Trego, page 12
I was assessing her get-up as we walked along. Now I knew a little about how the Chinese dressed. One thing, she had made her hair up in a pigtail, like a males. I don’t know why she bothered to do that, most Americans didn’t know the difference. But maybe it wasn’t us, she was trying to fool?
“Bayard, this is Mr. Jie-Le Wu.” Jie-Le gave a stiff little bow, like she wasn’t too familiar with the procedure. Bayard stuck his hand out to shake. Jie-Le wasn’t too happy with shaking hands, but she did.
Bayard looked at me with a question in his eyes. I nodded. He smiled. “How about some breakfast for Jie-Le and some coffee and bear sign for me?” I said.
“Sure, it’ll just take a few minutes for the breakfast, is Ham and Eggs alright?” Bayard said looking at Jie-Le. She nodded. And then said timidly, “May I have some tea, also?”
“Tea? Well now, let me think. Yes, I might just have a tin of tea back there, it’s been there for years though, is that all right?” Sam said, as if he hadn’t been serving Tea right along.
“Yes, please, thank you.” She said. She looked up at me with a shy smile. I cleared my throat and said, “So Jie-Le, I know you just came from Bannack, but where did you hail from before that?”
“San Francisco.”
“So, were you born there, or what?” I said, pressing the point.
“Beijing. I was born in China.” She said, I could see that it would take some work to pry everything out of her. Which I didn’t feel like doing. Besides, Brie had just walked in. Brie took one look at her and said, “What do we have here?”
“Honey, this is Mr. Jie-Le Wu, I bumped into him on the sidewalk and knocked him down, so I figured I owed him some breakfast.” Brie was staring at her all the while I was jabbering. Then I said, “This is my wife, Brie.” Brie reached out and took her hands in hers. I could see her feeling Jie-Le’s hands. Then Brie said, “Why don’t we go set at the table in the corner, then we can talk some more.”
“Yes,” I said, “Bayard can bring our food to the table.” As we settled into our chairs, Brie said, “No use beating around the bush, Jie-Le if you’re going to pretend to be a boy, at least change your name some, I know that Jie means pure and Le means joy and they are both girl names. We had a Chinese maid, when I was a little girl, she taught me a lot.” Then Brie started talking to her in Cantonese. Of course I didn’t know that was the dialect she was using till later.
Bayard brought the food and drinks, he also brought coffee and a doughnut for Brie. Jie-Le dug in like she hadn’t eaten for a week, maybe she hadn’t. Brie and her kept up the conversation between bites. I finished my coffee and got up and went to the bar for a refill, they didn’t even notice that I was gone.
Bayard said, as he poured my cup full, “That’s a female, right?”
“Yep, sure is, but don’t tell anybody, she might have a pretty good reason for the disguise. It might be saving her life.”
“Undoubtedly, a Chinese girl by herself, some would consider fair game.”
“Yeah, but I think there is more to it than that, did you notice she didn’t have an accent?” I said.
“Yes, that is different isn’t it?”
We left it at that as I took my cup to the table and rejoined the ladies. I finally got a word in edgewise. “Honey, did you talk to Jane and Mary?”
“Yes, they said they would be glad to work for Margaret. But what about this new little problem that we have?”
“Problem that we have? How is it our problem?” I queried.
“Really Tre`, we just can’t leave her to the vagaries of this town.” Brie said, like I would leave her to the whims and caprice actions of the population.
“Of course I wouldn’t. So just what do you have in mind? Another thing, just what is she doing here by herself, all of the Chinese that I have seen are usually traveling with relatives, or at least with friends?”
“That’s a long story. A dramatic one, to be exact. But it is a wonder that she got this far without being raped or killed. Since Jane and Mary are going to be moving up to our place, do you think that your Uncle and Aunt would be willing to take Jie-Le in?”
“Well, why don’t you take her by and ask them?” I said.
“You’re not getting out of this that easy, you are going with us, Buster Brown.”
“Buster Brown? Where did you get that? I asked.
“That was the name of my doll when I was a little girl, it was a boy doll.”
