Jodi's Journey (32 page)

“He was a good drover and a good man,” Hunt
added. “He'll be missed.”

She cried for him, and Hunt had to
practically drag her away from the gravesite. Leaving Josh there in
the dust of Kansas was the hardest thing she'd done since she
thought Hunt had died.

≈≈≈

Taking the horses home wasn't anything like
herding the cattle; they moved right along and made good time. The
weather cooperated with them, and going through Indian Territory,
they met some of the same Indians from the drive north. Since
Hunt's camp had plenty of meat, the Indians joined them for a
couple of meals. They eyed the horses, but because he had treated
them fairly, they didn't steal them. Hunt was appreciative.

Dutch and Sparky wanted to stop off in Ft.
Worth and bid everyone goodbye, promising to see them all in the
spring of the next year. “Cain't wait to see that little rascal of
yours, Jodi,” Dutch chuckled.

Jodi laughed.

Sparky tipped his hat and they were off. Jodi
wondered about Sparky. He hadn't talked a lot during the drive, but
he had been there when needed and he was just as happy as anyone to
get home, especially with a pocketful of money.

Jodi felt herself choking up again, and Hunt
noticed. “Okay…what's wrong?”

“I don't know,” she wailed low so everyone
wouldn’t know she was crying. “It's just kind of sad seeing
everyone go. How can men do this year after year?”

“We get used it, I guess.” Hunt nodded.

It began to warm up on the way home and the
countryside was green and full of wild flowers. Jodi managed to
pick some every day. Going home was so much easier and enjoyable,
except for the robbery. But with the way Hunt guarded their camp at
night, nothing was about to happen.

That was until they crossed the Brazos. For
some reason, getting this close to home made Hunt relax a little.
He actually slept some at night. The Brazos was still up a little
but they swam over with no trouble. They made camp on the other
side, drying their clothes by the firelight.

“So Cole, what are you going to do with your
money?” Jodi asked out of the blue that night as they ate
supper.

Cole looked a little perplexed, like no one
had ever asked him that question before. “Derned if I know. Kind of
thought I might tag along with you two, help out on your place, if
you don't mind. Maybe I could get some cattle and a place some day,
but I'm not one to put down roots very much.”

Jodi looked him over, noting the thick, dark
hair and deep brown eyes that seemed too intense all the time. “A
handsome man like you should be married.”

Cole laughed, a blissfulness settling over
his features. “Never found anyone special like. But maybe that's
because I never put down roots before. Maybe I'll get lucky.”

Matt smiled, wanting to join the
conversation. “Well, I know my ma is gonna be so surprised when she
sees the money. She'll probably cry for two days, knowin' her.”

“You want to go back up with us in the spring
of next year?” Hunt asked Matt.

“Sure, if you'll have me. I'll be there. Just
stop by on your way up and pick me up.”

Hunt nodded his satisfaction.

“Aren't you gonna keep any of the money,
Matt?” Cole asked him curiously.

“Aw…I don't need money. Ma feeds me, and I
got a home to go back to. But now I have a horse, and that's
something every man needs. I'll be proud as a peacock goin' back
with Buddy, my horse.” Matt said, tipping his head so he could see
his prize possession hobbled with the others.

Jodi watched Concho and Jose and she had to
ask them the same. “What about you two? What's in San Antonio for
you?”

Concho smiled, his mustache stretching
against his face. “I have mucho relatives. I have a wife and three
bambinos.”

“Three?” Hunt's brow went up. “You've been
keepin' secrets, Concho. I never figured you for a family man.”

“Si, I have been married ten years now, to
the sweetest little lady in all of San Antonio.”

“Jose?”

“Si, I have family also. A wife, a mother,
and ten children, and many, many cousins.” Jose smiled when they
all seemed surprised.

Willy had been quiet most of the drive back.
He sat pensively listening to all the talk of family. Jodi wondered
if he was missing his wife. He enjoyed listening to them, but the
sadness was still there. She wished she could make him happy.
“Willy, you haven't said much about yourself. What are you going to
do?”

