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The Gathering Ch. 01

By: LittleOneWishes



This is just the beginning of the tale so not too much action yet, just setting the scene! Hope you enjoy my very first submission. LittleOneWishes x 

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Amie's heart began beating faster as the last of the light slipped away. It was a late summers evening and the hum of insects, usually so comforting, only seemed to emphasise the passing of time - like nature's clock ticking away her freedom. She could sense, rather than see, the sympathetic stares from behind the regulation shutters on all the houses on her street as she stood on the gathering stone. All the houses that is, except her own. Her parents and younger brother would be dining with the Shahnark tonight, to celebrate their commitment to the King. If a family was chosen to surrender a son or daughter to the program, they always received an invite for the night of the gathering. A sign of gratitude for their sacrifice, but she also suspected it was to keep them away whilst the collection was made. 

As Amie waited on the stone, she was glad her mother was not here to see this. A quiet soul, she had always tried to protect her daughter. This may have been too much to bare and Amie was sure any attempts to help her would have been construed by her hot headed father as bringing shame on their family's honour. Something that he would have been quick to punish his wife for, behind the closed doors of the family home. 

The breeze blew Amie's long, dark curls into her face. She automatically tried to push these back behind her ears, as she had done a thousand times before, but the chains newly cuffed around her slender wrists did not allow it. So she waited, unsure what was to follow. Only knowing that no girl gathered in their 18th year like her had ever returned to the residential compound that was her home. The look her mother gave her earlier that day as she slipped the cuffs on, under her father's watchful eye, sent a jolt of fear through her like nothing before.

She thought back about what she knew of the gathering. Girls and boys were both gathered, both from 18 onwards. Usually it was the boys who returned to the compound as men, sometimes decades after having been gathered. These returned men tended to hold positions of power on their return and arrived with a wives and young families in tow, having been retired from their service to the King. They never spoke of their time away, that was the unsaid rule. Only children whispered about what happen to the gathered, hushed tales of mysterious adventures and romantic encounters - much like the stories of knights, castles and battles of old. Very occasionally, girls did also return as wives into the compound, but these tended to be the older woman, gathered in their mid-twenties and they returned several years later as strange, subdued versions of their younger selves. What happened to the rest, nobody knew, only that they were taken to serve the King and his Shahnark and never returned.

Like all young girls, Amie had imagined what it would be like to stand on the gathering stone. Dressed in a simple, flowing lavender gather dress with hands cuffed to the two chains secured to the base. However, the romantic tales she had whispered about with her childhood friends seemed far away, now she faced leaving her family and everything familiar behind. As the dusk gave way to darkness, the sound of the gathering coach approaching could be heard and Amie closed her eyes and began to pray to Lahdan, goddess of virgins, to protect her.

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Bentek was on gathering duty, again. Having graduated into the Narkam last month, he had thought nights of gathering were behind him. However with the war on the Eastern front not going well, gatherings had increased in frequency and some of the less qualified gatherers had even been drafted into the army, which is how he found himself back in the coach, trawling the gather stones for offerings to be collected, classified and finally trained up to serve the King.

It was the final pick up of the day, from the deprived northern boundary of the 11th residential compound. The light had fully gone as Bentek pulled the coach up to the stone, allowing his partner, Kristof to jump off the rear platform to collect the girl. She was known as Amie and had been listed as a potential member of the King's harem.

That would mean a lot of hours over many months of training on his part, as the King had demanding standards. However, Bentek was excited to finally get his shot at training such a girl. He was also greatly relived that none of his collection were already classified as for the rape pits - preparing girls for the pits was mentally draining. As much as Bentek had learned to do his job and do it well, taking part in the mandatory rape training for pit girls was no longer his style. He was clever enough not to show this to the Shahnark though, otherwise he would never have got so far following his own gathering, almost 12 years ago.

"Come on girl, move on in, we haven't got all night" Kristof's young, hard voice rang out in the darkness as he pulled on the gathering chains.

Amie whimpered softly and jumped across onto the coach. Her last thought as she felt a jab on her neck and drifted into darkness was one of shock, as she saw three half naked teenage girls, their lavender dresses pushed up above their waists, unconscious on the floor - her companions in this gathering.

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She was surprisingly warm and comfortable as she began to wake. Amie stretched her petite 5ft frame and wondered if she could spend another few minutes in this dreamlike place before facing the day, and her duties around the compound as an assistant needlework mistress, not to mention the household chores she fitted in around that main task.

As she drifted in this half awake state, her hand moved down to her sex. Forbidden as this was, she did enjoy pushing her small, slender fingers through her secret curls, searching out her centre.

"Get up 85232" a strong, male voice barked. Startled at hearing a male voice in her bedchamber, Amie's eyes flew open and the realisation of her situation hit her. The gathering, of course. Flushing, she realised how close she had come to taking her pleasure in this new home, in the presence of a man no less!

She scrambled up, her eyes taking in her new surroundings. A simple white room, with a bed in the corner and a single door. And in that door, a man whose athletic frame fairly filled the opening. His scowl showing that he was not used to waiting around for young girls to get out of bed.

"Come, we need to start your classification."

With that, he turned and strode out of the room, his implication clear, that Amie follow him.

The new room they entered was similar to the one that they had left down the hallway, in that it was still all white. However, this room held a large padded table, at its centre, which had various straps and levers attached and was wide enough for two to lie comfortably upon it. With a nod of his head, Bentek indicated that Amie mount the table.

Confused and scared, Amie approached the centre of the room, struggling to speak due to the lump in her throat.

"Dress off first 85232"

Her light green eyes watered as she tilted her heart shaped face towards him in confusion. As she did so, a memory of his younger sister's best friend came unbidden into his mind - Elssa. He felt his heart rate increase and his hands clenched at his sides. Then the fleeting memory was gone and he schooled his face into the mask from his training. He was one of the Narkam now, he didn't have a family other than them.

He took a step towards her and grasped her arm, pulling her to him. Her head only came to his mid-chest and he caught a familiar smell of late summer grasses and wildflowers prevalent across the 10th-13th residential compounds as she struggled to twist out of his hold, a cry escaping her lips. Pushing her chin up to make eye contact, he changed tack, "shhh Amie, calm down". She froze as he spoke her name. "Come on, dress off. We both know that I can take it off you in the end, so let's avoid any unpleasantness that will follow if you're not cooperative."

Amie's mind was racing. She was remembering the girls from last night, dresses pushed up above their waists, legs splayed and the young man's leering look as he pulled her across to the coach from the stone where she had been tethered. And now the demand to undress before this stranger. It seemed that her life following the gathering was not to be that of a princess, like the stories of her childhood, but something altogether darker. Her mother's last whispered words as she meekly cuffed her only daughter to the stone, rang in her ears.

"Cooperate for salvation my love..."

Amie found herself mechanically untying the bow on her gather dress and allowing it to slip to the ground.

The man's eyes narrowed as he appraised her up and down, and he nodded in approval, his eyes dilating at the promise of curves already showing on her young body. Her dusky pink nipples, just peaking out from behind the ringlets of her dark hair, were begging to be devoured.

He pointedly nodded towards the table once more. Amie looked straight at him, jutting out her dainty chin and, without breaking eye contact, gracefully pushed herself up onto the contraption.

Without knowing it, Amie had passed the first classification test. Any girl not able to show some rudimentary control of her fear, or at least some ability to reason at this stage, would come one step closer to the rape pits. Even those earmarked as suitable for the King's harem could end up going down this path. Though with their particular looks, they would more likely be given as a reward to an officer who was that way inclined, rather than going to the pits for general use.

Another option for Bentek would be to send the girl with an officer who was being posted far from the homeland and required celebration girls for his men to use. Many of the soldiers seemed to prefer a girl either frozen in terror or fighting tooth and nail for her freedom beneath them, so celebration girls of this nature were always in demand. It was Bentek's job, as one of the Narkam, to classify the gathered correctly and send them to the place of most benefit to the King, after suitable training.

Bentek looked down on people who wanted these girls with no control or reason. Yes, like everyone, he wanted a certain level of fear in his ideal girl, but he also wanted her to desire him absolutely, to be wet for him even when he was punishing her. It was this finesse that had singled him out in his own classification many years before and sent him on the path to the Narkam, rather than following the majority of boys into the army.

Turning his attention back to the girl, to be known as 85232 until she earned a name, Bentek focused. She was still looking at him, stubbornly refusing to break her gaze. His lip curled into a smile as he moved towards her again, noting her nervous swallowing even as she held her ground. He tilted her head up towards his and pressed a kiss to her tightly closed lips, running a hand down her neck and onto her small breasts.

Cupping one breast easily in his large hand he squeezed it as he used his weight to push her backwards onto the table, continuing to press kisses upon her. In a well practiced move, he pulled her arms above her head and buckled them into restraints, straightening up whilst keeping her legs pinned to the side of the table with his lower body. Those green eyes were now dilated in a delicious fear of true understanding as 85232 realised her predicament.

Amie started to struggle, as the cuffs holding her arms immediately started to tighten, pulling her up the table. She was in shock, the man had pushed up against her and pressed his lips to hers, giving her her first real kiss. Sending a spark from her lips down to her nipples, one of which had puckered unbidden beneath his large hand. And whilst she was still processing this, her arms had been bound securely, without so much as a struggle. She was not going to allow the same to be done to her legs.

She kicked out at him as he reached for some buckles to secure her legs, but this did not seem to phase him as she was soon secured by her ankles as snuggly as at her wrists. His task complete, he simply turned his back to her and walked out of the door without a second glance, leaving her restrained, as the cuffs continued inextricably to pull her up the table.

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A tear ran down Amie's face. The contraption had finally stopped pulling her limbs over an hour ago - her final position spread both her arms and legs wide, showing her secret curls to anyone who walked through the doorway the hateful man had left by. She had screamed as he left her, oscillating between begging for her freedom and cursing him with words she had heard the farmhands use whilst they thought they were alone. But exhaustion had taken its toll and now only the single tear gave any indication that Amie was still awake.

As she lay there, unaware of Bentek's constant scrutiny through the mirrored wall to one side, she simply felt ashamed. Ashamed that all the years of covering all but her face, hands and feet had come to nothing - Lahdan, goddess of virgins would never save her now, not when she had willingly undressed before the man. But she was also ashamed that perhaps her downfall was certain even before she moved to undo that lavender bow. All those times at home when, in the early hours of the day before her family woke, she sort out her pleasure to the comforting sounds of the dawn filtered through her mind. Had Lahdan forsaken her at that point, leading to her being selected for gather just one week following her 18th birthday? This thought burned through her mind as the door opened and Bentek stepped back into the room.

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Bentek had watched countless girls go through this process, yet the adrenaline this initial surrender caused pumped through his body with no less urgency than that first time, two years following his own gather. The voice of his mentor, Fikel, explaining how to wait out the girl rang through his head.

"It'll let the little missy think through scenarios in her pretty, little head. Then break her in more gently than her imagination and she'll feel some gratitude to you for sparing her. That little missy's gratitude is your currency, to use as you mould her into the perfect little miss."

"Never forget that son, never forget" he'd continued with a chuckle, "other's may prefer to break their girls quick. Works to a point I suppose, but they'll never get a shot at training for the King's harem."

Almost to himself at the time, Fikel had continued, "prepare enough perfect missy's for the King and maybe I'll find a royal reprieve. And a girly to call my own..."

Sure enough, a few years since that first day, Fikel had indeed been assigned a wife by the Shahnark and left the Narkam compound and Bentek for good - an overseeing post had opened up in one of the better residential compounds.

Over the years, Bentek had started to dream about that life for himself too. A girl moulded to his own desires, rather than those of the King or the Shahnark - someone who only screamed by his hand. One he could keep safe for good, unlike Elssa.

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Moving swiftly, Bentek crossed the room to 85232, pushing a couple of damp curls from her face which was wet with tears from the past few hours. Her eyes started open as he brushed the side of her face and he touched a gentle hand to her lips, gesturing she remain silent.

Eyes wide, she nodded her acceptance, though he could see her breathing pick up causing her tiny ribcage to move erratically as her body prepared for flight. Ironic really, as she was fully restrained on his training table.

As she appeared to be hanging onto control well, he left her again, retrieving a warm, moist cloth from the side. He started to rub Amie down with long, soothing strokes, designed to relax - whispering reassuring words of praise to her as her breathing started to normalise.

Bentek was purposefully avoiding her breasts and pussy in his massage, building up his currency early on as he'd been taught. Simply concentrating on removing the stickiness from her day on the gather stone and journey to the compound yesterday. However, as he moved his attention down to her legs, he struggled to hide his smile, he could smell the start of her arousal and feel the involuntary movements of her hips as unbeknownst to her, her core sought its release from him.

Determining it was time to check her reaction to the next classification test, Bentek moved back up the table to Amie's head and pressed a chaste, feather light kiss to her forehead. Slowly working his way round to her lips with kisses, he pushed a little harder as he reached his destination. Whimpering softly, she parted her mouth, allowing him access. Bentek saw her cuffed hand clench above her head as he nibbled on her lower lip. 

Emboldened by this response, Bentek moved a hand back onto Amie's pert breasts, circling each nipple in turn, both puckering beautifully on command as he scraped a nail over the rosy pink nub. Below him, Amie whimpered more loudly and pushed her tongue out to lick Bentek's lips, starting to match him kiss for kiss. Considering this enough of a success for a first session, Bentek stepped away from Amie watching her expressive face as it flittered from bewilderment to sadness that his kisses had stopped and finally back to the original shame she had felt before he entered the room.

Recognising this, Bentek left the room with a cursory, "good evening 85232, I will see you in the morning", leaving Amie bound and silently crying over his expert manipulations. In time, she would be grateful things had stopped there, whilst still aware that he was unaffected by her, so held all the power.

As he left the room though, he let down his guard, breathing out heavily and readjusting his crotch which had hardened on seeing her watery, light green eyes dilated with a mixture of fear and arousal looking up at him. His new assistant Kristof came out of the observation area and gave him a withering look. Bentek glared at this insubordination and Kristof quickly schooled his expression back to a trainer's best weapon - his neutral mask. 

"What you leave the whore for? She was begging for it, you could have fucked her right there, or at least got her to suck you off."

"Timing Kristof. You need to learn patience. 85232 is going to be my first to make it to the King's harem, you just wait and see. If we scare her so early on, it'll hold her back - she'll make it to the Shahnark's harem maybe, but no further. The King wants his girls to be terrified of him when he's in the moment, but he also needs them to desire him unconditionally." 

Kristof sneered as he considered this. He was of the opinion that all the whores they trained needed a healthy dose of fear. It was that fear that made him hard in anticipation as he got up each morning to start the day. 

A regular visitor to the rape pits since he was classified as a trainer looking to enter the Narkam and given the freedom of the compound following his gathering just over three years ago, Bentek was well aware of Kristof's reputation as a vicious trainer who had influence in high places. His father was in the Shahnark's ruling council and had reaffirmed their relationship following gather. Unusual though family loyalties between fathers and sons were in the compound, when re-formed, they did tend to be strong, lending nuances to the already complex politics.


The Gathering Ch. 02



I suggest you read Chapter One; the story line, characters, and events will make more sense if you do.

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A third shot from Josh's .50 caliber Sharps dropped the grizzly back to all fours; the big bear now critically wounded snarled at Red, roared once more and then slowly slumped to the ground. 

"You all right Red?" Josh asked as he quickly came over to his friend.

"That bear skin would have made a nice rug in front of the fireplace," Red replied pointing at the dead grizzly with a grin. "Your Sharps put some mighty big holes in it so we can't likely use it for that."

Josh returned Red's grin. "Ifin I'd known you wanted a bear skin rug, I would have just let you wrestle him to death." Josh knew Red was okay because of his joking manner but Josh felt a little shaky. "It was a close thing partner," he remarked to Red. 

Red walked to the dead bear, pacing off the distance. "About 30 foot more and I might have gotten that chance to wrestle the big fellar." He looked over at Josh and said, "Glad I didn't have to though; it might have messed up my new shirt."

Josh put his hand on Red's shoulder and said, "I'm glad you didn't have go hand to hand with him." Then he smiled and added, "Sarah would use my hide for a rug if I let anything happen to you." Both men laughed, they realized that the confrontation with the bear could have had a very different outcome.

They stretched the dead grizzly out and Red pointed to a barely healed wound on its front shoulder. "Looks like he got himself gored by a steer, don't it?"

"That's probably why he was huntin cattle," Josh said. "He was too slow to hunt like he used too. Cattle are big and slow and every time he killed one he remembered his injury and went a little crazy. Should we skin him and take the hide for that rug you mentioned?"

"I was just funnin with you. Don't really want a fir rug; especially one from somethin that tried to eat me," Red responded. "Besides I don't think our horses want to carry a bear skin. Look at them."

Itsa and Queenie were trained to ground tie but the growls and roars from the bear had made them very nervous. The horses were almost dancing; their training told them to stay put but their natural instinct told them to run.

Josh had to smile as he watched Itsa. The horse would take two or three steps away from the entrance to the box canyon and then he would take those same steps back to where Josh had left him. Queenie had her head stretched out trying to maintain the ground tie as she kept stepping away from the canyon.

"Itsa is about ready to run off," Josh said. He walked to his horse and stroked its neck and rubbed its forehead to calm the animal. "Take it easy big guy," he said. The horse began to settle down as Josh talked to and petted him.

"Queenie isn't in much better shape," Red replied. He too stroked and talk to his mare to calm her. "Let's ride over to the Maggie M and let them know we got the bear. Maybe Jerry will want the hide."

Jerry Barnes had been the third partner in the group when they'd left the Hobart wagon train for Colorado. His parent's had been killed during a raid on the wagons; he'd been 15 at the time. Josh and Red had sort of adopted the youngster. They admired and respected the way Jerry had stood up to very bad event. 

At 15 Jerry had been about 5' 8 and stocky; not having reached his full growth yet. Now at 23 he was a man grown. He'd hit a growth spurt at 17 and was now 6 foot with big hands that could handle a weapon or a horse with ease. For a youngster from Illinois he had become a seasoned talented hand with stock.

Daniel and Maggie Maguire, the parents of Sarah and Danni, had fussed over Jerry a bit and reminded him of his parents. Their son Jacob was twelve; he and Jerry quickly became friends. Jerry worked and stayed at the Maggie M with the Maguires even after the three partners bought the Lazy L. He had grown from a fifteen year old orphan to a 23 year old partner of a fine ranch. 

Jerry was the first to hear and then see Josh and Red as they rode in. He walked down to the corral to greet them. "Howdy, have any luck?"

"Yep we found the big guy over to that box canyon. I wanted to dance with him but Josh was in a hurry to get home so he shot him," Red replied with a grin.

"We left the body in that canyon. If you want the hide you're welcome to it Jerry," Josh said.

"By the way, Sarah's up to the house," Jerry informed them. "I expect you're gonna get an ear full about chasing after dangerous animals and such." Jerry gave his two partners a big grin. "I think you're in for it now, Red."

"Me and Jerry will take care of the horses Josh. You go on to the house, we'll be there shortly," Red suggested with a smile. "I'm not in a hurry for Sarah to light into me." 

Five minutes later Sarah rushed off the porch and ran to him as Red got close to the ranch house. "Josh told us what happened," she said. "I don't know what I'd do without you," Sarah added as she hugged her husband.

"I'm fine Honey," Red replied hugging her back. "Josh just had to show off with that big rifle of his'n; I had everything under control."

Jerry rode up to the house on his big horse Charger leading a pack horse. "I'm gonna skin that bear before supper. The hide will make a nice rug for in front of the fireplace."

