Chapter 10: LADIES OF THE LAKE
On the other side of the lake, six young women sat cross-legged around the campfire, consuming their evening repast while engaging in a similar discussion. The topic under consideration was the unanticipated and not particularly desirable presence of men in the vicinity... not the immediate vicinity, granted, but near enough for concern.
Perched on a flat rock at a slight remove, a seventh female listened with interest but refrained from participating in the lively discourse. As leader of Pi Alpha Lambda Sigma's fourth annual Summer Field Training Expedition, Professor Elvira Josephine Burns-Wainwright preferred to allow the six students to arrive at their own conclusions and resolutions without her influence—until or unless they reached an impasse and nonpartisan input was required. Addressed as Professor or Doctor Wainwright on campus and at official functions, she preferred the informality of 'Miss Ellie' in the sanctum of their residential chapter house or off-campus venues such as summer camp.
Timothea Rose Brewster had the floor... or the ground, as it were: "We should send a delegation over to request—politely, mind you—that they vacate the area!" Thea hailed from Vermont.
"And why should they do so?" Viva challenged. "Is this not government land, where anyone can come?" Louisiana native Vivianne Charlotte Cooper had a melodic voice redolent of the Creole community in which she'd been born and raised.
Teresa Angelica O'Brian, a Californian from a ranch near Stockton, answered. "You're correct, Viva... we have no right to ask them to leave. And, anyway, why bother them if they're not bothering us?"
"So far... but it's just a matter of time, Terry," asserted Joslynn Elspeth Randall from Alabama. "They're men. They won't be able to resist getting a closer look at us!"
"Oh... like you haven't been checking them out?" chortled Lucinda Louise Benton, originally of North Carolina. "Every time I turn around, Josie, there you are with field glasses in hand!"
"For your information, sisters, they've already been getting closer looks at us! They've been watching us through their telescope!" The speaker was Kateri Dancing Bear, a full-blooded Shoshone from Wyoming's Wind River Reservation, located not far from where they were currently camped.
Undergraduates of the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, the six young campfellows were all members of PALS—Pi Alpha Lambda Sigma sorority, whose motto was 'Equality for Women in the Medical Sciences'... and they represented the crème de la crème of Professor Doctor E.J. Wainwright's students.
An accredited general physician, Doctor Wainwright held first chair in anatomy and physiology at WMCP, although she also taught such arcane subjects as cultural sociology and anthropology. In addition, she presided over the chapter house wherein resided twenty-four aspiring physicians and nurses. Though considering herself a moderate—rather than a rabid—feminist, Doctor Wainwright nurtured a fervent belief in the necessity of breaking down the barriers to the advancement of women in the medical sciences. She was deeply committed to furthering education, research and specialization in women's health issues... particularly in the developing territories where women had little or no access to modern health care.
During every summer hiatus, Doctor Wainwright sponsored a field trip for practical training under primitive conditions for those students who demonstrated an interest in pursuing careers in frontier medicine. This year her team consisted of rising seniors Thea and Viva, Terry and Katie representing the junior class, and sophomores Josie and Lucy.
After four weeks' clinical practice among Katie's people on the reservation, they were beginning the second of four planned weeks of pioneer survival training—suitably modified so as to not be too harsh on 'city' girls Thea and Viva. The other four campers were already experienced in non-urban lifestyles.
"Where do you suppose they've come from?" Josie was asking. "They look like ordinary cowboys to me."
"Wonder what they're doing, way out here?" This from Thea.
"Well... duh... fishing, what else?" Katie contributed with a hint of scorn. "As you may have observed, there are no cattle about."
"Of all the lakes around here, why did they have to pick this one?" Viva lamented. "I don't like the idea of being spied on."
Josie hooted. "Since when do you not like being admired by a pair of good-lookin' fellas?"
"Not when I'm dressed like this..." Viva retorted. "And how do you know they're handsome... unless you've looked, too!"
"Of course I looked. What's it to you?"
"Nothing... nothing at all. I'll bet they aren't all that cute up close and personal."
"I don't plan on getting that close..." Thea sniffed, "...and neither should the rest of you. They could be outlaws, for heaven's sake! Did you notice the bigger one limping earlier?"
