The Kid

The young man stood looking at the still form beside him. He had known it was a long shot that the old draft horse would make it very far, but he was still surprised that it had only lasted one day. He hadn't made it go any faster than it was used to when it was plowing; he had only made it go for a few hours more than usual before stopping.

He had been extremely surprised when it fell to the ground shortly after he had stopped for the evening. He had managed to get it back to its feet and to the water where it drank heavily before eating a bit of grass. The young man had also eaten and then settled in for the evening.

The next morning found him without a means of transportation other than his feet. During the night, the old horse had decided enough was enough and had lain down and died.  "So now what do I do?" the young man asked the sky above him.

*****************Lou McCloud**************************

As her companion cut her hair short and explained the plan, Louise sat quietly thinking. Would it be possible? What if it didn't work? How was she going to survive on her own? She had just about decided to tell her friend that she'd changed her mind, when the older woman had her look at herself in the mirror.

"Put these on," she said, as she gave the girl a pair of wire-rimmed glasses.

The girl did as instructed and then looked at the reflection staring back at her. It didn't look like her at all. She did look like a young boy -- much like her younger brother back at the orphanage awaiting her return. She gave a weak smile. "So now what?" she asked.

******************Ike McSwain*************************

The boy stood outside the office looking in. He made certain no one saw him because it was important that everyone continued to think he didn't understand what was going on. This ruse kept him safe as well as allowed him to do as he pleased during the day when the others were forced to attend school.

He wasn't sure why he was as interested in this newest arrival as he was, but it was important to see how the new boy reacted to his induction. As he studied the boy and his actions, Ike realized that he wanted to get to know this young man, possibly even try to be his friend. This was an unusual reaction for him. So now what? he thought to himself as the newest charge of the Sisters of Charity at Our Lady of Sorrows Mission and School was introduced to his dorm mother.

******************Buck Cross*************************

Running Buck noticed the bald head watching him from the window in the corner. He also noticed how it made sure no one else saw it. Why?  he wondered. He didn't have much time to try and answer that query because the many women in black were all talking to him at once. He did his best to answer their questions, but his command of the english language was not strong, and they had a different accent than Little Bird.

"Need find my friend," he replied when they stopped talking and looked at him like they were expecting a reply.

They all shook their heads and made the ticking sound his mother used to make when he'd done something wrong. He sighed and tried once more. "Me Running Buck. Look for Little Bird."

When the women only shook their heads and frowned, Buck realized that he wasn't going to be getting help in finding his intended here. He tried to leave, but one of them blocked his path. He took another deep breath and tried again. "Need help," he said.

The one in charge smiled and said, "We would be happy to help. First we need to know some more about you. What is your name?"

Buck replied, "I Running Buck. Son of..." he stopped unable to speak his dead mother's name. He quickly changed directions and added, "half-brother Kiowa war chief, Red Bear."

The lady frowned. "That name won't do," she said. "We will need to change it if you are going to stay."

"No stay," Running Buck said. "Look for friend."

"You will find friends here," one of the other ladies said. "Everyone does. Now let's think of a new name for you." She studied him closely. "What was your father's name?" she asked.

Buck shrugged. "Not know. He force self on my mother and leave her to die." He once more turned to leave; these people were not going to be of any help to him.

"We will call him Buck for now and add a last name later once he has a better command of English," said the lady in charge. She took a firm hold on Running Buck's arm. "You understand?" she asked.

Realizing that he was going to have to make them think he was staying, Running Buck nodded. "I Buck," he said. As he did his best to answer the rest of the questions the nuns had to make sure he was placed in the correct dorm, he thought to himself, So now what?

******************Cody**************************

Young William F. Cody stood reading the sign hanging in the window of the general store. The only problem was that the organization was asking for orphans to apply. It would be a perfect job except for the fact that he had a mother and several brothers and sisters to look after. He sighed deeply and turned away.

"It says preferred," his sister Julia said softly as she moved up beside him.

"What?" William asked as he stopped walking.

Julia took hold of his arm and led him back to the window. "Orphans preferred," she read. "Not required."

William looked at her in confusion. Suddenly his face lit up. "You mean..."

Julia nodded and cut him off. "You can sign up," she said. "You just need to go inside and fill out the papers."

"What about you, Momma, and the kids?" William asked. "With Papa gone, I should be the one looking out for and providing for the family."

"So you send part of your money home each month," said Julia. "That will be better help to us than having you around to feed even if you were able to convince one of the close-minded people around here to hire you." She placed her hand in the small of his back. "Now, go inside quickly and sign up before Momma catches on to what we're plotting and comes over here to stop you."

William nodded and made his way into the store. He quickly located the man in charge of hiring for the newly formed Pony Express. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that it wasn't anyone from town. He stepped up to the table. "William F. Cody," he said. "I'd like to join."

A few minutes later, William exited the building. He held a Bible in one hand and twenty-five dollars in the other. "So now what?" he asked his sister as he gave her half the money.