Red and Josh both laughed at Jerry's statement. The young man looked at them not understanding the joke. Josh, Red and Sarah decided to head back home to the Lazy L. Daniel and Maggie invited the three to stay for supper but they said they needed to get back.

"I left kids with Danni and she's probably cussing me about now," Sarah said. Looking at Josh she added, "Besides after today I think Josh is in a hurry to see Danni. Aren't you Josh?"

When they got back to the ranch they fed and watered the horses. Josh spent an extra few minutes with Itsa, feeding him an apple, brushing him, and telling him what a good job he had done. It had been the young horse's first real adventure and he had handled himself well.

Josh was greeted by Danni with a big hug and kiss. Later that evening after getting the children to bed, Josh told her about the run in with the bear. "I thought that big cuss was gonna eat Red up. I don't think I've ever been that scared."

Danni hugged Josh to her. "Don't you know nothing can happen to you two when you're together? You and Red watch out for each other more than a lot of brothers." 

Josh looked at Danni and said, "I think we should take everyone on a picnic tomorrow and just spend some time with the ones we love."

In their bedroom Sarah looked at Red, "You were pretty quiet tonight at supper Honey. What happened out there?" Red started to joke about the bear hunt but Sarah stopped him. "No kidding around this time please."

Red looked at his wife for a few seconds put his arm around her and pulled her to him. Kissing her gently he said, "That bear was gonna make supper out of me until Josh stopped him." Red stared at the wall for a few seconds and continued, "I hit that animal with seven or eight shots from my Henry and never slowed him down. If Josh hadn't a been there with that big Sharps of his that bear would be digesting Red McCall about now."

Sarah hugged him back. "Josh and you together are a hard pair to beat. I'm glad I've got both of you in my life."

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Dillon was riding Buck and leading the way. He looked back over his shoulder at the two wagons following him. Good thing we bought those wagons, he thought. Don't think regular ranch wagons could have made this trip. 

They had bought two Prairie Schooners for their journey to Colorado Springs. Each wagon was a smaller version of the big Conestoga wagons and could haul up to 1600 pounds if necessary and was big enough to sleep in if the weather turned bad. The big wagons were put together so well that the body was almost water tight; they could float them across deep water fords. 

Dillon had insisted that they carry no more than 1200 pounds in each wagon. No need to put more stress on the wagons and the animals pulling them that they had too. They could pick up some supplies from little towns and settlements along the way.

Eleanor left most of the arrangements in Dillon's hands. She said he was the one with the most trail experience. He decided to use mules to pull the wagons, instead of oxen or horses. They bought eight big Missouri mules to make up two teams of four. They had two horses from the ranch tied off with a long lead rope to the back of one of the wagons; the animals were saddled and ready if needed.

Dillon explained that although oxen were stronger, they were a lot slower and each ox ate as much as two mules or horses. Mules were stronger than horses and could pull heavier loads for longer periods. On flat land they could use just two mules per wagon; giving the other animals a rest. 

"Besides we can sell the mules when we get to Colorado Springs," Dillon said. "Freight companies or the mines in the area can always use mules. If we use oxen we'll end up with pets or a big cook out at the end of the trip. They're not much use on a ranch."

The small wagon train made its way east from Prescott Valley to the freighter trail than ran north and south from Phoenix to Flagstaff. This route added a few miles to the trip but the trail north had passes through the mountains. It also avoided having to climb the Mogollon Rim; a rocky escarpment which was 7,000 feet in places. The hardest part was the climb out of the Verde River valley. The trail was actually pretty good up the mountain but it was very steep and hard on the mules.

Once they climbed out of Verde Valley and up on the Rim, a good portion of the trail was across grass lands and they made good time. When the trail became more dangerous Dillon would take over from Eleanor and Elizabeth. But he let them drive as much as possible; he felt he was needed to scout ahead for the easiest routes, places to camp, and to keep an eye out for Indians.

Dillon and Oso hunted along the way to add to their food supply and Ethan became very good at setting snares for rabbits and grouse. When they stopped each night he would scout out the game trails and set his traps; he was usually successful. One advantage this trail offered was a plentiful water supply; they usually found water holes, springs, or creeks every day or so.

There was a period of three days they spent crossing a high desert with no water. That was when the four water barrels they carried on the wagons really made the difference. They rationed the water they used to make sure the mules and horses didn't suffer. If anything happened to their mules they would be in a dangerous situation. 

At night Eleanor usually chose to sleep in their wagon. She said sleeping on the ground hurt her back. The real reason she stayed in the wagon was to give Elizabeth and Dillon some time by themselves. Weather permitting they would pull a feather bed under the wagon and sleep there.

They had just crossed into the Colorado Territory and were about half way to Colorado Springs. The wagons stopped for the night at a large spring fed creek. After supper Dillon decided he was going to take a bath; he was dusty, dirty, and needed a shave. He heated a little water on the fire, shaved, and headed for the creek to wash himself and his clothes.

He undressed and washed his clothes using a little lye soap. Dillon hung his pants, shirt, and socks on a limb and waded naked out into the stream. He was washing his hair when he heard someone sneaky around on the bank of the creek. Dunking his head to rinse the soap out of his hair and face he stood and faced the direction the noise had come from.

When he saw who was making the noise, he grinned and chuckled. It was his wife Elizabeth wading out to join him; she was dressed the same as he was. "Maybe the most private time we've had," she said returning his grin. "Want to wash my back?"

Dillon nodded and replied, "Maybe I should take a bath more often." It was better than two hours before they got back to camp. 

At first light the wagons were on the trail again. "Things will get easier when we get to Trinidad," Dillon told them. There is a trail north to Pueblo and on to Colorado Springs that's used by the freight wagons."

The spent two days in Trinidad, resupplying and taking a short rest to get ready for the last 150 miles. They were all eating supper at a diner when the Sheriff walked over to their table.

"Howdy folks, I'm Sheriff Blevins," he said. "Thought I'd just say hello. Y'all just passing through or you gonna stay with us?"

Dillon stood, shook hands with the Sheriff, and introduced the rest of his companions. "No sir, we're on the way to Colorado Springs. Hope to set up a ranch and raise cattle." It's nice to hear a Texas drawl again, Dillon thought. 

"Where y'all from?"

"We sold our ranch in Prescott Valley," Eleanor said. "That's our stake for the new place."

"Sorry to be askin all these questions, ma'am," Blevins said tipping his hat to Eleanor. "You folks take care; there's been some trouble with some road bandits on the other side of Pueblo. Keep on your toes and good luck to ya." He nodded and walked out of the diner.

Eight days later they pulled into Pueblo and got ready for the last part of their journey. Dillon suggested resting for one day because half of the remaining journey was through mountain passes. He wanted the mules to be rested and as fresh as possible. 

"How much longer Dillon?" Eleanor asked; she and Elizabeth were getting a little tired of life on the trail.

"With any kind of luck we should be there in about 7 or 8 days," Dillon answered.

"I'll sure be glad to get there," Oso said. "My butt's developing calluses from sittin on this wagon seat."

The next morning they were on the trail again. We had our share of good luck so far, Dillon thought, as he rode point on the trail. Sure hope it keeps up for a while longer. It was the middle of their third day out of Pueblo when Dillon noticed a dust cloud coming up behind them. He turned Buck and rode back to the wagons. 

As he got to Elizabeth in the first wagon he said, "Some thing's coming up behind us; not sure what just yet. Let Oso take the lead and you follow whatever he does."

"Think its trouble?'

"Don't know but I'm going to scout back down our trail a ways to find out what or who it is."

Dillon rode to the second wagon; turning to ride close so Oso could hear him. Pointing with his chin he said, "Some things causing a big dust trail behind us. I'm going to check it out. I want you to take the lead and if you hear my gunshot find a defensive position for the wagons and hunker down."

Oso nodded his understanding and kicked the mules up to catch and pass the first wagon. Dillon saw Ethan climb into the back of the wagon and look back down the trail; the boy was carrying a Henry rifle.

About an hour later, Oso saw a rock bluff and pulled the wagons up close to it. The bluff would protect their backs in case of an attack. We can wait here for Dillon until he returns, he thought. The mules can use the rest and if there's any trouble we'll be ready for it.

They'd just gotten the wagons pulled in when a gunshot rang out. Oso saw that there were now two dust clouds moving toward them; they were closing the distance much faster than before. It wasn't long before he could make out Dillon riding at a high gallop back toward them. He pulled Buck up as he rounded one of the wagons and jumped off.

"Ethan, take Buck; he's got a rock under his left front shoe. He pulled up lame those last twenty yards or so. See if you can get it out and then get back to the wagons," Dillon ordered. Oso and Elizabeth already had their Henry rifles in their hands.

"There's a group of about twelve riders coming fast. I think it's those bandits Blevins warned us about," Dillon told them. "Anyway they shot at me when I got close to them." Dillon retrieved a shotgun from one of the wagons and handed it to Eleanor. "We'll try and keep them at bay with our rifles Eleanor, but if any of them get close blow them to hell."

The twelve raiders rode at the wagons firing their guns. Dillon told the others to wait until he fired before they started shooting. "Idiots," he said. "You can't hit anything with a gun from horseback riding at a gallop."

At fifty yards, Dillon opened fire and the others quickly started shooting too. Two of the bandits were knocked out of their saddles before they could get turned around. They regrouped at a distance of about three hundred yards. Ethan rejoined the wagons.

"Buck's fine Dillon. I got the rock out but he'll have a sore hoof for a couple of days. I tied him off to a tree back there and gave him a little water."

Dillon nodded at the youngster and passed him a rifle. "Give us a hand here Ethan," he said. Seeing the disapproving look on Eleanor's face he added, "This is a harsh land sometimes Eleanor. He don't have time to be a boy right now."

"No quotes Dillon?" Oso asked. Dillon enjoyed poetry and usually had a quote ready for most times. Dillon smiled and shook his head.

Ethan smiled and made sure the rifle was loaded. "For that which we are about to receive, we thank thee, Lord," he said.

Dillon looked at him with a question. "Strange thing to say."

"It's the only quote I could think of," Ethan answered. 

The bandits tried another assault on the wagons, again starting to shoot while riding hard. This time the volley from Dillon and the others downed three of the raiders. The remaining group turned and rode even harder away from the wagons; they'd lost five men. The horses of the dead men followed the retreating bandits.

Dillon watched them ride away and then turned back to his people. "Anyone hurt?" Everyone was uninjured. The only casualty of the attack was one of the water barrels; it had several bullet holes in it and was leaking. Oso and Ethan quickly used cooking pans and Dutch ovens to transfer the water to the other barrels.

"Reckon they thought the cost was too high," Oso said with a grim smile.

"Shouldn't we bury those men?" Eleanor asked as they drove away. "It's the Christian thing to do."

"Think they would have bothered with us if it'd turned in their favor?" Dillon's eyes were cold and hard. "Hell is empty and all the devils are here," he quoted. Dillon paused and added, "We sent a few devils back to hell today." 

Oso had seen Dillon in his battle mode before but it never failed to amaze him that this big gentle man could turn into a cold and ferocious warrior when the need arose. "What about their horses? Should we round them up?" Oso asked.

"Most of them are just nags from what I saw," Dillon replied. "They'll follow the rest of the bandits and their horses. Let's collect any weapons and such from the bodies and get on our way. If any of the stuff is good we'll keep what we want and sell the rest."

Elizabeth, Eleanor, and Ethan came to join Oso and Dillon in examining the dead men. "This isn't a job for a lady. Why don't you two stay here? Oso and I can handle it?" Dillon suggested. "You too Ethan, stay with the wagons."

"But you said I didn't have time to be a boy," Ethan complained.

"That's right I did, but there's no reason for you to grow up all in one afternoon. As wild as this country can still be, I'm afraid you'll see your share of dead men as you get older." No need to rush it, Dillon thought. "Go help your mother and sister water the mules and get them ready to travel please."

Ethan was disappointed at being demoted back to a boy. "Yes sir," he replied.

They didn't find much of value on the men. Not very good bandits, Dillon thought. The weapons were mostly old and almost worn out, the clothing were close to rags, and the men had little money on them. Dillon left the gun making sure they couldn't be used by Indians or anyone else that might find them. 




The Gathering Ch. 02



"Let's water the mules and get going," Dillon suggested. "I don't think they'll come back but I'd like to put some distance between us." He changed his saddle to another horse and led the wagons to the next camp sight

The weather had been extremely good during their journey; now it decided to pay them back. It started to rain and the wind picked up until the rain drops were coming at them from the side. Riding close to Elizabeth driving the wagon Dillon smiled and said, "Never saw sideways rain before. It puts a whole new meaning to being wet, don't it?"

Elizabeth laughed and replied, "This wagon cover doesn't help much when you're sitting out here on the seat. Oh well, we won't have to take a bath tonight anyway."

"That's too bad," Dillon said chuckling. "I was sort of looking forward to another bath."

Dillon had been impressed with Elizabeth and Eleanor on their trek. Neither of them used the excuse of being ladies to slack off from their share of the work. In fact several times Dillon had to order them to rest and take it easy. Hell of a woman that I picked, Dillon thought as he smiled at his wife. Or was she the one doing the picking.

The freighter trail was almost as good as a road and they made good time using it. But now with the heavy rain it turned into a mud bog. Three times they had to stop and take the mules from one wagon to help pull the other wagon out of a mud hole in the trail. Even Oso's great strength couldn't push the wagons free of the clinging mud. After freeing a wagon for the third time, Dillon called a halt.

"We're spending more time getting wagons out of the mud than we are traveling. We'll make camp and hold up for a day or two until the storm passes and the trail dries out some," he told his crew. "As close as we are I don't want anybody getting hurt or the mules injured just to save a couple of days."

The rain stopped that evening but they waited two days for the trail to dry out before they resumed their journey. The night before it had started raining, Eleanor looked at the clouds and decided to stow a lot of dried wood in the wagon. Because of her they didn't have a cold camp; they were able to stretch a canvas from one of the wagons to the other and have a dry place to cook and eat over a small fire. 

Sitting under the canopy leaning back against his saddle, Dillon thought this isn't too bad; he gently stroked Elizabeth's hair as she leaned back against him. Got a warm dry place out of the weather, got my wife and family, and got a full belly; not bad at all. If nothing else the two days rest will give Buck a chance to heal up some. 

Other than a few still wet and muddy spots on the trail they had no more adventures. It was just the normal ten and twelve hour days plodding along with the wagons. It took them six more days to reach Colorado Springs. They followed directions given to them at one of the general stores to Ted and Tillie Clark's. As they stopped the wagons in front of the house, Tillie came running out to greet them.

The trip from Prescott to Colorado Springs had taken them 71 days. Pretty good time, Dillon said to himself.

Tillie suggested that they pull the wagons out back of the house until they decided what they were going to do and put the mules in the corral out there. The three horses were put in the barn. Ted returned from his office about two hours after their arrival. He told them they were welcome to stay as long as they wanted. After supper sitting in one of the parlors of the old bordello, Ted asked what their plans were.

"Suppose we'll start looking for ranch land right away," Dillon answered.

"I hope it takes a while," Eleanor said. "If I never sit on a wagon seat again, it'll be too soon."

After spending two days seeing the town, they began to make some plans. "First thing I want to do is buy another horse," Dillon said. "Ole Buck is 15 and he's carried me a long way. I think it's time to give him a little rest. But I'll want something special; the horse will have a hard go to live up to Buck."

"The best horses in the area are bred and raised by a feller down near Fountain," Ted informed him. "Y'all passed through Fountain on your way here. It's a full day's ride round trip. Josh Kelly is his name."

"I remember Fountain," Elizabeth said. "It looked like a nice place."

"Kelly and his partner own the Chico Basin Cattle company about ten miles southeast of Fountain," Ted continued. Ted and Dillon got involved in talking about horses. "Kelly's got this one big red horse named Diablo that may be the best I've ever seen," Ted remarked.

"Think he'd sell this Diablo?"

"You'd probably have a better chance at buying his wife than getting that horse," Ted replied laughing. "Don't think he'd sell him but he's been breeding the big guy and you might get one of his sons. But be prepared to pay top price and then some. That's no ordinary horse."

"Guess I'll take a ride to Fountain tomorrow and look up Kelly," Dillon said. "Want to go with me Elizabeth?"

Nodding her head, Elizabeth replied, "Maybe we should stay overnight and get a feel for the town." Grinning at her husband she added in a low voice, "It'll be the first chance we had to be alone since our bath."

Dillon chuckled, "Sounds like a good idea to me."

***********************

Josh, Red and the whole clan came into Fountain. Danni and Sarah along with little Maggie were in the general mercantile getting supplies and shopping. Josh had business at the bank and Red decided to stay with the other three children. He wasn't fond of banking and the business side of the ranch.

Red had Josh's boy William and his two sons John and Daniel in the big wagon. He was telling them tall tales about the journey he and Josh had made from Santa Fe.

**************

Dillon and Elizabeth were inside the store browsing. Dillon walked over to the man behind the counter. "Howdy, I'm Dillon Gallagher. Wonder if you might help me?"

"I'm Steve Mitchell, I own the place. What can I do for you?"

"Looking for a Josh Kelly. Understand he's got the best horses in the area. I'd like to do some business with him. Can you give me directions to his spread?"

"I can do better than that," Mitchell replied. Pointing to Red in front of the store he said, "That's his partner Red McCall out front with the kids. Josh is probably in town too; that youngest boy is his son."

Dillon nodded his thanks and stepped outside; Elizabeth was busy looking at some ladies hats so he left her there. As he got closer, he heard Red talking to the three boys in the wagon.

"So there we were. Just me and Josh facing over a hundred Indians. William your daddy stood there with that coup stick, you know the one that's hanging over the fireplace at home, well anyway there he was holding the coup stick in one hand and his rifle in the other. I was right beside him with my own rifle." Red looked to make sure his audience was paying attention. All three of the boys were sitting on the edge of the seat with their mouths open.

"Those Indians took one look at Josh and me and whipped up their horses and rode away as fast as they could," Red finished.

"Really Uncle Red?" William asked.

"Oh Pa," John said. "Are you sure it was a hundred Indians?"

"Might have been more John; I didn't have time to count em." Daniel giggled at the face Red made at John.

"You must be the famous John McCall," Dillon said.

Red turned around to face Dillon, hooking his thumb on his gun belt. "My name is McCall but most folks call me Red. Who might you be Mister?" Red wasn't being unfriendly but he didn't know this man.

"That's right; your father said it was only your mother and Charley that called you John." He paused a little and said, "Names Dillon Gallagher."

Red smile at the mention of his family. "Pa wrote me about a man stopping by to see him. Said that he'd served with Charles and Sam. That was almost four years ago. That be you?"

Dillon nodded. "I didn't really ride with your brothers. Charley and I met and talked for a couple of hours before we charged the Union lines at First Manassas. He sure thought the world of you; talked about you most of the time. He was a good man, sorry he didn't make it."

Red hung his head for a moment remembering. "Yeah, Charley meant a lot to me too."

Dillon gave him some time and then said, "I'm looking for your partner. Need to talk to him about a horse or two. He around?"

"He's over to the bank but he'll be back here soon. Our wives are in the mercantile and then we're gonna have an early supper before we head back to the ranch. You're welcome to join us; if you can put up with these three rascals here."

"My wife is inside too. I'll go tell her we're having supper with y'all."

As Dillon entered the store, Elizabeth called him over. "Dillon this is Danni Kelly and her sister Sarah. Danni's husband is Josh Kelly, that man you came to see about horses. She's invited us to supper; you can talk to Josh then."

Dillon laughed. "Just met Red outside and he asked us to supper too. He belong to you Sarah?" 

"Yes, he's mine. All though sometimes I don't care to claim him," she answered with a grin.

