10
Ultima heard footsteps behind her, heavy breathing as the person came closer, and then a hand grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her back; Ultima reached behind her head and grabbed a man's wrists and he clapped a calloused palm over her mouth. He released her hair and with an arm around her waist, pulled her back. He reeked of days of unwashed sweat, cheap whiskey and tobacco.
There were only a few people who saw what was happening-an old man sitting on a porch and two women leaning on the railing of the balcony of a ramshackle brothel. The sight of the beautifully-dressed woman being dragged off by a roughly-dressed man caused no particular interest, not in this end of town. They had witnessed worse things happen.
Ultima struggled, her hat falling off, but she was dragged into an alley where another man and two women waited. The man who had grabbed her, let her go but blocked her exit from the alley. Ultima, her breath coming in short gasps, looked around at the faces.
"Okay, strip her," the man said who had dragged her there. Ultima felt the women's hands and the other man's rip apart her dress and tear it off along with her petticoat. The man then pulled out a knife and cut through her stays and then slit open the back of her chemise and one of the women jerked it off; the silk tore away and Ultima stood before them in just her pantalets, stockings and shoes.
The man blocking her escape gave a low whistle. "If I had the time, I'd give you a good, hard fuck to remember me by. You wouldn't want no goddamn pussy like that Adam Cartwright after you had a time with me—I guarantee you that." He grinned and Ultima saw his tobacco-stained teeth.
Then the other man held her arms behind her and tied her wrists together while the two women who had been helping, lifted a bucket each and began to pour a thick, dark viscous substance over her starting at the top of her head. Ultima recognized the sickly, sweet smell—molasses. The molasses ran down her face and onto her chest. The women poured two more bucketfuls, pouring some over her shoulders to make certain that her body was covered. Then they picked up some filthy pillows and Ultima stopped resisting; it would do no good. She stood passively while the man with the knife slit open the pillows and then they shook the feathers over her. Ultima realized that she was being symbolically tarred and feathered.
The man grabbed her by the upper arms and pushed her out into the street where a buckboard stood waiting. He and the other man lifted her and put her in the back and then shook another pillow-full of feathers over her. The man who had grabbed her in the street climbed onto the seat and snapped the reins on the horse's back and when they reached the middle of Virginia City's main street, he stopped the buckboard, dragged Ultima out and dropped her in the dirt. Then he rode out of town as if hell was snapping at his heels, almost tipping over the buckboard avoiding the others in the street.
Ultima struggled to get up. She was disoriented; she wasn't familiar with Virginia City as either Adam, his father, Hoss or Joe always accompanied her into the town. She looked around and then realized why her wrists were tied; she couldn't cover her face in shame or her breasts in modesty—she was open and exposed. The men riding horses or driving wagons stopped and stared and the bystanders did as well. None of them had seen anything like the spectacle before them—a woman "tarred and feathered" and left unceremoniously on the main thoroughfare. Women with small children pulled them into stores not because her nudity was obvious, the feathers somewhat disguised it, but because the sight was horrific.
Ultima's mind ran confusedly. She knew she had to find her father-in-law. She needed him to take her home but she had no idea where he was. She looked around at the amazed faces and prayed they didn't recognize her but as she started down the street, she heard her name like a hum rise from the sidewalks where people came out of the stores or stared out the windows, mainly female voices. "It's Adam Cartwright's wife." "It's Ultima Cartwright—married to Adam." "Someone took her down a notch or two, I guess."
But mixed with those comments were a few, "Oh, dear Lord." "Someone get the sheriff." "That poor woman."
Ben Cartwright and Roy Coffee sat outside his office played checkers on an upended crate.
"Crown me," Ben said. He grinned in victory. He enjoyed seeing Roy disgusted with losing another piece but when Ben noticed a crowd of people moving toward them, he stood up. "Look, Roy."
Roy Coffee stood up, puzzled. He stepped out slightly to see what was happening. "What the hell…" and then Roy stepped off the sidewalk and into the street and started running.
Ben stared for a few moments, not understanding what it was and then he realized that someone had been tarred and feathered but this looked different from the few times he had seen the punishment before, the humiliation of someone who had behaved egregiously and who was going to be run out of town. In that instance, the smell of pine tar was strong and the person looked like some creature from one of the Indian monster legends. Ben suddenly realized it was a woman and that she had been stripped from the waist up. And then his heart pounded and his breath caught. It was Ultima.
Ben raced to where Roy had already reached Ultima and was guiding her to the jail. Ben reached them and pulled off his vest and placed it around Ultima's shoulders. Together they led her into the jail and Ben bolted the door because a few people wanted inside; they wanted to know what had happened.
Ultima stood and stoically allowed Ben to untie her wrists. He fumbled as the hemp was sticky with the molasses. "Roy, give me a knife."
Roy reached in his pocket and pulled out a small folding knife and Ben sawed away at the ropes until they fell from her small wrists. Ben was shocked at how tiny she was, her wrists as narrow as a child's.
"Ultima, what happened?" Ben asked.
"I want to go home," she managed to say. "Please, take me home."
Roy draped one of the blankets he had in the jail over her shoulders and Ultima held it tightly together.
"Mrs. Cartwright, who did this to you? Do you know them?" Roy tried to be gentle but he had to ask her the question.
Ultima swallowed to keep from crying. "I just want to go home. Please, take me home." She turned her eyes on Ben. "Please. I need to wash before Adam comes home. I can't let him see me like this."
"Yes, yes.' Ben thought for a moment. "Roy, I'll bring the buggy here and put up the bonnet. We'll help her in this side."
"All right." Roy said and Ben rushed out. The sheriff looked at the young woman who was smeared with molasses, feathers sticking to the substance with the slightly sulfur smell. Ultima just looked ahead, her eyes unfocused. "I'm going to investigate this as soon as you're gone with Ben but…did you know any of them?" Roy feared that Ultima was going into shock of some type as she seemed unresponsive. He would expect her to be crying as any woman would be after what had happened but she showed no emotion at all.
"No," Ultima quietly answered.
"Can you tell me where this happened? I mean what street? Was it a house?"
She shook her head and then turned to look when the door opened. It was Ben, his brow furrowed with concern.
"The buggy's right outside. Come, Ultima." Together he and Roy helped Ultima up on the seat. "Would you prefer to lie down in the back behind the seats?"
Her voice was barely perceptible as she said, "No. I just want to go home. Please." Ultima had yet to make eye contact with either man; she just stared ahead. Ben climbed up and took his place.
"You take care of her. Do you want me to send out the Doc before I look into this?" Roy held onto the side of the buggy.
Ben glanced at Ultima and then turned back to Roy. "Yes. No saying what else might have happened to her. Thanks, Roy." Roy stepped back onto the sidewalk and watched while Ben started the horse in a circle, turning around in the street and headed for the Ponderosa as people still watched from the sidewalks
Roy shook his head as he pondered what type of person he should be looking for—who it was who would do such a thing, such a horrid, humiliating thing. And he also wondered, was the act against Ultima, Adam or the Cartwrights in general? But then he remembered the beating Adam had given Rollo, Maxwell's best ranch hand. Although it had been four months earlier, a wise man like Maxwell would wait to exact revenge, would let Adam drop his guard and then attack. After all, Adam was the one who had humiliated Rollo in front of a saloon-full of people and Roy had told Rollo to never show his face in Virginia City again. He was a trouble-maker and pissed in the saloon's spittoons and Harley was filing charges of public indecency.
Roy walked over to the crowd that had gathered on the other side of the street. They began to disperse as Roy approached but he knew who they were; they wouldn't be difficult to interview later but now he had to see Dr. Martin.