Story Grace, Mercy and Blessings

PacNorWest

Veteran Member
#324

Hattie McDaniels was a woman with a mission. She was determined to find that no-account wagon boss Spook Waller and rightfully give him a blistering hot piece of her mind. She made a bee line toward the wagon of those two women; where she suspected she would find that randy old coot sitting around drooling over that haughty, stuck up woman that did the driving. It was a scandal, those two women, and she wasn't bout to use the term ladies; were traveling unmarried with that MAN, in their wagon.

Hattie didn't care if he claimed to be a doctor or not, decent folk just didn't carry on so.

Hattie snuck up on Spook; before he could see her and escape.

"There you are;" she acidly dripped her venom. "Why aren't you performing your duties as we are paying you to do. The second wagon has a problem with two of their horses. If they aren't better by morning, they will have to pull out. I think you had better get yourself up there and check out the problem. There doesn't seem to be anything here that requires your absolute attention." and Hattie stalked off toward the front of the train, not bothering to see if Spook was following or not.

If he wasn't, he soon would be, she'd see to that little fact.

The fact that Hattie halfway fancied Spook herself, had nothing to do with the way she kept close tabs on the man. As wagon boss, he was expected to be there for them all, not just some high and mighty floozy that actually didn't want anything to do with him.

Spook heaved a deep sigh, threw the dregs of his coffee at the edge of the fire, straightened his hat and went following the majestic sailing ship that was Ms. McDaniels. Lordy, but she was a bossy woman.

Tilly and Pricilla exchanged a look and went to talk to Mr. Big.

"Tilly tells me you know of two crossings before Gulfport. In your estimation are they safe and reliable? We are talking to you now, with Mr. Waller away, as we don't want him to know our plans." Pricilla wasted no time, getting right to the point.

Big looked at Tilly for confirmation, and she gave him a soft smile and nod.

"Ya, I vould not go across the first von, but I vould the second von. The river, she is more narrow but deep there; always the danger, you understand."

"How much does it cost?" Price was uppermost in Pricilla's mind.

"I vould guess, the price of two of your good mares. The man that runs the ferry has a fondness for good horses, and vill do his best to talk you out of two of them. You vill still have four, and vonce you get across the river, it is mostly flat."

"You have been across there before?" Tilly asked shyly.

"Ya, not as scary as the von at St. Louis, but not without dangers, you understand. Big was serious and truthful.

Bruce was sitting on the wagon seat, listening; and he felt Big was honest. "What about the ferry at Gulfport, would you recommend that one over the other two?"

No, but the ferry, she is not the problem. The town, she has the river pirates', and that is a cutthroat town. I vould not suggest going there."

Bruce was silent. That Pricilla woman liked to call all the shots, so let her make the decision and take the responsibility. He was tired and going to bed.

"How far are we from the second ferry?" Pricilla asked thoughtfully, looking around to make sure Spook wasn't lingering close by.

"Two, maybe two and a half weeks avay. Ve are traveling very slowly, for vhat reason, I am not sures of, but ve shoulds be going fasters." Big had noticed the leisurely travel and was puzzled by the slow pace. "There is a vagon train that vill pass us for sures tomorrow; would you consider pulling in with them?"

"How much faster will they be, toward the second ferry?" Pricilla was calculating.

"Most probablies a veek faster. I have been vatching them since this morning, and they are moving right along. Much, much fasters than ve are going."

"I think we should join them," Pricilla gave her opinion. "What do you think Tilly?"

"Yes, I think we should pull out and join the faster group. Big, will you go with us?" Tilly was nervous to be so forward, but she had to know.

"Yes Ma'am, I surely will do that." Big solemnly affirmed, "it will be my pleasure."
 

PacNorWest

Veteran Member
#325

Jerry and Chuck were down at the river bank, assessing the crossing. "This is as treacherous as the Illinois. I feel foolish that we didn't cross the Mississippi all at once. It's a grave error in judgement, on my part."

"I don't think so," Chuck drawled. "We crossed the Miss, yet here we are, further North and East than we expected. I honestly don't know how many more crossings that ferry would have made, but I'm never going near it again. If you want my two cents on the subject,..." and Chuck invited Jerry to participate with him. "I think it's worth the extra time to go further North and East. Tackle crossing the river where it's smaller and more manageable. We still have the Tennessee to cross, and if we find a acceptable crossing here, just drop down and hope it's the same for the Tennessee when we get there."

"Then what are you thinking, head West to get out of the mountains, down toward where Mark came through from the retreat?" Jerry was thinking hard.

"Yeah, I understand lover boy over there will throw a fit about the delay; but have you noticed there are no trees on the other side of the river, to put a guy line on. This is too dangerous to attempt, without one." Chuck jerked his thumb in Wyatt's direction, when he said lover boy, and Jerry was amused.

"What do you want to do about those boys? That old horse would never get across any swift water." Jerry pushed his hat back and rubbed his forehead. "Abby thinks they don't have any folks, and I hesitate to turn them loose to brave the elements."

"I don't have any problems with them coming along, Wyatt is in such a fog, I doubt he's even noticed that they are trailing us." Chuck laughed at the sheriff's love stricken state. "Donny doesn't care, he's already told me, whatever the group decides."

"I worry about him," Jerry confessed. "I don't think he's in a very good mental state over loosing Sally and all her brothers and sisters. We tend to believe he can handle this kind of tragedy, but he's actually not very old. What do you think, maybe 18 or 19?"

"I guess, I really don't know. He was always so quiet, where as Andy did all the talking and bossing. He probably doesn't know rightly where his place is, as of yet. Well, we can keep an eye on him, see what transpires as we go along."

"Yeah, that's fine by me."

Camp was really silent when Chuck made the announcement that both he and Jerry deemed the crossing too dangerous, and that they were going to go upriver until they found an easier ford.

As wagon bosses, the two men were experienced and not foolhardy, and the rest of the travelers accepted their reasonings.

"Ok," Abby spoke up. "We have most of the deer cooked, so we could leave by noon tomorrow."

"Fine by us, let us know when you're ready. You boys want to go with us?"

The two hats turned to each other and nodded. Hats pulled low, faces obscured, they nodded toward Chuck, they would go with the clan.
 

Texican

Live Free & Die Free.... God Freedom Country....
Two more boys for the clan. The females are out numbered, unless more younger females arrive.

Pac???

Texican....
 

Griz3752

Retired, practising Curmudgeon
Two more boys for the clan. The females are out numbered, unless more younger females arrive.

Pac???

Texican....
Not 100% sure of that but yeah, our tour guide will let us know when she thinks it appropriate. I wouldn't be shocked if there was some impersonation going on w/ the latest additions though...... just a feeling.
 
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PacNorWest

Veteran Member
#326

"Mr. Big; I don't want you to give mention to Mr. Waller that we intend to pull out and join the other train. There is something about Mr. Waller that I find very disturbing; and I don't want him knowing our plans." Pricilla was very definite.

"Now Mr. Big, if you are in any way in cahoots with Mr. Waller, we will have a special kind of retribution for you." Pricilla threatened, staring hard at Mr. Big Deal.

"No Ma'am, the first time I ever laid eyes on him vas here, I agree that there is something fishy aboot the way he is traveling so slow. I no know the reason. I plan on riding out to talk to the wagon master of the fast train, to see if he will take us on. That is only a courtesy, this day and age."

Big was a competent man. He let Miss 'Cilla have her say, as long as it fit with his notion of right and honesty. It was Ok for her to call the shots, as long as they weren't in cross purposes with his. He intended to keep Miss Tilly safe and protected, until she understood he meant her no harm; and she accepted him as a potential mate.

Big was encouraged, by Tilly's soft smiles and willingness to be near him. She wasn't cold and standoffish like Miss 'Cilla, and Big had plans for the sweet lady of his dreams.

He made sure the horses were harnessed, breakfast, such as it was, was eaten; he tipped his hat to Miss Tilly and told them to be ready to leave at a moments notice, if they were serious about keeping their intentions from Spook.

Bruce stared dismally at the cold bowl of stew, little gobs of cold fat were collected around the inside rim. It didn't look appetizing, smell any better, and his tentative taste was hard to swallow. He knew better than to voice his displeasure, Pricilla would rip and tear a strip off his hide for complaining.

Opening the back door, Bruce gazed at a fixed tree in the far horizon and shoveled the cold stew in, quickly as possible, without looking at his meal. He involuntarily gagged, coughing hard to cover the sound. Closing the door, he went to sit in his chair and take his mind back to the good times he had with Tricia and the boys. It helped him get through the current situtation. He heartily wished they were back at the retreat; as if wishing were going to get them cross that damn river.

Big had to promise that they wouldn't slow the train down; that they had a six horse hitch and a light weight wagon. The clinching factor to being accepted, was the inclusion of Dr. Bruce. A doctor was a valuable commodity, the offer of educated care, taken very seriously. It even over shadowed the wagon master's reluctance to take on two unmarried females.

"We won't wait on them, and they will have to take their place at the end. We rotate a wagon up every morning, so there is no favoritism, no whining and no stopping." The man was stern and Big liked his attitude. They would get along fine.

The faster wagon train passed on the right, as Spook had his meandering train all over the trail; leaving no space to the left, without falling into the river.

There was a very tight knit, coordinated effort to keep Spook busy when Hattie looked up to see Cilla and her wagon pulling out and joining the faster group. More than just Hattie were happy to see those two unmarried hussy's move on out and leave decent folk alone.

Big was correct. A week and two days of travel showed the first ferry was not reputable looking, but the second ferry was better. Big informed the wagon boss that they intended to drop out and cross the river. The man nodded; they had been good travelers, the Doc. had helped several of his group, and he was satisfied.
 

PacNorWest

Veteran Member
#327

Abby was pretty sure the oldest 'boy', was in fact a young woman. As the three of them worked on the jerky, Abby and the two kids; she quietly and gently asked about the deception.

The oldest jerked upright and whipped her head around, to see if any of the men had overheard. "Shhh," she demanded fiercely. "If they find out I'm a girl. they'll make us leave. Nobody wants to take on the liability of a single female. Eldon and me, we gotta get away from this area." she stopped talking abruptly, as foot steps were heard. Donny was coming in for coffee.

"Hey Sis, how old are ya, anyway?" Donny asked, stopping both the newcomers in their tracks.

"How'd you know I'm a girl; you better not tell anybody. If you do, you'll be real sorry." The tallest hat threatened.

"I smelled ya," Donny said carelessly, before he thought about what he said.

Abby gave him a quizzical look. "Donny, what do you mean by that?"

"She smells like Sally did at certain times," and then what he had said, caused him to jerk back in embarrassment. "Oh Lordy, excuse me," and he went running for the horses.

"Well, isn't that a fine thing, I hope he don't blab none, he don't think before he speaks, that's for sure." the girl spit out.

"What's your name?" Abby asked.

"Ivy," came the curt reply. "That there's Eldon. He's fifteen and I'm eighteen. Our parents done got taken by a terrible wind and we've been trying to get by. Our rotten, no good uncle took our Mam and Pap's place away from us and worked us like slaves. That's how come Eldon is so slight and short; he ain't had proper food nor rest." Ivy's shoulders sagged under her burden.

Abby directed the two to fork up several large chunks of meat and eat.

"No Ma'am, we don't want to do that. We got nothing to pay with, and we don't barter ourselves in any way." Eldon spoke up for the very first time.

