Book 3, Chapter 9

"Well done. I'll take both! And throw in another ten boxes of cartridges, too," David said, still chuckling.

The men went back into the store and David got a bill of sale for the rifles. The second was still packed in the shipping box. It had been sent by boat and was coated with the waxy cosmoline used to protect metal during ocean voyages. Well, it wasn't exactly cosmoline, but the substance was like the treating material found in 3^rd and 5^th dynasty Egyptian mummies. Later refinement would produce true cosmoline.

David shook hands with the smith, and went to show the girls his new prizes. There was one of the street urchins just outside the door that offered to carry the box filled with the various cartridge boxes for two bits. David thought that would be a good deal for the kid. A short walk later they arrived at the wagons. David thanked the kid and gave the kid the promised quarter. He put the box of shells in the main wagon and stored the one boxed rifle there also. He'd clean it up later.

David was still carrying the Remington as he crossed the street, heading for the General Store. He was just passing the bank when he glanced inside. The hackles on his neck stood up as he saw a couple of shady looking characters with guns drawn. The cause of his concern was their guns were pointed at not only the clerks, but Angela and Adele as well.

David knew better than to stop and make a fuss right then. It might get the women killed. There was a man on a big buckskin horse. He was holding the reins of three other horses. They all looked like they'd seen better days and they were all in need of a good brushing. He also spotted Gil heading toward him with the other women. Gil started to holler, but stopped when he noticed the signal David was frantically making.

Gil stopped the women and told them to go back to the general store. Then he advanced at a normal pace to join David. Quickly, David filled him in to the problem. Once apprised of the situation, he suggested that they take up positions across the street. They would have a better assessment of the situation once there. David agreed.

The men crossed the street together and set up shop so they'd have a different angle for shooting. Gil was behind a barrel of hardware and David was sheltering beside a wagon. Townspeople noticed them and defensively backed away. There was a gunshot and two men and Adele rushed out of the building. There was another shot and then another man exited dragging Angela by the arm. Anger ran through David like a wildfire on the prairie. He was on point in an instant. He didn't let his anger get to him.

"Breathe!" he told himself. He was set.

"Sassafras!" he yelled. Angela went limp and fell to the ground. As that occurred, David fired. The robber was dead where he stood. The concussion of the bullet as it shattered his breastbone and smashed through the chambers of his heart blew him backwards. The man on the buckskin horse only started to draw before Gil put him down with two .44 slugs to the chest. One of the men holding Adele turned towards where his friend was. That was a mistake, for he turned into the direct fire from Angela's Patterson. At that range, she was deadly. The other man shielded himself with Adele's body, but threw his gun out on the street.

"Don't shoot! I give up!" he yelled.

"Let the lady go," was Gil's reply, and David heard the venom in his voice.

"All right, I'm doing that. Just don't shoot. I'm unarmed now," came his reply.

He released Adele and his hands shot high above his head. He was defenseless. Gil had his gun pointed right at the man's heart. The robber stood there in the street, trembling. When Gil reached the man he swung his gun across the man's face, knocking him unconscious.

"Maybe that will teach you a few manners about how you treat a lady, especially if that lady is my wife, ass hole," he spat the words at the groggy man as he started to come around.

About that time, the law showed up. The town marshal interviewed the former hostages, and David and Gil. He was surprised that one of the gunmen was eliminated by a woman. Once she demonstrated her skill at handling her weapon, the Marshal had no further questions. He just shook his head. He suggested David check with the bank president about a reward. He'd check the wanted posters for the leader and the sidekick's faces.

Wayne had recovered the horses and guns from the dead. He sent the horses off with Lisa and Jessica. One thing he had gathered up was a beat up tan valise. He stashed it in the empty wagon and tossed one of the dusters over top, then piled some of the gun belts on top. Of course the valise was where the robbers had stuffed with money from the bank. With a twinkle in his eye, he told David what he had done. David grinned and walked into the bank to talk with the manager.

Phineas T. Fogg met them at the door to the bank. He extended his hand in gratitude.

"Thank you for rescuing our funds, er I mean our customers. We were so very worried about their well-being. Rest assured you have our undying gratitude," he began. "If there is anything we can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask. We are at your service."

Fogg seemed to be a glut of words on a stick. He was syrupy sweet. He wanted something. David waited. Finally there it was.

"Ah sir, you didn't happen to see an old tan valise in with those dreadful men, did you?"

"Why do you ask?" came David's reply as he put on a quizzical look.

"Ah, it was my mother's and those men took it. It has a lot of sentimental value to me," he lied.

"Well, I'll check with my boy, and see if he saw it in the street. I'll get back to you about it, tomorrow," he said smiling to himself. He now knew he had the banker by the short hairs. "Well, that's about it. We'll be on our way for now."

