Читать книгу The Two Sams: Men of the West - F. M. Worden - Страница 12

Chapter 5

On His Own

Sam walked to the first street that paralleled the river and turned right, passed a blacksmith shop, a dry goods store, a well lit café, several small shops. He stopped at a sign that read “JAKE HAWKIN GUN MAKER.” He opened the door. A bell on the door announced his arrival.

A man who looked to be in his thirties asked, “What can I do for you boy?”

“You Jake Hawkin?”

“Yes, what can I do for you boy?”

“Sir,” Sam said, “I have this here letter fer you.” He handed him the letter.

As the man read the letter, ever once in awhile he would look over his eyeglasses at Sam as he read. Then he asked, “You Sam Duncan’s boy?”

“Yes sir, I am.”

“How is your Pa?”

“My Pa passed some years ago.” Sam looked down so as not to show his feelings.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Jake said as he wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “Your Pa was one fine fella. I thought as much of him as one of my own. So you’s want a job with us? Just like your Pa. Well son if -n you’re as good as him, you’ll be a good one.”

“My Pa told me he worked stocks. I’d like to try that.”

“We can always use another stock man. You’s can start now, if-n you’s a want-n to. Come meet my brother. His name is Sam too. I want you to meet the rest of our workers.”

All the men were corrigible to Sam. Jake showed him a small room in the back of the shop. “Your Pa had this room when he was here. It was a long time ago.” He wiped his nose as he spoke. Sam thought he saw a tear in this mans eyes. “You can stay here now in the same room that your Pa had.” Sam was pleased to be in a place where his Pa had been.

Sam settled in and was shown how to rough out wood stocks. After work, everyone had gone home, he investigated the area behind the shop. A dirt road or more like an alley passed by the rear of the building. Across the way was a stable where Jake and Sam kept their buggies and horses while at the shop.

To the north of the stables was a gun range. Farther back ran a levy that kept the Mississippi in her banks. Most evenings Sam walked or sat on the levy and watched the river boats pass. It was his only entertainment.

A most enjoyable year passed. He was a good student of rifle manufacturing and repair. Sam would soon be eighteen. Jake let Sam test fire the new rifles as they were finished. Sam liked that duty the best and it showed. He became a crack shot.

Jake told everyone Sam was one of the best shots he had ever seen. “His Pa was good but this boy is the best. I believe I ain’t never saw a better shot than this boy.”

Sam had been fixing his own meals and was getting tired of eating his own cook-en. On a warm summer Sunday evening walk, he passed the café that was a few doors south of the gun shop and decided to stop in. The smell was just too inviting. He knocked on the back door. A black man opened an asked, “What do you want? We don’t let bums in here.”

“I ain’t no bum, I got money. I work at the gun shop down the street. I’m in need of a good meal. Can I come in and get one here?”

“I done see-d you walking the levy many times. Come on in and set at our kitchen table. I-za fix you some-um right’s now.”

Sam had almost finished his meal, when a door at the top of some stairs that came down to the kitchen, opened and a pretty lady came out and came slowly down the stairs. Her long blond hair fell over her left shoulder all the way to her waist. Her long silver dress fit tight and exposed an hour glass body. She was a big full breasted lady, it looked like the two were fighting to get out of that tight dress. She appeared to be in her twenties. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she said to the black man, “Who let this bum in our kitchen? George, what’s this bum doing in our kitchen?”

“He ain’t no bum Miss Sarah. He’s a paying man.”

She sidled over to the table. Sam stood up. He was a head taller than this pretty lady. “Where you from?” She asked in a sexy voice and a big smile.

“I work at the Hawkin gun shop down the street.”

George chimed in, “He’s, he’s the one been walking the levy, you know Miss Sarah the one you’s been a watch-en.”

“Shut up George, I’m a talking to this man.” She asked Sam to turn around. He did in a complete circle. When he turned back around, she looked up at his face and said, “My, my, you are a good-looking man. How old are you?”

Sam lied, “I’ll be nineteen soon.”

“George he’ll have dessert up in my apartment. She motioned to Sam and said, “You come with me mister gun maker.”

She turned and went up the stairs, Sam followed. Her hips swung from side to side as she climbed the stairs. He enjoyed watching the way she moved and looked. An old feeling swelled up inside of him, the one that Blue Bird gave him back on the Choctaw.

At the top stairs, he turned to look down at the men in the kitchen. All were looking up at him. They all gave him a high sign with their thumbs.

He followed her into the room, the most beautiful place he had ever seen. An eating table and chairs was just in side the door, a candle chandelier hung from the ceiling, a setting parlor was at the other end of the room. Thru a door toward the front he could see the largest four poster bed he had ever seen. All the walls were covered with colorful flowered paper, a most pleasing and exciting place to be.

