I woke up next to Claire and found her eyes open looking at me. I reached out my hand and stroked her hair as we lay there, "How are you feeling? I asked.
"I hurt but not as much as yesterday. It will get better."
"Did anyone do anything else?", I asked, afraid that she had been raped during her ordeal.
"No, you got there before anything else happened. They might have, but the whipping I got from Thompson, saved me from that. The woman who bought me from him told the man who was guarding me to make sure I stayed there and wait until I was healed to start my training."
"What about Elizabeth? What is happening to her?"
"He hasn't done anything to Elizabeth yet. He seemed to be concentrating on Louise and I for his revenge. He still isn't letting her out of her hand irons and is keeping her under guard like us, but nothing else while I was still with them."
"You know I have to leave to go after Elizabeth. Josh is here and I want you to wait until you are both well and then go home to the claim. Willy and I will continue to go after Elizabeth and Thompson. "
"Elizabeth isn't the only one with him. He has a young oriental girl with him as well that he's taking somewhere. You have to rescue her as well."
"Claire, I need to concentrate on Elizabeth. I don't have anything to use to trace her with anyway. "
"Trace her with?"
I explained that I had used a dowsing rod with their rings to trace where they were. I think Claire thought I was making a joke. I got out the dowsing rod and used it to find the direction that Elizabeth was in. Opening my eyes I found it pointing to the east. "If I had a good map, I could find her on the map as well", I told her matter of factly. She looked at me as if she wasn't sure what to believe.
I woke up Willy and Josh and found out what Willy had learned last night. Willy had found that Richard Thompson was from Louisiana originally and ran with a group of southerners who wanted to make Oregon a slave state to balance the non-slave states of the north. He had left yesterday with two close associates going toward Idaho where they planned to set up a brothel near Fort Hall. He had two women with him and they thought that he was supposed to pick up some others at Fort Boise. The only description he had was that both women were small. They were being held in a wagon that was being pulled by a six-horse team.
I frowned when I heard that. A wagon being pulled with a six-horse team would be almost as fast as the riders. If they had enough horses to make up two teams they could move just as fast. I also worried about the two more men he had with him. Before I got hurt I would have had no hesitation about taking on three men. Now I didn't know if I was still fast enough to do that any more. Willy was a great rifle shot but his draw was really slow, although he usually hit what he aimed at.
Claire looked at us and must have seen my doubts, because she spoke up, "Take Josh with you."
"I'm not going to leave you here alone."
She looked at me, "I won't be. Have someone contact this house and tell them that the 'sun rises in the west and will never set'". She wrote out a name and I sent Josh to find the house.
The moment he left, I turned to Claire, "What is going on here? More secrets of the 'group'?"
She looked at me and remained silent. Before too long I heard someone coming to the door and Josh telling us he was coming in with visitors. He entered and I was surprised that the people coming in weren't women. There were three men with Josh. When I looked at Claire she just looked back.
"Who are you people and what do you have to do with my wife?"
The men looked at us and then at Claire who gave them a nod. One started talking, "We are members of the Society of Friends who run the Underground Railroad in this area. Thy wife is the leader of the Railroad in Oregon."
I looked at Claire and she looked back at me with a steady eye. "Claire, we have to talk about this when I get back. I told you before that we need to discuss things that will affect the family."
"Alex! This is from before we were married and it affects me only. It has nothing to do with the family and there has never been any traffic through our home. They will keep me safe and make sure I get home if you're not back by then." She looked at me, "Bring Elizabeth back to us. You need Josh and Willy to have the best chance."
I didn't want to agree with her but I had no choice. She was right. Having Josh with us would make it safer for everyone. I gave Claire a kiss and a hug, "We'll bring her back. If you're not here I will see you at our claim. I love you!"
Josh gave Claire a hug too and was kissed on the forehead. He blushed and backed away, "You be careful Josh and take care of your father. He tends to lose his common sense when one of your mothers is threatened."
Josh gave her a smile, "I will mom Claire. I'll try to control him the best I can."
I maintained a dignified silence during this conversation, but it didn't help my mood when I saw Willy with a big grin on his face during it. I turned and left the room going down to the livery stable where we had left our horses and gathered our gear together. I bought a small cask of powder before we left since I didn't know how much shooting we would be doing. Josh ran over to the hotel and picked up something for lunch and dinner. He came back munching on a piece of johnny bread and bacon with a parcel under his arm and two more pieces of johnny bread in his hand. Tossing one to Willy and me he saddled his horse and we started out.
