Man of Justice

I do not own The Big Valley or any of the original Barkleys.

Chapter Nineteen

The wind, which had been behaving itself, now started blowing harder as Tom and Nick rode their horses around the ranch. After spending a couple of hours making up for lost time with his wife, Tom had promised Victoria he'd make sure he spent more time with Nick. Though, he'd made it clear they just needed to accept the fact that McCall would be, forevermore, a second father to the child. After all, too strong of a bond had been formed between the two. Which meant two things happened: They got used to jumping ten feet in the air when Nick slammed the front door shut and announced his presence by bellowing loud enough to wake the dead, and Tom made sure he had spare door hinges. They also suspected that, someday, he'd have to be bailed out of jail for fighting. After all, you could only break so many boards and kick so many buckets before your fist found its way across someone's chin.

When the two came to a stream that ran through the Barkley ranch, Tom and Nick dismounted. Nick stood looking into the stream. He could see a few fish swimming close to the surface and then watched as they continued on down the stream. "We should catch some for dinner. Mother could cook them."

"That sounds fun maybe…" Tom caught himself just in time, for he was about to suggest that Jarrod could help them gut the fish. "Maybe," he quickly back tracked and finished the sentence, "we can even be nice enough to gut them for her before we take them home. Though, I think we best go check on the men and their work first. Don't you think?" he spoke with a tone of mock seriousness that made his son laugh.

"Yes, you never know. McCall might have given them the day off. You know how impetuous he is." Nick didn't really know what impetuous meant, but he'd heard his mother say the word on more than one occasion. If she was using the word, it must be okay for him to use.

Tom couldn't hide the grin that leapt up and onto his face. His roar of laughter rumbled through the air and over the ranch. Nick beamed; after all, it felt good to hear his father laugh and know he had something to do with it. They made their way back to their horses and were soon riding off in the direction that McCall and the other men were working.

From where he worked, McCall saw the two Barkleys approaching. It made him smile to see the bond repaired between father and son. Tom was right about one thing for sure, Nick was proving to be more of a cowboy than any of them. His ability to handle the cows, use a rope and a dozen other things, even at his young age, was astounding. He didn't know how, but in that moment Duke McCall knew that, someday, it would be Nick who would be his boss instead of Tom. Though, for the present, McCall simply went back to work while Tom and Nick inspected the work being done. Though, he and the other men had to bite their tongue at Nick's very much animated actions as he helped his father.

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A lone figure now clad in buckskin pants and a buckskin shirt stood by the river in the moonlight. Autumn had come to the Shoshone village and the summer loincloth had been put away. Jarrod had actually been standing in that spot since just before sunset looking at his reflection in the river. He'd been troubled when he'd found Nick's words coming back to him. "…you come back….you're you, but you ain't."

Jarrod lifted up his right hand and ran it underneath his ever growing hair. Five months and it was already past his neck. He also thought how well he was now speaking Shoshone. That fact…the fact that he was speaking Shoshone fluently… had prompted his Shoshone father to ask about his white family just that morning. However, Straight Arrow had not pressed for answers when Jarrod found himself unable to talk about them. He could still see the scene from that morning in his head.

"I will never stop calling you son," Straight Arrow stood in the wigwam talking to Jarrod, "but you were made to come here, against your will." The man still remembered the anxious and terrified feeling he'd felt coming off Jarrod that first day he'd seen the lad. "If you have a white family, I can help you get back to them." The man was sincere in his offer, and Jarrod could hear it. Only problem was try as the man might Straight Arrow could not hide the pain that the statement brought out of his eyes. Oh, it wasn't for lack of trying, Jarrod just saw through him is all; a knack everyone was fast realizing the young boy had with everyone.

Jarrod never felt such a struggle in his life. He missed his white family so much, but on the other hand his Shoshone father had given him so much and done his best by him. Even if Jarrod still thought it wrong the way a lot of Shoshone would *steal horses from other tribes thus making many enemies. "Please, do not ask me about them for now." Jarrod had turned away from his "father" in order to hide the confusion and pain that resided in his soul. Unfortunely, Straight Arrow was sent a very unintentional message; Jarrod's white family must have had hurt him so bad he could not speak about them. Right then and there Straight Arrow vowed to never to speak on 'that subject again', unless his son started it, a choice that would only serve to lengthen Jarrod's stay with the Shoshone.

Again Jarrod ran his hand through his hair; how long would it get before the day Nick spoke about arrived? Jarrod dropped his hand back down by his side. More shocking to him was to find himself wondering if it would be wise to even go back; even if he ever had the chance. He knew how the majority of white people felt about the Indians. How would they accept a boy who had lived among them as he now had?

So deep into thought was he that he didn't hear his friend, Raging River's Friend walk up beside him. The Shoshone youth was so named because he had, a number of times, fallen into a part of the river that should have pulled him under and drowned him only it hadn't. Each time, he'd managed to get out alive and make it back to the village. "You are troubled?" Raging River's Friend looked at the best friend he'd ever had and asked. He did not like seeing his friend this way. He'd do anything to help him.

Jarrod told him of the conversation that had taken place inside Straight Arrow's wigwam and then shook the melochany feeling off. "Why don't you see if we can go hunting tomorrow? We are both old enough. I mean you are fifteen and I'm over fourteen."

"Let's do it!" Soon the two boys were running to the perspective wigwams to talk to their parents, or in Jarrod's case, parent to get their permission. By morning's light, the two boys were leaving the village with two other boys who had, somehow, joined the hunting trip.

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* Unlike sedentary tribes such as the Chumash, the Shoshone did not own much in terms of belongings and did not trade with others until they acquired horses in the 1700s. The ownership of horses served to differentiate the rich from the poor, but those who owned horses usually did as the result of theft, as the Shoshone would often conduct raids on other tribes to steal their horses. Because of this less than virtuous practice, the Shoshone had many enemies, but none so fierce as the Crow and Pocatello tribes, who's path they normally avoided crossing. (An exact quote off the internet, but the site won't let me post the link.)