No good deed goes unpunished...
Emeline sighed as she trudged back along the trail to home, a little angry that her desire to just make some nice pies for everyone had turned out to be more complicated than it should have been. Of course, she hadn't counted on Noel running off, it wasn't like the mare to be easily spooked, but maybe there had been a snake? And hopefully, she had run home, and by now they'd be out looking for her.
And at the moment, there wasn't too much to worry about. She had food, there was plenty of water in the springs and creeks, and she had the berries...she wasn't going to starve. But night might be a bit uncomfortable -- if it even came to that. Her coat was tied to the back of Noel's saddle, but just for one night, she'd manage.
Not having the rifle...that was a different story. She'd prefer that sort of protection, in case they ran into a larger critter, but hopefully that wouldn't be a problem...
"Oh, Wheeler! Look at that!" Grinning widely, Emeline looked down at the child, who was content snuggled against her chest. He didn't respond, of course, when she picked up pace to a slow jog. There, in the middle of the path, was her rifle! Providence was smiling on her!
"See, now, we can just fire off a shot and the men will come running!" She picked up the gun, then activated the lever to chamber a round...only there weren't any rounds.
"That's odd," she murmured to herself, "I know it was loaded..." For that matter, how could the rifle have fallen free of its scabbard on the saddle?
Frowning, she looked around, not that she really expected to see anything, but this all seemed so odd. Sighing, she tucked the useless rifle under her arm and started walking again, acutely aware that the shadows were quickly growing longer...
Oh, the cleverness of me!
While Pythias knew Mr. Pike was right and didn't hold him accountable, that still didn't make him feel much better. Even knowing that Mrs. Pike had a mind of her own, and very likely hadn't anticipated any problems, and Pythias had other duties besides at the house...
But there were far more important things to address. "Reckon she was gone maybe an hour or two before her horse came back," he explained. "Saddle, all the tack, in good condition," he explained, wanting Barnabas to have all the facts they knew so he could draw his own conclusion. "The rifle was missing from the scabbard, it's not at the house. All the things she'd need to be making pies are set out in the kitchen..."
As he was laying out the information, several of the ranch hands rode up to join them.
"Stick yer hands up, yer bum!"
Down the trail a piece, not far off, hidden in the bushes, Clem and his sister waited. Clem didn't want to take Sis along but Tom had insisted and Tom ruled. Sis always spoiled everything, big fat stupid Sis. Least she had done 'till Tom come along. Tom was great. Sis didn't boss him no more, Sis had to do what he said and what Tom said, and what all the fellers said. Ha ha. Stupid Sis, and stupid Pike's wife. Here she come now. She was pretty. Clem was looking forward to messing her up all right.
Do the bad thing.
Sis would have had to do the bad thing if the fellers wanted to, now. Now Tom was in charge of 'em. 'Cept none of 'em did. Clem didn't blame them. Stupid big fat Sis.
Sis wanted the baby? Clem didn't care, he wanted stupid Pike's pretty wife lady.
Here she come closer.
As Emeline approached their hiding place, in the sort of slow jog a body does when they don't want to admit that panic is setting in but they really, really want the situation, the bad situation to end, the two stepped out from behind the bush like two magician's assistants, popping out to surprise the audience from behind a magical cabinet. Neither was a pleasant sight: Sis was at least 6 foot tall and morbidly obese and and Clem... well, little five foot nuthin' Clem wouldn't have been out of place in a circus freak show. The pair of them looked out of place here, anyway; they were in city clothes; worn, torn, but very much as if the Hand of God had lifted them from the streets of San Francisco and plopped them down here in the Wilderness.
"Hello Mrs Lady!" Clem greeted Em, grinning at her rifle, wondering if she'd try and threaten him with the useless empty gun.
"You'd better give me the baby" Sis said, seriously and matter-of-factly, as if Em was trying to do something that might cause her to drop Wheeler or something. Well, pretty soon she would be.
"Y...yeah, give her the baby, an' then... a a a a... and then take your clothes off!!" blurted Clem, his stutter almost taking the form of a seizure, his head jerking violently to the left as excitement got the better of him.
Up on the hill, Tom watched the scene unfolding below through an old pair of army field-glasses and let out a cruel chuckle. It had been fun having a pet monkey for a while, but nothing lasted forever, and the sister was getting on his nerves. He wondered if he could pick off any of the four with his Sharps. Maybe the other two outlaws, Curly or Moses, would like to place a bet. Course, the baby would be hardest to hit.
As the boys rode up, Pike had stepped down to take his second gun from his saddlebags and strapped it on. "Guess you know what's what, the missus' horse come back to the ranch house without her or Wheeler, so we need to find them." He said. "Now, I doubt that there's been any trouble, ain't seen no Indians about, but there's wolves to consider and that cat, who may or may not be ranging alone. So we need to split up an' keep a sharp eye out."
"She armed?" Dallas asked, "I mean, with that cat about I'd hope so."
