Bridal Veil Mountain: A Tale of Three Brothers Chapter Four
Joshua was desperately trying to decide what to do. He had only about two minutes if that long to get Jeremy and himself off the out-of-control buckboard. He couldn't wait to see if the gunfire might stop and maybe cause the horses to slow down.
Joshua heard some yelling from far behind them. He looked back and saw an incredible sight. Jason was running as fast as he could toward the speeding wagon. Joshua could barely understand a bit of what Jason was saying.
Jason was screaming. "Throw him, Joshua! Throw Jeremy off and jump! Do it now! Throw him! Jump! Now! Joshua, do it now!"
Joshua did not try to answer Jason. His mind was racing. He couldn't throw Jeremy off the buckboard; it was too dangerous. Jeremy was unconscious. He wouldn't be able to brace himself for the fall. Joshua couldn't take that much of a chance with Jeremy's life. Staying on the buckboard wasn't an option. That would mean certain death for both of them very shortly.
What could he do? Joshua looked at Jeremy and then his eyes scanned the rest of the back of the wagon. Rope! There was a long piece of rope. Joshua grabbed it. It looked long enough. Joshua looked up ahead. He had to move very fast. The deadly curve wasn't far away.
Joshua dropped to his knees beside Jeremy. He lifted Jeremy up to his knees and then he wrapped the rope around both of them twice. Then Joshua tied the rope behind himself.
Joshua stood up holding Jeremy in front of himself so that they were face to face. Joshua stood up on the side of the wagon. He clutched Jeremy in a death grip as close to himself as possible. Joshua had one hand on Jeremy's back and his other hand behind Jeremy's head. Jeremy's face was buried against Joshua's chest.
"Joshua! Jump now!" Jason bellowed in the distance.
Joshua tightened his death grip on his brother. He said, "I love you, Jeremy!" Then Joshua jumped from the flying buckboard.
The few seconds they were in the air, Joshua was thinking hold Jeremy close, hold Jeremy close, can't let him hit hard, can't let him hit hard.
When they hit the ground, Jeremy didn't hit terribly hard. They began rolling as soon as they touched the ground. Joshua maintained his death grip on his brother and continued clutching him to his chest as they rolled.
Joshua tried to dig his heels or his toes into the ground to stop their momentum. That wasn't easy to do. Finally, Joshua was able to dig in the heel of his boot and they stopped rolling.
Joshua laid still for a minute. Jeremy moaned in pain. "My arm."
Joshua Bolt had never been so glad to hear his brother's voice before. Then he remembered hearing the horrific sound of the buckboard crashing off the side of the mountain and the shrieks of the two horses as they fell to their deaths. Joshua was sad that they had lost Buckie and Boomer. But he couldn't help feeling thankful that Jeremy had not brought Brownie with him and Jenny today.
Joshua reached behind him to untie the rope. He stood up carefully lifting Jeremy as he did so. Joshua walked up the hill to the road. He placed Jeremy on the ground very cautiously.
Joshua looked at his younger brother. Jeremy had grass and pine straw on his face. Joshua took his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped Jeremy's face carefully. The canteens of water had been lost with the buckboard.
"Josh, what's going on?" Jeremy whispered as he woke up.
"I'll explain later, brother. How do you feel?" Joshua was on the verge of tears. He was so grateful that he and his brothers were still alive.
"I'm okay, I guess. Where's Jason?" Jeremy whispered.
"Here I am, Jeremy." Jason answered dragging up the trail to them.
"Jason! Are you okay?" Joshua inquired.
"Yes, I am. Fortunately, the bullet hit my shoulder and not my head." Jason answered.
"Bullet?! Who shot you, Jason?!" Jeremy panicked.
"Easy, Jeremy, easy. I'm alright. Don't worry." Jason stroked Jeremy's hair.
"Okay, Jason, if you say so." Jeremy told him.
