up. The only good thing about it, was that it was more miserable than the people who would have been out in it.
Everyone in town was getting cabin fever. The only problem that I had was a few drunks that I put up in the jail for the night. The supply wagons only came once a month, instead of every two weeks like they used to.
That also meant that the mine was not shipping their silver. The road was too bad for the heavy laden wagons of silver. They had a silver smelter at the edge of town, so it was pure silver they needed to ship, not ore.
The only ones, as far as I knew who wasn’t suffering from cabin fever was Brie and I. We spent our leisure time having sex. Seems we never got tired of it. My lovely wife had a vivid imagination.
I don’t know whether I was looking forward to the spring breakup or not. I was afraid that along with the melting of the ice and snow, the inhibitions of the populace would also melt. They had been cooped up in this town for almost six months.
That warehouse of silver was on my mind a lot these days. As I was sure it was of every road agent in this territory. That was a topic that my Uncle Lambert and I had discussed just about every time that I got a shave and haircut. Plus it was a topic of conversation when ever Uncle Lambert and his wife ‘Garnet’ came over to our house for a meal. Garnet was not only my Aunt by marriage, but also because she was my mother’s sister.
It was the first week in March, the temperature moderated a bit. Lambert, Garnet, Brie and I, were seated in the Den, smoking and drinking a brandy. The women weren’t smoking, but they were sipping their brandy.
Lambert blew a smoke ring, then laid his cigar in the ash tray. “I think it’s time we addressed the Elephant in the room.”
“Huh? The Elephant, what are you talking about?” Brie said, I knew what he referred to.
“It’s a term I read in a book. It means a topic or situation that everybody carefully avoids talking about. And that’s my brother and Trego’s father.”
“Alright, since you brought it up, I’d like a few details on how my mother got killed and my Dad’s legacy, that he left me?”
Garnet put her drink down, “Perhaps I can tell you a little bit, it was the time when the Sioux had all but closed the Bozeman trail, so it shifted north, up the Missouri and through Fort Benton. The Calvary had troops all along the way, to protect the people. The Army had to supply those troops, they had wagon trains of their own. On those wagons were not only food and dry goods. But also the troops had to be paid, so they carried the payroll also. Your Father and Mother had a small ranch on the Missouri, they sold horses to the Calvary.” She stopped, took a sip of her brandy, her eyes became cloudy from her memories.
“The Army’s wagon train was camped in their yard for the night. You were just a baby. Anyway a renegade bunch, twenty in all hit the wagon train while they slept. They took them completely by surprise. Your mother heard all of the shooting and yelling, she stood up to see out the window, your Father yelled at her to get down, but too late. She was shot and died instantly. They got away with all of the Army’s Payroll.” She stopped again, a tear ran down her cheek.
“Your Father was inconsolable, he brought you to us, then he left. It was a year later when he came back and got you. We only seen you two times after that.” Then she fell silent.
“Yes, but we heard later about how your Dad caught up with those renegades. He killed them all, they were all drunk and sleeping when he came upon them. He rode his horse right into their camp. He was a wild man, when his guns went empty, he started in with his knife. He took all of their guns and horses and everything else. But they say the payroll was never found. It consisted of greenbacks and gold double eagles, they say.” Uncle Lambert said, then picked up his cigar and drink. Then he looked at me, “We never seen you again, just heard about you.”
I sipped my brandy, “Yes, so I suppose you want me to fill in the details? We moved around a lot, all of the big city’s, till I was ten. Then we went to the northwest part of the territory. Dad built up a homestead in the mountains. He trained me to take care.”
“Take care? What do you mean?” Brie asked.
“Of everything. Myself mostly. I learned to shoot, throw a knife, a tomahawk, an axe. Anything that would kill. He made me read all of the books that we brought with us. Then he quizzed me on them. I left and traveled a little in my twenties. I always came back in the winter, to make sure Dad was alright. He never got over the death of my mother.”
Brie got up and sat in my lap, she leaned in and kissed me. Then got up, “Does anyone want some pie? I made mincemeat pie, it’s good?” We all did. She went in the kitchen. I asked my Uncle, “Just how much was in that payroll?”
“They say, forty thousand dollars.”
“Hmmm, it’s strange there was a lot more than that in the stash that I dug up. That bunch must have had some from previous robberies.”
“I seen when you rode in, you couldn’t of carried all of that with you.”
“I didn’t. I stashed it.” Then Brie came back with the pie. She was right, it was delicious. We sat and talked for the next hour about mundane things. As they were putting on their coats to leave, I said, “Let’s keep what we talked about tonight under our hat’s, huh?”
Garnet said, “Of course, no one even knows that you are related to us. They just think that we’re friends. They know that Brie was a friend of mine.”
“Yes, that is safer for you both. If they thought they could get to me through you, they wouldn’t hesitate.”
“Well what about Brie, isn’t she in danger?” Uncle said.
“Yes she is. That’s why Jake stays with her all of the time now, instead of with me. And I am not more than a few minutes away at any time.”
“Your Dad was in the same room with your mother, when she got killed.” Garnet said.
“Yes, I’m well aware of that, tonight. I wasn’t before. I’ll take that into account.” I seen them out the back kitchen door. I closed the door and locked it. I turned, and got an eye full. Brie was standing there naked.
I said, “I like your outfit, is that new?”
“Yes, of course. In biology we learned that we are always making new cells.”
“Shall we go up to our room and wear out a few of those cells?” I said.
“No, I want to do it down here, either here in the kitchen or the den.” Remember I told you she had a vivid imagination. As it turned out, we made use of both of those locations. The fact that we might get caught by some of the borders, just made it that much better for my lovely wife.
The next morning, we came into the kitchen and Caitie and Brona looked at us and giggled. Margaret, our cook said. “What ails the two of you, get busy and take that food to the dinning room.”
They picked up the platters and looking back over their shoulders, they were still giggling as they left the kitchen. Margaret looked at Brie, “What’s got into them?”
“I’m sure I haven’t the faintest idea.” Brie said.
“I do,” I said, “they probably seen us making