"Aha!" Josie cried. "So you did look!"
Terry giggled. "Speaking for myself, I wouldn't mind spearheading that delegation of Thea's so I could at least make my own assessment of their... um... attributes!"
"Terry!"
"Ladies! Let's just accept that each of us has indulged her natural curiosity via the field glasses and leave it at that, shall we?" The gentle admonishment floated down on the circle from the serene figure on the rock. "Idle speculation as to the gentlemen's intentions is pointless. In the event our paths intersect in the coming days, I'm confident each of you is quite capable of comporting herself in a dignified and ladylike manner."
Miss Ellie wasn't at all concerned with the virtue... or lack thereof... of her charges. They were all of an age to conduct their own affairs, fully informed of all aspects of sexuality and preventive measures at their disposal. Each one knew she was solely responsible for the repercussions, if any, of whatever dalliance in which she engaged. During Miss Ellie's tenure there hadn't been a single instance of one of her charges being expelled in disgrace.
"Just to be safe, however, for the time being your jaunts will be conducted in pairs... and one of you will carry a sidearm. If at any time you feel threatened—whether by four-legged or two-legged predator—do not hesitate to defend yourself. This is why we underwent weapons training."
"Yes, Miss Ellie," they chorused.
"No more going off for a stroll on your own... as Lucinda did this morning. I do hope you didn't approach their camp and stir the pot...?"
"No, m'am. I didn't go anywhere near it." Which was technically true. Lucy'd happened to be manning the field glasses that morning, from the concealment of the clump of hackberry bushes screening their latrine, and noted the two men riding away from their camp, trailing a pack mule. Arriving at the isolated stand of trees on a tor, one had dismounted and the other had ridden further on. At that distance she couldn't be sure, but it looked like the smaller individual had been left behind to pick up firewood from the ground.
Lucy'd had no assigned camp duties that morning so she'd sidled away and circled around the lake to the northeast, picking her way through the rockfall until reaching a convenient crevice from which to spy on the unknowing woodsman. The longer she observed him, the more convinced she became that she knew this person... although the precise memory of how or why eluded her. Knowing she'd soon be missed, she'd returned to her own camp before the other rider returned. Never fear... the connection would come to her eventually.
"They probably expected to enjoy the hot springs," Lucy couldn't help but add now. "I feel a bit guilty that we're hogging the best place on the lake."
"Early birds get the worms... we were here first!" Josie claimed. "In fact, I feel a hot soak calling my name right now. Who's with me? It's Lucy and Katie's turn to do the washing up..."
The designated cleaning crew groaned but got up off the ground and collected plates and utensils. The other four dispersed to their tents to collect towels and spongebags. Doctor Wainwright continued sitting on her rock, intending to go to the springs later with Lucy and Katie. In the meantime, she let her thoughts drift...
Elvira Josephine Wainwright, née Burns, was the eldest of the five red-headed stairstep daughters of an unconventional South Carolinian family of medical and educational professionals—father Elijah Burns, Professor of Chemistry at the College of Charleston; mother Margot, Professor of Ancient History at Charleston Female Seminary. All five girls had been reared in the somewhat unrealistic expectation of following in their illustrious parents' footsteps and they'd done exactly that, each earning their masters and doctorates in different disciplines of science, medicine and education. Upon retirement, the senior Burns had taken a notion to relocate to St. Louis, Missouri. Only the youngest daughter had moved with them to the Gateway City.
Despite society's belief that a woman couldn't successfully juggle domestic and professional life, three of them had done that as well. Ellie Jo (EJ) was a war widow as was her next older sister, Eugenie Theodora (ET), a certified midwife raising two sons on her own. The middle sister, Eleanor Eileen (EE), a chemist, was the mother of a daughter born out of wedlock. Esme Pauline (EP), unmarried with no children, was a registered nurse.
The undisputed star of the Burns troupe was their unexpected, extraordinarily pretty and precocious bonus baby, born long after the others—Emmaline Louise (EL), who threatened with bodily harm anyone who revealed her birth name. She answered only to Emmie Lou or EL.
