"April Fools" – Chapter Four

The outlaws were helping themselves to Lou's and Jimmy's dinner. They had bound the riders' hands behind their backs and roughly deposited them in front of a large boulder, which was where Jimmy found himself when he came to.

"Unnnhh…" he said, waking up.

"Welcome back," Lou said.

"You okay?" Jimmy asked, wincing.

"For the time bein'. They're savin' me for dessert." She returned to struggling against her bonds.

"I'm surprised they didn't kill me," Jimmy said.

"Don't get your hopes up. They just thought it'd be more fun to have you watch. I'm sure they'll get around to it, though."

"My head hurts. My nose itches, too."

"What are you complainin' for? Worse they'll do to you is shoot you. Damn dress. Ah told ya."

"Don't worry, Lou. We'll get outta this."

Lou struggled harder with her ropes. "Somehow, ah'd have more confidence if we weren't both tied up like pigs for the slaughter."

Jimmy's expression became one of concentration as he tried to get his hands free.

A few minutes later, Jake finished his dinner and stood up. "I think I'm gonna have me a piece of pie."

"Don't eat the whole thing!" Johnson warned.

"Don't worry. There's plenty to go around."

He went over to where the riders were and leered at Lou. She struggled harder with the ropes, but to no avail. Jimmy's concentration became more intense.

Jake kneeled beside Lou and put one hand behind her neck. "Well, Missy, let's find out just what kinda pie you are." His other hand reached for her skirt. "Apple, or blueberry, or—"

Lou bit his wrist. Jake yelped and nursed his hand briefly. Jimmy was still concentrating.

From the fire, Johnson laughed. "More like sour apple. The kind with a bite."

Jake looked back at the other outlaws. "My favorite kind!" He turned his attention back to Lou and slapped her. "That's for the tooth-marks. Now—" He reached for her skirt again. Jimmy's hands suddenly came free, and he made a lunge for Jake's gun. He got it, shot Jake with it, then grabbed Lou and pulled her behind the boulder as the other outlaws went for their own guns. Jimmy reached back quickly to grab the dead outlaw's knife as the one of the others took a shot at him. He returned the shot, but it was a miss.

"What the Hell—" Jimmy said, looking at the gun. "This thing don't shoot straight!"

Lou turned her back to him and held up her bound wrists, looking at him over her shoulder. "Cut me loose, will ya?"

Jimmy regarded her. "I dunno. I kinda like ya that way."

"Jimmy—"

"All right, all right."

He cut her loose, and Lou noticed his bleeding wrists. She looked up at him wordlessly.

"It's nothin'," he told her.

He peeked over the edge of the rock to take another shot—and hit a tree to the right of one of the outlaws. "Damn thing's pullin' off to the right! How do they expet me to shoot with a gun like this?"

"So aim left."

Jimmy looked at her. "Thank you for that wonderful piece of advice." A shot hit nearby, and he grinned. "Told you we'd get out of it, didn't I?"

Lou knew better than to try to steal a glance at the outlaws, especially since she was unarmed. Instead she regarded him dryly. "We're out-numbered, out-gunned, no place to run, an' it's only a matter o' time before they kill us."

"Why do you always look at the down side o' things?" Jimmy asked. He peeked back over the edge to look at the outlaws, but saw something else that caught his attention. The horses. They were bridled, but had no saddles. He motioned toward them. "Can you ride bareback?"

"Can a duck swim?" Lou retorted.

"Think you can make it to them horses if I cover you?"

"Ah ain't leavin' ya here."

"Hell, you prob'ly won't make it, anyway. 'Sides, worst they can do to me is shoot me, remember?"

Lou thought that over for a second. "You got a point." She turned away from Jimmy and started pulling off petticoats. Jimmy watched her until another shot hit nearby. He peeked over the edge of the rock to take aim.

"Aim left," Lou reminded him.

"I am," Jimmy retorted. He squeezed the trigger, and Hank fell. "Bull's eye!"

He turned his attention back to Lou as she got rid of the last of the petticoats and started gathering up her skirt. "I'm delighted you feel that way, Lou, but I really don't think—" he ducked lower when another near-miss ricocheted off the rock, "—that now's the time."

Lou gave him a look as she tied the skirt in a knot to keep it out of the way. When she was done tying, she crouched and held out her hand. "Give me that knife."

Jimmy gave it to her. "Ready?" he asked.

Lou nodded.

Jimmy peeked over the rock and whispered "Go!"

Lou ran for the horses as Jimmy squeezed off a shot, and Frank fell. The remaining outlaws were apparently not overly concerned with her escape attempt, and kept their attention on Jimmy, who had the gun. At least, they didn't shoot her. But Johnson pointed to one of the outlaws and then to Lou, and said, "Go get her, Nate."

Nate left, backing out towards the darkness, leaving only Johnson and Bobby.

Bobby had been keeping track of the shots, and knew how many bullets the late outlaw Jake's gun held. "He's only got one bullet left now. I'll circle around behind him." Bobby melted into the darkness, too, and Johnson fired off a shot to keep Jimmy's attention.

Lou was untying one of the horses with the knife in one hand, as the outlaw Nate grabbed her from behind. She whirled and stabbed, and Nate fell. Lou looked at him for a beat, then turned back to the horse. She slapped the already nervous animal to send it on its way without her, then looked back at the dead outlaw. She hesitated, then bent over and closed her eyes as she took the knife out.

Joe and Johnson looked at each other as they heard the sound of a horse galloping away.

"Sounds like she got away," Joe said.

"Don't worry, she can't do nothin'. Concentrate on the boy. You take him on the left, Joe. I'll take him on the right."

Jimmy looked over the edge of the boulder, searching the dark for a target.