"Far as I know, she has a Winchester." Pike said. "Me an' Modeen here'll head down along the creek bed, and you men fan out along this line, an' we should come on her an' my boy soon enough."
Oh, the cleverness of me!
"Yes, sir." Pythias nodded, turning to move in the other direction, to cover that territory. Rains had swollen the creek that ran through this part of the land, but there were bridges here and there, the best being on the trail Pike was taking. The other 'bridges' were that in the barest of name, logs that were laid across the water and lashed together, and even the bridge on the main path was basic at best, but sturdy enough to walk a horse across, and on the short list for repair.
Of course, the men had no idea that that bridge had (mysteriously) somehow sustained major damage as to make it unusable after Emeline had crossed over earlier, and was essentially useless, making the stream impassible on foot, and dodgy at best on horseback, something Pike would find out soon enough.
Emeline's feet were starting to ache, but it was a minor inconvenience that she could tolerate, knowing that home awaited her, and she'd be safe, warm and comfortable. She'd have to listen to a good dressing-down from her husband, she had no doubt of that, but it was a small price to pay, and would be partly right...it wasn't smart to be wandering around alone. But she had been alone for a few years, had done all right for herself, and her independent nature compelled her to do stupid things now and then!
After a brief break to feed Wheeler and munch on some berries, Emeline had trudged on, thinking that she would point out to Barnabas that this walk was penance enough for her well-meaning transgression!
"Hello Mrs Lady!"
Oh, praise God, one of the hands had found her! No, not a hand, not anyone she recognized, but a Human, nonetheless, and help...except that they were still on Rocking P land, so there shouldn't be anyone here who wasn't associated with the ranch, and, there was a woman, too?
All this coursed through Emeline's thoughts in less than a span of a heartbeat, replaced quickly by alarm.
"You'd better give me the baby"
"Oh, thank you," Emeline murmured politely, fairly sure that the woman's offer wasn't charity to relieve her of the burden, but treating that way as she tried to sort things out and think of a course of action. Her options were very limited with Wheeler cradled against her. Fighting would be difficult at best, and running likely not much of an option. "We're fine, I can carry him."
She offered a weak smile and took a step back. Let them at least think she was weak. She pulled the sling over Wheeler's head, hiding him from sight.
"Y...yeah, give her the baby, an' then... a a a a... and then take your clothes off!!" blurted Clem, his stutter almost taking the form of a seizure, his head jerking violently to the left as excitement got the better of him.
"Pardon me?" Had she heard right? Well, of course she had, but this was the first real sign that she was in trouble. "No, no thank you." There was no way in hell that that was going to happen!
She took another step back, putting some distance between her and the odd pair, letting the rifle drop into her hands...she knew it wasn't loaded, but they didn't!
"Stick yer hands up, yer bum!"
From his vantage point, Love watched the Deputy's wife step back a little, trying to take in who these two odd freaks were and what they wanted. He suddenly understood the thrill that medieval princes found in passively watching their hawks fly against helpless doves; even an uneven match held it's nuances and interests - he felt a sadistic thrill at Emeline Pike's precarious situation and that of her husband. He wondered if Pike had come across the bridge they'd destroyed yesterday.
He lay aside his rifle and watched the scene more intently through the filed glasses, wishing that he could hear the words of the play, this command performance, as well as enjoy the sight of it.
+++
"Pardon me?" Had she heard right? Well, of course she had, but this was the first real sign that she was in trouble. "No, no thank you." There was no way in hell that that was going to happen!
"You... you gotta" complained the runt of a man "She gotta, don't she Sis?"
The massive woman nodded dumbly.
"Be best"
She took another step back, putting some distance between her and the odd pair, letting the rifle drop into her hands...she knew it wasn't loaded, but they didn't!
The big girl shook her head sadly and opened her hand, showing Emeline the bullets within.
"You better give me the baby, Missus Pike, it'd be best" she repeated.
The runt boy pulled out a revolver and held it up.
"Yeah, Sis wants the baby 'live an' when I shoots ya I might hurt the baby, see? An muss up your nice pretty dress with blood, see?" he tried to explain. It was all so simple, it had been all so simple when Tom explained it to him... how he could best get his revenge on Pike.
The massive woman now started to walk toward Em, her 7 inch height difference meaning she towered over the diminutive homemaker.
"Best give me the baby now" she continued to insist.
@[Flip]
Pike and Bodeen started at a halting walk. For maybe a quarter mile, the soil was almost shale, and tracks were in short supply, though, where a shod hoof had struck a rock, and there would be light marks. Barnabas knew that, so their search, which would start a quarter of a mile off, might get some help. Soon, the land would rise enough that the ground would be more stable and less of the shale and rock, and more of the soil.
"A rough patch this dern shale," Pythias said softly as they moved along, eyes on the ground hunting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mearwhile, Dallas was off on the right where there was a whisper of a trial and some recent tracks of a shod horse who could use a new left rear shoe, and that said to Dally that it was no horse off the Rockin' P. Wheezer Walcott was smaithing most of the time, with Zane Geraghty and Virgil Munson taking a hand at it from time to time. He paused and reached for his canteen, then took a swallow of the cool water before continuing.
