THE BEAUTY COMES IN THE SPRINGTIME
THE BEAUTY COMES IN THE SPRINGTIME
“I can’t believe it! I JUST CAN’T BELIEVE IT!” Lou was just stunned There they were only three miles away from Sweetwater and then one of there wheels breaks.
Lou was tired and hungry. After several weeks on the trail having going through hell and back, then this happens. They had been chased by Indians, outlaws, wolves and the children were hearing strange noises at night keeping them up. Which meant keeping her up when she wasn’t already up keeping watch. Then she had to listen to Jeremiah complaining and to top it all off her mother was not doing well at all. She just couldn’t take it anymore.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” She scream in frustration and anger. “Why can’t anythin' go right on this trip?” She knew she needed to go get help, but she new she couldn’t leave them alone. Her mother was to sick to protect them. She also couldn’t send Maih to town by himself he was too young. Lou decided finally that she would try to fix the wheel herself when she heard a horse coming.
“Everyone into the buckboard now! Someone is coming.”
“Why do I have to go in? I can protect us if you just give me a gun.” Jeremiah was getting sick and tired of his older sister telling him what to do. He was old enough to take care of himself and everyone else for that matter. If only she would give me a gun.
“Miah DO NOT argue with me now!” She shoved him into the buckboard and said “Now stay in there and don’t come out no matter what!”
She drew her gun as the rider came towards them and slowed down. She moved herself out of the line of fire and shot once near the riders feet. Lou was a excellent shooter, she bested a lot of boys back home. When she saw his face she thought they were done for. (An Indian! Oh no! It’s okay Louise just calm down you can handle him. Remember your Lou not Louise right now.)
Buck was startled by the gun shot. He stopped because they looked like they needed some help and this is the thanks he gets, being shot at!?
“Please don’t shoot I’m here to help. That is if you need it.”
“Don’t trust 'im Lou his an Injun!” Jeremiah shouted to Lou “I think?” he muttered to himself as he poked his head out of the buckboard so he could get a better view of at him. He’s never seen one this close before.
“Will you be quiet! What do you want mister?” Lou tried to deepen her voice as low as possible. Hopefully thinking that she might be bigger and tougher than she was.
“My name is Buck Cross. I work for the Pony Express. I stopped because it looked like you might need some help.” Buck hoped that the person believed him because he was not in the mood to be shot, not after the run he just had.
“How’s do I knows ya are who ya say ya are?” Lou began looking at the Indian named Buck more closely and thought there was something in his eyes that she could trust, but she wasn’t going to until she was positive. She was not going to risk her family on a feeling.
Buck thought a minute on how to reply to that. Usually people took him for his word, but then again sometimes they wouldn’t because of the color of his skin. “I have a mochilla with me you can see it on my horse. Also the waystation is just a mile away, you can see the windmill from here. Buck held his breath hoping he would believe him. There was no where for him to hide for cover if this ‘Lou’ decided to start shooting. Then he saw Lou come out of his hiding spot and Buck let out the air he was holding.
“Alright I trust ya.” Lou came out of her hiding spot making sure she walked like a man. Or so she hoped it looked like a man walking instead of a like a duck walking .
Buck thought the boy was walking kinda funny. (Maybe he’s just tryin' to look bigger than he is.) “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Are ya a real Indian? How many people have ya scalped?” Jeremiah just couldn’t wait to meet him. The first live Indian that he ever talked too.
“Jeremiah Joshua McCloud! You do not ask people who are goin' to help us that kind of question. Plus ya shouldn’t be asking it anyways. I apologize for my brother, sometimes he just doesn’t think.” She couldn’t believe the gaul of her brother. Sometimes she just thinks about putting him over her knee and spanking some manners into him. But then Louise thinks of how her father would beat her and she couldn’t do it, even if he needed it.
Buck was a not surprised by the question he had heard the question many times before, people asking him if he scalped people. He simply replied “Yes I am an Indian, and no I never scalped anyone, but you can always be my first.” He said with a smile on his face. Miah turned a little peaked after that comment and decided to stay quiet. Louise saw that Buck was joking and smiled. (That should shut him up for awhile.)
