Chapter 1

"Hey, Billy! Ya wanna go ta Abilene, Kansas?"

"Hell, Hiram, why would I want ta go ta Abilene, Kansas?"

"'Cause Jake Ephram is hirin' drovers ta run a flock of cattle from his ranch ta Abilene, Kansas usin' the Chisholm Trail. He's payin' $25 a month and found. Ya're just like me—ya ain't had a job in over a year an' ya ain't got no prospects. THAT'S WHY!"

"Shit! Why didn't ya say so! Sure, I want a job, an' I'll take most anythin' I kin get, so long as it's somethin' I kin live through. Where do I go ta sign up?"

Billy gulped the last of his beer and plopped the glass on the bar. It was 3¢ a glass local beer, but it did have a marked alcoholic content, so he wasn't about to waste a drop, despite its foul taste. The two friends left the Silver Dollar saloon and rode to the Rocking E ranch to sign up for the drive.

They found the foreman, Jase Culpepper, out by the corral. Hiram shouted with all his native exuberance, "HEY, JASE, WE'RE HERE TA SIGN UP FER THE DRIVE TA Abilene, Kansas!"

"Howdy, Hiram, Billy? I wondered how long it would take fer y'all ta show up. Hiram's kind of a scatterbrain, but ya, Billy, is more of the dependable type. Well, I'm glad ta see ya both. Mr. Ephram's payin' $25 and found fer a three-month cattle drive ta Abilene, Kansas. Once the cows are delivered, y'all are on yer own 'bout gittin' home.

"I got two spots open. One of them is working with the remuda (the remount horses for the cowboys), an' that's where I need ya, Hiram. Ya may be a scatterbrain, but ya gots a real knack with hosses. Ya'll be responsible fer 60-70 hosses, soz ya gonna have yer hands full. Kin ya do that, Hiram, and not screw up? We'll be dependin' on ya ta keep our mounts in good shape."

"Oh, yes sir, Jase. Ya kin depend on me when it comes ta hosses."

"Good, I'll hold ya ta that, Hiram. Now, Billy, I got a different job in mind fer ya. Mr. Ephram an' I figured that this was our first trip on the Chisholm trail, soz we was gonna need a scout. I been hopin' that ya would show up, Billy, 'cause that's the job we have in mind fer ya. Ya're a dependable man, even ifen ya are only 15 years old, an' we needs a dependable man fer this job in the worst sort of way. Do ya think that ya're up ta it?"

"Hell, Jase, I'd love ta have that job. I'm sure that I kin handle it. All I need is fer ya ta tell me what ta look fer, an' I'll find it fer ya."

"That part of the job is simple. Alls ya gots ta do is find enough water fer about 2,500 cattle an' warn us of any trouble ahead. We needs ta make 'bout 10-12 miles a day. We might have some Comanche trouble afore we gets out of Texas—I ain't too sure 'bout that. But you kin bet yer hat that we'll get some visits from rustlers long afore we gits ta Indian Territory.

"The other thing ya gotta do is ta make sure that we don't ruffle no feathers as we cross a farmer's land. Ya gotta steer us clear of planted crops soz we don't trample them inta the ground. We also want ta stay away from a local herd soz we don't have ta waste time gittin' them separated, again. Kin ya do all that?"

"I'm sure that I kin, Jase. I'm lookin' forward ta the opportunity. When do we start?"

"I'm plannin' on leavin' in four days, soz ya need ta be here in three. Come on with me, an' I'll git ya signed up."

Billy and Hiram rode back to town full of good spirits. Jobs were damned hard to come by in the summer of 1867, and they were glad to have such important jobs paying such a high wage. Right now, a man was lucky to find a job paying $2 a week, and that job did not include food. All the veterans from the War and the freed slaves competing for the available jobs in a depressed economy made life hard for almost everybody. A person did what he or she had to do to make a living, even if, sometimes, it was not completely legal.