"Wait!" Fogg called in a panic. He was wringing his clammy hands and looked small and frightened. "The valise, it has the loot that the men took. It's our reserve. If we don't recover it, we will be bankrupt. Please. Find it. I'll give you anything you ask, within reason. Please you have to help. If the bank closes, it will cause a panic. I have been hearing a rumor from back east about banks closing left and right. It sounds like there is a depression starting back there and if we close, it will bring that misfortune here to our citizens."

"If we find it we will take a ten percent finder's fee, and bring you the rest. Is that acceptable with you, Mr. Fogg?" David asked.

The man turned white and began to tremble. It looked like he might drop on the spot, but he pulled in enough air to gulp, "Yes."

"Then you won't mind putting that down in an affidavit?" David added.

Again Fogg agreed. A few minutes later he was handing David the requested letter.

David smiled and the men left Fogg trembling in his office. Once outside, they broke into laughter. Gil suggested they hold on to the valise for a couple of hours before taking it back. Since the alterations of the women's dresses wouldn't be done until eleven o'clock, Adele agreed with her husband. It would serve the greedy bastard right. His actions in the bank had caused the robbers to take Adele and Angela hostage in the first place.

While everything else was going on, Wayne had quietly counted the money in the valise. He was shock when he got the total. There was thirty seven thousand, four hundred and sixty one dollars in the case. That meant David and crew was due three thousand, seven hundred forty six dollars and ten cents. He told Wayne to count out four thousand and hide it. Wayne did as he was told and handed over the valise to David. The loot from the robbers was bundled up in a blanket taken from the buckskin horse. It was clean and worked well to cover the valise.

Wayne took the loot to the hotel and stuffed the bundle into a barrel in the lead wagon. He filled Bobby in (he'd stayed on guard at the wagons) on what had happened. Then he took it upon himself to stand guard and he fished out one of the greeners and sat on the high seat of the wagon. Townspeople would walk by and become nervous when they noticed the large bore weapon in the hands of what they perceived as a young boy.

Adele and Angela were unharmed in their adventure. They were mad that they let the men almost succeed in their plot to rob the bank. David and Gil took their women to the café to get them some coffee to try and calm them down a bit more. They were much calmer, but still mad when eleven o'clock rolled around. It was time to pick up the dresses and see the banker, too. David and Gil escorted their spouses to the dress shop first. They were enlisted to help carry the bundles neatly wrapped in brown paper and tied with ribbon, instead of the usual coarse string.

They met the bank manager and handed him the valise with the loot taken from the bank in the robbery. David told him he rounded up and took four thousand for their work. It turned out to be one thousand dollars for each of the four robbers. Fogg's face grew red and he started to bluster when David reminded him they didn't have to return it. They reminded him of the affidavit also. If would prevent repercussions against them for taking the reward. That took the wind out of the banker's sails.

The foursome leisurely strolled back to the hotel. The women went up to the rooms while David and Gil checked the wagons again. The mules and livestock were none the worse for wear having to stand there in the street. Wayne and Hannah had taken buckets and scooped water from the troughs to give to each of the mules in the teams and Lisa had joined up with Georgette to water the other livestock.

"How about getting something to eat before we leave?" Rhoda suggested.

That started a round of agreement from the rest of the family. Even Blanche put in her two cents worth, so it was agreed they would make one more visit to the café before heading out. They enjoyed a hearty meal of hot stew, bread and sarsaparilla for all. Once everyone had eaten his or her fill, David thanked the waiter with a generous tip added on top on the bill for the meal. They all left the café sated. Next up was loading up the wagons.

Once everyone was distributed in the four wagons, David lead out the wagon train, heading south towards the South Mountain and on toward Casa Grande. It would take them two days to reach the mysterious ruins left by the indigenous population more than five hundred years ago. They camped that night along the trail in a well-used site. Someone had dug a well so there was water available and they didn't need to use any of their barrels of water. David and Gil kept watch, although Wayne had asked if he could take a turn. David told him he would think about it.

Actually, David thought it would be a good idea to let Wayne take first watch. He should be able to stand a short watch without falling asleep. David resolved to allow Wayne a watch once they reached Casa Grande ruins. The family rose early, with the graying dawn streaked with red. They were off even before the sun was full up. The trail was well used as part of the Butterfield stage. In fact, a few miles from where they had camped, they passed a way station for the stage.

That evening they circled their wagons near the towering structure of the "Great House" of the Casa Grande ruins. While the women set up their kitchen Joshua and the twins walked over to the abandoned structure, ready to explore.

"Don't you children get dirty," Jessica called. "And stay out of that old mud house. You don't need to explore that old thing anyway. Just stay close"

"Aw gee, mama," the twins said in unison.

"No arguments, I mean it!" she replied.

The children were disappointed but also realized their new mama loved them because she was watching out for them.