******************Jimmy Hicock*************************

As The Judge stood watching the two young men in his charge move to position, he smiled. He enjoyed it when his young charges got to this stage of their training. This was when he separated the men from the boys; when he learned which ones were worth keeping around, and which ones needed to be culled. He was fairly certain both of these boys would be worth keeping, and would bring him a good return on his investment -- fairly certain, but not completely certain. The younger one may disappoint him, but he didn't think so. If he was a betting man, he'd put money on that one being the winner of this trial.

The two boys moved down the porch steps and made their way to opposite ends of the structure. As they turned to face the older man, the younger boy said, "I ain't got no beef with him."

"Don't have any," The Judge corrected him. "Mind your grammar; always mind your grammar. You don't want to sound uneducated." He smiled. "Besides, your lack of disagreement with him is of no concern. What does matter is that I want the two of you to learn this style of solving a disagreement."

Both boys turned their gaze from The Judge to their opponent and friend. "One of us could die," the younger boy pointed out."

"Not if you do it correctly," The Judge said. "The rules are simple. You are only trying to draw first blood. The one who does is the winner. In this case, that means you get this twenty dollar gold piece, and the privilege of escorting my daughter to the town dance this evening."

"When do we draw?" asked the older boy.

"You will both stand as I have taught you to stand during a gun fight. I will give the signal and you will both draw. At that time, the older of you gets to fire first. If he misses, the other gets to return fire. This continues until someone is hit. I repeat, you are not attempting to seriously injure each other, just draw some blood. Understand?"

Both young men nodded. They turned sideways to present a smaller target to their opponent. At The Judge's signal, they both drew their weapons and aimed at each other. The older boy fired. The bullet brushed past its target, but missed.

As soon as he felt the bullet pass by him, Jimmy returned fire. He hit his friend in the upper arm. He quickly lowered his weapon and ran to his friend's side. As he used his neckerchief to bandage the wound, he muttered his apology. 

Once his friend was tended to, Jimmy turned to face his employer. "So now what?" he asked with an angry glare.

The young man stood looking at the still form beside him. He had known it was a long shot that the old draft horse would make it very far, but he was still surprised that it had only lasted one day. He hadn't made it go any faster than it was used to when it was plowing; he had only made it go for a few hours more than usual before stopping.

He had been extremely surprised when it fell to the ground shortly after he had stopped for the evening. He had managed to get it back to its feet and to the water where it drank heavily before eating a bit of grass. The young man had also eaten and then settled in for the evening.

The next morning found him without a means of transportation other than his feet. During the night, the old horse had decided enough was enough and had lain down and died. The young man took what he could carry and began walking. The town he'd been trying to reach before this incident was still a day's walk away at best, and he had very little water and food.

As he walked, he planned. The first order of business was to find a source of water. Second, he needed to figure out how to get a new horse. Third, he would need to find something to do that would get him even further away from the hell he was leaving behind.

He had almost given up hope and resigned himself to a slow death by dehydration when he stumbled and ended up in a small stream. He filled his canteen, drank, and closed his eyes to rest for a few moments. When he opened his eyes, the sun was low in the sky. He decided that he would wait to continue his journey until the morning. He could see no reason to risk injury by stumbling around in the dark.

He moved to a more protected location under some trees and allowed himself to eat some of his limited food supply. He drank some more water, and settled back to get some sleep.

The early morning sun woke him. He ate a little more of his food and started on his way. Around noon, he arrived at his destination. As he walked into town, he passed a man offering prize money to anyone who could last three minutes with a professional boxer. He walked on by in search of a job- he would need money to get a horse, some tack, and food so he could continue on his way.

The paint horse standing just inside the livery stable door caused him to stop. She was a beautiful paint, and as soon as he touched her neck, he knew that was the one that he had to have. She nuzzled his hand as if to say she felt it too.

"What do you want?" the man in the corner asked as he continued cleaning the stall.

"Nothing," the young man relied as he reflexively took a step back and away from the older man. "She's a fine animal," he said stopping himself from moving.

"Best I've ever seen," agreed the man.

The young man moved back towards the mare. As he once more stroked the animal's neck, he asked, "How much?"

"More than you'll ever see," the man replied.

"How much?" the younger man repeated.

The livery owner sighed. "Twenty-five dollars," he said, "and a bargain at that." He shrugged as he added. "Not that you'll ever see twenty-five dollars."

The young man patted the mare's neck once more. He leaned in and placed his head against hers. "I'll be back soon," he whispered. He left the livery and made his way back to the edge of town and the crowd of yelling men.

He reached the area where the man was offering twenty-five dollars to anyone who could last three minutes with the boxer. So far no one had done so. "Do I need to win?" the young man asked as he went to stand in front of the barker.

"You just need to be standing," the barker said. "But he's a professional. The money is so they'll bet, but not win. He'll kill you."

Someone in the crowd shouted, "Give the kid a chance." Others took up the call and the barker relented. He explained the rules and allowed the crowd to place their bets on whether or not the boy would survive. Just before things were going to start, he said, "Remember, you get twenty-five dollars if you're still standing after three minutes."