Soon a knock on the door, she called for George to come in. He set a large plate of apple pie on the table with a pot of coffee and went back out, not saying a word.

The lady came over and said, “Eat your pie.” She bent over to pour a cup of coffee. Her big beautiful bosoms exposed themselves to him. He had to take a peek. Never had he seen such a sight in his life.

She smiled and said, “You are one handsome young man, finish your pie and come set with me on the settee.”

She went and sat down. He went over and stood before her. For the first time she asked his name.

“Sam Duncan.”

“My name is Sarah Mackay,” she said with a smile. “Please Sam, unbutton and take my shoes off.”

He lifted her feet one at a time and did as she asked.

Then she asked him, “Come set beside me.”

She told him again as she put a arm around him, “You are a very good looking young man. Tell me true, have you ever had a woman?”

Sam looked away and said “Yes I have.” He had a sheepish grin on his face.

“I don’t want to hear about it, I’m lonely and full of love, would you like to make love to me?” she asked in a little girls way.

Sam hesitated, then said, “Yes, you are one very handsome lady. I’d shore be pleased to make love to you anytime.”

She got up and took his hand and led him into the bed room and unbuttoned her dress and let it drop to the floor. Next came her bloomers, then her top. She stood before him a beautiful fully naked adult woman. He pulled her to him and kissed her on the lips.

“You are one good-looking woman,” he whispered. He undressed and they both got into her bed, for a night of sexual satisfaction to both parties.

Morning came. Sam opened his eyes. It was getting light. Sarah had a leg on him, he pushed it off and jumped up. Told her, “I gotta get to work.” He hurried and dressed.

Sarah sat up in the bed asked, “Where you going?”

“To work, I have a job to do.”

“You don’t have to work any more, stay with me.” She seemed to be begging.

“Sarah,” he said, “I have to work, I can’t lay around here.” He sat down on the bed, pulled her to him, kissed and thanked her. “See you later. You beautiful hunk of woman.” And left.

At the shop he unlocked the back door and built fires in all the stoves, then went about his usual chores. Soon Jake and brother Sam came thru the door. “Slept late did you Sam?” Jake asked. “It’s not very warm in here.” Sam smiled and continued about his work.

Later that day Jake came and opened the big doors in the rear of the shop. It was a warm day. Who came strolling by but Sarah. She stopped out side the door. Looking in she asked in a loud voice. “Is this where the guns are made?” She hiked up her dress and stepped into the shop.

Jake saw her first, he took off his glasses and hurried to meet her. “Miss Sarah,” he said, “How good of you to bring such beauty into this old shop.”

“I’ve never been in a gun shop before,” she said. “It smells of fresh-cut wood, oil and gun powder, kinda smells good to me. Smell’s like men should.”

Jake said, “Come I’ll show you around.” He took her by an arm and to each working station to show her how the guns were made.

Hal the lock maker leaned over to Sam and said, “Ain’t that the God damn best looking woman you ever seen?”

Sam said, “Mighty pretty.”

She could hear them, turned and smiled. Jake walked her to the door, every eye in that shop was on her until she left. Jake turned to his workers and said, “Hope she don’t come back, her presence could destroy this shop.”

That evening most of Hawkins workers were eating at Miss Sarah’s Café. She was at the shop with a tray of food for Sam. They sat at his bench and talked as he ate the meal. She asked him to come to her apartment. He refused. Said he had work to finish.

“I’ll come up soon, soon as I get rested.” They both had a good laugh. She took the tray and left. He followed her out the door and watched until she entered the back door of her café, he returned to his work.

The next day a man came to the shop. He was well dressed, with a well-groomed beard, looked to be in his fifties. He had a younger slightly built man with him.

Jake asked the workers to come look at the guns this man had brought with him. On the counter lay several revolver pistols. The man introduced him self as Colonel Sam Colt owner of the new Colt firearm’s company. “This pistol is our latest make, an 1847 model .44 caliber Colts Army Revolver. I’m on a trip looking for dealers for these fine pistols. Mr Hawkin would you be interested to be a dealer for me? We sell them for 28 dollars a piece, in a case with accessories delivered to your shop, we have orders for one thousand from the Government. Soon we’ll have another model we call the Dragoon. How about it Mr. Hawkin?”

Jake rubbed his face with a left hand said, “We make guns here, never thought about being a dealer of some other gun maker.”

“These pistols are selling for thirty-five to forty dollars in Texas. You can make a handsome profit.” Sam Colt was some salesmen. “How many can we send you?”

Jake asked his brother, “What do you think?”

Sam Hawkins said, “We don’t even know if they’ll shoot.”

“You got a place to shoot? My man here will show you how well they shoot,” returned the Colonel.