Later that afternoon the three families met at the diner. Josh joined them and was introduced to Dillon and Elizabeth. The stories of the three families were exchanged during supper. As they finished eating, Dillon told Josh why he wanted to meet him.

"I hear you've got the best horses around and I need a couple of good ones," Dillon said. You can never go wrong complimenting a man on his family or his horses, he thought. "Folks mentioned your horse Diablo. Any chance of seeing him?"

"Sure, c'mon down to the stable with me; he's down there. I need to saddle him and Danni's horse Sunny so we can start back to the ranch," Josh replied.

Red loaded Sarah, Danni, and all the children into the wagon and drove to the stables. Dillon, Elizabeth, and Josh followed them, talking as they walked. When they got to the stables Josh told Dillon to wait a minute and he and Danni went into the barn. A few minutes later, they came back with two horses.

Josh and Danni weren't actually leading the animals. They had the reins looped over their shoulders and the horses followed them like heel hounds. Stopping in front of Dillon, Josh fed a piece of apple he had brought from the diner to a big red stallion. As Dillon stepped closer to look at the horse, Josh rubbed the horse's nose and neck.

"Behave yourself Diablo, these are friends of mine." The big horse nodded his head up and down as if he understood Josh. "This is Diablo, Dillon. He and Sunny there are the breeders for some of my horses."

Josh grinned at Danni and said, "Sunny used to be my horse too but I loaned him to Danni several years ago and she won't give him back."

Danni laughed. "Sunny's got more sense than to go back to Josh. He's mine now, aren't you boy?" The buckskin pushed against Danni looking for his own apple.

Dillon walked around Diablo and then Sunny. He was a good judge of horses and knew that these two were some of the best. "Fine animals Josh. Big, strong, and from the look in their eyes pretty smart."

"You and Elizabeth come out to the ranch tomorrow for lunch and I'll show you some stock. Maybe we can find something you like," Josh suggested. "We've also got some horses sired by Red's horse, Jasper. Jerry our other partner has bred his Morgan to a couple of our quarter horses too."

Dillon asked, "How do we get to your place?"

"Take the south road out of town. Follow the main trail past a big rock bluff; you'll cross Black Squirrel Creek at the bottom of the rise. Take the trail that branches off to the left and it'll lead right to our place. It's about ten miles from town." 

Dillon nodded, "Thank you, we'll see you around midday".

Red had gone into the stable and came back leading a tall fast looking black. "This is Jasper." 

Elizabeth walked toward Red and Jasper but Red warned, "I wouldn't get too close. Jasper can be as mean as a snake sometimes." Red grinned and added, "I think he likes to show me he's the real boss of the outfit."

"Nonsense, he wouldn't hurt me, would you big boy?" Elizabeth got a piece of apple from Josh and fed it to Jasper as she stroked his head. "He's just a big baby that wants some attention."

Red chuckled as Jasper pushed his head against Elizabeth, wanting her to continue petting him. "Jasper don't normally take to strangers," Red remarked surprised at his horse.

"One more thing Dillon," Josh said. "There's talk about road agents causing a ruckus between here and Pueblo. We haven't had any trouble around here but keep alert on the ride out to the ranch."

Dillon nodded. "Yeah, we run into a little trouble with them on the trail north of Pueblo."

"What happened?" Danni asked.

He hesitated for a bit and with a steely look in his eyes said, "None of my family was hurt. Let's just say that there's not as many bandits as there were."

Red saw the look in Dillon's eyes and thought, this is a hard man when he has to be. He's seen the elephant.

The Kelly's and McCall's waved good bye to their new friends and started back to their ranch.

*******************

The four men were just below the crest of a hill watching the two families below them on the trail. A fifth man was back in the trees with the horses. 

"There goes that damn Kelly and McCall," one of the men said. He was the leader of the band of men.

"Let's take em now," one of the others said.

"Naw, they're on the lookout now. See the rider, that's Kelly and he's got a rifle lying across the saddle. McCall's the one drivin the wagon and his rifle is right beside him. Even the two women have rifles at their feet. No, we'll wait until tomorrow and ride up to the ranch house pretending to be looking for work. Then we'll surprise them."

In a soft voice the man said to himself, "that's when I'll make the both of them pay."

******************** 

The next morning Dillon and Elizabeth rode toward the CBC. Stopping at the top of the rise by the rock bluff, they dismounted. Dillon remarked, "Pretty country; I could see us living out here."

Elizabeth nodded. "It is pretty and from the looks of it, it's good land for raising cattle and horses."

They gazed over the rolling hills separated by grassy meadows. In the distance they could see a small mountain range. Dillon pointed out the stands of oak and hickory and the cottonwoods lining the creek at the bottom of the rise. "Lots of good grazing and water with just enough trees to act as a wind break against a Blue Norther," Dillon said almost to himself.

He saw the question in Elizabeth's eyes. "Up here that's what they call a cold, hard wind blowing from the north; down in Texas we called them a Texas Norther. I've seen the temperature drop from 50 to below zero in an hour or two. Most of the time there's snow blowing in with it. A Norther is tough on stock as well as people.

"I've never seen one," Elizabeth said. "I mean we got cold wind and snow around Prescott but not like you're talking about."

"The hills, mountains, and big pine trees around Prescott acted as a natural wind break," Dillon replied. "We got some cold and snow but not blizzards. This far north that cold wind can be a problem I bet. Down in Texas sometimes after a Norther blew through, ranchers would find some of their cattle froze to death."

"I don't believe it," Elizabeth responded. "You're just making fun of me now."

"No, really. The cattle were out in the open without a wind break. They'd turn their backs to the storm and that cold wind and snow would just freeze them."

"Well if one of those Norther rolls through here, I'll just have to get up against you real close to keep warm," Elizabeth said stepping close to Dillon and hugging him.

"Sounds like a fine idea, Mrs. Gallagher." Dillon hugged her back and gave her a quick kiss. "We'd better get along or we'll miss lunch."

Elizabeth giggled and asked, "Would that be such a bad thing?" 

Dillon laughed and mounted Buck. Elizabeth sighed a little and got back on her horse. After they crossed the creek they took the trail going east for the final leg to the ranch. 

****************

Josh and Red were on their way down to the barn; they had laid out the work for the hands and sent them on their way earlier that morning. Now they were going to put the horses they had for sale in the corral. Red had explained the connection between Dillon and his brother to Josh and he wanted to offer the best they had when he got there. 

Before they got half way to the corral, the five men that had watched them the previous day rode out from behind the barn. Josh and Red stopped as the men confronted them.

'Howdy boys," Josh said. "Something we can do for you?" Josh wasn't fooled he knew these men were looking for trouble. They weren't cowhands.

The man in the middle pushed his hat back off his almost bald head; the chin strap kept it from falling. "I've been waiting almost six years to get out of prison so I could meet up with you Kelly."

Hearing the threat in the man's voice, Red slowly slipped the safety strap off the hammer of his pistol. "Why's that Mister?" He asked.

"Been wantin to meet you too McCall. You two killed Jake Stillwell and I'm here to avenge him. My name's Curly Stillwell; Jake was my brother. And when I'm done with you, me and the boys will help ourselves to those pretty wives of yours and anything else we want."

"Looks like they named you right, what with all your hair and everything," Red replied with a cold hard smile.

You boys are in real trouble now, Josh thought. Red's got his dander up and there's no stopping him when he gets in this mood. "Your brother and three others tried to kill us, Stillwell. We were just defending ourselves," Josh explained. He was trying to talk some sense into the man; at the same time slipped the safety strap off his gun.

Josh wasn't afraid to defend himself but he didn't want to kill the men if he didn't have to. As far as Red was concerned the men were already dead; he could read it in Red's eyes. No one threatens his family, Josh said to himself.

"Stillwell when the shootin starts you'll be the first one I kill," Red told the man. It wasn't an idle boast; Red was one of the fastest men in the territory with a hand gun.

***************

Dillon and Elizabeth had cleared the last trees coming into the clearing in front of the ranch house and saw the five men facing Josh and Red. Neither group could see the new arrivals as they came in quietly from the side. Dillon in almost a whisper said "Elizabeth, stay here. I'm going to give our new friends a hand."

"But Dillon, I can........"

"No arguments girl. These aren't just some rustlers; they're hired guns. If you're with me I'll be more worried about you than taking care of them. Stay here," Dillon ordered again.

Elizabeth remembered her mother's advice that sometimes you just have to obey what your man says without argument. She nodded and dismounted, pulling her rifle from the saddle scabbard. 

Dillon applied knee pressure and Buck walked toward the men. Buck had been trained for war and could move very quietly as need be. He had been about two hundred feet away but as Dillon got closer he could hear the men talking.

"You take the two on the right Josh; I'll handle Stillwell and the others," Red ordered.

"Leave a couple for me," Dillon said drawing his own pistol as he got into range.

To be continued...



The Gathering Ch. 03



By woodmanone  copyright October 2010

Reading Chapters 1 & 2 will give you a better feel for the characters and the events that have led them to this point.

Thanks for taking the time to read my story. Constructive comments and/or emails are appreciated and more than welcome.

*******************

A slight noise interrupted the confrontation causing the five gunmen to turn toward the side. They saw a man with steely eyes staring back at them. Surprise showed on their faces; they hadn't heard Dillon ride up. 

"You can have the one on your end Dillon," Red replied.

"Get off our land and keep moving," Josh ordered.

"Too late for that now," Red responded. "They'll just wait and bushwhack us along the trail or maybe here at the house where the kids could get caught in the crossfire. I say we take care of them right now."

"That's right Josh," Dillon agreed. "These skunks will keep coming at you until they get you and your family or until they're stopped. Now's as good a time as any to finish it."

Stillwell and the others realized they had no choice but to try and kill Josh, Red, and Dillon. The man closest to Dillon started to turn his horse with a pistol in his hand. Before he could get face to face with Dillon a rifle shot rang out and the man was knocked out of his saddle. Dillon turned his attention to the next man and shot him in the head. By this time the other three, including Stillwell, were all lying on the ground. Their horses bolted and were running away.

Red heard a horse coming fast and looked behind Dillon. Dillon turned and saw Elizabeth riding at a high gallop toward them; she had her rifle lying across the saddle in front of her. Red chuckled and Dillon smiled with pride. 

"Fine shot Elizabeth made Dillon. She's about as feisty as Sarah," Red remarked with admiration. 

"Sometimes she's got too much spunk," Dillon replied with a smile. As Elizabeth pulled her horse to a stop, he said, "Thought I told you to stay back there girl."

"But you didn't say I couldn't help out, so I made my shot from over yonder," Elizabeth said as she walked to Dillon and put her arms around his waist and her head on his chest.

He hugged her to him. "You did fine Honey."

Sarah and Danni came running out of the house, holding their own rifles. There was smoke flowing out of the barrels. "Are you okay?" Sarah asked as she came to Red and Danni went to Josh.

"We're fine," Red replied and Josh nodded. Red continued, pointing at Dillon and Elizabeth, "Looks like our guests just paid for their lunch." 

Josh looked down at Danni and asked, "Where are the kids?"

"I told John to keep them in the house," Sarah answered. "He's got them playing hide n go seek."

"Let's drag the bodies behind the barn and wrap them in a ground cloth," Josh said. "We'll round up their horses and put them in the small corral. After lunch we'll ride to town and tell the Sheriff to come get the bodies and their horses." His face was red with anger as he added, "Don't want them buried on our land."

"Sorry Dillon, guess we'll have to put off the horse trading for another day," Red remarked.

"We can come back tomorrow or the next day," Dillon replied. "Your ladies don't seem too upset about the shooting." He nodded at Danni and Sarah with admiration.

"There's been a few other...err...incidents during the years," Red responded. "They're veteran soldiers by now. But it will take a little cuddling tonight to settle them down. He smiled and added, "Me too."

"Well if you've a mind to Dillon you can ride your pick of the horses and come with me into town to see the Sheriff. That'll give you a real feel for the animal," Josh suggested. "While we're gone I'll send a rider over to the Maggie M and have Jerry bring over the two horses he's willing to part with. They were both sired by his Morgan; either one would make a good horse for Elizabeth. You can spend the night here and go back in the morning, if you've a mind to."

"I reckon I could stand another afternoon in town," Red agreed.

Before Josh could say anything, Sarah spoke up. "You're not going off and leaving us here alone Red McCall. Either you or Josh are going to stay right here."

"Yes em," Red replied. Turning to Dillon he said grinning, "See told ya, she's feisty."

Josh and Dillon walked back to the corral and the horses he had available. "What kind of horse are you looking for Dillon? That animal of yours has the looks of a good one."

"Buck's one of the best horses I've ever owned. I've had him since '64 and rode him a lot of miles since then. But he's going on 15 and I'd like to give him some rest; wouldn't mind breeding him too. If we find a ranch I'll need more than one horse anyway."

"You talked about a ranch at the diner yesterday," Josh said. "Up around Colorado Springs you said. You know there's a good ranch for sale not far from here."

"Where's that?"

"Coming out here if you'd turn west at the big bluff it's about 3 miles; just this side of the mountains," Josh answered.

Dillon thought for a few seconds and replied, "Might be worth looking into. Don't know if Eleanor would want to live here though; she got an idea about teaching school. Why's it for sale?"

"Feller named Tom Anderson owns it. Says he's getting too old to ride the range anymore and wants to get out. His boy was killed on a cattle drive last year; there was a stampede and his horse went down right in front of the herd. Tom and his wife sorta lost heart after that; said they've had enough and are going out to California."

The two men came to the corral and climbed up to sit on the top rail. Diablo and two other horses came over to greet them. "They're looking for treats," Josh explained as he handed each of the horses a piece of apple. "Hello Diablo," he said as he scratched the horse's ears. That big grey is Balin; his name is Cheyenne for warrior. He's one of Diablo's sons out of Lady, that grey mare over there."

"I know that Diablo isn't for sale but what about that roan over there?" Dillon asked.

Josh smiled, "If I sold Itsa, Diablo would be real put out. So would Danni; she's dang near made a pet out of him. He's another one of Diablo's sons."

Dillon and Josh talked about the merits and breeding lines of a few horses. Danni had come to join them and after listening to them for a few minutes she went into the barn. She came out leading a buckskin filly.

"This is Sandy, she's yours if you want her," Danni said. "Sunny there is her sire and Red's quarter horse, Queenie, is her dame."

Josh was surprised; Sandy was sort of Danni's pet. "I thought you said you didn't want to sell Sandy."

"Men, you don't listen," Danni was grinning. "What I said was that I didn't want to sell her to just anybody. I wanted her to go to a good home. Sandy would be a fine horse for Elizabeth."

Danni turned to Dillon. "It's my way of saying thanks to you and Elizabeth for helping Josh and Red."

Dillon looked at Danni and with a small smile said, "Thank you. Elizabeth will be tickled pink. Back in Arizona she rode one of the stock horses. She's always wanted a horse of her own."

"It's settled then. Josh, you and Dillon work out the money details," Danni ordered. She went back to the house leading Sandy.

The men watched her walk away and Josh said, "She always full of surprises." He chuckled and added, "That's one of the reasons I love her."

Dillon nodded his understanding. Turning back to the corral he said, "Could I ride Balin into town?"

Josh nodded and they saddled Itsa and Balin. Diablo pushed against Itsa wanting to be saddled. Josh had to push him out of the way. "It's worse than having a bunch of kids," Josh remarked. "If I ride Diablo too much Itsa pouts and if I ride Itsa for more than a day Diablo gets surly. I should'a raised chickens instead."

Dillon had to laugh as they rode up to the house. As he said good bye to Elizabeth he told her, "I'm going to send a telegram to your mother and ask the family to join us in Fountain. Eleanor should look at some of these horses and there's a ranch available I think we should see too."

"Did you see my horse? Danni said she's a real good animal," Elizabeth said excitedly.

"She ain't yours yet. Josh and I have to agree on a price for her."

Josh winked at Elizabeth, indicating that the price on Sandy wasn't going to be a problem. "We'll be back by early evening," Josh said. "If we've got time we'll stop over to Anderson's place and let Dillon take a look. Don't worry if it's after dark before we get here."

They rode at several different gaits traveling into Fountain. Josh wanted Dillon to see how Balin handled himself. They started at a fast walk and after the horses warmed up they kicked them into a trot, a cantor, and then into a gallop for a short stretch. Josh could see by the look on Dillon's face that he was impressed with Balin.

When they rode into Fountain, Dillon went to the telegraph office. He sent a wire to Eleanor care of Ted. Dillon asked the clerk to make sure the message was delivered as soon as it got there. He hoped to get an answer before leaving to go back to the Josh's ranch that afternoon. Leaving the telegraph office they went to see Sheriff Kennedy. 

"Howdy Josh," Kennedy said as Josh and Dillon entered the office. "Surprised to see you in town two days in a row."

"We've had a hell of a day out at the ranch. By the way, this is Dillon Gallagher. He and his family are thinking about moving here."

After greeting Dillon Kennedy asked, "So what happened out to your place?"

Josh started the story of Stillwell and his men's attack on him and Red. Dillon added things as Josh explained the gun fight. "We wrapped the bodies and put them behind our barn. Sheriff you'll need to come out and get them pretty quick."

Kennedy listened without asking questions; Dillon and Josh had given all the information he needed. "Guess that's the end of that family or at least this part of it. The father of the boys and the last brother were shot while trying to rob a bank over to Pueblo two years ago."

"Trash is trash," Dillon said coldly. "And good riddance to them."

The Sheriff nodded. "Well I guess I better get a wagon and head out to your place Josh. Are you boys going back right away?"

"I think we'll stay in town for a while," Josh said. "Dillon is waiting to hear from his family in Colorado Springs. Maybe we'll have a beer or two."

Standing at the bar in the saloon having a beer, Josh said, "If your family starts riding tomorrow morning they can be here by mid morning, well before lunch."

Dillon chuckled. "They'll probably come in a wagon. I don't think Oso will find a horse that he can ride at the livery."

"Doesn't he ride well?"

"That's not it. He......well he's just Oso. You'll understand when you met him," Dillon replied.

They waited for a couple of hours and made a stop at the telegraph before they headed back to the CBC. The clerk looked up as they came into the office. "I was just going to send my boy to find you. I've got an answer from your family Mr. Gallagher."

Dillon took the telegram, read it, and smiled. "They'll start this way tomorrow morning," he told Josh. "They should be here by late afternoon."

After Dillon received the answer to his telegram, he and Josh rode back toward the ranch. It was late afternoon when they got to the turn off for the Anderson place and they decided to pay a call. As they rode toward the ranch house, Josh pointed out some of the creeks and water holes. Dillon noticed a lot of good grass land and an abundance of trees.

They visited with Tom and Julie Anderson for about an hour and looked around the ranch. Dillon asked the price and was surprised that it was fairly reasonable. "I'd like to bring my family over to look at your place in the next day or two," Dillon said. "Would that be okay?"

"Hell yes boy. Be happy to have them," Anderson answered with a big grin.

Saying goodbye, Josh and Dillon rode back to the CBC. After riding for several minutes Josh talked about the Anderson place.

"Anderson's is only about 400 acres but its prime cattle country," Josh said.

"Little small for a cattle ranch if you want to run a bigger herd," Dillon responded.

Josh nodded and continued, "It is smaller than our place but you can homestead the land behind it and make it a lot larger."

"How's that? Homestead?"

"The Federal Government passed the Homestead Act in '62. It says that anyone at least 18 can file on 160 acres," Josh explained. 

"That's all, just file a claim?"

"You have to file an application on the land you want, live on it for five years and make improvements. Then you can file for a deed of title. That means that between the four in your family you could claim another 640 acres," Josh told Dillon. "That'd give you over a thousand acres. That ought to be enough for a good size herd." 

