Glory's Guidons (The Long-Knives US Cavalry Western Book 3) Page 11

  “There are no rights or wrongs, only orders,” Delaney said sullenly. “And, by God, as long as you’re serving in my command don’t you forget it!”

  “No, sir!”

  “Perhaps when you’ve mounted that Washington desk that you’re destined for, following policy will be much easier,” Delaney said. “Out here in the field you’ll find the realism of such decisions extremely hard to live with at times.”

  “Captain Delaney, I—“

  “At ease, Mr. Pepperdine, and save your breath,” Delaney said. “We have a ten mile ride ahead of us.”

  “I do have a procedural question, sir,” Pepperdine said. “Is it proper for us to halt the pursuit for three days?”

  “It is if it is to rescue a hostage held by hostile Indians,” Delaney explained. “Now let’s get the hell back to the company.”

  ~*~

  Their arrival at the bivouac caused a scurry of activity among the soldiers. Even Fields, who was digging a deep sump under the stern supervision of a sentry was allowed to cease his labor and wait for Captain Delaney to address them.

  Sergeant Wheatfall was standing by the campfire that was heating Delaney’s coffee. The horses were turned over to orderlies and the three returnees settled down to rest after the long ride.

  “What’s up, Cap’n?” Wheatfall asked.

  “We’re going to be waiting here for three days before continuing the pursuit,” Delaney answered. “If we do that, Running Horse will spare that girl and turn her loose someplace on the Nueces River.” He turned to Jim Rivers. “I meant to ask if you knew where that place is.”

  “Sure, Ambrose,” Rivers replied. “It’s a near sacred spot the Injuns use for pow-wows and other get-togethers.”

  “I’m surprised the girl is still alive,” Wheatfall remarked.

  “She’s menstruating right now,” Delaney said. “That’s probably what’s saved her a few days of being raped.”

  “They won’t even touch their own women for a week or so after that,” Rivers said. “She’ll not be harmed more. I’m sure they’ve all played round-robin with her once or twice though.”

  Wheatfall helped himself to the coffee. “Running Horse prob’ly figgered on using her for some bargaining anyhow. Else they’d a done her to death surely.”

  “I think you’re right,” Rivers said. “She endured ’em, no doubt about that. But not too much.”

  Pepperdine, whose attitude toward women kept them on pedestals wrapped in virginal white linen, was shocked at the idea of a young maiden being ravished by a band of Indians. The thought was so repulsive and horrid to him, he found it unbearable.

  “Hey!” Rivers exclaimed. “You’re looking bad again, Brad. That cold ain’t coming back, is it?”

  “Oh, no,” Pepperdine answered.

  Delaney, having an idea of what was bothering the young officer, only smiled and changed the subject. “How’s the prisoner doing, Sergeant Wheatfall?”

  “We’re working his ass off, Cap’n,” he said. “You want to leave him on bread and water for another day?”

  “I think not,” Delaney said. “It may weaken him too much. As long as we’re in the field on active campaigning, a badly nourished man could prove a weak link in our fighting chain.”

  “I wonder what Running Horse has on his mind,” Rivers mused. ‘You reckon he’ll give us time to pick up that girl, then double back and light into us?”

  “He’s going to have to do something about us one way or the other,” Delaney answered. “He might as well do it then as any other time.”

  “I just wish something would happen,” Pepperdine said, suddenly tired of the patrol.

  “Wait and see,” Rivers said. “And I think the next three days are gonna be perfect for storing up lots o’ sleep and food to get ready for the excitement ahead.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  For three days Pepperdine fidgeted and paced. The thought of the young girl waiting for their rescue drove him to form desperate schemes to save her from the proverbial “fate worse than death.”

  For several hours, he had seriously planned on sneaking away and arriving early to free her from her captors. Three things, however, kept him from putting the plan into operation. One, it would be against orders; two, it would violate the Indians’ code of honor and could result in dire consequences for both the girl and himself; and three, he didn’t know exactly where she was anyhow.

