horse and ordered her to mount the barebacked horse. This was very difficult for the woman to do, but she finally managed. Beau thoroughly enjoyed watching the show she put on while climbing on the horse. She cursed the whole time, but the gun pointed in her direction was a great persuader.

She was forced to sit on the horse so that she was facing the horses' tail. Beau cut off one rein and used it to tie Lolette's hands behind her back. He cut the other rein and tied her feet together under the horses' belly. Now, she was forced to take a very uncomfortable ride with no control on where the horse went. Beau turned the horse so that it faced in the direction of Gator Bayou and slapped it on the hip as hard as he could while yelling for the horse to run.