Dillon thought for a minute and asked, "If it's that easy why hasn't someone homestead the land before?"

Josh laughed. "Anderson's place runs right up to those mountains yonder. And the only pass that can be used to move cattle through the mountains opens on his land. The next closest pass is 20 miles or more away through real rough country. If anyone claimed the land on the other side of the mountains they'd be land locked unless they could work out a deal with Tom."

Now it was Dillon's turn to laugh. "If we bought out Anderson we could connect it to the land on the other side of the pass."

Josh continued, "To satisfy the improvement requirement, you'd have to build a small cabin on each of the homesteads."

"With all that timber on those mountains and along the creek we could easily build four log cabins," Dillon replied. 

"Yep," Josh replied. "C'mon let's get home before supper's over." With that he spurred Itsa into a gallop. Dillon was right beside him on Balin. The two horses broke through the trees into the clear running neck and neck. 

The men pulled the horses up by the corral. "I think it was too close to call a winner Dillon."

"No, I'm the winner," he replied. At Josh's funny look he said, "I won because I found a damn good horse. If you don't want my first born I think we can make a deal for Balin."

Kennedy, with his deputy Roy driving the wagon, came out from behind the barn. They had the grisly cargo in the bed of the wagon covered with a large canvas. Kennedy rode up to Josh. "Made use of the canvas you had covering them Josh. Hope you don't mind."

"We'd probably just burned it anyway Sheriff," Josh replied with a grim smile.

"Well, get a replacement at Mitchell's and tell him to bill the sheriff's office," he ordered.

"Stay for supper Sheriff," Josh offered. "That goes for you too Deputy."

"Thanks, but I reckon we ought to get back to town. Got a bit of a ride and I don't fancy being on the trail after dark. See you boys the next time you get to town. Come on Leroy let's get going." Tipping his hat Kennedy and the deputy left for Fountain.

Josh and Dillon washed their hands and faces at the pump on the back porch and entered the kitchen. Danni, Sarah, and Elizabeth were fixing supper and Red sat at the table offering suggestions on how to do it.

"Red if you don't hush up, I'll make you cook all the meals from now on," Sarah scolded.

The ladies didn't realize that Josh and Dillon had returned until they heard them laugh. Danni and Elizabeth came to welcome their men home.

"Well I found a horse Honey," Dillon said. "I'm going to buy Balin." At the look Elizabeth gave him he added, "And Sandy too of course." 

"Time enough for horse trading after dinner. You men set the table while Danni and I get the wild bunch cleaned up," Sarah said pointing to the four children playing in front of the house.

Supper time in the Kelly/McCall household was something Dillon, or Elizabeth for that matter, had never experienced. The four children seemed determined to out talk each other and only quieted down when scolded by the parents; the quiet would last about five minutes and then they were off again. The adults were almost as bad but they made a point to pull Dillon and Elizabeth into their discussion.

After supper, sitting on the porch with coffee and a cigar Dillon watched the kids chase lightning bugs. For the first time in his life Dillon began to think about being a parent. He looked at Elizabeth setting with Danni and Sarah and he smiled. We've never talked about children, he thought to himself. Maybe it's about time.

Later Sarah carrying a lamp led Dillon and Elizabeth to the guest house that had been converted from one of the bunk houses. "This place will keep you from being overrun by that zoo up at the big house," she told them while lighting a coal oil lamp. And with a small laugh she added, "It'll give you some privacy too. Breakfast at six, if you care to join us."

Going to bed Dillon put his arm around Elizabeth and she put her head on his chest. Nows as good a time as any to talk about having children, Dillon thought. Before he could say anything Elizabeth spoke up. 

"Dillon, have you ever thought about us having kids?" Elizabeth asked in a rush. Maybe I could've been a bit more tactful, she thought. When she heard Dillon laughing, she sat up to look at him.

"I was about to ask you the something Honey," he replied still chuckling. "We sort of got married in a fever and never talked about things much. What about you Honey, do you want to have kids?"

"I asked you first."

Reckon one of us has to say what they think first, Dillon thought. So here goes. "Watching Josh and Red and their families and the way you were with their kids got me to thinking that you and I should have a real family," Dillon answered.

"Guess great minds think alike. I was thinking the same thing," Elizabeth admitted with a grin. "When do you think we should start our family?"

"Right now is fine with me," he replied with his own grin. "Though we might want to find a place to live first."

Elizabeth laid down putting her head back on Dillon's shoulder. "Let's not wait too long. Okay?"

At breakfast during the normal circus of the kids and Red, Josh turned to Dillon. "I forgot to tell you. Jerry sent word yesterday that he'd bring his horses over here tomorrow or take them into town if you'd like. He was tied up doing a repair job on the dam and couldn't get away until then."

"Dam?"

"Yeah, several years back Red came up with the idea to build a dam and back Chico Creek up into a lake," Josh answered. "Gave us a good watering hole for the stock."

"And our farmer here dug some canals for irrigation and we grow a lot of feed for the cattle," Red added. "The feed sure comes in handy when we get a real cold spell or lots of snow."

"You're not going back to Fountain to meet your people until this afternoon, right?" At Dillon's nod Josh continued, "Let's take a ride over to the dam site and let Red show off a little. It'll be a good chance for you and Elizabeth to get know your new horses."

Danni joined the conversation saying, "Why don't we pack a picnic lunch and all go? We can take lunch to Jerry and his crew too."

Josh nodded and replied, "Good idea. I'll go hitch up the wagon so we can take the kids."

William, Josh's boy butted in and said, "I want to ride, don't want to sit in a wagon."

John and Daniel quickly joined in, "We want to ride too. We want to ride too."

"Okay, settle down," Red told them. Turning to Sarah he said, "We could ride double with them, it's an easy trail over to the dam and it's not very far." She nodded.

Josh, Red, and Dillon went down to saddle the horses while the ladies put together food for a picnic in three baskets. Dillon was surprised that Red saddled Jasper, his big black stallion. He'd heard the stories about how mean and contrary the horse could be. Dillon asked Red about it.




The Gathering Ch. 03



"Jasper's only acts up with me or with strangers," Red replied. "Watch when the boys come down here."

Red's boys, John and Daniel, came running down to the corral and right up to Jasper. The big horse lowered his head so the two boys could scratch his ears and feed him pieces of apple. "See he's like a big four legged teddy bear with the boys."

William had come to the corral with the other boys but went into the barn where his father was. He came out leading Diablo as Josh led Sunny and Sandy. Josh smiled at the boys and Jasper shaking his head. Diablo's the same way about William and Maggie, Josh thought.

Elizabeth saddled Sandy while Dillon saddled Buck. "Thought you'd ride Balin," Josh said.

"Riding him wouldn't be right. I don't own him yet," Dillon replied. Pointing to Sandy he added, "Don't have that choice with Sandy. Elizabeth wouldn't forgive me if we didn't buy Sandy."

Josh looked at Dillon for a few seconds. "You got a hundred dollars on you Dillon? Dillon was surprised at the question but nodded. Josh asked, "Give it to me will you?"

Dillon dug into his pocket and handed Josh five Double Eagle gold coins. "You just bought yourself two horses Mr. Gallagher," Josh told him.

Before Dillon could object that Balin and Sandy were worth more than that, Josh said, "It's our way, Danni's and mine, of saying thanks for your help. Besides, I know that both of them are going to someone that'll take good care of them."

Danni and Sarah joined the group at the corral. Danni had been holding Maggie's hand but when the youngster saw the horses she broke away. Maggie ran over to Sunny and hugged one of the buckskins front legs. Sunny reached down and nudged the girl with his nose as if to say hello.

Elizabeth laughed at the look on Dillon's face when he saw how Danni and Sarah were dressed. Both women were wearing men's pants. Danni notice his surprise and giggled.

"Going into town we usually wear riding skirts," she told him. When we go to church or if we have company, like last night, we'll wear dresses. But for working around the ranch we wear trousers. Sorry to shock you Dillon."

"In town or when we have company we like to look like females," Sarah added. "But working or riding the range we don't really care if we look like ladies."

Red grinned at his wife and said, "I think if you girls were wrapped in buffalo robes there'd still be no doubt that you're females. And pretty ones too."

"Oh Red," Sarah said as she walked over to him, hugged him and gave him a quick kiss. Turning back to Dillon and Elizabeth she said, "Just when I think there's no hope for him he says something nice."

"We want to ride, we want to ride," the four kids said.

Red mounted and pulled his two boys up on Jasper with him. He put John in front of him and Daniel behind him. Josh put William on Diablo and mounted behind him as Danni did the same with Maggie on Sunny. Sarah, Elizabeth, and Dillon each carried a basket of food for the picnic.

As they topped the crest of a hill Dillon and Elizabeth saw a rock dam running from one hill to another. Behind the wall was a large lake shimmering in the sunlight. Dillon estimated that the lake was at least a mile long and about three hundred feet across at its widest.

Red was smiling at Dillon's reaction to the lake and dam. "This high plateau is good grazing land but water is a little scarce if you wanted to run more than one or two hundred head of cattle up here. The cattle used to just about drink Chico Creek dry in the heat of the summer. So we came up with the idea of this dam."

"It wasn't we, it was Red that thought of this idea," Josh told Dillon interrupting his partner. 

"I see a lot of leaks in the dam," Dillon said. "Is Jerry repairing those?"

"Nope, we don't care if the dam leaks," Red answered. "I think it was Josh that said we weren't trying to stop Chico Creek, we just want to borrow its flow for a while." 

"Some of the rocks have settled since last year," Josh told Dillon. "Jerry and the men are just filling in some low spots with more rock."

Jerry had seen Red, Josh and the rest ride toward the lake. He also saw the baskets and knew they were going on a picnic. He motioned for his crew to stop work.

"This lake lets us run a lot more stock up on the plateau," Josh explained. "It also lets us irrigate that plain over there to grow silage, hay, and corn for winter feed; there's more than 50 acres we use for that. That extra feed sure cuts down on losing cattle in the dead of winter"

"But the best thing about the lake is it makes a great swimmin hole for the kids during the summer," Red added laughing. "Makes a pretty good fishin hole too." He let out a rebel yell and said, "C'mon kids let's get wet." Red, Josh, and Danni sent their horses at a run toward the lake.

Riding Jasper into the lake up to his belly, Red picked John up and threw him into the water followed quickly by Daniel. As Josh and Diablo got close to the lake, William squirmed down and ran into the water. Danni dismounted, helped Maggie down and waded into the lake with her.

Dillon and Elizabeth had followed the mad rush to the shore line. Elizabeth gasped in surprise when Red threw his sons into the lake. Sarah had followed at a more sedate pace and came up behind them. "Red and Josh had those kids swimming about the same time they learned to walk," she explained. "Never would have thought that a cowboy from the dry plains of Texas would know how to swim."

Red pulled off his boots and tossed them to dry land. He looped his gun belt around the saddle horn and stood up on his saddle. He gave another rebel yell and dove into the water beside his sons. Then the water fight started with the two boys ganging up on their father. Josh wasn't far behind and William jumped on his back trying to dunk him.

Dillon was laughing hard at the "boys" antics. Turning to Elizabeth he said, "See what we have to look forward too?"

Elizabeth looked at him with a gleam in her eye. She shucked her boots, ran to the lake, and dove in. She yelled back at Dillon, "C'mon in, you need a bath anyway."

Dillon dismounted, dropped Buck's reins, and dropped his gun belt. He took off his boots and with a rebel yell of his own ran into the water. He looked up and saw the horses standing at the edge of the lake looking at the crazy humans.

He stood and swept his long wet hair out of his eyes. Dillon noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned and squinting into the sun saw about a dozen riders on the crest of the far hill. Being as natural as he could be, he walked out of the water toward his gun. 

Dillon reached down, picked up his gun belt and buckled it to his waist. "Josh, Red, we've got company," he said pointing with his chin at the riders as he pulled his rifle from the saddle scabbard. Both men looked in the direction indicated and they began to slowly come out of the water; they brought the children with them. 

"Danni, you and Sarah take the kids over behind that rock outcropping there," Josh ordered. "Take your rifles with you."

Red gathered the horses and walked them over to where the women and children hid behind the rock outcropping. "Hold on them tight," he told Sarah and Danni. "We might need them pretty quick." He had to smile at Elizabeth; she was kneeling behind a big rock dripping water but holding her rifle at the ready. Sarah's not the only one that's feisty, he thought.

Jerry and the two men working with him on the dam had mounted their horses to join the family playing in the lake. Josh gave a shrill whistle; it was a well used signal between them to form a defensive front. Jerry didn't even look back to see what the problem was; he yelled at his men and they spurred their horses into a gallop.

When they got to the family Josh nodded at the riders on the hill. Jerry quickly dismounted and positioned his men near the women. "Any idea who it is?" He asked Josh. Josh just shook his head.

The riders on the hill watched as the people by the lake reacted to their presence. The leader motioned to his companions and slowly rode down the hill. They stopped at the waterway below the dam and let their horses drink. One man came on alone.

Red had eyes like a hawk and quickly realized that the dozen or so riders were Indians. As the lone rider slowly got closer Red turned to Josh and said, "I don't believe it. That's your old friend Running Wolf."

The Indian had gotten close enough that Josh recognized him too. "Wait here," he said mounting Diablo. 

"Josh, take your gun belt," Red suggested.

"If Running Wolf wanted to cause us trouble, we'd never seen him on the hill. This is a friendly visit," Josh replied. At least I hope so, he thought. He turned Diablo to ride out and meet the chief of Jicarilla Apache.

Josh rode to about twenty feet and stopped. Running Wolf nodded and dismounted; Josh dismounted too. The chief walked closer to Josh and place one hand on his shoulder; Josh copied the gesture. The Indian dropped his hand and said something in Apache and smiled.

"Young Kelly has grown into a man," Running Wolf said in English. Josh was surprised; the first time he'd met Running Wolf the Apache didn't speak English.

It had been over ten years earlier when Josh and Running Wolf met for the first time. The Apache had been slowed by a several days of heavy rain on their way to their summer camp. They'd used up a lot of their food supply and hadn't had any success at hunting.. Josh had persuaded the wagon master, Hobart, to give the Indian band some cattle to feed the women and children.

The next day in a ceremony showing his respect and admiration for the young man that had helped his band, Running Wolf adopted Josh and Diablo into the Jicarilla Apache tribe. He gave Josh an Apache name which translated into "Friend with big horse".

"I've learned your language," Running Wolf said smiling at Josh's surprise. As he talked he made sign language along with his words. "I see you still have the big horse."

Josh smiled and patted Diablo. "It has been a long time Running Wolf; it's good to see an old friend. But why is your band this far north?"

"The white eyes have broken another treaty and the young men are talking of war. There is a Lakota Sioux called Crazy Horse in your tongue that is saying he's had a vision of a white buffalo. He says it means that we will drive the white eyes away. I think he's been smoking too much of the sacred tobacco and drinking too much of the white man's firewater." Running Wolf snorted showing his displeasure of Crazy Horse.

As they were talking, Red had walked forward to join them. He stopped at Josh's side and said, "Thought you could use some help with the sign language."

Josh turned his head to hide his smile; Red was gonna be surprised.

Red made sign and said, "It's been a long time since we met Running Wolf. Do you remember me from the meeting at the wagon train?"

Running Wolf looked at Red for a few seconds and replied in English, "Yes I remember the color of your scalp."

Josh and Running Wolf laughed at the look on Red's face. "I'll be, you speak English," Red remarked.

The Apache nodded and said, "We are traveling to the north. There are fewer whites there and I want to be as far away from them as I can." Running Wolf stopped for a moment staring off into the distance. "Crazy Horse is wrong. We cannot defeat the white eyes; there are too many, they are like the leaves on the trees."

Josh didn't know what to say to his old friend. He thought for a few seconds. "How did you know I was here?"

"I heard stories of a tall dark haired man that carried a coup stick with many feathers," Running Wolf replied. "It was said he had a man with hair like the sun with him. Our trail led us passed your lodge so I thought I would see if that dark haired man was my brother."

Josh turned back toward the lake and motioned for Danni to join them. Pointing to the children he indicated that she should bring them too. She walked over leading William and Maggie.

"This is my wife Danni and our children William and Maggie," Josh told his friend. "Danni this is Running Wolf, chief of the Jicarilla Apache. He's the one that......."

"Gave you the coup stick, I figured," Danni interrupted. She made hand signs to Running Wolf as she spoke. "It is an honor to meet the chief of the Jicarilla and a pleasure to meet an old friend of my husbands."

Running Wolf smiled and nodded at Danni. "My brother has chosen well; you are a good partner for him. Turning to the children he added, "You've given him a fine son to carry on his name and a daughter as pretty as the first days of spring."

Little William was wide eyed with wonder. He had seen a few Indians in Fountain when they came into town for trade goods, but they were considered "tame" Indians. Many dressed just like the townspeople. This was a real live "wild" Indian. William knew it wasn't polite to stare but he couldn't help himself.

This man was an Apache chief. He wore buckskin leggings with a loin cloth and no shirt. His chest and arms had designs painted on them and his hair was long, with an eagle feather in it. William was fascinated with Running Wolf. When William noticed that the Indian was watching him, he blushed and hung his head.

Kneeling down Running Wolf faced William and said, "You are alert and watch the things new to you. It is a good thing." Drawing his knife he looked at Josh; Josh smiled and nodded at Running Wolf. Danni started to step forward but Josh put his arm around her and shook his head. She relaxed, leaning against her husband.

Running Wolf took Williams right hand and pricked his thumb; then he did the same to his own thumb. As blood seeped out of the small cuts he pressed their two thumbs together. He had done the same thing with Josh years ago.

"You are now blood brother to Running Wolf. You are part of the Jicarilla. I name you "Lichii Sitiliden", it means Red Coyote," he told William. He took the eagle feather from his hair and tied it in William's mop of reddish blond hair. Reaching into the pouch at his waist he handed the boy a carved wooden totem.

"When you get your first horse Red Coyote, weave this totem into its mane. The totem will protect your horse and you," Running Wolf instructed. Standing he walked to Josh and Danni. He handed another totem to Danni. "Tie this charm into your buckskin's mane. It too will protect you."

William still wide eyed ran to his father, showing him the eagle feather and the totem. "Pa, I'm an Apache now, just like you." Josh nodded and let William show him his new treasurers. "When can I have my own horse Pa?"

Red looked behind Running Wolf and asked, "Where are your people?" 

"They are camped beyond that hill."

Danni hesitated and then said, "That area has little water. Move your camp here to the lake; you won't have to have a dry camp."

"There may be soldiers following us soon. I do not want you to put you in danger," the chief said.

"I don't rightly care about a bunch of Yankee soldiers," Red said with a little anger in his voice. "This is our land and we'll help who we want."

Josh patted Red on the shoulder and smiled. "Take it easy Red. They're not even here yet and you're ready to fight the war all over again."

Red calmed down a little but added, "Never liked them Yankees trying to tell folks how to live and what to do back then and I don't care for it now either."

"You are our guest Running Wolf," Danni said. "But more importantly you are blood brother to my husband and my son; that makes you family. And I won't be told how to treat a guest in our home." 

Running Wolf was impressed with Danni. Turning to Josh he said, "I was right, you have chosen a good woman to help you as you go through life."

Dillon had relaxed when Josh motioned Danni to join him. He wouldn't put his wife and kids in danger, he thought. Dillon walked over and joined Elizabeth and Sarah. Jerry and the two hands walked over to the rock outcropping.

"You must be Mr. Gallagher," Jerry said. "I'm Jerry Barnes. Got a couple of horses for you to look at when you've a mind to."

"Please to meet you Jerry. Call me Dillon and this is my wife Elizabeth."

"When would you like to see them Dillon?"