The young man nodded. He took off his coat and hat and placed them on the platform the barker was standing on before climbing into the makeshift ring. The barker rang the bell to start the time and the fighting began. 

The boxer was big and powerful, and the boy fell many times. People from the crowd shouted encouragement, and he kept reminding himself of the reason why he was here. It was what seemed like the longest three minutes of his life, but he managed to drag himself back to his feet just as the time ran out. He took his prize money, gathered his belongings, and made his way back to the livery.

He waited quietly for the owner to look at him. "Twenty-five dollars," he said as he untied the mare.

A few men from the crowd that had won money by betting on him, followed him to the livery. When they realized that he had spent all the prize money on the horse, they each offered up some of their winnings so he would be able to clean up, buy some tack, purchase some new clothes, and get a hot meal and a place to stay for the evening. 

The next morning, as he was riding out of town to continue his journey, he spied a poster advertising a job with the newly formed Pony Express. He dismounted, tied his horse to the rail, and made his way inside the store. As he approached the registration table, he said, "It's me on the sign outside."

With the help of her companion Louise made it out of the brothel where she cleaned the rooms and worked in the kitchen. They quietly made their way across the dark, sleeping town to the livery where the owner, Mr. Thomas Johnson, had a horse saddled and waiting. He slipped away once he was certain the escaping girl had everything she would need for the journey that lay ahead -- canteen, bedroll, and some food. 

"Why?" asked Louise.

"I promised to sneak him in for some extra time, or to sneak out and meet him here occasionally," her friend replied softly. "Don't fret. He's gentle, and I actually enjoy being with him. If things were different, I'd be working on getting him to propose." She smiled weakly with a glance at the man as he disappeared into his room at the back of his place of business.

Louise started to go after him. Her companion stopped her. The older lady gently stroked Louise's cheek. " Don't," she said. "Now, before you go let's review. What's your name?"

"Lou McCloud," Louise answered, making her voice as deep as she could.

"Where are you from?" her friend asked. 

"Julesburg," answered Lou.

"Where are your parents?" the lady asked as the test continued.

"Dead," answered Lou. "Killed when our farm was attacked by bandits. I hid in the corn crib so they missed me."

Her friend smiled at her. "Good," she said. "Now get up on that horse and get out of here. Remember, don't try and get in touch and let me know where you are. You know that he will be looking for you so he can bring you back here. In his mind you owe him for the free education he gave you last night." She leaned in and kissed Lou's forehead. "I'll figure out how to find you if I need to get in touch for some reason." 

Lou nodded. She quickly brushed the tears from her eyes and mounted the horse. "Be sure and thank Mr. Thomas for me," she said as she walked the animal out of the livery and onto the deserted street. She headed out of town to the east.

Once she was away from the town, she moved her mount off the regularly traveled path and made her way to the river. She had the animal walk upstream until she located a place where she could exit without leaving many tracks. She then rode for an hour continuing to the east. 

After the hour, she changed directions and rode for a few more minutes before changing directions again. She continue this maneuver for another two hours in an attempt to confuse anyone who did come looking for her.

Finally, she made her way back to the caves that lay to the west of the town. She had discovered them many months ago when she had escaped from the orphanage in St. Joseph, Missouri looking for a job to earn enough money to buy a place for her, her brother, and her sister to live. If she was lucky, some of the supplies she had left hidden in the cave would still be there and still be useful. If they were, she could hide out for a few days and make a better plan than the one she had at the moment which was to run as far and as fast as she could to get away from Mr. Wicks and his place.

Just before sunset, she found her cave. Her supplies were still there and most of the food was still edible. With what she'd been given she would be fine here for a few days. She settled in by first tending her mount. This done, she built a small fire in the back of the cave where it would not been seen by anyone passing by outside. After eating a few bites, she settled in and went to sleep.

Two days later, Lou McCloud decided it was time for him to leave. Louise had spent the time planning what to do, and it was to forget that Louise existed. She had simply vanished into thin air after reaching womanhood. Now, Lou McCloud needed a job. He knew how to tend animals as well as work crops in the fields so he would continue to the west looking for a farmer or rancher who could use some help, but didn't need too much.

First though, he needed to go get some supplies. He would at least one change of clothes, and it wouldn't hurt to have more food. As he rode into town, he noticed that a corral, barn with a tack room, and small house were being built just outside of town. He slowed down as he rode by trying to figure out why someone with such a small house would need such a large corral and barn.

One of the men overseeing the work called out, "Hey there, Sonny. You from around here?"

Lou shook his head.

"Got any family following behind you?"

Lou again shook his head.

"Then you should go into the general store in town and see about signing up for the Pony Express," the man said. "You're just the type of boy they're looking for. Orphan, small, and able to ride."

"That what this is for?" asked Lou.

The man nodded. "This is going to be a changing station," the man explained. 

Lou smiled. "Thanks for the information. I think I'll do just that." He spurred his horse into a trot and was soon dismounting in front of the town's general store.

A few minutes later, she was packing away her new Bible, supplies, and extra money. Now all that needed to be done was to make the journey to Sweetwater and find Emma Shannon's place.