Missouri by Christine Wunnicke

Author:Christine Wunnicke [Wunnicke, Christine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay western
ISBN: 9781551523781
Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press
Published: 2010-10-05T00:00:00+00:00

X

Joshua continued to use words sparingly. It grew warmer, and soon it was hot. Douglas placed a hat on his shorn hair, a roughly shaped piece of felt from Absolum’s bags. He washed it at a waterhole, though this didn’t make the hat any lovelier. Douglas was glad there was no mirror in the prairie. He still scratched at his head. It was better with short hair, but the lice wouldn’t go away. At night Douglas would sit silently by the fire like Joshua, his legs crossed, catching them with a look of revulsion on his face and then squashing them between his fingers.

They had long since left any villages behind. The predominant feature was grass. Douglas once tried to ask the man called Zadock where they were heading, but Zadock gawped at him as if he were the Devil incarnate, and made no reply.

Douglas had stopped counting the days, and his watch was no help either since he’d forgotten to wind it. They all had watches, apart from Joshua. Zadock even had four; each of them showing a different time. Nobody ever looked at them.

The salt ran out, and soon there was nothing but unseasoned meat—anything they happened to come across. Douglas ate with equanimity. He was glad when there was rabbit. They often had something rat-like, or those dubious groundhogs that barked in the darkness. Paradise threw stones at them, and Douglas watched him skin them. They tasted somewhat pungent without salt. Douglas’s trousers were so baggy that he didn’t notice how much weight he was putting on. One evening Joshua observed him for a while and then said he looked like a skunk: two colors, easy to spot in the grass. He once again drew closer in the night, and Douglas gradually grew accustomed to the sound of his breath.

One day at noon, Douglas saw a village or camp in the distance. He pointed at it. Joshua shook his head.

“Wouldn’t you like to ride over there with your neat little handgun,” said Douglas, “and procure some salt and a bottle of brandy, because I do believe it helps against lice.”

Joshua shook his head again. He held his horse right next to Douglas, almost touching him with his knee. Douglas insisted upon his brandy. He was slightly ashamed, but he realized he would have condoned a robbery in exchange for some means of combating lice. After a long silence, Joshua muttered one word.

“Pardon?” said Douglas.

“Mesquakies,” repeated Joshua.

“Are they Indians?”

Joshua nodded.

“Are you telling me you’re afraid of Indians?”

Joshua looked at him. He grimaced. Suddenly he reined in his horse.

“Come with me, mister. I can’t shoot at ’em.”

“Me?” asked Douglas. “Why?”

“I can’t shoot at ’em.”

“Family ties? And what am I meant to do there?”

“That ain’t my family,” growled Joshua.

“What am I meant to do?” repeated Douglas.

“You,” began Joshua, “you, mister ...” He didn’t finish his sentence. He took one of Zadock’s four watches, ordered his men to wait, and then grabbed Douglas’s reins. Douglas muttered something, but Joshua didn’t care about that.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.