"We have to go back to Fountain this afternoon to meet the rest of the family. Maybe we could come back the day after tomorrow," Dillon answered.

"I'll bring the horse over to the ranch tomorrow and leave them for a few days. That way you won't have to rush out here to see them," Jerry suggested.

Josh rode with Running Wolf to lead his people to the new camp site at the lake; the band consisted of about 35 men, women, and children. The rest of the picnic crowd headed back to the ranch house; Jerry and his workers returned to the dam. Dillon and Elizabeth changed into dry clothes and began their return trip to Fountain to meet Eleanor and the family. They promised to return with the whole family in two days.

"We got horses to look at," Dillon said. "And I want a closer look at the Anderson place."

Dillon and Elizabeth returned to Fountain, arriving just past midday. They arranged for rooms at the boarding house and then went to the livery to wait for the family; they had agreed to meet there. Shortly after 2 PM Eleanor, Ethan and Oso arrived in a buckboard. I was right about Oso not finding a horse, Dillon thought.

"I'm glad to see you," Eleanor greeted Dillon and Elizabeth with a hug and a kiss. "But was it necessary to come all this way to get a couple of horses?"

"Yes em it is if you want to get the best," Dillon replied. "Besides I may have found us a ranch. I want to show it to you tomorrow or the next day and see what you think."

Dillon explained Josh's idea about homesteading the land adjoining the ranch. "We'd end up with about a thousand acres for just the cost of Anderson's 400."

"So you think we ought to buy this place?"

"Not necessarily but I think we ought to look at it. I was only there for an hour or so but from what I saw it could be a good place to live," Dillon answered.

Eleanor saw the eagerness on Dillon's face and said, "Well I guess we better take a look at this place."

Later, after supper, Dillon and Oso were sitting on the front porch of the boarding house with a cigar and coffee. "Guess I was right about y'all coming in a wagon. Couldn't you find horses?"

Oso chuckled. "We could have gotten horses for Eleanor and Ethan but they didn't have anything that could carry all this," he said pointing to his body. Oso was 6' 6 and weighed in at close to 300 pounds. 

"Why didn't you bring your horse from the Triple E with us?"

"I should have but he was gettin on in years. Cassidy's range boss, House, said he would take care of the animal for me. If I'd knowed how hard it was to replace him, I would've brought him."

Dillon smiled at the big man. "Don't worry Oso, we'll find something for you to ride. Even if we have to capture and train a buffalo."

"Elizabeth said you two had a little excitement the other day. Something about a gun fight," Oso said.

"Women never can keep quiet about things, can they?" Dillon asked with a small grin. "I didn't want to say anything to worry or alarm Eleanor."

Dillon told Oso about the run in with Stillwell and his men. "If nothing else we got rid of some varmints. It got me a good deal on a couple of fine horses too," Dillon finished the story.

"It's that damn Winterborn legend all over again," Oso replied with his own grim smile.

********************

The next morning well before first light, Josh rode to Running Wolf's camp. They were going elk hunting; the camp needed fresh meat. The tribe had been traveling light and fast trying to stay ahead of any soldiers following them.

Leading two pack horses they rode to the spot Josh had picked out. "We will try for two elk," Running Wolf told Josh. "One will feed the families now and we'll smoke and dry the other one for the trip north."




The Gathering Ch. 03



They left the horses in a ravine and quietly walked to a spot near a game trail. Just after sun up, Josh nudged Running Wolf and pointed out the small herd of elk that was grazing in a clearing on the far side of the trail. Running Wolf pointed to two of the young bulls on the edge of the herd.

Josh nodded and brought his rifle to his shoulder. As the two bulls stepped completely into the clearing, both men fired. One of the young bull elk stood still for a second, took one step, and collapsed to the ground. The other one dropped immediately. The rest of the herd ran into the aspens and disappeared from sight; Josh could hear them crashing through the brush and trees as they ran.

They got their horses and quickly crossed the game trail to the dead elk. They tied ropes to the rear legs of the elk and using the horses drug them to the tree line. Throwing the ropes over a couple of sturdy tree limbs the horses pulled the animals up off the ground. Running Wolf slit the throats so the animals could bleed. It was still very cool in this high meadow but the elk needed to be field dressed before the heat of their bodies could spoil the meat.

Running Wolf knelt by one of the elk. He dipped his fingers into the blood draining from the elk and made a mark on his forehead. Speaking to the elk he said, "Thank you brother for your gift of life. Know that your gift will not be wasted. Speak well of us to Wakan Tanka, the Great "Spirit." 

Turning, he raised his arms toward the rising sun. "Wakan Tanka, accept our brother's spirits and let them graze on sweet clover until we join them." 

Josh watched the little ceremony, bowed his head, and said softly, "Amen."

They quickly field dressed the elk; saving the hearts, livers, and kidneys. Josh cut some long straight poles and some smaller branches from some Aspens. He used the poles and branches to make a travois for each of the pack horses so they could take the elk back to Running Wolf's camp. 

Running Wolf used some more branches to hold the belly cavities open so the elk would cool more quickly as well as hold the heart, liver and kidneys of each animal. They lowered the animals onto the travois, tied them down, and began the trip back to camp. As they got closer to the camp, Josh saw Red, Sarah, and Danni dismounting in front of Running Wolf's lodge. They had Red's and Josh's boys with them and were leading two pack horses.

Danni and Sarah, with Red's help, were talking by sign language to some of the Indian woman while the boys were trying to talk and play with the Indian children. Red had been busy after Josh left for the hunt that morning. He put together some supplies that he thought the Indian band could use. The men of the tribe stood back watching as Red unloaded the pack animals. They knew that Red and the others were friends of Running Wolf's but it still seemed strange to have "white eyes" in their camp.

Red was the first to notice Josh and Running Wolf returning to the camp. As he turned to watch them ride in the braves saw them also. The men quickly ran out to greet their chief; they were excited to see the two elk. The animals were unloaded and hung by their rear legs for butchering. They used the lodge poles that had made the travois to form a stand to get the elk up off the ground. With so many hands to help, the elk were quickly skinned and butchered.

The Indians began cooking one of the elk and a slow burning fire was started to smoke the other one. Some of the women began to cut the elk into strips for smoking while others used green branches from the nearby trees to build a smoke rack.

Red called William over to him and handed him something wrapped in a piece of buckskin. They waited for Running Wolf to dismount and then walked over to him. They greeted the Apache in sign and Red pushed William forward and whispered, "Just like I told you."

William held the package in front of him. The boy in a solemn voice said, "My Pa and Uncle Red told me that you're supposed to exchange gifts after becoming blood brothers." Running Wolf knelt down to the boy's level. "You gave me that wolf totem and the eagle feather; this is my gift to you." Looking at Red he added, "My blood brother." He handed Running Wolf the buckskin wrapped package and with barely controlled anticipation said, "Open it."

Running Wolf smiled at the boy and opened the buckskin wrapping. Inside was a leather sheath holding a Bowie knife. The Apache was surprised and touched by the gift.

"It's a Bowie knife just like my Pa's," William said. "See it's got a leather sheath and on the front here is a honing stone to sharpen it and the handle is elk horn." The boy excitedly continued to explain the features of the knife. "Do you like it Running Wolf?"

Running Wolf pulled his knife and sheath from his waist and replaced it with William's gift. He put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "It is a fine gift from my young blood brother. I will carry it with me until the end of my days. Thank you, Red Coyote."

William was about to bust with pride and ran to his father. He grabbed Josh around his leg. "See Pa, just like Uncle Red told me."

Josh picked his son up and hugged him. "You did just fine son. I'm proud of you."

Running Wolf talked to one of his men for a minute and walked over to Josh. "Lone Eagle has been on our back trail. He says that soldiers are following us; they are about two days behind us but moving slowly. I think it best that we leave early tomorrow my friend."

"You can stay on our land as long as you want," Josh replied.

"Damn right you can," Red remarked.

Shaking his head, Running Wolf said, "It would only delay things. We will move into the high country. They will not be able to follow us there."

Josh shook hands with Running Wolf and said, "We will put the Jicarilla totem sign on our lodge. You are welcome to rest on our land anytime you travel through. We will see that your people are fed and sheltered."

Running Wolf nodded. "Thank you my brother. May Wakan Tanka watch over you." He turned and joined his people.

The next morning at daybreak Josh walked out onto the porch of the ranch house. Sticking in the ground at the base of the steps was a coup stick. The stick was dyed red and had a coyote totem tied to it. Josh smiled; it was a parting gift for William. 

Josh looked toward the lake and the Indian camp. He said softly, "Vaya con Dios my friends. I hope you find a safe place for your people." 

********************* 

Dillon and his family spent one day looking around Fountain and talking to some of the residents. They learned a lot about the area from Sheriff Kennedy and Steve Mitchell the owner of the mercantile. They talked to the territorial land agent about homesteading. It was pretty much what Josh had said, although there was a filing fee that would have to be paid for each quarter section; they were told it was $1.25 an acre. 

The following morning after an early breakfast they hitched up the wagon, saddled Buck and Sandy and started for the CBC. As they topped the rise at the rock bluff, Dillon called a halt. He motioned out over the valley in front of them. 

"Good land for horses and cattle, Eleanor." She nodded in agreement. "The Anderson's place is off to the west here, about 3 miles down that trail," Dillon said pointing. "We're going to the CBC; it's about five miles east of here."

"Elizabeth told me about you two getting involved in a gun fight there," Eleanor said. "I would have thought you'd had enough of that back in Prescott," she added with a smile. "Just who are these people? This Kelly and McCall."

Dillon looked at Eleanor for a few seconds. "Josh Kelly is the best horse trainer and breeder in the territory, according to a lot of folks. Look at Elizabeth's new horse, Sandy. That's as fine an animal as I've ever seen. And I met and rode with Red McCall's brother at First Manassas."

He stopped for a minute, again looking out over the valley. "Josh and Red invited us out to their place for lunch and to look at some horses. When we got there five men had the drop on them." Dillon looked Eleanor in the eye and continued, "I couldn't just sit there and let those men kill Josh and Red. I just don't have it in me."

"I know that Dillon," Eleanor replied. "It's part of what makes you a special type of man."

Elizabeth spoke up to ease the tension, "I was there too and I helped."

Dillon chuckled. "You surely did Honey." He told Eleanor about Elizabeth's shot taking down the man that had turned to shoot Dillon. "Anyway, it's over and done. Now we need to get some good horses and find a place to live."

The group continued on to the CBC. As they stopped the wagon in front of the ranch house, a parade of people came out to greet them. Josh, Danni, and their brood were the first to greet them. Right behind the Kelly's were Red, Sarah, and their boys. Eleanor, Oso, and Ethan hung back until the rowdy welcome for Dillon and Elizabeth died down.

Dillon helped Eleanor climb down from the wagon and Ethan jumped over the side; Oso remained seated. Dillon introduced Eleanor and Ethan to the Kelly's and the McCall's. Handshakes between the men and hugs between the women were exchanged; although Dillon was hugged by Danni and Sarah.

Turning back to the wagon Dillon said, "And this is Oso; my other brother."

Red tipped his hat to Eleanor and shook hands with Ethan. As he turned toward the wagon he said, "Climb down friend and join the party." He completed his turn and got his first good look at Oso. Red's eyes opened wide and his jaw almost dropped.

He shook himself, smiled, and said, "Sarah, we may have to put another side of beef on to cook. I don't think one is gonna be enough for our friend here."

Oso climbed down and Red quickly walked over to him. Sticking out his hand he said, "Just fooling with you Oso. Welcome to our home."

As everyone was saying hello to Oso, Jerry Barnes rode up to the ranch house leading a horse. He dismounted at the corral, dropping the reins of his horse and looping the lead rope of the other one over a corral post. Joining the people in front of the house he was introduced to the new comers. Like Red, Jerry was impressed with Oso's size.

"I didn't think you were coming by Jerry," Josh said. Pointing to the extra horse he asked "Is that another horse you have for sale?"

Jerry looked around and saw Ethan playing with a couple of dogs. Quietly so that only Josh and Dillon could hear him he said, "I brought over those two from my Morgan the other day and then got to thinkin. That was before I knew Danni sold her Sandy to Elizabeth. Dillon and I talked a little at the lake and he talked about needing a horse for Mrs. Edwards. He also mentioned his young brother. I thought Rosie there might be a good horse for Ethan, so I brought her over."

Leaning closer to Dillon, Jerry continued, "Rosie is a mare, six years old and well trained. She's as gentle as can be."

Dillon smiled and thanked Jerry. "Ethan's sprouted like a weed this last year and now he's almost as good on a horse as me or Elizabeth," he told Jerry. "Rosie may be a better mount for Eleanor. Let's go down to the corral and take a look."

As they got close to the corral, Rosie nickered. Eleanor walked over to her and looked her over. She stepped close to the horse's head and stroked Rosie's forehead. "Could I ride her?" She asked Jerry.

Jerry went into the barn, brought out riding tack, and saddled Rosie. "She's real gentle ma'am," Jerry said. 

Eleanor climbed into the saddle and rode Rosie around the house place for a few minutes. She smiled at Dillon and put Rosie into a trot, taking the trail back toward Fountain. 

Dillon smiled at Jerry and said, "You may have just lost a horse my friend. Ethan, come here please."

Ethan joined Dillon at the corral. Dillon pointed to the two Morgan's that Jerry had brought over. "Which of those is the better horse?"

The fourteen year old covered his surprise that Dillon would ask his opinion about the horses. He grabbed a coiled rope from a fence post and stepped between the rails into the corral. Dillon had been spending a lot of time with Ethan; taking the boy under his wing to teach him some of the things he would need to know. Ethan roped one of the horses and tied the colt to the training post in the center of the corral. He spoke softly to the animal as he looked him over, running his hands down the horse's legs and across its chest.

"Good horse," he said as he released the animal. He roped the other Morgan and also tied her off to the post. He examined the filly a little more closely than the other one. Ethan released the horse and walked back to the corral fence, coiling the rope.

"What do you think Ethan?" Jerry asked before Dillon could.

"Well, Mr. Barnes, I'd have to ride em but they both look to be fine animals. The colt has a deeper chest and longer legs. The filly has a lot of muscle in her shoulder's; means she'll be quick on her feet," Ethan replied. He paused for a few seconds and added, "I don't think you could go wrong with either one. The colt will be a little stronger over a long ride but the filly will be better workin close in with cattle."

Ethan stopped; he seemed to be embarrassed. Turning to Dillon he asked, "Is that about right Dillon?"

Dillon smiled and replied, "I think you got it right son." Turning to Jerry he said, "Let's see if we do a little horse trading. I guess we've already bought Rosie; I wouldn't want to be the one to try and take that horse away from Eleanor."

Jerry saddled the filly and handed the reins to Ethan. "Take her for a ride while Dillon and I talk business."

"See if you can track down your mother," Dillon suggested. "I'd like to get over to the Anderson spread before lunch."

Ethan quickly jumped into the saddle and took off at a fast trot; following the same trail that Eleanor had taken Rosie. "Be right back," he called over his shoulder.

"We may not see him or Eleanor before supper," Dillon said smiling at Ethan's back. Turning to Jerry he said "I'd like to buy the two Morgan's and Rosie. How much are you asking?"

Jerry looked at Dillon for a few seconds. "You know my connection with Josh and Red, don't you?" At Dillon's nod he continued. "They took me in and made me a full partner when we left the wagon train ten years ago." Those two are the only family I got." He stopped to get control of himself and his emotions. Jerry wiped a hand across his eyes. "Damn, I'm worse than an old woman," he muttered.

Dillon turned away a little to give Jerry a little time. When he turned back Jerry was smiling at him. "My point is that I'm beholdin to you and Elizabeth for helping them out." Looking Dillon in the eye he said, "I think a hundred dollars for the three horses is fair. We got a deal?"

"If I can add my friendship to sweeten the pot, I think we can do business," Dillon replied with a smile shaking Jerry's hand. He knew that the horses were worth much more. Dillon also knew that Jerry was saying thank you with more than just words; he accepted the offer. "What are the colt and filly's names?"

"I've just been callin em boy and girl. Figured whoever bought them would want to name them," Jerry answered.

Eleanor and Ethan rode back to the corral. "Dillon I'd like to buy Rosie and the filly that Ethan's riding," she told her son. She was a little surprised that Dillon and Jerry started laughing.

"Yes em, it's already done. We bought the colt too," Dillon informed her pointing to the horse in the corral. "Now all we have to do is find a horse or two for Oso; or maybe an elephant."

Red laughed with the rest of them and said, "I hear tell Sanders over to the S Bar S has a couple of good sizes animals. We could take a ride over and see what he's got."

Dillon replied, "I'd really like to take a look at the Anderson spread first. That okay with you Oso?"

"I've been riding in that dang wagon this long; I guess a while longer won't make any difference," the big man answered.

"Well, I've seen Anderson's so I don't need to see it again," Red chuckled. Why don't Oso and I go see Sanders while y'all go to parley with Tom?"

"I sorta thought Oso should have a look at what could be our new home," Dillon responded.

"Amigo, it doesn't matter where we are; just as long as we're together. You and the Senora find us a place to live. I'll go find a horse maybe," Oso replied.

Ethan had been listening and said, "Ma, can I go with Oso and Red?" 

"You better ask Mr. McCall if he minds you tagging along," Eleanor replied.

"He'll be fine Mrs. Edwards," Red told her. "Besides he needs to learn about the country round here if y'all gonna stay."

"Ethan," Dillon called the boy to him. "While you were gallivanting all over the country side with your Ma, we bought those three horses." The boy looked at him with a hopeful gleam in his eye. Dillon just stared at the youngster for almost a full minute. He broke into a smile and told Ethan, "You'd better think of a name for that filly; she belongs to you now."

"Yes sir. I'll take good care of her," Ethan responded with enthusiasm. "I hoped you'd buy her and I've already got a name for her." He paused for a few seconds, smiled at Dillon and said, "I'm gonna call her Shelley."

As Dillon raised his eyebrows in a question Ethan added, "You know after that poet you're always quotin."

Dillon was a special man in many ways, but one was his love for poetry and literature. He sometimes quoted from the works of Shelley and Lord Byron, his two favorite poets. It amused his family that this one time Calvary officer, one time Deputy Marshal, and cowhand would quote passages from the poets. Ethan had taken to studying poetry too.

"I suppose you want to call the colt Lord Byron," Dillon said with a big grin.

"Yes sir, I thought we might."

"You've been paying attention haven't you?" Dillon asked. "Okay, Shelley and Lord Byron it is."

Dillon handed Oso several gold coins to pay for any horses he might find. Oso climbed back onto the wagon and with Red on one side and Ethan on the other they started their trip to the S Bar S. They'd been traveling for about twenty minutes with Red talking about the land, the water, and grazing in the area. 

They stopped to rest the wagon team and Red looked at Oso for a bit. The big man noticed him staring and said, "I was adopted."

"Huh?" Red replied.

Oso chuckled. "I don't look like anyone else in the family. Everyone wonders the same thing when the Senora introduces me as her son. Senor Edwards found me when I was ten, burying my parents after an Apache raid. He took me home with him; that was better than twenty five years ago."

"Actually I was wondering how big a horse you're gonna need," Red answered. 

Both Ethan and Oso laughed at Red's statement and they continued toward the S Bar S. As they rode up to the ranch house, Bill Sanders the owner of the S Bar S came out on the porch to greet them.

"Howdy Red. Get down and sit a spell," Sanders offered.

"How do Bill," Red replied as he got down. "Like you to meet some friends of mine. The youngster is Ethan Edwards; the one in the wagon is Oso."