“And just how do you know it was a boy doll?” I asked. Brie stuck her tongue out at me. Jie-Le was looking back and forth at both of us, with an alarmed look on her face.
Brie seen her expression, “Don’t worry, we’re not fighting, I know your race is more reserved, but this is normal for us.”
“Alright, come on, the two of you. Jie-Le, don’t you have any baggage?” I asked her as we went out the door.
“Yes, I left my bag at stage depot.”
“Alright then, let’s go by and get it.” And that’s just what we did. Her bag wasn’t much, a few items tied in a silk scarf. No extra clothes. I hadn’t noticed before, but she was starting to smell a little ripe.
We knocked on the back door. We didn’t want to go through the barber shop, no use drawing anymore attention to her than was needed. Garnet came to the door.
“Aunt Garnet, this is Jie-Le Wu, she needs a place to stay. And we thought since Jane and Mary are moving up to our place, that you might have room for her?” Brie said.
Garnet looked at us, then back to Jie-Le, “Ah, dressed as a boy, but quite evident that she is a girl, even though she has her breasts bound.” Garnet said, then wrinkling her nose, she added. “The first thing she needs is a bath, come in, I have hot water all prepared, I keep it hot for our customers.”
We went in, Garnet nodded to the kitchen table, “I have hot coffee on the stove, help yourselves, while I take our guest to the bathroom.” Brie sat down, I went to the stove and poured two cups of coffee.
“So, are you going to fill me in on the story of our new friend?”
“I suppose.” Brie said, as she hitched her guns around to a more comfortable position. “Have you ever heard of the forbidden city? Well, anyway, it turns out she is, or was what could be called the odd man out. You see, she was just a few seconds late in coming into this world. She was the second born of twins. And being second, she was as nothing. The only reason she is alive; was that the midwife spirited her away at birth and raised her as her own. But somehow, her birth mother found out, in later years of her existence.”
“Well, what of it? What difference does it make if she was born second.”
“Cause, her twin sister is the princess. And being the daughter of the Emperor, the Princess is line for the Thorne. Much the same as if they were males. Anyway, Jie-Le’s foster mother got her out of the country before they could kill her. Jie-Le thinks they are still trying to kill her. She was living in San Francisco, till she barely escaped being killed. She used the last of her money getting here.”
“I’ve heard of sibling rivalry, but they really take it to extremes in China, huh?” I said.
“Well, they don’t cotton to girls much over there anyway. They think the sun rises and sets in boys, but girls are treated like trash.” Brie said.
“Yeah, I read that not only Asian country’s are that way, but a lot of those Arabs, think the same way. Hey, I know, they could send all of their unwanted women out west here, where there is a shortage of women.” I said, with a laugh.
“You laugh, but that would be a good idea, if only it were possible.” Brie said. We sat and talked for awhile. Then Garnet brought Jie-Le back.
Jie-Le was dressed in a new buckskin dress, her hair was done in the Blackfoot style. If I wouldn’t of known better, I would say that she was a Blackfoot.
Garnet said, “I had to burn her old clothes, what do you think, she looks enough like me to be my daughter?”
“Yes, she does. Now she just has to stand up straight and not be so subservient.” Brie said. With that Jie-Le squared her shoulders and looked us in the eyes. “That’s better,” Brie said. Then added, “Be proud that you are a woman. And as such you have the power to make men swoon.”
“Swoon? Where did you get that word. I’ve never seen a man swoon over a woman? In fact, I’m not sure you are using it right. I thought it meant to fall unconscious?”
“Well it can also mean a strong romantic emotion.” Brie said. Then Garnet said, “You two stop your bickering, you are upsetting Jie-Le, can’t you see that?”
We looked, sure enough, a tear was running down her cheek. Brie said, “We’re sorry, aren’t we Honey?” As she put her arm around me. “We’re not fighting, are we Tre`?”
“Nope, not by a long shot, we just enjoy our interaction. That way we can have make-up sex later.” I said, that really put a confused look on her face. We didn’t bother to explain, different cultures different ways.
Garnet said, “Shame on you Trego, talking like that in front of a young girl, go on the two of you, leave her with me, I will take care of her.”
