The Journey West

I heard a girl scream. I dismounted and tied Bay to some brush. I could hear a struggle just ahead of me. As I stepped out of the brush I saw a burly trapper trying to rape a young girl. In three long strides I closed the space between us and buried my war hatchet in the back of his skull. Blood went everywhere, the girl screamed again when she saw all the blood and me standing there with a hatchet in my hand. I put my finger to my lips to quiet her. She understood and whispered, “Please Mister go and help my sister”, pointing further up the creek.

I said, “Stay here,” but she seemed stunned and didn’t respond. I hurried along moving like a shadow among the trees in the morning’s early light. I could hear the struggles up ahead; a man was breathing hard and cussing. As I stepped into the clearing, I saw a slender older man groping with a tall girl. He had torn her dress----it was ripped and hanging down to her waist. You could tell he had a tiger by the tail. When he saw me he turned loose of the girl and went for his knife. I shot the man two times in the chest at point blank range. He was dead before he hit the ground

The girl said, “My sister!” and pointed.

I answered saying, “She’s okay.”

She said, “Thanks Mister.”

I stared at her with my mouth open and I was blushing as red as a sugar beet. She tried to arrange her dress to cover her large breast, but it didn’t help much. I took off my vest and put it on her. To my shock it made her even more stimulating. I had to look away.

She said, “Mister could you please come with me to check on my brother, he has been shot.”

While following her, I was taken aback by her natural beauty and her long auburn hair blowing in the breeze. I had never seen a girl that grabbed me like this. In the clearing up ahead, I saw a man lying on the ground in front of the cabin. He looked dead. His head was all bloody and he had been shot in the chest but to my surprise he was still alive.

I asked, “Will you help me carry him inside?” She nodded. That was a mistake. As she bent over to help, I saw the cream color skin of her shoulders and large beautiful breast. I blushed all the more. I hoped that she hadn’t seen me looking, but I could tell that she had.

I told her, “Go fetch your sister while I clean up the boy.”

She hesitated then said as matter of fact, “Dad is around back---shot dead” then she turned and ran down to the creek to find her sister. The boy had a bad scalp wound, probably caused by the use of a gun barrel on his head. The gun shot was still bleeding. I went and brought some clean water from the creek. Before I had finished, the two girls returned. They took over the cleaning and bandaging of their brother.

I went to check on the two outlaws. I drug them off aways and hung them by the neck in a tree. I collected their guns and belonging. Then led the four horses back to the cabin, and put them in the small pen around back. This took me more than an hour. Upon my return I didn’t enter the cabin. After a while the second girl came outside. She had put on a different dress, but I still blushed when she looked me in the eye.

She stepped toward me and said, “Mister, my name is Debra Crawford and by the look of things, we’re in a bad way.”

“Yes ma’am, but it could have been a lot worse.” I told her I had disposed of the two outlaws. Then I said, “My name is William Montgomerie, Mr. Hayes, the owner of the trading post back at Council Grove, sent me to check on Mr. Crawford and his family.

“I came to see if your Dad was interested in joining up with us heading west. I’m leading a small wagon train; it will arrive here tomorrow afternoon.” After a pause, I said, “Y’all are still welcome to join us.”

“Do you realize the extra trouble we’ll be?” I didn’t answer her but said, “Well, let’s take this one step at a time. First we need to bury your Dad. Do you have a pick and shovel?”

“Yes, I’ll go get them.”

While she was gone to fetch them I checked out their wagon. It was in very good shape and it appeared that some of their things were already packed. When she returned with the shovel I told her, “I’ll dig the grave and gather some rocks. Y’all take care of the boy, and if you have time, continue packing the wagon.”

She said, “Thanks, William”, with tears in her eyes.

I turned and walked around to the back of the cabin. The ground was hard, so I took my time, knowing the girls would need time to gather their thoughts. Unless I was wrong, their brother was going to die. He was shot dead center. It was noon by the time I had finished the grave. The mules needed to be turned out to graze. But I kept the newly acquired horses in the pen. I unsaddled Bay and let her graze with the mules; I knew she wouldn’t go far. I went around to the front of the cabin and knocked on the door. Debra came outside with her sister; they appeared to be handling this tragedy better that I’d have expected. Their tear streaked faces showed worry and sadness.