"Any friends of Red are friends of mine; step down boys and get comfortable." Oso and Ethan climbed down and stepped onto the porch with Red. Sanders shook hands with Oso and Ethan. Red explained about Dillon and the Edwards family including Dillon's help with Stillwell and his friends. Turning back toward the house the men saw Nancy Larson, Sanders sister, come out to join them carrying a tray with a coffee pot, cups, and some cookies.

"Hello Red," Mrs. Larson said. "Thought you might like some of my cookies. You never seem to get enough of them." 

"No ma'am, can't say as I do. Those are the best cookies in four counties," Red replied stuffing a cookie into his mouth. He spoke around a mouthful of cookie, "Better try some of these boys, before I eat them all."




The Gathering Ch. 03



"Don't talk with your mouthful Red," Nancy told him. Turning to Oso and Ethan she offered them the plate of cookies. "How's Sarah and the boys Red? And Josh and his family?"

Red swallowed, took a sip of coffee and said, "Everyone's just fine Mrs. Larson. Josh took Dillon and his family over to look at the Anderson spread." He smiled as he grabbed another cookie. "We might just have some new neighbors if they can get together with Tom and Julie on a price."

Bill Sanders said, "It'd be nice to see that place be a working ranch again. I know Tom's heart hasn't been in it since his boy was killed."

"Guess you'll be headed back to Fountain in a couple of months when school starts, Mrs. Larson." Red explained to Oso and Ethan that Nancy Larson had taken over the teaching job when Sarah and he got married.

"Not really looking forward to another year of it," Nancy replied. "It's been eight years now and I told them last year to find another teacher but they haven't had any luck. I agreed to teach one last year; but this is the last one. I want to travel a little and spend some time out here on the ranch too."

"My Ma was a teacher," Ethan said. "She says she wants to be one again; she don't much care for ranchin."

"What brings you boys to my place?" Sanders asked. "I'm glad to see you Red but I know you didn't ride all the way over here just to get some of Nancy's cookies."

"Don't be too sure about that Bill. They'd be worth the ride all by themselves." Red chuckled in response. "Came to see you about those two big horses you got that's eating you out of house and home. Need a couple of mounts for my little friend here," he said nodding toward Oso.

"Let's head down to the lower corral; I keep those two there."

On the way to the corral Sanders explained that his sister had adopted a draft horse from the freight company. The animal was going to be put down because of its age. Somehow the big horse had got into the paddock where the mares in season were kept. 

"These two here are the result," Sanders said pointing to the horses in the corral.

One of the horses was a bay in color and the other was buckskin. Even though they had different dames the two colts were similar in size. They didn't look heavy and massive like their sire but both were very large animals. The bay was seventeen hands at the shoulder and the buckskin was about a tad shorter. Their legs were long and very muscular.

As the men walked up to the corral both horses came over to greet them. "They're nothing but a couple of pets now; everybody feeds and spoils them," Sanders said with a small grin. "I'd be happy to make you a good deal on them Oso."

Oso went into the corral and looked over the horses, running his hands over their chest and legs. "Fine animals Mr. Sanders. They're strong and spirited. Why would you want to get rid of them?"

"They're good animals but a mite too slow of foot to make good cow ponies," Sanders answered. 

Red stood back as Oso and Sanders began horse trading. Ethan watched as the two men went back and forth until a deal was made. Sanders threw in a saddle and tack. Oso paid him, tied the horses off to the rear of the wagon and they started back to Red's ranch.

*****************

Josh and Dillon rode in the lead toward Anderson's ranch with Elizabeth and Eleanor following. They rode through white oak and pines trees; the streams they crossed were lined with cottonwoods. "Lots of good timber here and up on those mountains," Josh said. "Be easy to cut enough for those cabins you'll need on the homesteads."

Dillon nodded. "There's plenty to help enlarge the ranch house too."

As they came into the clearing in front of the ranch house, Tom and Julie Anderson came out to greet them. "Thought you might be back young feller," Tom said. "Y'all get down and stretch a bit."

Dillon introduced Elizabeth and Eleanor to the Andersons. "Thought we might take a look around, if it's alright with you Mr. Anderson."

"Tom's good enough Dillon. I'll saddle up and ride with you and point out the property lines and such."

Eleanor and Elizabeth stayed at the ranch house with Mrs. Anderson. "The men know more about ranching and ranch land than I do," Eleanor said. "I'd rather talk to you Julie about your day to day life out here."

Dillon, Josh, and Tom Anderson rode along the borders of the ranch. Tom pointed out the survey markers on each corner of his land. When they got to the cut or pass through the mountains, the three rode up to the crest and looked down into the next valley.

"There's just over 300 acres in the original parcel and we homestead that quarter section in '63," Anderson said pointing to the land leading up to the pass. "Own right up to the crest of this cut here. It's the only way through these mountain for better than 20 miles in any direction."

Dillon glanced at Josh, now understanding his idea of homesteading on the far side of the mountains west of the spread. He motioned to the other two and rode down into the far valley for a closer look. They rode around the land for about an hour taking note of the grassy plains, timber and stream before they headed back over the pass.

"I think your idea's a good one Josh," Dillon said. "We could homestead a full section over there; that'd give us better than a thousand acres, just like you said."

Turning to Anderson he asked, "Why didn't you claim the land in that next valley Tom?"

"Too much work for me," he replied with a smile. "I worked for 20 years for the railroad back in Pennsylvania and retired. My Julie was very frugal, hell she was tighter with a dollar than anyone I even met. She saved most of my wages and added hers to the stake. So we lived pretty good all these years without havin to work our tails off."

Anderson stopped for a minute, hanging his head. "We'd just started to think about turning the place into a real cattle ranch to leave our son when he was killed on that damn cattle drive. After that we didn't much care to stay here." He lifted his head and smiled. "Gonna go to California and live by the ocean."

The men returned to the ranch house and dismounted. Elizabeth and Eleanor came out to meet Dillon and Josh. They stepped off the porch and joined Dillon as he walked around the clearing. He told the ladies about the ranch and the plans to expand it. Elizabeth and Eleanor could tell by the excitement in his voice and the gleam in his eyes that he wanted to buy the Anderson spread.

"It's not that far into town," Eleanor offered. "We could get our shopping done and back home in one day easy."

"What do you think Elizabeth?" Dillon asked his wife.

Smiling Elizabeth replied, "I told you before, whither thou goest, I will go; whither thou lodgest, I will lodge." Then she giggled. "I think it would be a fine place to live, Honey."

Dillon chuckled and said, "Now you're going make quotes at me too? Guess I started something didn't I?" He paused and asked, "Well ladies should we make Mr. Anderson an offer on the ranch or should we keep looking?"

First Eleanor nodded and then Elizabeth did also. "Remember what you told young Cassidy, Dillon," Eleanor said. At his puzzled look she continued, "You told him not to try and horse trade with me; just give me his best offer. I think the same thing applies here. Ask Mr. Anderson what he wants and if it's reasonable give it to him."

Dillon agreed with her and the three of them walked back to the house. Stepping onto the porch Dillon said, "What do you want for the place Tom?"

"Well I reckon we could let it go for three thousand dollars," he answered. "I'm not trying to get rich here but I think the place is worth that much; maybe more. But we'd don't want to sit around waitin on a buyer with deep pockets. We'd like to head for California before the winter sets in."

Dillon thought for a minute. "I'd like to talk it over with my partners here," he said pointing to Elizabeth and Eleanor with a grin. "We'll discuss it tonight and get back to you in the morning. Is that agreeable?"

"That'll be fine Dillon. See you tomorrow morning; come early for breakfast if you've a mind too."

Josh, Dillon and the ladies mounted and rode back to Josh's place. When they got back to the ranch, Danni and Sarah insisted that they stay the night. After supper Josh, Dillon, and Eleanor sat on the front porch talking about the Anderson ranch. Oso joined them, listening to the description of the land. Ethan stayed inside playing big brother to the children and keeping them out from under foot as the women cleaned up after supper.

"Three thousand might sound a bit steep Dillon," Josh said. "There's a lot of open prairie around here; just there for the takin. Problem is that most of it is almost high chaparral." Noticing Eleanor's puzzled looked he added, "It's almost desert; there's not much water. Hard place to raise cattle or horses."

Dillon nodded; he'd seen plenty of high chaparral in Texas and in his travels to Arizona. Josh continued, "I think Tom's place is worth the askin price; what with the good water and timber on the property. If you look at homesteading like we talked about you'd be getting over a thousand acres for that price. Course you have to add the filing fees for the homestead but it's still a lot of good land at a good price."

Red came out to join them. "Sarah just plumb run me out of the kitchen. Said I was just getting in the way."

"How about you Red? What do you think?" Josh asked his partner.

Red paused before he answered. "If we were lookin to add to the CBC, I'd buy the place myself. The place can be made into a fine ranch Dillon. Course you might want to dicker with that old horse thief Tom a bit."

Elizabeth, Danni, and Sarah joined the group on the porch; each of them standing next to their own husband. Dillon hugged Elizabeth, nodded at Eleanor and said, "Let's get up early and join the Andersons for breakfast; I think we've got some business to discuss with them."

To be continued



The Gathering Ch. 04



Please read the first three chapters if you haven't, this finale will make more sense if you do. 

For those who have stayed with my story, thank you. I hope you will enjoy reading this last story in the Trilogy as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

As usual, constructive comments and emails are more than welcome and appreciated.

***********************

We've done a lot of work in under a year, Dillon thought looking back at the new ranch house as he walked around the clearing with his morning coffee. Especially since we got started so late in the year after buying the place. 

It had been late September by the time they'd bought out the Andersons. After getting their wagons and possessions from Colorado Springs, Dillon sold the mules to the freight company in Fountain. One of the Prairie Schooners was sold to a family headed to California and they kept the other one for a heavy haul wagon for the ranch.

About three weeks after they took over the ranch, Red and Josh came over to help lay out the boundaries and foundations for the new house, barn and corrals. Sarah, Danni and the children were talking and giving advice to Elizabeth about what to expect that winter.

Oso was looking over the trees nearby to see which ones they could use for the buildings; he had Ethan with him. They came back to the house place at a high lope. "Lots of riders comin," Oso said. "Looks like horse soldiers."

"Sheriff Kennedy is with them," Ethan added.

A cavalry troop of twenty men, led by a young Lieutenant and a grizzled older Sergeant rode over to where Dillon and his friends were working. The Sheriff rode beside the young commander. Josh and Red heard Dillon mutter to himself, "Damn blue bellies," as he stood to face the soldiers. 

"Dillon, this is Lieutenant Smalley," Kennedy said. "He and his men are tracking Running Wolf. Lieutenant this is Dillon Gallagher, the owner of this ranch."

"And who are these two?" Smalley asked with an officious tone.

Josh saw Red bristle at the young man's tone. "I'd be Red McCall and this is Josh Kelley, if it's any concern of yours," Red answered.

Ignoring Red, Smalley looked at Josh. "You're the one that's friendly with that savage, Running Wolf.

"Yes Lieutenant, I consider Running Wolf a friend," Josh replied. "Why do you ask?"

"My men and I are charged with bringing that renegade and his people to the reservation. It's your duty to help us accomplish that. You will guide us through the north country to where the Indian is hiding," Smalley ordered. 

The Sergeant said in a low voice, "Easy Lieutenant. You can catch more flies using honey than using vinegar."

"Quiet Sergeant, I'm in command here." Turning back to Josh he continued, "Get your horse and supplies; we'll leave as soon as you're ready."

Josh waited for a few seconds before he answered. Got to watch myself, he thought. I don't want to get Red and Dillon any more worked up than they already are. He didn't like Smalley's manner either.

"I'm not going with you Smalley."

"Sheriff Kennedy tells me you didn't serve your country during the War Between the States; he warned me that you don't care for the U. S. Army very much. Are you a coward sir? Is that why you won't guide us to Running Wolf?"

First Red and then Dillon tensed and Red took a step toward the cavalry man. Josh put his arm out and stopped him. He turned back to the Lieutenant. 

"It's none of your concern as to why I didn't fight in that idiotic war," Josh said, his voice tight with anger. "But I will give you my reasons for why I won't do what you want Smalley." 

Red was trying to walk around Josh to get at the Lieutenant. "Take it easy Red," Josh said putting his hand on his friends shoulder.

Dillon stepped forward to Josh's side. "Both McCall and I served in the war Lieutenant." Smalley looked Dillon's way. "McCall served with the 29th. Texas Cavalry at First Manassas in '61 and I served with First Virginia Cavalry. Care to make something of that Blue Belly?"

Josh put his hand on Dillon's arm and pulled him back. Dillon resisted for a few seconds and then stepped back; still glaring at Smalley.

"As I said, Running Wolf is my friend; what's more he's my blood brother," Josh replied as he tried to calm Dillon. "I won't help you track him down like an animal." Josh stopped and looked hard at the young Lieutenant. "Unless you're very careful, you'll get yourself and your men killed. Of course Running Wolf may just lead you around until winter sets in and then leave you out there to die. If you do corner him and force him to fight, he will kill you."

Josh paused for a bit and said, "Let him be Smalley. He hasn't raided any white men or their ranches. All he wants is to be left alone."

"I'll remember this incident sir," Smalley said. We'll see about your cowardly refusal to help when I return."

Josh couldn't stop Red this time. "If you care to step down we can see about that coward stuff right now, Sonny," Red challenged. "I really wish you would because you may not come back and I'll miss my chance at teachin you some manners. Running Wolf will leave you to rot in the snow."

Kennedy guided his horse in between Smalley and Red. "Lieutenant, I think you'd better leave while you still can," he suggested.

The young Lieutenant hesitated and then asked, "Are you coming Sheriff?"

"Nope, don't reckon I will. I agreed to introduce you to Kelly and now I'm done with ya."

Smalley looked at Josh, Red, and Dillon with a scornful look before leading his troop away. The Sergeant was the last to leave as he stayed behind to make sure the troopers followed orders. He turned to Josh and shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry gents," he said.

"You're gonna die out there Sergeant," Josh warned him.

"Maybe so Mr. Kelly, but I'm a soldier and I have my orders." The Sergeant turned and followed the troop north.

Red looked at Kennedy after the cavalry had gone. "Why are they makin such a fuss over Running Wolf? He's never made any raids around here."

"Colorado is gonna become a state in the next two years or so," Kennedy replied. "The Territorial Governor wants to be the first Governor of the new state. So he's using the Indians to gain support from the voters." Kennedy paused as said, "All he's gonna do is get some soldier boys killed. Oh well, not my concern. See y'all; I'm headed back to town."

It was about two months later that Dillon heard Lieutenant Smalley and his men returned to Fountain and then on to Denver. Smalley lost a couple of toes and a finger to frost bite and six of his men died in the high country. Word was that the troopers never actually saw Running Wolf. They just followed his trail around the mountains until winter set in and trapped them.

Meanwhile Dillon, Elizabeth, Eleanor, and Oso had each filed a homestead application for land on the far side of the mountain pass. Dillon was thankful for the bequeathal from his family which made this expense possible. 

They laid out the corner markers on four sections of land and filed their homestead claims. Four small cabins were quickly built to meet the law's provision for improvement on the land. Ethan would also file an application when he turned 18.

The new house faced south and nestled at the base of two mountains that formed a sort of elbow. They acted as a natural wind break to protect the house from the cold north winds. The house was built using logs and timber from the ranch. They had cut down some oak trees, took them to the saw mill in Fountain, and had them cut into planks for flooring and shingles.

Josh and Red had offered to help with the building. Dillon thanked them but told them they had a full time job taking care of their own ranch. "Besides, I think you've got your hands full with that new baby boy at your place Josh. I think Danni needs your help more than we do."

Red laughed. "Danni says he's more hindrance than help. Says he's useless while Clint is this young."

"Not my fault that I never got the hang of puttin on diapers," Josh protested with a laugh. 

However, Dillon used Josh and Red's knowledge and experience in the area to hire two handy men to help with building the house, the new barn, and the two corrals. It was an added expense but they had the house under roof before the first snow fall. The winter weather didn't affect the work on the interior of the house. 

They covered the window openings with canvas or oil paper until the windows and doors they ordered from Colorado Springs arrived. Dillon hired a wood carver from Colorado Springs to hand carve a set of double doors for the main entrance to the house. Everyone, including the hired hands, lived in the Anderson's old ranch house until the work on the house was done; it was a little crowded for six weeks or so.

The new house was two stories with four large bedrooms on the top floor. The main floor just had two rooms. The kitchen was large and open to the eating area; the other room was L shape and ran the length across the front of the house. The leg of the L was used as an office and for storage.

Eleanor was the one that settled the debate about a name for the ranch. Someone suggested "Twin Peaks" because of the two mountains just north of the house site. Another suggestion was "South Fork" because the south fork of Black Squirrel Creek flowed through the property. And one last proposal was "G & E" for Gallagher and Edwards.

"What do you think we should name the ranch Momma?" Elizabeth asked Eleanor. 

She hesitated for a few seconds and softly quoted:

"And in the fury of this darkest hour
 I will be your light
 You've asked me for my sacrifice
 And I am Winterborn

 Within this moment now
 I am for you, though better men have failed
 I will give my life for love
For I am Winterborn."

"I think we should call the place Winterborn," Eleanor replied. Turning toward Dillon with a warm smile she continued, "You were willing to sacrifice your life for your family. First you faced that hired killer Wilson, you were wounded but still you went on and faced Cassidy and his men." She smiled and touched Dillon's arm. "Without you we wouldn't have this wonderful new home. We should call the ranch Winterborn." 

Dillon smiled and had to gather himself before he said anything. "I think it's a fine name, Eleanor." 

Elizabeth, Ethan, and Oso agreed and the ranch became Winterborn. Elizabeth sketched a brand for their cattle. It was a large capital W and a small open triangle on each side to depict the two mountains that guard the house.

**********************

Elizabeth walked across the clearing and joined her husband; she was bundled up against the morning chill. She was wearing pants and carried a coffee pot. It was late April and spring was on the way but the mornings were still cold until the sun got higher in the sky. 

"Nice pants," Dillon teased her.

Elizabeth had started to follow the example set by Sarah and Danni and wore men's pants when she was working around the ranch. In the evening she would change into a dress or a split riding skirt. She said she didn't want Dillon to forget that he was married to a woman and not a ranch hand.

"Thought you might like a refill but if you're going to be mean to me I might not give you any," she replied with a smile. Turning back to look at the house she said, "We did a good job. It's a fine house." 

Dillon took a sip of the fresh coffee and nodded. "Never seen one I'd rather live in." He grinned and added, "Okay, no more teasing." 

Elizabeth smiled and gave Dillon a side long glance. "It a good place to start a family, don't you think?"

Returning her smile Dillon said, "Now that's a fine idea Mrs. Gallagher." He grabbed her in a bear hug; she laughed and put an arm around his neck. They stood holding on to each other for a minute.

"Y'all save that for later," Oso laughed yelling at them from the porch. "We got work to do. That new corral won't build itself."

Dillon and Elizabeth walked back to the house. "The corral will have to wait until tomorrow Oso. We're going into town to see Eleanor and pick up some supplies," Dillon said.

"Tell the Senora that I miss her and will see her next week," Oso replied. "I'm gonna stay and work on a couple of things while you take it easy."

"You sure amigo? We'll probably have supper with Eleanor and spend the night." Dillon looked at his friend and added, "You don't have to do all the work. Take a day off and come with us."

"Next week I'll make the supply run and spend some time with the Senora," Oso replied.

Dillon nodded and called for Ethan. The youngster came from the barn riding his horse, Shelley. He was leading a pack horse; he was ready to go see his mother. Ethan split his time between the ranch and with his mother in Fountain. He was going on fifteen and was considered a young man but he still wanted to spend time with his mother. He had already saddled Balin and Sandy for Dillon and Elizabeth and hitched them to a corral post.

