Chapter 8

While I was waiting on the women, I dropped by my favorite saloon to talk to my favorite bartender, Sandy McGregger. "Howdy, Sandy? Anything new on the home front?"

"Ah, good afternoon, Mr. North. Did you have any luck finding that blackguard that has been plaguing the road to Eagle Pass?"

"First of all, Sandy, please call me Jesse. You make me nervous wondering where Mr. North might be.

"As to the other matter: well, I ain't sure. I did pick up a bandit that could be the man you told me about. You ever hear of Henry Hathaway?"

"Well, now, Jesse, there was a man from near here by that name. He was a no-good galoot that was always causing trouble. He could have been the man, but I guess that there is no way to be sure. Anyway, thank you and congratulations for ridding us of another man who should never have breathed the first time.

"You want your usual Mexican beer?"

"Yes, I do. I probably have time for one. I just got married the other day, and my wives are out shopping for a wardrobe suitable for Oak Junction."

"Well, congratulations on joining us men who didn't know when to say no. This beer is on the house as my wedding present. But wait, you said two wives. If you don't mind my asking, how did that happen?"

A bartender had two stocks in trade: one is alcohol and the other is conversation. Having something new to talk about is always welcome, especially well away from the normal civilization. So I paid for my beer by telling Sandy how I came to have two wives. Of course, I gave him the edited version where I left out the vast amount of money that I picked up. It wouldn't take him long to find out that I was now rich, but I was going to let him find that out for himself.

I had managed to nurse the beer until it was time for me to find my wives for supper. I headed for the hotel, but I did not expect to find them there. Oh, hell, maybe I would be pleasantly surprised. Nope, I wasn't.

They were not in the room nor in any of the usual parts of the hotel where one would expect to find women, so I set out to find them. The most logical search pattern would be to visit the stores that they would likely shop in. Surely, I would find them in one of those places. As my luck would have it, the first store I entered was the correct one. Except, something was seriously wrong!

Both of my wives were backed up against the counter and the clerk was lying on the floor with blood flowing from a gash in his head. About 10 feet from my wives were two men with guns drawn and pointed at the women. One of them said, "Come on, whore, give me the money. I know that you have it. If you don't come up with the money pretty damned soon, somebody is going to die."

Dammit, I did not dare shoot the men for fear of them shooting the women by reflex. I had to do something to turn their attention elsewhere so that I could draw and shoot. The only thing that I could think of quickly was to push over a table of goods and hope that the clatter would cause them to turn away from the women.

No sooner thought than done. I pushed over a display of hats, and the display counter made quite a noise when it hit the floor. The noise accomplished what I had in mind. Both men turned in my direction, and I drew my Starr with my right hand and began shooting. I fired five times and made four hits on the men. One bullet missed, but I would settle for four out of five at any time under these circumstances.

This was one of the few times that I did not bother to reload before turning my attention somewhere else. I ran to the women, and both collapsed into my arms as soon as they recognized me. When I got the hoped for answer to the question of their good health, I asked about the man lying on the floor.

Martha answered, "That poor man tried to help us when we were first accosted. He was hit over the head with a gun barrel. I hope that he is not seriously injured."

I looked him over and found that he only had the gash and no broken bones. I was still bent over him when the marshal ran into the store. "What's going on here? Ladies, are you all right?"

Martha answered, "Yes, we are all okay, thanks to our husband. That gentleman he is bending over was hurt by those two dead men before my husband showed up. The two dead men tried to rob us just before our husband walked in. As you can see, the dead men are still holding their guns, and we are very lucky that our husband showed up when he did. Can you get some medical assistance for the injured man?"

"Yes, Ma'am. I look into that right away. Please wait here until I get back. I should be gone only a few minutes."

The marshal was a man of his word and was back within 15 minutes. Behind him was a woman who looked like she had to be 100 years old if she were a day. She shooed me out of the way and bent down to take a close look at the injured man. "Tish, tish. Harold Gains, I have told you a million times that you are too gallant for your own good! Well, this time you will pull through with only a major headache and a scar that will look very dashing. Sir, (talking to me) please hand me that bag that I brought in with me ... Ah, thank you. Now, if y'all will allow me to work, I will have Harold back to life in only minutes."

The woman took from the bag a bottle of what looked like whiskey. She used it to wash off the blood from Mr. Gains' head and face. She replaced the bottle and took out a needle and some thread. Six deft moves with her amazing fingers was enough to have the short gash sewn up and looking very professional. She then held something that smelled like ammonia under his nose and restrained him when Mr. Gains tried to jump back. Lastly, she took a bottle from her bag and said, "Harold, take three deep swallows of this here laudanum that I brewed myself. That should knock out your headache in about 10 minutes."

When she finished, I asked, "Ma'am, how much do you charge for such excellent service?"

"Well, normally I would charge $1 for that treatment, but Harold and I go back so far that I won't charge him anything."

"Ma'am, you may work for free for your friends, but please allow me to contribute something for the care you have given this man who may well have saved the lives of my wives." With that statement, I gave her an eagle ($10). She tried to refuse it, but I would not let her. Almost in resignation at my stubbornness, she nodded her head and walked out of the store.

He was aware of what was going on around him by now, so I said, "Mr. Gains, I am Jesse North. I want to thank you for trying to help my wives. I truly appreciate what you tried to do. If there is ever anything that I can do for you, please feel free to call upon me."

He thanked me, and I turned to the Marshal. "Marshal, is there anything else you need from me or my wives. If not, we would like to leave so that we may eat supper."

"No, go ahead, Mr. North, Ladies. I know these two men, and they were bound to wind up like this eventually. You just saved someone else from possibly getting hurt by them. I'll take care of the details. Oh, before you go, perhaps you would like to see if there is anything on either one of them that you would like to have."

"No, thank you. Please let Mr. Gains have that privilege. They have nothing that I want. Good day to you, Sir, and thank you. Now, Ladies, where are your packages so that I can carry them for you?"

That produced some giggles, but they did not hesitate to point out a stack of packages that I was going to have some problems carrying. I am sure that I was an amazing and amusing sight as I walked back to the hotel with my wives. They did help me by each carrying one package, and I guess that was all that I could hope for.

We ate supper at a Mexican restaurant where we could get something besides beef and beans. The tacos were excellent, and I really enjoyed the chili. I had Mexican beer with my supper and the women had coffee. They were familiar with Mexican beer and liked it, but it was not proper for ladies to drink beer in public, so they settled for the coffee.