Jess rode into the front yard of the Sherman Ranch and Relay Station more than 2 months after leaving. After the KLS had been rounded up, he had to stick around to testify for the trail, but headed right out as soon as his part was done. He paused before stepping down to look around at the familiar barn, corral, outbuildings and fields, then taking in the house. The paint they had put on last year was starting to fade. Daisy'll have us back on that soon. The roses Daisy had planted were in full bloom. The front porch with the homemade chairs waiting for an evening meeting was shaded by morning glory vines. He was home.
From within the house, he heard a familiar shout. Mike must have seen him arrive. The door burst open with him hurdling out just as Jess stepped down from the horse. Mike was quickly followed by Daisy with a familiar dusting of flour on her apron and hair. He glanced to the side as Slim emerged from the barn. Mike was in his arms before he could take a breath. He returned the hug and carried Mike over to wrap his other arm around Daisy.
"You let that tear fall, Mizz Cooper and you're like to be gettin' that flour wet. Seems you should be usin' it in a delicious apple pie, you got any to spare." He gently chided Daisy.
"Oh you," Daisy replied, brushing away the offending tear, though its companions were threatening to follow. "You know I've been baking night and day since we got your telegram. Welcome home, Jess." She reached up and pulled his face down for a kiss on the cheek. "We've missed you."
Mike was squirming by now and Jess let him down gently. "How ya been, Tiger?" Jess asked as Slim approached.
"I've been missin' you something awful, Jess. But look, I've grown 2 inches since you left! And Slim has let me help with the stages and soaping the harnesses!" Mike replied. Jess looked over at Slim with a grin – what a contrast to Andy's reaction to soaping harnesses.
Mike started to go on with all his news for Jess, but Slim interrupted, "Welcome home, pard. It's about time you got back from your vacation." He said with a grin, while extending his hand. They shook hands and punched each other lightly in the shoulder. "No wonder it took so long, you're still riding that slow, stupid, mean nag?"
"Sure am!" Jess replied with a grin. "Still slow, still stupid but wore some 'a the mean outta her. Meanwhile, she's learned lazy, too. Got to ride on trains and has been thinking that's the way it otta be ever since." With one hand on Mike's shoulder, Jess took the horse's reins and started to turn towards the barn.
"I'll take care of the horse, Jess, if you'd like to go on in the house." Slim offered.
"Nah, thanks, Slim. But she and I have gotten used to one another and I sort a promised her some treats if she'd carry me back 'stead of the other way round." Jess answered, adding "Less'n there's some apple pie waitin' with my name on it?" to Daisy.
"It's not quite ready, but will be as soon as you tend your horse." Daisy answered brightly, turning back to the house before more tears could betray her.
While Jess and Mike unburdened the horse, Slim continued mucking the stalls. He could hear Jess muttering in a low voice to the horse as he often did. Then, "Say, Mike, could you go ask Daisy if there's some apples or something I can offer this beast? I kind'a promised her."
"Sure, Jess," and Mike was off at a run.
"Good to see him in such high spirits," Jess observed to Slim as he turned back to the horse.
"Ever since we heard you were alright, Jess. We were all pretty mopey before that." Slim moved over towards the stall with one eyebrow raised. "But did I just hear you callin' that horse by name?"
"Well, after we'd done so many miles and got used to each other, seemed only fair."
"But, did I hear you right? Beetle? What kind of name is that for a horse?"
"Short for Dung Beetle." One corner of Jess' mouth curled up in a wry grin.
The grin was returned but the eyebrows went higher. "You're going to have to explain that."
Jess' grin grew broader and he glanced up through his eyelashes at Slim, preparing to tell the story. "Well, see, it was like this," he began, "we was passin' through some dry lands in the panhandle on the way south. I looked to my right 'n saw a dung beetle that we was almost keepin' a pace of. Not that I minded takin' our time gettin' to whatever those miscreants had planned. As we went along, watchin' that beetle pushin' her load along, I got to thinkin' that the horse was sorta like that beetle. Same color almost, just a dull brown, nothing fancy or even pretty. Slow, not very bright. The horse sure felt like she had to have at least 6 legs going each in a different direction." His grin grew larger and he tilted his head to look at Slim. Slim was catching on to where this was going. Leaning back against the stall, his own grin had grown to its largest cupid's bow shape. Jess continued, "And both are," Slim joined in for this last, "full of shit." Slim and Jess were laughing outright just as Mike returned with a basket of apples.
