Disclaimer: I do not own Young Guns or the song Wildwood Flower.
I'll twine 'mid the ringlets
Of my raven black hair,
The lilies so pale
And the roses so fair
Picking up another runaway wasn't exactly in John's plan when he decided to go into town with Josiah 'Doc' Scurlock. The young man was sitting beside him in the wagon as they moseyed through. Doc was in his early twenties, while John Tunstall, an Englishman, was in his late forties. John owned some land in Lincoln County, New Mexico. He had some young men that worked his ranch for him while he ran a mercantile store. One of his boys would come with him to check on the store daily and finish some of the necessary daily work. He had a great crew that worked his land and his store. He considered himself very lucky.
However, the man that was going to be hung was not so lucky. There was a commotion between the young man and some officers. The man was running away from them and ended up right by John and Doc. He pointed his gun at them, while Doc pointed his rifle back, and this started a staring contest between the two. Both waiting to see who would pull first. Neither got the chance as John interrupted them.
"Come along, lad. Don't be afraid," John spoke, his English accent heavy. He gestured towards the wagon, and he could see the stranger weighing his options. "Hurry up!"
He looked back at the men who were chasing him, and he clambered into the back of the wagon, hay and dirt all over him. "What's your name, son?"
"William H. Bonney, sir," he replied, still unsure about the predicament he got himself in.
"Nice to meet you, William. My name is John Tunstall, and this is Josiah Scurlock. He is one of my Regulators, which you are more than welcome to be a part of."
"What's a regulator?"
"It's what I call the men that regulate my land for me." William, or Billy as he liked to be called, nodded and they fell silent on the ride home.
Tho' my heart is now breaking,
He never shall know,
That his name made me tremble
And my pale cheek to glow
Doc didn't really know what to make of Billy. He seemed alright, but hell, all of the Regulators seemed alright until you look at their pasts. Billy was young, no more than nineteen or twenty. He was quick with his pistol, which is helpful with all of the uncertainty that happens in the untamed West. The ride home was quiet, except for the occasional musings of John. Billy didn't participate in the small conversations, and Doc didn't blame him. Billy more than likely didn't trust them, and John is an anomaly in Lincoln County.
He was an Englishman, and he was refined. John does his best to relay his mannerisms and teachings to the Regulators. He wants to reform them and make them better men. Not a lot people would do something like that. As they pulled up to John's ranch, there was an argument out front, and both John and Doc groaned. The fight was always between the same three people, 'Dirty' Steve, Chavez, and Charlotte. Steve was called Dirty Steve because of his appearance. He did not like to be clean unless he had to be, so he was always covered in some kind of dirt and grime. It was like he relished being dirty. Chavez was a Mexican-Indian, who was a bit of a loner in their group. He didn't quite fit in with the others, and Steve always tried to antagonize him. Charlotte was John's niece through his dearly departed brother. She was prim and proper like John was, but she had a firecracker attitude when push comes to shove. She often tries to break up any fights or arguments that take place because she knows how busy her uncle can get. She would do anything to help elevate some of the weight that he carries. Most fights settle down when Charlotte gets involved, but Steve always pushes her to the edge. Well, to be honest, he did that to everyone, and today was no exception. Chavez was literally holding Charlotte back as she tried to break free to get to Steve.
"You idiot! You want to know what I really think of you? I think that you are a— "
"Charlotte Rebecca, calm down," John called out. The group turned to face them, and Billy got a good look of them. Two other men were there and the slimmer one came over to the wagon. "Now, what is going on?"
"Steve promised he would leave Chavez alone. He promised he would keep all of his little snide comments to himself and Charles. He promised he would keep the bad comments inside his head. He broke all of those promises. I tried to intervene before Chavez finally decided to kill Steve, and you will never guess what Steven said to me."
"And what did Master Steven say, Charlotte?"
"There ain't no need to go into that," the man interrupted, looking a little worried.
"Ohhh, but there is," Charlotte retorted, eyes blazing.
"Stop arguing," the man with the short hair exclaimed. He then turned to John, Doc, and Billy. "I'm Richard Brewer."
"I'm Charley," the man with the curly brown hair said, stepping forward.
"I'm Charlotte, John's niece," she introduced herself. Billy got a good look at her. Curly dark hair that was messily thrown up, gray eyes that met his blue ones, and what appeared to be an old dress. He nodded in acknowledgment to all of them, but John spoke before he could.
"This is William and he'll be staying here with us. You'll be staying in the bunkhouse with the rest of the boys. If you don't want to, then you can take the Santa Fe out to Albuquerque in the morning. If you do want to stay, then we have the job for you," John said with a smile. They took the wagon to the barn and started unhitching the horse. Charlotte was talking to John about everything that has happened while he was gone. Charlotte was shorter than Billy, and she looked younger, too.