Gil had hunted up a desert pig, a javelina (collared peccary). It weighed in at about fifty-five pounds. When cooked it smelled like ham. Gil had fashioned a spit and they roasted the pig over the fire. Adele had pulled some of her prized spices out of their carry case and the delicious smell wafted through the campsite. David kept coming over to the spit but was under the close scrutiny of his wives. He couldn't swipe even the smallest piece of meat.

It was taking longer to cook the whole pig than the men could stand. Finally in an act of desperation, the two conspired to get some of that meat. They took their positions and waited for just the right moment. Finally, Adele went to get some supplies from the wagon.
'Georgette was the only one tending the cooking. David nodded at Gil and they both started walking at the same time. David came up behind Georgette as Gil was just reaching the pig. Gil swiped his knife across the rump of the pig, slicing a thick piece off while under the cover of Georgette being distracted by David's hands on her ample assets.

Gil kept on walking until he got past the last wagon and ducked behind it. David was told to go away and he let go of Georgie's chest and skulked away. He had put on a pout for her benefit, but it changed to a smile as soon as he was safely away from the family, especially the cooks. He met up with Gil and they shared the succulent pork. Damn, Adele had a way with meats. It was out of this world, by far the best tasting pork he'd ever had.

Just then a scream rang out! Both men jumped to their feet and ran around the wagon with guns drawn.

"You!" came the accusation. "You did that just to steal some of the dinner! Oh, you'll be sorry for that. You just wait. When you least expect it, I'll get you for that!" The woman's flaming red hair framed her face as her eyes flashed. She was flushed with anger over the trick her husband and his friend had played on her.

The other women had left off what they were doing to join their sister. When they found out the subterfuge that had been perpetrated on her, they too shot daggers at the men with their eyes.

"Uh oh," David whispered.

"Damn!" exclaimed Gil. "We're in deep shit, now."

They both contritely hung their heads, as they stood to take the dressing down by their wives. And the ladies were experts at the dressing, too. But then, it seemed, the men were forgiven. The group of women crowded around their men, rubbing against them, inflaming their manhood and kissing upon them.

They had gotten away with it ... Almost.

Just as suddenly, the women broke away and began to ignore them. David reached out to Angela, but she pulled away and turned from him. The others followed suit. The same thing happened when Gil reached for Elizabeth. What the men couldn't see was the women's faces as they had turned away. Knowing grins were shared. Oh yes, they would pay for the theft, later that night. But not in the way most people would think.

After dinner the children were put to bed. Then payback began as the women began to tease their mates. Elizabeth and Adele both took one of Gil's hands and led him to their wagon. Several of his wives grabbed David's hands while the others were touching someplace on his body. They led him to the big wagon and pushed him up the ladder. The younger ones climbed up the back and were waiting for him as he made his way into the wagon. They had quickly stripped and were naked on the bedding. The others were behind him and dropped their dresses just as quickly. Then they worked on his clothing.

Get back at him? They forced him to pleasure them all night. It was the graying of dawn that he saw just before he closed his eyes in exhaustion. His wives had taken turns. Some rested while the others actively pursued their pleasure. Angela orchestrated the session and participated the least, achieving only three orgasms. David didn't realize just how sore he would be as he dropped out of consciousness.

Gil only had it a little easier. With only two wives, he didn't get as tired. However, they still performed a perfect tag team match on him. As soon as Elizabeth came, Adele took over. Once Adele achieved orgasm, Elizabeth was there for a return match. And so it continued most of the night. Although they didn't make it to dawn, they still acquitted themselves respectfully! Gil, too, would be sore for a while.

The sun had long risen when the men finally dragged themselves out of their respective wagons. The women had gotten up as usual and had the camp in order. The children had been fed and the livestock attended to. The two wagons not being used for sleeping had been teamed up and moved in line. As soon as the men came out for breakfast (actually brunch, but that word hadn't been invented, yet), the teens began setting up the other two wagons for travel.

By the time the men had finished eating, the wagons were ready. All that remained was to stow the campstools and rinse the plates off. That done, the train moved out, headed for Tucson and Tombstone. The Butterfield stage route was easy to follow. Travelers in both directions used it quite frequently. The stage wasn't the only one to ride that route. Latecomers to the boom in California chose the route as a good way to avoid impassable mountains in winter.

About half way to Tucson, they found out the disadvantage of traveling the Butterfield Stage route. But fortunately, David was riding lead and he had a better view from the high seat of the Conestoga. About four hundred yards ahead, a tall saguaro cactus toppled over across the road.

"Bandits!" he yelled immediately, as he pulled up the team. He tied off the reins to the running brake and flipped back into the box. Georgette was there with his long gun and a couple of Winchesters. She was holding her greener and ready for a fight. The other wagons had bunched up side by side to cut off the passageway. No one was going to get past them. Each wagon had one person stationed at the rear just in case these bandits were smart enough to station men behind where the wagons stopped.