"Daisy sent enough so's the other horses don't get jealous, she says. Also said we gotta empty out what's left as the new harvest'll be comin' soon." Mike exclaimed. "Do you want me to give some to the other horses?"
"Except Traveler," Jess replied, taking an apple to share between Beetle and Traveler, "I'll see to him as soon as I finish up Beetle." With that he looked back at Slim, "But also, like the dung beetle, this slow, stupid, lazy, not-so-mean-anymore girl never stops. Rain, heat, humidity, dry, burdened with a little plug 'a dung or a full-size man, she just kept goin'."
"Guess we won't be selling her on, then?" Slim asked with a smile.
"Nah, guess I'm stuck with her." Jess replied as he split the apple and gave half to Beetle. "If you're finished muckin', why don't you go on in. I'll give this to Trav and be right behind ya. Try not to finish all the pie before I get there!".
Slim slapped Jess on the shoulder as he headed out of the barn, "Sure is good to have you and your BS back. Come on, Mike, we gotta get our share before Jess makes it into the house!"
Jess smiled after them, then turned to greet his long-time companion.
0-0-0-0
A couple of weeks later, Mort came to help celebrate Jess' return. He had just received a detailed report from Trim Stuart of all the charges that they'd been able to bring against the KLS members. Between Slim, Mort, Jess and Trim's letter, they managed to tell all sides of the story, including how Slim and Mort had identified the 2 in Laramie and sent them to face felony conspiracy charges in Cheyenne, how Jamie had organized the folks of Galveston and coordinated with Trim, who, in turn, coordinated with the calvary, how Jess' testimony had put Johnson, McCarthy and all their contingent away for a long time. They skipped over what Jess had had to do and what it had cost him, knowing they would have to wait until he started that conversation.
News to all of them, Trim had written that Samuel had allowed them to prosecute the entire KLS leadership. Seems they were all so used to Samuel being at Johnson's side, they had ceased to notice his presence. He was allowed to stay during all the high-level meetings, was given correspondence to copy and couriered orders back and forth. None had noticed when he made extra copies, kept discarded letters and orders or snuck other documentation from Johnson's desk. For months, he didn't know who to trust with the information. But things being brought to a head in Galveston, he decided he could trust Trim and brought an entire valise full of documents into the surprised Marshall. KLS leadership was now all in custody and facing charges.
The family had settled in for the evening. Daisy was at the table with her mending basket and Slim was re-reading Trim's letter with a look of amazement on his face. Mort would be spending the night and was stretched out with his stockinged feet close to the fire, hands resting on his belly.
Mike and Jess sat playing checkers on the other side of the fireplace.
"Jess, can I ask you something?" Mike asked as Jess studied the board for his next move.
"Sure, Tiger, what is it?"
"Weren't you and Jamie friends?"
Jess looked over at Mike, not sure where this was going but preparing to remind Mike that people were all the same under the skin. "Sure, Tiger. We're friends. Ever since I met him in Cloride that time. He took real good care of Traveler and saved my life and stood up with me against the crooked sheriff. Helped a lot during this scrape, too. Not sure how I'd a got out of it without 'im. Real nice fellow. Why do you ask?"
"Well, we're learning about the War Between the States at school. You fought for the south, didn't you? And if you'd'a won, Jamie would still be a slave somewhere, wouldn't he?" Mike's brow furrowed, "I don't think I'd like to be a slave."
This was not the question Jess expected. He sat back. It's not like he had never thought about it. But never put it into words.
Daisy had been listening "Mike, maybe that's a question best left to another day. It's getting late and you should be getting ready for bed."
"No, Daisy. It's a good question. I'd like to answer if you don't mind it bein' a bit disordered."
"I don't mind, Jess.," answered Mike. Daisy nodded acceptance of a later bedtime.