There was only one way out so we knew which direction they had to have gone. We quickly started back over the trail we had traveled to get to Oregon. Every so often I used the dowsing rod and checked the direction that Elizabeth was in. It varied from time to time but always ahead. We continued riding hard the entire day until we couldn't see any more. Finally Willy and Josh persuaded me to get down and set up camp. I dowsed and felt rage and fear from Elizabeth but no pain. I worried what would happen if we didn't get there soon. Would the three men rape Elizabeth on the journey? I wasn't sure how she could handle that again. I wanted to catch the men before they got to the open plains before the Blue Mountains. I was afraid I would lose them in the wide open spaces.
I finally slept but kept waking up from nightmares. Finally I gave up and sat by the fire waiting for daybreak. I set up a pot of beans and cornbread for tomorrow's breakfast. Moving away from the fire I looked at the sky and the surrounding country, thinking about how much my life had changed in the last two years. Two years ago I was worrying about how I was going to pay my student loans and what sort of life I had to look forward to. I was barely working and not at all in my field of Electronic Commerce. I had no girlfriends and not too many other friends of any kind. Now I had three wives and three babies at home with an adopted son by my side. I had friends who were willing to face death by my side and was an important man in my town. I was living adventures that people only dreamed of in my time. My time? That was my time no longer. This was my time. Right here and right now, and I had no desire to go back.
November 30, 1849
Finally the dawn began to break and I woke up Willy and Josh. We ate and broke camp. I closed my eyes and dowsed for Elizabeth's location again. She was ahead and to the east and felt far away. We started out again and rode all day. I kept dowsing and felt that we were getting closer but very slowly.
December 1- 4, 1849
We kept getting closer every day and I felt Elizabeth's rage and fear grow more powerful every day. Finally I felt that we were getting close and I told Willy that we needed to continue riding after dark. He objected but I was inflexible. Josh argued with me as well but I told them both I was going on with or without them. Giving up they went with me at a slow speed and about an hour after dark we spotted a fire ahead on the horizon. Checking my dowsing rod, it pointed toward the fire and I told them that Elizabeth was there.
We rode closer and about a half mile away, dismounted and hobbled the horses. Taking our rifles with us we moved stealthily over the landscape toward the fire. I was hoping they would be as foolish as the sailors, but I was disappointed. A shot rang out from the area of the camp and we flattened out. I crawled forward and saw it was the party we were after. I saw that they had camped in a natural circle of rocks that provided both good cover and protection.
I sent Josh back for the horses and we waited for daybreak. I sent Willy around to the back and watched him do his disappearing act again in the brush. Josh and I took up supporting positions and looked to see if we could see anything moving. We hadn't fired yet and I was hoping that the slavers would think that they hadn't really seen anything. I was willing to shoot them without giving them a chance to shoot back. If I could ambush them and kill them all without warning, that would suit me just fine.
We stayed hidden until I saw a movement and saw a head poking out from behind a rock. I hoped that Josh wouldn't shoot until more than one person was visible. I was waiting for more movement when Josh shot and the man slumped down on the ground. Shots rang out aimed toward the rocks where Josh was hidden. I didn't have a shot so I waited. Suddenly Willy shot and I saw a man stand up and fall.
I spared a glance over in the direction that Josh was at and was relieved to see that he was behind another rock with his rifle loaded. I looked out and saw nothing moving in the camp. Suddenly I saw a horse come running out of the camp heading toward The Dalles. I quickly shot and missed. Josh shot as well and also missed. By the time we had reloaded the rider was out of range. Wondering who had escaped, we waited to see if there was any other movement .
After about an hour of not seeing anything moving I began to move closer and closer. When I almost got to the ring of rocks I saw Willy stand up and wave his rifle. I stood up then and went toward the wagon. I found the wagon barred and a lock on the door. Getting a pry bar out of the wagon tool box I broke a lock and opened the bar. Pulling the door open I found Elizabeth and a young oriental girl chained to the wall of the wagon. Running forward I hugged Elizabeth ignoring the dirt and smell in the wagon.
Elizabeth kissed me back and we hugged each other, forgetting about everything else. I heard a sound from the door and turned around to see Willy holding a ring of keys, "Think you might want to use these?' he asked.
I grabbed the keys and began trying them until the lock around her wrists released. She grabbed the keys from me and unlocked her feet and turned to the oriental girl and released her as well. I looked at her and saw she was a young girl, maybe 16 years old. Elizabeth gathered her in her arms and both moved to get out of the wagon. I hurried out of the way.
