Tumbleweeds

[chuck j]

Zeke gave the black mule his head and he took them straight to the hayfield . Zeke sharpened the scythe and started mowing . The prairie hay was up to three feet tall , you didn't have to cut as much area . There would be enough hay .


He swung the scythe till the sun was high then leaned it on the chaparral bush and rode back to the cabin . He veered off to the river and picked up the catfish he had tied up for lunch and supper .Was a small catfish so he would claim he just wanted leftover fried cornbread for lunch . Nate and her were the ones needed more right now . He had made do many a time in the past . The hay was cut and would be three days maybe four then turn and windrow it waiting a day or two after to let it cure . Heck ! He had three days off ! He laughed ...something would need doing somehow anyway .

[chuck j]

They had eaten and Nate went right to sleep on his pallet . It was hot outside , she had opened all the gun ports to get all the air she could . She had wrapped a lard bucket with a towel that she had put the leftover fish in to keep it for supper . She knew Zeke lied when he said it was too hot to eat much and just had a couple of pieces of cornbread .

She was tired , she was still shaky and weak , it was an effort to do anything but she was determined to stay busy .She sat down and they talked . They talked about the hay , Pie's leg , gathering the corn and just talk . They heard the black mule bray while they were talking but didn't pay much attention . He brayed again and Zeke stepped out the door to look around . The mule was hanging his head over the pen fence looking to the west on the prairie , his ears were pointing forward . Zeke turned around and looked . Two riders coming pretty fast through the prairie grass almost to the cabin . He stood halfway in the door watching . He watched them as they slowed down and kept coming . He said ...Two riders comin ma'am , he watched them till they got close and picked up the rifle by him and told her … I got a terrible feelin bout these men ma'am . He layed the rifle on the table in front of her and said ...I'll go out to talk to em . If there's trouble you use that rifle without even thinking about it ! You take care of yourself and Nate ...whatever you got to do .

He loosed the thong on his knife handle and stepped out to meet them in the yard .

[chuck j]

Zeke walked out about 30 feet and waited for them as they slowly walked their horses in . They were looking at the horses in the pen very intently . Their own mounts were lathered , dripping sweat and foaming at the mouth . They had been used hard for a long way . They shifted their attention to Zeke . One rode behind the other . The lead rider wore an old grey Stetson hat long overdue to be thrown in a trash pile . He had an old faded red linen shirt on with denim pants and boots The second rider wore a confederate kepi cap with a confederate waistcoat and faded worn sash . He had grey homespun trousers and boots .They were both filthy and unshaven .

They both were riding double ridged saddles with a rifle boot on the back right rear skirt of the saddle . They were both wearing a pistol rig but he couldn't see what they were carrying .When they pulled up downwind of Zeke he could smell their stink over the smell of their hot horses . These men were pure evil and someone was after them and close behind . He knew they wanted fresh horses ...and no telling what else .

[chuck j]

Zeke walked to within six feet of the rider in front , took off his hat , looked down at his feet and said … Howdy ! It shore is hot today ain't it sirs !(As he was trying to figure out how to take the first one out with his knife ) . Looks like your horses could use a long cool drink , there's a well right yonder you gentlemen can have all the water you need or want . Looks like your headed east , you might follow the river and try to stay in the shade of the trees . It shore is hot !

The first rider looked back at his friend and smiled ...his friend in the kepi smiled back with no teeth . The front rider jerked around to Zeke pulling a 44 Colt army out of his holster leveling it at Zeke .


He said ...I'll tell you what we're gonna do ! I'm gonna kill you dead where you stand and there's not a dang thang you can do about it ! The second rider started giggling and said ...Hurry up Dan we need to get movin ! Zeke's eyes were flashing back and forth between them looking for some chance .


All at once Nate started crying in the cabin . They both glanced at the door then to Zeke and the first rider said … Well ! you got a baby in there ...That means there's a mama ! Soon as I shoot you we are gonna pay her a visit ! He was laughing and said ..Time for you to die son , we're in a hurry !

There was a voice from the cabin ...His name is Zeke !

