Chapter 6

I cleaned up what I could and headed back to Branson with my loot, including 35 horses! I had the horses on lead ropes, and, let me tell you, they would have been a pain if they had not been well-behaved. Still, it took me the rest of the day to get them to a livery stable and sold. Actually, 35 horses were too many for one stable to buy, so I had to visit four places before I had dumped the last of the horses. However, I was now rich with what I had been able to find at the outlaw camp. Everything from the Bushwhackers combined with what I had previously, I now had over $4,500. An ordinary man could come close to retiring on that much money!

Well, I just dumped all of the gold and silver into the strongbox I had found at the camp and took a room in Branson's finest hotel, at least they said they were. I paid 50¢ for the room, but I did get clean sheets and a promise of no bedbugs. I made a point of telling the desk clerk that he would hear personally from me if he was wrong! A hot bath only cost me 10¢ more, and I was feeling pretty good by the time I finished supper and went to bed.

Man, what a dream! Sometime, in the middle of the night, I was visited by a man in a white robe and skull cap. He was of middle age and sported a very good looking Van Dyke beard and mustache. I could not tell much more about him because he was surrounded by a gray cloud that was totally opaque.

The man said, "John Wilson, we know that you have been wondering why you were selected for the life that you have been leading. We also know that you have enjoyed all of them up until this last one. I am here to offer some explanations, though I will not answer all of you questions.

"You are part of an experiment and testing program that will tell us more about the physical and emotional characteristics of humans. We are especially interested in your ability to adapt to harrowing and dangerous situations. So far, you have exceeded our expectations. If the rest of humanity were as good as you, the rest of the universe might well be in dire peril!

"One factor needs to be cleaned up: we are not directly responsible for the death of your latest wife, Mary. I cannot classify her death as an accident, nor was it specifically planned. It simply showed what could happen when a lack of training faces a do-or-die situation. Mary was strong enough, both physically and mentally to cope with that last attack, but she was not trained on how to fend off that many attackers at once. She was caught up in the belief that so many women of your race have that enemies will behave in a straight-forward, not devious manner. Therefore, she was unprepared for an attack from her rear that resulted in her death.

"You blame us, and you blame yourself for the lack of experience that caused her to die, but neither one of us could have sufficiently trained her in the time available. She was determined to head for Branson to look for her former husband's murderers, and there was nothing that you could have done to slow her down. She would have left you if you had refused to accompany her. Even Mary did not fully realize that, but that was how committed she was.

"On the other hand, look at the situation this way. If you had not come along during that rape when you met her, Mary would not have survived—the rapist would have killed her when he finished. However, your intervention gave her several more weeks of life in which you taught her some of the true joys of living, and that included sex. Therefore, you, and us indirectly, added much to the life of a good, but ill fated, woman.

"We know that you were about to refuse to cooperate with us any farther, and that is why I am here. We still need to know more about you and your abilities before we can call our experiment a success, and I am asking that you continue to work with us. I cannot tell you our ultimate goal, as that would tend to contaminate the results of the experiment, but be assured that we have the best interests of humanity at heart.

"However, I can tell you this: most of your future adventures will be in the 1820 to 1900 era in the euphoniously named Wild West. Your purpose will not be to change the grand path of history, but you will succeed in helping people who would be in serious difficulties without your presence. Rest assured, the people you help will be appreciative, and you will do much to improve their lives.

"I hope that tells you enough so that you will continue to work with us and for us until the experiment is complete. I know that you will find some of the experiment to be boring and a drag on your patience, and some of it will be painful, but know that it is in a good cause and will be a great service to the human race! Please stay with us."

"Okay, I feel better about many things, now, including my loss of Mary. Nevertheless, I will never forget her! As for your experiment, I don't mind cooperating with you, based on what you have told me, and I will try to perform as you wish me to. Now, let me get some rest, or I will be damned grumpy in the morning!" I know that I heard a chuckle as my dream shifted to a memory of a hot night with a babe in New York City in my first life.

I woke up the next morning feeling much better about my life and my prospects. I still was not sure whether or not that experience was just a dream or was a true visit by my handlers, but I was going to treat it like it was true, since it did go a long way toward preserving my sanity.

I had no idea what I was going to do next. I had several choices. I could hang around in Missouri fighting the Bushwhackers, or I could go somewhere else. I did know from my history lessons that the Indians seized the opportunity to strike at the Whites when the Union withdrew so many of the soldiers from the West to the East to fight the Confederates. I spent two days cogitating on that subject, and finally decided to head west. I figured that I could do more good in the long run by helping the isolated settlers in the Western Plains against the Indians. Who knew what I might find out there?

The next day, I began preparing for my trip. I bought a pack mule that was supposed to follow without a lead. That was going to be handy, if it were true. I planned to live off the land as much as I could, but I did load up with enough coffee to last me for a while. I also loaded up with ammunition for my Henry and my Sharps. I put an extra Henry in my mule's pack. The Henry ammunition would also work in my converted Starr DAs. I also bought a spyglass (telescope) because the field glasses of the day were barely useful. All of that was added to the usual camping equipment, and my mule was starting to object to the weight. She eventually listened to reason, and the mule and I got along well. What do you expect from an animal named Ada?

Branson was far enough south that I had a choice of going through Kansas or through Indian Territory (Oklahoma). I decided to go through Kansas for no special reason, except that it seemed like a good idea at the time. Eventually, I was headed toward Colorado where there had been a lot of Indian trouble, according to my history lessons. However, in Kansas, I was going to be troubled by Jay Hawkers, the equivalent of the Missouri Bushwhackers. Oh, well, the vast majority of them were bandits, too.

I ran into my last set of Bushwhackers as I was about to leave Missouri. There were still plenty of hills and trees along here, and I was not sure where the border was between the states. Not that that made much difference—the locals probably were not even exactly sure where it was. Well to the north, the border was marked by the Missouri River, but along here there was nothing but an occasional surveyor's marker, and that might even have been moved by some enterprising land speculator.

Anyway, I had camped among some trees at a small stream. I hoped that the trees would mask my fire, but that was not to happen. I was just finishing up my last cup of coffee when two men rode up. They were not even courteous enough to ask permission first, but rode to my fire and even kicked a little dirt onto my bedroll with a horse's hoof. I know that was an accident, but it was the principle of the thing!