The Rough Rider (19 page)

“Aw, just one I made up myself.” His eyes went to Aaron, and he studied the tall man carefully, more in the fashion of an adult than a young man.

“This is Mr. Aaron Winslow. Do you remember Barney?”

“Oh, sure! Are you his brother?”

“No, just a cousin, I’m afraid. How are you, Jeb?” Aaron put out his hand, and the small boy stared at it for a moment, as if it were a menacing object. Then he reached out and timidly shook it. “I wish I could play like that, Jeb!” Aaron remarked. “But you have to have talent, and I don’t have any—for music.”

“Mr. Winslow’s been in the Yukon, though. He can tell you a few interesting stories about the gold strikes up there, Jeb.”

Instantly, Jeb turned and said, “Gosh, is that right? Did you find a lot of gold? Is it true like the papers said? Are there big nuggets of gold just lying in the streams for the taking? Are you rich?”

“Jeb!” Gail flushed and laughed, almost nervously. “You shouldn’t ask anyone if they’re rich!”

“Why, it ain’t nothing to be ashamed of, is it?” said Jeb, staring at the man innocently.

Aaron laughed at the boy’s candor. “Some people act like it is, but I’d like to try it, wouldn’t you?”

“Sure would!” said Jeb.

“What would you buy?”

“A big piano and somebody to teach me to play!”

Aaron nodded. “Well, that’s a noble ambition. And it’s not out of reach.”

Jeb’s face darkened. “Yeah, it is,” he muttered. “It costs too much money.”

Gail said quickly, “Let’s go to the kitchen. Maybe we can have a glass of milk while they’re unloading the wagon.”

Aaron followed Gail to the kitchen, where she was greeted with enthusiasm by her former co-workers. She poured them each a glass of milk from the ice box, and then they went to sit at one of the wooden tables with the men who came to the mission. Aaron sipped the cold milk, then held it up and looked at it. “This is good milk,” he said. “I’ve always loved milk, but I never seemed to get enough of it when I was a boy.”

“Me too.” She drank thirstily, then said, “I always thought heaven would be to have a cow and have all the fresh milk I wanted.”

Aaron sat there chatting with the girl for a while, then finally asked, “You’ll be leaving soon, I suppose. Are you ready for the war?”

“I’m a little bit nervous now that it’s all settled. But I don’t know when we’ll be leaving yet.” She glanced over in the direction of the tinny piano music and said in a low voice, “It’s mostly Jeb that I’m worried about. I hate to go off and leave him. Things are still not going well for him at home.”

“Well, I don’t think this war will last long. You’ll probably be back in a month or so.” He set the empty glass down on the table, twirled it with his fingers, and sat there silently for a moment. Finally, he looked up and studied the girl. “What
about Lewis—” he said. “Have you asked him about going into the army?”

Gail stared at him in surprise. “Why, that’s all he can talk about these days!” She smiled quickly, saying, “He’s the most excited one of the bunch.” Noting the tension in the tall man’s face, she said, “You’re against his going, aren’t you, Aaron?”

“Yes I am, and so are my parents. In fact, they sent me here to try to talk him out of it, but I’m not having any luck. Lewis is stubborn and won’t listen to any sound advice.”

“I don’t think anyone could talk him out of it,” Gail answered simply. “He’s made up his mind. He’s going, and that’s all there is to it.”

“I expect you’re right, but I at least had to try for my parents’ sake.”

The two sat there talking for some time, and when they got up to leave, they found Reverend Johnson, the director, waiting for them near the entrance. “I left two big boxes of groceries in the wagon, Gail. Take them home to your folks.”

Gail’s cheeks flushed and she dropped her eyes at his kindness. “Thank you very much. I’m sure they could use it.”

“Maybe I’d better get Jeb to go on home now. It’s going to be dark pretty soon. It’s getting late already.”

Jeb started to protest, but Aaron said, “How’d you like to drive, Jeb?”

The boy stared up at him, his eyes big with doubt. “You don’t mean it!”

“Sure I do! Come on—you sit here. I’ll sit in the middle and your sister can sit over here.”

Gail objected, saying, “Really, Aaron, I don’t think he’s ever driven before!”

“Well, it’s time he began, then. Come on, Jeb! Hop up.”

Jeb scrambled onto the seat, and Aaron sat down beside him, while Gail settled herself firmly on the far side. “Here—here’s the way you hold the lines. Got ’em? Fine! Now then, we’re ready!”

“But—what do I do?” asked Jeb, unsure about what to do next.

“Say, ‘Giddyup!’ and slap the lines on their rears.”