They all looked . She was leaning against the doorframe of the cabin and she was sighting down the barrel of the rifle leveled at the first rider . The rider holding the gun on Zeke jerked his Colt up pulling the trigger at the same time .

[chuck j]

She and the rider fired at the same time . Black powder smoke filled the air . She hit the rider in the neck and he lifted up falling off the horse dropping his Colt four steps from Zeke . The horse took off running , the rider's boot was hung in the offside stirrup dragging the corpse the horse stepping on him . The rider with kepi cap grabbed for his pistol but his horse was rearing from the shooting , he let go the pistol grip and started grabbing leather trying to kick out of the stirrups if the horse went over . The horse reared straight up and the kepi capped rider slid off into the dirt .


Zeke stepped forward and grabbed up the Colt laying on the ground , the rider was struggling to get up and was rising with a fifty one Colt in his hand . Zeke hollered twice ...Drop it ! The rider continued to rise turning toward Zeke . Zeke had the hammer back and fired , the rider jerked and continued to turn . Zeke thumbed the hammer back two more times putting two more balls in him . He dropped the pistol and lay there jerking for a few seconds . Zeke walked straight over and picked up the pistol then rolled him over....He was dead .

Zeke stuck both pistols in his waistband and turned to the cabin . The smoke had cleared and what he saw terrified him ! She was laying on the porch outspread the rifle laying at her side . He shouted ... ! No ! He ran to her side and very gently turned her over to find where she was shot . He was scared to death .

[chuck j]

He saw no blood , he put his ear to her chest to listen for a heart beat then carefully scooped her up carried her and laid her on her bed . He wet a sack and squeezed it out then drug a bench to the bedside gently wiping her face . He prayed out loud , Nate started crying again so he reached over and picked him up telling him GOD would take care of his mama .


An hour or so later she started moving her hands then slowly opened her eyes . Zeke was holding Nate and talking to her , she slowly closed her eyes and asked...Where are they ? Zeke said ...They are dead ma'am don't you worry bout them no more . Where are you hurt ma'am ? Tell me where your hurting . She slowly said ...I'm not hurt , I just passed out from the effort of walking and shooting . I'm alright I just need a min to collect my thoughts ...Did I kill him ? Zeke was trying to be gentle with his reply because he didn't know how she would take the answer . He said ...Yes ma'am but you did nothing wrong , GOD didn't want that kind to kill us ...you did no wrong ma'am .


She laid there with her eyes closed for a few min and said ...Zeke I feel no guilt , they were going to kill you . Then do what they would to me killing me when they were through and leave Nate to die . I had to kill him . Zeke said ...Your right ma'am and I have no guilt either , I killed the other one giving him a chance to drop his gun . We did nothing wrong ma'am . She just said ...Yes .


Zeke said ...Are you alright enough I can clean up the mess out in the yard . There's no need for you to see it and I need to find their horses and get em up to water ma'am but I'm not leavin you if I spect you'll need me . She never opened her eyes and said ...I'm fine , I just need to rest a while . Zeke said ...I'll be back soon as I can , I'm takin Nate so you just rest and I'll put you a glass of water here on the bench case you get thirsty . Zeke got her water , picked up Nate and the shawl . He went out and saddled the black mule taking a couple of stake ropes .

[chuck j]

The horses had took off to the west , he found the body of the rider that the horse had drug about two bow shots from the cabin . His body was a mess . He found the horses pretty quick , they hadn't run that far because they were worn out when the shooting began . He tied their reins up and put a rope on each one and led them to the pen and gave each a bucket of water in the shade outside the pen taking their saddles off .


He rode to the dead man in the kepi out in the yard , took off his gun belt tied a rope under both arms and just drug him a good ways west from the cabin then went back and got a shovel and drug the other one to the same place . He dug a shallow grave rolled em in and covered em putting some rocks on the grave . He didn't really care they were buried proper . He rode back to the livestock shed and carried their saddles and saddlebags in with their gun belts . He gave their horses another bucket of water then scraped up all the blood in the yard in two buckets and carried it east of the cabin and dumped it in the tall prairie grass . Digging two buckets of fresh dirt to cover where it had been in the yard . There was no need for her to have any reminders of all this .