For example, Billy's older sister by 2 years was earning most of the money for the family by working as a free-lance prostitute at 25¢ a trick. A couple of times, Billy had to act as her enforcer when a customer refused to pay up. Billy was 6'-1" tall in his bare feet and weighed close to 180 pounds, which made him a formidable bit of muscle when Charlene needed help. He was also good with a knife, pistol, or rifle, and had a wide reputation, so he never had any difficulty collecting Charlene's due.

The whole family was thrilled at Billy's new job. The $75 he was going to earn would be a big help at home, assuming he came home from Abilene, Kansas. Everybody knew that he might be killed along the way in either direction, or that he might decided that he was better off not coming home, but it was Billy's life, so they were not going to dictate what he did.

Billy did have one great thing going for him at home; namely, Charlene entertained Billy when she did not have any paying customers lined up. This let Billy learn at an early age what was good for him and what was good for the woman. Charlene had a somewhat loose cunt with all of the work she was getting, so he learned how to deal with that and still give the woman the fucking she deserved. Charlene was not lying when she said that Billy was the best fuck in the county—she had sampled almost every man over 18 and most of those under that, and she still preferred the feel of Billy's 7¾ x 2-inch cock. Billy had learned that the woman really got turned on when he was able to rub the top inside of her cunt near the front while they were fucking. This was something he always tried to manage, and all of his fuck partners appreciated his effort.

Charlene saved some time for a farewell fuck party for Billy the night before he left for the Rocking E Ranch. Thus, he was feeling very good, if a little tired, when he met Hiram at their favorite saloon for the ride to the ranch. They got there in plenty of time to meet with the other drovers, most of whom they knew. They were especially pleased when they found out that the cook was to be Old Charley Thompson, the best trail cook in this part of the state.

Mr. Ephram gave everybody a pep talk right after lunch while they were still feeling good from the fine meal that Old Charley had prepared. After that, he asked Billy to join him in his office. "Mr. Harris, I am sure that Mr. Culpepper has given ya the general instructions fer what we need from ya, but I wanted to make sure that ya was properly equipped. I want ya ta take this here Spencer carbine ta replace yer Mississippi Rifle. I think the shorter barrel and the repeatin' nature of the carbine will be more appropriate fer yer new job.

"Also, please take this here modified LeMat pistol. It has nine chambers in the cylinder instead of the six in yer Colt Navy, and it has been reworked to use the same cartridges as the Spencer. That way, ya won't have ta carry two kinds of ammunition, and it will reload a hell of a lot faster than it would with the loose powder. Ya kin also load the shotgun part of the LeMat iffen ya want ta, but that is still usin' loose powder. Suit yerself on that.

"I recommend that ya spend the rest of the day familiarizing yerself with both guns. Don't worry 'bout extra ammunition, 'cause Old Charley will have plenty in the chuck wagon when ya need it."

"Thank ya, kindly, Mr. Ephram. I've always wanted a repeatin' rifle, and this here pistol is beyond my wildest hopes. I'm much obliged to ya fer both of them, an' I'll return them in good shape when we gits ta Abilene, Kansas."

"Ya're welcome, Son. I know that ya will put them to good use an' not abuse them. That's why I'm lending them ta ya. Now, git out there an' learn how ta use them ta the best advantage." This last was said with a grin.

Billy took that last admonition to heart and spent several hours working with both guns until he was as good with them as he had been with his old weapons. Those two, he stowed in the chuck wagon against future need. He filled his belt pouch with extra cartridges to use with his pistol and he stowed the Blakeslee Cartridge Box in his saddlebag. This thing was the special rack of 13 reloading tubes of seven cartridges each for the Spencer. Fully loaded, this meant that Billy had 91 cartridges in his reloader, plus the 7 in his fully loaded carbine. He could carry about 40 loose cartridges in his pouch, plus the 8 in his pistol. The shotgun load was also available in the LeMat, so Billy was a veritable walking army when fully armed. It should take him some time to run out of ammunition, and the chuck wagon held still more cartridges, making him wonder how much trouble Mr. Ephram was really expecting him to encounter.