  Thus he spent his spare time dreaming of being her knight in shining armor sallying forth to rescue the fair damsel of the prairie. No doubt she would run to his arms with her golden tresses flowing in the breeze, her face tragically beautiful even after her horrible ordeal. Second Lieutenant of Cavalry Bradwell Pepperdine would stand there with one arm holding her trembling body while his free hand kept his trusty Colt revolver ready to defend her from further defilement.

  His reverie of glory was interrupted by the loud voice of Captain Ambrose Delaney. “Mr. Pepperdine!”

  “Yes, sir?”

  “Isn’t there a guard mount this afternoon?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “And aren’t you the officer of the day?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Then move your tail, Mr. Pepperdine. The sergeant, all his corporals and all his men are awaiting you attendance with breathless anticipation.”

  “Yes, sir!”

  ~*~

  Delaney waited exactly seventy-two hours before forming the company to resume the pursuit. When Running horse made the offer to free the girl after three days, the captain had checked his watch. It was eleven-forty in the morning. At that exact hour, three days later with the guidon straining against its pole in the breeze, the men sat straight in their saddles ready to begin the rescue mission..

  “Forward, yo-oh!”

  Pepperdine rode close to Jim Rivers as the scout led the way south toward the Nueces River. For the first day L Company kept on the march for twelve long, tiring hours. But Pepperdine’s enthusiasm for this new phase of their field activities waned not one bit. He even pulled a voluntary scout after the unit camped for the night in case the girl had been turned loose to wander the prairie alone and lost.

  After an early breakfast, they pressed on the next day without pausing for a mid-day meal. Jim Rivers finally pointed out their destination in the afternoon. Pepperdine, forgetting any consideration of ambushes, suddenly spurred his horse and rode hard for the river.

  He frantically ranged the bank up and down the waterway, calling out, “Miss Starling! Miss Starling!” He was finally rewarded with a hoarse, but definitely feminine voice calling back to him. He galloped in the direction with his pistol drawn, ready for action. The sight that greeted him on the river bank caused him to rein in so sharply he stood in the stirrups.

  The girl stood facing him. She was tough and flinty looking, her face screwed up in a perpetual freckled squint. Her unkempt red hair was done up in two clumsily tied pigtails.

  She glared at the young army officer. “What the hell took you so godamn long?”

  “Miss Starling?”

  “Damn right I’m Miss Starling, you jackass. Who’d you expect to meet out here, the Queen of the May?”

  “Well, no, Miss.”

  “Gimme a drink of water,” she demanded. “That damn river is muddier’n hell!”

  Pepperdine dismounted and handed over his canteen. He noticed her hands were rough and calloused. Her life previous to her capture had undoubtedly been just as primitive and deprived as that of the Indians. “How are you, Miss Starling?”

  “Hell, fine as can be I reckon,” she replied between gulps of water. “Call me Beulah, will you? I don’t cotton to that fancy missy shit.”

  “Certainly, Beulah.”

  “I put up with them damn redskins ’til my time came on me,” she said laughing. “Then they wouldn’t touch me a’tall. I tell you something, soljer boy, that wouldn’t a stopped a bunch of randy cowboys. No, sir, not for a second.”

  Pepperdi
ne reddened. “I’m happy to see you’re none the worse for . . . well, that you’re feeling well.”

  “Oh, shit. I’m feeling fine,” Beulah said. “Hey, here comes the rest of your friends. Why damn my eyes! They’re a bunch of darkies, ain’t they?”

  “We are from a colored cavalry regiment.”

  Delaney, smiling in undisguised amusement, dismounted and made an exaggerated bow to the girl. “Ah! Our damsel in distress, no doubt!”

  “What in the green cow piss are you talking about, feller?” she asked him.

  “Captain Delaney, may I present Miss Beulah Starling,” Pepperdine interjected. “She prefers to be addressed by her Christian name, sir.”

  “Charmed, Beulah,” Delaney said.

  “Beulah,” Pepperdine said, continuing the formalities. “This is my commanding officer Captain Delaney. He prefers to be called captain.”

  “Any way you want it, Cap’n,” Beulah said.

  Jim Rivers, also grinning at Pepperdine, stayed on his horse. Wheatfall, after forming the company into a defensive perimeter, joined his commander.

