Chapter 19

Jake called a halt on the trail about ten miles short of the cabin. It was the middle of the afternoon and, although they could probably have reached home late in the day, Jake thought it prudent to camp for one more night and arrive in daylight.

It was two weeks since they left Black Eagle. They had stayed for two nights and had a restful day in between, but they were actually glad to get back in the saddle and continue their journey.

Black Eagle had offered to return the two ponies that Jake had given him to help get his family to safety the previous winter. Jake told him they were a gift, and that anyway he had no use for two Indian ponies. So Black Eagle had given him other items that were, in his eyes, of equivalent value and the packhorses now carried four buffalo hides, a fringed buckskin jacket for Jake (it was too warm for him to be wearing it yet) and a dress each for the three girls.

Pale Deer and Fair Hands had been shocked that they wore pants like white men and, even though it had been explained to them that they rode white men's saddles as it made covering long distances more comfortable and that riding style couldn't be done in a dress, they had insisted that all three had nice dresses to wear. As Sally had actually been wearing one of Grey Cloud's - she got two!

They quickly fell back into their routine. They practiced with guns after their midday meal, and with wooden knives at the end of the day. Sue had shown the other three the finer points of shooting a bow and arrow - Sally had obtained one of her own from the Utes in exchange for a steel knife they had taken from the three bandits.

Sally and Grey Cloud were getting much better at fighting with knives and Jake was giving Sue a hard workout as well - it was no longer certain she was better than him.

The long hours in the saddle, and the exercise in the evening, had other benefits too. Sally and Grey Cloud were now very much fitter and quite capable of riding for eight hours a day. Sally's stallion had taken to its new rider - it had tried to bite her a couple of times in the beginning but a sharp blow across his nose every time he did it had stopped that. She still had to be alert around him, and the others were amused at the way the large horse tried to sneak up on his diminutive rider if she wasn't paying attention. It was as though the two of them had a continuing game they were playing.

Because it was difficult to gallop with the pack horses, from time to time one of the party would challenge another to a race around the next tree, or to a rock. Packhorse reins were passed over and then they two were off in a cloud of dust. It made the days more interesting and kept the horses in good condition.

A couple of times, after having checked the packs, Jake led the whole band off on a run. The four riders had six other horses to control between them so that had been a bit stressful as well although everyone appreciated the fun of it.

The other big change had been in their language. All four now spoke pretty good Shoshone and Grey Cloud's English was passable. They had been conversing in the former in the mornings and the latter in the afternoons, which had rather forced Sally and Grey Cloud to learn each other's language. It had made their relationships stronger as well, as now all four could join in any conversation.

So it was a fit and cohesive group that arrived at Jake's cabin the following day. Jake went first and Sue followed, both of them ready for trouble, while the other two girls brought the extra horses along behind.

All was not as they had left it. The concealed entrance off the trail was a bit overgrown but Jake had expected that. However, the door to the cabin was off its hinges and looked as though someone had kicked it in. The back door was open and one hinge was broken as well.

In the stable the partitions had been knocked flat and stamped on while the hay in the loft was now strewn everywhere. It was almost as if someone had been searching for something hidden and had turned over all the hay looking for it.

It could have been passers-by, looking for food or valuables, but Jake had a suspicion that James Masters, or at least some of his men, had come looking for him.

Anyway, at least they hadn't burned it - perhaps that would have been too clear a sign that Masters was after him. So the rest of the day was spent tidying up. Jake did the best he could with the hinges and propping the least damaged partitions back up in the stables. Sally had found an undamaged broom and was sweeping three months' dirt and dust out of the cabin with all the doors and windows wide open to help clear it. Grey Cloud looked after all the horses while Sue disappeared with a shovel she had recovered from the stable.

A short while later Sue shouted from around the back of the house for the other two girls to help her and they soon reappeared dragging Sue's bathtub that had a dirty cloth over it. She had buried it, complete with pots and pans inside, when they went off on their trip. So at least that hadn't been stolen.