The wagons each had the brake set and guns poked out over the seat backs. They became good shooting stands with the bags of sand draped over them. That had been a suggestion of Rhoda's since both she and Lisa had trouble holding the rifles in the off-hand shooting stance. This way, they could rest the barrels on the sandbag to steady their shots.

When the wagons stopped and didn't advance further, that called the bandit's hand. Twelve riders came out from behind the stand of Palo Verde trees at the gallop, their guns blazing. David noticed that one of the men was urging on the others and that's who he picked for his first shot. The .45/70 Govt. cartridge boomed as the slug was sent hurling through space. It connected with the highwayman's sternum, shattering it and forcing fragments into his chest. It deflected the path of the 500gr slug just enough to miss the poor man's heart.

However, the shattered bone made a mess of his Aorta and the man was dead as he hit the ground. His companions didn't notice and they continued their pell mell advance. David's shot was the signal to shoot and eight rifles began a systematic decimation of the bandits. They let one rider advance and took out all the others in turn. They were chuckling to themselves when finally the man noticed the others weren't shooting. He looked around and pulled up short. Gil shot the man's hat off his head. David shot the man's gun and hitting only the weapon, it went flying off.

Not to be outdone, Jessica shot and severed the reins on the man's horse. Grinning she waved to the others. The man had no recourse but to raise his hands in surrender. Gil jumped down from the wagon and was advancing on the man when the boom of a greener sounded. Gil kept the man covered as David and the others rapidly moved to the back of the wagons. Looking out, they saw two men laying in the dirt, bleeding out from the shotgun blast. David dismounted the wagon and approached them, guns drawn. The man on the left moved his gun arm towards David and was rewarded with a .44 slug in the head.

The remaining bandit was groaning and rocking back and forth in the dirt. His weapon was behind and off to the side. He wasn't looking for a weapon, just relief from the pain.

"Them two was trying to sneak up on us." Wayne spoke.

"We knowed they was up to no good," Hannah took over, "So we took care of them. We shot them good."

"Funny thing is, we both fired at the same time. It sounded like only one of us shot, but we both got empty guns, now," Wayne completed the thought.

David checked on the man, who was fading fast. He asked the man if he had any last words but didn't get a response. A moment later, a long exhale of air was heard. It was the man's last breath. David told Wayne to collect the loot from the bodies and suggested Hannah look for their horses. David headed forward to question the lone survivor of the repelled attack.

"Sir, it seems in your misguided zeal, you forgot the 'Golden Rule'. Can you give me a reason why I shouldn't hang you? Or at least, turn you over to the nearest marshal?" David asked.

The man was actually a young boy of about thirteen. He was scared and trembling.

After a moment he blurted out, "My uncle made me. I didn't want to come, but he said iff'n I didn't he'd take it out on Sarah, again. Sarah is my big sister. She's fifteen. He beat her something fierce for messin' up dinner, last week. I think he's foolin' around with her, you know, with her privates and stuff. She started to sprout and he kept touching her. Mama taught us not to do things like that."

"Why didn't your mama stop him, then?"

"Cause she died. Had an accident, or so Uncle Henry said. Fell off the wagon on a trip to town and hit her head on a rock. We buried her two months ago. Uncle Henry came to live with us after Indians killed Pa. I never did like him much. He gave me the willies, the way he looked at Ma and Sarah. I'm glad he's dead."

"Which one is Uncle Henry?" David queried.

"Ah, let me see. I don't see him near here. He has a black vest and hat. Carries pearl handled Colts and a bandolier over his shoulder."

"Was he the leader?"

"Yes, he got the gang together. When Sam McGee took off for the Yukon, he made me take Sam's place."

"Well, your Sarah won't have to worry about her honor any more. I shot him first, just after your gang broke out from the trees."

"WHAT?" he exclaimed. "Why that's almost five hundred yards away. You're the best shot in the world! What gun did you use. Pa used to be a gunsmith and he was teaching me the trade. Can I see it?"

The boy's excitement got the better of him and he forgot he was in trouble. Georgette held of the big gun and the boy recognized it.

He asked if it was a .45/70 gov't. Sharps. David told him that his identification was correct. Then the boy remembered his circumstance.

"Oh. I guess I'm in big trouble now, huh. But what about Sarah? She will be all alone with no one to watch out for her. She will be put out, homeless, helpless. You gotta let me go back to her. You gotta!"

"How old are you, boy?" Gil asked.

"Thirteen, sir. I'm big for my age, so mama used to say. I have book learning too. Mama made sure we went to school, at least until Mr. Crane, the schoolteacher left for back East. I can read, write and cypher better than anyone in town."