“Thank ya for stoppin'. I’m sorry about shootin' at cha but ya just
can’t be to carefully around here. By the way my name is Loui----Lou McCloud,
this is my sister Tessa, my ma Mary and my brother Jeremiah.”
“Nice to meet you. In case you did not hear me the first time my name is Buck Cross. What seems to be the problem here.”
“ Our wheel broke and I don’t think I can fix it. So it looks like we need to go to town to get another one but I can’t leave them here alone.” Louise looked into Buck's eyes again and smiled. He looked so kind and gentle, but she could also see torment in his eyes.
“Well I can go to the waystation and get a new wheel for ya, and also get some help.” Buck kept looking at him thinking that Lou just didn’t look quite right. He couldn’t put his finger on it until a big gust of wind came up and blew Lou’s hat off sending her long auburn hair down into a mass of hair to her waist.
“You’re a GIRL?!” Buck was shocked beyond belief.
“Yes I’m a girl. I’m sorry I lied to you earlier but ya just don’t know who to trust.” But somehow Louise knew she could trust him. “My real name is Louise.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet ya Louise.” Buck thought she was so beautiful, even in her mens garments. She just had something about her that was breathtaking and that just drew him nearer to her. He couldn’t believe that he mistaken her for a boy at first.
“Ya already met me. So are ya just goin' to stand there all day or are ya goin' to get some help?” Louise felt a little nervous having him just staring at her all this time. (After he leaves I think I’m just gonna change into my dress so I don’t look like a heathen when he comes back with help. It’s bad enough that he has seen me dressed as a boy, but the whole town doesn’t need to know.)
“Would you do me a favor and not tell anyone you saw me like this. I’ll be in a dress by the time you get back. I don’t want to make a bad impression on the town before we even arrive.”
Buck couldn’t wait to see her in a dress. He could imagine how breathtaking she would look then. “No, I won’t tell.” He promised right before he got on his horse to get the wheel and some help.
After he left Louise changed into a royal blue dress that had a heart shaped neckline and tiny flowers all over the dress, topped off with lace on the hem of the dress and also on the collar and sleeves. She brushed out her soft silky hair until it shined, she put two combs in the side of her hair too keep it out of her face. They were by a small pond so she washed herself off to get rid of the travel dust. Then she did the same to Tessa and Miah. She had to help her mother as well since she was so weak.
The traveling on Mary was very difficult. She tried to hide it from her children
so they wouldn’t worry about her. She didn’t want them to stop until
they got to
Sweetwater she knew how much going west met to her Louise. If they knew how
weak she was then they stopped when she started not feeling well and that was
too close to Boggs in her mind. So she kept quiet about it.
Tessa was just loving the trip. She did not understand why they left in the middle of the night again, but Louise always made it to a game for her. She loved the game and the adventure of it all. Sometimes she did get scared but she would try not to show it. She wanted to be brave like her big sister. Tessa idolized Louise, even if she did not know it. So she was happy as could be.
Maih on the other case was the complete opposite of Tessa. He did not like
leaving all his friends behind in St. Joe. Nor did he like traveling all this
time and not
understanding why they were doing it. They were doing so well in St. Joe why
did they have to leave? Also Louise was bossing him around like she was his
mother and he hated that. But deep down tough he too loved the adventure of
it all.
Louise was relaxing little by little. They were all cleaned up to look respectable when they went into town. She meet a new friend already, one she knows she can trust. Louise was not one for having a lot of girlfriends she never trusted girls that much, and girls were always worried about their beaus and their frilly dresses and so on. She was a tom boy until she was 13 and then once and awhile after that too. She looked around the meadow they were in. Full of flowers and such. A warm breeze softly blowing through her hair on beautiful spring day, and a pond right next to them. The outdoors. If this wasn’t heaven than what is? She now felt peaceful. She decided while they wait her and Tessa could pick flowers and make halos out of them. And so they waited for Buck, her new friend, and his friends to arrive to help them out. Life couldn’t get any better than this. Or so she thought