"Been waitin on y'all most of the morning," Ethan said with a grin.

The three waved good bye to Oso and started their ride to Fountain. They arrived in town in time to meet Eleanor for lunch. "I have to get back to the school in 30 minutes," she told them. "If I give my students too much time for lunch, I'll have to retrain them," she added with a smile.

******************

On their first supply run back in September after taking over the ranch, Eleanor mentioned to Steve Mitchell, the owner of the general store, that she had been a school teacher and hoped to go back to teaching one day.

"You should talk to Nancy Larson, Mrs. Edwards," Mitchell told her. "She's our school teacher but she wants to retire; the only reason she's still teaching is that the town hasn't been able to replace her yet."

Eleanor, with Elizabeth tagging along, had gone to the school house to talk to Mrs. Larson; the two women had talked for over an hour. Nancy asked a several questions about Eleanor's qualifications and experience. She sent the children home early and went with Eleanor to talk to the Mayor. Before the afternoon was over, Eleanor was the new school teacher and secured a room in a very nice local boarding house. 

Every weekend, weather permitting, Eleanor would come out to the ranch to help and to spend some time with her family. Ethan sometimes spent the week in town with his mother when the weather was bad. Once for a period of almost three weeks the snow and the cold winds kept Eleanor and Ethan in town.

*******************

Dillon, Elizabeth and Ethan met Eleanor in the hotel dining room for supper. As they were having supper, Sheriff Kennedy came over to their table. "Mrs. Edwards, I just got a telegram from the town Marshal in Colorado Springs. I got some bad news for you."

"What is it Sheriff?" Eleanor asked, alarmed by the Sheriff's tone and the look on his face.

"There was an attempted bank robbery and two people were shot and killed. One of them was your brother Ted Clark." Kennedy hesitated and added, "Sorry ma'am."

Eleanor was shocked at the news. Dillon took her hand and Ethan got up and stood behind his mother with his hands on her shoulders. 

"What happened Sheriff? You said it was an attempted robbery," Dillon requested more information.

"Well, Bill Simpson and his gang tried to rob the First Colorado Bank on the south side of town. One of the gang, James Butler, had a wanted poster out on him and he was recognized as he rode into town. When the gang rode up to the bank they were greeted by the Marshall, his two deputies and about a half dozen town folk. The gang wouldn't surrender and a gun fight broke out." Sheriff Kennedy stopped for a few seconds; he dreaded telling Eleanor what happened next.

Dillon saw his hesitation, patted Eleanor's hand and said, "Go on Sheriff. How did Ted get shot?"

"I guess Mr. Clark heard the gun fire and came out of the bank to see what was going on. The gang must have thought he was another lawman and shot him down; one of the town's people was killed too. The Marshall and a posse followed the gang but lost them south of town." Sheriff Kennedy tipped his hat and said, "Real sorry about your loss Mrs. Edwards. If there's anything I can do for you, please let me know."

Eleanor stood quickly and said, "I have to go to Tillie. She must feel so alone right now." She started to leave but Dillon stopped her.

"You can't ride at night. We'll leave at first light and can be there before midmorning," Dillon suggested. "Elizabeth and I will ride with you; Ethan can head on back to the ranch."

"I'll go with Momma," Elizabeth said. "You and Ethan go back to the ranch."

Over hearing their discussion, Kennedy said, "I suggest you ladies take the stage. It'll get you there almost as fast as you riding and you won't be alone on the trail. Simpson and his boys are still out there somewheres. Stage leaves at 7 tomorrow morning; that's just after first light."

"Thanks Sheriff, that's a good idea," Dillon replied. "Elizabeth why don't you spend the night with Eleanor; Ethan and I will bed down here at the hotel and come get you in the morning." Elizabeth nodded, kissed Dillon, hugged Ethan and walked Eleanor back to her boarding house.

At 6 the next morning as Dillon and Ethan left the hotel to go to the boarding house. Eleanor and Elizabeth were already at the front door of the hotel. They didn't even have time to greet each other when the stage pulled up in front of the hotel; it almost an hour early. 

The driver tipped his hat to Eleanor and said, "Reckon we can get an early start if you're ready ma'am. The Sheriff told me what happened. Climb aboard and I'll get you to Colorado Springs pretty damn quick."

Eleanor nodded her thanks, hugged Ethan and Dillon and he helped her into the stage. "If she wants to, Tillie is welcome to come stay with us. The house is plenty big enough and she might want to be with family," Dillon suggested. Eleanor smiled her thanks. Elizabeth kissed Dillon, ruffled Ethan's hair, and joined her mother. 

"I'll send Tillie a telegram as soon as the agent opens and let her know you're on your way," Dillon told them. We'll get Josh and Red to keep an eye on our place and join you by the end of the week."

The stage driver whipped up the horses and started toward Colorado Springs. Dillon and Ethan watched until the stage was out of sight. "C'mon, we'll get some breakfast, send the telegram, and buy the supplies before we head back," Dillon told the youngster. "Might as well make the trip worthwhile."

They were waiting at the door when Mitchell opened his store; Dillon explained the reason for the early visit. He and Ethan with Mitchell's help quickly gathered and loaded the supplies they needed. They stopped at the telegraph office and then headed back to the ranch.

Dillon kept the horses at an easy cantor for close to thirty minutes and then slowed to a walk for ten minutes to give the horses a breather. Balin wasn't happy with the slow pace; he nodded his head up and down and shook it from side to side to show his disapproval. Ethan's horse Shelley wasn't happy either; you could see that she wanted to run by the way she pranced as she walked.

Ethan laughed at his horse. "Shelley don't understand why we're going so slow," he said to Dillon.

"Balin wants to run too. Maybe we'll let them run a little after we get back and rid of the pack animals," Dillon suggested.

"What will Aunt Tillie do, now that Uncle Ted is gone?" Ethan asked; he liked his Aunt and was worried about her.

"I don't know," Dillon replied. "She's welcome to move down here with us if she likes." He paused for a bit and said, "Let's get a move on. The sooner we get back to Winterborn, the sooner we can head up to Colorado Springs."

**********************




The Gathering Ch. 04



The seven men, all that remained of the Simpson gang, were riding hard and their horses were tiring quickly. They'd been riding cross country all morning trying to put some distance between them and the posse that had followed them yesterday from Colorado Springs. If we don't find some fresh horses soon we'll be walkin, Bill Simpson thought. How the hell did that Marshall know we were gonna rob the bank? Hell, we might have talked our way out of it if Butler hadn't started shootin. 

Our plan sure didn't go the way we thought, Simpson said to himself. We started with eleven men and we're down to seven and one of them is wounded; don't know if he can keep up. Might have to take his horse and leave him behind.

Simpson and his men pulled up at a small creek to give the horses a short rest. They hadn't been the best mounts to begin with and they were about done in. The only reason they'd lasted this long was the fact that they got a chance to rest last night. The gang had lost the posse last evening in the arroyos and washes south of Colorado Springs.

"We need to change horses," Charley Birch said. "These won't last the day."

"I know that Charley," Simpson replied with sarcasm. "We'll head for a ranch I know of, about three miles from here. Owned by an old man named Anderson; I worked for him a spell a couple of years ago. It's just him and his wife so we'll get horses from them and then head southwest toward Arizona."

"What if they won't sell us any horses?" Charley asked.

Simpson "I don't plan on buying. We'll take what we need. Let's get going. Don't want that posse pickin up our trail."

********************** 

Oso heard riders coming fast and stepped out onto the porch with his big mug of morning coffee. Visitors weren't common, especially this early in the morning. Seven men pulled up in front of the ranch house; they rode in close to the front porch. One of them is hurt, Oso thought as he saw a man slumped over in the saddle.

"Morning," Oso said. "Something I can do for you? You got a man hurt there?"

All the men looked at the one in the middle; it was obvious that he was the leader. The man asked, "Where's Tom Anderson?" 

"He and his missus moved to California about seven months ago. This is our place now. Can I help you gents?"

"We need some fresh horses," the man answered.

"Sorry, can't help ya. Don't have any animals for sale," Oso replied. "I can let you have some feed and water for your horses though."

Simpson rode his horse closer to the porch and Oso; he stopped at a little over ten feet away. "You don't understand," he said. "Wasn't talkin about buying, we're takin what we need." Simpson's hand went to the pistol at his hip.

Before he could get the gun clear, Oso threw his cup at the man and moved back toward the doorway. The cup was the one that Eleanor had used to feed Oso hot chocolate the first night that John Edwards had brought him home. It was a very heavy clay cup and it hit Simpson on the head spraying hot coffee all over him. Charley Birch had drawn his gun at the same time and fired at Oso, knocking the big man through the door back into the house.

"Charley make sure he's done for," Simpson ordered. "We'll check the corral and barn for horses." Simpson and the rest of the men turned toward the corral.

As they turned Birch said, "Okay Simpson. I'll see if there's money or anything we can use too."

Birch dismounted and with his pistol drawn slowly stepped onto the porch heading for the house. A shotgun blast rang out and Birch was hit in the chest, knocking him off the porch. He was dead before he hit the ground. The second shot from the scatter gun knocked another man off his horse; then a rifle shot finished him off. 

Simpson and his men had gathered up the three stock horses in the corral but turned back toward the house and began firing at the doorway and the windows. The wounded man was knocked out of the saddle as rifle shots came quick and fast at the gang, kicking up dirt all around them. "Let's get the hell out of here," Simpson yelled. He and his three remaining men drove the stolen horses away. Several rifle shots followed them.

*******************

Dillon and Ethan had just come into the big clearing in front of the ranch house at midday. They were just inside the trees about three hundred yards away from the house. Dillon pulled up and motioned for Ethan to stop.

"Something's not right here," Dillon said almost to himself. He sensed that something wasn't the way it should be. "Ethan hang back here with the pack horses while I check this out," Dillon ordered. "If you hear shooting leave the pack animals and ride fast to Red and Josh for help."

"But Dillon I can......." 

"No time to argue son. Please do as you're told." He looked with sympathy at the youngster. "I know you want to grow up but your Momma would have my hide if something happened to you."

"Yes sir," Ethan replied. He tied the pack horses to a nearby tree and waited. Dillon pulled his pistol and rode slowly toward the corral.

As Dillon got closer he saw two men on the ground near the corral. He stopped, dismounted, and checked the men; both were dead. Dillon walked slowly toward the house. He saw another dead man lying on the ground just off the porch. The man was sprawled on his back with blood covering his chest. Looks like a scattergun did that, Dillon thought. 

"Oso," Dillon called. He stepped onto the porch and approached the door from the side. "Oso, amigo, it's Dillon.

He heard a moan and went into the house. Lying on the floor about ten feet inside the doorway was Oso. Dillon knelt at his friend's side. He saw blood on Oso's shoulder and on his right leg, just below the knee. Dillon grabbed a cushion off the sofa and put it under Oso's head. The big man opened his eyes and smiled.

"I didn't duck fast enough amigo," Oso said with a weak smile. "Can I have some water?"

"I'll get you some," Dillon replied. As he stood he went to the door and yelled, "Ethan come up." He went to the pump in the kitchen and got a cup of water for Oso. Dillon helped Oso to drink the water and then cut his shirt away and examined the wound. Looks like the bullet's still in there, he thought. He slit Oso's pant leg and saw another wound; this one looked like the bullet had just grazed the leg.

Ethan came into the house and saw Oso on the floor. His face went pale but he quickly came to his adopted brother's side. Oso smiled up at him and Ethan smiled back.

"Get some hot water off the stove and bring one of my extra shirts please." As Ethan stood to get the items Dillon added, "And bring the coal oil too." Then to Oso he said, "Don't worry amigo, we'll take care of you."

Oso smiled. "I broke the cup the Senora gave me. Hated to lose that cup."

"Who did this, what did they want?" 

"They said they were gonna take our horses. I couldn't let them do that," Oso replied. "But they made off with three of the stock animals before I could run them off. I heard the one I knocked off the porch call the leader Simpson."

Dillon froze for a few seconds hearing that name. So they got away from the posse, he said to himself. They'll wish they'd let the posse catch them, he promised. Ethan returned with a wash pan of warm water, one of Dillon's shirts, and a small coal oil can. Dillon cut a piece from the shirt and washed the two wounds with warm water and then with coal oil.

"The coal oil will help fight infection until we can get him to a doctor," Dillon explained to Ethan as he tore strips from the shirt to make bandages. "Change your saddle to Byron and ride to Red's. Tell them what happened. Tell Red and Josh I need their help and ask Danni or Sarah to come tend to Oso."

"Yes sir."

"After you get done at Red's ride hard to town and get the doctor to come out here." Ethan nodded and stood to leave. "Ethan, rest Byron before you start back from town. No need to kill a good horse."

"Yes sir." Ethan hesitated and asked, "Will Oso be okay?"

"I think so. We've got the bleeding stopped but that bullet in his shoulder has to come out. That's why we need the doctor."

Ethan quickly changed his saddle to Byron and rode toward the Lazy L. He came up to the ranch house at a high gallop and jumped off his horse. Danni had heard him ride up and came out to see who was riding so hard.

"Ethan, what's wrong?"

"Oso's been shot. Dillon wants Josh and Red to help him go after the men that did it," Ethan explained. "He also wants you or Mrs. McCall to come and tend to Oso while I ride to get the doctor."

Maggie, Danni and Sarah's mother, was visiting her grandchildren; she lived on the other part of the ranch at the Maggie M. She and Sarah came out onto the porch in time to hear Ethan's story.

"Momma will you watch the children please?" Sarah asked. Maggie nodded and Sarah continued, "Josh is over to the S Bar S training some of Mr. Sander's horses; Red went with him. We'll send a hand to fetch them but we'll head over to your place now."

"Thank you Mrs. McCall," Ethan said as he mounted his horse. "I'm going to town to fetch the doctor. Hurry please, Oso's hurt bad." He turned Byron and put him at a high gallop headed for Fountain.

It took Danni and Sarah less than an hour to get to Winterborn. They called out and when Dillon answered they stepped into the house. Dillon had Oso covered with a quilt with his head propped up. He smiled grimly at the ladies. "I got most of the bleeding stopped and I've cleaned the wounds with soapy water and coal oil."

"Ethan said Oso has a bullet in his shoulder," Sarah said. "Let me have a look at it. If it's not too deep maybe we can get it out."

Dillon nodded and said to Oso, "You lucky cuss, you've got two pretty nurses here to look after you." Turning back to Sarah he asked, "Where's Josh and Red?"

Sarah explained where the men were and that she'd sent a rider to get them. Dillon nodded and stood up. He left the room and returned in a few minutes carrying a 12 gauge, double barrel, coach gun. Dillon went into the kitchen, filled two canteens from the hand pump, and started out the door. Danni and Sarah were tending to Oso and didn't notice him leave the house.

Shortly Dillon returned leading Buck. The scattergun was in a scabbard on one side of his saddle and his Winchester was on the other side. He also had a second pistol stuck in his belt. He stepped back into the house.

"Sarah, Danni, I'm going after Simpson and his gang. Take care of Oso for me please."

"Wait for Josh and Red to get here," Sarah suggested. "According to what Oso said, there's still four of them." She saw that Dillon's eyes had turned cold and wild looking; she'd seen that same look in Red's eyes when he faced trouble.

He shook his head no. "If I wait the trail will get cold and we could lose it. They're headed southwest, tell Josh and Red. I'll be following them." He turned and went out the door and mounted Buck. "C'mon Buck, we've got another battle to fight."

Dillon had decided to ride Buck for several reasons. Balin was younger and faster but Dillon didn't think this was going to be a race, more like a slow long track. Buck was battle trained; he would stand still while guns were being fired around him. He could step very quietly when need be and could sneak up on the enemy. But mostly Dillon had confidence that Buck could get the job done. They had a lot of experiences together.

He picked up Simpson's trail on as it crossed the south fork of Black Squirrel Creek. They're headed southwest to Arizona, he thought. Need to catch them before they hit that high chaparral; they can see for miles once they get to that. It'll be hard to sneak up on them. Dillon put Buck into a lope and followed the trail.

*******************

Damn, another plan gone to hell, Simpson said to himself. Who would have thought that one man could stop us cold? Now we're down to four men but we only got three fresh horses. Looks like someone's gonna get left behind. Once out of range of Oso and his rifle, they'd stopped and changed their saddles to the new horses. One man was left to ride one of the tired horses and he wasn't happy about it. They led two of the original horses with them, hoping that the animals could recover somewhat by not carrying the weight of a rider.

They rode until just before dusk and stopped, making a cold camp next to a small spring. Simpson told his men not to light a fire just in case someone was following them. The next morning they started southwest again. They stopped at midday to rest the horses and to eat. 

For the next three days they followed the same routine. Ride hard during the day, make a cold camp at night, and stop to eat and rest the horses at midday. The evening of the third day, they made camp in a clearing among some scrub oaks. There was a full moon that evening. After resting for a couple of hours, Simpson told his men to saddle up. "This Comanche Moon gives enough light to see the trail, so we'll keep riding. We can be up on the mesa and into the high chaparral by tomorrow morning. We can see for a long way up there and see if anyone is following us."

"You'll never make the chaparral," a voice said out of the darkness. 

"Who's that?" Simpson said with a little fear in his voice. All four men stood and stared into the darkness. Before they could reach for their guns, Dillon stepped into sight.

Buck had crept close to the camp without being heard. Dillon had dismounted leaving him ground tied and quietly made his way closer to the men. He stepped out from behind a stand of scrub oak and faced the four outlaws. Dillon held his scattergun in his right hand with his finger on the triggers and the butt braced against his hip. His left hand was on the handle of the pistol stuck into his belt.

For three days Dillon had trailed the men with murder in his heart. There was no compassion in him, no thought but to get revenge on those that had shot Oso and killed Ted Clark. As he started his quiet stalk of the men in camp he thought of Elizabeth; she had come into his life and caused him to look at things a little differently. Because of her, he wasn't the same totally cold hard man he'd been before. I'll give them a chance to surrender, he thought. 

"Who are you?" Simpson questioned.

"Name's Gallagher and that was my ranch you raided." 

"Well hell Mister. I'll pay you for the horses," Simpson said as he reached into his coat.

"Keep your hands where I can see them," Dillon ordered. "You raid my home, steal my horses, and shoot my brother and offer me money? Do you really think you can buy me off? Dillon stopped, trying to push down the rage he felt. "I've come for my horses and to take you back to the law."

"There's four of us Gallagher, you're outnumbered." Simpson pointed out. "I don't think we'll let you have those horses or take us back either. I don't hanker to do jail time in the territorial prison."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Dillon said. In spite of his years fighting in the War Between the States, he'd only felt the urge to kill someone once before. When he faced Wilson, Cassidy's hired gun and then went after Cassidy was the first time. This was the second.

"Either drop your gun belts or fill your hands you sons a bitches," Dillon ordered.

Simpson and his men hesitated for a few seconds and then went for their guns. Dillon watched in an almost detached manner as the men made their move. He was in the battle mode he'd learned during the war and things seemed to slow down. Leveling the shotgun, he fired both barrels and two of the men went down. Dillon dropped the scattergun drawing the pistol in his belt and the weapon in his holster. He moved to his left as he fired both weapons.

Dillon heard bullets hitting around him and felt something slam into his leg. He continued to trade gun fire with the two remaining men and suddenly there was silence in the clearing. Simpson and his three men were on the ground. Dillon started toward the men and felt a sharp burning pain in his leg. He saw blood seeping through his pants leg and realized he'd been hit. Dillon put both pistols away and tied his bandana tightly over the wound. Then he went to examine the men.

Two of the men had been killed by the shotgun blast; they were pretty well torn up. The third man had taken a bullet in his chest; he was dead too. Simpson was lying on his back with a wound in his belly. He stared up at Dillon and said with a frightened voice, "Help me."