“Well, I was going to take it up with Mr.
Hunt about workin' for him. I've enjoyed the drive to Kansas, and I
think I'd enjoy ranchin' some. If you'll have me.” Willy looked at
Hunt.

“Looks like I'm going to have all the boys I
need when we get back. And from what Jodi's told me of the place,
there's lots to be done. The barn is in a sorry state, the corral
needs mending, and I don't know what else, but with all of us
pulling together, we could make it shine. I'm sure of that. And
we'll be heading out again next spring as Jodi and I have talked it
over and plan to invest in more cattle. Of course we'll still be
rounding up the longhorns on the range, but there's enough for
everyone. I guess that's what I like about Texas.”

Jodi smiled teasingly at him. “What's
that?”

“Texas,” he sighed with contentment. “It so
big, and wide open. It has a little bit of everything, and now that
she's gone through so much, she's worth much more than she ever
was. You know when we hit the Red, I was already missing the trees.
I like to watch the blue bonnets in spring pop up all over the
valley. And there's nothing prettier, except maybe a cow, than a
big oak tree bending with the wind. Yes sir, Texas has about
anything a man could want. Including the prettiest women.”

“Yeah…I like Texas,” Willy laughed. “And I
don't even know why.”

Jodi laughed with him. “A lot of people don't
know why, but it sort of grows on you.”

≈≈≈

Cole sat cleaning his guns; he was the only
man in camp that wore two guns. He’d spent a lot of time cleaning
and taking extra care of them during the drive, and everyone noted
how well they worked when needed. Still, one could tell he was
listening to the conversation too.

About the time everyone was getting
melancholy, the sound of horse hoofs came from nowhere. In seconds,
the entire camp was surrounded by men on horseback wearing white
pointed hoods over their faces and carrying torches in their
hands.

“What do you men want here?” Hunt stood up
and met them eye to eye, at least as well as he could, since they
had those hoods on.

There was a prolonged silence before anyone
spoke.

“You ain't that dumb. You know what we want.
You got a big black buck here and we aim to take him. Hand him over
peaceful like and no one will get hurt,” one of the lead men said
through the hood.

“Haven't you heard? The war is over and the
Negro people are free,” Hunt said, innocent like.

“Maybe it's over for some, but not us. We aim
to see all the Negroes run out of Texas,” the man said without
preamble. “They won't vote, they won't sit on juries, they won't
testify against white men, carry weapons, or have certain jobs. We
are the Ku Klux Klan. We believe in white supremacy and anyone that
doesn't agree with it is our enemy, sir.”

“And who are you to make these rules?”

“I've just told you, we are the White
Knights,” came the same voice from the mob of angry men.

“This man is a cowboy, a good one, and I’m
not handing him over to scum like you,” Hunt announced.

“Then we'll just have to take him. Gettin' in
our way ain't healthy, mister,” came a gruff voice from the other
side.

Willy came forward, his head bent. “I'll go,
Mister Hunt. There ain't no use you all gettin' yourself killed on
account of me. They done killed my wife. They might as well kill
me, too.”

“No, Willy,” Jodi screamed.

Just as they would have shot Hunt, Cole threw
one of his revolvers to him. Shots rang out all around. The horses
bucked from the noise so much that it was hard to see who came out
the best for a few minutes.

Matt, Concho and Jose had quickly scrambled
to the wagon to get their guns. Matt had been shot in the arm, but
it was only a graze, just enough to stir him up. Cole and Hunt were
poised with their guns as they noticed three of the men on
horseback falling off. One was the leader.

Hunt walked over to him, ripped the hood off,
and threw it away. “Now you gentlemen better take his body back the
way you came because I am not burying this man for you. I won't
dirty my hands with him. Nor any of the others. We're drovers and
we’re just passing through. We want no trouble. But Willy is one of
my men and we'll protect him till the death. Do I make myself
clear?” Hunt faced them all.

Cole was holding his .44 Colt right at them.
He didn't bat an eye. Concho and Jose aimed their rifles and stood
beside him.

They didn't understand that Hunt was mad,
hurting mad. He paced in front of their horses, grumbling as he
did. He wanted to kill them all, shoot them dead. He had never
wanted anything so badly in his life. Hatred was a scourge to the
earth. And as he recognized his own hatred of bigotry, he realized
he was doing the same thing they were.