Jeb looked at the large horses doubtfully. Then he lifted the lines, slapped the horses, and said, “Giddyup!” in a timid voice. At once the horses pulled against their harness and began to move forward. Jeb was startled and asked, “What do I do next, Mr. Winslow?”

“Well, you pull that left line to get us out on our side of the street and away from the curb. If you want to go right, pull the right line—if you want to go left, pull the left one. If you want to stop, pull both of them and say, ‘Whoa!’ ”

It was a delightful time for Jeb Summers. Most of his young life had been spent learning to fend for himself on the street or trying to avoid a thrashing from his angry stepfather. Aaron Winslow’s interest in the boy had surprised him at first.

As they rode along, Aaron smiled to himself at the boy’s obvious pleasure at having a chance to drive the wagon. When Gail looked over at him, Aaron winked and saw her smile at seeing her brother enjoying himself. Fortunately, there was very little traffic on the street, and unknown to the boy, Aaron was poised, ready to grab the lines in case of any sign of trouble. By the time they pulled up in front of the tenement where he lived, Jeb was feeling quite pleased with himself.

“Gosh, Mr. Winslow, I bet I could drive a stagecoach!”

“I bet you could, Jeb,” Aaron said smiling. He had found it refreshing to be with the boy and said, “Now, pull over there and say, ‘Whoa,’ and we’ll get these groceries inside.”

Jeb pulled on the lines, and after a few tries, he managed to get the wagon pulled approximately in the right position. Aaron said, “Now, wrap those lines around that wagon seat—right there.” He showed the boy how to do it, then jumped down. “You’re a certified driver now, Jeb! It was fun, wasn’t it?”

“Sure was!”

Jeb leaped to the ground and Aaron reached up, and to
Gail’s surprise, he held out his hand. A flush crept up her neck, but she took his hand and let him help her to the ground. She turned to Jeb, whose eyes were still beaming, as he was excited over his newly acquired skill. “That was nice of you—”

“Well, lookee here at what we got—!”

Gail turned at once to see two large, burly men come rolling down the sidewalk. Both of them were obviously half drunk, which made them seem more dangerous. One of them, a lanky, hulking man wearing a pair of yellow suspenders, grinned loosely, showing a slug of tobacco tucked down around yellow teeth. “We’ve got gentry down here, Jiggs!” he sneered, then spit an amber stream on the sidewalk.

“Right you are, Bill!” Jiggs was short, but tremendously wide, and so corpulent that his neck seemed to be swallowed up by his muscular shoulders. He was wearing a ragged-looking pair of pants, held up by what appeared to be a length of braided cord. His chest swelled out against his black-and-white checkered shirt. “They look to me like they’d want to make a contribution to the cause!”

Aaron’s nerves, at once, grew tense. He knew trouble when he saw it and quickly glanced around. There were no police down in this section of the city, and he thought grimly,
Those two probably noticed that!

“Let the lady and the boy go on in and I’ll talk to you two fellows.”

But the shorter of the two suddenly reached out and caught Gail by the arm. “Naw, they ain’t in no hurry. You just fork over a little coin—enough for me and my partner here to have an evening’s fun.”

“Let the lady go!” Aaron said, bristling. He was studying the taller man, who was grinning widely. There was a vacant looseness in his catfish-shaped mouth, but his arms were long and he had knotty-looking fists.

Aaron reached forward and chopped down on the forearm of the man called Jiggs. “I said, let the lady go! Gail, get on in—”

He had no chance to finish, for with a roar of anger, the man named Jiggs threw a roundhouse right that caught Aaron unaware. It struck him in the chest with such force that it drove him backward. He felt a deadly cold from the force of the blow.

“Get ’em, Bill!” Harry cried.

“I’ll kick his teeth out,” the stocky man laughed. He stepped forward, drew his foot back, and when he sent it forward, Aaron managed to roll over, taking the force of it on his shoulder instead of in the kidney or face. It numbed his whole side and he rolled quickly, kicking like a cat until he sprang to his feet.

Jiggs let out another roar of anger and ran straight at him, lowering his head. Aaron simply reached out and grabbed him by his massive neck, then whirled around. Like a whiplash, he sent the man sprawling through the air. Jiggs hit the ground with a muffled thud, rolled, and came up more dangerous than ever. The fall didn’t even seem to hurt him.

“Look out!” Aaron had turned his back on the taller man, and suddenly the sound of Jeb’s voice warned him. He whirled to see Jeb fastened like a leech onto the taller man. He had stopped, and was cursing and trying to shake himself free of the boy. Instantly, Aaron shot as hard a blow as he’d ever thrown in his life straight into the nose of the tall, gangly fellow. He felt the nose break, and a wild scream came from Bill as he fell backward. Gail reached over and dragged Jeb away. Aaron stood there watching Bill, when from behind he heard the feet of the muscular Jiggs. Whirling, he waited and put his left hand up, paring a powerful, sweeping left. Stepping inside, he deliberately threw a hard punch and struck low in Jiggs’ stomach. When the man doubled over, Aaron raised his arm and brought his forearm down like a club on the man’s thick neck. Jiggs dropped to his hands and knees, but he was not out—he was shaking his head.

“Take the boy upstairs, Gail!” Aaron ordered.

Gail, wasting no time, pulled Jeb away from the fight. He
did not want to go, and loudly protested as she pulled him inside where the two waited.

Aaron put his fingers in his mouth and let out a piercing whistle. “I hope that’ll bring the law,” he said, breathing a little harder than usual as he looked at the two men sprawled out on the ground. Harry was holding his broken nose, moaning, and Jiggs was still on his knees shaking his head. “But if you don’t get out of here right now, I’ll break your necks!”

Both men crawled to their feet. They stood there staring at Winslow, and for one instant, Jiggs seemed inclined to continue the fray, but when Aaron stepped forward and drew his fist back, Jiggs threw his arms up. “All right—all right!” he said. “We’re going. Come on, Bill.”

Aaron watched as the two men limped away down the dark street.
I’ll have to be careful later. They might be waiting for me,
he thought as they disappeared into the shadows.

He moved to the doorway of the tenement and instantly Jeb came flying out. “Gosh, Mr. Winslow! I never seen nothing like it—you whipped ’em both and they was both bigger than you!”

Aaron felt pleased at the boy’s adulation. “Well, they weren’t exactly in good shape. Here, let me get the groceries—those ruffians might come back.”

****

The two spent a brief time visiting with Gail’s folks. Aaron felt sympathy for the girl when he saw the squalor she had grown up in. Her stepfather was withdrawn, and her mother was too beaten down by such a hard life to do more than smile. He was amazed at how Gail had overcome such a background, but said nothing. They took the wagon back to the livery stable, but before they left, Aaron promised to take Jeb horseback riding the next morning. He had no idea where a stable or riding path was, but the boy had appealed to him, and he could not turn down the earnest look in Jeb’s eyes.

Now as they came to the hospital, they walked slowly. It
was not late, but the city was strangely quiet. “It looks like the hospital’s put itself to bed,” Aaron remarked, “I’d miss the birds chirping and the dogs howling if I lived here.”

“Do you live on a farm?”

“More or less—it’s a small town right in the middle of some of the nicest country you ever saw.”

They’d reached the side door of the hospital and Gail turned. “That must be nice,” she said. She paused and leaned back, suddenly looking up at him. “Thank you so much for helping me, especially for what you did with those men.”

“I’m glad I was there,” Aaron said. He stood looking down at her. She was a tall girl, taller than most, and had entered young womanhood with an attractiveness that was pleasing. Her face was lifted up just enough so that he could see her eyes shining in the soft moonlight. If she’d been any other girl, he might have tried to kiss her. But somehow that didn’t seem appropriate. Instead, he smiled and said, “I’ll be going to take Jeb horseback riding tomorrow morning. Would you like to go?”

“No,” she said quickly. “But it’s good of you to take Jeb.” She hesitated. “He hasn’t had much of a time—Jeb hasn’t. It’s been hard for him and I’m worried about him. Bart and Riley won’t have anything to do with him. And he’s starting to run with the wrong crowd.”

“He’s a good boy, I can see that.”

“Yes, he is, but you have no idea how hard it is out on the streets, Aaron. Every day’s a battle to stay alive—just to keep from getting hurt.”

Aaron nodded. “It’s been hard on you too, Gail. But things will be better now. You’re a nurse’s assistant and you can do something for your family.” She smiled at him again. This time there was a contentment in her expression. He sensed a calmness there, too, and a serenity that he found appealing.

“Yes,” she said, as if something troubled her. She took a deep breath, then said, “Good-night, and thank you for everything.”

As he turned and moved away, he thought,
I wonder what’s troubling her?
He had no answer and walked slowly down the street until he found a carriage. He’d been moved by the girl’s innocence. It was obvious that her convictions and simple faith had kept her even in her terrible circumstances. Many girls her same age had long since thrown their lives away in the brothels and bars that filled the darkened streets of Five Points. “I don’t think I could have been that strong,” he said aloud as the carriage jolted along. Then he let his thoughts run back to the boy.
Maybe I can do something to help him,
he thought as he rode down the dark street. The thought pleased him, and he realized that he needed to do things like that—perhaps as much as the boy needed it.