When Elizabeth and the girl got out they rushed over to the stream where they knelt and began to drink like they hadn't had anything for who knows how long. Finally Elizabeth lifted her head from the water and ran into my arms. She began kissing me, "I knew you would find me!" I held on to her like she was some fragile piece of china that would break if I held it too hard. I saw the young girl stand up and look lost. Looking at Josh I got his attention and pointed my chin at the girl. He approached her and she suddenly grabbed him and began crying. Elizabeth turned us so she could see the girl, "Her name is Sun Lee. She was stolen from Macao and brought here by the Huntly."
She spoke something in a language I didn't know and Sun Lee looked up. Releasing Josh, she bowed and spoke in halting English, "I thank you for rescuing me."
Elizabeth reached out her hand and pulled her to her chest, "She was abused by the crew of the Huntly until she arrived here, where she was sold to Thompson, along with the three of us. Where is Thompson? Did you kill him this time?"
I had to admit that I didn't know and I went around looking at the two bodies. Neither one was Thompson. This was it,. This time I was going to hunt him down and make damn sure he was dead this time. He'll never threaten my wives or anyone else ever again.
"Alex, I'm worried. Thompson said he had a gang that was going to wipe out Cincinnati after he took care of us. What are we going to do if he comes after us now?"
I had to admit I didn't that I didn't have an answer for that. None of us did. I turned to Josh, "I need you to make sure Sun Lee is safe during the trip back to Cincinnati. She's your responsibility." I turned to Sun Lee and spoke slowly and clearly, "Do you understand me? If anything happens listen to Josh. He will do whatever it takes to keep you safe." Both nodded their heads in agreement.
Willy and I searched the bodies and the wagon without finding anything other than food supplies, cotton rope and weapons. I did find several sawed-off shotguns with lots of bird shot and caps. These were weapons for bartenders, designed to stop a fight without killing too many people. I also found some fuses and some small barrels full of what was supposed to be whiskey, that had been adulterated with something. It tasted like peppers, with other things added as well. I poured the barrels out on the ground, with the exception of three barrels that seemed not to have been touched.
All of us were tired so we decided to spend the day resting up and preparing to return to The Dalles tomorrow morning. One thing I had found was soap and I decided that all of us needed a bath. Willy refused to take one with us and said he would act as a guard until we finished. We went to the stream and found a shallow pool not far from the camp. None of us in the family had any modesty around each other any more so we quickly stripped. I turned around and saw Sun Lee standing on the side of the stream still dressed. I looked at Elizabeth who went over and whispered something in her ear. She seemed doubtful but began to get undressed. Elizabeth came over to me and told me softly, "I had to reassure her that neither you or Josh would take advantage of her if she took a bath. It's going to be a long time before she trusts men again. She is strong though. There were four when they left Macao but only she survived the trip. The others either killed themselves or died of abuse. "
We sat down in the water and I began to wash Elizabeth's hair. It was filthy since they had not released her from the hand irons once since she had been captured. As I washed her hair and it became clean, I asked how they had been captured in the first place.
"We had finished shopping and were on the way back to Oregon City when we came around a corner and saw Captain Marly hitting Sun Lee. Claire objected and ran forward to pull him off her. The next thing I knew was the men had weapons drawn and pointed at all of us. I tried to run but someone shot my horse and I went down with it. When I woke up I was in hand irons with Louse, Claire and Sun Lee being forced into a boat and rowed out to the Huntly where we were thrown into the hold. Some man in the hold placed leg irons on us and chained us to the wall of the hold along with several other women. We were there for two days before Thompson came into the hold and took us away.
He never let us out of our hand irons and fed us by hand. Louise bit him one day and he took her away. When he came back he told us that she would never bite anyone again. Is she all right? You did find her, didn't you?"
"Everyone is all right. I found Louise in time and Claire as well."
During this I saw Sun Lee sitting apart by herself just watching us bathe. I realized that she was accustomed to bathing outside of the "tub" and then soaking in hot water. I asked Elizabeth if she thought Sun Lee would allow Josh to wash her hair for her. She spoke to Sun Lee again in that language and told me that he could but only if Elizabeth helped. She went over to Sun Lee and began to wash her and called Josh over to wash her hair, while she washed the rest of her body. I finished washing myself, dressed and then went up to Willy and sat next to him.
"You know we'll have a fight on our hands when he gets back to The Dalles, don't you?", he said. "He'll be coming after you with as many men as he can get to make sure you're dead."
"I know Willy. I have some ideas of how we can make the fight more even if we can take them in an ambush. We need to find a position where we have the advantage."
We discussed the various sites that we had seen where it would be good to set up an ambush. We finally agreed that this side of the Green River would be the best place to do it. There were high cliffs next to a narrow path that they had to go through. With the extra powder and cotton rope I decided that I would try to make a makeshift Claymore for the ambush.