  “I wasn’t gonna wait too much longer for you jaspers,” Beulah said. “If you hadn’t showed up in another coupla hours I was gonna start walking along this river ’til I found something.”

  “We’ll get you to civilization, Beulah,” Delaney informed her. “I suppose you’re aware of your family’s fate.”

  “Sure, I seen it all,” Beulah said. “As much as I could anyways, what with my own predicament.”

  “Is there any reason you might want to return there?” Delaney asked.

  “I cain’t work the place alone,” the girl answered. “I suppose there ain’t much left anyhow. Y’all got’ny thing to eat? Them damn Injuns was stingy as hell with their grub.”

  “Certainly,” Delaney said. “We’ll have our midday meal here. Nothing fancy, I’m afraid. Just bacon, beans and hardtack.”

  “Shit! I din’t eat that good at home,” Beulah said.

  “I imagine you’ve grown rather tired of Indian companions,” Pepperdine remarked.

  “Hell, it wasn’t all Injuns,” Beulah said. “They was some Mezkins and whites come riding with us ‘bout a week or so ago. Well, hell, a few days anyhow.”

  “We’ll have to find a place for you as quick as we can,” Delaney said.

  “There’s the town of Rio Vista about twenty miles from here,” Rivers suggested. “It won’t take us far off the Injuns’ track.”

  “Then our next stop will be Rio Vista.”

  As they talked, their food was served by Delaney’s orderly. The bacon and beans were in tin plates, while the hardtack was softening in cups of steaming coffee.

  “Anybody gonna say grace?” Beulah asked.

  “Will you do the honors?” Delaney suggested.

  “Sure, Cap’n,” Beulah said. “Ever’body bow your heads now. Ready? Here goes. Good Food, Good Meat, Good Lord, Let’s Eat!” She broke out into a wild laughter with so much energy that she almost tipped backward off the saddle she was seated on.

  If Pepperdine was shocked by her lack of reverence, he was appalled by the way Beulah Starling consumed her food. She literally shoveled it in with both hands, smacking her lips and echoing her approval of the cuisine with throaty groans of pleasure. She was finished before the men were halfway through their own meals.

  “Care for more?” Delaney asked.

  “You bet!” Beulah answered. Delaney signaled the orderly and the girl was presented with another plateful. She took a deep breath and emitted a loud belch before launching her second attack on the victuals. When she was finished, she wiped her mouth, stood up and walked away from the group. She bent forward slightly and broke wind with a ripping sound so loud that the guard out on the horse picket turned to see what it was.

  Pepperdine, genuinely shocked, sat watching her in amazement as she came back to the group.

  Beulah sat down again. “It fair boggles the mind the way gas builds up in a body, don’t it?”

  Suddenly Pepperdine was anxious to be rid of Beulah Starling.

  ~*~

  Rio Vista, Texas, was a small town populated mostly by Mexicans with a smattering of Anglos in prominent positions. Jim Rivers had ridden in ahead of them and now returned with good news. He had found a place where they might leave Beulah Starling.

  “I seen a church,” Rivers explained. “Looked like a good sized one, so I figgered if we talked with the preacher he might settle the gal in somewheres.”

  The two officers left “L” Company on the outskirts of town and rode in with the scout and girl who was sitting behind Pepperdine with her arms around his waist. It took several inquiries but they finally located the home of the local preacher who also owned the town’s general store. He was at supper when they arrived.

  He came outside and nodded politely to them. “Name’s Hiram Woodsdale—Reverend Woodsdale, that is—what might I do for you gentlemen?”

  “We have a young lady here in dire need of Christian aid,” Delaney explained. “Her family was killed by Indians and she was herself a captive until a short time ago.”

  “I see,” Woodsdale said thoughtfully. He eyed the girl carefully for several moments. “Does she have heathen seed in her belly?”

  “To the best of our knowledge, no,” Delaney answered.

  Woodsdale, not satisfied, walked up to the girl. “Did them Injuns know you, Missy?”

  “You can bet your Sunday-Go-To-Meeting britches they did!” Beulah exclaimed. “But I ain’t carrying no breed chile, and that’s for certain.”