By the end of the day they were almost organised. Water had been fetched from the stream, a fire was burning in the fireplace and food was being cooked. Sue had been out setting snares but meantime they would finish off the last of the dried meat they had with them - Grey Cloud had made a stew of it with some added roots and plants she had found in the bushes behind the cabin.

The day's work had left them all feeling grubby so they stripped off and had a good wash in the stream. Grey Cloud was getting to like Sue's soap while Sally had never been as clean as she was these days.

They sat around after their meal. Grey Cloud had brewed some koffeee for them all, although their supplies would run out soon. As was now her custom, a naked Sally sat on an equally-naked Jake's lap and he had his hand on her thigh, stroking it absent-mindedly as they talked. Sue had a dress on - it was that time of the month for her and she was wearing a cloth underneath it. Grey Cloud was wearing a check shirt and nothing else. They were all relishing the idea that they had reached the end of their journey.

After their koffeee, the pile of furs awaited, now made even more comfortable with the addition of the buffalo hides. For Grey Cloud, it would be her first night in a wooden house. Sue had shown her all around, and demonstrated how the outhouse worked, and perhaps it wouldn't be so bad after all, particularly as Jake was there with her.

Two days later, they were all back in the saddle again, albeit with just one packhorse horse between them this time. The ride into Johnson City would take a day and a half so they each had a blanket behind their saddles, but otherwise they were travelling light. The packhorse carried the buffalo hides and was to bring their purchases back.

All four were armed. Jake, Sue and Grey Cloud had their Paterson revolvers at their waists and their rifles in boots hanging from their saddles. Jake had his Colt Dragoon wrapped in his blanket behind him. Sally had her favourite shotgun cradled in her arms and had a pistol thrust into her belt. All four were in buckskin pants and coloured shirts.

At the end of the first day they pulled up at one of Jake's regular stopping points. With a stone fire circle already in place, the girls quickly had a fire going and a stew made from ingredients they had brought with them on the boil. Jake rubbed down the horses, helped by Sally once she had unpacked the bedding.

That evening they all spoke English. They had done so for a couple of days as they got ready for their visit to Johnson City. Sue was now almost fluent, although she had an accent. Grey Cloud was coming along nicely and could mostly understand what was being said and even Sally's language had improved from the rather coarse way of speaking she had when they had met her.

After Jake had finished his coffee, and the girls their tea, they all settled down for the night. This time it was Grey Cloud who had everyone's attention and she learned some new English words in the process.

The bell on the back of the door to George Craig's store rang as a group of people came in. George emerged from the back of the store to see who it was. He recognised the man in front.

"Jake!" he exclaimed. "How are yer? I haven't seen you around here in a while."

Jake strode over to him and offered his hand. "Hey there George. It's good to see you again. We've been away for a while and just got back the other day. We thought we'd ride in and see how you all are."

"Well, Lisa will be pleased to see yer, and Dove too. They're out back but I'll tell 'em you're here." With that, George disappeared back through the door Jake waited. George was the man he had bought his cabin from when he first arrived in the area and was probably his best friend locally. It wasn't long before the store owner, who also acted as town mayor when he needed to, reappeared - closely followed by two women.

Lisa Craig went up to Jake and took his hand. "Nice to see you again, Jake," she told him.

Meanwhile Dove, who made the buckskin clothing that the store sold and also helped out around the place, rushed up to Sue and gave her a hug. "Sue..." she started, but then stopped as she realised there were two other young women standing behind her.

Sue introduced Grey Cloud and Sally to both Dove and Lisa, and then to George, while Jake looked on. George looked surprised when Sue said that Grey Cloud was Jake's OTHER wife as that implied that Sue was his wife too, which she hadn't been when he last saw the couple though they had certainly been very close. And how did the blonde girl, Sally, fit into the arrangement?

Lisa almost dragged all the other women into the back of the store "so we can catch up", so George knew he would hear all about it later.

The two men were rather left on their own in the store. They got to talking and Jake asked what guns the other man had for sale. "I got one of them Colt revolvers like yours," he was told. That was good news to Jake as he had wanted one for Sally so he arranged to buy it and a set of reloading tools for it.