"We are God-fearing people here and don't do any sort of a such thing;" Abby was stern. "I want you to eat so you can be of help when we get to the river crossing. We have the cows and horses to get safely across; not to mention ourselves and the teams and wagons."

The two looked at each other and then Ivy nodded slightly. "Ok, we'll eat." she grudgingly admitted. They attacked the meat like they were starved, and Abby supposed they were.

It was a solid week of upriver travel before they found a better ford across the river.
The water levels had steadily decreased, and the river didn't look any deeper than the wagon wheels.

"I don't know if it stopped raining upriver, it more likely is freezing and turning to ice," Wyatt grumbled early the next morning. Coffee and oatmeal was the same, day in and day out; but it was substantial and carried a person through till supper.

Ivy's identity had been discovered, and to her relief, none of the men took notice of her status. Donny especially kept as far away from her as possible, volunteering to go on hunting expeditions at every mention of needing camp meat.

"I say we need to cross here," Wyatt fidgeted and stomped around camp, generally getting in Abby's way as she and Ivy cooked.

"I'm going to cross on horse back, to check it out," Chuck was saddling his mount, looking hard at Wyatt to keep the antsy man in check. "You wait till I tell you to come across," Chuck growled at the sheriff, "this is no time to play hero." He stared hard at the lanky man, until Wyatt reluctantly nodded. Wyatt was feeling thwarted at every turn; didn't the group realize he was in a hurry.

Donny and Eldon gathered up the haltered cows and went across after Chuck waved them forward. The rest of the herd trailed after them, and went to eating in the tall grass on the opposite bank.

Wyatt went across with his wagon and horses tied on the back, then Abby with the Jacks kids riding with her. The old white gelding that had carried the travois, struggled and barely made it across the almost icy cold river.

"I don't think you should be riding that gelding," Abby said quietly. "How old is that horse?"

"Twenty five or twenty six," Eldon sighed. ""He's been a good friend to us, when nobody else was."

"Ok, let me talk to Chuck about you riding his spare horse. If you want that old boy to make the trip, we are going to have to ease his load, or he won't make it." Abby truthfully replied.

With everyone safely across the river, they headed South.
 

sssarawolf

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Big thank you Pac, we just got inside from picking around 80 lbs of plums. And dh thought he was going out to pick up and put away hoses, the plums were ready. I checked them a couple days ago and they were still pretty hard. Not now lol.
 

wab54

Veteran Member
Big thank you Pac, we just got inside from picking around 80 lbs of plums. And dh thought he was going out to pick up and put away hoses, the plums were ready. I checked them a couple days ago and they were still pretty hard. Not now lol.

What kind of plums? We like the plums with the darker insides. They make the best jelly.

WAB
 

PacNorWest

Veteran Member
#328

Clora and Mark worked companionably together, getting the rest of the hogs worked up. They had hams and bacon to soak and cure, lard to render down, and sausage to mix and fry. Clora mixed everything but sage in the sausage, explaining to Mark that the herb didn't can well and would turn bitter.

"I can't get over how you used to do all this with the amount of kids we have had. How did you find the time?" Mark mentioned, as he lifted the canner to the stove.

"A lot of the time, I had Helga to help. For all she did and was, she did work hard. I can't help believe that she started out in a certain direction; and then changed. Did you ever find any information on Helga, Helmer or Karl?"

"Nothing that I haven't already shared with you. Helga was a highly accomplished acrobat with a mean streak a mile wide. Everyone of her goof off accidents, were on purpose. Her last 'accident' down at the lake house, I watched her deliberately put on speed to crash into us. She meant to kill the both of us; and kidnap Tess. The 'why' has never been established to my satisfaction, so it's a mystery that may never be solved."

"Did the regression into the frontier life put a stop to all the information about Helga and her type, also the prince and his urn problems?" Clora asked as she set the wind up timer for the canner.

