"April Fools" – Chapter Three

Lou fought her attacker with all her strength, but he had the size advantage, and she was hindered by skirts, and her gun was packed away in the small carpet bag she had dropped when Jake grabbed her. She wasn't panicking, not yet, but knew that her chances of escape grew slimmer the further away from the street he dragged her. Finally, she managed to get a piece of his hand in her mouth, and clamped down on her teeth, hard.

"Ow!" Jake yelled, pulling his hand back. Lou took advantage of the momentary lapse to scream as loud as she could before the stifling hand clamped over her mouth again.

"What'd you go an' do that for?" Jake hissed angrily. Lou twisted, but his hold on her tightened. He reached for her skirt, and she tried to kick him as hard as she could, but he backed her against the side of the building. "Stop fightin'. I intend to make it worth your while." When he reached for her skirt again, Lou got her hand free and tried to ram his nose, but he pulled a knife from a sheath she hadn't seen and laid it across her throat. "Now," he said, "make a sound, an' it will be your last.' He took his hand from her mouth, and Lou stood there, breathing heavily. "I know I seen you before," he said. "If it weren't at Miss Nellie's, it were somewhere else. It don't make no never mind, I guess, but I don't think I'd forget a pretty little thing like you." He pressed up against her, and Lou turned her face away, unable to look at him.

Suddenly, there was a sound, and the hand that held the knife to her throat got knocked up and away. Lou slid down in the opposite direction, and there was a whump! sound just before Jake collapsed on top of her. But then the weight was pulled off, and Jimmy was reaching a hand out to steady her.

"You all right?" Jimmy asked.

Mutely, she nodded.

Jimmy let her go, and opened the Bible he'd hit Jake with, to reveal a small pistol hidden in its cut-out pages. "I'd have shot him from back there, except I couldn't be sure what I'd hit." He cocked the hammer and aimed it at the now groaning Jake, but Lou called him off.

"Jimmy, no!" she hissed.

He stopped and looked at her.

"Nobody's gonna believe a gun-totin' Bible salesman," she whispered.

Jimmy sighed and put the gun back in its hiding place. He settled instead for clubbing Jake for a second time with the gun-weighted Bible, and picked up the knife to examine it. "Nice edge," he commented.

"Let's just go," Lou said, pulling his arm.

(Break)

Once they were well away from Fort Kearney, and it was clear that no one else was on the trail with them, Lou asked Jimmy if he would pull up.

"What for?" Jimmy wanted to know.

"Just do it," Lou replied. She grabbed her carpet bag and disappeared into the bushes. A short time later, she emerged, dressed in her boy's clothes, with her skirt and petticoat packed away in the carpet bag. She threw her carpet bag into the back of the wagon before climbing up. At least she had left her gun and holster off.

As she sat beside him, Jimmy looked at her. "You want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" she asked.

"'Bout what happened back there."

"Just a case of mistaken identity, is all."

"I ain't talkin' 'bout him, I'm talkin' 'bout you. That jackass reminds you of someone."

"You don't know nothin'."

"There's more than one reason why you dress as a boy an' carry a gun, ain't there?"

"If there is, it ain't your business."

"The Hell it ain't. You were—"

Lou interrupted him. "Don't say it." Raped. She even hated the sound of the word.

A moment later, Jimmy said, "Well, you were, weren't you?"

Lou looked off for a moment before answering. "Yeah. Ah was."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"It ain't the sorta thing one likes to talk about."

"Might help."

She turned on him and glared. "What do you want me to say? That ah enjoyed it? Well, ah didn't."

"I'm only tryin' to be friends, Lou."

She shook her head. "Ah ain't gonna dig up memories ah wish ah didn't have, just so you can feel better."

They drove the whole day without talking, and stopped to make camp when the sun began setting. They had a quiet dinner of beans and hard tack, and spread their tucks on the ground by the campfire.

"Lou, you…get some rest. I'll take the watch tonight," Jimmy said.

"Suit yourself," she said, by which Jimmy took to mean she was grateful for the offer but didn't want to say 'Thank you.' She wrapped herself up in the roll and lay down facing away from him.

They stayed like that for a long time, Jimmy sitting cross-legged in front of the fire, staring into the flames, and Lou lying on the ground across the fire from him, her face turned away from him. Only the irregular pattern of her breathing gave away the fact that she wasn't sleeping. Eventually, so quietly that Jimmy almost couldn't hear her, she said his name. "Jimmy?"

Without looking at her, he replied, "Yeah?"

Still facing away, Lou asked quietly, "Do you…believe in all that Heaven an' Hell stuff?"