From the hill behind him came the sound of a gun cocking, and Bobby's voice said, "Drop it."

Jimmy's reaction was to roll and come up shooting. The outlaw fell down the embankment, but landed too far away for Jimmy to be able to reach his weapon.

Johnson smiled and stood up, approaching Jimmy openly. "That's it, boy. You're all out. It's my turn, now."

Jimmy pulled the trigger anyway, and was disappointed to hear an empty click. He closed his eyes for the inevitable and shuddered as a shot rang out. Then he opened his eyes to see Johnson falling, and turned around as Lou came out of the rocks from across the clearing. "This one shoots straight."

"I thought I tld you to get the Hell outta here."

"Since when have ah ever done what you told me?"

Jimmy grinned. "You got a point."

Lou looked around at the carnage in and around the clearing and shuddered. "Let's get the Hell outta here."

(break)

Kid fingered Lou's deserted petticoats as Buck came from behind the area where the horses had been tied. "There's another one back there with a knife wound. Looks like they gave a good accounting for themselves, anyway."

Kid indicated the petticoats. "What do you make of this?

Buck looked at it, and shrugged. "There's a dress back there in the bushes, too."

"Lou's?" Kid asked.

"Who else's? But what would she be doin' wearin' a skirt?"

Worried, Kid mused, "What do you suppose it means?"

"There's only one way to find out," Buck replied. "Tracks go off to the west."

"Toward Fort Laramie, anyway…" Kid said.

(break)

Jimmy pulled the horses to a halt and looked at Lou sitting next to him on the wagon. She was dressed in her "boy" clothes again. "You sure yer okay?" Jimmy asked.

"Fine," Lou said.

"You ain't hardly spoke since we left the camp."

"Ah'm fine. What're we stoppin' for? Sooner we get these rifles delivered, the sooner we'll be rid of 'em."

"The rifles can wait. Lou, what happened back there—most men ain't like that."

"Ah know."

"Don't judge all of us by the few."

"Ah never said ah would."

"So why'd you throw the dress away?"

"Cain't ride mah runs in a skirt."

"I thought you liked it."

"Got no use for it."

"Does everything gotta have a use? Can't a girl just keep somethin' 'cause ya like it?"

"A real girl, maybe."

"What the Hell is that supposed to mean?

"You know what ah mean."

"No, I don't."

"You're gonna make me say it, ain't ya."

"Damn right."

Lou sighed, looking straight ahead. "The doctor said—"

Jimmy interrupted her. "What the doctor said don't make no difference."

Lou turned to him angrily. "The Hell it don't. Ah ain't no god for a man to want in a decent way, an' ah ain't gonna say yes to the other!" She glared at him for a moment, then looked away. "Can we go now? Please?"

"Look at me, Lou," Jimmy said.

She refused. He took her chin and gently turned her head to look at him. "You're the best damn girl I ever met. Once people start seein' you for what you are, you're gonna have men knockin' down your door with whatever kinda offers you want. Decent men, Lou. Not the kinda trash we left back there."

She shook her head matter-of-factly. "Jimmy, a decent man wants a girl who can raise a family an' act like a lady, not one who goes around stabbin' an' shootin' at outlaws."

Jimmy stared at her. "I can't believe you're feelin' guilty 'bout comin' back to save my life! Tell ya what, would ya feel any better if I found myself a cliff to jump off of?"

Lou smiled a little.

"Careful, face might crack," Jimmy warned. After a second, he said, "You know, Lou, you're right. A girl wouldn't do what you did."

She looked at him, then turned away. "That's what ah been sayin'—"

Jimmy took her chin again and turned her back to face him. "But a woman might…"

She looked at him, and after a second, he leaned over to kiss her gently. She hesitated, then closed her eyes. A moment later, he pulled back, and they looked at each other again. He started to lean in again, but this time, she pulled away.

"Ah'm sorry, Jimmy…"

"I'd never hurt you, Lou."

"No, but…ah'd hurt you."

Jimmy smiled. "How?"

Hesitantly, she told him. "Some night...when ah called out the Kid's name instead o' yours."

Jimmy looked away.

"Ah'm sorry, Jimmy."

"You're still in love with him," Jimmy realized.

"Ah know there ain't no hope for it, but just now…when you kissed me…ah couldn't help wishin' it was him."

"You're a damn fool," Jimmy told her.

"Ah know. Ah'm sorry…"

(Break)

A lieutenant ushered Kid and Buck inside the Captain's office at Fort Laramie, telling them, "The Captain will be with you in a minute," before leaving again.

Worried, Kid turned to Buck. "What do you think?"

"I think we should ask the Captain," Buck told him.

"First the petticoats, and then that dress…"

"Tracks came this way. That's all I know."

The door opened, and the Captain entered. "What can I do for you boys?"

Buck spoke up. "Captain, we're with the Pony Express. Two of our friends were sent here to deliver a cargo of rifles."

"Well, you just missed 'em," the Captain said. "They delivered their cargo and left, just a couple hours ago."

Kid looked over at Buck in relief.

"Come on, Kid," Buck said. "Maybe we can catch up with them before nightfall."

The Captain laughed suddenly. "You know, your friends are a couple of fools, haulin' those rifles all the way from Fort Kearney. I offered them a place to stay for the night, but they seemed anxious to get goin'. Especially after they heard the news."

"What news?" Kid asked.

"Ain't you heard, boy? Word reached us yesterday by way of the Pony Express. It's war now."

Kid and Buck looked at each other. "Come on, Buck," Kid said, moving toward the door.

"Don't be in such a hurry," the Captain said. "What with this war now goin' on, we can use all the fools we can get. Interested? I can have the papers drawn up in a minute…"

Author's Note: The Civil War officially began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina.