Stan Himes - The Women in Pants: Sidesaddles No More

By

Copyright 2017 Stan Himes.

All rights reserved.

My name is Laurie Michaels. Youll meet melater as I dont appear in the story early on, even though I tellit (and, just to prepare you, often interrupt it). I was aneyewitness to and participant in most of the events in this book.What I didnt witness, I learned through interviews, figured outfrom some facts, or made my best guess. The point Im trying tomake is that Ive done whatever I could to be as accurate andtruthful as I can about what happened during that summer of1878.

FORMATION

Half-dozing at the bar, Charlie hadnt neededto look up to know that little, if any, business was coming in whenJonas entered. The slow, drawling squeak of the saloon door said itall. A thirsty man, or one hungry for a woman, always burst in.Still, these days anyone who broke up the boredom was welcome, andCharlie gave a smile.

Jonas. Long time.

Jonas nodded back. His eyes swept the bigroom. No sign of life beyond Charlie and two saloon girlsdaydreaming their way through a card game. Guess I picked thewrong place to look for cattlehands.

Been bad, said Charlie. Silver strike overin Leadville.

Colorado? Jonass face darkened and therewas a little twitch in his square chin as he clenched his jaw. Hespoke through closed teeth. How many went?

Just the damn fools.

Which means everybody.

That sums it up. Now it was Charlies turnto sweep his eyes from one side of the empty saloon to the other.Once bright walls were dull with age and smoke and grime and mostlyneglect. Usually bawdy patrons colored the view, but not now.Though maybe Im a damn fool for staying. Get you a whisky?Beer?

A trickle of sweat rolled down Jonass neck,but he shook his head. Only drink to celebrate. Dont see thathappening today.

The younger of the women, a sprightly thingnamed Elliewith a bosom large enough her feet stayed dry in therainchecked the exposed tops of her breasts for perspiration,seeing none but dabbing them with her kerchief just in case. Pearl,the wiser of the two, placed a black eight on a red nine andoffered up quiet advice. Waste o time.

For you, maybe.

Ellie cut off Jonas at the door with herlushest come-hither look. Think I might be just what yourelooking for?

Jonas sidestepped her. Only if youre a manwho can drive cattle. This time the doors creak was quick anddirect as Jonas strode through to the street. It was Ellies firsttaste of rejection and they tell me that her jaw dropped, but Idont believe it since, like I said, she has a more than amplebosom.

This was all about three days before Marycame to my fathers bank. After Jonas had hopped off their raggedwagon to head into the Castle Royal Saloon, Mary and Katie hadtaken the wagon on up the dusty main street to Mickels GeneralStore and received the same news.

No men? None at all? This was disappointinginformation to just about any 16-year-old girl, but especially toKatie, who only came to Secluded Springs a few times a year and nowwore her newly made blue gingham dress that matched her eyes. Whatgood was wearing a new dress if there were no men around toimpress?

Mickels General Store was the essence ofefficiency, at least as far as storing items was concerned.Floor-to-ceiling shelves lined every wall and even bracketed thefront window. Flour, sugar, coffee. Fabric, needles, thread.Handguns, knives, sheaths. From alpaca scarves for winter warmth tozinnia seeds for summer beauty, Edward kept it in stock and histall, lanky granddaughter, Ernestine, kept track of where it was.It was a sight to behold, but Katie saw only Edwardsthats-the-way-it-is-miss face.

Mary raised an eyebrow at Katiesforwardness. Its not like wed be buying men at the generalstore, sweetheart. There was also a hint of a smile at one cornerof Marys mouth. She remembered being a rather forward girlherself, but she had no intention of letting Katie think a brazenindecency was anything but improper. She gave a slight cough tohide the smile.

I know. Its just I thought I could atleast talk to one.

You should be more concerned about what thismeans for the ranch. Your pa came here looking forcattlehands.

Im sorry.

Katie looked toward the corner whereErnestine stretched her gangly frame to a high shelf and pulleddown some burlap bags to hold the dry goods. Dont you wish therewere men to talk to, Ernestine?

Ernestine was reserved to the point that shewas known to even clam up around dogs. Most customers saw her backas she gathered items and saw the top of her head as she carriedthem, head bowed, to the counter. But her ears worked fine andwhile you might think the biggest bone in her tall body was a legbone, it was actually her funny bone. The thought of her talkingwith a man struck her as the funniest thing shed heard in a monthof Sundays and she let out a shrill, piercing howl that had Edwardglancing up at the glassware for fear of cracks. Katie related tome later that it was the first time she learned what a pretty smileErnestine kept hidden behind her veil of shyness.

The thump of Ernestine plopping a bag ofsugar onto the counter drew Katies attention.

That much sugar? She took in the largeamount of supplies her mom was buying. They hadnt been in townlong, but the day was sure going every way but how shed expectedit. No men to show off her dress to. No men for her dad to hire.That meant no cattle drive, which meant no money, which meantwell, she didnt know what all it meant, but she knew it wasntgood. And now her mother was ignoring all the troubles by buyingout the store. Ma, theres no sense stocking up if theres no mento drive the cattle.

You know your pa bettern that. Hell drivethem himself if he has to. Mary waved a finger over the supplies,adding them up and marking them off on a checklist in her head.Better add five more pounds of flour, Ed. Those Byerly boys arebig on biscuits.

Ed snapped his fingers. Almost forgot. Atiny area of the store was devoted to a telegraph machine and abasket for holding mail. Telegrams and letters to Secluded Springswere few and Edward didnt deliver them until at least a month hadpassed. He said he didnt sign up for deliveries, but Im prettysure he really just thought that holding onto them was another wayto get people to visit the store. Got a telegram for Jonas andanother for Hank Byerly. Mind taking this one to Hank?

Mary accepted both envelopes. Sure will. Andif anyone shows up who can drive cattle, Im sure Jonas would wantyou to send them our way.

Katie picked up a box of supplies. Even ifthey cant drive cattle, send em out anyway.

Mary almost dropped the envelopes.Katie!

But its so disappoi

Katie Bartlett!

Im sorry. She stared at the floor, knowingwhat was coming next.

When we get home, young ladythe wordsdidnt roll off Marys tongue so much as snap off like she wastaking a bite out of each onethe chicken coop needs cleaning, theroot cellar needs swept out, and Ill think of more afterthat.

All right, Katie resigned herself to herfate. But as she glanced up to see the twinkle in Ernestines eyesas she stifled another giggle, extra chores didnt seem like toohigh a price.

The ride into town had been filled withexpectations, the morning sun shining down like a beacon of hope.Not so heading home. The same sun now beat down on them as Jonaseased their dusty wagon past Sallys Seamstress Shop at the edge oftown. Humidity hung in the air and dust from the road caught in thebeads of moisture on the back of Jonass hands. He couldnt helpbut notice Marys eyes glance at the bright dress in the shopswindow. He looked at the frayed one she wore. Even after 18 yearsof marriage and ranching, she still had her fine looks and a figurethat should be wrapped in an outfit just as fine. If he couldntfind cattlehands, more was lost than a new dress.