"It has. I do have to say the Marshalls Service has been non existent with their demands, and I'm liking the quiet. Clora;" Mark was very serious. "I've seen three more planes, very high in the air. They're flying slow as to not break the sound barrier, but there is increasing activity. The boys," he mentioned Toby and Milo, "were very certain of the ethnic identities of the soldiers and the civilian group that clashed before they got to us. That is very troubling."

Clora was nodding. She didn't have any news to add, it was like the incident had never happened in her recollection. She finally said something to Mark about the two that escaped being Slavic in nationality, but that she had nothing else to report.

"It's going to be a tough winter; it looks like we are going to have pork, cabbages and some potatoes. I reckon that it is the end of the third week in September, so we have maybe four weeks of growing weather left. I haven't found any apples, pears or berries in our orchards and berry patches. There are small amounts of Fox grapes and a few Persimmons, but that's about it." Clora was fatalistic.

"People have lived, perhaps not well, but managed to get by on pork and cabbage during lean times. Have you any notion of how many of our people will be coming here? Are we going to have more than we can feed?" Mark put more wood in the stove. The temperature was rising in the kitchen with the steamy canners exhausting.

"A couple that will become our cook and handyman, and Bruce. Then Jerry, Abby, Donny, Chuck and Wyatt. Maybe a couple more, they are vague." Clora spoke softly.

"That's eight, maybe more. Seems to me, we need more pork and a couple of treks to the fishing hole. Some woods wildcrafting, that may not be enough." Mark shook his head in frustration.

"Jerry has some beef cattle with him, and Wyatt and Chuck have work mares and colts. They are trying not to come empty handed," Clora yawned and the sound caught Mark's attention. "I'll watch the canners, why don't you take a nap."

"I've got too much to do," Clora mumbled as her eyes went shut. Sitting in the rocker, she sagged over to the side, asleep.
 

Texican

Live Free & Die Free.... God Freedom Country....
Food is a major concern when it falls apart. Starvation will be common even for those that plan and do not have sufficient.

Texican....
 

juco

Veteran Member
Thank you Pac! I wish I had the words to express how much this saga means to me. With the world news getting more insane by the day it’s so wonderful to be able to escape into Mark and Clora’s world for a time.
 

PacNorWest

Veteran Member
#328

When Clora woke, Mark and Gary were sitting at the table, quietly talking.

"Dad, I have the worst nightmares about Ricky's death. I wish I could tell you what happened, I'm just not sure, and I can tell you that I'm a battle hardened soldier, and that scared me down to my toes. I could feel the evil emanating from the dark shape, and it was like I was paralyzed, I couldn't move or talk. I am so sorry I wasn't able to keep Ricky alive."

Mark stared in the eyes of his anguished son, and said calmly; "it was his time, I am positive that there is nothing you could have done to prevent Ricky's demise. Milo and Honey understand, you have to accept that you did your best. I'm glad you're back home. Has Milo or Toby filled you in on the threat that has come at us?"

"Bits and pieces when the children weren't around. It was their idea to completely eliminate the horror camp that David and Scotty came from, and I'm in, 100 percent on that one." Gary was definite as he reached for his cup of coffee.

"Someone had desecrated the graves at the lake hotel. I re-buried all the bones I could find in one big grave and lined up the headstones and crosses. The place looked like a herd of rabid gophers had dug holes all over the place. I thought perhaps a person had thought there might be buried treasure, and then for some reason, I thought about the prince. I can't tell you why I came to that conclusion, it just came to me."

"I don't think you are wrong," Clora spoke up. "The prince would be the type that would take pleasure in disturbing graves, especially our graves. He died for his arrogance; but we still have danger from the ruling party in Arabia. They will come at us again." Clora sighed hard, it was never ending.

"Are we gonna have enough food to last out the winter?" Gary voiced his concerns. "The weather is so unusual, any ideas on the why?"

"No idea," Mark stretched out his legs. "Have you seen the planes?"

"Yes, and I thought I was seeing things. So that begs the question; are there countries that weren't affected?"