“Alright Aunt Garnet,” I said. “We do have a few things to do, thank you, if you need any money or anything for her keep, you just let me know.” I said.
As we were walking back to the Marshal’s office I asked my wife, “Did she say anything else, like who are trying to kill her?”
“I thought I told you, her Princess Sister.”
“Yes, I know that, but over here, are they Chinese or have they hired some Anglo help?”
“Well, it could be both. Did you think she looked like a Blackfoot?”
“Yes, maybe if she stays like that, you know dressed that way, they won’t know where she is.” I said.
“But, she came here as a Chinese, the stage driver knows, as well as Bayard.”
“Yep, I tell you what, I’ll just go see those people and tell them to forget they even seen a Chinese guy come to town. Cause now she’s a Blackfoot girl.”
“Yes, why don’t you go do that and I’ll go through the mail the stage brought in this morning.” Brie said, as she turned to face me and leaned up an gave me a kiss. I picked her up and held her tight as we kissed. Of course a few of the local busy bodies happened to be passing by, “Well, I never.” The Preacher’s wife said.
I set Brie back down, “Of course you haven’t.” I said, as she humphed away. I went back to the Saloon, Bayard was no problem, neither was the Stage Driver. When I got back to the Marshal’s office, Brie was still setting at our desk. She looked up, holding a wanted poster,
“Look at what came in the mail.” She said. It was a poster with Jie-Le’s likeness on it. It was offering a thousand dollar reward for information on her whereabouts. The only thing was, was that it said she was the Princess. Not the sister of the Princess. I took the poster from Brie, “Does this make any difference? I mean, she ran for a purpose, we don’t care what it was.” I said.
“Nope, not in the least.” Brie said, as she took the poster back and opened the door on the stove and tossed it in the fire. Brie had lit the fire when she first came in; to take the morning’s chill off. Brie came and sat back down. “Honey, you know what? I don’t believe what that poster said. I think that was a sneaky way to get people to turn her in. You know, Oh, she’s a Princess, Royalty, and we get a thousand dollars besides. Do you see what I mean?”
“Yeah, I do. If they would of just put out a regular wanted poster on her, it would of invoked sympathy for her. Pretty sneaky. I’m like you, I believe her story, not the poster.” I said.
“Another thing, about your Aunt, why do you think she was so quick to take Jie-Le in?”
“You know, I’ve been thinking about that. As far as I know they never had any children, maybe it was just her maternal instinct?” I said.
“Yes, but it was uncanny how they did resemble each other.” Brie said.
“Well, we really don’t have too much time to worry about Jie-Le, we have to get ready to leave for Helena. I thought I would go over to the livery and see about a bigger wagon than yours, plus I think we need at least four horses to pull it. Do you want to go with me?”
Chapter Seven
Late that night, Brie and I, loaded the ingots in the wagon and then parked it behind our barn. I unhitched the four horses and put them in the corral and gave them a bait of grain. Instead of just renting the wagon and horses, I bought them from Henry. We would also be taking Jim and the two mares. I had Jake sleep in the wagon, he would be a big deterrent to anyone messing around.
I wanted to be on the road at dawn. I had put a sign on the Marshal’s Office door, it read, GONE FISHING. I had told Klaas Bleecker we would be back in two weeks. He was going to keep an eye on the town, since he was Mayor.
Brona and Caitie had packed what they wanted to take and was ready at dawn, as were we. Brona knew how to drive four up, so the two girls would be riding in the wagon. I had put all of our extra guns in the wagon, like my Sharps fifty caliber. Plus our tent and what supply’s we would need.
The plain fact was, I was anxious to get out of town and back on the trail, this city living wasn’t for me. When we swung our legs over the back of our horses, Brie’s eyes were sparkling. She was more than glad to be traveling.
“Sweetheart,” I asked Brie, “did you bring your copy of that claim certificate and your old marriage license?”
“Yes, I sure did. The more I think about how he died, I am sure he was murdered. I am more interested in justice, than the money.” Brie said, we were careful to not be overheard by the girls. I always like to play my cards close to the vest. They didn’t even know what was in the wagon, yet.