"I ain't sure, Lou. Do you?"

She rolled to face him. "Ah ain't sure, either. But ah reckon if there is a Hell, you an' me are headed straight for it."

Finally, Jimmy looked at her. "How do you figure?"

"'Cause we're both killers."

Jimmy looked from her back to the fire again. "Lou, I never shot a man who didn't give me reason, an' I don't like bein' called a murderer."

After a moment, Lou said, "Sorry. Ah just thought… Sorry." She rolled away again. Jimmy looked back at her, and saw her wipe her eyes. He studied her for a moment, and his expression softened.

"So what makes you think you're one?" he asked.

"It don't matter. Ah'm sorry for troublin' ya."

Jimmy threw a piece of wood into the flames. "You can't bring up somethin' like that an' then drop it. Did you kill somebody?"

Lou didn't answer. Jimmy stood up and walked around the fire to squat in front of her. "Was it the man who took you? Hell, nobody could blame you for that."

Lou turned away from him, towards the fire. "It ain't what you think, Jimmy."

"Men like that don't deserve to live."

"Jimmy…ah've wanted to kill him, but ah…ain't ever had the chance."

"So tell me who it is, an' I'll do it."

"You still don't understand." Then, hesitantly, she asked, "If ah told you something, would you promise not to tell anyone—especially the Kid?"

"I promise," Jimmy said.

There was another long silence, and Jimmy thought Lou wasn't going to tell him after all, but then she said, "Sometimes ah…feel like ah gotta tell someone. An' ah guess you're the only one who would really understand." She stopped for a second. "You sure you wanna hear it?"

"If you wanna tell it, I wanna hear it," Jimmy said.

Hesitantly, Lou spoke. "Happened just after ah run off from the orphanage."

Jimmy sighed. "Lord, Lou, you were only—what? Thirteen?"

She nodded, still not looking at him. Ah was in St. Joe lookin' for some kinda work. This man…he talked to me like he was gonna help me find a job, only he led me out behind some buildin's, an he… He had a gun, an' ah didn't have so much as a knife with me. Ah knew that if ah screamed, he'd 'a shot me."

"Lou...if you think anybody's gonna blame you for that—"

"Ah ain't finished, Jimmy. Couple months later, ah found out ah was gonna have a baby."

Jimmy was taken by surprise. "You had a baby?"

"No. That's just it. Ah didn't. Ah didn't want no kid that weren't mah own doin', an' ah got to thinkin', too, 'bout how ah could take care of a young'un when ah was only thirteen mahself. Ah 'spose ah could've gone back to the orphanage, but ah didn't want the sisters to know."

Jimmy suddenly realized where she was leading. "Oh, Lou…"

"There was this woman," Lou went on. "A half-Injun. She said she could fix it so's the kid wouldn't feel a thing, an' it wouldn't hurt me none, either. So ah give her a coupla dollars, which was all the money ah had saved up by then, an' she took a knife to me. Only it weren't like she said it was gonna be. It hurt awful, an' ah remember ah was bleedin' purdy bad…"

Lou wiped her eyes, and Jimmy awkwardly tried to put his arms around her. "It's okay…" he murmured.

"There was a widow ah was stayin' with by then. Ah don't remember how ah made it back there, but she took one look at me an' send for the doctor. He come an' knew right away what happened. He told me…told me ah was purdy messed up, an' wasn't gonna be able to have no more kids…"

"Lou…" Jimmy said, unable to find any other words.

"When the widow found out what happened, she said ah could stay 'til ah was mended, an' then ah had to git. So that's when ah cut mah hair an' started workin' as a boy. It was easier to find work as a boy, too."

She fell silent for a moment, then suddenly rolled to face him and sat up, causing Jimmy to sit back on his heels. "Anyway, ya see why it would never 've worked out for me an' the Kid. He likes to do things proper, an' ah—Hell, ah killed an innocent child."

"Lou, no one could blame you for what happened. Why don't ya tell the Kid what happened, give 'im a chance."

"Jimmy…" she said, shaking her head. "A man like that—a good man—wants a girl who can give 'im a family, raise his young'uns…"

"How do you know if ya don't ask?"

"You live in the bunkhouse. You hear the talk. Remember a little while back when Kid said how nice it would be to settle down, raise a family…?"

"Just talk."

"Did you see how he was smilin' when he said it? Ah cain't keep him from his dreams, Jimmy."

"What about your dreams?"

"Just dreams. Nothin' more. An' no amount of wishin's gonna change it."

"You listen to me. That's nonsense."