"The prince didn't confirm he had come to the US by plane, but he was too autocratic to spend the time coming by boat, so it's up in the air." and Mark chuckled at his own pun.
 

PacNorWest

Veteran Member
#328b

"Ma, Dad, I have a favor to ask, may I bunk here? I'm kinda stuck for a place to stay. I'm not going any where near Tess and Dory, and Milo and Toby have housefulls." Gary looked hopeful, other wise it was a stall in the barn if he wasn't welcome.

Mark didn't have to look at Clora, he knew all their kids were welcome, but he was trying to ease Clora's work.

"Sure," Mark agreed, "I think Tess and Dory have some of their things in a couple of rooms; so those are taken; but the rest is open for you."

"Are they in the West wing? If they are, I'll take a room in the East wing. That's an easy choice to make," Gary chuckled at his own cleverness, as he hoisted a rucksack and went down the hall.

Gary chose the room furthest down the hall, the one Tess had used growing up. Small, barely larger than the queen bed and dresser, it suited him fine. Like all the rest of the clan, he didn't have much in the way of personal belongings; besides, he wanted a long way away from the suite of rooms he had used with Jainy. He could finally think about her and his kids with out feeling berserker rage, but it was still better to let them fade away.

Gary had put the horses away, and now he needed to help with the butchering. He had work to do.



Pricilla drove down toward the ferry, stopping at the small shack to deal with the ferry operator. Able Anderson took one look at the strong, well matched team of six up horses and admired the horseflesh, and the driver was interesting also.

Big sat easy on his horse, close to Tilly on the wagon seat. "Do you think she vill need any help?"

"No, she knows her mind, more than any person I have known. Mr. Big, which pair of horses would you suggest we barter with?" Tilly asked.

"The big wheelers are the pair that the man will be interested in. They are bigger and in better shape than any I see here. The ferry is smaller than the St. Louis one, and a team would have to be unhitched and a second trip made. So, if he will barter, it will be beneficial to us in the long run." Big watched the river, it seemed to be down in volume, so this would be an optimal time to cross.

"Is she throwing her weight around?" Bruce asked from the canopy, "I've never seen a more bossy woman that won't listen to any other opinions beside her own. One of these times she's going to endanger us all with her stupid stubbornness."

"She is talking to the ferry operator, she will let us know when she comes out." Tilly felt as frustrated as the two men, over Pricilla's autocratic behavior.

Big shook his head to clear the image of Miss Pricilla cracking the whip over them all.

Pricilla came marching out with a stubborn look on her face. "He wants the wheel horses as the fee to cross, I have a good notion to tell that black hearted jerk to take a long walk off a short pier." She stomped over to the horses to pat them gently.

"Miss Cilla," Big started to say, "that is a reasonable fee. You vill do nothings to endanger Miss Tilly and Dr. Bruce. If you want to cross, that is the barter that he has set as the price of passage. Miss Tilly and I and Doc Bruce want to cross and ve vote to trade the wheelers to the man. You can either go with us, or stay here."

There was such a finality in Big's voice, Cilla realized her tenure as the wagon master was over. She had been out voted.

"Fine," Pricilla snapped in anger, "go ahead, trade him the horses and take yourselves across the river and get gone. Good riddance to you all. I'll get my things and you can do the un-harnessing if your so gol darn smart on how to get yourselves to the retreat."

Words spoken in anger, are bitter when you have to swallow them later; but Cilla's temper got the better of her. She watched from the shack as the teams were rearranged and the pair of heavy bodied Bay wheelers were driven into Able's corral.

Able instructed Big on how to guide the ferry raft; as his teams of horses pulled the cable that inched the raft across the deep, placid appearing river.

Scared, Tilly prayed every prayer she had ever known about as they inched across the current that was deceptive in it's strength.

Bruce was standing by the teams, helping to keep the horses calm; and he didn't mind saying a few prayers himself. Big kept the guide rope taut, and said prayers to match Tilly's.

