The Texican Way Page 5

  “Dat’s Miss Arabella, sah. She done got some friends up North. Dey suppliers for de Federals and dey done sent her a wagon-load o’ supplies on’y yesterday.”

  “Where is the delectable Miss Fairfield?”

  “She gone to town to buy some clothing seein’ as her gowns wuz burnt with de mansion, sah.”

  “Surely, she has not gone alone?”

  “No sah, she done take two o’ Cap’n Quantrill’s men to guard her.”

  “That sounds like her style. Maybe she is why Captain Quantrill is staying away so long.”

  After a good meal, Daniel rode on with his three men. He did not have a good idea where Quantrill might be but they had traveled from the west together so he knew the campsites that Quantrill had used.

  To his surprise after a full day’s riding they still had not come upon the captain, nor for that matter had they encountered Jake Smith. Daniel decided to ride into the nearby village and enquire after the two missing men.

  They rode to the saloon in the single road that made up the village and dismounted.

  The two Federal uniforms of Daniel’s two men reassured everyone in the bar that the four men were Northerners. Daniel did not dare risk his men opening their mouths for their accents were so strong that no-one would believe the evidence of their eyes. He had given them strict orders to keep quiet.

  “Goodday to you sir.” Daniel said to the bartender. “I am looking for two men: one is tall with a mustache and sideburns and in his mid-thirties. His companion would call him ‘cap’n. The other is much younger red hair and plenty of freckles.”

  One of the men lounging at the bar spoke up.

  “Say, I seed men like that. They wuz headed south with a bunch of Federals chasing them.”

  “That would be them!” Daniel said enthusiastically. “They’re a couple of Confederates for sure. Where’d you see ‘em?”

  “Back west along the main road, ‘bout five miles they’s a crossroad takes you south. I seed them about a mile or two along, riding like to bust.”

  “Thanks for that, friend. Bartender give that man a drink on me.”

  Daniel had ordered beer for all of them and they drank it down like the thirsty men they were.

  “I guess we had better get after them. Colonel’s going to be annoyed if we don’t bring ‘em back.” Daniel remarked for all to hear as they left the bar.

  They found the crossroads and turned south only to see six Federals moving toward them with Captain Quantrill and Jake Smith riding with their hands tied behind their backs.

  Daniel immediately ordered his men off the road, hoping that the Federals had not noticed their sudden disappearance.

  He found a good spot that gave him a clear view of a hundred and fifty yards of the road.

  “Which of you men can hit a fly on the wall with a shot from his rifle?” He asked the three men with him.

  “I, sir, am zee good shot with zee rifle but I doubt zat I could ‘it a fly on zee wall.” Pierre Chamont responded.

  “Very well. You two men stand down until I order you to join in. If I hand you my rifle I expect you to load it for me and give me another that is already loaded. You understand? Pierre, you pick a target on the near side of the road. If I say your name, you shoot at your target but do not shoot before I tell you to.”

  They waited for half an hour, loading weapons and finding a good protected view spot in case the attack turned into a fire-fight. Eventually the group rode into sight. Daniel waited until they were halfway along his field of fire before he shot the leading Federal on the far side of the road.

  The Federals were not expecting the attack. The unexpected shot caused the tired horses to jerk back leaving the sergeant who was in the lead on the nearside of the road momentarily isolated.

  “Pierre!” Daniel said as he reached for another rifle. Pierre fired and the Yankee sergeant dropped from his horse.

  Quantrill understood the situation instantly and dug his spurs into his horse guiding it with his knees off the road into the shrubs on Daniel’s side of the road. The Federals were too concerned about where the next shot was coming from to worry about him so Daniel shot the next man who had been riding alongside Quantrill and reached for his re-loaded rifle.

  Daniel’s next shot took out the man alongside Jake Smith who, not being as quick-witted as Quantrill, was milling around with the Federal troops instead following his captain. Daniel was scared that Pierre might hit Jake instead of a Federal so he held back on ordering Pierre to shoot again.

  The Federals began to scatter to the far side of the road and Daniel shot another in the back as he tried to ride away. Daniel reached for another rifle as he heard Quantrill calling to Jake to get off the road. The last of the federals had decided to ride back the way he had come but Daniel’s shot brought him down too.

  The silence after the sounds of gunfire seemed almost unnatural.

  Quantrill called out. “Corporal Beauregard, is that you?”

  “Yessir, it is! Jake are you okay?”

  “Sure thing Boss, c’n someone jes’ git these danged ropes offa me?”

  Daniel sent Hiram Keeley to collect the Federal horses and Billy-Joe MacKendrick to get their weapons while he went down to Quantrill and cut him loose.

  “I thought that was going to be me that time. They knew who I was and they were looking forward to the hanging. Who are those Federals that you have running around at your bidding?”

  “They are a couple of our boys that I rescued while they were on the way to prison camp. I had them dress as Federals in case we came across some more of them.”

  “Corporal, I sure am glad that I have you on my team. There is only one thing: why did you have to send us that little hellcat Arabella Fairfield?”