Sun Lee had never shot a gun before so I told Josh to teach her the basics at least. He taught her how to shoot the rifle but she was not a very good shot. When he showed her how to shoot a pistol she surprised everyone by hitting almost everything she aimed at, if it was within 20 feet. We decided that she would be the guard at our campsite during the ambush and our reserve if we needed her.
December 5, 1849
Elizabeth and I spent the night making love and holding each other. When I woke up I found Sun Lee snuggled up to Elizabeth. Elizabeth was holding her head against her shoulder with her arm around her shoulders. Sun Lee was crying and Elizabeth was comforting her like I had seen her treating our children when they were upset.
Elizabeth looked at me and told me to get dressed and let her talk to Sun Lee alone. I got dressed and joined Willy and Josh at the fire. Soon afterwards Elizabeth came out and sat by me, "Sun Lee is afraid about what is going to happen to her now. She is alone in a strange country with no family. Can she stay with us for awhile?"
"As long as you don't expect me to marry her. She can stay as long as she needs to."
"She isn't interested in you but Josh on the other hand..." she teased Josh. He blushed and tried to ignore her. She leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "I really meant that. She thinks you're too old for her but Josh is about right."
I whispered back, "But is Josh willing to have a wife of a different race? What about Frieda? I think that she might have something to say about that. Somehow I don't think that she had an enlightened upbringing like you."
She looked at Josh with a speculative eye and didn't answer.
We traveled that day until about 4 o'clock. Elizabeth finally told me that she was not going any further that day and made us stop. Willy and Josh as well as Sun Lee gave her looks of gratitude that we had finally stopped at a decent hour. I guess I had been unreasonable when I was looking for my wives. I had to admit I felt a lot more relaxed and focused now that they had been found. I thought I would try another ambush tactic that had never been done around here. I got one of the barrels of whiskey we had saved and added soap to it to make it into a thin paste. I poured some of it on the ground and lit it. It burned with a hot flame that was hard to put out. Then I pulled apart the cotton rope and wet some gunpowder. Finally, I ran the individual cords through the paste and wove them into three strand cords pushing the extra paste between them , then hung them to dry.
December 6, 1849
I had to think about this. Did I want to use this napalm? Did I really hate anyone this much? After thinking about it I decided that if they came hunting me and mine, they would have to face whatever I could think of to kill them first. I didn't like discovering this side of myself, but I was determined that no one would ever threaten my wives or children without paying an extremely high price. This time I was definitely crossing over to the Dark Side.
Elizabeth told me that she needed to reassure Sun Lee that she was welcome at our house and I should get some sleep by myself in order to be well-rested and prepared for the next day. I was upset that she would put this girl before me, but I realized that she was right. I lay there that night thinking about what I was planning to do to the people hunting me and wishing there was another way that this could be resolved.
December 7, 1849
We have reached the Columbia River and are looking for a spot to set up our ambush. We needed a steep hill or a cliff next to the path along the river with a curve in the pass so we could set up the ambush. Finally about 8 miles east of the Green River we found the right spot. It had a steep slope on both sides of the path and came within 200 feet of the river and had a turn of the path directly before it. We set up camp on top of the slope and began to prepare the ambush. I dug a hole in the path angled slightly forward. In it I placed a bag of gunpowder holding about three pounds of gunpowder inside a barrel also holding about seven pounds of bird shot. I removed the top and replaced it with a cloth that I had waterproofed with grease. I ran some cotton cords from the rope I had impregnated with gunpowder from the barrel to a location about 50 feet away where we turned the wagon on it's side. I placed the three barrels full of the napalm mix on the slope a bit above head height with the barrels almost vertical with another barrel that I had placed under them containing a bag holding a pound and a half of gunpowder and fused with the cotton cords to the wagon again. I ran a second cord up the hill from each device so Elizabeth could light them if I was hurt or killed. Now all we have to do is wait for the bastards to show up.
December 8, 1849
No sign of Thompson or anyone else on the road today.
December 9, 1849
Willy has sighted a party riding toward us. He is unsure who it is and has taken Elizabeth with him to see if she recognizes Thompson. He has set up a small bomb of gunpowder to set off a landslide to block their retreat if it is Thompson. All I can do now is wait.
The party came around the curve and it is a party of men going to Fort Boise. I talked to the men and they told me that Thompson had killed the sheriff and freed the brothel keeper and the bartender from jail. He is gathering a party of men to come after us. He accused us of ambushing him and his partners without cause. Lying son-of-a-bitch!
I thanked the men for their information and they continued on their way. None of the men offered to stay and help.