Jake told him he had a range out back where he could shoot the pistols. Colonel Colt turned to the young man with him and said, “Let’s show-em how well these pistols shoot.”

They all went out to the range behind the shop. Jake had Sam set up six metal, six inch round trip targets. They stood thirty yards away. The young man had loaded one pistol.

“Go ahead Henry-hit em.” Henry fired six times hit one target.

Jake said, “Not very good, let my boy Sam here try.”

Colonel Colt agreed. Henry loaded the pistol again and handed it to Sam. He cocked the gun and in rapid fire, cocked, fired and hit all six. Handed the pistol back to Henry.

“My God,” said Colonel Colt, “this boy can shoot.”

He asked Sam, “How ya like a job with me?”

Sam shook his head no, turned and went back in the shop.

Jake told the Colonel, “We’ll take twenty to start, so we can see how well they sell.”

Later in the day George came to see Sam. “Miss Sarah wants you to come to supper tonight, will you come?” Sam told him to tell her he would.

It was after dark when he knocked on the kitchen door. Sarah opened the door. She was a beautiful woman even in the dim light. “I’ve been waiting supper on you, come on in.”

Sam followed her up the stairs to her rooms. The table was set with lighted candles. She turned to him said, “After supper I have a surprise for you. Please set and let’s eat.”

Sam did as she asked. The meal was baked turkey and mashed potatoes, gravy and all the trimming. After supper they sat on the settee and had coffee. They talked for over an hour.

Sarah then said, “Want to see my surprise for you?”

Sam told her not to spend her money on him. She went into the other room and returned with a wrapped box, handed it to Sam. “Open it,” She insisted.

In it was a new blue wool suit with a vest and two pairs of pants, also a pair of high button shoes.

“Now,” She said, “you gotta have a bath. I’ve new underwear for you too.” Sam shook his head no.

She said, “Look I have a tub waiting for us.” She took his hand and led him to a tub in the bed room. Three foot deep, four feet across it was steaming with hot water.

Sarah said, “It’s big enough for two.” She undressed so did he, they both took a nice warm soapy bath.

Next morning Sam had over slept. He jumped out of bed and dressed and ran to the shop. He did his chores as fast as he could before anyone would come. He sat and waited. No one came. He had forgotten it was Sunday.

Sarah knocked on the back door. “Are you in there Sam?” she called.

He opened the door. “Let’s have breakfast and go for a buggy ride. I want to take you on a picnic.” Sam had one of the most pleasant mornings he could remember.

She had a new single seat black buggy and a fine stepping bay gelding to pull it, she let Sam drive. They stopped in a small grove of willows and had a picnic of fried chicken.

While they were eating, Sarah asked if there was any thing in the world he would want? It didn’t take long. He told her he always wanted a horse of his own.

She said, “I own a farm not far from here. It has lots of horses. You want a’ go look?”

He told her, “Lady, you are full of surprises. You own a farm?”

“Yes, let’s go look at horses.”

As they drove, she told Sam that her Pa had the café and the farm. When he died, he left them to her. She told him she never went out there.

“A man runs it for me and brings the money after the harvest.”

“What do you grow on your farm?”

She said, “I don’t know, some corn, and all kinds of things, but I know we have lots of horses.”

Soon they turned into a lane with large cottonwood trees on both sides. The trees hung over the lane and covered the sun from sight. In about a mile they drove into a farm yard. A large old house with two stories stood before them. An older man came out on the porch. He had long white hair and a long white beard. As he approached the buggy, he walked kinda stooped over. He looked to Sam to be in his early sixties. When he saw who was in the buggy, he said with a big smile, “Miss Sarah what brings you to the farm today?”

“Mr. Cartwright, meet my friend Sam Duncan.”

As they both got out of the buggy, she said, “We’ve come to look at my horses.”

The older man moved to shake Sam’s hand, “Call me Al, I ain’t seen Miss Sarah in a coon’s age. Glad she finally come to see us, I’ll have the boys go bring up the horses.”

He called to two young black boys in a demanding voice, “Go get them horses. Bring em up here.”

Soon there was twenty head in a pen by the barn. Sarah told Sam to look them over. “See if you’d like one.”

Sam went in the pen and studied the horse herd for some time. Then he told her, “I like the big sorrel gelding with the blaze face.”

“You can have him,” Sarah said with a flip of her hand.

Al said to Sarah, “This man knows horses. This horse is the best on the farm. He’s worth four or five hundred dollars.”

Sam turned to Sarah and said, “You can’t give him to me. I’ll buy him.”

“No, you won’t.” Sarah looked mad. “If you really want to pay, I’ll split the difference with you, two hundred dollars, Okay Sam?”