  “I couldn’t leave an undefended Southern lady wandering in Yankee territory, sir. She was lost and starving but Jonas tells me that she has funds somewhere because she arranged for a whole wagonload of provisions to be sent in.”

  “Oh good, I can do with a good meal.”

  “I have even better news, sir. This man here is Pierre Chamont an ex-chef from one of the best establishments in New Orleans. You are going to love his cooking.”

  “Welcome Chamont.” Quantrill said generously. “We could surely use an improvement in our kitchen.”

  “Pierre also contributed in removing your recent captors, sir.”

  “My grateful thanks, Chamont. Are you Creole?”

  “No sir, I am an Acadian. We speak good French at home.”

  Quantrill switched immediately to French and said.

  “It will be a pleasure to speak to someone who does not mangle the words of a beautiful language and I refer also to my Southern countrymen who often speak incomprehensible English.”

  “Ah monsieur,” said Pierre, also in French. “My sentiments. exactly.”

  They were riding back to the Fairfield plantation when Quantrill said casually.

  “Well that was another six Yankees that will never again see the light of day, Daniel. I thought that you did not approve of killing our Northern brothers?”

  “I do not approve of killing anyone, sir, but we are guests on the plantation and we cannot take prisoners there for fear that they escape and bring the wrath of the Federal Government down upon the heads of Miss Fairfield and the darkies. They have suffered enough.”

  “You could have called upon them to drop their weapons and then sent them away unharmed.” Quantrill pointed out.

  “I considered that, sir, but we were close to the village. Even without horses the Federals would have reached it too quickly and we would have been pursued, again with a chance of leading the Federals to the plantation.”

  Quantrill sighed.

  “You are right. The Raiders, unlike normal army u
nits, are not in a position to take prisoners. I release them when I can but all too often you cannot do that and there is no alternative to killing.”

  “Actually sir, there is one alternative to killing. If you shoot a man in the kneecap you immobilize him so that he cannot follow you and also he can no longer bear arms against you. Unfortunately, he might die from blood loss and in any event you cannot safely shoot him there unless you are close-up which means that he has already capitulated and then it seems most cowardly to maim a man after he has surrendered.”

  “It is not an easy problem, corporal, but I am pleased to have at least one man in my unit thinking about these things.”

  They returned to the plantation to find a furious Miss Arabella Fairfield waiting for Daniel’s return.

  “Have you no manners at all, Corporal Beauregard? I place the hospitality of the Fairfield Plantation at the disposal of you and your undisciplined Confederate unit and you ride in an out of the place without so much as calling upon me to pay your respects.”

  “Ma’am, I did enquire after you but was told that you had gone to town to buy clothing. Captain Quantrill and Jake Smith were overdue so we went to investigate what became of them.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Quantrill interposed. “And I am mighty grateful that he did so without wasting any time. We had been captured by Federals and would have been hanged were it not for Corporal Beauregard’s prompt action.”

  Arabella was not appeased but she could not very well complain about saving the lives of two Confederate stalwarts.

  “In that case, I will overlook the breach of decorum.” She said severely. “You are invited to dinner this evening at the mansion. Kindly ensure that you are both dressed appropriately and that your boots are not muddy when you come in.” She flounced off without waiting for a reply.

  “Jonas,” Daniel asked apprehensively. “Where is this dinner to be held?”

  “In de cellar, sah. Miz Arabella done moved into de cellar until de house git rebuilt.”

  Both Daniel and the captain took care to have a bath and use their cleanest clothing for that evening meal. Neither of the two men had any freshly laundered clothing. To cover his tattered shirt, Daniel used a blue jacket taken from one of his many victims. The jacket had a bullet hole over the heart but had been newly issued to its original owner, a Yankee lieutenant.

  Arabella sat in a wooden chair before a candlelit table of plebian origin.

  “Gentlemen, pray excuse the furniture but I have not had time to replace what was lost.” She said graciously. “My word, captain considering the circumstances we all find ourselves in, you truly look most elegant.” Quantrill had a single dress uniform which he wore only on official occasions. It was a long-skirted grey jacket over the grey yellow-piped trousers.

  She turned to Daniel. “Corporal Beauregard! You are a disgrace! How dare you enter this home wearing that cursed uniform? Why even your boots are Yankee issue!””

  “Pardon me, ma’am but I have no other clothing suitable for a formal dinner.”

  “Remove the jacket at once! I would as soon see you naked than bear that object under my roof.”

  Daniel miserably removed the jacket to expose a shirt that bore more stains than original color.

  “That is infinitely better. Pray be seated gentlemen. Corporal would you please say the blessing before the meal?”

  Daniel mumbled the prayer that his mother had taught him and Arabella waved to one of the two black women to commence serving.

  “That was a beautiful blessing, Corporal Beauregard, I would never have taken you for a religious man.”

  “I am not, ma’am but my mother was and she taught it to me. I was an altar boy in my young years but I have seen too much killing and other ugliness to hold with formal religion.”

