Not Just Any Man by Loretta Miles Tollefson

Author:Loretta Miles Tollefson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: western, Old West, American West, American southwest, mountain man, black mountain man, New Mexico, Old New Mexico, Arizona Old West, early america fiction, early american novel, mountain man novel, mountain man fiction
Publisher: Palo Flechado Press
Published: 2018-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 20

But there are other things besides Jones to think about. After the fight, Michel Robidoux leads Ewing Young to the other side of the village, where he and his men had bedded down beside the Papago warriors. The trappers’ animals, guns, and ammunition have disappeared, but their bodies are still there. Even the most experienced men gag at the sight. Naked corpses are strewn across the campsite. Arms and bashed-in heads have been severed from torsos. Torn holes gape in stinking bellies and chests, although it’s not certain whether knives or beaks did the work. Ravens and vultures wheel overhead.

The trappers turn immediately to the task of burial. Once the top crust of sand and rock is clawed away and the damp soil underneath is exposed, the ten holes are easy enough to dig. Creating the stone cairns that will protect the dead from being dug up again is another matter.

But they definitely need protection. The birds of prey ride the sky in endless circles as the men lever rock out of the sides of the arroyo, haul it to the burial site, pile it into place, then scour the death site once again to make sure there’s nothing left for the birds or any other scavenger. In the process, Michel Robidoux stumbles on a cache of beaver traps, most of them mangled beyond repair. He picks through them and grimly collects the twelve that appear to be most mendable.

It’s a two-day task that leaves no time for anything else, so it’s easy enough for Gregorio to avoid any interaction with Jones. But once the trappers are back on the Salt and have returned with relief to the business of trapping, Jones picks up his program of harassment.

There’s a new edge to his attention, now. His eyes follow Gregorio around the camp. And he seems to be spending more time there than the other men. His trap lines are set in remarkably short order and he’s back with his morning haul well before any of the other men.

Under the constant surveillance, Gregorio’s work appears to slip. The sugar he’s left on the rock slab that serves as a table tumbles to the ground for no reason, the beaver skins he’s stretched fall from their tree branches in the night, the food he serves the men is sprinkled with grit or is too salty to eat.

Jones points out every error. Gregorio keeps his eyes down and goes about his business without comment, without apologizing for the mistakes he hasn’t made. At first, Ignacio tries to intervene, to point out Jones’ proximity when the sugar falls or to monitor the cooking pot so Jones can’t get near it. The trapper simply begins playing tricks on Ignacio, too.

Gerald watches it all helplessly, well aware that any intervention on his part will only make the situation worse. What he doesn’t understand is why Ewing Young doesn’t step in. Can’t he see what Jones is up to? But Young seems oblivious to what’s going on.

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