  “But they stripped away your virginity,” Woodsdale stated callously.

  Beulah Starling laughed out loud. “Why, shit, no! My two cousins Lem and Bob done that when I was ten or eleven.”

  Woodsdale shook his head and returned to Delaney. “You are right, sir. This poor girl is indeed in need of Christian aid. We shall take her in, sir, cleanse her soul through prayer and proper instruction of the Gospels.”

  Delaney felt reasonably certain that the girl would be well taken care of by the local people. At least she would have a better life than she had out on the prairie. “Are you planning on trying to locate any relatives?” the captain asked.

  “No, I’m not!” Woodsdale said. “She might get in with them two sinful, incestual cousins again.” He motioned to Beulah. “Get down, Missy, and come into the house with me. I’m certain my wife is gonna want to begin your education immediately.”

  “Do I have to take a bath?” Beulah asked as she was led away.

  Delaney laughed and poked Pepperdine on the shoulder. “From now on, Mister, consider yourself the Office-in-Charge-of-Rescuing-Damsels-in-Distress.”

  “I never dreamed such a creature existed,” Pepperdine confessed.

  “What kind of folks you think are the first settle out here, Brad?” Rivers asked. “The fancy Dans and their ladies won’t appear ’til long after the sod’s busted, the first buildings is up and the last Injun is dead or run off.”

  “We have another chore to attend to before we return to the company,” Delaney said. “These mounts of ours have been too long on prairie grass. They’re due a good feed of oats. We’ll also purchase enough to dole out to them from time to time during the rest of the patrol.”

  “Let’s find the local livery then,” Rivers said.

  They rode into the small commercial district and located a large barn structure at the far end. A quick inspection showed that it was the establishment they were looking for. A Mexican interrupted work on a bridle to inquire as to their needs.

  “We need to purchase oats,” Delaney said. “Can you help us out?”

  “Si, señor,” the man replied. “I got plenty.”

  The Captain turned to his lieutenant. “Mr. Pepperdine, arrange for the purchase of twenty bushels. Jim and I’ll return to the company and send out a detail to pick the stuff up.”

  Pepperdine saluted, then dismounted to tend to the business as Delaney and
Rivers rode back toward the company bivouac. the Mexican businessman and began arranging for the purchase and delivery of the oats to the company.

  ~*~

  The horses took to the grain with an instinctive knowledge what they were eating was good for them. The men of “L” Company, like all cavalrymen, sensed the growing well-being of their mounts and were in a better mood themselves because of it.

  It was dark when Sergeant Wheatfall walked up to the fire where Pepperdine, Delaney and Rivers sat. The sergeant saluted, saying, “Suh! The comp’ny will be prepared to move out in the morning.”

  “Very well, Sergeant. First call will be at just before sunrise tomorrow. After chow and breaking camp, we’ll go back to fighting Indians.” He winked at Pepperdine. “How do you feel about breaking international law and about a half dozen army regulations at the same time?”

  Pepperdine hesitated. “I’m not sure, sir.”

  “Well you better be sure, Mister. Because there’s a good chance we’ll be crossing into the Mexican Republic if that’s what it’ll take to kill or capture Running Horse and his band.”

  Jim Rivers, about to take a sip of coffee, stopped. “Are you outta your mind, Ambrose?”

  “I always have been,” the captain replied.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Captain Ambrose Delaney’s company returned to the exact spot on the Nueces River where they had retrieved Beulah Starling. The troops were allowed to dismount and enjoy a few cups of coffee while Pepperdine, Rivers and Corporal Jones crossed the water way to pick up Running Horse’s trail.

  The assignment proved an easy one. In less than an hour Rivers rode up to Delaney with Pepperdine and Corporal Jones at his side. The scout, reported. “The Injuns is headed due south Ambrose. And they ain’t hiding their tracks. They means they’re going straight to Mexico.”

  “Yeah,” Delaney said. “They don’t figure we’ll cross the border. How far is the Rio Grande from here?”

  Rivers shrugged. “Thirty miles or so I figure.”

  “That’s where we’ re going. but keep the pace down. We don’t want the horses ridden wet and blown if we have a fight.”