Jess thought for a minute before starting, "War is a funny thing, Tiger. I haven't studied it, like Slim has, with those books he reads. He says those give ya perspective. I just know it from my little corner of it. Way I figure, there was at least two parts of the war, the part for the big politicians with their big thoughts and big speeches. And the part for the men who were fighting it." He paused as another thought came, "maybe a third for those folks not fightin' but caught in the middle."
Jess continued, "I had heard the speechifying, with all the big talk about states' rights, how the north was trying to take away the rights of the southern states. I gotta admit, they kind of appealed to the part of me that don't like to be told what to do. But I never really trusted rich politicians and I had other things to do, promises I needed to keep," Jess continued, thinking about his search for the Bannisters. "So, I didn't want to join up. I got conscripted and once you're in it, it's a different kind of thing. It's about the men around you who might get shot or killed if you don't step up. It's shootin' when you are gettin' shot at." Jess sunk a bit farther in thought. He didn't want to talk about things that'd get Mike upset, but didn't want to hide important stuff from him either. "And, after seein' the sufferin' of families whose farms had been looted for food and burned out by yankees, knowin' what they did to prisoners of war, I had me some anger at the north, too."
Daisy interjected softly, "It was like that for me. The war was about one wound, one man – or boy – at a time. Nothing more grandiose than that."
Jess nodded, as did Slim and Mort.
"I suppose I knew in the back of my mind that the south winning would mean slavery would keep on. Didn't really think about it, at the time. What was going on right around me was what kept me fightin'." Another pause. "That and the idea of desertion just hit me wrong. It wasn't until after the POW camp 'n I was away from the fightin' 'n Lee surrendered that I really gave it much thought. Then, I could get a bit of that perspective that Slim talks about.
"Tell ya the truth, I never thought much about what slavery meant. Sure, I met c**** folks here and there. But they was doin' the same things as other folk. Workin' fields, workin' in shops or the livery. I never really considered what their lives were like.
"Later, I worked with a young cowhand name'a Nat Love. We was driving cattle for the Duvall Ranch outta Palo Duro in the Panhandle. Real good hand, great with the horses and quick with his gun. Could tell a mean tall tale over the campfire, too. One night, he was tellin' stories about his family and how one year, the crops was real bad on the plantation they was at. Nat was tellin' how the owner was talkin' about sellin' one or more of his brothers or sisters or maybe Nat hisself away to make ends meet. He said they was lucky that it started to rain soon after, then the war and emancipation happened. That's when it hit me. What slavery really meant. It's not just you and workin' hard without gettin' ahead and not bein' able to quit. It's about your children and your children's children, none ever bein' able to break loose 'a what they're born inta'."
Jess' voice had dropped to a reflective whisper and there was no noise in the room apart from the occasional pop of the fire. "He'd still be a slave if the South had won, wouldn't be able to up and drift west to join a cattle drive. Probably wouldn't even be ridin' horses, if that's not what his owner saw him doin'. I mean, I should'a known if I'd'a thought about it. But I hadn't until just that minute. Startin' then, I wasn't exactly glad that the south had lost but I wasn't particularly sorry either….. Sure not happy about the friends who had died defending the confederacy….. Still mad about what the reconstruction did to folk back home. I figure they was as taken in by all the talk as I was."
"So, you're right, Tiger. I fought for the side that would have kept on hurtin' people. Can't change that. But I do try to make sure folks know I respect, give 'em a fair shot like I'd give anyone. Still some like Ruby I'm not sure I like or trust. Don't rightly expect 'em to forgive me, they sure ain't gonna forget." Jess voice continued softly, "I doubt I'd be as understandin' as they been with me. When someone hurts me, I've made sure to make 'em pay for it. Just grateful they have been able to see their way past it, I guess."
Mike had had a serious look on his face all through this. "I think I understand, Jess. Jamie sure seemed to when he stayed here with us after Cloride. I just hope I don't ever get caught up in a war."
Daisy decided there was no easy out of this conversation and announced that it was time for Mike to go to bed. "Think it's time I turned in as well," she added.
The three men carefully avoided each other's eyes for a while. Then Mort, deciding, like Daisy that all that could be said was said, asked, "So who are you boys courtin' these days? The dances have gotten awful quiet lately." And the evening went back to its comfortable rhythm.
Author's note: George Ruby and Nat Love are real historical figures. Poetic license was taken with timelines to make them fit the story.