At last they creaked into the shallow dock, and Big led the team and wagon off. He waited for Bruce to get up in the seat to control the horses; while Big went back to collect Tilly and his saddle horse.

Tilly was white with fright and had to lean heavily on Big. He kinda liked that.

Once they got to the other side, the track that Mark had used became visible. "We need to go South until we get to the next big river and then turn East. It will take about three weeks to get to the retreat from here. Considering the weather, I believe we should go with all speed possible." Bruce seemed to be confident and personable with out the sour, over bearing personality of Pricilla.

Big looked at him and said, "ja, let us be going then."
 

PacNorWest

Veteran Member
#329

"Hey, look at that sign," Donny exclaimed loudly. "It says we are close to Cloverport. Do you know, I bet we are in Kentucky. Lets look at the map, HOORAY!! We're getting closer".

It was an energizing shot in the arm, people and horses straightened up and stepped higher and faster. It was time to make tracks; they went almost 20 miles after they crossed the Ohio that morning.

"If we keep this up, it will only take a week to cross Kentucky. Tennessee is almost the same, we could be home in 3 to 4 weeks." Donny was almost shouting his excitement.

The infectious excitement bolstered the camp; and all were grinning that night as they ate stew. All except Ivy and Eldon. The kids felt safe traveling with the clan, but the big unknown for them was the final destination. Nobody had said they might be welcome; and the stories about the man who ran the place, made him sound imposing, larger than life strict and humorless and not very accepting to new people.

Quietly, Ivy and Eldon Jacks made plans to continue south when the clan got close to their former home. It was the kids original plan, and they studied the map whenever they had spare moments.

Abby could tell there was an uneasiness about the Jacks, but she had no clue as to what might be wrong. Hopefully, she thought, whatever it was would be resolved.



Tilly took one last look at the shack and horse corral on the other side of the river, not seeing Pricilla at all, and sighed deeply.

"I wish she wasn't so stubborn," Tilly told Big sadly. "It's like she didn't mind cutting off her nose to spite her face. What will she do now?"

Whatever private thoughts Big had about Miss Pricilla and what she might do to stay alive; he tempered in his reply to Tilly. "She iss a grown voman, it has been like she has been itching for a fight ever since ve came together. Iss no goods for a person to be so angry about life; she no trusted God."

"Exactly right," Bruce spoke up. "Pricilla seemed to think she could orchestrate her life better than common sense and God could do. When you back yourself into a corner and won't give in or listen to reason, there are consequences."

"Oh, listen to me, I sound just like Clora. Good heavens, before I know it, I'll be patting people on the arm and exclaiming 'oh my.'" Bruce made fun of himself.

"Clora, who is Clora? Tell me about her;" Tilly asked. "Do you think she will want someone like me?" Now Tilly was looking at Big riding beside her on his horse. She didn't want to presume he would want to go or stay with her, but if he did, they would have to be married. Tilly didn't fancy any hanky panky.

What Tilly was thinking was written plainly on her face, and it made Big smile. It was great, she was falling right into his clutches. Or, maybe he was falling into hers, either way, it was going to be glorious.

Big cleared his throat, he had a delicate problem to bring up. "Miss Tilly, I don't think you should be sleeping in the same wagon with Dr. Bruce; without me there."

Tilly flashed him a look of pure astonishment. She had never thought about the night's sleeping arrangements. Her eyes got big and she coughed. "Ah, Mr. Big, I am not a person to, ... to.... be,... be..."

"Miss Tilly, will you marry me?" Big interrupted Tilly's sputtering, and Tilly could only nod. She tried to talk and nothing came out. She was totally captivated by staring at Big; and he seemed the same.

Bruce reached over and gathered up the reins from Tilly's limp hands. He rolled his eyes and turned so he was looking straight ahead, to give the couple as much privacy as possible.
 