So he looked at them.

“Look at yourselves,” he yelled, trying to
dissipate his own fury. “You hide behind a mask to do what you want
to do. Does that tell you anything about yourselves? Do you see the
irony of your actions? You big, fat, self important people. Who are
you to judge who lives or dies in this country? This is Texas—no,
better yet, this is America. We have fought for years for the
freedom of people, all people. Texas too.

“We've been fighting for years for
independence, for love of country, and for pride of the south. When
are you bigots going to realize that black is simply a color? Like
red or white. You don't ride after the Indians like this. And the
Indians have done more harm to you and your families. How many of
you have lost kin from Indian raids? You don't hunt down the
Mexicans that wanted to take over this state, and that massacred
the entire group of men at the Alamo. You don't seek your justice
there. No, you want the black people, people who haven't committed
a war against us at all.

“And for what? I ask you in God's name, for
what? What have they done to you? Have they hurt you? Have they
taken anything from you? Why? These people have done nothing. They
came, unwilling, to this country and were sold into slavery like
animals. But by God, Lincoln freed them. Lincoln! You going to
stand there and tell me that don't mean anything?

“Most of you men aren't cowboys, ranchers, or
bums. You’re the law; you’re the big wigs in town, people of
prominent families who have never known poverty, or what that might
be like. Take a good look at what you want to kill. He's just a
man. That's all. He bleeds just like you do and his blood is red
too.”

The men on horseback were silent. Hunt
couldn't be sure he reached any of their hearts, if they had
hearts. These men lived by hate and hate alone. Completely insane
with wanting to stop the violence once and for all, he looked at
Cole.

“Now Cole here, he used to be a gunfighter.
By the time you draw your guns, you'll be dead, because if he
doesn't get you, I will. If you scum don't get out of my camp now
I'm going start shooting you dead. Is that completely understood? I
don't care who you are, where you are from, who your family is, or
even if you are the law. And I will not bother myself with burying
you. I'll leave you to the buzzards.” Hunt’s brows went up as he
lifted his gun to the first man. “Now ride!”

There was a long silence that seemed to rip
the night in two. No one moved, no one spoke, not one.

Then, slowly, the men turned their horses and
began to ride away.

“There will be another time,” one of them
muttered.

“That's where you are wrong, friend,” Cole
said, and shot the man dead.

One of the men in hoods got off his horse,
put the body on it, and rode away without a word.

Hunt still had his gun pointed at their
backs. His anger was out of control, and it was Jodi who finally
walked up to him and pushed the gun barrel down. “Its okay, Hunt.
They are leaving.”

Cole came up to him; Hunt shook his hand and
smiled. “Thanks, Cole.”

Cole screwed up his face at him. “I never
knew you had such a temper, Hunt. I never saw anything like what
you just did.”

Hunt was puzzled by the remark. “Me? What did
I do? You done most of the shooting.”

“I’m not talking about shooting. I'm talking
about standing up to those people. Those maniacs could have gunned
us down easy enough. There were enough of them. But you stood there
in front of them and actually called them out for what they were.
I've never seen such guts in my life. They could have killed you,
but you must have hit a nerve somewhere. Otherwise, they would
have.” Cole shook his head. “You won't go down in history, but I'll
never in all my years forget what you just said, and how you said
it.”

“Sorry.” Hunt shook himself a little to
control the white rage inside him. “They touched a sore spot with
me.”

Willy came up to him and smiled slowly. “No
one's ever said anything like that for me, or my people, that I
know of.”

Hunt eyed Willy with respect. “Well maybe
it's time they did, Willy.”

Jodi put her arm around him and walked him
back to the wagon. “Do you think they'll be back?”

“No, because I wasn't kidding. I would have
killed as many of them as I could. And they know it. And they know
why.”

Concho looked at Jodi, then Hunt. “I told
you, he's no coward. It is strange, those men. I mean, you would
think here in Texas they would be after the Mexicans because it is
the Mexicans who fought to have Texas. But they are after the Negro
people. It makes no sense.”