Doc led Billy away and showed him to the pig pens. He explained that it is Billy's responsibility to take care of the pigs, and as he grows accustomed to what they do, he could move up to cattle. That is, if Billy chose to stay with them. Billy didn't quite know what to make of this mismatched family, and vice versa.
He told me he loved me,
And promised to love,
Through ill and misfortune,
All others above,
Billy approached the pens and attempted to climb into one of them to get a better look at what he would be dealing with and to feed them before supper. However, that plan got scrapped when the pigs rushed at him.
"Go on! Get!" Billy yelled at them. He hated pigs. He climbed on top of the railing to try to get away from them.
"Did you know that pigs are as smart as dogs?" Charley asked, walking up to Billy. Charley was a little chubby and had curly, dark brown hair. "I knew a guy who taught his pigs how to bark at strangers."
Billy pulled his gun out and pointed it at the pigs, while not paying attention to him.
"But I ain't no pistoleer or knife smith like that Chavez. I'm a pugilist," Charley smirked, "but I ain't gonna expect you to know the meaning of that word."
"Hell, you don't even know why I'm here," Billy said, putting away his gun.
"Sure, you're a petty thief," but Billy had shaken his head. "Rob a bank? Kill somebody?" This time, Billy smirked and slightly nodded his head. "Huh, killed somebody," Charley said, looking a little surprised. How, and why, could this boy actually kill someone? Both jumped when the sound of gun shots echoed through the air.
"Regulators!" Dick yelled. "Cattle's looking spooked, let's take a look!"
"Whoa, boy! You ain't a regulator; you got to stay here," Charley said as Billy looked around and was about to get away from the pigpen.
"Smart ass," Billy muttered. What did I get myself into?
"Don't worry about them. Especially Charles and Steven. Those two always think they're better than everyone else," a feminine voice said. Billy turned and Charlotte was standing behind him.
"Charlotte, right?"
"Yessir, and it's William, correct?"
"You can call me Billy," he replied. He got a better look at her, and saw the freckles sprinkled across her face. Her hair was now down, and she changed her dress. "You don't sound like John."
"My father was Uncle John's older brother. He came to the United States before he did, and he lived in Georgia for a little bit. That's where he met my mother. He was sick shortly after I was born and passed away. I lived with my mom up until she passed three years ago. Since I wasn't exposed to the English accent all that much, I never developed it."
Before he could say anything else, they heard John.
"William! Charlotte! Start getting ready for dinner!"
"We always wash up and change into our dinner clothes before we sit down to eat," Charlotte answered Billy's unspoken question. "Uncle John likes for everyone to appear well-kept when possible. I'll show you the bunk house, and you can wash up before joining us at the table."
Billy came down from the railing and joined Charlotte. They walked around back where there was a separate house. They made small talk about what kind of livestock he has taken care of, and how Charlotte takes care of the chickens even though she's terrified of them. Charlotte was beginning to like Billy and hopes that he stays with them. His dark blonde hair was dirty like the rest of him but getting dirty was easy to do when working with animals.
"You don't have a change of clothes, do you?" Billy shook his head.
"We will be going into town tomorrow, so we will just add that to the list of things that we need. Just clean up the best that you can, and hopefully tomorrow we'll get you settled in better. Well, only if you decide to stay. You aren't being forced to do anything you don't want to do," she smiled at him. "Anyways, here we are! This is where you'll stay for the night. Wash up and come inside the main house for dinner when you're done. The others should be coming home soon." She gave him another smile and walked to the main house.
He taught me to love him,
He call'd me his flower
That blossom'd for him
All the brighter each hour;
Dinner was a mostly peaceful affair. It always was until Charley, Steve, or both, opened their mouths to start something with Chavez or Charlotte. They were both smart enough to not make their lewd comments to either Doc or Dick. John was at the head of the table and Charlotte was at the other with Chavez in one side and Billy on the other.
"Have you ever worked beef before, Billy?" Dick asked.
"Yeah," Billy responded, a little shocked the leader of the gang was speaking to him. "I worked a little out Fort Sumner way. It was at Pete Maxwell's place. Did the chow line. But I got a way with cattle."
And with that, the peaceful dinner was broken. Dirty Steve snickered and he wasn't too quiet about it either."
"Is that so jolly funny, Master Steven? That's no proper table manners," John reprimanded. He knew what Charles and Steven were like. However, they were still part of his boys and he believed that one day they would be broken of their childish, instigating ways. Steven even had the audacity to look remorseful for either his comment, or John getting onto him. More than likely it was the latter. John though the situation was over and done with until Charles spoke up.