Willy came back and said he had left Elizabeth at the lookout point as she knew Thompson and he didn't. She will set off the slide if she sees him .
We ate lunch and I had Sun Lee take Elizabeth a plate and a full bottle of water. We relaxed as much as we could. About 2 o'clock we heard the sound of the gunpowder going off and saw a plume of dust from the other side of the hill. We then heard shooting and got ready. I remembered an old saying I had heard. "For what we are about to receive, let us be thankful we're not the ones being ambushed!", I said to Willy and Josh. "Amen!", they both murmured in reply. We had cleared out any protection from in front of the wagon for about 30 feet and left some low rocks after that. As they came around the corner they saw the overturned wagon and started to pull up. I ordered them to halt and drop their weapons, but they began firing at us.
I lit the fuse to the improvised Claymore and with a loud "Boom!" it went off. When the smoke cleared I saw about a third of the people and horses down on the ground either not moving at all or moving like they were badly wounded. I began shooting and soon the men who had escaped the blast began returning fire. From above them. Josh and Willy started forcing them into a smaller pocket with their rifles. I waited until they were closely grouped together and then set off all three napalm bombs With more of a "Whoosh!" sound the bombs burst out spilling liquid over the men in the pocket but it failed to catch fire. Josh picked up a burning branch from the fire and threw it down on top of the men. With another "Whoosh!" the napalm began burning. I saw men running around in flames and knew I would see this in my nightmares for years. We began shooting the running men to put them out of their agony.
I gave the remaining men another chance to surrender and they began throwing down their weapons. Finally the four survivors stood up and moved forward to the wagon. Once there I had them tie each others hands together behind their backs and lie down on the ground. I checked their bonds and then tied their hands to their necks just for insurance. Willy and I began moving toward each other looking for anyone who didn't surrender. From above, Josh kept watch with his rifle and was soon joined by Elizabeth. Sun Lee came down and guarded the men at the wagon. We walked through the area and counted 12 bodies, one of whom was Thompson. Willy looked at me and asked, "What was in that hell mix?" I just refused to answer and he didn't ask any further questions.
I returned to the wagon and helped the prisoners get upright again. I placed them in the wagon and put them in hand irons and leg shackles. We loaded the bodies on horses and headed back toward Oregon City again where I would find out what the sheriff wanted to do with them. I didn't know if I would be jailed for my actions or not. I felt that I deserved going to jail for using the napalm. I hoped that I would never have to use it again.
Elizabeth rode beside me on the wagon while Sun Lee rode with Josh. No one had much to say after we cleaned up the area. The worst thing was clearing the horses from the road. The ones that were wounded but not dead screamed like women until we shot them. The ones burned were horrible to see but even worse were the ones who had been hit by the bird shot from the Claymore. Legs were shredded to the bone and the chests and heads looked like hamburger.
December 12, 1849
When we arrived in The Dalles we were met by Claire and a crowd of citizens armed and ready to go after the Thompson Gang. We brought the prisoners in and heard silence descend when they saw the bodies. I went to the brothel and arrested the madame and the bartender again. They resisted until they reached the door and saw the bodies. Both quickly shut up and submitted to being placed in hand irons. I sent Willy and Josh through the brothel and they found three women who had been locked in their room. When released they cried and thanked both men for releasing them. They had been kidnapped and brought here some two days earlier. When questioned I was directed toward a house on the south side of town where I found the desk clerk from the hotel living. When I came in I found the house consisted of a lot of small rooms with locks on the outside of the doors. When we went through the house we found it held 12 women and girls from all over the Willamette Valley. I arrested the desk clerk and put him in irons too. I went to the sheriff's office and found it locked and empty. When I asked about the deputy, the crowd just jeered. Apparently the deputy had taken off after the sheriff was shot. No one had the key so I just busted down the door and took the prisoners in and placed them in the jail cells. I was impatient to go home so I told the crowd they needed to choose a sheriff and take charge of the prisoners.
I gave the women we had rescued a horse to ride and we headed for the hotel for the night. When I got there I found most of the guests had left and the hotel was almost empty. Grabbing a bunch of keys I handed them out and everyone got a bed. Exhausted I fell asleep holding Elizabeth in my arms. God, I hope I never have a year like 1849 again! Tomorrow we head toward Oregon City and what the future may bring.
This is the end of book 2 of the I Fell Through series. I am taking a small break in writing this series to work on a post apocalyptic novel I am writing. The next book of this series titled "What the Future May Bring" will be coming out next month at the latest. I will be posting episodes of both series when I get them written and edited by my great editor Drahkan.