"Are you alright, Josh? I saw you jump from the buckboard with Jeremy tied to you. That was a good idea given the situation." Jason put his arm around his blond brother.
"We were lucky that we had a piece of rope in the back of the wagon. I'm okay just scared out of my mind. For a minute, I had no thought of what to do." Joshua replied.
"I understand. Josh, I was frightened when I saw the buckboard out of control, and I couldn't help. You did a fine job saving Jeremy and yourself. I couldn't have done any better myself. Jason beamed at Joshua.
"We had better get moving, Jason. It will be dark soon and we don't have any gear or any weapons. Where is the closest shelter?" Joshua asked.
"I hate to say it, Josh. The closest cabin is Ma Oates and Ebon." Jason cringed. He looked at his brothers and then he touched his shoulder which caused him to yelp in pain.
Jeremy's arm was cut badly, and it was bleeding again from the leap from the buckboard, Joshua was exhausted. And Jason had a bleeding bullet wound. They would have to take a chance with Ma and Ebon Oates.
"Joshua, I can carry Jeremy part of the way and then you can tote him the rest of the way there, alright?" Jason asked.
"W-W-Wait! I c-c-can w-w-walk!" Jeremy protested. He tried to get up from the ground. Jeremy stood up halfway and promptly plopped down. "I guess I can't. Sorry."
"That's okay, brother. Josh and I have got you." Jason said as he lifted Jeremy from the road.
"Maybe you shouldn't do this, Jason, since you have a bullet in your shoulder." Jeremy worried.
"I'm alright, Jeremy. Don't worry. If I didn't think I could carry you without any problem, I wouldn't try." Jason reassured him.
Jeremy and Joshua snorted with laughter.
Jason looked at his brothers with a grin. "You boys know me so well! Let's get a move on! It will be dark soon."
"Jenny! Jason, I have been so relieved that we weren't killed, I haven't thought of her! Two strangers kidnapped her. They said they were fetching her for her husband." Jeremy panicked.
"You told us about Jenny earlier when we found you unconscious at the old cabin, Jeremy." Joshua said. "You woke up long enough to tell us."
"We will find her, brother. Try not to worry." Jason told him.
When they had walked about halfway to the Oates cabin, Joshua took Jeremy from Jason and carried him the rest of the way. The brothers reached the home of Ma Oates and her son, Ebon just before dark.
Jason knocked on the door. Ebon opened the door.
"Well, well, look at the high and mighty Bolts. They look just as rough as us old trappers now!" Ebon said hatefully.
"Ebon, I know we aren't friends. However, I hope that you and Mrs. Oates will do the decent thing and let us in, please. Jeremy is hurt. He has been unconscious a few times today, and his burnt arm is newly injured. Joshua is exhausted and I have a bullet in my shoulder. Our buckboard went down a ravine, so we lost it and the horses. Won't you be neighborly and help us, please?" Jason implored.
Ebon looked at Jason as he chewed on a piece of straw. "I suppose so. Come in. The three of ya look pretty bad. Jeremy looks like somebody done beat hell outta him. And cut that bad arm of his too."
Jason and Joshua walked into the Oates cabin. "Thank you for helping us, Ebon, Mrs. Oates. Is there a bed, please, where I can lay Jeremy down? He has gone to sleep." Joshua asked.
Ma Oates walked across the room to the brothers. She looked them up and down. "You can put Jeremy on the bed in this room back here. I'll show ya."
Joshua followed Ma Oates to the bedroom. It was sparsely furnished, but the bed was clean and there was a small fireplace in there.
Joshua placed Jeremy gently on the bed. Jeremy moaned in pain. "It's alright, Jeremy. Jason and I are here with you. It's alright."
Ma Oates looked wistfully at the two brothers. "One thing I'll say for you Bolts; you love each other that's for sure. It's kinda nice too. I tried to teach my boys to be like that. But it never took."
"Yes, m'am, we love each other very much. We have always been close. Thank you for taking us in." Joshua replied.