[chuck j]

Zeke was having thoughts . Those two may have had some friends . He went to the shed and strapped on the rig with the Colt army , took the rifles . One was A Henry the other was a Spencer repeating rifle . He knew nothing about these new fangled rifles but was going to figure them out pretty dang quick . he took them to the cabin with Nate .

She was sitting up on the bed , he was glad to see her up . She said ...What are you doing with their guns ? Zeke was laying them on the table and said ...Ma'am they sure don't need em any more and I started thinking they might have friends close . Now I'm not saying they do but who knows about the likes of them ma'am . We need more guns , our rifle is a nice one for huntin and such but these kind got better than us in a standoff . We are gonna figue out how to use em . Are you up ta learnin somthin new ma'am ? she said ...Yes !


She got her crutches and got to the table . They both took a rifle and started trying to figure how to load them . Within an hour they both shared how on each rifle what they learned . Zeke said ...I think in your shape right now the Henry would be your gun ...what do you think ma'am ? She agreed and said ...We need to shoot them to be sure we are able to shoot them right in case of a need . Zeke said ... Yep ! I agree ma'am ! Give me just a bit and I'll be back .

Zeke went behind the shed and got a long small log round and knocked the bark off it then sawed four pieces off it the same length . Got some nails and hammer taking them to the cabin . He set a bench in front of the gun port at the one on front of the cabin had her sit down on it . He gave her the Henry and asked her to shoulder it pointed out the port where it was level then nailed a piece of round across it to where she could rest the barrel on it . He went to all the ports and did the same .


He made a sling for the Henry out of an old piece of harness rein so she could carry it and use her crutches . He said ma'am I know where is a good size cactus with a lot of new pads just east of the cabin , I'm goin ta get some for supper and you can get supper done . He fetched em and told her ...I'm goin to the shed ma'am , got to make some temporary seats for each port and see what can we use to cover the space underneath the rifle rest to stop a bullet . None of this is gonna be pretty ma'am but we can do better later . She agreed .

[chuck j]

Zeke finished two seats before supper , they were made out of slats and not pretty but stout . He carried them to the cabin and put one at the front and back gun port . He went back and split enough rounds to build two more in the morning . He was tired , it had been a tiring day .

He went to the cabin and she had supper ready , he was hungry but there was not enough catfish except for her and Nate and they needed it more . He would get more meat tomorrow . She was moving very slow and was weak , he worried for her but he knew better than make her not help . That would be harder on her than being physically tired . The day was almost over .


They sat to eat , Zeke asked … Ma'am may I give thanks ? She quickly said … Of course ! They bowed their heads , she held Nate close to her . Zeke started … Lord today was a hard day . Lord thank you . Thank you for sustaining us in this hard time . We were forced to both kill a man Lord . We know you will forgive us and we will be talking to you about that in our personal prayers to you . Thank you Lord for bringing us together , thank you for giving us each other to give strength . Lord we struggle each day to live and you are our strength . Help us and guide us in what you would have us do . Be close to us Lord . Amen She said ...Amen !


They sat and ate . Zeke said quick ...You and Nate need the meat . I'll not argue , it's just common sense ma'am . Tomorrow I'm gonna get more so don't worry bout me . She said … I do worry about you . You are keeping everything going . You are protecting us and providing for us . GOD sent you to us and I know that . I have thanked him many times for you . I want to thank you for all you have done and I want you to stay with us . I can't imagine not having you with us . When we find Hosea he will agree whole heartily . You have been as a father to me and I know you love Nate . I know you have a life of your own and will accept it if you choose not to stay but please consider it .


Zeke bowed his head and said … Ma'am you have offered me more than any other person ever has . Till now I dared not think I would stay . I love you and little Nate , I want to find your husband so you can be together again . I would love to be part of your family and have a home . I know Hosea is a good man and want to meet him , I think we could build this farm . Yes ...I will stay . You have given me what I have been searching for . I don't have the words to thank you . She smiled and reached across the table offering her hand , Zeke took it and she said ...Thank you . There were tears in her eyes .