Emmie Lou had skipped so many grades coming up that she'd obtained her degree and license to practice general medicine at the ripe age of twenty-two... only to find that her youth, good looks and penchant for elegant attire counted heavily against establishing a thriving practice. Very few potential patients took her seriously. With so few customers and so much unclaimed time on her hands, Emmie Lou had returned to university for postgraduate studies with a view toward becoming a specialist surgeon.
This year, Easter had coincided with the senior Burns' fortieth wedding anniversary and the entire clan had congregated at the elders' St. Louis home. At dinner, Emmie Lou recounted her exploits in Laramie, Wyoming, from which she'd just returned after a second sojourn at the invitation of their uncle, Doctor John Donald Burns.
None of the physicians in Laramie had had opportunities in recent years to take sabbaticals for the purpose of obtaining refresher courses in up-to-date surgical practices, so Doctor Burns hit on the idea of having his niece conduct a seminar for them. However, as soon as she was handed down to the train platform by a porter, the uncle identified a serious flaw in his plan—no one would believe this ravishing young fashion plate was a real doctor.
It took some doing on Uncle JD's part to convince Emmie Lou that her appearance required drastic modification. Fortunately, he had not yet disposed of this late wife's effects, so she was able to concoct a suitably dowdy ensemble including a potato-brown serge skirt, a plain white cotton collarless blouse and square-toed lace-up sensible brown shoes—along with bottle-bottomed wire-rimmed spectacles. To complete the picture, Emmie Lou'd had her red hair pulled back, plaited and coiled into a tight bun at the back of her head. With great reluctance she forewent the dusting of silky face powder that usually disguised most of her freckles—without it, she looked like she'd been standing behind a cow that had eaten green apples... or so Daddy joked.
On her last evening of that first visit, Emmie Lou'd had occasion to perform, in her uncle's absence, an emergency appendectomy on a young cowboy. The rancher who'd brought him in had expressed reluctance to let her treat his friend, but there'd been no other choice. He would have died otherwise.
Four weeks later Emmie Lou'd returned to conduct a mini-seminar for a clutch of area physicians—again organized by Uncle JD. During that time she'd attended a social event‚ the annual Spring Dance, where she'd again encountered the rancher and his friend. But on this occasion, the frumpy, bumbling Emmie Lou persona had been discarded and the real Emmie Lou, radiant beauty, had made her debut... astounding both men.
The accounting of both visits had been rather dry and factual for the benefit of the parents, eliciting much laughter... but later that evening, in the privacy of the guest bedroom they shared, the youngest sister had regaled the oldest one with luridly graphic descriptions of both the rancher and the cowboy patient... and what she would've liked to do with either one or both, given the opportunity. (The Burns girls didn't mince words when it came to men and sex and could easily have held their own with the raunchiest prostitutes in town.) In keeping with professional ethics, however, she had not revealed their names.
"Well... why didn't you, then, you big chicken? Life is short and then you die," Ellie Jo had offered.
"I'm going back... Uncle JD issued an open invitation... to all of us. I'm not sure when, exactly," Emmie Lou had said, adding with a wink, "Maybe I'll let myself be caught this time!"
"By which one... the blonde or the brunette?"
"Oh... I don't know... they're both good-looking men. It'll be hard to choose... but I'm more attracted to the blonde."
Emmie Lou's praise of the beauty of Wyoming is what clinched Ellie Jo's decision to take her team-building exercise there. Uncle JD had liaised with the local Bureau of Indian Affairs agent to authorize their stay at Wind River. Father Eli had contacted his old friend and university roommate Judge Henry Garth, owner of the Shiloh Ranch in Medicine Bow, who was more than pleased to assist with matériel and horses. As Libby Lake was only forty miles from the ranch, it was further arranged that once a week two or three hands from Shiloh would ride in with supplies and to make sure all was well at the campsite. Only the day before they had received a delivery from the enigmatic, nameless and devastatingly handsome foreman and his charming blonde sidekick, so it would be another week before the next visitation.
Ellie Jo, while taking note of her charges' misgivings about the two men on the other side of the lake, wasn't particularly concerned. There was very little chance of either or both approaching the ladies' domain undetected.
"You'll see to that, won't you, Bismarck?" she spoke aloud. Lying at her feet, the one hundred forty pound Rottweiler tilted his head at the sound of his name, happily slobbering and thwacking his tail against the ground.