She gave a little laugh. "You know, first time Kid an' ah…spent the night together, ah cried. Couldn't seem to help it. Kid thought it was…'cause it was the first time, you know?"

"And the truth was, 'cause it wasn't. Tell the Kid what happened, Lou."

"It wouldn't change anything. Ah always knew it wasn't gonna ever be right between us, but sometimes..ah couldn't help pretendin' for a while. Ah…just wish…" She wiped her eyes.

Awkwardly, Jimmy put his arms around her and pulled her against him. "Shhh…"

"Ah'm sorry. Ah didn't mean to—"

"Shhh… Just be still…"

(Break)

By the time the sun rose, they had ended up talking all night. But the topic had gone on to other things, and the mood was lighter than when they had laid down at their camp, making up for the lack of conversation that had characterized the entire day before.

Lou laughed as a sudden thought struck her. "Ah still ain't told you 'bout the time ah worked at a cat-house."

Jimmy hadn't thought that anything else Lou had to say could surprise him, but he was wrong. "What?"

"Ah lasted…oh, 'bout thirty minutes."

Jimmy smiled, anticipating a good story. "What happened?"

"Well, ah figgered as long as ah couldn't…you know…an' ah had to eat, so ah might as well find something' ah could do. Only, it turned out ah couldn't do that, either. Ah ran out on mah first customer before we even reached the top of the stairs."

Jimmy laughed. "You didn't."

"Ah did."

"Hell, Lou, you shoulda taken the money first."

She chuckled. "Ah wish ah had." She looked around and suddenly noticed it was day. "Oh, Hell, we been talkin' all night, an' daylight's already burnin'. Ah don't want to carry these rifles one minute longer than ah have to. An' neither one of us got a wink o' sleep."

"I don't mind the lack of sleep," Jimmy told her, "but I agree with you on the rifles. Let's break camp and get a move on."

(break)

As Jimmy drove the wagon along the trail, the steady thump-thump of the wheels going around made Lou start to doze, but then the sudden jerk of the wheels going over a bump woke her back up.

"Lou, I been thinkin'," Jimmy said.

"Uh oh. The world's in trouble now."

Jimmy ignored the good-natured barb and went on. "Just how sure was that doctor about your not havin' kids?"

"He was pretty sure, Jimmy."

"Pretty sure?"

"Yeah."

"But 'pretty sure' don't mean 'absolutely sure,' right?

"Maybe not. But ah wouldn't go bettin' on it."

"Hell, Lou, that's my favorite kinda odds."

(break)

The day wore on, and as the sun began to sink into the horizon, they found a good place to make camp. They set up quickly, both stifling yawns.

"It's mah turn to take the watch," Lou said.

"I'll take it," Jimmy replied. "You didn't get any sleep last night."

"You didn't get any either, an' it was mah fault for keepin' you up."

"Oh, come on, Lou. Let me be a gentleman for once in my life."

Lou relented, tired and grateful. "All right, then you can have it. An' Jimmy?"

He looked at her.

"Thanks," she said.

(break)

When dawn broke, Lou was sound asleep on the ground, and Jimmy was sound asleep with his back up against a tree. The fire was mostly gone, with only a few dying embers producing any heat. A bird called for a mate from a branch above him, causing Jimmy to start awake and reach for his gun, but then the bird called again, and he holstered the weapon, rolling his eyes at his own stupidity. He yawned, stood up to stretch and yawned again. Then he looked at the nearly dead fire, put some fresh pieces of wood on it, then stirred the ashes to try to bring it back to life.

The movement caused Lou to wake, but she still lay on the ground with her eyes closed. "Is it mornin' again already?" she mumbled.

"Rise an' shine, Lou. Some of us have been up all night." Jimmy was afraid that the lack of fire would give away his lie, but somehow the wood caught.

Lou groaned and rolled over slowly. "Any trouble?"

"No, not a bit," Jimmy said, glad that the last part, at least, was true.

(break)

The day passed mostly in silence, not because anyone was mad at anyone else, but because they were pretty well talked out, and were still a bit tired from being still somewhat behind in there sleep. When it was getting near sunset, they stopped to make camp again. Jimmy nursed the campfire to life while Lou dumped more firewood nearby. "Ah'll go see what we can do for supper." She went into the wagon and began rummaging through the provisions, collecting some canned goods for their meal. Folded among the provisions was the dress Jimmy had bought back at Fort Kearney. Lou hesitated, then reached for it and smiled a little as she touched the fabric. She didn't see Jimmy, who had gotten a fair blaze going and was watching her from the flap at the back of the wagon.