When the horses leaned into their collars and started to pull, Brona said, “What the hell, what do you have in this wagon?”
I looked down at her, “Your future, just your future.” She looked up at me and said, “Yeah, I bet.”
Brie rode one of the mares, the other one followed along on her own, she wouldn’t leave her partner. The sun was just breaking over the mountains to the east.
I planned on passing to the west of Tweedy mountain and camp at Lake Agnes. Then cross to the Big Hole River and follow it to its confluence with the Jefferson River, then take the Boulder River till we would get almost to Basin. Then follow the valley north through the small towns of Comet, Wickes, Corbin, Alhambra and Clancy, then into Helena. I wasn’t too worried about trouble along the trail, that is till we got to those last five towns as we drew closer to Helena.
Jake was running back and forth in front of us. He would do that till he got tired of it, then I bet he would get in the wagon. The wagon had four inch wide wheels, so it didn’t sink in too bad, but enough so a good tracker could tell it was loaded pretty heavy.
We didn’t push it too hard, we let the horses rest as they needed. We arrived at our first camp, Lake Agnes in mid-afternoon. The grass was belly deep. They called this range of mountains, the Pioneer’s. Not too many people knew how to get a loaded wagon through, due to the roughness of the trail. But I had been this way before.
It was the last part of April, the nights were pretty cold this high up. So we set up the tent. That is the women did, while I took the harness’s off of the team. I rubbed them down and then put hobbles on them so they could graze, without wandering too far.
The women had just about got the tent up, when I started the fire for supper. We all pitched in to make supper and clean up afterwards. We were setting around the fire talking and sipping the last of the coffee, when Brie asked, “So, I suppose you know where we go from here?”
“Yep, it’ll be pretty easy tomorrow, we should hit the Big Hole River before noon. We’ll camp somewhere along it. Then we will follow it to the small town of Twin Bridges. The Big Hole joins up with the Beaverhead River, The Ruby River and the Jefferson, which we will follow all of the way to the Boulder River, which we will follow north.” I said.
“You make it sound simply, is it?” Caitie said.
“I reckon, but there is always one wild card that you can’t plan for, and that’s the human equation. When I was wandering around on the way to Coolidge, I seen a lot of Ranch’s springing up here and there.”
“How many is a lot?” Brona asked.
“Oh, I don’t know, one about every twenty or thirty miles or so. Of course I steered clear of them. I have always found the less I have to do with people, the less trouble I have.”
“Well, what made you hang your tack in Coolidge then?” Brona said.
“The reason is setting right beside you. One look at Brie and I knew my goose was cooked.”
“And you had better believe it is going to stay cooked too, Buster.” Brie said, as she stood up, “who wants to water the lily’s with me?” She asked, looking at Brona and Caitie. They both got up.
“Take Jake with you, he’ll keep the Griz away. I’m going to get the horse’s in and picket them close to the tent.” I had the horses all done before they came back, for the life of me, I couldn’t see how it would take that long just to take a leak.
I banked the coals in the fire, with a pretty high ring of rocks around it. The women had went to the tent, I told Jake to sleep under the wagon. I went to the tent. I expected the women to be in their bedrolls.
They had put all four of our bedrolls together, making one big bed. They were setting there in their new panties that Brie had made. I said, “I guess I will go sleep with Jake.”
“No, you’re not.” Brie said, “you will sleep on the outside, beside me, the girls will sleep on the other side of me and that’s final.”
“Alright, but why didn’t you sew something for their tops, and yours too.” I said looking anywhere but where they weren’t.
“What do you want us to wear on our breasts?’ Brie said.
“I don’t know, maybe some kind of scarves or something.” I said, as I started to get under the blanket’s.
“Whoa there, you take your boots and pants off, you’re not getting under the covers with them on.” Brie said.
“Alright, you blow the lantern out then.” I said. She did. The only problem was the moon was so bright, that the inside was just about as bad as the outside. The women were enjoying my discomfort. The only thing was, I wasn’t as upset as they thought. I was sort of enjoying the scenery. They didn’t mind flaunting their attributes, if they thought that you didn’t want to see them. I wasn’t as backwards as they thought I was.