  “Ah I see and you Captain Quantrill, are you a religious man?”

  “No ma’am, I came up in a manner similar to the corporal and abandoned religion for much the same reason.”

  “We hold a service in the slave quarters every Sabbath. My father believed that it was our duty to lift up the blacks and expose them to Christianity. Any of your men would be welcome at the service, captain.”

  “Er, thank you ma’am. I shall be sure to advise them of it.”

  The meal consisted of a good thick vegetable soup followed by a rather tough duck with dumplings, potatoes and gravy and finished off with a bread pudding and, wonder of wonders, stale but genuine coffee.

  After raving about the coffee and complimenting Arabella on the quality of the meal, Quantrill made his excuses relating to the call of duty in respect of a raid to be executed on the following day, the very first Daniel had heard of it.

  “Oh? Well then sir no doubt I shall be needed also, if Miss Arabella would be so kind as to excuse me.” Daniel said hastily.

  “Not at all, corporal, not at all!” Quantrill said traitorously. “I am sure that we can forego your presence on this occasion rather than leave our gracious hostess unattended. In any event I had not intended that you should be on this raid since you have seen more recent action than any other among us.”

  He withdrew hastily, leaving Daniel to sit upright on a hard wooden chair and make polite conversation.

  “When my father was with us,” Arabella said demurely. “We would often finish an evening with a game of cards. Do you play cards, Corporal?”

  “Ma’am it depends on what game you are accustomed to playing. I am well acquainted with poker.”

  “Poker? Oh my father used to love that. Shall we play?”

  “Two people are hardly sufficient to comprise an interesting game, ma’am. Perhaps I could entertain you with some card tricks?”

  “Card tricks? Why I would never have guessed that you performed such frivolous things. Here, I bought these cards in the village.” She handed him a brand new deck on which the seal had not been broken.

  “Think of a card, ma’am. Now tell me what it is.”

  She thought for a moment and said: ”The Queen of Hearts.”

  He broke the seal on the pack, counted out a number of cards and then flipped one over. It was the Queen of Hearts.

  “How did you do that? You never even handled those cards.” She said in awe.

  “It is quite simple really. A new pack is always packed in the same order. I only had to count down through the order until I reached the Queen of Hearts and then flip that one over.”

  “Yes, but to know what order the cards are packed in: that is amazing!”

  “No, that was simple. Let me show you what is amazing.”

  He picked up the cards and shuffled them quickly and very expertly. Then he turned the cards over and fanned them out on the table so that only the top right-hand corner of each card was visible for a few seconds before he handed the cards to Arabella and told her to cut the deck. He placed the cut half on top of the other half and dealt a card face up on the table. He said nothing about the first card but from then on he named a card and turned over the top card of the deck in his hand. In every case he correctly named the card before he turned it face upward.

  “How in the name of all that is holy did you do that?” Arabella said in amazement.

  “That too is not so complicated. When I fan the cards out after shuffling them, I memorize the order of the cards. When you cut the deck, I have only to see the first card to know what order they will be in from that point onward.”

  “But that is amazing. How could you memorize the order of the cards in the few seconds that you had them in view?”

  “There are only fifty four cards in a pack counting the two Jokers so all I have to do is remember the order of fifty four cards. Some gambling salons use two packs at a time and I can memorize them if you give me fifteen seconds. Normally, of course you do not get to see all the cards at once
because they are all placed in a ‘shoe’ after each round but as long as the dealer does not shuffle them but merely scoops them up and loads them into the shoe it is not difficult to remember the order in which they were loaded. If you watch long enough, the pack will start delivering the cards that you have seen loaded and you can then predict what cards will come out next.”

  “That is impossible to believe! Why you would have to be a genius to retain all of that information.”

  “It is a trick of the mind. Some people can do it but most cannot.”

  He spent the rest of the evening showing her a variety of tricks that depended on legerdemain, where his fingers manipulated the cards to produce the ones he wanted.

  “Actually what I am doing now is really cheating and it is easy for an experienced player to spot. It is a guaranteed way to end up dead. What is not cheating is what I showed you first off. Memorizing the cards give you an enormous advantage over the other players.”

  “But in a card game the cards keep getting shuffled after every play.” She objected.

  “Even knowing the order of cards before they are shuffled is an advantage because shuffling rarely disturbs all of the cards in a pack so some will remain in a known order. It is far better than having no idea what card is coming up next.”

  “That does not sound like very much of an advantage. Surely, you can be misled into believing that a certain card is in play when it is not?”

  “Nothing in life is certain. As long as you only bet when you know that you have an advantage and you fold when you know that you do not have the advantage, you are likely to come out of the game session a winner.”

  He left her company late that evening after basking in her amazement and admiration.

  Chapter Six

  On the following day Captain Quantrill rode out with his original six men leaving Daniel and his three companions at leisure in the canyon.

  Daniel was repairing the hole in his saddle when Jonas arrived at the canyon.

  “Sah, Miz Arabella done sent me to ax you to take her riding dis mawnin’. She say please done bring her a nice hoss.”