"Whyn't ya go ahead and put it on?" Jimmy suggested.

Lou drew her hand away from the dress quickly. "Jimmy! Quit sneakin' up on me!"

"I ain't sneaking up on you. If I were, I wouldn't be talkin'." He nodded towards the dress. "Well, why don't ya?"

"Why don't you mind your own business? You get the fire started yet?"

"Blazin like the pits of Hell. Go on, Lou. There''s no one here to know 'cept me."

"Every time ah wear a dress, somethin' bad happens."

"Oh, come on. What could happen way out here? Toss me those cans there, an' I'll work on the meal while you get changed."

Lou hesitated, then relented with a smile and a shake of her head as if she couldn't believe what she was doing. "Ah take no responsibility for whatever happens." She tossed the cans at Jimmy, who caught them neatly, and reached for the dress.

By the time she finished changing, the food was pretty much ready, too. Lou emerged from the interior of the wagon and prepared to jump down.

Jimmy abandoned the food. "Wait a minute, Lou!" He went over to the wagon and held out his hands. "Ladies ain't s'posed to jump down by themselves."

Lou laughed. "Pretty helpless lot, if ya ask me. An' ah ain't no lady, really."

"You're missin' the whole point, Lou. The only reason it's done is to give the men a chance to hold them in a socially acceptable manner." He helped her down and offered his arm. "Miss McCloud, would you care to join me for dinner?" He led her to a rock by the campfire and pretended to dust it off for her with a flourish.

With exaggerated manners, Lou lifted her skirt and sat, folding her hands demurely. "Why thank you, sir. Ah'm starved—ah mean, famished."

"Would you care to order?" Jimmy asked. "I understand the chef here is excellent."

"What's on the menu for this evenin'?

"Specialty for tonight is bacon an' beans, or beans an' bacon."

"Hmmm," Lous said, pretending to consider. "Ah think ah'll have the bacon an' beans. Ah don't suppose there's a wine list?"

Jimmy reached for the coffee pot. "Well, we're all out of wine, but we do have hot coffee, brewed special for our special guests."

"The brown kind?" Lou asked

"Of course."

Jimmy smiled at her while he poured the coffee, and Lou broke the eye contact with a laugh. But then one of the horses tied at the edge of the clearing out of range of the firelight neighed nervously, and was joined by the other.

"Ah better check the horses," Lou said. She left, and Jimmy stirred the beans. A crunch of leaves told him when she was returning, and Jimmy didn't bother to look up. "Did ya see what's got 'em spooked?"

The voice that answered was not the one he was expecting, and when the outlaw named Johnson replied, "Sure did," Jimmy quickly started to go for his gun, but saw that Johnson already had his own gun pointed at Jimmy. "I wouldn't," Johnson told him.

Jimmy held his hands up away from his gun in a gesture of surrender, thinking he would take the outlaw when the other man closed the distance and reached to take Jimmy's gun from its holster, but Jimmy gave up that thought when he heard the sounds of struggle and Lou's muffled cries. He let Johnson take his gun without a fight.

The other outlaws joined Johnson and Jimmy in the clearing, one of them draggin Lou with his hand over her mouth. When he saw that silence was no longer needed, he removed his hand from Lou's mouth and gave her a shove that sent her tripping towards Jimmy, who caught her before she could fall into the fire.

"Lookee wot we got here," the outlaw named Hank said, looking at the pot of beans.

Johnson headed for the wagon, and Hank gave the beans a stir before turning his attention to Lou. "Well, well." Hank said. "Nice, cozy little fire and smell of good cookin' always makes me hungry. How 'bout it, missy? You hungry, too?" Hank reached for her, and Lou kneed him. The outlaw named Bobby grabbed Lou and twisted her arm up behind her back.

Johnson laughed from the wagon. "That's what you get for tryin' to eat your pie before your potatoes." He held up a couple of rifles. "Lokk what I found in a crate marked 'Bibles.' These look like Bibles to you?"

The outlaw named Jake grinned at Hank, who was still holding his crotch, and then looked at Lou. "You know, I always had a sweet-tooth. An' I never cared much for potatotees, anyway." Jake reached for Lou, and she tried to knee him as she had done with the other outlaw, but he caught her and pushed her leg back down. "Hold her down, Bobby."

Jimmy saw that most of the outlaws' attention was on Lou and launched himself at the weakest one, whom he figured to be Jake. He punched Jake and made a grab for the gun, but just as he got it, one of the other outlaws knocked him unconscious with the butt of a gun.