Dillon tossed Simpson's gun away from him and squatted down. "You're gut shot Simpson. Nothing I can do for you." Before he could say anymore, Simpson shuddered and died. "It's better than you deserved," Dillon said.

Guess I better tend to my leg, Dillon said to himself as it began to throb with pain. He limped to Buck and led him into the clearing. Unpacking his saddle bags, Dillon gathered some wood and started a fire. He heated some water using a small coffee pot from his saddle bag. As the water heated, Dillon pulled the bodies to one side of the clearing.

He turned to Buck and said, "No need to have to stare at that scum while we're camped.

Dillon looked around and found an aloe plant in the clearing. When the water was hot he dropped his pants and examined his wound, I was lucky he thought. The bullet had hit him in the outside of his thigh and passed completely through his leg. First Dillon cleaned the wound with the hot water, pouring it over the holes in his leg.

"Damn that hurts," he groaned. He squeezed the spines of the aloe plant and used the thick molasses like sap as a salve and put it into both sides of the wound. He wrapped a spare bandana around the wound and pulled up his pants. 

"Not much more I can do right now," he said to Buck. Dillon unsaddled Buck and finished making camp. He soon had coffee made and ate some beef jerky. He'd just poured a second cup of coffee when Buck raised his head and nickered at the darkness.

Dillon had settled back against his saddle and begun to calm down after the gun fight but was instantly alert again and pulled the pistol from his holster while struggling to his feet. He heard, "Hello the camp." 

"C'mon in Red," he replied as he put his weapon away. "Been wondering when you'd get here."

Red and Josh walked into the circle of light thrown out by the fire leading Jasper and Diablo. They saw the four dead men at one side of the clearing and Dillon standing mostly on one leg. 

"You hit bad?" Josh asked concerned for his friend. 

"Bullet went through the leg. It'll be alright in a few days," Dillon replied.

Red grinned and asked, "Can you spare a cup of coffee?"

Dillon chuckled and pointed to the pot sitting on a rock close to the fire. "Help yourself Red. You'll excuse me if I don't get up to serve you."

Josh spoke in a more serious voice, "You want me to take a look at your leg?"

"Not much more can be done until I get home. I cleaned it out, stopped the bleeding, and put some aloe on it. It should be okay until I can get back to the ranch."

Red and Josh unsaddled their horses, joined Dillon at the fire, and got some coffee. Then Red pointed at the bodies. "What happened Dillon?"

Dillon explained how he trailed the men and came into their camp. "Told them I was going to take them back to the law; they decided they weren't going back and pulled down on me." He pointed at the bodies and added, "They made a fatal mistake."

Josh looked at his friend and didn't see any signs of remorse or sadness. Dillon had a job to do, he thought. That's all there was to it. "If you're up to it, we'll start back in the morning. Should be able to make it back late the second day," Josh said.

As they bedded down for the night, Red knelt down by Dillon and said, "You should have waited and let us share in the fun." He patted Dillon's shoulder and added, "But I'm glad you weren't killed my friend."




The Gathering Ch. 04



At first light the next morning Josh and Red wrapped the bodies, using the men's slickers and saddle blankets and buried them in a shallow grave at the edge of the clearing. They took the saddles and bridles off the three worn out horses and let them go. Dillon's horses were unsaddled and he made rope hackamores to lead them back to Winterborn. Then they broke camp and headed home.

By the end of the first day, after ten hours on the trail, Dillon was running a fever and looked a little grey. Josh asked if he wanted to rest a day but Dillon said no. "I want to get back to the ranch; I can rest when I get there."

Red looked at Dillon's wound and cleaned it again. He put some more of the aloe salve on it and wrapped it with a fresh bandage made from his bandana.

They crossed Black Squirrel Creek late in the afternoon of their second day. Dillon was almost reeling in the saddle but refused to stop and rest. They had made better time on the return trip because they didn't have to follow the trail of the outlaws.

Ethan was the first to see them. He'd taken to riding around the ranch house with a rifle across the saddle in front of him. "They're back," he yelled at the house and spurred Shelley out to meet them. When he got close he saw that Dillon was injured. He quickly took the lead ropes of the three stock horses and turned them into the corral.

Dillon dismounted and almost fell but Red caught him and helped him into the house. "I'll take care of the horses," Ethan offered.

Red smiled at the youngster, "Don't you want to hear what happened?"

"Yeah, but the horses need tending to first," Ethan answered. "I'll hear about it later." He led Buck, Diablo, and Jasper over to the corral. He loosened their saddle cinches on Diablo and Jasper and fed and watered them. Ethan unsaddled Buck, brushed him down, and led him into his stall; making sure that he had fresh water and feed.

Dillon sat on a chair in the big kitchen and Sarah tended to him. She embarrassed Dillon by making him drop his pants so she could get at the wound. Dillon's leg was a little swollen and the area around the hole was red and angry looking. "Might have some infection in it," Sarah said. "Good thing you used aloe or it'd be a lot worse."

Danni made a poultice using wet tea leaves and dried mustard seed. As she put it on the wound she said, "This will draw the poison out. We'll leave it on overnight and clean the wound with coal oil tomorrow morning."

Looking up at Dillon she said, "Now tell us what happened. It's obvious you caught up with them and got your horses back."

"First, how's Oso?" Dillon asked.

Sarah handed Dillon a small glass of whiskey. "Drink this," she ordered with a grin. "It can't hurt and might even help some. Oso's just fine. The Doc was able to get the bullet out of his shoulder. He said that you're quick treatment of the wound kept it from becoming infected. Oso's sleeping on the sofa in the office right now. He'll be up and around a little later."

"Here, have some of this soup," Danni said. "And then we going to give you a bath and put you to bed. You smell like horses and sweat."

Josh chuckled and Red laughed out loud. "It's hard to take a bath when you're trailing outlaws," Red offered.

"You two don't smell any better," Sarah told them. "Red, soon as you get home you take a bath. You hear me?"

"I know; me too," Josh said to Danni before she could say anything.

An hour later Dillon had eaten and taken a bath; he'd refused to let Sarah or Danni help him. But he was careful not to get his injured leg wet. Dressed in clean clothes, he sat in his big chair in the living room with his leg propped on a foot stool. Oso was healing but was still weak; he sat on the sofa across from Dillon. 

"So, tell me what happened out there," Oso requested. Everyone gathered in the room to hear Dillon's story. 

Dillon explained in detail about tracking Simpson and bracing them at their camp. "I tried to bring them back but they decided to make a fight of it." Dillon paused for a few seconds. "Red, Josh, and I buried them in that clearing." Looking at his friends he asked, "What happened back here after I left?"

No one spoke for a few seconds and then Danni said, "Ethan?"

The youngster cleared his throat. "I did like you told me Dillon. Told Miss Sarah and Miss Danni to come help Oso and rode as fast as I could into Fountain for the doctor. I told Sheriff Kennedy about the raid and he came out with the doctor."

Ethan stopped for a minute. "While I was in town, I sent a telegram to Ma and Elizabeth and let them know we wouldn't be comin to Colorado Springs and why. I didn't want them worrying when we didn't show up. Then I rested Byron for an hour before I came back to the ranch."

"You did a good job Ethan. I'm proud of you," Dillon told the boy. "I hope you didn't hurt Byron, running him that hard."

Ethan smiled. "No sir, he's fine. He was kinda mad when he saw the doctor and the Sheriff ride out; he wanted to go too. I don't think he liked me makin him rest."

The boy cocked his head and started toward the front door. "Riders comin," he said as he picked up a shotgun propped against the door frame and stepped outside. He came back inside, "It's Sheriff Kennedy and Doc Riley."

Ethan motioned the two men into the house. "Dillon's back," he said to the Sheriff. "He's been shot Doc."

Doctor Riley was a whip cord thin man with a fringe of grey hair around his bald head. He was jovial and outgoing but brooked no nonsense from his patients. They would do exactly what he ordered or he'd know the reason why. Not many dared to cross him. 

Nodding at the others in the room, Doc Riley quickly went to Dillon. Riley ordered him to drop his pants. Dillon asked Sarah and Danni to leave the room. They laughed and refused to go and Dillon got embarrassed all over again. Riley pulled off the bandage and the poultice and examined the wound. Dillon squirmed and grunted as the doctor pushed and prodded around the holes in his leg. Riley dampened the poultice with a little water and put it back on. 

"You ladies did fine. No need for me to do anything more," he said. "Leave the poultice on overnight and then clean the wound with coal oil tomorrow morning." He washed his hands and said to Dillon, "I suggest you stay off that leg for four or five days. Give it a chance to heal up some. After that you can walk around a bit, but no riding for at least two weeks. If it gets real red and sore send for me."

Dillon frowned. "I'll rest tomorrow and maybe the next day Doc but I've got a ranch to run. Can't afford to let things go; especially with Oso down for awhile."

The doctor stared at Dillon with disapproval on his face. "Mr. Gallagher, you served in the Calvary with the rank of Captain didn't you? Dillon was surprised at the question but nodded. "Sheriff Kennedy told me as much. As I understand things, Captains were required to follow orders. Is that right?"

"But Doc, I need to......."

"Is that right Captain Gallagher?" The doctor asked again, interrupting his patient.

Dillon sighed and answered, "Yes sir, it is."

"Then consider my suggestion an order," Doc Riley said in a tone that left no room for argument.

The doctor and Dillon stared at each other in sort of a battle of wills. This is a hard man when need be, Doc Riley thought. He smiled to himself, I bet he didn't take well to orders he didn't agree with back then either. Dillon started to speak; he was going to tell the doctor what he thought about his orders. Another voice spoke up before Dillon could say anything.

"I'll see that he follows your orders Doctor," Elizabeth said as she and Eleanor strode into the room. There had been so much going on that no one heard them ride up.

Elizabeth walked over to Dillon and knelt by his side. "You'll do that for me, won't you Honey?"

Dillon looked at his wife as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. He was a hard man and had done a lot of hard things but making Elizabeth unhappy wasn't one of them. Dillon smiled, reached out and touched her cheek. He nodded and she put her arms around him. For a couple of minutes there was no one else in the room for them.

Doctor Riley nodded seeing that Dillon would listen to his wife. Don't make any difference whose orders he follows, Riley thought. Just as long as he takes it easy on the leg for a while. The doctor crossed to the sofa to examine his other patient.

"Your shoulder's healing well considering it's only been a few days," Riley told the big man. "I'll give you the same orders I gave Dillon. Take it easy and don't overuse your shoulder for at least two weeks. Then you can start getting your strength back in it. But don't overdo it. You leg's healing too, so just take it easy."

"I'll see that he follows orders Doctor," Eleanor said. Turning to Oso she added, "You're not too big to turn over my knee if you don't behave young man."

"Si Senora. I will do as you say," Oso replied with a smile.

Elizabeth stood and went to Ethan. She and Eleanor both hugged him. "Thanks for sending the telegram little brother," Elizabeth said.

Sheriff Kennedy had smiled and taken his hat off to greet her when Eleanor entered the room. He put his hat back on and walked over to Dillon. "Care to tell me about Simpson and his gang?" He asked with a grim look on his face.

Elizabeth and Eleanor drifted over to listen as Dillon retold the story to the sheriff. "I tried to bring them back. They didn't want to come and made a fight of it." Dillon paused and added, "I'll draw you a map to where we buried em." 

Sheriff Kennedy waited for a bit after Dillon finished. "I'm glad you weren't hurt anymore than you were Dillon," he said. "You were lucky. I'll telegraph Marshall Baker in Colorado Springs and tell him about Simpson and his men. If he wants the bodies he can come and get them. Far as I'm concerned, let em rot in the ground. I'll head back to town with Doc."

"How's that new boy doing, Danni?" Doc Riley asked as he packed up his bag. "He get over that croup?"

"He's fine Doc. Come out for supper sometime and see for yourself."

Later that evening Dillon asked Elizabeth how Tillie was doing. "Is she going to stay in Colorado Springs? You know she's welcome to come live with us."

"That one of the reasons I love you; you're always concerned with family," Elizabeth replied and kissed him. "She said she going to stay put; all her friends are there ."

*****************

Dillon and Oso took it easy for the two weeks that Doc Riley requested. Mostly it was because Elizabeth rode herd on them. Every time one of them tried to do too much, she would get a look on her face that made them slow down again. Eleanor had returned to town as soon as was sure that her two "boys" were going to be okay.

It was close to six weeks before Dillon could ride for more than an hour without his leg throbbing. It took about as long for Oso's shoulder to gain back its strength. Slowly and with a lot of scolding from Elizabeth to take it easy, both men regained full use of their limbs. Josh and Red had sent a couple of their hands over to help with the ranch work while they were recuperating.

Red was at Winterborn helping with the spring calf season. It's a start and we'll add more cattle as we go along, Dillon said to himself. Red and Dillon were resting their horses, watching as Ethan chased down a couple of strays. 

"You're good friends Red," Dillon said. "Not many would help someone as much as you and Josh have."

"Mostly it's payback. I seem to remember a man and his wife stepping in to help us. Besides, we Irish have to stick together, don't you know." Red spoke in a put on Irish brogue. "The Irish clans control most of Chico Basin; it's almost like County Cork back in the old country."

"What do you know about the old country? I thought you were from Texas," Dillon said.

"My great grandfather came over from Ireland back in 1810 and settled around Amarillo," Red replied. "I spent a lot of time with the old man when I was a boy. He told me stories about Ireland and his life there." Red paused for a bit remembering happy times and then with a smile added, "The old man spoke with an Irish brogue so thick I could hardly understand him."

Dillon smiled at Red's story. "Sure and I think we'd better get back to work," he said in a brogue of his own.

After lunch Red asked Dillon if Josh had talked to him about a trip to Cripple Creek to round up wild cattle. "It's the quickest way to build up your herd."

"He mentioned it. Said it was rough country and a tough, dangerous job. I think we'll just buy cattle when the ranchers cull their herds and see what can be done that way," Dillon replied. "What with the profit from selling the Triple E and some other money, we can take our time and build slowly."

"Glad to hear that. I didn't look forward to combing that maze of arroyos and scrub brush again. Too damn much work for Mrs. McCall's little boy. I'm a gentleman rancher now."

"Well we wouldn't want you to work too hard now," Dillon said laughing.

Once Dillon and Oso had completely recovered they started visiting the ranches in the area around Fountain and even Colorado Springs. Good grazing land was at a premium around Fountain and the Chico Basin. Ranchers would sometimes cull their herds to decrease the number of cattle and avoid over grazing the land. Several ranchers had stock for sale, mostly due to a better calving season than expected. Winterborn was able to increase the size of their herd, taking advantage of the bargain prices.

Dillon had an idea about breeding cattle and discussed it with Josh and Red. He wanted to buy two or three pedigreed Hereford bulls. Most of the cattle being raised in the west were off shoot breeds from the Texas Longhorns and wild cattle. These animals were hardy and could stand up to the winters in Colorado and the trail drives to the railheads.

"We've got a railhead close by at Colorado Springs," Dillon explained. "So there's no need for long trail drives which burns weight off the cattle. By breeding the white face bulls to our range cattle we can get heavier animals and with the short distance to the railhead they wouldn't lose much weight. These heavier cattle would bring better prices."

"It's worth a try," Red agreed. "We might not get more than one season out of the bulls though. I don't think they can live through one of our winters. From what I hear, they're not as tough as our range cattle."

Josh thought for a moment and said, "Won't make a difference, we'll let em breed during the spring and summer. When the weather gets bad we'll round the bulls up and drive them down to the ranch and put em into a sheltered corral. We can hand feed them until spring and send em out again. The calves will get some toughness from their mamas and will handle the weather just fine."

They contacted a cattle buyer in Denver who directed them to a breeder of prize winning Hereford's in Nebraska. It was decided that Red and Charley White would make the trip east. Charley was the ranch boss at the Lazy L part of the Chico Basin Cattle Company and knew more about cattle than anyone in the county. Both the herd from Winterborn and the CBC's herd would benefit from the improved breeding so they decided the two ranches would be partners in any bulls they purchased.

They would take a train from Colorado Springs to Cheyenne. That spur line joined up with the Transcontinental Railroad and they would travel east to Ogallala to meet the breeder.

"Why travel by train?" Oso asked just before they left. 

Red smiled and replied, "Using the train we can get there, buy the bulls, and be back before we could even get to Ogallala on horses. "It'd be a hard ride on us too," Red added. "I've never been one to put in more work than necessary. Don't see the sense in it."

Josh chuckled at Red's statement; Dillon laughed too. "You're one of the hardest working men I've even seen Red," Dillon said. "I don't think you're happy unless you're putting your hand to something."

"Don't you believe it Dillon," Red replied. "If I had my way I'd just watch everyone else work. I'd sit on the porch with a cup of coffee and my feet propped up." Red grinned. "But Sarah won't have it. That woman keeps me jumping all day long."

Oso, Dillon, and Josh laughed at Red's complaining. They all knew that Red was the first to pitch in with the work and the last to quit. 

"We'll drive the bulls slow from Colorado Springs back here to Chico Basin," Charley added. "After a couple of day's rest we'll turn em out and let them do what bulls do best."

"I figure we'll have about two or three months for them to breed before we bring em back to the corrals," Josh said. "We should start seeing the calves next spring but it'll be a couple of years before we can ship any of them."

Red and Charley were met by the breeder when they arrived in Ogallala. He drove them out to his ranch in his wagon and showed them the six animals that were available. They picked a five year old named Lucifer and three year old called Monty. "We can use a bull at each place for a season and switch them around," Charley said. "We'll stay away from interbreeding that way."

An agreement was reached for the two bulls after about 30 minutes of negotiating. Red always thought he was a pretty good hand at dickering, but he had to admit that Charley was a master at the art. The breeder had one of his hands take Red and Charley back to town and they arranged for transportation of the bulls. Lucifer and Monty would begin the train trip to their new home and new duties the next day.

*********************

It was late September and Dillon and Elizabeth were hosting a party to celebrate the finish of this year's cattle drive. Winterborn hadn't made a drive this year; Dillon wanted to build the herd for another season. The Chico Basin Cattle Company had another very profitable drive. Dillon and Oso had helped with the drive to the railhead in Colorado Springs. Now it was time to relax and enjoy themselves.

"It's nice to celebrate after a good season," Dillon told Elizabeth. He laughed and said, "I just hope we don't run out of food for all these people." 

"I think that whole steer cooked on the spit will take care of them," Elizabeth replied.

Everybody that we know is here, Dillon thought. Must be near 30 people. Charley White and the four hands from the CBC are here. Bill Sanders and his sister Nancy Larson from the S Bar S came by. Jerry brought his young lady friend and her mother; they lived in Fountain. Eleanor invited her gentlemen friend; Sheriff James Kennedy. Elizabeth told Dillon that her mother and Kennedy became friendly and were spending time together in town.

Then we have the Irish, Dillon continuing his thought. There's Daniel and Maggie Maguire, Danni and Sarah's parents. Their son Jacob made a surprise visit; he'd been in Denver going to school. Dillon smiled, and of course there's the Kelly's and the McCall's and the Gallagher's.

"The Irish really do control Chico Basin," Dillon told Elizabeth. He was sitting on the top step of the porch and she was leaning back against him. They were watching Josh and Red's children playing in the yard.

"We'll be adding another Irishman to the group in a couple of months," Elizabeth said proudly. She looked over her shoulder at Dillon and he bent down, patted her growing stomach, and kissed her.

"And that's just a start," he replied smiling at Elizabeth. They looked at each other for a few seconds and turned back to watch their guests.

"Red was right," Dillon said softly. "It is a gathering. 

The Gathering of the Clans."

The End