[chuck j]

eke woke the next morning, struggled out of his hay bed on the ground and while he got dressed he laughed at himself and said … Your getting old Zeke ! He strapped on the gun belt . He milked the cow and put the stock on grass including the black mule . He filled the water trough in the pen thinking they needed one more with the amount of stock there was to water . The two outlaw's horses were awful stove up , they had nearly been ridden to death . He went to the cabin for breakfast with the milk .


She was stirring the mush and he asked ...Did you put plums in it ? She never quit stirring and said ...Yes . He said ...GOOD ! It's really good that way ...And sugar ! They talked and ate . Things seemed happier this morning . Zeke said ...Sun is up ma'am ! I'm gonna finish those seats and fort up the ports , I'll be back dreckly , holler if you need me I can hear you at the shed .


She started cleaning up , bathing Nate , gathering laundry , washing the dishes . Zeke when to the rounds pile and started picking ones to split and cut .

[chuck j]

By noon Zeke had finished the gun ports and nearly finished the seats when he heard her call him for lunch . He stopped and went to the cabin . When he went in she said … We are having mush and cactus ! Zeke said ...I ought to have went hunting this morning ma'am but I want this done . We learned a hard lesson yesterday but we will be better prepared shortly . This evenin I'll set the fishing poles out and go hunting both . I'll get some meat ! She said ...Take me with you to the river , if you help me up on the black mule I can tend the poles . There's a better chance catching fish and I need to get out of the cabin . It will be cooler down on the river and all I have to do is sit . Zeke thought and said ...I'll take you but you will take your rifle ! She smiled , she really wanted to get out .


They ate and talked about the farm . Zeke said ...The livestock pen is crowded , I know Hosea built it for three animals and now there are nine . The outlaw's horses will get staked out , they ain't enough room and they will start fightin ma'am . I don't rightly know what to do with their property . When we talk to the Rangers they will tell us but we are dang sure gonna borrow their guns till then . I might start building another pen when I get the hay in ma'am , sooner or later there will be a need . I'm bringin em to the well and waterin em with buckets there , too much work to tote water to the trough all day long . We need a couple more troughs . I got plenty to do . I'll finish up the seats and we'll rest a bit till it cools some then head for the river . She agreed .

[chuck j]

Zeke put the outlaws horses out to grass and refilled the trough giving the black mule a long drink then saddled him and lead him to the porch . She came out with her rifle on her back and a small bottle of water in her pocket and Zeke helped her up on the black mule giving her the crutches after he had slipped a piece of cord around the tops with a loop on the end . She hung them on the horn after Zeke hung Nate on the horn . They started for the river .


Zeke got her seated on a nice rock in the shade by her laundry spot , she had water for Nate with enough for a drink for herself and started walking down the river west . He wanted to shoot two rabbits , they could cook one today and keep the other cool till tomorrow . It didn't take him but an hour to get two following the outside of the tree line . He gutted and cut their heads off leaving the fur on to keep the meat clean to haul them back on the black mule . He got to try out the Spencer rifle and was impressed with it . It was too expensive to buy cartridges just to shoot rabbits but he got to try it out . On the way back to her and Nate he found a patch of Polk and filled the sack he had with him full packing them tight . They would keep two or three days in a bucket of water .


He walked to where she was fishing and asked ...Have you caught any ? She pulled the cord tied close to her to show him . She had three about two pounds each . He said ...You have done well ! He laughed and said ...We have done well ! Then he told her … The fish will keep so lets go on and have the rabbits first , we can leave the fish here and go home . He put Nate on the horn and helped her up on the black mule . As they went to the cabin they talked and teased each other .


When they got there Zeke helped her down and told her to sit at the front gun port , he laid the rabbits and Polk on the porch . He handed her the Henry and told her to fire it . She aimed at a small mesquite tree out about fifty yards and fired , she missed . She had trouble levering another round in and Zeke took it , the lever was down and he pulled hard , it loaded and he fired it hitting the tree . He worked the lever fast and it loaded just fine . He told her to shoot it again and work the lever without stopping to load . She did and it worked smoothly ! She fired it several more times and Zeke did too . Then they both shot the Spencer , they were satisfied . Zeke told her she could practice with the Beck rifle and she told him there was not much powder . Looked at her and said ...Ma'am I got six half pound cans in my packs and you have plenty of lead . We can shoot it all you want plus I got a lot of caps ! We will still use it for hunting to save the cartridges for these guns .

