Chapter 11

That afternoon, we went looking for a preacher to marry us in 4 weeks. The Methodist preacher was agreeable, so we scheduled the shindig with him for a Sunday afternoon, 4 weeks away. We were able to arrange everything that day, so we left happy.

The next day, Joe and I, as Jake Esposito, took the buckboard to Trinity to look into the LeMat conversion. The gunsmith was relieved to see me; he had feared that he had lost a customer since it had been so long since I had been in to see (and nag) him. The job was complete, so we went out back to try it out. I was enthralled, and so was Joe. He and I both shot off about 50 rounds before we were tired enough to call it a day. That gun was nearly perfect for what we needed!

The gunsmith was delighted when I asked him to convert another Walker and another LeMat, but he was not so happy about my deadline of 4 weeks. He turned pale with that time limit, but finally agreed to try. He had a Walker, but I had to give him my current LeMat to convert. I did ask him to look for more LeMats, since I wanted 2 more converted later on. I had the idea of having Joe and me carry two LeMats in shoulder holsters and a Walker in a thigh holster. I had to chuckle at how we would look with that getup—we'd look like desperadoes!

We left the gunsmith and went to a restaurant for supper. We stalled around over supper, so it was a bit late when we got to the hotel to get rooms. Wouldn't you know it—I was in luck, again. The hotel had only one room available, so Joe and I were going to have to share a bed! Joe was embarrassed and uncertain, but I told him to relax. I reminded him that I was a widow, so I had slept with a man, before. He was really sweet, the way he was so worried about upsetting me, but I finally got him calmed down and into bed. I will admit that we cuddled that night, but what else we did is none of your business!

The next morning, we returned to Willow Run. I swear that I will never understand how people can make a trip of over a mile or two in a buckboard; the lack of springs in a buckboard is a real killer on the back. We swapped off the driving, so that wasn't a problem, but Joe did suffer some pain in his leg every time we hit a big bump. I would almost bet that the county had somebody on the payroll who went around and added bumps to perfectly good roads just out of pure meanness.

The next 4 weeks were a mixed bag for both Joe and me. He lived through them, and I managed to get all of the wedding arrangements made, so we were ready when the day finally arrived. I thoroughly enjoyed the affair and Joe survived, so I guess it was a success. Practically the whole town turned out, and the church was packed to overflowing. The marshal was Joe's best man and Lupe was my primary attendant, since I had no living relatives left. The reception was long and drawn out, but Joe and I did get to dance a couple of numbers before his leg gave out. We used that as an excuse to leave the festivities, and we hurried home.

Lupe helped me out of my wedding dress and into a light robe, then the dear disappeared for the rest of the evening and night. Joe and I had a very enjoyable wedding night, thank you, but that was also none of your business.

The next day, after one of Lupe's wonderful breakfasts, I dressed as Jake and we rode horses to Trinity to look at our new guns. We were each now armed with a LeMat and a Walker, both using the same cartridge ammunition, but the LeMat still used a cap and loose powder for the shotgun. Joe wore his LeMat in a shoulder holster that was better than nothing, but I swore that I would get him one like mine as soon as possible. The shotgun barrel on the LeMat made a real difference in the way a gun fit into a holster.

We spent the night in the hotel in Trinity. I was amused that it was in the same bed that we had used that night 4 weeks earlier. Joe didn't think that it was funny, so I didn't say much about it. We left Trinity the next morning and headed toward Willow Run. We got an early start, so we we in no hurry. There was no way to get home in time for one of Lupe's dinners, so we'd had the restaurant fix us some sandwiches to eat on the way. We found a shady place away from the road and enjoyed a picnic and each other's company for a couple of hours.

We arrived back home in time for supper and found a distraught Lupe. There was nothing particularly wrong to upset her, she was just worried when we took so long to get home. Oh, God, now Lupe had taken on the job of a nervous mother! I told her why we were late, and she relaxed some, but I could tell that she was going to be a worry-wart from now on.

We had the time for it, so I suggested that we take an excursion to Pansy the next day, for the fun of it and maybe a little excitement. Joe was all for it, so we left right after an early breakfast. We made our first stop at the saloon where I had my little adventure with the poker scam. The same bartender was there, but there was a different swamper, which didn't surprise me. The poker game was not in operation, so we didn't stay long, just long enough for one beer.

We went to the next saloon in line, and my friend was the swamper there. We talked for a while, and I bought him a Mexican beer for old times sake. Joe and I joined a poker game in progress, but this was an honest one. We walked away about an hour later, down $2, but the time had been pleasantly spent.

We found a restaurant and had lunch. It wasn't anything special, but it was edible, and did cost only 35 cents. From there, we waltzed into the next saloon in line and were met with a big surprise. Pinky Jones was there with three friends. He and I saw each other at the same time, and we both went for our guns. I was a little slow getting mine out because I took the time to yell and push Joe to safety.

Pinky was a better shot than I had expected—his bullet would have drilled me in the breast bone if I hadn't seen him as soon as I did and hadn't jumped out of the way. It must have been a matter of habit, but I drew my LeMat and Joe drew his Walker. We ducked behind a table we turned on edge and Pinky and his friends did the same.

That was when we discovered our advantage. Pinky's bunch was using ball ammunition and we were using Henry cartridges which had a conical bullet. The result was that the balls fired by Pinky's gang would hit the table, but not penetrate, but our conical bullets would go right through the tables they were hiding behind. Joe scored the first victory with a shot that went through the table and caught one of the galoots in the neck. Needless to say, he expired in a short time with a lot of messy blood all over the place.

That was a very instructive accident! We both started deliberately shooting at the table where we thought one of the enemy might be hiding. The only problem was that we had to expose some portion of our skin to take the shots, so they were a bit hurried. Nevertheless, I soon scored a hit based on the scream of pain that issued from behind the table that was sheltering Pinky. I had no idea who it was I hit, but I really didn't care, a hit was a hit.

Joe was sticking to his Walker, so he had only 6 shots before he had to reload, but I had 9 shots before I had to reload. I decided to play the same trick that I had used earlier against a man who didn't know I had 9 shots instead of 6. I shot only 6 times and paused to reload. If I could convince the person at the other table that I had to reload when I still had 3 shots left, I might get a chance to do some serious damage.