PacNorWest

Veteran Member
#330

"Oh my!" Tilly was gasping for breath when she surfaced from dear, sweet Big's kiss. The two super sized people were staring at one another with shocked surprise.

From his side of the wagon seat, Bruce was snickering. Tilly reached around behind herself and gave Bruce a friendly tap on the shoulder, as a reminder to be quiet.

Bruce about took a header off the seat, but was saved by Tilly's hand clamping securely around his arm, yanking him back.

All the while this was going on, Tilly's eyes never left Big's face. By golly he was one fine hunk of a handsome man, and in her appreciation, Tilly puckered up for another kiss.

Big, of course being gentlemanly and with courting manners, sidepassed his horse as close to the wagon as possible. Looking at Tilly with her eyes closed and lips puckered, Big did the only thing possible, he kissed her back.

The moment was going so well; the sun was shining, birds singing, sweet breezes wafting the air, Tilly thought her heart would burst with the emotion of it all.

Then it happened.

Big's horse felt the highly charged atmosphere, and had a sudden necessity to give the nice plump rump of the wheel mare he was snuggled up close to, a playful nip.

The lady strenuously objected.

She cow kicked at Big's mount, catching the stout gelding in the upper shoulder.

The gelding objected, strenuously.

Big had just settled in for a sweet, long kiss, when he was nearly unseated. He and Tilly bumped noses, hard. Tilly's generous sized hand flew up in reaction, clipping Big in the space below his nose and spattering the freely flowing blood over Big and herself.

Jerking her hand back rapidly, Tilly wacked her own nose and as Big's nose spurted blood, so did Tilly's.

With a cry of anguish, Tilly grabbed at her apron to staunch the running of her nose, and Big wisely ducked. He wasn't quick enough.

With her eyes locked on her darlings face, Tilly's hand grabbed air as she sent it toward her lap and the blood speckled cloth. She over balanced and started to fall out of the wagon seat.

Big sacrificed himself.

Grabbing at Tilly to keep her from falling between the wagon and his horse, Big bumped his nose hard once again against Tilly's head. There was blood everywhere, and more coming.

Bruce was laughing so hard he was coughing and choking, and then lost his air as Tilly's foot in its substantial boot kicked him in the side as she went down in a heap beside the wagon wheel. Bruce crumpled in the seat, the breath he was trying to draw making a whistling sound as he inhaled

The gelding saw his opportunity. He got in a swift nip on the obstinate mare, as he felt he evened the score nicely.
With the whistling sound from Bruce, and the sharp nip, the mare surged forward, thinking the driver was putting her in motion.

At the starting lurch, Bruce wildly grabbed for the reins, the loose leather slapping the teams as the go-ahead motion. Obediently, they began to trot, just as requested.

Bruce was trying to yell 'Whoa, Whoa', but he didn't have enough breath, and the jostling, and the bouncing of the trotting team threw him to the floor every time he tried to get up.

Sweet Tilly was a bigger handful than Big expected. He exited his saddle at a rapid pace and tried to throw himself away from her jumble of arms and petticoats as she hit the ground.

Big landed beside Tilly, both of them still bleeding profusely. Tilly sat up and tried to catch her breath, this time carefully catching the left side of her apron and offering Big the right hand corner.

They both sat on the cold ground, leaning against one another as they tried to stem their bloody noses.

"Look," Big said as he spat a mouthful of blood out of his mouth, "that durn fool doc is letting the team run away with the wagon."

Tilly could only nod. She also had a mouth full of blood, but didn't want to spit in front of Big. It just wasn't ladylike. Tilly felt like crying. She had hurt Big something fierce, and now he would tip his hat and call out adios, as he hurried to get away from her.

Big looked at his sweetheart's beautiful brown eyes welling with tears and somewhat rightly guessed what the problem might be.

"Tilly, sweet dearest Tilly, you haven't hurt me; I'm staying right here vith you."

His kindness made Tilly sob harder.
 
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