While talking, Jake mentioned the bigger but much heavier revolver he had obtained. George said that it sounded like a Colt Dragoon, a revolver that the company had started making the year before. Jake fetched it in from where he had it in his pack behind his saddle and George confirmed that's what it was. He hefted it in his hand.

"It is heavy, isn't it?" he exclaimed. "It's not as big as those Walker Colts that were around a few years ago, but it's still a heavy weapon."

"That's why I kept my Paterson," Jake told him. "I can see this being useful in a gunfight but I really don't want to carry it around on my belt all day."

"Why don't you get a holster made that will hang from your saddle?" George asked him. "That way it's handy when you need it, and you don't have to get it out of your pack which could take too long."

"Good idea!" Jake enthused. "I need some other things doing so I'll go and see Erica Gundersson and ask her about it."

The girls were still chattering away in the back so Jake decided to go to the saloon while he waited, and then they could all go and see Erica, the blacksmith's wife, later. No doubt there would be more chattering then - Jake groaned to himself.

Taking just his own horse, Blaze, Jake rode down to the saloon. Bert the barman was still there, seemingly as unhappy as ever, so Jake ordered a beer.

"What's happened round here recently?" Jake asked him.

"Nothin'," the morose barkeep replied. "Been real quiet round here without you and yer squaw stirring up trouble. Some of those Masters' boys came in lookin' fer yer a while back. Said they'd been ter yer place but couldn't find yer. Reckon they didn't look hard enough."

"I was away," Jake told him. "But I'll be around for a while now. When did they come in last?"

"Coupla days ago," was the reply. "But they comes in 'ere quite often."

Jake hoped they didn't come in today as he didn't want any trouble. The last time he'd crossed swords with Masters and his men several people had died. Sue had killed one in this very salon and then, when Masters himself came to town, three more had died in front of the store - all Masters' men. Jake himself had been shot in the shoulder, so he didn't want a repeat match.

He was just thinking on that when the door of the saloon swung open and four women came in. Bert and the few other customers watched open-mouthed as not only were there women in a saloon, but they were Indian women as well! Bert swallowed, remembering what happened the last time an Indian girl came into his saloon.

Three of the young women were in white man's garb - buckskin pants, coloured shirts, boots, hats. In fact, one was a white girl going by the blonde hair that hung down her back. All were armed to various degrees, and one was the girl who had killed that man of Masters' by knifing him in the belly right in front of him. She had two knives hanging from her belt even now.

The other Indian was a little older and was wearing a knee-length buckskin dress and high moccasins. He recognised her from seeing her in the town store a few times.

All four went up to Jake and started jabbering at him in some Indian language. The blonde put an arm round him - wasn't the killer his woman? But all four were standing very close to him.

Jake quietened them down and turned to Bert. "Do you have food on?" he asked.

"We have some chilli and beans," was the reply, so Jake ordered five portions and then made all the women sit around one of the larger tables in the saloon itself. What was he doing? Didn't he know that women didn't eat in saloons?

One of the other drinkers came up to the bar. "What's goin' on?" he asked Bert. "Why are you letting those Injuns in here? And they're squaws too! Why haven't you thrown them out?"

"'Cos last time one of those women was in here she killed a man, and I ain't gonna mess with them," was the terse reply.

"Whaa? How did she do that'?"

"He tried to grab her and she stuck a big knife in his belly. The man backed her up."

"She-eet! What 'appened then?"

"He woz one of Jim Masters' men so he came looking for them. He rode inter town with four men."

"So how come they're still here? I'da thought Masters woulda killed em."

"Coz Masters may've ridden in with four men, but 'e only rode out with one."

"Did that man kill th'other three then?" the drinker asked, impressed.

"Nah - the squaw killed two of them. Shot one in the street and brought the other down with a rifle while 'e was riding away."

The other man turned to look at the group who were now sitting around a table, all leaning in and talking to each other. He saw that two of the Indian women had gunbelts on, the type of cross-draw gunbelts that you didn't see often. There was a white girl too, with blonde hair. She just had a pistol thrust into her belt but she also had a shotgun propped up against the table beside her.