The trail appeared to be free, but he could not be sure that, for some reason, it might not be Noel he was following. There were tracks under those fresh ones; the best he could do was follow along and see where the trail led.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After a slight dropoff, Lorado and Ames come on some fresh tacks left by unshod ponies, Indians! Three of them, all mounted, leaving out the thought that they might be wild horses. Both men drew out their Winchesters and proceeded with heightened awareness of their surroundings.
This might not be a war party, or at least a part of one, but Missus Pike was a woman alone, and that in and of itself was cause for concern. Wheeler could not be counted as he was quite a way from walking on his own.
"Hard ta figger, but maybe they come on her and Wheeler, an' decide to do any number of unpleasant things to her and that boy." Lorado said seriously.
"Best we keep a watchful eye, I like ma hair right where it is! But could be they just ride on, an' leave 'er to her berry pickin'." Ames replied hopefully. Thoughts of that possibility were not good, not pleasant; they would make it last before they killed her and lifted her hair.
\
Emeline's heart sank as the woman showed the bullets that should have been in her rifle. So, they knew the gun was useless, and the realization struck that Noel getting free wasn't an accident, and that this has been planned. Of course, she wondered why, but now wasn't the time for that. At least she still had the derringer...
"You better give me the baby, Missus Pike, it'd be best" she repeated.
"No, no it wouldn't..." Another step back, Emeline dropped the rifle and hugged Wheeler closer. Sensing his mother's distress, the child was starting to fuss, but she had to ignore that. "I'm almost home," she whispered, "please let me pass." As she contemplated whether the man would actually shoot her -- pushing aside thoughts of Barnabas finding her dead out here -- she plotted her hand's path to the small gun in her pocket, waiting for the right time...
"Yeah, Sis wants the baby 'live an' when I shoots ya I might hurt the baby, see? An muss up your nice pretty dress with blood, see?"
"Then just let us go," she whispered again, not at all having trouble letting tears start to flow...she was terrified, for her and her baby...so playing the weak, helpless female wasn't hard. "Please..." Her hand, partially hidden by Wheeler's sling, slid down toward the pocket in her skirt...
"Best give me the baby now" she continued to insist.
"NO!" This was a shouted scream, all of Emeline's fear and indignation welling to the surface as 'Mama Bear' emerged! "GET OFF OUR LAND! LEAVE US ALONE!"
Out came the derringer, the first 'POP!' seeming so inconsequential in the forested hills. She was not really surprised that the man, though startled at the hole in his chest, didn't stop, so she fired again, then tossed the gun and turned to run, not waiting to see what the results were...
"Stick yer hands up, yer bum!"
"Ooooh, Impressive, Mrs Pike!" Tom chuckled to himself and watched as Big Sis looked down on her dead brother and Em high tailed it. He put down the field glasses and picked up the Sharps, he'd try getting Emeline first and then put one through the big freak's head... but he was stayed by Curley's voice.
"Horsemen!"
"Shit!"
Tom stood and walked to the precipice which afforded a view of the valley bellow as far as the eye could see.
"Where?"
The balding man with the straight hair pointed off into a green distance where the river wound through the Montana countryside. Love raised his glasses.
"All right boys, break camp." the psychopathic outlaw growled "We'll have to read about the fate of Pike's missus and the circus twins in the Kalispell Union"
By the time the search party reached that point, the Hole in the Head Gang would have disappeared into the wilderness, leaving behind the ashes of a dead campfire and the strange flotsam and jetsam of humanity lying dead down below.
+++
Sis knelt next to Clem. He was staring at the sky. He'd never been right in the head, of course. But she'd managed to keep him out of trouble and even provide for them both until HE came along: Love. And neither of them had ever heard of Barnabas Pike before until Love had told Clem all about the terrible things Pike had been saying about him.
Boy, had that got him in a rage.
"Y'know, Clem - I heard Pike say one time that the only reason you got a head was to keep your ears apart."
"Y'know, Clem - I heard Pike say one time that you're so ugly that when you look in the mirror your reflection turns away."
"Y'know, Clem - I heard Pike say one time that you're so short, when it rains, you're always the last to know."
Each of these misattributed cracks was followed by an injunction along the lines of "You should get your own back on that bastard. He can't talk about you like that! You wanna make him laugh on the other side of his face, Clem."
According to Love, Barney Pike made lots of jokes about her too, Sis: about her size especially. Called her all sorts of bad names, did Pike. Big Sis just absorbed these attempts to wind her up; she was used to people doing that to her in real life. Still, it was pretty hard not to hate this Pike feller, he sounded like he needed teaching a lesson... and then there was the prospect of a baby to look after: once the Pikes were wiped out. Sis stood, took one last look at Clem, and, only slightly spattered by her brother's blood, started walking determinedly after Emeline.
"Come back Mrs Pike. I need the baby, Mrs Pike" she bellowed evenly as she paced after the woman.