[chuck j]

They had rabbit , corn and Polk greens for supper and enjoyed it . Zeke went out to the side of the cabin to fetch her up some firewood . Coming back in he saw it and stopped to stare . He put the wood on the side of the hearth and said come here ma'am . He was just outside the door . She walked to the door and said ...What's wrong ? He said ...Lean up against the door frame like you did when you shot that outlaw . She did and he said ...Oh Lord ! Come here . She stepped out on the porch and he said ...Look ! Here is his ball hole . He stuck his finger on it . It hit three inches to the right side of where her head would have been . They stared at it a second . and Zeke said ...Three inches is how close I came to losing you ! He said ...Oh Lord ! That will be on my mind till I die . GOD's hand protected you ma'am ! Praise him !


They sat and agreed they must give thanks before they slept and till they died for his mercy .

[chuck j]

She put a large pot of Polk on the fireplace hook while Zeke finished cleaning the rabbits an asked him if he could walk to the corn field and get twelve ears of corn . So he got a sack and left to do that chore . She floured the rabbit and fried it in clean used grease she saved . She gave Nate a bath and he smiled all the time , she put a clean gown on him . Zeke got back and said he would tend the stock . She took the extra rabbit that Zeke had washed and cut up and put it in a clean metal lard can with a wet towel around it for lunch and supper tomorrow .

She stepped out on the porch and hollered at Zeke in the lot , he came and she asked if he would drain the Polk which he did and patted her on the shoulder going back to the lot . Zeke had watered all the stock at the well and filled the trough . He brought the outlaws horses in and watered then wiped them down with wet sacks . They were covered with salt from sweat ...only a madman would do that to an animal . After supper he would brush them and give em some corn , they would be stove up for a good while .


He started back on the last two seats and nearly had them through when she said supper was ready ...he was hungry . They sat down and she gave thanks which there was much to be thankful of that day . They talked and enjoyed a really nice meal , she was a good cook . He helped her scrape up the dishes and pick up while she put the leftovers up for tomorrow . The sun was going down and Zeke was leaving , he set a bucket of warm water by her bed to bath and said goodnight . As he walked to the shed to bath and get some sleep he thought ...I got one more day off before windrowing the hay and that's gonna be a hot job .

[chuck j]

She woke up a little late . It was early enough but she was mad at herself , there were things to do . She brushed her hair after getting dressed and tied it . She reminded herself while doing it that she needed to sharpen her belt knife . She wanted to clean the cabin real good before it got hot . She started grinding corn in the coffee grinder .

As usual Zeke rolled out of bed and started staking the stock out . It was as cool as this day was going to be and time to get everything done up . He filled the trough and filled buckets to put in the shade for the outlaws horses . They were looking a bit better this morning .

Wouldn't take him long to finish those last two seats and that would be done . He knew she enjoyed getting out yesterday on the river fishing and he would try to get her out more . She was recovering faster being able to move more , it wouldn't be long she would not need the crutches . He prayed she could be her old self and if anyone could do it she was that one .


He went to the cabin and breakfast was ready . They had a good morning , the killing of the outlaws was still fresh on their minds . Zeke said to Nate ...I promised I would make you a toy back when your mama and me was choppin the cornfield and I been too long keepin that promise . This morning I'll get that done ! And your gonna like it ! She said ...What kind of a toy could you make a baby young as him ? Zeke said as he laughed ...You'll see and he will like it ! have you ever thought that all he can do is lay there looking at the ceiling all day ? She said ...No I never really thought about it . Zeke said ...You will see ! Then he laughed again .

He set a bucket of soapy water and a gun port seat on the porch to make it easier to wash the dishes . He went back in the cabin and said ...You need a clothes line on the west side of the cabin ma'am . It would make things so much easier than spreading your laundry to dry . She said ...I want one real bad but there are always more important things to do , a clothesline is a luxury . Zeke started figuring in his mind .