"You're welcome. Let me go see about that big brother of yours." Mrs. Oates said.
Mrs. Oates left the room. Joshua heard her go into one of the other bedrooms and ask Jason about his shoulder.
Mrs. Oates cleaned Jason's bullet wound. The bleeding stopped. She bandaged the wound tightly. Ma Oates took care of the wound to Jeremy's burnt arm. Fortunately, Jeremy's arm stopped bleeding as well.
Joshua sat down in a chair by Jeremy's bed. He was thirsty. Jeremy and Jason needed some water too.
Joshua went into the kitchen. The water bucket was empty. He took the bucket out to the well.
As Joshua was drawing some water from the well, he heard some muffled sounds coming from the barn. Was it someone saying help?
Joshua set the bucket on the well and walked to the barn. He opened the barn door and went inside.
"Hello? Is someone in here?" Joshua called out.
"Mmmmmmmmm!" Came a reply.
Joshua took a lantern from a hook on the wall and lit it. He walked slowly through the barn looking for the person who had answered him.
"Where are you?" Josh asked.
"Mmmmmmmmm!" Was the response.
Joshua realized the sound was coming from behind a stack of crates in the back of the barn. He ran to the crates and began moving them. After setting half of the crates to one side, he could see.
It was Jenny! Joshua slung the rest of the boxes out of the way.
"Jenny! Are you alright? Who did this to you? Was it Ebon Oates?" Joshua asked angrily. He knelt beside her and lifted her head.
Joshua removed the gag from his sister's mouth. "Tell me, Jenny."
Jenny took a deep breath. "Thank you, Joshua. No it wasn't Ebon. It was two men named Mike and Frank. Oh, Joshua! They didn't kill Jeremy, did they? The last sound I heard at our cabin was Jeremy screaming in pain!"
"No, they didn't kill him. One of them cut his burnt arm. Jeremy's going to be alright. He and Jason are here too. They're in the cabin." Joshua told her.
"Where are we, Joshua? I'm not familiar with this place." Jenny asked.
"We are at the Oates cabin. Ma and her son, Ebon. She had another son, Junior. He was hung for the murder of Walter Phelps. He tried to frame Jeremy for the murder."
"They sound like lovely people." Jenny said sarcastically. "Why are you all here?"
"It's a long story, sweetheart. Let's just say for now, any port in a storm." Joshua helped her stand up.
When Jenny and Joshua walked into the cabin, Mrs. Oates and Ebon were shocked.
"Where'd she come from? I swear, Joshua, I didn't do nothing to yore sister!" Ebon was nervous.
"Relax, Ebon. Jenny told me you weren't involved." Joshua answered. "Sit down, Jenny. I need to tell you what happened this afternoon."
Jenny looked frightened as she sat down at the table. "Go ahead, Joshua."
Joshua told her about the gunfire, Jason being shot, the runaway buckboard, and how he and Jeremy escaped from the wagon before it crashed down the mountain.
"That's how all of you ended up here." Jenny said. "Thank God all of you survived."
"Yes, it is." The middle brother replied.
"Thank you for taking my brothers and me in, Mrs. Oates. You too, Ebon." Jenny said.
"You're welcome, honey. I remember hearing a long time ago that you died. Obviously, that wasn't true. But I remember your poor mama grieving her heart out for you. Some said that's what sent her to an early grave. Sorry, that wasn't a polite thing to say to her children." Mrs. Oates told them.
"It's okay, Mrs. Oates. We know what you meant." Jenny replied.
Jenny and Ma Oates took care of Jason and Jeremy. Ma Oates told Jenny and Joshua that she was afraid to try to remove the bullet from Jason's shoulder because of the way it was lodged in the muscles. She didn't want to cost him the use of his arm.
Mrs. Oates cooked some stew for supper. The injured brothers ate a few bites of the broth.
When it was time for bed, Joshua said he would sit up with Jason. Jenny said she would stay up with Jeremy.