"Got a way with hogs," and that sent the two of them snickering away.
"Congratulations Charles. You and Steven will be doing the dirty crockery alone this evening."
"Sorry John. It just struck me funny."
"Well both of y'all should apologize to Billy for that comment and laughing," Charlottes piped up, keeping her eyes on her food. She could feel the two of them glaring at her and she knew her uncle would be grinning.
"John, tell her y'all ain't a word," Steve said, trying to get her corrected like he always does.
"Unfortunately, y'all is considered a word. While it doesn't sound right and proper, she is still permitted to use it." If Charlotte knew she wouldn't get in trouble, she would've stuck her tongue out at Steve. "Now, apologize."
"Apologies William. Just hacking on you, that's all," Charley smiled, not taking his punishment seriously.
"Yeah, we're just hacking on you." Billy nodded his head in acknowledgment, but still didn't look too pleased with them.
"Rumor has it, you killed a man, Billy. You don't seem like the killing sort," Dick said, trying to continue the conversation and confirm the gossip Charley told them. Charlotte looked at Billy in shock. There's no way he did.
"Yeah, Billy, what'd you kill him for," Steve asked. None of them believed that he killed someone and there's no way he would lie in front of John and even Charlotte.
Billy looked dead serious as he met Steve's eyes. "He was hacking on me."
Both Steve and Charley audibly gulped, while Charlotte stifled her laughter and Chavez grinned. All the threats Chavez has given Steve have never scared him as much as Billy just did. There was a small grin on Billy's face as he went back to eating his food. He'll fit in just fine.
The rest of dinner went by quickly. Billy was witty and could easily stand on his own. They learned a little more about him without any comments or snickering from Charley or Steve. When everyone had their fill, they took their plates and utensils to the sink where the two troublemakers would do the dishes. Everyone fell into their favorite after dinner activities. John would bring out the newspaper and have the ones who struggling, mostly Steve, read the paper aloud to improve. Dick and Doc would read and talk at the table while listening to John. Chavez would carve a piece of wood or sharpen his knives and Charley would listen or read. Billy was sitting by the fire, lost in his own thoughts. He was brought out of wondering if he should stay or go in the morning by Charlotte. She was sitting by the fire and started to put away her cross-stitch project. She accidentally jostled his leg when she grabbed her bag to put her supplies away. Billy looked at her project and couldn't really make heads or tails of it from his angle. Before he could ask her, John asked him to read where Steve left off.
"Yeah, sure," he scoffed.
"Well, excuse me, Billy," John said, the sassiness embedded in his words. "Very sorry to offend you. But we're congregated to learn to read and write. You need more than the skill with the firearm to succeed in the new world, Billy. So, take up the journal and start where the other boy left off. Or you can go straight back to your home on the streets."
Billy grabbed the paper from Steve, not liking this one bit. He felt like he was a show for everyone to watch. Let's see what we can get the new kid to do. Let's see what he messes up. "'Young men who don't know how to do any kind of business, have no energy, or application had better stay at home near their relatives so they can be taken care of. They are not wanted here and will only come to grief, but men of enterprise are practically sure of success.'" His articulate reading surprised everyone, and John was actually proud of Billy.
"Splendid! A splendid reading, William! Thank you," and with that, John stood up from his rocking chair. He walked over to Billy and ruffled his hair, which Billy didn't care too much for. "Good night gentlemen. Good night Charlotte. Don't stay up too late."
"Good night," the boys echoed.
"Good night Uncle."
Everyone carried on their conversations and Charlotte finished carefully putting up her project. Billy stood up, tossed the journal on the table, and walked out of the house.
"Y'all need to be nicer to him," Charlotte said, looking at the remaining men. "He's surrounded by a bunch of strangers, some of which are picking on him, and he's at our mercy for shelter and food. Y'all need to do better and be better at welcoming him here if he decides to stay. Remember how you felt when you first came here? That's how he's feeling."
"We're treatin' him just fine," Charley replied.
"No, you're not. If you were, you wouldn't be hacking on him. Don't forget what he does to those who do," Charlotte warned, loving the fear that appeared on Steve's face. "Now, as great as this evening has been, I think it's time to turn in."
Charlotte grabbed her items and bid the men good night. As she got ready for bed, she wondered if Billy went to the bunk house to sleep. She hoped he would stay and not leave in the morning. He seemed nice and he had potential. He was just new and didn't know where he fit in yet.
But I woke from my dreaming,
My idol was clay;
My visions of love
Have all faded away
Please let me know what you think! This is a complete re-write of my original story. Any criticism or encourage is greatly appreciated!