“It’s a deal Sarah.”

She told Al to tie the horse to the back of the buggy. Sam was delighted with the horse.

All the way back to town Sarah jabbered and jabbered. The horse meant nothing to her. Sam had to keep looking back to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. He owned a horse.

Monday morning Jake had a surprise for Sam. Colonel Colt had given a pistol to him. The Colonel told Jake to tell him, “A man who can shoot like that needs a good pistol.”

Then Jake said, “I need to talk to you sometime today. You gettin the Itch Sam?”

Sam smiled and shook his head yes.

After work hours Jake asked Sam to come in the office. “Set Sam,” he said, “You getting pretty thick with this woman Sarah. I’m gonna tell what I know of her. You can take it for what it’s worth.”

“Fine. I would like to know all you can tell me about her.” He was ready to listen to what Jake had to say.

Jake starts talking. “I didn’t know her Pa at all. He was a big fella, always in a hurry. I don’t think he made friends very easy. Most of the folks around here never got to know the man. When he come to town, his little girl was just a little tyke. He had that café for ten or so years. When he died, she got all he owned being his only kin. She went kinda wild at first. She was about your age, maybe a little older, to be handed a lot of money, it was bad. Lots of people took advantage of her, she be-n so young. She met a river boat man and took up with him, he was probably forty years old. He moved in with her, in that up stairs’ apartment. She spent a lot of money redoing it, so we heard. One Saturday night they had a big fight. I heard the yelling and screaming could be heard all over town. In two days he was found a float-en in a back water slue south of town. Been told she had given him an expensive gold watch, it was never found. Some say them blacks that work for her will do any bidding she wants. They’re all free and married men they all live in the same location she had built for them south of town. Sam she’s had several men since then and they all disappear never to be seen again. I tell ya it’s kinda strange. You walk softly around that woman.”

Sam thanked him. They never talked of Sarah again.

Sam began gathering horse equipment. A saddle, pack saddle and camp gear. He made a leather saddle scabbard for a rifle and a pair of saddle bags. He had talked to Sam Hawkin about making a two-foot barrel for his colt pistol. Sam made it in a few days and he and young Sam screwed it into the gun. He had made a wooden shoulder stock for it and mounted the same on the pistol. The two fired the rifle-pistol out back on the range.

He asked Sam Hawkin, “How far you figure she’ll shoot?”

“Pack all the power in the cylinder you can get, set the ball deep and she should be good for two hundred yards.” Sam did and Hawkin was right.

The winter turned to spring, it was 1849. Word came gold had been discovered in California, the gold rush was on.

Many men started west and needed a rifle and pistols. The shop was booming. Sam was lucky, he found and purchased a ten-year old mare who had been used as a saddle and pack horse.

A shipment of a hundred colt pistols came in. Sam purchased one and an English 10 gauge double-barreled shot gun. Now he was ready to go west.

By June prices went sky high. Flour, sugar, corn went for a hundred dollars a barrel. Teams of oxen, mules and horses went for a thousand dollars if you could find any. It was a true seller’s market.

Sam talked to an Army officer who told him mounted troops were going to a new post named Fort Laramie. Six hundred miles up on the Oregon trail. “There’s gonna be need for all kinda help up there. A man could make good money.”

Sam told Jake he was about ready to go. Jake knew how he felt. “If you want ta start a repair gun shop up there, we’ll send anything you need. Mail has started coming in from that fort and going that way. Write and let me know, we’ll ship supplies to you. Them emigrants need all kinds of help by the time they get that far.”

Sam said he would take him up on the deal. “Just as soon as I get set up.”

He told Jake he planned to leave Monday morning. “Good luck and God go along with ya,” Jake hugged him, turned away and left the shop. It would be a long time before they saw each other again.

Sam was busy packing. Sarah knocked on the back door. “You in there Sam?” she called.

He went and let her in, it was raining hard. “Why you out in this rain?”

“You won’t come down, so I came here.” She acted angry. “I’ll be up there in a little while. You go back, I’ll come up and eat.” She reluctantly returned to the café.

The two had a nice supper. After supper he let her know his plans of going west. She went into a fit of rage, started throwing things at him calling him names, fell on the floor screaming and kicking, saying she hoped the Indians would kill him. He told her he didn’t like to see her act this way.

“I just gotta go Sarah,” he told her. “I’ll miss you.” He went down to the kitchen. George heard it all and said, “Come by on your way, I’ll have a food sack for you’s.” Sam did.

At sunup, with his saddle horse and pack horse he rode to the docks and onto a steam boat he had booked passage on to go up the Missouri River to the town of Independence. The jumping off place for most of the wagon trains headed west and to Fort Laramie on the Oregon Trail. Sam was on his way west.