Around midnight, Jason and Jeremy both had serious fevers. Joshua knew they needed Doctor Wright, but he didn't want to leave Ebon with Jenny. Ebon had a terrible reputation for manhandling women.
"Ebon, I want you to go to Seattle and get Doctor Wright. If for some reason, she isn't available, get Lottie. Lottie has a key to the clinic and she will know what to bring." Joshua explained.
"Why don't you go? They're your brothers." Ebon asked.
"Because I can't trust you alone with my sister. Let me tell you something else, Ebon. If you don't come back or you get back after way too long and one of my brothers' die, I'm going to kill you. Do I make myself clear?" Joshua asked.
Ebon looked scared. "Uh, sure, Joshua. I'll go right now, and I'll be back just as soon as I can. You said get the doctor and if she ain't available, get Miss Lottie. Right?"
"That's right, Ebon. Be sure to tell Doctor Wright or Lottie that Jason and Jeremy need medical attention." Joshua answered.
"Sure thing, Josh. I'll hurry. Your brothers will be fine." Ebon said as he went out the door.
Joshua put cold cloths on Jason's forehead while Jenny did the same for Jeremy. After almost two hours the fevers had not gone down. In fact, Jeremy's fever got worse.
Jenny went in Jason's room."Joshua, how is Jason? Jeremy is getting worse. I'm scared, Josh! Ebon and the doctor have to get here soon!"
"Jason is about the same. Jeremy usually gets a dangerously high fever whenever he has a fever. Ebon should be back soon with the doctor or with Lottie. Try not to worry. Sweetie," Joshua told her.
Just then, they heard a horse whinny. It was close to the front of the cabin. Joshua peeked out the window. He saw Johnny Bennett on a horse in front of the cabin.
"Mrs. Oates, do you have another shotgun?" Joshua asked.
She handed the shotgun to him. "Here you go, Joshua. Be careful."
Joshua stuck the gun in the gunpoint that was in the cabin door. "Get out of here, Bennett! I've got no time for you, and you have no business here! You're supposed to be in jail!"
"Just let me have my wife and I'll leave you alone! Oh, I'm sorry you lost your wagon and your horses yesterday! But I guess your brothers survived or you would have already killed me!" Bennett shouted.
"My sister isn't your wife anymore. You need to remember that! I guess it was you or your hired thugs who shot Jason and sent our buckboard out of control, wasn't it?" Joshua shouted back.
"You Bolts are very smart. You got it right except about your sister. Jenny will always be my wife. I don't care what some judge with a scrap of paper says!" Bennett yelled. "By the way, Bolt, you can quit waiting for the doctor. I saw Ebon along the trail. I took care of is beyond the help of a doctor. I imagine your brothers will be joining Ebon soon."
"Oh, no! Joshua! What are we going to do? Jason and Jeremy are in terrible shape!" Jenny exclaimed.
Joshua looked at his sister. He turned his head toward Ma Oates. "Do you have any more guns?"
"I sure do!" Ma Oates went to the closet and took out two shotguns.
"Do ya know how to use this, little girl?" She pitched one of the guns to Jenny.
"No but I'm about to learn!" Jenny replied.
J-J-Jenny! G-G-Give me t-t-that g-g-gun!" Jeremy was barely able to stagger into the front room.
Joshua turned away from the cabin door. "Jeremy! Go back to bed! You can hardly stand up! You surely can't fight or fire a gun!"
"You need help, J-J-Josh!" Jeremy insisted.
"Yes, but you're too sick to help this time, Jeremy. Now go back to bed." Joshua walked toward his brother.
"Yes, Jeremy, go back to bed. You are terribly sick." Jenny walked over to help him.
Suddenly, Johnny Bennett kicked in the door.
Joshua whirled around and stumbled falling to his knees.
Both men fired their guns. Joshua's bullet hit Bennett.
Bennett's bullet hit Jeremy. Jenny screamed as Jeremy crumpled to the floor.