The Legend of Six-Horse Judy
"She said, come wander with me, love. Come wander with me. Away from this sad world. Come wander with me."
Greg Saunders, also known as the hero Vigilante, sung in his deep, southern drawl as he slowly strummed his acoustic guitar while sitting next to a campfire.
Mari McCabe, aka Vixen, lounged on a large rock next to him wrapped in a woven blanket. She was Greg's partner in more ways than one and she watched him play the way all woman watch their man do what they do best; with a smile on her face.
Rather than move on to the next verse, Greg began to hum the tune idly. After a few minutes of that a young Native American man with long dark hair and an orange bandana tied around his forehead suddenly entered the clearing they were in from the darkness beyond. He was carrying an armful of firewood, which he dropped next to Greg, who stopped playing.
"That should last through the night," said the man, whose name was Tye Longshadow, aka Apache Chief.
"Excellent," said Greg, putting his guitar aside. "Now see, didn't I tell ya'll this would be just the best time you ever had?"
"I do love sleeping under the stars," said Mari, as she rolled onto her back and looked up at the vast night sky. "Something about it just makes me feel so connected to nature."
"Me too," said Tye. "There's something magical about the natural world that you just can't quite connect with in a big city."
"Amen," said both Mari and Greg in unison.
"And you were right, Wyoming is beautiful territory," Tye went on. "Can't believe I've never been."
"My first time was last spring*," said Mari. "Wait til you see Yellowstone."
"It is mighty nice," said Greg. He took off his white cowboy hat and placed it on a nearby log and then leaned up against the log himself. Tye sat down on the opposite side of the fire and began to add some of the wood he had found. The three friends sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, alone with their own thoughts.
"Til then, how would ya'll like to hear some local history?" said Greg, finally.
Mari and Tye looked at him with interest.
"A good old fashioned campfire tale about an old Wyoming legend named Six-Horse Judy," he went on.
"Go on," said Mari.
"Well," began Greg, "It was over a hundred years ago that she lived, not too far from here, near the town of Red Rock. She was a stage coach driver by trade and worked at a place called Minnie's Haberdashery. In fact, she was one of the many unfortunate victims of the famous Red Rock Massacre that occurred there. That's another story, though. Before all that she lived a pretty amazing life and had all kinds of adventures. This here is one of 'em..."
To Be Continued
*See my other Vixilante fic, Up, Up, And Away